The pale rays of the little lantern fell upon her beautiful face, snugly
and neatly bound in by her black bonnet; but not a beam of the lantern
leaked out into the night to suggest to any watchful eye that human life
at its highest excitement was beating within the dark and isolated tower;
for the dome had no windows, and every shutter that afforded an opening
for the telescope was hermetically closed. Predilections and misgivings
so equally strove within her still youthful breast that she could not
utter a word; her intention wheeled this way and that like the balance of
a watch. His unexpected proposition had brought about the smartest
encounter of inclination with prudence, of impulse with reserve, that she
had ever known.
Of all the reasons that she had expected him to give for his urgent
request to see her this evening, an offer of marriage was probably the
last. Whether or not she had ever amused herself with hypothetical
fancies on such a subject,--and it was only natural that she should
vaguely have done so,--the courage in her protege coolly to advance it,
without a hint from herself that such a proposal would be tolerated,
showed her that there was more in his character than she had reckoned on:
and the discovery almost frightened her. The humour, attitude, and tenor
of her attachment had been of quite an unpremeditated quality,
unsuggestive of any such audacious solution to their distresses as this.
'I repeat my question, dearest,' he said, after her long pause. 'Shall
it be done? Or shall I exile myself, and study as best I can, in some
distant country, out of sight and sound?' 'Are those the only alternatives? Yes, yes; I suppose they are!' She waited yet another moment, bent over his kneeling figure, and kissed his
forehead. 'Yes; it shall be done,' she whispered. 'I will marry you.' 'My angel, I am content!' He drew her yielding form to his heart, and her head sank upon his
shoulder, as he pressed his two lips continuously upon hers. To such had
the study of celestial physics brought them in the space of eight months,
one week, and a few odd days.
'I am weaker than you,--far the weaker,' she went on, her tears falling.
'Rather than lose you out of my sight I will marry without stipulation or
condition. But--I put it to your kindness--grant me one little request.' He instantly assented.
'It is that, in consideration of my peculiar position in this county,--O,
you can't understand it!--you will not put an end to the absolute secrecy
of our relationship without my full assent. Also, that you will never
come to Welland House without first discussing with me the advisability
of the visit, accepting my opinion on the point. There, see how a timid
woman tries to fence herself in!' 'My dear lady-love, neither of those two high-handed courses should I have taken, even had you not stipulated against them. The very essence
of our marriage plan is that those two conditions are kept. I see as
well as you do, even more than you do, how important it is that for the
present,--ay, for a long time hence--I should still be but the curate's
lonely son, unattached to anybody or anything, with no object of interest
but his science; and you the recluse lady of the manor, to whom he is
only an acquaintance.' 'See what deceits love sows in honest minds!' 'It would be a humiliation to you at present that I could not bear if a marriage between us were made public; an inconvenience without any compensating advantage.' 'I am so glad you assume it without my setting it before you! Now I know you are not only good and true, but politic and trustworthy.' 'Well, then, here is our covenant. My lady swears to marry me; I, in return for such great courtesy, swear never to compromise her by intruding at Welland House, and to keep the marriage concealed till I
have won a position worthy of her.' 'Or till I request it to be made known,' she added, possibly foreseeing a contingency which had not occurred to him.