OF HOW THREE GENTLEMEN OF DEVON DRANK THE KING’S HEALTH
AN hour later, when I left the house, I carried in my breast a sealed
document giving me the fullest powers of acting, both in Cleeve and the
surrounding district, against “all Papists and adherents of the man
James Stuart; being enemies of his Majesty, King William, and of the
peace of this realm.” Moreover, I had received an order from my lord
upon the treasury--which had been duly paid me by his secretary--that
had lined my pockets with gold pieces, to defray all such disbursements
as should be necessary to bring M. de Launay to London. For the express
orders of the Privy Council were that the marquis should be treated
with all courtesy until such time as he should be delivered into
the custody of the governor of the Tower, that grim and ill-omened
fortress, at present crowded with the partisans, real or suspected, of
the base and despicable James; amongst the most noteworthy of whom were
the Earl of Shrewsbury and the Queen’s uncle, Clarendon.
Also I carried a letter from his lordship to the Earl of Nottingham,
Secretary of State, praying him to send a regiment or two into
Devonshire; for with the exception of the Tangier Horse there were no
regular troops nearer to Exeter than Bristol or Plymouth. And even
now, in consequence of a riot arising out of a drunken brawl, my lord
had been compelled, at the urgent demands of the most influential
citizens, to send the regiment out of the city; whence they had marched
the day before as far as Exmouth, so great was the fear inspired by
their licentiousness.
I saw, therefore, that I should have little more assistance to rely
on than that of my own troop--amounting in all to sixty men--which
still lay in De Brito’s charge at Cleeve. And with this force I had to
overawe the district and patrol the coast from Start Bay to Teignmouth.
Accordingly, armed with this commission for the present, and with
the prospect of revenge upon my lady in the near future, I rode
slowly through a network of narrow alleys to the Castle and Falcon, a
respectable hostelry in the High Street; for it was here that I had
told Cornet Graham to look for me.
It was not, however, until fully two hours later that I heard the
tramping of horse in the street without.
I made my way to the door and found the landlord already upon the
steps, the landlady, a buxom woman, at his side.
It was, indeed, the cornet and his prisoner. Behind them came an escort
of six troopers. The whole party dismounted before the inn.
“Ha, M. Cassilis!” the marquis cried, catching sight of me, “confess
that you were growing anxious! Did you not think that I had knocked my
estimable guard upon the head?”
“When I had your word of honour, M. de Launay?” I said, smiling. “But I
fear you have had but a weary journey.”
“By no means,” he answered lightly. “I have been admiring your Devon
scenery, which is only excelled,” he added gallantly, “by the beauty of
its women!”
And he made a bow to the pretty landlady, who smiled and blushed in
return, worthy of the Court of the Grand Monarque from whence he came.
I could see that the cornet was burning with curiosity to hear my
story; but it was not until we had fully supped that the marquis rose
to his feet.
“If I have your permission, gentlemen,” he said, bowing, “I think that
I will retire.”
“So soon, monsieur?” the cornet cried. “The night is young yet. Will
you not take your revenge for your losses of yesterday?”
“I beg that you will hold me excused,” he answered, with a deprecating
gesture. “I am feeling somewhat fatigued, and there is a long journey
ahead. I should prefer, therefore, to seek my couch, if my good friend
the host will conduct me hither!” And with a courteous bow he left the
room.
When the door had closed upon him I drew my chair again to the table
and gave the cornet an account of what had passed in my interview with
Sir Richard Danvers. He listened throughout in silence.
Only when I had finished: “What a woman!” he said admiringly.
I knew of whom he spoke.
Suddenly he reached out his hand and raised his glass. “I will give you
a toast, captain,” he cried. “To the health of Lady Ingram!”
“Aye,” I answered grimly; following his example, “to the next meeting
between us!”
Our arrival in London excited little curiosity, so common at this time
was the sight of a suspected Jacobite being taken to Newgate or the
Tower. In the city itself we found the wildest rumours afloat. William
had been totally defeated in Ireland! Tourville with the French fleet
had entered the Thames! Whilst at the first sound of his guns the
Papists were to rise and commence a general massacre!
