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Communication
LNCS 9669
Technologies
for Vehicles
10th International Workshop
Nets4Cars/Nets4Trains/Nets4Aircraft 2016
San Sebastián, Spain, June 6–7, 2016, Proceedings
123
Lecture Notes in Computer Science 9669
Commenced Publication in 1973
Founding and Former Series Editors:
Gerhard Goos, Juris Hartmanis, and Jan van Leeuwen
Editorial Board
David Hutchison
Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
Takeo Kanade
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Josef Kittler
University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
Jon M. Kleinberg
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
Friedemann Mattern
ETH Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
John C. Mitchell
Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
Moni Naor
Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
C. Pandu Rangan
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India
Bernhard Steffen
TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany
Demetri Terzopoulos
University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Doug Tygar
University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
Gerhard Weikum
Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Saarbrücken, Germany
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/7411
Jaizki Mendizabal Marion Berbineau
•
Communication Technologies
for Vehicles
10th International Workshop
Nets4Cars/Nets4Trains/Nets4Aircraft 2016
San Sebastián, Spain, June 6–7, 2016
Proceedings
123
Editors
Jaizki Mendizabal Alain Pirovano
Ceit and tecnun Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile
University of Navarra Toulouse
San Sebastián France
Spain
Simon Plass
Marion Berbineau Dtsch. Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt
IFSTTAR Oberpfaffenhofen
Villeneuve d’Ascq Germany
France
Riccardo Scopigno
Alexey Vinel Istituto Superiore Mario Boella
Halmstad University Turin
Halmstad Italy
Sweden
Hasnaa Aniss
Stephan Pfletschinger IFSTTAR
Dtsch. Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt Versailles
Oberpfaffenhofen France
Germany
Hervé Bonneville
Mitsubishi Electric R&D Centre Europe
Rennes
France
General Co-chairs
Jaizki Mendizabal Ceit and tecnun (University of Navarra), Spain
Marion Berbineau IFSTTAR, France
Alexey Vinel Halmstad University, Sweden
Steering Committee
Alexey Vinel Halmstad University, Sweden
Antonella Molinaro University Mediterranea of Reggio Calabria, Italy
Jaizki Mendizabal Ceit and tecnun (University of Navarra), Spain
Joel Rodrigues Instituto de Telecomunicações,
University of Beira Interior, Portugal
Kishor Trivedi Duke University, USA
Marion Berbineau IFSTTAR, France
Mohamed Kassab HanaLab, Tunisia
Thomas Strang DLR, Germany
Tsutomu Tsuboi Nagoya Electric Works Co., Ltd., Japan
Yan Zhang Simula Research Lab, Norway
Hosting Institutions
Organizing Committee
Iñigo Adin Ceit and tecnun (University of Navarra), Spain
Saioa Arrizabalaga Ceit and tecnun (University of Navarra), Spain
Juan Melendez Ceit and tecnun (University of Navarra), Spain
Ceit, Spain
Tecnun (University of Navarra), Spain
IFSTTAR, France
Halmstad University, Sweden
Turismo & Convention Bureau, San Sebastián, Spain
European capital of culture, San Sebastián, Spain
Contents
Nets4trains
SDK Definition for Safety Functions for UART, CAN and TCP/IP
Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Leonardo J. Valdivia, Gonzalo Solas, Javier Añorga,
Saioa Arrizabalaga, Iñigo Adin, and Jaizki Mendizabal
Nets4cars
Towards Solutions for Current Security Related Issues in ETSI ITS . . . . . . . 136
Sebastian Bittl
Nets4aircraft
Javier Goikoetxea(&)
1 Introduction
Pushing the concept to its limit, it would be possible to couple and uncouple trains
on-the-fly (i.e. both consists moving or even cruising) and increase significantly the
capacity of the line by making long chains or convoys of virtually coupled trains. This
concept will change dramatically the way trains will be controlled in the future because
trains will monitor and keep themselves the distance between them with little or none
intervention from the infrastructure (i.e. signalling).
In order to develop this breakthrough concept, crucial technical solutions should be
available. First the radio communication between trains will require performance
equivalent to the current wired Ethernet train backbone in terms of safety, security,
throughput, network dynamics and availability. And on the other hand the functional
open coupling will have to be implemented to become the needed abstraction layer
between applications of the virtually coupled trains.
