Clement's
minds were free to be pleasantly excited about us. Lord Erymanth had
intended to have carried us off to be married from his castle, but we
begged off, and when he saw Dermot, he allowed that it was not the
time to make a public spectacle of what (Dermot was pleased to say)
would have the pleasing pre-eminence of being "the ugliest of
weddings," both as to bridegroom and bridesmaid. For he and Dora
used to make daily fun of their respective beauties, which were much
on a par, since, though she had three weeks' start of him, the
complaint having been unmitigated in her, had left much more
permanent-looking traces. Those two chose to keep each other up to
the most mirthful nonsense-pitch, and yet I am sure none of us felt
so light of spirit as we must have appeared, though, perhaps, the
being on the edge of such a great shadow made the sunshine seem
brighter.
We had considered of beginning with a flying visit to see how poor
Viola really was, but the Italian letters prevented this. Lady Diana
accepted me cordially and kindly as a daughter, and said all that was
proper; but she actually forestalled us by desiring her son not to
come out to her, for she thought it much better for Viola not to have
painful recollections revived, and Viola herself wrote in a way that
disappointed us--loving indeed, but with a strain of something
between lightness and bitterness, and absolutely congratulating her
brother that there was no one on my side to bring up bygones against
him.
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