These and a hundred other reports equally alarming were greedily
swallowed by the panic-stricken citizens. It was not without real
regret at parting with the marquis that we arrived at length at the
gate of the Tower facing Tower Hill; for throughout the journey he had
proved a most entertaining companion. And though his air of assumed
gaiety did not deceive me as to the secret anxiety he felt beneath it,
yet he was a man who had travelled much and could readily adapt himself
to the manners of the people with whom he was in company. I doubt not
that at Versailles he would have been as stately a courtier as with us
he was _bon camarade_.
The daylight was fast dying when, in answer to my summons, the gate was
at length opened by a surly warder. And the usual formalities having
been complied with, I handed over the body of M. de Launay into the
custody of the lieutenant of the Tower.
“Adieu,” I said at parting, taking the marquis’s proffered hand. “And I
trust, monsieur, that you will speedily regain your liberty.”
He shrugged his shoulders.
“Who knows what evil fate lies before us!” he answered lightly.
“To-day, M. Cassilis, you are a free man, a good horse beneath you, a
sword at your side. To-morrow, you may be--married!” And he disappeared
into the gloom of the gate-house.
I gave the word, and we turned our horses’ heads and rode slowly back
to the Bull Tavern in Cheapside, where we put up for the night. On
the morrow I dismissed the cornet and his men with instructions to
make all speed in returning to Cleeve; and then with my lord’s letter
in my breast I set out through the city to deliver it to the Earl of
Nottingham.
In every square and open space the citizens were drilling, whilst many
of the shops and houses were barricaded as if to withstand a siege, in
expectation of the arrival of the French. The earl dismissed my lord’s
petition very curtly, with a promise of some Dutch troops who were
arriving shortly from The Hague. And with this promise I was forced to
be content.
Three days afterwards I was back in the capital of the West; and
I stayed but to give his Grace of Nottingham’s message to my Lord
Danvers, and the next day set out southwards.
It was evening when I found myself riding down the valley road within a
mile of Cleeve; and I will confess that at every step that brought me
nearer the house my heart beat more rapidly. How would my lady greet
me! What would she say to me, or I to her? It was in thinking such
thoughts as these and in picturing my welcome that I arrived at length
at the entrance gates and saw that which brought me to a sudden halt.
In the earlier part of the day there had been a heavy storm, and the
torrents of rain that had then fallen had softened the gravel surface
of the avenue. Upon this surface were the marks of many horses’ hoofs,
and they all led in the direction of the house.
I dismounted and examined them more closely. The prints were fresh--not
more than half an hour old; and I speedily came to the conclusion that
it was not De Brito or any of his party, for these horses were shod in
a manner different to that of the troopers’ animals, such as the one I
bestrode.
Who, then, were these men, and for what purpose had they come to
Cleeve? Was my lady engaged in some desperate scheme to assist the
Stuart cause?
Clearly it was incumbent upon me to discover. I turned aside,
therefore, within the gates and led my horse through the thick
undergrowth to some little distance from the road, and there left him;
and I then made my way cautiously through the trees that lined the
avenue on either side to a spot from which I obtained a sight of the
front of the house, which as yet I had only viewed by night.
Seen by daylight, it was an old grey stone residence, long and low;
part of which, I subsequently found, dated back to the reign of the
first Tudor sovereign; though that portion of it that was nearest to
me had been added by the present earl. In front of the house lay a
broad stretch of green turf; and upon this, beneath a wide spreading
oak, a dozen horses were tethered. At some little distance from these
lounged a group of six or eight serving men in conversation with the
steward, whom I easily recognised again, and who carried a large flagon
in his hand. I scanned the front of the house closely, but there
appeared no sign of life in its narrow mullioned windows. If I would
obtain further information as to my lady’s guests, clearly I must seek
for it elsewhere.
I turned on my heel, therefore, and made a wide detour through the
trees, coming out at length at the back of the house. The house itself
and the broad terrace that ran behind it lay a little to my left, and I
saw with satisfaction that the windows nearest to me were lighted up,
and though I could not from my position see the interior of the room
itself, yet I felt that here, if anywhere, was to be found the key of
that which was to me at present a mystery.
