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. and ‘then they Parted. «
* of Buckingham’s side.
LEB
eMOGLEASOMS BIXERARY CCMPANEEN: Gro
me! I am answered. Let me look at yon,
Unat” : -
The girl uplifted her face. O, what light and
joy and untold tenderness were mirrorred in
that countenance!’ There was a kiss, a bless-
ing, a hasty troth- plight under the spring stars,
. CITAPTER XVI .
Tuer stood sido by side in an alcove of a
grand old hall—the Marchioness of Rochford
and Lady Anne Montfort. The sunlight, break-
ing through the stained glass of the great oriel
window, shot across the graceful heads of the
two women, lending a purplish gloss to their
wealth of ebon hair, and kindling up the jewels
which they wore. Anne’s face was pale, but
Violante’s was all aglow. She seemed watch-
ing for some one in the park below, and at last
she gave a sudden start and murmured :
“ There he is!”
“Who?” asked Anne.
“Edward!” replied Violante—and as she
spoke she flung a shower of kisses to the young
_¢ruseder, who was riding glong an oak avenuo
at Una’s bridle-rein. .
“We is with Lady Una,” said Anne; “of
late he has become her constant attendant.”
“Ay, ay, but only to blind his uncle’s eyes.
Ife has declared to me on his knightly honor
+ that he has never felt aught but a brother’s affec-
tion for her. List, Lady Anne—he loves me,—
he has told me so, and Inst night we plighted
our troth. See this ring,—it was his gift ;” and
she pressed her dewy lips to a golden circlet
blazing with diamonds.
Anne’s sight grew dim ; her blood seemed to
chill in her veins, and for some time she was
dumb with agony, Then she said:
“Ah, say youso? Pray accept my congrat-
ulations. When is the marriage to take place?”
“Not till Christmas; and you must be one of
the bridesmaids.” a
Anne bowed assent, and the next moment Vi-
olante sprang to meet Sidney and Una, who
were dismounting at the palace-steps.. Anne
Montfort heard their gay voices, and feeling that
she was not strong enough to meet them, ab;
ruptly retired. When they entered the hall, she
was riding along a shadowy path by the Duke
For awhile they rode
in silence, but at length the duke said :
“Lady Anne, this is the last day of our stay
in London, and ere we part, I would fain have
an answer—a decisive answer. You know how
deeply I love you; you know that earth could
afford me no higher happiness than to call you
my wife. Witl you be mine?”
The lady trembled from head to foot as she
replied ;
“T cannot, I cannot! I should wrong you
were I to give you my hand without my heart!
Gay as I have seemed, my life is embittered by
a hopeless passion,—I shall never marry !”
Buckingham continued to urge his suit, but to
no purpose; and when he left Anne at her un-
cle’s door, he cursed his ill-luck and Edward
Sidney.
The first person Anne met, on entering, was
Habert. _
“Whither away so fast, cousin mine?” said
he.
“Tam going to my own room,” was the low
reply. .
“ His Grace of Buckingham told me that he
expected you to give him a final answer this
morning.”
“Thave.”
“ And what was it?”—and the young man’s
look and tone were eager.
“T have rejected him.” .
“Tam rejoiced to hear it.”
“And why?” queried Anne. “ His grace is
considered the most eligible match of the sea-
son.”
“know it,” said Hubert, “but you do not
love him; you would have been wretched as his
wife.”
Tears gushed into Anne’s eyes as she re-
joined:
“T conld scarcely be more miscrable than I
am now. O, Hubert, Hubert!” and she bowed
her head upon the young man’s shoulder and
sobbed in all the wild abandonment of sorrow.
“My poor, poor cousin !” exclaimed Hubert ;
“what would I nof give if I could see you and
Edward Sidney re-united! It seems to me as
if everything might be explained.”
“Nay, nay!” cried Anne, “’tis impossible!
AI tell you he is false—fickle as the changing
wind—charmed with every beautiful face he
sees. At first Una captivated him, but now the
Marchioness of Rochford has the ascendancy.
