Sir Sidney Delaware was a peculiar character; and, if I had time, I would go on and make a miniature of him. But I have not time; and therefore, though there might undoubtedly be a great deal of pleasure in investigating all the little complex motives which made him do this thing or that thing, which seemed quite contrary to his general principles--a great deal of pleasure in finding out the small, fine lines that connected together actions that appeared as opposite as light and darkness--yet, having a long journey before me, and very little time to spare, I must refrain from taking portraits by the roadside, leaving every pleasant gentleman of my acquaintance to say, "That is not natural--this is out of character!" if he like.
One thing, however, I must notice, which was, that Sir Sidney Delaware was, in some degree, an indolent man--there was a great deal of the _vis inertiæ_ in his constitution. His mind was naturally active enough, but the body clogged it, and even rendered it lazy too; and the opposition between a keen and powerful moral constitution, and an idle physical temperament, was the cause of many a contradiction in his conduct.
Such had been the case in regard to his daughter's visits to Mrs. Darlington. That good lady, when she first settled in the neighborhood, had determined upon visiting the people at the Park; and though Sir Sidney for some time continued stiff, and cold, and stern--ay, and even rude--Mrs. Darlington persevered, and Mrs. Darlington carried her point.
The same now became the case with Burrel. He had been once received as an intimate in the house of the Delawares, and the door was open to him whenever he chose. There was something to be said, it is true, upon the score of a great service rendered, which, of course, formed a tie between him and every member of the Delaware family, which existed in no other case. But still there was a great deal of habit in the matter; and Burrel, having now his purpose to carry too, took care that the good custom should not drop.
He became almost a daily visitor. Many a long ramble he took with Captain Delaware; many a sweet, intoxicating walk beside Blanche. Many, too, were the long and pleasant discussions he held with Sir Sidney, upon every subject under the sun--the customs and manners of our ancestors--the glorious works of past ages--the stores of classical knowledge, or the beauties and perfections, follies and absurdities, of our own and other lands.
As some French writer has said, "C'est dans les petites choses que l'on temoigne son amitié. L'amour propre a trop a part à ce qu'on fait dans lea grandes occasions;" and it is this truth that makes small attentions always pleasant to those who receive them--great services often painful. Burrel felt that it was so; and took infinite care to conceal that he had the slightest thought of relieving Sir Sidney Delaware from his difficulties; but, at the same time, by the display of elegant manners and a polished mind, and by the constant outbreakings of a generous and a noble heart, he rendered himself both so agreeable and so much esteemed, that Sir Sidney learned to think, "If I required any great service, I would ask it of Henry Burrel sooner than of any other man I know."
Very soon the worthy baronet began to look for his appearance shortly after breakfast; and, as he had always something--perhaps of little consequence--but still something on which he wished to speak with him, he twice caught himself saying, when Burrel was a few minutes after the usual hour, "I wish Mr. Burrel would come;" and then remembered, with a sort of cynical smile, springing from very mixed feelings, that he had no right to expect that he would come at all.
Burrel always did come, however; and finding that he was ever made most welcome by the baronet, greeted with a hearty shake of the hand by Captain Delaware, and found a bright, though timid smile on the sweet lips of Blanche, he did not find it very difficult to assign motives for his each day's visit, or to discover an excuse for the call of the next morning. Sir Sidney Delaware soon began to give him stronger marks of his esteem; and on more than one occasion, when accidentally alone with Burrel, referred frankly to the state of his own affairs, and the causes which had combined to produce their embarrassment.
Burrel, on his part, of course found the subject difficult to converse upon, and the more so, perhaps, from the previous knowledge, which he did not choose to display. However, when on one occasion the baronet directly mentioned the annuity granted to the Earl of Ashborough, he replied, "But the interest is enormous, and the earl would, of course, suffer you to redeem it."
"I am sorry to say, my young friend," replied Sir Sidney, "that at the time you met William in the coach coming from London, the poor fellow was returning full of disappointment from an unsuccessful attempt to persuade Lord Ashborough to permit the repayment of the original sum. But his lordship refused in the most peremptory manner; and, on the deed being produced, no clause of redemption was found in it, although, in the original letter of instructions for the preparation of that instrument, the introduction of such a clause is expressly enjoined."
"If I might advise, Sir Sidney--" replied Burrel; but then breaking off again, he added, "But perhaps I am taking too great a liberty with you, in even offering advice upon your private affairs."
"Not in the least, my dear sir!" replied the baronet. "Speak, speak, my dear sir! I have forgotten all my legal learning, and shall be very glad of any advice upon the subject."
"I know nothing of law, either," answered Burrel, smiling; "but I know a little of Lord Ashborough, and I know the character he bears in the world. Of his faults and failings, I do not pretend to speak; but his lordship has, of course, his share. He has, however, always maintained a grave and dignified name, and high character in society; and it is very generally believed that his lordship values the reputation of a just, stern, upright peer, more than--"
"The reality!" added Sir Sidney Delaware, with one of those sneers which had made him many an enemy in his youth. Strange that a turn up of the nostrils should make men cut each other's throats!
