00 ^ 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF THE 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 ENDOWED BY THE 
 DIALECTIC AND PHILANTHROPIC 
 SOCIETIES 
 
 PR 5 842 
 ,W8 
 L34 
 1889 
 
This book is due at the WALTER R. DAVIS LIBRARY on 
 
 the last date stamped under "Date Due." If not on hold, it may 
 
 be renewed by bringing it to the library. 
 
 DATE DUE 
 
 RETURNED 
 
 DATE DUE 
 
 RETURNED 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 — 
 
 
 
 
 k\()\l 'i 
 
 •'I . g il /HL 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 FORM NO 513, 
 REV. 1/84 
 
 
 
 
L - 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 m Kobe! 
 
 MRS. HENRY WOOD, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "EAST LYNNE," " THE CHANNINGS," ETC. 
 
 ©focntjufirst ©fjousanti. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 RICHARD BENTLEY AND SON, 
 |3ublisljcvs in ©rlrinarg to Pitt fftajtstg ti)t ©uecn. 
 1889. 
 
 [All rights reserved.) 
 
LONDON : 
 
 PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, 
 STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER 1'AGli 
 
 I. HARRY DANE ...... 1 
 
 H. TURNED OUT . . . . . .17 
 
 III. THE FALL FROM THE CLIFF . . . .31 
 
 IV. ravensbird's ARREST 40 
 
 v. taking the oath . . . . .53 
 
 vi. another phase of the night's story . . 70 
 
 vii. mortality . . . . . .83 
 
 viii. margaret bordillion . . . . .97 
 
 ix. brought in by the fishing-boat . . .111 
 
 x. the lease of the sailors' rest . . .123 
 
 xi. unexpected . . . . . .136 
 
 xii. Margaret's cup pretty full . . .150 
 xm. changes . . . . . . .165 
 
 XTV. WILFRED LESTER COMES TO GRIEF . . .177 
 
 XV. LORD DANE HOME AGAIN . . . .193 
 
 XVI. RUMOURS ...... o 208 
 
 XVII. THE SHIPWRECK ...... 220 
 
 XVIII. AT THE SAILORS' REST . 235 
 
 XIX. THE BOX THAT THE SEA CAST UP . . , 250 
 
 xx. vanished! ...... 261 
 
 XXI. SEARCHING DANE CASTLE . . . .276 
 
 XXII. APPLYING TO INSPECTOR BENT . . . 288 
 
 XXIII. A BATTLE ROYAL . . . . .298 
 
 XXIV. A DISCLOSURE TO WILFRED LESTER . . .312 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEK VAG7L 
 
 XXV. THE RENDEZVOUS IN THE WOOti . * . 325 
 
 XXVI. A DOSE FOR TIFFLE ....... 339 
 
 XXVII. LORD DANE IN THE CHArEL RUINS . . 349 
 
 XXVIII. THE LONDON BANKER . . . . .361 
 
 XXIX. THE NIGHT ATTACK . . , . .373 
 
 XXX. MADE PRISONER ...... 385 
 
 XXXI. THE DEAD IN LIFE . . . . .398 
 
 XXXII. IN THE TRESTLE-CLOSET . . . .412 
 
 XXXIII. SOWING AND REAPING ..... 424 
 
 XXXIV. A MAN MAY NOT MARRY HIS GRANDMOTHER . 436 
 XXXV. SALLY'S STEP-UNCLE ..... 450 
 
 XXXVI. WRONGS MADE RIGHT ..... 465 
 
LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HARRY DANE. 
 
 On a somewhat wild part of the coast of England, between 
 one and two hundred miles distant from the metropolis, lies 
 a small town or village called Danesheld. The land on 
 either side of it rises high, and overlooks the sea, whilst the 
 descent of the rocks, in places perpendicular, is not so in all. 
 There are parts where they slope back so gradually that 
 a sure foot may descend with ease : and in such places the 
 hard nature of the rock appears to have softened with time, 
 for grass, and even wild flowers, grow upon the surface. In 
 ancient times it was a settlement of the Danes : and the name 
 now corrupted into Danesheld, was formerly written Danes' 
 Hold. To the right of the village, as you stand facing the 
 sea, the land is wild and rugged, and without a sign of 
 human habitation. To the left, towards the east, may be 
 seen some scattered houses of a superior description, two or 
 three of them handsome mansions ; and behind, lies quite a 
 colony of poor cottages and fishermen's huts, older than the 
 mansions, older even than the village. It should be noticed 
 that all these houses face the sea, the high road running 
 immediately before some of them ; and the green heights 
 extending between the road and the rocks. 
 
 Beyond all, still towards the east and about a mile distant 
 from the village, rise the conspicuous towers of Dane Castle ; 
 a long, but not high building, its red stone dark with age. 
 There is a tower at either end, and a square turret sur- 
 mounts the great gateway in the middle : from which turret 
 
 liidy Adelaide. 1 
 
2 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 a flag is always floating when the chief, Lord Dane, is 
 sojourning at the castle. Like the rest of the dwellings, it 
 faces the sea, a narrow strip of greensward intervening 
 between the gates and the high road. Beyond the road, 
 which has neither hedge nor boundary wall, the grassland 
 stretches out smooth and flat to the edge of the heights. It 
 is broad too just here, nearly a quarter-of-a-mile intervening 
 between the castle and the sea. Opposite the extreme end 
 of the castle, and very near to the brow of the heights, are 
 the ruins of what was the chapel in the days of the monks. 
 Its walls still stand, and its casements, from which the glass 
 has long since gone, are sheltered by prolific ivy, a darker 
 screen than any glass could be. The lords of Dane would 
 cause this ivy to be trimmed occasionally, but it grows in 
 clustering profusion. Traces of the altar and of ancient 
 gravestones may be seen inside still, but no roof remains : it 
 is open alike to the calm and the stormy sky. A picturesque 
 sight does that old ruin present in the beams of the rising 
 and the setting sun ; still more so in the pale, mystic beauty 
 of a moonlit night. In this part the rocks are perpendicular, 
 and not very high ; somewhat farther on they recede greatly, 
 and some rude steps are cut in them to the beach below. 
 The young Danes in their boyhood, the present lord's two 
 sons, would run up and down these steps with impunity, 
 to get to their boat, which they kept moored below them. 
 
 Behind the castle there is a small garden ; flowers and 
 fruit do not seem to flourish here ; and between the castle 
 and the village may be seen the signs of husbandry — 
 ploughed fields, grass-lands, with here and there a farm- 
 house, surrounded by its ricks and barns ; all, or nearly all, 
 belonging to Lord Dane — village, houses, lands ; the various 
 tenants paying rent for their occupancy. 
 
 It was a sunny day in spring. Perched upon a gate that 
 led into a clover field, within view of the castle windows at 
 the end facing Danesheld, within view also of the high road 
 and the green plain before it, there sat a gentleman doing 
 something to a fishing-rod. He looked about eight-and- 
 twenty; a tall, slender man, with good, though somewhat 
 thin and sharp, features, and with dark eyes. His velveteen 
 
HARRY DANE. 
 
 3 
 
 shooting-coat was thrown back, for the day was really 
 warm ; and he was whistling softly at his work. Hearing 
 footsteps, he lifted his eyes, and saw advancing from the 
 direction of the village, a middle-aged man, a stranger, who 
 wore the attire of a gentleman-sailor. As the stranger neared 
 the gate he lifted his glazed hat from his head ; but, whether 
 in courtesy, or whether merely to wipe his brow with his 
 handkerchief, was not clearly obvious. 
 
 " Is that Dane Castle ? " asked the stranger. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " I thought it must be," was the comment of the sailor 
 spoken in an undertone. "Are the family at the castle 
 now ? " 
 
 The gentleman with the fishing-rod pointed towards the 
 flag. " There is the sign. When his lordship of Dane is at 
 home you see the flag waving there ; in his absence it does 
 not show." 
 
 " But why so ? " 
 
 The young man shrugged his shoulders ; his manner of 
 speaking was idle, characterized by a certain equanimity 
 almost bordering on ridicule ; not ridicule of the stranger, 
 but of the Danes he was speaking of. " Because it's one of 
 the old Dane customs. They have some queer ones. Those 
 scrolls and crosses you see on the flag are the Dane arms." 
 
 "Are both the sons at home? Pardon my questions," 
 continued the stranger ; " I made acquaintance with one of 
 them abroad, some years ago." 
 
 " The younger one is at home — the ex-captain," replied the 
 young man, equably, as though to answer questions on the 
 Dane family were as much his business in life just then as 
 splicing the fishing-rod. " The heir is in Paris. He is a 
 fast man, and a continental life suits him." 
 
 " Are the brothers still at variance ? " 
 
 " They are, and always will be." 
 
 " Some dispute about fortune, is it not ? " 
 
 " Some ill-blood, but no dispute. There might be dispute 
 if that would alter the existing state of things, but it won't. 
 Not that the ill-blood is on the captain's side ; I'll give him 
 his due there : the fault is the heir's." 
 
4 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " Is there not a young lady staying at the castle ? " 
 resumed the stranger, after a pause. " I forget her name." 
 
 "Adelaide Errol," was the answer, given with the same 
 coolness of tone and manner ; but this time the young man 
 lifted his eyes, and scanned the sailor. "A wild Scotch 
 lassie is what Danesheld styles her." 
 
 " I have heard her called an angel," returned the sailor ; 
 " nothing less laudatory." 
 
 " Then," and the dark eyes were fixed on the stranger as 
 though they would read him through and through, " if you 
 have heard that, I'll wager it was from no other than Harry 
 Dane." 
 
 " From William Dane." 
 
 " William Henry, it is all one ; we dub him Harry here. 
 The old peer is fond of the name, so also is my lady ; and 
 they have rarely called him anything else." 
 
 " And the name of the elder one is Geoffry, I remember. 
 He " 
 
 " You wouldn't find the heir to Dane named anything but 
 Geoffry," came the interruption. " Another of their super- 
 stitions." 
 
 " Indeed ! Is William Dane to marry Adelaide Errol ? " 
 
 The gentleman raised his eyebrows. " Well, people say 
 so. The captain, gallant son of Mars though he be — or was 
 — has singed his wings in the brightness of her fascinations. 
 He " 
 
 " I wish you'd talk plain English, sir," cried the stranger, 
 a little testily : upon which the other accorded him a pro- 
 longed stare. 
 
 " What else am I talking ? Dutch ? " 
 
 " Ehapsody : and it is a language I never understood. Is 
 Captain Dane to marry the young lady, or is he not ? " 
 
 " What a very unreasonable man you seem to be ! " was the 
 rejoinder, accompanied by a half laugh. " Don't I tell you 
 it is said that he will ? Captain Harry worships the very 
 ground she treads on. You'll call that rhapsody again 
 perhaps ; but it is fact." 
 
 " And she ? " 
 
 The young man drew down his lips with an air that 
 
HARHY BANK. 
 
 6 
 
 seemed to intimate that it was no business of his. " How 
 do I know ? there's no answering for women. Perhaps she 
 returns his love ; perhaps she does not. My Lad} 7 Dane 
 impresses upon her the fact that the Honourable William 
 Henry, although he may be getting on towards middle-life, 
 is no bad match for a portionless damsel." 
 
 " William Dane is rich," remarked the stranger. 
 
 " I wish I were a tithe as rich. Some arrangement exists 
 in the Dane family by which the younger branches step into 
 their fortune as soon as they are of age ; and Harry, who 
 comprised all the branches in his own person, took possession 
 of his. It was fifty thousand pounds. To that there was 
 another fifty thousand ; more — for it had been accumulating 
 some few years — left him by his uncle, William Henry 
 Verner. And the captain can't be spending half his income. 
 Just now, visiting at home, he is spending nothing." 
 
 " How long does he intend to remain at home ? " 
 
 " You had better ask that of Adelaide Errol. When he 
 arrived at home, he said he had come for a week or two " 
 
 " You mean when he landed from the States ? " 
 
 " I mean when he landed from the States. And what the 
 deuce brought him wandering so long in the States has 
 always been a mystery to me. He must have turned into an 
 American ! He came home, saying he should remain a week 
 or two : that's six months ago : and he's here still, fooled by 
 
 this mad passion for the But it's no business of mine," 
 
 broke off the young man. " He once talked of repurchasing 
 into the army ; for my part, I can't think why he sold out 
 of it." 
 
 " Why do you call it a mad passion ? " 
 
 The young man took out his penknife, and leisurely 
 scraped a spot off the fishing-rod. 
 
 " Random figures of speech slip from us at times which 
 frequently have little meaning." 
 
 " I beg your pardon. That may be the Dane family." 
 
 The young man turned his head. A group had appeared 
 on the greensward near the chapel, the most prominent 
 object amidst it being an invalid chair, in which reclined 
 a fine-looking old man, whose gray hair was fast turning to 
 
6 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 white. It was propelled by a man-servant in the Dane 
 livery — purple velvet waistcoat and breeches, and a white 
 coat laced with silver. A tall, fine, very handsome old lady 
 accompanied the chair. Behind came a man of noble 
 features, who might be approaching his fortieth year, up- 
 right and stately, slender still, and far above the middle 
 height. A fair girl of nineteen walked by his side ; now 
 before him, now behind him, chattering to him, and putting 
 forth all her attractions, as it was in her nature to do. She 
 had a very brilliant complexion, blue eyes, and a profusion 
 of fair hair — a lovely vision undeniably, taken altogether ; 
 but the features were not especially good, and the eyes roved 
 about too much for true ones. Behind all, came another 
 footman in the same livery. 
 
 " You are right," was the answer ; " it is the Dane family. 
 They have been taking my lord for his morning airing. 
 The two servants relieve each other in wheeling the chair." 
 
 " Is Lord Dane an invalid ? " 
 
 " An invalid ! " echoed the young man, as he hastily put 
 his fishing-rod together. "It is to be hoped neither you 
 nor I will ever be such a one. Lord Dane had a dreadful 
 fall with his horse last autumn, when out hunting, and has 
 become paralyzed in the lower limbs. There is no cure for 
 him, the doctors say ; it will only go on from bad to worse. 
 And now, sir, I must wish you a good-morning." 
 
 " I thank you for your courtesy in answering my ques- 
 tions," said the sailor. 
 
 "Sir," rejoined the young man, in deliberate tones, "I 
 have told you nothing that you might not have heard from 
 any man, woman, or child within the dominions of my Lord 
 Dane. The politics of the family, so far, are patent to the 
 world." 
 
 He sauntered away as he spoke with that indolent languor 
 we are apt to associate with the idea of a gentleman ; per- 
 haps because it belongs so exclusively to the upper classes. 
 The sailor looked at the distant group ; he had no difficulty 
 in divining that the tall old lady must be Lady Dane ; the 
 young and pretty one Adelaide Errol. Captain Dane he 
 knew. 
 
HARRY DANE. 
 
 7 
 
 At that moment another person came up, walking along 
 the road from the direction of the village ; a dark, short, 
 thick-set man, dressed in tho plain black attire of an upper 
 servant. The sailor — as we have been calling him, though 
 he was nothing of the sort — went forward and accosted him. 
 
 " Can you tell me who that gentleman is ? " he inquired, 
 pointing to the one with the fishing-rod. 
 
 " It is Mr. Herbert Dane." 
 
 " Not a son of Lord Dane ? " cried the other, seeming 
 puzzled. 
 
 The man threw back his head. " Oh dear, no ; he is 
 nothing but a relative. That is Lord Dane's son, the 
 Honourable Captain Dane." 
 
 He was moving on, after speaking, but the sailor once 
 more arrested him. 
 
 " Eavensbird, I think you have forgotten me." 
 
 The man turned and stared, and then touched his hat with 
 respect. 
 
 " Colonel Moncton ! Indeed, sir, I beg your pardon. I 
 don't think I had looked at you ; I was watching the family. 
 "We often see strange sailors about here, and I took you for 
 one of them." 
 
 " Tell your master I am here, Eavensbird. Stay ; don't 
 say who it is before them all. I have no time to call at the 
 castle. Tell Captain Dane that a strange gentleman wishes 
 to speak to him." 
 
 The servant touched his hat and hastened forward. Herbert 
 Dane had joined the party then : they were just entering the 
 castle gates. Eavensbird spoke to Captain Dane, whose 
 servant he was, and the latter turned. 
 
 " A gentleman wants me ? What gentleman, Eavensbird ? 
 Where is he ? " 
 
 " Down there, sir. He wishes to see you very particularly." 
 
 Captain Dane felt annoyed, and walked away impatiently. 
 That fair girl by his side was more to him than all the 
 gentlemen in the world. She looked after him, and then 
 threw her eyes — rather self-willed eyes, and not always 
 pleasant in expression, in spite of their bright azure — on 
 the servant. 
 
8 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " Who is it, Eavensbird ? " 
 " A stranger, my lady." 
 
 " And a Yankee," added Herbert Dane, " as I'll protest, 
 by bis accent." 
 
 They were under the great gateway now, and tbe young 
 lady at once put her arm witbin Mr. Herbert Dane's, and 
 began to pace it with him, whilst the servants were occupied 
 in taking Lord Dane home. Herbert told her of the 
 stranger's questioning, and they laughed together. 
 
 The account given by Herbert Dane of the family was a 
 correct one, so far as it went, and was patent, as he had 
 observed, to the world — that is, the world of Danesheld. 
 Lord and Lady Dane had only two sons, no other children ; 
 and since the two grew up, had not derived much comfort 
 from either. The heir, Geoffry, was a spendthrift, passing 
 his time chiefly away, and when at home, making it disagree- 
 able by reason of his temper. Nevertheless he was the 
 favourite, and had been indulged to excess. He was envious 
 of his younger brother ; envious of his popularity, his good 
 looks, and, above all, of his fine income — a far larger one 
 than he enjoyed, for Lord Dane had heavy expenses, and 
 could not give him an exorbitant allowance. 
 
 An enmity grew up between the brothers — " bitter blood," 
 Danesheld called it — and there seemed every prospect that 
 it would be lasting. The chief offender was undoubtedly 
 Geoffry. He flung scorn and insult upon Harry ; and Harry, 
 hot-tempered, retorted in kind. Nor could there be a doubt 
 that Harry Dane in his heart resented the love and favour 
 lavished at home on his brother. 
 
 "When Captain Dane was three-and-twenty, he accom- 
 panied his regiment to Canada, from which, after a few 
 years' stay there, he came home an invalid, and then sold 
 out. After a year or so of home sojourn, he went again to 
 America ; and from that period he had chiefly lived in the 
 New World, travelling about to different j>arts of it, and 
 paying a visit to England only on rare occasions. Now his 
 stay in the old home promised to be a longer one, for he had 
 fallen in love with the Lady Adelaide Errol. He spoke 
 already to her of marriage ; he spoke fondly of taking her 
 
HAllllY DANE. 
 
 9 
 
 out to America afterwards, to introduce her to his friends 
 there ; and then he proposed to return to England and settle 
 down for good. Herbert Dane was not far wrong w r hen he 
 said the captain worshipped the very ground she trod upon. 
 The chief pleasure of his existence seemed that of being ever 
 with her ; and there is no doubt that he imparted to her in 
 confidence much of the history of his past life. 
 
 And the Lady Adelaide ? She was one of the veriest, 
 vainest coquettes that ever secured the love of man. People, 
 looking fondly on her winning ways, were apt to say what 
 a warm-natured, sweet girl she was. They were entirely 
 mistaken. Few girls were so innately selfish, though as yet 
 she herself was unconscious of it. She had come to Dane 
 Castle two years ago, and was the daughter of the deceased 
 Earl of Irkdale, a very poor Scotch peer. Adelaide Errol, 
 on the death of her mother (sister to Lady Dane), found her- 
 self without a home ; for that of her brother, the wild young 
 earl, was not a desirable one. So Lady Dane sent for her 
 to Danesheld, where she arrived with her French maid, 
 Sophie ; and had been turning the heads of the neighbour- 
 hood ever since. 
 
 Captain Dane walked quickly up to the stranger, and 
 their hands met in a warm clasp. Colonel Moncton was an 
 American, and they had been close friends. They still 
 corresponded, and it was in Captain Dane's recent letters 
 that the colonel had read of Adelaide Errol. Nothing could 
 exceed Captain Dane's astonishment ; he had supposed him 
 to be safe in New York. 
 
 " Where in the world did you spring from ? " he exclaimed. 
 "Have you taken a tour through the bowels of the earth, 
 and come up on this side ? " 
 
 Colonel Moncton laughed. " I was tempted into buying 
 a yacht, and must needs try her at once, like a child with a 
 new toy. The wind was fair and wafted us to England. 
 We put in at Plymouth, and there " 
 
 " And thence you came round to Danesheld, like the good 
 fellow that you are ! " interrupted Captain Dane, in a glow 
 of gratification. "I heard an hour ago there was a large 
 clipper-built yacht in the bay, sporting the stars and stripes, 
 
10 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 but I never thought of you. I was going down to have 
 a look at her ; the passion for yachting was a passion of my 
 own once." 
 
 " I was about to say," continued the American, gravely, 
 " that when we reached Plymouth I found that the last mail 
 had brought over letters for me. Dane, they are letters of 
 recall. My wife has been seized with sudden illness, and 
 we are putting back again with all speed." 
 
 " But you will surely stay a little time with me — at least 
 a day or two ? " 
 
 " I cannot, indeed. Pardon the seeming discourtesy, Dane. 
 As the yacht had put in here, I would not leave without 
 trying to see you, but " 
 
 " Then you did not put in on purpose ? " cried Captain 
 Dane, in tones of reproach. 
 
 " The master of the yacht put in because he could not 
 help himself. We ran foul of a stupid barge last evening, 
 and received some slight damage ; nothing to speak of — a few 
 hours will repair it. Walk down with me and look at her." 
 
 " But you will come into the castle first, and be intro- 
 duced to my family ? " 
 
 "This afternoon," answered the American, as he linked 
 his arm within his friend's, and led him towards the village, 
 just beyond which was situated the small bay. " You have 
 Eavensbird with you still, I see ? " 
 
 "Oh yes, he's a fixture. They don't like him at the 
 castle ; he's too independent for them. He suits me ; and 
 he is in my confidence, besides." 
 
 "Who was that bright-looking girl you were walking 
 with, just now ? " 
 
 The red rose actually dyed the captain's cheeks, as though 
 they had been a schoolgirl's. His love was powerful within 
 him. 
 
 " That was Adelaide Errol." 
 
 " I thought so. And when are you to take possession of 
 her ? as we say of other things." 
 
 " It is impossible to know with certainty," answered the 
 captain, his lips parting with a fond smile. " She is a 
 capricious little beauty ; as capricious as your yacht, Monc- 
 
HARRY DANE. 
 
 11 
 
 ton ; and plays fast and loose. It will be some time this 
 vear." 
 
 " And shall you never visit the New Country again ? " 
 
 " Once more ; and bring her with me, I hope. I must 
 make arrangements, you know, for having my " 
 
 At that moment Mr. Herbert Dane overtook them, his 
 fishing-rod still in hand. He strolled by their side, speaking 
 a few idle sentences, but Captain Dane did not appear to 
 encourage him, neither did he introduce him to his friend. 
 So Herbert Dane walked on. 
 
 " That gentleman is a relative of yours, I believe," observed 
 Colonel Moncton. 
 
 " A cousin. His father was the Honourable Herbert Dane, 
 Lord Dane's brother ; but the Honourable Herbert got out 
 of his money, and has left his son and daughter almost 
 penniless. But for an income secured to Miss Dane, they 
 wouldn't have enough to live on. I don't think it will 
 be of much consequence to Herbert in the long run. 
 He has the same talent for spending, and would inevitably 
 have got through all, if his father had not done so before 
 him. A mine of gold, more or less, would be nothing to 
 him." 
 
 " Does he live at the castle ? " 
 
 " Certainly not. I'll show you where he lives directly. 
 The worst thing his father ever did for him was to bring 
 him up to no profession. The Church, the Bar, the Civil 
 Service, all are legitimate openings for a poor man of family. 
 The Army scarcely so, because you can't get along in that 
 without a private income. I'm sorry for Herbert, on the 
 whole, though I don't like him." 
 
 Turning down a * green lane on the right as he spoke 
 which led to three or four houses, Captain Dane halted before 
 one of them ; a small, low dwelling, covered with ivy. It 
 was a pretty place, though little larger than a cottage; a 
 lawn in front, with beds of unpretending flowers. 
 
 " That's his house, and there Herbert vegetates, doing no 
 earthly thing in life except a little fishing or a day's sport- 
 ing. The house is his, and he and his sister live there — a 
 fond, foolish girl, who thinks him perfection. She has three 
 
12 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 hundred a year of her own, and Herbert has about one, and 
 so " 
 
 A summary and was put to any further revelations Captain 
 Dane might have made. A young lady, with a profusion of 
 ringlets and very pink cheeks, came running down the 
 garden path, threw open the little iron gate, and caught 
 hold of his arm. She was in a thin, airy dress, and had the 
 most childish manner in the world. 
 
 " Oh, Harry, I'm so glad to see you ! I'm going away 
 this afternoon, you know, for a week or two. You said 
 you'd come last night and wish me good-bye." 
 
 "But I was unable to come, Cecilia. — Colonel Moncton, 
 Miss Dane." 
 
 Miss Dane curtsied, and simpered, and blushed, and put 
 her hands to the tips of her ringlets, and was altogether 
 abashed at the sight of the stranger. But Captain Dane 
 had no time to waste on her this morning. He wished her 
 a pleasant visit, and walked away. 
 
 " Poor Cecilia ! " he laughed, as he put his arm within 
 his friend's. " She's a good-hearted little soul, but has not 
 a particularly large share of brains." 
 
 They went on through the town and reached the small 
 bay — so small as to be unavailable for large craft — where 
 the yacht was lying. A beautiful vessel was this American 
 yacht. She was named the Pearl, and was at the present 
 moment the pride of Colonel Moncton's life. He was fond 
 of fresh pastimes and new toys ; and, being a man of good 
 fortune, could afford to indulge his fancies. 
 
 Meanwhile, Mr. Eavensbird had entered the castle, and 
 sought a companionship he was fond of, that of Lady 
 Adelaide's French maid, Sophie Deffloe. He w T as a dark, 
 sallow, stern-looking man, ugly at the first glance. Never- 
 theless the face was an honest one, and there was a kindly 
 expression in the penetrating black eyes. The castle 
 wondered what pretty Sophie could see in Eichard Eavens- 
 bird : but ugly men often find the greatest favour with women, 
 as all the world knows. He had been into the town on an 
 errand for her now, and she would only abuse him for it. 
 
 "There's your commission, Mam'selle Sophie," said he, 
 
HARRY DANE, 
 
 13 
 
 putting a small paper parcel on the table. "I hope it's 
 executed to your mind." 
 
 Sophie unfolded the paper, and took out its contents, 
 three or four yards of narrow ribbon. She was an exceed- 
 ingly neat, trim damsel, dressed to perfection in her quiet 
 attire. Her features were saucy, her eyes dark gray, and 
 her head and hair might have made the fortune of any hair- 
 dresser's window. She stamped her foot petulantly as her 
 eyes fell on the ribbon. 
 
 " If ever I saw the like ! " she exclaimed — and she spoke 
 English with great fluency, though with a foreign accent. 
 " I send you to buy me four yards of blue ribbon, and you 
 bring purple ! I have told you, fifty times, that you have 
 not the eye for colours." 
 
 Eavensbird laughed. Her grumbling was sweeter to him 
 than others' praise, and Mademoiselle Sophie knew that it 
 was so, and presumed accordingly. " I did my best, Sophie ; 
 won't it do?" 
 
 " Do ! It must do. If I order you back you might bring 
 gray ; but don't think you are going ribbon-buying for me 
 again. You need not expect it." 
 
 " You sent me, Sophie." 
 
 "And if I did? Did I expect that you would be more 
 stupid than a camel ? Hand me my workbox, monsieur. It 
 is on the table there. Who was that sailor-gentleman you 
 were talking to, by the swing-gate ? " 
 
 Eavensbird handed the workbox, throwing his keen eyes 
 on her as he did so. " How did you know I was talking to 
 any one by the swing-gate, Sophie ? " 
 
 " I stand at the tower-window in my Lady Adelaide's 
 room; I look out for you and the ribbon. 'He is taking 
 his time,' I say to myself, c standing there to talk.' Who 
 was it ? " 
 
 " A friend of the captain's ; a gentleman we used to know 
 in America." 
 
 " What did he talk about ? " inquired Sophie, who had all 
 the insatiable curiosity of her nation and sex. 
 
 Eavensbird laughed ; he generally answered her questions 
 with the same sort of condescending pleasure as that we use 
 
LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 in answering an attractive child. "He did not talk of 
 much, Sophie. The chief thing he asked me was whether 
 Herbert Dane was my lord's son." 
 
 " Ah," responded Sophie ; " if he were my lord's son, 
 things here might go a little smoother." 
 
 " What things ? " inquired Eavensbird, opening his eyes. 
 
 " What things ? " repeated Sophie, ironically. " I say to 
 myself this long while that you and your master are the 
 only blind ones in the castle : except, perhaps, my Lord 
 Dane. You think my young lady has love for your master ; 
 he thinks so. Bah ! " 
 
 " What is up now ? " cried Eavensbird, after a pause of 
 astonishment. 
 
 t< There is nothing up that there has not been all along," 
 returned Sophie, with cool equanimity, "if you had but 
 looked out to see it. My young lady is a flirt ; she's vain ; 
 she likes all the admiration she can get, whether it is from 
 Captain Dane or whether it is from Squire Lester ; but in 
 a corner of her heart there is one more precious than either. 
 He was there a long while ; long before your master came 
 home and put the upset to things by wanting her for 
 himself." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " exclaimed Eavensbird. 
 
 " I mean that there's love between those two, Mr. Eavens- 
 bird. Have you no wits that you should stare so ? " 
 
 " Can you allude to Herbert Dane ? " 
 
 Sophie nodded, as she bit off an end of cotton. " They 
 love each other to folly." 
 
 "Then, if so, how dare she delude my master by her 
 false smiles ? " cried Eavensbird indignantly. 
 
 " She does it for a purpose," was the cool answer. " Just 
 about the time that your master came home, my Lady Dane 
 began to suspect that she and Mr. Herbert cared for each 
 other, and she spoke about it, and my young lady was sick 
 to death with fright, lest he should be sent away, or they be 
 otherwise separated. So when Captain Dane came forward 
 with his grand offers, she made a show of accepting him to 
 blind my Lady Dane. She makes a show of accepting his 
 love to blind him, because she will not let the truth be 
 
HARRY DANE. 
 
 15 
 
 known, for Mr. Herbert's sake. As to her marrying the 
 captain, I hope my head won't ache till that time comes." 
 
 Richard Kavensbird, standing against a side-table, felt 
 like one who was listening to some awful plot, some wicked 
 conspiracy. Had Fieschi's infernal machine been pointed 
 at his head, he could not have shrunk from it as a worse 
 danger than the one he seemed to shrink from now. As he 
 looked at Sophie with bewildered eyes, much of the past 
 seemed to grow suddenly clear to him. He remembered 
 how often he had seen the Lady Adelaide lingering with 
 Herbert Dane ; he remembered how, many a time, he had 
 seen her exercising some little ruse to avoid his master. 
 And he had set it all down to the natural coquetry of 
 woman. 
 
 " Do they meet in private ? " he asked. 
 
 " When they can ; just once in a way. She runs out now 
 and then on a fine evening, to take a little walk with him. 
 My lady drops asleep after dinner in the drawing-room ; my 
 lord keeps Captain Dane with him at the dinner-table ; and 
 she slips on her gray cloak, putting the hood over her head, 
 and goes out. Mr. Herbert is waiting for her, and they just 
 take one turn across the heights by the chapel ruins, and 
 back again. She dare not stay many minutes for fear of 
 being missed." 
 
 " Treacherous she-serpent ! " muttered Kavensbird, whose 
 amazed ears were tingling with indignation. " Why, 
 Sophie, it — it — it's a shocking thing for her to do ! It's not 
 respectable." 
 
 " It's not what ? " shrieked Sophie. * It's not what ? " 
 
 " Well, and it is not," persisted Kavensbird ; " not for a 
 young lady like her. She is engaged to my master, and she 
 goes out with a hood over her head and meets somebody 
 else ! At any rate, it's not seemly." 
 
 " You want a hood for your head," cried Sophie, treating 
 him to a specimen of her woman's tongue. " Is not Mr. 
 Herbert Dane my lord's nephew, and is he not to be trusted 
 to take care of her? She's to be trusted herself, for the 
 matter of that, for there never was one less likely than she 
 to run into danger. She's giddy and thoughtless in trifles, 
 
16 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 but she's as wise as you are, mon ami, in great things. 
 TV hat do you fear for her? — that the sea will rise and 
 swallow her up ? If she walked out with Captain Dane, or 
 with Mr. Lester, or with my lord himself, would you say it 
 was 6 not respectable ? ' Go along ! " 
 
 " But look at the treachery ! " cried Eavensbird. " My 
 master is honourable, unsuspicious, as open as the day, and 
 he ought to know of this. It's shameful treachery, I tell 
 you, Sophie. If nobody else enlightens him, I will." 
 
 " My friend," interrupted Sophie, emphatically, " you just 
 take my advice, for it's good — don't you interfere. Folks 
 that tell unpalatable truths never get thanked for them. 
 Let things take their course. When Captain Dane presses 
 for the marriage, as he'll do soon, then she must speak out 
 herself, and that will be best. Perhaps, after all, she may 
 take him — I should, I know ; at any rate she'll have to 
 choose between them. But don't you go and break your 
 head against a wall." 
 
 Metaphorically speaking, Mr. Richard Eavensbird was 
 breaking his head against one then ; he had never felt so 
 puzzled, so indignant, in all his life. He made no opposition 
 to her advice, thereby allowing her to suppose that he fell 
 in with it. 
 
 " Herbert Dane ! " he repeated, all the scorn of his nature 
 concentrated on the name. "If she must have been false 
 to my master, I could better have supposed it was that she 
 loved Squire Lester." 
 
 Mademoiselle Sophie Deffloe lifted her eyebrows in pity. 
 " That shows what you know about such things," was her 
 retort. " Mr. Lester is twice as old as she is. What does she 
 care for Mr. Lester ? He is the handsomest man in Danes- 
 held, and so she listens to his gallant speeches, and likes 
 him to be her slave. If you were a gentleman, she'd square 
 her elbows at you to keep you off, because of your ugliness." 
 
 " She'd be welcome," returned Eichard Eavensbird. 
 
 He was too much incensed at the duplicity practised on 
 his master to heed the shafts launched by Sophie on himself. 
 He was deeply attached to Captain Dane. Clenching his 
 hand as he stood, he felt that he should like to deal out 
 
Turned out. 17 
 
 her deserts to the Lady Adelaide : a rare feeling for the 
 generally phlegmatic Kichard Eavensbird. But his nature 
 could, on occasion, be aroused into fierce passion ; and in 
 that respect he exactly resembled his master, Cajitain Dane. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 TURNED OUT. 
 
 The door on the left hand of the gateway of Dane Castle 
 opened into what was called the hall ; an apartment that for 
 its capaciousness and splendour was the boast of the country. 
 Its walls were hung with pictures, no carpet was allowed on 
 its pavement of rich mosaic ; its furniture was massive 
 rather than elegant. In the old days, when Lord Dane was 
 in health, and there were large dinner gatherings at the 
 castle, this hall was used as the reception-room and the 
 wi their a wing-room. It communicated with the dining-room 
 by folding-doors, a fine apartment also, but not of the large 
 proportions of the hall. Both these rooms looked on to the 
 front of the castle, facing the sea ; the hall extended itself 
 the whole depth of the castle, saving for a wide stone 
 passage that ran along behind, and into which it also 
 opened ; the dining-room and a smaller room behind it, used 
 now as Lord Dane's sleeping-chamber, which chamber also 
 opened into the passage. Above were the drawing-rooms 
 and the principal bedchambers. 
 
 On the other side the gateway the rooms w r ere of less 
 importance ; those to the front were little used ; the kitchens 
 and servants' sitting-rooms were at the back. The stone 
 passage just mentioned ran along nearly the whole length of 
 the house — a gloomy passage at the best, and dimly lighted. 
 A staircase w 7 ound up from it at either end — the one was 
 used by the family, the other chiefly by the servants. Two 
 
 Lady Adelaide. 2 
 
18 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 or three uninhabited rooms opened from it towards the back 
 of the castle, of which one was notable, if only from its 
 appellation — the death-room. Other passages, curious odds- 
 and-ends of intricate places, abounded in the castle ; some 
 converging to an entrance-door at the back, which was kept 
 locked by Lord Dane's orders, and of which the butler, Mr. 
 Bruff, had charge of the keys, so that the only entrance and 
 exit made use of was by the great gateway. 
 
 Evening came on — the evening of the day above noticed — 
 and the party assembled in the drawing-room before dinner 
 was a small one : consisting of Lady Dane, Adelaide, and a 
 guest, Mr. Lester. Mr. Lester, generally called Squire 
 Lester — must have been eight or nine and thirty, but he did 
 not look it. He was a gay, fascinating, very handsome man, 
 of middle height, with dark hair, and eyes of violet blue. 
 Danesheld was beginning to say that his attraction at the 
 castle was the Lady Adelaide — that he was hoping to win her 
 for his second wife, in spite of Harry Dane's open claims. 
 
 She stood against the window now, talking to him. He 
 was bending his head as he listened, and his violet eyes 
 were fixed on her with an admiration that told its own tale — 
 a tale that Lady Adelaide was little loath to listen to ; for 
 she only lived in this species of flattery. She wore a white 
 dress without ornaments, save that it had a bow of pink 
 ribbon in front, enclosing a knot of pearls. A pearl necklace 
 was round her neck, and pearl bracelets were on her arms 
 just above the gloves. Harry Dane came in, and Mr. Lester 
 drew a little aw T ay. 
 
 " I thought you were gone," exclaimed Lady Adelaide. 
 
 " I am later than I ought to be," he answered. " I have 
 been looking for some papers that I want Moncton to take 
 over for me." 
 
 " I understood that your friend was to call and see us to- 
 day, Harry," observed Lady Dane. 
 
 " He will come to-morrow instead. The skipper finds he 
 can't get out before to-morrow evening ; so it gives Moncton 
 another day here." 
 
 " The skipper ! " echoed Lady Dane. " That's one of 
 your Americanisms, Harry." 
 
TURNED OUT. 19 
 
 " indeed, no. I assure you it is plain English," was the 
 laughing answer. " Good-bye, Adelaide." 
 
 " A pleasant evening to you," she rejoined, allowing her 
 hand to rest for an instant in his. 
 
 Just then the butler appeared and announced dinner. 
 Captain Dane held out his arm to Adelaide. 
 
 " My tardy departure has brought me some reward at 
 least," he said, as he led her away in the wake of Mr. Lester 
 and Lady Dane. 
 
 " A fine reward ! " she said, slightly throwing back her 
 head with a laugh. 
 
 " A sweet reward ! " he murmured in her ear. " Adelaide," 
 came the impassioned addition, " to have you on my arm 
 like this, though it be but for a minute, imparts a thrill of 
 joy to me for the whole evening." 
 
 They descended the handsome staircase, threaded the 
 spacious hall, and entered the dining-room. There he left 
 her, bowing over her hand, which he held again in his, with 
 something of chivalrous courtesy. He was on his way to 
 dine on board the yacht with Colonel Moncton, who had 
 declined an invitation to the castle. 
 
 Lord Dane was already at the head of the table, seated. 
 He was always in his place, as now, before the guests came 
 in. A fine host still, of commanding presence. Nothing of 
 his malady was apparent now : he enjoyed his dinner ; he 
 was full of wit and repartee — and Lord Dane had the repu- 
 tation of being a man of brilliant conversation. None, 
 seeing him thus, could suspect he had not the full use of 
 his lower limbs, or that he was kept up by mechanical 
 support. Lady Dane took her seat opposite to him, Mr. 
 Lester and Adelaide on either side, and the dinner began, 
 Bruff and two servants being in attendance. 
 
 It was a lovely night, almost as bright as day; and 
 Eichard Eavensbird, somewhat later in the evening, was 
 standing at the castle gateway, enjoying the moonlight. 
 Before him stretched the smooth, green table-land ; the sea 
 beyond it almost as smooth and calm. Standing where he 
 did, however, he could only see the distant sea, not the 
 waves under the heights. On the right were the scattered 
 
20 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 villas : farther on, the village and its lights ; almost oppo- 
 site him the old chapel ruins, their casements and ivied 
 walls, broken in places, ghostly and weird-looking as the 
 moonbeams fell on them. 
 
 Mr. Eichard Ravensbird contemplated the scene to his 
 satisfaction, and then strolled across the road, over the grass, 
 and went inside the ruins. There was an aperture at either 
 end, each serving for a doorway, so that you could walk 
 right through. Grass grew in places ; the grave-stones, still 
 discernible, cold and gray, covered the remains of those who 
 had for centuries been dust of the dust. Pieces of the 
 marble flooring were left still, and traces of niches, and 
 hooks, and miniature altars, peculiar to places of Eoman 
 Catholic worship. Such relics had no attraction for Richard 
 Ravensbird, and he quitted the ruins and walked to the 
 edge of the heights. In this one part the rocks were not 
 very high, nor at all formidable ; and Mr. Ravensbird looked 
 down at the strip of land beneath which formed the beach. 
 It was very narrow here, and for about two hours at high- 
 tide was covered by the water, when it was of course 
 impassable. At other times preventive-men paced it — a 
 warning to smugglers. 
 
 These preventive-men had each his defined beat, ex- 
 tending a nominal mile in length, but it was a very short 
 one ; and their pacing was so timed (or ought to have been) 
 that they met at the given boundary at a certain moment, 
 exchanged the signal " All well ; " and then turned back 
 again. Scandalmongers said they lingered sometimes in 
 each other's company at these meeting-points ; had been 
 seen to light pipes, and produce black bottles from holes 
 in the rocks, and make themselves altogether comfortable. 
 The supervisor heard the rumour, and said they had better 
 let him catch them at it. 
 
 A sad event had occurred on the beach a week previous to 
 this. The man on this portion of the beat sat down, as was 
 supposed, and fell asleep, and the tide overwhelmed him 
 and carried him out to sea. The body was washed ashore the 
 next day, and a subscription was now being raised for the 
 wife and children, which Lord Dane had headed with a 
 
TURNED OUT. 
 
 21 
 
 donation of five pounds. The next sum on the list was 
 twenty-five. It was recorded under the initial " H," and was 
 suspected (and with truth) to be from Harry Dane, who would 
 not openly put himself down for a larger sum than his father. 
 
 As Eavensbird stood looking down, the preventive-man on 
 duty that night came slowly round the point, a little higher 
 up, where the rocks projected and shut out the view beyond. 
 Eavensbird waited until he was underneath, and then called 
 to him. 
 
 " Is that you, Mitchel ? " 
 
 The man looked up. At first he could not distinguish 
 who was speaking. 
 
 u Don't you know me, Mitchel ! It's light enough. Take 
 care you don't go to sleep, as poor Biggs did." 
 
 " Oh, it's you, Mr. Eavensbird. No, sir : I'll take care of 
 that. We think it must have been just above this very spot 
 that he sat down and yielded to drowsiness, if he did yield 
 to it. And we have been talking pretty freely amongst 
 ourselves, saying what nonsense it is to make us pace this 
 strip of beach. Why, in some places — round that point, for 
 one — it's not a foot broad that we have to wind round! 
 Biggs is just as likely to have slipped off, and got drowned 
 that way, as to have dropped asleep." 
 
 " If you can make the revenue officers think it's nonsense, 
 and take you off the duty, the smugglers will be obliged to 
 you." 
 
 " Not at all, sir. They could move us to the heights, and 
 there we should be out of danger. There's not many 
 smugglers left nowadays." 
 
 " You must be timid men to fancy danger where you are. 
 A child might keep himself out of it." 
 
 " Being on the watch constant, perhaps he might : but 
 one gets off the watch sometimes." 
 
 Eavensbird laughed. " Thanks to what you take to warm 
 you on a chilly night, Mitchel." 
 
 " No, indeed, sir, you are out there. We take nothing, and 
 dare not ; it would be as much as our places are worth. I 
 say, Mr. Eavensbird, don't you lean over so far ! You might 
 be attacked with giddiness." 
 
22 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 "Not I," answered Kavensbird. "I like looking over 
 heights ; my nerves are steady." 
 
 " It's more than I like," was the answer. " And that 
 would be a nasty fall ; it would be sure to break limbs, and 
 might cost life. Good-night, sir." 
 
 " I don't covet the fall. Good-night, if you are going on. 
 I suppose the tide will soon be up." 
 
 The preventive-man passed on, and Eichard Eavensbird 
 strolled back to the ruins. Barely had he entered them, 
 when he saw some one approaching from the direction of 
 Danesheld, and recognized Herbert Dane. 
 
 " Then Sophie was right ! " he exclaimed. And up to that 
 very moment there had been a grain of willing doubt in the 
 man's mind. 
 
 Mr. Dane advanced, whistling ; he leaned against one 
 of the ivy-covered window-frames, and looked out in the 
 direction of the castle. In this position there was no 
 fear of his being discovered by any stray passers in the 
 road. 
 
 She came up presently, enveloped in a cloak, her feet 
 swift. Herbert Dane hastened forward to meet her; and 
 Mr. Eavensbird, safely ensconced within the ruins, called 
 down something that was not a blessing on all treachery. 
 Herbert Dane took her on his arm, and they walked quickly 
 through the chapel to the open ground beyond it — almost 
 ran, indeed, for the young lady seemed impatient. Mr. 
 Eavensbird hid himself in the darkest nook as they passed, 
 and then quietly followed them, and peeped out as they 
 paced about between the chapel and the heights, she hanging 
 lovingly on his arm. 
 
 " Is the gallant captain at home this evening ? " Eavens- 
 bird heard him ask. 
 
 " No, he is gone on board the American's yacht. Squire 
 Lester is dining with us. Oh, Herbert," she added with a 
 gay laugh, " I think, what with one admirer and another, 
 my head will be turned. The squire is growing more 
 demonstrative." 
 
 " Squire Lester's nobody, Adelaide. The only one to be 
 feared is nearer home." 
 
I 
 
 TURNED OUT. 23 
 
 " You need not fear," she impulsively answered. " I hate 
 him ! I despise him ! Ho may be one that men esteem and 
 women admire, but he has set his unwelcome love upon me, 
 and therefore I hate him ! " 
 
 " He is the Honourable Harry Dane, and his purse is 
 weighty," remarked Herbert bitterly. "No despicable 
 rival." 
 
 " If you begin like that I shall go back again," she 
 returned, with a pretty affectation of childishness. " You 
 know that he is nothing to me ; that I shall never marry 
 him, though I am obliged to let it be thought I will. Why 
 he — but I must not tell that ; I gave my promise. Do you 
 fear I would marry him, Herbert, when I — I care only for 
 you?" 
 
 " What is it that you may not tell ? " inquired Herbert 
 Dane. 
 
 " Oh, nothing ; only something he said," she answered 
 carelessly ; " it does not concern either you or me. You are 
 cross with me, Herbert : you think I ought not to encourage 
 him, but how can I help myself? If my aunt suspected 
 that I cared for you, or you for me, we should be sent flying 
 to opposite corners of the earth." 
 
 " Adelaide, this deception cannot go on" for ever ; an ex- 
 planation must come." 
 
 " I suppose it must, some time." 
 
 " And when it does ? " 
 
 " Now, please don't worry me about the future, Herbert ! 
 When it does come, I dare say I shall see my way out of it. 
 Do you know what idea floats sometimes through my mind ? 
 That I will tell Harry the truth — how we love each other — ■ 
 and throw myself on his generosity, and get him to keep 
 the secret." 
 
 " Don't talk nonsense, Adelaide." 
 
 " Why are you so cross to-night ? " 
 
 " I am not cross, only pained. My life seems like one 
 long painful dream now, and at odd moments I think you do 
 not really # care for me." 
 
 The accusation was unfounded, and Adelaide Errol looked 
 up at him in reproach, her eyes filling with tears which he 
 
24 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 « 
 
 could see in the moonlight. He murmured a word of con- 
 trition, bent down, and pressed a kiss upon her lips. Mr. 
 Richard Kavensbird, in his hiding-place, rather wished that 
 it had been anything else. 
 
 For a few minutes Ravensbird heard no more ; they were 
 standing side by side on the brow of the heights, looking 
 out on the sea. Then Lady Adelaide seemed to turn in a 
 hurry. 
 
 " No, don't write to me," she was saying, when they came 
 within Ravensbird's hearing again ; " we must chance it. I 
 am not sure that it would do to entrust notes to Sophie : she 
 and that ugly servant of Harry's, who is as dark as his 
 name, are great friends. It's a shame you can't run in and 
 out of the castle at will, as you used to do ; but what you 
 say is true, — that they all look coldly upon you. I must 
 go, indeed, Herbert : suppose my aunt were to wake up and 
 know that I was here! Oh! what a scene there would 
 be!" 
 
 " Where's the harm ? " hotly returned Herbert Dane. 
 " You are as safe with me, I hope, as you are indoors with 
 her." 
 
 " But you are the very one she does not choose me to be 
 with, don't you see ! " said the girl, laughing. " She'd think 
 there was treason concocting against Harry. Has Cecilia 
 gone on her visit ? " 
 
 " She went this afternoon. You are in a hurry ! " he said, 
 speaking as if excessively aggrieved. " It's not often you 
 come out here, goodness knows. And I have told you I 
 cannot be here to-morrow night." 
 
 " It's not often we have these lovely nights. You would 
 not have me come out on a dark or a wet one. Not through 
 the chapel, Herbert," she added, for he seemed bearing to- 
 wards the entrance door. "I never go through it but I 
 think of ghosts. You must have an affection for them." 
 
 He laughed ; and Ravensbird watched them slowly pass 
 outside, obtaining a clear view of their features through the 
 apertures of the ivied casements. 
 
 Herbert Dane did not go far ; he was afraid, possibly, of 
 being seen. They stood a moment to shake hands ; she ran 
 
TURNED OUT. 
 
 25 
 
 swiftly away over the turf, and ho came back and propped 
 his back against the wall, as before, whilst he watched her 
 enter the castle. Then he took his way towards Danesheld 
 at a swift pace; and Mr. Eichard Eavensbird, emerging 
 from the ruins, cooled his indignation by a walk on the 
 heights before he returned home. 
 
 The morning rose as lovely as the night had been : not 
 quite so calm, for a slight breeze appeared to be getting up. 
 "All the better for Moncton's yacht,'' observed Captain 
 Harry Dane, as he sat at breakfast, with his mother and 
 Lady Adelaide, the sunbeams falling on the table, and 
 causing the white cloth and the silver to glitter. " The 
 wind is fair, too, for her ; she'll go out with a run." 
 
 " When does she go out ? " asked Lady Dane. 
 
 " To-night." 
 
 "You stayed late on board last night, Harry, did you 
 not?" 
 
 " Yes. I think it was past twelve when I left her. I and 
 Moncton were talking of old times. He is anticipating the 
 pleasure of welcoming you some time to his home, Adelaide ; 
 he has a charming place at Washington." 
 
 Lady Adelaide threw back her head, and there was 
 incipient defiance in her tones as zhe spoke. 
 
 " It may be that he will not have the pleasure. Washing- 
 ton is a long way off, Captain Dane." 
 
 " Captain Dane ! " he echoed, not pleased at the title. 
 
 " Harry, then," she rejoined good-humouredly, for Lady 
 Dane was turning upon her a disapproving eye ; " if you 
 are ashamed of the other name." 
 
 " I am not ashamed of it, Adelaide," he quietly said ; " but 
 I like a different one from you." 
 
 " Oh dear ! " sighed Adelaide, petulantly throwing herself 
 back in her chair ; " how crooked and contrary things go in 
 this world ! " 
 
 " What things ? " inquired Lady Dane. 
 
 " Many things, aunt. Sophie was as cross as two sticks 
 this morning, and that beautiful bird Mr. Lester gave me is 
 drooping its wings. I think it is going to die." 
 
 As Captain Dane quitted the room after breakfast, he was 
 
26 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 met by his servant Bavensbird, who craved five minutes' 
 speech of him. They ascended to a small apartment in the 
 turret that the captain made his sitting-room, and were shut 
 in. Lady Dane ordered the breakfast things away, and 
 opened her prayer-book to read the psalms for the day. She 
 was a thoroughly good woman. When Adelaide Errol first 
 came, her aunt had caused her to join in the exercise ; but it 
 had been done with an ill grace, an impatient manner ; and 
 Lady Dane at length told her, gently, to wait until her heart 
 was more attuned to it. Poor Adelaide, who had never been 
 trained in such habits, thought them a weary task, and Lady 
 Dane had the good sense to remember that none should be 
 forced into religion. She sat in her easy chair near the 
 fire, whilst Adelaide, in her pretty peach-coloured muslin 
 dress, her fair hands peeping from beneath its lace cuffs, 
 her cheeks as pink as tho muslin, with some mental excite- 
 ment, stood at the window. 
 
 The room was near the drawing-room at the end of the 
 house ; one window facing the sea, another overlooking 
 Danesheld. It was a glorious spring morning. The sky was 
 blue, with a few fleecy clouds upon it ; the sun was shining 
 brilliantly ; the hedges were putting forth their tender 
 green, and the early flowers were opening. Not on any of 
 these, pleasant objects though they were to the eye, gazed 
 Lady Adelaide : she did not give a thought to the beautiful 
 expanse of sea stretched out in the distance, or to the stately 
 vessels sailing slowly along ; she saw nothing of the pretty 
 villas near, nor of the labourers at work on the farm lands ; 
 no, her attention was absorbed by something else. 
 
 Astride upon the same gate where you saw him yesterday 
 sat Herbert Dane. He might be seen there often, for it was 
 within view of the one window of the morning-room and of 
 a charming young face that was wont to appear at it. He 
 had discarded yesterday's fishing-rod ; but held instead a 
 silver-mounted riding-whip, with which he switched, now 
 his boots, now the bars of the gate, all in his usual listless 
 manner. Think you the Lady Adelaide could have eyes for 
 other sights when he was there ? He took off his hat to her 
 once when she first appeared ; and a stranger would havo 
 
TURNED OUT. 
 
 27 
 
 seen nothing in the action beyond the ordinary courtesy of 
 a gentleman. She probably saw much more. 
 
 "Aunt," sho cried, suddenly breaking the silence, and 
 it seemed, to her impatience, that half-an-hour at least 
 must have elapsed since Lady Dane had held her prayer- 
 book, though in reality it was barely ten minutes : " is 
 it not time, think you, to get ready to go out with my 
 uncle ? " 
 
 " Not yet, Adelaide. It is only— What's that ? " 
 
 Loud and angry tones, as of voices in dispute, arose 
 suddenly from the floor above. Lady Dane started from 
 her chair in alarm, and Adelaide went to the door, and 
 opened it. 
 
 Captain Dane and his servant Ravensbird were on the 
 stairs ; the captain held his servant's collar, and was pro- 
 pelling him downwards in fierce anger. Both of them 
 seemed in a state of ungovernable fury. They stumbled 
 down to this, the first landing, and then Captain Dane, with 
 a push and a kick, sent his servant whirling down the lower 
 staircase. 
 
 Lady Dane, utterly aghast, gazed over the balustrades at 
 Ravensbird. The man righted himself, looked up, and 
 shook his fist at his master. But he appeared not to see 
 the ladies. 
 
 " Take care of yourself, Captain Dane," he said, the 
 words coming forth in malignant, hissing tones. " I shall 
 never lose sight of this insult until I have repaid it." 
 
 " Good heavens, Harry ! " exclaimed Lady Dane, as 
 Ravensbird disappeared amidst a group of gaping servants, 
 whom the noise had caused to gather below, " what does all 
 this mean ? What has Ravensbird done ? " 
 
 " Never mind, mother. He will not disturb the peace of 
 the castle again. I have discharged him." 
 
 " Discharged Ravensbird ? " 
 
 " The hound ! " burst forth the captain, who could not in 
 the least get over his fury. 
 
 " But what had he done ? " reiterated Lady Dane. 
 
 " He attempted to impose on me with lying tales, and 
 when I would have forced from him his motive for the 
 
28 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 villany, lie But there, I can't go over the matter; 1 
 
 shall kill him if I do," broke off the captain. 
 
 And turning round, he stalked back to his room again, 
 leaving Lady Dane and Adelaide to any conjectures they 
 might please to form. 
 
