Although other matters of some moment might claim attention in this
place, we will not interrupt the course of our narrative, but will
follow, throughout her journey, the fair fugitive from the city of
Ghent; as far, at least, as that journey was permitted to proceed
unimpeded.
The boat glided along over the calm dull bosom of the Scheldt, with
hardly any noise, except the occasional dip of the oar in the water,
and the slight creaking of the gunnel as the rower plied his stroke.
Every one knows that the river which, a little distance further down
its stream, assumes so much importance as to be the object of
intrigue, negotiation, and even war, to rival nations, presents no
very imposing aspect in the neighbourhood of Ghent; but so gloomy was
the moonless sky, and so dense was the heavy fog which hung over the
waters, that from the moment the boat had pushed off from the quay
both banks became quite invisible. The deep, misty obscurity of the
atmosphere, and the profound darkness of the night, might have been a
cause of terror to Alice of Imbercourt under any other circumstances;
but now all apprehension of danger from the want of light and the
difficulties of the navigation, was swallowed up in the fear of being
overtaken or impeded in her escape; and the impenetrable veil which
seemed to cover all things around her she looked upon as a blessing,
in the hope that it would also conceal herself. The darkness, however,
which gave this feeling of security, did not continue so completely
uninterrupted as to leave her entirely without alarm. Now and then, as
the boat shot past some of the warehouses, or the quays where the
larger craft were moored, an indistinct dim line of light would break
across the mist from lamp or lantern, hung up to show the late watcher
the objects of his toil or of his anxiety; and the heart of poor Alice
would beat quick with fear, lest the skiff, or those it contained,
should attract the eye of any of the eager and wary citizens. But all
these perils were soon past; the boatman rowed strongly and well; the
slow current with which they were proceeding was not powerful enough
to afford much assistance to his exertions, but still the boat skimmed
swiftly over the waters, and ere long the last bridge was passed.
Beyond it there extended along the banks a short suburb, terminated by
scattered houses belonging to cowfeeders and gardeners, and forming a
sort of brief connecting link between the wide open country and the
fortified city; and further on, again, came the rich fields and
meadows in the immediate vicinity of the town, blending gradually into
the thick woods that at that time commenced about Heusden and Melle.
Alice's heart beat more freely, as the fresher air, the slight
clearing away of the mist, the occasional lowing of the cattle, and
that indescribable feeling of expanse which is only known in the
country, showed her--though she could not yet see the objects on the
banks--that she had passed beyond the limits of the city of Ghent. The
page, too, felt the same relief, and, for the first time, ventured a
whispered observation on the good fortune that had attended their
movements. But Alice was still too fearful of being pursued or
discovered, to utter anything but a low-toned injunction to be silent;
and no further sound marked their course but the stroke of the oars,
as the sturdy boatman impelled them on, unwearied, over the waters of
the Scheldt.
At the distance of about three miles from the city the air became
gradually less dense, and at the end of half a mile more the fog had
cleared away entirely. It was still dark, but the stars afforded
sufficient light to show the fair fugitive, and her companion, that
they were passing through a country where the meadow and the cornfield
were merging in the forest. Scattered patches of copse and underwood,
mingled with fields which had been reclaimed to the use of man, came
sweeping down to the banks of the river; and straight before the
travellers lay a dark and shadowy track, broken into dense, heavy
masses, the rounded forms of which, cutting black upon the lighter sky
beyond, distinguished it as wood, from the soft sweeping lines of the
uplands which in other directions marked the horizon.
There is scarcely anything on earth more gloomy and impressive than
the aspect of a deep wood by night, with just sufficient light in the
sky to contrast strongly with the stern body of impenetrable shade
presented by the forest, and yet not enough to show any of the smaller
parts into which it appears separated by day. The wood lay straight
before the bow of the boat, seeming to swallow up the widening course
of the Scheldt, as flowing on, it reflected here and there, the faint
lines of light which it caught from the sky, and which served to mark
its track, till it was lost in the sombre shadows of the trees. An
indefinite feeling of dread passed through the bosom of Alice of
Imbercourt as the boat cut its way on towards the dark and gloomy
wilderness which the forest seemed to present at that hour of the
night. She believed, indeed, that she had no cause for fear; and her
own peculiar plans absolutely required that she should banish all
timidity of the kind that she now felt. Some inquiry, however, was
necessary, in order to guide her further movements; and, as her
apprehensions of pursuit had by this time vanished, she addressed a
few words to the boatman, to lead him into conversation regarding the
part of the country at which they had now arrived.
