THE FOSTER-BROTHERS.
Sir Marmaduke Nevile was sunning his bravery in the Tower Green,
amidst the other idlers of the court, proud of the gold chain and the
gold spurs which attested his new rank, and not grieved to have
exchanged the solemn walls of Middleham for the gay delights of the
voluptuous palace, when to his pleasure and surprise, he perceived his
foster-brother enter the gateway; and no sooner had Nicholas entered,
than a bevy of the younger courtiers hastened eagerly towards him.
"Gramercy!" quoth Sir Marmaduke, to one of the bystanders, "what hath
chanced to make Nick Alwyn a man of such note, that so many wings of
satin and pile should flutter round him like sparrows round an owl?--
which, by the Holy Rood, his wise face somewhat resembleth."
"Know you not that Master Alwyn, since he hath commenced trade for
himself, hath acquired already the repute of the couthliest goldsmith
in London? No dague-hilts, no buckles are to be worn, save those that
he fashions; and--an he live, and the House of York prosper--verily,
Master Alwyn the goldsmith will ere long be the richest and best man
from Mile-end to the Sanctuary."
"Right glad am I to hear it," said honest Marmaduke, heartily; and
approaching Alwyn, he startled the precise trader by a friendly slap
on the shoulder.
"What, man, art thou too proud to remember Marmaduke Nevile? Come to
my lodgment yonder, and talk of old days over the king's canary."
"I crave your pardon, dear Master Nevile."
"Master--avaunt! Sir Marmaduke,--knighted by the hand of Lord
Warwick,--Sir Marmaduke Nevile, lord of a manor he hath never yet
seen, sober Alwyn."
Then drawing his foster-brother's arm in his, Marmaduke led him to the
chamber in which he lodged.
The young men spent some minutes in congratulating each other on their
respective advances in life: the gentleman who had attained competence
and station simply by devotion to a powerful patron, the trader who
had already won repute and the prospect of wealth by ingenuity,
application, and toil; and yet, to do justice, as much virtue went to
Marmaduke's loyalty to Warwick as to Alwyn's capacities for making a
fortune. Mutual compliments over, Alwyn said hesitatingly,--
"And dost thou find Mistress Sibyll more gently disposed to thee than
when thou didst complain to me of her cruelty?"
"Marry, good Nicholas, I will be frank with thee. When I left the
court to follow Lord Warwick, there were rumours of the gallantries of
Lord Hastings to the girl, which grieved me to the heart. I spoke to
her thereof bluntly and honourably, and got but high looks and
scornful words in return. Good fellow, I thank thee for that squeeze
of the hand and that doleful sigh. In my absence at Middleham, I
strove hard to forget one who cared so little for me. My dear Alwyn,
those Yorkshire lasses are parlously comely, and mighty douce and
debonaire. So I stormed cruel Sibyll out of my heart perforce of
numbers."
"And thou lovest her no more?"
"Not I, by this goblet! On coming back, it is true, I felt pleased to
clank my gold spurs in her presence, and curious to see if my new
fortunes would bring out a smile of approval; and verily, to speak
sooth, the donzell was kind and friendly, and spoke to me so cheerly
of the pleasure she felt in my advancement, that I adventured again a
few words of the old folly. But my lassie drew up like a princess,
and I am a cured man."
"By your troth?"
"By my troth!"
Alwyn's head sank on his bosom in silent thought. Sir Marmaduke
emptied his goblet; and really the young knight looked so fair and so
gallant, in his new surcoat of velvet, that it was no marvel if he
should find enough food for consolation in a court where men spent six
hours a day in making love,--nor in vain.
"And what say they still of the Lord Hastings?" asked Alwyn, breaking
silence. "Nothing, I trow and trust, that arraigns the poor lady's
honour, though much that may scoff at her simple faith in a nature so
vain and fickle. 'The tongue's not steel, yet it cuts,' as the
proverb saith of the slanderer."
"No! scandal spares her virtue as woman, to run down her cunning as
witch! They say that Hastings hath not prevailed, nor sought to
prevail,--that he is spell-bound. By Saint Thomas, from a maid of
such character Marmaduke Nevile is happily rescued!"