In that sense, the European initiative Shift2Rail [1] will lead the definition and
development of the virtual coupling concept and the required technologies, as it is
described in its Master Plan [2]. First activities are currently ongoing within the ini-
tiative’s lighthouse project Roll2Rail [3].
The following chapters introduce the virtual coupling mechanisms and technolo-
gies, and details the planned steps to achieve its development by 2022.
over 100 different possible coupling combinations. This has led to having to perform a
daily average in excess of 2000 functional verifications to check that there is no
regression in each possible combination. This is a significant constraint in terms of lack
of flexibility of the fleet, operational cost, homologation cost and loss of potential
revenue by failing to create suitable trains of TGV consists1.
1
Example for Alstom’s TGV type “Réseau” for the compatibility with other TGV types (i.e. Paris-
Brussels-Amsterdam, Paris-Brussels-Koln-Amsterdam, Duplex or POS).
6 J. Goikoetxea
3 Technological Pillars
In the railway domain certain proposals have already been presented based on train
to train communications and positioning [10]. While this approach should be further
explored taking advantage of the research activities on safe positioning within the
Shift2Rail initiative, it must be not forgotten the new developments coming from the car
industry, where the rail virtual coupling concept is known as car platooning [11, 12].
However, first adaptive cruise controls based on radar were already introduced in 1996
[13] and since then many developments have been successfully carried out up to
reaching the almost autonomous car like the new Mercedes E-Class 2016, which inte-
grates radar devices and stereoscopic cameras for its Drive Pilot system [14].
Most probably the technical solution for the rail anti-collision system will follow
the same approach and will integrate information coming from different sources such as
a precise positioning, the communication between consists or artificial vision.
First research activities should start within Shift2Rail in 2018.
The concept overlaps in its fundamentals the actual train control system (i.e. sig-
nalling), therefore it has also been understood as a new way for controlling trains.
Besides the flexibility the main impact of the virtual coupling concept is the
reduction of the line headway and line capacity increase. The new required function
could be seen as the extreme limit of the moving block on relative braking in order to
compact trains dynamically on the fly, up to have logical coupling (i.e. virtual cou-
pling) of trains while they are moving. The function is not only limited to the on board
environment but, in order to work properly, it needs new features and to upgrade
functionalities in the wayside signalling and supervision systems as well.
The approach of virtually coupled consists is a new paradigm of the train control as
it will overcome the current limitations of the signalling and, as said, it is in contrast
with the basic train separation principles. In fact theoretically the new train control
system should be able to:
• Manage dynamically convoy joining/splitting also during normal traffic and running
time
• Manage new train separation systems overcoming the limitation of the brick wall
concept (i.e. the minimum distance considers absolute distances)
• Manage train convoys and dynamic route setting/releasing through updated inter-
locking systems
• Accomplish traffic regulation through updated supervision system in order to
manage dynamic train consists and timetables for multiple trains joined in a single
convoy
• Guarantee, through updated on board ATP/ATO systems, the safety and the auto-
matic driving according to the new physical constraints and scenario.
Such signalling related modifications and adaptations will be studied from 2018 in the
Shift2Rail initiative.
Roadmap Towards the Wireless Virtual Coupling of Trains 9
5 Conclusions
The virtual coupling breakthrough concept will revolutionise the paradigm of railways.
The never seen before flexibility and capacity will change the way railways is operated.
Today emerging technologies from the telecommunication and computing worlds
make it feasible to introduce such concept in railways, while the leverage effect coming
from the car industry and their large scale sales will smooth the acceptance of the
concept and moderate the costs.
The Shift2Rail initiative gathers, through its members and open consortia, a
tremendous task force of experts, that will research and implement the technical pillars
to achieve the virtual coupling of trains and that will lead to real demonstrators from
2020.
References
1. Shift2Rail. The Rail Joint Undertaking. http://www.shift2rail.org
2. Shift2Rail Strategic Master Plan, Version 1.0, March 2015. http://ec.europa.eu/transport/
modes/rail/doc/2015-03-31-decisionn4-2015-adoption-s2r-masterplan.pdf
3. Peris, E., Goikoetxea, J.: Developing the rolling stock of the future. European Railway
Review 21(5) (2015)
4. Transportation Research Board: Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual. Third
Edition (2013). ISBN: 978-0-309-28344-1
5. Filzek, B., Breuer, B.: Distance behavior on motorways with regard the active safety. SAE
International. Paper# 2001-06-0066 (2001)
6. Meyer zu Hörste, M.: Use of broadband communication for information and control
purposes in railways. In: 7th International Conference on ITS Telecommunications, ITST
2007, Sophia Antipolis, France (2007)
7. Rico Garcia, C., Lehner, A., Strang, T.: Channel model for train to train communication
using the 400 MHz band. In: Srinivasan, V. (ed.) IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference,
VTC 2008 - Spring, pp. 3082–3086. eXpress Publishing (2008)
8. Lehner, A., Rico Garcia, C., Strang, T.: On the performance of TETRA DMO short data
service in railway VANETs. Wirel. Pers. Commun. 69(4), 1647–1669 (2013)
