The cover image was restored by the transcriber and isplaced in the public domain.
THE
EXCLUSIVES.
VOL. III.
LONDON:
Printed by J. L. Cox, Great Queen Street,
Lincoln's-Inn Fields.
THE EXCLUSIVES.
CHAPTER I.
THOUGHTS FOR COUNSEL.
When Lady Delamere returned with her niece,and the latter had been left in a state of comparativecomposure to the best of all earthly restoratives,sleep, Lady Dunmelraise listened withanxious interest to the relation of her daughter'ssudden indisposition, which Lady Delamere didnot hesitate to attribute to her having witnessedLord Albert's attentions to Lady Hamlet Vernonduring the whole evening, in the very box oppositeto them at the Opera.
"I observed her," said Lady Delamere, "forsome time struggling with her feelings, and hesitated[2]whether it were best to take notice of, orallow them to subside uncommented upon: seeing,however, that at length all her efforts were unavailing,and that her agitation rather increasedthan the reverse, I judged it necessary to proposeour returning home. At that instant, Adelinefainted; and now, dear sister, I think that, forAdeline's sake, it is my duty to speak to you withoutreserve on the subject of Lord Albert D'Esterre.The state of your health, on your arrival in London,and the fear of agitating you, have alone preventedmy touching on this subject sooner; but Ihope you will forgive me, and feel that I was right,when I acknowledge that I have already spokengenerally to Adeline herself upon the prospectsattendant on her engagement.
"You will also readily believe, I trust, that,knowing your sentiments and principles, I couldnot say any thing that you would disapprove, northat I would assume to myself any parental authority,which is alone your right, in what I said;but at the same time I ventured upon what I conceivedto be Lord Albert's very culpable neglect;and, although I fear much more might have beensaid with truth, yet my counsel went merely toimpress on Adeline's mind a sense of the seriousness[3]of married life, and of the necessity of bothparties examining thoroughly the grounds on whichthey rest their hopes of happiness, before they becomebound indissolubly together. I also expatiated uponthe propriety of her mixing in the great worldduring your stay in London, which would affordher an opportunity of judging many things whichshe could not do in a life of ret