Lady Etherton sincerely and deeply deplored the loss of her husband,
for she really loved him; to her, his faults were in a measure hidden.
But, alas, this was not the case with his daughters. A show of grief
and an elaborate display in mourning was paraded before the world,
but in their hearts they felt themselves emancipated from a restraint
they styled tyranny. The girls fancied they would now be permitted to
mix more with the world, and that after a time Etherton Hall would be
filled with gay guests, and that their brother Howard would let them do
as they liked. But a very short time proved to the five girls that they
had woefully miscalculated. The new baronet was a man of an infinitely
worse temper and disposition than his sire, and, for one so young,
was penurious to a degree; and so haughty and arrogant in manners and
words, that the domestics, in comparing notes, really found that they
had been very unjust towards the deceased baronet, who, compared to his
son, was really an amiable man.
The late baronet had kept up a handsome establishment, and, though
particular and careful in his expenditure, he lived as became his rank
and wealth. His successor diminished the establishment. Lady Etherton
had a handsome jointure, but her daughters were, strange to say, left
almost to the mercy of the brother. They each had a female attendant,
and the two eldest had saddle-horses kept for their special use. Sir
Howard having deliberately dismissed three of the female attendants,
and sold the saddle-horses, and clipped various other sinecures, as
he styled them, on the plea that the estate was greatly encumbered
by the extravagance of his elder brother, told his sisters that if
they expected fortunes, they would be very small ones, unless they
economised at home. Lady Etherton remonstrated, and, after six months’
trial of her son’s mode of management, left Etherton Hall, and went
with her favourite daughter to Bath; where, having an income of twelve
hundred a-year, she lived remarkably well, and enjoyed society.
Sir Howard Etherton, having got rid of his mother and eldest sister,
established his sister Jane as mistress of his establishment. This
young lady, the plainest of the five, greatly resembled her brother in
disposition, and, finding it was useless to complain, adopted the plan
of coinciding with him in all his ideas and projects. The three younger
girls had henceforward two tyrants instead of one.
Sir Howard Etherton was quite the reverse of his brother Philip, who
loved hunters and race-horses, women and wine. The baronet cared for
none of these agreeable modes of dissipating a fortune. He had no
objection to females, certainly, but they must be encumbered with large
fortunes, of which he was extremely willing to take charge; but Miss
Jane Etherton was in no hurry that her brother should find a wife until
she had found a husband—a thing her youngest sister, Mary, who was a
very pretty girl, told her, in a fit of passion at being thwarted in
some wish, she would never get, as no man in his senses would marry a
woman with such a nose.
Miss Jane’s prominent organ was a serious feature in her face, and
troubled her very much. It was marvellously long, fearfully thin, and
the point awfully red, whilst her face was extremely pale. Mary had
good reason to repent her remark, for it was never forgotten.
One morning Sir Howard Etherton looked very troubled and serious at
breakfast, and, as soon as he was alone with his sister Jane, she
remarked it.
“Yes,” returned the Baronet, “what I heard yesterday is enough to make
me look serious, and, in fact, to make us all look so.”
“What can it be?” said Miss Jane, the tip of her nose betraying her
anxiety by increasing in colour. It seemed as if this organ alone
betrayed her emotions, for her cheeks remained always colourless.
“You remember, of course, going to London with your father to see a
young lady who styled herself his niece. He was to hear the contents
of some papers contained in a casket, which that officious, proud
fellow—who now, forsooth, claims to be Sir Oscar de Bracy—had the care
of; a most confounded piece of imposture, depend upon it. But no matter
about that now.”
“Dear me!” interrupted Miss Jane, “I remember about this Mabel Arden,
as she called herself. Yes, we went to London, but it all turned out
a hoax—there were nothing but shavings in the casket. My poor father
was most vilely treated by a horrid Irish seaman, who used violent
language. If he had been a gentleman my father intended horse-whipping
him; but, on inquiry, he learned that he was nobody, so of course he
never took any further notice of him, or the pretended Mabel Arden.”
