My uncle having concluded thus, it only remained for me to signify my
compliance with his wishes. As you may well understand, I awaited with
impatience the hour for this first interview, and I was in the
drawing-room that evening some time before my fiancée's arrival. My
aunt was in the heaven of delight, just like every woman looking forward
to a romantic incident, and she did not fail to remark my eagerness. As
to the captain, like a being superior to such sentimental trifles, he
was quietly reading his paper. He was just commencing a political
discussion when the servant opened the folding doors and announced: "Madame Saulnier and Mademoiselle Campbell."
To tell the truth, I must admit that I felt somewhat nervous. A lady of
about forty years old came in, accompanied by a young person in a
regulation convent dress. I stood up, while my uncle went forward to
meet his god-daughter, and kissed her affectionately on the forehead.
Then he led me to her by the hand, in a dignified and ceremonious
manner, and said without more ado: "Anna, this is André! André, this is Anna! Kiss each other!"
This form of introduction, with its laconic precision, had at least the
advantage that it left no uncertainty between us, and at once indicated
to us our proper course of procedure. Too well trained to my uncle's
habits, I did not hesitate a moment, but kissed my betrothed; after
which I said, "How do you do?" which, of course, gave me a nice
opportunity of looking at her.
Anna Campbell is at the present time just seventeen. She is neither
short nor tall, thin nor stout--although the great blue ribbon which she
wears over her neck, with a cross suspended from it, already sets off
the plump outlines of her bosom. She is neither fair nor dark; her chin
is round, her face oval, her nose, mouth, and forehead are all
medium-sized, and she has rather pretty blue eyes. Generally speaking,
she is more pleasant-looking than handsome, and her features on the
whole suggest a very gentle disposition united with good health. My
uncle took care to impress upon me that she will continue to develop,
since her feet and hands are still large for her age, and promise a
handsome completion of her growth.
In short, my lot is far from a disagreeable one--quite the contrary. As
my uncle expresses it, "All the symptoms are good."
Our dinner was a very lively one. Anna Campbell, although rather subdued
in my presence, did not show any embarrassment. Nothing seemed to be new
to her; her manners and deportment, and everything about her, revealed
the familiar assurance of a child of the family who had come to take a
holiday there, and felt herself as much at home as I did. I perceived
that she knew the house as well as if she had been brought up in it, and
I learnt that during the time when I was at college she and Madame
Saulnier had really lived there for three years.