BOOK VII. Words of dark import gave suspicion birth. --POTTER. CHAPTER I. _Luce_. Is the wind there? That makes for me. _Isab_. Come, I forget a business. _Wit without Money_. LORD VARGRAVE'S travelling-carriage was at his door, and he himself wasputting on his greatcoat in his library, when Lord Saxingham entered. "What! you are going into the country?" "Yes; I wrote you word, --to see Lisle Court. " "Ay, true; I had forgot. Somehow or other my memory is not so good as itwas. But, let me see, Lisle Court is in -----shire. Why, you will passwithin ten miles of C-----. " "C-----! Shall I? I am not much versed in the geography ofEngland, --never learned it at school. As for Poland, Kamschatka, Mexico, Madagascar, or any other place as to which knowledge would be _useful_, Ihave every inch of the way at my finger's end. But _a propos_ of C-----, it is the town in which my late uncle made his fortune. " "Ah, so it is. I recollect you were to have stood for C-----, but gaveit up to Staunch; very handsome in you. Have you any interest therestill?" "I think my ward has some tenants, --a street or two, --one called RichardStreet, and the other Templeton Place. I had intended some weeks ago tohave gone down there, and seen what interest was still left to ourfamily; but Staunch himself told me that C----- was a sure card. " "So he thought; but he has been with me this morning in great alarm: henow thinks he shall be thrown out. A Mr. Winsley, who has a great dealof interest there, and was a supporter of his, hangs back on account ofthe ----- question. This is unlucky, as Staunch is quite with _us_; andif he were to rat now it would be most unfortunate. " "Winsley! Winsley!--my poor uncle's right-hand man. A greatbrewer, --always chairman of the Templeton Committee. I know the name, though I never saw the man. " "If you could take C----- in your way?" "To be sure. Staunch must not be lost. We cannot throw away a singlevote, much more one of such weight, --eighteen stone at the least! I'llstop at C----- on pretence of seeing after my ward's houses, and have aquiet conference with Mr. Winsley. Hem! Peers must not interfere inelections, eh? Well, good-by: take care of yourself. I shall be back ina week, I hope, --perhaps less. " In a minute more Lord Vargrave and Mr. George Frederick Augustus Howard, a slim young gentleman of high birth and connections, but who, having, asa portionless cadet, his own way to make in the world, condescended to behis lordship's private secretary, were rattling over the streets thefirst stage to C-----. It was late at night when Lord Vargrave arrived at the head inn of thatgrave and respectable cathedral city, in which once Richard Templeton, Esq. , --saint, banker, and politician, --had exercised his dictatorialsway. "Sic transit gloria mundi!" As he warmed his hands by the fire inthe large wainscoted apartment into which he was shown, his eye met afull length engraving of his uncle, with a roll of papers in hishand, --meant for a parliamentary bill for the turnpike trusts in theneighbourhood of C-----. The sight brought back his recollections ofthat pious and saturnine relation, and insensibly the minister's thoughtsflew to his death-bed, and to the strange secret which in that last hourhe had revealed to Lumley, --a secret which had done much in deepeningLord Vargrave's contempt for the forms and conventionalities of decorouslife. And here it may be mentioned--though in the course of this volumea penetrating reader may have guessed as much--that, whatever thatsecret, it did not refer expressly or exclusively to the late lord'ssingular and ill-assorted marriage. Upon that point much was still leftobscure to arouse Lumley's curiosity, had he been a man whose curiositywas very vivacious. But on this he felt but little interest. He knewenough to believe that no further information could benefit himselfpersonally; why should he trouble his head with what never would fill hispockets? An audible yawn from the slim secretary roused Lord Vargrave from hisrevery. "I envy you, my young friend, " said he, good-humouredly. "It is apleasure we lose as we grow older, --that of being sleepy. However, 'tobed, ' as Lady Macbeth says. Faith, I don't wonder the poor devil of athane was slow in going to bed with such a tigress. Good-night to you. " CHAPTER II. MA fortune va prendre une face nouvelle. * RACINE. _Androm_. , Act i. Sc. 1. * "My fortune is about to take a turn. " THE next morning Vargrave inquired the way to Mr. Winsley's, and walkedalone to the house of the brewer. The slim secretary went to inspect thecathedral. Mr. Winsley was a little, thickset man, with a civil but bluntelectioneering manner. He started when he heard Lord Vargrave's name, and bowed with great stiffness. Vargrave saw at a glance that there wassome cause of grudge in the mind of the worthy man; nor did Mr. Winsleylong hesitate before he cleansed his bosom of its perilous stuff. "This is an unexpected honour, my lord: I don't know how to account forit. " "Why, Mr. Winsley, your friendship with my late uncle can, perhaps, sufficiently explain and apologize for a visit from a nephew sincerelyattached to his memory. " "Humph! I certainly did do all in my power to promote Mr. Templeton'sinterests. No man, I may say, did more; and yet I don't think it wasmuch thought of the moment he turned his back upon the electors ofC-----. Not that I bear any malice; I am well to do, and value no man'sfavour, --no man's, my lord!" "You amaze me! I always heard my poor uncle speak of you in the highestterms. " "Oh, well, it don't signify; pray say no more of it. Can I offer yourlordship a glass of wine?" "No, I am much obliged to you; but we really must set this little matterright. You know that after his marriage my uncle never revisited C-----;and that shortly before his death he sold the greater part of hisinterest in this city. His young wife, I suppose, liked theneighbourhood of London; and when elderly gentlemen _do_ marry, you knowthey are no longer their own masters; but if you had ever come toFulham--ah! then, indeed, my uncle would have rejoiced to