Lady Arabella Stormont was as good as her word; for that day, two
months, Giles Vernon was put on trial for his life, at York Assizes,
for the abduction of an heiress. Sir Peter Hawkshaw refused absolutely
to countenance Arabella; and my Lady Hawkshaw, who never had bowed
her head or abased her spirit to mortal man or mortal woman before,
went upon her knees, imploring Arabella to give over her revenge,--for
revenge it was, pure and simple,--but Lady Arabella laughed at her.
Lady Hawkshaw rose from her knees, crying out,--
“You have some deep and unknown reason for this; but it will come to
naught, it will come to naught!”
But Arabella found a person ready to her hand, who was most active in
the matter. This was Sir Thomas Vernon, of Vernon Court. It was he
who lodged the information with the public prosecutor against Giles,
and assumed the part of Lady Arabella’s champion. Of course, there
was some ground for the version of the story which was started in
Arabella’s interest, that a frightful outrage had been committed by
dragging her off against her will; and that only the most determined
courage had saved her from a marriage repulsive to her; that Sir Peter
and Lady Hawkshaw, her next friends, had basely deserted her; and that
Sir Thomas had chivalrously taken up her cause. It is true that the
relative characters of the Hawkshaws and Sir Thomas Vernon discounted
much of this; but the actual facts in the case looked so ugly for
Giles, that there was no trouble in securing his prompt arrest and
delivery in York jail.
The breach between Lady Arabella and the Hawkshaws, as well as Daphne
and myself, was too great to be bridged over; and, having thrown
herself, so to speak, in Sir Thomas Vernon’s arms, she accepted
the protection of a relative of his, one Mrs. Whitall, a decayed
gentlewoman, and went to live at a small town near York, until the
Assizes, when she would be called upon as the chief witness for the
prosecution. Great stories were immediately put forth, that Sir Thomas
Vernon was deeply smitten with Arabella’s charms, and that, after a
visit with Mrs. Whitall to Vernon Court, she looked very kindly on Sir
Thomas. All this might be true, and Sir Thomas might flatter himself
that he had won her favor; but, knowing Arabella well, I did not credit
her with any sincere desire to be kind to Sir Thomas Vernon, although
she might make him think so, for her own purposes. I suspected,
however, a motive far deeper, in any matter connected with Sir Thomas
Vernon. Overton was the next heir after Giles; Sir Thomas was extremely
rickety, and not likely to be long-lived; and if, by merely telling
what had happened, Lady Arabella could sate her resentment, which was
deep and furious, against Giles, and at the same time greatly benefit
Overton, I think she would not have weighed Giles’ life at a penny.
My Daphne, whose faith in human nature was angelic, in her belief in
ultimate good, prayed and besought Arabella to leave the country before
the trial came off; but Arabella only said contemptuously:
“You are a child and a chit. Giles Vernon contemplated doing me the
greatest wrong a man can do a woman. Do you think I shall let him go
unpunished? If so, how little do you know Arabella Stormont!”
Then I, from loyalty to Giles, and not from any hope I had from Lady
Arabella, went to her and made my appeal. She heard all my prayers
without the slightest sign of relenting, playing with her lap-dog the
while. At last, I said to her,--
“Tell me, at least, who is to be benefited by the conviction of Giles
Vernon? Not you, certainly; for you will be loathed and shunned by all.”
“The person dearest to me in the world,” she replied; “the person I
love better than my life or my soul,” and then, as if she had admitted
too much, she stopped, turned pale, and seemed altogether disconcerted.
She had, in truth, admitted too much. The person she had ever loved
better than her soul was Philip Overton.
I had the self-possession to leave her then, and went off by myself to
think over the strange motive which had been revealed to me. Arabella’s
infatuation for Overton had always been abnormal, touched with
unreason. And could fate have woven a closer web around Giles Vernon
than in making him fall so madly in love with Arabella Stormont?
Giles had promptly surrendered himself, rightly judging a trial
better than being a fugitive from justice and a deserter from the
naval service. He repaired to York, after having duly reported to the
Admiralty, and was jailed immediately, and indicted.
The Hawkshaws, my Daphne, and I remained in Scarborough during the
two dreadful months that passed before the trial came off. Sir Peter
easily got leave from the Admiralty for me, hoping, not only that my
testimony, but the example of the felicity in which Daphne and I lived,
might not be without its effect upon the jury that tried Giles.
Offers of money to assist in his defense came from many quarters and
from several ladies,--two in especial, her Grace of Auchester and Mrs.
Trenchard. Lady Hawkshaw, however, claimed the privilege of bearing the
expenses of the trial out of her private fortune, which was large. Sir
Peter and she had it hot and heavy, he desiring to contribute; and for
one of the few times in his life, he carried his point against her.
