AN ECLAIRCISSEMENT
The hint which the Chieftain had thrown out respecting Flora was not
unpremeditated. He had observed with great satisfaction the growing
attachment of Waverley to his sister, nor did he see any bar to their
union, excepting the situation which Waverley's father held in the
ministry, and Edward's own commission in the army of George II. These
obstacles were now removed, and in a manner which apparently paved the
way for the son's becoming reconciled to another allegiance. In every
other respect the match would be most eligible. The safety, happiness,
and honourable provision of his sister, whom he dearly loved, appeared
to be ensured by the proposed union; and his heart swelled when he
considered how his own interest would be exalted in the eyes of the
ex-monarch to whom he had dedicated his service, by an alliance with one
of those ancient, powerful, and wealthy English families of the steady
Cavalier faith, to awaken whose decayed attachment to the Stuart family
was now a matter of such vital importance to the Stuart cause. Nor could
Fergus perceive any obstacle to such a scheme. Waverley's attachment
was evident; and as his person was handsome, and his taste apparently
coincided with her own, he anticipated no opposition on the part of
Flora. Indeed, between his ideas of patriarchal power, and those
which he had acquired in France respecting the disposal of females in
marriage, any opposition from his sister, dear as she was to him, would
have been the last obstacle on which he would have calculated, even had
the union been less eligible.
Influenced by these feelings, the Chief now led Waverley in quest of
Miss Mac-Ivor, not without the hope that the present agitation of his
guest's spirits might give him courage to cut short what Fergus termed
the romance of the courtship. They found Flora, with her faithful
attendants, Una and Cathleen, busied in preparing what appeared to
Waverley to be white bridal favours. Disguising as well as he could
the agitation of his mind, Waverley asked for what joyful occasion Miss
Mac-Ivor made such ample preparation.
'It is for Fergus's bridal,' she said, smiling.
'Indeed!' said Edward; 'he has kept his secret well. I hope he will
allow me to be his bride's-man.'
'That is a man's office, but not yours, as Beatrice says,' retorted
Flora.
'And who is the fair lady, may I be permitted to ask, Miss Mac-Ivor?'
'Did not I tell you long since, that Fergus wooed no bride but Honour?'
answered Flora.
'And am I then incapable of being his assistant and counsellor in the
pursuit of honour?' said our hero, colouring deeply. 'Do I rank so low
in your opinion?'
'Far from it, Captain Waverley. I would to God you were of our
determination! and made use of the expression which displeased you,
solely
Because you are not of our quality,
But stand against us as an enemy.'
'That time is past, sister,' said Fergus; 'and you may wish Edward
Waverley (no longer captain) joy of being freed from the slavery to an
usurper, implied in that sable and ill-omened emblem.'
'Yes,' said Waverley, undoing the cockade from his hat, 'it has pleased
the king who bestowed this badge upon me, to resume it in a manner which
leaves me little reason to regret his service.'
'Thank God for that!' cried the enthusiast;--'and oh that they may be
blind enough to treat every man of honour who serves them with the
same indignity, that I may have less to sigh for when the struggle
approaches!
'And now, sister,' said the Chieftain, 'replace his cockade with one of
a more lively colour, I think it was the fashion of the ladies of yore
to arm and send forth their knights to high achievement.'
'Not,' replied the lady, 'till the knight adventurer had well weighed
the justice and the danger of the cause, Fergus. Mr. Waverley is just
now too much agitated by feelings of recent emotion, for me to press
upon him a resolution of consequence.'
Waverley felt half alarmed at the thought of adopting the badge of what
was by the majority of the kingdom esteemed rebellion, yet he could
not disguise his chagrin at the coldness with which Flora parried her
brother's hint. 'Miss Mac-Ivor, I perceive, thinks the knight unworthy
of her encouragement and favour,' said he, somewhat bitterly.
'Not so, Mr. Waverley,' she replied, with great sweetness. 'Why should I
refuse my brother's valued friend a boon which I am distributing to his
whole clan? Most willingly would I enlist every man of honour in the
cause to which my brother has devoted himself. But Fergus has taken his
measures with his eyes open. His life has been devoted to this cause
from his cradle; with him its call is sacred, were it even a summons to
the tomb. But how can I wish you, Mr. Waverley, so new to the world, so
far from every friend who might advise and ought to influence you,--in
a moment too of sudden pique and indignation,--how can I wish you to
plunge yourself at once into so desperate an enterprise?'