see his oldfriend. " "Your lordship thinks so, " said Mr. Winsley with a sardonic smile. "Youare mistaken; I did call at Fulham; and though I sent in my card, LordVargrave's servant (he was then My Lord) brought back word that hislordship was not at home. " "But that must have been true; he was out, you may depend on it. " "I saw him at the window, my lord, " said Mr. Winsley, taking a pinch ofsnuff. "Oh, the deuce! I'm in for it, " thought Lumley. --"Very strange, indeed!but how can you account for it? Ah, perhaps the health of LadyVargrave--she was so very delicate then, and my poor uncle lived forher--you know that he left all his fortune to Miss Cameron?" "Miss Cameron! Who is she, my lord?" "Why, his daughter-in-law; Lady Vargrave was a widow, --a Mrs. Cameron. " "Mrs. Cam--I remember now, --they put Cameron in the newspapers; but Ithought it was a mistake. But, perhaps" (added Winsley, with a sneer ofpeculiar malignity), --"perhaps, when your worthy uncle thought of being apeer, he did not like to have it known that he married so much beneathhim. " "You quite mistake, my dear sir; my uncle never denied that Mrs. Cameronwas a lady of no fortune or connections, --widow to some poor Scotchgentleman, who died I think in India. " "He left her very ill off, poor thing; but she had a great deal of merit, and worked hard; she taught my girls to play--" "Your girls! did Mrs. Cameron ever reside in C-----?" "To be sure; but she was then called Mrs. Butler--just as pretty a nameto my fancy. " "You must make a mistake: my uncle married this lady in Devonshire. " "Very possibly, " quoth the brewer, doggedly. "Mrs. Butler left the townwith her little girl some time before Mr. Templeton married. " "Well, you are wiser than I am, " said Lumley, forcing a smile. "But howcan you be sure that Mrs. Butler and Mrs. Cameron are one and the sameperson? You did not go into the house, you could not have seen LadyVargrave" (and here Lumley shrewdly guessed--if the tale were true--atthe cause of his uncle's exclusion of his old acquaintance). "No! but I saw her ladyship on the lawn, " said Mr. Winsley, with anothersardonic smile; "and I asked the porter at the lodge as I went out ifthat was Lady Vargrave, and he said, 'yes. ' However, my lord, bygones arebygones, --I bear no malice; your uncle was a good man: and if he had butsaid to me, 'Winsley, don't say a word about Mrs. Butler, ' he might havereckoned on me just as much as when in his elections he used to put fivethousand pounds in my hands, and say, 'Winsley, no bribery, --it iswicked; let this be given in charity. ' Did any one ever know how thatmoney went? Was your uncle ever accused of corruption? But, my lord, surely you will take some refreshment?" "No, indeed; but if you will let me dine with you tomorrow, you'll obligeme much; and, whatever my uncle's faults (and latterly, poor man, he washardly in his senses; what a will he made!) let not the nephew suffer forthem. Come, Mr. Winsley, " and Lumley held out his hand with enchantingfrankness, "you know my motives are disinterested; I have noparliamentary interest to serve, we have no constituents for our Hospitalof Incurables; and--oh! that's right, --we're friends, I see! Now I mustgo and look after my ward's houses. Let me see, the agent's nameis--is--" "Perkins, I think, my lord, " said Mr. Winsley, thoroughly softened by thecharm of Vargrave's words and manner. "Let me put on my hat, and showyou his house. " "Will you? That's very kind; give me all the election news by theway--you know I was once within an ace of being your member. " Vargrave learned from his new friend some further particulars relative toMrs. Butler's humble habits and homely mode of life at C-----, whichserved completely to explain to him why his proud and worldly uncle hadso carefully abstained from all intercourse with that city, and hadprevented the nephew from standing for its vacant representation. Itseemed, however, that Winsley--whose resentment was not of a very activeor violent kind--had not communicated the discovery he had made to hisfellow townspeople; but had contented himself with hints and aphorisms, whenever he had heard the subject of Mr. Templeton's marriage discussed, which had led the gossips of the place to imagine that he had made a muchworse selection than he really had. As to the accuracy of Winsley'sassertion, Vargrave, though surprised at first, had but little doubt onconsideration, especially when he heard that Mrs. Butler's principalpatroness had been the Mrs. Leslie, now the intimate friend of LadyVargrave. But what had been the career, what the earlier condition andstruggles of this simple and interesting creature? With her appearanceat C-----, commenced all that surmise could invent. Not greater was themystery that wrapped the apparition of Manco Capac by the lake Titiaca, than that which shrouded the places and the trials whence the lowlyteacher of music had emerged amidst the streets of C------. Weary, and somewhat careless, of conjecture, Lord Vargrave, in diningwith Mr. Winsley, turned the conversation upon the business on which hehad principally undertaken his journey, --namely, the meditated purchaseof Lisle Court. "I myself am not a very good judge of landed property, " said Vargrave; "Iwish I knew of an experienced surveyor to look over the farms and timber:can you help me to such a one?" Mr. Winsley smiled, and glanced at a rosy-cheeked young lady, whosimpered and turned away. "I think my daughter could recommend one toyour lordship, if she dared. " "Oh, Pa!" "I see. Well, Miss Winsley, I will take no recommendation but yours. " Miss Winsley made an effort. "Indeed, my lord, I have always heard Mr. Robert Hobbs considered veryclever in his profession. " "Mr. Robert Hobbs is my man! His good health--and a fair wife to him. " Miss Winsley glanced at Mamma, and then at a younger sister; and thenthere was a titter, and then a fluttering, and then a rising, and Mr. Winsley, Lord Vargrave, and the slim secretary were left alone. "Really, my lord, " said the host, resettling himself, and pushing thewine, "though you have