Mr. Middleton, who was present, muttered: "Yes, cursed be the one who made
her so!" He knew not that he cursed his own child.
The next day Mr. William Middleton arrived, bringing the intelligence that
Florence and Mabel had accompanied him, and would next evening be present
at the wedding. Slowly the last rays of a bright October sun faded in the
west, giving no sign of the stormy day which was to succeed. Long after
midnight a lone watcher sat by the window in Fanny's room, gazing at the
stars, which looked so quietly on from their distant homes, and praying,
not for herself, but for Dr. Lacey, that he might be happy with her he had
chosen. At last, chilled with the night air, she crept shivering to her
pillow, nor woke again until aroused by the fierce moaning of the autumn
wind, which shook the casement, and by the sound of the driving rain which
beat against the pane. Yes, the morning which dawned on Julia's bridal day
was wild and stormy, but before noon the clouds cleared away and the
afternoon was dry, hot and oppressive, a precursor to the mightier and
more wrathful storm which followed.
About five o'clock there was a noise in the yard, and Kate, who was in
Fanny's room, arranging her young friend's hair, looked from the window
and said, "It is Dr. Lacey. Julia has looked for him for more than three
hours."
Quickly Fanny hurried to the window. She could not meet Dr. Lacey face to
face, but she wished to look at him once more. She was too late, however.
He had entered the house, and soon the sound of his voice reached her ear.
He had not been there long ere he asked for Fanny.
On being told she was sick, he seemed rather disturbed. Possibly, however,
he felt relieved to know she would not be present when he took upon him
vows which should have been breathed to her. Ashton, Florence and Mabel
now arrived, and soon after came Mr. and Mrs. Stanton, accompanied by Mrs.
Carrington, who had been invited because it would not do to slight her,
and who came because she had a mind to!
The ceremony was to take place at seven o'clock, and guests each moment
arrived, until the parlor seemed almost full. Alone in her chamber sat
Fanny, listening to the sounds of mirth, which grated on her ear. Night,
dark and stormy, was gathering over the earth, but a darker night lay
round the heart of the young girl, as she watched from her pillow a dense,
black pile of clouds, which had appeared in the west, and now increased
until the whole sky was overspread, as with a pall of darkness, while
distant peals of muttered thunder announced the coming storm.