Her father, guessing partly at the cause of these
appearances, made a point of banishing Dame Gourlay from the castle;
but the arrow was shot, and was rankling barb-deep in the side of the
wounded deer.
It was shortly after the departure of this woman, that Lucy Ashton,
urged by her parents, announced to them, with a vivacity by which they
were startled, "That she was conscious heaven and earth and hell had set
themselves against her union with Ravenswood; still her contract," she
said, "was a binding contract, and she neither would nor could resign
it without the consent of Ravenswood. Let me be assured," she concluded,
"that he will free me from my engagement, and dispose of me as you
please, I care not how. When the diamonds are gone, what signifies the
casket?"
The tone of obstinacy with which this was said, her eyes flashing
with unnatural light, and her hands firmly clenched, precluded the
possibility of dispute; and the utmost length which Lady Ashton's art
could attain, only got her the privilege of dictating the letter, by
which her daughter required to know of Ravenswood whether he intended to
abide by or to surrender what she termed "their unfortunate engagement.
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