Concealing myself, therefore, in the deep shadow afforded by a green
mass of laurels, I set myself patiently to wait until such time as
I could approach the house nearer with less risk of discovery. And
fortunately for my purpose the night was a dark one. Over the manor
roof a crescent moon hung low down in the heavens, but such light as it
afforded was shed upon the front of the house, and the shadow fell the
deeper upon the broad terrace before me.
When it was as I judged sufficiently dark to make the attempt, I stole
across the grass, and softly crossing the terrace, I gained the shadow
of the house itself. Along this I cautiously made my way, cursing my
heavy boots, that at every step I took grated harshly upon the gravel
walk. Presently I came to a halt. Twenty paces away, the light from the
nearest window fell in a broad white patch upon the terrace, shining
with a ghostly radiance upon the low wall opposite that ran above the
moat. To appear within this circle of light without being seen by any
one within the room I saw at once was an impossibility. Yet even as I
stood hesitating what I should do next, Fortune settled it for me in an
unexpected manner. For without warning the window opened outwards, and
a woman clad in white appeared upon the step.
I flattened myself against the ivy-covered wall behind me, and so
stood, scarcely daring to draw my breath, for it needed but one glance
to assure me that it was my lady herself, the light from within shining
full upon her golden hair.
For it may be a minute she stood there gazing into the night. Then with
a weary gesture she raised her hand to her brow, and turning on her
heel, disappeared into the room, and the light from the window vanished
suddenly from the terrace.
I rubbed my eyes and stared again at the spot. In place of the brightly
illumined circle of a moment before rested only impenetrable darkness.
Yet from the three windows beyond the light was still shining.
As the full significance of this fact dawned upon me, I stole forward
until I reached the step. And I was not mistaken. Inadvertently in
re-entering the room, my lady had loosened the curtains, and they had
fallen to behind her.
From within came the sound of voices, but the curtains were so thick
that the words were indistinct and the light shone through but faintly.
Cautiously I raised my hand and slightly parted the heavy drapery
before me, and the interior of the room lay open to my gaze.
Upon the hearth, beside the carved stone chimney-piece, stood my lady,
the light of the candles shimmering in the folds of her soft satin
gown. Seated at a table near, upon which lay the remains of a meal,
were three men, whom I had never before seen. At the head was a sallow,
hawk-faced man, with a certain stiffness of carriage that sufficiently
proclaimed a military career. He wore a full bottomed periwig and
was dressed in a suit of sober black. The one nearest to me was more
conspicuous. He was an enormously stout man, in a coat of plum-coloured
velvet. He had laid aside his wig upon the table before him, and the
light shone upon his round bullet head, crowned with a few scanty locks
of hair, which he mopped ever and again with a coloured kerchief.
Facing me was a young man of some twenty years of age, dressed in a
richly laced suit of grey and silver.
My lady was speaking, but in a voice so changed I could scarcely
recognise it as hers; for so far I had but heard it hard and bitter
with scorn; now it was soft and raised in pleading.
“Oh,” she was saying, “how can you longer hesitate, even for a moment?
Or why delay? Surely you, Colonel Wharton, know, depleted of troops as
the country is at present, now is the very time for all true friends of
the Stuart cause to proclaim themselves openly in arms!”
“Admitting the truth of all that you have said, madam,” the man in
black answered, “and the fact of the money and arms being to hand at
the time you mention, still I cannot but look upon the enterprise as a
most desperate one.”
“Desperate?” the stout man cried. “’Tis suicide--sheer suicide! Would
you have me believe that the country is any the more anxious to receive
James back than it was, two years ago, to be quit of him?”
“I am afraid that I do not understand you, sir!” my lady answered. “You
have heard what has already been said!”
“Granted,” he replied quickly. “And now hear what I have to say, madam.
Is it right for us to risk our--” he coughed slightly--“to risk the
lives of these poor peasants in a premature and ill-organized rising?
The sin of doing so is a matter to be considered, madam. We should
unite the--hum!--guile of the serpent----”
“With the courage of the hare!” put in the young man contemptuously.
“With the--hum!--courage of the quadruped mentioned,” the other
continued, without apparently noticing the sarcasm. “And the affair
should be approached with all due circumspection. I think that is the
correct phrase, Colonel Wharton?”
