Though heaven's inauspicious eye
Lay black on love's nativity,
Her eye a strong appeal shall give;
Beauty smiles, and love shall live.--Crashaw.
When Dr. Butts had left them, the knight would fain have excused
himself from accompanying his old tutor on the proposed visit. He had
encountered many a danger in the "imminent deadly breach," and the
battle-field, with as light a heart as that which beats in beauty's
bosom when she thinks of sunning herself in admiring looks at the next
ball; but now his courage failed him at the thought of meeting the
person he loved best, and so much did his spirit quail, that "you
might have brained him with a lady's fan."
Dr. Wilbraham, however, pressed, and insisted so intently upon the
pleasure it would give Lady Constance to see him after his escape, and
the rudeness which might be attributed to him if he did not wait upon
her soon, that he at length consented to go; and shortly after the
physician had left them they themselves took their way towards the
dwelling of the lady. In this happy age, when choice is as free as
thought, we can hardly imagine the generous nobility of England
submitting to yield the selection of a companion for life to the
caprice of a king or of his favourite; yet such was frequently the
case in the times whereof we write; and dangerous would it have been
to have opposed the will of the despotic Henry, or his tyrant
minister, when the whim of the one, or the interest of the other, led
them to seek the union of any two families. It is true that the sad
example of Lady Arabella Stuart was not yet before their eyes; but
still, the arbitrary power of the king was well enough established to
judge of what he might do, and few would have been found bold enough
to assert their liberty of choice in opposition to his command. Nor at
that time was Wolsey's will less potent than the king's; so that, to
the mind of the young knight, the marriage of Lady Constance with Lord
Darby seemed fixed beyond recall.
There was, however, something in all that the old tutor said of her
anxiety respecting his fate, joined with a certain tenderness that he
had felt in her manner towards himself, and the words she had
inadvertently let drop respecting the fame he had acquired in
Flanders, that gave a vague but delightful feeling of hope to his
bosom; and while walking on with Dr. Wilbraham, there was still
amongst the wild confusion of his thoughts a strange sort of dreamy
plan for winning her yet: the buoyancy of youthful expectation that
would not be depressed, like a child's boat of cork, still rising
above the waves that had overwhelmed many a goodlier vessel.
"If I dared but think she loved me," thought Sir Osborne, "I should
fear nothing;" and he felt as if his single arm could conquer a world.
But then came the remembrance, that as an equivalent for her rich
lands and lordships, he had nothing, absolutely nothing! and with a
sigh he entered the house, which Wolsey had taken care to provide for
his fair ward as near his own palace as possible.
Most doors in that day standing open, Dr. Wilbraham, whose sacred
character gave him much freedom of access, took no pains to call
servant or attendant to announce them; but leading the way up the
narrow winding stairs, opened the door at the end of the flight, and
brought Sir Osborne into a large room, wherein were sitting several of
the young lady's women, occupied in various tasks of needle-work and
embroidery. One of these rose, and in silence gave them entrance to a
chamber beyond, into which the clergyman conducted his former pupil,
without even the ceremony of announcing him.
Lady Constance, at the moment, was seated somewhat listlessly on a
pile of oriental cushions, holding her arms extended, while Dr. Butts
kept his hand upon her pulse. She was dressed in white, after the mode
of the French of that day: the upper part of her robe, except the
sleeves, which were large and floating, fitting close to her figure
round the waist and shoulders, but falling back, just above the bosom,
into a beautiful standing ruff, or fraise, as the French termed it, of
fine Italian lace. The skirt of the robe was wide and loose, and,
dividing at the girdle, showed part of a satin dress beneath, as well
as the beautiful small foot and delicate ankle, which, hanging over
the edge of the cushions, indicated, fully as much as the heaviness of
her eyes, the languor of sickness and want of rest. A few yards behind
her stood her waiting-woman, who remained in the room, fully as much
in the capacity of duenna, as for the purpose of serving her mistress.
As Lady Constance did not raise her head when the door opened,
thinking that it was some of the domestics who entered, the eyes of
the waiting-maid were those that first encountered Sir Osborne; and as
she bore him no small goodwill for having given up with such alacrity
the tapestry chamber at the inn to herself and lady, immediately on
perceiving him she burst forth with a pleasurable "Oh dear!"
