NOVELS BY CHRISTIAN REID.
Valerie Aylmer. 8vo. Paper, 75 cents; cloth, $1.25.
Morton House. 8vo. Paper, 75 cents; cloth, $1.25.
Mabel Lee. 8vo. Paper, 75 cents; cloth, $1.25.
Ebb-Tide. 8vo. Paper, 75 cents; cloth, $1.25.
Nina’s Atonement, etc. 8vo. Paper, 75 cts.; cloth, $1.25.
A Daughter of Bohemia. 8vo. Paper, 75 cts.; cloth, $1.25.
Bonny Kate. 8vo. Paper, 75 cents; cloth, $1.25.
After Many Days. 8vo. Paper, 75 cents; cloth, $1.25.
The Land of the Sky. 8vo. Paper, 75 cts.; cloth, $1.25.
Hearts and Hands. 8vo. Paper, 50 cents.
A Gentle Belle. 8vo. Paper, 50 cents.
A Question of Honor. 12mo. Cloth, $1.25.
Heart of Steel. 12mo. Cloth, $1.25.
Roslyn’s Fortune. 12mo. Cloth, $1.25.
A Summer Idyl. 18mo. Paper, 30 cents; cloth, 60 cents.
Miss Churchill. 12mo. Paper, 50 cents; cloth, $1.00.
A Comedy of Elopement. 12mo. Paper, 50 cents; cloth, $1.00.
The Land of the Sun. (In preparation.)
New York: D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, Publishers.
A COMEDY
OF ELOPEMENT
BY
CHRISTIAN REID
AUTHOR OF
MISS CHURCHILL, BONNY KATE, A SUMMER IDYL, MORTON HOUSE,
VALERIE AYLMER, NINA’S ATONEMENT, HEART OF STEEL, ETC.
NEW YORK
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
1893
Copyright, 1892,
By D. APPLETON AND COMPANY.
Electrotyped and Printed
at the Appleton Press, U. S. A.
A COMEDY OF ELOPEMENT.
PART I.
I.
The short December day was drawing toits close; but, though the month was December,the temperature was not that which isusually associated with the season. Instead ofgray skies, leaden waters, and brown or snowyearth, there was a sky of glowing beauty, aglittering sea, and a land covered with theevergreen foliage of the South—for it wasDecember in Florida. At noon the sun hadshone with uncomfortable power on the broadplaza and old Spanish houses of St. Augustine;but now that his last rays were gildingthe ancient fort and the Moorish belfry of thecathedral, the air was full of that delicious softness—acaressing warmth without heat—which[Pg 2]in such latitudes makes the mere fact of existencea delight.
On the gray sea wall there were severalloiterers; but, as the sun finally sank, and thepurple veil of twilight fell over land and sea,most of these departed, leaving only two girls,who still paced the narrow promenade, talkingearnestly.
At least one was talking earnestly—theother only listened. But the mere fact of listeningcan be eloquent sometimes, and thisgirl’s face seemed made to express all thingseloquently. It was a delicately molded face,with a pale complexion and the most gentlean