 Mr. Eichard Kavensbird, vouchsafing as little explanation 
 as his master, strode past the wondering servants in the 
 small stone hall, which must not be confounded with the 
 great hall before mentioned, and down the stone passage. 
 He never spoke a word ; his face was livid ; his nostrils 
 were working. Only as he was turning towards the gate- 
 way, did he look back, and ask one of the footmen to gather 
 his clothes and other property together, and despatch them 
 after him to the " Sailor's Best." At this juncture Sophie 
 appeared on the scene, demanding an explanation ; but 
 Eavensbird waived her off. With the persistency of her sex 
 she laid hold of him, and then Eavensbird said she should 
 hear from him in the course of the day, as he shook himself 
 free. Nothing more could she obtain from him, though she 
 followed him beyond the great gates, and stood there until 
 he was out of sight. 
 
 Herbert Dane was still astride on the swing gate, almost 
 tired, it must be supposed, with his want of occupation. 
 The appearance of Mr. Eavensbird, with a peculiarly enraged 
 expression of face, was a welcome divertissement. 
 
 " Halloa, Eavensbird ! What's up ? " 
 
 The man stopped as he answered, looking into the face of 
 his questioner, and giving each word its full force. 
 
 " I have been kicked out of the castle, sir." 
 
 " Kicked out of the castle ! " echoed Herbert Dane, in as- 
 tonishment. " By whom ? Not by its lord ? " he added, with 
 an attempt at a joke. 
 
 " I have been ignominiously thrust forth from the castle 
 and from my long service ; kicked downstairs in the sight of 
 my Lady Dane and of the domestics," repeated Eavensbird. 
 " He who did it was my master. But let him look to him- 
 self, for I swear I'll be revenged. There are some insults, 
 sir, that retaliation alone can wipe out. This is one of 
 them" 
 
turned out*. 
 
 29 
 
 " And what was it all for ? How did you offend Lim ? " 
 reiterated the wondering listener. 
 
 " I was endeavouring to do him a servico ; and my friendly 
 words — friendly I meant them to be — were taken up in a 
 wrong light. I say, let him take heed to himself." 
 
 Eavensbird strode on, waiting for no more. Herbert Dane 
 gazed after him, unable all at once to recover his surprise. 
 The silver-mounted riding-whip was at rest now. 
 
 "Eavensbird looks a queer customer to offend, at the 
 present moment," quoth he to himself. " What a livid face 
 of anger it was. I think Mr. Harry had better take heed to 
 himself." 
 
 Meanwhile, Lord Dane, to whose ears the scandalous sounds 
 had penetrated, summoned his son to his presence, and de- 
 manded an explanation. But Captain Dane wholly declined 
 to enter into details. " Eavensbird had behaved infamously, 
 and had received his deserts," he said ; and nothing more 
 could his lordship get from him. 
 
 Colonel Moncton called in the course of the morning, and 
 remained to luncheon. The Pearl was ready to go out now, 
 and was waiting for the evening tide. Lord Dane inquired 
 what time she would sail, and the colonel replied he believed 
 they should get away by about nine o'clock. He asked 
 Captain Dane to dine with him on board at seven, and the 
 captain promised to do so. 
 
 The two friends went out together after luncheon ; and 
 Lady Adelaide, standing listlessly at the drawing-room 
 window, watched them as they strolled about. Captain Dane 
 was showing his friend the few points of interest within 
 view. He took him into the chapel ruins ; he showed him 
 the steps of a descent a little higher up, with the small 
 'landing-place below, where he and his brother used to moor 
 their pleasure-boat. They descended these steps now, and 
 continued their way to the village by the narrow path chiefly 
 used by the preventive-men, parting when they reached 
 the yacht, for Captain Dane pleaded an afternoon engage- 
 ment. 
 
 And the day passed on to evening. 
 
 There was no guest at dinner that night at the castle. 
 
30 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 Lord Dane, his wife, and Adelaide were seated at the table, 
 when somewhat to their surprise, for they had heard the 
 promise given to Colonel Moncton, Captain Dane entered and 
 took his place. 
 
 " Is it you, Harry ? " cried Lord Dane. " I thought you 
 were dining on board the yacht." 
 
 " I changed my mind afterwards, sir, and sent a message to 
 Moncton. Perhaps I may go down to see him off." 
 
 The words were spoken in short, strange tones. Lord Dane 
 saw that his son was suffering from inward annoyance. 
 
 " You are allowing that affair with Ravensbird to vex you, 
 Harry," he said, looking at him. 
 
 " It has vexed me very much indeed, sir ; more than I care 
 to speak about." 
 
 " Harry, you must take care of that man," said Adelaide, 
 who was this night attired in a blue silk, shot with white, 
 that shone and glimmered in the gaslight. " I hear he 
 meditates some vengeance upon you." 
 
 Harry Dane's only answer was to draw down his lips in 
 contempt for Mr. Ravensbird and his vengeance ; but Lord 
 Dane inquired of Adelaide where she had picked up that 
 piece of news. 
 
 " I happened to meet Mr. Herbert when I was out this 
 afternoon," she said ; and anyone hearing her answer, and 
 seeing the composed expression of face, might have deemed 
 Mr. Herbert some remote elderly connection whom she hardly 
 presumed to speak to, or to know by sight. " He said Ravens- 
 bird passed by him on leaving the castle this morning, vowing 
 he would be revenged ; and he thought Harry had better have 
 such a man for a friend than an enemy." 
 
 A smile of irony, mingled with almost implacable anger, 
 crossed the face of Captain Dane. " Let Ravensbird be left 
 to me," was all he said ; and after that, throughout dinner, 
 he spoke only in monosyllables, and Lord Dane noticed that 
 he sent nearly everything away untouched. 
 
THE FALL FROM THE CLIFF. 31 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE FALL FROM THE CLIFF. 
 
 '•Shall I, or shall I not go?" debated Lady Adelaide, as 
 she stood in weary impatience at one of the windows of the 
 drawing-room, looking out between the muslin curtains at 
 the lovely night. " Herbert said he could not come up to- 
 night, and that's a great shame. Tiresome people! And 
 such a night as it is ! I think I must go," she added, after 
 a pause. I don't know what it is that makes me like this 
 freedom of running out alone, unless it is that they taught 
 me to be self-dependent as a child. How bright the moon- 
 light is as it glistens on the water! I will go for five 
 minutes. I think my lungs are exacting, and require fresh 
 air after the heat of the dining-room." 
 
 She turned and looked at Lady Dane. Yes, there was no 
 impediment there ; her ladyship was fast asleep in her easy- 
 chair. It was, indeed, a most charming night — the sea 
 calm, the air genial, the moon bright as day. The promised 
 breeze of the morning had subsided into one barely sufficient 
 to carry out the fishing craft and Colonel Moncton's yacht. 
 Adelaide Errol quitted the room on tiptoe, put on her gray 
 cloak with its hood, and stole forth through the great 
 gateway. Had any one preached to her of imprudence 
 touching these short moonlight excursions, she would have 
 laughed at them, and said she was as safe from harm out of 
 doors as within. Perhaps she was ; for a cry might have 
 brought forth the whole castle to her rescue. 
 
 Lady Dane slept on — the more soundly, perhaps, because 
 she had been longer than usual to-night in dropping off, to 
 the secret annoyance of her impatient niece. Could she only 
 have discerned the young lady at that very moment, tripping 
 with light steps over the grass! Lady Dane had been 
 greatly put out with the chief event of the day — the quarrel 
 with Eavensbird. Harry had never been her favourite son — 
 but he was her son ; and any grief or annoyance to him found 
 
32 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 its echo tenfold in her breast. Ah! if these careless sons 
 only knew the pain they bring ! 
 
 Suddenly, as it seemed. Lady Dane began to dream. She 
 thought the encounter was being renewed — that Harry had 
 seized hold of Ravensbird and was striking him in the face, 
 causing the man to utter a succession of screams. So vivid 
 was the scene that Lady Dane awoke. 
 
 She awoke to find that the screams were real. She sat 
 up in her chair, bewildered for a moment, wondering what 
 was the matter and where every one was. But the screams 
 were not those of Ravensbird ; they were the shrill screams 
 of a woman, and they came from the greensward. Lady 
 Dane went to the window, threw it open, and looked out. A 
 gray object was flying over the grass towards the castle. Not 
 at first did Lady Dane recognize it, though the hood was 
 flung back from the fair young face, and the elaborately- 
 dressed hair was distinct in the moonlight. Then she saw 
 Bruff, followed by other servants, run across the road, and 
 the young lady fall into their arms. Lady Dane clasped 
 her hands in an impulse of astonishment and fear. It was 
 her niece, Adelaide ! 
 
 She went down as quickly as her age allowed, into 
 the great hall, and met Bruff bringing in Lady Adelaide. 
 Panting, trembling, crying still, unable to support herself, 
 the girl was evidently under the influence of some great 
 terror. Lady Dane's questions were utterly useless, for 
 Adelaide was not in a state to answer them. She fell into a 
 chair in strong hysterics. The wondering servants removed 
 her cloak ; ran for smelling-salts, for water ; Lady Dane 
 chafed her hands, and altogether there was great commotion. 
 In the midst of it the voice of Lord Dane was heard calling 
 for Bruff. The man hastened into the dining-room, and 
 Lord Dane, who still sat at the head of the table, the bell- 
 rope attached to his chair by means of a silken ribbon, 
 angrily inquired what all that unseemly noise meant. . 
 
 " My lord, the cries are from Lady Adelaide. She seems 
 to be taken ill." 
 
 " Seems to be taken ill ! What d'ye mean ? " 
 
 " She was outside, as it appears, my lord. She was 
 
THE FALL FROM THE CLIFF. 
 
 33 
 
 running home from the heights and screaming, when we got 
 out. Something must have frightened her." 
 
 " Lady Adelaide shrieking like that ! Lady Adelaide on 
 the heights at this hour ! " reiterated Lord Dane, in angry 
 disbelief. It is not likely, Bruff." 
 
 " But, my lord, it is so," persisted Bruff. " Those cries 
 you hear now are Lady Adelaide's. She is in the hall, and 
 my lady is with her." 
 
 " Undo this," said Lord Dane. 
 
 He alluded to the silken ribbon attached to his chair. 
 The butler obeyed ; and Lord Dane, touching a spring, 
 propelled the chair gently forward over the carpet. Bruff 
 threw open the folding-doors, and Lord Dane went on to the 
 hall, bringing his chair in front of Adelaide. Hysterics are 
 not so uncontrollable as some people imagine; and the 
 presence of Lord Dane put an end to these. But Lady 
 Adelaide trembled all over, as if in a fit of ague, and her 
 face was white as death. 
 
 " What is all this, Adelaide ? " he inquired. " Have you 
 been frightened ? What is it ? " he added, rather sharply, 
 turning to his wife, for Adelaide suddenly flung her hands 
 up to her face as if refusing an answer. " Bruff says she 
 was out on the heights, and came screaming home again. 
 I don't understand it." 
 
 " I'm sure I don't," returned Lady Dane. " It's true she 
 was on the heights, for I saw and heard her. She must have 
 been frightened in some way." 
 
 " But what brought her on the heights ? " 
 
 " That is just what I want to learn. When I fell asleep 
 after dinner she was in the drawing-room, reading. It 
 seemed to me that barely five minutes had elapsed, when 
 she came back from the heights crying in the way you must 
 have heard. I have asked her ten times what brought her 
 out ; but she does not answer me." 
 
 Lady Dane was cross also. She thought the young lady 
 might answer if she would. Lord Dane, choleric as ever was 
 his second son, and unufced to contradiction, wheeled his chair 
 a foot closer, and laid his hand upon her shoulder. Some of the 
 servants were standing round, but he was unmindful of them. 
 
 Lady Adelaide. 3 
 
34 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " Now, Adelaide, this won't do. I want to know what it 
 is that is the matter with you, and I will know. What 
 brought you out ? " 
 
 " I don't know," she answered, shivering visibly in her 
 strong emotion. 
 
 " But you must know ; you did not walk out in your 
 sleep. Adelaide, understand me — I am asking to know. 
 Did you go out to meet any one ? " he continued, a shrewd 
 suspicion arising in his mind. 
 
 " Oh, no, no ; indeed I did not ; indeed, Lord Dane, I did 
 not," she replied, with what seemed very unnecessary 
 vehemence. 
 
 "I thought it possible you might have gone out in ex- 
 pectation of meeting Harry, or with him. Very foolish of 
 you both if you had, when you can walk out together as 
 much as you choose in the daytime. But Harry went down 
 to the yacht, I think. Your explanation, Adelaide ? " 
 
 " I will tell the truth," she said, with a flood of more silent 
 tears. " I stood at the window after my aunt went to sleep, 
 looking out on the lovely night. I never saw a night more 
 beautiful, and it came into my head that I would run across 
 the heights and back again, and I put on my gray cloak and 
 went out. I meant no harm." 
 
 " And a very wild-goose trick it was ! " interposed Lady 
 Dane. " Young ladies don't run out alone at night in this 
 country, Adelaide, however bright the moon may be." 
 
 Adelaide did not care for the reproof; her aunt might 
 reproach her with being a "wild-goose" for ever if she 
 pleased ; what she did care for, was the penetrating look of 
 my Lord Dane, whose keen eyes were fixed on her face. 
 
 " You have not told us what alarmed you," he quietly said. 
 
 " And I don't know what alarmed me ; I don't, indeed, 
 Uncle. I was so foolish as to think, in a spirit of bravado, 
 that I would run through the chapel ruins, but no sooner 
 was I in them than a horrible fear came over me, and I ran 
 home screaming. I could not have helped screaming had it 
 been to save my life." 
 
 " Poor child ! " spoke Lady Dane in compassion. 
 
 " I can't bear the ruins even in the daytime," she resumed, 
 
THE FALL FROM THE CLIFF. 
 
 35 
 
 with a shudder ; " and at night they seem full of nothing 
 but ghosts. Oh, aunt ! I will never run out alone again." 
 
 Lord Dane felt unconvinced. As to ghosts, he had 
 hitherto believed the young lady to be one who was no more 
 amenable to such fear than he himself was. 
 
 " Adelaide," he gravely said, " did anything else frighten 
 you ? Did any one accost you on the heights ? " 
 
 " Not any one indeed," she answered, earnestly ; " no 
 person whatever saw me or knew I was there. No one ever 
 is on the heights at night." 
 
 " Had a mad bull strayed on to them ? " cried his lordship, 
 in an access of anger. " Nothing less than a raging animal 
 of some sort ought to call up such senseless terror as this." 
 
 " Poor child ! " again whispered Lady Dane in her 
 increasing compassion, fully believing every word her niece 
 had said. " She has told us the truth, I am sure, Geoftry. 
 Don't you remember how frightened I used to be of ghosts 
 myself when I was young ; how I would fly past the death- 
 room with my face hidden, if ever I had to pass it, and how 
 you used to laugh at me ? " 
 
 " There, dry your tears," cried Lord Dane, accepting the 
 position, though there was still a corner of incredulity left 
 in his heart. " You had better come into the dining-room, 
 and take a glass of wine. And don't go running out again 
 at night, lest you meet real ghosts instead of fancied 
 ones." 
 
 Lord Dane touched his chair and went slowly away. 
 Lady Dane followed. Adelaide was rising from her seat, 
 passively obedient — as she would have been at that moment 
 had Lord Dane invited her to a glass of opium instead of 
 wine — when her glance happened to fall on her maid. The 
 French girl's eyes were fixed upon her with so strange a 
 gaze that Lady Adelaide recoiled in a second attack of 
 terror. 
 
 " What is it, Sophie ? " she gasped. 
 
 " Nothing, my lady. I have no fear of those revenants 
 for my part. I did not think your ladyship had." 
 
 But the tone was curiously bold ; almost covertly insolent. 
 And the Lady Adelaide, instead of checking the freedom, 
 
36 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 looked as if she could have fallen at the maid's feet and im- 
 plored her to be silent. 
 
 It was about this same hour, or a short while before it, 
 that Mitchel, the coastguardsman, came winding round the 
 point, on his beat, near Dane Castle ; just as on the previous 
 night when he had been called to from the heights by 
 Richard Ravensbird. 
 
 He came quietly round the point — where the rocks pro- 
 jected so much as scarcely to leave a foot of beach to walk 
 upon — his monotonous steps a shade quicker, it might be, 
 than usual, for this was his last turn ere the tide should 
 come up ; and Mitchel, never a strong man, was always 
 eager for the time of rest. His thoughts reverted to the 
 great event of the day — the dispute between Ravensbird and 
 his master — which had become known all over Danesheld an 
 hour after it had taken place. It is possible that the recol- 
 lection of the colloquy with Ravensbird the previous 
 evening, on that same spot, brought the subject of the 
 quarrel to his mind then. 
 
 Suddenly, before the point was well rounded, a sound of 
 angry voices arose in the still night air. They seemed to 
 come from the heights, in the direction of the chapel-ruins, 
 just where Ravensbird had been the past night ; and Mitchel 
 naturally looked up. He could see nothing — the rocks rose 
 too perpendicularly ; but in another minute two men — as 
 they looked to him in the moonlight — appeared on the very 
 ledge of the heights, engaged in a sharp scuffle. The voices 
 had ceased then : the struggle seemed to be for dear life : 
 and Mitchel, full of horror at the danger, stood still and 
 gazed. 
 
 An instant of suspense — it was not longer — and one of 
 them fell over the cliff, or was thrown over ; immediately 
 following upon which, shrill cries of terror, evidently not 
 in the voice of a man, arose faintly beyond, in the 
 distance. 
 
 Mitchel stood in dismay, his heart leaping into his mouth. 
 As may have been gathered from the short conversation with 
 Ravensbird just alluded to, he was not of a brave nature ; 
 few men of j^ermanently weak constitution are so. Mitchel 
 
THE FALL FROM THE CLIFF. 
 
 37 
 
 managed to keep up and go about his duties, but he was 
 always ailing, and earlier in life he had been subject to 
 epileptic fits. He had really to take heart and courage 
 before he could advance ; the sight of a dead man to Mitchel 
 would have been as bad as that of a ghost to a school-girl, 
 and he had little doubt that the unfortunate victim before 
 him was dead — killed by the fall. In breathless trepidation 
 he at length ran along the beach to the spot, and stooped 
 over the man lying there. 
 
 Dead he appeared to be. The face was upturned in the 
 bright night, the eyes were closed, the mouth was slightly 
 open, and the skin wore a blue and ghastly look in the 
 moonlight. Mitchel recognized the features, and recoiled 
 as he did so ; if anything could have augmented his terror 
 and dismay at the moment, it was that recognition : for they 
 were the features of the Honourable William Henry Dane. 
 
 The first thought that came into the coastguardsman's 
 brain was, that the other man must have been Kavensbird ; 
 the second was to wonder what he should do. He was 
 ignorant of what he ought to do ; or indeed of what he 
 could do. Impulse led him to lift his head and shout, 
 hoping he might be heard on the heights ; but there came no 
 answer. Little chance was there that the assailant would 
 respond ; and no one else was likely to be abroad there at 
 night. 
 
 The faint cries in the distance had soon died away, and 
 Mitchel began half to doubt whether he had really heard 
 them. Mitchel took off his own coat, folded it, and laid it 
 under Captain Dane's head ; he rubbed his hands, he 
 sprinkled water from the sea on his face, and he rubbed his 
 heart. 
 
 But Captain Dane never moved, or gave the faintest sign 
 of life. Not a vessel happened to be within hail at the 
 time, or Mitchel in his desperation would have shouted to 
 that. Again he raised his voice to the heights — a poor 
 voice at the best of times, not as strong as most men's — but 
 the echoes died away into silence, and there was no answer. 
 Suddenly he was seized with terror — partly at finding him- 
 self helplessly alone with the dead, partly at the recollection 
 
38 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 that the tide would soon be up and overwhelm the body, 
 partly at the horror of the situation altogether. 
 
 Mitchel was one of those who become hopelessly incapable 
 on a sudden emergency; he knew no more than a child 
 what was best to be done. The nearest way off the beach 
 was round the point he had just traversed, and up the steps 
 a very little higher, the same steps which poor Captain 
 Dane descended in the morning with his American friend. 
 It would have been Mitchel's proper course to take, for he 
 could soon have obtained assistance at the castle. But, 
 Mitchel argued, if he ran along the beach the opposite way, 
 towards Danesheld, he should meet, almost immediately, the 
 next preventive-man, the boundary-point not being far 
 distant. Two vague ideas were floating hazily in Mitchel's 
 mind, prompting him to the latter course ; the one was, that 
 it would be terribly lonely to go by way of the steps and 
 across the heights with the certainty of never meeting 
 a soul ; the other was, that he could bring back his com- 
 rade, the preventive-man, and between them they might 
 manage to bear Captain Dane's body from the advancing 
 sea. 
 
 Standing in lamentable indecision, his brain confused, 
 Mitchel stooped again over Captain Dane. The face had 
 not been injured in falling. He pushed the hair from the 
 cold brow ; he took up one of the hands intending to feel 
 for the pulse, but in his tremor he let the hand slip, and it 
 fell a dead weight. Mitchel's terror came on again with 
 twofold violence, and hardly knowing what he did, he tore 
 away at his utmost speed, his heart beating wildly against 
 his side. You need not ask which way he went ; in these 
 moments of terror, reason yields to impulse : and Mitchel's 
 face and steps were turned towards Danesheld, his eyes 
 strained for the welcome view of his comrade. 
 
 But he did not meet him. Whether the man had stolen a 
 march upon time (as was most likely), and gone away too 
 early ; or whether (as he afterwards declared) he was perched 
 upon a ledge that was partly sheltered in the rocks, looking 
 at what he called a " suspicious craft " lying off the coast, 
 never was satisfactorily settled. Certain it was, the two 
 
THE FALL FROM THE CLIFF. 
 
 39 
 
 men did not meet, did not see each other, and Mitchel went 
 tearing on all the way to Danesheld, the beating of his heart 
 growing louder, and now and then impeding his progress, 
 in a manner that Mitchel scarcely liked, and did not un- 
 derstand. 
 
 The first place he came to was the coastguard station — a 
 low building close to the beach. Outside, it looked just 
 like a barn ; inside, it consisted of two rooms and a sleeping 
 closet. As Mitchel neared it, he was conscious of a sense 
 of great relief from two causes : that he was within hail of 
 living beings again, and that there would yet be time to 
 rescue the body of Captain Dane. 
 
 The outer door of the station opened into a good-sized 
 room. In this, round a blazing fire, were gathered four 
 men, comfortably gossiping as they sat: the supervisor, 
 whose name was Cotton, two friends who had dropped in, 
 and a preventive-man. This coastguard station, having 
 little to do with its time, possessed the character for 
 keeping up any scandal that might be current in Danesheld. 
 It was some time since a dish had been served up to it 
 equal to the one afforded them that day — the quarrel of 
 Captain Dane with his servant, and his expulsion from the 
 castle. Nothing else had been talked of in Danesheld since 
 the morning, and it formed the topic of conversation now in 
 the station as the men sat round the fire, each of the four 
 offering his own conviction as to the origin, or cause, in 
 contradiction to the rest. Exceedingly astonished were the 
 disputants to find the door open with a burst, and a coatless 
 man bolt in upon them in what seemed to be mortal terror. 
 They recognized Mitchel : his eyes seemed starting from 
 his head, and his face was in a white heat. 
 
 " What on earth's the matter with you ? " wrathfully 
 demanded Mr. Supervisor Cotton, who came to the conclusion 
 that Mitchel had been drinking. 
 
 Mitchel could • not answer. His heart was beating as he 
 never remembered it to have beaten before. He laid both 
 his hands upon it, and staggered against the wall ; his lips 
 were turning white, great drops of water were coming out 
 on his brow. Mr. Cotton began to doubt whether there 
 
40 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 might not be some other cause for these strange appearances 
 than the one he had hastily assumed. 
 
 " Why have you left your beat ? What brings you here 
 in this state ? Where's your coat ? " he reiterated in 
 wondering wrath, finding Mitchel did not speak. 
 
 " He is dead ; he is dead ! " gasped Mitchel at length. 
 " I must have assistance for him. If " 
 
 Mitchel did not go on ; apparently his breath would not 
 let him continue, or perhaps it was his heart. Mr. Cotton 
 and his friend stared. 
 
 "Who is dead? what are you talking of?" cried the 
 supervisor. 
 
 Mitchel opened his lips, but no words came forth, and he 
 suddenly threw up his hands. But for their springing 
 forward and catching him, he had fallen to the ground. 
 
 " What is it ? " cried Mr. Supervisor Cotton. " He looks 
 as if he was in a fit. Lay him down here ; and, Sims, you 
 run for the doctor." 
 
 Mitchel was in a fit. The fright he had experienced on 
 the beach, or the prolonged and violent exertion of running, 
 or perhaps the two combined, had brought on a similar fit 
 to those he had been subject to in early life, 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ravensbird's arrest. 
 
 They were gathered together in the coastguard station, 
 their faces bent over the prostrate man, Mitchel ; the doctor 
 present now, and Mr. Supervisor Cotton himself holding the 
 light. Sims, the preventive-man, despatched in search of 
 the surgeon, had not been able to find him immediately ; he 
 met him at length in the town, walking arm-in-arm with 
 Mr. Apperly, Lord Dane's solicitor ; but some time had 
 then been lost. Sims told of Mitchel's attack, which he 
 
ravensbird's arrest. 
 
 41 
 
 called " queer," and the two gentlemen turned their steps to 
 the station. Mitchel was insensible still, and frothing at 
 the mouth. 
 
 "Just move away, will you, and give elbow room," said 
 the doctor, whose name was Wild, to the spectators. " Do 
 you know what brought this attack on, Mr. Cotton ? I 
 suspect the man must have been unduly excited." 
 
 " He came banging in here in a fine state without his 
 coat," was Mr. Cotton's answer. " I never saw a man so 
 upset : all his breath was gone ; and his speech too. I 
 thought he must have been drinking ! " 
 
 The doctor, a thin active man, with black curly hair, 
 made no observation. He was busying himself with Mitchel. 
 The supervisor resumed : 
 
 "After an effort, Mitchel got out some words about 
 wanting assistance for somebody who was dead ; so far as 
 we could understand them. For my part, Mr. Wild, I think 
 he was moonstruck." 
 
 " I don't, sir," dissented Sims, turning to his superior. " I 
 think he must have had a fright. Mitchel's a quiet, steady 
 man, not given to drink, or anything of that sort, but he's a 
 regular coward." 
 
 The only way of arriving at a solution of the mystery was 
 to wait until Mitchel himself revived to tell it. Mr. Wild 
 remained with the man, and he grew better, but it was 
 nearly an hour before he was able to speak. They placed 
 him in a chair in front of the fire, and gave him something 
 to drink. 
 
 " Now, Mitchel," began the doctor, " let us have it out. 
 What caused this attack of yours ? " 
 
 Mitchel did not answer. He was probably diving into 
 his memory for the various events of the evening. 
 
 " What's the hour ? " he suddenly asked, attempting to 
 spring up to get a view of the clock behind him. 
 
 " Hard upon ten. You'd better sit still, Mitchel." 
 
 But instead of sitting still, Mitchel staggered a few paces 
 forward, and had to sink back again. He was weak yet. 
 
 " Then it's too late ! " he exclaimed in excitement. " The 
 body will have been already washed away ! " 
 
42 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 He told the tale as well as lie was able ; Lis sentences 
 were disjointed still. There had been a scuffle on the brow 
 of the heights between two men, and one of them was flung 
 over, or fell over. It was Captain Dane. 
 
 The name startled them all. Mr. Apperly was still 
 present, and lifted his legal face with a sharp suspicion. 
 
 " You say a man was scuffling with Captain Dane, and 
 eventually pitched him over, Mitchel ? " 4 
 
 " As it seemed to me, sir. That they were quarrelling 
 and struggling is certain ; and Captain Dane would not be 
 likely to fling himself down." 
 
 "I fear, then, his assailant was the man Kavensbird," 
 gravely observed Mr. Apperly. "He was heard to utter 
 threats of revenge against his master to-day." 
 
 " It was him, sir, safe enough ! " cried Mitchel, speaking 
 in accordance with his assumed conviction. "I'd never 
 have thought it of him, though. But what is to be done ? " 
 added the man, in more energetic tones. " The tide is safe 
 to have carried away the body." 
 
 " Are you sure he was dead, Mitchel ? " asked the sur- 
 geon. 
 
 " Stone dead, sir. It was nothing but that which 
 frightened me so." 
 
 What was to be done, indeed ! They might well ask it. 
 Without more delay, they all, with the exception of Mitchel 
 and a man who stayed behind to take care of him, started 
 off to the spot by the land way : the beach, they knew, was 
 then impassable, for the tide was up. 
 
 Gaining the heights by the chapel, they looked down. 
 The tide was nearly at its full height, and the beach covered 
 with it. Not a trace, above or below, could be seen of the 
 calamity, as described by Mitchel, and there was every 
 chance that the body had been carried out to sea. Satisfy- 
 ing their curiosity to the full, by gazing down at the water, 
 bright in the moon's rays, they took counsel as to what 
 should be the next step. Someone must break the news 
 to Lord Dane ; and the two professional gentlemen, as the 
 most fitting, undertook the task. 
 
 " I don't like to do it," abruptly exclaimed the doctor, as 
 
ravensbird's arrest. 
 
 43 
 
 tliey walked across the greensward, the castle and its lights 
 in front of them. " Harry Dane was not the favourite son ; 
 but still — a son is a son." 
 
 " I'm sure I don't," returned Mr. Apperly. " It strikes 
 me, do you know, that you and I are not the proper people 
 to do this. I think it should fall on Herbert Dane." 
 
 Not a more welcome suggestion could he have made. 
 The surgeon gladly caught at it, and they left the castle for 
 the present, and bent their steps to Herbert Dane's resi- 
 dence. The modest household of that gentleman and his 
 sister consisted of only two servants, a maid and a man. 
 The latter came to the door and said his master was at 
 home. 
 
 Mr. Herbert Dane was making himself comfortable. He 
 sat on a sofa before the fire, a cigar in his mouth, and some 
 glasses at his elbow. His back was towards them as they 
 went in. 
 
 " This is your promised nine o'clock, Harry ! " he cried 
 out. " A pretty long time to keep a fellow waiting ! I 
 suppose you have been dancing attendance on that yacht." 
 
 " Mr. Herbert " 
 
 Herbert Dane turned short round at the surgeon's voice, and 
 rose. " Oh, I beg your pardon ! " he said, with a half laugh. 
 " I thought it was Captain Dane : I am expecting him." 
 
 They did not take the offered chairs. They waited until 
 the servant had closed the door, and then looked gravely at 
 Herbert, in the vain hope that their countenances might in 
 a degree prepare him for the news. It was again the 
 surgeon who spoke. 
 
 " Mr. Herbert, we have a most unpleasant task to perform, 
 and we have come to you to help us out with it. We were 
 on our way to the castle, bearing evil tidings to Lord Dane. 
 An accident has happened to his son." 
 
 But Herbert Dane was more intent on hosj)itality than on 
 taking in the meaning of the words, and was placing spirits 
 on the table, and ringing the bell for more glasses. Only 
 one gas-burner was alight, and that dimly ; but the fire was 
 blazing. He pushed the sofa aside, and extended his hand 
 to turn the gas on, instead of which he turned it out. 
 
44 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " A plague on my clumsiness ! I never do know which 
 way these screws ought to go. Gentlemen " 
 
 " Mr. Herbert, you did not hear me, I think," interposed 
 the surgeon. " Never mind the gas. A dreadful accident 
 has happened to Captain Dane, and we want you to break 
 the tidings to his father." 
 
 " To Captain Dane ! What is it ? " 
 
 " He has fallen, or been thrown, over the cliff by the 
 chapel. There is little doubt it has killed him." 
 
 Herbert Dane had twisted up some paper, and was putting 
 it between the bars of the grate, intending to relight the 
 gas. He dropped it from his hand, and turned his dismayed 
 face, on which the firelight played, towards his visitors. 
 They noticed how pale it was becoming. 
 
 "Fallen over the cliff?" he uttered. "When? How? 
 How did it happen ? I have been expecting him here since 
 nine o'clock." 
 
 They told him all they knew, and asked him to be the 
 one to break the news to Lord Dane. Herbert Dane looked 
 blank at the request. He would go a hundred miles rather 
 than do it, he said presently. He had not been in favour 
 latterly at the castle, and his uncle might receive it worse 
 from him than from any one else. He would go with them 
 and help, but he would not be the chief spokesman. It 
 seemed to him a very horrible addition that the body should 
 have been washed away : Harry might not have been dead. 
 " The preventive-man was certainly a fool," he continued 
 with emphasis. " He ought to have gone up the steps and 
 got assistance at the castle. Which of them was it ? " 
 
 " Mitchel : I said so," replied Mr. Wild. " And a thousand 
 pities it should have been Mitchel : any of the other men 
 would not have lost their senses over it. To think he 
 should have fallen into a fit, and been unable to speak until 
 it was too late ! " continued the surgeon, resentfully. 
 
 Herbert Dane tossed his hair from his brow. He was 
 leaning his forehead on his hand, his elbow on the mantel- 
 piece. " Does Mitchel say that he could not distinguish 
 who the other one was, struggling with Harry — with Captain 
 Dane ? " he asked, 
 
RAVENSBIRD*S ARHEST. 
 
 45 
 
 " Fast enough," cried out the lawyer, before his friend 
 could speak. " Who should it be but the discharged man, 
 Ravensbird." 
 
 " Ah ! " ejaculated Herbert Dane, a glow flashing into his 
 pale countenance. "I told Harry, when I met him this 
 afternoon, he must take care of that man. Not but that 
 my warning was spoken as much in jest as in earnest," he 
 added, in a dreamy tone. 
 
 "We are wasting time, Mr. Herbert," said the surgeon. 
 " Unless we see Lord Dane at once, he may hear of it in 
 some abrupt manner : and that would not be desirable. 
 Besides, it is already late." 
 
 " But won't you take something first ? " 
 
 They declined ; and Herbert Dane followed them from 
 the room, taking his hat from the little hall as he passed 
 through it. The servant was opening the door. 
 
 " Am I to ask Captain Dane to wait, sir, when he comes ? " 
 inquired the man. 
 
 " Captain Dane ? " mechanically repeated Herbert, looking 
 at the servant as if half bewildered. " No." 
 
 The first person they saw at the castle was Bruff. Lord 
 Dane was in the dining-room : his usual sitting-room at all 
 times of late. Lady Dane was with him. Bruff thought 
 they were expecting Captain Dane home every minute. The 
 gentlemen could go in. 
 
 The two went in, ushered through the hall by Bruff. 
 Herbert Dane walked half-way across it, and then turned 
 round. When Bruff came back, he found him standing 
 under the large gateway. 
 
 " I declare I don't like to face them, Bruff," he exclaimed. 
 " Telling ill news used to make me shiver as a boy. It 
 will be an awful shock, especially for Lady Dane." 
 
 " What has happened, Mr. Herbert ? They whispered 
 something about tfye captain as they went in. He was quite 
 well when he went out from dinner." 
 
 " I really cannot tell you what has happened ; I don't 
 understand it," was the reply of Herbert Dane. " They 
 came to me just now with a tale that he had fallen over the 
 cliff, here, near the ruins, and asked me to come up and 
 
4G 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 help tliem to break it to Lord Dane. Let us go on the 
 heights, Bruff, and see if we can discover anything ! " 
 
 Bruff took his hat and went after Mr. Herbert, feeling 
 stunned and bewildered, but incredulous on the whole. 
 Herbert told him what he had heard: and Bruff audibly 
 wondered whether Mitchel was a " born fool." 
 
 Meanwhile, the two gentlemen were imparting the tidings 
 to Lord and Lady Dane. Things are often mercifully 
 softened. It was the case here. Mr. Apperly happened 
 to say that the supervisor, Cotton, entirely disbelieved the 
 story, judging it to be a chimera of Mitchel' s brain induced 
 by the man's approaching illness : and if Lord and Lady 
 Dane did not entirely rest in this hope, they at least found 
 considerable comfort in it. Mr. Wild allowed that Mitchel's 
 brain, if excited by the account of Captain Dane's quarrel 
 with Kavensbird, might have actually imagined the scene of 
 the scuffle between them on the heights ; and the tale he 
 told be altogether a delusion. 
 
 But Lord Dane did not sit still under the hope and do 
 nothing. He had not the use of his legs himself, but he 
 speedily set in motion those who had. Some of the servants 
 were sent flying for the man, Mitchel, some for the police, 
 some across the heights, and some to the bay to see whether 
 the Pearl was gone out. Herbert Dane came back with 
 Bruff, and agreed with his uncle that the tale was in- 
 credible. 
 
 " I have been waiting at home for him all the evening," 
 Herbert said. " I met Harry this afternoon, and he said 
 he'd come in at nine o'clock, after the yacht was off, and 
 smoke a cigar with me. He had promised to do so last 
 week, and never came." 
 
 " It is not possible that Bavensbird should dare to attack 
 him 1 " exclaimed Lord Dane, his haughty face flushing 
 crimson. 
 
 " My lord," spoke up Bruff, " a note was left here for the 
 captain about an hour ago. Mills, the sailmaker, brought it 
 up. He has been at work on board the yacht, and said 
 the American gentleman gave it to him just as they were 
 putting off." 
 
ravensbird's arrest. 
 
 47 
 
 " Then tlic yaclit lias gone ! " cried Lord Dane. " Bring 
 me that note, Bruff." 
 
 Lord Dane opened it at once ; he was a man given to act 
 promptly and decisively, and he considered the circum- 
 stances justified the measure. The note was addressed to 
 the Honourable William Dane, and contained but a few 
 words : 
 
 On board the Pearl : half-past eight o'clocJc. 
 " Dear William, 
 
 " What has become of you ? I received your message, 
 declining dinner, but have been expecting you since. It is 
 not kind ; though I conclude that something has unex- 
 pectedly detained you. We are off in five minutes. I shall 
 look out for you to the last. 
 
 " Ever yours, 
 
 " C. MONCTON." 
 
 " Why, when Harry left the dinner-table he said he was 
 then going to the yacht," cried Lord Dane, giving the note 
 to Mr. Apperly. 
 
 " What time was that, my lord ? " 
 
 "What time was it, Bruff?" 
 
 " I think it must have been half-past eight, my lord," 
 replied the butler ; " or close upon it." 
 
 " I daresay it was. He lingered on in a brown study at 
 the table, drinking nothing. But he told me he did not 
 think the yacht would go out before nine or half-past." 
 
 The serjeant of police answered to his summons, and came 
 up to the castle ; not so Mitchel, the preventive-man, who 
 was too ill to do so. Mills, the sailmaker, came, sent for by 
 Lord Dane ; and he proved that Captain Dane did not go 
 down to the yacht. Colonel Moncton, he said, was looking 
 for him till the last moment, but the captain did not come. 
 At the instant of their putting off, the colonel gave him the 
 note, and asked him to bring it up to the castle. 
 
 At length the bustle of inquiry was over and the castle 
 cleared, the police having received Lord Dane's orders to 
 apprehend Ravensbird. The old Lord and Lady Dane sat 
 up the livelong nighty losing hope with every passing 
 
48 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 moment. The tide receded from the strip of beach, leaving 
 no signs that anything, dead or alive, had been there, leaving 
 not even Mitchel's coat. And at length the morning light 
 dawned, and the morning sun shone out to gladden the 
 world, but no trace had been found of Harry Dane. 
 
 Just before entering Danesheld, standing in an obscure 
 spot, halfway between the first house in the village and the 
 sea, was a small inn, called the Sailor's Eest. It was kept 
 by a man of the name of Hawthorne, who had once been 
 gamekeeper to Lord Dane. A well-conducted inn, rather 
 better than a common public-house, affording good bed and 
 board to travellers, and having also its share of bar and 
 parlour custom. The men-servants from the castle were 
 fond of dropping in, to drink their glass of ale with the 
 landlord ; and it was at this house that Eavensbird had 
 taken up his sojourn, when turned out of doors by his 
 master. 
 
 On the morning after the calamity, which was not yet 
 generally known, the landlord was in the bar alone ; or, at 
 any rate, he thought himself alone. He was busy polishing 
 his taps and setting things straight, according to his custom 
 before breakfast, when one of the preventive-men, on his 
 way to the beach, came up the passage and entered. 
 
 " Half a gill of rum, landlord ; the morning air's chilly 
 like." 
 
 " We shall have a fine day again," observed the landlord, 
 as he handed what was asked for. 
 
 " It's to be hoped wo shall, for the work that's got to be 
 done in it," replied the customer. " They are going to drag 
 in shore for the body ; and I suppose all Danesheld will 
 turn out to see." 
 
 " Drag for what body ? Has any one been lost ? " 
 
 The man was in the act of putting the glass to his lips. 
 He put it down again, and gazed at the landlord. 
 
 "Do you mean to say that you have not heard of the 
 misfortune that has overtook the castle? Captain Dane's 
 murdered." 
 
 " Captain Dane murdered ? " echoed the landlord, doubting 
 whether his ears played him false. 
 
ravensbird's arrest. 
 
 49 
 
 " He was assaulted on the heights last night, just opposite 
 the castle, and flung over the cliff," explained the man, 
 " Mitchel was on his beat underneath and saw it all. When 
 he came to examine the fallen man, he found it to be 
 Captain Dane ; and he was stone dead." 
 
 Mr. Hawthorne fell back amongst his taps, feeling not 
 far from " stone dead " himself. 
 
 " And Mitchel came running up to the guardhouse at the 
 pace of a steam-engine, which set his heart beating, and 
 threw him right into a fit, so that he never spoke for an 
 hour or more. The consequence was not a soul knew 
 of it in time, and the tide came up and washed the body- 
 away. Sickly fellows like Mitchel are never good for much." 
 
 " And who was it attacked him ? — who threw him over ? " 
 asked the landlord, when he could recover his speech. 
 
 "Nobody need ask that twice. It was his servant, 
 Eavensbird." 
 
 Once more the landlord backed, and a brass ladle, which 
 he happened to have in his hand, fell to the ground. 
 
 " Eavensbird ! — Eavensbird, do you say ? Why he has 
 been staying here since yesterday ! I couldn't have slept 
 in the house with him last night if I had known this." 
 
 " 'Twas Eavensbird done it, and nobody else. He wasn't 
 long in carrying out his threats of revenge. The most 
 curious part is, how he managed to entrap Captain Dane on 
 to the heights ; to their very edge. Some say " 
 
 At this moment an interruption occurred which nearly 
 made the speaker (as he phrased it afterwards) jump out of 
 his skin. Over the high wooden screen which ran partially 
 across the bar, facing the fireplace, appeared the head of 
 Mr. Eavensbird, who had been quietly seated there all the 
 time. 
 
 "Your name's Dubber, I believe," he said, glaring 
 indignation at the preventive-man. 
 
 Dubber was taken back. He stood in silence, too much 
 confused to make any reply. 
 
 " How dare you stand there and traduce me ? " demanded 
 Eavensbird. " By what authority do you accuse me of the 
 crime of murder ? " 
 
 Lady Adelaide. 4 
 
50 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " Well now, Mr. Eavensbird, if it is not true, and you are 
 innocent, I'm sure I beg your pardon," spoke the man, 
 gathering bis wits together, and making the best of the 
 situation. " As to telling Hawthorne — if I had not told him, 
 the next comer would ; the wonder is, he didn't hear it last 
 night. If you were not a party concerned, you'd be the first 
 yourself to talk of it. I didn't speak in ill-nature." 
 
 "Did I understand you to say that Mitchel affirms I 
 pitched Captain Dane over the cliff? — that he saw me do 
 it?" 
 
 " It's what Mitchel says." 
 " Did he say so to you ? " 
 
 " Not to me ; I haven't seen him since. Sims told me 
 about it, and he was in the guardhouse when Mitchel 
 got in." 
 
 "Is it true that Captain Dane is dead?" continued 
 Eavensbird, after a pause. 
 
 " That's true enough ; and the tide carried his body away. 
 They are getting ready the drags now. Lord Dane has had 
 the police up at the castle half the night, they say. But I 
 must be off, unless I want to get reported ; my time's up." 
 
 He turned with the last sentence and went out hastily, 
 glad to be away from the sallow face and stern eye of 
 Eavensbird. Mr. Eavensbird descended from the seat of 
 the screen on which he had been standing, and came round 
 to the landlord. 
 
 " What do you know of this business, Hawthorne ? " 
 
 " If you were sitting inside the screen, Mr. Eavensbird, 
 you must know as much as I do," answered the man, feeling 
 by no means secure that Eavensbird was not going to 
 attack him. " I never heard a word of it till Dubber came 
 in. You did startle me, putting your head up like that. 
 I thought you were in bed." 
 
 " I have been down this half-hour. What do you think 
 of this tale ? " 
 
 "I don't know what to think of it. Who would harm 
 Captain Dane ? He had no enemies, and was a friend to 
 us all. I'm sure the quarrel with you was quite unlike 
 
 him." 
 
ravensbird's arrest. 
 
 51 
 
 " Unlike his general nature He was put out — and so 
 was I. Where's my hat ? Upstairs, I think. I shall go 
 and ascertain the truth of this business." 
 
 He left the bar to go to his chamber, and almost at the 
 same moment the sergeant of police entered. He gave a 
 quiet glance round, and then nodded to the landlord. 
 
 " Good-morning, Hawthorne. You have got Master 
 Eavensbird lodging here, I believe. Is he up yet ? " 
 
 " He was here in the bar not an instant ago, Mr. Bent. 
 He's gone to his room now to get his hat. He wants to go 
 out and learn particulars of this sad affair about Captain 
 Dane. Dubber has been in, telling about it. I'm sure you 
 might have knocked me down with the click of an empty 
 gun." 
 
 The sergeant withdrew to the passage, and there he 
 propped himself against the wall. The position commanded 
 a view of the back door of the house as well as the front. 
 
 " A fine morning, Mr. Eavensbird," cried he, as the latter 
 appeared. 
 
 " Very ; I am going out to enjoy it." 
 
 " An instant first. I want to say a few words to you." 
 
 " Not now," returned Eavensbird, impatience in his tone. 
 
 " No time like the present," was the reply of the sergeant, 
 as he laid his hand on the man's shoulder. " Don't be 
 restive. I must detain you." 
 
 Eavensbird turned his sallow face on the officer, his eyes 
 flashing with anger. "By what right? What do you 
 mean ? " 
 
 " Now, Eavensbird, don't be unreasonable. Take things 
 quietly. You are my prisoner, and all the resistance you 
 can make will not ayail you." 
 
 Eavensbird's answer to this was resistance. A slight 
 scuffle, and he suddenly found a pair of handcuffs on his 
 wrists. 
 
 " The most senseless thing a man can do is to attempt to 
 resist an officer in the execution of his duty," observed the 
 sergeant in a tone of pleasant argument, as though he were 
 discussing the point with a knot of friends. " Lord Dane 
 gave me orders last night to arrest you: I might have 
 
52 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 knocked the house up and taken you then ; but I thought 
 I'd do the thing politely and wait till morning. I put a 
 man or two on outside, back and front, to make sure." 
 
 " How dare Lord Dane order me into custody ? He has 
 not the right to do it. He is not a magistrate." 
 
 The sergeant broke into a little amused laugh. "A 
 stipendary magistrate, no ; but he is lord-lieutenant of the 
 county. Don't you question Lord Dane's rights, my good 
 man." 
 
 Kavensbird was cooling down. " Understand me," he 
 began ; — " your name's Bent, I think ? " he broke off to say. 
 " Bent, it is." 
 
 " Understand me, Mr. Bent : I do not wish to resist any 
 lawful authority, and if I were free as air this moment, I 
 should stay and face the charge out. What I am annoyed 
 at is this : I was on the point of going out to inquire into 
 the attack on Captain Dane, and to pick up what I could ; 
 for, by fair means or foul, I intend to sift it out. I have a 
 motive for so doing that you know nothing about ; and I 
 would rather have given a ten-pound note from my pocket 
 than been stopped in it." 
 
 The sergeant coughed incredulously. There was not a 
 shadow of doubt in his opinion, and he did not suppose 
 there could be in any one else's, that Captain Dane's assailant 
 stood before him. 
 
 " I'm sorry I can't spare you. It's all very plausible, 
 Kavensbird, this show of wanting to learn particulars, but 
 you have an old hand to deal with." • 
 
 Eavensbird looked steadily at the sergeant, never quailing. 
 " You may be an old hand ; experience has made you so ; 
 but you have taken the wrong man in taking me. I did not 
 know that any accident, any ill, had happened to Captain 
 Dane, until Dubber just now told it ; I did not know but 
 that he was alive and well. And that I swear." 
 
 " Now don't take and swear any nonsense, or it may be 
 used against you," was the sharp retort. " It's not my way 
 to make bad worse for those who come into my custody ; 
 but when they will get slipping out all sorts of admissions 
 in their folly, why I'm obliged to take note of it. The best 
 
TAKING THE OATH. 
 
 53 
 
 tiling you can do is to sew your mouth up until you 
 are before my Lord Dane. And that's friendly advice, 
 mind." 
 
 Possibly Ravensbird felt it to be so. And he relapsed 
 into silence. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 TAKING THE OATH. 
 
 Amidst the surmises, doubts, and suspicions, that were 
 troubling the breast of my Lord Dane, equally with that of 
 every inmate of the castle, two convictions stood out clearly 
 from the general obscurity : the one was, the certain guilt of 
 Richard Ravensbird; the other, that the extraordinary 
 behaviour of Lady Adelaide Errol on the previous night 
 must have had reference to the calamity. 
 
 Lady Adelaide denied it. Lord Dane called for her the 
 first thing in the morning, and put the question to her in 
 his straightforward manner : " Did she witness anything of 
 the struggle, and was it that which had terrified her ? " 
 With many tears and protestations, and apparently in much 
 terror still, for her frame trembled and her face was white, 
 she totally denied it. But it must be confessed that Lord 
 Dane retained his suspicions. 
 
 About ten o'clock, Ravensbird was marshalled to the 
 castle. Lord Dane sat in his state chair in the great hall. 
 Mr. Apperly was with him: and the lawyer — though not 
 there professionally, for this was no official investigation, 
 simply what Lord Dane called a private inquiry — had pen 
 and ink before him, intending to take down, for his own 
 satisfaction, any point that struck him. Vigorous in mind, 
 if incapable in body, was Lord Dane. He had not yet seen 
 Mitchel, but the man was expected up. Squire Lester was 
 near Lord Dane, not in his magisterial capacity, but as a 
 friend. Supervisor Cotton was also there. All doubt as to 
 
54 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 the fate of Captain Dane was over ; the morning tide had 
 washed his hat ashore, and a fishing boat picked up Mitchel's 
 coat at sea. A feeling was gaining ground that the fall was 
 not the result of accident, or a blow given in the heat of 
 dispute, but was deliberate murder. Never was the guilt of 
 a prisoner more positively assumed than that of Eavensbird, 
 not only by Lord Dane and his family, but by the police. 
 The sergeant had made his own inquiries amongst the 
 household, and his opinion was conclusive. No little sen- 
 sation was created when Eavensbird appeared, not in handcuffs 
 — those had been removed — but guarded officially by the 
 sergeant. *■ 
 
 " You bad, wicked man ! " burst forth Lord Dane, in 
 anguish, forgetting the dignity of his position in the feelings 
 of a father. " Could nothing serve your turn but you must 
 murder my poor son ? " 
 
 " I did not murder him, my lord," respectfully answered 
 Eavensbird. 
 
 " We don't want useless quibbling here," interrupted 
 Lawyer Apperly, before Lord Dane could speak. " If you 
 did not deliberately kill him with a knife, or a club, or a 
 pistol, or any weapon of that sort, you attacked him and 
 threw him over the cliff. I don't know what else you can 
 call it but murder." 
 
 " I never was on the heights at all last night. I never 
 saw Captain Dane after he turned me out of doors in the 
 morning," quietly responded Eavensbird. " Who is it that 
 accuses me ? " 
 
 " Now, my good man, this absurd equivocation will not 
 avail you, and you only waste breath, and my lord's time in 
 using it," impetuously cried Mr. Apperly, who was of an 
 excitable temperament, and given to putting himself into a 
 heat. " You have brought enough sorrow upon his lordship, 
 without seeking to prolong this trying scene." 
 
 " I asked you, Mr. Apperly, who was my accuser, and I 
 have a right to be answered," said the prisoner in rather 
 dogged tones, for he saw that his guilt was taken for granted 
 by all present. 
 
 " Circumstances and your own actions are your accusers, 
 
TAKING THE OATH. 
 
 55 
 
 and Mitchel the coastguardsman is evidence," explained 
 Mr. Apperly. 
 
 " Where is Mitchel ? " feverishly interrupted Lord Dane. 
 " Could he not have been here before this ? " 
 
 Supervisor Cotton had thought he would havo been : he 
 went out of the hall to see if there were any signs of his 
 coming. 
 
 " Does Mitchel say that it was I, my lord, who struggled 
 with Captain Dane — and that ho saw me ? " questioned 
 Eavensbird. 
 
 " Of course he says it," interrupted the lawyer before 
 Lord Dane could answer. " Do you hope he would conceal 
 it, prisoner ? " 
 
 " Then he tells a malicious, gratuitous lie, Mr. Apperly," 
 was the prisoner's rejoinder, as he turned and faced the 
 lawyer. " And he must do it to screen the real offender." 
 
 Lord Dane inclined his head forward and spoke. 
 
 " Eavensbird, as Mr. Apperly says, this line of conduct 
 will only tell against you. Had no person whatever wit- 
 nessed the act, there could have been no reasonable doubt 
 in regard to it ; for who else, but you, was at variance with 
 my son ? Of the nature of the quarrel between you and 
 him yesterday morning I am ignorant, but it is certain you 
 must have provoked him grievously ; and you left the castle 
 uttering threats against him." 
 
 " My lord, so far that is true," replied Eavensbird, calmly 
 and respectfully. " I gave Captain Dane certain informa- 
 tion, by which I thought to do him a service, but he received 
 it in quite an opposite spirit. It was connected with his 
 own affairs ; was no*t pleasant information ; and it aroused 
 his anger towards me. Smarting under the unmerited 
 treatment — for it was unmerited — I grew angry in my turn, 
 and I confess that I answered my master as I ought not to 
 have answered him. This vexed him further, and he said 
 some harsh and bitter things. We were both in a passion ; 
 both excited ; he beyond control ; and he ordered me out of 
 the house on the instant, and kicked me down stairs. I ask 
 you, my lord, whether it was likely I could take it calmly, 
 without a retort ? I had been a good servant to my master ; 
 
56 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 Lad served him faitlif ally for years ; lie liad reposed con- 
 fidence in me ; had grown to treat me almost as a friend ; 
 and that made me feel the insult all the more keenly. I 
 left the castle overflowing with wrath, and for the next two 
 hours all I did was to give vent to it in harsh words — " 
 
 " You were heard to say you would be revenged,'' inter- 
 rupted Lord Dane. 
 
 " Ten times, at least, I said it, my lord, and many heard 
 me ; but by the end of the two hours my anger was spent. 
 Threatening words they had been, but idle as the wind. I 
 never seriously entertained the thought of taking vengeance 
 on my master. I liked him too well. I had only spoken 
 in the heat of passion ; and before the day was over I 
 actually began in my own mind to find excuses for him." 
 
 " You forget that your struggle with him was witnessed 
 by the preventive-man," spoke Lord Dane, who had listened 
 impassively. 
 
 "It never was, my lord, for no struggle with me took 
 place. "What Mitchel's motive for accusing me can be, I 
 cannot tell : either his eyesight must have deceived him, or 
 he is screening the real offender at my cost. But I don't 
 fear : the truth is sure to come to light." 
 
 " The truth has come to light already," sarcastically 
 interrupted Mr. Apperly. " But all this is waste of time. 
 My lord, can we ask no questions of any one else w T hilst we 
 are waiting for Mitchel ? Sergeant Bent here craves per- 
 mission to make some inquiry of Lady Adelaide Errol. He 
 has heard that she was a witnesss to the struggle." 
 
 " She says she was not," replied Lord Dane, while 
 Mr. Lester lifted his head in surprise. 
 
 "How was it possible that Lady Adelaide could have 
 witnessed it ? " asked Mr. Lester. 
 
 Lord Dane explained. Tempted by the beauty of the 
 night, Lady Adelaide had foolishly run across the heights. 
 She came back at once, crying out, evidently frightened. 
 He himself thought she must have witnessed something of 
 it, but she denied it. 
 
 " Pardon me, my lord, if I put in my opinion," said the 
 sergeant : " her ladyship is but a young and timid girl, and 
 
TAKING THE OATH. 
 
 57 
 
 would doubtless shrink from acknowledging she liad been a 
 witness to anything so dreadful. From what I have heard 
 your servants say, the French maid especially, I feel sure 
 she did see something of it. If you will allow her to come 
 in, I will put a question or two to her." 
 