Lady Constance looked up, and seeing who entered, turned as red as
fire, then pale, then red again; and starting up from the cushions,
drew her hand suddenly away from Dr. Butts, advanced a step,
hesitated, and then stood still.
"Umph!" muttered the physician, "it's a bad business."
"Oh, Sir Osborne Maurice!" said the lady, her eyes sparkling with
pleasure, although she struggled hard to compose herself, to seem
disembarrassed, and to hide the busy feelings at her heart; "I am most
delighted to see you safe; for indeed I--that is, Dr. Wilbraham--began
to be very seriously alarmed; and though he told me there was no
danger, yet I saw that he was very much frightened, and--and I hope
you got away easily. Will you not take that seat?"
The young knight took the chair to which she pointed, and thanked her
for the interest and kindness she had shown towards him, with some
degree of propriety, though at first he felt his lip quiver as he
spoke; and then he fancied that his manner was too cold and
ceremonious; so, to avoid that he made it somewhat too warm and
ardent, and in the end, finding that he was going from one extreme to
the other, without ever resting at the mean, he turned to Dr. Butts,
and said with a sort of anxiety, which went thrilling to the heart of
Lady Constance, that he hoped he had not found his patient really ill.
"Indeed I did though!" answered the physician; "a great deal worse
than I had expected, and therefore I shall go directly and tell my
good lord, the reverend father cardinal, that the lady must be kept as
tranquil as possible, and as quiet."
"Nay, nay!" said Lady Constance; "I am not so ill, indeed, my good
physician; I feel better now. However, you may go to my lord cardinal
if you will; but I really am better."
"Umph!" said Dr. Butts; "now _I_ think you are worse. But tell me,
lady, why do you quit the habits of your country, to dress yourself
like a Frenchwoman?"
Lady Constance smiled. "Do you not know," said she, "that I am a
French vassal? Do you not know that all the estates that belonged to
my mother, of the Val de Marne and Boissy, are held from the French
crown?"
"Go and see them, lady," said Dr. Butts; "the French air would suit
you better than the English, I've a notion; for a year or two, at
least."
"Nay, Dr. Butts," said Sir Osborne; "why deprive England of Lady
Constance's presence? There are so few like her," he added, in an
under-voice, "that indeed we cannot spare her."
Lady Constance raised her eyes for an instant to his face: they met
his, and though it was but for a moment, that look was sufficient to
determine his future fate. A thousand such looks from Lady Katrine
Bulmer would have meant nothing, from Lady Constance de Grey that one
meant everything, and Sir Osborne's bosom beat with renewed hope.
True, the same obstacles existed as heretofore; but it mattered not
Nothing, he thought, nothing now could impede his progress; and he
would dare all, defy all, win her, or die.
Nor in truth was the heart of Lady Constancy de Grey less lightened,
although she still felt that trembling fear which a woman, perhaps,
does not wholly lose for long, long after the lips of the man she
loves have made profession of his attachment; yet still she was almost
sure that she was loved. There had been something in Darnley's manner,
in his agitation, in his anxiety about her, in his very glance, far,
far more eloquent than words; and Lady Constance's certainty that he
loved her was more, perhaps, a sensation of the heart than a
conviction of the mind: she felt that she was loved.
While these thoughts, or feelings, or what you will, were busy in the
bosom of each, a servant entered, and with much more ceremony than the
good chaplain had used to usher in the young knight, announced that
Lord Darby waited in the ante-chamber to inquire after her ladyship's
health.
"Bid him come in," said the young lady, and in a moment after, Sir
Osborne had his rival before his eyes.
He was a slight, elegant young man, dressed with great splendour of
apparel, and possessed of that sort of calm, easy self-possession, and
gay, nonchalant bearing, that made the knight instantly conceive a
violent inclination to cut his throat.
"Good morrow, my fair cousin!" cried he, advancing: "good morrow,
gentles all; God gi'ye good morrow, Mrs. Margaret," to the waiting
woman; "what, have you been standing there ever since I left you
yesterday?" (The woman tossed her head pettishly, much to the young
lord's amusement.) "Gad! you must do like the hens, then: stand upon
one leg while you rest the other. But say, my fair cousin, how dost
thou do?"
"I am not well, my lord," replied the lady, "at least, so Dr. Butts
would fain have me believe, and he says I must have quiet; so, by your
leave, I will not have you quarrel with my woman, Margaret, as you did
yesterday."