guessed our little family arrangement, and I havesome interest in the recommendation, since Margaret will be Mrs. RobertHobbs in a few weeks, yet I do not know a more acute, intelligent youngman anywhere. Highly respectable, with an independent fortune; hisfather is lately dead, and made at least thirty thousand pounds in trade. His brother Edward is also dead; so he has the bulk of the property, andhe follows his profession merely for amusement. He would consider it agreat honour. " "And where does he live?" "Oh, not in this county, --a long way off; close to -----; but it is allin your lordship's road. A very nice house he has, too. I have knownhis family since I was a boy; it is astonishing how his father improvedthe place, --it was a poor little lath-and-plaster cottage when the lateMr. Hobbs bought it, and it is now a very excellent family house. " "Well, you shall give me the address and a letter of introduction, and somuch for that matter. But to return to politics;" and here Lord Vargraveran eloquently on, till Mr. Winsley thought him the only man in the worldwho could save the country from that utter annihilation, the possibilityof which he had never even suspected before. It may be as well to add, that, on wishing Lord Vargrave good-night, Mr. Winsley whispered in his ear, "Your lordship's friend, Lord Staunch, needbe under no apprehension, --we are all right!" CHAPTER III. THIS is the house, sir. --_Love's Pilgrimage_, Act iv, sc. 2. Redeunt Saturnia regna. *--VIRGIL. * "A former state of things returns. " THE next morning, Lumley and his slender companion were rolling rapidlyover the same road on which, sixteen years ago, way-worn and weary, AliceDarvil had first met with Mrs. Leslie; they were talking about a newopera-dancer as they whirled by the very spot. It was about five o'clock in the afternoon, the next day, when thecarriage stopped at a cast-iron gate, on which was inscribed thisepigraph, "Hobbs' lodge--Ring the Bell. " "A snug place enough, " said Lord Vargrave, as they were waiting thearrival of the footman to unbar the gate. "Yes, " said Mr. Howard. "If a retired Cit could be transformed into ahouse, such is the house he would be. " Poor Dale Cottage, --the home of Poetry and Passion! But change visitsthe Commonplace as well as the Romantic. Since Alice had pressed to thatcold grating her wistful eyes, time had wrought his allotted revolutions;the old had died, the young grown up. Of the children playing on thelawn, death had claimed some, and marriage others, --and the holiday ofyouth was gone for all. The servant opened the gate. Mr. Robert Hobbs was at home; he hadfriends with him, --he was engaged; Lord Vargrave sent in his card, andthe introductory letter from Mr. Winsley. In two seconds, these missivesbrought to the gate Mr. Robert Hobbs himself, a smart young man, with ablack stock, red whiskers, and an eye-glass pendant to a hair-chain whichwas possibly _a gage d'amour_ from Miss Margaret Winsley. A profusion of bows, compliments, apologies, etc. , the carriage drove upthe sweep, and Lord Vargrave descended, and was immediately ushered intoMr. Hobbs's private room. The slim secretary followed, and sat silent, melancholy, and upright, while the peer affably explained his wants andwishes to the surveyor. Mr. Hobbs was well acquainted with the locality of Lisle Court, which waslittle more than thirty miles distant, he should be proud to accompanyLord Vargrave thither the next morning. But, might he venture, might hedare, might he presume--a gentleman who lived at the town of ----- was todine with him that day; a gentleman of the most profound knowledge ofagricultural affairs; a gentleman who knew every farm, almost every acre, belonging to Colonel Maltravers; if his lordship could be induced towaive ceremony, and dine with Mr. Hobbs; it might be really useful tomeet this gentleman. The slim secretary, who was very hungry, and whothought he sniffed an uncommonly savoury smell, looked up from his boots. Lord Vargrave smiled. "My young friend here is too great an admirer of Mrs. Hobbs--who is tobe--not to feel anxious to make the acquaintance of any member of thefamily she is to enter. " Mr. George Frederick Augustus Howard blushed indignant refutation of thecalumnious charge. Vargrave continued, --"As for me, I shall be delightedto meet any friends of yours, and am greatly obliged for yourconsideration. We may dismiss the postboys, Howard; and what time shallwe summon them, --ten o'clock?" "If your lordship would condescend to accept a bed, we can accommodateyour lordship and this gentleman, and start at any hour in the morningthat--" "So be it, " interrupted Vargrave. "You speak like a man of business. Howard, be so kind as to order the horses for six o'clock to-morrow. We'll breakfast at Lisle Court. " This matter settled, Lord Vargrave and Mr. Howard were shown into theirrespective apartments. Travelling dresses were changed, the dinner putback, and the fish over-boiled; but what mattered common fish, when Mr. Hobbs had just caught such a big one? Of what consequence he should behenceforth and ever! A peer, a minister, a stranger to the county, --tocome all this way to consult _him_! to be _his_ guest! to be shown off, and patted, and trotted out before all the rest of the company! Mr. Hobbs was a made man! Careless of all this, ever at home with any one, and delighted, perhaps, to escape a _tete-a-tete_ with Mr. Howard in astrange inn, Vargrave lounged into the drawing-room, and was formallypresented to the expectant family and the famishing guests. During the expiring bachelorship of Mr. Robert Hobbs, his sister, Mrs. Tiddy (to whom the reader was first introduced as a bride gathering thewisdom of economy and large joints from the frugal lips of her mamma), officiated as lady of the house, --a comely matron, and well-preserved, --except that she had lost a front tooth, --in a jaundiced satinet gown, with a fall of British blonde, and a tucker of the same, Mr. Tiddy beinga starch man, and not willing that the luxuriant charms of Mrs. T. Should be too temptingly exposed! There was also