"I was not going to be quite so severe," said Burrel, somewhat gravely; "but I was going to add, that he values that reputation more than any part of his estate; and I should think that if your son were to go to London once more, and were to show him the letter of instructions for the preparation of the annuity deed, pointing out to him that the clause has been omitted, either by the mistake or the fraud of a lawyer, and hinting at the publicity of a court of justice--I think, I say--indeed, I feel sure, that his lordship's care for his reputation, coming in support of what I believe to be his natural sense of equity, would make him at once accept the redemption."
"Perhaps you are right in regard to his care for his reputation, Mr. Burrel," replied Sir Sidney Delaware. "But I, who know him better, perhaps, than you do, can not reckon much upon his sense of equity. I know him well--thoroughly! In early years, before these children were born, Lord Ashborough and myself were unfortunately involved in a dispute, which did not arise in any great demonstration of a sense of equity on his part; and since that time, I have reason to believe that disappointment, added to a bitter quarrel, has caused him to watch an opportunity of treading on the head of one, against whom time even--the great mollifier of all things--has not been able to abate his rancor."
"I would fain believe that you do not quite do him justice," replied Burrel. "May not a little personal dislike on your own part, my dear sir, influence your mind against him?"
"No, indeed, Mr. Burrel! No, indeed!" answered Sir Sidney Delaware. "I know him _intus et in cute novi_. He was, and is, and ever will be, the same man. The cause of our quarrel now lies in the cold, forgetful dust, where all such dissensions cease. Besides, I was naturally the least offended of the two, being the injured person. I also was successful; he disappointed--notwithstanding all his arts; and therefore the matter with me was soon forgotten, while with him it has been, I am afraid, long remembered. Nevertheless," he added, "do not for a moment fancy that I am saying all this because I do not intend to follow your advice. Far from it--William shall go up. Indeed, I should think myself very wrong, were I to leave any means untried to remove those embarrassments which shut my children out from the society to which by birth they are entitled."
Captain Delaware soon joined the conference; and, although he shook his head at all idea of changing the determination of Lord Ashborough, yet he undertook to try, with a readiness that the cold and haughty demeanor which he described that nobleman to have maintained toward him, rendered a little extraordinary. The resolution, however, once taken, William Delaware was not a man, either by temperament or habit, to lose a moment in putting it into execution, and his plan, was instantly secured in the next morning's coach for London. Burrel agreed to dine at the mansion, and the day passed over with that additional drop of excitement, which renewed hope and expectation, however faint, are still sure to let fall into the cup of life.
Either it was really so, or Burrel fancied it, that Blanche Delaware was more lovely and more fascinating than ever; and, indeed, the feelings that had been growing upon her for several days, had added an indescribable and sparkling charm to all the attractions of youth, and grace, and beauty. The soul always did much in her case to increase the loveliness that nature had bestowed upon her face and form, and Burrel could not help imagining--even long before--that the graceful movement of each elegant limb, and finely modeled feature, was but the corporeal expression of a bright and generous mind within. But now the heart, too, was called into play, and all the warm and sunny feelings of a young and ardent bosom sparkled irrepressibly up to the surface, calling forth new charms, both in their accidental flash, and in the effort to suppress them.
All Burrel's enthusiasm, too--brought as he was by every circumstance into nearer connection with that fair being, than any other events could possibly have produced--having been admitted to that intimate friendship which no other man shared--having become the friend and adviser of her father and brother, and having saved her own life--all his own natural enthusiasm of character, therefore, unchained by any opposing motive, broke through all the habitual restraints of the state of life to which he had so long been accustomed; and during that afternoon, Henry Burrel, with very little concealment of his feelings, sat beside Blanche Delaware, full of that bright, unaccountable thing--love.
The matter was so evident, and indeed had been so evident for the last two or three days, that the eyes of Captain Delaware himself--not very clear upon such subjects--had been fully opened; and now, as Burrel bent over his sister's drawing-frame with a look of tenderness and affection that would bear but one interpretation, he turned his eyes upon his father to see whether it was really possible that he did not perceive the feelings that were kindling up before him.
No one, perhaps, had ever in his day felt more deep and sincere love than Sir Sidney Delaware, yet--it is wonderful! quite wonderful!--Burrel might almost, as the old romances term it, have died of love at his daughter's feet without his perceiving that any thing was the matter. Burrel was bending over Blanche Delaware with a look, and a tone, and a manner, that all declared, "Never, in the many mingled scenes which I have trod, did I meet with any thing so beautiful, so gentle, so graceful as yourself!" Captain Delaware, as I have said, turned his eyes upon his father; but Sir Sidney, with his fine head a little thrown back, a pair of tortoise-shell spectacles upon his nose, and his face to the book-cases, was walking quietly along, looking earnestly for Pliny.
Oh, had you not forgotten all your lessons in the natural history of the heart, you might have marked much, Sir Sidney Delaware, that would have given you more to study than could be found in Pliny, ay, or Plato either!
"I must look to it myself," thought Captain Delaware. "Poor Blanche! It would not do to have the dear girl's affections trifled with. Yet I do not think he is one to play such a part either.--Oh, no!--yet I must speak to him!"
With this doughty resolution, and a thousand thoughts and difficulties in regard to what he was to say when he did begin, Captain Delaware sat down to dinner, somewhat absent and pensive; and after Blanche had left them, and Sir Sidney had retired to his dressing-room, to indulge in a somewhat usual nap after dinner, the gallant officer invited his friend to ramble through the park till tea-time, fully prepared to do a great deal that a man of the world would never have thought of doing at all. Burrel saw that something was weighing upon his companion's mind; but as his own determinations in regard to Blanche were completely formed, and he feared no questions upon the subject, he did not anticipate any. He left Captain Delaware, however, to bring forth his own thoughts at leisure, and walked on by his side as silent as himself, though not, quite as much embarrassed.