"'Faith, not I," answered he; "I love her dearly, bless the mark! But
cousin, his reverend grace the cardinal commends him, by your humble
slave, to your most sublime beauty, and adviseth (that is, you know,
commandeth) that you should betake yourself, for change of air (which
means for his pleasure and purposes), to the court at Greenwich, to
which you are invited by our royal mistress and queen. And if it
seemeth fit to you (which would say, whether you like it or not) he
will have his barge prepared for you to-morrow at noon."
"Present my thanks unto the very reverend father," replied Lady
Constance, "and say that I will willingly be ready at the hour he
names."
"Nay, if you are so sweetly obedient to all his commands," said Lord
Darby, more seriously, "'faith, Constance, our plan of yesterday will
fall to the ground; for I cannot be rude enough to take it all on
myself." Then darting off into a thousand other subjects, the young
peer laughed, and spoke with light facility of various indifferent
matters, while Dr. Butts looked on, keenly observing all that passed;
and Sir Osborne bent his eyes sternly upon the ground, biting his lip
and playing with the hilt of his sword, more irritated, perhaps, with
the confident gaiety of his rival than he would have been with a more
serious and enthusiastic passion, and certainly not appearing to
advantage where he wished most to please.
"That sword, I think, must be of Spanish mounting," said Lord Darby,
at length turning calmly towards the knight.
"Sir!" replied Sir Osborne, raising his eyes to his face.
"I asked whether that sword was not mounted in Spain, sir knight?"
said Lord Darby, quietly. "Will you let me look at it?" and he held
out his hand.
"I am not in the habit, my lord," replied Sir Osborne, "of giving my
weapon out of my own hands; but in answer to your question, it was
mounted in Spain."
"I never steal folk's swords!" said the peer, with the same
imperturbably nonchalant air; and then turning to Dr. Wilbraham, he
went on: "Dear Dr. Wilbraham, do let me see that book you talked of
yesterday; for as you go to Greenwich to-morrow, I shall never behold
any of you again, I am sure."
The good chaplain, who had remained silent ever since he had been in
the room, not at all understanding what was the matter between Lady
Constance and the young knight, although he evidently saw that they
had from the first been both agitated and embarrassed, now rose, and
went to search for the book which Lord Darby required, very willing to
get away from a scene he did not in the least comprehend. To make way
for him, however, Sir Osborne raised his cap and plume, which had
hitherto lain beside him; and as he did so, the sapphire ring that had
been given him by Lady Katrina Bulmer met the eye of Lord Darby, and
instantly produced a change in his whole demeanour. His cheek burned,
his eye flashed, and, starting upon his feet, he seemed as if he would
have crossed over towards Sir Osborne; but then recovering himself, he
relapsed into his former somewhat drawling manner, took leave of Lady
Constance, and, without waiting for Dr. Wilbraham's return, left the
apartment. A moment after, the physician also rose, in his usual,
quick, precipitate manner, saying that he must depart.
"But, doctor! doctor!" cried Mrs. Margaret, the waiting-woman, seeing
him proceeding towards the door, "you have not told me how I am to
manage my mistress."
"I can't stop! I can't stop!" said the physician, still walking on out
of the room. "What is it! What is it?"
"Nay, but, doctor, you must tell me!" cried she, running after him.
"Indeed, I shall not know what to do with my lady." Still the doctor
walked on, giving her, however, some necessary directions as he went,
and Mrs. Margaret following for a moment, left the two lovers alone.
Darnley felt that it was one of those precious instants which, once
lost, rarely if ever return; but an irresistible feeling of anxiety
tied his tongue, and he could but gaze at Lady Constance with a look
that seemed to plead for pardon, even for what he felt. The fair girl
trembled in every limb; and as if she knew all that was passing in his
mind, dared not look up but for a single glance, as she heard the last
words hang on the physician's lip, as he began to descend the stairs.
Darnley raised the glove that lay beside her. "May I--may I have it?"
said he.
"Oh, Darnley!" she replied; and happy almost to delirium, he placed
the glove in his bosom, and pressed an ardent kiss upon her hand.
"Go!" cried she; "for heaven's sake, go if you love me! We shall meet
again soon."
The knight obeyed, almost as agitated as herself; and passing out of
the room just as Mrs. Margaret entered, he followed Dr. Butts, whose
steps he heard descending the stairs before him.