“You are extremely eloquent this morning, Jane,” said the Baronet,
with a caustic sneer—for even his pet sister was subject to his fits
of spleen; “but you are quite out, I fear, in your ideas respecting
Mabel Arden. I will read you my solicitor’s letter, which I received
yesterday evening;” and, putting his hand into his pocket-book, he
pulled out a letter, which he read aloud:—
“MY DEAR SIR,
“I have just received a communication from Mr. Stanmore, solicitor,
—— Square, that surprises me. He states that it is his intention to
assert the claims of Miss Mabel Arden to the name of Etherton, and to
the portion, with interest, that she became entitled to on the death
of Sir Granby Etherton. This is serious, for I find, on looking over
your lamented father’s papers, and reading some deeds and documents,
that when your father succeeded to the title and estates, a sum of
twenty thousand pounds ought to have been put aside at once as the
future fortune of any daughters living at the time of his succession.
“I always understood that your father’s elder brother died unmarried;
consequently this twenty thousand pounds became a settlement to be
divided between your sisters, each receiving a portion, with interest
according to age, out of the estates. But now it appears, from Mr.
Stamnore’s letter, that the late Mr. Granby Arden was married, and
left two children, a son and daughter. The son it is supposed”—(“He
marks the word ‘supposed,’” said Sir Howard, bitterly, looking up
at his attentive sister)—“the son, it is supposed, perished at
Lyons during the sacking of that city, but the daughter lives, and
he declares Miss Mabel Arden to be that daughter. Now, if he can
substantiate this to be the case, it will cost the Etherton estates a
sum, with principal and simple interest, of nearly thirty-two thousand
pounds. Pray let me see you as soon as possible, that I may know how
to proceed and act.
“Yours faithfully,
“C. D. THORPE.”
“Dear me, I am astonished!” said Miss Jane, as her brother folded the
letter, with a very gloomy brow. “What do you intend doing? Do you
really believe this girl to be the daughter of our Uncle Arden?”
“I do,” returned the Baronet, sharply; “but I cannot see how she or
any one else can prove her right and title to the name of Arden. Sir
Oscar de Bracy, the late Governor of ——, in India, has left her ten
thousand pounds, perfectly satisfied that she was his niece. Curse
that meddling coxswain’s son, or protegé, which you please, that now
claims the title and property of the Governor of ——; but,” added the
baronet, exultingly, “he’s a prisoner in France, or at the bottom of
the ocean perhaps, for nothing certain is known of him. He it was that
saved this girl’s life; at all events, he brought her and the casket
out of Toulon; whereas, if he had not interfered, she would very likely
have perished with her mother, who called herself the Duchess of
Coulancourt.”
Miss Jane Etherton was evidently either not blessed with a woman’s
heart, or she concealed her feelings—her nose only betraying some
little sensation.
“What do you intend doing, Howard?” asked Miss Jane.
“Force her solicitor to produce proofs, of course;” and then, after a
moment’s thought, he continued, “it would be a good speculation to make
her my wife.”
Miss Jane’s prominent feature became so extremely red, that even her
brother remarked, with a malicious laugh:
“Upon my word, Jane, your nose is quite a barometer; it states the
effect of your feelings.”
Jane did not like the remark, and being quite as caustic as her
brother, she replied:
“I am glad that in the midst of your troubles, and I think you will
find them difficult to get over, that you have room for ridiculous
remarks.”
“Tut,” laughed the Baronet, “you take a joke too seriously; but do you
know, did you ever hear, what kind of girl this Mabel is; when a child,
she was a puny, pale-faced, half-starved looking thing.”
“I know nothing about her,” returned Miss Jane, sharply. “I suppose you
can get a look at her if you like; I heard Ellen Goodridge say, who
knows the Volneys, and visits at Madame’s Villa, she was well enough,
but very shy and serious.”