Mr. Tiddy, whom hiswife had married for love, and who was now well to do, --a fine-lookingman, with large whiskers, and a Roman nose, a little awry. Moreover, there was a Miss Biddy or Bridget Hobbs, a young lady of four or fiveand twenty, who was considering whether she might ask Lord Vargrave towrite something in her album, and who cast a bashful look of admirationat the slim secretary, as he now sauntered into the room, in a blackcoat, black waistcoat, black trousers, and a black neckcloth, with ablack pin, --looking much like an ebony cane split half-way up. MissBiddy was a fair young lady, a _leetle_ faded, with uncommonly thin armsand white satin shoes, on which the slim secretary cast his eyes and--shuddered! In addition to the family group were the Rector of -----, an agreeableman, who published sermons and poetry; also Sir William Jekyll, who wasemploying Mr. Hobbs to make a map of an estate he had just purchased;also two country squires and their two wives; moreover, the physician ofthe neighbouring town, --a remarkably tall man, who wore spectacles andtold anecdotes; and, lastly, Mr. Onslow, the gentleman to whom Mr. Hobbshad referred, --an elderly man of prepossessing exterior, of high reputeas the most efficient magistrate, the best farmer, and the most sensibleperson in the neighbourhood. This made the party, to each individual ofwhich the great man bowed and smiled; and the great man's secretary bent, condescendingly, three joints of his backbone. The bell was now rung, dinner announced. Sir William Jekyll led the waywith one of the she-squires, and Lord Vargrave offered his arm to theportly Mrs. Tiddy. Vargrave, as usual, was the life of the feast. Mr. Howard, who sat nextto Miss Bridget, conversed with her between the courses, "in dumb show. "Mr. Onslow and the physician played second and third to Lord Vargrave. When the dinner was over, and the ladies had retired, Vargrave foundhimself seated next to Mr. Onslow, and discovered in his neighbour a mostagreeable companion. They talked principally about Lisle Court, and fromColonel Maltravers the conversation turned naturally upon Ernest. Vargrave proclaimed his early intimacy with the latter gentleman, complained, feelingly, that politics had divided them of late, and toldtwo or three anecdotes of their youthful adventures in the East. Mr. Onslow listened to him with much attention. "I made the acquaintance of Mr. Maltravers many years ago, " said he, "andupon a very delicate occasion. I was greatly interested in him; I neversaw one so young (for he was then but a boy) manifest feelings so deep. By the dates you have referred to, your acquaintance with him must havecommenced very shortly after mine. Was he at that time cheerful, in goodspirits?" "No, indeed; hypochondriacal to the greatest degree. " "Your lordship's intimacy with him, and the confidence that generallyexists between young men, induce me to suppose that he may have told youa little romance connected with his early years. " Lumley paused to consider; and this conversation, which had been carriedon apart, was suddenly broken into by the tall doctor, who wanted to knowwhether his lordship had ever heard the anecdote about Lord Thurlow andthe late king. The anecdote was as long as the doctor himself; and whenit was over, the gentlemen adjourned to the drawing-room, and allconversation was immediately drowned by "Row, brothers, row, " which hadonly been suspended till the arrival of Mr. Tiddy, who had a fine bassvoice. Alas! eighteen years ago, in that spot of earth, Alice Darvil had firstcaught the soul of music from the lips of Genius and of Love! But betteras it is, --less romantic, but more proper, --as Hobbs' Lodge was lesspretty, but more safe from the winds and rains, than Dale Cottage. Miss Bridget ventured to ask the good-humoured Lord Vargrave if he sang. "Not I, Miss Hobbs; but Howard, there!--ah, if you heard _him_!" Theconsequence of this hint was, that the unhappy secretary, who, alone, ina distant corner, was unconsciously refreshing his fancy with some coolweak coffee, was instantly beset with applications from Miss Bridget, Mrs. Tiddy, Mr. Tiddy, and the tall doctor, to favour the company with aspecimen of his talents. Mr. Howard could sing, --he could even play theguitar. But to sing at Hobbs' Lodge, to sing to the accompaniment ofMrs. Tiddy, to have his gentle tenor crushed to death in a glee by theheavy splayfoot of Mr. Tiddy's manly bass--the thought was insufferable!He faltered forth assurances of his ignorance, and hastened to bury hisresentment in the retirement of a remote sofa. Vargrave, who hadforgotten the significant question of Mr. Onslow, renewed in a whisperhis conversation with that gentleman relative to the meditatedinvestment, while Mr. And Mrs. Tiddy sang "Come dwell with me;" andOnslow was so pleased with his new acquaintance, that he volunteered tomake a fourth in Lumley's carriage the next morning, and accompany him toLisle Court. This settled, the party soon afterwards broke up. Atmidnight Lord Vargrave was fast asleep; and Mr. Howard, tossingrestlessly to and fro on his melancholy couch, was revolving all thehardships that await a native of St. James's, who ventures forth among-- "The Anthropophagi, and men whose heads Do grow beneath their shoulders!" CHAPTER IV. BUT how were these doubts to be changed into absolute certainty? EDGAR HUNTLEY. THE next morning, while it was yet dark, Lord Vargrave's carriage pickedup Mr. Onslow at the door of a large old-fashioned house, at the entranceof the manufacturing town of -----. The party were silent and sleepytill they arrived at Lisle Court. The sun had then appeared, the morningwas clear, the air frosty and bracing; and as, after traversing a noblepark, a superb quadrangular pile of brick flanked by huge square turretscoped with stone broke upon the gaze of Lord Vargrave, his worldly heartswelled within him, and the image of Evelyn became inexpressibly lovelyand seductive. Though the housekeeper was not prepared for Vargrave's arrival at soearly an hour, yet he had been daily expected: the logs soon burnedbright in