But
beyond the singing in the twilight Amy never advanced, and so far as her
mother knew she had never for a single instant been alone with either of
the gentlemen. How, then, was the household electrified one morning when
it was found that Amy had fled, and that Harold Hastings was the
companion of her flight?
'I wanted to tell you,' Amy wrote to her mother in the note left on
her dressing table. 'I wanted to tell you and be married at home,
but Mr. Hastings would not allow it. It would create trouble, he
said, between himself and Mr. Tracy, who I may confess to you in
confidence, asked me twice to be his wife, and when I refused,
without giving him a reason, for I dared not tell him of my love for
his friend, he was so angry and behaved so strangely, and there was
such a look in his eyes, that I was afraid of him, and it was this
fear, I think, which made me willing to go away secretly with Harold
and be married in New York. We are going to Europe; shall sail
to-morrow morning at nine o'clock in the Scotia. The marriage
ceremony will be performed before we go on board. I shall write as
soon as we reach Liverpool. You must forgive me, mother, and I am
sure you would not blame me, if you knew how much I love Mr.
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