 " Have her in if you like," said Lord Dane, adopting the 
 view taken by the officer, and thinking that if she did know 
 anything she should be made to speak. 
 
 It was Mr. Lester who went for her. And it is probable 
 that Lady Adelaide did not dare to disobey the summons, 
 for she came in leaning on his arm. As she stood near 
 Lord Dane, in her white morning dress with its blue ribbons, 
 she. seemed a very vision of loveliness. The sunlight played 
 on her fair hair, and her colour went and came fitfully. 
 Mr. Lester had placed a chair, but she did not accept it ; 
 she seemed only eager to get away again, and stood before 
 the table, both her hands resting on it. 
 
 " Your ladyship witnessed the struggle last night on the 
 heights," began the sharp police-sergeant, speaking very 
 blandly, but in a perfectly assured tone. " Will you kindly 
 tell me how much of it you saw ? " 
 
 The confident tone deceived her. She assumed something 
 or other had come out to betray her, and that further denial 
 would be useless. Glancing round the room in terror not 
 to be mistaken, the expression of her eyes not unlike that 
 of a stag at bay, she caught the penetrating gaze of Sophie 
 Deffloe. Why had she come in ? A faint cry escaped Lady 
 Adelaide's lips. 
 
 a Had your ladyship any motive in going on to the 
 heights last night?" proceeded the officer, who had no 
 suspicion that it was not quite an exceptional occurrence. 
 " You could not, I presume, have known that any quarrel 
 was about to take place there ? " 
 
 " Oh no, no," she vehemently answered, bursting into tears. 
 
 " The affray took you by surprise, then ? as we have been 
 assuming. Will your ladyship relate what you saw ? " 
 
 Her ladyship glanced round the room, the expression of 
 her face not to be mistaken. She sought for sympathy, and 
 she sought for escape ; she gazed pitifully up to Lord Dane's 
 
58 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 eyes, into Mr. Lester's, and then she turned and caught the 
 stern ones of her maid. 
 
 " Why does Sophie stand there ? " 
 
 The appeal was made to Lord Dane. He had seen the 
 girl, and supposed she was there in attendance on her 
 mistress. The police-officer thought Lady Adelaide was 
 trifling with him. 
 
 " It may be better that your ladyship should declare now 
 what you saw and know, or you may be called upon to do it 
 more publicly." 
 
 " Speak out, Adelaide," said Lord Dane, sternly, feeling 
 there was more behind than she had confessed to, and angry 
 at her previous denial. " If you don't, I'll have you ex- 
 amined upon oath. You told me you ran inside the ruins 
 and began thinking of ghosts, and that the thought frightened 
 you." 
 
 " Oh no, no, uncle, not upon oath ! " she broke forth, the 
 one word seeming to drown all others. " I will tell you the 
 whole truth at once ; I will, indeed," she added, turning 
 from the keen gaze of the sergeant. " It is true I did begin 
 to think of ghosts, as I ran through the ruins, and I was 
 turning back in my fear, when I heard voices outside, near 
 the edge of the cliff. I felt glad of it, because it took from 
 the loneliness of the place, and I went to the opening and 
 peeped out. Two men were on the very edge of the cliff — 
 struggling, fighting ; and in another moment one of them 
 disappeared — had fallen over. It almost frightened me to 
 death. I flew back through the ruins, across the grass to 
 the castle ; and I believe I screamed, though I don't think I 
 was conscious of it at the time. Bruff came out and met 
 me ; and that's all I know or can tell you." 
 
 " Why did you not state this at the time ? " cried Lord 
 Dane, his brow darkening. 
 
 " I was too frightened," she murmured. " Besides, I 
 thought my aunt would be angry enough with me for having 
 run out, without confessing what I had seen." 
 
 " Had you spoken then it might have saved Harry's life," 
 said Lord Dane, in low tones of pain. " Did you recognise 
 him?" 
 
TAKING THE OATH. 59 
 
 " Oil no, uncle," she wailed. " How can you ask it ? " 
 " Did you recognise the other man ? " asked the officer. 
 " I did not recognise cither." 
 
 " Not at all ? Not in the least — in any sign ? Surely 
 your ladyship could see whether he was a tall man or a 
 short one ? " 
 
 Never had Lady Adelaide betrayed greater terror than 
 she was betraying now. Her lips were white, her hand 
 trembled. Twice she essayed to speak before words came. 
 
 " I don't know what either looked like ; I don't know 
 whether they were tall or short. It all passed in a moment." 
 
 "Did no idea, ever so faint, convey to your ladyship's 
 mind a suspicion of who either of them might be ? " came 
 the persistent question. 
 
 " No ; unless I thought that they were robbers attacking 
 one another." 
 
 " Nor the voices either, my lady ? Did you not recognise 
 them?" 
 
 " I did not hear the voices, except in that first moment 
 when I was inside the ruins," she answered, shivering. 
 " They were not speaking at the last, in their struggle ; or, 
 if they were, I did not hear them." 
 
 " Then you positively recognised neither Captain Dane 
 nor his assailant ? " 
 
 " Why can you not believe me ? " she retorted, in a tone 
 of anger, of wild pain. " Was not Captain Dane my 
 cousin ? Had I recognised either him or the other, should 
 I not be ready to avow it ? Let me go back," she added 
 imploringly to Lord Dane. " If I remain here for ever I 
 cannot tell you more." 
 
 " An instant yet, my lady," persisted the sergeant. " Did 
 the other — the one who did not go over the cliff — attempt 
 to follow you when you ran away ? " 
 
 " Not that I know of. I did not look round to see." 
 
 "I do hope and trust your ladyship has told all," was the 
 comment of the police-sergeant, as she moved towards the 
 door, waiting for no further permission. 
 
 Mr. Lester advanced, and led her from the hall, Sophie 
 Deffloe slowly following. " How cruel they are ! " she said, 
 
60 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 the tears running down her cheeks. " As if I should not 
 be too glad to tell anything that I knew. I wonder you 
 allowed that man to pursue me with his questions ! " 
 
 " In the presence of Lord Dane, on an occasion such as 
 this, I am no one," whispered Mr. Lester, his tone betraying 
 the warmest, tenderest sympathy. "I felt for you more 
 than I can express. But, Lady Adelaide, don't run out 
 at night alone again." 
 
 " Never, never ! " was her vehement answer. " This has 
 been a life's lesson to me. But I thought not of harm." 
 
 " Harm ! — no," murmured Mr. Lester, as he bowed over 
 her hand at the drawing - room door and resigned her, 
 Sophie Deffloe having halted at a distance to watch her in. 
 
 " What are you staring at, Sophie ? " inquired Mr. Lester, 
 as he passed the girl on his return to the hall. 
 
 " That regards me," she replied, translating her thoughts 
 more literally than she generally did. 
 
 Lord Dane grew impatient in his chair of state, waiting 
 for the appearance of the preventive-man. There seemed 
 to be some unusual delay. The most unconcerned indivi- 
 dual present appeared to be Richard Ravensbird, and his 
 cool, independent bearing rather irritated Lord Dane. That 
 there was not a loop-hole for his possible innocence, all 
 Danesheld would have testified to. 
 
 A murmur, and Mitchel came in at last, under the wing 
 of Mr. Cotton. The man looked pale and ill, and Lord 
 Dane ordered him a chair .whilst he spoke to what he had 
 seen and heard. He described hearing the voices in dispute, 
 seeing the struggle on the edge of the heights, and the fall 
 of one, whom he found to be Captain Dane. 
 
 " Thrown over by Ravensbird," cried excitable Lawyer 
 Apperly. 
 
 " Yes," assented Mitchel. 
 
 " Were there no signs of life whatever in my son ? " in- 
 quired Lord Dane, suppressing, as he best could, all show 
 of feeling. 
 
 " None, my lord : he was dead beyond mistake. I wish 
 I could have carried him away in my arms, my lord, instead 
 of leaving him there to be washed away by the tide ! " 
 
TAKING THE OATH. 
 
 CI 
 
 fervently added the man, in an accession of regret and 
 remorse. " But it was beyond my strength. If I had not 
 fallen into that fit, thcre'd have been time to get to him." 
 
 " You could not help it, Mitchel," replied Lord Dane, in 
 sad, kind tones. " Did you recognise it to be my son on 
 the heights, before he fell ? " 
 
 " No, my lord," replied Mitchel, shaking his head. " The 
 moon was bright, but moonlight isn't daylight, and I 
 couldn't get a clear view above, from the place where I 
 stood. The scuffle did not seem to last a moment, either, 
 before he was over. It was only when I got to him, trying 
 to lift him up, that I saw it was Captain Dane." 
 
 An interruption came from Kavensbird. He had stood 
 with his stern black eyes fixed on Mitchel ever since the 
 man's entrance ; they seemed to devour every turn of his 
 countenance, every word that fell from his lips. 
 
 " My lord," said he, turning to Lord Dane, " if I were 
 before a regular court, undergoing a formal examination, I 
 should be allowed an advocate ; the worst criminal is not 
 denied as much as that ; but here I have none to help me ; 
 I stand alone. I should like to ask this man a question, 
 my lord." 
 
 " Ask it," said Lord Dane. 
 
 Kavensbird turned and faced Mitchel. " You have just 
 said you could not recognise Captain Dane on the heights, 
 not getting a clear view of him. If you could not recognise 
 him, how could you recognise me ? " 
 
 " I did not recognise you," replied Mitchel." 
 
 A pause. Eichard Kavensbird spoke out eagerly — pas- 
 sionately : 
 
 " Then why did you say you did ? " 
 
 " I didn't say it." 
 
 " You did. As I am told." 
 
 " No, I did not say it. My eyesight did not carry me so 
 far. It " 
 
 The words were interrupted by the sergeant. "Do you 
 mean to deny, Mitchel, now that you are before my lord, 
 that it was Kavensbird who flung over Captain Dane ? " 
 
 " I couldn't say that it was, sir, or that it was not. It 
 
62 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 might have been him, or it might have been anybody else, 
 for all I saw.' 5 
 
 The sergeant looked at Lord Dane. " I understood your 
 lordship, last night, that Mitchel had recognised Eavensbird 
 as the offender." 
 
 " I understood that he had done so " replied Lord Dane. 
 " You told me so, Apperly ; as did Mr. Wild." 
 
 Mr. Apperly brought his spectacles and his red face down 
 upon Mitchel, and spoke in sharp quick tones : 
 
 " What do you mean by this denial, Mitchel ? You know 
 you said last evening it was Eavensbird ; said it in the 
 guard-house." 
 
 " I said it was sure to have been Eavensbird on account of 
 the quarrel he had with his master in the morning," answered 
 Mitchel. " Everybody else said so too. But I never said it 
 from my own knowledge ; my own eyesight." 
 
 " Then, are we to understand, Mitchel, that you do not 
 know positively who was engaged in the conflict with my 
 son ? — that you do not recognise the person ? " asked Lord 
 Dane. 
 
 " I did not, my lord. I surmised it to be Mr. Eavensbird, 
 of course, because of the quarrel we have heard of ; but I 
 could not see the two who were struggling on the heights ; 
 that is, not to recognise them. I should not have known 
 the one to be Captain Dane but for his falling on to the 
 beach where I was." 
 
 The whole room felt non-plussed. Every one in it, includ- 
 ing the usually keen and correct police-officer, had under- 
 stood that Mitchel was ready to swear, by the evidence of 
 his own eyesight, to Eichard Eavensbird. 
 
 " It does not make a shade of difference," cried Mr. 
 Apperly, over-zealous in the Dane interest and his own 
 conviction. "Eichard Eavensbird was heard to utter 
 threats against his master — " 
 
 " I beg your pardon, Mr. Apperly, it makes every differ- 
 ence," sharply interrupted Eavensbird. "For a credible 
 witness to say he saw me commit the murder, is one thing ; 
 but when he says he did not see me, it's another." 
 
 " Perhaps you can account for your time yesterday, Eavens- 
 
TAKING THE OATH. 
 
 C3 
 
 bird, hour by hour, until ten o'clock at night ?" cried the 
 lawyer. 
 
 " Perhaps I can, if it's necessary I should," retorted 
 Eavensbird. " After I was turned from these gates, I went 
 straight to the Sailors' Eest, and the landlord can tell 
 you so." 
 
 " But you may not have stopped at the Sailors' Rest ? " 
 " I did stop at it : and twenty people going in and out 
 saw me there. I did not stir out all day. I dined and had 
 * tea with Hawthorne and his wife." 
 " What did you do after tea ? " 
 
 " After tea I sat with them for some time, and then I went 
 out for a walk." 
 
 " I thought so !" cried impetuous Mr. Apperly. " Where 
 did you walk to? Which road?" 
 
 Eavensbird paused in hesitation, and the fact could only 
 tell against him. 
 
 " I don't know that it matters to any one which road 1 
 went," came the tardy answer. 
 
 " It matters to every one. Perhaps you took this road ? 
 Why bless me ! " added the lawyer, jumping up with the 
 suddenness of the recollection, " I met you myself, Eavens- 
 bird ! I was on my way home from a client's, and I met 
 you coming in this direction ; towards the castle. It was 
 about seven o'clock." 
 
 " I did not see you," said Eavensbird. 
 
 " Perhaps not. I saw you, and that's more to the purpose. 
 Where were you going ? " 
 
 " That's my business," answered the man. " I was going 
 about no harm, and I did none. I was not out long ; I was 
 soon back at the Sailors' Eest." 
 
 " What time did you get back ?" quickly asked the lawyer. 
 
 " Mitchel," as quickly rejoined Eavensbird, " what time 
 was it when you saw the struggle and the fall ? " 
 
 " It was between half-past eight and a quarter to nine," 
 replied Mitchel. " Hard upon the three-quarters I should 
 say." 
 
 Eavensbird drew back with the air of a man who has van- 
 quished his adversaries and done with contention. " That 
 
64: 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 settles the question so far as I am concerned, my lord. I 
 was back in the parlour at the Sailors' Rest by twenty 
 minutes past eight. I remember hearing it strike a quarter 
 past by the church-clock just before I got in, and I took out 
 my watch to see whether it was right. I did not stir out 
 again all the evening." 
 
 Lord Dane felt amazed at the man's confident manner ; he 
 did not believe a word of his assertion. 
 
 " Mitchel," he said, " are you sure as to the time your- 
 self?" 
 
 But even as Lord Dane spoke, he remembered that his son 
 was indoors with him, sitting at the dining- table, until half- 
 past eight, or close upon it. 
 
 " I am quite sure, my lord," was Mitchel's answer. " It's 
 not often we preventive-men are mistaken as to the time ; 
 we've nothing to do, marching about there, but listen to the 
 quarters and the hours as the church-clock gives them out. 
 Besides, there's the tide to guide us ; it's quite an amuse- 
 ment to note the tide and the time keeping pace together. 
 I should think the exact time that Captain Dane fell was 
 about twenty-two minutes to nine. It went the three- 
 quarters soon after I left him, when I was running along 
 the beach." 
 
 " I suppose you could swear to this, Mitchel, if required ? " 
 cried keen Lawyer Apperly. 
 
 " Yes, I could, sir ; it's the truth." 
 
 The answer went for little. Mr. Apperly felt quite 
 certain that there was a mistake somewhere. 
 
 " Perhaps, Eavensbird," he suggested, " you will inform 
 Lord Dane what you were doing with yourself during that 
 interval of absence from the Sailors' Best, and where you 
 passed it. According to your own account you must have 
 been away pretty nearly an hour and a half." 
 
 " I respectfully submit to my lord that where I was 
 matters not to this inquiry," was the reply of Eavensbird. 
 "Mitchel declares the murder must have been com- 
 mitted—" 
 
 " Stop a minute. This is the second time you have called 
 it ' murder.' " 
 
TAKING THE OATH. 
 
 65 
 
 " Well ! " cried Kavensbird, " it is what other people arc 
 calling it.'' 
 
 " Not in the confident tone you use. Go on." 
 
 " Mitchel says it took place at about twenty- two minutes 
 to nine. I was back at the Sailors' Eest before twenty 
 minutes past eight. Even had I gone direct from the 
 heights to the inn (but I was not on the heights at all last 
 night), I must have left them at eight o'clock, or thereabouts, 
 to get down at the time I speak of. I was in by twenty 
 minutes past eight, and I did not go out again. If this is 
 proved — and you can call a dozen witnesses to testify to its 
 truth, by sending to the Sailors' Eest — then I submit, 
 Mr. Apperly, that you have no right to inquire into my 
 actions. Once establish that I was not, that I could not 
 have been Captain Dane's assaulter, and I am as free and 
 independent as you are. Why, I was playing dominoes with 
 one of the customers at half-past eight, and I played with 
 him till ten." 
 
 The most obvious course at this stage of the proceedings 
 was to send to the Sailors' Eest, that the prisoner's words 
 might be confirmed or refuted. The sergeant himself went 
 down, and Lord Dane waited w T ith ill-concealed impatience. 
 As before, the only man in the room perfectly at his ease, 
 to all appearance, was Eavensbird. 
 
 Mr. Bent came back again. He returned with a crest- 
 fallen expression of countenance, and acknowledged himself 
 " floored." " Floored for the present." Hawthorne and his 
 wife, with two or three other credible witnesses, declared 
 that Eavensbird was back at the Sailors' Eest by twenty 
 minutes past eight. They were able to fix the time from 
 the fact that Eavensbird had called their attention to the 
 clock in the parlour, saying it was "just right" with the 
 church. And it was certainly true that he did not leave 
 the house again, and that he was playing at dominoes until 
 nearly bed-time. 
 
 In the teeth of this evidence there could be no pretext for 
 detaining Eavensbird in custody, and Lord Dane unwillingly 
 ordered him out of it. Unwillingly, because from the depth 
 of his heart he still deemed the man to be guilty. 
 
 Lady Adelaide. 5 
 
66 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " You are at liberty to go, Richard Ravensbird." 
 
 " My lord," said the ex-prisoner, walking slightly forward 
 to confront Lord Dane, "I think, even yet, in spite of 
 testimony, you believe me to have been the assailant of my 
 master. Once more let me assert the truth : I never saw 
 him after I left this castle in the morning." 
 
 " I do believe it to have been you — you, and no other," 
 replied Lord Dane, bending forward his severe face. " You 
 have triumphed for the moment ; but I would have you . 
 remember, Richard Ravensbird, that crimes such as this are 
 sure to come to light sooner or later." 
 
 Ravensbird's only answer was a bow, respectful enough. 
 His manner to Lord Dane throughout had been character- 
 ized by marked respect. Indeed, it could not be said that 
 he had been disrespectful to any one, only fearlessly inde- 
 pendent. He passed out of the hall without another word. 
 Bruff was standing in the gateway, but Ravensbird brushed 
 past him without speaking, and turned towards Danesheld, 
 followed by Mr. Cotton and Mitchel. 
 
 Lord Dane, Squire Lester, Mr. Apperly, and the police- 
 sergeant remained in the hall. The two former were 
 talking together. Mr. Apperly was in a reverie, and the 
 officer was pencilling down some memoranda in an old 
 note-book he had taken from his pocket, his countenance 
 very thoughtful. 
 
 " You look puzzled, Bent," observed the lawyer, rousing 
 himself. 
 
 " It's what I am, Mr. Apperly. Out and out puzzled." 
 
 " You still think him guilty ? " 
 
 " I'm sure he's guilty," was the emphatic answer. 
 
 " Well," said Mr. Apperly, whose opinion had somewhat 
 veered round after so decisive an alibi, " I don't feel sure 
 of it now. One can't shut one's eyes to facts. If the 
 man was really back at the Sailors' Rest by the time he 
 mentions " 
 
 " I tell you he was not back," interrupted the sergeant ; 
 " or else Mitchel is mistaken as to the time. There's not 
 an earthly thing you can be so deceived in as evidence 
 given to establish a fact resting upon time. Look here ; 
 
TAKING THE OATH. 
 
 G7 
 
 you noticed, didn't you, what I stated : that Mr. Hawthorno 
 said he had called their attention when he got in, to the 
 fact of its being twenty minutes past eight ? That very cir- 
 cumstance was enough, in any experienced mind, to prove his 
 guilt. He did it with a motive, rely upon it. Some craft 
 had been at work : probably he had contrived to put the 
 clock back. It's not that that's puzzling me. Ravensbird's 
 neither more nor less clever than others of his stamp, and 
 we shall catch him yet. As to an alibi, I've known the 
 hardest counter-swearing as to time ; and both sides honest 
 in what they swore to, only they were mistaken. Their 
 clocks and watches were wrong ; or the sun was too fast ; 
 or the coaches, that never were out by so much as a minute 
 before, were out then. I know what alibis are worth." 
 
 "What is it, then, that's puzzling you?" asked Mr. 
 Apperly. 
 
 Their tones had been low ; but the sergeant dropped his 
 voice almost to a whisper, as he answered curtly : 
 
 " The young lady. She puzzles me altogether. That 
 she knows more than she has told, I'm sure : that's nothing ; 
 folks often give us only half evidence, and the short-coming 
 lies light enough upon their conscience." 
 
 " Don't you believe her ? " 
 
 I don't say that I entirely disbelieve her. But look 
 here," added the sergeant, using again his favourite phrase, 
 as he was given to do when very much in earnest, " I can 
 understand her having been frightened at the time: any 
 young girl would be, witnessing a scene such as that : hut 
 ivhat is it that's frightening her now 1 " 
 
 Mr. Apperly seemed struck with the question. " She did 
 seem to be in fear as she stood there, there's no denying it," 
 he remarked. 
 
 " Ay ; mark me, sir, if there's any one, besides himself, 
 that could establish the guilt of Eavensbird, it's the Lady 
 Adelaide. She " 
 
 The sergeant stopped, arrested by a look of Mr. Apperly's. 
 Turning, he saw the fine old face of Lord Dane extended 
 in rapt attention. He had spoken louder than he thought 
 for. 
 
68 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " What is that you are saying, Bent ? " 
 
 The sergeant explained. He had really no particular 
 wish to keep his suspicion from Lord Dane, and he avowed 
 a belief that the Lady Adelaide could, if she chose, speak to 
 the guilt of Bavensbird. 
 
 " And her motive for not doing it - her motive ? " ques- 
 tioned Lord Dane, hotly. 
 
 " Ay, my lord, I can't fathom it ; that's where I'm puzzled. 
 That favourite French maid of hers is Bavensbird's sweet- 
 heart ; perhaps for her sake she is screening him. She 
 looked afraid of the Frenchwoman as she stood here." 
 
 Of all the various incidents, aspects, and doubts by which 
 the affair had been surrounded since its occurrence, this new 
 suggestion was about the most objectionable to Lord Dane. 
 He was very much given to jumping to conclusions upon 
 impulse, and he did so now. From the first he had felt a 
 latent conviction that Adelaide Errol had not told the truth : 
 he had felt it that morning in the hall as she stood under 
 the informal examination. This suggestion offered a solu- 
 tion to the mystery, and he adopted it with almost measure- 
 less anger, and with deep, deep pain. She to screen the 
 destroyer of his poor son, her betrothed husband ! 
 
 " Thank you for speaking of this, Bent," he said, his tone 
 one of concentrated passion. " No doubt you are right ; as 
 you were before to-day, when you expressed an opinion 
 that she must have seen something, which she had persis- 
 tently denied to me. I remember the mention of the oath 
 startled her in a strange degree : we will see what she says 
 to it now." 
 
 A peremptory message brought the Lady Adelaide again 
 into the hall : Lord Dane's mandates in his own home could 
 not be disobeyed. She appeared to have called up a little 
 bravery for the occasion ; but it was a shallow pretence, 
 and her very lips turned white as she walked up to Lord 
 Dane. Mr. Lester rose to assist her as before, but Lord 
 Dane checked him. 
 
 " I will deal with Lady Adelaide this time, Mr. Lester." 
 
 She stole a glance at the different expressions on the faces 
 of those present — the curiosity of Mr. Apperly's, the im- 
 
TAKIKG TllE OATH. 
 
 G9 
 
 passivencss of tlic sergeant's, the compassion of Squire 
 Lester's ; but as she met the severity of Lord Dane's, a 
 faint cry escaped her. He laid his hand upon her wrist, 
 and spoke slowly : 
 
 " We have reason to think that your recent denial was 
 false, Adelaide Errol ; we believe that you did recognizo 
 the assailant of my son. Who was it ? " 
 
 " I don't know," she answered, an ashy hue overspreading 
 her face. 
 
 " You do know : as we believe." 
 
 " I have said I do not know. It was too dark to recog- 
 nize him," she added, scarcely able, as they all saw, to speak 
 the words with her dry and bloodless lips. 
 
 Lord Dane would not put to her the leading question — 
 Was it Eavensbird? He waited, never taking his stern 
 gaze from her face. 
 
 " Once more : who was it that struggled with my son ? " 
 
 " I do not know. Indeed, I do not." 
 
 " Then, if that be in truth the case, you will have no 
 objection to testify to it on oath. Mr. Lester, will you 
 officiate?" 
 
 Her face became scarlet ; and a startled glance of terror 
 — a silent appeal for mercy, rather — went up from it to 
 those merciless ones around. The magistrate took a book 
 from its place : he would have liked to refuse to act, but 
 Lord Dane was resolute. And Mr. Lester thought little of 
 the ceremony : he, at least, ever believed her to be true. 
 
 " It is a mere form," he gently whispered. " Nay, do 
 not tremble so." 
 
 She turned and looked behind her, as if wondering 
 whether there might not be some escape yet. Surely none. 
 And there, in the background, stood Sophie Deffloe. If 
 ever despair shone from hollow eyes, it shone then from 
 Lady Adelaide's. 
 
 With hands that shook as they were raised, with words 
 that trembled and faltered on her tongue, with cheeks that 
 were fading again to the hue of the dead, she, Adelaide 
 Errol, spoke the solemn oath before Heaven — that she had 
 recognized neither Captain Dane nor his adversary. 
 
70 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 And Lord Dane's suspicions of her truth, and almost 
 every one else's suspicions, had any entertained them, were 
 set at rest. But the suspicions of Sergeant Bent still 
 lingered. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ANOTHER PHASE OF THE NIGHT'S STORY. 
 
 Richard Ravensbird, meanwhile, in returning to Danes- 
 held, had encountered Herbert Dane. The gentleman was 
 at his favourite spot, the gate, where you have already seen 
 him more than once. Not perched upon it whistling, as 
 was his wont in gayer times, but leaning against it in 
 melancholy sadness. No fishing-rod to be spliced was in 
 his hand to-day, no light silver-mounted whip switched 
 time to his opera tunes. That the untimely fate of his 
 cousin was giving him true and lively concern, there could 
 be no manner of doubt. Exceedingly surprised he looked 
 to see Ravensbird approaching, unaccompanied by those 
 attentive guardians of the law. 
 
 " What ! have they let you off, Ravensbird ? " 
 
 " Could they do otherwise, Mr. Herbert ? " was the re- 
 sponse of Ravensbird, facing his questioner, as though he 
 disdained to shun inquiry. 
 
 " Do otherwise ! " echoed Herbert Dane. " Well, I don't 
 know, Ravensbird. If Mitchel saw you throw my poor 
 cousin over " 
 
 " But Mitchel did not see me," interrupted Ravensbird, 
 his piercing black eyes fixed full on the face of Herbert 
 Dane. 
 
 " I heard that he said so last night ; said it in the hear- 
 ing of several people. Has he eaten his words to-day ? " 
 
 " No, sir, he has not. Mitchel never spoke the words ; 
 it was a misconception altogether. I also heard that he 
 had said so ; and I thought he was trying to screen the real 
 
ANOTHER PHASE OF THE NIGHT'S STORY. 
 
 71 
 
 offender. He has just now testified to my lord that he 
 could not distinguish who the stragglers were. He would 
 not have known Captain Dane but for his falling at his 
 feet." 
 
 " How came the report to get about, then, that he recog- 
 nized you ? " 
 
 " Chiefly, I expect, through Mr. Apperly. He was more 
 set against me than any one." 
 
 " And so, on the strength of the non-recognition, they 
 have given you your liberty ? My lord's grief must have 
 made him lenient. I suppose you will hasten now to put 
 the sea or some other formidable barrier between yourself 
 and Daneshelcl ? " 
 
 " Why should I clo that, sir ? An innocent man does not 
 fly like a craven." 
 
 " Innocent ! " repeated Herbert, in a tone of ridicule, if 
 not of scorn. 
 
 " Yes, sir ; innocent." 
 
 " Eavensbird," said Herbert Dane, quietly, " it is of no 
 use keeping on the exalted ropes before me. The words 
 you spoke on this very spot yesterday morning, threatening 
 vengeance on your master, would be enough to hang you. 
 But " 
 
 " Do you believe me guilty, Mr. Herbert ? " interrupted 
 Eavensbird, drawing nearer with those penetrating eyes 
 of his. 
 
 " I was about to say, Eavensbird, that you are safe for 
 me," proceeded Herbert Dane, unmindful of the interruption. 
 " I saw that you dropped the words in the heat of passion, 
 hardly conscious, if I may so express it, that I was within 
 hearing to take cognizance of them. I was sorry for you at 
 the time, feeling that Captain Dane's conduct was un- 
 warrantable ; and I shall certainly not array myself amongst 
 your accusers. Moreover, were you gibbeted on that oak- 
 tree there, it would not bring your master back to 
 life." 
 
 " Sir," repeated Eavensbird, his tone very matter-of-fact, 
 " I asked if you believed me guilty ? " 
 
 " What a superfluous question ! Do you suppose there's 
 
73 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 a soul in the place that does not believe it, although you 
 have contrived to escape from your bonds." 
 
 " Pardon me, sir ; I ask you whether you believe it ? " 
 
 Herbert Dane felt annoyed at the persistency of the man. 
 " You ask me if I believe you guilty, when I have just said 
 I could hang you. I do." 
 
 " Then why don't you hang me ? " returned Eavensbird. 
 
 " I have told you why. I don't care to go out of my way 
 to do you harm ; and also because it could not benefit the 
 dead. But guilty, in a degree, you certainly are. Not, 
 perhaps, of wilful murder ; it may be, that in struggling so 
 close to the edge, the fall was accidental." 
 
 The way in which Eavensbird stood his ground before 
 Herbert Dane — hardy, self-possessed, not a muscle of his 
 face moving, not a tremor in his voice, and his searching eyes 
 never once relinquishing their independent stare — astonished 
 that gentleman not a little. 
 
 " Then allow me to tell you, Mr. Herbert, that I am not 
 guilty. Let me tell you something more, sir. Shall I ? " 
 
 " Well ? " responded Herbert, lifting his questioning eyes. 
 
 " I believe I could put my finger on the guilty man. As 
 certain as that you and I are face to face, sir, I believe it." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " asked Herbert Dane, after a pause 
 of blank surprise. 
 
 " I mean, sir, what I say. I may be wrong— I have no 
 proof; but I am content to wait for that. I know some 
 one besides myself who owed Captain Dane a grudge." 
 
 Herbert Dane stared at the speaker from head to foot, 
 uncertain what to make of his audacious words, his still 
 more audacious manner. 
 
 " You are thinking me too bold, I see, sir. But when an 
 innocent man is taken up on a charge of wilful murder, some 
 freedom of speech may be excused him." 
 
 " Freedom is one thing, Eavensbird ; falsehood is another. 
 I believe you are telling me " 
 
 " I am telling you the truth, sir," boldly interrupted 
 Eavensbird. " I believe I know who it was struggling on 
 the heights with my master, just as surely as if I had 
 witnessed it," 
 
ANOTHER MASE OF THE NIGHTS STORY. 
 
 73 
 
 " Oh," said Herbert Dane, and lie was quite unablo to 
 conceal the sarcasm of his tone, " then you were not a 
 witness to the struggle ? " 
 
 " No, sir, I was not ; and for the best of all reasons — I 
 was not within a mile of the place at the time. It has been 
 proved, sir, that when that assault took place, I was at the 
 Sailors' Rest, playing at dominoes — then, and for some time 
 before it ; and my lord and Mr. Apperly released me from 
 custody because there was no pretext for keeping me in it." 
 
 " If it was really not yourself, and you do know who it 
 was, you should say it," cried Herbert Dane, slowly. 
 
 " I judge otherwise, sir. I have no proof, and might not 
 be believed. I prefer to bide my time. Do you still 
 believe me guilty, Mr. Herbert ? " 
 
 " Ravensbird, I do." 
 
 For a full minute Ravensbird gazed at him, as if unable 
 to credit the avowal. Then his eyes fell, and he turned 
 away. 
 
 " It may be that you do believe it," he said, speaking 
 as it seemed more to himself than to Herbert. " In that 
 case, all I can say is, that the time may come when we 
 shall both be undeceived. I have sworn to my lord that I 
 am not guilty, that I was not the assailant ; I swear it again 
 to you. Good-morning, Mr. Herbert." 
 
 Herbert Dane was still looking after the man as he dis- 
 appeared in the distance, when Mitchel and the supervisor 
 passed on their way from the castle. Herbert Dane accosted 
 the former. 
 
 " So, Mitchel, after all the reports current last night and 
 this morning, I hear that .you now deny having accused 
 Ravensbird ! " 
 
 " It was a mistake, sir, people saying that I accused him, 
 I thought it was sure to be Ravensbird — I believe I said as 
 much, but I never said that I saw him, or that I recognized 
 him. That was impossible by moonlight, standing where 
 I did. It appears now that it could not have been Ravens- 
 bird, and I am vexed that he should have been subjected to 
 any unpleasantness through me." 
 
 " Then you did not recognize Captain Dane's adversary ? " 
 
74 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 "I did not, sir." 
 
 "Mitchel's coat has been fished up this morning, Mr. 
 Herbert Dane," put in the supervisor, desiring a little talk 
 on his own score. " The waves must have left it high and 
 dry on the beach last night, and Bill Gand's boat picked it 
 up as he was coming in with the early tide. Captain 
 Dane's hat has been washed ashore too ; but perhaps you've 
 heard that." 
 
 Herbert Dane nodded. He did not appear inclined to 
 pursue the conversation ; and the two men continued their 
 way. 
 
 "I'll know, at any rate, what grounds they have for 
 letting the fellow off," he said in soliloquy, as he turned 
 his steps to the castle. " Every one said it must have been 
 Eavensbird." 
 
 He had reached the gateway, when the hall door was 
 suddenly opened by Bruff, who was showing out Mr. Apperly 
 and Sergeant Bent. Herbert accosted the lawyer ; the 
 sergeant walked on. 
 
 " We must wait a bit, Mr. Herbert," spoke the solicitor, 
 in reply to a question ; and his tones were excited and his 
 face was red, for he had again taken up the idea of Eavens- 
 bird's guilt. " I can't question the good faith of the wit- 
 nesses — I believe them to be honest ; and Hawthorne and 
 his wife, at all events, would be true to the Dane family ; 
 but that there's trickery at work is as sure as that you and 
 I stand here. Bent knows it, he says. The hands of 
 Hawthorne's clock were surreptitiously put back, or some 
 other devilry." 
 
 " Eavensbird has just told me, with the coolest equanimity, 
 that he was in the Sailors' Eest at the time of the fall ; that 
 it has been so proved to the satisfaction of Lord Dane," 
 said Herbert. 
 
 " The insolence of the man ! " apostrophized Mr. Apperly. 
 " He boasts of it, does he ? In a manner it has been proved, 
 and Lord Dane could only release him from custody ; but 
 our business will be to disprove it again. There are two 
 fearfully suspicious facts against him ; Bent has been noting 
 them. One is, that he particularly called their attention to 
 
ANOTHER PHASE OF THE NIGHT'S STORY. 
 
 75 
 
 Mrs. Hawthorne's parlour clock, with a secret view, of 
 course, of getting them to observe that he was back at the 
 inn by twenty minutes past eight ; the other is, that he had 
 been then away from the place for an hour and a half or so, 
 and he refuses to state where he went to, or what he was 
 doing. Let us wait awhile, Mr. Herbert ? " 
 
 With a significant nod that spoke volumes, the lawyer 
 hastened after Sergeant Bent. Herbert turned to Bruff, 
 who had stood by during the conversation. 
 
 " What do you think of it, Bruff? Bavensbird asserts his 
 innocence most positively." 
 
 " Well, sir, we don't — as upper servants — know what to 
 think. If appearances had not been so much against him 
 — that is, the quarrel with his master and his revengeful 
 threats — Bavensbird is about the last we should have sus- 
 pected. He never seemed a revengeful man. Then, again, 
 the evidence has posed us : if he was at the Sailors' Best, 
 he could not have been on the heights." 
 
 « Very true," replied Herbert Dane, speaking in a 
 mechanical sort of manner, as if his thoughts were elsewhere. 
 " Apperly talks of a suspicion that the clock might have 
 been put back — but I don't know." 
 
 Bruff shook his head. " If it was put back at all, it must 
 have been put back a good three-quarters of an hour ; allow- 
 ing that Bavensbird tore back at top speed after doing his 
 work on the heights : and I don't see how all of them could 
 have fallen into the trap ; one or two were safe to have 
 detected it. Three-quarters of an hour is a long time to be 
 mistaken in, sir." 
 
 " Of course it is," replied Herbert. " It appears to be a 
 mysterious affair altogether." 
 
 " Did you hear, sir, that my Lady Adelaide was a witness 
 to the scuffle ? " asked Bruff, who loved to talk of marvels 
 as well as most people. 
 
 « No." 
 
 " It is true, sir. You knew about her having run in from 
 the heights last night, screaming. Up to this morning she 
 denied that she had seen anything ; but when she was had 
 into the hall before them all — my lord, and Squire Lester, 
 
7(5 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 and Bent, and them — she couldn't hold out, and told the 
 truth. She had seen two men struggling, and one of them 
 fall, and it nearly terrified her to death." 
 
 " Did she recognize them ? " inquired Herbert Dane, 
 some eagerness in his tone. 
 
 " No, sir, she did not. They have just had her in again, 
 and put her upon her oath as to the point." 
 
 " Put her upon her oath ! " repeated Herbert Dane. 
 
 " They did, indeed, Mr. Herbert," replied Bruff, dropping 
 his voice. " It was quite cruel, I think. By what I can 
 gather, Sergeant Bent asked that the oath should be admin- 
 istered, for he had got it into his head that she did perhaps 
 recognize the captain's assailant, and was afraid to confess 
 it. I hope they are satisfied now. " 
 
 " Did she take it ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes, sir. Knowing that she had not recognized the 
 man, she made no objection, I believe. Sophie has been 
 telling me about it. Her ladyship just saw the outlines of 
 two forms, and that one of them fell ; but she saw no more : 
 and they might have known that, without troubling her to 
 swear to it. She was only in the ruins, peeping out." 
 
 Herbert Dane lifted his head with an aspect of relief. 
 " I am heartily glad she did not. It is not well that ladies — 
 girls — should be brought into these things. What a pity 
 they troubled her ? If the scuffle took place at the edge of 
 the heights — as we have unhappy evidence that it did — and 
 she was in the ruins, it is scarcely possible that she could 
 have recognized them. However, it may be a good thing to 
 have set the doubt at rest." 
 
 Bruff looked at him ; he was speaking with so dreamy an 
 air, as if his thoughts were far away. 
 
 " Open the door, Bruff. I am going in to my lord." 
 
 In his chair of state still, but alone now, sat Lord Dane. 
 He welcomed his nephew with more cordiality than he had 
 evinced to him of late. Great grief softens the heart. 
 Herbert sat down and listened patiently to the heads of 
 evidence which Lord Dane began to recount. He told it 
 all, even to his having caused Lady Adelaide to take the 
 oath, and Herbert did not interrupt it by a word. 
 
ANOTHER PHASE OF THE NIGHT'S STORY. 
 
 77 
 
 " Do you think Eavensbird can bo guilty ? " inquired 
 Herbert, when it was over. 
 
 " Eavensbird is guilty," was the peer's emphatic reply. 
 " Every probability points to him. Put Eavensbird out of 
 the question, and who else can we suspect ? Harry had not 
 an enemy in the world. All Danesheld loved him." 
 
 " True," replied Herbert, in the same mechanical tone he 
 had once or twice used to Bruff. 
 
 " It is a most unfortunate thing that Adelaide did not 
 take better notice, as she was there," resumed Lord Dane. 
 " Bent thought she had recognized Eavensbird and was 
 afraid to say it, or else was screening him for that French- 
 woman's sake. A ridiculous notion, and I am sorry I took 
 it up. The fact is, the poor child was so utterly terrified 
 last night, that she could not get over it, and denied she 
 had seen anything, which made me suspicious." 
 
 " In one point of view it is a good thing Lady Adelaide 
 did not recognize him," observed Herbert. " It would have 
 been most disagreeable for her to have to give evidence in a 
 court of justice." 
 
 Lord Dane assented ; and the interview was interrupted 
 by the entrance of Mr. Lester, who had been sitting with 
 Lady Dane. Herbert left the hall and went upstairs, hoping 
 to find Adelaide. 
 
 She was not in the drawing-room, neither was Lady Dane. 
 He was looking about, when he saw Sophie passing in the 
 corridor. 
 
 " C'est toi, Sophie la Belle ! " exclaimed Herbert, who had 
 been a little given to decorous flirtation with the waiting- 
 maid, and to making use of his stock of French. " Where's 
 Lady Adelaide ? " 
 
 "I have no time for your nonsense this morning, Mr. 
 Herbert," crossly responded Sophie. " My young lady's ill." 
 
 "111?" 
 
 " 111, and lying down ; and I am going to the kitchen to 
 make her some herb tea — which the English know nothing 
 of doing, poor ignorants. My Lady Dane is with her now, 
 gone to have her scold out." 
 
 " A scold for what ? " 
 
78 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " And my young lady deserves it," added the girl in her 
 national freedom of speech. " Why does she go and upset 
 herself and the house for nothing ? If she didn't see any- 
 thing beyond just the scuffle, why she didn't ; she need not 
 have made all that fuss. Allez ! " 
 
 Sophie disappeared, diving down the stairs towards the 
 domestic regions. And Mr. Herbert Dane, seeing nothing 
 to be gained by remaining at the castle, took his departure 
 from it. 
 
 But another phase of the story was about to arise. As 
 Herbert Dane was strolling along with the listless air of 
 one who has nothing on earth to do, he encountered a man 
 well known in the locality — better known indeed than 
 trusted. His name was Drake, and his ostensible occupation 
 was that of a fisherman, to which he added as much petty 
 smuggling as he could accomplish with impunity ; his boat 
 being given to hover round foreign vessels, and bring away 
 anything in a small way that it could. He touched his blue 
 woollen cap, made in the form of a nightcap, by way of 
 saluting Mr. Herbert Dane. 
 
 " A fine horrid tale I've been hearing of, sir, since our 
 boat got in ! " he began. " Folks be saying as the captain's 
 murdered, and his body gone floating out to sea, Davy Jones 
 only knows to what latitude. Be it true, sir ? " 
 
 " It is an incomprehensible affair altogether, Drake," was 
 the answer, " but I fear it is only too true. The body has 
 not been found. They have been dragging for it all the 
 morning." 
 
 " I saw 'em," responded Drake. " Who was it attacked 
 him?" 
 
 " Ah, that's the question." 
 
 " They be saying down the village yonder, that it turns 
 out not to have been the captain's servant, who was first 
 took up for it." 
 
 " I make no doubt they are." 
 
 " Well now, master, perhaps I can throw a bit of light 
 upon this here matter. 'Twon't be much, though." 
 " You ! " returned Herbert, gazing at Drake. 
 " Yes, me. I had been up to Nut Cape, for I wanted to 
 
ANOTHER PHASE OF THE NIGHT'S STORY. 
 
 70 
 
 have a talk with old — that is — that is, I had been up the 
 road past the castle " 
 
 "Never mind; speak out, Drake," interrupted Herbert 
 Dane significantly, in reference to the man's hesitation. 
 " You had been up to Nut Cape to hold one of your confabs 
 with that old sinner, Beecher ; that's about the English of 
 it. But if I saw the pair of you running in a boat-load of 
 contraband goods under my very eyes, you might do it for 
 me. I am not a preventive-officer, and I concern myself 
 with no one's business but my own." 
 
 " Well, I had been up to old Beecker's," acknowledged 
 Drake, " but only for a yarn — indeed, sir, for nothing else. 
 I stopped there longer than I thought for, and was coming 
 back full pelt, afraid my boat might put off without me, 
 when I heard voices a-quarrelling. I was on the brow of 
 the heights — I mostly goes and comes that way, instead of 
 the road — and was just abreast o' the chapel ruins, when 
 my ears caught the sound. They come from the direction 
 of the castle, and I cut across to see what the row might 
 be. Standing on the grass, midway between the ruins and 
 the castle, were two men — the one was speaking in a loud 
 angered tone, and I had got almost close to him, when 
 I saw it was Captain Dane. Seeing that, of course I cut 
 away again." 
 
 Herbert Dane paused for some moments. " Where do 
 you say this was ? " he resumed. 
 
 " Between the ruins and the castle, a trifle nearest the 
 castle, maybe. The other man was a stranger." 
 
 " A stranger ! " involuntarily repeated Herbert Dane, 
 who had probably been expecting to hear that it was 
 Eavensbird. 
 
 " Leastways he was a stranger to me ; I'd never seen him 
 before, to my knowledge. A big, hulking sort of fellow, 
 with a pack in his hand." 
 
 "What sort of a pack?" 
 
 "Well, I don't know; it might have been a box or a 
 parcel. 'Twas dark and biggish. It had been on the 
 ground before I got to 'em, but the man swung it up in his 
 hand, and then on his back. I didn't stop to take much 
 
80 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 notice, seeing the other was the captain. The captain was 
 blowing him up." 
 
 " In what terms ? " cried Herbert, with eagerness. " Can 
 you remember ? " 
 
 " c How dare you, fellow ? ' I heard him say, and that was 
 all I caught distinct. But I heard 'em both at it, railing 
 like, as I steered off." 
 
 " What time was this ? " 
 
 " Well now, I can't be positive to five minutes," was 
 Drake's answer. " Half-past eight, maybe." 
 
 " Drake, are you! sure that it was a stranger, and not 
 Eavensbird ? " impressively questioned Herbert Dane, after 
 a pause. 
 
 " Have I no eyes to see with ? " was the retort. " 'Twas 
 no more like Eavensbird than 'twas like me or you. 'Twas 
 a chap rising five foot ten, with long arms and broad 
 shoulders." 
 
 " You must speak of this affair before Lord Dane." 
 
 " I was on my way to the castle now to do it. I knows 
 my duty. Not but what I'd rather go ten miles t'other way 
 than face his lordship." 
 
 A smile crossed Herbert Dane's otherwise perplexed face. 
 " He is not so indulgent to you suspected smugglers as you 
 would like, and you fear him. But if you can help his 
 lordship to trace out this assaulter of his son, it will no 
 doubt atone for some old scores, Drake." 
 
 " Anyway it's my duty, having seen what I did see, and 
 I'm not going to shirk it, sir," was Mr. Drake's reply. 
 
 He touched his woollen cap, and proceeded towards the 
 castle. Herbert Dane continued his way to Danesheld, 
 with a view to inquiring whether any later news had 
 turned up. Perplexed, indeed, he was, and he could not 
 divest himself of the suspicion that the man whom Drake 
 had seen in dispute with Harry Dane was Eavensbird, in 
 spite of the present different description and of the pack. 
 
 "One's eyes get deceived in the moonlight," he solilo- 
 quized. " As to the pack Drake speaks of, it may have 
 been a small valise that Eavensbird had been to the castle 
 to fetch away. On the other hand, Drake may of course be 
 
ANOTHER PHASE OF THE NI&HT's STORY. 
 
 81 
 
 correct in saying that it was a stranger. In that case, 
 Ravensbird " 
 
 Herbert Dane's reflections were brought to a standstill. 
 Turning a sharp bend in the road, he came upon Mr. 
 Ravensbird himself, seated upon a milestone that lay back 
 from the path. He was in deep thought and did not look up. 
 
 " You are in a brown study, Ravensbird.*' 
 
 The man turned abruptly at the salutation. " Oh, it's 
 you, Mr. Herbert Dane ! I was lost in last night's work, sir ; 
 and did not hear you come up." 
 
 " Ravensbird," returned Herbert Dane, a whole world of 
 candour in his voice and countenance, " I consider myself 
 bound to mention that your denial of having attacked your 
 master has been possibly in a degree confirmed. Observe, 
 I say possibly." 
 
 A peculiar smile, somewhat cynical in its aspect, flitted 
 over the features of Mr. Ravensbird. 
 
 " It appears that another man attacked Captain Dane on 
 the heights last night ; at any rate, Captain Dane and 
 another were having a quarrel there together ; and if 
 the description given to me of this other be correct, it was 
 not you." 
 
 The smile on Ravensbird's face changed to a look of 
 astonishment. He did not reply : only fixed his questioning 
 eye on the speaker. 
 
 " Now, it's only natural to infer that whoever that man 
 might be, he caused the catastrophe. A stranger, tall and 
 broad, he has been described to me, carrying a pack on his 
 back. Possibly a travelling hawker, who may have impor- 
 tuned Captain Dane to make a purchase, and was roused to 
 anger on refusal. One fact appears to be indisputable : 
 that they were contending angrily, and such men, loose 
 characters often, have been known to commit evil deeds on 
 very slight provocation." 
 
 "Who saw or heard this?" asked Ravensbird. "You, 
 sir?" 
 
 " I ! " haughtily returned Herbert Dane. " What a very 
 senseless question! Should I, or any friend of Captain 
 Dane's, keep such a thing secret ? The man who witnessed 
 
 Lady Adehidf. Q 
 
82 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 it was Joe Drake. Not a very reliable gentleman in a 
 general way, but I think be speaks the truth in this 
 instance. I met him a few minutes ago, and he stopped me 
 to tell it. He was on his way to the castle to inform my 
 lord." 
 
 " He has been tardy in declaring this," was the sarcastic 
 comment of Eavensbird. 
 
 " Not at all. He could not declare it at sea, where he 
 had been all night. He knew nothing of the accident to 
 Captain Dane until he came in just now with the last of the 
 tide. He was on the heights last night, coming down from 
 Beecher's, and witnessed the dispute or whatever it was. 
 The time tallies pretty well ; he thinks it was about half- 
 past eight." 
 
 Eavensbird made no immediate reply. His eyes were 
 fixed on vacancy. Herbert Dane resumed : 
 
 " When you told me that you could place your finger 
 upon the offender, I assumed it to be spoken in vain boast, 
 if not in deliberate deceit. It has now struck me that you 
 also may have seen this encounter. Was it so ? " 
 
 " I — I was not aware — that Captain Dane — I did not 
 know of any encounter of his with a stranger," replied 
 Eavensbird, his tones full of hesitating uncertainty, and his 
 eyes still wearing the look of a man in a dream. 
 
 " Possibly this man was no stranger to your master ? " 
 said Herbert Dane, scanning him searchingly. 
 
 "Possibly not," was the reply of Eavensbird, waking 
 from his reverie. " It is not probable that a stranger would 
 attack him to his death." 
 
 " Still less probable that a friend would do so, Eavens- 
 bird. What is perplexing you ? " 
 
 "That, sir, is a question that you must pardon me for 
 declining to answer. The more I hear of this business the 
 more it does perplex me ; I'll say that much. Danesheld 
 may make very sure of one thing— that I will not leave a 
 stone unturned to unravel the mystery. It has accused me 
 of being the offender, Mr. Herbert Dane ; I'll try and make 
 it eat its words before I die." 
 
 Drake's story, in so far as that such a man as he described 
 
MORTALITY. 
 
 83 
 
 had been in the neighbourhood at the time, was corrobo- 
 rate! in rather a remarkable manner by Squire Lester. 
 That gentleman had been riding home from a distance, and 
 passed the castle about the hour named by Drake, half- 
 past eight, or a little before it. Only a few yards past the 
 castle he met a man walking in the middle of the road, and 
 his horse shied at him. " A big ill-looking man, with a 
 flat box strapped on his back." Mr. Lester said he took 
 particular notice of him, and should know him again, he 
 was sure, for the moon shone full on his features. He 
 turned and looked after him, and saw him quit the road and 
 go on the heights. This was close to the castle. 
 
 Every possible search was set on foot to discover this 
 packman. Lynx-eyed Lawyer Apperly turned Drake inside 
 out, metaphorically speaking, and Squire Lester's descrip- 
 tion to the police was elaborately minute. But the man 
 could not be found or heard of. 
 
 Neither was the body of Captain Dane. The drags did 
 their work effectually, but they brought forth nothing from 
 the covetous sea. There could not be a doubt that he was 
 indeed dead ; and the Dane flag floated in sadness half-mast 
 high above Dane Castle. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 MORTALITY. 
 
 Misfortunes seldom come singly. If a trite saying, it is a 
 true one. 
 
 A telegram was despatched to Paris acquainting the 
 Honourable Geoffry Dane with his brother's death, and 
 more explanatory letters followed it. But when the mis- 
 sives arrived they did not find their owner. The Honour- 
 able Geoffry had departed from Paris, nobody knew exactly 
 whither ; he had spoken of Italy, of Malta, and of other 
 
Si 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 places. Upon this information reaching Lord Dane, he 
 wrote to the family bankers, who were generally kept cog- 
 nizant by Mr. Dane of his movements, desiring them to 
 forward to his son the letters he enclosed, which was done. 
 
 Herbert Dane meanwhile was taking advantage of this 
 distressing calamity to renew his former friendly inter- 
 . course with Lord Dane ; to make good, once again, his old 
 footing at the castle. He had done nothing in particular to 
 forfeit it. Lord Dane had acquired a habit of finding fault 
 with him on the score of his idleness ; Lady Dane had 
 suspected that her niece Adelaide might be growing to like 
 him too well, and both had simultaneously discouraged his 
 visits. Lord Dane had offered to procure him an appoint- 
 ment abroad. Herbert Dane declined to go abroad, and this 
 gave some offence. Altogether, his visits of late had been 
 rare and his welcome cold. 
 
 But in this sad event minor interests and animosities were 
 forgotten. Herbert Dane brought to the castle any scrap of 
 news he could pick up, and he was eagerly looked for and 
 welcomed. He it was, apart from the police, who exerted 
 himself to gain tidings of the man with the pack, and though 
 he was unsuccessful, Lord Dane did not the less appreciate 
 the efforts. But the one great reward that Herbert Dane 
 sought, he had not yet obtained — the sight of Adelaide Errol. 
 
 She kept her room for days ; pale, wan, timid ; starting, 
 as it seemed, at shadows. Lady Dane thought the fright 
 that night on the heights had in some way affected her 
 nervous system, and she called in Mr. Wild. Mr. Wild 
 thought the same, and in addition concluded that she was 
 grieving for her betrothed husband, Harry Dane. 
 
 It was no affectation, no imaginary illness : they could 
 see that. She was ill in mind, and ill in body. But how 
 greatly she strove against it, was known to herself alone. 
 Adelaide Errol possessed a stronger mind than most persons 
 of her sex and age, and a more indomitable will ; and when, 
 after the seclusion of a few days, she forced herself to 
 appear downstairs again, the household noticed no difference 
 in her, except that she looked wan and was unnaturally calm 
 — a calmness that was rudely disturbed at a word spoken by 
 
MORTALITY. 
 
 85 
 
 Mr. Wild. Adelaide was sitting on a sofa near the surgeon 
 and Lady Dane ; she had been answering the doctor's ques- 
 tions, saying that she felt " quite well " now, when he 
 inadvertently mentioned the name of Captain Dane. As 
 though it had been the signal for some feeling, pent up 
 within her, to give way, she burst into a violent flood of 
 tears ; all her self-possession had deserted her, her assump- 
 tion of coldness was gone. 
 
 Mr. Wild drew his chair closer to her. He waited until 
 she was calm, and then laid his fingers upon the black crepe 
 at her wrists to give impressiveness to his words. Lady 
 Dane, from her seat on the other side the hearth, looked on 
 in silence. 
 
 " There is some great and secret grief upon you, Lady 
 Adelaide. Take an experienced man's advice, my dear 
 young lady, and disclose it. When once these sorrows are 
 spoken of, they lose half their sting." 
 
 Her only answer was a movement of pain. She flung her 
 thin hands before her eyes in very tremor. 
 
 " And when any self-reproach is mingled with the grief, 
 it should above all be told, for it is in the nature of self- 
 reproach to exaggerate itself ; let silence be kept long 
 enough, and it will become a very vulture preying on the 
 vitals. Come, let me make a guess and help you. The 
 severe reflection cast on you by Lord Dane has sunk into 
 your conscience to the point of torment. Is it not so ? " 
 
 He alluded to certain words spoken by Lord Dane in his 
 pain and anger, when he first became aware that her denial, 
 of having witnessed anything on the heights, was false. 
 He reproached her with having been in a secondary degree 
 the destroyer of his son. Had she confessed what she had 
 seen, so that rescue and help might have hastened to Harry, 
 perhaps his life had been saved. 
 
