Egremont had entrusted the secret of his
residence to a faithful servant who communicated with him when
necessary, under his assumed name. Through these means he
received a letter from his mother, written from London, where
she had unexpectedly arrived, entreating him, in urgent terms,
to repair to her without a moment's delay, on a matter of
equal interest and importance to herself and him. Such an
appeal from such a quarter, from the parent that had ever been
kind, and the friend that had been ever faithful, was not for
a moment to be neglected. Already a period had elapsed since
its transmission, which Egremont regretted. He resolved at
once to quit Mowedale, nor could he console himself with the
prospect of an immediate return. Parliament was to assemble
in the ensuing month, and independent of the unknown cause
which summoned him immediately to town, he was well aware that
much disagreeable business awaited him which could no longer
be postponed. He had determined not to take his seat unless
the expenses of his contest were previously discharged, and
despairing of his brother's aid, and shrinking from
trespassing any further on his mother's resources, the future
looked gloomy enough: indeed nothing but the frequent presence
and the constant influence of Sybil had driven from his mind
the ignoble melancholy which, relieved by no pensive fancy, is
the invariable attendant of pecuniary embarrassment.
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