Emmeline had now been almost a week in London; and Mrs. Stafford, with
the assistance of Godolphin, had succeeded so much better than she
expected, in the arrangement of some of those affairs in which she
apprehended the most difficulty, that very little remained for her to do
before she should be enabled to return to France (where her husband was
to sign some papers to secure his safety); and that little depended on
James Crofts, who seemed to be making artificial delay, and trying to
give her all the trouble and perplexity in his power.
He had, however, another motive than merely to harrass and distress her.
His father had employed him to deal with Le Limosin; well knowing that
there was nothing so base and degrading that he would not undertake
where his interest was in question; and Sir Richard had promised him a
considerable addition to his fortune if he had address enough to prevent
so capital a sum as Emmeline claimed from being deducted from that of
the family to whom his brother was allied; and from whence he had
expectations, which could not but suffer from such a diminution of it's
wealth and interest.
The tediousness therefore that the Crofts' created promised still to
detain Emmeline in London; and her uncle's letter, which coldly and
hardly with civility deferred any conference on her affairs till the
arrival of Lord Westhaven, convinced her that from his tenderness she
had nothing, from his justice, little to hope.
Godolphin was very anxious to be allowed personally to apply to him on
the claim of his niece. But this Emmeline positively refused. She would
not even allow Mr. Newton, the lawyer to whom Lord Westhaven had
recommended her, and in whose hands her papers were safely deposited, to
write officially to Lord Montreville; but determined to wait quietly the
return of Lord Westhaven himself, on whom she knew neither the anger of
her uncle, or the artifices of Sir Richard, would make any impression;
while his Lordship's interference could not be imputed to such motives
as might possibly be thought to influence Godolphin, or would it give
her the appearance of proceeding undutifully and harshly against Lord
Montreville, which appearances she might be liable to, should she
hastily institute a suit against him.
She grew, however, very uneasy at the determined attendance of
Godolphin, whose presence she knew was so necessary to poor Lady
Adelina. She saw that he was anxious about his sister, yet could not
determine to tear himself from _her_; and to insist upon his returning
to Lady Adelina, would be to assume a right, to which, on the footing
they were, she declined pretending. She failed not, however, every day
to represent to him the long solitude in which Lady Adelina had been
left, and to read to him parts of her letters which breathed only sorrow
and depression. Whenever this happened, Godolphin heard her with
concern, and promised to set out the next day; but still something was
to be done for the service of Emmeline, and still he could not bear to
resign the delight he had now so long enjoyed of seeing her every day,
and of indulging those hopes she had tacitly allowed him to entertain.
Mrs. Stafford, notwithstanding her promise to Emmeline, had not been
able to forbear discovering to him part of the truth. Yet when he
reflected on the advantages Delamere had over him in fortune, in rank,
in the influence his family connection and his former engagement might
give him, he trembled least, if he should be himself absent when Lord
Delamere arrived, her tender and timid spirit would yield to the sorrow
of her lover and the authority of her family; and that almost in despite
of herself, he might lose her for ever. While he yet lingered, and
continued to promise that he would go to the Isle of Wight, the eight
first days of their stay in town glided away. Early in the morning of
the ninth, Godolphin entered the room where Mrs. Stafford and Emmeline
were at breakfast.
'I must now indeed,' said he, 'lose no time in going to Adelina. I am to
day informed that Mr. Trelawny is dead.'
'Shall we then see Lady Adelina in town?' eagerly asked Emmeline, who
could not affect any concern at the death of such a man.
'I apprehend not,' replied Godolphin. 'Whatever business there may be to
settle with the Bancrafts, I am sure will be more proper for me than for
her. To them I must now go, at Putney; and only came to inform you,
Madam,' addressing himself to Mrs. Stafford, 'of the reason of my sudden
absence.'
'Shall you return again to London, Sir, before you proceed into
Hampshire?'
'Not unless you or Miss Mowbray will allow me to suppose that to either
of you my return may be in any way serviceable.'