"Sir Marmaduke," then said Alwyn, in a grave and earnest voice, "it
behooves me, as true friend, though humble, and as honest man, to give
thee my secret, in return for thine own. I love this girl. Ay, ay!
thou thinkest that love is a strange word on a craftsman's lips, but
'cold flint hides hot fire.' I would not have been thy rival, Heaven
forefend! hadst thou still cherished a hope, or if thou now wilt
forbid my aspiring; but if thou wilt not say me nay, I will try my
chance in delivering a pure soul from a crafty wooer."
Marmaduke stared in great surprise at his foster-brother; and though,
no doubt, he spoke truth when he said he was cured of his love for
Sibyll, he yet felt a sort of jealousy at Alwyn's unexpected
confession, and his vanity was hurt at the notion that the plain-
visaged trader should attempt where the handsome gentleman had
failed.--However, his blunt, generous, manly nature after a brief
struggle got the better of these sore feelings; and holding out his
hand to Alwyn, he said, "My dear foster-brother, try the hazard and
cast thy dice, if thou wilt. Heaven prosper thee, if success be for
thine own good! But if she be given to witchcraft (plague on thee,
man, sneer not at the word), small comfort to bed and hearth can such
practices bring!"
"Alas!" said Alwyn, "the witchcraft is on the side of Hastings,--the
witchcraft of fame and rank, and a glozing tongue and experienced art.
But she shall not fall, if a true arm can save her; and 'though Hope
be a small child; she can carry a great anchor.'"
These words were said so earnestly, that they opened new light into
Marmaduke's mind; and his native generosity standing in lieu of
intellect, he comprehended sympathetically the noble motives which
actuated the son of commerce.
"My poor Alwyn," he said, "if thou canst save this young maid,--whom
by my troth I loved well, and who tells me yet that she loveth me as a
sister loves,--right glad shall I be. But thou stakest thy peace of
mind against hers! Fair luck to thee, say I again,--and if thou wilt
risk thy chance at once (for suspense is love's purgatory), seize the
moment. I saw Sibyll, just ere we met, pass to the ramparts, alone;
at this sharp season the place is deserted; go."
"I will, this moment!" said Alwyn, rising and turning very pale; but
as he gained the door, he halted--"I had forgot, Master Nevile, that I
bring the king his signet-ring, new set, of the falcon and fetter-
lock."
"They will keep thee three hours in the anteroom. The Duke of
Clarence is now with the king. Trust the ring to me, I shall see his
highness ere he dines."
Even in his love, Alwyn had the Saxon's considerations of business; he
hesitated--"May I not endanger thereby the king's favour and loss of
custom?" said the trader.
"Tush, man! little thou knowest King Edward; he cares naught for the
ceremonies: moreover, the Neviles are now all-puissant in favour. I
am here in attendance on sweet Lady Anne, whom the king loves as a
daughter, though too young for sire to so well-grown a donzell; and a
word from her lip, if need be, will set all as smooth as this gorget
of lawn!"
Thus assured, Alwyn gave the ring to his friend, and took his way at
once to the ramparts. Marmaduke remained behind to finish the canary
and marvel how so sober a man should form so ardent a passion. Nor
was he much less surprised to remark that his friend, though still
speaking with a strong provincial accent, and still sowing his
discourse with rustic saws and proverbs, had risen in language and in
manner with the rise of his fortunes. "An he go on so, and become
lord mayor," muttered Marmaduke, "verily he will half look like a
gentleman!"
To these meditations the young knight was not long left in peace. A
messenger from Warwick House sought and found him, with the news that
the earl was on his road to London, and wished to see Sir Marmaduke
the moment of his arrival, which was hourly expected. The young
knight's hardy brain somewhat flustered by the canary, Alwyn's secret,
and this sudden tidings, he hastened to obey his chief's summons, and
forgot, till he gained the earl's mansion, the signet ring intrusted
to him by Alwyn. "What matters it?" said he then, philosophically,--
"the king hath rings eno' on his fingers not to miss one for an hour
or so, and I dare not send any one else with it. Marry, I must plunge
my head in cold water, to get rid of the fumes of the wine."