 " You are right," replied Adelaide, the tears streaming 
 through her fingers ; " in a secondary degree I am the cause 
 of Harry's death, for I might have sent assistance to him in 
 time, and I did not. It will be a burthen on my conscience 
 for ever. How shall I bear it ? I could not live if they 
 took me up and tried me for it," 
 
86 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE, 
 
 " Tried you for it ! " 
 
 She took her trembling hands from before her face, and 
 then saw that an additional auditor was present whom she 
 had not expected. It was Herbert Dane. He had come in 
 unheard during her burst of emotion, and was leaning over 
 Lady Dane's chair in mute astonishment. As if his presence 
 recalled her to her senses, she turned to Mr. Wild with an 
 intimation that the subject was at an end, smoothed her face 
 to composure, and sat calm as a statue. 
 
 " I shall be all right soon, Mr. Wild. Don't talk about 
 my health again, please ; and Geoffry Dane will be at 
 home in a day or two, and the house won't seem so dull. 
 He — oh, is it you, Mr. Herbert Dane ? I beg your pardon." 
 
 She half rose from her seat to return his greeting ; rose 
 in too great a flurry, as it seemed, to see his outstretched 
 hand. The interview was broken up. The surgeon, her 
 curious expression " tried " still echoing in his ears, went 
 downstairs to pay his daily visit to Lord Dane — who had 
 never ceased to be a patient, and was in a more precarious 
 state of health than the world suspected — and Lady Dane 
 descended with him. 
 
 " I am so glad to see you better, Adelaide," began Herbert 
 Dane, when they were alone ; and he took her unwilling 
 hand, but she drew it from him again. " My darling, what 
 has been amiss with you ? " 
 
 " Please not to talk," she answered, in quite a tone of 
 affectation. " Mr. Wild says I ought not to exert myself." 
 
 It struck Herbert Dane, as he retreated, that she was 
 under the influence of some inward and violent agitation ; 
 and that this assumption of what might almost be called 
 childishness was only put on to conceal its signs. 
 
 " It is the first time we have met since that fatal night, 
 Adelaide," he resumed, his voice full of tender confidence ; 
 " let me now say how deeply I felt for the terror to which 
 you were unhappily subjected. You must try and forget 
 it ; time is a great healer of all things. And oh ! Ade- 
 laide " 
 
 " I asked you not to speak to me, please," she interrupted, 
 in the same tone as before, but there appeared to be some- 
 
MORTALITY. 
 
 87 
 
 tiling the matter with her breathing, though she was doing 
 her best to conceal it. " I am sorry you came up." 
 
 Herbert Dane look at her keenly. He crossed to the 
 sofa and sat down, by her side and essayed again to take 
 her hand. But she rose at once and went to a distance. 
 
 " Adelaide ! do you wish to avoid me ? " 
 
 " I should like to avoid every one, — especially you, if 
 you begin to talk of the past. I have taken a draught of 
 the waters of Lethe ; when it has quite done its work, I 
 shall begin a new life, and never, never recur to the past 
 again." 
 
 " Will you tell me what you mean ? " he asked. He had 
 risen and would have stood by her side ; but she imme- 
 diately went from him to her seat on the sofa. He put his 
 elbow on the mantelpiece, and followed her with his 
 questioning eyes. She bent her head downwards for a 
 moment, and then raised it with what looked like a sudden 
 resolution, and there was a pink flush upon her cheeks. 
 
 " Indeed, I am not equal to saying much to-day. You 
 heard what Mr. Wild accused me of being — a sort of acces- 
 sory to Harry Dane's death. Whether I was that, or not, 
 can never perhaps be decided ; the fall itself might have 
 killed him. But of one other thing my conscience most 
 bitterly convicts me — cruel deceit. I must try and atone 
 for it." 
 
 " In what manner ? " inquired Herbert, after a pause. 
 
 "Well, I shall see — I scarcely know yet; real atone- 
 ment, of course, there can never be. I hope you will for- 
 give me for what you may deem caprice or unkindness ; 
 but, to begin with, I must request you never again to speak 
 to me of — of love." 
 
 " Adelaide ! " 
 
 " It is all over. In these few days of seclusion and sor- 
 row I have formed resolutions, and nothing can shake 
 them. I will at least not continue the deceit to Harry now 
 he is dead, though I was heartless enough to do it when he 
 was living. I shall see you often, no doubt ; you will be 
 here as a relative of the family ; but I pray you henceforth 
 to forget the past." 
 
88 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " I think this shock must be turning your brain,' 5 was 
 his reply. 
 
 " Not so. My brain is as clear as yours. Do not come 
 nearer, please ; you cannot alter my resolution." 
 
 " What have I done to offend you ? " 
 
 " Nothing personally. But I will not be false to Harry 
 Dane. I could not be so from very fear ; I should think 
 his ghost would haunt me. He was my betrothed husband." 
 
 "You did not care for him," returned Herbert Dane, 
 regarding her curiously. 
 
 " There it is. Had I cared for him I might regret him 
 less — if you can understand the feeling. I do care for him 
 now." 
 
 " But not to wed yourself to his memory. Surely you do 
 not mean that ? " 
 
 " Perhaps not. I feel so miserable in this house that I 
 think if any one came and asked me to leave it with them 
 I would go. Stay ! not with you — you joined with me in 
 practising that deceit on Harry. I beg your pardon for 
 saying this, Mr. Herbert Dane : I am afraid you will 
 not understand my feeling, but indeed I cannot help 
 myself." 
 
 " Adelaide, my darling, I think I do understand your 
 feelings, and allow for them and pity them ; they will wear 
 away, as the nervous shock you have experienced wears 
 away. Not at present will I tease you or press you : I know 
 that you love me ; that you love no one else in the world ; 
 and I am content to wait my time." 
 
 He spoke with tender consideration. Adelaide flung her 
 hands before her eyes : she did indeed love him, and no 
 other. He took a step towards her, when in a sudden 
 access of what might be called fear, as if doubting her own 
 firmness, she rose from her chair and fled from the room, 
 almost upsetting Lady Dane who was entering it. 
 
 " Mr. Wild finds my husband not so well this morning," 
 she remarked to Herbert. " I think he is vexing himself, 
 Herbert, at not hearing from Geoffry." 
 
 Lady Dane was correct in her surmise. Lord Dane was 
 not only vexed, but angry ; there had been ample time, as 
 
M0KTAL1TY. 
 
 89 
 
 he believed, for the Honourable Geoffry to have received 
 the news and respond to it. 
 
 " Geoffry might have written at least, if he did not choose 
 to come," he observed that same evening to his wife ; " it's 
 just like him." 
 
 Alas ! Geoffry Dane came all too soon. Not himself, but 
 what remained of him. He had travelled to the neighbour- 
 hood of Kome, and on his arrival had been attacked by the 
 malaria, and in three days he was dead. The letter written 
 by Lord Dane, and duly forwarded by the bankers, was not 
 in time to reach him, and he died in ignorance of his 
 brother's fate. His personal attendant, Wilkins, sent the 
 unhappy news to Lord Dane. Even as he, the bereaved 
 father, held the letter in his hand, the body was already on 
 its way home for interment, having been embarked at 
 Civita Vecchia. 
 
 How strangely solemn were the tidings to the neighbour- 
 hood ! The death of the one brother following so closely 
 on that of the other, seemed to bring with it they knew not 
 what of superstition. Still more grievously did it strike 
 on Dane Castle. Almost before the half-mast flag had been 
 lowered for Harry, it was lowered again for the heir, 
 Geoffry. Lord and Lady Dane were bowed to the very earth 
 with grief : those they had lost were their only children, and 
 whispers went abroad that neither would long survive them. 
 Upon Lady Dane, especially, the tidings seemed to tell 
 with terrible effect ; the servants gazed at her in fear, and 
 said they could see the " changes for death " in her face. 
 
 On a gay morning in May, a hearse, whose sable hue and 
 mournful plumes contrasted unpleasantly with the earth's 
 sunny brightness, arrived at Dane Castle, having travelled 
 from Southampton attended by the valet, Wilkins. The 
 burden it bore was taken out, and deposited in the castle 
 death-room. 
 
 Why was it called so gloomy a name ?— a question 
 frequently asked by strangers. Simply because the room 
 was consecrated to the dead. When a member of the Dane 
 family died, the body was placed within it to await inter- 
 men^ to lie in state, it may be said, and the public were 
 
90 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE, 
 
 admitted to tlie sight. The apartment was never used for 
 any other purpo.se ; a cold gray room, perfectly empty, with 
 a stone floor, and narrow windows, which were too high for 
 the tallest man to look through, and which were not made 
 to open. Tradition went that when any one of the Danes 
 was about to leave the world, that floor would become 
 spotted as with great patches of damp, remaining perfectly 
 dry and unstained in others. 
 
 The trestles were brought from their closet and set up in 
 the middle of the room, and the coffin was placed upon 
 them. Lord Dane was wheeled in in his chair, Lady Dane 
 glided in and stood by his side, both struggling to suppress 
 their grief until they should be alone. One or two of the 
 upper men-servants were present, and certain workmen, who 
 had been waiting in attendance, prepared to unseal the coffins. 
 
 At that moment Wilkins, suddenly becoming aware of 
 what was intended, stepped forward, arrested the workmen 
 by a motion of the hand, and addressed Lord Dane. 
 
 " My lord — I beg your pardon — but is it a safe thing to 
 do, think you ? May there not be danger ? He died of 
 malignant fever." 
 
 A disagreeable feeling fell upon all, and some involun- 
 tarily drew a step back. Lord Dane reflected. 
 
 " I do not fear infection," he presently said. " Let those 
 who do fear it retire ; but I will see the remains of my son. 
 Stories have been told before now of — of — others being 
 substituted for those supposed to be dead." 
 
 Wilkins turned to Lord Dane, astonishment on his face 
 and tears in his eyes. 
 
 " My lord, is it possible you can suspect " 
 
 " No reflection on you, Wilkins," interrupted his lord- 
 ship ; " I did not mean to imply any. There is a difference 
 between satisfaction from mere conviction, and satisfaction 
 from ocular demonstration. I have no moral doubt what- 
 ever that my dear son Geoffry lies within that coffin ; 
 nevertheless, I choose to be indisputably assured of the 
 fact. Eetire," he somewhat sharply added to the servants ; 
 " and do you," nodding to the mechanics, " proceed with 
 your work. Had you not also better leave us ? " 
 
MORTALITY. 
 
 91 
 
 The last words were addressed to Lady Dane. She simply 
 shook her head, and waited. 
 
 It was a long process, for the lead had to "be unsoldered. 
 But it was accomplished at last. The domestics had quitted 
 the room, all except Bruff. 
 
 Lord Dane looked at him in a questioning manner. 
 
 " I have no fear, my lord. Allow me to see the last of 
 poor Mr. Geoffry." 
 
 Geoffry Dane it was, unmistakably ; and less changed than 
 might have been expected. A long, yearning look from all, 
 a few stifled sobs from the childless mother, and the coffins 
 were re-closed for ever. Then they left the room, and the 
 public, those who chose to come, were admitted. 
 
 An incident took place that night in the house, that 
 caused some unpleasant commotion. It happened that 
 Sophie was suffering from a cough ; it had clung to her 
 some weeks, and was very troublesome at night. She was 
 in the habit of taking a soothing decoction for it, made of 
 herbs — tisane, as she called it; and this she carried 
 regularly upstairs when she went to bed. On this night she 
 forgot it, or it may be rather said that she would not go 
 down for it, she felt nervous at passing through the long 
 corridors, remembering what was in the house. She had 
 been kept late with Lady Adelaide, and knew the household 
 would be no longer below. But no sleep could she obtain. 
 Her cough proved unusually severe. At length, out of 
 patience, she rose from her bed, determined to brave ghostly 
 fancies and lonely corridors, and fetch her tisane. 
 
 Wrapping herself up, she started, carrying a hand-lamp. 
 Her way led her down the best staircase, for she slept in a 
 room adjoining Lady Adelaide's, and through the long- 
 dreary stone passage, past the death-room. How Sophie 
 scuttered along, how her heart beat and her skin crept as she 
 passed the door, she would have been ashamed to acknow- 
 ledge in broad daylight. In common with the generality of 
 the French of her grade and class, she was superstitiously 
 afraid of being in the presence of the dead — and they are 
 more so I think than are Englishwomen — although she had 
 boldly avowed to Lady Adelaide her disbelief in "reve- 
 
92 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE, 
 
 nants." But there is an old proverb, "More haste, less 
 speed," and poor Sophie received an exemplification of its 
 truth ; for so great was her haste, that in passing the 
 very spot, the dreaded door, she lost one of her slippers. 
 With a little cry of terror at the stoppage there, Sophie 
 snatched it up in her hand, did not wait to put it on, but 
 tore on to the housekeeper's room. 
 
 The tisane was inside the fender, where it had been 
 placed to retain warmth. Sophie took up the jug and put 
 it on the table for a moment whilst she drew breath, after 
 the running and the fright, and put on the refractory slipper. 
 She was stooping to accomplish the latter, when a noise 
 close above her head interrupted her. 
 
 It was nothing but the time-piece on the mantelshelf 
 striking the half -hour after midnight. But Sophie's 
 nerves were unhinged, and it startled her beyond self- 
 control. She shrieked, and grasped the nearest thing to 
 her, which happened to be a chair ; she hid her face upon 
 it, and wondered how in the world she could muster 
 courage to get back to her room. 
 
 Back she must get, somehow ; for the longer she stayed, 
 the worse she grew. " If ever I leave my tisane downstairs 
 again," quoth Sophie, "may a ghost run away with me, 
 that's all ! " She took up the jug, drew her cloak round 
 her, and began to speed back again ; not very fast this time, 
 for fear of spilling the tisane. 
 
 Poor Sophie ! the real fright was coming. As she gained 
 the corridor in which was situated the death-room, her hair 
 nearly stood on end. A perfect horror seized her in that 
 moment of passing the dreaded door. If you ever ex- 
 perienced the same uncontrollable midnight terror, reader, 
 you will understand Sophie's. Her eyes irresistibly, and in 
 spite of her will, turned to the door, fascinated as by the 
 averted power of the basilisk ; had her very life depended 
 on it, she could not have averted them. In the same 
 instant, a hollow, wailing sound, as of a groan, broke from 
 within the stillness of the room. 
 
 Almost paralysed, nearly bereft of her senses, Sophie 
 fell against the door, and the movement caused it to open, 
 
Mortality. 
 
 93 
 
 as though it had been imperfectly latched ; yet Sophie 
 knew that the door had been securely locked the previous 
 evening at dusk. There came another groan, and what 
 looked like a flood of white light from the room ; and the 
 miserable Sophie, breaking into unearthly shrieks, fled 
 along the corridor, dropping the jug and the tisane with a 
 crash and a splash ! That those hermetic solderings and 
 fastenings had come undone, and what they confined had 
 risen, and was pursuing her, was the least of her imaginings. 
 
 Her cries ascended through the broad open well, as it 
 was called, where a staircase had once been, to the floors 
 above, and echoed through the length and breadth of the 
 house. Out came the terrified servants, and a peal rang 
 from the bell of Lord Dane ; Lady Adelaide, a bad sleeper 
 now, opened her door and stood at it, her face as white as 
 her maid's. 
 
 When they gathered the account of the trembling Sophie, 
 some of the braver of the domestics proceeded to the death- 
 room, and there the cause was made clear. 
 
 Kneeling on the stone floor beside the coffin, lost to all 
 outward things save her grief, a white dressing-gown only 
 thrown over her night-clothes, was Lady Dane. The sounds 
 of pain and sorrow had come from her ; and the " white 
 light," as Sophie had described, from her lamp. Not for a 
 long time could they prevail upon the unhappy lady to 
 return to her own chamber. In vain they urged upon her that 
 she would surely catch her death of cold. " What matters it ? " 
 she murmured. " Harry first, Geoffry next ; both gone, what 
 signifies death, or anything else, that may come to me ? " 
 
 Geoffry was buried in the family vault, amidst much 
 pomp and ceremony, as befitted, according to the world's 
 usages, the late heir of the Danes. Lord Dane was too 
 feeble to attend the funeral, the recent events had greatly 
 increased his bodily illness, and he seemed as a man 
 shattered. The new heir attended as chief mourner, accom- 
 panied by hosts of friends. 
 
 The new heir was Herbert Dane. He it was who had 
 stepped into the Honourable Geoffry's place, and become 
 the presumptive successor to the title, the rich and wide 
 
94 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 domains. Not less to his own astonishment than to that of 
 his neighbours, was he there. He could not realise his 
 position; could scarcely believe in it. Was it he himself? 
 he would ask, when he awoke in the morning ; was he 
 really a man of importance, the future Lord of Dane, or 
 was he the obscure young fellow who used to sit on the 
 gate mending his old fishing-rod, without a coin to buy a 
 new one? At odd moments, a question stole over him, 
 whether his heirship was safe and sure. Every probability 
 pointed to the fact that Harry Dane must be dead ; but it 
 had not been indisputably proved. Lord Dane said he had 
 heard of such frauds as one dead man being buried surrep- 
 titiously for another. Herbert Dane knew that it was no 
 very uncommon case for a man supposed to be dead, but of 
 whose death there was no certain proof, to return to the 
 world's stage again. It was a notion that did not appear 
 to cross the mind of Danesheld, but it certainly did that of 
 the heir ; unpleasantly so ; and it seemed to him that he 
 would almost have forfeited his new heirship to set the 
 doubt at rest, one way or the other. Lord Dane retained 
 not a grain of hope — he believed his younger son to be as 
 surely dead as he knew the elder one to be — Herbert Dane 
 was now his indisputable heir, and from henceforth he was 
 to be called by his second name, Geoffry. Geoffry was a 
 favourite name of the Danes. From the creation of the 
 barony, more than two-thirds of the lords had borne it, and 
 it was held (another of their superstitions) that those who 
 did so bear it were more lucky and reigned more happily 
 than the rest. Herbert Dane had been christened Herbert 
 Geoffry, his friends calling him Herbert, not to interfere 
 with his cousin Geoffry, the heir. Now that the succession 
 had lapsed to him, he was never more to be Herbert, but 
 Geoffry. 
 
 The words heedlessly spoken by the servants, that their 
 lady might be catching her death, when they found her on 
 the floor by the coffin, were destined to be borne out more 
 literally than such words usually arc. Whether it was the 
 kneeling so long on the cold stones in the chilly night, or the 
 scantiness of the apparel she had thrown on, or the change 
 
MORTALITY. 
 
 95 
 
 from tlie warm bed slie had been lying in, certain it was 
 that a violent cold, accompanied with inward inflammation, 
 attacked Lady Dane. Mr. Wild said it was pleurisy ; the 
 physician, summoned in haste from the county town, called 
 it by a more scientific name ; unlearned people supposed it 
 to be inflammation of the lungs ; and it matters little what 
 it was called, Lady Dane was in imminent danger. 
 
 She lay in her spacious and most comfortable bedroom. 
 The servants, moving softly, were anxious and attentive ; 
 the doctors unremitting ; the neighbourhood concerned. 
 Could life have been kept in Lady Dane by earthly means, 
 they were not wanting ; but when the time comes for its 
 departure, who may prolong its stay? Lady Dane was 
 dying, and she knew it. 
 
 On the third morning, when the physician paid his visit 
 and was gone again, a rumour went through the household 
 that the great man had said, in confidence to Mr. Wild, 
 that it was a hopeless case. 
 
 "She'll make the third then," observed Sophie Deffloe 
 with equanimity. " I thought it would have been my lord." 
 
 " What's that ? " cried the butler, turning to the French- 
 woman. 
 
 " Why, when two die close together in a family, it's well 
 known there'll soon be a third. I've remarked it scores of 
 times in my own country." 
 
 " What a marvellous country it must be ! " sarcastically 
 rejoined Bruff, who was sincerely attached to his lord and 
 lady, and could not bear the possible death of either 
 alluded to without pain. " A nice place to live in ! " 
 
 " Nicer than yours," retorted Sophie. " You may sneer as 
 long as you like, Mr. Bruff, but you only observe. The 
 captain was the first ; Mr. Dane w r as the second ; and her 
 ladyship will be the third. Wait and see." 
 
 " Perhaps there'll be a fourth," said Mr. Bruff, aggra- 
 vatingly. "My lady's a trifle better to-day than she was 
 yesterday ; let me tell you that, mam'selle." 
 
 Bruff should have said a little easier, not better. Better, 
 Lady Dane was not ; easier, she was ; but it was in the 
 relief from pain that mercifully precedes death. 
 
90 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 Adelaide Errol was sitting alone with her aunt in the 
 afternoon ; the once careless girl seemed more fitted now 
 for a sad room than a gay one. How changed she was 
 since the night that had brought to her such terror, even 
 strangers were beginning to see. Her brilliant colour had 
 faded, her rounded form had grown thin ; her spirits were 
 unequal, her step was languid, her manner subdued. She 
 sat in her aunt's invalid chair, her cheek pressed upon her 
 right hand, her eyes fixed vacantly on the fire. Lady Dane 
 was speaking to her in her weak voice of the future ; but 
 Adelaide, at the best, seemed indifferent to it. 
 
 " Come here to me, Adelaide," at length said the invalid. 
 " Why are you so sad ? " she asked, as Adelaide stood 
 at the bed, a vivid blush dyeing her cheeks at the 
 question. 
 
 " Child, I shall not be long here, and I would ask " 
 
 " Oh, aunt ! " interrupted Adelaide in a tone of pain. 
 
 "Do not distress yourself, my dear," was the calm 
 rejoinder. " It causes me no distress. I have a Friend in 
 heaven, Adelaide, and I know He will welcome me to His 
 Father's home. The world has become to me too sad to live 
 in. I shall be glad to go from it ; and my husband will, I 
 am certain, very speedily follow me. He, in his bed below, 
 Adelaide ; I, in this one ; and neither of us can see the 
 other for a last farewell." 
 
 " Yes you will," said Adelaide, the tears raining from her 
 eyes. " Lord Dane is up, and they are going to bring him 
 here this evening." 
 
 " Can they do it ? Thank Heaven for that comfort. But 
 whence arises this strange sadness of yours ? I do not think 
 it is caused by Harry's death." 
 
 " It was a dreadful death, aunt," shivered Adelaide, 
 shunning the question. 
 
 " Ay, a dreadful death," murmured Lady Dane. " Child ! 
 let there be neither concealment nor equivocation between 
 us in these my last hours. I believed that you did not love 
 Harry ; that you would have loved Herbert had you dared. 
 If you do love him, there is nothing now to prevent your 
 marrying him ; and in that case, you need not go to Mrs. 
 
MARGARET BORDILLION. 
 
 97 
 
 Grant's, which would be a poor home for you after this. 
 Tell me the truth." 
 
 Adelaide Errol was visibly agitated as she bent over her 
 aunt, who had taken her hands and held her there. Speak 
 she must, there was no escape ; but even Lady Dane, dying 
 as she was, observed how violently her heart beat. 
 
 " I do not wish to marry Herbert Dane." 
 
 "He is Geoffry now, Adelaide. He will succeed his 
 uncle ; he will be Lord Dane." 
 
 " I know. But I did not like Harry so much as I have 
 done since his death. And I — I will not yet put another in 
 his place. Herbert — Geoffry, I am forgetting too— I shall 
 never put there." 
 
 " Then shall you make up your mind to go to Mrs. 
 Grant's?" 
 
 " I suppose so. It will be very miserable, no doubt ; but 
 — oh aunt, I wish Harry was back in life again ! I would 
 marry him the next hour." 
 
 She drew away from the bed in a fit of hysterical tears as 
 she spoke. Perhaps the contrast between the vision of 
 being mistress of Dane Castle as Harry's wife, and the home 
 of discomfort offered to her at Mrs. Grant's, caused the 
 emotion quite as much as any other feeling. 
 
 The excitement was not good for Lady Dane. Not that 
 it could much affect her now. A few short hours, and all 
 of emotion, whether for good or ill, was over for her in this 
 world. 
 
 CHAPTEK VIII. 
 
 MARGARET BORDILLION. 
 
 About half-a-mile from Dane Castle, standing almost at a 
 right angle between the castle and the village of Danesheld, 
 was the dwelling of Mr. Lester. It was a substantial red- 
 brick dwelling, known by the name of Danesheld Hall, and 
 
 Lady Adelaide, 7 
 
98 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 but for its size might have been mistaken for a farm-house, 
 surrounded as it was by outbuildings, barns, sheds, rick- 
 yards, and other appurtenances that a large farm generally 
 possesses. Its site was somewhat solitary, no houses being 
 in the immediate vicinity, whilst the wild wood at the back, 
 ranging out and extending to some distance, did not render 
 its aspect more cheerful. The wood belonged to Lord 
 Dane ; it joined his shooting preserves, and was a favourite 
 resort of poachers. 
 
 Mr. Lester's property was not entailed. It had come to 
 him by bequest, not inheritance ; and a large portion of his 
 income was derived from his dead wife. A distant relative 
 of his was the former owner of Danesheld Hall, and he made 
 George Lester his heir upon condition that he should take 
 up his residence on the estate, and make the Hall his home. 
 George Lester was a dashing young guardsman then, rather 
 poor, and very fond of life, and he knew not whether to be 
 pleased or annoyed at the bequest. The fortune was most 
 welcome, but to vegetate in the country and be dubbed " the 
 squire " — at that he winced. However, we grow reconciled 
 to most things with time, and so did George Lester to this. 
 He sold out, married, and took up his abode at Danesheld. 
 But he still resentfully called it a " bleak place," " the fag 
 end of the world." 
 
 His wife was a Miss Bordillion. That he never loved her 
 very passionately, was known to herself as to others. He 
 had engaged himself to her in the old days on account of her 
 " exj>ectations " ; and with his own accession to fortune, 
 though his heart might have prompted him to wish the 
 engagement cancelled, he did not allow himself to dwell on 
 any suggestion so dishonourable, but married her. After 
 all she brought with her no fortune. In her own right 
 Katherine Bordillion possessed none. She was of a good 
 but poor family ; there was a saying in the locality, " poor 
 and proud as a Bordillion." She had been brought up by 
 Mrs. Hesketh, a wealthy lady, who was herself childless. 
 
 The marriage was a happy one, Mr. Lester making a kind 
 and excellent husband. Two children were born of it, a son 
 and daughter. They were still young children when Mrs. 
 
MARGARET BORDILLION. 
 
 09 
 
 Hesketh died. Her will was a somewhat curious one. To 
 Mrs. Lester she bequeathed unconditionally twelve hundred 
 a year, funded property ; of course it became virtually Mr. 
 Lester's, and was at his disposal. It almost doubled his own 
 income: but he derived other benefit also. To the little 
 daughter Mrs. Hcsketh left a sum of fourteen thousand 
 pounds; the principal was invested at large interest, and 
 this interest was to be enjoyed by Mr. Lester so long as the 
 child remained unmarried. There were other legacies, 
 amidst them one to the son. 
 
 After a few years, Mrs. Lester began to droop. During 
 her last illness, a distant cousin was staying with her, Mar- 
 garet Bordillion. They had been girls together, close and 
 tried friends since, and Mrs. Lester besought a promise from 
 her that she would remain at the Hall after her approaching 
 death, to watch over and train her little girl, Maria. Mar- 
 garet Bordillion was a delicate-looking woman of two or 
 three and thirty, and the pink hue came into her cheeks as 
 she thought of what the world might say, if she remained 
 an inmate of the gay and attractive George Lester's house. 
 But when death is brought palpably before us — and 
 Margaret Bordillion knew that it was very close to that 
 chamber, as she held the damp hand and gazed at the 
 wasted face of Mrs. Lester — minor considerations are lost in 
 the vision of the solemn unknown future upon which a soul 
 is entering, upon which we must speedily enter ourselves, 
 a little sooner or a little later ; and we feel far more anxious 
 to fulfil our duty in the sight of God, wherever it may lie, 
 than to care about " what the world will say." Mrs. Lester 
 received the promise she asked — that Margaret Bordillion 
 would remain at the Hall to take charge of Maria, at any 
 rate for the present. 
 
 " And remember, Margaret," Mrs. Lester had whispered, 
 drawing Margaret's face down that she might catch un- 
 mistakably the low accents, " should any warmer feeling 
 arise hereafter between you and (jeorge, should he ever seek 
 to make you his wife, remember that I now tell you I should 
 be pleased at it." 
 
 " How can you contemplate such a thing ! how can you 
 
100 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 speak of it at this moment?" interrupted Miss Bordillion, 
 aghast, drawing up her tall, slender form. " You, his wife, 
 can calmly entertain the idea that he may marry another ! " 
 
 " The world with its passions are fading away from me, 
 Margaret," was the reply of Mrs. Lester ; " it almost seems 
 as though I had already left it. George is almost sure to 
 marry again, and I would rather that he made you my 
 children's mother, than any other woman.", 
 
 Mrs. Lester died. It was two years ago now, and Miss 
 Bordillion had remained at Danesheld Hall. But she kept 
 very much in the background, more as though she were 
 only Maria's governess, wholly declining to preside as the 
 Hall's mistress. She partially regulated the domestic affairs, 
 and gave her gentle orders to the servants in a timid, sug- 
 gesting sort of a way, not assuming authority over them. 
 She never officiated at table in the place of Mrs. Lester ; 
 when Mr. Lester had visitors, she did not appear at all, 
 remaining in private with the child ; and she more often 
 passed her evenings in her own sitting-room than joined 
 Mr. Lester. Maria was only eight years old at the time of 
 her mother's death ; had she been grown up, Miss Bordillion 
 would not have felt the awkwardness of her position so 
 much. Some women might not have felt it awkward at all : 
 but Miss Bordillion was of a modest, sensitive temperament, 
 exceedingly alive to the refined proprieties of life. 
 
 What had these two years brought forth for her heart ? 
 Love. Thrown into daily contact with George Lester and 
 his attractions, influenced possibly by the dying words of 
 Mrs. Lester, Miss Bordillion had allowed herself, though at 
 first in all unconsciousness, to become deeply attached to 
 him. And when a woman's love has lain dormant for over 
 thirty years of her life, and is then awakened, it bursts into 
 a strength and depth of passion that the young little dream 
 of. Timid, modest, retiring, Margaret Bordillion nourished 
 it in secret, gradually giving way to the hope that she 
 should be made what Mrs. Lester had suggested — his second 
 wife. The hope grew into intensity, nay, to expectation ; 
 and her days became as a dream of paradise. Better for her 
 that she had seen the truth from the first — the dark cloud, 
 
M AUG ARE T BORDILLION. 
 
 101 
 
 ominously near, might not have poured forth its wrath so 
 mercilessly on her unsheltered head. 
 
 One morning, only a few days after the death of Lady 
 Dane, as Mr. Lester rose from breakfast, he remarked that 
 the summer heat appeared to be coming on early, and they 
 had better change their breakfast-room. It was their 
 custom to do so during the hot months, for the one gene- 
 rally used faced the morning sun. 
 
 " I will tell the servants to-day," said Miss Bordillion. 
 
 When the son, Wilfred, was at home they generally all 
 breakfasted together — as on this morning. Miss Bordillion' s 
 niece, Edith, was staying with them. She was the only 
 child of Major Bordillion, and had just been sent home 
 from India, where the major, a widower, was stationary. 
 Miss Bordillion received her at the Hall, and was looking 
 out for a suitable school for her. 
 
 The two little girls, both very lovely children, ran out to 
 the lawn through the open window. Wilfred vaulted after 
 them; like a genuine schoolboy, he delighted in teasing 
 them. Wilfred was fourteen years old, Edith Bordillion 
 twelve, and Maria ten. 
 
 Miss Bordillion sat down in a remote window-seat to 
 read a letter that the post had brought her, when she was 
 aroused by the voice of Mr. Lester calling to her. He was 
 in the adjoining room, standing at a window that faced the 
 south. 
 
 " Margaret, I want your opinion," he said, as she put her 
 letter down, and advanced. " Has it ever struck you what 
 a famous conservatory might be carried out from this end 
 window ? " 
 
 " It would be an excellent spot for one," she answered. 
 
 " The idea has been floating in my mind for some time. 
 If I ever carry it out, it must be now." 
 
 " Why now ? " questioned Miss Bordillion. 
 
 Mr. Lester laughed, and his beautiful face wore an 
 unusual air of embarrassment. The term beautiful sounds 
 wrong when applied to a man ; it was not so to him. 
 His face was almost delicately beautiful ; so much so that 
 only the depth of passion, gleaming from his deep-set 
 
102 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 violet eyes, redeemed it from effeminacy. Margaret Bor- 
 dillion's love stirred within lier as she gazed at him, 
 standing there in the rays of the morning sun. He turned 
 his eyes full upon her, shaking off the embarrassment under 
 a frank smile. 
 
 "It is two years now since Katherine died," he said, 
 dropping his voice to the low tender tone that it always 
 seemed to wear to her ear. " Should you be very much 
 shocked, Margaret, if I were to begin to wish for some one 
 to supply her place ? " 
 
 How wildly her heart beat at the words, she alone knew. 
 Mr. Lester's smile increased. 
 
 " And in that case, you know, we ought to have the old 
 house brightened up beforehand. It wouldn't do to leave 
 alterations until afterwards. What say you, Margaret ? " 
 
 Say, poor thing ! nothing. Margaret Bordillion stood 
 with her face bent down and her cheeks glowing. She was 
 altogether mistaken. Certainly she did not construe the 
 words into an offer : she had better sense than to do so ; but 
 she believed that, so far as they went, they pointed to herself. 
 George Lester was one of those men whose manner to women 
 is naturally soft and tender, conveying unintentionally more 
 than he meant by it. Margaret Bordillion may be forgiven 
 that she so understood it ; his slight embarrassment, a thing 
 she had never remarked in him before, aiding the mis- 
 apprehension. 
 
 Mr. Lester waited for her answer, but none came. He saw 
 the marks of confusion, of shyness ; it was impossible to 
 conceal them, facing him as she did in the bright morning 
 light, and he also jumped forthwith to a wrong conclusion. 
 He attributed these signs to displeasure, and thought she 
 was feeling pained at the idea of a successor to Katherine. 
 
 " Margaret," he said, his tone persuasive, and he laid his 
 hand gently on her shoulder, though neither tone nor action 
 was born of tenderness for her, " I am so tired of my widowed 
 life. Katherine is gone, but we who are living should not 
 be wedded to the dead. Think upon this matter ; and try 
 and overcome your distaste to it." 
 
 Mr. Lester stepped outside and joined the children. 
 
MARGARET BORDILLION. 
 
 103 
 
 Having broached the subject, he would not say more until 
 she should have had time to grow reconciled to it. And 
 Margaret Bordillion? She remained standing, as he had 
 left her, the day's radiance a type of the radiance that was 
 overspreading her whole soul. 
 
 " I shall be his wife at last ? " she murmured to herself : 
 " his wife ! How have I deserved so intense a happiness ? " 
 
 But alas, Mr. Lester has not spoken of her. Had he 
 been told that Margaret Bordillion had applied his words 
 to herself, he would have gazed out amazement from the 
 very depths of those dark-blue eyes. He had been thinking 
 of one younger, if not fairer than she — the Lady Adelaide 
 Errol. 
 
 On terms of close intimacy at the castle, running in and 
 out with the freedom of a son, far more freely than its new 
 heir, Mr. Lester had almost made it his home during the 
 day or two that had elapsed since Lady Dane's death. He 
 took all the arrangements upon himself to relieve Lord 
 Dane ; he spared him every possible care. This had brought 
 him into frequent contact with Lady Adelaide ; and they 
 had spoken together of her future plans, and what this 
 change must bring forth for her. 
 
 To say that Mr. Lester had become attached to Adelaide 
 Errol would be a slight phrase to express his feeling for her. 
 He loved her with that passionate love he had never felt or 
 pretended to feel for his first wife ; she had become the 
 angel of his hopes, the day-star of his existence. During 
 Harry Dane's life this love had not been entirely kept 
 under ; it had been allowed to show itself to her at times. 
 With the keen discernment of love in all that regards the 
 beloved object, Mr. Lester had detected that she did not 
 care for Harry Dane ; he fully believed that she intended to 
 reject him, and was contented to wait for that time to press 
 his own suit. The bare sight of her was as heaven to his 
 soul. He knew nothing of any regard there might have 
 been between her and Herbert Dane : that they had cared 
 for each other never entered his imagination. 
 
 Lady Dane had foreseen the probability that after her 
 death another home might be desirable for Adelaide. She 
 
104 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 could tliink of none but that of a distant relative, Mrs. 
 Grant, a widow lady who lived in a remote part of Scotland, 
 who was very poor, and had a number of young children. 
 This lady would only be too thankful to receive Lady 
 Adelaide and the liberal remuneration she would bring 
 with her. To Adelaide herself it seemed a terrible prospect ; 
 purgatory would be nothing to it, she said confidentially to 
 Sophie ; but necessity has no law. The castle would no 
 longer be a home for her. Lord Dane was confined to his 
 room, and she was, it may be said, its sole inmate. 
 
 " But surely you will not like going to this Mrs. Grant's, 
 Lady Adelaide ? " Mr. Lester had observed to her on the 
 day following Lady Dane's death. 
 
 " Like it ! I shall hate it beyond any earthly thing. But 
 what am I to do, now my aunt is gone ? " 
 
 George Lester's heart leaped within him. The barriers 
 of silence were flung down, and he there and then poured 
 forth his tale of love, beseeching her to become his wife, the 
 mistress of his home. She was a little taken by surprise, 
 and her first impulse was to reject the offer, for she cared for 
 Mr. Lester no more than she had cared for Harry Dane. But 
 she thought of Mrs. Grant's remote home, full of children 
 and discomfort, and checked the denial upon her lips. 
 
 " Will you give me a day or two for consideration, Mr. 
 Lester ? " 
 
 He would have been happy to give her a month or two, so 
 that she did not reject him at the end. And for two days 
 he said no more. On the third evening she spoke to him of 
 her own accord, accepting his offer ; spoke so calmly and 
 quietly that Mr. Lester might have known she had no love 
 for him, but that a man in his position is blind. 
 
 " But you will not exact the fulfilment of my promise yet," 
 she added. " In a year's time, perhaps. As your affianced 
 wife, I can remain at the castle so long as Lord Dane is 
 spared, and we shall meet constantly." 
 
 Mr. Lester was all too thankful for this. And he lay 
 awake three parts of the night, projecting alterations and 
 improvements in his dwelling, all for her happiness and 
 welcome. His children, his friends, had dwindled down to 
 
MARGARET BORDILLION. 
 
 105 
 
 a very small place in his affections ; there was no room for 
 them beside Adelaide ; she was all in all. No wonder he 
 suspected not the true cause of Margaret Bordillion's con- 
 fusion. He was going forth again presently to bask in the 
 sunshine of her j^resence. But not until after the burial of 
 Lady Dane, three days to come yet, was the news to be 
 confided to Lord Dane. 
 
 And Margaret remained on in her dream of happiness, in 
 the spot where Mr. Lester had left her; how long she 
 scarcely knew. The voices of the children, outside on the 
 lawn, were as music to her ear ; the tones of Mr. Lester as 
 he spoke to them, were as the sweetest melody to her heart. 
 The entrance of a servant with some household question 
 aroused her to realities. 
 
 Let us take a glance at this servant, who rejoices in the 
 name of Tiffle — Miss Eliza Tiffle. She is the upper servant 
 at the Hall, and its ruling power; fair and deceitful in 
 speech, and very crafty. A little stealthy woman, with a 
 sharp, thin, red face, and small sly ferret's eyes of a light 
 green. She assumes airs, and is dressed in an old silk gown, 
 dyed brown, and a white muslin apron. You might take her 
 for any age from twenty to forty : perhaps she was about 
 midway between the two. 
 
 Tiffle had begun life as a kitchen-maid, had risen to be 
 cook, had taken service with Mrs. Lester during her last 
 illness as cook and housekeeper. So efficient did she prove 
 herself, that her poor invalid mistress looked upon her as an 
 invaluable treasure, and bade Mr. Lester keep her always if 
 possible. She was made housekeeper only, and a fresh cook 
 was engaged under her. " Let her superintend all," said 
 Mrs. Lester. But when that lady died, and it was found 
 that Miss Bordillion was to remain, Tiffle went straight to 
 her master and gave warning ; there was nothing Tiffle 
 hated so much as what she called "them half-and-half 
 mistresses." Mr. Lester would not take the warning ; he 
 fancied that the house, deprived of both lady and house- 
 keeper, would inevitably come to grief ; and he raised Tiffle's 
 wages, and told her she must remain. Tiffle consented to a 
 three-months' further sojourn, graciously enough in appear- 
 
106 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 ance, but rebelliously at heart. But when the three months 
 came to an end, and Tiffle found how very little Miss 
 Bordillion troubled her — that she had, in fact, more un- 
 limited sway than in the life-time of her late mistress — she 
 said no more about leaving. Truth to say, Miss Bordillion 
 let her alone from simple dislike ; she doubted her in- 
 stinctively, and felt rather afraid of her. One of the sourest 
 of virgins was Tiffle in her sway, liking to rule with an 
 overbearing hand ; she was neither of a desirable temper nor 
 a kindly disposition, and the servants called her " cross- 
 grained." Tiffle, in her turn, hated Miss Bordillion. As 
 a rule, she hated most people, but Miss Bordillion especially, 
 for that lady was her ostensible mistress, and Tiffle saw that 
 she was not trusted. Tiffle was one who could hate to some 
 purpose, with her apparent fairness and her real cunning. 
 
 " I thought I'd come to you, ma'am," began Tiffle : " might 
 you be forgetting the orders this morning ? " 
 
 "In truth I think I forgot the time, Tiffle," said Miss 
 Bordillion, rousing herself ; and her cheeks were so bright, 
 her soft dark eyes so radiant, that the observant housekeeper 
 gazed at her with interest, apparently looking all the time 
 the other way. " Mr. Lester was speaking this morning 
 about making some alteration in this room, and I had lost 
 myself in plans." 
 
 It was no evasion. Her blissful thoughts had roved even 
 to that, and when Tiffle came in she was really planning 
 the conservatory in her own mind, with the way in which it 
 might be best carried out. 
 
 " The butcher has been kicking his horse's heels at the 
 door these ten minutes, and old Gand has come to say he 
 has a lovely John Dory," proceeded Tiffle, sourly, for Miss 
 Bordillion's neglect had not pleased her. 
 
 " Get what you like from the butcher, Tiffle ; take 
 Gand's John Dory : for the rest, arrange the dinner yourself," 
 joyfully answered Miss Bordillion in gladness of heart. 
 
 Tiffle growled a surly acquiescence. Even this little 
 command did not please her. She made a show still of 
 deferring to Miss Bordillion, but that lady for the most 
 part replied by leaving all arrangements to her. 
 
MARGARET BORDILLION. 107 
 
 " Does master take liis luncli at home ? " slic asked. 
 
 " I don't know. He lias not done so generally of late, 
 you know ; but perhaps — pcrliaps he will to-day. Let the 
 young ladies have mutton for their dinner, Tiffle." 
 
 "Master Lester won't eat mutton," said Tiffle, fiercely. 
 " He told me in his insolence yesterday that he got enough 
 of that stuff at Rugby." 
 
 Miss Bordillion laughed. " You can get him something 
 else, Tiffle. He is not often at home." 
 
 Tiffle would have liked to give him dry bread ; and her 
 fierce rejoinder was not caused by resentment at the order to 
 send up mutton for the young ladies, but at the thought of 
 him, that the mention of the mutton had called up. He was 
 a generous, high-spirited boy, but very aggravating where 
 he took a dislike ; and he and Tiffle had owned to a mutual 
 antipathy from the first hour they met. That a certain 
 innate repulsion to each other existed,, not explainable by 
 any law except that of instinct, was all too evident, as the 
 numerous contests proved when Master Lester was at home. 
 Sometimes the aggression was on his side, sometimes on 
 Tiffle's ; Miss Bordillion kept herself aloof from the arena, 
 and the servants invariably took the part of the boy. 
 
 Tiffle, her business over with Miss Bordillion, made her 
 exit, not by the door, but by the window — a French one that 
 opened on the ground. She went about the house just as if 
 she were its mistress, paying scant deference to any one, 
 except her master. Miss Bordillion supposed she was 
 going out to inquire of Mr. Lester, who might be still there, 
 what his plans were for the day in regard to meals ; but the 
 truth most likely was that she meant to fling a passing 
 lance at Master Lester. 
 
 This she did, to her heart's content. Mr. Lester was not 
 there; and something she said, in reference to the boy's 
 distaste to mutton, something especially provoking, caused 
 that young gentleman to follow her to her own precincts 
 and " have it out." Tiffle retorted again, and the contest 
 grew hot. So loud did it become, that Miss Bordillion was 
 aroused, and thought it best to hasten to the scene of 
 action. 
 
108 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 It might have made a subject for Wilkie. They stood in 
 the middle of the back-yard, between the servants' outer 
 gate and the kitchen entrance. Tiffle, red, furious, loud, her 
 little frame quivering with passion ; the boy standing 
 before her in a provokingly cool attitude, saying all the 
 insolent things a schoolboy can say when he chooses. He 
 was a slender boy, tall for fourteen ; his face one of delicate 
 beauty, his eyes blue as his father's. The servants had 
 come out and were gathered in an admiring group ; the 
 butcher-boy and Bill Gand looked on, and enjoyed the 
 contest with a broad grin ; and the two little girls, drawing 
 a doll's carriage, had followed in the wake of the boy and 
 Tiffle : Maria Lester, a sweet child with timid manners, the 
 same delicate features that characterized her father and 
 brother, soft brown eyes and silky brown curls ; Edith 
 Bordillion, a graceful fairy, with light eyes, a laughing 
 face, and fair hair. But the face was not laughing now ; 
 both of them were terrified, and Maria began to cry. 
 
 " Wilfred, Wilfred, what is this ? " cried Miss Bordillion. 
 « Tiffle " 
 
 She was too late. Tiffle, with a shriek, flew up to him 
 and gave him a smart blow on the cheek. Wilfred Lester 
 did not strike again : he seized both her arms firmly, and 
 held her there powerless, gave her a slight shaking and a 
 great deal of impudence. Tiffle was half mad : she had 
 always mastered him hitherto, but the boy was now 
 growing beyond her. 
 
 Miss Bordillion parted them. She touched Wilfred, and 
 insisted on his releasing the woman ; and she kept him by 
 her side whilst she inquired into the cause of the dispute. 
 So far as she could discover, Tiffle was in fault ; certainly 
 she was the aggressor : and Miss Bordillion, really scan- 
 dalized at the scene, gave her a quiet but most decisive 
 reprimand. Possibly the foreshadowing of the full autho- 
 rity she might soon be vested with in the house, imparted 
 to her the courage for it. Tiffle was utterly astounded, and 
 an evil gaze went out from her little sly half-closed green 
 eyes — eyes that Master Wilfred was in the habit of openly 
 likening to a cat's. 
 
MARGARET BORDILLION. 
 
 100 
 
 " Her fault, Margaret ! of course it was her fault," de- 
 nounced Wilfred, boldly. " She can't let me alone. I 
 shouldn't have interfered with her if she had not interfered 
 with me. She came shuffling up to me with those cat's feet 
 of hers, and attacked me sneeringly about my not choosing 
 to eat mutton : the children can tell you so. I'm not likely 
 to stand that. She's not going to regulate what I eat : it 
 lies with papa to do it, or with you. My opinion is," boldly 
 added the lad, " that you have been here too long, Tiffle." 
 
 Miss Bordillion drew the boy away. Tiffle's tongue 
 followed him with loud abuse. She was in truth in a 
 frightful temper ; and a slight murmur of applause that 
 arose amongst the servants at the boy's concluding opinion, 
 did not tend to calm her. 
 
 " Yes," she said to the domestics in her passion, " you'd 
 like to get rid of me, wouldn't you ? but you can't do it. 
 Neither you nor that saucy reptile." 
 
 Driving them right and left, dismissing the grinning 
 butcher-boy with an order to come again in half-an-hour, 
 snatching the John Dory from the quiet fisherman's hand, 
 she went indoors, and flung the fish to the cook. Mr. 
 Lester's butler, a silent, civil man, the least aggressive of 
 all, and who got on pretty well with Tiffle, followed her to 
 the housekeeper's room. 
 
 " I wouldn't let my tongue run on so freely if I were you, 
 Mrs. Tiffle," said he in a friendly tone, " especially before 
 Miss Bordillion. You might find yourself the worst for it. 
 It strikes me there's going to be a change in the house." 
 
 " What change ? " snapped Tiffle. 
 
 " Well — though I'm not sure that I ought to talk of it — 
 from a word the squire let drop to me this morning, I think 
 he is going to marry again." 
 
 " Going to — marry again ! " echoed Tiffle, her voice 
 subdued to something very like fear, in the excess of her 
 consternation. 
 
 " Yes, there's not the least doubt he is ; but that's between 
 ourselves as yet, mind." 
 
 Tiffle turned cold all over ; a conviction that the man 
 spoke truth seemed to settle down upon her suddenly and 
 
110 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 hopelessly. She pushed back her red hair from her be- 
 wildered forehead. 
 
 " Then it is to that animal, Miss Bordillion ! " she ex- 
 claimed wrathfully. " The designing, crafty witch ! making 
 bones about sitting with him, and keeping herself away 
 with the children, as if afraid he might eat her." 
 
 The butler only smiled. He had no idea Tiffle would do 
 what she did do. But when Tiffle was exasperated she did 
 not stand on trifles. Quitting the butler, she proceeded in 
 search of Miss Bordillion, and found that lady in the break- 
 fast room applying herself to the final perusal of the letter 
 which she had laid down that morning in obedience to 
 Mr. Lester's call. To see Tiffle with her shrivelled face 
 scarlet was nothing; but to see her come in with a bold 
 step and her elbows squared was a different matter. 
 
 " I have lived in the family before ever you came near it, 
 Miss Bordillion," she began, panting with passion ; " and I 
 think that if this change was in view I might have been 
 injected into it." 
 
 Miss Bordillion was accustomed to Tiffle's singular use 
 of words, a peculiarity of Tiffle's that afforded perpetual 
 amusement to Wilfred Lester. She supposed this outbreak 
 had reference to the recent quarrel ; but did not in the least 
 understand it. 
 
 " Explain yourself, Tiffle." 
 
 " I say it's a shame for them servants to have been in- 
 lightened, and me, their head, who ain't a servant in the 
 strict sense of the word, to have been kept in the dark," 
 continued Tiffle. " But when things is set about in this 
 kivert way, they don't bring much luck with 'em." 
 
 " Explain yourself, I repeat," interrupted Miss Bordillion. 
 " What are you speaking of? You forget yourself, Tiffle." 
 
 "It have just been told me by Jones that you and 
 Mr. Lester are going to make a match of it," shrieked 
 Tiffle. " He says his master told him so : and, I repeat, I 
 think I might have been made a confidence of, instead of 
 him. It's not ways that I've been accustomed to, Miss Bor- 
 dillion, I always had respect paid to me in all my places, 
 and I mean to have it." 
 
BROUGHT IN BY TIIE FISHING-BOAT. 
 
 Ill 
 
 Never in her whole life had Margaret Bordillion been so 
 completely taken aback. Tiffle's insolence, Tiffle's passion, 
 all faded into nothing at the woman's news. It was that 
 which robbed her of her self-possession, and covered her 
 with confusion. She blushed, she stammered, she faltered ; 
 bringing out some disjointed words that she " did not know," 
 she " was not sure." It never occurred to her to doubt the 
 suggestion that Mr. Lester had himself informed the butler, 
 and in her innate adherence to truth she would not attempt 
 to deny the fact. 
 
 " And so, as I've not been used to this sort of under- 
 handled treatment, and can't stomach it, I'll give warning 
 to leave when my next quarter's up, ma'am, which will be 
 just four weeks to-morrow." 
 
 Tiffle turned and flounced out of the room, having read 
 the signs of love all too correctly ; leaving Miss Bordillion 
 with a rosy hue on her delicate face, and lost in the sweet 
 mazes of her delusive dream. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 BROUGHT IN BY THE FISHING-BOAT. 
 
 This day was to bring forth an event, beside which the 
 morning quarrel between Wilfred Lester and Tiffle, or that 
 spotless domestic's subsequent onslaught on Miss Bordillion, 
 faded into insignificance. As if to put a final and decisive 
 close to any latent hope Lord Dane might inwardly cherish, 
 and to set at rest the secret, tormenting doubts of the heir, 
 the body of Harry Dane was found, and brought to the 
 castle. 
 
 Adelaide Errol was in the drawing-room with Mr. Lester 
 in the afternoon. He was talking to her about the very 
 project he had alluded to in the morning to Miss Bordillion, 
 
112 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 a new conservatory, and she listened with an absent, listless 
 air, as if she cared not for conservatories or for anything 
 else in life. Suddenly she lifted her head and listened. A 
 sound in the road, unnoticed at first during their conver- 
 sation, had been gradually advancing nearer ; it was as 
 the tread of many people, and was now within the castle 
 gateway. 
 
 Strange to say, there was a prevision within her mind of 
 what it really was. She stood with her hands clasped before 
 her, the colour fading from her face. Nothing was to be 
 seen from the window but a number of people staring into 
 the gateway. Without a word to Mr. Lester, she glided 
 down the stairs into the very heart of the commotion. A 
 dozen fishermen, or so, were congregated in the gateway, the 
 outer gates of which had been closed hastily, to keep out the 
 crowd. They had carried up a sort of hand-barrow to the 
 castle, on which lay a body, covered from view. It had been 
 picked up some miles down the coast, and they brought it to 
 Danesheld in their boat, scarcely looking at it, and never 
 giving a thought to its being the body of Captain Dane. It 
 happened, however, that Eavensbird was strolling on the 
 beach when the boat came in, and he immediately, at the 
 first glance, pronounced it to be that of his late master. 
 The features were unrecognizable, but he knew it by the 
 teeth, and by a mark upon the right arm. Harry Dane's 
 teeth had been of great beauty, white and regular. 
 
 Adelaide was unnoticed in the confusion. Several of the 
 servants were gathered in the gateway ; the fishermen were 
 gesticulating and talking loudly in their rude dialect : Lord 
 Dane, who was up that afternoon, had caused himself to be 
 wheeled to the scene, and sat in his chair looking on from the 
 hall door. Eavensbird stood before him, telling how he had 
 recognized the body, and by what signs. If anything could 
 have surprised Adelaide at the moment, it was the sight of 
 Eavensbird. The fact was he had entered with the fishermen, 
 and Lord Dane chose to hear what he was saying before he 
 ordered him forth. 
 
 What motive impelled Lady Adelaide to go forward to the 
 barrow she could not have told : possibly, in that moment of 
 
Brought in by the fishing-boat. 113 
 
 agitation, of terror, she was partially unconscious of her 
 actions. That she was under the influence of some all- 
 powerful emotion, none who saw her blanched face, her wild 
 eyes, could doubt. She reached the barrow, and was lifting 
 its covering, when one of the fishermen unceremoniously 
 interposed. 
 
 " It's no sight for my lady," he said, appealing to Lord 
 Dane. " It's no sight for women, young or old. You may 
 judge, my lord, that it is not." 
 
 " Go away," said Lord Dane to her, sadly but imperatively, 
 after a moment's pause, as if convincing himself that it was 
 really Lady Adelaide. " What brings you here ? " 
 
 " You'd never get it out of your sight all your life after, 
 young lady," spoke up another man, who had drawn close to 
 the barrow to guard it from her, for he had daughters of his 
 own. 
 
 " Quit the scene, Adelaide ; are you mad ? " sternly 
 reiterated Lord Dane. 
 
 " I think I am mad," she murmured, as recollection came 
 to her mind and a flush of crimson to her cheeks. Turning 
 hastily to obey Lord Dane, she caught the eyes of Havens- 
 bird riveted upon her. 
 
 " Is it indeed Captain Dane ? " she asked, in agitation, 
 halting near the man whilst she spoke. 
 
 " It is, my lady, all that's left of him. I should know him 
 fimongst a thousand." 
 
 She burst into a passionate flood of tears, and hastened to 
 her own chamber. Squire Lester, having no conception of 
 what was passing below — he had taken it for some petty com- 
 motion — waited her return to the drawing-room ; and waited 
 in vain. 
 