They are betrothed; they are to be married at
Christmas ; she told me so with her own lips an
hour ago!” and Anne’s tears gushed forth
afresh. Hubert’s face paled as he listened.
“ God pity you, Anne!” he murmured; “God
forgive him for thus wronging you! But do
not despair; life may have some brightness
without him. Trust in Heaven, and look brave-
ly into the future !’”
He led her to the door of her own chamber, |
but his words had fallen like balm on Anne’s
heart. In that hour of fiery trial, those shining
sisters, Faith and Hope, walked the rugged path
she trod at her side, and her fervid prayers for
Heaven’s pity and benison brought down an-
swers of peace.
“A splendid midsummer shone over Eng-
land ;” a golden haze slumbered in the atmos-
phere by day, and at morning cloud on cloud of
mist, rosy with the flush of dawn, went circling
up from the bold Nottingham hills; the grass
waved green and tall in the ficlds and marshes ;
‘the wheat and barley were ripening for the har-
vest; bright blossoms reared their fragrant co-
rollas in the fine English garden and by the way-
side; mottled lilies. swayed ou their slender
stems in the path of the mowers, and the downy
check of the apricot was beginning to blush, like
a maiden’s, when she hears her lover’s voice.
The nights were lovely with soft star-light, or
glorious with the radiance of the moon. Cool,
green and bowery stretched out the aisles of
Sherwood Forest, which was still haunted by
Robin Iood’s men.
Huntiagdon Castle had been remodeled and
fitted up with great splendor for the reception of
the earl and countess and Lady Una, on their
return from London ; and there they lived in al-
most regal state. But though he had cast off
the name of Robin Hood, he was: an outlaw in
heart; and one evening he might have been
seen wending his way to the outlaw’s camp in
the forest. Will Scatbelock, Midge and little
John were lying there, silent and sullen.
“Yo, my merry men!” he exclaimed, in the
deep, rich, mellow voice which had such power
to thrill them. “I cannot do without you!”
Quick as thought the outlaws gathered round
him, and he went on:
“T have tried the pomp and glitter of a cour-
tier’s lot once more, but by my faith, lam weary
of it. I pine for the haunts of Sherwood and
my brave band. I long for wild adventure!”
A shout broke from his companions; they
clasped hands with him; they laughed; they
danced about him with the most extravagant
demonstrations of joy.
“Thipk you I can once more gather my scat-
tered band?” queried the earl.
“ Ay, ay,” was the unanimous response,
“Well, I will at least try;” and putting hia
horn to his lips, he blew a long, shrill blast.
“Surely that is Robin Hood’s call; he has
come back,” said the outlaws, as it came echo-
ing through the fastnesses of the wood, to which
they had retreated, and they rushed to the camp.
Then cheer after cheer rent the air, and Robin
Hood was borne off to preside over a feast
which would have tempted an anchorite. When
that was over they repaired to the Wizard’s
Glen, and there Robin Hood proceeded to dis-
close the revengefal plan he had formed, and in
which he wished their co-operation.
“Comrades,” he said, “ most of you remem-
ber how we took the Duke of Willimeer and his
family prisoners—how mysteriously they” €3-
caped from us, and how we well nigh fell into
the clutches of the royal dragcons, when search-
ing for them. You know, too, that they were
obliged to leave the country, in order to elude
our vengeance,”
The ontlaws bowed assent, and he continued:
“They have again returned; they have crossed
my path; two of them stand between me and
a cherished scheme of mine. I would fain bring
abont an alliance between my nephew and Una;
but Edward is in love with Lady Anne Mont-
fort—Willimeer’s niece—and Una with his son
Hubert.”
He paused, and his voice sank into a low, ee se-
pulchral tone, as he resume:
“They are soon to travel from Rockwood to
Cheltenham. Ifark ye, my men! on the jour-
ney they mnst be waylaid and taken, dead or
ative’?