"Those seem very dark and extensive woods," she said; "do we pass
through them?"
"Yes, noble lady," replied the man, and struck on with more vigour
than before, as if he considered the time occupied by the three words
he spoke as lost to all profitable employment.
"Are they safe to travel at night?" demanded the young lady again.
"No, noble lady," was all the reply she received.
"But do you mean that it is dangerous to pass through them in a boat?"
inquired Alice.
"I cannot tell, madam," answered the man; but still he rowed on, and
the page, laughing with the thoughtless glee of youth, whispered that
the attempt was vain to make silent Martin give them any information,
as he had never been known to speak ten words to an end in his life.
By this time they were within the limits of the forest, and nothing
surrounded them on every side but the trees dipping down their
branches over the water. Alice, however, ventured one more question,
to which the answer she received, though as short, was more
satisfactory than those the boatman had formerly given.
"How far does the wood extend?" she demanded.
"Three quarters of a league, noble lady," replied the boatman, and
again plied his oar in silence.
Whether Alice's voice, and his reply, had called attention, or whether
the stroke of the oars itself could be heard at the banks, cannot be
determined; but the man had answered but a moment, when a slight plash
was heard from behind a little projection of the shore, on which an
old oak had planted itself, spreading its roots down to the very
river. Then came a rushing sound, as of something impelled quickly
through the water, succeeded by the regular sweep of oars, and, in a
moment after, a boat, rowed by two strong men, darted out into the
mid-stream, and followed rapidly after that in which Alice sat. Still
silent Martin, as the boy called him, pulled stoutly on without a
word, but the superior power of the two men who pursued soon brought
them alongside the boat, and, grappling her tight, they addressed the
boatman in a tone rough but not uncivil.
"So ho, friend!" they cried; "stop a bit. What news from Ghent? How
goes the good city?"
"Well! well! my masters," replied the boatman, still striving to impel
his skiff forward, though the proximity of the other boat rendered the
effort to use his oars unavailing.
"It is silent Martin," said one of the men, "and a fair dame, by the
Lord! Who have you here, Master Martin?"
"There, there," replied the boatman, with what appeared to be an
immense effort to make an oration; "let me get on. You do not stop
women, my masters. Surely you would never stop a lady like that!" And
exhausted with this long speech, he again tried to push away from the
other boat, but in vain.
"No, no," cried one of the men, "we will not stop the lady long;
but every one who rows upon the Scheldt now-a-days must have a pass
from the captain. So come along, Master Martin; and when you and the
young lady have given all the news of Ghent, that, doubtless, you can
give--for certainly young ladies do not come up the Scheldt at this
hour of the night for nothing--we will let you go on your way."
"Fine times!" said silent Martin; but as resistance was in vain, he
suffered them to pilot his boat to the mouth of the little creek from
which their own had shot out; and he himself, with a certain degree of
awkward gentleness, aided Alice of Imbercourt to land.
Her feelings were of a very mixed nature; but, assuredly, not
such as might be imagined from a consideration of the more obvious
circumstances of her situation. She was certainly terrified as well as
agitated, and she trembled a good deal; but, at the same time, she
showed no unwillingness to obey the commands of those who now had her
in their power. Her terror, however, did not escape the eyes of the
men who had rowed the other boat; and one of them addressed her in a
kindly tone, saying, "Fear not, fear not. No lady ever suffered harm
or dishonour from the green riders of Hannut. So do not be alarmed,
and you shall soon be free to go whithersoever you will."
These words, which he spoke as they were landing, seemed to reassure
the fair traveller, more than they would, probably, have done most
other people at such a moment.