the ample hearth of the breakfast-room; the urn hissed, thecutlets smoked; and while the rest of the party gathered round the fire, and unmuffled themselves of cloaks and shawl-handkerchiefs, Vargraveseized upon the housekeeper, traversed with delighted steps themagnificent suite of rooms, gazed on the pictures, admired the statebed-chambers, peeped into the offices, and recognized in all a mansionworthy of a Peer of England, --but which a more prudent man would havethought, with a sigh, required careful management of the rent-roll raisedfrom the property adequately to equip and maintain. Such an idea did notcross the mind of Vargrave; he only thought how much he should behonoured and envied, when, as Secretary of State, he should yearly fillthose feudal chambers with the pride and rank of England! It wascharacteristic of the extraordinary sanguineness and self-confidence ofVargrave, that he entirely overlooked one slight obstacle to thisprospect, in the determined refusal of Evelyn to accept that passionatehomage which he offered to--her fortune! When breakfast was over the steward was called in, and the party, mountedupon ponies, set out to reconnoitre. After spending the short day mostagreeably in looking over the gardens, pleasure-grounds, park, andhome-farm, and settling to visit the more distant parts of the propertythe next day, the party were returning home to dine, when Vargrave's eyecaught the glittering _whim_ of Sir Gregory Gubbins. He pointed it out to Mr. Onslow, and laughed much at hearing of theannoyance it occasioned to Colonel Maltravers. "Thus, " said Lumley, "dowe all crumple the rose-leaf under us, and quarrel with couches the mostluxuriant! As for me, I will wager, that were this property mine, or myward's, in three weeks we should have won the heart of Sir Gregory, madehim pull down his _whim_, and coaxed him out of his interest in the cityof -----. A good seat for you, Howard, some day or other. " "Sir Gregory has prodigiously bad taste, " said Mr. Hobbs. "For my part, I think that there ought to be a certain modest simplicity in the displayof wealth got in business, --that was my poor father's maxim. " "Ah!" said Vargrave, "Hobbs' Lodge is a specimen. Who was yourpredecessor in that charming retreat?" "Why, the place--then called Dale Cottage--belonged to a Mr. Berners, arich bachelor in business, who was rich enough not to mind what peoplesaid of him, and kept a lady there. She ran off from him, and he thenlet it to some young man--a stranger, very eccentric, I hear--a Mr. --Mr. Butler--and he, too, gave the cottage an unlawful attraction, --a mostbeautiful girl, I have heard. " "Butler!" echoed Vargrave, --"Butler! Butler!" Lumley recollected thatsuch had been the real name of Mrs. Cameron. Onslow looked hard at Vargrave. "You recognize the name, my lord, " said he in a whisper, as Hobbs hadturned to address himself to Mr. Howard. "I thought you very discreetwhen I asked you, last night, if you remembered the early follies of yourfriend. " A suspicion at once flashed upon the quick mind of Vargrave:Butler was a name on the mother's side in the family of Maltravers; thegloom of Ernest when he first knew him, the boy's hints that the gloomwas connected with the affections, the extraordinary and singleaccomplishment of Lady Vargrave in that art of which Maltravers was soconsummate a master, the similarity of name, --all taken in conjunctionwith the meaning question of Mr. Onslow, were enough to suggest toVargrave that he might be on the verge of a family secret, the knowledgeof which could be turned to advantage. He took care not to confess hisignorance, but artfully proceeded to draw out Mr. Onslow'scommunications. "Why, it is true, " said he, "that Maltravers and I had no secrets. Ah, we were wild fellows then! The name of Butler is in his family, eh?" "It is. I see you know all. " "Yes; he told me the story, but it is eighteen years ago. Do refresh mymemory. Howard, my good fellow, just ride on and expedite dinner: Mr. Hobbs, will you go with Mr. What's-his-name, the steward, and look overthe maps, out-goings, etc. ? Now, Mr. Onslow--so Maltravers took thecottage, and a lady with it?--ay, I remember. " Mr. Onslow (who was in fact that magistrate to whom Ernest had confidedhis name and committed the search after Alice, and who was really anxiousto know if any tidings of the poor girl had ever been ascertained) hererelated that history with which the reader is acquainted, --the robbery ofthe cottage, the disappearance of Alice, the suspicions that connectedthat disappearance with her ruffian father, the despair and search ofMaltravers. He added that Ernest, both before his departure fromEngland, and on his return, had written to him to learn if Alice had everbeen heard of; the replies of the magistrate were unsatisfactory. "Anddo you think, my lord, that Mr. Maltravers has never to this dayascertained what became of the poor young woman?" "Why, let me see, --what was her name?" The magistrate thought a moment, and replied, "Alice Darvil. " "Alice!" exclaimed Vargrave. "Alice!"--aware that such was theChristian name of his uncle's wife, and now almost convinced of the truthof his first vague suspicion. "You seem to know the name?" "Of Alice; yes--but not Darvil. No, no; I believe he has never heard ofthe girl to this hour. Nor you either?" "I have not. One little circumstance related to me by Mr. Hobbs, yoursurveyor's father, gave me some uneasiness. About two years after theyoung woman disappeared, a girl, of very humble dress and appearance, stopped at the gate of Hobbs' Lodge, and asked earnestly for Mr. Butler. On hearing he was gone, she turned away, and was seen no more. It seemsthat this girl had an infant in her arms--which rather shocked thepropriety of Mr. And Mrs. Hobbs. The old gentleman told me thecircumstance a few days after it happened, and I caused inquiry to bemade for the stranger; but she could not be discovered. I thought atfirst this possibly might be the lost Alice; but I learned that, duringhis stay at the cottage, your friend--despite his error, which we willnot stop to excuse--had exercised so generous and wide a charity amongstthe poor in the town and neighbourhood, that it was a more probablesupposition of the two that the girl belonged to some family he hadformerly relieved, and her visit was that of a mendicant, not a mistress. Accordingly, after much consideration, I resolved not to mention thecircumstances to Mr. Maltravers, when he wrote to me on his return fromthe Continent. A considerable time had then elapsed since the girl hadapplied to Mr. Hobbs; all trace of her was lost; the incident might openwounds that time must have nearly healed, might give false hopes--or, what was worse, occasion a fresh and unfounded remorse at the idea ofAlice's destitution; it would, in fact, do no good, and might occasionunnecessary pain. I therefore suppressed all mention of it. " "You did right: and so the poor girl had an infant in her arms?