It was late in the night as Lord Lackington and his friends reached the
villa, a good deal wearied, very jaded, and, if the confession may
be made, a little sick of each other; they parted pretty much as the
members of such day-long excursions are wont to do,--not at all sorry to
have reached home again, and brought their trip of pleasure to an end.
Twining, of course, was the same happy-natured, gay, volatile creature
that he set out in the morning. Everything went well with him, the
world had but one aspect, which was a pleasant one, and he laughed and
muttered, “What fun!” as in half-dogged silence the party wended their
way through the garden towards the house.
“I hope these little girls may not have caught cold,” said the Viscount,
as he stood with Twining on the terrace, after saying “Good-night!”
“I hope so, with all my heart. Charming girls--most fascinating--father
so amiable.”
“Isn't that Dunn's apartment we see the light in?” asked the other, half
impatiently. “I 'll go and make him a visit.”
“Overjoyed to see you, greatly flattered by the attention,” chimed in
Twining; and while he rubbed his hands over the enchanting prospect,
Lord Lackington walked away.
Not waiting for any announcement, and turning the handle of the door
immediately after he had knocked at it, the Viscount entered. Whether
Dunn had heard him or not, he never stirred from the table where he was
writing, but continued engrossed by his occupation till his Lordship
accosted him.
“I have come to disturb you, I fear, Dunn?”
“Oh! Lord Lackington, your most obedient. Too happy to be honored by
your presence at any time. Just returned, I conclude?”
“Yes, only this moment,” said the Viscount, sighing weariedly. “These
picnics are stupid inventions; they fatigue and they exhaust. They give
little pleasure at the time, and none whatever to look back upon.”
“Your Lordship's picture is rather a dreary one,” said Dunn, smiling.
“Perfectly correct, I assure you; I went simply to oblige some country
folks of yours. The O'Reillys,--nice little girls,--very natural, very
pretty creatures; but the thing is a bore. I never knew any one who
enjoyed it except the gentleman who gets tipsy, and _he_ has an awful
retribution in the next day's headache,--the terrible headache of iced
rum punch.”
Dunn laughed, because he saw that his Lordship expected as much; and the
Viscount resumed,--
“I am vexed, besides, at the loss of time; I wanted to have my morning
with _you_ here.”
Dunn bowed graciously, but did not speak.
“We have so much to talk over--so many things to arrange--that I am
quite provoked at having thrown away a day; and you, too, are possibly
pressed for time?”
He nodded in assent.
“You can give me to-morrow, however?”
“I can give you to-night, my Lord, which will, perhaps, do as well.”
“But to-morrow--”
“Oh, to-morrow, my Lord, I start with Baron Glumthal for Frankfort, to
meet the Elector of Darmstadt,--an appointment that cannot be broken.”
“Politically most important, I have no doubt,” said the Viscount, with
an undisguised sarcasm in the tone.
“No, my Lord, a mere financial affair,” said Dunn, not heeding the
other's manner. “His Highness wants a loan, and we are willing to
accommodate him.”
“I wish I could find you in the same liberal spirit. It is the very
thing I stand in need of Just now. In fact, Dunn, you must do it.”
The half-coaxing accent of these last words was a strong contrast to the
sneer of a few seconds before, and Dunn smiled as he heard them.
“I fancy, my Lord, that if you are still of the same mind as before, you
will have little occasion to arrange for a loan in any quarter.”
“Pooh! pooh! the scheme is absurd. It has not one, but fifty obstacles
against it. In the first place, you know nothing of this fellow, or
whether he can be treated with. As for myself, I do not believe one word
about his claim. Why, sir, there's not a titled house in England has not
at some period or other been assailed with this sort of menace. It
is the stalest piece of knavery going. If you were to poll the peers
to-morrow, you 'd not meet two out of ten have not been served with
notice of action, or ejectment on the title; in fact, sir, these suits
are a profession, and a very lucrative one, too.”
Lord Lackington spoke warmly, and ere he had finished had lashed himself
up into a passion. Meanwhile Duun sat patiently, like one who awaited
the storm to pass by ere he advanced upon his road.
“I conclude, from your manner, that you do not agree with me?” said the
Viscount.
“Your Lordship opines truly. I take a very different view of this
transaction. I have had all the documents of Conway's claim before
me. Far more competent judges have seen and pronounced upon them. They
constitute a most formidable mass of evidence, and, save in a very few
and not very important details, present an unbroken chain of testimony.”
