CHAPTER II.
_In Which Captain Armine Achieves with Rapidity a Result Which Always Requires Great Deliberation_.
It so happened that the regiment in which Captain Armine had the honourof commanding a company was at this time under orders of immediaterecall to England; and within a month of his receipt of the fatalintelligence of his being, as he styled it, disinherited, he was on hisway to his native land, This speedy departure was fortunate, becauseit permitted him to retire before the death of Lord Grandison becamegenerally known, and consequently commented upon and enquired into.Previous to quitting the garrison, Ferdinand had settled his affairs forthe time without the slightest difficulty, as he was still able to raiseany money that he required.
On arriving at Falmouth, Ferdinand learnt that his father and motherwere at Bath, on a visit to his maiden aunt, Miss Grandison, with whomhis cousin now resided. As the regiment was quartered at Exeter, he wasenabled in a very few days to obtain leave of absence and join them. Inthe first rapture of meeting all disappointment was forgotten, and inthe course of a day or two, when this sentiment had somewhat subsided,Ferdinand perceived that the shock which his parents must havenecessarily experienced was already considerably softened bythe prospect in which they secretly indulged, and which variouscircumstances combined in inducing them to believe was by no means avisionary one.
His cousin Katherine was about his own age; mild, elegant, and pretty.Being fair, she looked extremely well in her deep mourning. She wasnot remarkable for the liveliness of her mind, yet not devoid ofobservation, although easily influenced by those whom she loved, andwith whom she lived. Her maiden aunt evidently exercised a powerfulcontrol over her conduct and opinions; and Lady Armine was a favouritesister of this maiden aunt. Without, therefore, apparently directingher will, there was no lack of effort from this quarter to predisposeKatherine in favour of her cousin. She heard so much of her cousinFerdinand, of his beauty, and his goodness, and his accomplishments,that she had looked forward to his arrival with feelings of no ordinaryinterest. And, indeed, if the opinions and sentiments of those withwhom she lived could influence, there was no need of any artifice topredispose her in favour of her cousin. Sir Ratcliffe and Lady Arminewere wrapped up in their son. They seemed scarcely to have another idea,feeling, or thought in the world, but his existence and his felicity;and although their good sense had ever preserved them from the sillyhabit of uttering his panegyric in his presence, they amply compensatedfor this painful restraint when he was away. Then he was ever,the handsomest, the cleverest, the most accomplished, and the mostkind-hearted and virtuous of his sex. Fortunate the parents blessed withsuch a son! thrice fortunate the wife blessed with such a husband!
It was therefore with no ordinary emotion that Katherine Grandison heardthat this perfect cousin Ferdinand had at length arrived. She had seenlittle of him even in his boyish days, and even then he was rather ahero in their Lilliputian circle.
Ferdinand Armine was always looked up to at Grandison, and always spokenof by her grandfather as a very fine fellow indeed; a wonderfullyfine fellow, his favourite grandson, Ferdinand Armine: and now he hadarrived. His knock was heard at the door, his step was on the stairs,the door opened, and certainly his first appearance did not disappointhis cousin Kate. So handsome, so easy, so gentle, and so cordial; theywere all the best friends in a moment. Then he embraced his father withsuch fervour, and kissed his mother with such fondness: it was evidentthat he had an excellent heart. His arrival indeed, was a revolution.Their mourning days seemed at once to disappear; and although they ofcourse entered society very little, and never frequented any publicamusement, it seemed to Katherine that all of a sudden she lived in around of delightful gaiety. Ferdinand was so amusing and soaccomplished! He sang with her, he played with her; he was alwaysprojecting long summer rides and long summer walks. Then hisconversation was so different from everything to which she had everlistened. He had seen so many things and so many persons; everythingthat was strange, and everybody that was famous. His opinions were sooriginal, his illustrations so apt and lively, his anecdotes soinexhaustible and sparkling! Poor inexperienced, innocent Katherine! Hercousin in four-and-twenty hours found it quite impossible to fall inlove with her; and so he determined to make her fall in love with him.He quite succeeded. She adored him. She did not believe that there wasanyone in the world so handsome, so good, and so clever. No one, indeed,who knew Ferdinand Armine could deny that he was a rare being; but, hadthere been any acute and unprejudiced observers who had known him in hisyounger and happier hours, they would perhaps have remarked somedifference in his character and conduct, and not a favourable one. Hewas indeed more brilliant, but not quite so interesting as in old days;far more dazzling, but not quite so apt to charm. No one could deny hislively talents and his perfect breeding, but there was a restlessnessabout him, an excited and exaggerated style, which might have made somesuspect that his demeanour was an effort, and that under a superficialglitter, by which so many are deceived, there was no little deficiencyof the genuine and sincere. Katherine Grandison, however, was not one ofthose profound observers. She was easily captivated. Ferdinand, whoreally did not feel sufficient emotion to venture upon a scene, made hisproposals to her when they were riding in a green lane: the sun justsetting, and the evening star glittering through a vista. The ladyblushed, and wept, and sobbed, and hid her fair and streaming face; butthe result was as satisfactory as our hero could desire. The youngequestrians kept their friends in the crescent at least two hours fordinner, and then had no appetite for the repast when they had arrived.
Nevertheless the maiden aunt, although a very particular personage, madethis day no complaint, and was evidently far from being dissatisfiedwith anybody or anything. As for Ferdinand, he called for a tumbler ofchampagne, and secretly drank his own health, as the luckiest fellow ofhis acquaintance, with a pretty, amiable, and high-bred wife, with allhis debts paid, and the house of Armine restored.