Fergus, who did not understand these delicacies, strode through the
apartment biting his lip, and then, with a constrained smile, said,
'Well, sister, I leave you to act your new character of mediator between
the Elector of Hanover and the subjects of your lawful sovereign and
benefactor,' and left the room.
There was a painful pause, which was at length broken by Miss Mac-Ivor.
'My brother is unjust,' she said, 'because he can bear no interruption
that seems to thwart his loyal zeal.'
'And do you not share his ardour?' asked Waverley.
'Do I not?' answered Flora--'God knows mine exceeds his, if that
be possible. But I am not, like him, rapt by the bustle of military
preparation, and the infinite detail necessary to the present
undertaking, beyond consideration of the grand principles of justice and
truth, on which our enterprise is grounded; and these, I am certain, can
only be furthered by measures in themselves true and just. To operate
upon your present feelings, my dear Mr. Waverley, to induce you to an
irretrievable step, of which you have not considered either the justice
or the danger, is, in my poor judgement, neither the one nor the other.'
'Incomparable Flora!' said Edward, taking her hand, 'how much do I need
such a monitor!'
'A better one by far,' said Flora, gently withdrawing her hand, 'Mr.
Waverley will always find in his own bosom, when he will give its small
still voice leisure to be heard.'
'No, Miss Mac-Ivor, I dare not hope it. A thousand circumstances of
fatal self-indulgence have made me the creature rather of imagination
than reason. Durst I but hope--could I but think that you would deign
to be to me that affectionate, that condescending friend, who would
strengthen me to redeem my errors, my future life'--
'Hush, my dear sir! now you carry your joy at escaping the hands of a
Jacobite recruiting officer to an unparalleled excess of gratitude.'
'Nay, dear Flora, trifle with me no longer; you cannot mistake the
meaning of those feelings which I have almost involuntarily expressed;
and since I have broken the barrier of silence, let me profit by my
audacity--Or may I, with your permission, mention to your brother'--
'Not for the world, Mr. Waverley!'
'What am I to understand?' said Edward. 'Is there any fatal bar--has any
prepossession'--
'None, sir,' answered Flora. 'I owe it to myself to say, that I never
yet saw the person on whom I thought with reference to the present
subject.'
'The shortness of our acquaintance, perhaps--If Miss Mac-Ivor will deign
to give me time--'
'I have not even that excuse. Captain Waverley's character is so
open--is, in short, of that nature, that it cannot be misconstrued,
either in its strength or its weakness.'
'And for that weakness you despise me?' said Edward.
'Forgive me, Mr. Waverley, and remember it is but within this
half-hour that there existed between us a barrier of a nature to me
insurmountable, since I never could think of an officer in the
service of the Elector of Hanover in any other light than as a casual
acquaintance. Permit me then to arrange my ideas upon so unexpected a
topic, and in less than an hour I will be ready to give you such reasons
for the resolution I shall express, as may be satisfactory at least,
if not pleasing to you.' So saying, Flora withdrew, leaving Waverley to
meditate upon the manner in which she had received his addresses.
Ere he could make up his mind whether to believe his suit had been
acceptable or no, Fergus re-entered the apartment. 'What, A LA MORT,
Waverley?' he cried. 'Come down with me to the court, and you shall see
a sight worth all the tirades of your romances. An hundred firelocks, my
friend, and as many broadswords, just arrived from good friends; and two
or three hundred stout fellows almost fighting which shall first possess
them.--But let me look at you closer--Why, a true Highlander would say
you had been blighted by an evil eye.--Or can it be this silly girl that
has thus blanked your spirit?--Never mind her, dear Edward; the wisest
of her sex are fools in what regards the business of life.'
'Indeed, my good friend,' answered Waverley, 'all that I can charge
against your sister is, that she is too sensible, too reasonable.'
'If that be all, I ensure you for a louis d'or against the mood lasting
four-and-twenty hours. No woman was ever steadily sensible for that
period; and I will engage, if that will please you, Flora shall be
as unreasonable to-morrow as any of her sex. You must learn, my dear
Edward, to consider women EN MOUSQUETAIRE.' So saying, he seized
Waverley's arm, and dragged him off to review his military preparations.