 An inquest was called with due speed. It was little more 
 than a form, just to satisfy the requirements of the law. 
 Eavensbird testified to the remains being those of his late 
 master ; Mitchel gave his evidence ; also the man Drake. 
 An extensive fracture of the skull, at the back of the 
 head, was discovered, more than sufficient to cause death. 
 The verdict returned was, "Wilful murder against some 
 person or persons unknown ; " and this proved that public 
 
 Lady Adelaide. 8 
 
114 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 opinion did not, as at first, wholly condemn Eichard 
 Kavensbird. 
 
 The episode related by Drake had been gradually making 
 its way with the more reasonable portion of Danesheld. 
 Eavensbird's alibi was also so decisive, excepting to the 
 prejudiced, that suspicion had been lifted from him, and the 
 man with the pack was almost universally looked upon as 
 the criminal. Somewhat curious to say, his non-appearance 
 told conclusively against him in the public mind. Unless 
 he was in hiding, the efforts to find him must have been 
 successful. The question now was, where was he concealed ? 
 and how should he be tracked when he came out of his 
 lair? 
 
 Lady Dane and her son were buried together. And there 
 was more true mourning for William Henry Dane than there 
 had been for Geoffry. Again was Lord Dane unable to attend, 
 and the chief mourner, as before, was the new heir. 
 
 On his return from the funeral Herbert Dane — but wo 
 must do as the rest do, and change the name — Geoffry Dane 
 was met by a message at the castle entrance, summoning him 
 to the presence of the lord. Handing his hat, with its crape, 
 to Bruff, he went in at once, and was shocked at the change 
 he saw in the fine old face looking up at him from its 
 pillows. 
 
 " Are you worse, uncle ? " was Mr. Dane's involuntary 
 greeting. 
 
 " I suppose I am, Geoffry. I feel very ill. They got me 
 up : I was hoping to go where you have just been ; but I 
 fainted, or something of that sort, and had to be laid down 
 again. I want to talk to you, Geoffry. I have a charge 
 to leave you : a charge above all other charges. You will 
 fulfil it?" 
 
 " I will, indeed ; to the utmost of my power." 
 
 " According to the arbitrary decrees of fate — how 
 capricious, how unlooked-for they are! — you will be the 
 seventeenth Baron Dane. Geoffry," — and the old peer laid 
 his hand impressively on his nephew's wrist, and gazed at 
 him from his anxious face — " I charge you, by all your hopes 
 of happiness, to endeavour to bring to light the destroyer of 
 
BROUGHT IN BY THE FISHING-BOAT. 
 
 115 
 
 my son ! Spare no energy, no trouble, no cost ; let no idle- 
 ness overtake you at your task ; be not tempted by want of 
 success to relinquish it. Never take your surveillance from 
 that man. Do you hear me, Geoffry ? " 
 
 " But lie is not yet found, sir." 
 
 " Not found ! What do you mean ? " 
 
 " You are speaking of the packman, are you not ? " 
 
 " The packman ! " ironically returned Lord Dane. 
 " Pshaw ! That tale has never, in my opinion, been worth a 
 rush. You have heard me say so, Geoffry. Some travelling 
 bagman, who encountered Harry as he was leaving the castle, 
 and followed him on to the heights to induce him to purchase 
 a cotton handkerchief or a horn knife from his store ; and 
 Harry rode the high horse at being importuned, and abused 
 the fellow. That was nothing more, t rely upon it. No ; 
 whoever dealt out death to Harry that night did it with 
 premeditation. It was Eavensbird, Geoffry ; and I charge 
 you to look to him." 
 
 A shade of annoyance passed over the face of Mr. Dane. 
 " I don't like to differ from you, sir ; but indeed I do not 
 think it was Eavensbird," he rejoined. " I accused the man 
 of it at first ; but that was before the evidence came out of 
 his having been at the time at the Sailors' Eest. It could 
 not have been Eavensbird." 
 
 " I tell you, Geoffry Dane, it was Eavensbird, and no 
 other. Do not you rest until you bring it homo to him : it 
 is my great charge to you. And now to another matter. 
 Where's Cecilia ? Has she come home yet ? " 
 
 " No. I had a letter from her this morning. She tells 
 me she cannot be home for a week or two. Mrs. St. Aubin 
 is ill, and Cecilia is staying longer in consequence." 
 
 Lord Dane looked disappointed. " I wanted her to come 
 and stay at the castle until Adelaide quits it for Scotland." 
 
 " Is it decided that she goes to Scotland ? " 
 
 " Quite so. What else can she do ? She can't stay on 
 alone here. I wanted Cecilia to be with her until she went. 
 Not that she's much more staid than the other. Adelaide 
 came down amidst the crowd the day they brought Harry 
 home, and lifted the tarpaulin to look at him. She's as 
 
116 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE 
 
 wild as a March hare. Think of her running out on thd 
 heights that night ! " 
 
 " She will not like to go back to Scotland." 
 
 " Necessity has no law," observed Lord Dane. " Mrs. 
 Grant is a relative, and will take care of her. Were Irkdale 
 married he might give her a home ; but he is not." 
 
 " I think — I think, uncle," stammered Geoffry Dane, the 
 flush of love dyeing his brow — " I think she would be 
 happier with me. If you will sanction it, and pardon my 
 speaking of it to-day." 
 
 " In what way happier ? " 
 
 " As my wife." 
 
 " Geoffry, I had better be explicit with you," said Lord 
 Dane. "You cannot suppose that since the death of my 
 sons I have not cast my thoughts to the future of those who 
 are left. My wife gathered an idea some months ago that 
 Adelaide cared for you more than she did for Harry ; but 
 she said nothing to me of this until after Harry's accident. 
 For my part, I deemed Lady Dane must be mistaken. 
 Unless she cared for Harry, why should she have engaged 
 herself to him ? But Harry went ; Geoffry went, and you 
 stepped into their place as my heir. In the last interview 
 I held with my poor wife I spoke to her of this, for I knew 
 that leaving Adelaide alone was her great trouble. I said 
 that if you and Adelaide cared for each other, the marriage 
 would be a suitable one. And, to tell you the truth, 
 Geoffry, I would give her to you more cordially than I 
 would have given her to Harry ; for I don't like the idea of 
 cousins marrying, and to you she is no blood relation." 
 
 " Well, sir ? " said Geoffry, for Lord Dane had paused. 
 
 " Well, Lady Dane then told me that she had spoken to 
 Adelaide, and found she was mistaken in her suspicion. 
 That it was Harry to whom Adelaide had been really 
 attached, and she wholly declined to be addressed by you. 
 Therefore I imagine, if you are indulging dreams of 
 Adelaide, you are nourishing a chimera." 
 
 A proud, self-satisfied smile parted the lips of Mr. Dane. 
 " At any rate, I have your permission, sir, to win her if I 
 can." 
 
BROUGHT IN BY THE FISHING-BOAT. 
 
 117 
 
 " You have that. But there were other things I wanted 
 to talk to you about, and I find I am getting exhausted. 
 You will come in again this evening, Geoffry." 
 
 Mr. Dane quitted the room and went straight to the 
 drawing-room in search of Adelaide. He found her in the 
 smaller room, from the end window of which she had so 
 often looked out for him in happier times. She was stand- 
 ing at it now in her deep mourning, sad enough — not 
 looking out — the blinds were drawn to-day. She turned 
 with a start when he entered, and would have passed him. 
 
 " Am I scaring you away, Adelaide ? " 
 
 " Oh no," she answered, with a confused blush, and took 
 her seat in Lady Dane's large chair. 
 
 " I hear it is in contemplation that you should return to 
 Scotland, to be with Mrs. Grant." 
 
 " It was in contemplation," she answered. 
 
 " You might just as well bury yourself alive, as become 
 an inmate of Mrs. Grant's uncomfortable home." 
 
 She made no reply. She had her jet chain in her fingers, 
 and seemed to be counting its links. Mr. Dane stood 
 whilst he talked to her. 
 
 w Adelaide," he resumed, his voice sinking, his face a 
 little bent in his earnestness, " will you pardon the apparent 
 unseemliness of my speaking to you on this day, at this 
 hour ? — your uncle has excused it. It is only a single word 
 I would say. You will let me welcome you to a home, 
 instead of Mrs. Grant. As my wife " 
 
 " It is impossible," she interrupted. 
 
 " How impossible ? " 
 
 A moment's struggle with herself, and then she let the 
 jet chain fall from her fingers, and raised her head in sudden 
 resolution. All her self-possession had returned to her, 
 and her tones, though low, were firm as a rock. 
 
 " Because I have promised to be some one else's wife." 
 
 Geoffry Dane turned sick at heart. He loved this girl 
 with a passionate, enduring love. The change in his coun- 
 tenance struck her with keen pain. 
 
 " I would soothe it to you if I knew how," she said, in an 
 impulse of kindness. " I would, indeed, Geoffry." 
 
118 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " What has changed you ? " he asked. " The time was, 
 not so long ago, when we were scheming and planning how 
 we could contrive to pass our lives together. You said that 
 if I had only a few hundreds a year you would risk it." 
 
 " Don't talk of it," she interrupted. " The past is gone 
 for ever." 
 
 " And the present is with us. I can now offer you what 
 I could not then; what I never — I solemnly declare — so 
 much as glanced at. I can make you — all too soon, I fear — 
 mistress of this castle and of these broad lands." 
 
 " You need not enlarge upon it ; I perfectly understand. 
 You would make me Lady Dane." 
 
 " I would make you Lady Dane and my dear wife," he 
 replied in tones of the deepest tenderness. " Oh, Adelaide, 
 why do you look at me so ? What misery has come between 
 us ? — what has changed you ? " 
 
 " But I cannot accept the offer," she said, with measured 
 coldness. " Geoffry, indeed all is at an end between us ; at 
 an end for ever." 
 
 His face was working sadly ; he could hardly subdue his 
 emotion sufficiently to speak. " At least you can tell me 
 the cause of the change. Why is it at an end ? Oh, 
 Adelaide, my darling " 
 
 " Hush ! " she interrupted. " Such words are treason, now 
 that I am engaged to another." 
 
 It may be that he questioned whether she was dreaming, 
 or whether she was only playing with him. That she was 
 in earnest he did not believe, and she saw that he did not. 
 
 " It is the truth, Geoffry. I am engaged to Mr. Lester." 
 
 Was his face turning to stone ? It looked so in its pallor. 
 Hers was flushing. 
 
 " Mr. Lester ! " broke derisively from his lips. " Marriage 
 with him will be, for you, worse than a mockery. You do 
 not care for him." 
 
 " What was I to do ? " she rejoined, in momentary self- 
 abandonment, her brow knitting with pain. " It was my 
 only alternative. At Mrs. Grant's I should have become 
 melancholy mad. Are you about to abuse me, Geoffry? 
 For mercy's sake don't look at me like that." 
 
BROUGHT IN BY THE FISHING-BOAT. 
 
 119 
 
 " It was not your only alternative. Had you not me to 
 fall back upon ? " 
 
 She shook her head. " The fate of Harry Dane lies as a 
 weight upon my heart," she whispered ; " the deceit we 
 practised towards him is ever before my mind. I told you 
 this once. Were there no other man left in the world, 
 Geoffry, I would not be your wife." 
 
 " And you have no pity for me ! " 
 
 "Yes I have. I have some pity for myself also," she 
 added, holding out her thin wrists. " It has told upon me." 
 
 " Adelaide, I would far rather you had killed me." 
 
 "There are times when I wish we had all been killed 
 together," she answered, rising. " Fare you well, Geoffry. 
 Do not come upstairs to me again, for indeed this emotion is 
 neither good for you nor me." 
 
 " A moment yet, Adelaide. Nay, you shall stay whilst I 
 warn you. If you marry George Lester you will commit as 
 great a mistake as any woman ever committed in this life." 
 
 " I think not. At least I shall risk it." 
 
 " As surely as that you and I are standing here, you will 
 do so. You love me ; yes, you do — this is no time for con- 
 ventionalities, and I tell you so openly. A life with George 
 Lester will be, for you, one long unsatisfied yearning." 
 
 " Yearning ! For you ! " she retorted, drawing down the 
 corners of her lips, the words not pleasing her. " You are 
 mistaken, Mr. Dane." 
 
 " A yearning for escape from the existence you have im- 
 posed upon yourself," he said with some sternness ; " and 
 there will be none." * 
 
 " I will not hear this. The discussion is altogether un- 
 seemly now. You have but returned from leaving my dear 
 aunt and Harry in their grave. You — — " 
 
 Whether it was the awakened grief this thought occasioned 
 or that the interview was becoming too painful for her 
 feelings, she burst into a flood of tears. Mr. Dane would 
 have taken her hands in his, but she drew them away. 
 
 " No, Geoffry, it is better not. I cannot be anything to 
 you again, therefore do not tempt me by so much as a touch 
 of the hand ; it would only make my task the harder ; we 
 
120 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE, 
 
 will not meet again until I am Mr. Lester's wife, clanger 
 will be over then. Forgive me for all," she sobbed, " and 
 think of me as kindly as you can : you see that I suffer too." 
 
 He might have caught her to his breast, but she was 
 wiser than he. Given the absolute necessity of parting — 
 which he, at least, could neither see nor understand — and 
 she was acting as she ought to act. Before he could arrest 
 her by so much as a look, she had escaped from the room. 
 
 And what of sunshine was left in GeofTry Dane's heart 
 went out of it. 
 
 He sat awhile in the darkened room, his face buried in 
 his hands, and rose up at length with a groan of pain. De- 
 scending the stairs, he went mechanically into the presence 
 of Lord Dane, and told him what he had just heard — that 
 Lady Adelaide was about to marry Mr. Lester. He never 
 glanced at the fact that it was not his place to inform Lord 
 Dane : he was past sober reflection ; minor considerations 
 were utterly lost in the tumult of his great misery. 
 
 Lord Dane was greatly astonished. About to marry 
 George Lester ! " Well," he said slowly, after some minutes' 
 consideration, " it may be good for Adelaide that it should 
 be so. She will want a curb-rein, unless I am mistaken — 
 she is careless and full of folly — and George Lester is of an 
 age to hold it judiciously. You'd have given way to all her 
 whims and caprices, GeofTry." 
 
 There was no reply. Lord Dane looked round for his 
 nephew, and was startled by what he saw on his coun- 
 tenance. 
 
 " You love her ! " 
 
 " I never thought she would reject me," broke painfully 
 from his lips. 
 
 " Be a man, GeofTry," said Lord Dane, in some wonder ; 
 " if she won't have you, if she prefers George Lester, you 
 can't alter it ; but don't sigh after her as if you were a love- 
 sick school-girl. She's very pretty, and that's about the 
 extent of her good qualities, in my opinion. I shouldn't 
 like to choose her for a wife ; she's unsteady as the breeze. 
 Harry the other day, George Lester now ! Forget her, and 
 look abroad for some one better," 
 
BROUGHT IN BY THE FISHING-BOAT. 
 
 121 
 
 It was good advice, if Geoffry could only have taken it. 
 Ah, what to him were the honours, the wealth that had 
 so strangely come to him ; what mattered the envy, the 
 congratulations of tho world, so freely lavished on him, 
 when the capricious conduct of one woman was breaking his 
 heart ? 
 
 But another's happiness was to be shattered. How contrary 
 do things run in this life ! Of the four concerned, the only 
 one whose heart lay at rest was George Lester ; he thought 
 in his blindness that Paradise had fallen on him. Better 
 for him that he had chosen Margaret Bordillion ! 
 
 Miss Eliza Tiffle bottled up her wrath for a day or two 
 after her onslaught on Miss Bordillion. Tiffle was quite 
 capable of bottling it up for a month or two, if revenge 
 needed. She never opened her lips until the Monday of 
 the following week, and then it was incidentally. 
 
 She and the maids under her were at issue upon some 
 point, as was frequently the case. Tiffle insisted on her 
 will being obeyed, and a scene of domestic rebellion ensued. 
 The butler spoke to her in private ; it was ever his way to 
 make peace : would she give in to them ? No, said Tiffle ; 
 as long as she was at the Hall she'd let them know who was 
 mistress ; when she left they might do as they pleased ; it 
 was under four weeks they'd have to wait. The butler was 
 surprised, and an explanation ensued. She told him she had 
 spoken her " free mind " to Miss Bordillion, and the man 
 stood aghast. 
 
 " You surely did not speak of it to Miss Bordillion ! " he 
 exclaimed. "You did not accuse her of being about to 
 marry the master ! " 
 
 " I did, and that you had said it," returned Tiffle triumph- 
 antly. " I told her that I was not accustomed to such sly 
 goings-on in a house, and gave warning on the spot." 
 
 " But," said the perplexed butler, " it is not Miss Bor- 
 dillion that Mr. Lester is going to marry." 
 
 « Not Miss" Bordillion ! " 
 
 " Certainly not. You have gone and put your foot in it." 
 Tiffle's green eyes glared. She thought Jones was de- 
 ceiving her. 
 
122 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE, 
 
 " Who is it, then ? " 
 
 " If I tell you, it must be in strict confidence, Mrs. Tiffle. 
 When I spoke before, I did not know, though I guessed : 
 but I have heard for certain now. It is the pretty girl at 
 the castle, Lady Adelaide.' 5 
 
 Tiffle did not like making an idiot of herself, as she found 
 she had done, and she flounced away to her own parlour and 
 shut herself in. Down she sat for half-an-hour, reviewing in 
 her mind the points of the case; and then she proceeded 
 with meek steps into the presence of Miss Bordillion, who 
 was at work in the breakfast-parlour. 
 
 Very different was this Tiffle from the outrageous Tiffle of 
 the other day. She stood in quiet, humble deprecation, 
 smoothing her hands one over the other, as was her custom 
 when in a particularly deceitful mood, her false eyes shooting 
 out quite affectionate glances at Miss Bordillion. 
 
 « What is it, Tiffle ? " 
 
 " Oh, ma'am, I hope you'll pardon me, and I've come to 
 apologise humbly for what I said a morning or two ago. 
 That Jones led me into the misapprehension, and I should 
 like to turn him away for it. If the whole lot went, it 
 wouldn't be a loss. I find there was no grounds for 
 kippling your name with my master's." 
 
 " Your words took me so entirely by surprise at the time, 
 Tiffle, that I did not meet them as I ought to have done, or 
 reprove you," was the quiet reply of Miss Bordillion. " Mr. 
 Lester entertains no intention of changing his condition 
 at present, so far as I know. Do not take up groundless 
 fancies again." 
 
 " You see, ma'am, I was mistaken in the party," returned 
 Tiffle, standing her ground. " I thought i£ had been you — 
 for which I am here to beg a humble parding — whereas I 
 find it's somebody else. But, Miss Bordillion, master is 
 going to marry, and I'm glad to be able to tell it you, 
 ma'am, if you don't know it." 
 
 Slowly Miss Bordillion gathered in the words. Had 
 they any meaning, or had they none ? Her heart beat 
 wildly as she gazed at Tiffle. 
 
 " I'd not have said anything to offend you for the world, 
 
THE LEASE OF THE SAILORS' REST. 
 
 123 
 
 ma'am ; and a regular soft I was to think as you and master 
 could have an idea of one another," went on the affectionate 
 woman in a frank tone, the corner of her eye turned 
 stealthily on Miss Bordillion and her changing face. 
 " Over young she'll be for him, prudence may say ; but none 
 can't say she's not lovely ; and Squire Lester — as is well 
 known — has an eye for beauty. Not but what her hair has 
 a cast of the reddish over it ; maybe you've remarked it 
 yourself, Miss Bordillion." 
 
 " I don't know what it is you are talking about," was the 
 poor lady's murmured answer. 
 
 " Not know, ma'am ! why, of the Lady Adelaide Errol. 
 It's her that master has fixed his choice on." 
 
 Margaret Bordillion's pulses stood still, and then coursed 
 on with alarming quickness. Outward objects were growing 
 dim ; her senses seemed to be losing themselves in a faint- 
 ness. But for a desperate effort, she might have lost 
 consciousness. 
 
 And Mrs. Tiffle, after a consoling expression of sympathy, 
 closed the door on the misery of the ill-fated lady, and went 
 down the passages in the joy of a gratified revenge. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE LEASE OF THE SAILORS' REST. 
 
 To say that the news had stunned Miss Bordillion would 
 feebly express the terrible blow dealt out to her by Tifile. 
 At the very instant that that estimable waiting-woman 
 entered into Miss Bordillion's presence, the unhappy lady 
 had been buried in a dream of the sweetest fantasy, pictur- 
 ing to herself the words that George Lester might even that 
 night say to her. Since the morning when he broached the 
 subject of the conservatory, he had said no more, but she 
 
124 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 had thought nothing of it ; a great deal of interest and com- 
 motion had been excited by the recovery of the remains of 
 Captain Dane, and Mr. Lester was full of nothing else. 
 And there had been the double funeral. 
 
 She sat on, when Tiffle left her ; her sewing fallen on her 
 knees, her scissors on the ground. Her whole mind was a 
 chaos, conscious of nothing save the one fact that it was not 
 to her George Lester's love was given, but to another. The 
 rubicon was passed — it has to be passed by most women 
 once in their lives — and Miss Bordillion found its waves 
 all the worse to battle with from her tardy crossing. She 
 had entered on a new life, a new way, and must henceforth 
 traverse it. Behind her were sweet and sunny Arcadian 
 plains ; stretching out before her were rude rocks and sharp 
 thorns, a rugged, toilsome, endless road, and a lowering 
 sky. She would do well not to look back whilst she toiled 
 wearily along it. 
 
 To doubt the news never occurred to her ; she felt sure 
 that it was true. It explained various little items she had 
 observed lately in the conduct and movements of Mr. Lester, 
 which had rather puzzled her. Even then, in the first dawn 
 of her agony, she looked the matter full in the face, shrink- 
 ing from it, it is true, but persevering with the scrutiny. 
 Better for her that she should do so. Her own plans would 
 have to be decided upon, for if the young Lady Adelaide 
 was to be brought to the house, his wife, she must quit it. 
 She thought of it for the whole of the remaining day, giving 
 no sign of her pain, save that now and then a suppressed sound 
 of agony broke from her. The children inquired if she felt 
 ill, but she answered no. Mr. Lester did not come home to 
 dinner, and she supposed that he had remained at the Castle 
 with Lord Dane, as he did sometimes, without warning them 
 at home. Ah ! she knew now what his attraction was there. 
 She sat up until he came home ; not in her own sitting- 
 room, as was her usual custom, but in the library, waiting 
 for him. 
 
 It was striking eleven when he entered. He came in, 
 saying something about the warmth of the evening, calling 
 to the butler to bring him in a bottle of soda-water. Then 
 
0?HE LEASE OF THE SAILORS* REST. 
 
 125 
 
 he caught sight of Miss Bordillion, and greeted her with a 
 gay laugh. 
 
 "Why, Margaret, this is dissipation! Eleven o'clock, 
 and still sitting up ! " 
 
 She could not answer. The task which had seemed 
 tolerably easy in prospective, the very words which she had 
 conned over and over to herself in the last hour, was an 
 almost impossible one now. She sat close to a small shaded 
 lamp, away from the glare of the chandelier, and was 
 ostensibly sewing. That was nothing unusual ; some work 
 or other, generally plain useful work, was generally to be 
 seen in the hands of Miss Bordillion. As yet she kept silence, 
 striving to school her manner to indifference, collecting her 
 energies to speak with calmness. Mr. Lester continued, 
 noticing nothing : — 
 
 " I'm sure this is much more sensible of you than dancing 
 off to bed with the birds, or shutting yourself up in your 
 own sitting-room, leaving an empty room to welcome me. I 
 can't think why you should do so, Margaret ; just as if you 
 were afraid of me." 
 
 Speak she must : yet how subdue the agitation that gained 
 upon her ? How hide it ? Her heart was beating wildly 
 against her side ; her face was white, her lips were dry. 
 Suddenly she rose from her seat and went to a side-table, on 
 which was a little workbox of Maria's ; she stood there rum- 
 maging its contents, her back to Mr. Lester. And then she 
 managed to bring out the words she wished to say, or others 
 that did for them. 
 
 " I have been hearing some news to-day ; and I thought I 
 would wait up to ask you whether it was true. On these 
 warm evenings, too, it is agreeable to sit up late. The heat 
 appears to be coming in early," 
 
 "What momentous news have you been hearing now? 
 That the Thames has taken fire ? " 
 
 " Something nearer home," she answered, shrinking with 
 pain from his light, careless manner : it seemed as a very 
 mockery to her own misery. " I have been told that you 
 are going" — a sudden cough seized her and she had to 
 pause — " to marry Lady Adelaide Errol." 
 
126 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " Now wlio in the world could have given you that piece 
 of news ? " demanded Mr. Lester, his tone full of banter 
 still. 
 
 " It came from Jones." 
 " From Jones ! " 
 
 " At least, I think so. Tiffle mentioned it to me, and I 
 think she said Jones was her informant. I am not sure, but 
 she said " — poor Miss Bordillion was confusing the two 
 interviews, Tiffle's first news and the second — " Jones had it 
 from you." 
 
 " The idea of Miss Bordillion's listening to the gossip of 
 servants ! " was his laughing retort. " I thought you were 
 a wiser woman, Margaret." 
 
 Margaret stood over the workbox still ; she seemed to be 
 dropping no end of things, and picking them up again. She 
 did not dare to turn her face round in its terrible agitation. 
 At that juncture the butler came in with the soda-water. 
 
 " So, J ones," began Mr. Lester, " you have been making 
 free with Lady Adelaide Errol's name, I hear, in conjunction 
 with mine." 
 
 Jones nearly dropped the waiter in his consternation. The 
 bottle and the glass clashed together as he laid them on the 
 table. He stared at his master, and turned crimson and 
 purple ; but not a word of excuse or denial could Jones 
 bring out. 
 
 " Pray from whom did you receive your information ? " 
 continued Mr. Lester. 
 
 " Sir, I'm sure I beg your pardon if it is not correct : or 
 if I ought not to have mentioned it ; but I only did so to 
 Tiffle in strict confidence. I had it, sir, from Mr. Dane." 
 
 " From Mr. Dane ! " repeated Squire Lester, surjmso 
 causing him to echo the words. 
 
 " From Mr. Geoffry Dane, sir. Yesterday evening I was 
 near the Castle and met Mr. Dane. He stopped to speak to 
 me ; he's always affable, sir ; and just then Lady Adelaide, in 
 deep mourning, passed us on her way from church, her maid 
 and Bruff behind her. It was the first time she had been 
 out, I fancy, since the commencement of the troubles. ' She's 
 a winsome young thing, sir,' I said to Mr. Dane, when he 
 
THE LEASE OF THE SAILORS' REST. 
 
 127 
 
 was putting on his hat, which ho had taken off to her ; c as 
 good as a sunbeam.' £ It's a sunbeam you'll soon have at 
 home, Jones,' said he : ' in a short time she leaves the Castle 
 for your master's house, changing her name to his.' Mr. 
 Dane looked quite queer when he said it." 
 
 Squire Lester turned his gaze on his servant. " Queer ! 
 How c queer ? ' "What do you mean, Jones ? " 
 
 " Well, sir, I can hardly describe. There was a curious 
 look in his face, and the corners of his lips w r ere drawn 
 down. I certainly did speak of it this afternoon to Tiffle, 
 but I cautioned her not to mention it again," went on Jones. 
 " I know I ought not to have repeated it, sir, and I am very 
 sorry ; but Mr. Dane spoke of it quite openly to me. Shall 
 I contradict it, sir ? " 
 
 " Oh dear no," carelessly replied Squire Lester. " Leave 
 the soda-water. I'll help myself." 
 
 " The tale-bearing ferret ! " said Mr. J ones, as he with- 
 drew, anathematizing the offending Tiffle in his rage. 
 " Many a master might have turned me away for it. If she 
 stops here, I won't." 
 
 Miss Bordillion had been gaining some composure during 
 the colloquy. She turned to Mr. Lester. 
 
 " It is true, then ? " 
 
 "Yes, it is true, Margaret," he answered, his manner 
 changing to seriousness. 
 
 " I think you ought to have told me." 
 
 "Of course I ought. I meant to tell you to-morrow 
 morning. What I said the other day was intended as a 
 herald of the news. I have lost no time, for it is only to- 
 day that things have been settled with Lord Dane, and how 
 Herbert — Geoffry I mean — came to know it, I can't tell. It 
 does not matter." 
 
 " Is the marriage likely to take place soon ? " she asked in 
 a low tone. 
 
 " That I cannot tell you. Adelaide said something about 
 waiting a twelvemonth, but when I spoke to Lord Dane to- 
 day, he expressed a wish that it should take place as soon as 
 possible. Some compromise will bo effected, I suppose, 
 between the two." 
 
128 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE, 
 
 " At any rate, you will give me notice of the time as soon 
 as you know it yourself? " she rejoined. " But I can begin 
 forming my plans at once." 
 
 " What plans ? " 
 
 " For quitting the Hall, and finding another residence." 
 Mr. Lester paused : there was a blank look upon his 
 face. 
 
 " What are you thinking of now, Margaret ? You need 
 not quit the Hall." 
 
 " Nay, I should rather ask what you are thinking of," 
 she rejoined. " I shall certainly leave the house quite freo 
 for Lady Adelaide." 
 
 " The house is large enough for you and for Adelaide. 
 She will not be putting you out of your place as mistress, 
 because you have never assumed it. You can remain here 
 precisely as you have hitherto done." 
 
 " No, Mr. Lester ; it is impossible. Before you bring 
 home your wife, I shall make room for her." 
 
 " Margaret," he said in a low tone, " I do not forget that 
 you promised Katherine to supply her place to Maria ; to 
 be in a sense the child's second mother. Are you for- 
 getting it?" 
 
 A flush of pain dyed her face, called up by the association 
 the words conveyed. She laid her hand upon her bosom to 
 still its beating. 
 
 " You are bringing home Maria's second mother in Lady 
 Adelaide." 
 
 "Nonsense, Margaret! Adelaide is little better than a 
 child herself ; how could she fulfil the duties of a mother to 
 a girl of Maria's age ? I should not think of saddling her 
 with the charge of a child for whom she does not as yet 
 care. When she shall have children of her own, experience 
 will come with them. Margaret, how can you talk of parting 
 with Maria, loving her as greatly as you do ? " 
 
 That it would bring her more grief than she was pre- 
 pared to acknowledge, Margaret Bordillion knew. Mr. 
 Lester resumed : 
 
 "By your own desire, you have been taking the place of 
 governess to Maria ; for the last two years it is you alone 
 
THE LEASE OF THE SAILORS* 11EST. 
 
 129 
 
 who have instructed her, assisted by her masters. You must 
 remember, Margaret, that I did not fall in very readily with 
 the plan ; I thought it was a task that ought not to be 
 imposed upon you. You met my objection with certain 
 arguments : one was, that you were perfectly competent to 
 instruct her, and possessed an innate fitness and liking for 
 the employment : another was, that you objected to a young 
 girl's being consigned to strange governesses, of whom we 
 knew nothing; a third was, your promise to Katherino 
 personally to watch over Maria. Do you follow me ? " 
 " Perfectly." 
 
 " Then I would remind you that those arguments are still 
 in force. By leaving the Hall, you would abandon Maria to 
 a hired governess, you would forfeit your promise to 
 Katherine. Margaret, dear Margaret," and Mr. Lester took 
 her hand in his, " do not think of this : at any rate for the 
 present. It will be time enough after Lady Adelaide comes 
 home, if you then find that you do not care to remain. I 
 ask you for Maria's sake, be not hasty in this. Remember 
 how Katherine left her to you." 
 
 She withdrew her hands, calmly and quietly, though her 
 chest was heaving, her face working: and Mr. Lester saw 
 the emotion. But he was still under that misapprehension of 
 his : he thought she was vexed and agitated at his replacing 
 his first wife with a second. 
 
 " We will talk further of this another time," she said : " it 
 is getting late now." And rolling up her work as if she 
 had not a minute left to spare, she hurried from the room. 
 
 " Plenty of time," repeated Mr. Lester to himself, as he 
 took up the bottle of soda-water. " And I'm not at all sorry 
 that those meddlers paved the way for me. The idea of 
 Margaret's taking it up in this light ! I never saw her so 
 ruffled. It's just like women and their romance, to fancy 
 that when a man loses his wife he should remain wedded to 
 her grave : they've no common sense. And in my case — 
 when Margaret knows I had no love for my wife, but only 
 esteem — pshaw ! she'll come to her senses. I think I'll 
 have a dash of brandy in this soda-water," he concluded, 
 ringing the bell for Jones. 
 
 Lady Adelaide. 9 
 
130 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 Miss Bordillion went straight to her chamber, and sat 
 down to think. What should she do ? What ought she to 
 do ? She was a woman greatly alive to the dictates of 
 conscience; one who was most anxious, even at a self- 
 sacrifice, to faithfully perform whatever duty fell to her. 
 And the appeal from Mr. Lester in regard to Maria had 
 touched her conscience. 
 
 " I did promise Katherine. I said I would never abandon 
 the child to a school, or a governess, without my super- 
 vision; Should I place my own pain, my chilled feelings, in 
 comparison with this ? " she continued, deliberately ques- 
 tioning herself. " I deserve this punishment. What right 
 had I to assume he was going to ask me to be his wife, 
 because I had madly suffered myself to become attached to 
 him ? Yes, I deserve it ! Let me take it upon me, and 
 bear it in silence as I best may." 
 
 She sat on to the small hours of the morning battling 
 with her trial. Before she rose, she had made a sort of 
 compromise between her feelings and her conscience. She 
 said to herself that she would not hurry away at once, as 
 she had thought to do. She would remain in the house 
 until the marriage. And then, whilst Mr. Lester and his 
 bride were absent on the customary tour, she would quit it. 
 It is possible that the holding back from entering upon a 
 distasteful change, which we all are apt to feel, insensibly 
 induced her to this compromise. And Margaret Bordillion 
 was very poor, knowing not, in truth, how she could live 
 when she quitted the Hall. 
 
 Lord Dane took a turn for the better, to the secret surprise 
 of Mr. Wild. That gentleman at least knew that his life 
 could not be very much prolonged. But medical men 
 assume that it is not in their province to proclaim this 
 to their patients, and the surgeon of Danesheld was no 
 exception. 
 
 A wonderful turn for the better. He was helped up now 
 in the morning early, as he used to be ere his troubles fell 
 upon him; he was even taken out in his chair in the 
 charming weather. Squire Lester would walk on one side 
 of it, Adelaide on the other. Occasionally he would be 
 
THE LEASE OF THE SAILORS* REST. 
 
 131 
 
 accompanied by Geoffry Dane ; and at those times Lady 
 Adelaide was never there. But this improvement lasted 
 only a week or two ; Mr. Wild could have told it was 
 deceitful from the first. 
 
 He took to his bed, from which he was destined never 
 more to rise. In common with most chronic invalids, he 
 did not seem to anticipate death. That death would lay 
 its cold hand upon him at no distant period, he knew quite 
 well ; but he did not think that it was so very close to him. 
 For the matter of that, neither did the surgeon ; his malady 
 was such that he might be taken off at any minute, or live 
 six months yet. He strongly urged upon Adelaide that her 
 marriage should take place ; the castle would be Geoffry 
 Dane's home the moment the breath left his body, he said, 
 and no longer a suitable residence for her. Mr. Lester did 
 his part towards seconding the mandate ; he had a special 
 licence in readiness; he besought Adelaide to waive form 
 and ceremony, and to accede. It was of no avail ; Adelaide 
 would not listen, and he might as well have talked to the 
 wind. She was in deep mourning, she objected, and her 
 aunt and Harry were only just buried. 
 
 "You will go to church and give her away, Geoffry," 
 Lord Dane said to his nephew. " She is holding back now ; 
 but it won't last long. It's all mock modesty." 
 
 Geoffry Dane's face flushed with some indescribable 
 feeling. He passed his hand across his brow carelessly to 
 hide it from Lord Dane. 
 
 " No, I would rather not," he answered, in low, firm tones. 
 " If she marries George Lester, why — let her marry him ; 
 but I will not take act or part in it." 
 
 " You are very foolish, Geoffry." 
 
 " I dare say I am. Let her send for Lord Irkdale.'* 
 
 " That's easier said than done. Irkdale dare not put his 
 foot in England on account of his debts. Never mind, we 
 shall find some one else." 
 
 One day Lord Dane sent for the lawyer, Apperly. He 
 had several things to speak to him about ; but he had been 
 putting it off from time to time, as he would not have put it 
 off had he suspected that death might be very near. Still 
 
'132 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 no long time had elapsed, and Lord Dano probably thought 
 none had been lost. 
 
 First of all, Lord Dane spoke of his will. He wished a 
 fresh one made. The death of his sons enabled him to 
 bequeath legacies to whom he would ; and he directed that 
 such should be left to Lady Adolaide, to Cecilia Dane, to 
 his servants, and to others. But they were not of great 
 value; for, of available property, Lord Dane had little; 
 nearly all went with the entail. 
 
 Mr. Apperly listened to his instructions in silence. 
 " Have you forgotten, my lord," he asked, " that you are 
 heir to your son, Captain Dane ? He must have left a great 
 deal of money." 
 
 Lord Dane shook his head. " We shall not one of us here 
 benefit by that, Apperly, however much it may be. One 
 day when we were speaking upon money matters — it was 
 the day he told me, poor fellow, of his love for Adelaide 
 Errol, and his wish to marry her — I asked him if it had 
 ever occurred to him to make a will. I think you knew all 
 his money was invested in different securities over in 
 America ? " broke off Lord Dane. 
 
 " Yes, I knew that." 
 
 " Ay ; he replied to me that his will had been made long 
 ago, and was in safety in America. All he possessed he be- 
 queathed to American friends, he added ; and I could not 
 help telling him he might have been more brotherly and 
 remembered Geoffry. But they were never cordial with 
 each other, as you know. No, Apperly ; if I wer e starving 
 for want of a pound, it could not come to me now from 
 Harry's funds. I shan't live to want any of them, and 
 Geoffry's dead : otherwise it would worry me enough that 
 so much money should go out of the family." 
 
 " But had he lived to marry Lady Adelaide, he would 
 surely have cancelled this will ? " cried Mr. Apperly. 
 
 " Of course he would. He said so. But he did not live 
 to marry her, and it was never done." 
 
 The lawyer took his instructions home with him. The 
 next day, somewhat to Lord Dane's surprise, he was up at 
 the castle again. 
 
THE LEASE OF THE SAILORS* REST. 
 
 133 
 
 "Already!" cried his lordship, who seemed unusually 
 drowsy. " Is it ready ? There was no such hurry. I'm 
 not likely to go off like the snuff of a candle." 
 
 " It will be ready this afternoon, my lord, and I will bring 
 it up for execution whenever you please. But I did not 
 come about the will now," continued Mr. Apperly ; " I came 
 about another matter. Hawthorne wants to quit the Sailors' 
 Rest." 
 
 " What does he want that for ? " questioned Lord Dane. 
 
 " You may remember that his two brothers went over to 
 Australia some three or four years ago. It seems they have 
 done very well there, and they want Hawthorne and his 
 wife to join them. The man has been shilly-shallying over 
 it these several weeks past — I will and I won't — and now he 
 has made up his mind all in a hurry, as is generally the 
 case in these matters. He would like to be off at once ; 
 next week, if possible, and " 
 
 " A man and a woman can't get off on a four or five months' 
 voyage to take up their abode in a new country, without 
 more preparation than that," interposed Lord Dane. 
 
 " They are not going to sail quite so soon," explained 
 Mr. Apperly. " Hawthorne's sister, Keziah, once nursemaid 
 at Squire Lester's, married a London tradesman, as your lord- 
 ship may remember. A baker, he was, I think. They are 
 going ; and they want Hawthorne and his wife to join them 
 in London as soon as may be, that all may make their 
 preparations together. Hawthorne has been to me about it, 
 asking whether your lordship will absolve him from his 
 lease." 
 
 " I don't know about that," "said his lordship, who had 
 never been a particularly easy man with his tenants. 
 
 " He'll do little good stopping," returned Mr. Apperly. 
 "Since the letter came from Australia, enlarging on the 
 fortune his brothers are making, Hawthorne's brain has 
 been so filled with golden visions, that he knows not 
 whether he stands on his head or his heels. But he came 
 to me again this morning saying he had a tenant for the 
 Sailors' Rest." 
 
 " Ah," said Lord Dane, " it's a good house, and twenty 
 
134 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 will be after it as soon as the news get wing. Any steady 
 man may make an excellent living there. Hawthorne will 
 do well to think twice before he gives it up." 
 
 " I have told him so. But you see that sun, my lord, up 
 in the heavens ; you might just as well try to turn that in 
 its course as to turn Hawthorne from his new project. His 
 wife is more wildly bent on it, if possible, than he. She has 
 her boxes ready packed, to be off to London as soon as they 
 obtain their release, leaving Hawthorne behind her to wind 
 things up." 
 
 " What would they do with their furniture and fixtures ? " 
 
 " Whoever takes to the house must take to them. He puts 
 the value down at six hundred pounds altogether ; furniture, 
 fixtures, stock, lease, and goodwill ; and it's not too much. 
 One man is after it who would make a good tenant — 
 Mitchel." 
 
 " Mitchel ! " echoed Lord Dane. " What could he do with 
 a public-house ? And where's his money to come from ? " 
 
 "Your lordship is thinking of the preventive-man. I 
 allude to his brother — John Mitchel." 
 
 " Oh, ay, I forgot him. Yes ; he would be a good tenant, 
 and could pay Hawthorne money down. Well, I leave it to 
 you, Apperly. If Hawthorne finds me a suitable tenant, 
 why, I'll release him." 
 
 " Very good, my lord." 
 
 " Before the bargain is actually struck, that is, before 
 anything is signed, let the name of the new tenant be 
 submitted to me formally. I like to approve of my tenants." 
 
 " It shall be so," said Mr. Apperly. " But I suppose I 
 may allow the negotiations with John Mitchel to go on ? 
 Hawthorne and he can do nothing until they know whether 
 Mitchel would be acceptable as a tenant." 
 
 " Yes, yes ; they can go on. I shall make no objection 
 to Mitchel. A respectable man is John Mitchel." 
 
 "That's all right then, so far," remarked the lawyer. 
 "At what hour shall I come up with the will? Three 
 o'clock — four o'clock ? " 
 
 " Any hour. You'll not find me out," added Lord Dane 
 with a faint smile. 
 
THE LEASE OF THE SAILORS* REST. 
 
 135 
 
 " Then I'll say three o'clock ; and bid your lordship 
 good-day now, hoping my visit has not fatigued you." 
 
 He had quitted the room, when Lord Dane's bell rang a 
 hasty peal. It was to recall him. 
 
 " Apperly," cried his lordship, " I feel somewhat fatigued ; 
 not as well as I did early this morning. I don't think I'll 
 trouble you to come up again to-day." 
 
 Some instinct within the lawyer's breast rose against this. 
 
 " Is it well to procrastinate, my lord ? " he asked. " Won't 
 it be a good thing over, and off your mind ? " 
 
 " I don't care to be more fatigued to-day than I am," was 
 the reply of Lord Dane. " Come up to-morrow at eleven 
 o'clock. Tell Hawthorne I should like to see him before 
 he leaves ; we shall not meet again in this world." 
 
 The lawyer bowed his acquiescence, and went home 
 quickly, conscious that many clients must be waiting to see 
 him. Amidst them was John Mitchel. 
 
 " Hawthorne and I have come to terms, sir," was his greet- 
 ing to Mr. Apperly. " We shall want you to make out the 
 agreement and transfer. I don't care how soon it's done." 
 
 " All very fine, my good man," returned the lawyer, who, 
 being a lawyer, of course threw difficulties in the way, 
 though none really existed ; " but there's a third party to 
 be consulted in this affair, besides you and Hawthorne. 
 And that's Lord Dane." 
 
 " I feel sure his lordship will accept me readily," returned 
 Mitchel. " He could not find a surer tenant ; you intimated 
 as much yesterday, Mr. Apperly." 
 
 " I have nothing to say against you, Mitchel ; there's no 
 doubt his lordship might get many a worse. Well, I'll see 
 about it in a few days." 
 
 " But, if you could manage it, sir, we should like the 
 deeds drawn out immediately. I wish to take possession 
 next week, and Hawthorne wants to be rid of it." 
 
 " Pooh, pooh ! " cried Mr. Apperly, " you can't take a bull 
 by the horns in that way. Some men are six months getting 
 into a house. I am busy to-day, and I shall be busy to- 
 morrow; but you may come in again the next morning. 
 Meanwhile, I'll contrive to see Lord Dane." 
 
136 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " I dare say, sir," returned John Mitchel, looking hard at 
 the lawyer, " you might accept me now if you would. It's 
 not altogether that I am in so great a hurry to get into the 
 house ; it is Hawthorne who is in haste to get out of it, as 
 you know : but what I want is to make sure that I shall 
 have it — that I shan't be put aside for another. I'd pay 
 this freely to secure it, sir." 
 
 He laid down a ten-pound note. Ten-pound notes had 
 charms for Mr. Apperly, as they have for most men, for 
 lawyers in particular, according to popular belief. He 
 looked at it complacently ; but, true still to his craft, he 
 would not speak the affirmative word. 
 
 " I have some power vested in me, Mitchel, certainly : I 
 believe I can promise that you shall become the tenant. 
 Subject, you understand, to the consent of Lord Dane." 
 
 " Of course, Mr. Apperly. Then it is a settled thing ; for 
 I know his lordship won't object to me. So I'll say good- 
 morning, and thank you, sir." 
 
 " And step in the day after to-morrow, in the forenoon, 
 Mitchel. Meanwhile I'll be drawing up the necessary 
 papers. As to this," added the lawyer, carelessly popping 
 the note inside his desk, " it can go into the costs." 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 UNEXPECTED. 
 
 But things were not to be quite so smooth and straight as 
 the lawyer assumed. There was to be acting and counter- 
 acting. Somewhere about the same hour that John Mitchel 
 was paying his visit at Mr. Apperly's, Ravensbird paid one 
 at Mr. Geoffry Dane's. And Mr. Dane's servant looked 
 exceedingly surprised at the presumption. 
 
 "Well, he is at home," acknowledged the domestic, in 
 
UNEXPECTED. 
 
 137 
 
 answer to the inquiry pressed upon him, " But I shouldn't 
 think he'd see you." 
 
 " Suppose you ask him ? " rejoined Ravensbird, coolly 
 walking indoors. " Say I have come on business." 
 
 The servant might have refused positively in the old days, 
 but his master was a great man now, soon to be chief of 
 Danesheld, and he did not dare do so. " I'll tell Mr. Dane 
 what you say," said he ungraciously. 
 
 Geoffry Dane was in the small sitting-room where you 
 once saw him, not enjoying himself now with a cigar and 
 glasses, but seated in a chair doing nothing, his elbow on 
 the table, his face bent upon his hand. He was often so 
 seated now — in the same attitude — as befitted a face in 
 which the lines of some great care were rapidly gathering. 
 
 " It's that Ravensbird, sir," said the servant, interrupting 
 his reverie. " He has come into the house as bold as brass, 
 and is asking to see you. On business, he says." 
 
 " I'm sure I don't know what business he can have with 
 me," returned Mr. Dane, a shade of annoyance in his tone. 
 " You can send him in, however." ; 
 
 "Sir," began Ravensbird, without circumlocution, when 
 he entered, " report runs that my Lord Dane leaves many 
 matters of business relating to the estate to you, now you 
 are the heir." 
 
 « Well ? " said Mr. Dane. 
 
 " I have therefore come to ask your interest and influence 
 with his lordship, to get me accepted as tenant of the Sailors' 
 Rest, or to accept me yourself if you have the power." 
 
 He spoke fearlessly ; not at all as a petitioner, more as 
 though he were making a demand. Ravensbird had always 
 been remarkable for his independence of manner, but since 
 the accusation it had increased fourfold. And it is probable 
 that this helped on the reaction that was setting in in his 
 favour: Danesheld could not connect that freedom of 
 bearing with a guilty man. 
 
 " What ! are you after the Sailors' Rest ? " exclaimed Mr. 
 Dane. " I have heard a dozen names mentioned, but not 
 yours." 
 
 " I have not been after it noisily, as the rest have, sir : 
 
138 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 but as soon as I found it was to be disposed of, I spoke 
 privately to Hawthorne. I must do something for a living ; 
 I have been looking out ever since I left the Castle." 
 
 " Then you don't intend to go to service again ? " 
 
 " Service ! " returned Kavensbird. " Who would engage 
 me after having been taken up on a charge of murdering 
 my former master? There may be some, Mr. Herbert — I 
 beg your pardon, sir, I ought to say Mr. Dane — who don't 
 yet believe me innocent. But I never did intend to enter 
 upon another service, if I left Captain Dane's. The Sailors' 
 Rest is just such a house as I should like. Will you help 
 me to it, sir ? " 
 
 " Kavensbird," said Mr. Dane, not replying to his request, 
 " it appears strange to me that you should remain at Danes- 
 held. You have no ties in it ; until you came here with 
 your master, indeed, you were a stranger to it, and had a 
 similar cloud fallen upon me, however unjustly, I should be 
 glad to get away from the place." 
 
 " No, sir," answered Kavensbird, in a quiet, concentrated 
 tone ; "I prefer to stay in it." 
 
 " To enter upon the Sailors' Rest will require money," 
 again objected Mr. Dane. 
 
 " I am prepared with that. I have not lived to these 
 years without saving money. That won't be a bar — as 
 Hawthorne knows. Hawthorne has been playing with me," 
 continued Kavensbird. " I knew of his intention to leave 
 the house sooner than any one, and I said at once I would 
 take it off his hands. He quite jumped at it — was all eager- 
 ness to transfer it to me ; but in a day or two his tone 
 changed, and he has been vacillating between me and John 
 Mitchel." 
 
 "John Mitchel would make an excellent tenant," re- 
 marked Geoffry Dane. 
 
 " Not better than I should," returned Kavensbird. " Haw- 
 thorne knows that : but a doubt arose in his mind whether 
 I should be acceptable to my lord, if he still wavers as to 
 my guilt or innocence ; Hawthorne feared it might cause 
 delay, and so went over at once to the enemy, Mitchel." 
 
 " My lord does not waver : he believes you guilty," 
 
UNEXPECTED. 
 
 130 
 
 Geoffry Dane was on the point of saying ; but lie checked 
 the words, and suffered Eavensbird to continue. 
 
 " It is not likely that Lord Dane can believe me to have 
 been the assailant, in the face of the sworn alibi, though he 
 was prejudiced against me at first ; and it was only natural 
 that he should be so. Will you accept me as a tenant, Mr. 
 Dane ?" 
 
 " I have no power to do so ; you have taken up a wrong 
 idea altogether. I certainly have transacted business for 
 my uncle since I became his heir-presumptive ; but he has 
 not given me authority to let his houses." 
 
 " Will you sj>eak to him for me, sir ? " 
 
 Mr. Dane hesitated. 
 
 " I would speak in a minute, Eavensbird 5 but I am sure 
 it would be doing no good. Apart from any prejudice he 
 may or may not hold against you, he is one who will not 
 brook interference, even from me." 
 
 " You might try" persisted the man, " whatever the result 
 should be." 
 
 " Will you undertake not to be disappointed at the result ? 
 Did it lie with me, it would be a different matter ; but it 
 lies entirely with Lord Dane." 
 
 There was a pause. Eavensbird stood in silence, as if 
 still aw r aiting an answer, his piercing eyes never moving 
 from those of Mr. Dane. 
 
 " However, as you seem so set upon it, I will sj>eak to his 
 lordship," resumed the latter. " But I must choose my 
 time : it is not every clay that he will allow business matters 
 to be so much as named." 
 
 " If it is not settled between now and to-morrow night, 
 John Mitchel will have the place," rejoined Eavensbird. 
 
 " Then I will speak to his lordship between now and 
 then," concluded Geoffry Dane. 
 
 A few hours subsequent to this, a junket was being held 
 at Dane Castle by the upper servants. The sad events 
 recorded had followed each other in quick succession, and 
 the servants, as in decency bound, had secluded themselves 
 so completely from society, that they were beginning to 
 find the monotony irksome. They were holding, therefore, 
 
140 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 a quiet soiree on their own account— a quiet little gather- 
 ing of some half-dozen guests at most ; and the house- 
 keeper's parlour was decorated to receive them ; and the 
 tahle groaned with a tea-feast. 
 
 Conspicuous amongst the visitors was Mr. Kichard Bavens- 
 bird, who had been smuggled in surreptitiously, not to 
 interfere with the prejudices of Lord Dane. The servants 
 did not share in those prejudices : they believed his inno- 
 cence to be an established fact, and considered him an ill- 
 used man, whom it was their bounden duty to honour. 
 Possibly the eloquent tongue of Mademoiselle Sophie 
 Deffloe had contributed to this opinion. Another guest 
 was a lady to whom you have had the honour of an intro- 
 duction ; no other than Miss Eliza Tiffle. It was the aim 
 of Tiffle's life to be " genteel," and she was got up accord- 
 ingly — a flounced light muslin gown ornamented with prim- 
 rose bows, and primrose streamers to her cap. Lord Dane's 
 valet, an old beau, who had been in search of a wife, as lie 
 said, for twenty years, and had not found one to his mind 
 yet, was whispering soft speeches into Miss Tiffle's ear, as 
 he plied her with cake and wine and other good things. 
 The tea was over; but a splendid collation of what the 
 housekeeper called " sweets " had replaced it, and Mr. Bruff 
 had been liberal with his wine. 
 
 They were talking of no end of things — a very Babel of 
 tongues ; of what concerned themselves and of what did not, 
 and especially of what concerned their masters and mis- 
 tresses. The Lady Adelaide's proposed marriage to Squire 
 Lester was greedily discussed by Tiffle and Sophie— with 
 neither of whom did it appear to stand in any great favour 
 —and Mr. Bruff was eloquent upon the subject of the 
 departure of Hawthorne from Danesheld, and the new 
 tenant that would succeed him at the Sailors' Eest. 
 
 " They say it is to be John Mitchel," he observed to 
 Eavensbird. 
 
 " Do they ? " returned Mr. Eavensbird, in answer. But 
 not a word spoke he that he was after it himself. 
 
 " Should you not just step through the passage into my 
 lord's room and see whether ho is still sleeping ?" cried 
 
UNEXPECTED. 
 
 Ill 
 
 Bruff to the valet, heartlessly interrupting the flirtation 
 between that gentleman and Miss Tifflc. 
 
 " My lord is sure to be sleeping," was the reply ; " other- 
 wise he'd have rung. He has been uncommonly drowsy all 
 day. Lady Adelaide is sitting in the room. Let me alone 
 for not neglecting my duty, Mr. Bruff." 
 
 " My faith ! " ejaculated Sophie Dcffloo, jumping from her 
 chair by the side of Kichard Ravensbird. " If my lady 
 didn't bid me take her a shawl, for she felt chill, and that's 
 an hour ago ! What's my head worth ? " 
 
 " I wonder the young lady likes to pass her evenings in a 
 sick-chamber ! I thought I heard she was not domestical 
 inclined." 
 
 The remark was Tiffie's. Sophie had run out of the 
 room to remedy her forgetfulness, and the housekeeper, 
 Mrs. Corbet, a stout lady in a black paramatta gown very 
 much trimmed with crepe, took it up. 
 
 " She's lonely, poor young lady ; and even the company 
 of the sick is better than no company at all. You never 
 saw anybody so changed as she is." 
 
 " She's moped to death, that's what it is," said the valet. 
 " Half her time she has not a soul to speak to. I hope your 
 master will soon take her away, Miss Tiffle, for her own 
 sake." 
 
 "She's not well either, I'm positive of that," said the 
 housekeeper. "Nobody in health, you know, could feel 
 chilled on these warm nights : and she is always complain- 
 ing of being cold now. So many deaths have been a great 
 shock for her. First there was the Captain, then Mr. Dane, 
 then " 
 
 The housekeeper's enumeration was cut short. Sophie 
 Deffloe burst into the midst of them in terror that had taken 
 her breath away and turned her face white. 
 
 " Who is in the death-room ? " she exclaimed. 
 
 " Not any one," said Mr. Bruff: " the death-room is locked 
 up. Are we going to have some more of your superstitious 
 fancies, Mam'selle Sophie ? " 
 
 " It is not locked up ; the door's open and the key is 
 in it." 
 
142 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE, 
 
 " It is locked up, and the key's hanging in my pantry," 
 persisted Bruff. 
 
 " Then I tell you it is open — allez ! " retorted Sophie, 
 stamping her foot. " Have I eyes, Mr. Bruff? When I ran 
 by to get the shawl, I think it must have been shut. I did 
 not see, or I never should have the courage to go by it 
 open ; but when I came back, there it was — what you call 
 ajar. I saw the key in the lock, and I saw the flags inside, 
 and I thought I should have dropped." 
 
