If we were poets or fabulists, and could invest inanimate objects
with all the qualities and feelings of animate ones; if, with all the
magic of old AEsop, we could make pots and kettles talk, and endue
barn-door fowls with the spirit of philosophy, we should be tempted
to say that the great gates of Beaufort House, together with the
stone Cupids on the tops of the piers, ay, and the vases of carved
flowers which stood between those Cupids, turned up the nose as the
antiquated, ungilt, dusty, and somewhat tattered vehicle containing
the Lady Laura Gaveston and Wilton Brown rolled up.
The postboy got off his horse; Wilton descended from the vehicle, and
applied his hand eagerly to the bell; and Laura, who had certainly
thought no part of the journey tedious, did now think the minutes
excessively long till the gates should be thrown open. In truth, the
hour was still an early one; the morning cold and chilly, with a grey
biting east wind, making the whole scene appear as if it were looked
at through ground glass; and neither the porter nor the porter's wife
had thought it expedient to venture forth from their snug bed at such
an unpropitious moment. A second time Wilton applied his hand to the
bell, and with more success than before, for in stays and petticoat,
unlaced and half tied, forth rushed the grumbling porter's wife, with
a murmured "Marry come up: people are in great haste: I wonder who is
in such a hurry!"
The sight of Wilton, however, whom she had seen very lately with the
Duke, but still more the sight of her young lady, instantly altered
her tone and demeanour, and with a joyful swing she threw the gates
wide open. The chaise was drawn round to the great doors of the
house, and here a more ready entrance was gained.
"Is the Duke up?" demanded Wilton, as the servant opened the door.
"Oh yes, sir," replied the man: "he was up before day-break: but he
is not out of his dressing-room yet."
Laura ran up the steps into the vestibule, to see her father, and to
relieve his mind at once from all that she knew he was suffering on
her account. She paused, however, for a moment at the top to see if
Wilton followed; but he merely advanced a few steps, saying, "I will
leave you to converse with your father; for, of course, I have very
much to do; and he will be glad to spend some time with you alone,
and hear all that you have to tell him."
"But you will come back," said Lady Laura, holding out her hand to
him: "you will not be away long."
"Until the evening, perhaps," said Wilton, pressing that fair hand in
his own: "I may have many things to do, and the Earl may also require
my presence."
"Oh, but you must come to dinner--I insist," said Lady Laura. "You
know I have a right to command now," she added, in a lower tone, "and
therefore I will tell my father to expect you at dinner."
"I will come if I can," replied Wilton, "but--"
His sentence was interrupted, however, by the Duke's voice at the top
of the stairs, exclaiming, "Surely that is Laura's voice? Laura,
Laura! My child, my dear child!"
And the next moment, Lady Laura, darting on, was in her father's
arms.
Wilton Brown turned away; and without waiting to press a third person
upon a scene which should always be enacted between two alone, he got
into the post-chaise, and bade the postilion drive him back into
London, for it must be recollected that Beaufort House was out of the
town. This was easily accomplished, as the reader may imagine; and
having dressed himself, and removed the traces of blood and travel
from his face, he hastened to the house of Lord Byerdale, to give
him an account of the success of his expedition.
The Earl had not been long up; but he had already gone to his cabinet
to write letters, and take his chocolate at the same time. On
entering, Wilton, without any surprise, found Arden, the Messenger,
in the presence of the Earl; for the man, knowing that the situation
in which he stood was a somewhat perilous one, was of course anxious
to make the best of his story before the young gentleman appeared.
What did very much surprise Wilton, however, was the gracious and
even affectionate manner in which the Earl received him. He rose
from his chair, advanced two or three steps to meet him, and shaking
him warmly by the hand, exclaimed, "Welcome back, my dear Wilton. So
you have been fully and gallantly successful, I find. But what is all
this that Arden is telling me? He is making a terrible accusation
against you here, of letting off Sir George Barkley, one of the most
notorious Jacobites in Europe--a very dangerous person, indeed."