9. Toubol, A., Castagnetti, F.: Marathon project for long trains with distributed traction.
Transport Research Arena, Paris (2014)
10. Rico Garcia, C., Lehner, A., Strang, T., Rockl, M.: Comparison of collision avoidance
systems and applicability to rail transport. In: 7th International Conference on ITS
Telecommunications, ITST 2007, Sophia Antipolis, France (2007)
11. Bergenhem, C., Hedin, E., Skarin, E.: Vehicle-to-vehicle communication for a platooning
system. Procedia Soc. Behav. Sci. 48, 1222–1233 (2012)
12. Robinson, T., Chan, E., Coelingh, E.: Operating platoons on public motorways: an
introduction to the sartre platooning programme. In: Proceedings of the 17th ITS World
Congress, Busan, Korea, 25–29 October (2010)
13. Ronald, J.: Adaptive Cruise Control. SAE International (2006). ISBN: 978-0-7680-1792-2
14. Intelligent Drive next Level as part of Driving Assistance package. Mercedes-Benz. https://
www.mercedes-benz.com/en/mercedes-benz/innovation/with-intelligent-drive-more-comfort-
in-road-traffic/
Rail2X: Demonstration of Vehicle2X
Technologies for Rail-Related Applications
1 Introduction
The communication standard IEEE 802.11p has been set together with a spe-
cific purely software-defined protocol for the information exchange between road
vehicles [1,2]. Hence it is called Vehicle2Vehicle (V2V) or sometimes Car2Car
(C2C) communication standard. Nevertheless it can be used to communicate to
the infrastructure as well and is than called Vehicle2X (V2X) communication
or Car2X (C2X), respectively. Broader use in the automotive environment will
lead to a high market penetration and availability as well as extremely low cost
for the technology.
For the rail transport a broader distribution of information and a more
intensive exchange with other traffic participants as well as with rail users is
an increasing demand. One possible idea to solve this demand could be to use
common-off-the-shelf technologies as even Vehicle2X. The V2X communication
is fitted with an adopted software protocol for railway purposes while leaving
the hardware unmodified. This can be used to distribute additional information
inside the railway system as well as to other interested users. Nevertheless the
automation and protection systems of the railways need to ensure the safety and
performance of the operation. Hence they will stay unchanged and the Rail2X
systems will either give additional information without safety requirements or
act as an overlay.
c Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
J. Mendizabal et al. (Eds.): Nets4Cars/Nets4Trains/Nets4Aircraft 2016, LNCS 9669, pp. 10–14, 2016.
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-38921-9 2
Rail2X: Demonstration 11
Many use cases are possible, which are different with respect to their commu-
nication type as e.g. broadcast, uni- or bidirectional peer-to-peer communication.
Safety relevance is another important aspect of the use cases. This aspects need to
be analyzed in each individual use case. For the demonstration only one should be
discussed here in further detail: Broadcasting traffic information at a level crossing.
2.2 Idea
The global idea is shown in Fig. 1. On the railway track, the rail vehicle - in this
case the DLR-operated Road-Rail vehicle RailDriVE R approaches the level
crossing coming from the upper side [3]. At the same time, the road vehicle
approaches from the right side. Whenever a rail vehicle passes the make contact,
the light signals at the railway crossing are activated, indicating road vehicles to
leave the crossing. According to German regulations, the rail vehicle would have
the right of way and would be prioritized to road vehicles. The lights signals on
the road indicate road vehicles to leave the crossing, or to stop in front of the
crossing, respectively.
12 M. Meyer zu Hörste et al.
At the same position the V2X Unit of the train identifies by geo-fencing that
the LX has to be activated and sends via Rail2X the activation message to the
RSU located at the level crossing.
