If Sam felt discouraged by this sudden termination to his interview, the feeling lasted no longer than till the receipt of Annie's first letter to his sister after they were settled at Chichester; for there the allusions and reminiscences were of a most flattering kind, and the frequent mention of his name, and the manner in which it was introduced gave him very great pleasure.
Emma became reconciled to Penelope's marriage when she saw how well she was suited to her situation in life, and though she did not greatly admire her brother-in-law, he was so very superior to Tom Musgrove, that she thought her sister quite fortunate in comparison with Margaret. To forget everything that had passed of an unpleasant nature previous to her marriage was the wisest source which her friends could adopt; and it is so exceedingly common that there should be something which requires forgetting, that if the relatives of all married couples acted in the same way, there would be a great deal more of unity in the world than at present.
Before she had been resident at Chichester three months, two events occurred, which effected a change in her plans. One, as Mr. Howard and many others had foreseen, was the engagement of Sam and Annie, and preparations for their speedy marriage. The other was more unexpected.
Her aunt, whose sudden and ill-advised marriage had originally deprived her of her home, exasperated by the unkind and unprincipled conduct of her young husband, quitted him abruptly; procured a separation, and as she still retained the control of her income, he was left very much as he deserved to be, no better off than when he made his mercenary marriage. She returned to England, wrote to Emma, then came to her; was delighted with Sam, with Mr. Howard, and with everything she learnt of their doings, past, present, or future. She made Emma a magnificent wedding present, both in money and clothes, and declared her determination of ultimately dividing her fortune between her youngest nephew and niece. In the meantime, she took an elegant mansion in the parish of Carsdeane, and insisted on the marriage taking place immediately, and the young couple taking up their residence with her, until the rectory house was prepared for them.
This advice was much too agreeable to be long resisted, and before Emma and Mr. Howard had seen the anniversary of their first meeting, they were man and wife.
Whether they ever repented the interference of Miss Bridge to delay, or of Mrs. MacMahon to hurry the union, I leave entirely to the imaginations of my readers to settle; satisfied with having done my duty in detailing events as they really occurred.
There is but one more circumstance of any importance to relate; but that is, that Lord Osborne, after Emma's marriage, joined a regiment abroad as a volunteer—fought for some years in the Peninsular, and returned to England about ten years after he had been refused by Emma, accompanied by his wife, a very charming young Spanish lady, with whom he fell in love, because her dark eyes reminded him of Mrs. Howard's.
He had forgotten the likeness long before he reached Osborne Castle; and no one who saw Mrs. Howard when visiting the young bride, or watched his devotion to Lady Osborne, could, for a moment, have imagined that Lord Osborne's love could have had such a foundation.
I have nothing more to say of any of the party, and only trust that all who read my tale, may be convinced, as I am, that prudence, gentleness, and good sense, will secure friends under the most disadvantageous circumstances; but that marriage alone, unless undertaken with right feelings and motives, cannot be considered a certain recipe for worldly happiness.
THE END.