“Fickle!” did I hear some fair reader ejaculate in a tone of contempt?
Well, perhaps he was; but then when he had been so heart-broken over Star’s rejection he did not know that there was a Vivien Sherbrooke in the world.
We are always disappointed, often unreasonably so, when we cannot get what we want, and perhaps his passion for our heroine was not quite so intense as he had imagined it to be. However, be that as it may, Lord Carrol’s fair sister had convinced him that
“Taking the year together, my dear,
There isn’t more cloud than sun.”
And he had concluded to spend the remainder of his life basking in the sunlight of her presence.
Mrs. Richards, with her family, lost no time in returning to America after this crushing disappointment.
They could not remain and face the people to whom they had proudly boasted of their future greatness, nor could they bear to look upon Star’s happiness and triumph over them; while, besides all this, they were greatly cramped in purse, after the extravagant outlay which Mrs. Richards insisted was necessary for people with their expectations.
Mr. Richards was very much depressed, for, to say nothing of the money which they had spent, he feared the worst from his long absence and neglect of business.
He went to see Star and Jacob Rosevelt before they sailed; he could not leave without bidding them farewell, and assuring them of his gratitude and good-will.