For the road side of the demo scenario the RSU uses the regular V2V stan-
dard. After receiving the activation trigger the RSU broadcasts the information
to the road users. It will now start to send “signal, phase and timing messages”
(SPAT messages), which has been modified to reflect the operational rules for
LX.
The demonstration shows both communication domains: The V2X communi-
cation between RSU and car as well as the railway part between RSU and train.
So it can be seen that the hardware and radio layer are interoperable while the
communication protocol software is specific for each domain.
2.3 Implementation
The demonstration was presented at a level crossing of the port railway of
Braunschweig, Germany. The minimalistic demo implementation consisted out
of the following three elements:
– Infrastructure: The level crossing at the local road was equipped with the
RSU to communicate with the train as well as with road vehicles. The RSU
was equipped with a digital map representing the road and rail topography.
A RSU according to the current standard was used.
2.4 Demonstration
The demonstration was done at the end of 2015. The Fig. 2 show the perspective
of the road and rail vehicles in almost the same moment.
Fig. 2. User Interface in the train (left) and car (right) at Demo Situation with LX
activated.
The demonstration was executed successfully and showed that the Vehicle2X
technologies can be used for Rail2X applications as well. The user interfaces used
in the demo are not designed as usable products, but as demonstrator units to
show the data exchange and the current system states. The user interfaces can
be seen in Fig. 3.
Fig. 3. User Interface design in the train (left) and the car (right) at Demo Situation
with LX activated
References
1. IEEE: IEEE 802.11p wireless access in vehicular environments (WAVE) (2013)
2. ETSI: ETSI EN 302 663. Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS); Access layer speci-
fication for Intelligent Transport Systems operating in the 5 GHz frequency band.
ETSI (2013)
3. Lüddecke, K., Kluge, A.: Mobiles Labor RailDriVE - Synchrone Erfassung von
Sensordaten. Der Eisenbahningenieur EI 65, 46–49 (2014). (in German)
4. Gerlach, K., Meyer zu Hörste, M.: Precision and availability evaluation for road and
rail localisation platforms. In: NAVAGE 2008, Prague (2008)
The Viability of TETRA
for ETCS Railway Signalling System
1 Introduction
The three main objectives of transport operators are to improve passenger ser-
vice, increase operational safety and reduce overall operating costs. Achieving
these objectives involves a high degree of information management and process-
ing, particularly in established railway signalling systems. These systems are
based on radio communications networks that facilitate end-to-end transmis-
sion of the data generated – vital data, since it contains information relating to
operation of the trains and, therefore, to the safety of the passengers.
ZUB 123
Fig. 1. Railway signalling and security systems used throughout Europe in 2003.
This situation has led the European Union to design a unified ERTMS
(European Rail Traffic Management System) system that attempts to achieve
medium-term Europe-wide homogenization of railway signalling, control func-
tions and radio communications, via ETCS (European Train Control System)
and GSM-R (Global system for Mobile communications - Railway).
total of <1 Kbps per train), an end-to-end delay <500 ms, call setup times <8,5 s
and handovers (cell changes) completed in <300 ms [7].
For a technology to be considered a replacement, in certain scenarios, for
GSM-R, it must provide QoS parameters equivalent to those defined in the
EIRENE specifications, Subset 093 [1].
The QoS comparison made between TETRA and GSM-R uses the Circuit
Mode Data (CMD) service offered by the TETRA standard, since it is the natural
alternative to the circuit switching service offered by GSM-R1 (Table 1).
TETRA’s CMD data service allows an external application (fixed part) to estab-
lish a connection with a TETRA radio (onboard unit) for simultaneous data
transfer in both directions. This data is transferred transparently between the
two ends via the air interface – that is, the TETRA radio does not modify the
data during transmission.
A CMD communication consists of the same phases as a voice call – i.e. it
is based on a call set-up phase, distribution and allocation of the traffic channel
(TCH), data transfer and release of resources. Once the connection is established,
the channel remains busy until the transmission is complete.
These calls can be set at different speeds with different levels of protection
to overcome possible eventualities caused by the radio channel. There are three
types of CMD calls supported by the TETRA standard [5]:
1
Although both TETRA and GSM-R offer voice and data services, this study only
looks at the data side by comparing the response to the Quality of Service parameters
established by EIRENE specification.
The Viability of TETRA for ETCS Railway Signalling System 19
– 7,2 kbps, unprotected data. This type of call offers no protection during the
transmission of data, so any data corruption is accepted by the receiver or a
higher-level protocol must be implemented to request retransmission.