 Mr. Bruff turned into his pantry, muttering that she saw 
 ghosts where none existed, intending to bring the key and 
 confute her with it. The old valet spoke : 
 
 " Did you take the shawl into my lord's room, Mam'selle 
 Sophie?" 
 
 " What should hinder me when I went to do it ? " returned 
 the saucy Sophie : and Tiffle peered at her from between the 
 lids of her little green eyes, and thought how much she 
 should relish the handling of Mademoiselle Sophie and her 
 sauce, when she transferred her abode to the Hall. 
 
 " Was my lord asleep ? " 
 
 "For all I know; I didn't look towards the bed," 
 answered Sophie. " My lady was asleep. She had dozed 
 off, leaning back in the great chair. So I threw the shawl 
 lightly on her knees, and came away." 
 
 Bruff returned, with a softened step and a softened voice, 
 his countenance a little perplexed. 
 
 " It's very odd," cried he ; " the key is not in the pantry." 
 
 " So ! it's Sophie that sees ghosts where there are none, 
 and fancies doors open when they are not, and discovers 
 keys in them that are safe in their pantries," retorted that 
 demoiselle, turning upon Bruff. " Perhaps, if you'll walk as 
 far as the death-room, you'll find that it is open, Mr. Bruff." 
 
 " I am going there," said Bruff. 
 
 Up started Tiffle, her primrose strings flying ; her hands, 
 which were elegantly cased in yellow gloves, clasping each 
 other in simpering entreaty. 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Bruff, if you'd only illow me to accompany you, 
 sir ! I have so long wished to get a peep at the death-room 
 of Dane Castle ! " 
 
UNEXPECTED. 
 
 143 
 
 " You are all of you welcome to come if you like," said 
 Bruff to the company generally, as he took up a candle. 
 " It's an empty room ; nothing in it to be seen." 
 
 They followed in a body ; every one of the guests. The 
 scared Sophie, possibly feeling herself sufficiently protected 
 when with Mr. Eavensbird, accompanied them. And her 
 assertion was found to be correct — the door was ajar, and 
 the key in it. Bruff inwardly vowed vengeance against the 
 offender when he should pounce upon him. He had little 
 doubt it must be one of the under-servants who had done it 
 in the gratification of curiosity, or to annoy him. Taking 
 the key from the lock into his safe fingers, he marshalled 
 the company into the room. 
 
 « Why it's only a big, square, dreary barn of a place, with 
 nothing in it ! " ejaculated Tifile, forgetting her gentility in 
 her disappointment. 
 
 "I told you there was nothing in it," said the butler. 
 " What did you expect to see ? " 
 
 Perhaps Tiffle had expected to see something in the 
 middle with black velvet over it, for she was looking ex- 
 cessively vexed and sour. 
 
 " I wouldn't mind going by this 'ere room fifty times over, 
 when the bell was tolling midnight," cried she, with a con- 
 temptuous glance at the French girl. "There's nothing 
 here to be frightened at. Where does that place lead to ? " 
 
 " That's a closet," said the butler. 
 
 " What's inside of it ? " demanded Tiffle. 
 
 " A pair of trestles," he replied in a low tone. 
 
 " Oh, could we have a look at 'em ? " 
 
 " No, Mrs. Tiffle," was the grave answer. " That closet 
 is never opened but when — when it's needful to open it." 
 
 "Well, it's a nasty, cold, dismal place, not worth the 
 coming to see," retorted Tiffle. " Where's the good of 
 having windows that you can't look out of ? And how damp 
 the floor is ! " 
 
 The last remark caused them all to cast their eyes down- 
 wards upon the flags. They were certainly capriciously 
 damp, stained and spotted in parts, dry and untouched 
 in others. 
 
144 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " What sort of flooring is this ? " inquired Tiffle, when 
 hor eyes had noted the effect. " Some stones give with the 
 damp, and some don't — that is well known ; but here the 
 same stones — some are wet, and some are dry. And who 
 ever saw flags damp on a hot summer's night, with tho 
 weather set in for a regular drought." 
 
 No reply was made to Tiffle. The servants were looking 
 at the floor in dismay, for tho superstition relating to it 
 was rife amongst them. 
 
 The butler interposed. " It's nothing new," he said ; " it 
 is a state of things common to the flagstone with which the 
 floor is laid. What were you looking at, Mr. Ravens- 
 bird?" 
 
 " It's very strange," exclaimed Ravensbird, who had been 
 most attentively surveying the room in silence, since his 
 entrance : " this })lace seems quite familiar to me, though I 
 never was in it before. Where, how, and when can I have 
 seen it ? " 
 
 " In a dream perhaps," suggested Tiffle. " Odd sights do 
 come to us in dreams." 
 
 " Likely enough," returned Ravensbird ; and the butler 
 turned and looked at him, surprised at the remark from so 
 very matter-of-fact a man. 
 
 " As there's nothing particular here to detain us, and tho 
 flags may be cold for the ladies' feet, suppose we go back," 
 cried the butler. 
 
 They filed out, nothing loath, and hastened along the 
 passage with quick steps, BrufT remaining to lock the door. 
 He had done this, and was putting the key in his pocket, 
 when he was startled at seeing Lady Adelaide coming 
 swiftly towards him. Startled, because it was quite unusual 
 for her to be in that part of the Castle, and because her face 
 was so white and scared. She laid hold of the butler's arm, 
 as if impelled by fear. 
 
 "Bruff! something is the matter with Lord Dane," she 
 shivered. " He looks — I don't know how he looks." 
 
 " Oh, my lady ! you should not have given yourself this 
 trouble. Why did you not ring ? " 
 
 " I was afraid to remain alone," she whispered. " I 
 
UNEXPECTED. 
 
 148 
 
 dropped asleep, and when I awoke I went to look at Lord 
 Dane, wondering that he had not spoken or called. He was 
 lying with his mouth open, and his face white and cold ; it 
 terrified me." 
 
 " Perhaps he has fainted, my lady. He did have fainting- 
 fits at the commencement of his illness." 
 
 " Bruff," she cried, bursting into tears of nervous agitation, 
 " it — looks — like — death. His face looks just as my aunt's 
 looked when she was dead." 
 
 Without saying a word to alarm the rest, or to call 
 attention to Lady Adelaide, Bruff went to Lord Dane's 
 chamber, the terrified girl closely following him. Alas ! 
 Bruff soon found what had taken place : Lord Dane had died 
 in his sleep. 
 
 Even then, Bruff, who was the very quintessence of 
 order and decorum, made no fuss to disclose the calamity to 
 the guests. He called away some of the servants, saying 
 Lord Dane was worse, and despatched messengers for all 
 whom it might concern. He could not send for Mr. Lester, 
 because that gentleman was absent that evening from 
 Danesheld. 
 
 Mr. Wild, Geoff ry Dane, and Mr. Apperly, were soon 
 round the bed. The surgeon said he had been dead more 
 than an hour ; considerably more. It caused Adelaide to 
 shudder : he must have died then before she fell asleep : 
 and she remembered, and an awful remorse sprang up within 
 her at the thought, that she had sat buried in her own 
 reflections until sleep stole over her, never giving thought 
 to him, never once rising from her chair to look at him. 
 He had died, the doctor believed, in his sleep, without stir 
 or sign : and she was sitting within four yards of him ! 
 She stood shivering behind them now, listening to the 
 comments and the sorrow. The household were half 
 petrified : the poor old valet, who was really not very much 
 younger than his master, shedding tears openly. 
 
 " Can nothing be done to restore him ? " he demanded of 
 Mr. Wild. " To think that this evening, of all evenings, 
 I should not have gone in and out of the chamber every ten 
 minutes, as was my custom ! " 
 
 Lady Adelaide. 10 
 
146 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " Nothing whatever can be done, I tell you," replied the 
 surgeon. " You may see that for yourselves. One comfort 
 is, he went off quietly, without pain. I have thought this 
 might be the ending." 
 
 " Then I wonder you didn't tell him so, Wild," came from 
 Mr. Apperly, in a tone of reproof. " It was only this very 
 morning his lordship said to me that he was not likely to go 
 off like the snuff of a candle." 
 
 " And why should I tell him ? He was prepared for 
 death ; he knew it was coming, and was very near ; where- 
 fore tell him that it might be sudden at the last ? " 
 
 " No : he was not prepared for death," returned the lawyer, 
 in a heat; not in one sense of the word. He had not 
 settled his affairs." 
 
 The announcement took all by surprise. He, Lord Dane, 
 with his protracted illness, not to have settled his affairs ! 
 Geoffry Dane smiled incredulously. 
 
 " It's true," said the lawyer. " After he lost wife and sons, 
 his former will was cancelled, and I have been making a 
 fresh one. Upon what pivots life's chances turn ! " he 
 broke off. " When I was with Lord Dane this morning, he 
 appointed three o'clock this afternoon for me to bring the 
 will up for execution ; then, feeling fatigued, altered it to 
 eleven to-morrow. And now he is gone ! and the will is 
 worth so much waste paper." 
 
 " Wanting the signature ? " 
 
 " Wanting the signature," assented Mr. Apperly. " You 
 will bo the better for it," he added, looking at Geoffry 
 Dane. 
 
 " No," quietly replied Geoffry. 
 
 They began to leave the chamber for the dining-room, 
 into which it opened. He had died in the lower room, which 
 had been his chamber since his accident. Strangers and 
 guests filed out, with slow, uncertain steps, as if no one 
 knew exactly what to do next. 
 
 " My lord, do you remain in the Castle from now ? " 
 
 It was the housekeeper who spoke, and she was speaking 
 to Geoffry, now Lord Dane. He was the new peer; the 
 Right Honourable Geoffry, seventeenth Baron Dane. 
 
UNEXPECTED. 
 
 147 
 
 " Yes ; I suppose so," he replied. " It may be better 
 that I should." 
 
 But as Lord Dane — we must begin to give him his title, too 
 — spoke, his eye fell on Adelaide : and he recalled his words. 
 
 " Not to-night, however,. Mrs. Corbet : the hurry is not 
 so great as that. I will sec about future arrangements 
 to-morrow." 
 
 " As you please, my lord," replied Mrs. Corbet. 
 
 " Unless you would feel my being in the Castle a protec- 
 tion," he added, approaching Adelaide, and speaking in low 
 tones. " In that case I will remain." 
 
 " Thank you, oh no ! not on my account," she answered, 
 a vivid blush dyeing her pale cheeks. " I shall have the 
 servants." 
 
 " It shall be just as you wish. I will telegraph for Cecilia 
 to-morrow. You may like her to be with you." 
 
 " Thank you," she repeated again. But both answers were 
 given with a mechanical bewildered air, as if she did not 
 know what she said or what she was about. 
 
 " I will wish you good-night then, Lady Adelaide." 
 
 " Good-night," she rejoined, holding out her hand. " You 
 will — of course — please to — give the orders now." 
 
 " Yes, yes," he replied while her hand was in his. " I will 
 see about everything : no trouble shall fall upon you." 
 
 She sat down in a corner behind the screen when he was 
 gone, and burst into a flood of passionate tears. Sophie 
 Deffloe looked round and saw her. 
 
 " I will not stop in the Castle another day now he is master 
 of it," and her face as she mentally said it flushed painfully. 
 " Were I to be with him again, I might forget my resolution, 
 and give up George Lester ; I might be persuaded to marry 
 him after all, and then — what punishment might not heaven 
 give me for my wickedness ? Why did I ever love him ? 
 Why can we not forget each other ? Where can I go ? — Oh ! 
 where can I go ? " 
 
 As Lord Dane turned out of the Castle gateway, Eichard 
 Eavensbird stepped up and accosted him : he appeared to 
 have been lingering on the greensward. 
 
 " My lord, I must ask your pardon for interrupting you 
 
148 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 at this hour. I would say just a word to you on business, 
 if " 
 
 " It is not the time for it, Kavensbird," said Lord Dane 
 decisively. "I see by your address you know what has 
 occurred." 
 
 " I do, my lord ; I was in the Castle at the moment, 
 spending an hour with the domestics ; and very sorry I am 
 that the event should have been so sudden. I always re- 
 spected Lord Dane." 
 
 " The servants have condoned your supposed offence, then, 
 though their lord did not," was the answering remark of the 
 new peer. 
 
 " I beg your pardon, my lord, but condoned is not the 
 proper term," readily returned Eavensbird. " To condone 
 implies that an offence has been committed. I committed 
 none." 
 
 " Well, what do you want with me ? " 
 
 " It is about the lease of the Sailors' Eest. I find that 
 not an hour is to be lost, if I am to have it, — not an hour — 
 or I should not have attempted to speak to your lordship so 
 soon. Mr. Apperly has already begun to draw it up in 
 favour of John Mitchel, subject to the approval of Lord 
 Dane. My lord, you are Lord Dane now." 
 
 A pointed significance was given to the last sentence ; a 
 free, independent, almost demanding tone, not pleasant to 
 hear. Was it possible that Lord Dane failed to remark it ? 
 He did not appear to do so. 
 
 " And you think I can grant it to you ? " 
 
 " I am sure you can, my lord ; and I hope you will. Your 
 lordship will find me a good tenant." 
 
 " Enough discussion for to-night, Eavensbird," curtly 
 responded Lord Dane. "I have already said that it is 
 unseemly." 
 
 Eavensbird respectfully touched his hat and strode away 
 quickly towards Danesheld. Lord Dane proceeded in the 
 same direction, but at a slower pace. He was turning 
 towards his own house when hasty footsteps came up be- 
 hind him, and he found himself joined by Mr. Apperly, 
 likewise on his way from the Castle. 
 
UNEXPECTED. 
 
 149 
 
 " A dreadfully sad and sudden event," cried the lawyer. 
 " I'm sure your lordship must feel it." 
 
 " I do indeed ; it has shocked me much," replied Lord 
 Dane, turning upon him his pale face — unnaturally pale it 
 looked in the starlight. " We could not have expected him 
 to be much longer with us ; but at least I never anticipated 
 this abrupt termination to his life." 
 
 " And to think that he did not sign the will ! As I said, it 
 will be all the better for your lordship ; but for others " 
 
 " Never mind that to-night, Apperly. I am not quite up 
 to the mark. I loved my poor uncle, perhaps better than 
 any one else who was left to him," added Lord Dane, his 
 tone one of keen pain. 
 
 " Ay, I'm sure you did. When shall I meet your lordship 
 for business. There are some things which must be seen to 
 at once." 
 
 " You can meet me at the Castle to-morrow ; I shall be 
 there by ten o'clock. And meanwhile, AjDperly, until I shall 
 have looked into affairs, let any business matters you may 
 have on hand rest in abeyance — granting new leases and 
 things of that sort." 
 
 « Very good, my lord. But there's nothing much in hand 
 just now, except the transfer of Hawthorne's lease to Mitchel. 
 They both want to get it over sooner than pen can be put 
 to parchment. The one wants to be off and away; the 
 other thinks he is not sure of it till the lease is actually 
 signed. I suppose I may go on with that ? " 
 
 " No," said his lordship ; " neither with that nor with 
 anything else." 
 
 " But " — and the lawyer spoke as if taken by surprise — 
 " Lord Dane had no objection to Mitchel as a tenant ; he 
 told me so this morning. I presume your lordship will 
 have none." 
 
 " Lord Dane's death puts a stop to all such negotiations 
 for the present," was the decisive and somewhat sharply- 
 delivered answer. " Let them remain, I say, in abeyance." 
 
 Mr. Apperly nodded acquiescence and said adieu to the 
 new peer, breaking out into a little explosion as he w r ent on 
 down the road, 
 
150 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " He'll be a martinet, as sure as a gun ! We might 
 almost as well have had the dead heir to reign here, the 
 Honourable Geoffry. It's often the way with these men 
 who unexpectedly come into power." 
 
 The new peer went home, and retired at once to his 
 chamber. But instead of going to bed, as is the custom 
 with ordinary folk, he paced his room until daybreak. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Margaret's cup pretty full. 
 
 Mr. Lester returned home late, and was greeted by Tiffle 
 with the news — Lord Dane was dead. He could not go to 
 the Castle that night ; it had struck eleven ; but he was 
 there betimes on the following morning. It was nearly 
 midday before he saw Lady Adelaide. She came to him with 
 her hands stretched out, her eyes wild, her cheeks hectic. 
 
 " Take me away, Mr. Lester ! Oh ! take me away ! I will 
 not remain here, the guest of Geoffry Dane." 
 
 Taken by surprise though he was, Mr. Lester was only 
 too willing to echo her words. Indeed, he had been weigh- 
 ing possibilities in his mind all the morning, and he 
 ventured to speak of one : 
 
 That she would marry him quietly and privately that day 
 in the Castle, and come at once to his house. 
 
 The proposal startled her to tremor. She shrank from it, 
 and Mr. Lester saw it with pain. What else, then? he 
 inquired : any plan that she might suggest for her own 
 comfort, he would help her to carry out. 
 
 What else, indeed! What other plan was there that 
 could be suggested ? She was fully determined — obstinately 
 so, some might have said — not to remain another night in 
 the Castle, although Lord Dane had telegraphed for his 
 
Margaret's cup pretty full. 
 
 151 
 
 sister at the earliest moment. Mr. Lester rather wondered 
 whence her wish for haste might proceed. It never occurred 
 to him, unconscious man, that she feared companionship 
 with the new peer might peril her promise to him. 
 
 In her dilemma, in her difficulty of devising any imme- 
 diate home for herself, she gave some sign of relenting. 
 Sophie Defiioe, happily or unhappily, suggested Mrs. Grant's, 
 and that ended the contest. With a half cry, Lady Adelaide 
 said she would not, could not go to Scotland; and Mr. 
 Lester came again to the rescue, urging his suit by all the 
 eloquence of which he was master. He reminded her that 
 there would be no difficulty whatever in carrying out the 
 arrangements with complete privacy ; a special license was 
 already in his possession, which allowed of the ceremony 
 being performed in the Castle, and he begged her to bear in 
 mind the fact that her uncle, Lord Dane, had himself urged 
 their speedy union. 
 
 "It will look so strange, to be married whilst he lies 
 dead in the house ! " she said, with pouting lips. " What 
 will the world say at our going away on a wedding tour, 
 even before he is buried ? " 
 
 " But I am not asking you to do that," said Mr. Lester. 
 " I only say leave this home for mine. You shall remain 
 there in privacy for a few days, and after the funeral I will 
 take you anywhere that you may wish to go. You might, 
 indeed, come to me as a visitor if you very much preferred 
 it; Miss Bordillion is with me, you know; but I think, 
 Adelaide, this would not be so pleasant for you. I am sure 
 you would prefer to enter the Hall at once as its mistress." 
 
 " Yes ; if I come," she answered. 
 
 There is no need to pursue the argument. It is sufficient 
 to say that Mr. Lester obtained her consent, and he went 
 forth to make the necessary arrangements. 
 
 Scarcely knowing whether he stood on his head or his 
 heels, he halted outside the Castle. The Hall must be 
 warned, and proper preparations made for the reception of 
 this unexpected bride ; the clergyman must be spoken to : 
 which should he go to first ? He dashed off to the clergy- 
 man's, whose house was at the other extremity of Danesheld, 
 
152 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 and, as it happened, he chose wrongly, whereby ensued 
 some complication. 
 
 The Eeverend Mr. James was out somewhere in the 
 parish : he would be in directly to his two o'clock dinner. 
 Leaving word that he would call again, Squire Lester bent 
 his hasty steps towards his own home. 
 
 It seemed deserted ; there was no echo of children's voices 
 to be heard ; there was no sign of living creatures to be 
 seen. The remains of a repast, laid in the dining-room, 
 alone greeted Mr. Lester. He rang a peal, in his impatience, 
 that echoed through the house, and Jones came in. 
 
 " Where's Miss Bordillion ? " 
 
 " She's gone, sir." 
 
 " Gone where ? " 
 
 " Gone to Great Cross, sir, with Master Lester and the 
 young ladies. They have been dining now, and will be 
 home to a late tea." 
 
 Mr. Lester broke out with an impatient word. Great 
 Cross was a large town some ten miles off by rail. How 
 could proper arrangements be carried out for the hasty 
 recej)tion of his wife at the Hall, in the absence of its 
 present mistress ? There were five hundred things on which 
 he wanted to consult Miss Bordillion. 
 
 " What on earth took her off to Great Cross to-clay ? " Tie 
 exclaimed in his vexation. 
 
 " Well, sir," said Jones, who, if he ever condescended to a 
 gossip with any one it was with his master, " I think she's 
 chiefly gone to buy a doll for Miss Lester. Master Wilfred 
 poked out the eyes of the old one yesterday, and melted its 
 wax nose off. Miss Maria cried so that Miss Bordillion 
 promised to buy her one to replace it." 
 
 " A new doll indeed ! " retorted Mr. Lester ; " she's getting 
 too old for dolls. They have no business to go off in this 
 manner for a day without consulting me." 
 
 "I heard Miss Bordillion remark to the children, sir, 
 that she was sorry you went out so early this morning, 
 before she could see you. If you had been home a quarter- 
 of-an-hour earlier now, sir, you'd have seen them, for they 
 have not long been gone," 
 
Margaret's cup pretty full. 
 
 153 
 
 " In that wretched omnibus, I suppose." 
 
 " No, sir, Master Wilfred's driving them in the pony- 
 carriage. They were going by the half-past two train." 
 
 Mr. Lester pulled out his watch. Ten minutes past two. 
 There would not be time for him to overtake them ; though 
 he might have done it had his horse been ready. The rail- 
 way station was three miles off, and a public omnibus 
 conveyed Danesheld passengers to and fro. 
 
 " What are they going to do with the pony-carriage ? " he 
 rejoined, quite savagely. " Leave it at the station ? " 
 
 " Kobert went over by the omnibus, sir, to bring it back," 
 answered Jones, wondering much what could have gone 
 wrong with his even-tempered master. 
 
 Mr. Lester really was in a dilemma. It was an unusual 
 position to be in : that of having to tell a household that he 
 was about to bring a bride home that day, and things must 
 be in readiness to receive her. In his nature there was a 
 certain reticence which rather deterred him from speaking ; 
 he knew nothing whatever about household arrangements, 
 and would have preferred to turn over the whole thing to 
 Miss Bordillion, rather than have to settle matters himself 
 with his servants. And besides — and here lay the gist of 
 the whole matter — he owed it to Miss Bordillion to make 
 her acquainted with it at once. Short enough in any case 
 would the notice have been, and he had an instinctive feeling 
 that she would turn restive at the sudden invasion. 
 
 " Will you take any luncheon, sir ? " 
 
 " Send Tiffle here," said Mr. Lester, allowing the question 
 to remain in abeyance. But luncheon was a meal he rarely 
 took. 
 
 Tiffle came in : her white muslin apron on ; her hands, 
 whilst she waited for orders, smoothing themselves one over 
 the other — as poor Hood, who went from us too early, had 
 it — " washing her hands with invisible soap and impercep- 
 tible water." Tiffle seemed to be always doing the same. 
 
 She waited, but no words came from Mr. Lester. He was 
 thinking how much he should say and how much he should 
 leave unsaid. 
 
 " Did you please to want me ? sir ? " 
 
154 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 Mr. Lester spoke then rather obscurely ; giving the 
 woman a hint of the case, and that such and such a 
 possibility might occur. Many maid-servants would not 
 have understood his enigmatical language ; but Tiffle's 
 intelligence was of the sharper order. 
 
 " Eooms to be made ready for any contingency ; Mr. 
 Lester's own rooms ; certainly, they should be set about 
 at once. Should things be replaced as they were in the 
 late Mrs. Lester's time ? Should the pink silk toilette 
 draperies " 
 
 Mr. Lester lifted his hand in reproof. He did not want 
 to be questioned about details of which he knew nothing. 
 Tiffle, in the absence of Miss Bordillion, must take every- 
 thing upon herself, and exercise her own judgment. 
 
 " It was very good," Tiffle answered. " Would dinner be 
 required ? " 
 
 But this, Mr. Lester was really unable to say. He 
 supposed it would be : he would endeavour to send word 
 later, and the hour. And Tiffle was to keep a silent tongue 
 in her head, and not talk in the household. 
 
 He went up to his rooms, looking round him there, and 
 putting aside various odds-and-encls of his own that were 
 strewed about. A table in the room called his dressing- 
 room, but which he had not used as one of late years, but as 
 a smoking-room if anything, had sundry bundles of papers 
 on it, letters, and other things ; these he glanced over, threw 
 some on the floor to be, taken away, and the rest he locked 
 up. It smelt of smoke, and he put down the windows and 
 propped the door open. At length he took his departure, 
 and sped back to the clergyman's. 
 
 It struck three. He had not thought it so late, and went 
 along hurriedly. Soon he came to the clergyman's gate, and 
 walked up the narrow garden path. 
 
 " Is Mr. James come in ? " 
 
 " He has been in, sir, and is gone again," was the answer 
 of the servant, who stood with the door in his hand. 
 
 " Been in and gone again ! " echoed Mr. Lester. 
 
 " He came in, sir, not five minutes after you were here, 
 and said that he must have his dinner directly. It was 
 
Margaret's cup pretty full* 
 
 155 
 
 served, and I don't think lie was ten minutes over it beforo 
 he was out again." 
 
 " Did you give him my message ? " inquired Mr. Lester. 
 I " Yes, sir. I said you wanted him upon business of very 
 great importance ; he replied that he was obliged to go out, 
 but would be back again as soon as possible." 
 
 Mr. Lester looked around him in blank consternation. Any 
 delay in the preliminaries, and Lady Adelaide might waver 
 in her bargain, for she was capricious as the wind. Not to 
 call her his own that day now that the cup of bliss had been 
 brought so near him, Mr. Lester would have thought the 
 greatest misfortune in life. Had he gone to his own home 
 in the first instance and come here afterwards, he might have 
 caught both Miss Bordillion and Mr. James. If he knew 
 where to look for the reverend man, he would start off in 
 pursuit ; but Danesheld was a tolerably large parish, taking 
 in the rural portion of it, and a very straggling one. 
 Leaving a few pencilled words for Mr. James, he walked 
 away towards the Castle. 
 
 The news on his arrival there both soothed and irritated 
 him. Lady Adelaide was dressing for the ceremony. All 
 very well, so far ; but what if the clergyman did not make 
 his appearance ? Mr. Lester was as a man upon thorns. 
 He saw Lord Dane and asked if he would give Lady 
 Adelaide away. Very quiet was the reply, but it was in the 
 negative ; Lord Dane had business elsewhere ; and a sus- 
 picion arose to Mr. Lester that the new peer was resenting 
 the young lady's hasty departure as a slight upon himself. 
 
 It was past six when Mr. Lester again w r ent home. He 
 made some alteration in his dress, and took a mouthful of 
 food as a substitute for dinner, for Lady Adelaide had 
 declined to dine on her arrival. The clergyman had not yet 
 turned up, and Mr. Lester was in a fever. He had been 
 down again to the parsonage now; the servant said her 
 master's tea was waiting for him, and he was sure not to be 
 long. 
 
 What about Miss Bordillion ? Mr. Lester had been in 
 hopes that she also w r ould be at home, but she was not. He 
 sat down and wrote a note to her, telling Tiffle to give it her 
 
156 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 as soon as she came in. He then ordered his close carriage 
 and went back in it to the Castle. The clergyman had not 
 come, and he sent the carriage down to the parsonage to 
 wait for him. 
 
 As Mr. Lester entered the great hall which had been 
 hastily prepared for the ceremony, the late Lord Dane's 
 official table serving for a temporary altar, covered with a 
 gorgeous cloth — who should come fluttering up to him but 
 Cecilia Dane. Lord Dane, as good as his word, had 
 telegraphed for her early in the morning ; and what with 
 the hurried journey, and what with the news that greeted 
 her, Miss Dane was more of a child than usual, and began 
 asking him whether she could stand by Lady Adelaide at 
 that altar in her heavy black gown, and whether there was 
 time for her to go home and change it for a white one. Mr. 
 Lester put her aside with a good-humoured word, as he 
 went in search of one nearer and dearer. Black or white, 
 what mattered such surroundings, if only that other one 
 became his ! There was a feeling on Mr. Lester, and had 
 been all clay, that she might yet slip through his fingers ; 
 there always is a fear of the sort, more or less, in regard to 
 anything desired with intensity, when the time of fruition is 
 at hand. And so the evening sped on. 
 
 It was getting on for ten o'clock, and Miss Bordillion was 
 seated in an easy chair in the handsome drawing-room at the 
 Hall. She and her charges had come home late, past eight, 
 and glad enough she was, when tea was over, to despatch 
 them to bed and be at rest. Even Wilfred was tired, and had 
 made no demands to sit up later, as he generally did. 
 Somewhat to her surprise, as she thus sat, the servant came 
 in and began to light the large centre chandelier, which was 
 not used in general. 
 
 « Why are you lighting that, J ones ? " 
 
 " Tiffle sent me to do it, ma'am. She thought she heard 
 the carriage coming down the road." 
 
 " Is Mr. Lester out in the carriage to-night ? " 
 
 " Yes, ma'am." 
 
 " But why need you light the chandelier ? There is 
 sufficient light in the room without it," 
 
Margaret's cup tretty full. 
 
 157 
 
 Jones could only repeat that he was doing it by Tiffle's 
 orders. The man had not been made a confidant of by Tiffle, 
 who had kept her information close. He knew there had 
 been some unusual stir going on in the house, but never 
 glanced at the real facts. 
 
 The carriage was Mr. Lester's. It slowly came round to 
 the front, and Jones, his lighting finished, hastened out. 
 Another minute and Mr. Lester came in, Lady Adelaide on 
 his arm. 
 
 Had Miss Bordillion seen an apparition enter, she could 
 not have^been more startled and astonished. Lady Adelaide 
 threw a rich cloak from her white shoulders as she entered, 
 and stood revealed in her evening attire ; a white silk robe 
 adorned with costly lace, a pearl necklace, pearl bracelets, and 
 white gloves. A small wreath was round her hair behind, 
 from which fell a veil that looked very like a bridal one. 
 Had Miss Bordillion entertained any suspicion of the truth, 
 and looked closely, she might have seen that the wreath was 
 composed of orange blossoms. But she was too bewildered 
 to look or to think ; and stood with a petrified stare. What 
 should bring Lady Adelaide to the Hall at this hour ? 
 What should have caused her to deck herself out in that 
 manner, with her uncle lying dead at the Castle. 
 
 " How do you do, Miss Bordillion ? It is scarcely fair to 
 take the house by storm in this way, is it ? But I believe 
 there was no help for it." 
 
 She advanced as she held out her hand, and it brought her 
 under the blaze of light. Never had she looked more 
 beautiful. Margaret Bordillion mechanically touched the 
 offered hand, and glanced at Mr, Lester for an explanation, 
 which he did not appear to see. He was looking at Lady 
 Adelaide. 
 
 " Is tea ready, do you know, Margaret ? You would like 
 some at once, would you not, Adelaide ? " 
 « Oh, yes." 
 
 Never had Margaret Bordillion been so scared out of her 
 self-possession. Muttering some half-intelligible words 
 about " telling the servants to bring it in," she escaped from 
 the room. Ere she had gone half-way across the hall, she 
 
158 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 remembered tliat the children had left some toys on the sofa 
 near the door, not particularly ornamental to a drawing-room, 
 and she turned back for them. 
 
 She oj^ened the door softly, not caring that they should 
 notice her re-entrance, intending to scramble up the things 
 and escape again. Better that she had not gone back ! Mr. 
 Lester stood with his back to her ; he had gathered that fair 
 girl in his arms, and was whispering words of welcome with 
 his eyes and lips. Margaret left the toys and went out 
 again, a dim suspicion, not of the truth, but of something like 
 it, beginning to make its way to her brain. 
 
 At the foot of the stairs she encountered Tiffle and Sophie 
 Dcffloe. The latter was without her bonnet, and looked as 
 much at home as if she had lived in the Hall for a year. 
 Tiffle was gorgeous in a stiffened-out old purple silk gown, 
 and white bows in her cap. 
 
 " I've been showing mem'zel her lady's rooms," said Tiffle, 
 her green eyes turned stealthily on Miss Bordillion's changing 
 face ; " leastways master's rooms, which is the same thing 
 now. But the luggage hasn't come down yet from the Castle, 
 and mem'zel can't unpack." 
 
 " Has Lady Adelaide Errol come to remain the night ? " 
 inquired Margaret, more bewildered, more at sea than ever. 
 " Here, in Mr. Lester's house ? " 
 
 " My lady's come for good, ma'am ; come home," responded 
 Tiffle, winking and blinking as if the light of the hall lamp 
 dazzled her eyes, though in reality never taking them from 
 the face of Miss Bordillion. " She and master have just been 
 married, and he has just brought her home. Didn't the note 
 he left explain — Goodness me ! " broke off Tiffle, diving into 
 her pocket, " to think that I should have forgot to give you 
 this, ma'am ? I'm sure I beg ten thousand pardens ! Mr. 
 Lester wrote it when he was at home this afternoon, and 
 charged me to give it you myself, and I put it in my pocket 
 for safety. Out of sight, out of mind." 
 
 She had kept it there purposely, and she knew it. 
 Margaret did not faint : she only leaned against the w T all 
 for a moment's support; her face was growing ghastly, 
 but she strove to carry it all off with an easy hand, and her 
 
mahgahet's cup pretty full. 
 
 159 
 
 poor dry lips parted with a faint smilo as she turned to 
 Sophie. 
 
 " Married ! Indeed ? " 
 
 " But I surely thought it never would have got done 
 to-night, miss," spoke up that self-possessed and voluble 
 demoiselle. " My young lady has been sitting dressed since 
 this afternoon, and the cure— what you call parson — could 
 not be found. It was nine o'clock when he came, and we 
 had nearly given him up. They were married in the great 
 salon, the hall ; and Miss Dane, she was maid of honour in 
 a black robe. It was bad luck that, and I said so ; but they 
 would not listen. My lady's dress was all right ; it was a 
 new one made for her just before these troubles, and she had 
 never worn it ; and I went out and succeeded in getting the 
 veil and the flowers in Danesheld." 
 
 Margaret Bordillion had heard enough. Trifle began to 
 tell of the confidence her master had reposed in her, and the 
 bustle it had put her and the housemaids in ; but she 
 succeeded in passing them, and went up the stairs. The 
 doors of Mr. Lester's rooms were open, and a flood of light 
 came forth from them into the corridor. Margaret leaned 
 her aching head against the wall, and opened the letter. 
 
 It contained only a few brief lines ; explaining to her what 
 was in contemplation, and the reasons for the haste — that 
 Lady Adelaide .had no other home to go to, and wished at 
 once to leave the Castle, of which the new peer had taken 
 possession. The words were penned with the utmost kind- 
 ness, almost tenderness ; and she stood looking at them she 
 knew not how long, her sight dimmed by misery. 
 
 " Margaret." 
 
 The call startled her, for it was Mr. Lester's. Crushing 
 the note into her pocket, and passing her hand across her 
 eyes and brow, she moved to the head of the staircase and 
 answered it. 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Do come down and make tea, Margaret," he said, running 
 lightly up. " Poor Adelaide feels shy and strange ; it is only 
 natural she should do so, coming thus suddenly amidst us 
 all. It is quite an exceptional case, you see." 
 
IGO 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " I — I cannot," gasped Margaret. " Indeed I cannot. 3 5 
 Mr. Lester took one of the trembling hands in his, and laid 
 the other gently on her shoulder. 
 
 " Margaret, forgive me. I see that this is an awful blow to 
 you, and can discern its source. You are thinking of the 
 slight on poor Katherine. The feeling may be a just one ; 
 but remember she is gone. Do not — do not let it pre- 
 judice you against my young wife, whom I have just sworn 
 to love and cherish. Come down to her in your woman's 
 
 pity". 
 
 Thinking of Katherine ! Well,'better that he should have 
 taken up the idea. Almost unconscious of what she did, she 
 yielded mechanically to his hand, which grasped hers tightly, 
 and drew her gently after him. 
 
 " I did not know of it," she said. " Time never gave me 
 the note you left. Of course you took me by surprise." 
 
 " Time's a fool for her pains then," returned Mr. Lester. 
 
 The tea-things were in the drawing-room then, and Sophie 
 was taking off her lady's veil. Adelaide turned to Miss 
 Bordillion. 
 
 " It was in my way when I sat down," she said, in a tone 
 that sounded something like an apology. " It is a long one." 
 
 " You will not have the wreath off as well, my lady," asked 
 Sophie. 
 
 " No. That does not trouble me." 
 
 Sophie retired, folding up the veil, and Lady Adelaide 
 came and sat at the table by Miss Bordillion. With an action 
 that seemed like the petulance of a spoiled child, she took 
 her gloves off, and flung them on the table. It left the 
 wedding ring conspicuous : she wore no other. 
 
 " I wonder how long it will be before I grow used to it ?" 
 she said, glancing at Mr. Lester. 
 
 He only smiled in answer. Margaret was already making 
 the tea. But how she got through the evening — and with a 
 calm exterior — she does not know to this hour. 
 
 The next day she encountered them both : not by her own 
 wish ; rather in express opposition to it. She remained in 
 her own sitting-room all the morning, keeping the children 
 with her, except rebellious Wilfred; who was off, she knew 
 
maugaket's cup pretty full* 
 
 161 
 
 not Whither. After their morning lessons were over, they 
 went out to play, Margaret with them. The fresh air 
 might be good for her fainting spirit. " Come quietly 
 this way," she whispered; and took them down the back 
 stairs, and out by the back door, avoiding the ordinary pas- 
 sages in her dread of seeing Mr. Lester and his wife. 
 
 They went* to what was called " Mrs. Lester's garden," a 
 square piece of ground, close to the house, but well sheltered 
 from view by trees and shrubs. Here Margaret sat down 
 on a bench, and the two girls did what they chose. Both 
 were very young children for their age ; or, it may rather be 
 said, for the present age. They were thoroughly natural, 
 and simple : a few, let us say it in gratitude, are to be met 
 with still, who are not women before their- time. Maria had 
 her doll's perambulator ; the new doll, bought yesterday at 
 Great Cross, was seated in it in state : a wondrous doll, as 
 large as a baby, with blue eyes and flaxen hair, not unlike 
 the new stepmother Maria had yet to see. Strange as it 
 may seem, Lady Adelaide Errol and Mr. Lester's children 
 had never met, although she had been so long at Dane 
 Castle. But Mr. Lester was not one who liked to take his 
 children out with him, or allow them to appear when he had 
 guests at home. 
 
 A sudden noise caused Miss Bordillion to look up. 
 Wilfred had appeared on the scene, was making a raid on 
 the new doll, and the little girls began to scream. Mar- 
 garet, anxious to avoid noise to-day, went towards them to 
 end the disturbance by her authority, and found Master 
 Wilfred holding the doll head downwards above their reach, 
 and enjoying their distress. But the noise subsided before 
 she was quite up with them : the girls ceased screaming and 
 stood still ; Wilfred, with a pleasant laugh, put the outraged 
 doll back in its carriage ; and Miss Bordillion found herseli 
 face to face with Lady Adelaide Lester. 
 
 " I think I have lost my way," she said, with a smile, 
 holding out her hand in greeting to Miss Bordillion. " Mr. 
 Lester came out with me, but stayed to speak to some man, 
 and I walked on. Are you quite well this morning ? " 
 
 " Quite well," murmured Margaret, whose colour went 
 
 Lady Adelaide. 1 1 
 
162 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 and came to such a degree that it caught the observation of 
 Master Wilfred, absorbed though he was. The boy had 
 propped his back against a tree, and was staring at his new 
 stepmother. She had resumed her deep mourning to-day, 
 and wore a black burnous cloak of some thin material, with 
 silken tassels; but there was nothing to protect her head 
 except its abundance of bright flaxen hair, of the same 
 colour as Maria's doll. 
 
 " And now I must know which is which," she said, with a 
 smile at the two children. " This is Maria," she continued, 
 pointing to Edith. 
 
 There was a laugh. Maria blushed and said no, she was 
 Maria. Lady Adelaide looked at her for a minute, more 
 critically than kindly. 
 
 " She is not like Mr. Lester." 
 
 " She's like our dead mamma," put in Wilfred ; " only 
 prettier." 
 
 Lady Adelaide turned upon him. "You are like Mr. 
 Lester," she said. " I should have known you anywhere for 
 his son. How old are you ? " 
 
 " Fourteen." 
 
 " Fourteen ! I had no idea the children were so old," she 
 murmured, half to herself. " I don't think I ever asked, 
 though. Is he always at home?" she added, looking at 
 Miss Bordillion. 
 
 " Only in the holidays, in general. This is an exceptional 
 time. He is at Eugby. Illness broke out in the school, 
 and the boys were sent home." 
 
 " I shall not trouble you, Lady Adelaide," put in the boy, 
 " if you are afraid of that. I can keej) myself out of your way." 
 
 She looked gravely at him, as if she were weighing the 
 words. In reality she was looking at the marvellous beauty 
 of his face, of his blue eyes. Wilfred, of a touchy nature, 
 hot-tempered and proud, thought she did not believe his 
 assurance. It may be that the boy in his heart was resent- 
 ing his father's second marriage just as keenly as was Miss 
 Bordillion. 
 
 " Shall I take an oath to do so, Lady Adelaide ? I will 
 if you like." 
 
Margaret's cup pretty full. 
 
 163 
 
 What could have caused the words so to tell upon her ? 
 Her face became hot and cold, as one in terror; and she 
 looked from him to Miss Bordillion ; from Miss Bordillion 
 to him again : a stealthy look of fear. 
 
 " Why do you say that to me?" 
 
 "I thought you seemed to doubt me," returned Wilfred, 
 who was regarding his new stepmother as keenly as she was 
 regarding him. " I don't suppose you will have anything 
 at all to do with us ; Miss Bordillion sees to Maria." 
 
 Lady Adelaide turned away with a laugh, and held out 
 her hand to the little girls. " Which of you will show me 
 the way to the rosery ? " she asked. " Mr. Lester was going 
 to take me to it, but I suppose I have caused him to miss 
 me, by turning in here." 
 
 They both responded to the challenge and ran forward 
 with her. Wilfred Lester followed them with his eyes. 
 
 " I don't like her at all, Margaret. She is not kind." 
 
 " Hush, Wilfred. You cannot judge of what she is, or 
 tell whether you will like her or not, until you shall have 
 seen more of her." 
 
 " Can't I ? " answered the bold boy, " we shall see if we 
 live long enough. Good-day to you, Margaret ; I'm going 
 for a sail with old Gand." 
 
 As he vaulted away in one direction, Mr. Lester appeared 
 in another, looking for his wife. With almost feverish 
 nervousness, as though she feared the moment for speaking 
 would be lost, Margaret Bordillion went up and accosted 
 him. She had lain awake the whole of the previous night, 
 thinking of her plans, and she hastened to unfold them. 
 
 With rapid, eager utterance, — with words that were 
 utterly unlike the usually calm tones of Miss Bordillion, — 
 she poured forth her wish ; nay, her prayer. She would 
 hire that small house of his that was vacant, Cliff Cottage, 
 if he would accept her as a tenant ; there she would live 
 and keep Edith with her and educate her; she had been 
 thinking that perhaps he would allow her to have Maria 
 also. 
 
 Mr. Lester laughed in answer. 
 
 " How can you be so foolish, Margaret ? Cliff Cottage ? 
 
164 
 
 Lady Adelaide. 
 
 Why, it isn't large enough to swing a cat in. And where's 
 your income to come from to keep it up ? " 
 
 " I have a hundred a year of my own, as you know. And 
 the money that Major Bordillion intended to pay for Edith's 
 schooling can be paid to me instead, if I educate her. 
 Perhaps you will also pay me for Maria ? " 
 
 " Well, you have settled it nicely ! What on earth is 
 running in your head, Margaret ? " 
 
 " You will not want any of us now : you have your wife. 
 Wilfred is the greater part of his time at school ; Maria 
 will be better with me than at home. As you once observed, 
 Lady Adelaide possesses neither the age nor the experience 
 to take upon herself so great a tie, even if she had the 
 inclination." 
 
 " But what I want to know is, why you need leave us at 
 all ? " rejoined Mr. Lester. " You can be just as comfort- 
 able here as you have been. The house " 
 
 " It could not be ; it could not be," she interrupted, in 
 unmistakable agitation. Mr. Lester regarded her with 
 surprise. 
 
 " Why not ? " he asked, after a pause. " That you have 
 some powerful motive for this proposed flight from the 
 Hall, I plainly see. Will you not tell me what it is ? " 
 
 The painful crimson suffused her face and then left it 
 pale as marble. Did he suspect the truth then, as he gazed 
 upon her emotion ? It cannot be said ; Margaret never 
 knew, then or afterwards. He gave no sign, save that an 
 answering flush rose to his own brow and dyed it red. 
 
 " You shall have Cliff Cottage, if you wish it so very 
 
 much," he said, gently. " But as to Maria we will talk 
 
 of that another time." 
 
 She bowed her thanks, and Mr. Lester turned away 
 abruptly in search of the Lady Adelaide. 
 
CHANGES. 
 
 1G5 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 CHANGES. 
 
 Herbert Geoffry, seventeenth Baron Dane, stepped into 
 the honours of his ancestors, inherited and conferred. He 
 set out with an intention to deserve them. The unsigned 
 will of the late Lord Dane he carried out to the letter. 
 Every wish stated in it he honourably fulfilled ; every legacy 
 bequeathed in it he paid, just as though the deed had been 
 duly executed. The Lady Adelaide's name was down in it 
 for fifteen thousand pounds, and that sum was paid over to 
 Mr. Lester. 
 
 But some great change had come over the young lord ; a 
 strange sadness seemed to hang ever upon him. He con- 
 fined himself very much to the Castle, paying few visits, 
 and living as quietly as he could well do. The impulsive, 
 careless spendthrift appeared to have taken another nature 
 with his inheritance, and all at once to have become sober 
 and prudent. Marks of this were daily apparent, and Danes- 
 held looked on in wonder. Some of the domestics were 
 dismissed with a year's wages, and the household at the 
 Castle was re-organised on a small scale. 
 
 If there was one person not satisfied with the new peer, 
 that one was John Mitchel : for he had been rejected as tenant 
 for the Sailors' Best. Mr. Apperly had gone on and com- 
 pleted the assignment of the lease to the man, in spite of 
 Lord Dane's warning : he was destined to find the parch- 
 ment useless ; and that the Sailors' Rest was to be given to 
 Richard Ravensbird. 
 
 " To Ravensbird ! " he exclaimed in his astonishment when 
 the news burst upon him — not that the word is quite ap- 
 propriate, for Lord Dane spoke in a particularly unemotional 
 tone. " Bavensbird I Surely your lordship does not intend 
 to bestow it upon him ? " 
 
 " Yes, I do. Did you not know he was one of the appli- 
 cants ? " 
 
 w Oh, I knew that, well enough. But I should have thought 
 
166 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 your lordship would put him at the bottom of the list ; or, 
 rather, put him out of it altogether." 
 
 " Your opinion and mine, then, Apperly, are at issue upon 
 the point," said Lord Dane pleasantly. "I cannot divest 
 myself of the feeling that the man has had some injustice 
 dealt out to him lately ; and I think we Danes owe him a 
 recompense. And, setting that aside, why should I not let 
 him have the house ? He is ready with the money, and will 
 no doubt be a good tenant." 
 
 " Can your mind entirely absolve him from all suspicion 
 — in regard to that night's fatal work ? " 
 
 " It has absolved him long ago," was Lord Dane's reply. 
 " I as fully and truly believe in Bavensbird's alibi as I do 
 that you and I are talking face to face. I should not be 
 likely, otherwise, to let him rent any house of mine." 
 
 " It will be a terrible blow to Mitchel," groaned Mr. Ap- 
 perly, thinking of a certain bank-note that was lying in 
 his desk. 
 
 " Not more than it would be to Eavensbird, if I chose 
 Mitchel and rejected him. In common justice, I repeat, it 
 is Eavensbird who ought to have it ; he was the first to 
 apply to Hawthorne, and he also came to me, asking my 
 interest with Lord Dane." 
 
 "Lord Dane would never have given it him," said the 
 lawyer testily. " He gave it to Mitchel. It was as good as 
 giving it." 
 
 " At any rate, I elect in favour of Eavensbird," was the 
 decisive answer ; and the lawyer winced at the tone. " You 
 can make out the necessary documents. It is exceedingly 
 unjust, I know, to cast one man's sin upon another," resumed 
 Lord Dane after a pause, " but, to tell you the truth, I can't 
 bear to hear the name of Mitchel. Had his brother, the 
 preventive-man, not lost his wits that night, Harry Dane 
 might now be living amongst us." 
 
 " In that case your lordship would not be Lord Dane," 
 was the lawyer's bold rejoinder. 
 
 " A very slight calamity in comparison with his death," 
 returned Lord Dane. " I would give up all my revenues 
 cheerfully, if it would bring him to life again." 
 
CHANGES. 
 
 167 
 
 So Mr. Appeiiy had to make out fresh papers and return 
 the ten-pound note, which was something like having a tooth 
 drawn. No chance was there of getting any such douceur from 
 Bavensbird : if that gentleman could not obtain his ends 
 by sturdy independence in a fair field, he would never bribe 
 for them. Mr. Apperly, in his anger, told John Mitchel 
 that the new Lord Dane could not forgive his brother for 
 having " played the idiot " that night : and John Mitchel 
 forthwith rushed off to the coastguardsman, with reproaches 
 loud and deep, which nearly brought another fit on that weak 
 and shrinking man. 
 
 Eavensbird paid down the requisite money, and, on the 
 departure of Hawthorne, took possession of the Sailors' Rest. 
 One singular clause Lord Dane caused to be inserted in the 
 lease ; that, by giving Eavensbird six weeks' notice, he could 
 at any time oblige him to leave the house. Eavensbird 
 demurred to this ; he had never heard of such a proviso in 
 any lease in the world, he said, and he should like to know 
 the motive for inserting it. Lord Dane did not give his 
 motive, but he was resolute as to its insertion : and Eavens- 
 bird at length signed the lease, objectionable clause and all, 
 and entered into possession. 
 
 "Much good Eavensbird would do at it! or any other 
 man who had no wife ! " was one of the gratuitous com- 
 ments offered by the busy neighbourhood. "Who ever 
 heard of an inn prospering without a landlady ? " Eavens- 
 bird heard all with the coolest equanimity. 
 
 Changes took place at the Hall. Miss Bordillion was 
 moving out of it into Cliff Cottage, taking Edith with her. 
 She had saved a very little money out of her hundred a 
 year, which she expended on furniture, and Mr. Lester 
 desired her to send down any articles she liked from the 
 Hall. TifHe made a face over the generosity, and bewailed 
 it openly ; though Miss Bordillion chose very few things, 
 and those of the plainest. 
 
 On the day following Lord Dane's funeral, Mr. and Lady 
 Adelaide Lester quitted Danesheld for Paris ; an unknown 
 place to Adelaide, which she had long been wild to see, 
 believing it to be neither more nor less than the paradise 
 
168 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 of the lower world. Mademoiselle Sophie Deffloe had re- 
 peatedly assured her that it was nothing else. This gave 
 Miss Bordillion time for her arrangements : as they were 
 gone, there was no immediate hurry for her quitting the 
 Hall : but she would leave it before they returned. 
 
 Tiffle was playing her cards well. Upon Lady Adelaide's 
 coming home in the unexpected manner related, Tiffle, though 
 apparently all smiles and sweetness, was inwardly full of 
 vengeance, and vowed to leave at the month's end. But during 
 the very few days that Lady Adelaide and Mr. Lester re- 
 mained at the Hall, Tiffle began to discern that she might 
 possibly make it worth her while to remain. Lady Adelaide 
 was young, careless, inexperienced, and yielding : when 
 Tiffle went to her for orders, she would say, " Oh, I don't 
 know anything about it ; do as you like ; ask Miss Bor- 
 dillion : " and it dawned upon Tiffle's mind that with this 
 young lady at the head of the household she could do as 
 she liked ; more effectually than she had done even during 
 the timid sway of that other lady. And so Tiffle gave her 
 cards a shuffle, and set about ingratiating herself with the 
 new mistress, making things easy and comfortable for her 
 on her return. 
 
 The weeks went on. Miss Dane still inhabited her former 
 home, the little ivied house — very much to her own dis- 
 satisfaction. Dane Castle seemed an enviable place to 
 live at : it was very strange, she thought, that her brother 
 could not have her w r ith him, and one day she told 
 him so. She paid him a visit of many hours almost every 
 day, and received, as the Castle's mistress, any visitors who 
 might call. She and her brother were standing together 
 at the drawing-room window when she spoke, their eyes 
 following a carriage that was rolling away smoothly down 
 the road ; a well-appointed close carriage, whose inmates, 
 Mr. and Lady Adelaide Lester, had just been paying their 
 first visit to the Castle. Miss Dane stood by her brother in 
 deep mourning, with her drooping curls and pink cheeks. 
 
 It was the first time Lord Dane had seen Lady Adelaide 
 since her marriage. He called at the Hall after their return 
 —fulfilling punctually the social requirements of life — but 
 
CHANGES. 
 
 169 
 
 they had gone out for a drive. The sojourn in Paris had 
 lasted two months, and Lady Adelaide, who had plunged 
 into all the gaiety that the season allowed, seemed glad to 
 be at home again. 
 
 " How changed she is, Herbert ! " exclaimed Miss Dane, as 
 the carriage receded from their sight. 
 
 " Shall you ever remember to drop that name of mine, 
 do you think, Cecilia ? " was the rejoinder of Lord Dane. 
 
 " Geoffry, then, to please you. I do forget ; but it does 
 not matter much, does it, dear ? Don't you think she's 
 changed somehow ? " 
 
 " Not particularly, that I see." 
 
 " Oh ! but she is. She's thin and pale and worn ; she 
 looks like one who is wearied to death.",! 
 
 He made no rejoinder. He was leaning against the deep 
 window-frame, his eyes fixed on the distant waves beyond 
 the ruins, his fingers unconsciously playing with his watch- 
 guard. Was he thinking of those happy meetings he used 
 to hold with her, his best and dearest love ; with her who 
 was now the wife of another ? 
 
 " I hope she has not made a mistake," resumed Miss Dane, 
 in her little chirping voice. " It must be very nice to be 
 married, and have a beautiful home, and a husband of your 
 own, especially if he's handsome, and not too old ; but, oh 
 dear ! if it does not turn out happily afterwards ! I should 
 have a bower made of weeping willows, and sit in it with 
 my guitar, and cry all day, if it were my case. That would 
 be a little relief, wouldn't it, Geoffry ? " 
 
 Geoffry just moved his lips by way of intimating that he 
 heard. But Miss Dane was one of those happy persons 
 who can talk on with unruffled equanimity, answered or 
 unanswered. 
 
 " He's very handsome ; every one knows that. Sometimes, 
 when I'm looking at him in church, I wonder whether there's 
 another face in the world as beautiful as his. But I never 
 fell in love with him, Geoffry ; I never did, indeed ; he has 
 had one wife, you know, and very nice she was, though 
 delicate : and his children are half as old as I am. Perhaps 
 Adelaide thinks of that, now that it's too late. Oh dear ! " 
 
170 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 Lord Dane took up a glass that lay on the table behind 
 him, and gazed attentively at a ship that was passing. The 
 sun's rays played upon his bright hair, upon his pale features, 
 on which there sat a sad, subdued sort of expression, that 
 Miss Dane did not remember to have previously seen. 
 
 " Geoffry, you look changed," she said, shaking back her 
 smooth ringlets : " and do you know, you are changed, now 
 I come to think of it ! You are so much more silent than 
 you used to be, and you seem always to be thinking. I'm 
 sure you did not say three words to Adelaide just now, and 
 that was not polite of you ; she's a bride, you know, dear." 
 
 " I was talking to Mr. Lester." 
 
 " Not much. Herbert, I'll tell you what it is — Geoffry, I 
 mean — you are getting moped through living alone in this 
 great place, not a soul to speak to, morning and evening, 
 but the servants. And I'm sure I'm moped at home." 
 
 " That vessel has the Prussian flag flying, Cecilia," ex- 
 claimed Lord Dane, steadying the glass. "She's a queer 
 build. Wouldn't you like to look at her ? " 
 
 " I don't care to look at flags and ships. I want something 
 else, Geoffry." 
 
 "Well, what do you want?" he asked, looking down 
 kindly on the weak, childish, but ever sweet-tempered face, 
 turned pleadingly to his. 
 
 " I never teased you about it, Geoffry, but indeed I wish 
 you'd let me. It's hardly right, now that you are the great 
 Lord Dane." 
 