"My lord," replied Wilton, "Mr. Arden is repeating to you a falsehood
which he devised last night. It is quite true, indeed, that if he had
not been a most notorious coward, and run away at the first
appearance of danger, there might have been a chance, though a very
remote one, of our securing Sir George Barkley."
"Indeed!" exclaimed the Earl: "then you did meet with him?"
"Amongst the persons whom I had to encounter," replied Wilton, "there
was a gentleman whom they called Sir George, and who, from his
height, his age, and a deep scar upon his cheek, I have no earthly
doubt, is Sir George Barkley: but he had been gone for an hour before
this mighty brave gentleman, having collected forty or fifty people
to keep his own head from harm, thought fit to come back and seek for
me. The person who was with me when he did return was a tall
fine-looking young man of five or six and twenty."
"Indeed!" said the Earl. "Who could that be?"
"He called himself Captain Churchill," replied Wilton. "I do not
mean to say, my lord, that I believe such was his real name; for I do
not: but I never saw Captain Churchill at all; and I never saw this
gentleman till the moment when he came to my aid and rescued me, with
the assistance of another, from the hands of as desperate a set of
men as I ever met in my life, and who would certainly have murdered
me had it not been for his arrival. I have a report to make to your
lordship upon all Mr. Arden's proceedings, who, notwithstanding your
most positive commands to obey me in all things, has refused to obey
me in anything, and by the delays he has occasioned, and the
obstructions he has thrown in my way, very nearly prevented me from
effecting the liberation of Lady Laura at all."
"Your lordship will believe what you choose," replied Arden, in a
saucy tone. "All I mean to say is, I am sure that gentleman was not
Captain Churchill; and so you will find, if you inquire. Whoever he
was, Mr. Brown aided his escape, and prevented me from doing my
duty."
"Your duty, sir, was to obey Mr. Brown," replied the Earl, sternly;
"for that I shall take care that you are punished; and if it should
prove that this gentleman was really Captain Churchill, you shall be
dismissed from your office. You will attend here again at two
o'clock, by which time I shall have written to Captain Churchill, to
know whether he was the person present or not.--Now leave the room."
Arden slunk doggedly away, seeing that Wilton's star happened to be
in the ascendant. Had he known how much it was so, however, having
often heard the Earl speak sharply and discourteously to the young
gentleman, he would have been more surprised even than he was at the
change which had taken place. The moment he was gone, and the door
closed, the Earl again shook Wilton by the hand.
"You have accomplished your task most brilliantly, Wilton," he said,
"and I shall take care that you reap the reward of your diligence and
activity, by any effort that depends upon me; but from all that I
have seen, and heard, and know, you are likely to obtain, from the
very act itself, far higher recompences than any that I could bestow.
You are indeed a fortunate young man."
"I am fortunate in your lordship's approbation," replied Wilton; "but
I see not why you should call me so in any other respect, except,
indeed, in being so fortunate as to effect this young lady's
liberation."
"In that very respect," replied the Earl, with a look full of
meaning. "Good heavens! my dear Wilton, are you blind? If you are so,
I am not; and at your age, certainly I should not have been blind to
my own advantage. You think, perhaps, that because Lady Laura has
refused to marry Sherbrooke, and broken off the proposed alliance
between our families, it would make me angry to find she had placed
her affections anywhere else. But I tell you no, Wilton! Quite the
contrary is the case. The discovery that she has done so, at once
banished all the anger and indignation that I felt. If with a free
heart she had so decidedly refused my son, I should have considered
it as little less than an insult to my whole family, and, in fact,
did consider it so till Sherbrooke himself expressed his belief that
she was, and has been for some time, attached to you. His words
instantly recalled to my memory all that I had remarked before, how
the colour came up into her cheek whenever you approached her, how
her eye brightened at every word you said. That made the matter very
different. I could not expect the poor young lady to sacrifice her
first affection to please me: nor could I wish her, as you may well
imagine, to marry Sherbrooke, loving you. This is the reason that
makes me say that you are a most fortunate man; for the service that
you have rendered her, the immense and important service, gives you
such a claim upon her gratitude, as to make it easy for her at once
to avow her attachment. It gives you an enormous claim upon the Duke,
too; and I have one or two little holds upon that nobleman which he
knows not of--by which, indeed, he might be not a little injured, if
I were a revengeful man, but which I shall only use for your best
interests."
