Vellenaux A Novel by Edmund William Forrest (phonics reading books TXT) π
Sending A Flood Of Soft, Mellow Rainbow Tinted Light Through The
Quaintly Curved And Deeply Mullioned Windows Which Adorned A Portion Of
The Eastern Wing Of That Grand Old Baronial Residence, Vellenaux, On A
Fine September Morning, At The Period During Which Our Story Opens. This
Handsome Pile, Now The Property Of Sir Jasper Coleman, Had Been Erected
By One Of His Ancestors, Reginald De Coleman, During The Reign Of The
Fifth Henry.
This Gallant Knight Had Rendered That Monarch Great Service During His
Wars In France, Especially At Agincourt, Where His Skill And Bravery Was
So Conspicuous, And Used To So Great Advantage, That King Henry, On His
Return To England, Rewarded His Faithful Follower With A Grant Of Land
In Devonshire, On Which He Was Enabled, With The Spoils He Had Acquired
And The Ransoms Received From His French Prisoners Of Note, To Erect A
Magnificent Chateaux, Which He Called Vellenaux, After Francois, Count
De Vellenaux, A French Noble, Whose Ransom Contributed Largely To Its
Construction. Here He Continued To Reside Until His Death, Which
Occurred Several Years After.
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- Author: Edmund William Forrest
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Down, And The Three Gentlemen Returned To Their Homes In Hammersmith,
Each Twenty Guineas Richer Than When He Had Left It In The Morning.
Now, Although There Was No One To Contest The Will, Yet There Were
Certain Legal Technicalities And Forms To Be Gone Through Before Edith
Could Take Formal Possession Of Vellenaux, Besides These Same Lawyers
Had Been Empowered To Draw Up The Marriage Contract, Settlements, Etc.,
Between Her And Arthur, The Doing Of Which Would Take A Considerable
Time, Much Longer Perhaps Than The Ardent Lover Might Think Necessary.
Edith Would Not Hear Of Her Dear Arthur Remaining In The Service After
Their Marriage; So Arrangements Were Made For The Selling Of His
Commission; This Sum, Together With The Amount Bequeathed To Him By The
Late Sir Jasper, Would Put Him In Possession Of Seven Thousand Pounds.
It Was Planned That The Wedding Should Take Place At The Old Fashioned
Church At Vellenaux. There Was To Be No Wedding Tour, But The Bridal
Party And A Large Number Of Friends Were To Proceed To Castle Audly, The
Seat Of Lord De Belton, Who Had Served In Arthur's Regiment, And Had
Been Intimately Acquainted With Him For A Few Years In India. Castle
Audly Was A Very Ancient And Romantic Pile, And Quite The Show Place Of
The Country, Here There Was To Be A Magnificent _Fete Champetre,
Dejeuner A La Fourchette_, With Archery And Other Amusements Provided By
The Noble Owner; The Whole Party Were To Return And Dine At Vellenaux,
And Wind Up The Entertainment By A Grand Ball At Night.
"Of Course, My Dear Carlton," Said Horace Barton To That Young Gentleman
One Afternoon While Lounging In The Drawing Room In Berkly Square
Waiting To Attend The Fair Edith In A Canter Through Hyde Park, "Of
Course You Will Stand For The County At The Next General Election? Sir
Sampson French, Who Is Too Old To Again Take Office, Will, I Am Certain,
Retire In Your Favour, If You Will Only Come Forward As A Candidate; You
Have Plenty Of Friends And Admirers In And Around Vellenaux To Ensure
Chapter 18 Pg 118Society Cannot Afford To Remain Idle At Such A Time, Though He May Have
A Rich Wife To Back Him."
"I Should Like To Get Into Parliament Above All Things, And Certainly
Shall Endeavour So To Do, Providing Edith Gives Her Consent, And The
Good Folks Of The County Will Give Me Their Support," Was Arthur's Reply
As The Lady Of His Love Made Her Appearance Equipped For The Ride.
It Had Been The Intention Of The Bartons, To Return To Devonshire
Immediately After, The Ball In Berkly Square, But The Sudden Appearance
Of Captain Carlton With The Startling Announcement Of The Accidental
Death Of Sir Ralph Coleman And The Disclosures Made By The Unhappy Man
Ere He Breathed His Last, Caused Them To Put Off Their Intended
Departure For Some Weeks, Until Matters Were _En Train_ For Establishing
The Validity Of Edith's Claim To The Estate Of Her Late Uncle.
Aunt Cotterell And Her Good Humored Husband Had, Without The Knowledge Of
Any Of Their Friends, Built A Handsome House On The Bank Of The Brook
Which Ran Between Tom Bartons And The Rectory; Besides This, Mrs.
Ashburnham Had Confidently Whispered To Cousin Kate That Her Dear
William Was About To Give Up His Practice Which, For The Last Fifteen
Years, He Had Labored At So Assiduously And Successfully, And That He
Was Now Actually Arranging For The Purchase Of That Very Pretty Villa
And Grounds Just Beyond The Willows, As Its Owner, Sir Edmund Wildacres
Had, By Racing And Other Gambling Proclivities, Managed To Run Through
And Overdraw His Cash Account At His Bankers, So That His Landed
Property Had To Come To The Hammer, And, The Young Spendthrift Was About
To Retire To Some Cheap Continental Watering Place Until Some Of His
Antiquated Relatives Should Be Condescending Enough To Shuffle Off This
Mortal Coil And Resign Their Purses And Property To His Careful
Control. And With Edith And Arthur Settled At Vellenaux, There Would Be
Formed At Once A Happy Circle, Bound Together By Ties Of Family
Affection And Disinterested Friendship, And With Such Supporters As
These To Canvass His Cause, Arthur's Return, As County Member, Might Be
Looked Upon As Amounting Almost To A Certainty.