 " What is not right ? " 
 
 " To leave me in that poor little house all alone, whilst 
 you enjoy this large fine castle," she answered, smoothing 
 down the crepe trimmings on her gown, as we sometimes 
 see a timid little maiden smoothing down her white pinafore 
 as she stands shyly before us. " You might let me come 
 and live here, Geoffry. It is strange you should not. We 
 always have lived together, and I am your only sister." 
 
 " Whenever I settle down at the Castle, Cecilia, you shall 
 come to it." 
 
 " But have you not settled down ? " 
 
 " No. I am going away from it almost immediately. It 
 
CHANGES. 
 
 171 
 
 has been my intention to travel ever since my uncle died ; 
 but business matters have delayed my departure. I shall 
 soon go away, and perhaps for a long time." 
 " Oh dear ! " ejaculated Miss Dane. 
 
 "I have never had an opportunity of visiting tho con- 
 tinental world, beyond one or two brief visits to Paris ; I 
 have been too poor, as you know," resumed Lord Dane. 
 " There's nothing to prevent me now." 
 
 " What am I to do ? " she asked, piteously. 
 
 " Make yourself happy at home with your birds and your 
 flowers, Cely, as you will be. There's not a woman living 
 who possesses a more cheerful and contented mind than you." 
 
 " But, Geoffry, can I stay all alone by myself? " 
 
 " I should not trust you," he answered, with a faint attempt 
 to be gay. " You shall have Mrs. Knox with you, and I'll 
 allow you any amount of income you may ask for." 
 
 " I shall like to have Mrs. Knox," returned Miss Dane, 
 who was as easily pleased as a child. " And how long shall 
 you be away, Geoffry — three months ? " 
 
 " Three years, more likely." 
 
 " Oh, Geoffry ! " 
 
 He interrupted the startled scream. In truth, he had 
 spoken in careless haste, not having intended to admit 
 so much. 
 
 " I really cannot tell how long I shall remain away, Cecilia. 
 Possessing no definite plans, it is impossible to say what I 
 may do, or where I may go. Of one thing you may rest 
 assured — that I shall come back some time, Heaven per- 
 mitting me ; and when I do come, you shall make your 
 home here at the Castle, and be its mistress." 
 
 " How nice that will be ! " she said, twirling her fingers in 
 and out of her light-brown ringlets. " But, Geoffry, you 
 may be bringing home a wife. You may, you know." 
 
 Geoffry Dane shook his head. " I think not," he answered, 
 and his tone was rather peculiarly decisive. " But, Cecilia 
 — about yourself, during my absence. You would like a 
 pony-carriage, would you not ? And you must keep one or 
 two additional servants ; I should prefer it. You will be 
 more comfortable, I know, in the small home, than you 
 
172 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 would be in this rambling, gloomy old place without me. 
 When I return you shall play the great lady in it." 
 
 Cecilia Dane clapped her hands ; but even in the very 
 act, some feeling stole over her, which caused her to bend 
 her pink cheeks and droop her eyelids in confusion. 
 
 "What is it, Cely?" 
 
 " I may be married myself by that time, Geoffry. Don't 
 you think so ? " 
 
 Lord Dane laughed. " Of course you may. But, Cecilia " 
 — and his tone turned to gravity — " you must promise me 
 one thing : that you will not marry any one, that is, that 
 you will not engage yourself to any one, without first writing 
 to consult me. I'll never stand in your way, when it is for 
 your real happiness; but you have money, and will have 
 more, and you don't know what sort of pretenders may be 
 coming after it. Confide in Mrs. Knox, as you did when 
 you were a little girl ; and write constantly to me. You 
 will promise all this ? " 
 
 " I promise it faithfully, Geoffry ; for I know I am not 
 wise." 
 
 And Lord Dane knew that he might implicitly trust her. 
 As she said, she was not wise, and she was older than he, 
 but she was very easily guided; and she yielded to his 
 judgment always, with the perfect simple faith of a child. 
 
 Did you observe the remark made by Miss Dane in the 
 above conversation which related to Lady Adelaide Lester ? 
 She was changed; was thin, and pale, and worn, looking 
 like one who is wearied to death. 
 
 As the days and weeks went on, others began to make the 
 same remark : Lady Adelaide seemed to have something the 
 matter with her. She was happy enough with Mr. Lester, 
 so far as the world saw ; but there was a listless apathy in 
 her manner which does not generally accompany content- 
 ment. There was one peculiarity that had never been 
 observed in her before : when accosted suddenly, she would 
 start as if in fear, and be some moments recovering her 
 self-possession. Had she made a mistake in marrying 
 George Lester ? Had the conviction come to her, now that 
 it was too late ? Lord Dane, her once betrothed lover, had 
 
CHANGES. 
 
 173 
 
 warned her that her days, if she did marry him, would bo 
 one long unsatisfied yearning — a yearning for escape from 
 the existence she had imposed on herself. Had he spoken 
 with prevision ? That she was a disappointed woman, who 
 had some dark shadow following her, a keen discerner could 
 not doubt. 
 
 One, at least, did not see or suspect this ; and that was 
 Mr. Lester. That gentleman's fondness for his wife was as 
 a passion, in which all ordinary observation was lost. He 
 only lived to love her, to study her wishes, to obey her as a 
 slave. Her slightest will was made law ; her most trifling 
 wish was carried out. That it would render her imperious 
 and exacting was almost certain; but Mr. Lester was too 
 completely absorbed in the present to think of the future. 
 He never suspected that she was not happy. Since her 
 marriage her health had been rather delicate ; quite sufficient, 
 in that fond man's judgment, to account for her loss of 
 spirits ; and he supposed, as she regained her strength, and 
 the past troubles at the Castle grew more distant, the old 
 gaiety and the saucy repartee would return. She had no 
 ties at the Hall ; Wilfred Lester had returned to Rugby, 
 and Maria was at Cliff Cottage, under the charge of Miss 
 Bordillion. In Mr. Lester's doting love for his new wife, 
 the love of his children was fading to a very faint sentiment. 
 He had never been a man to bestow upon them much tender- 
 ness, and it is probable that his wife had it in her power to 
 draw him effectually from them, if she chose to do so. 
 
 " Shall Maria remain at home with a governess, or shall I 
 place her with Miss Bordillion ? " he had asked his wife on 
 their return from Paris. 
 
 " Place her with Miss Bordillion," said Lady Adelaide at 
 once ; " there will be no responsibility on me, and we shall 
 be better alone. She can come and stay with us at times, 
 you know." 
 
 So Mr. Lester made the arrangement with Miss Bordillion, 
 paying her a liberal sum with Maria, and the Hall was free. 
 
 One morning Sophie Deffloe came to her mistress. She 
 would give warning, if my lady pleased — she hoped my lady 
 would allow her to leave as soon as it was convenient. 
 
174: 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 Lady Adelaide, much surprised and annoyed, for any- 
 thing seemed to have power to surprise or annoy her now, 
 inquired, with some asperity, what Sophie meant ; and 
 Sophie, with matter-of-fact equanimity, as became one of 
 her nation, replied that she had made up her mind to marry 
 Eichard Eavensbird. 
 
 " Eavensbird has taken the Sailors' Eest ! " exclaimed 
 Lady Adelaide. 
 
 " Oh dear yes, my lady, these three months past, and very 
 well he is doing at it." 
 
 " But, Sophie, you would surely never go to live there ; to 
 stand in the bar and draw ale for people ! n 
 
 " My faith, but I would," said Sophie. " Why not ? I 
 think it is just the sort of life I should like, my lady." 
 
 Lady Adelaide made a gesture of contempt : there was no 
 accounting for taste. " But should you like Eavensbird ? " 
 she asked. " He is very ugly." 
 
 " As I tell him every day ; but for myself, my lady, I don't 
 find him so ugly. It has happened before now," added the 
 bold Sophie, " that wives have been happier with ugly men 
 than with handsome ones. Any way, I mean to try it, when 
 your ladyship can suit yourself." 
 
 The retort did not altogether please Lady Adelaide, and 
 she haughtily told Sophie Deffloe that she was at liberty to 
 leave at once. But Sophie knew better than to take her 
 lady at her word, for Lady Adelaide could not have got on 
 without her, until she had some one to replace her. But at 
 this juncture Tiffle stepped in; Tiffle with her deferent 
 manner, and her smooth tongue. If my lady pleased, she 
 would supply Sophie's place for the present ; she thoroughly 
 understood the duties of a lady's-maid, and her housekeeping 
 office was not so onerous but that it left plenty of time on 
 her hands. 
 
 For Tiffle voluntarily to offer to saddle herself with a 
 double duty would have astounded her friends, had they 
 heard her make the offer. But Tiffle knew what she was 
 about. To get Mademoiselle Sophie Deffloe and her inde- 
 pendence out of the house, Tiffle would have worked her 
 hands to the bone, so that she might acquire greater and 
 
CHANGES. 
 
 175 
 
 greater sway over her yielding young mistress. There was 
 not much chance of that whilst Sophie was there ; so Tiffle 
 made the offer she did. She had been living in a state of 
 chronic rage with Sophie, for Sophie utterly repudiated the 
 authority of the housekeeper, which was exercised with so 
 crafty a hand over the rest of the household. 
 
 Lady Adelaide accepted the offer. Anything for a change ; 
 and, besides, during the last few months, she had fallen into 
 a habit of shrinking from her maid, instead of reproving her, 
 when the girl on occasion spoke with unwarrantable freedom. 
 In her inmost heart she was perhaps glad to get rid of the 
 French girl ; and Sophie found she was really at liberty to 
 depart when she pleased. 
 
 So the arrangement was carried out. Sophie Deffloe 
 became the wife of Kichard Ravensbird, that newly-elevated 
 lady taking up her post in the bar at nine o'clock on the 
 morning after her marriage-day, with all the cool and easy 
 self-possession of a Frenchwoman ; and Tiffle entered on 
 her duties as maid to the Lady Adelaide. It was intended 
 by the latter to be only a temporary arrangement, whilst 
 she looked out for some one to replace Sophie ; but Tiffle 
 became so delightfully useful, that Lady Adelaide was in 
 no hurry to commence the search. Tiffle made herselt 
 quite necessary to her mistress, and beguiled her listless 
 ears with no end of insinuating gossip, touching the house- 
 hold, touching Miss Bordillion, especially touching Master 
 Wilfred Lester. Tiffle meant from the first to prejudice her 
 mistress against that unconscious young gentleman, and 
 Tiffle succeeded. 
 
 And thus the months went on. Lord Dane had departed 
 on his continental tour, Bruff and one or two servants 
 being left to take care of the Castle. Miss Dane remained 
 at the little ivied house with her birds and flowers, and her 
 new pony-carriage and her guitar, and Mrs. Knox, a worthy 
 middle-aged lady who had once been her governess. 
 Ravensbird and his wife did well at the Sailors' Eest, and 
 Tiffle wormed herself further and further into the confidence 
 of her mistress. 
 
 No little excitement was created one day in Danesheld by 
 
176 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 the arrival of a packman in close custody, who had been 
 arrested at Great Cross. A zealous policeman, noticing 
 that this man's appearance tallied with the description of 
 the one supposed now to have been the murderer of Harry 
 Dane, arrested him forthwith, and took him off to Danesheld. 
 However, when Drake was sent for, he declared that he was 
 not the man whom he had seen disputing with Captain 
 Dane, and Squire Lester confirmed this. Both were tall, 
 big men, it was true ; but the faces were quite dissimilar, 
 said Mr. Lester : this was rather a pleasant-looking man, 
 and seemed honest enough ; the other was evil-looking. 
 So the man perforce was set at liberty again, as Eavensbircl 
 had been. 
 
 " Shall you ever find the right one, do you think, Bent?" 
 Mr. Lester stopped to ask the sergeant. 
 
 Bent shook his head. " I hardly know what to think, sir. 
 The fellow has hidden himself effectually, that's certain; 
 but these things mostly do come out, sooner or later. I 
 suppose, sir, you never hear your lady make any allusion to 
 that night's work ? " 
 
 " Not any. It would not be a pleasant theme for her to 
 converse upon." 
 
 " It was very odd, but I could not divest myself of the 
 notion at the time, that her ladyship knew more than she 
 told us," resumed the sergeant. 
 
 Mr. Lester turned his face on the speaker,' the haughty 
 expression, which had begun to dawn upon it, giving way to 
 surprise. 
 
 " Lady Adelaide took an oath that she did not, sergeant." 
 " I know she did," answered the sergeant, biting the end 
 of a straw. 
 
 " Then you need not raise any further question on that 
 score. Good-day, Bent." 
 
 " I'm aware I needn't," said the sergeant to himself, as he 
 gave his parting salutation to Mr. Lester ; " would it be of 
 any use if I did ? But I know one thing — that if any woman 
 ever puzzled me since I joined, it was that one, oath or no 
 oath. She's a deep one, I'll swear, is my Lady Adelaide." 
 
 Thus matters progressed at Danesheld. And for the next 
 
WILFRED LESTER COMES TO GRIEF. 
 
 177 
 
 nine or ten years no particular change occurred that we 
 need pause to notice. A very long period, you will think, 
 nine or ten years. True ; but they do not seem so long in 
 passing to the actors on life's stage, neither did these 
 uneventful years appear to linger to the inhabitants of 
 Danesheld. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 WILFRED LESTER COMES TO GRIEF. 
 
 You would observe the term in the last chapter, " nine or 
 ten years," and possibly think it more vague than it need be. 
 But it was said with a purpose ; for, though the narrative 
 will finally and very speedily progress after the end of the 
 tenth, we must first of all notice something that occurred at 
 the end of the ninth. 
 
 Danesheld Hall was alive with little feet, and merry voices, 
 six children having been born to Lady Adelaide Lester and 
 her husband. They had not altogether brought peace with 
 them ; they might have brought more had they entailed 
 less expense. Mr. Lester was now a man of care and 
 perplexity, scheming how he might best meet the heavy calls 
 upon him. But he believed in his wife still, and loved her 
 as few men, arrived at his age, do love. 
 
 And she ? Ah, well, I hardly know what to say. Were 
 I to say that she had been a bad wife, it would not be quite 
 true. A strictly faithful wife she was, but a very heartless 
 one. 
 
 Women, as well as men, must have some object in life, 
 whether good or bad, unless they would be hopelessly 
 miserable. Lady Adelaide Lester had none. It seemed 
 that she did not care sufficiently for existence to have one. 
 The old listlessness had settled into a state of hopeless ennui, 
 and she passed her frivolous days in escaping from it. From 
 the very first she had run heedlessly into expense, and 
 
178 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 carried her husband along with her ; the scale of expenditure 
 that would have been moderate for the head of Dane Castle, 
 was simply ruinous for the master of Danesheld Hall ; but 
 Lady Adelaide had not the sense to see this. Her dress 
 alone cost, Heaven knew how much ; ten times more than it 
 ought to have done. They had a town house now, and 
 entered into all the gaieties of the London season, year after 
 year ; they spent the early spring in Paris as a rule, and 
 Lady Adelaide said she could not exist without it ; indeed, 
 the only time when they were tolerably quiet was the 
 autumn of the year ; and that was spent at Danesheld. 
 How all this could be supported on Mr. Lester's compara- 
 tively slender income of three thousand pounds a year, I 
 will leave you to judge. It was not quite three thousand 
 pounds now ; he had been obliged to sell out capital, and 
 so had lessened it, and a large portion of this belonged to 
 Miss Lester. The fifteen thousand pounds bequeathed to 
 Lady Adelaide by the late Lord Dane was as a drop of 
 water to the ocean, and had been spent long ago. The 
 children, coming so quickly, were no hindrance to the rest- 
 lessness, the extravagance of their mother; there was a 
 temporary seclusion as each little being appeared, and then 
 it was turned over to a hired nurse, and the Lady Adelaide 
 was herself again* It was not that she did not love her 
 children ; she loved them with a jealous, exacting love : 
 but she thought that to he with children was one of the 
 cardinal ills of earth, and, except at Danesheld, rarely 
 had them with her. She loved them so much as to be 
 blindly unjust ; but she attempted no sort of training. 
 She liked them to come in to dessert extravagantly 
 dressed, and she would take them out in the carriage, 
 decked out like little dolls. At these times they were 
 ruinously indulged. Poor Mr. Lester thought all the care 
 that had come upon him was only the natural result of a 
 large family ; and he bemoaned his ill fate that the 
 gods had not been favourable to him in curtailing the 
 number. 
 
 Time was at the Hall still, and Time flourished. She 
 retained her post as maid to Lady Adelaide, and she ruled 
 
WILFRED LESTER COMES TO GRIEF. 
 
 179 
 
 the servants with the hand of authority, strong, firm, and 
 indisputable. In the first years of the marriage, Tiffle had 
 accompanied Lady Adelaide in her journeys ; but, when the 
 family increased, it was found necessary for Tiffle to remain 
 at the Hall in control, and Lady Adelaide engaged a French 
 maid ; an airy damsel who talked French with the little 
 ones when she was at the Hall, and during these sojourns 
 yielded very much of her place about her lady to Tiffle. 
 
 In one matter Tiffle had succeeded to her utmost satisfac- 
 tion — that of stirring up a bitter feud between Lady 
 Adelaide and Wilfred Lester. There was no open warfare, 
 and Wilfred saw little of Lady Adelaide at any time ; but 
 it is not too strong an expression to say that there was 
 mutual hatred in their hearts. In Lady Adelaide's blind 
 injustice, she regarded Wilfred as an interloper in the 
 house ; as one who would inflict a grievous wrong upon her 
 own children if Mr. Lester should bequeath to him — as it 
 might reasonably be supposed he would — his due share of 
 patrimony. Wilfred's share would have been a large share, 
 since half Mr. Lester's fortune came to him from his first 
 wife. Wilfred, on his side, naturally resented in his heart . 
 the second marriage of his father, since it had resulted in 
 virtually breaking up a home for himself and sister. They 
 occasionally went to it, it is true, but as visitors more than 
 children of the house — as interlopers, in fact ; and it was 
 made evident to both that they were so regarded ; and more 
 especially evident was it made to Wilfred. This injustice 
 of course created a very bitter feeling in Wilfred's heart. 
 His father seemed to be weaned from him more and more 
 as the days went on, and Wilfred knew that Lady Adelaide 
 made mischief between them. 
 
 Wilfred went to college early, and when he had kept a 
 few terms a commission was purchased for him in one of 
 the crack regiments. It will set him up, said Lady Adelaide 
 to her husband ; and, she mentally added to herself, prevent 
 him from being a nuisance here. Set him up ! Every one 
 knows what are the expenses of the officers in an exclusive 
 corps ; not absolutely necessary expenses, but rendered 
 essential by custom and example. The pay of one of these 
 
180 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 officers is as nothing compared with his expenditure ; and 
 those who do not possess a reserved purse, and a tolerably- 
 heavy one too, have no business to join, for they are certain 
 to come to grief. Mr. Lester ought to have weighed these 
 considerations, and remembered how very little he could 
 afford to allow his son. 
 
 He did not weigh them ; and Wilfred entered. Careless, 
 good-natured, attractive, and remarkably handsome, he was 
 just the man to be made much of by his brother-officers. 
 Never was there a young fellow more popular in the corps 
 than Cornet Lester ; and — it is of no use to mince the 
 matter — never was there one who ran more heedlessly into 
 extravagance. Example is contagious, and Cornet Lester 
 suffered himself to be swayed by it — swayed and ruined. 
 Had Mr. Lester made him a better allowance — as he ought 
 to have done, or else not have placed him in the regiment — 
 it would still have been swallowed up, though affairs would 
 not have come to a crisis as soon as they did. Wilfred had 
 been in it just four years, when Mr. Lester was summoned 
 to London in haste. Mr. Wilfred had fallen into the hands 
 of the Philistines, and was in durance vile. He confessed 
 his position openly enough to his father, and laid the full 
 statement of affairs before him. Money he must have ; and 
 not a small sum either. 
 
 " I can't give it you," said Mr. Lester. 
 
 " Then it will not be possible for me to remain in the 
 regiment." 
 
 " It is not possible. You will have to sell out, and apply 
 the money to the liquidation of your debts." 
 The young officer looked blank. 
 " It is a cruel alternative, sir." 
 
 " It is an imperative one," said Mr. Lester. " I have not 
 said a word of reproach to you, Wilfred, as some fathers 
 would have done, for I blame myself as much as I blame 
 you. I did know something of the temptations you would 
 have to incur: but it seems to me that young men — of 
 necessity, as you have just told me — spend three or four 
 times as much as they did in my day. It is a most unfor- 
 tunate affair, and will be utter ruin to your prospects. I 
 
WILFRED LESTER COMES TO GRIEF. 
 
 181 
 
 would help you if I could, Wilfred — I would, indeed ; but 
 it is not in my power. I am pressed for money myself in a 
 way that I do not care to speak of even to you." 
 
 " Thanks to the extravagant career of my lady," thought 
 Wilfred in his heart. 
 
 " You must sell out," continued Mr. Lester. " My under- 
 taking — which you will have to make good — will release 
 you from here, I suppose, and things can be managed 
 quietly. If this list comprises all your debts, the proceeds 
 of your commission will be about enough to liquidate them." 
 
 "And after that? " 
 
 " After that ? I'm sure I don't know. You should have 
 thought of the future before. I suppose you must come 
 home for a time. Perhaps I may be able to get you some 
 government appointment." 
 
 And this alternative was adopted. But having to sell 
 out was a cruel blow to Wilfred Lester. Neither were the 
 funds thus realized found to be wholly sufficient, and Mr. 
 Lester had to screw out the rest in the best way he could. 
 It is possible that he felt his son — his eldest son — had not 
 been dealt with precisely as he ought to have been, and the 
 feeling made him lenient now. Wilfred knew he had not. 
 He saw his prospects cut oif — his future hopeless— and 
 when things were finally settled, and he went home to the 
 Hall, like bad money returned, he felt as a blighted man, 
 caring little what became of him. The extravagant rate of 
 home expenditure was kept up on his own mother's money ; 
 but for his father's second wife and the second family, he 
 should not have suffered ; and he regarded himself as a sort 
 of sacrifice at the shrine of everything that was unjust. 
 
 Lady Adelaide received him with very little graciousness. 
 Outwardly, she was freezingly polite ; but she dispensed 
 the politeness in her own way, and Wilfred had never felt 
 himself so like an interloper. A tacit antagonism was 
 maintained between them, in which Lady Adelaide, from 
 her position, of course obtained the advantage. Tiffle 
 fanned the flame. Tiffle's prejudices had not lessened with 
 years ; and her passive hatred of the boy had grown into 
 active hatred of the man. Wilfred occupied himself 
 
182 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 listlessly with outdoor sports — hunting, shooting, fishing, 
 according to the seasons — and at length he took to spending 
 his evenings at Miss Bordillion's. 
 
 It was well he did so ; at least in one sense of the word, 
 for soon, very soon, the ennui was dissipated. The dis- 
 pirited, listless young man, who had been ready to throw 
 himself into the ponds instead of his fishing-line, and in 
 truth cared little which of the two did go in, was suddenly 
 aroused to life, hope, and energy. Far from the present 
 time hanging about his neck like a millstone, it became to 
 him as a sunny Eden, full of the sweetest rapture. The indis- 
 tinct future, so dark and visionless to his depressed view, 
 suddenly broke from its clouds, and shone out in colours 
 of the rosiest hue — for he Jaad learnt to love Edith 
 Bordillion. Not with the unstable," fleeting nature of man's 
 ordinary love, but with a pure, powerful, absorbing passion, 
 akin to that felt by woman. 
 
 They had not met for four years until he returned to 
 Danesheld ; never once had Wilfred visited it during his 
 soldier's career. He had seen his father and Lady Adelaide 
 occasionally in London, and had found that sufficient. So 
 that he and Edith met almost as strangers. The little fairy, 
 whom he had regarded as a sister, seemed altogether a 
 different person now ; this elegant young woman, and the 
 laughing familiar girl of the days gone by, were distinct 
 beings. 
 
 A few months given to dreamy happiness, and then 
 Wilfred spoke to Mr. Lester. The appeal perplexed Mr. 
 Lester exceedingly. He could have no objection to Edith ; 
 she was of as good family as his son ; it may almost be said 
 of the same family ; and there was no doubt she would 
 inherit a snug fortune at the colonel's death, for she was 
 his only child. Colonel Bordillion had been in India now 
 for many years, spending little and making money. What 
 perplexed Mr. Lester was his share in the affair. Wilfred, 
 in his eagerness, protested they could live upon nothing — 
 or as good as nothing. He did not wish to hamper his 
 father ; let him allow them ever so small an income, and 
 they would make it suffice. Edith had said so. 
 
WILFRED LESTER COMES TO GRIEF. 
 
 183 
 
 " You are both of you a great deal too young to marry," 
 said Mr. Lester. 
 
 " I am twenty-three," answered Wilfred. " Edith is only 
 two years younger." 
 
 Lady Adelaide at first favoured the project. If Colonel 
 Bordillion would allow them an income, and they could be 
 contented, poor creatures, with love in a cottage, why, let 
 them marry : it would bring forth one great good — the 
 final departure of Wilfred from the Hall. Cunningly she 
 put this to Mr. Lester ; not saying that she wished to get 
 rid of Wilfred ; she had been always cautious on that 
 point ; and brought Mr. Lester round to her way of 
 thinking. He spoke to his son. 
 
 " But you will allow me something, surely, sir ? " remon- 
 strated the young man. " I cannot be indebted to my wife 
 for everything, even though Colonel Bordillion were willing 
 it should be so." 
 
 Mr. Lester fidgeted and grumbled. He was by no means 
 of a mercenary nature, only he was so dreadfully embar- 
 rassed. He pointed out to his son how very little he could 
 allow him; he would try and manage a hundred and fifty 
 pounds a year ; it was the very utmost he could do. Wilfred 
 had better write and explain to Colonel Bordillion why he, 
 Mr. Lester, could not make it more, and he would see what 
 the colonel said. 
 
 Wilfred took the advice, and, whilst the colonel's answer 
 was being waited for, he hired the tiniest and prettiest 
 cottage in the world, and began putting into it a few 
 necessary articles of furniture. It was an exenrplification 
 of a young man's prudence, no doubt, but he did it ; and 
 meanwhile he and Edith lived on in their golden dreamland. 
 Alas! before the answer could reach them there arrived a 
 letter from the colonel to Miss Bordillion. It hinted at 
 some overwhelming calamity, but did not give any particulars. 
 
 The next mail brought them. Colonel Bordillion was 
 ruined. The Indian Bank, in which he had hoarded the 
 savings of years, had failed. He did not know what 
 dividend there would be, or whether there would be any at 
 all : the affairs were in a state of dire confusion. A note 
 
184 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 was enclosed to Edith and Wilfred jointly, in which the 
 colonel said he should have been delighted with the pro- 
 posed union, and cordially have given them his blessing, — 
 nay, would give it them still, could it be carried out ; but 
 of assistance he had none to give. If his old friend, Squire 
 Lester, would make it right for them for a time, he might 
 be able to do something later on. 
 
 Wilfred Lester sat on in gloomy reverie, the letter in one 
 hand, Edith's fingers imprisoned in the other. She was a 
 bright-looking girl with golden hair. 
 
 "Would you mind risking it on two hundred a year, 
 Edith?" 
 
 Edith's dimpled face broke into smiles. " I will do any- 
 thing you ask me to do. Papa's sure not to be quite ruined, 
 and he will help us by-and-by." 
 
 " Now, Edith, that's a promise ; you will do what I think 
 best?" 
 
 « Yes, I will." 
 
 She had such perfect faith in Wilfred that she would 
 have leaped with him blindfolded into the deepest and 
 darkest pit. The state of things at the Hall was fully 
 understood at Miss Bordillion's, and that lady, Edith, and 
 Maria Lester were in a secret state of indignation against 
 Lady Adelaide for her treatment of Wilfred. 
 
 Wilfred took the train for Scarborough, where Mr. Lester 
 and his wife were temporarily staying. He placed Colonel 
 Bordillion's letters in his father's hands, and asked what was 
 to be done. 
 
 " It would be madness to marry now, Wilfred," was the 
 hasty remark of Mr. Lester. 
 
 " I can't give her up, sir. I have been building upon the 
 marriage these two months, night and day, and I — I must 
 marry. I have been thinking that if you would increase 
 the hundred and fifty you promised to two hundred, we 
 might manage upon it until something turns up. Edith is 
 willing. There's plenty of game and plenty of fish, and 
 house rent's cheap in Danesheld. Dear father ! it is not 
 much that I ask you. Do not refuse me ! Eemember your 
 own early days." 
 
Wilfred lester comes to grief. 
 
 185 
 
 He had taken his father s hand in his emotion. Mr. Lester 
 looked up at the ploading face. It was one of delicate 
 beauty, just as his own had been before care and gray hairs 
 came to him. He saw the earnest entreaty of the deep blue 
 eyes, and his own suddenly became dim, and his voice 
 husky. 
 
 " It would be so terribly imprudent, Wilfred, I am afraid. 
 Think of Edith." 
 
 "I do think of her ; I plead for her as well as for myself ; 
 Edith has been looking forward to the marriage as much as 
 I have. You have said that you have no objection to her." 
 
 " Objection to Edith ! Until to-day I have always 
 thought you were lucky to get her. I should like to see 
 you married at once, if means would allow. Two hundred 
 a year would be nothing." 
 
 " Not much for a permanency, but something is sure to 
 turn up later. I shall get a post some time ; and the 
 colonel, it is to be hoped, will not lose all. Do not deny 
 me, father ! " 
 
 " Well, Wilfred, I'll see what can be done," at length said 
 Mr. Lester. " It will be terribly hazardous, though that is 
 your own look-out; and how I shall contrive the two 
 hundred a year I hardly know. When do you say you want 
 to go back to Danesheld ? to-morrow morning ? I'll talk to 
 you again, then, before you start." 
 
 Wilfred Lester looked upon it as settled, and felt himself 
 upon a bed of roses. He met with a friend, a former 
 brother-officer who was staying at Scarborough, and the two 
 fraternised, and were altogether happy. But what was 
 Wilfred's consternation the following morning when he was 
 met by Mr. Lester with a freezing look and with still more 
 freezing words. Upon considering the matter well over, he 
 found the imprudence of such a step so great that he must 
 withdraw all countenance to it. 
 
 Wilfred's eyes flashed. 
 
 " And you will allow me only the hundred and fifty, sir ? " 
 
 " I will not allow you anything," said Mr. Lester, coldly 
 and calmly. " I am sorry to say that in the first flush of 
 the subject yesterday I did not see the great impropriety of 
 
186 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 the scheme. I cannot give my sanction to anything of the 
 sort ; for your sake as well as for Edith's, I cannot and 
 ought not. I am going to write to Lord Irkdale to-day, 
 Wilfred, and ask if he can't interest himself with the 
 Government for you. He has been useful to them of late, 
 and perhaps they will listen to him." 
 
 " Then Lord Irkdale may keep the application for him- 
 self," flashed the indignant young man, not over dutifully. 
 " I know to whom I am indebted for this change — it is to 
 Lady Adelaide." 
 
 Eeproach would do him no good ; neither would Mr. 
 Lester listen to it ; and they parted in coldness. Wilfred 
 went rushing to the hotel and poured out his wrongs to his 
 sympathising friend ; the officer, being a young officer and 
 going to be married himself, was full of indignation, and he 
 applauded Wilfred's expressed determination— to " marry 
 Edith Bordillion in spite of it." 
 
 " I should do it myself," said the captain — " on my word 
 of honour I should, Lester. And, look here : if a fifty-pound 
 note's of any use to you, I have it with me, and you may 
 borrow it for as long as you like." 
 
 No one need question the acceptance of the offer. Wilfred 
 Lester felt himself a rich man, and went back to Danesheld 
 in triumph with a marriage licence in his pocket, and 
 openly claimed Edith's promise. 
 
 The step they took was one of the most foolish that could 
 be imagined. Miss Bordillion remonstrated against it, 
 urging them to consider its terrible imprudence, if nothing 
 else ; and to wait at least until fresh news could arrive from 
 Colonel Bordillion. Wilfred would not listen: a secret 
 voice seemed to whisper to him that if he and Edith parted 
 now they would be parted for years, perhaps for life ; 
 besides, as he represented to Edith — as he really thought — 
 when once they were married, his father would relent, and 
 allow him at worst the annual hundred and fifty pounds. 
 And so the preparations went on ; not for a positively secret 
 marriage, but for one somewhat equivalent to it. 
 
 A few days, and the carriage of Mr. and Lady Adelaide 
 Lester, which had been to the station for them, dashed up to 
 
WILFRED LESTER COMES TO GRIEF. 
 
 187 
 
 Danesheld Hall. It was a lovely September evening, and 
 the rays of the western sun fell on the bright face of the 
 Lady Adelaide as she descended from it. A bright face still 
 in colouring — the cheeks delicately blooming, the hair like 
 silken threads of gold — but worn and weary in expression. 
 
 She went up at once to her chamber to dress for dinner, 
 the French maid, Mademoiselle Celine, hastily throwing off 
 her own travelling bonnet and shawl, and coming in to 
 attend upon her in a great bustle and with profuse 
 apologies. Would my lady vouchsafe to excuse her 
 deshabille t A miserable accident had happened — she had 
 lost the keys of her own boxes, and could not get at one of 
 them ; would my lady pardon it ? 
 
 My lady did not seem to care whether Mademoiselle 
 Celine was en deshabille or not. She had been impatient to 
 kiss her children, and was vexed at finding them out with 
 their nurses, and Lady Adelaide was not of a temper now to 
 meet trifles calmly. 
 
 " Make haste with my hair," she said, snappishly ; and it 
 was the only answer she returned. 
 
 Celine had just finished the hair and put on the dress, 
 when Tiffle entered. Tiffle had aged more than her lady ; 
 but those shrivelled, ill-tempered faces do age wonderfully 
 quickly. She had not lost her old habit of rubbing her 
 mittened hands one over the other, and she came in, doing 
 it, with her soft mincing step and her rich black silk gown. 
 
 " How could you send the children out when you knew I 
 was expected, Tiffle ? 93 
 
 " My lady, that they are out is thanks to somebody else, 
 not to me," was Tiffle' s answer. " I'm of no authority beside 
 Miss Lester, and she came here this afternoon and told the 
 nurse it was a shame to keep the children in this lovely 
 afternoon, and she ordered them out. — There, that will do ; 
 I'll hand my lady her gloves and fan." 
 
 The last sentence, delivered in sharp accents, was 
 addressed to Celine. Glad to be off, in search probably of 
 her keys, the waiting-maid disappeared. Tiffle closed the 
 door upon her and came back to Lady Adelaide, her hands 
 lifted, and the whites of her eyes turned up. 
 
188 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " Oli, my lady ! the iniquity that has come to my know- 
 ledge this day ! I have been turned inside out with indig- 
 nation — if I may say as much — to think how you and the 
 squire are being deceived. Those two mean-spirited weasels 
 are going to get married on the sly." 
 
 By intuition, as it seemed, Lady Adelaide knew of whom 
 she spoke. Wilfred had been right in his surmise : it was 
 his step-mother who had interfered and caused his father to 
 withdraw all countenance to the marriage. Her motive was 
 one of utter selfishness : she feared the new household would 
 have to be supported by Mr. Lester ; she begrudged the 
 hundred or two a year it would take from her children, and 
 from her own extravagances. 
 
 " What are you saying, Tiffle ? " 
 
 "My lady, it's Gospel truth. Mr. Wilfred and Miss 
 Bordillion's fine niece are going to get married under- 
 handled. They are going to church by themselves alone, 
 here in Danesheld ; and of all the impident acts I ever saw 
 done, that 11 be about the most impident. Here in Danes- 
 held, my lady ! " 
 
 " Does Miss Bordillion countenance it ? " breathlessly 
 asked Lady Adelaide. 
 
 " She's capable of it," returned Tiffle, " but I've not heard 
 so far. French leave they are going to take, and fine luck 
 may it bring 'em ! I can't come at the precise day, but I 
 know it won't be long first. It may be to-morrow." 
 
 " How do you come to know at all ? " asked Lady 
 Adelaide. " How do you come at things ? " 
 
 " I keep my eyes and ears open, my lady," answered 
 Tiffle, her countenance wearing an expression of simple 
 innocence. 
 
 " You must listen at doors, Tiffle, and behind hedges." 
 
 " My lady, whatever I do, it's done out of regard for your 
 ladyship ; that you should not be compressed in by a set of 
 designing serpints. And I tell you for a truth — he is going 
 to convert that young lady into Mrs. Wilfred." 
 
 " That can soon be stopped," said Lady Adelaide with 
 composure. " Squire Lester will see to it. The gold 
 bracelets." 
 
WILFRED LESTER COMES TO GRIEF. 
 
 189 
 
 " Begging your humble pardon, my lady, it can't be so 
 soon stopped. He is his own master, and she's of age. 
 Squire Lester has no more power of them than I have. 
 They determined to do this as soon as the bad news came 
 from Injia, and they will do it." 
 
 There was a pause. Tiffle was clasping on the gold 
 bracelets. Her fingers, it must be confessed, were deft 
 enough. Presently she spoke, not looking up from the 
 bracelets, the clasp of one of them appearing to have some- 
 thing wrong with it. 
 
 " Were it my case my lady — not that I should presume to 
 give advice, and I'm sure your ladyship knows that — I should 
 just let it go on. If it's interfered with, there's no knowing 
 what Squire Lester may be persuaded into ; perhaps giving 
 them an illowance of hundreds a year, to the wronging of 
 your ladyship's self and the dear lambs. But when master 
 comes to find that they have gone and done it themselves, 
 in defiance of him, as may be said, then the fat will be in 
 the fire, my lady, and he won't look at them or give them a 
 farthing, and that will be just what they deserve, and the 
 sweet lambs won't be wronged." 
 
 The interview was interrupted by the lambs themselves. 
 Noises were heard outside, and on the chamber door being 
 opened they came trooping in. Lamb the first was a great 
 boy of eight; George, a troublesome lamb, and much in- 
 dulged ; lamb the last was a little one carried in its nurse's 
 arms; and there were four intervening lambs. Lady Adelaide 
 was nearly smothered for a few minutes, and Tiffle with- 
 drew. Tiffle, as a rule, had the greatest possible aversion 
 to lambs ; but Tiffle dissembled in favour of these. 
 
 It could scarcely be supposed that Lady Adelaide con- 
 descended to take the woman's advice ; and yet in one sense 
 she did take it, for not a word said she to her husband. 
 The consequences were precisely what Tiffle foretold. 
 Wilfred Lester was allowed to marry in peace, and a very 
 fine thing Mr. Wilfred Lester thought he had achieved. 
 But when the news reached the ears of Squire Lester, 
 which was not until the following day, then consequences 
 began. 
 
190 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 Wilfred Lester had carved out a pretty little plan of 
 appearing before his father with his young wife Edith, 
 humbly to confess, and beseech condonation for the offence ; 
 but Wilfred found himself forestalled. Again he felt sure, 
 that he was indebted to Lady Adelaide, as he had felt at 
 Scarborough ; and in both cases he was right. Neither had 
 she failed in this latter instance to stir up Mr. Lester's anger 
 to boiling point. 
 
 A furious interview succeeded between father and son. 
 Squire Lester hurled reproaches on the young man's head ; 
 Wilfred retorted by sundry reflections, more pointed than 
 polite, on his step-mother. When they parted, Mr. Lester 
 had openly cast him off, and protested that he was glad to 
 do it. He declared that Wilfred should have no further 
 assistance from him whatever, in life or after death. 
 
 Down strode Squire Lester to Miss Bordillion's. Cliff 
 Cottage was not situated near the sea, as might be sup- 
 posed from its appellation, but was at the back of the Hall, 
 beyond the wood. He bounced into the pretty little drawing- 
 room, where sat Miss Bordillion, a faded lady now with 
 silvered hair. 
 
 " Did you know of this mad escapade of Wilfred's, Mar- 
 garet ? " 
 
 " Yes, I did," she replied. " I said what I could against 
 it, but it was of no avail." 
 
 " Said what you could against it ! " retorted Mr. Lester, 
 using a tone he had never used before to Miss Bordillion. 
 " Why did you not tell me ? You knew I had come home 
 the night before, I suppose ? I think you must have been 
 an accomplice in the matter." 
 
 " I did not know that you had come home. But if " 
 
 " Did Maria go to church with them ? " he thundered. 
 
 " No. But I was going to say," continued Miss Bordillion, 
 " that, if I had known you were at home, I believe I should 
 not have put myself forward to bring you information. All 
 that argument and persuasion could do I did ; beyond that 
 I did not think it was my place to interfere. 1 do not 
 believe that even you would have succeeded in stopping the 
 marriage, for both were bent upon it. It is lamentably im- 
 
WILFRED LESTER COMES TO GRIEF. 
 
 191 
 
 prudent, of course. Putting that out of the question, I 
 think a great deal may be said on both sides." 
 
 " Then, perhaps, as you have not interfered to prevent 
 this when you might have prevented it, you will keep them 
 when it comes to starvation, for that will be the end of it," 
 retorted Mr. Lester, as he went out in a fury. 
 
 But for that loan of fifty pounds, Wilfred might never 
 have ventured on the hazardous step. With gold in his 
 hand, things look to a man all couleur-de-rose. Part of the 
 fifty pounds added a few more trifles to the pretty cottage, 
 and the rest, the largest portion of it, set them going in 
 housekeeping. If we could only see into the future as we 
 see into the past ! 
 
 Squire Lester continued implacable. When he met his 
 son in the street he did not speak to him ; he looked straight 
 out over the head of his daughter-in-law if he saw her 
 coming. He would not forgive Miss Bordillion, and inter- 
 course between the two houses ceased, except what was kept 
 up by Maria. How long Mr. Lester would otherwise have 
 suffered his daughter to stay on with Miss Bordillion must 
 remain a question, but he had her home immediately, and 
 withdrew the income hitherto allowed with her. He forbade 
 her to go near her brother's house, but he had not as yet 
 forbidden her Miss Bordillion's. 
 
 In the spring of the next year, May, Mr. Lester and his 
 wife departed for London, taking Maria to make her curtsey 
 to the Queen. She was presented by her stepmother, and 
 tasted for the first time of that whirl, a London season. 
 They returned to Danesheld in August; but during their 
 sojourn in town they had met an old friend, who had been a 
 stranger to them for ten years. 
 
 It was Lord Dane. Greatly to the wonder of Danesheld, 
 somewhat to the discontent of Miss Dane, Lord Dane had 
 never once visited his home since quitting it. It was ten 
 years ago now. Ten years ! Where he had spent them he 
 could hardly have told, except that he had sojourned in 
 nearly every unknown town in Europe, avoiding the fre- 
 quented capitals, and staying in none of them very long. 
 He laughingly said to the Lesters that this London season 
 
192 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 was his return to life. He went down to Danesheld before 
 they did, and was established in the Castle with a retinue of 
 servants, and his sister for its mistress, and had made his 
 peace with the neighbourhood for his long absence. The 
 only household, rich or poor, to which he had not penetrated 
 in his free, affable way, was Wilfred Lester's. It might 
 have been thought that the state of Mrs. Lester's health 
 kept him away, for poor Edith was very ill ; a little baby 
 had been born to her and died, and she could not recover 
 her strength. Not so. When he and Wilfred first met, and 
 Wilfred had gone up to him with outstretched hand and a 
 glow of welcome on his handsome face, Lord Dane's manner 
 seemed chilling, though it is true he touched the hand with 
 the tips of his fingers. 
 
 " My father and her ladyship again," thought Wilfred : 
 and again he was right. Mr. Lester and Lady Adelaide had 
 given Lord Dane a woful account of Wilfred and his ill- 
 doings, known and suspected. 
 
 What had the twelvemonth brought forth for Wilfred ? 
 A great deal; and most of it very sad, very blamable. 
 Danesheld was beginning to whisper curious tales about 
 him ; to say he was fast becoming one of its black sheep. 
 
 As long as the residue of the fifty pounds lasted, Wilfred 
 Lester was happy as a prince, never repenting the deed 
 he had done, or believing he ever could repent it. When 
 the money failed he took to credit ; and when that failed — 
 for there must be a limit to it in these hopeless cases, and 
 there was to his, although he was Squire Lester's eldest son 
 — then Wilfred began to taste a few of the annoyances of 
 life on a reduced scale. It was currently believed that Mr. 
 Lester had disinherited him ; indeed, Mr. Lester himself 
 had not scrupled to say so, and people do not like to risk 
 losing their money : where small shopkeepers are concerned, 
 as was the case here, they cannot afford to lose it. And so 
 the credit was stopped; and Wilfred, in his resentment 
 against things in general, was beginning not to care what 
 he did, or what became of him, or what tales to his pre- 
 judice were circulated ; which is a dangerous state of mind 
 to fall into. He had spent the summer chiefly in fishing ; 
 
LORD DANE HOME AGAIN. 193 
 
 and some talked about unfair snares in the ponds ; and, now 
 that shooting had come in, Wilfred could not follow it for 
 two reasons : one being that he had not the money for a 
 licence ; the other, that he had months ago pledged his gun. 
 
 No help whatever had come from Colonel Bordillion. 
 Tie was not able to send it. In the last letter they received 
 from him, he told them he was going down to some jxlacc 
 with a name that had about twenty letters in it, and that no 
 one could read. It appeared to be a formidable journey ; and 
 meanwhile, he said, it would be of no use their writing until 
 his return to Calcutta ; of which he would send due notice. 
 
 And now I think I have told you as much of the doings 
 of the ten years as you would care to know. Old events 
 were nearly forgotten : Harry Dane and his sad death, and 
 its undiscovered author ; the mortality succeeding it in the 
 Dane family, with the unexpected succession of the present 
 peer, had lapsed into history ; children had become men 
 and women ; men and women had gone on a decade towards 
 the sere leaf of life. 
 
 Lord Dane was rising ever in public opinion and in 
 honour. The Lord-Lieutenancy of the county was conferred 
 upon him, the nobleman, who had held it since the death of 
 the late Lord Dane, having just died. It had been held by 
 the Danes for many years, so that it had only returned to 
 the family in the present peer : that runagate who seemed 
 to be winning golden opinions from the world, 
 
 CHAPTEE XV. 
 
 LORD DANE HOME AGAIN. 
 
 It was stormy weather. The winds had been high ever 
 since September came in, some ten days ago now ; and each 
 day they appeared to be gathering strength. Never had 
 
 Lady Adelaide. J-Q 
 
194 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 a wilder or more ominous clay been experienced than the 
 one now passing ; never did the trees sway, as now, to the 
 blast. The sun was setting with a lurid glare, the sea- 
 gulls flew overhead with their harsh screams, the waves of 
 the sea were tossing mountains high : all signs seemed to 
 predict a fearful night. 
 
 Maria Lester stood before the glass in her chamber, 
 dressing for dinner. Karely did glass give back a sweeter 
 face. Her features were the Lester features, delicate and 
 clearly defined, with a soft flush of damask on her cheeks, 
 soft dark eyes, and silky dark brown hair. * She was of 
 middle height, graceful and elegant, very quiet and un- 
 pretending in manner. 
 
 People thought that so attractive a girl, if permitted, 
 could not fail to marry early. Maria was twenty years of 
 age now, and had received one offer whilst she was in 
 London. That is, Mr. Lester had received it for her, and 
 he took upon himself to return a summary refusal. Maria 
 laughed when she heard of it, and felt much obliged to him. 
 If permitted! The scandal-talkers of Danesheld opined 
 that she would not be permitted. Mr. Lester's high rate of 
 expenditure, and his inadequate income, were matters of 
 public comment ; little likelihood was there of his giving 
 away his daughter when he must resign nine hundred a year 
 with her ! 
 
 A booming sound, more like a great gun going off than a 
 gust of wind, drew Maria to the window. She could catch 
 a glimpse of the far sea and its boiling waves as she stood 
 looking out. She wore a violet silk dress, with some 
 narrow white lace edging its low body and short sleeves. 
 Suddenly her white arms and hands were raised in sup- 
 plication. 
 
 " May God help all who are on the sea this night ! " 
 
 Lady Adelaide was in the drawing-room in a costly and 
 beautiful evening robe of white brocaded silk, gleaming with 
 jewels, when Maria entered. The manner in which she 
 attired herself for a quiet home evening without guests, had 
 long ceased to appear absurd to the household: they had 
 grown accustomed to it. Mr. Lester had encouraged this in 
 
LORD DANE HOME AGAIN. 
 
 195 
 
 their early married clays, before embarrassment came upon 
 him ; possibly he felt its incovenience now. Maria sat clown 
 unnoticed, feeling as she always felt, not at home : very little 
 attention did she ever receive from Lady Adelaide. The 
 eldest lamb, George, was lounging in an easy-chair. 
 
 Mr. Lester and the announcement of dinner came together : 
 their hour when at the Hall was early, six o'clock. He 
 gave his wife his arm, and Maria followed. No guests were 
 with them that evening, and the meal was soon over. Lady 
 Adelaide had chosen that George should be at table ; she 
 very often did choose it : and the boy, indulged and forward, 
 allowed no one to be heard but himself. With dessert came 
 two more of the lambs, and when the whole were well plied 
 with good things there was a lull in the noise. 
 
 Not in the wind. A terrible gust swept past the win- 
 dows, and Mr. Lester turned his head. 
 
 " How they will catch it at sea to-night ! " 
 
 " I thought once the ponies would have gone over the 
 cliff," said Lady Adelaide, languidly. " Ada, what's the 
 matter ? Have you eaten too much ? Take her on your 
 lap, Maria." 
 
 " Did you venture on the heights to-day ? " asked Mr. 
 Lester. " Not quite prudent, that, Adelaide." 
 
 " I soon came off again when I found what the wind was," 
 answered Lady Adelaide, with as much of a laugh as she 
 ever cared to indulge in. " I suppose you got no shooting ? " 
 
 " Impossible, in the face of that whirling blast. Dane 
 came out equipped for it, though ; I laughed at him. He 
 said he should look in this evening, Adelaide." 
 
 She raised her brow quickly at the words, and a frown 
 passed over it ; but soon her voice assumed its usual listless 
 tone. 
 
 " I should think the wind would keep him at home. Maria, 
 is that child asleep ? " 
 
 Maria Lester hastily looked down at the little girl she 
 held ; the child was nodding with a piece of cake in her 
 hand. 
 
 " It's time she was in bed," said Mr. Lester. " The wind 
 has tired her : I know it has me. Take her upstairs, Maria." 
 
196 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 Gently gathering the little thing in her arms, Maria went 
 to the nursery. The head-nurse sat undressing the youngest 
 child ; two more were on the carpet, crying and fractious. 
 
 " Look at this child, nurse ! She fell asleep on my lap." 
 
 " Tiresome little monkey ! " responded the nurse. " They 
 all want to be undressed together, I think. Please to lay 
 her down in the bassinet, miss." 
 
 " But where's Susan, this evening ? " asked Maria, as she 
 stooped over the berceaunette. 
 
 " Oh, Susan ! What's the good of Susan for evening 
 work ? I really beg your pardon, Miss Lester, for answer- 
 ing you like that," broke off the woman, as recollection 
 came to her, " but I am so put out with that Susan, and my 
 temper gets so worried, that I forget who I'm speaking to. 
 The minute the children are gone into dessert, Susan thinks 
 her time is her own, and off she goes, and will be away for 
 two mortal hours, leaving me everything to do. I can't 
 quit the nursery to go after her, and I may ring and ring 
 for ever before she'll answer. Celine used to come in 
 and help me, but she has not done so this time." 
 
 " Where does Susan go to ? " 
 
 " She goes off somewhere. I have no more control over 
 her, miss, than I have over the wind." 
 
 r But why do you not speak to Lady Adelaide ? " 
 
 " I have spoken, but it is of no use. Susan makes her 
 own tale good to my lady, and Tiffle upholds her. She's 
 Tiffle's niece, and my belief is that Tiffle sends her out. 
 The fact is, Miss Lester, Tiffle is the real mistress of this 
 house, and I don't care much who hears me say it. You 
 tiresome little thing, don't cry like that ! I'm going to take 
 you directly." 
 
 Miss Lester went to the bell and rang it. It was not 
 answered: though, in truth, she scarcely gave sufficient 
 time, but rang again, a sharp, imperative peal. Of all the 
 servants, who should appear then but Tiffle. She came in, 
 loudly abusing the nurse, and asking what she wanted that 
 she should ring the house down. 
 
 " It was I who rang," curtly interrupted Miss Lester. " I 
 rang for Susan." 
 
LORD BANE HOME AGAIN. 
 
 197 
 
 Tiffle stood still and held her tongue, somowhat taken 
 aback. Her manner smoothed down to meekness — false as 
 it was subtle. 
 
 " For Susan, miss ! Does nurse want her ? I have just 
 sent her out to do a little errand for me, thinking the young 
 ladies and gentlemen were in the dining-room, and that 
 she couldn't be required in the nursery. I'll send her up 
 the moment she comes in, miss." 
 
 " You see that she is wanted, Tiffle," gravely replied Miss 
 Lester. " Here are three children, all requiring to be un- 
 dressed at once, and it is impossible for one pair of hands 
 to do it. Nurse tells me that Susan makes a point of being 
 away at this hour. I shall speak to Lady Adelaide." 
 
 " Begging your pardon, Miss Lester, there's no necessity 
 for that, and it will do no good. My lady has unlimited 
 confidence in me and in Susan." 
 
 " That may be true, Tiffle, but it is right she should know 
 that the children are neglected. Send Celine here to assist 
 the nurse until Susan shall return." 
 
 The tone was imperative. Maria, gentle though she was, 
 yet possessed that quiet, nameless power of command which 
 few cared to resist. Tiffle stood aside as she left the room, 
 and then followed in her wake, her eyes glancing evil. 
 
 Miss Lester passed into her own chamber. She stood 
 at itj window, contemplating the weather, listening to the 
 howling wind. The sun had set, but the remains of light 
 lingered in the western sky, and the moon was rising. It 
 could scarcely be called twilight even yet. " I think I may 
 venture to go," soliloquized Maria. "In my long dark 
 cloak I can brave the wind. I must see Margaret ; I must 
 ask her if she has heard anything of this report, which is 
 turning my heart to sickness. Papa asked me at dinner 
 why I did not eat. How can I eat with this dreadful fear 
 about me ? Yes, I will go. I will go, were it only to escape 
 Lord Dane." 
 
 She put on a close straw bonnet, wrapped her cloak 
 securely round her, and went softly downstairs. A man- 
 servant was in the hall as she passed through it. It was a 
 small, angular hall, various rooms opening from it. Most 
 
198 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 of the apartments in the house were old-fashioned, except in 
 the drawing-rooms ; they were charming, their side windows 
 opening to the grounds. 
 
 " James," said Miss Lester, as the man opened the hall- 
 door for her, " should any inquiries be made for me, say that 
 I have gone to take tea with Miss Bordillion." 
 
 When Mr. Lester communicated to his wife the fact that 
 Lord Dane might be expected that evening, the passing 
 frown her brow assumed did not escape his notice, and he 
 spoke of it as soon as the children had left the room, and 
 spoke somewhat abruptly. 
 
 " Have you taken a prejudice against Lord Dane, 
 Adelaide?" 
 
 " A prejudice against Lord Dane ! I ? " 
 
 " It has seemed to me, once or twice of late, that you have 
 looked annoyed upon finding he was coming here." 
 
 " Oh, dear no ! Lord Dane's coming or staying away is 
 nothing to me," she answered, subsiding with an effort into 
 her usual languor of indifference, and turning away her 
 still beautiful face, to hide its flush. 
 
 " I don't wonder at his being fond of dropping in here," 
 observed Mr. Lester. " The Castle must be very dull for 
 him with no companion but poor, silly Cecilia. As your 
 cousin " 
 
 " He is no cousin of mine," she interrupted. 
 
 " Strictly, no ; but he may almost be called one. And you 
 know, my clear wife, you are given to be capricious on occa- 
 sion." 
 
 " Capricious ! Yes, I think I am. When you married me, 
 George, you married me with all my faults and failings, 
 remember. I don't suppose they have lessened with 
 years." , 
 
 " Dane has not given you any offence, then ? " 
 
 "None in the world. How that wind howls and shrieks ! 
 We shall have an awful night. ' 
 
 u The conversation took another turn, and by-and-by Lady 
 Adelaide went into the drawing-room. Only one of the 
 rooms was lighted to-night ; but it was a spacious room, 
 furnished with all imaginable elegance, and not crowded 
 
LOUD DANE HOME AGAIN. 
 
 199 
 
 with encumbrances — monsters, jars, and other useless or- 
 naments, as some rooms arc. 
 
 She did not sit down ! she walked about restlessly : now 
 lifting a beautiful rose from its slender crystal glass ; now 
 glancing at the title of a new uncut book ; now standing 
 before the pier-glass, which reflected herself. Not to 
 admire her own charms, but in dreamy thought. 
 