"Oh, where is he?" she exclaimed, eagerly. "Lead me to him, I beseech
you. It is he whom I am now seeking."
"Ay, indeed!" said the adventurer. "Mean you the Vert Gallant of
Hannut, lady? He is soon found by those who seek him, and rather often
found by those who seek him not. Ho, Roger!" he continued, addressing
his companion in the boat, "rouse up Frank Van Halle and Simpkin
yonder, to keep watch with thee, while I lead the lady and the boy to
the rendezvous. Come now, my pretty mistress," he added, "take care of
your steps, for it is as dark as the tomb. Here, take an old man's
arm. It was more pliant in days of yore, but never stronger, and will
serve at least to help you up the bank."
Alice was glad of assistance, and laid her hand on his arm; but though
his occupation had been sufficiently evident before, yet she almost
started back when her fingers rested upon plates of cold iron, forming
the brassards or defensive armour for the arms, so much are our minds
the slaves of our corporeal sensations, that our convictions are never
vivid till we have verified them by our external senses. She recovered
herself immediately, however, and clung to him both for support and
direction; for the whole scene around was wrapped in profound
obscurity; and though her eye was already accustomed to the night, yet
the additional gloom of the forest was so great, that she followed the
adventurer in perfect blindness, without being able to see, one
moment, where she was to set her foot the next.
After climbing a slight acclivity, which compelled them to walk
slowly, they came to more open ground, where her guide hurried his
pace, and Alice was obliged to follow rapidly upon his steps, though
not without often shrinking back for fear of striking against the
trees, which her imagination pictured as protruding across the path.
The way, though in fact short, seemed to her long, from the darkness
and uncertainty in which she moved; but at length a light began to
glisten between the branches; and, after walking on a few minutes
longer, she perceived a glare so strong as almost to make her believe
that a part of the wood was on fire. As her conductor led her forward,
she every now and then caught a glimpse, through the breaks in the
wood, of figures moving about across the light towards which they were
approaching; but a moment after, the whole scene was again shut out by
a tract of withered beech trees, loaded with their thick dry leaves,
through which the path that Alice and her guide were pursuing took a
sudden turn. The blaze of the fire, however, was sufficiently general
to light them easily on their way; and in a few minutes more they
emerged at once into the little sheltered arena whence it was
diffused.
The frost, as I have before said, had for some time broken up, and the
preceding day had been warm and fine. Nevertheless, sufficient
precautions had been taken by the tenants of the forest to dispel, in
their own neighbourhood at least, whatever touch remained of winter.
In the midst of the open space which Alice now entered, they had piled
up, with very unceremonious appropriation of the duke's trees, a fire
of immense logs, sufficient to roast a hecatomb; and many a relic of
the more ancient and simple methods of dressing meat displayed
themselves around, in various immense pieces of venison and beef
roasting on wooden spits in the open air, while a gigantic black
caldron, pendent from the immemorial triple chevron, which has
suspended all primeval pots from the days of Noah, fumed and bubbled
with most savoury promise. Around, in groups, lay a number of stout
soldiery, prepared to refresh their vigorous and sinewy limbs with the
contents of the pot, or the burden of the spit, as soon as those
skilled in the mystery of cooking pronounced that they were ready for
the knife. Several more, whose appetite seemed still fiercer, stood
round the fire, watching with anticipating expectation the progress of
the cookery. But it is to be remarked, at the same time, that amongst
all this number of persons--amounting fully to fifty or sixty--a great
deal of decent order was kept up, and nothing like either rioting or
confusion was observed, notwithstanding the more than doubtful
character of the persons concerned. There was no singing, no shouting;
and those who were conversing together spoke in an under tone, as if
afraid of disturbing some person engaged in more important business in
their near neighbourhood.