“So much the better; qualities I should admire in a wife. One of those
Volney girls I understand is going to be married to that Irishman
O’Loughlin, who has just been made a commander. He has impudence and
brass enough for anything; but how a high family like the Volneys can
tolerate a fellow, whom I myself heard say, he ‘never had a father or a
mother, and that his huge fist was father, mother, and grand-mother to
him, and a whole host of relations besides’—I can’t comprehend.”
“Horrid savage!” said Miss Jane. “What is he like? a sedan-chair man,
I suppose? All the sedan-chair men in London are Irishmen—they have
such large legs.”
“Which is the reason they are selected by the fashionable ladies,” said
the Baronet; “to sport behind their carriages, with calves to their
legs like Swedish turnips.”
As the Baronet said these words, the door opened, and a domestic
entered the room with a card on a silver salver.
“A gentleman below, sir, in the reception-room, wishes particularly to
see you.”
Sir Howard Etherton took the card, gave a slight start, changing colour
as he read aloud, “Captain O’Loughlin.”
Miss Jane sprang from her seat, as if it, and not her nose, was red
hot, exclaiming:
“Bless me, how extraordinary! What can this horrid man want? You will
surely not see him?”
The servant stared, for he could scarcely think that the tall and
handsome man, in the undress uniform of a commander in the navy, could
possibly be the horrid man Miss Jane alluded to.
Sir Howard, remembering of old the contempt that O’Loughlin held him
in, and how he himself detested him, hesitated whether he would see him
or not; but suddenly making up his mind he said:
“Show Captain O’Loughlin up.”
“Dear me!” ejaculated Jane; “I must be gone, I am in such déshabille.”
“Stay where you are,” said the Baronet, sharply; he preferred not being
alone. “It is only that horrid Irishman we have been talking of.”
It was too late to retreat, for a firm, active step was heard without;
the next moment Captain O’Loughlin entered the room, in his easy
off-hand, but gentlemanly manner. He paused on seeing Miss Jane
Etherton, but Sir Howard, in a cold, constrained manner, said:
“My sister, Captain O’Loughlin.”
The sailor bowed, and taking a chair, said:
“It is some years, Sir Howard, since we parted, and I must candidly
say, I did not expect that we should meet again; but having a strong
desire to be of service to a most amiable young lady, I was prevailed
upon to wait upon you. Therefore, at the request of Miss Arden, whose
generous nature shrinks from the prospect of law proceedings between
near relations, and that her name should come before the public on a
question of birth——”
“I confess,” interrupted the Baronet, “I do not quite understand you,
Captain O’Loughlin; I have no near relations beyond my own family that
I know of.”
“A very few words more,” observed O’Loughlin, haughtily, “will explain
my meaning. Miss Arden, or rather Etherton, as she is entitled to bear
that name, requests me to say that—provided there is no opposition to
her claims, on your part, or to her assuming the rightful name, and no
doubts raised about her birth—she is quite willing to resign all claims
to her portion of the Etherton property you now hold.”
“In other words, Captain O’Loughlin,” interrupted the Baronet, in a
cutting tone, “you offer me a bribe to acknowledge an impostor as my
cousin?”
The eyes of the Irishman flashed dangerously, as the Baronet, who saw
the coming storm, hastened to add: “Such may, I say, be the case; for
who can tell? It would be against my conscience.”
“Oh! to the—then,” muttered O’Loughlin; seeing a lady present, he
merely said, “Oh, do not distress your conscience, Sir Howard. When we
two served on board the old Victory, you were not much troubled with
that scarce commodity. Now——”
“I will thank you, Captain O’Loughlin,” interrupted Sir Howard, with a
flush upon his cheek, rivalling the hue on the nose of his astonished
sister, “to confine yourself to the object of your visit. All I have
to say is, that I will never acknowledge the young person you speak
of as relative of mine, till the very fullest proofs of her birth are
furnished. There are no proofs of Mr. Granby Arden having contracted
marriage with any lady; therefore, once for all, I tell you, I shall
oppose the person calling herself Mabel Arden, claiming the name of
Etherton, to the full extent of my power.”
“By the powers of love, you are welcome to do so; I am glad to hear
it;” his cheek flushing anger and contempt, as he rose from his seat.
