Every day, after that on which he had received the two English letters--
and almost every hour during daylight--might Loftus Vaughan have been
seen, telescope in hand, at one of the front windows of his house,
sweeping with his glass the roadstead and offing of Montego Bay.
The object of this telescopic observation was, that he might descry the
_Sea Nymph_ before she had entered the harbour: in order that his
carriage should be at the port to receive the distinguished Smythje on
the moment of his landing.
At this period there were no steamers trading across the Atlantic,
punctual to a day, and almost to an hour. Though the letter of advice
had been written several days before that on which the _Sea Nymph_ was
to sail, there could be no calculation made upon such uncertain data as
winds and waves; and the ship which carried Montagu Smythje might arrive
at any hour.
That some distinguished guest was expected, was a fact that had become
well-known to every domestic in the establishment of Mount Welcome.
Every day saw some article or articles of costly furniture brought home
from the "Bay"; and the chambers of the "great house" were being freshly
decorated to receive them. The house-wenches and other indoor servants
were furnished with new dresses, some even with liveries--an unusual
piece of finery in Jamaica--while shoes and stockings were forced upon
feet that, perhaps, had never felt such _impedimenta_ before, and whose
owners would have been only too glad to have escaped the torture of
wearing them.
It need scarcely be said that the planter was undergoing all this
extravagant expenditure for the reception of Mr Montagu Smythje, and
him alone. Had it been only his nephew that was expected, no such
continuous look-out would have been kept, and no such preparations made
to do him honour on his arrival.
Neither do Mr Vaughan's motives require explanation: the reader will
ere this have surmised them. He was the father of a daughter ready at
any moment for marriage. Mr Montagu Smythje was, in his eyes, not only
an eligible, but highly desirable, specimen for a son-in-law. The young
man was possessed of a splendid property, as Mr Vaughan well knew: for
the worthy planter was not only Custos Rotulorum, but for many long
years had been custos of Montagu Castle, and could tell its value to a
shilling "currency." It lay contiguous to his own. He had looked with
a longing eye upon its broad acres and black retainers, until he had
become imbued with a desire, amounting indeed to a passion, to possess
it--if not in his own right, at least in that of his daughter. The
union of the two estates, Mount Welcome and Montagu Castle, would make a
magnificent domain--one of the richest in the Island.
To accomplish this object had long been the wish of Loftus Vaughan. It
had grown and grown upon him, till it had become the most cherished
purpose of his heart.
Let us not conceal a really creditable motive that Mr Vaughan had for
desiring this union. He had been too long in Jamaica to be ignorant of
the true social position of his daughter. However beautiful and
accomplished Kate Vaughan was; however much her father loved her--and,
to do him justice, his paternal affection was of the strongest--he knew
that her mother was a _quadroon_, and she only a _mustee_. No matter
how little trace there might be of the _taint_--however imperceptible to
the outward eye--he knew that between her and the young gentlemen of his
acquaintance--that is, those who would have been eligible--there was
still enough to erect a certain social barrier. He knew, moreover, that
young Englishmen, especially on their first arrival, make light of this
barrier; in fact, altogether disregard it, until corrupted by the
"society" of the island.
In his match-making designs the Jamaica planter was not more of a sinner
than hundreds of other parents both at home and abroad; and there is
this much in his favour: that, perhaps, his affection for his daughter,
and the desire of ennobling her--for by such an alliance would the
_taint be extinguished_--were the chief motives for the conduct he was
pursuing in regard to Montagu Smythje.
So far Mr Vaughan's conduct may be excused. But, unfortunately, the
studied courtesy with which he was preparing to receive the lord of
Montagu Castle presented a damaging contrast to the discourtesy he had
designed for his kinsman.
In the latter case, both his acts and intentions were paltry beyond
parallel.
The announcement in the nephew's letter, that he had taken a _steerage
passage_, had been to his uncle a source of bitter chagrin. Not that he
would have cared a whit about the thing, had the young fellow voyaged in
any other vessel than the _Sea Nymph_, or had he travelled unrecognised.
What troubled Mr Vaughan was the fear that the relationship might
become known to Mr Montagu Smythje, and thus create in the mind of the
latter a suspicion of his, the planter's, respectability.
The dread of this _expose_ so preyed upon Mr Vaughan's mind that, had
it been possible, he would have denied the relationship altogether.
He had conceived a hope that this recognition might not take place
during the voyage: building his hope on the character of the
aristocratic Cockney, which he knew to be a type of supercilious pride.
Confiding in the faith that nothing might transpire on board ship to
make Mr Smythje acquainted with the connection, he was determined there
should be no chance on shore. To preclude the possibility of such a
thing, he had conceived a design as childish as it was cruel: his nephew
was to be _kept out of the way_.
The plan of action he had traced out long before the arrival of the _Sea
Nymph_. Mr Montagu Smythje was to be met at the landing, and at once
hurried off to Mount Welcome. Herbert Vaughan was likewise to be
conducted thither; but not direct.
A different means of transport was to be provided for him; and on his
arrival within the bounds of the plantation, he was to be taken by a
private road to the house of the overseer--which stood in a secluded
corner of the valley, nearly half a mile distant from the "Buff."
Here he was to remain as the guest of the latter, until such time as his
uncle could find a way of disposing of him--either by procuring some
employment for him at Montego Bay, or the situation of book-keeper on
some distant plantation.