The cause of this orderly tranquillity, perhaps, might be discovered
by running the eye on a little way beyond the fire, where stood a sort
of rude, but extensive, wooden shed or hut, raised upon a number of
upright piles driven into the ground, and thatched on the top with
boughs, leaves, and rushes, which materials also served to cover three
sides of the building. The side that remained open was turned towards
the fire; and, consequently, it both commanded a view of everything
that took place in that direction, and exposed to the sight of the
other parties in the savannah all that was passing in the interior of
the hut. It was owing to this disposition, that, as Alice approached,
she at once perceived the Vert Gallant of Hannut, habited, as we have
before described him, reclining on the ground under the shed, with a
paper before him, on which was apparently traced a rude map of some
country, the topography of which he seemed studying intently. Sitting
beside him, supplied with a flat board, which served the purposes of a
table, and on which were seen the implements for writing, was the
sleek, round monk, of whom we have previously given some account under
the name of Father Barnabas, and who now, with a ready pen, appeared
busily tracing some despatch at the dictation of the adventurous
leader.
On the other side of the Vert Gallant stood a page, whose rich dress
of green and gold seemed but ill to correspond with the scene in which
he was found, holding a torch high in his hand, to throw light upon
the papers before his two companions; and near him again was a person
in the habit of a courier of some distinction, whose horse, all in
flakes of foam with hard riding, stood, held by another page, close by
the entrance of the shed.
The approach of Alice and her conductor instantly drew the eyes of a
great part of the persons assembled in the savannah upon her; and,
shrinking from the gaze of the rude men amongst whom she now found
herself, the lady drew her mantle closer round her, and bent her look
upon the ground, while, at the desire of him who had led her thither,
she paused with the page, and suffered their guide to advance alone.
Without taking any notice of the groups around, he walked forward at
once to the shed; and only staying till the Vert Gallant had concluded
the sentence which hung upon his lips, he addressed a few words to
him, which were inaudible where Alice stood. Their effect upon the
leader, however, was great and instantaneous. He started at once upon
his feet, and turned fully towards the spot where the young lady
stood; but the bars of the casque, which he seemed never to lay aside,
still prevented his own countenance from being seen.
After the glance of a single instant, he advanced towards Alice; and,
bending respectfully over her hand which he took in his, he bade her
welcome with kind and graceful courtesy.
"I know the general meaning of your coming, lady," he said, "though
not the immediate cause; and I will speak with you as soon as I have
despatched the messenger. In the meantime trust to this old man, my
lieutenant, who will lead you to a place where I can hear your
commands in private."
Alice listened attentively, and looked up when he had done, with a
glance, in which anxiety and apprehension for her father's fate were
strangely mingled, considering the moment and the scene, with a rise
of the eyebrow, and a turn of the fair mouth, which altogether
approached very near one of the merry smiles that had so thronged her
lips in happier days. She replied not, however, though at first she
appeared about to do so; but following her former conductor in
silence, was led once more into the paths of the wood. She was not now
called upon to walk far; for little more than a hundred steps brought
her in front of a low-roofed building, which, apparently had been in
former times the abode of one of the forest guards, but which had now
fallen into the occupation of the free companions.
Everything within bore an air of comfort and neatness hardly to have
been expected from its present tenants; and in the chamber to which
Alice was conducted, nothing appeared to announce that it was not
still the abode of quiet and affluent industry.
The moment she and the page had entered, the old man retired and
closed the door; and Alice remained gazing upon the embers of the wood
fire that lay sparkling on the hearth, till the sound of rapid steps
passing the window again made her heart beat with redoubled quickness.
In a moment after the door was thrown open, and the tall, graceful
figure of the Vert Gallant once more stood before her.
"Quit the room, page," he said, as he entered, "but do not leave the
chamber-door."
The boy hesitated; but a sign from Alice made him instantly obey; and
the Vert Gallant advancing, took her hand and led her to a seat.
"You are tired, lady, and evidently agitated," he said; "and I fear
much that some event of a sad and serious nature has gained me the
honour of your presence in this wild place."
Alice looked up with the same sparkling smile which had before played
for a moment on her countenance. "You cannot deceive me!" she said.
"Hugh de Mortmar, do you think that I do not know you?"
