Saraband for Two Sisters

“You will not,” answered my sister, “because you are not like our mother. »

“I mean I shall have a husband who thinks I am as young and beautiful after thirty years of marriage as I was on the day he first saw me.”

“You are not going to marry a blind man?”

“You know what I mean. Father thinks that of our mother.”

“There are not many like them.”

Sadly I agreed with her.

“Mind you, it would be dull if they were. I want my marriage to be different from that. Theirs is hardly exciting.”

“I don’t think anyone could ever have a more exciting moment than our mother when she hears his ship is sighted.”

“It would greatly depend on what excitement meant to you,” Bersaba pointed out “Oh, you can never accept things as they are. You always have to probe and dig about and spoil them.”

“I like to know the truth,” observed my sister. “I wonder what’s happening at Castle Paling?”

“It’s odd that we haven’t heard.”

“Do you think they will be asked here?”

“Not until Father goes. He clearly didn’t like Senara. She tried to stop his marrying our mother. She was jealous. She didn’t want anything to come between her and our mother. She loved her so.”

“I’ll suggest that she wanted to be the one to marry first.»

“It must have been exciting then. I wish we could read our mother’s journal. It will be all about Senara and her mother and grandfather when he was young. Have you started writing, Bersaba?”

“No,” said Bersaba shortly.

“Are you going to?”

“When I’ve something that’s exciting enough to put down.”

‘Well, don’t you reckon Senara’s return with Carlotta is?”

“It remains to be seen.” She hesitated. Then she said, “Til tell you something. I swear someone from Paling will be over soon. »

“Who’s coming over from Paling Castle then?” She smiled secretly. “Bastian perhaps,” she said.

It was not Bastian who came. It was Senara and her daughter. I wondered if they knew that my father was absent Senara cried, “So your mother is not here-“ We told her she had gone with our father to Plymouth.

“Who is in charge?” asked Senara.

“My brother Fennimore,” I answered. “And Bersaba and I are the hostesses. »

“It’s nice of you to welcome us,” said Carlotta with a sly smile, reminding us that we had done nothing of the sort.

Bersaba told them that Fennimore was out on the estate and we hastily ordered the grooms to take the horses while we brought them into the hall. “It’s a lovely old place,” said Senara. “I always thought so. The Castle k so much grimmer.”

“But grander,” added Carlotta.

“Our mother will be so sorry not to be here,” said Bersaba.

I could not imagine my mother’s being in the least sorry while she was with my father. In fact I thought she would be rather pleased not to be here since he would not want these visitors.

“We’ll have a room made ready,” I said and went away to give orders. When I came back Bersaba was taking the visitors into the intimate parlor and one of the maids had brought the wine and cakes with which we always refreshed travelers on their arrival.

“I was surprised,” Senara was saying, “that your mother did not insist on our coming before.”

“It was because our father was home,” Bersaba was explaining. “When he comes they have so much to talk of because he has been away so long. They just have to be together. It has always been like that.”

“Your mother fell in love with him when she was nothing but a girl ... younger than you are,” said Senara.

“And she stayed in love with him ever since,” I said defiantly as though there was need to defend her.

“We were not all destined to find such happiness in married life, alas,” commented Senara. She smiled at Carlotta and went on: “Let us tell the twins your news. I suppose I should be right to wait until your mother returns. She should be the first to know. But I can see you are all agog with curiosity.”

‘What news is it?” asked Bersaba.

“Carlotta has already had a proposal of marriage.”

“Already ... but from whom?” My mind went over the people we knew. The Krolls, the Trents, the Lamptons. Surely one of those young men would not be considered good enough by Carlotta, who had gone to great pain to make us aware of her almost royal lineage.

“She has to consider it, have you not, Carlotta? It is not the match she would have expected had she stayed in Spain, but it will bind the families closer and I have never forgotten all through my life the days I spent there in my childhood.” ‘Who is it?” asked Bersaba almost sharply.

“It is your cousin Bastian. He has asked Carlotta’s hand in marriage.” Because I am close to Bersaba I felt the shock which ran through her. It numbed me as it numbed her.

I began to talk rapidly to save her the necessity of doing so. I said, “So soon?

How can you be sure? How can Bastian? What do Uncle Connell and Aunt Melanie say? »

“They say it is a matter for Bastian to decide. He is of age. He is his own master and there is no doubt how strongly he is involved. Is that not so, Carlotta? »

“He is determined to marry me.”

“And you to marry him?” I asked faintly.