At length Captain Delaware began--"I have wished," he said, "Mr. Burrel--"
Burrel started, for the epithet _Mister_ had long been dropped toward him by his companion, and he evidently perceived that something very formal was working its way through his friend's mind.
"I have wished, Burrel," repeated Captain Delaware, correcting himself on seeing the surprise expressed by the other's countenance--"I have wished to speak to you about my sister;" and, as he mentioned that dear name, a sense of deep affection for her made him proceed more boldly, though his face glowed warmly as he spoke. "You have been much with her of late, and perhaps, may be so for some time longer. Now--do not misunderstand me, Burrel--do not think I doubt you, or seek to question you: but I wish first to put you in mind that she sees very few persons besides yourself, and next to tell you--as most men of station and fortune expect to receive some portion with their wives--to tell you that the greater part even of the small sum which Blanche and I inherited from our mother is engaged to support, as far as possible, and that is little enough, our father's station in society."
"And did you, my dear Delaware, suppose for a moment," said Burrel, in reply--"did you imagine, from what you have hitherto seen of my conduct and sentiments, that so long as I had enough myself to offer any woman I might love, I would consider her fortune for an instant?"
"No, no! I did not suppose you would," replied Captain Delaware, hesitating in some degree how to proceed. "But the truth is, Burrel, I have heard that women's hearts are delicate things, and as easily wounded as the wing of a butterfly. However, let us say no more of it. I begin to think that I have got out of my depth, and meddled with matters I had better have left to themselves."
For some reason, or reasons--from some simple or complex motive, which I do not know, and shall not stop to discover--men, however fully their minds may be made up in such matters as that on which I write, never like to be questioned upon the subject till they choose to explain themselves; and, although Burrel was fully determined to offer his hand to Blanche Delaware, as soon as he had convinced himself that not a shadow of hesitation on her part would hurt his pride; and though he completely understood Captain Delaware's feelings upon the subject, and was amused at his straightforwardness, yet some internal little devil of perversity made him feel almost offended at the sentences we have just recorded. He resisted, however, and the devil fled from him.
"My dear Delaware," he said, after a moment's pause, which he employed in clearing his bosom of the enemy, "although no man likes to make a declaration, except at his own choice and convenience, yet, situated as you are, I can enter into all your feelings for your sister. Set your mind at rest then," he added, laying his hand frankly and kindly on his companion's arm--"set your mind at rest then, as far as I am concerned. It is my intention, as soon as I can entertain any hope of success, to offer my hand to your sister. If she refuse me, it is not my fault you know; but this much you will, I am sure, take upon my word, that I would not presume for one moment to solicit the hand of a daughter of Sir Sidney Delaware, unless in rank I could aspire to that honor, and in fortune could maintain her in that circle which she is calculated to adorn. Let us say no more upon the subject, if you can trust me."
Captain Delaware grasped his hand warmly. "You have made me very happy," he said.
"Well, then, keep my secret," added Burrel, with a smile, "and let your sister decide the rest."
William Delaware could well have told, at least he thought so, what his sister's decision would be; but delicacy prevented him from speaking his belief; and with a lightened heart he changed the subject, and returned with Burrel to the mansion.
William Delaware set out from Emberton, and arrived in London. His next step was to send a note to Lord Ashborough, informing him of his being in town, and requesting an interview the following morning; and in answer he received a very polite, though somewhat formal, billet, inviting him to breakfast in Grosvenor-square, and promising as long an audience after that meal as he might think necessary.
At the appointed hour--for Captain Delaware never considered that appointed hours mean nothing--he approached Lord Ashborough's house, and was ushered up-stairs, where he found housemaids and empty drawing-rooms enow; and, planting himself at a window that looked out into the square, he gazed forth with somewhat unpleasant anticipations occupying his mind, and rendering his eye sightless as to all that was passing before it.
In a few minutes the housemaids withdrew from the farther rooms, and the whole suite became vacant for some time, till a light step caught Captain Delaware's ear; and, turning round, he beheld a young lady whom he had seen there before, when last he had visited London. At that time he had found her surrounded by a whole bevy of strangers, whose gay appearance and supercilious manner had somewhat repelled the young sailor, although Miss Beauchamp herself, Lord Ashborough's niece, had spoken to him with frank kindness, and claimed relationship with him at once.
Miss Beauchamp now advanced toward him, while he acknowledged her approach by a bow, which was stiff though not awkward. The young lady, however, held out her hand with a gay smile, and, as he took it, added, in a tone of playful sharpness--"Tell me, sir, are you my cousin, or are you not?"
"I believe I have some right to claim that honor," replied Captain Delaware.
"Well, then," continued the young lady, "lay aside, immediately, all that stiff, chilly reserve, or I will disown you henceforth and forever." Captain Delaware smiled, and she continued--"I know that this house has a very icy atmosphere, but that does not extend to my part of it; and while my noble and stately uncle may be as frigid as the north pole in his peculiar territories--the library and the dining-room--I must have a pleasanter climate in my domains, the drawing-rooms, and breakfast-room."