Mrs. Stafford assured him she had nothing to trouble him upon which
required such immediate attention. Emmeline then attempted to make an
answer of the same kind. But tho' she had for some days wished him to
go, she could not see him on the point of departing without being
sensible of the anguish his absence would occasion her; and instead of
speaking distinctly her thanks, she only murmured something, and was so
near bursting into tears, that fearing to expose herself, she was
hurrying out of the room.
'No message--no letter--not one kind word,' said he, gently detaining
her, 'to poor Adelina? Nothing to your little _protegé_?'
'My--love to them both, Sir?'
'And will you not write to my sister?'
'By the post,' said Emmeline, struggling to get from him to conceal her
emotion.
He then kissed her hand, and suffered her to go. While the explanation
Mrs. Stafford gave of her real feelings, elated him to rapture, in which
he departed, protesting that nothing should prevent his return, to
follow the good fortune which he now believed might be his, as soon as
he could adjust his sister's business with her husband's relations.
Mrs. Stafford recommended it to him to bring Lady Adelina to London with
him, as the affection Emmeline had for her would inevitably give her
great influence. Godolphin, in answer to this advice, only shook his
head; and Mrs. Stafford remained uncertain of his intentions to follow
it.
A few days now elapsed without any extraordinary occurrence. Emmeline
thought less of the impending restoration of her fortune (for of it's
restoration Mr. Newton assured her he had no doubt), than of him with
whom she hoped to share it. She impatiently longed to hear from Lady
Adelina that he was with her: and sometimes her mind dwelt with painful
solicitude on Lady Westhaven and Delamere, for whose health and safety
she was truly anxious, and of whom she had received no account since her
arrival in London.
As she was performing the promise she had made to Godolphin of writing
to Lady Adelina by an early post, Le Limosin announced Mr. James Crofts;
who immediately entered the room with his usual jerking and familiar
walk. Emmeline, who incapable as she was of hating any body, yet felt
towards him a disgust almost amounting to hatred, received him with the
coldest reserve, and Mrs. Stafford with no more civility than was
requisite to prevent his alledging her rudeness and impatience as
reasons for not settling the business on which she concluded he came.
He began with general conversation; and when Mrs. Stafford, impatient to
have done with him, introduced that which went more immediately to the
adjustment of the affair she wished to settle, he told her, that being
extremely unwilling to discuss a matter of business with a _lady_, and
apprehensive of giving offence to one for whom he and his dear Mrs.
Crofts had so sincere a regard, he had determined to leave all the
concerns yet between them to his attorney; a man of strict honour and
probity, to whom he would give her a direction, and to whom it would be
better for _her_ attorney to apply, than that they should themselves
enter on a topic whereon it was probable they might differ.
Mrs. Stafford, vexed at his dissimulation and finesse, again pressed him
to come to a conclusion without the interference of lawyers. But he
again repeated the set speech he had formed on the occasion; and then
addressing himself to Emmeline, asked smilingly, and affecting an
interest in her welfare, 'whether the information he had received was
true?'
'What information, Sir?'
'That Miss Mowbray has the most authentic claim to the estate of her
late father.'
'It is by no means an established claim, Sir; and such as you must
excuse me if I decline talking of.'
'I am told you have papers that put it out of dispute. If you would
favour me with a sight of them, perhaps I could give you some insight
into the proceedings you should commence; and I am sure my friendship
and regard would make any service I could do you a real satisfaction to
myself.'
'I thank you, Sir, for your professions. The papers in question are in
the hands of Mr. Newton of Lincolns Inn. If he will allow you to see
them I have no objection.'
'You intend then,' said James Crofts, unable entirely to conceal his
chagrin--'you intend to begin a suit with my Lord Montreville?'
'By no means, Sir. I am persuaded there will be no necessity for it. But
as you have just referred Mrs. Stafford to a lawyer, I must beg leave to
say, that if _you_ have any questions to ask you must apply to mine.'