"But, my lord," replied Wilton, "you seem totally to forget my humble
birth and station. How--situated as I am--could I dare to ask the
Duke for his daughter's hand, the only remaining child of such a
house, the heiress of such immense wealth?"
"Fear not, fear not, Wilton," said the Earl, laying his hand upon his
arm. "Fear not: your blood is as good as the Duke's own; your family,
older and as noble."
"I have sometimes thought, my lord," replied Wilton, wishing to gain
as much information as possible--"I have sometimes thought, in the
utter ignorance wherein I have been left of my own history, that I am
the son of one who has indeed been a father to me, Lord Sunbury,--the
natural son, I mean."
"Oh no!" cried the Earl, with an air almost of indignation: "you are
no relation of his whatsoever. I knew not who you were when you first
came hither; but I have since discovered, and though at present I
must not reveal anything farther to you, I tell you, without
hesitation, to set your mind at ease, to pursue your suit towards
Lady Laura, if you have really any regard for her, and to aspire to
her hand. In a very few months more you shall know all."
Wilton cast down his eyes, and mused.
"This is not a little strange," he said; "but I know I may place
implicit reliance on your lordship's word, and proceed in a matter
where I own my heart is deeply engaged, without the risk of calling
upon myself a charge of gross presumption."
"You may, you may," answered the Earl, eagerly; "and if the Duke
should discover your mutual affection, and make any objection, merely
refer him to me. But now let us hear more of your adventures of
yesterday and last night."
Wilton would have been very well contented to muse for a few minutes
over what the Earl said. Although his experience of the world was not
great, yet he had a sufficient portion of good sense to supply
experience in a high degree. This good sense told him, that a sudden
and extraordinary change in the demeanour of any man, but more
especially in that of a man both subtle and determined, was more or
less to be suspected. He would fain, then, have obtained time to seek
for the real motives and views of the Earl of Byerdale, in the
extraordinary fit of kindness and condescension which had seized upon
him; for he could almost fancy that the Earl was contriving his ruin,
by engaging him in some rash endeavour to obtain the hand of Lady
Laura.
Strong, however, in her love, he resolved to go on, to deal with her
and with her father in all honour, and, supposing even that the Earl
was endeavouring to play him false, to try whether straightforward
and upright honesty, guided by a clear head, a firm heart, and a well
prepared mind, might not win the game against subtilty and worldly
cunning.
The Earl marked him as he mused for a minute, but saying nothing more
upon the subject of his hopes, still pressed him to speak of the
events of the preceding day. It was somewhat difficult for Wilton so
to shape his words as not to mention Lord Sherbrooke, and not to
involve himself in any such distinct account of the Jacobites and
their proceedings as might lead to their arrest, and force him at
some future period to become a witness against them. He succeeded
tolerably well, however. He could not, and indeed he did not, think
it right to conceal, that he was perfectly certain the men he met
with were engaged in the most dark and dangerous designs. But he
stated, at the same time, that such was merely the impression upon
his mind, for that no distinct avowal of their purposes had been made
in his presence, so as to justify him in charging them with treason.
"Nevertheless, my lord," he added, "I think it highly and absolutely
necessary for you to take the same measures as if you knew that a
general insurrection was contemplated, for I feel perfectly certain
that something of the kind is in agitation."
The Earl smiled. "Now tell me, Wilton," he said, "amongst these
worthy conspirators, did you see any one that was personally known to
you?"
Wilton hesitated.
