After tea all work was laid aside, and the gentlemen one after another came in, until the rooms were filled, and the evening was spent in social enjoyment. It was remarked by all that Robert Lester and Miss Grey did not meet as strangers, though there was evident constraint in the manner of both. Lilian changed color, and seemed about to retreat when he approached her; and on his part, though remarkable for his power of self-control, there was something in his appearance none had ever seen before. They had evidently known each other previously, and met now on a different footing from that of mere acquaintance. A dozen pair of eyes were upon them, and the situation was becoming embarrassing enough, when Elinor Fenton came to the rescue of her cousin, and entering into conversation with Mr. Lester, drew attention from Lilian, who took refuge among a group of young persons surrounding the piano.
When the company were about to separate, I chanced to be in the dressing-room, when as Lilian entered the hall I heard Mr. Lester say to her,
“Lilian, will you not allow me to accompany you home?”
“Certainly not,” was the hasty reply; “my aunt has sent the carriage for us, and I prefer riding with Elinor.”
“Permit me at least to see you to the carriage,” he said almost humbly, and I felt hurt at her cold rejection of his offer.
“There is no necessity for it,” she said. “Pete is here, and he is accustomed to the duty.”
What could this mean? Of all the young men I had ever known, I should have selected Robert Lester as the one best fitted to win the heart of such a young lady as Lilian; yet she shunned him and repelled his attentions. My thoughts were painfully occupied with the subject as I returned home, and in my dreams that night the two were strangely blended, though always with some invisible barrier between them, which I sought in vain to discover and remove.
CHAPTER III.
THE DEPARTURE OF THE REGIMENT.
Forts Donalson and Henry had been taken by our brave soldiers and seamen, and the nation was in a fever of excitement and joy. But recruits were wanted to fill up the wasted armies in the various departments, and the work of enlistment went rapidly on among the young men of our neighborhood, while mothers, wives, and daughters worked day and night to fit out the beloved ones who were so soon to leave us for the seat of war.
Lilian Grey was one of the foremost in this noble work, and four of the soldiers in company A of the 26th were selected and sent out by her, with a bounty of three hundred dollars each, to fight for the cause she loved so well. The shadow on Elinor’s fair brow deepened day by day, as news came of terrible battles in which soldiers on both sides fell by thousands; and even Mrs. Fenton’s faith was sorely tried by the continued absence of her husband, from whom no word had ever reached her.