"Your own presence must always produce such an atmosphere," replied Captain Delaware. "But you must remember, Miss Beauchamp, that I have been but a short time within its influence, so that I have scarcely had leisure to get thawed."
"Oh, I must unfreeze you quite, ere long, my good cousin," replied Miss Beauchamp, laughing. "But now, listen to me for five minutes, for I have a great deal more to say to you than you know any thing about. Calculating that you would come early, when I heard that my uncle had asked you to breakfast, I determined to rise a full hour sooner than usual, on purpose to give you your lesson for the day."
Captain Delaware expressed his thanks as warmly as possible, acknowledging, however, that his gratitude was somewhat mingled with surprise, to find that his fair cousin was prepared to be interested in behalf of one who, though akin by blood, was nearly a stranger, as far as acquaintance went.
"That would be a severe reproach to my forwardness, William Delaware," replied the young lady, "if I had not a good motive _in petto_. Besides, I find that, in days of yore, when we were all children, and my good father was alive, that you and I and Blanche, and my brother Henry, have had many a rude game of play among the old trees of Emberton Park. But let us speak to the point, as we may have little time to speak at all. An old friend of yours and mine, good Dr. Wilton, has written to me a long letter, two or three days ago, giving me an account of all this unfortunate business between your father and my uncle, and desiring me, if you ever came to town again, to do my best to forward your views. Now, the truth is, I have no more influence with Lord Ashborough than that screen."
"With a thousand thanks for your kind interest," replied Captain Delaware, "I should still be sorry to owe, even to your influence, what I could not obtain from justice."
"Pride! pride!" cried Miss Beauchamp, "the fault of men and angels! But, let me tell you, my dear cousin, that no man or men have any right to be proud in a woman's presence; for ye are a mere race of bullies at the best, and bow like the veriest slave whenever we choose to tyrannize over you. But to the point. Listen to my sage advice. I was saying, that I had no more influence with my Lord Ashborough than that screen. I am a mere piece of household furniture; and I dare say that I am to be found written down in the inventory thus: 'Front drawing-room--Three tables, four-and-twenty chairs, four sofas, three chaises longues, _a niece_.' I do believe my uncle, when I refused the Honorable Mr. What's-his-name, the other day, which mortally offended his lordship, thought of having me transferred to the schedule of fixtures forthwith. But, nevertheless, as I am a hearing and seeing piece of furniture, I have learned that the only way to manage the Earl of Ashborough, is to be firm, steady, somewhat haughty, and a good deal stern. Remember all this, my dearly beloved cousin, and make use of the hint. But I hear his lordship's morning step, when the neat boot is first, for that day, fitted on to the neat foot. So I will to the breakfast room; and do not forget, when you meet me, to wish me good-morrow in set form and civil terms, and take care that you do not look conscious."
Thus saying, the gay girl ran lightly through the long suite of rooms, leaving Captain Delaware standing nearly where she had found him, with a good deal of admiration at her beauty, and a good deal of surprise at the mingling of kindness both with levity and with the slightest possible spice of coquetry, which she had displayed in their brief conversation.
Ere she was well out of sight, the step that had been heard above might be distinguished descending the stairs. There is not a little character in a step, and the sound of Lord Ashborough's was peculiar. Perhaps the enfeebling power of time--which, what with one aid or another, was not very apparent in his person--marked its progress more decidedly in his step than in any thing else. There was a certain degree of creaking feebleness in it, especially at an early hour of trite morning, when he was just out of bed, which, joined with a slow precision of fall, indicated a declension in the firm and sturdy manhood. His lordship felt it, and in society he covered the slight falling off by an affectation of grave and thoughtful dignity of movement, but his valet-de-chambre knew better.
Captain Delaware, however, did not; and as the earl entered the room with a roll of papers in his hand, like Talma in Sylla--he acted a good deal, by the way--his young relative thought him a very grave and reverend signor; and would rather have lain for an hour alongside an enemy's frigate, yard-arm to yard-arm, than have grappled with so stern and thoughtful a personage, on so disagreeable a business as that which he came to discuss. He had undertaken it resolutely, however, and he was not a man to flinch before any coward apprehensions, moral or physical.
The first expression of his lordship's countenance, when his eyes fell upon his visitor, was not certainly of a nature greatly to encourage him. For a moment--a single instant--nature got the better, and a slight shade of that loathing dislike, with which one regards some poisonous reptile, or the object of some peculiar antipathy, passed over Lord Ashborough's features. It was gone as quickly; and with a much more condescending and agreeable smile than he had bestowed upon him on his former visit, the earl advanced, and welcomed him to London.
Captain Delaware was of course very well disposed to welcome any show of kindness; and he said a few words in regard to his regret at having to trouble Lord Ashborough again.
"Oh! we will speak of all that after breakfast," said the earl. "When last I saw you, I was hurried and fretted by a thousand things, and had no opportunity of showing you any attention. Indeed, I have but little leisure now; the duties of my office--" he held a sinecure post which required him to sign his name twice a year--"the duties of my office claiming great part of my time. But you must really, as long as you remain in London, spend your days here; and my niece, Maria, who has nothing to do, will show you all over the world, under the fair excuse of your cousinship. But let us to breakfast. Maria will not be down for this hour; but I never wait for that lazy girl."