"Come, come, my young friend," said the Earl--"you must speak out. We
will not make an evidence of you, I promise you; and, indeed, both
the King himself and all his ministers would be very glad that these
persons should get beyond sea, and relieve us of their troublesome
presence, provided--mark me--provided, there does not exist the
clearest and most distinct proof, not alone that they are conspiring
to overthrow the present dynasty--for such conspiracies have been
going on in every corner of the kingdom, and in the heart of every
family, for the last ten years, so that we should only make them
worse by meddling with them--but that these men are conspiring in a
darker, a more dangerous, a more treasonable, or a more dishonourable
manner, than has ever been clone before. I must explain this business
to you, Wilton, and my views upon it. Politicians have adopted as a
maxim that a plot discovered and frustrated always strengthens the
hands of the existing government; but this maxim is far too general,
and consequently often proves false and dangerous in application.
The conditions under which the discovery and frustration of a plot do
really strengthen the hands of government are peculiar. There must be
circumstances attending upon the whole transaction which, when the
plot is exposed, either destroy the means of future conspiracies
formed upon the same basis, remove for ever the objects of the
conspirators, or cause a great change in public feeling, in regard to
their views and motives. If the discovery be so general, the
frustration so complete, and the punishment so severe, as to raise
the power and authority of the government in the eyes of the people,
to awaken a wholesome fear in the disaffected, and to encourage and
elevate the well disposed and the friends of the state, a very great
object is certainly gained; and that which was intended to ruin a
government or overthrow a dynasty, serves but to root it more
firmly than before. There is another case, also, which is very
applicable at the present moment. If there be something in the nature
and designs of the conspiracy, so odious in its means, its character,
and its objects, as to enlist against the conspirators sensations of
horror, indignation, and contempt, one gains from public feeling very
much more by its discovery and exposure, than even by the power of
fear over the disaffected, and the elevation of triumph on the part
of the well disposed. But in other circumstances, either when partial
discoveries are made, when the success is not of the most absolute,
general, and distinct kind, when the objects of the conspirators
excite many sympathies, the errors they commit admit of easy
palliation, the means they employ are noble, generous, and
chivalrous, and the fate they undergo is likely to produce
commiseration, the detection and crushing of them only tends to
multiply and strengthen similar endeavours. With such conspiracies as
these, no wise minister will ever meddle, if he can help it; the more
quiet the means he can adopt to frustrate them, the better; the less
he exposes them and brings them into light, the greater will be his
success; for they are like the Lernwan serpent, whose heads
multiplied as they were smitten off; and it is far more easy to
smother them privately than to smite them in public. This is the view
I myself take of the matter; this is the view the King takes of it;
and you may have remarked that there has been no attempt made for
many years to investigate or punish plots here and there, although we
have had the proofs that hundreds existed every year. In this
instance, however, the matter is different. There is reason to
believe that the present conspiracy is one of such a dark and
horrible nature, as instantly to excite the indignation of the whole
people, to make all the better part of the Jacobites ashamed of the
deeds of their friends, and to rouse up universal feelings of loyalty
throughout the land. The fact is, the thing is already discovered.
Information has long been tendered to the government by various
persons implicated: but acting upon the plan which we have generally
pursued, such advances have been met coldly, till last night more
distinct, and definite information was given by some one, who, instead
of being actuated by motives of gain, or of fear, as we suspected in
all other cases, came forward, it seems, from personal feelings of
gratitude towards the King himself. His majesty promised this person
not to bring him forward in the business at all, and has refused to
give up his name, even to me. But his conviction of the truth of all
that was told was so strong, that the previous informer was sent for
last night at one o'clock to the palace at Kensington, to which place
I also had been summoned. The whole facts, the names, the designs of
everybody concerned, were then completely discovered, and I have been
busying myself ever since I rose, in adopting the proper measures for
arresting and punishing the persons directly implicated. Having
explained to you these views, I must now put my question again. Did
you see any one amongst these conspirators with whose person you were
acquainted? I only ask for my own satisfaction, and on every account
shall abstain from bringing your name forward, in the slightest
degree."
"There was only one person, my lord," replied Wilton, who had
listened with deep interest to this long detail; "there was only one
person, my lord, that I had ever knowingly seen before, and that was
Sir John Fenwick."