“Certainly, certainly,” the latter answered. “It is but sound common
sense.”
“And it savours to me,” the young man cried impatiently, “to be more
of----”
“Rupert,” my lady interrupted quickly, “be silent, I beg of you!”
“Of what, young man?” the colonel said in his precise tone, fixing his
eyes upon the other’s face. “Of caution, you should say. For take the
word of an old soldier who has seen some service in his time, I say
that arm your enthusiasts as you will, they will never stand against
disciplined troops. And we want no second Monmouth affair to teach us
wisdom!”
“But you forget, Colonel Wharton,” my lady cried. “What of the French
troops that Louis will send us?”
“Pardon me, madam,” the colonel replied gloomily. “That he _says_ he
will send us! I am of opinion that if the house of Stuart relies upon
French assistance for its restoration, that event will not take place
in my lifetime; although you, madam,” he added, “may possibly live to
see a grandson of James ascend the throne!”
“The more reason, sir, that we should act, relying on ourselves,” the
young man cried quickly; and the glance of gratitude my lady gave him
was not lost on me. “I am of opinion that never before have James’s
affairs worn so favourable an aspect. And I, for one, gentlemen, am
ready and willing to tread the path her ladyship points out, though, it
should lead me to the scaffold!”
“Ah, youth! youth! there spoke thy language,” the stout man said,
shaking his head slowly with a movement that set his pendulous chin
quivering. “Not that I blame Sir Rupert Courtenay for being outspoken,”
he added, somewhat hastily, as the other half rose from his seat. “At
his age I was like him.”
“Young in years I may be,” the other cried hotly. “’Tis a fault that
time will remedy. At least, I am not a----”
“Gentlemen,” my lady cried pleadingly, “for my sake, do not quarrel.
Oh,” she continued passionately, “what ill fate clings around the
Stuarts, that among their friends every measure formed on their behalf
is born to perish in the rifts of selfish strife!”
“If I spoke somewhat hastily, sir,” the young man said sullenly, “you
must put it down to my Courtenay blood. I am willing for this lady’s
sake to withdraw my words.”
“Let it pass, sir, let it pass,” the other answered with a wave of the
hand. “As between gentlemen they are already forgotten.”
“And may I be permitted to know, madam,” the colonel broke in, “the
names of those who have consented to aid you in this scheme ’ere adding
my own to the number--if I approve of it,” he added.
I saw that for a moment my lady hesitated.
Then she drew a folded paper from the bosom of her gown. “See,” she
cried eagerly with shining eyes. “Here is the authority for what I do,
and with the signature of the king himself--my king!” imprinting a
kiss upon the parchment. “Gentlemen, I rely upon your honour for their
non-divulgence,” she added quietly, laying it upon the table before
them.
The colonel bowed in acquiescence; and drawing a candle to him,
unfolded the paper and glanced at its contents. Suddenly he raised his
eyes.
“I see that your ladyship’s name heads the list,” he said shortly.
“I should be base indeed to ask others to risk danger that I feared to
dare myself,” she answered proudly.
And I, the silent watcher without, asked myself how he could longer
hesitate. Had I been in the man’s place, had my lady so looked and
spoken to me--pshaw! what foolishness was this! The woman had beaten me
like a hound; and I held her life and the lives of the men before me in
the hollow of my hand! And I had heard and seen enough of the latter to
sum up, in my own mind at least, their characters. God help my lady’s
scheme if she depended on such men as these for its success!
The colonel finished reading; and with a totally impassive face handed
the paper in silence to the stout man beside him.
The latter perused it with sundry short ejaculations; then:
“Hum!” he said at last. “These are well-known names, madam.”
“That being so,” my lady replied quickly, “and my cousin,” she added,
indicating the young man in grey--“having already signed, it only
remains for you, gentlemen, to do likewise!”
“No, no, no,” the stout man replied, rising hastily to his feet. “Let
there be no waiting, madam! I will put no pen to paper! What!” he added
hastily, meeting my lady’s look of wondering contempt, “would you have
me hazard my life into the keeping of any one who would sell it, for
aught I know, upon the first opportunity?”
