Helena: A Wife's Story [pp. 462-472]

Helena; A Wife's Story.
monstrous rent-roll-a princely pedigree —
a handsome person, and stately mannersI was no longer to refuse at discretion.
Lord Evesham insisted on a reason. I
could give none. He settled the matter:
I was engaged to the Duke of G. I
had not arranged the matter, but so it
was; and I could no more refuse my consent than the sovereign of a constitutionally governed country can refuse assent
to a bill for which nine-tenths of his subjects are clamoring. The Duke was, I
believe, the proudest man who ever lived.
My father cautioned me never to mention
to my affianced what had been told of my
history; and indeed the Duke's manner
little invited such confidence. He loved
me I think next to his family grandeur;
he spent much time with me; long mornings, when I was often weary as "Mariana" must have been in her "moated a
grange." He told me of the magnificence of his ancestors, of his vast possessessions, of the immense antiquity of the
family diamonds, which I should have the
inestimable honor to wear. In the evenings we were always out. He wore me
on his arm, as an appendage to his mighty
magnificence. He expected all to admire
and honor where he had deigned to throw
the handkerchief. The loveliest woman,
the fleetest horse, the richest furniture,
the m ost sumptuous table, w here his by
incontestible right. He was the Duke of
G. In saying that, one said all that
was necessary to establish his right to
the best the world affords. He adored
his rank and title, his consequence of
name and position, so much that I think
he would never have respected himself
again had he been pr ove d a changeling,
and no duke. This man was my betrothed. My evident coldness did not
vex him. He was cold himself. My respectful and distant manners were complimentary to his high birth. Even his
wife must not be too familiar with him.
He was too grand and too proud to display the knowledge he might have; a dignified silence was his most frequent behavior. To me he unbent, and told me of
the former Dukes of G -. I submitted
to my fate; I resigned myself to a dim,
moon-light kind of life, in which happi
ness was softened into absence of suffering, and love into toleratin on. A strong
flavor my existence was not to have. I
w as to be Duchess of G; co uld any
woman expect more? Alas! an hour
with Lorely and the flower-sprites, an
hour of sw e et quarrelling and sweeter reconciliation, was better th an a y ear o f
this tame, purposeless existence. But
Montagua adhee was dead! there w as no hope
to the contrary. I might as well be
Duches s of G, and pleas e my father;
for in that case- and he must b e dead-I
had no personal hope in life. Thus I debated, and submitted, and itt an wo re the gold -
en fetter s of the Duke o f G. He escorted me everywhere; he liked to have
his vassal near him. He forbade. me to
dance but with himself. I was for h im
only, and all the mu st see thato he was
master of the acknowledged beauty, Lady
Helena, who had refused so many excellent matches. The period of our return
to England was appointed, and the marriage day was fixed.
One morning he came to me, pale, and
for him unusu all y m oved. I asked him
gently what ailed him? He said th at he
hadhed heard a slander which vexed him beyond measure-it concerned myself! I
did not for the moment think of Montague; and I expressed surprise.
"I know it is false," he said, "your
father has told me in what strict retirement you were educated. But this fellow, a roue of the first water, declares that
you have clandestinely accepted his addresses-that he has your own handwriting to prove your love for him!"
" Good God, it is Montague!"
These words were wrung from me in a
moment, and almost without my consent.
I felt my blood recede from cheek and
lips: I was deadly cold, and, having
started from my seat, stood like a statue.
The Duke of G was petrified into a
moment's silence. Then he exclaimed in
a voice whose accent of wounded pride I
shall never forget-" You know him, then
madam; and I am the victim of a base
deception?"
I recalled my scattered senses, and asked
the name of the person who had thus
openly mentioned mle. It was he, and my
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