The Vert Gallant paused an instant as if in suspense, then threw his
arms round the fair girl who stood beside him, and pressed her gently
to him. "Dear Alice," he said, "how did you discover me?"
"It were vain to say how, Hugh," replied Alice; "I may have had
suspicions long before; but, from the day of the thunderstorm in the
forest of Hannut, I have not had a doubt; though why Hugh de Mortmar
should need to league with outlaws and adventurers, and, as it would
appear, to hide his face even from such strange companions, is more
difficult to divine."
"I am, indeed, willing, though not obliged, to hide my face even from
the bulk of my gallant followers," replied the young cavalier, undoing
the clasps of his casque. "Ay! and in order to guard against surprise
or inadvertency, to wear so foul a seeming as this, even beneath that
heavy helmet;" and removing the iron cap, he showed her a half mask
representing the countenance of a negro, which covered his own face to
the beard.
"You start, Alice!" he continued, "and look somewhat aghast! Is it at
that fearful painted piece of emptiness?"
"No!" she answered, "no! But it is to think that you--you, De
Mortmar--should, for any cause, condescend to hide yourself beneath
such a semblance."
"Indeed, Alice!" said De Mortmar, with a smile. "Then tell me,
beloved, and put it fairly to your own heart, what is it that a man
will not do--what that he should not do--to recover those things that
have been snatched from his race by the unjust hand of power, and to
free a father from captivity?"
"Nothing, indeed!" replied Alice, to whose bosom one part, at least,
of the question went directly home. "Nothing, indeed! and I will
believe, with the faith of a martyr, that no other way than this
existed for you to accomplish such an object; although till this
moment I knew not that you had either parent in existence."
"But your father did," replied the young cavalier; "and when first I
called these troops together, Alice--for you must not confound them
with a band of lawless plunderers--when first I called them together,
it seemed the only way by which I could ever hope to liberate my
imprisoned father. I am Hugh of Gueldres; and it has been only the
hope and the promise of your hand, joined to the prospect held out by
your noble father of obtaining my own parent's liberation by peaceful
means, which has so long prevented me from asserting his right in
arms, though the whole force of Burgundy were prepared to check me--I
might say, indeed, to crush me," he added; "for though, with the
forces of Hannut, and all the discontented men which the late duke
arrayed against him in his own dominions, with the aid of France, and,
perhaps, of Austria, my right and my good cause might have done much,
while Charles remained embroiled in foreign wars. I could have hoped
for little had he once turned his whole force against me. But, as I
have said, your father persuaded me to delay. During the years that I
have thus been induced to pause, I have been obliged to hide, as best
I might, the force of free companions I had raised; and no method of
concealment could be more efficacious than that which I have adopted.
As the green riders of Hannut we passed nearly unmolested, while the
Duke of Burgundy pursued his ambitious schemes against Lorraine, and
his mad ones against the Swiss; and though, if you recall the past
events, you will find that the green riders have punished the guilty
and the bloodthirsty--have laid many a plundering noble under
contribution, and have levelled more than one stronghold of cruelty
and oppression with the ground, yet not one act of baseness or
barbarity can be traced to themselves."
"Then, why such necessity for concealing yourself from them?" demanded
Alice, carried away for a moment from other thoughts by the personal
interest she felt in her lover's conduct.
"What!" exclaimed the young cavalier, "would you have had me, dear
Alice, give so important a secret as that of my existence, when the
Duke of Burgundy and all his court--nay, my own father also, thought
me dead; would you have had me give such a secret as that to the
keeping of more than five hundred men? No! they were levied secretly
by one who has been devoted and faithful to me through life--good
Matthew Gournay, who led you hither. The long accumulated wealth of my
more than father, the Lord of Hannut, served to gather them together.
