Hope Leslie: Or, Early Times in the Massachusetts by Catharine Maria Sedgwick

Author:Catharine Maria Sedgwick [Sedgwick, Catharine Maria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Classics, Literary
ISBN: 9781101576083
Google: THL5ngEACAAJ
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 1998-11-01T04:00:00+00:00

VOLUME II

CHAPTER I

“There’s nothing I have done yet o’ my conscience,

Deserves a corner: would all other women

Could speak this with as free a soul as I do.”

HENRY VIII1

While Hope Leslie was deeply engaged in the object of her secret expedition, Governor Winthrop’s household was thrown into alarm at her absence.

Jennet was the only member of the family who did not admit that there was real cause of uneasiness. “Miss Hope,” she said, “was always like a crazed body of moonlight nights; there was never any keeping her within the four walls of a house.”

But a moonlight night it soon ceased to be. The clouds that had been scudding over the heavens, gathered in dark and terrific masses. A spring storm ensued; a storm to which winter and summer contribute all their elemental power-rain, lightning, wind, and hail.

Governor Winthrop naturally concluded, (for all persons not deeply interested are apt to be rational,) that Miss Leslie had taken refuge under some safe covert, and he summoned his family to their evening devotions. Both the Fletchers excused themselves, and braved the storm in quest of their lost treasure; and even old Cradock, in spite of Mrs. Grafton’s repeated suggestions that he was a very useless person for such an enterprise, sallied forth; but all returned in the space of an hour to bring their various reports of fruitless inquiry and search. Everell remained but long enough to learn that there were no tidings of Hope, and was again rushing out of the house, when he met the object of his apprehensions at the hall door. “Thank heaven!”he exclaimed, on seeing her, “you are safe. Where have you been?-we were all in the most distressful alarm about you.”

Hope had, by this time, advanced far enough into the entry for Everell to perceive, by the light of the lantern, that she was muffled in Sir Philip Gardiner’s cloak. His face had kindled with joy at her appearance; all light now vanished from it, and he stood eyeing Hope with glances that spoke, though his lips refused again to move; while she, without observing or suspecting his emotion, did not reply to him, and was only intent on disengaging herself from the cloak. “Do help me, Everell,” she said, impatiently; and he endeavoured to untie the string that fastened it, but in his agitation, instead of untying, he doubled the knot.

“Oh, worse and worse!”she exclaimed, and, without any farther ceremony, she broke the string and running back to the door, gave the cloak to Sir Philip, who stood awaiting it, till then unperceived by Everell, in the shadows of the portico.

Everell again looked at Miss Leslie in the natural expectation of some explanation, but she appeared only concerned to escape to her own apartment without any inquiries from the family. Her face was extremely pale; and her voice, still affected by recent agitation, trembled as she said to Everell, “be kind enough to tell your father, and all of them, that I have come in drenched

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