James Crofts, quite disconcerted notwithstanding his presumptuous
assurance, was not ready with an answer; and Emmeline, who doubted not
that he was sent by his father to gain what intelligence he could, was
so provoked, that not conceiving herself obliged to preserve the
appearance of civility to a man she despised, she left him in possession
of the room, from whence Mrs. Stafford had a few moments before
departed. He therefore was obliged to withdraw; having found his attempt
to shake the integrity of Le Limosin as fruitless as that he had made to
get sight of the papers.
He had not long been gone, when a servant brought to Emmeline the
following note.--
'I have heard you are in town with Mrs. Stafford, and beg leave
to wait on you. Do not, _ma douce amie_, refuse to grant me this
favour. Besides the happiness of seeing you and your friend, I have
another very particular reason for soliciting you to grant such an
indulgence to
GEORGE FITZ-EDWARD.
'I write this from a neighbouring coffee-house, where I expect
your answer.'
Emmeline immediately carried this billet to Mrs. Stafford; who told her
there was no reason why she should refuse the request it contained. She
therefore wrote a card of compliment to Colonel Fitz-Edward, signifying
that she should be glad to see him.
In a few moments Fitz-Edward appeared; and Emmeline, tho' aware of his
arrival, could not receive him without confusion and emotion. Nor could
she without pity behold his altered countenance and manner, so different
from what they were when she first saw the gay and gallant Fitz-Edward
at Mowbray Castle. He began by expressing, with great appearance of
sincerity, his joy at seeing her; enquired after Lord Delamere, and
mentioned his astonishment at what he had heard--that Delamere had so
repeatedly enquired after him, and signified such a wish to see him, yet
had never written to him to explain his business.
Emmeline, who knew well on what he had so earnestly desired to meet him,
blushed, but did not think it necessary to clear up a subject which
Godolphin's explanation to Delamere had rendered no longer alarming.
'You know, perhaps,' said Fitz-Edward, 'that Mr. Trelawny is dead.'
'I do.'
'And your fair unhappy friend?--May I now--(or is it still a crime,)
enquire after her.'
'She is, I believe, well,' answered Emmeline, 'and remains at the house
of her brother.'
'Tell me, Miss Mowbray--will she after a proper time refuse, do you
think, her consent to see me? will _you_, my lovely friend, undertake to
plead for me? will you and Mrs. Stafford, who know with what solicitude
I sought her, with what anguish I deplored her loss, intercede on my
behalf?--you, who know how fondly my heart has been devoted to her from
the moment of our fatal parting?'
'I can undertake nothing of this kind, Sir. The fate of Lady Adelina
depends, I apprehend, on her brothers. To them I think you should
apply.'
'And why not to herself? Is she not now at liberty? And when destiny has
at length broken the cruel chains with which she was loaded, will she
voluntarily bind herself with others hardly more supportable? If she
refers me to her brothers, I must despair:--the cold-hearted Lord
Westhaven, the inflexible and rigid Godolphin, will make it a mistaken
point of honour to divide us for ever!'
'You cannot suppose, Sir, that _I_ shall undertake to influence Lady
Adelina to measures disapproved by her family. I know not that Lord
Westhaven is cold and unfeeling as you describe him: on the contrary, I
believe he unites one of the best heads and warmest hearts. If your
request is proper, you certainly risk nothing by referring it to him.'
Of Godolphin she spoke not; fearful of betraying to the penetrating and
observing Fitz-Edward how little he answered in her idea the character
of unfeeling and severe.
'I know not what to do,' said Fitz-Edward. 'Should I address myself to
her brothers without success, I am undone; since I well know that from
their decision there will be no appeal. I cannot live without her,
Emmeline--indeed I cannot; and in the hope only of what has lately
happened, have I dragged on till now a reluctant existence. Once, and
but once, I dared write to her. But her brother returned the letter. She
suffered him cruelly to return it, in a cover in which he informed me,
"that the peace and honour of Lady Adelina Trelawny made it necessary
for her to forget that such a man existed as Colonel Fitz-Edward."
Godolphin,' continued he--'Godolphin may carry this too far; he may
oblige me to remind him that there is more than one way in which his
inexorable punctilio may be satisfied.'