“_I_ shall keep the paper, sir,” my lady answered coldly.
“That may be, madam, that may be,” he continued, working himself into a
rage. “And it may suit these gentlemen,” he added, tapping the paper in
his hand, “but it is not so agreeable to me. And besides that, I am not
sure that my conscience will suffer me to aid you.”
“Your conscience!” my lady cried with infinite scorn.
“Aye, madam, my conscience,” he went on, no whit taken aback; “for
whether you succeed or fail, shall I be privy to that which will again
bring bloodshed with its attendant misery upon the people of this
country?”
I waited no longer.
“I will answer that question for you, sir,” I cried clearly, stepping
into the room. “You will _not_!”
My lady uttered a low cry and stood as if turned to stone, with parted
lips and straining eyes. The two men who were seated half rose,
clutching at the table before them in the extremity of their surprise.
As for the stout man, when his glance lighted upon my uniform he caught
his breath with a gasp of mortal fear and fell back into his chair
with ashen face and quivering lips, and the paper fluttered from his
nerveless fingers.
In three strides I crossed the floor, and in a moment the paper was
in my hand. The next and I had thrust it in my breast. That broke the
spell.
“You!” my lady gasped in a choking voice.
[Illustration: “‘You!’ my lady gasped in a choking voice”]
“Yes, I, madam!” I answered quickly. “You did not expect me to return
so speedily! You keep strange company at Cleeve, my lady,” I continued
sneeringly. “And such that whilst I take up my residence in this house
you will do well to regulate.”
Ere she could reply the younger of the men sprang to his feet,
upsetting his chair in the act.
“By Heaven, the paper!” he cried. “To me, colonel! We must have it at
all hazards!” And he drew his sword. An example which was not followed,
however, by the cravens at his side. Remembering the serving men I had
seen without, I saw that the matter was getting serious, and I had no
wish to hurt the lad.
“One moment,” I cried sternly, raising my hand with a gesture
of command. “I beg that you will not put me to the trouble of
summoning the troopers who wait without; for I think that you
forget, gentlemen,” I continued slowly, “that if I arrest you in
this house, the consequences to my lady will be of the gravest
character--consequences,” I added, “which I am as desirous of avoiding
as you are for reasons of my own.”
I saw that my words took effect. The man before me hesitated and then
stood still, frowning. I suppose that a moment’s reflection showed him
the truth of what I had said, for he slowly sank his point.
“What, then, do you propose to do?” he said at last; and I knew by
the tone of his voice that the game was in my own hands. Henceforth
everything was easy. I would show my lady who was the master here.
“I will tell you,” I answered quietly. “But you will oblige me, Sir
Rupert Courtenay--I think that I have the name correctly--by first
laying your sword upon the table. And, Colonel Wharton, yours. No
hesitation, gentlemen,” I continued sternly. “I have force sufficient
to ensure obedience.”
Still for a moment he wavered in doubt.
“And if I comply, sir, with your request,” he said slowly, “what
guarantee have I that this lady shall suffer no harm?”
“My word of honour, sir,” I answered quietly.
“Honour?” my lady cried quickly. “If you look for aught of honour from
this gentleman, I warn you that you will look in vain!”
“I thank you for your good opinion of me, madam,” I answered calmly,
“which, coming from your ladyship, was such as I should have expected.
And I can the more readily overlook your words, since I know how
inopportune must be my presence. But I think that for the present it is
for me to command and for you to obey.”
“I waited a moment, but she did not speak. She only looked at me.
Yet that look hurt me more than words. Despite my assumed air of
carelessness, the scorn and loathing in her eyes made me wince.
“And I will give your ladyship a word of future advice,” I continued
with a sneer. “Open windows consort ill with conspiracy!”
“I trust, sir, that you do not include me in that category,” the
colonel broke in suddenly, “for I think that you have no evidence to
support such an assertion.”
“No evidence at all,” the stout man cried, recovering somewhat from
his first shock of surprise. Though if ever conscious guilt looked
out of a man’s eyes, it was in his, and his twitching lip belied his
air of assurance. “Not a shadow of it!” he continued, growing bolder
at the sound of his own voice. “And if you were listening, captain,
you heard what I was saying. As a magistrate of this country it is my
duty--hum!--strictly in the interests of government to acquaint myself
with the opinions of the most influential families. Had you delayed
your appearance a moment longer, you would have heard the measures I
was about to take to--hum!--counteract the scheme of this misguided
lady!”