– Protection 4,8 kbps short interleaving depth (N = 1). In this type of call, bits
of redundancy are used for error detection and correction, increasing security
of communications in exchange for a reduction in bandwidth.
– Protection 2,4 kbps short interleaving depth (N = 1). Like 4.8 kbps calls, these
calls include additional bits for error detection and correction. These CRC
mechanisms require a greater number of additional bits, which increases the
security notably, at the expense of a significant reduction in bandwidth.
SCN
CMD Call
(TCH/4.8) 38400bps 8N1 NP
Corporative IP SBS1
network
Serial Spy
Traffic
affic
f SniSniffer Computer
fffer Co
ANALYZER
SUBSYSTEM
Switch with
ith portt mirroring
i i configuration
Sir Ronald went gently to her and called her by name. Whatever
her dream might be, it was so deep that she had not heard the
sound of his footsteps or the rustling of the boughs.
“Clarice,” he said, and when she raised her head and saw him,
the change that came over her face was so sudden and so great it
dazzled him.
“You, Sir Ronald!” she said, and then he knew that she had been
dreaming of him.
He went nearer to her, and they strode side by side under the
shade of the old tree.
“Clarice,” he repeated, “there are tears in your eyes and on your
lashes. You have been alone in this quiet place, weeping. What is
wrong?”
“Nothing,” she replied; “but my thoughts were very sad ones, and
tears are a luxury at times.”
“They should not be for you, for whom all things bright and
beautiful must have been made. Tell me what those sad thoughts
were.”
A mound of dead and dying leaves lay at her feet. Every vigorous
breath of wind brought fresh leaves down, yellow and red. She
pointed to them.
“Every autumn for the last four years I have watched the leaves
of this tree fall,” she said, “and the same thoughts have always
pursued me.”
“You will not tell me what they are?” he said.
“I cannot. Do you not know how impossible it is to put those
thoughts into words that we hardly understand ourselves?”
“Clarice,” he said, gently, “do you know what I have sought you
for?”
“No,” she replied, and he noticed something of dreaminess in her
voice and look.
“I came over to Mount Severn this evening especially to ask you
to be my wife.”
Something like a half-hysterical sob came from her lips.
“Your wife! But you say nothing of loving me.”
“Should I ask you to be my wife if I did not love you, Clarice?” he
asked, carried away, despite himself, by the passion of her words
and the love in her face. He never forgot her half-tearful joy.
“You love me, Ronald! Do not deceive me; do not tell me that
unless it is quite true.”
He could not have said what he intended to say had his life been
the forfeit. He had meant to own to her that his love lay in ashes; but
he could not hold those trembling hands in his, and look at those
quivering lips, yet speak such words as must stab that tender heart.
“I do love you, Clarice. Why, how many years is it since we were
children together, since we played at love and jealousy?”
“But,” she interrupted, “you have had another love since then.”
Yes, Heaven help him! he had; and as he stood there, holding
another woman’s hand in his, all the memory of that lost love came
over him, and, looking up at the green trees, he half wished they
might fall and crush him. Then he recovered himself with a violent
effort and turned to her.
“I do not attempt to deceive you, Clarice—I had another love. I
will tell you all the truth, and you must reject me or take me, as you
will. I loved Lady Hermione when we were children. She has been
the one love, the one passion, the one loadstar of my life. I had no
wish, no thought, that did not begin and end with her, and I believed
she loved me. God grant that I may not speak too harshly of her!
She deceived me with the most cruel words and looks; she drove me
half mad, for when I offered my love to her, she threw it back at me.
There were some false, scoffing words about being my friend for life
—my friend! when she knew she had slain all that was best in me.”
“Hush!” she said, with dignity; “you must not tell this to me.”
“But I must tell you, Clarice, if we are to understand each other.
Why are you so pale—why do you tremble—am I cruel to you?”
“No; speak on; it is better, perhaps, I should hear.”
“The letter she sent me, refusing me, slew in me all that was
honest and best. It made me a coward, it unfitted me to battle with
life, it destroyed every hope that makes manhood sweet and life
precious.”
“Was it so very hard to bear, Ronald?” she asked, pityingly; and
he could not be deaf to the pain in her voice.
“It was. I hide nothing from you. I do not know what madmen
suffer, but it seems to me, on looking back, that for many long
months afterward I was mad. There was nothing that I left undone to
drive even the memory of her fair face from me; I could not do it.