Lord Ashborough was not a little surprised to find his niece in the breakfast-room, and praised her ironically on her habits of early rising; but Miss Beauchamp answered at once, "Oh! I had a reason for getting up soon to-day, otherwise I should certainly not have done so. To contemplate my dear uncle for an hour with one foot crossed over the other, letting his coffee get cold, and reading the newspaper, is too great a treat to be indulged in every morning."
"And pray, my fair niece," demanded Lord Ashborough, smiling at a picture of himself which was not without the cold sort of importance he chose to assume; "and pray my fair niece, what was the particular cause of your infringing your ancient and beloved habits this morning?"
"First and foremost, of course," replied Miss Beauchamp, with a graceful bend of the head to her cousin, "to see Captain Delaware, whose visit you yesterday evening led me to expect; but, in the next place, my full resolution and determination was to take possession of your lordship during breakfast, and tease you in every sort of way, till you agree to leave this horrid place, London, now that you are positively the last gentleman remaining in it, except the men in red coats that walk up and down St. James's-street, and look disconsolate from June till January. But they are forced to stay, poor fellows! You are not."
"There is no use of going out of town, Maria, to come up again the next day," replied Lord Ashborough. "Parliament will certainly sit for a few days this month, and I must be present. But, in regard to your cousin, I intend to make him over to you for the whole day, as I have some business to transact; and, therefore, you see you would not have been deprived of his visit."
"Sad experience making me doubtful," replied Miss Beauchamp, laughing, "in regard to how far your lordship's civility might extend to your kindred, I did not know whether I might ever see Captain Delaware again."
She spoke in jest, but it cut home; and Lord Ashborough, reddening, took his coffee and the newspaper, and left his cousin and his niece to entertain themselves, while he soon became immersed in the idle gossip of the day. After breakfast, he led the way to the library with renewed complacence, and, begging Captain Delaware to be seated, he listened to him calmly and good-humoredly, while he spoke of the cause of his coming. He then read attentively the first instructions for the annuity deed, and returning the paper, fell--or affected to fall--into deep thought.
"Why, this certainly does make a great difference," he replied at length; "and I am sure Captain Delaware, you will exculpate me from any desire to take advantage either of an accident or a misfortune. My plan through life has been to do clear and simple justice to all, and never to fall into the absurd error of mingling all the feelings of private life with matters of business. Matters of business should be transacted as matters of business, and without the slightest regard to whether you be my cousin or a perfect stranger. I can be generous when it is necessary, as well as other men; but you applied to me not on a point of generosity, but on a point of right and of justice, and therefore in that light did I consider and decline your last proposal. In the same light do I consider your present statement; but the paper you have produced, according to my present views, so far alters the question that without returning you any direct answer at present, I will, in going out, call upon my solicitor, consult with him, and, if you will see him to-morrow at eleven o'clock, he shall tell you my final views, and depend upon it, they shall be those of substantial justice."
Captain Delaware was somewhat disappointed; for, from the first impression which the production of the paper he had shown Lord Ashborough had made upon that nobleman, he had concluded that the matter would be settled at once. He saw, however, that it would be useless to press the subject farther at the time; and, after promising to spend his days, though not his nights, at the house of his noble kinsman, during his stay in London, he left him in possession of the library.
Lord Ashborough almost immediately after mounted his horse and rode slowly on down all those filthy streets and long, which conduct to Clement's Inn; in one of the dark and dusty staircases of which, stinking of parchment and red tape, he met the identical Mr. Peter Tims, of whom he was in search, and who led him instantly into the penetralia. Their conversation was keen and long, but a few sentences of it will be sufficient here. After relating Captain Delaware's visit, the earl demanded eagerly, "Now Mr. Tims, can the matter be done? Have you seen to it?"
"I have, my lord, and it can be done," replied the lawyer. "I have this morning been at the house of Messrs. Steelyard and Wilkinson. Both partners are out of town, but their head clerk was there, and I have made the following arrangement with him--"
"You have not compromised my name, I hope," interrupted the earl.
"Not in the least, my lord," replied the other. "I explained to the clerk that you would sell out at this moment to a great disadvantage--that fourteen days would in all probability alter the position of affairs--and that therefore your lordship would give a bill at that date for the ten thousand pounds which you were to pay them for Mr. Beauchamp."
"But how will that forward the matter?" demanded the earl. "It will seem as if I were shuffling with my nephew concerning his money matters, and not promote the other purpose."
"Your pardon my lord--your pardon!" cried the lawyer. "You shall demand of Sir Sidney Delaware to give you bills for the whole sum at a fortnight's date, and give him up the annuity deed at once, and we will arrange it so that you shall be out of town when the draft on you becomes due, so as to stop the ten thousand pounds at the very nick."
"Ay, but Harry will write up to know whether it be paid, said the earl.
"I will write to him as soon as you have given the bill, my lord, telling him that the money is paid," answered the lawyer; "and I will direct the letter to his house in John-street, to be forwarded. I have a good excuse for writing, in regard to this business of the valet he kicked down stairs--so there will be no suspicion."
"You know that he is a good man of business, Mr. Tims," replied the earl, doubtingly. "Do you think he will take your word without writing to inquire?"