"I signed a warrant for his arrest half an hour ago," rejoined the
Earl, "and there are two Messengers seeking him at this moment. I
think you said you saw Sir George Barkley?"
"I cannot absolutely say that, my lord," replied Wilton; "but I
certainly saw a gentleman whom I believed, and most firmly do still
believe, to be him: he was a tall, thin, sinister-looking man, of a
somewhat saturnine complexion, with a deep scar on his cheek."
"The same, the same," said the Earl, "undoubtedly the same. Listen,
if you know any of these names;" and he read from a list--"Sir
William Parkyns, Captain Rookwood, Captain Lowick, Sir John Friend,
Charnock, Cranburne, the Earl of Aylesbury--"
"The Earl certainly was not there, my lord," replied Wilton; "for I
know him well by sight, and I saw no one, I can assure you, whom I
knew, but Sir John Fenwick."
"And this Plessis, at whose house you saw them," continued the
Earl--"did he seem to be taking a share in the business with them? He
is an old friend of mine, this Master Plessis; and obtains for me
some of the best information that I ever get from abroad. I do not
know what I should do without Plessis. He is the most useful man in
the world. We must let him off, at all events; but it will be no bad
thing to have a rope round his neck, either."
"I cannot say, my lord," replied Wilton, "that he took any part
whatsoever in the business. In the matter of setting free Lady Laura,
he showed himself more afraid of these good gentry than fond of them,
and after their arrival, he ran away and hid himself."
"And yet," said the Earl, "he's a rank Jacobite, too. But that does
not signify. He's an excellent creature, and the greatest rogue in
Christendom. All this chocolate comes from him; there's nothing like
it in Europe. Won't you take some, Wilton? I forgot to ask if you had
broken your fast."--Wilton replied that he had not, and the Earl made
him sit down and follow his example, of writing letters and taking
his chocolate at the same time. One of the notes, however, which the
Earl himself wrote, attracted his secretary's attention in some
degree; for as soon as Lord Byerdale had concluded it, he rang the
bell and gave it to a servant, saying, "Take that to Captain
Churchill's lodgings. You know where he lives, just in Duke Street.
Wait for an answer."
The man went away, and business proceeded. At the end of about an
hour, however, the servant returned, saying, as an excuse for his
long absence, that Captain Churchill was in bed when he reached his
house, and that his valet had refused to wake him.
"When he did wake, however, my lord," added the man, "he said he
would not detain me to write a note, as I had been kept so long
already; but would wait upon your lordship at the hour you named."
Shortly after the return of the servant, the Earl took up his papers,
and prepared to proceed to Whitehall. Before he went, however, he
paused opposite to the table at which Wilton was writing, and looking
at him for a moment with a smile, he said,--
"You are surprised, Wilton, and have been puzzling yourself with the
reason why I take so much more interest in you than I used to do. I
will explain it all to you, Wilton, in one word. I did not at first
know who you were. I now do, as I have before hinted; and my conduct
to one whom I believed to be a natural son of the Earl of Sunbury,
and who was forced upon me somewhat against my own will, was of
course very different from that which I show towards a young
gentleman of a high and noble family, not very distantly related to
myself.--Now are you satisfied?"
And with these words he left the room. Yet, strange to say, Wilton,
though not a little surprised at what he heard, knew the Earl of
Byerdale, and was NOT satisfied. But at all events, the words which
had passed set his mind at ease, in regard to Laura. He now felt that
he was committing no breach of confidence; that he was pursuing no
presumptuous suit, in seeking the object of his dearest and his
brightest hopes; that though fortune might still be adverse, and such
wealth might never be his, as to place him in a position equal, in
that respect, to herself, yet he had every right and title to strive
for her hand with the noblest of the land.
