ult, she could not acquit herself of having
been too often unconsciously instrumental in forwarding a very
different conclusion than that for which she had laboured. This
conviction preyed upon the mother, and the slightest evidence of
reaction in Venetia's tranquilised demeanour occasioned her the utmost
remorse and grief. The absence of George made both Lady Annabel and
Venetia still more finely appreciate the solace of his society. Left
to themselves, they felt how much they had depended on his vigilant
and considerate attention, and how much his sweet temper and his
unfailing sympathy had contributed to their consolation. He wrote,
however, to Venetia by every post, and his letters, if possible,
endeared him still more to their hearts. Unwilling to dwell upon
their mutual sorrows, yet always expressing sufficient to prove that
distance and absence had not impaired his sympathy, he contrived, with
infinite delicacy, even to amuse their solitude with the adventures of
his life of bustle. The arrival of the post was the incident of the
day; and not merely letters arrived; one day brought books, another
music; continually some fresh token of his thought and affection
reached them. He was, however, only a fortnight absent; but when he
returned, it was to Cadurcis. He called upon them the next day, and
indeed every morning found him at Cherbury; but he returned to his
home at night; and so, without an effort, from their guest he had
become their neighbour.

Plantagenet had left the whole of his property to his cousin: his
mother's fortune, which, as an accessory fund, was not inconsiderable,
besides the estate. And George intended to devote a portion of this to
the restoration of the abbey. Venetia was to be his counsellor in this
operation, and therefore there were ample sources of amusement for the
remainder of the year. On a high ridge, which was one of the beacons
of the county, and which, moreover, marked the junction of the domains
of Cherbury and Cadurcis, it was his intention to raise a monument to
the united memories of Marmion Herbert and Plantagenet Lord Cadurcis.
He brought down a design with him from London, and this was the
project which he had previously whispered to Venetia. With George for
her companion, too, Venetia was induced to resume her rides. It was
her part to make him acquainted with the county in which he was so
important a resident. Time therefore, at Cherbury, on the whole,
flowed on in a tid