"Oh, yes, my lord!" answered the lawyer, boldly. "You know your own plans, and therefore think he may suspect them. That is the way with all gentlemen, when they first do any little business of this kind. They always fancy that other people know that we are wanting to keep them in the dark. Remember, Mr. Beauchamp has no suspicion. He does not know that you know where he is. He is not aware that you have heard he is going to squander away his money at all; still less, that you are good enough to take such pains to prevent him. He will believe it at once, that the money is paid, and will simply give a draft for it on Messrs. Steelyard and Wilkinson when the money is wanted. Besides, from all I can learn, although he be in general a good man of business enough, I hear he has got hold of one of those pieces of business that put every thing else out of a man's head altogether."
"What do you mean, sir?" demanded the earl, in a strong tone of aristocratical pride; for there was a sort of sneer upon the countenance of Mr. Tims, which he did not at all admire, coupled with the mention of his rich nephew--and here, be it remarked, that it made a great difference in Lord Ashborough's estimation, whether the person spoken of was a rich or a poor nephew. He had a sort of indescribable loathing toward poverty, or rather toward poor people, which was only increased by their being his relations. He hated poverty--he could not bear it--in his eyes it was a disease--a pestilence--a vice; and therefore--although had his nephew been poor, Mr. Tims might have sneered at him to all eternity--as he was rich, Lord Ashborough felt very indignant at the least want of reverence toward him. The tone in which he demanded, "What do you mean, sir?" frightened Mr. Tims, who hastened to reply, that he had heard from his respected and respectable relative, in the country, that the Mr. Burrel, who had proposed to lend the money to Sir Sidney Delaware, was now continually at Emberton Park; and that it was very well understood in the country that he was to be married immediately to Miss Delaware.
Lord Ashborough gazed in the face of the lawyer with that mingled look of vacancy and horror which we may picture to ourselves on the countenance of a person suddenly blinded by lightning. When he had collected his senses, it was but to give way to a more violent burst of rage, and with clenched hands and teeth, he stamped about the office of the attorney, till the clerks in the outer room began to think that he was breaking the hard head of their master against the floor. A few words, however, served to give vocal vent to his fury. "The hypocritical, artful, despicable race of beggarly fortune-hunters!" he exclaimed; and turning out of Mr. Tims's office, impelled by the sole impetus of passion, he was standing by his horse almost ere the attorney knew he was gone. The groom held the stirrup tight, and Lord Ashborough had his foot on the iron, when cooler thoughts returned, and, walking back to the chambers, he again entered the lawyer's room.
"Do all that you proposed, Mr. Tims," he said; "get the bills--retard the payment--arrest the old reptile--manage it so that he may not get bail; and the day you lodge him in the King's Bench--if it can be done--you receive a draft for a thousand pounds. They must be crushed, Mr. Tims," he continued, grasping him tight by the arm; "they must be crushed--ground down into the earth--till their very name be forgotten;--but mark me," he added, speaking through his set teeth--"mark me--if you let them escape, my whole agency and business goes to another forever."
"Oh! no fear, my lord, no fear!" replied Mr. Tims, in a sharp, secure tone, rubbing his little, fat, red, hands, with some degree of glee. "No fear, if your lordship will consent to leave it to my guidance. But I will send for a bill stamp, and we will draw up the bill directly, send it to Messrs. Steelyard and Wilkinson, and then I will give due notice to Mr. Beauchamp that the money is paid--which, indeed, it may be said to be, when your lordship has given your bill for it--you know."
"I care not, sir!" exclaimed Lord Ashborough, vehemently, "whether it may be said to be so or not. My nephew must be saved from this cursed entanglement by any means, or all means. I will do my part--see that you do yours. Crush these mean-spirited vipers, somehow or another, and that as soon as may be;--but mind," he added, more quietly, "mind you are to do nothing beyond the law!"
"I will take care to do nothing that the law can take hold of," replied the lawyer. "But you can not think, my lord, how many things may be done lawfully when they are done cautiously, which might treat one with a sight of New South Wales, if they were to be undertaken without due consideration--but I will send for the bill, my lord."
The bill was accordingly sent for, drawn, and signed by Lord Ashborough; and the attorney after having dispatched it to Mr. Beauchamp's solicitor, wrote to that gentleman himself a letter upon the business to which he had referred, while speaking to Lord Ashborough and in a postscript, mentioned that he had handed over to his agents a note for ten thousand pounds, on behalf of Lord Ashborough. That nobleman stood by while all this proceeding was taking place, and marked, with a well pleased smile, the double language of the lawyer, and the quiet and careless manner in which he contrived to offer a false impression in regard to the payment of the money. When all was concluded, he paced slowly to the vacant park, calmed his disturbed feelings by a quiet ride round its dusty roads, and then returned with renewed self-command, to shower upon William Delaware civilities, in proportion to his increased detestation.
Oh, if people would but take as much pains to do good as they take to do evil--if even the well-disposed were as zealous in beneficence, as the wicked are energetic in wrong--what a pleasant little clod this earth of ours would be for us human crickets to go chirping about from morning till night!