'Certainly,' cried Emmeline, in great agitation, which she vainly
struggled to conceal, 'there is no method more likely to convince Lady
Adelina of your tenderness for her, than that you hint at; and if you
should be fortunate enough to destroy a brother to whom she owes every
thing, your triumph will be complete.'
'Prevent then the necessity of my applying to Godolphin by speaking to
Lady Adelina in my favour. Ask her whether she can divest herself of all
regard for me? ask her whether she can condemn me to eternal regret and
despair?'
'I cannot indeed. I am not likely to see her; and if I were, this is a
subject on which nothing shall induce me to influence her.'
Mrs. Stafford, who had been detained in another room by a person who
came to her upon business, now joined them; and Fitz-Edward without
hesitation repeated to her what he had been saying to Emmeline.
'I do not think indeed, Colonel, that Miss Mowbray can interfere; and I
am of her opinion, that as soon as such proposals as you intend to make
are proper, you should address them to her brothers.'
'Mr. Godolphin, Madam, treats me in a way which only my tenderness, my
love for his sister, induces me to bear. I have met him accidentally,
and he passes rudely by me. I sent a gentleman to him to desire an
amicable interview. He answered, that as we could not meet as friends,
he must be excused from seeing me at all. Had I been as rash, as cruel
as he seems to be, I should then have noticed, in the way it demanded,
such a message: but conscious that I had already injured him, I bore
with his petulance and his asperity. I love Godolphin,' continued
he--'from our boyish days I have loved and respected him. I know the
nobleness of his nature, and I can make great allowances for the
impatience of injured honour. But will he not carry it too far, if now
that his sister is released from her detested marriage he still persists
in dividing us?'
'You are not sure,' said Mrs. Stafford, 'that he will do so. Have
patience at least till the time is elapsed when you may try the
experiment. In the interim I will consider what ought to be done.'
'My ever excellent, ever amiable friend!' exclaimed Fitz-Edward
warmly--'how much do I owe you already! Ah! add yet to those obligations
the restoration of Adelina, and I shall be indebted to you for more than
life. As to you, my sweet marble-hearted Emmeline, I heartily pray that
all your coldness both towards me and poor Delamere may be revenged by
your feeling, on behalf of him, all the pain you have inflicted.'
Alas! thought Emmeline, your wicked wish is already accomplished, tho'
not in favour of poor Delamere.
Fitz-Edward then obtained permission to wait on them again; tho' Mrs.
Stafford very candidly told him, that after Captain Godolphin came to
town, she begged he would forbear coming in when he heard of his being
there.
'We will try,' said she, 'to conciliate matters between you, so that ye
may meet in peace; and till then pray forbear to meet at all.'
Fitz-Edward, flattering himself that Mrs. Stafford would interest
herself for him, and that Emmeline, however reserved, would be rather
his friend than his enemy, departed in rather better spirits; and left
the fair friends to debate on the means of preventing what was very
likely to happen--a difference of the most alarming kind between him and
Godolphin, should the latter persist in refusing him permission to
address, at a proper season, Lady Adelina.
The long delays that seemed likely to arise before her own business
would be adjusted with Lord Montreville; the fiery and impatient spirits
with which it appeared to be her lot to contend; the vexation to which
she saw Mrs. Stafford subjected by the sordid and cruel conduct of the
Crofts' towards her; and lastly, her encreasing disquietude about
Godolphin, whom she feared to encourage, yet was equally unwilling and
unable to repulse; oppressed her spirits, and made her stay in London
very disagreeable to her. She had never before been in it for more than
a night or two; and at this time of the year (it was the beginning of
October) the melancholy, deserted houses in the fashionable streets, and
the languor that appeared in the countenances of those who were obliged
to be in town, offered no amusement or variety to compensate for the
loss of the pure air she had been accustomed to breathe, or for the
beautiful and interesting landscapes which she remembered to have
enjoyed in Autumn at Mowbray Castle; where she so much languished to be,
that she sometimes thought, if her uncle would resign it and the estate
immediately around, to her, she could be content to leave him in
possession of the rest of that fortune he coveted with so much avidity.