“As to that,” I replied--and I could afford to forgive him his
cowardice--for the man was playing into my hands, “I am willing to take
your word for it, Mr.----?”
“Wetherell,” he answered--“Nicholas Wetherell, at your service. I
am well known, sir! I believe that I can honestly say,” he added
pompously, “that I am a man of some weight in the city of Exeter.”
I looked him steadily in the face.
“I do not doubt it,” I answered quietly.
The young baronet gave a short laugh and the colonel’s mouth writhed
itself into a grim smile. Nay, for a moment even I thought that my
lady’s face relaxed somewhat; but, meeting my eyes, she stiffened again
into her old mask of scorn.
“Yet I do not know, Mr. Wetherell,” I continued dryly, “that the
government would entirely approve of your method of obtaining
information.”
“There is no more loyal subject, sir, in England than I!” he cried
hastily.
“Indeed,” I answered, “I think that your loyalty, sir, is as strong as
your courage!”
“And I trust that the latter does not need to be questioned, captain,”
he blustered.
“It does _not_!” I replied, with I fear some of the contempt I felt
for the man appearing in my voice. “But I will put your loyalty to the
test. You have wine there,” I continued, stepping to the table, the
whilst they watched me in silence. “As loyal subjects, therefore, you
will not refuse to join me in drinking a toast.”
I slowly filled four glasses, three of which I placed in the centre of
the table.
“Gentlemen,” I cried clearly, raising the fourth, “to the health of his
Majesty, King William!”
For it may be ten seconds they sat silent. The room was very still. I
gazed full at my lady where she stood upon the hearth. She was leaning
slightly forward, her hands pressed against her bosom, watching the
scene before her with fascinated eyes. It was a battle of our wills and
I had won!
Suddenly the stout man stretched out a shaking hand.
“To the health of King William, sir!” he cried quickly, all the more
anxious to make up for his first slight hesitation. “I desire no better
toast.” And he drained his glass.
“Nor I also,” said the colonel more slowly. “To King William, sir! I
wish him success in his campaign!”
But I noticed that he avoided meeting my lady’s eyes.
I turned to the young baronet. And here I expected trouble.
“Sir Rupert Courtenay,” I said quietly, “it is your turn!”
For a moment he hesitated, and I saw a quick glance pass between him
and my lady. Then, to my surprise, he gave a light laugh and raised his
glass.
“I drink to the king!” he cried clearly, with a defiant look at me.
I noted mentally his reservation, and I knew whom he meant. But it was
not my cue to quarrel with him. I was more than content with my victory.
“Good!” I said aloud, following his example. “That is sufficient, sir!”
and I replaced my glass upon the table. “I will not detain you longer,
gentlemen,” I added. “I have already said that for reasons of my own I
am willing to overlook your presence here. Whether I take further steps
in the matter will depend entirely upon your future conduct. But for
the present, gentlemen, there is the door. I should recommend you to
take your departure with all speed. The night air is somewhat chilly!”
And they needed no further urging. Without a word the stout man
replaced his wig upon his head and, catching up his hat, started for
the door. Perhaps he feared that I might yet repent my clemency. And
the colonel was not slow to follow his example. True, he had the
decency first to turn to my lady, as if to make his adieux; but one
glance at her rigid figure and burning eyes was sufficient for him.
“This comes of having a woman in it,” he said shortly, turning on his
heel and leaving the room.
I glanced at my lady. Her head was bent. I could not see her face.
Suddenly, with a quick, defiant movement she upraised it, tossing the
hair from her forehead.
“Cousin Rupert,” she cried proudly, “your arm!”
The young baronet hastened to do her bidding, and she moved by me,
drawing her scented skirts aside, lest they should touch me in passing.
At the door, still with her hand upon his arm, she turned.
“You have beaten me twice, sir,” she said, in a voice trembling with
passion. “For your own sake beware of the third time!” And she swept
out.