cis
of his intentions scrupulously to fulfil the last will of the
deceased. Francis was to receive from the estates an annuity of three
thousand pounds for the term of her natural life.

"Ought I to accept it, Leopold?" she demanded.

"My opinion is you cannot refuse it, Francis. Your greatest desire
has always been to have an independence; and here it is offered you
by the hand of a friend."

"You are right, Leopold; I shall follow your advice and accept it. Now
I shall not be forced to marry any one; and if I should choose a
husband, he cannot suspect me of having done so for the sake of his
money. Shall I be rich enough to buy back the Werve?"

"No, Francis; the Werve is in the possession of one who will not
sell it for money. If you still desire to become Baroness de Werve,
you must take another resolution."

"Leopold," she said, rising, "you say that independence has always been
my chief desire. It is possible; but now I understand that my greatest
happiness is to be dependent on the man I love. Leo, Aunt Roselaer has
left me an annuity which I decline to accept, as a matter of course;
but her intentions towards me were kindly, and I will follow her
advice. She has forbidden me to marry without your consent."

Then with an indefinable mixture of grace, confusion, and malice,
she sank down on her knees before me, and said--

"Leo, I wish to marry my Cousin van Zonshoven; have you any
objections?"

"Heaven forbid! I have no objections!"

And with what rapture did I raise her, and clasp her to my breast,
where she shed many tears, whilst my own eyes were not dry. We had
loved so much, and suffered so much for each other.

What can I tell you more, dear William? We walked out in the grounds,
and again visited all the places which had become endeared to us
by our former walks. We made all sorts of plans for the future. We
wrote letters to Van Beek and the other men of the law, informing
them in a grave tone that all the bills would be paid at maturity,
or on presentation.

The fact that Francis was in mourning for the General served us
as a pretext for being married privately, and in as quiet a manner
as possible, an arrangement in accordance with both our wishes. An
old college friend of mine, vicar in a small town near the Werve,
married us.

Little Harry Blount is already confided to the care of the farmers
Pauwelsens. His mother has perfectly recovered, and will one of these
days, we trust, marr