CHAPTER VII

JULIA'S PLOT TO BREAK FANNY'S ENGAGEMENT

Our readers will not be sorry, if after a chapter of sadness and death, we
turn to a more joyous one, and tell them of the bridal of Kate Wilmot and
Mr. Miller. Kate wished to defer it a few months, on account of the recent
death of her brother, but her lover urged his claim so strongly that she
at last yielded, and their marriage took place on Christmas eve. Mr. W----,
one of the wealthiest men in Frankfort, very kindly offered to give Kate a
splendid wedding party, but she politely declined his generous offer, as
she did not feel like entering into such a scene of gayety as would
necessarily attend a large party.

A few of her most intimate friends assembled in Mrs. Crane's parlor, and
thence proceeded to the church, which was crowded with anxious spectators,
many of whom almost envied Mr. Miller his beautiful bride, while others
envied her the fine-looking man who stood there as the bridegroom, and all
were unanimous in pronouncing it an excellent match. Kate's happiness on
this occasion was not unmingled with sadness, for her thoughts went back
to the time when, with a heart bursting with anguish, she had first
entered that church and passed up its broad aisle until she reached the
side of her darling brother, who lay shrouded in his coffin.

Now the scene was changed; she was there as the happy bride of one to whom
she had given the undivided affection of her heart, and as the solemn
words were uttered which made her his forever, she felt that her brother's
spirit hovered near, to bless her union with one who had ever been his
true friend. So she requested that Fanny should be her bridesmaid, and the
young girl now stood at the altar, with her bright face beaming with
happiness, for Dr. Lacey, who was by her side, had, the night before, told
her all his love, and had won from her a promise that at some future time
she would be his. He told her that he would speak to her father the next
evening.

Accordingly, after the wedding party had returned to Mrs. Crane's, he
invited Mr. Middleton to go with him for a few minutes to his room. Fanny
was sure of her father's consent, but she could not help feeling nervous
when she saw him leave the parlor, accompanied by Dr. Lacey. A few moments
after, she observed that Julia also was missing, and she trembled lest she
might have suspected something and gone to listen.

Nor was she mi