At this juncture there was a rustling amid a
thicket of noxious plants hard by, and a slen-
der, white-robed figure came gliding into the cir-
cle. Pale and stern; she stood there amid those
rough outlaws, like an upbraiding angel.
“Do not this great wrong!” she murmured,
uplifting her hand to give force to her words.
“ TIarm not the innocent. Be merciful, as you
hope for mercy in your soal’s hour of need !”
The next moment she was gone, but the men
seemed awe-stricken ; so dim was the light, that
they could not discern her features, and one after
another whispered : .
“OTis a spirit !”
“Wa, ha, ha!’ laughed Robin Hood; “ it
was Una herself ; ’tis not strange that she should
wish to avert evil from her lover.”
His ¢xplanation dispelled the fears of the out-
laws, and they joined in the bravado laugh, and
ere long their plans were formed.
Lord Edward Sidney was: pacing along the
high batilements of Huntingdon Castle, absorbed
in gloomy thoughts of Anne, when he saw a
light form flitting through the grounds below.
“Una,” he called, and the girl looked up.
“O, Edward, Edward!” she gasped, “I have
something terrible to tell you!” and the young
man hastened to her side.
“What is it? What can it be?” he queried.
“Something that concerns both of us most
deeply ;” and she proceeded to reveal her fath-
er’s plot.
“ Anne—Aone in danger!” ejaculated Sidney,
his cheek blanching as he spoke.
“Yes, and Hubert too,” replied Una.
Lord Edward mused a moment, and then ex-
claimed :
“They must be saved! I will fly to them !”
“Go, and God speed you!” murmured the
girl, as her cousin hurried away.
The next morning dawned gloriously, and at
an early hour the courtyard of the Duke of Wil-
limeer’s ancestral seat was all astir, A brilliant
party of lords and ladies had mounted their hor-
ses, and others were mounting and eager for the
chase, for they were to spend the day in the
woods. Somewhat apart from the rest stood
Lady Anne, petting a falcon perched on her
wrist, while a brace of hounds crouched near
her, watching every movement.
“Ah, my bird,” she said, sofily, “do not
peck so at thy silken jesses! Thou shalt soon
be on the wing! I would give much if I were
as free from care as thou art!”
She broke off suddenly, for she saw a foam-
ing steed dash into the courtyard ; in another
instant his dusty rider had flung himself from
the saddle and moved to Hubert’s side. What
wild cagerness there was in his manner as he
spoke, and how Hubert’s cheek flushed: and
paled as he listened! What could all this por-
tend? Anne’s heart stood still as the new
comer turned his face toward her. It was Ed-
ward Sidney! She staggered back and would
have fallen, had not the young crusader sprang
to her support. He lifted her in his arms, and
for an instant held her to his heart in a conyul-
sive embrace, then released her, murmuring :
“Even in this hour I must not forget that you
are the plighted bride of another! Anne, Anne,
my uncle has formed a plan to waylay you and
Hubert on your journey to Cheltenham; and
should you go, there will be foul work done.
Una discovered the plot, and I have come hither
to reveal. I could not see one who is still dear-
er to me than my own life, fall into his snares.
Ihave saved you, and when you stand at the al-
tar with the duke, remember with pity him
whose hopes you haye crushed—who came back
from the east to find that you had broken the
yows so solemnly pledged by Robin Hood’s
well.” . .
He had spoken in a low tone and with rapid
utterance, and was about to turn from her, when
she grasped his arm and faltered :
“Edward, stay; in God’s name I ask it!
Come into the garden with me.”
They left the courtyard and strolled down
into the beautiful grounds where they had played
together when they were children. Not a word
was uttered till they reached a rustic seat where
they had loved to sit in those happy days; then’
Anne said:
“Am I dreaming? Tas some pleasant mad-
ness seized me, or did I hear you say you loved
me better than life itself—that you thought me
false ?”
“Tt was nodream. I did say it.”
