Wretched and horrified as she had been all along, Evaline now felt, in the severance of the last association with hope, a new and more terrible anguish, and the full wretchedness of her situation seemed to reveal itself only at this moment. But she had no time for reflection. The priest, who had entered the chapel before them, was waiting her at the altar; her father began to look pale and anxious; and Don Felix, though with more gentleness than his wont, led her trembling forward.
She stood at the altar quite unconscious of the awful rite that was in progress: she did not hear a word--she did not see a thing that was passing: her whole sense and energy--her very principle of life, were bound in the torpor of despair.
The priest took up her hand. The fearful horror and utter hopelessness of her situation, to which she had for a moment appeared insensible, now burst upon her again. Her heart seemed to leap to her mouth, and to force her, in spite of herself, to say aloud--“O, God! hast thou forsaken me?”
The words had hardly escaped her, when a loud and prolonged knocking, that made the building ring, was inflicted on the chapel-door.
So speaking, she broke away from the priest, and darted towards the chapel-door. Before she could reach it, however, Sir Edgar, who was scarcely less agitated than she was, sprang after her, and arrived at the door first.
“In the name of our sovereign lady the Queen, open the door,” was the reply.
Master Shedlock, on fastening the lower door of the hall behind him, in the manner set forth heretofore, resumed his progress, and passed on to the kitchen. There, as was already made manifest, he found Abigail and Zedekiah, whom his appearance quite diverted from their design of ejecting the cut onion.
Abigail was the first to recover herself.
“She’s dead!” answered Shedlock. “I have seen her spirit.”
“Mean’st thou mistress?” demanded Abigail, earnestly.
“Go to! she was a good mistress!” cried Abigail, bursting into tears. “I will go see her.”
Shedlock seized her by the arm. “Woman, she’s dead, I tell thee!” he cried. “Go get some neighbours to lay her out.”
Abigail made no reply, but, as he dropped his hold of her arm, stepped towards the rearward door, and proceeded on the errand he had charged her with. He remained stationary himself, with his eyes fixed on the open door, in evident abstraction and bewilderment, for upwards of half an hour. After that interval, Abigail returned, accompanied by two other women, tenants of a neighbouring cottage, whom she had brought to assist her in laying out her mistress.