Two great barristers were to be brought from London to assist Giles in
his defense, besides another one in York itself.
As soon as Giles was lodged in jail, Sir Peter and Lady Hawkshaw,
Daphne and I went immediately to see him. We drove in state, in a coach
and four, with outriders, Sir Peter in his uniform, with his sword, and
I also in uniform; for our object was to testify publicly our regard
for Giles and detestation of the prosecution for his life which was on
foot.
We reached the great gloomy building, and the turnkey immediately
showed us to Giles’ room. It was one of the best rooms in the place,
and would have been comfortable enough had it not been in a prison.
He was delighted to see us, kissed Lady Hawkshaw’s hand, and gave
Daphne a hearty smack on the cheek. He looked well, and I expected to
find him hopeful; but he seemed to regard his fate as fixed, although
it in no wise disturbed his cheerfulness. Sir Peter at once told him
that everything possible should be done for his defense, and that
eminent counsel were then on their way from London for him; and he
with Lady Hawkshaw would bear all the costs of the trial.
“And we,” cried Daphne, “claim the right to help; and when you are
acquitted, you will find all your debts paid, and need not trouble
yourself where the money comes from.”
Tears sprang to Giles’ eyes at this, and he looked gratefully upon us
all.
“Dear friends,” he said, “I thank you; but I shall not be acquitted.
Sir Thomas Vernon and Lady Arabella Stormont thirst for my blood, and
by my own folly I have put the noose around my neck. But I say to you
from the bottom of my heart that I rather would die upon the gibbet
than be married to Lady Arabella. God was good to me in giving her to
me as my enemy instead of my wife.”
There was something in this; for what man could think, without
shuddering, of taking Arabella Stormont to wife?
I saw that Giles had completely recovered from his madness. He blamed
no one, frankly acknowledging his own folly, and bore himself as became
an officer and a gentleman.
Sir Peter would by no means admit there was the smallest chance of an
adverse verdict; but although I could not bring myself to believe that
the extreme penalty of the law would be carried out, yet I thought it
very likely that the case was too plain for Giles to escape conviction.
The conduct of Daphne and Lady Hawkshaw to him was such that I came out
of the jail with a deeper reverence, a higher esteem for women than
I had known before, although I had always believed them to be God’s
angels on earth (with a few exceptions). So gentle and caressing was
Daphne, so boldly and determinedly friendly was Lady Hawkshaw, that it
did one’s heart good. Daphne announced her intention of going to see
Sir Thomas Vernon and pleading with him, while Lady Hawkshaw threatened
to give him her opinion of him publicly, which was, indeed, a dreadful
threat.
The trial came off at the February Assizes, and on the night before
was the great assize ball. The word was passed around that all of
Giles Vernon’s friends were to attend this ball, by way of showing
our confidence--alas!--in his acquittal. Therefore, on that night,
we--that is, the Hawkshaws, Daphne, and I--were to go to the ball in
all the state we could muster. We had taken lodgings at York for the
trial.
The evening of the ball found the streets crowded as I had never seen
them before. The great case, which would be reached within a day or
two, brought crowds to attend the Assizes, many persons coming even
from London. These were chiefly gentlemen of the nobility and gentry
who were friends of Giles Vernon’s, for never man had so many friends.
It was a cold bright February night; and the street in front of the
assize hall where the ball was held was packed with chariots, chaises,
and people on foot, flaring torches and bawling footmen, as if it
were a London rout. As our carriage passed the entrance, the way was
blocked by the judges’ chariots, from which they descended in state.
Our coachman, whipping up to get the next place in line, locked wheels
with the coach of Sir Thomas Vernon. He sat back, his face visible by
the lamps in the courtyard, and as unconcerned as if the case which
had brought us all to York was one of his servants beating the watch,
instead of the trial of his relative and heir on a capital charge.
The crowd showed its disapproval of Sir Thomas by hurling abusive
epithets at him, which only caused him to smile. But he had another
enemy to encounter, which was Lady Hawkshaw, and in full sight and
hearing of the judges, as they stepped with stately tread up the
stairs, occurred a battle _a mort_ between her and Sir Thomas Vernon,
to the intense enjoyment of the crowd, which was uproariously on Lady
Hawkshaw’s side. Neither Sir Peter nor I took any part in the fray,
seeing Lady Hawkshaw had the best of it from the start, and that, woman
against man, the populace was heartily with her.
It began by Lady Hawkshaw’s putting her head out of the coach and
saying at the top of her voice,--and what a voice!--“Good evening, Sir
Thomas. We are called here upon a sad occasion, but I hope that English
justice will prevail to save the life of that gallant young man, your
heir, Giles Vernon.”