indulged in a vague hope of returning to England.
But Herbert could only have found himself again in
his native country as a prisoner on parole. It
would have been quite impossible for him to mix in
the civil business of his native land, or enjoy any
of the rights of citizenship. If a mild sovereign
in his mercy had indeed accorded him a pardon, it
must have been accompanied with rigorous and mortifying
conditions; and his presence, in all probability, would
have been confined to his country residence and its
immediate neighbourhood. The pride of Lady Annabel
herself recoiled from this sufferance; and although
Herbert, keenly conscious of the sacrifice which a
permanent estrangement from England entailed upon his
wife and child, would have submitted to any restrictions,
however humiliating, provided they were not inconsistent
with his honour, it must be confessed that, when he
spoke of this painful subject to his wife, it was
with no slight self-congratulation that he had found
her resolution to remain abroad under any circumstances
was fixed with her habitual decision. She communicated
both to the Bishop of —— and to
her brother the unexpected change that had occurred
in her condition, and she had reason to believe that
a representation of what had happened would be made
to the Royal family. Perhaps both the head of
her house and her reverend friend anticipated that
time might remove the barrier that presented itself
to Herbert’s immediate return to England:
they confined their answers, however, to congratulations
on the reconciliation, to their confidence in the
satisfaction it would occasion her, and to the expression
of their faithful friendship; and neither alluded
to a result which both, if only for her sake, desired.
The Herberts had quitted Venice a very few days after
the meeting on the island of St. Lazaro; had travelled
by slow journeys, crossing the Apennines, to Genoa;
and only remained in that city until they engaged
their present residence. It combined all the advantages
which they desired: seclusion, beauty, comfort,
and the mild atmosphere that Venetia had seemed to
require. It was not, however, the genial air
that had recalled the rose to Venetia’s cheek
and the sunny smile to her bright eye, or had inspired
again that graceful form with all its pristine elasticity.
It was a heart content; a spirit at length at peace.
The contemplation of the happiness of those most dear
to her that she hourly witnessed, and the blissful
consciousness that her exertions had mainly contributed
to, if not completely occasioned, all this felicity,
were remedies of far more efficacy than all the consultations
and prescriptions of her physicians. The conduct
of her father repaid her for all her sufferings, and
realised all her dreams of domestic tenderness and
delight. Tender, grateful, and affectionate,
Herbert hovered round her mother like a delicate spirit
who had been released by some kind mortal from a tedious
and revolting thraldom, and who believed he could