Wilton did not, indeed, entertain the vain thought that he brought
with him a treasury of distinguished talents, high and noble
feelings, a generous spirit, and a gallant heart--qualities which
many a competitor, if not most, would want:--he did not, indeed, so
argue the matter with himself; but there was in his bosom the proud
consciousness of deserving well, and the still more strengthening and
emboldening confidence, of loving well, truly, nobly, as Laura
deserved to be loved.
Still, however, he was not satisfied with the sudden change in the
Earl of Byerdale: there was something in it that roused suspicion;
and he resolved to watch all that noble man's proceedings steadily
and keenly, and if possible never to be off his guard for a moment.
Before the time appointed for the return of Arden, the Messenger, the
Earl himself came home, bearing a smile of dark satisfaction on his
countenance.
"Four or five of these gentry," he said, as he entered, "are already
in custody, and one or two have been brought before the council. A
man of the name of Cook, and another, seem well inclined to become
approvers. If so, the matter will be easily managed. I find the
rumour is spreading all over the town, with various additions and
improvements, of course. I even hear that there were reports of it
all yesterday, though neither the King, nor I, nor any one else, knew
aught of the matter then."
"Are any of the principals caught, my lord?" demanded Wilton. "I
confess, I believe that man, Sir John Fenwick, to be as great a
villain as any upon earth; nor do I look upon him as a man of much
courage either."
"He is not caught," replied the Earl; "but we have got one poor
foolish fellow, called Sir John Friend, who has shown himself a
friend to anybody but himself;" and he laughed at his own joke. "I
rather suspect," he continued, "that there are a good many people not
a little anxious for Fenwick's escape. With the exception of Sir
George Barkley, he is undoubtedly the man of most importance amongst
them. He is nearly connected, you know, with all the Howards, and was
very intimate with your good friend the Duke. He is well acquainted
with Lord Aylesbury, too; and I can tell you there are a good many
suspicions in that quarter. There is another noble lord, Lord
Montgomery, implicated; and all these good folks are suspected," and
he proceeded to read a list of some twenty or thirty names. "But
there is no intention of dealing harshly," he added; "and a
distinction will be made between the more culpable and the less. Pray
has Captain Churchill been here?"
"Not yet that I have heard of, my lord," replied Wilton; "but I
fairly tell your lordship that I do not think he was the man I saw,
though that was the name given."
The Earl rang the bell which stood upon the table, and when a servant
appeared, demanded if Captain Churchill had been there.
The servant replied in the negative, but added that Mr. Arden was
waiting. The Earl ordered him to be sent in; and the Messenger
accordingly entered, bearing on his face an air of triumph and
insolence which provoked Wilton's anger a good deal.
"Well, my lord," he said, not waiting for the Earl of Byerdale to
speak--"I have got proof positive now, for I have been at Captain
Churchill's lodgings, pumping his servants, and they tell me that he
was very ill all yesterday, as, indeed, I knew he was, and in bed the
greater part of the day."
"Indeed!" said the Earl. "This is strange enough! But as you say,
Wilton, that you do not think it was really Captain Churchill, the
name might be given merely as a nom de guerre, and the person giving
it might be a very honest man, too."
Before he could conclude, one of the servants announced that Captain
Churchill waited without; and in a moment after he was admitted,
presenting to Wilton's eyes a person not very unlike in size and form
the Duke of Berwick, and somewhat resembling him in countenance, but
several years older, and somewhat darker in complexion.
He entered with a gay and smiling air, and with a grace of carriage
and demeanour which was common to himself and his brother, afterwards
the famous Duke of Marlborough.
"Why, my lord," he said, advancing towards Lord Byerdale, and shaking
him by the hand, "I am almost alarmed at your unexpected summons,
especially after all the terrible doings which I hear have taken
place. Why, they tell me that the gates of Newgate have never ceased
turning upon their hinges all the morning, and that the Tower itself
is full."
"Not quite so bad as that," replied the Earl: "but I am sure, my dear
Captain, you have nothing to fear in such a matter."
