Words dropped, apparently by accident, by Herbert's
sisters had, before the misunderstanding commenced, favored this idea,
and although she had really loved him her disposition was too spirited
to allow her to take the steps she otherwise might have done to set
herself right with him.
At any rate she had no ground whatever for believing that Herbert,
after the breach of the engagement, entertained any such feelings
toward her as would have led him to come forward to assist her in any
way after she had become the wife of another; and so for twelve years
she had continued to receive her quarterly income. She had established
herself in a pretty little house near Dover, where several old friends
of her father resided, and where she had plenty of pleasant society
among the officers of the regiments stationed there. Although far from
rivaling Portsmouth or Plymouth in life and bustle, Dover was a busy
town during the time of the great war. The garrison was a large one,
the channel cruisers often anchored under the guns of the castle, and
from the top of the hills upon a clear day for months a keen lookout
was kept for the appearance from the port of Boulogne of the
expedition Napoleon had gathered there for the invasion of England.
The white sails of the English cruisers as they sailed up or down the
channel were clearly visible, and occasionally a privateer could be
seen making its way westward with a prize it had picked up off Texel.
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