“Yes,” replied I, “I have been; but I hope I shall treat my second wife a little better than I did my first.”
“I hope so too,” replied Amy; “but I have great fear that your Virginian mistress may come over and claim you.”
“I do not think that likely. From the Indians having followed me to the beach, they must have fallen in with her.”
“And what do you think became of her?”
“Of course I cannot exactly say; but I presume she died gallantly, and fought with her axe to the last.”
That evening I had a long conversation with Mr Trevannion. He told me what he had done with the money, which he considered as mine, and I put into his care the sum I had received for the diamond. I then spoke to him about our marriage, and requested that it might not be postponed.
“My dear Musgrave,” said he, “my daughter’s happiness so depends upon her union with you, that I can only say I am willing that it should take place to-morrow. For yourself you know that I have the highest esteem, and that you must be convinced of when I have consented to the match without even making inquiry as to your family and connexions. Now, however, is the time that I should wish to have some information about them.”
“My dear Sir, if you will only make inquiries, you will find that the family of Musgrave is one of the most highly connected in the north, and that the head of it is, or was, a Sir Richard Musgrave, Baronet, of Faristone Hall, in Cumberland. I am a near relative of his, as I can satisfactorily prove.”
“That is sufficient,” replied Mr Trevannion. “I shall leave you to plead your cause with Amy to-morrow; so now, good night.”
The following day I told Amy that, since my arrival in England, I had heard of the death of my father, and that it was necessary that I should go to the north, as family affairs required my presence.