The Right Honorable the Earl of Ashborough could think of but one thing; and what between the active working of his own brain, and the unceasing exertion of the pineal gland of Peter Tims, Esq., following keenly the plans and purposes which we have seen them communicating to each other, the scheme for ruining the family at Emberton was brought to that degree of perfection which rendered its success almost certain. Mr. Tims, indeed, did wonder that the noble earl had forgotten to propose to him any plan for detaining Sir Sidney Delaware in prison after his arrest, and for consummating the persecution so happily begun. He concluded that it had slipped his lordship's memory; but as he foresaw that, of course, Mr. Beauchamp would immediately come forward to liberate the baronet, and clear him of his embarrassments, Mr. Tims revolved a thousand schemes for entangling him still more deeply, in order to be found prepared as soon as his noble patron should apply to him for assistance on this new occasion.
In truth, however, Lord Ashborough had calculated all; and from what he had formerly known of Sir Sidney Delaware, as well as from what he had lately heard of his impaired constitution, he felt assured that even three or four days of imprisonment for debt would terminate either life or reason, and thus leave his vengeance and his hatred sated to the full.
It must not be always supposed that the motives and the feelings which are here stated, in what is vulgarly called black and white, appeared in their original nakedness before the minds of the various actors in this my little drama. On the contrary, they came before their master's eyes like poor players on the stage, robed in gorgeous apparel that little belonged to them. Revenge flaunted away before the eyes of Lord Ashborough, clothed in princely purple, and calling itself noble indignation. Mortified vanity, and mean delight in wealth, tricked out in silks and satins, called themselves honest scorn for deceivers, and careful consideration for his nephew's interest, "and so they played their part;" while deadly enmity, which would have acted murder, had it dared, now mocked the Deity, and impiously assumed the name of retributive justice.
Nevertheless, there was in the bosom of Lord Ashborough at least so much consciousness that all this was but a pageant, that he found it necessary to redouble the careful guard he had put upon his feelings toward Captain Delaware; and though he came back to dinner meditating the destruction of his race and family, he showered on the young sailor's head civilities which might have raised doubts had he dealt with one of the suspicious. Captain Delaware, however, was not one of the suspicious. He had not acquired the quality of suspiciousness in any of the three ways by which it reaches the human heart--neither by the consciousness of evil designs in his own breast, by experience of the world's baseness, or by the exhortations of others. He was susceptible, indeed, and easily perceived when a slight was intended, or when the least approach to scorn was felt toward him or his; but deeper and blacker feelings escaped his observation, if covered by even a slight disguise. In the present instance he was completely deceived. His drive out with his fair cousin in the morning had proved so delightful, that he began to doubt the efficacy of the water of the Prior's Fountain, and to feel that many such drives might make him either very happy, or very much the contrary. But the kind attention of Lord Ashborough, his changed demeanor, and the hopes to which it gave rise, were all sources of unmixed pleasure. The evening passed, away in delight; and when, on visiting Mr. Tims next morning, he found that he was prepared to concede every thing that he desired, on the simple formality of his father giving a bill at a few days' date for the money, his satisfaction was complete. Nor was it the less so, that the necessity of awaiting an answer to his letter, communicating these tidings, and of obtaining his father's signature to the bill, obliged him, whether he would or not, to enjoy the society of Maria Beauchamp for at least two days longer.
On the part of that young lady herself, no dislike was felt to her cousin's society--every one else was out of town--she had no one with whom she could dance, or flirt, or talk, and still less any one to whom she could communicate any of the deeper and better feelings which formed the warp of her character, and across which the threads of a sparkling sort of levity were intimately woven. With Captain Delaware she did all but the first, and probably she would have danced, too, had minuets still been in vogue. She laughed, she talked, she jested and there was a sort of simple candor about his nature, together with fine feelings and gentlemanly habits, preserved, fresh and unadulterated, by a life spent either on the green waters or in the green fields--which altogether wooed forth those points in her own character which, as things most estimable, lay hid in the deeper casket of her heart.
In short, the two days that followed were two very pleasant days indeed; and it was almost with a sigh that Captain Delaware opened his father's letter, which arrived at the end of them, and found the bills duly signed. Mr. Tims had before told him, that he had made the money payable at Emberton, in order to save him or his father the trouble of coming or sending again to London. That excuse, therefore, for either prolonging his stay or returning, was not to be had; and, even if it had still been ready, the lawyer also informed him gratuitously, that Lord Ashborough's motive for settling the matter in the manner proposed was in order to spare himself all correspondence in the country, to which he was immediately about to retire for the remainder of the year. The simple fact was, that Mr. Tims--with the same over-anxiety of which he had accused Lord Ashborough, to remove all suspicion of a latent motive--had assigned these causes for his noble patron's conduct, simply to account reasonably for his having demanded a bill for the money, payable at Emberton, instead of following the usual legal routine in such cases, accepting the redemption money when ready, and then canceling the deed. But Captain Delaware, with constitutional susceptibility, instantly concluded that the whole was intended as a hint to him, that any farther intimacy was not desired.
He could not feel indignant, because he felt that he had no right to demand a continuance of the communication which had been accidentally created between himself and the family of his wealthy cousin; but he determined at once to show that there was no necessity for such warnings; and, after having pleaded other engagements, in order to absent himself from his cousin's house during the rest of his stay in London, he took his place in the identical stage which had whirled him down to Emberton the preceding occasion. He did not, however in that sort of burning at the heart which people feel on such occasions, neglect to take all those steps which, to the best of his judgment, were necessary to secure his father, and to conclude the business on which he had come to London. On the contrary, he demanded and received, by the hands of Mr. Tims, an acknowledgment, on the part of Lord Ashborough, that a promissory note had been given by Sir Sidney Delaware for the sum of twenty-five thousand pounds, which when duly taken up, would be received as a full and due redemption of the annuity chargeable upon the Emberton estate.