The Lovers Did Not Fail To Take Advantage Of The Extension Of Time To Be
Spent In The Great Metropolis, And Balls Parties, Operas, And Galleries
Of The Arts And Sciences, Exhibitions Of Pictures And Such Other
Amusements As Best Suited The Tastes And Inclinations Of These Two, For
The Time Being, Devoted Votaries Of Pleasures, Were Visited. There Was
Another Most Important Matter That Had To Be Attended To, And This Was
One That Entailed Numberless Visits To And From Madam Carsand's In Bond
Street, Store & Martimer's, Waterloo Place, And Other Fashionable
Emporiums, Where The Numerous Articles, Indispensable To The Trousseau
And Toilette Of A Young And Beautiful Heiress.
It Will Be Remembered That In The Search For The Begum Of Runjetpoora,
Carlton Had Brought Away With Him In His Sabretache A Small Steel Casket
As A Trophy; After His Return From The Fort, And While Dressing For
Mess, He Remembered This Circumstance, And Was About To Open And Examine
The Casket And Had Already Taken It In His Hand For That Purpose, When
Footsteps Were Heard Approaching The Tent, And Not Wishing Others, To
Chapter 18 Pg 119See His Little Prize He Carelessly Tossed It Into An Open Trunk, Among
His Wearing Apparel, Where It Remained Undisturbed Until After His
Arrival In England, When, In Looking Over His Wardrobe He Came Across
The Identical Casket Which Had Lain There So Long And By Him Quite
Forgotten. Unable Without The Key To Open It Himself, He Sent For A
Locksmith, Who, In A Very Short Time Caused The Lid To Spring Open,
When, To Arthur's Surprise And Delight It Was Found To Contain A Number
Of Precious Stones Of Great Value, In Fact It Was The Begum's Jewel
Case, Containing Diamonds Of The First Water, Rubies Of Unusual Size,
And Pearls Of Great Price, Which, On Being Taken To A Jeweler, Proved To
Be Worth, Somewhere About Ten Thousand Pounds. Arthur, Although By No
Means A Man Of Business Habits, Knew Enough To Convince Him That This
Sum, Together With The Five Thousand Pounds Left Him By Sir Jasper
Coleman, With What Might Be Realized By The Sale Of His Commission, If
Properly Invested, Would Secure To Him An Income Of Not Less Than Twelve
Hundred A Year, A Very Pretty Sum For A Man To Have Of His Own For
Pocket Money, Although His Wife Should Happen To Possess Twenty Thousand
A Year. He Determined To Carry Out This Arrangement As Soon As Any
Suitable Opportunity For So Doing Came To His Knowledge, But With The
Exception Of Draycott He Told No One Of The Begum's Jewels, Or His
Intentions Concerning Their Disposal.
Chapter 19 Pg 120
The Happy, Light Dragoon, In Order To Be Near The Lady Of His Love, Had
Taken Up His Quarters At Harold's Hotel, In Albermarle Street, A Very
Quiet, But Aristocratic Place, Leading Into Picadilly. Beyond The
Bartons And Their Family Circle, He Had Few Intimate Friends, In Fact,
Except Draycott, The Surgeon Of His Regiment, With Whom He Had Been On
The Most Intimate Terms For Years In India, And To Whom He Revealed All
His Joys And Sorrows, There Was Not One Male Friend He Cared A Jot For
In London; Of Course The Men Of His Club, And Those He Had Met Abroad,
Who, Like Himself, Were Now Home On Leave, Dropped In Upon Him
Occasionally At His Rooms; But His Constant Visitor And Companion In His
Peregrinations Through The Labyrinths Of The Great Babylon During The
Height Of A London Season, Was Draycott: He Was Young, Clever, High
Principled, Thoroughly Good Natured, And Of An Old County Family. He Had
But Once Only Paid A Flying Visit To The Metropolis Previous To Joining
His Regiment In India, And Now Having A Few Pounds To Spare, Was
Determined To Enjoy Himself In The Gay Capital To His Heart's Content,
And Whenever Practicable, Induced Arthur To Give Him His Society.
Chapter 19 Pg 121They Had Been Breakfasting Together, One Morning In The Latter's
Apartment, And Were Discussing Numerous Scenes And Things At Home And
Abroad In Which They Had Both Participated; Nor Was Arthur's
Approaching Marriage With Edith Effingham, And His Idea Of Leaving The
Service, Left Uncommented Upon By His Old Friend.
"Well," Remarked Draycott, With A Gay, Good Natured Laugh, "After Your
Adventures And Hair-Breadth Escapes, Together With Your Great Good Luck
In Winning The Beautiful Heiress, It Would Not Surprise Me In The Least
If Some Old Fairy Godmother Dropped From The Clouds And Transformed You
Into A Gallant Young Prince Of Some Beautiful Isle Of The Sea, Yielding
Untold Wealth, Like The Isle Of The Famous Count De Monte Cristo." Here
The Conversation Was Interrupted By The Entrance Of The Waiter, Who
Handed Arthur A Card, Which Announced That A Mr. A.G. Capias, Of The
Firm Of Docket & Capias, Solicitors, Bedford Row, Desired To Speak With
Him On Business Of A Private Character.
"More Parchment And Red Tape Work Cut Out For You To-Day," Remarked The
Surgeon, "So I Am Off, But Will Drop In Later In The Day."
"Now, My Good Fellow, Oblige Me By Remaining Where You Are Until This
Matter--Be It What It May--Is Disposed Of, And I Will Then Stroll Out
With You," Said Carlton. Then, Turning To The Waiter, Said, "Show The
Gentleman Up At Once." The Obsequious Attendant Bowed And Withdrew.
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