Clarice, a drowning man clings to a straw—I cling to you. Will you
save me from the total wreck of life, reason and happiness? Can you
be more generous than woman ever was before? Can you marry
me, knowing that another woman has had the best of my life? Can
you marry me, to save me and restore me to the world of men?”
She clasped her hands round his arm.
“You have said not one word of loving me, Ronald—not one
word.”
“But I will, God helping me. If you will trust your life and your
happiness to me, I will—I will make you happy.”
“Say you will love me, Ronald,” she whispered, raising her lovely
face to his. He would have been more than mortal not to have been
touched by the wistful sadness there.
“I will love you,” he cried. “Help me to love you, Clarice; help me
to forget this black, brooding shadow that darkens my life; help me to
be a braver, better, nobler man by becoming my wife.”
“I will, if you will love me. Ah, Ronald! why is she fairer to you
than I am? Why should you give her more than me? You say she
has been cruel to you. Listen! I have loved you as long as you have
loved her. I have never given one thought to any other than yourself.
You talk about love—oh, Ronald! could you count the leaves on the
trees you might, perhaps, be able to tell how dearly I love you.”
She clasped her white hands and laid them folded on his breast.
“Do you know that if at any time my life could have saved you, I
would have laid it down for you? Do not think I am speaking as
women should not speak. There is no pain you have suffered that
has not been doubled for me. I have asked but one boon from
Heaven, one grace, one blessing—and that was your love, Ronald.”
“Alas, that I have not more to give!”
“Never say that; I am content. You did not choose me first, but
perhaps in the years to come you may love me best. You have
chosen me as your comforter, and I would rather be that to you than
the worshiped queen of any man.”
Her golden head drooped on his breast, and her voice died away,
in a passionate murmur that was but a sigh.
“I do not deserve it,” he said, regretfully.
“Ah, yes, you do. Because she has slighted you, Ronald, it does
not follow that her estimate of you must be right. Oh, my love, my
king among men! I know how to honor you. I say among all living
men, you have not your peer. Because she has been cold and false,
I will love you doubly; because she has made you unhappy, I will
spend my whole life in trying to make you happy; and if she came to
us now, in all the fatal lure of her beauty, and tried to take you from
me, she should not. I would keep you by the force of my own mighty
love.”
It was very pleasant; even the sweet south wind seemed to listen
to the pleading, passionate voice.
“Why, Ronald, when you found me here,” she continued, “I was
weeping over you—weeping that my love was so unhappy—that the
bright young years of my life were passing in bitterest gloom; for I
came to the old tree last year, and watched the leaves fall, and,
Ronald, it seemed to me that, even as they fell one by one and died
so slowly, that thus my hopes faded, and every year saw you further
from loving me. That was why I wept. I shall never shed such tears
again.”
He could do nothing but bend down and kiss the beautiful face,
praying God in his heart that he might love her as she deserved, and
that he might make the life bright whose brightness depended so
entirely on him.
CHAPTER XX.
A LAST LOOK.
Sir Ronald never knew how the news of his engagement was
received by the “ladye he loved.” The Lorristons went away soon
afterward to pay a long-promised round of visits. He did not know
whether she were pleased, piqued, or surprised.
But he soon found out that, so far as the world was concerned,
he had done an excellent thing for himself. Congratulations poured in
on all sides; people laughed at the rumors they had been so ready to
believe. After all, it was very improbable that a man like Sir Ronald
should have been the dupe of any woman. It was Miss Severn he
had cared for; and, now they were going to be married, Sir Ronald
had urged a speedy marriage.
He began at once to make preparation; he ordered a magnificent
suite of rooms to be prepared for his wife. Perhaps it was significant
of his frame of mind that he never went once to see what progress
was made, contenting himself by giving orders that neither expense
nor trouble should be spared. He sent all the family jewels to London
to be reset, but he did not linger over them with a lover’s fondness,
choosing what would best suit her. He ordered the most lavish and
magnificent presents, but he never heeded the beautiful, blushing
smile with which they were received.
He never omitted any day going over to Mount Severn. He drilled
himself, he trained his thoughts, and would not let them wander from
her. When the memory of Lady Hermione and that evening among
the flowers came to him he crushed it back remorselessly.
Yet no one looking at him could have called him a happy man.
There were grave lines on his brow and round his lips that told of the
long, bitter struggle; his laugh had no music in it, his smile no light.
