The moors and the fens, volume 2 (of 3)

"The moors and the fens, volume 2 (of 3)" by Mrs. J. H. Riddell is a novel written in the mid-19th century. It traces the snares of charm, pride, and money across Highland Scotland and England, centering on steadfast Mina Frazer, her volatile cousin Allan, the bewitching yet false Cecilia Warmond, and the troubled Ernest Ivraine. The story probes how fascination and social ambition corrode judgment, especially in love and family alliances. The opening of the novel shows Cecilia instantly “adoring” Mina and artfully winning her confidence, even as we learn Cecilia has entrapped Allan in an engagement he already regrets. Whisked to Glenfiord, Mina is petted, subtly belittled, and quietly warned by the plain-speaking Miss Lynd to keep her own counsel; a graveside visit to her father and Colin Saunders’s cautions deepen the unease. Cecilia flirts with Malcolm, needles Mina with smiling irony, and, once Mina sees through her, the girl seizes a summons home to London with relief. Cecilia then announces her grand society wedding to Allan, which proceeds despite his misery. In a parallel thread, Ernest Ivraine returns from a crippling accident saved by the kindly merchant John Merapie, spars with his miser-father, and watches that father’s rare tenderness awaken at news that the younger son, Henry, has risen brilliantly from the ranks in India—while the baronet quietly plots local vengeance over a new bridge, biding his time.

The moors and the fens, volume 2 (of 3), by Mrs. J. H. Riddell. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #78846.