His forests and the catacombs under the castle gave them shelter: and,
though far too strong in numbers to fear the weak bands of the Prevot,
or the force of any of the neighbouring nobles, it was absolutely
necessary to conceal, with the most scrupulous care, from the court of
Burgundy, that so large a body of independent troops existed, and
still more that such a force was commanded by one who had cause for
deadly hatred towards the duke, now dead. Thus, by the advice and with
the aid of the good Lord of Hannut, I mingled with the world as his
nephew, under which title he had brought me up from my youth. But as
it was necessary to keep my free companions in continual employment,
and to acquire over them that personal authority, which nothing but
the habit of commanding them could obtain, I was often obliged to
assume the character of the Vert Gallant of Hannut, and lead them to
enterprises, which, however dangerous, I took care should never be
dishonourable. The very concealment of my person, which was revealed
only to those who had previously known me, added a sort of mysterious
influence to the power which general success gave me over them; and I
believe that, at this moment, there is no enterprise, however wild or
rash, to which they would not follow me, with the most perfect
confidence."
"But my father," said Alice, reverting to the still more interesting
topic of her parent's danger; "I must speak with you of my father."
"Well, then, in regard to your father," replied the young noble; and
proceeding eagerly in his exculpation, he explained to Alice that
Imbercourt had always lamented the Duke of Burgundy's severity to his
parent, and had striven by every means to call the sovereign to a
sense of justice, even before he acquired a personal interest in the
house of Gueldres. The real name and rank of the supposed Hugh de
Mortmar, the cavalier proceeded, had been revealed to her father, when
Alice's hand had first been promised to him as the young heir of
Hannut; and seeing at once that Hugh's design of liberating the
imprisoned Duke of Gueldres, and recovering his duchy by force, was
anything but hopeless, Imbercourt had only become the more anxious to
obviate the necessity for such an attempt, by inducing Charles the
Bold to grant as a concession that which he might otherwise be forced
to yield on compulsion. The purposes of the Duke of Burgundy, however,
were not easily changed, nor was his mind to be wrought upon in a day;
and Imbercourt was still occupied with the difficult task he had
undertaken, when the defeat of Nancy took place. On the other hand, he
had ever laboured zealously to induce the young heir of Gueldres to
delay; and many of those trifling circumstances which impede the
execution of the best laid schemes, had combined, from time to time,
to second his endeavours with Hugh of Gueldres. Friends and
confederates had proved remiss or incapable; supplies had been
retarded; changes had taken place in the disposition or circumstances
of particular states; and three times the young noble had been half
persuaded, half compelled, to put off the attempt on which he had
determined. All this Hugh of Gueldres poured forth eagerly to Alice of
Imbercourt, too anxious to exculpate himself from all blame in the
eyes of her he loved, to read in her looks the more serious cares that
were busy at her heart.
"In the disturbed and dangerous state of the country," added the young
cavalier, "although my father has been liberated by other means, it is
my determination to keep my band together, and, watching every turn,
to choose that moment which must come, when a small force, acting
vigorously for one great purpose, may give the preponderance to right,
and crush the wrong for ever."
"Now, then, is the moment! Hugh de Mortmar," cried Alice, clasping her
hands eagerly; "now, then, is the moment!--if you feel any gratitude
towards my father--if you feel any love for me--if you would uphold
the right--if you would crush the wrong--if you would save the
innocent from ignominious death--lose not a day, but force the rebel
people of Ghent to free my unhappy father!"
The young cavalier, who had never suspected the actual danger of the
Lord of Imbercourt, started with surprise; and Alice, with the eager
eloquence of apprehension, made him rapidly acquainted with the events
which had occurred in Ghent during the morning, and which had thus
brought her to seek him.
"Ha!" cried the Vert Gallant, "does Albert Maurice--does the President
of the States sanction such proceedings? I had heard that when the
unhappy eschevins were murdered by the populace, he wrought signal
vengeance on the perpetrators of the crime; and, if ever I saw one to
whom I should attribute noble feelings and just and upright
sentiments, he is the man."