“Then we have both misunderstood cach
other,” said the lady. “O, Edward, if every-
thing could be explained—if I could trust you
once more as I did before your return—as I did
when we parted—I should be the happiest girl
in the wide world!”
Sidncy’s eyes kindled ; his pallid cheek burned.
Ife drew Anne to that moss-grown seat, and
there all was explained—all forgiven.
Whon Lady Anne again joined the hawking-
| party, she looked radiantly beautiful, and that
day Lord Edward rode at her bridle-rein. O,
* those golden hours spent in the dim woods, with |
hawk and hound; the. recounting of the scenes
through which cach had passed during those ten .
years of separation; the memories of their
childhood which were recalled—the hopes of the
future they built—I have no power to portray !>
That night they knelt together before the Duke
of Willimeer, and craved his sanction to their
second betrothal, and arose with his blessing.
As they moved out into the balcony they met
Hubert. His usually pale face was flushed ;
his voice was tremulous as he took their clasped
hands in his, and exclaimed :
“Ts this radiant Anne the pale, wretched girl
who wept in my arms just before we left Lon-
don, over Lord Edward’s fickleness? Ah, cous-
in mine, I told you then that perhaps all might
be explained to your satisfaction. God bless
you both! God bless her, Una, my fairy-bride!
When you see her again, give her these ;” and
he held out a letter and a bunch of flowers, pale
and pure as her own sweet self.
CHAPTER XVII.
“Usa?
Robin Hood's tone and manner were stern in
the extreme as he spoko that name, but his
daughter came boundiag forward to meet him ;
her eyelids did not droop, her slight form did
not tremble beneath his falcon gaze.
“What would you with me, my father ?” she
murmured.
“Your own heart ought “to tell you my er-
rand. Three nights ago as I sat in council with
the outlaws at Sherwood, you were eaves drop-
ping. Nay, more; you came in and bade the
men disobey me, and not content with that sent
Edward Sidney to reveal the plot you had dis-
covered. What have you to say to these grave
charges ?””
“T do not deny them.” And the speaker’s
voice was firm, her manner dauntless,
“And you, Una, my only child, have turned
against your own father.”
The girl’s lip quivered, and every nerve thrill-
ed as she replied :
“Tlove you—would to God I could honor
you as a child should a parent. Three months
ago you told me you had abandoned your nefa-
rious calling, and my heart leaped at the thought
that I was no longer an outlaw’s daughter. Ed-
ward too rejoiced at the change, and now, now
you have again heaped shame upon us both—
youhave gone back to your old haunts and
companions, and alas, to your old habits. It is
terrible, terrible for me to live in direct opposi-
tion to you, but Heaven helping me I will stand
between you and your victims whenever I can.”
And she drew herself up, aud stood before him
with a sorrowful majesty that commanded his
respect. But the lion was aroused within him,
and grasping her arm fiercely, he muttered :
“Una, I am not wont to be thwarted. Beware
how you provoke me.”
“Unhand the girl!” cried a decp-toned voice,
and the next moment Edward Sidney stood be-
tween them, with an uplifted arm, and Marion
sprang forward, her hair dishevelled, her eyes _
gleaming with blended rage and tenderness.
“ Robert, how could you ?” were all the words
she uttered, but the accents and the look with
which they were spoken, were full of indigna-
tion and reproach.
Chagrined beyond measure, Robin Hood with-
drew, and not even the merriest of his band
could calla smile to his lip that day. Silent
and gloomy he roamed under the greenwood
trees ; deer went bounding by, but he never drew
his bow, and two or three of the hated ecclesias-
tics journeyed past unharmed. The shadows
of the gloaming were gathering about him, when
he saw a light form gliding along a wood-path—
it was Una. Her features worked convulsively,
her tears fell like summer rain, a8 she said to
herself:
“0, if I could but find my father !”
“Tam here,” said Robin Hood, rising and
stretching out his arms to her; the next mo-,
ment she lay sobbing on his breast.
“What ails thee, Una?” queried her father; *
“thon dost tremble like a scared starling.”
L
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