Her Ladyship

Book Description:

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER IV. Croesus Kites Relates a Fairy Tale. Night had drawn its sable curtain over the Shenandoah Valley, and maintain and lowland were wrapped in sombre blackness. A great mass of threatening clouds loomed up in the southwest, outlined against the darker sky, by the flashes of lightning that, ever and anon, gleamed out along the distant horizon. The wind came in sudden gusts up the streets of Greenwich Court House. The rickety shutters rasped and rattled on their hinges, and the signs swung to and fro, on their rusty fastenings, groaning and creaking. The moanings of the air, as it swept over the chimneys and around the corners, sounded like the waitings of lost souls, sobbing out their agony to the demons lurking in the black, haunted shadows of the night. In compliance with military orders, all lights in the town were extinguished, and people obliged to remain in-doors after nine o’clock. The streets were deserted, except by the few mounted guards, who patrolled the neighborhood of Federal head-quarters. Mischief, however was brewing in town, almost under the very eyes of its Yankee commandant. Major Atkins had retired to bed, but sleep had desertedhim, owing to the exciting events of the day. His mind was much disturbed, on account of his singular encounter with Miss Fairfax and Colonel Flournoy. Was he not to meet the colonel in mortal combat on the morrow ? What man can rest easy on the very eve of a duel? Besides, there were many complications in this case. His quarrel was with the kinsman of the woman he loved —could he harm one of her flesh and blood ? Supposing he should kill Flournoy—would she ever forgive him— would she ever love him afterward ? Still it seemed impossible to avoid the meeting. If he were killed, would she grieve for him ? Strange that s...