“I came over from England, nearly a year ago, on the steamer ——,” he began, “and on board that vessel I met a young girl of great personal beauty and intelligence, in whom I became intensely interested. She could not have been more than sixteen years of age, but her mind was far in advance of both her appearance and her years, while it was evident that she had been reared with great care, for every word and act betrayed her to be a perfect little lady, and every day spent in her society only served to make her more attractive in my sight. At parting, I gave her a trifle as a souvenir of our pleasant acquaintance, and asked in return for something to keep in memory of her. I did not know that I should ever meet her again, and had I not done so, the remembrance of what I had enjoyed in her society would eventually have become, it is probable, but a pleasant episode of the past, although I must confess that her face haunted me continually.
“But I did meet her again, and only a very short time ago. She had changed—developed into even greater beauty, and had become more mature, and I began to realize at once that I had even a deeper interest in her than I had imagined possible. Subsequent interviews—for I took pains to see her often—and the study of her character, convinced me that I had found the woman whom I could love with all my heart, and whom I should win for my wife if I could.”
A rustling of the drapery at the open window just then made the young lord pause; but hearing nothing more, he thought the wind had simply stirred the curtains, and continued:
“Within a very few days I have brought things to a crisis—have, in fact, asked and secured a promise from her to become my wife as soon as she shall have completed her education, and I had intended to-morrow to seek an interview with her friends and make formal proposals for her hand.
“This may sound rather strange to you, knowing my position, and realizing something of the prejudice of the English against marrying outside the pale of their own rank. But I was convinced from the first that this young girl was of good blood and parentage, and upon a more intimate acquaintance with her, I have learned that her mother was an English lady from an excellent family.
“Now, what I have to tell you,” Lord Carrol continued, with a smile, “has a slight touch of romance connected with it. When I left England, I came away known as Sir Archibald Sherbrooke, baronet. Two months after my arrival here, I was notified of the death of my mother’s only brother—Lord Carrol, of Carrolton—and who, being a widower and childless, willed his estates and all that he possessed to me, with the provision that I was to assume his name, and consequently his title.
“It would have suited me better to travel and remain plain Archibald Sherbrooke, as I always called myself, until my return; but I was with a company of friends—all artists, who were traveling and studying with an old painter—who knew all the circumstances, and they would not hear a word to my remaining incognito, and insisted upon introducing me everywhere by my newly acquired title.
“As plain Archibald Sherbrooke, I met, wooed, and won the young lady of whom I have told you, but I intended, when I formally asked for her hand, to reveal the circumstances which have made me Lord Carrol. I have not for a moment thought of deceiving her, for I abhor double-dealing of any kind; but, notwithstanding, I find myself in a very awkward situation.
“You will, perhaps, be surprised to learn that to-night, since going out after dinner, I met my betrothed by accident, and very much to my astonishment. She had discovered that I have been sailing ‘under two flags,’ or, as she supposed, under false colors. She had heard of my meeting your daughter at Long Branch as Lord Carrol, and the report seems to have preceded me, much to my surprise”—here the young man colored from embarrassment—“that I intended something more than a friendly visit here, and she has passionately denounced me for my duplicity—as it appears to her—and refused even to allow me to explain my position.
“This is the mistake that I wish you to help me rectify by securing an interview for me with her, so that I can exonerate myself from all blame in her sight.”