"Not that I know of," answered Churchill, "and I would have come at
once when you wrote; but, to say the truth, I was up late last night,
and slept till nearly noon this morning.--But, bless my soul!" he
continued, turning towards Wilton--to that gentleman's utter
surprise and astonishment "is not this my good friend, Mr. Wilton
Brown, your lordship's secretary?" and advancing a step or two, he
shook Wilton heartily by the hand.
"How is the young lady?" he continued. "I hope you got quite safe to
London with your fair charge?"
The countenance of Arden, the Messenger, presented a ludicrous
picture of disappointment and consternation. Wilton was certainly
even more surprised than himself; but he did not suffer his face to
betray any expression of wonder, though, it must be owned, he felt a
strong inclination to laugh. He replied, however, calmly to
Churchill's question,--
"I thank you very much, sir: she got quite safe to London. At an
early hour this morning I left her with her father."
"Then, Captain Churchill," said the Earl, "you are neither more nor
less than the person who rendered my young friend Wilton, here, such
very good assistance last night."
Churchill made a low and complimentary bow, replying, "Oh, my lord,
you are too good! The assistance that I rendered him was little
enough, I can assure you. His own gallantry and good conduct did much
more than I could possibly do.--But I hope and trust my good friend,
Arden, the Messenger, there, is not waiting for me; for I can assure
your lordship that, though I was upon a little frolic last night,
which I might not very well like to have inquired into, it was
certainly nothing of a Jacobitical nature, as you may well suppose,
and as my good friend, Mr. Brown, here, can testify."
"I do not in the slightest degree suspect you, Churchill," replied
the Earl. "The only point was to ascertain whether it was you or Sir
George Barkley who was with my friend Wilton, here, last night;
Arden, the Messenger, who has behaved very ill throughout the whole
business, positively swearing, this morning, that Wilton was
accompanied along part of the road by Sir George Barkley, the
well-known traitor, and that he, Wilton, my private secretary,
connived at and aided his escape."
"I can assure your lordship," replied Churchill, in a perfectly grave
tone, "on my honour as a gentleman, I have the most perfect
certainty, and could prove, if necessary, that the charge is entirely
and totally false; that Sir George Barkley did not accompany your
young friend for a single step, and that he was only accompanied by a
fair lady with very bright eyes, by another gentleman whom I
understand to be a certain Captain Byerly--a very respectable man,
only that he rides a little hard upon the King's Highway--and by a
person, of perhaps less importance and repute, named Captain
Churchill."
"That is quite satisfactory, my dear sir," replied the Earl. "You
hear, Mr. Arden. Be so good as to quit the room, and to remember,
that from this moment you are no longer a Messenger of State."
Wilton could almost have found it in his heart to interpose, knowing
all that he did know; but when he recollected the whole course of the
man's bad conduct, he felt that the retribution which had fallen upon
him was but just, and he left the matter to take its course.
Churchill then conversed for a few minutes with the Earl, in an under
tone; and as the business of the day seemed over, Wilton prepared to
take his departure.
"Wait one moment, Mr. Brown," said Churchill, "and if you are going
my way, I will accompany you."
"You will not fail, my dear Wilton, I trust," said the Earl, "to
visit the young lady, and inquire after her health. Pray present my
most devoted homage to her, and assure her that I have been most
uneasy at her situation, and grieved for all that she must have
undergone. I shall certainly wait upon her to-morrow. In the
meantime," he added, in a lower tone, "do not entertain any
apprehensions in regard to your situation. Go boldly forward, make
sure of her heart, and all the rest will be rendered much more easy
than you imagine. Nothing that I can do for you shall be wanting; and
you have only to let me know when you have any engagement at Beaufort
House, and I will find means to do without your attendance here.--I
beg your pardon, Captain Churchill; I only wished to give this young
gentleman a word of good advice before he left me."
"And I only waited till he was ready, my lord," replied Churchill,
"to take my leave of your lordship, wishing you full success in
dealing with the nest of vagabonds you have got hold of."
Thus saying, he took his leave, and quitting the house together with
Wilton, put his arm through his, and walked on as familiarly as if
they had been old acquaintances.