--humph!What sort of looking person was this Alice Darvil, --pretty, of course?" "I never saw her; and none but the persons employed in the premises knewher by sight; they described her as remarkably lovely. " "Fair and slight, with blue eyes, I suppose?--those are the orthodoxrequisites of a heroine. " "Upon my word I forget; indeed I should never have remembered as much asI do, if the celebrity of Mr. Maltravers, and the consequence of hisfamily in these parts, together with the sight of his own agony--the mostpainful I ever witnessed--had not served to impress the whole affair verydeeply on my mind. " "Was the girl who appeared at the gate of Hobbs' Lodge described to you?" "No; they scarcely observed her countenance, except that her complexionwas too fair for a gypsy's; yet, now I think of it, Mrs. Tiddy, who waswith her father when he told me the adventure, dwelt particularly on herhaving (as you so pleasantly conjecture) fair hair and blue eyes. Mrs. Tiddy, being just married, was romantic at that day. " "Well, it is an odd tale; but life is full of odd tales. Here we are atthe house; it really is a splendid old place!" CHAPTER V. PENDENT opera interrupta. *--VIRGIL. * "The things begun are interrupted and suspended. " THE history Vargrave had heard he revolved much when he retired to rest. He could not but allow that there was still little ground for more thanconjecture that Alice Darvil and Alice Lady Vargrave were one and thesame person. It might, however, be of great importance to him to tracethis conjecture to certainty. The knowledge of a secret of early sin anddegradation in one so pure, so spotless, as Lady Vargrave, might be ofimmense service in giving him a power over her, which he could turn toaccount with Evelyn. How could he best prosecute further inquiry, --byrepairing at once to Brook-Green, or--the thought struck him--by visitingand "pumping" Mrs. Leslie, the patroness of Mrs. Butler, of C-----, thefriend of Lady Vargrave? It was worth trying the latter, --it was littleout of his way back to London. His success in picking the brains of Mr. Onslow of a secret encouraged him in the hope of equal success with Mrs. Leslie. He decided accordingly, and fell asleep to dream of Christmas_battues_, royal visitors, the Cabinet, the premiership! Well, nopossession equals the dream of it! Sleep on, my lord! you would berestless enough if you were to get all you want. For the next three days, Lord Vargrave was employed in examining thegeneral outlines of the estate; and the result of this survey satisfiedhim as to the expediency of the purchase. On the third day, he wasseveral miles from the house when a heavy rain came on. Lord Vargravewas constitutionally hardy, and not having been much exposed tovisitations of the weather of late years, was not practically aware thatwhen a man is past forty, he cannot endure with impunity all that fallsinnocuously on the elasticity of twenty-six. He did not, therefore, heedthe rain that drenched him to the skin, and neglected to change his dresstill he had finished reading some letters and newspapers which awaitedhis return at Lisle Court. The consequence of this imprudence was, thatthe next morning when he woke, Lord Vargrave found himself, for almostthe first time in his life, seriously ill. His head ached violently, cold shiverings shook his frame like an ague; the very strength of theconstitution on which the fever had begun to fasten itself augmented itsdanger. Lumley--the last man in the world to think of the possibility ofdying--fought up against his own sensations, ordered his post-horses, ashis visit of survey was now over, and scarcely even alluded to hisindisposition. About an hour before he set off, his letters arrived; oneof these informed him that Caroline, accompanied by Evelyn, had alreadyarrived in Paris; the other was from Colonel Legard, respectfullyresigning his office, on the ground of an accession of fortune by thesudden death of the admiral, and his intention to spend the ensuing yearin a Continental excursion. This last letter occasioned Vargraveconsiderable alarm; he had always felt a deep jealousy of the handsomeex-guardsman, and he at once suspected that Legard was about to repair toParis as his rival. He sighed, and looked round the spacious apartment, and gazed on the wide prospects of grove and turf that extended from thewindow, and said to himself, "Is another to snatch these from my grasp?"His impatience to visit Mrs. Leslie, to gain ascendency over LadyVargrave, to repair to Paris, to scheme, to manoeuvre, to triumph, accelerated the progress of the disease that was now burning in hisveins; and the hand that he held out to Mr. Hobbs, as he stepped into hiscarriage, almost scorched the cold, plump, moist fingers of the surveyor. Before six o'clock in the evening Lord Vargrave confessed reluctantly tohimself that he was too ill to proceed much farther. "Howard, " said hethen, breaking a silence that had lasted some hours, "don't be alarmed; Ifeel that I am about to have a severe attack; I shall stop at M-----(naming a large town they were approaching); I shall send for the bestphysician the place affords; if I am delirious to-morrow, or unable togive my own orders, have the kindness