"He is ambitious, Hugh," replied Alice, vehemently; "wildly, madly
ambitious. I have marked him well throughout--and you may trust a
woman's eyes for such discoveries--he has dared to raise his thoughts
to Mary of Burgundy. He loves her--deeply and truly, I believe; but he
loves her not with the love which an inferior may feel for a superior
whom they may never hope to gain, but rather with that rash and daring
love, which will make ambition but a stepping-stone to accomplish its
bold purpose--which will see the land plunged deeper and deeper in
bloodshed, in the wild hope, that out of the ruins of ancient
institutions, and the wreck of order, prosperity, and peace, he may
build up for himself a seat as high, or higher, than the ducal chair
of Burgundy. It is evident, Hugh, it is evident, that he has the power
as well as the daring to do much; and one of his first steps will be
upon my father's head; for had that father's will and counsel been
followed, our fair and gentle princess would now have been the bride
of the Dauphin of France, and every hour that he lives will be an hour
of suspense and anxiety to that ambitious burgher."
A slight smile of contempt, springing from the prejudices of the day,
curled the lip of Hugh of Gueldres, as Alice first spoke of the love
of the young citizen for the Princess of Burgundy; but it vanished
speedily as she went on; and he shook his head with an air of
thoughtful sternness as he replied, "He is one to be feared and to be
opposed, far more than to be contemned. Alice, my beloved," he added,
taking both her hands in his, "I must think what may be best done to
save your father; and of this be assured, that I will lose not one
moment in the attempt; but will peril life and fortune, and every
future hope, to deliver him instantly."
"And yet," said Alice, while a deep blush spread over her whole face,
"for my sake be not over rash of your own person. Save my father, I
beseech, I entreat!--but, oh! remember that you, too--that you--"
Her feelings overpowered her, and she finished the sentence by tears.
Hugh of Gueldres drew her gently to him, and consoled her as far as
the circumstances permitted. But on such occasions there is little to
be said but commonplaces; and all he could assure her was, that while
he made every effort to save her father, her love would make him as
careful of himself as the nature of the task would allow.
In that day, however, every sport, pastime, and occupation of man's
life, were of so rude and dangerous a nature, that perils lost half
their fearfulness from familiarity; and, though Alice of Imbercourt
could not but feel pained and apprehensive for her lover, yet her
feelings of terror were much sooner tranquillized than those of a
person in the present day could have been under similar circumstances.
In the meanwhile, the emergency of the case required that Hugh of
Gueldres should instantly fix upon some plan for the deliverance of
the Lord of Imbercourt, and proceed to put it in execution without
loss of time; and it was also necessary that Alice, whose return to
Ghent would have been both fruitless and dangerous, should seek some
safe asylum till her father's fate was decided. It was accordingly
determined that she should instantly proceed to the castle of Hannut;
and means for rendering her journey both safe and easy were arranged
at once by her lover.
While the litter for conveying her thither was in preparation, and the
soldiers destined to escort her were saddling their horses, Hugh of
Gueldres stole a few brief minutes from more painful thoughts, for the
enjoyment of her society, and the interchange of happy promises and
hopes--nor were those brief moments less sweet to Alice and her lover,
because they were so few, nor because they were mingled with many an
apprehension, nor because many an anxious topic intruded on the
conversation. It is the light and shade, the close opposition of the
dark and the sparkling, that gives zest even to joy. Hugh de Mortmar
felt all the sweetness of their brief interview to the full for the
time; but, the moment after he had placed Alice in the vehicle, given
strict directions to the band which accompanied her, and seen the
cavalcade wind away into the dark paths of the wood, he turned to less
pleasing thoughts, summoned some of those from his troops in whom he
felt the greatest confidence, and remained with them for a short time
in close deliberation, concerning the measures to be taken for the
deliverance of the Lord of Imbercourt.
A plan was soon determined; and an hour before daylight one of the
band was despatched to Ghent, habited as a peasant, and charged to
gain every information in regard to the proceedings of the council,
but to hasten back with all speed, as soon as he had obtained
sufficient knowledge of what was passing in the city. In the
meanwhile, all was held in readiness to act, immediately upon the
receipt of the tidings which he was to bring; and messengers were
despatched in every direction, to prepare the bodies of free
companions, scattered through the different woods in the neighbourhood
of Ghent, for instant movement upon the city.