The ring of youth and happiness had died out of his voice. Even
when he tried to be most happy, the heart within him was cold and
heavy as lead.
One day, as he was riding home from Mount Severn, he met
Kenelm Eyrle. They had not spoken for some time, but on this
evening Kenelm walked up to him.
“One moment, Sir Ronald Alden,” he said. “I will not detain you;
answer me this one question.”
“I will answer a hundred,” replied Sir Ronald, “if you will ask them
as a friend, and not as an enemy.”
“There will be no more friendship between us,” was the calm
reply. “Have you honor and honesty enough to tell me whether it is
true that you are going to marry Miss Severn?”
“Although it can be no business of yours, I do not mind telling you
that in a few weeks from now Miss Severn will be my wife.”
“You have wooed her and won her—you confess it,” cried
Kenelm, fiercely.
“There is nothing to confess. I asked the lady to be my wife, and
she consented viola tout.”
“I shall never waste another word upon you,” said Mr. Eyrle,
indignantly, as he turned away; and Sir Ronald laughed.
“My lady has bidden him speak thus,” he thought. “Perhaps she
wished to see if I was marrying from pique or love. Ah, Clarice, no
one shall ever discover that.”
Kenelm Eyrle walked angrily to Mount Severn.
“I will hear it from her own lips,” he said; “I refuse to believe it
from his.”
He found Clarice where her lover had left her, leaning against the
stone balustrade of the balcony. He saw the softened tenderness of
that beautiful face, the love-light in the wondrous eyes, and from his
white lips came a muttered curse.
She looked up in surprise. While her whole heart and thoughts
were full of the man she loved, it was not pleasant to see the man
who for so long had hopelessly loved her.
“Clarice,” he said, reproachfully, “you are not pleased to see me.
Love is keen. Your face fell and your eyes lost half their light when
they fell upon me. I am not here to tease you; only to ask you a
simple question. Is it true you are going to marry Sir Ronald?”
Her face flushed. She would fain have spared him all the pain.
“I shall bear it more easily if you tell me, Clarice,” he pleaded.
“Yes; it is true,” she replied. “Why do you ask me, Kenelm?”
“I have been told so, and I would not believe it from any one else.
Nay, do not shrink from me, Clarice. I am not going to importune you.
I am too proud, dear, to try to rob another man of that which he has
won. Do you love him?”
Her face glowed unconsciously.
“Yes; I love him with all my heart.”
“I hope you will be happy. You see there is no bitterness in my
heart against you, Clarice. I pray God to bless you and make you
happy.”
“And you will be our friend?” she said.
“No; I could not. I do not blame you. I have tried hard to win your
love, but I could not succeed. You have given it to another. I have no
right to complain, but I shall not forgive him, the false friend, who
knew that every hope of my life rested in you, yet has stolen you
treacherously from me.”
“You are unjust,” she replied, hastily. “If I never belonged to you,
how could any one steal me away? It is of my own free will that I love
and marry Sir Ronald Alden.”
“We will not dispute about him,” he replied, sadly. “I will not
remain; I only wish to bid you farewell.”
“But we shall be neighbors—friends? we shall meet?”
“Never,” he replied. “Let me take one last, lingering look at your
face, the face that has been the star of my idolatry. I shall never see
it again, until, by God’s mercy, it shines among His angels in
heaven.”
Her tears fell fast at his words. He came nearer to her, and
looked for a few moments into that lovely face, as though he would
fain engrave every feature on his heart; then he turned abruptly
away.
When he saw her next she was lying dead, with white flowers on
her breast, and men were in hot pursuit of her murderer.
It was in November that Sir Ronald led his beautiful wife to the
altar. The wedding was one of the most magnificent spectacles ever
witnessed. Clarice would fain have had it quiet and without display,
but the master of Aldenmere insisted upon her receiving the honor
due to her.
To this day they tell of the brilliant crowd gathered in the old
church at Leeholme—of the noble men and beautiful women who
came from all parts of England to assist at what was the grandest
ceremony of the day. The only family of note in the country, absent,
was the Lorristons; but among the costly array of wedding presents
was a diamond necklace from Lord Lorriston, and a pearl bracelet
from Lady Hermione, accompanied by the kindest of letters.
Sir Ronald smiled bitterly when he saw them. His own presents to
his young wife were superb in their magnificence. Did he think by
lavish expenditure and great display to atone to her for the absence
of that which he could not give her—his heart’s best love?