to send express for Dr. Holland, --but don't leave me yourself, my good fellow. At my age, it isa hard thing to have no one in the world to care for me in illness;d-----n affection when I am well!" After this strange burst, which very much frightened Mr. Howard, Lumleyrelapsed into silence, not broken till he reached M-----. The bestphysician was sent for; and the next morning, as he had half foreseen andforetold, Lord Vargrave _was_ delirious! CHAPTER VI. NOUGHT under Heaven so strongly doth allure The sense of man, and all his mind possess, As Beauty's love-bait. --SPENSER. LEGARD was, as I have before intimated, a young man of generous andexcellent dispositions, though somewhat spoiled by the tenor of hiseducation, and the gay and reckless society which had administered tonicsto his vanity and opiates to his intellect. The effect which the beauty, the grace, the innocence of Evelyn had produced upon him had been mostdeep and most salutary. It had rendered dissipation tasteless andinsipid; it had made him look more deeply into his own heart, and intothe rules of life. Though, partly from irksomeness of dependence upon anuncle at once generous and ungracious, partly from a diffident andfeeling sense of his own inadequate pretensions to the hand of MissCameron, and partly from the prior and acknowledged claims of LordVargrave, he had accepted, half in despair, the appointment offered tohim, he still found it impossible to banish that image which had been thefirst to engrave upon ardent and fresh affections an indelibleimpression. He secretly chafed at the thought that it was to a fortunaterival that he owed the independence and the station he had acquired, andresolved to seize an early opportunity to free himself from obligationsthat he deeply regretted he had incurred. At length he learned that LordVargrave had been refused, --that Evelyn was free; and within a few daysfrom that intelligence, the admiral was seized with apoplexy; and Legardsuddenly found himself possessed, if not of wealth, at least of acompetence sufficient to redeem his character as a suitor from thesuspicion attached to a fortune-hunter and adventurer. Despite the newprospects opened to him by the death of his uncle, and despite the surlycaprice which had mingled with and alloyed the old admiral's kindness, Legard was greatly shocked by his death; and his grateful and gentlenature was at first only sensible to grief for the loss he had sustained. But when, at last, recovering from his sorrow, he saw Evelyn disengagedand free, and himself in a position honourably to contest her hand, hecould not resist the sweet and passionate hopes that broke upon him. Heresigned, as we have seen, his official appointment, and set out forParis. He reached that city a day or two after the arrival of Lord andLady Doltimore. He found the former, who had not forgotten the cautionsof Vargrave, at first cold and distant; but partly from the indolenthabit of submitting to Legard's dictates on matters of taste, partly froma liking to his society, and principally from the popular suffrages offashion, which had always been accorded to Legard, and which werenowadays diminished by the news of his accession of fortune, LordDoltimore, weak and vain, speedily yielded to the influences of his oldassociate, and Legard became quietly installed as the _enfant de lamaison_. Caroline was not in this instance a very faithful ally toVargrave's views and policy. In his singular _liaison_ with LadyDoltimore, the crafty manoeuvrer had committed the vulgar fault ofintriguers: he had over-refined and had overreached himself. At thecommencement of their strange and unprincipled intimacy, Vargrave hadhad, perhaps, no other thought than that of piquing Evelyn, consoling hisvanity, amusing his _ennui_, and indulging rather his propensities as agallant than promoting his more serious objects as a man of the world. By degrees, and especially at Knaresdean, Vargrave himself became deeplyentangled by an affair that he had never before contemplated as moreimportant than a passing diversion; instead of securing a friend toassist him in his designs on Evelyn, he suddenly found that he hadobtained a mistress anxious for his love and jealous of his homage. Withhis usual promptitude and self-confidence, he was led at once to deliverhimself of all the ill-consequences of his rashness, --to get rid ofCaroline as a mistress, and to retain her as a tool, by marrying her toLord Doltimore. By the great ascendancy which his character acquiredover her, and by her own worldly ambition, he succeeded in inducing herto sacrifice all romance to a union that gave her rank and fortune; andVargrave then rested satisfied that the clever wife would not only securehim a permanent power over the political influence and private fortune ofthe weak husband, but also abet his designs in securing an allianceequally desirable for himself. Here it was that Vargrave's incapacity tounderstand the refinements and scruples of a woman's affection andnature, however guilty the one, and however worldly the other, foiled anddeceived him. Caroline, though the wife of another, could notcontemplate without anguish a similar bondage for her lover; and havingsomething of the better qualities of her sex still left to her, sherecoiled from being an accomplice in arts that were to drive the young, inexperienced, and guileless creature who called her "friend" into thearms of a man who openly avowed the most mercenary motives, and who tookgods and men to witness that his heart was sacred to another. Only inVargrave's presence were these scruples overmastered; but the moment hewas gone they returned in full force. She had yielded, from positivefear, to his commands that she should convey Evelyn to Paris; but shetrembled to think of the vague hints and dark menaces that Vargrave hadlet fall as to ulterior proceedings, and was distracted at the thought ofbeing implicated in some villanous or rash design. When, therefore, theman whose rivalry Vargrave most feared was almost established at herhouse, she made but a feeble resistance; she thought that, if