When all this was concluded, and he had eaten in melancholy-wise of the dinner which the people of the pseudo-hotel at which he lodged set before him, in that den of congregated discomforts, a public coffee-room--when he had done this, and taken an idle walk round the black thing that spits water by table-spoonfuls nearly opposite to Devonshire House, for the purpose of digesting his dinner and his vexation, he could not refrain; but returning home--or rather to the place of his dwelling for the time--he dressed, and walked to Grosvenor-square.
Lord Ashborough was in his library; Miss Beauchamp was alone--somewhat in low spirits, too, and looking none the worse for being so. She was in one of those moods in which a man may make a great deal of a woman in a short time--if he knows how--but, unhappily, Captain Delaware did not know how. He talked sentimentally, and she talked sentimentally; and they made tea between them, and poured it out, and drank it--but it all came to nothing--otherwise Maria Beauchamp might, perhaps, have been William Delaware's wife before the end of the chapter. Never did a man who was born and bred a sailor miss stays so completely as Captain Delaware did; and just when, toward the close of the evening, he was making up his mind to say something sensible and pertinent, in came Lord Ashborough, and the whole went to the--budget.
Within half an hour after, William Delaware was on his way to his hotel, and in the yellow of the next morning, he was once more rolling away to join the coach for Emberton. His journey was as dull as it well could be. Two quaker ladies occupied one seat, and a deaf man shared the other. Therefore--we shall give one paragraph to Mr. Tims, while Captain Delaware rolls on.
The worthy and beneficent lawyer, full of zeal in the service of his patron, set boldly to work to accomplish the object in view, and added so many thoughtful means and contrivances to support those which we have already seen him propose, that, at the end of eight days, there was hardly a human possibility of his prey escaping him. As, in some instances, he thought fit to prepare engines which went a little beyond the clear limit of the law, he took good care to add a safety-valve for himself, by cautiously mingling Lord Ashborough's name with all those particular matters which were most delicate and dangerous, and thus insuring the whole power and influence of that nobleman's rank and fortune to shield him, even if the blame itself did not fall solely on the earl. He wrote, too, to his uncle, Mr. Tims, at Ryebury, directing him on no account to advance money to the gentleman calling himself Mr. Burrel, who was, in fact, Lord Ashborough's nephew; and he added many a hint and caution, calculated to make the miser of Ryebury throw every impediment in the way of a liquidation of the debts on Sir Sidney Delaware's estate. At the same time, a vague threat of Lord Ashborough's displeasure, in case of recusancy, was held out; and by the end of the week, Mr. Tims, as we have said, sat down perfectly certain of having drawn those spider toils round the family of Emberton, which it would be impossible for them to evade.
In the mean time William Delaware arrived at Emberton Park, and found every thing precisely as he had left it. Burrel's visits were still continuing daily. Indeed--during his son's absence, which occasioned a sort of gap in the things to which Sir Sidney Delaware was accustomed--the baronet had more than ever sought the presence of Mr. Burrel to supply the want.
The affection of Burrel for Blanche Delaware seemed exactly the same--if any thing there was, perhaps, an additional shade of tenderness in his manner toward her, which for a moment caused Captain Delaware to believe that his sister had been made acquainted with her lover's feelings. But it was not so. On the contrary, during her brother's stay in London, Blanche had lost many of those pleasant hours which she had before spent in Burrel's society. Her long rambles with him through the park and the neighboring country, were, of course, at an end for the time; and, although Mrs. Darlington took a house in the immediate vicinity, and pressed Miss Delaware to join her there for a few days--though Blanche, perhaps, might feel that there she could, with propriety, hold freer intercourse with one who had obtained so strong a hold of her affection, yet filial duty overcame even the wish, and she refused to leave her father during her brother's absence.
Captain Delaware's return, therefore, was a matter of joy and delight to every one; and immediately after having heard all those _viva voce_ particulars, which a letter could not convey, Sir Sidney Delaware visited Mr. Tims, who assured him that the money would be ready full twenty-four hours before the stipulated time, and instantly began to prepare the mortgage which was to secure the sum to the lender. The tidings were, of course, communicated to Blanche, whose young heart beat high, to think of even a part of the dark cloud which had so long overshadowed her dear father's fate, being blown away forever. If, too, a thought crossed her mind, in regard to her own situation, and the improvement of her relative position toward him by whom she was beloved, who shall say a word of blame? It was but nature; and perhaps that thought might take away the only thorn that she saw encumbering the fate before her. All eyes sparkled--all hearts beat high at Emberton. The news insensibly was spread abroad--the prospects of the Ruined Family seemed brightening--those to whom they had been kind, even in their adversity, blessed the day that saw their changing fortune--and those who had despised their poverty, began to bow down and a worship, now that the storm no longer hung above them.
Sir Sidney Delaware walked with a firmer step. His son felt that one-half of the load of life was gone, and Blanche raised her eyes timidly to meet those of Burrel, as if there had been some secret voice which told her, that--how, or why, she knew not--all the happiness that was growing up around them, was of his planting.
Oh, deceitful Fortune! why wilt thou often smile so sweetly, while opening thy store of evils to pour upon the devoted head!