“You will be sorry for this, ere long. I was against making you the
offer, because we know that Miss Arden’s mother, the Duchess of
Coulancourt, is now in Paris, restored to her estates, and living under
the protection of the Directory—”
The Baronet started, and evidently changed colour; but Captain
O’Loughlin continued quite unconcerned. “Therefore, though there may
be a little delay in communicating with Madame Coulancourt, and some
caution, as the Directory are stringent respecting communication
with England, we shall be able to obtain all the particulars of her
marriage, and the birth of her two children. By-the-bye, it has been
whispered that young Julian Arden, supposed to have perished at the
siege of Lyons, escaped; or at all events there is no proof of his
death. So now, having fulfilled the wishes of Miss Arden, and relieved
her feelings of regret at proceeding against you in this case, without
first amicably trying to settle it, I shall wish you good morning;”
and with a cold bow to the stupefied Miss Jane, whose thin nose
became purple, whilst her cheeks grew proportionately paler, Captain
O’Loughlin walked out of the room, with a light and easy step, and as
he descended the stairs, the confounded and bewildered Baronet caught
the sound of his voice humming the air of “The girl I left behind me.”
Captain O’Loughlin, passing out from the house, mounted his horse, that
a groom held, satisfied in his mind that he had left the honourable
Baronet quite sufficient to employ his thoughts.
“Confound the fellow, I always disliked him,” he muttered, as he rode
down the avenue; “every one gives him a worse character than his
father.”
Captain O’Loughlin had undertaken this visit to Sir Howard Etherton at
Mabel’s earnest request. Most important intelligence had reached Madame
Volney from Paris relative to her own affairs. Her letters came through
Hamburg. The correspondent mentioned, as a piece of news, that Madame
Coulancourt, formerly Duchesse de Coulancourt, was living in Paris,
and had had her estates restored to her, but that she was under strict
surveillance. There was no other remark in the letter; but this was
quite sufficient to fill Mabel’s heart with rapturous joy. Her beloved
mother was living, and well; this knowledge seemed to her the greatest
boon Providence could bestow upon her.
Mr. Stanmore was extremely anxious, when he heard the intelligence,
that some mode of communication might be contrived with Madame de
Coulancourt, so that Mabel’s birth could be clearly established, as
this would be absolutely necessary to substantiate her claims to her
uncle’s legacy. Mr. Stanmore, however, was made aware by Madame Volney
that any attempt to correspond with Mabel’s mother would subject her to
the utmost rigour of the French Government.
“At all events,” said the solicitor, “I will try a feeler to Sir
Howard Etherton’s solicitor;” and he did: but Mabel, who could not
bear to make her name and position a subject of public conversation by
enforcing her claims, without having a single proof to bring forward,
begged Captain O’Loughlin to try and bring Sir Howard Etherton to
amicable terms. She was quite willing to relinquish all claim on the
Etherton property, provided Sir Howard offered no opposition to her
being publicly known as the niece of Sir Oscar de Bracy, and the
daughter of Mr. Granby Arden.
Captain O’Loughlin undertook the embassy to Sir Howard Etherton;
and knowing that gentleman’s penurious disposition, he thought he
would eagerly grasp at the large sum of money he would gain by his
compliance, though the Captain grumbled terribly at such a sacrifice
on Mabel’s part. Mabel insisted that it would be a very hard case for
Sir Howard to have to pay that sum; so, to satisfy her, he rode over
to Etherton Hall, and returned quite pleased at having failed, for he
would not be persuaded that Mabel had any right to forego or abandon
her natural rights. About fourteen or fifteen days after this interview
Captain O’Loughlin was appointed to the command of a very handsome and
dashing corvette, the Onyx and had orders to sail immediately and join
the ship under Vice-Admiral Colboy, cruising off Brest.
After a most affectionate leave-taking with his betrothed and Mabel,
Captain O’Loughlin proceeded to join his ship. In our next chapter we
return to our hero and his attached follower Bill Saunders.