CHAPTER XXI.
MARRIAGE.
The die was cast now. For weal or for woe, for better or worse,
Sir Ronald and Lady Clarice were to spend the remainder of their
lives together.
They went abroad! They made the usual Continental tour, and
then returned to Aldenmere. Lady Clarice was happy as the day was
long. No bird singing in the shade of summer trees was half so blithe
or gay.
On one occasion he was speaking of the grand ball they must
give on their return, and she said, half doubtingly:
“Shall you invite the Lorristons, Ronald?”
“Certainly. Why not? Lord Lorriston and I were always good
friends.”
“I fancied, perhaps, you would not like to meet his daughter.”
“She will, in all probability, be Lady Eyrle then, and what can
Kenelm Eyrle’s wife matter to me?”
“I hear nothing now of their engagement,” she said, thoughtfully.
He turned to her quickly.
“It was you who told me about it—surely you remember?”
“Oh, yes, perfectly; but I fancy it must be broken off, as I hear
nothing of it.”
He only said bitterly to himself that she had played with another
heart and broken it; but for the remainder of all that day no smile or
cheerful word came from him.
Yet she did not notice it. She knew the power of her own beauty,
and she would have deemed it simply impossible that the man upon
whom she lavished all her love could give one thought to another.
She was blind and deaf to the fierce contest going on in the heart
and soul of her husband—to the war that never ended, between right
and wrong.
He would go to her at times with a wearied look on his face that
never came from physical fatigue. He would lay his head down like a
tired child, and say:
“Clarice, sing to me.”
She never said to herself that she was needed to drive away the
demon of discontent; she only thought he preferred her singing to
any other, and was flattered accordingly.
Then the time came for them to return to Aldenmere, and great
were the preparations. The little town of Leeholme was in a perfect
fever of excitement. Triumphal arches were erected, flags were
flying, the beautiful bells of Leeholme church pealed merrily, the
tenants were all assembled to do honor to their lord.
“Welcome Home!” “Long Life to Lord and Lady Alden!” “A Bridal
Welcome!” and hundreds of other mottoes decorated the flags and
the arches. Through long lines of happy faces, through the music of
cheering voices, bride and bridegroom drove to their ancient home.
People might have wondered why the bridegroom’s face grew
sterner and paler as the thunder of a mighty welcome greeted him.
Lady Clarice looked at him with tears in her eyes.
“Oh, Ronald, how pleased they are to see us! What can we do for
them?”
“There will be plenty of home-brewed ale, and as many oxen
roasted as can be eaten,” he said, and the words jarred upon her.
She looked in the pale, impassive face, and would fain have seen
some lingering softness there.
He was thinking, Heaven help him! how different it would have
been had the face he loved been near him on this day, when he saw
how popular and well-loved he was. Then he took himself fiercely to
task for the thoughts.
“Let me remember I have a wife who loves me dearly,” he said to
himself, “and let me not forget the woman who ruined my life for her
own amusement will soon have, or perhaps has, a husband of her
own.”
So he went through the duties of the day with ease and dignity.
He made a most cordial and genial speech to his tenants, inviting
them all to partake of the lavish hospitality prepared for them. He
took his beautiful young wife by the hand, and spoke a few words in
her praise that caused cheers to rise to the very heavens. He spoke
of the work he hoped to do among them—of the life he hoped to
spend—of the brightness of his future, and in his heart he hated the
sun for shining to mock him, and the flowers for blooming so fair.
Had any one present said that that man’s heart was broken by an
unhappy love, who would have believed it? Did ever lot seem so
fair?
And as the well-satisfied tenants left they declared one and all
that Sir Ronald must be perfectly happy. Those who had troubles of
their own—the sorrowful and unhappy, whom many privations had
crushed—wondered that lots in life were so unequal, and envied this
man, young, rich, handsome, and beloved, while he would have
changed places with the poorest, lowliest there to have known only
for one hour such peace of mind as the happy enjoy.
There was but a few hours of respite, then the hall table was
covered with letters of welcome and cards. The same evening Mrs.
Severn drove over. It seemed to her years since she had parted with
her beloved child.
“You will not see Mr. Eyrle among your friends,” she said, as they
sat at dinner; “he went away three weeks ago.”
“Then he is not married?” said Sir Ronald, hastily.
“No,” she replied, with some little surprise, “I never heard even a
rumor of his marriage.”