Legardshould become a welcome and accepted suitor before Lumley arrived, thelatter would be forced to forego whatever hopes he yet cherished, andthat she should be delivered from a dilemma, the prospect of whichdaunted and appalled her. Added to this, Caroline was now, alas!sensible that a fool is not so easily governed; her resistance to anintimacy with Legard would have been of little avail: Doltimore, in thesematters, had an obstinate will of his own; and, whatever might once havebeen Caroline's influence over her liege, certain it is that suchinfluence had been greatly impaired of late by the indulgence of atemper, always irritable, and now daily more soured by regret, remorse, contempt for her husband, --and the melancholy discovery that fortune, youth, beauty, and station are no talismans against misery. It was the gayest season of Paris; and to escape from herself, Carolineplunged eagerly into the vortex of its dissipations. If Doltimore'sheart was disappointed, his vanity was pleased at the admiration Carolineexcited; and he himself was of an age and temper to share in the pursuitsand amusements of his wife. Into these gayeties, new to theirfascination, dazzled by their splendour, the young Evelyn entered withher hostess; and ever by her side was the unequalled form of Legard. Each of them in the bloom of youth, each of them at once formed toplease, and to be pleased by that fair Armida which we call the World, there was, necessarily, a certain congeniality in their views andsentiments, their occupations and their objects; nor was there, in allthat brilliant city, one more calculated to captivate the eye and fancythan George Legard. But still, to a certain degree diffident andfearful, Legard never yet spoke of love; nor did their intimacy at thistime ripen to that point in which Evelyn could have asked herself ifthere were danger in the society of Legard, or serious meaning in hisobvious admiration. Whether that melancholy, to which Lady Vargrave hadalluded in her correspondence with Lumley, were occasioned by thoughtsconnected with Maltravers, or unacknowledged recollections of Legard, itremains for the acute reader himself to ascertain. The Doltimores had been about three weeks in Paris; and for a fortnightof that time Legard had been their constant guest, and half the inmate oftheir hotel, when, on that night which has been commemorated in our lastbook, Maltravers suddenly once more beheld the face of Evelyn, and in thesame hour learned that she was free. He quitted Valerie's box; with aburning pulse and a beating heart, joy and surprise and hope sparkling inhis eyes and brightening his whole aspect, he hastened to Evelyn's side. It was at this time Legard, who sat behind Miss Cameron, unconscious ofthe approach of a rival, happened by one of those chances which occur inconversation to mention the name of Maltravers. He asked Evelyn if shehad yet met him. "What! is he, then, in Paris?" asked Evelyn, quickly. "I heard, indeed, "she continued, "that he left Burleigh for Paris, but imagined he had goneon to Italy. " "No, he is still here; but he goes, I believe, little into the societyLady Doltimore chiefly visits. Is he one of your favourites, MissCameron?" There was a slight increase of colour in Evelyn's beautiful cheek, as sheanswered, -- "Is it possible not to admire and be interested in one so gifted?" "He has certainly noble and fine qualities, " returned Legard; "but Icannot feel at ease with him: a coldness, a _hauteur_, a measureddistance of manner, seem to forbid even esteem. Yet _I_ ought not to sayso, " he added, with a pang of self-reproach. "No, indeed, you ought not to say so, " said Evelyn, shaking her head witha pretty affectation of anger; "for I know that you pretend to like whatI like, and admire what I admire; and I am an enthusiast in all thatrelates to Mr. Maltravers!" "I know that I would wish to see all things in life through MissCameron's eyes, " whispered Legard, softly; and this was the most meaningspeech he had ever yet made. Evelyn turned away, and seemed absorbed in the opera; and at that instantthe door of the box opened, and Maltravers entered. In her open, undisguised, youthful delight at seeing him again, Maltravers felt, indeed, "as if Paradise were opened in her face. " Inhis own agitated emotions, he scarcely noticed that Legard had risen andresigned his seat to him; he availed himself of the civility, greeted hisold acquaintance with a smile and a bow, and in a few minutes he was indeep converse with Evelyn. Never had he so successfully exerted the singular, the master-fascinationthat he could command at will, --the more powerful from its contrast tohis ordinary coldness. In the very expression of his eyes, the very toneof his voice, there was that in Maltravers, seen at his happier moments, which irresistibly interested and absorbed your attention: he could makeyou forget everything but himself, and the rich, easy, yet earnesteloquence, which gave colour to his language and melody to his voice. Inthat hour of renewed intercourse with one who had at first awakened, ifnot her heart, at least her imagination and her deeper thoughts, certainit is that even Legard was not missed. As she smiled and listened, Evelyn dreamed not of the anguish she inflicted. Leaning against thebox, Legard surveyed the absorbed attention of Evelyn, the adoring eyesof Maltravers, with that utter and crushing wretchedness which no passionbut jealousy, and that only while it is yet a virgin agony, can bestow!He had never before even dreamed of rivalry in such a quarter; but therewas that ineffable instinct, which lovers have, and which so seldom errs, that told him at once that in Maltravers was the greatest obstacle hispassion could encounter. He waited in hopes that Evelyn would take theoccasion to turn to him at least--when the fourth act closed. She didnot; and, unable to constrain his emotions, and reply to the small-talkof Lord Doltimore, he abruptly quitted the box. When the opera was over, Maltravers offered his arm to Evelyn; sheaccepted it, and then she looked round for Legard. He was gone.