“So, then, there is a battery preparing to open fire upon us?” said the
Viscount, with a laugh of ill-affected indifference.
“There is a mine whose explosion depends entirely upon your Lordship's
discretion. If I say, my Lord, that I never perused a stronger case,
I will also say that I never heard of one so easy of management The
individual in whose favor these proofs exist has not the slightest
knowledge of them. He has not a suspicion that all his worldly prospects
put together are worth a ten-pound note. It is only within the last
three months that I have succeeded in even discovering where he is.”
“And where is he?”
“Serving as a soldier with his regiment in the Crimea. He was in
hospital at Scutari when I first heard, but since that returned to duty
with his regiment.”
“What signifies all this? The fellow himself is nothing to us!”
Dunn again waited till this burst of anger had passed, and then
resumed,--
“My Lord, understand me well. You can deal with this case now; six
months hence it may be clear and clean beyond all your power of
interference. If Conway's claim derive, as I have strong ground to
believe it, from the elder branch, the estate and the title are both
his.”
“You are a hardy fellow, a very hardy fellow, Mr. Dunn, to make such a
speech as this!”
“I said, 'If,' my Lord--'If' is everything here. The assumption is that
Reginald Conway was summoned by mistake to the House of Peers in Henry
the Seventh's reign,--the true Baron Lackington being then an exile. It
is from him this Conway's descent claims.”
“I'm not going to constitute myself a Committee of Privileges, sir, and
listen to all this jargon; nor can I easily conceive that the unshaken
possession of centuries is to be disturbed by the romantic pretensions
of a Crimean soldier. I am also aware how men of your cloth conduct
these affair to their own especial advantage. They assume to be the
arbiters of the destinies of great families, and they expect to be paid
for their labors,--eh, is n't it so?”
“I believe your Lordship has very accurately defined our position,
though, perhaps, we might not quite agree as to the character of the
remuneration.”
“How so? What do you mean?”
“I, for instance, my Lord, would furnish no bill of costs to either
party. My relations with your Lordship are such as naturally give me a
very deep interest in what concerns you; of Mr. Conway I know nothing.”
“So, then, you are simply moved in this present affair by a principle
of pure benevolence; you are to be a sort of providence to the House of
Lackington,--eh, is that it?”
“Your Lordship's explanation is most gracious,” said Dunn, bowing.
“Come, now; let us talk seriously,” said the Viscount, in a changed
tone. “What is it you propose?”
“What I would _suggest_, my Lord,” said Dunn, with a marked emphasis on
the word, “is this. Submit the documents of this claim--we can obtain
copies of the most important of them--to competent opinion, learn if
they be of the value I attribute to them, see, in fact, if this claim
be prosecuted, whether it is likely to succeed at law, and, if so,
anticipate the issue by a compromise.”
“But what compromise?”
“Your Lordship has no heir. Your brother, who stands next in succession,
need not marry. This point at once decided, Conway's claim can take its
course after Mr. Beecher's demise. The estates secured to your Lordship
for life will amply guarantee a loan to the extent you wish.”
“But they are mine, sir; they are mine this moment. I can go into the
market to-morrow and raise what amount I please--”
“Take care, my Lord, take care; a single imprudent step might spoil all.
If you were to negotiate a mere ten thousand to-morrow, you might be met
by the announcement that your whole property was about to be litigated,
and your title to it contested. Too late to talk of compromise, then.”
“This sounds very like a threat, Mr. Dunn.”
“Then have I expressed myself most faultily, my Lord; nor was there
anything less near my thoughts.”
“Would you like to see my brother? He shall call on you in Dublin; you
will be there by--when?”
“Wednesday week, my Lord; and it is a visit would give me much
pleasure.”
“If I were to tell you my mind frankly, Dunn,” said the Viscount, in a
more assured tone, “I 'd say, I would not give a ten-pound note to
buy up this man's whole claim. Annesley, however, has a right to be
consulted; he has an interest only second to my own. See him, talk it
over with him, and write, to me.”
“Where shall I address you, my Lord?”
“Florence; I shall leave this at once,--to-night,” said Lord
Lackington, impatiently; for, somehow,--we are not going to investigate
wherefore,--he was impatient to be off, and see no more of those he had
been so intimate with.