 There were times when the life, present and past, of the 
 Lady Adelaide showed itself to her in its true, miserable 
 colours. Marrying Mr. Lester had been a mistake, as Lord 
 Dane once told her it would be ; * and she did her best to 
 escape from it. She did her best to escape from some other 
 haunting phantom that was ever following her, more or less. 
 Very close indeed did it seem to-night. A dream, of what 
 might have been, came over her ; now, as she stood there, 
 with her fair and jewelled hand pushing back the flaxen 
 hair from her brow. Had Fate been kinder, she might have 
 been kinder also ; might have grown to love her fellow- 
 creatures ; whereas she had steeled her heart to all loving 
 impulses ; she had grown hard and harder, selfish and more 
 selfish, false and very false indeed. 
 
 At a slight sound at the door, she turned with a start, 
 glancing over her shoulder with that scared look, at such 
 moments observable in her ; just as if she feared her pur- 
 suing phantom was coming in visibly upon her. But it was 
 only Tiffle who entered ; entered with much softness and 
 smoothing of hands, and penitential deprecation for the 
 intrusion. 
 
 " My lady, with a thousand pardons for venturing to in- 
 terrupt you here, I thought I'd make bold to ask whether 
 you would like a fire in your dressing-chamber. The wind 
 gets higher and higher." 
 
 " A fire ! No, I think not ; it is warm. I don't care 
 either way." 
 
 " Then I shall have one lighted, for I think it will be more 
 comfortable for your ladyship," said Tiffle, with a curtsey 
 as she turned to the door. But, instead of going out of it, 
 she looked round again. 
 
 " There's news abroad to-night that the keeper's dying — if 
 
200 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 your ladyship will excuse my waiting to mention it. And, 
 my lady," added the woman, dropping her voice, " the slender 
 one, out with the others, icas Mr. Wilfred Lester. It 
 mayn't be pleasant for any of the parties, my lady, if Cattley 
 dies.' , 
 
 " Tiffle, I cannot altogether believe that story," said Lady 
 Adelaide, seating herself on a sofa, with her gaze bent on 
 the servant. " He would never run his neck into such a 
 noose as that. Why, it would be transportation, at the least ! 
 The more I think of it, the less I can believe it ; and for 
 Heaven's sake be cautious in speaking, and don't let it come 
 to the ears of Mr. Lester ! You must have found a mare's 
 nest somewhere." 
 
 " My lady — craving your pardon — are the nestesses I have 
 already found mare's nestesses ?" demanded Tiffle, with just 
 the least acidity in her tones. " When I told you that those 
 two deep ones were going to ignite themselves together in 
 matrimony, did that turn out a mare's nest, my lady ? Or 
 did the information I brought you a week ago, that he did 
 go abroad at night with a gun, though it's well known his 
 gun is in the pawnshop ? And — not to go to other instances, 
 which perhaps may be called to mind— I must beg leave to 
 say that I know my place too well, and what is due to your 
 ladyship too well, to mention any news which I'm not sure 
 and certain of, or any tales that could devolve into mares' 
 nestesses." 
 
 " But, Tiffle, how do you learn these things ? You must 
 keep a detective at work." 
 
 " The detective is my own eyes and ears, my lady, which 
 is being exercised always in behalf of them sweet cherrybims, 
 the lambs upstairs, now sleejnng in their little beds. Leave 
 Mr. Wilfred and Miss Lester to their own dervices, and they'd 
 run rough-shod over 'em. Never, while I have eyes to see 
 and a tongue to tell." 
 
 Her mistress slightly bent her head, as a hint that it was 
 sufficient, and Tiffle shuffled out with another curtsey. Lady 
 Adelaide threw herself back in a chair, and fell into a 
 soliloquy. 
 
 " What can be the reason for its having como back to me ? 
 
LORD DANE HOME AGAIN. 
 
 201 
 
 Ten years ! ten long, weary years ; surely it was long enough 
 to live it clown ! Is it since I have seen him again that the 
 haunting fear has reasserted itself ? No : for I found it not 
 in London, and there we saw him as much as we do here. 
 It has come upon me since I returned to Danesheld ; it is 
 upon me to-night worse than it ever has been : a miserable 
 conviction that the past is going to be raked up again ; a 
 
 dread fear that my sin " 
 
 " Lord Dane, my lady." 
 
 The announcement was Tiffle's. A terrific blast had blown 
 the outer door open, and his lordship and the wind had 
 entered together, meeting Tiffle in the hall. He was altered 
 far more than Lady Adelaide. Could it be that the tall, 
 stern man of eight-and-thirty, with some grey hairs mingling 
 with his luxuriant locks, and the lines of care upon his broad 
 white brow, was the whilom slender stripling of only ten 
 years ago ? But he was a very handsome man now, 
 handsomer than he had been in those days, with the high 
 Dane features and the proud carriage of the Dane family. 
 As to the lines, what brought them on his brow ? Of 
 distinguished position, of great wealth — for his coffers had 
 been accumulating since he went abroad — possessed of all 
 the extraneous accessories for rendering life happy, one might 
 indeed wonder how care fell upon Lord Dane — as one 
 wonders how the flies get into the amber. 
 
 She stood up to receive him, in her white dress, her 
 glittering jewels, her conscious beauty. Very many times 
 had they met of late ; but Lord Dane, as he greeted her 
 to-night, could not help thinking how little she was changed. 
 Almost as attractive did she look as she had done in the time 
 when she was his youthful love. There was no peevishness 
 on her face now. 
 
 " What a terrible night ! " she exclaimed, as she reseated 
 herself, and Lord Dane drew a chair near to her. 
 
 " Ay, indeed ; and blowing right on to the coast," he 
 answered. " I trust we shall have no disasters at sea." 
 
 " Did you walk here ? " 
 
 " Walk ? Oh, yes, it is not far." 
 
 " I was thinking of the weather." 
 
202 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " I have become inured to that, whatever it may be. My 
 nine or ten years' travel did that good service for me." 
 
 " I used to wonder what kept you abroad so long — what 
 the attraction could be. But you did not remain long in one 
 place." 
 
 " I went everywhere ; everywhere in Europe ; not out of 
 it. Except — yes — except that I explored Turkey in Asia." 
 
 " And your attraction, Lord Dane ? " 
 
 " I had none. The very restlessness would imply the want 
 of that. I wandered hither and thither, believing that I 
 should never again have an object in life ; certainly never an 
 attraction." 
 
 " A rash belief — at your age, with life almost all before 
 you," she remarked, speaking with an assumption of 
 gaiety. 
 
 " Well, yes ; since I have lived to find its fallacy. I came 
 back to England, caring very little whether I came or 
 whether I stayed away from it for good. And, very soon 
 after my return, the old dead fibres of my heart, that I 
 thought had withered to the roots, sprang again into vitality. 
 It was here, at home, that I met with an attraction ; an object 
 in life that I believe will remain with and influence me for 
 ever." 
 
 She lifted her eyes inquiringly towards him, and Lord 
 Dane continued : 
 
 " When the consciousness of this first dawned upon me, I 
 strove to combat it by every effort in my power ; but, the 
 more I strove, the less would it take its departure, and I had 
 no resource but to yield to it. It has become my master, 
 influencing every action of my life, present with me by night 
 and by day. On my sacred word of honour, I thought it was 
 over for me, this love : that my heart and I had alike grown 
 out of it ; that ' the song had left the bird/ I feel half 
 ashamed to confess to it now." 
 
 She gave a slight start and sat more upright in her chair, 
 her cheek flushing, her eyes gazing at him in astonishment 
 through their half-closed lashes. Lord Dane drew his chair 
 nearer, and seemed somewhat agitated. 
 
 " I have been thinking of speaking to you for two or three 
 
LOKD DANE HOME AGAIN. 
 
 203 
 
 weeks ; but, I honestly avow, I have not liked to do so. If 
 for an instant I have been alone with you, and would have 
 rushed on my confession, a nameless feeling that perhaps 
 you will understand, a sudden distaste for the task has 
 intruded and held me back. But, as I walked here to-night, 
 I vowed that I would enter upon it, if opportunity were 
 granted. Forgive me ; forgive me what I would ask of 
 you : that your own heart should plead my cause. Adelaide 
 — again forgive me, if I speak to you with the familiarity of 
 former years — if you will be my advocate, my suit cannot 
 fail." 
 
 He spoke in the low, tender tones that had once been as 
 the sweetest music to her ear; he took her hand in his 
 pleading earnestness. Will you excuse Lady Adelaide for 
 the error she fell into ? With the remembrance of old days 
 so vividly just then upon her, it was perhaps a natural one. 
 She thought he was pleading for her favour, not for her 
 influence with another. A powerful emotion ran through 
 her frame — it was succeeded by a sort of deadly coldness. 
 
 " Have you forgotten who I am ? " she asked in low, proud 
 tones, not so much in resentment, but as though she thought 
 he really had forgotten it. " You forget yourself, Lord Dane : 
 I am the wife of Mr. Lester ; the mother of his children." 
 
 Lord Dane dropped her hand ; and an involuntary laugli 
 broke from him before he could check it. Something in its 
 tone jarred upon her ear. 
 
 " When you threw me away to marry George Lester, Lady 
 Adelaide, I fully understood that I was thrown away for ever. 
 Believe me, I accepted the alternative there and then, as 
 irrevocable. I have never presumed to think that I could 
 find favour with you again, under any circumstances or con- 
 tingency whatever, that the chances of the world might bring 
 about. I beg your pardon a thousand times for having ex- 
 pressed myself badly, as I conclude I must have done. I 
 was but asking for your good offices in my behalf with your 
 step-daughter, Maria Lester." 
 
 A suffusion of passionate shame dyed the brow of Lady 
 Adelaide. Never did woman fall into a more humiliating 
 error. She could have struck herself for her vain folly ; she 
 
204 
 
 LADS' ADELAIDE. 
 
 could have struck Lord Dane. When she opened her lips to 
 speak, no sound came from them. He had been honest, at 
 any rate : he had not given a thought to the j)ossibility of 
 his words being so misconstrued : his mind was full of Maria 
 Lester ; and Lady Adelaide was no more to him, and never 
 had been since her marriage, than any other man's wife. He 
 had then thrust her from his heart for ever, whatever she 
 might have clone by him. A thought crossed her that this 
 humiliating, this bitter mistake of hers must have three 
 parts repaid him for all she had made him suffer in the 
 days gone by. 
 
 He was good-natured, and strove to put her at her ease ; 
 telling her, in matter-of-fact tones, that he wished to marry 
 Miss Lester ; and that his chief motive in speaking first to 
 herself was, that she might use her influence with her 
 husband. 
 
 " Peojde say that it is time I settled," he observed : " and 
 of course it is time, if I am to settle at all. In addition to 
 any predilection I may have formed, I have begun to see 
 that it will be better for me : poor Cecilia is not much of a 
 companion. But before I found out this, indeed before I 
 came down to the Castle, or had left London, I had made up 
 my mind in regard to Miss Lester. I never met any one 
 whom I so thoroughly esteemed," he added, with an emphasis 
 on the last word, " and I trust to induce her to become Lady 
 Dane. Hence I come to you, as one old friend will go to 
 another, to enlist your interest on my behalf with Miss 
 Lester." 
 
 The past had become clear to her. She had wondered 
 what brought Lord Dane so often to their house : perhaps 
 had set it down within her own breast to a very different 
 motive. Her face was burning still ; but she strove to throw 
 off her shame defiantly, and drew up her head with a haughty 
 gesture. 
 
 " Why do you not apply to Mr. Lester instead of to me, 
 Lord Dane ? " 
 
 Lord Dane explained in the most delicate manner possible. 
 In common with all Danesheld, he knew that the prospect of 
 having to relinquish his daughter's fortune would act as an 
 
LORD DANE HOME AGAIN. 
 
 205 
 
 almost insuperable barrier to Mr. Lester's giving his consent 
 to any marriage proposed for her. Lord Dane, however, 
 wished for Maria alone, not for her fortune ; that could 
 remain with Mr. Lester : the settlement he offered would 
 obviate the necessity for Mr. Lester's relinquishing the other. 
 It was this he had wished to tell Lady Adelaide ; for Mr. 
 Lester's sensitiveness on pecuniary matters was well known, 
 and he might receive the communication better from his 
 wife than from the suitor. 
 
 The thought was a generous one. Lady Adelaide could 
 only feel it so ; and some of her frigid manner disappeared. 
 " Legal help can of course be called in to ratify the arrange- 
 ment," observed Lord Dane. "You will be my advocate 
 with them both, will you not, Lady Adelaide ? " 
 
 Lady Adelaide made no immediate reply. Some stifling 
 weight seemed to oppress her, and she rose from her scat 
 suddenly, in agitation that she could not wholly hide, drew 
 aside the window-curtains, and stood peering forth into the 
 boisterous night. Lord Dane watched her. Was her manner 
 caused by any lingering regard for him? he mentally 
 questioned ; or was she angry with herself for her unfor- 
 tunate misapprehension, and with him for causing it ? 
 
 " Maria is too young for you, Lord Dane," presently came 
 her voice from the window ; but she did not turn. 
 
 " That is a question — I beg your pardon, Lady Adelaide 
 — surely that is a question that may be left with herself 
 and me." 
 
 " You are double her age." 
 
 " Not quite." 
 
 There was a long pause, broken at length by Lady 
 Adelaide : 
 
 " I would prefer to remain neutral in this affair, Lord 
 Dane," she said, returning to her seat. " If I do not second 
 your efforts to gain Miss Lester, I will at least not impede 
 them. Apply yourself directly to Mr. Lester ; speak to him 
 with the candour that you hava now spoken to me, and I 
 am sure he will hear you. It is true that he is sensitive on 
 pecuniary points ; circumstances, chiefly those connected with 
 his son, have made him so. He must decide for himself. 
 
206 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 Maria is his daughter, not mine ; and I will not interfere. 
 Your suit must proceed unbiassed, uninterfered with by me." 
 " You will not be against me ? " 
 
 " I have said so. My position in regard to it shall be one 
 of strict neutrality." 
 
 Lord Dane bowed. In his inmost heart he had suspected 
 she would have been against him in this — against Maria ; 
 and this secret fear no doubt caused him to speak to her 
 first, and endeavour to make sure of her interest. Perhaps 
 she conceded as much as he had expected she would. 
 
 " Is Miss Lester at home this evening ? " 
 
 " Yes ; but I don't know where she is," replied Lady 
 Adelaide, ringing the bell. "Ask Miss Lester to come 
 here," she added to the man who answered it. 
 
 " Miss Lester is gone out, my lady." 
 
 " Out ! On this turbulent night ! " 
 
 " She went out directly after dinner, my lady. She told 
 me to say that she had gone to take tea at Miss Bordillion's." 
 
 " Maria does do things that no one else would think of," 
 cried Lady Adelaide, as the servant closed the door. " The 
 idea of her going out such a night as this ! " 
 
 " Some urgent motive must have taken her," observed Lord 
 Dane, who felt surprised himself. 
 
 " The urgent motive of her own whim ; or possibly a 
 promise to that antiquated piece of propriety, Miss Bordil- 
 lion," scornfully returned Lady Adelaide. " I wonder Mr. 
 Lester does not forbid Maria's going there, after the 
 countenance shown by that woman to her niece and Wilfred 
 Lester at the time of their marriage. By the way, an 
 association reminds me to ask after your keeper. I hear 
 he is dying." 
 
 " No, he is not dying. I hope he'will get better even now. 
 He was going on very well until this morning, when the 
 police called at his house and subjected him to a cross- 
 examination. I wish they would be less eager in interfering, 
 those fellows. Cattley was not in a state for it." 
 
 " Has it been fully decided who his assailants were ? " 
 
 " Not at all. Cattley has a suspicion as to two of them, 
 but he cannot swear to it; and the police may spare 
 
LORD DANE HOME AGAIN. 
 
 207 
 
 their pains. That is how these offenders get off, Lady 
 Adelaide." 
 
 " I fancy you are inclined to be very lenient." 
 
 Lord Dane laughed ; he hardly knew whether he was or 
 not, and really did not care. " Is Mr. Lester in the dining- 
 room ? " he asked. 
 
 " I suppose so : I left him there. He must have dropped 
 asleep." 
 
 With a word of apology, Lord Dane left her, and went in 
 search of Mr. Lester, whom he found. Not in the dining- 
 room, but in a small room at the back of the hall, called 
 the study. He was seated at his desk, a heap of papers 
 before him, his spectacles on — which he had lately had to 
 take to at night — and his face full of anxious care. Lord 
 Dane sat down, and quietly asked him for his daughter, 
 hinting at the arrangement he had mentioned to Lady 
 Adelaide. 
 
 But for that one troublesome impediment, Mr. Lester 
 would have jumped at the offer. It was a better one than 
 he had ever expected would fall to the lot of Maria. He sat 
 perplexed in thought, giving no reply. It was impossible 
 for him to resign her fortune on the one hand ; on the 
 other, he felt it equally impossible, to accept any such 
 arrangement as that proj)osed by Lord Dane. Mr. Lester 
 had always been a sensitive man in regard to the world's 
 opinion, and it occurred to him to ask what would be said of 
 him if he permitted this. 
 
 " Surely you do not object to me, Mr. Lester ? I can 
 make the most ample settlements ; and I love your daughter 
 as I never thought to — to love any one." 
 
 " I thank you for your offer, Lord Dane ; it does us 
 honour ; but these things require mature deliberation. Will 
 you allow me a week or ten days to consider it ? " 
 
 " So long as that ! " 
 
 "You would rather have that than an immediate nega- 
 tive?" 
 
 " Yes. But why a negative ? " 
 
 " Indeed I am not prepared to discuss it now," said Mr. 
 Lester, rising. " You must give me my own time for con- 
 
208 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 sideration, and say nothing to Maria. Let us join Lady 
 Adelaide." 
 
 He glanced at his scattered papers, extinguished the light 
 by which he had been writing, and locked the door upon his 
 room of care. At the same moment the hall-door was 
 opened and Maria was blown in, her bonnet in her hand. 
 
 " Oh, papa, it is such a night ! " she exclaimed, half 
 laughing at the breathless state she was in, and the disorder 
 of her dress. " My veil has been carried away, and I was 
 lucky to save my bonnet. Look at my hair ! Is that Lord 
 Dane ? Oh, pray don't look at me." 
 
 Mr. Lester stared, as well he might, and asked what in 
 the world had taken her abroad. 
 
 " I did not think it was so bad, papa. I went to Miss 
 Bordillion's. She would not let me remain, and sent me 
 home again between Mary and the old gardener. I should 
 like to sec how they will get back ; the wind grows worse 
 every minute." 
 
 Laughing at the reminiscence, throwing her cloak and 
 bonnet on a bench in the hall, Maria smoothed back her 
 hair and went into the drawing-room on the ready arm of 
 Lord Dane. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 RUMOURS. 
 
 Miss Lester had walked forth after dinner in the wild 
 night— leaving the Lady Adelaide to her remarkable inter- 
 view with Lord Dane— and was speedily blown back again 
 by the wind : but, short as her absence had been, it is not 
 without its incident. 
 
 Skirting the Hall to the right, Miss Lester struck into a 
 somewhat lonely road : the pastures belonging to her father's 
 house were on the right, the dark wood on her left. She 
 was on her way to Miss Bordillion's, and two roads would 
 
RUMOUItS. 
 
 209 
 
 take lier to it : the one she was pursuing, the other through 
 a portion of the wood. She bore up bravely against the 
 wind. The wood was soon reached, and she turned into it, 
 as being the more sheltered. It was not yet dark, or she 
 would have chosen the open road ; but, to people born and 
 bred in the country, fear when abroad is almost unknown. 
 
 Nevertheless, as she went swiftly along the narrow path, 
 the gloom did strike upon her uirplcasantly. The wind 
 moaned and shrieked overhead, seeming to shake the trees 
 to their very roots, and imparting a weird, ghostly loneliness 
 to the scene. Maria began thinking of a certain story she 
 had read in German, where a maiden was speeding through 
 a dense forest, and 
 
 Some object suddenly started out from the trees before 
 her, and she positively screamed. The next moment, how- 
 ever, she burst into laughter. It was only her brother. A 
 tall and very slender man of four-and-twenty, with the same 
 delicately beautiful face he had in boyhood : the dark blue 
 eyes, the long eyelashes, the dark hair. But the joyous, 
 impulsive manners of the boy had given place to an indiffer- 
 ence that bordered upon apathy : some such a manner as 
 might be seen in one out of conceit with the world, and who 
 has nearly given himself over to despair. 
 
 " How stupid I am!" exclaimed Maria, alluding to her 
 cry. " How you startled me, Wilfred." 
 
 " I did not intend to startle you. Who was to think you 
 would be in the wood to-night ? It's not the thing, Maria." 
 
 " It is not night yet. I am going to Margaret's, and 
 chose this way as being more sheltered. I could not keep 
 in the road for the wind." 
 
 He had turned to walk by her side. Maria seemed under 
 some timid restraint, and cast a stealthy glance at the gun 
 in his hand. 
 
 " Is that your gun, Wilfred ? " she at length asked. 
 
 " It's one I have had lent me," he replied shortly, and a 
 silence ensued. A hundred doubts and questions arose to 
 Maria's lips, but she dared not speak them. 
 
 " I wonder they let you come out such a night as this," ho 
 presently said. " I never remember one like it." 
 
 Lady Adelaide. 
 
 14 
 
210 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " I did not ask leave ; I came without. How is Edith ? " 
 
 The question was put in a hesitating voice. Wilfred 
 took it up. His mind was in that state of ultra-sensitiveness 
 that warfare with the world frequently entails. 
 
 " What ! I suppose it is high treason to inquire after her ! 
 Have they forbidden you even her name? Come, Maria, 
 confess ; you cannot tell me more than I suspect.'' 
 
 Maria was silent. 
 
 " Perhaps they have forbidden your speaking to me if we 
 happen to meet ? 99 he pursued. 
 
 "No, Wilfred, they have not done that yet. Tell me 
 how you are getting on. Is Edith better ? " 
 
 " We are not getting on at all ; unless going backwards is 
 getting on. It is backwards with us generally, and back- 
 wards with Edith. She will never grow strong whilst 
 things remain as they are. If there is justice in heaven " 
 
 " Hush, Wilfred ! It will do no good." 
 
 " And no harm. But have it as you like, Maria. The 
 next interdict will be, I suppose, against your speaking 
 to me." 
 
 "Should it come, Wilfred, it will be partly your own 
 fault," she answered. 
 
 " No doubt of it. I am all in fault, and they are all in 
 the right. But I did not expect to hear you say it." 
 
 " You are petulant with me without a cause, Wilfred. 
 You know that I care for you more than for any one in the 
 world. I fear I do not care even for papa — though it may 
 be wicked of me, and wrong to say it — as I care for you." 
 
 " It would be a wonder if you cared much for him," cried 
 Wilfred. " He has not allowed us to care for him. Occu- 
 pied as he has been with his lady- wife and her children, 
 showing neither common care nor affection for you and 
 me " 
 
 " I don't think we ought to speak of it," came the gentle 
 interruption. 
 
 Wilfred disdained an answer. 
 
 "You speak of the possibility of our intercourse being 
 forbidden ; I say that, if it is, the fault will be yours, 
 Wilfred," she added, gathering courage for a desperate 
 
RUMOURS. 
 
 211 
 
 effort. " What arc these tales that are being whispered 
 about you ? " 
 " Talcs?" 
 
 " That you arc taking to evil courses ; to poaching fop 
 game and fish ; to going out at night with loose men. They 
 
 are " she stopped with a slight shiver, and then went on 
 
 rapidly — " talking of the attack on Lord Dane's keeper." 
 
 " The country for ten miles round is talking of nothing 
 else," returned Wilfred, carelessly. 
 
 " But they say — some say — that you were one of them." 
 
 " Oh, they do, do they ? It's well my back's rather broad 
 just now. Who says it ? " 
 
 " I don't know." 
 
 " Who said it to you ? " 
 
 " The rumour has reached the Hall in some way. I fancy 
 through Tiffle. Lady Adelaide said a word or two to me, 
 and it turned me sick and faint. I was too terrified to ask 
 a single question ; and, if I had, perhaps she would not have 
 answered it. Oh, Wilfred, come to the Hall and deny it if 
 you can ! deny it to papa, and get him to stop the rumours." 
 
 " If I can ? — what do you mean, Maria ? Do you think I 
 go out at night to murder gamekeepers ? " 
 
 " Then you will come to the Hall and explain," was the 
 eager rejoinder. 
 
 " Not if I know it. The Hall has been forbidden to me. 
 Don't trouble yourself, Maria ; Lady Adelaide and Tiffle can 
 say what they like ; my back is broad enough, I tell you." 
 
 " They talk of gins and snares ; of entrapping game for 
 sale," she shivered. 
 
 "I see; they turn me into a regular poacher. Well, 
 Maria, let my father and his wife enjoy the scandal. Were 
 I to get hung or transported, they would have the satis- 
 faction of knowing that they had driven me on the way." 
 
 Maria Lester pressed her hands to her chest as if she 
 would still its pain. She felt herself so very helpless. On 
 the one hand, her harsh stepmother and the husband whom 
 she swayed; on the other, this brother being driven to 
 desperation — the brother she loved so dearly. 
 
 " How does my father think I am to live, Maria, when he 
 
212 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 docs not give mo anything to live upon ? Put Edith out of 
 the question — Margaret supplies her — had I not married, 
 surely he must and would have allowed me something, if 
 only a hundred a year. Let him, in justice, give me that 
 now. I believe that they wish me to go wrong. I am sure 
 Lady Adelaide does." 
 
 " You are out to-night with that gun, Wilfred." 
 
 " And, if I am, I can't use it in this wind." 
 
 " But only the carrying it may be brought against you. 
 You have no game licence." 
 
 « Yes, I have." 
 
 For a single moment she thought he was uttering an 
 untruth, and her countenance fell. 
 
 " I have taken one out ; Margaret helped me." 
 
 To hear this was a weight lifted from her heart, for more 
 reasons than one. She was about to reply, when a move- 
 ment amidst the trees attracted her attention, and she halted 
 in fear. 
 
 " What was it ? " she whispered, pointing to the place. 
 " I heard nothing except the wind." 
 
 " I did not hear — I saw," answered Maria. " Some face 
 was peering out at us, and I saw it drawn back. It was 
 like a boy's face." 
 
 Wilfred Lester strode to the spot indicated, pushing 
 through the trees. Not any creature was in sight, human 
 or animal : but a narrow path, striking off farther into the 
 wood, favoured escape. 
 
 " I think you must have been mistaken, Maria." 
 
 She shook her head, and they soon came to the end of the 
 wood. Farther on, on the open road, was the residence of 
 Miss Bordillion ; to the left, a by-way led to the cottage 
 inhabited by Wilfred. It was close by, though a turn in 
 the road hid it from view. As they stood a moment, Wilfiad 
 telling Maria that she had better return home, and not 
 venture farther in the howling wind, a very curious-looking 
 boy came running past them. Slim to a degree, with 
 restless, wriggling movements, he was not unlike a serpent : 
 and he had that old, precocious face sometimes seen in the 
 deformed, and sly, very sly eyes. Not that he was deformed, 
 
HUMOURS. 
 
 213 
 
 but only very stunted for his years, whieh numbered nearly 
 fifteen. An ordinary spectator might have thought him ten. 
 
 " Hallo, Shad ! Where arc you scampering off to ? " cried 
 Mr. Wilfred Lester. 
 
 The boy stopped. Rejoicing in the baptismal name of 
 Shadrach, he had never, in the memory of the neighbour- 
 hood, been called anything but Shad. His other name no 
 one knew, and it did not clearly appear that he had one. 
 Nearly fifteen years ago he was first seen, a baby, in the hut 
 of old Goody Bean. She said he was her daughter's, who 
 had been many a year away from home ; but Goody Bean 
 was not renowned for veracity, and on the whole did not 
 receive credence for her assertion of the child's jmrcntago. 
 To whomsoever he belonged, there he had been from that 
 time to this. 
 
 "Please, sir, I'm going home. I've been getting sticks 
 for granny." 
 
 He spoke with childlike simplicity ; but, looking at his 
 sharp face, it might be doubted whether the simplicity was 
 not put on. It was one of two things : either he was a very 
 unsophisticated young gentleman, or one of very unusual 
 cunning. 
 
 " Have you been in the wood for those, Shad ? " demanded 
 Miss Lester, looking at the few fagots in the boy's hand. 
 
 " I've been on'y on t'other side of the hedge, miss ; I don't 
 like the wood when the trees moans and shakes." 
 
 " Have you not been in the wood ? " she returned, looking 
 keenly at him. 
 
 " I was there yesterday, miss." 
 
 " I spoke of this evening." 
 
 " No," he said, shaking his head from side to side, some- 
 thing like the trees. " Granny telled me to go into the 
 wood, and bring her a good bundle o' sticks, but I wouldn't 
 when I heard the winds ; and I expec's a wacking for it." 
 
 He shambled off. Miss Lester turned to her brother. 
 " Wilfred, it was he who was watching us." 
 
 " Very likely. He is even less worthy of credit than his 
 grandmother ; and that's saying a great deal. Why ! what 
 does she want ? " 
 
214 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE, 
 
 A decent-looking woman, with a sour face, was turning 
 the angle of the path with a quick step. Wilfred knew her 
 for his servant : the moment she saw her master her pace 
 increased to a run, and she called to him in some alarm. 
 
 " What now, Sally ? " quoth he. " Is the house on fire ? " 
 
 " Sir," responded Sally, grimly, " the house is not on fire ; 
 but my mistress is lying in a dead faint, and I ran out to 
 look for you. I'm not sure but life has at length left her." 
 
 A moment's bewildered hesitation and Wilfred started off ; 
 but he had not gone many yards when he arrested his steps 
 and turned to his sister. 
 
 " Will you not come also, in the name of humanity ? 
 Your entering my house to say a word of comfort to Edith — 
 dying as she may be, as I fear she is, for the want of kind- 
 ness — will not poison Mr. and Lady Adelaide Lester. Judge 
 between me and them, Maria." 
 
 It might have been the ring of bitter mockery in his tone ; 
 it might have been that her own humanity prevailed ; 
 Maria, at any rate, followed. The cottage was near at 
 hand; a very unpretending cottage indeed, skirting the 
 wood, the kitchen facing the road, the sitting-room at the 
 back. Edith was in the latter, lying as Sally had left her. 
 
 It was only a fainting-fit, and she was already reviving 
 when they entered. Eainting-fits had been rather common 
 with Edith since her illness, but the usually staid servant 
 Sally (her baptismal name, though people sometimes called 
 her Sarah with a vague notion of being polite) had for once 
 felt frightened. Maria, interdicted from going to her bro- 
 ther's, had not seen his wife for many, many weeks, nay, for 
 months. She stood over Edith, shocked at the change in 
 her, and fully believing she could not be long for this 
 world. Maria burst into tears as she kissed her ; they 
 cried together ; and Wilfred whispered to his sister that he 
 was afraid of the agitation for Edith. So Maria said a 
 quiet word of farewell and withdrew. 
 
 " Sally," she impulsively began to the maid in the kitchen, 
 " what has reduced your mistress to this shocking state ? " 
 
 " Famine, more than anything else," was the answer given 
 in the woman's customary blunt way. 
 
RUMOURS. 
 
 215 
 
 " Famine ! " repeated Maria, staring at the speaker in 
 bewilderment, and feeling ready to faint herself. " Famine ? 
 Things cannot be so bad as that." 
 
 " They are not much better, and haven't been for some 
 time, so far as she is concerned," was Sally's answer, 
 motioning towards the parlour door ; and, if the woman 
 spoke more familiarly than was consistent with the respect 
 due to Miss Lester, it might be put down partly to her 
 natural manner, partly to the fact that she had formerly 
 been nurse to Maria and Wilfred. She had also more 
 recently lived as housemaid with Miss Bordillion, and waited 
 on Edith and Maria when they were girls. " Me and master, 
 we can eat hard food ; but she can't. When folks arc 
 delicate and weak in health, they require delicate food. 
 Beef-tea and jellies, and oysters, and chicken, or a nice cut 
 out of a joint of meat, with a glass or two of good wine every 
 day ; that's what Miss Edith wants. And she's just going 
 to her grave for the want of it." 
 
 The parlour door opened, and Wilfred's voice was heard 
 down the passage. " Sally, is Miss Lester gone ? If she 
 will wait an instant, I'll see her safely to Miss Bordillion's." 
 
 Maria laid her finger on her lips. " Don't tell him I'm 
 here, Sally," she breathed. " He shall not leave his poor 
 wife to come out with me." 
 
 " Miss Lester's all right, sir," was the response, delivered 
 with the usual tartness. 
 
 " Then come here, Sally. Your mistress wants you." 
 
 Sally obeyed the summons, and Maria took the opportu- 
 nity to steal away. As she went on to Miss Bordillion's she 
 felt as perhaps she had never before felt in her whole existence. 
 Suffering for want of proper food ! — dying for it ! Maria 
 Lester had read of such things in fiction and sometimes in 
 the newspapers ; but to have them brought palpably before 
 her, and in her own station of life, had certainly not been 
 amongst her experiences. Two convictions gradually forced 
 themselves upon her ; one that an awful responsibility lay 
 in some not very definite quarter ; the other, that she should 
 be powerless to alter the state of things. 
 
 Cliff Cottage was soon reached : a small, pretty, white 
 
216 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 house, with green Venetian blinds outside the windows. 
 Miss Bordillion was a very gentle lady now, with a close 
 cap and white hair. No trace of the heart-conflict she had 
 done battle with was discernible on her smooth features — 
 only in the hair : that had turned white before its time. 
 She was surprised to see Maria come in ; and looked up 
 from her tea. Maria threw off her cloak and bonnet and sat 
 down to the table ; and the maid brought in a cup and 
 saucer and some butter. 
 
 " Are you taking your tea without butter, Margaret ? " 
 
 " I prefer dry toast sometimes, my dear." 
 
 But Maria remembered that Miss Bordillion had never 
 cared for dry toast ; and she now saw her get up, and quietly 
 take the sugar-basin from the sideboard, and place it on the 
 table. A light, and a very uncomfortable one, dawned upon 
 Maria. 
 
 " Is it starvation here, Margaret ? " she said, with emotion. 
 " I have just heard it is, elsewhere." 
 
 An explanation ensued, for Maria was urgent. It was 
 not starvation, but it was very strict economy, an abstinence 
 from everything except absolute necessaries. Since Maria 
 and Edith quitted Miss Bordillion a year ago, she had been 
 thrown upon her own resources ; an income of a hundred a 
 year. It might have sufficed for herself and her servant— 
 and she kept only one now — but unfortunately she had also 
 Wilfred and Edith on her hands. 
 
 " Are you helping them, Margaret ? " exclaimed Maria. 
 
 " To what little extent I can. There is no one else to 
 do it." 
 
 " I had no idea of it," breathed Maria. " Wilfred said a 
 word to-night in allusion to it ; but I thought I might have 
 mistaken him, your income is so very small." 
 
 " My dear child, how do you suppose they have lived ? 
 No household can get along without some ready money. For 
 some time after their marriage I would not see them, not 
 choosing to countenance the imprudent step. Their money 
 went — what they had of it ; and then their few little 
 personal valuables went ; next their credit went ; and there 
 they were, One day I met Edith — it was about three months 
 
RUMOURS. 
 
 217 
 
 before the baby was born — and she looked so worn and 
 weak that I gave her my arm home, and Sally enlightened 
 me as to the state of things. That girl is worth her weight 
 in gold." 
 
 " Who is ? " 
 
 « Sally." 
 
 " Oh, Margaret ! she was always the crosscst old thing ! " 
 cried Maria, going back in thought to her own and Edith's 
 girlhood days, when Sally had tyrannized over them. 
 
 " She is iron in manner, gold at heart. She had a little 
 money saved up," continued Miss Bordillion ; " not much, for 
 she has kept her mother and that bedridden sister ; it was a 
 few pounds only, and she spent them in necessaries for 
 Edith when the child came." 
 
 " I'll never call her cross again," said Maria, in a flush of 
 repentance. " But, Margaret, don't you think Wilfred is 
 being very badly used ? Surely the tradespeople might 
 give him a little more credit ! " 
 
 " He is already in their debt." 
 
 " To a trifling extent. But ho is pajDa's eldest son. The 
 estate must be his some time." 
 " Must ? " 
 
 The word was spoken with significant emphasis, and 
 Maria's face flushed. It had touched a sadly sensitive chord 
 in her secret heart. 
 
 " It would be so unjust to leave it away from Wilfred," 
 she said, her voice falling to a whisper, as befitted the 
 subject in her own mind, for it was one she had never dared 
 to allude to. " He is the eldest son ; he was the only one 
 for years until these others came. A great deal of papa's 
 income came from mamma ; surely he will at least not leave 
 that away from Wilfred ! " 
 
 " The tradespeople do not appear to think there's much 
 certainty either way," observed Miss Bordillion, in con- 
 strained tones. 
 
 " You won't speak of this to me, Margaret ! " 
 
 " I do not care to say anything that may reflect on Lady 
 Adelaide." 
 
 " It is her fault, you think ? 99 
 
218 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 "Yes, it is her fault. She has led Mr. Lester into em- 
 barrassment, and she most certainly excites him against his 
 son. Maria, I do not suppose she will allow Mr. Lester to 
 assist Wilfred ; or to bequeath even his mother's money to 
 him." 
 
 " She must be terribly unjust. Has she any conscience, 
 Margaret ? " 
 
 " Conscience is very elastic material in general," replied 
 Miss Bordillion, with a half-smile. " And now, Maria, that 
 is all I wish to say of Lady Adelaide, and I don't know how 
 I have come to say so much. It is a state of things 
 sufficiently patent to Danesheld ; and we cannot expect 
 butchers and bakers to practise benevolence in opposition to 
 their own interests." 
 
 "And you have really been going without sugar and 
 butter, Margaret, that you may assist Wilfred and his 
 wife?" 
 
 Margaret had been going without many other things ; but 
 she answered carelessly. 
 
 " A very small matter of self-denial, Maria ! Be so kind 
 as to guard the secret carefully out of doors." 
 
 " Why should it be a secret ? Are you afraid of offending 
 papa ? " 
 
 " Yes. Though perhaps not exactly in the sense you 
 mean. I should not like to offend him, and I ought not to 
 like it. Kemember, I live in this house of his rent-free. I 
 spoke to him about paying rent for it after you left it, but 
 he only laughed at me. My fear is, that were it known that 
 I, or any one else, helped Wilfred, he would be thought of in 
 his father's house with all the greater harshness." 
 
 " Margaret, what is to become of them ? " 
 
 " I cannot say — I am afraid to think, You see, putting 
 pecuniary considerations aside, there is no one to give a 
 helping hand to lift Wilfred out of his present position. A 
 Government appointment was talked of; and he would do his 
 best in it, or in anything else, I am sure : but how is he to 
 get it, now that his father has turned against him ? I wish 
 Lord Dane would be his friend ! " 
 
 " And meanwhile they are starving! " 
 
HUMOURS. 
 
 219 
 
 " With the exception of what little I can give them : and 
 that is indeed little. With two genteel households to be 
 kept out of a hundred a year," continued Margaret, with an 
 attempt at gaiety, " you must not wonder that my sugar and 
 butter are too costly to be approached lightly. The worst 
 is " — and her tone went back to the very utmost gravity of 
 which human tones arc capable — " Wilfred has taken up all 
 this as barbarous injustice, and in heart is resenting it 
 accordingly." 
 
 The words recalled Maria to a sense of what she had come 
 out that night to speak about ; though indeed it could not be 
 said to need recall, since it had been making itself heard 
 throughout, in a sort of underlying miserable current. 
 
 "Margaret, I wanted to ask you — have you heard the 
 rumours that are about touching Wilfred? That he — 
 that he has been seen abroad at night, on Lord Dane's 
 lands?" 
 
 " Hush ! " interrupted Miss Bordillion, glancing round 
 with a movement that seemed born of fear. 
 
 " Then you have heard it ! Oh, Margaret, tell me ! — do 
 you think it is true ? " 
 
 " I think rumour of all kinds, Maria, just as likely to be 
 false as true. Our better plan is always to ignore it." 
 
 " Margaret, I came out this boisterous night to ask you," 
 she piteously said. " I was obliged to come ; I could not 
 rest. Do you know anything for certain ? " 
 
 " I do not," was the calm reply — and it seemed to Maria's 
 sensitive ears that Margaret had suddenly grown calm and 
 cold. 
 
 " I met him just now with a gun. I don't know what he 
 was doing with it at this hour. He said it had been lent to 
 him. Do vou know if that is true ? " 
 
 " No, I don't know anything about that. I dare say it is 
 true." 
 
 " He told me you had helped him to take out a shooting 
 licence." 
 
 " That is true." 
 
 " Should Wilfred do anything wrong, I think it would kill 
 me," murmured Maria, lifting her pale and pleading face. 
 
220 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 « It would kill Edith." 
 
 " And you won't put mo out of my suspense, Margaret V " 
 
 " Maria, understand me. I really know nothing of this, 
 except that I have heard that rumours to Wilfred's discredit 
 arc abroad. I do not think that they are true — I hope they 
 arc not : and it will be well that you and I should entirely 
 ignore them." 
 
 " It is not putting me out of suspense," sighed Maria. 
 
 " I will tell you what I am going to put you out of — 
 and that is out of my house," said Miss Bordillion, laughing, 
 " or you will not get home to-night. Hark at that wind." 
 
 Maria fell into a most disheartening reverie ; revolving 
 all she had heard and seen — all she feared. But Miss 
 Bordillion did not allow her time to indulge in it. She bade 
 her maid call Mr. Lester's gardener, an elderly man who 
 lived close by, and despatched Maria home between them. 
 
 And what with the elastic spirits of youth, and what with 
 the pranks the wind played them, which seemed to grow 
 higher as the moon rose, Maria arrived at the Hall in a 
 state of struggling and laughter, her bonnet a close prisoner 
 in her hands, her veil gone off on an aerial voyage, and her 
 hair flowing. 
 
 CHAPTEE XVII. 
 
 THE SHIPWRECK. 
 
 Karely had such a night been known within the memory of 
 the oldest inhabitant of Danesheld. The storm of wind 
 was terrific, sweeping through the air with a rushing, 
 booming sound ; shaking old gables and tall chimneys, 
 unhinging shutters, and crashing down outhouses. But for 
 the wind, the night would have been almost as bright as 
 the day, for the clear moon was at the full ; but the clouds 
 that swept madly across its face constantly obscured its 
 brightness, and threw a, dark shadow upon the earth, 
 
THE SHIPWRECK. 
 
 221 
 
 A knot of men were congregated in the tap-room of the 
 Sailors' Eest. They were sheltered certainly, but the house 
 was exposed on one side to the sea, and seemed to rock with 
 the blast. Richard Ravensbird, looking not a day older 
 than when you saw him last — hard, composed, phlegmatic 
 as ever — was waiting on his customers, and saying little, as 
 usual. Ravensbird had done well at the Sailors' Rest. He 
 and his house were alike irreproachable, and he had earned 
 — and gained — the respect of Danesheld. If his object had 
 been to live down the old scandal of suspicion attaching to 
 his name, he had eminently succeeded ; and even that depot 
 of gossip, the coastguard station, would have sus23ected any 
 one in the town or county to be guilty of a great crime, 
 rather than the landlord of the Sailors' Rest. 
 
 Mrs. Ravensbird was in the bar parlour. Her usual 
 place in the evening was the private sitting-room ; but that 
 happened to look on to the sea, and she had come out of 
 it stopping her ears. Sophie did look older, in spite of her 
 smart caps. Frenchwomen, after thirty, age unaccountably, 
 and Mrs. Ravensbird was no exception to the rule. She had 
 not changed in manner, but was free of tongue and ready at 
 repartee, just as she always had been. There was one 
 child, a boy, to whom they were giving an excellent educa- 
 tion, and who was almost always away at school. He was 
 born a twelvemonth after their marriage ; and it appeared 
 likely that he would be the only olive-branch. 
 
 " How is Cattley getting on ? " inquired one of the 
 company in the bar, as he began to fill a fresh pipe. It was 
 the same bar in which we once saw Mr. Hawthorne drop a 
 brass ladle, when Ravensbird's head rose above the screen, 
 to the unhappy landlord's consternation. The screen was 
 there still, but considerably enlarged : it made the sweep 
 of the room now, shutting out only the entrance as a 
 sort of passage. A great improvement ; and few rooms 
 wear a more comfortable appearance than did this bar 
 of Ravensbird's with its well-kept furniture and bright 
 fire. 
 
 Ravensbird, whom the speaker had addressed, took no 
 notico of the question. He had just given a jug of ale to 
 
222 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 another of the company, and was counting the halfpence 
 returned into his hand. 
 
 " I say, landlord, have you heard how Cattley is ? " 
 repeated the speaker, who was owner of a fishing-boat, and 
 named Marls. 
 
 " Cattley may be better or he may be worse," was the 
 short and not very gracious reply of Mr. Eavensbird ; and 
 one, skilled in tones, might have suspected that the subject 
 was not palatable to the landlord. " I don't meddle in 
 business that does not concern me." 
 
 " That's as much as to say that I do," said Marls, with good 
 humour. " Not that it's much meddling, inquiring after a 
 half-murdered man. When I went out, three days ago, it 
 was thought he was dying." 
 
 " A fine trouble your boat had to get in ! " interrupted a 
 coastguardsman. I was on duty this afternoon, and watched 
 it alabouring against the gale." 
 
 " Trouble ! " echoed Marls ; " I never was out in such a 
 gale, and the wind blowing us right on shore. It took us 
 all we knew, I can tell you, to make the port and not the 
 beach. Has nobody heard aught of Cattley ? " 
 
 " Cattley's better," spoke one who was sitting near the 
 fire. " The police must put themselves into it, and nearly 
 do for him though, with their worrying, wanting him to 
 swear to Beecher and Tom Long. But Cattley couldn't 
 swear to them, though he said he'd no moral doubt that 
 they were two of the lot. Old Beecher came forward with 
 all the brass in the world, and swore his son was at home in 
 bed at the time. Nobody would believe old Beecher on his 
 oath, but there was no proof, as Cattley couldn't swear. 
 My lord's savage about it. It's said he is going to be as 
 sharp over his preserves as it was thought he'd be lenient. 
 He told old Beecher that his oaths went for nothing, and 
 regretted the evidence was not more conclusive." 
 
 " Have they got the third ? " asked another fisherman. 
 " There was a third, wasn't there ? " 
 
 " Said to be : Cattley speaks of another who was watching 
 at a distance. Keeping guard, no doubt." 
 
 " That was Drake, then," spoke Marls. Smuggling or 
 
THE SHIPWRECK. 223 
 
 poaching, it all comes alike to him. I'd lay a crown it was 
 Drake." 
 
 " You'd loose it, Marls. The third fellow was a tall, thin 
 man. Drake's short and stumpy. Landlord, there's the 
 missis calling you.' , 
 
 And, indeed, Mrs. Bavcnsbird's voice was heard in some 
 commotion, calling " Eichard, Eichard ! " Bavensbird went 
 out, leaving a smart maid to do duty for him. Sophie 
 stood just inside the parlour, a candle in her hand. 
 
 " Eichard, I have been upstairs, and I protest I was afraid 
 to stop there. The house rocks as if it would fall." 
 
 " The house is all safe," returned Bavensbird. " It has 
 weathered out gales as bad as this." 
 
 "I don't think wc have ever had such a gale as this. 
 Hark at it ! " 
 
 She shivered as she stood. Bavensbird, who was a very 
 good husband on the whole, though sometimes a little 
 crusty, took the candle from her hand, and bade her sit 
 down, drawing a chair near for himself. A short while and 
 the smart maid came in. 
 
 " They are calling for more ale in the taproom, sir," she 
 said. " Am I to serve it ? It wants but two minutes to 
 eleven." 
 
 "Oh, for goodness' sake, Eichard, let them stop on as 
 long as they like to-night," interposed Sophie. " Better be 
 in danger in company than alone, and I'm sure I shall not 
 dare to go to bed." 
 
 " Not dare to go to bed ! " repeated Bavensbird, in 
 surprise. "Why, Sophie, what's the matter with you? 
 Folks sleep best in windy weather." 
 
 " It's a worse wind than I've known since I came to the 
 Sailors' Best," returned Sophie, who invariably had the last 
 word. " For my part, I wish they'd stop on in the tap-room 
 till morning." 
 
 Bavensbird returned to the bar, and told the company 
 it was eleven o'clock. They did not, however, seem inclined 
 to move : and, whether it was the wind howling without, 
 which certainly induces to the enjoyment of comfort within, 
 or whether in compliance with his wife's words, Bavensbird 
 
224 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 proved less rigid than usual as to closing his house at 
 eleven, and suffered more ale to be drawn. The servant 
 was handing it round, when a fresh customer entered. It 
 was Mitchel, the preventive-man. He took off an oil-skin 
 cape he wore, and sat down. 
 
 " Why, Mitchel ! is it the wind that has blown you here ? " 
 were the words Eavensbird greeted him with. " I thought 
 you were on duty to-night." 
 
 " The wind won't let me stop on duty, Mr. Eavensbird, 
 so it may be said to have blown me here," replied Mitchel. 
 "I saw you were not closed, through the chinks in the 
 shutters. It's an awful night." 
 
 " Not much danger of a contraband boat-load stealing up 
 to the beach to-night," laughed one of the company. 
 
 " No ; the Flying Dutchman himself couldn't bring it 
 up," said Mitchel. " There's a terrific sea rolling in." 
 
 " The men have not been on duty below all day ? " 
 
 " Couldn't have stood it," answered Mitchel ; " the sea 
 would have washed them away. It's great rubbish to have 
 men there at all, now they have put us on to the heights. 
 I'm afraid of one thing," he added, lowering his voice. 
 
 "What's that?" 
 
 " That there's a ship in distress. My eyesight's un- 
 common good for a distance, as some of you know, and I 
 feel sure that I made her out, and even her very lights. 
 I pointed her out to Baker just now, but he could see 
 nothing and thought I was mistaken. Not I ! " 
 
 " And she's in distress ? " 
 
 " Could a ship be off the coast, in such a storm as this, 
 and not be in distress ? " was Mitchel's answer. " And the 
 wind blowing dead on shore ! Mark me ! if that is a ship, 
 the'll be on the rocks to-night. I " 
 
 The man's voice stopped abruptly, and the assembly 
 simultaneously started to their feet. A heavy, booming 
 sound had struck upon their ears. Mrs. Eavensbird rushed 
 into the room. 
 
 " Is that a cannon ? " she exclaimed, in alarm. 
 
 If it was a cannon, it was firing off quick, sharp strokes, 
 one after the other, as no cannon ever had been known to 
 
THE SHIPWRECK. 
 
 225 
 
 do yet. Some of those startled listeners had heard that 
 sound before ; some had not. 
 
 " It is the great bell at the Castle ! " uttered Mitchel. 
 " I am sure of it. The last timo it rang out was for that 
 lire in the stable, before the old lord died. What can be 
 the matter ? " 
 
 With one accord the company left their seats and went 
 into the road, peering towards the Castle with the thought 
 of fire. Sophie accompanied them, holding on her real lace 
 cap with her hands; the barmaid followed, holding hers. 
 They could not see anything alarming, but they talked 
 and shouted to each other, and might be heard above the 
 howling wind. 
 
 " I wish you would be still for an instant,'' interposed 
 Eavensbird. " Listen : as keenly as the wind and that bell 
 will allow you." 
 
 They hushed their clamour and bent their ears in 
 obedience to the injunction. And then they caught what 
 the noise in the taproom had prevented them from hearing 
 before : a minute gun fired at sea. 
 
 " It is the ship in distress," eagerly spoke Mitchel ; " I 
 knew she would be. She's signalling for help. And the 
 Castle bell is giving notice of it ; as it used to do in old 
 times." 
 
 At this juncture, one of the Dane retainers was discerned 
 speeding past on the main road. They knew him by his 
 white and purple livery, and the group rushed up the 
 by-way and seized him. 
 
 " Don't stop me," he exclaimed. " I'm going in search 
 of Lord Dane. There's a large ship in distress. She looks 
 like an Indiaman, and may be filled with home passengers." 
 
 " I said so," observed Mitchel. " How did you make her 
 out ? " he asked of the footman. 
 
 " Some of us fancied we heard signals of distress from 
 sea, and went up to the turret chamber, and there made 
 out the ship, and saw quite plainly the flash of her minute- 
 guns, though the wind deadened the sound. Mr. Bruff gave 
 orders then for the alarm-bell to be rung, and sent me off 
 to Squire Lester's in search of my lord." 
 
 Lady Adelaide. 15 
 
226 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 A very short time, and all Danesheld who could trust to 
 their legs found themselves on the beach, called there by 
 the alarm-bell. The ship, drifting gradually in-shore, was 
 nearer now, and her guns were louder. They could plainly 
 discern a noble ship in the intervals of bright moonlight. 
 One old sailor who possessed fine eyesight, keener than even 
 Mitchel's, professed to make out her build, and declared 
 she was an American. Whatever she might be, she was 
 certainly drifting rapidly to her doom. 
 
 Her position was a little to the left hand as the people 
 stood, and she would most likely strike just beyond the 
 village, towards Dane Castle. The wind was a hurricane, 
 howling and shrieking, buffeting the spectators, and almost 
 taking away their breath ; the waves rose mountains high, 
 with their roar ; and the good ship cracked and groaned as 
 she bent to their fury. 
 
 And the scene on board! Awful indeed seemed the 
 jarring elements to the spectators ; what, then, must they 
 have been to those who were hopelessly in their power! 
 Confusion reigned, distress, unbounded fear. Almost as 
 terrible as that Great Day of the Last Judgment. For 
 them that Last Day was at hand — time was over ; eternity 
 was beginning — and some were not prepared to meet it ! 
 
 Lord Dane and Mr. Lester came up together, arm-in- 
 arm, and the crowd parted to give them place. Mr. Lester 
 carried a night-glass, but the wind rendered it useless. 
 
 " Why, she's close in-shore ! " exclaimed Lord Dane, in 
 accents of horror. 
 
 "Another half-hour, my lord, and she'll be upon the 
 rocks," responded a bystander. 
 
 " Heavens ! how fast she's drifting ! " 
 
 "My men," said Mr. Lester, addressing himself to the 
 fishermen and sailors there congregated, " can nothing bo 
 done?" 
 
 One unanimous, subdued sound was heard in answer: "No ! " 
 
 " If one of them could leave the ship and swim ashore 
 with a lead line, that's their only chance," observed an old 
 man. " Not that I think he'd succeed ; tho waves would 
 swallow him long before he got to shore." 
 
THE SHIPWRECK. 
 
 227 
 
 " There's the life-boat ! " cried Lord Dane. 
 
 The crowd shook their heads with a pitying smile. " No 
 life-boat could put off in such a sea as this ! " 
 
 Never, perhaps, had been witnessed a more hopeless 
 spectacle of prolonged agony. Again and again blue lights 
 were burned on board the ship, showing, even more dis- 
 tinctly than the moon had done, the crowd on deck, some of 
 whom were standing with outstretched hands. And yet 
 those on shore could give no help. Men ran from the beacli 
 to the heights, and from the heights to the beach, in painful 
 excitement ; and they could do nothing. 
 
 On, on she came towards the shore. The night wore on ; 
 the hurricane raged in its fury ; the waves roared and tossed 
 in their terrific might, and the good ship came on to her 
 doom. Singular to say, now death seemed inevitable, the 
 despairing cries had ceased. 
 
 In two hours from the time that the Castle bell boomed 
 out, she struck, and the first sea washed many overboard, 
 who began battling with the waves as hopelessly as the ship 
 had battled with them. Cries came over the water then, 
 and were heard by those on shore ; some of whom — women 
 — fell on their knees in their nervous excitement, and 
 prayed God to have mercy on the spirits of the drowning. 
 
 " She'll go to pieces ! and no earthly aid can save her ! " 
 
 As these words were spoken, another person dashed into 
 the throng — one who appeared not yet to have been amongst 
 the spectators. It was Wilfred Lester. He wore his sport- 
 ing clothes, as he had done when Maria met him earlier in 
 the evening. Pressing through to the front, he leaned his 
 arms on the rails of the little jetty, and contemplated the 
 beating vessel. 
 
 " Good heavens ! " he uttered, after a few moments' stead- 
 fast gaze ; " she must have struck. What is that in the 
 water ? " he continued, after another pause. 
 
 " Human beings, drowning. They are being washed off 
 the ship ! " 
 
 " Human beings, drowning ! " he repeated, his voice harsh 
 with emotion. " And you are not attempting to rescue them ? 
 Are you mad, all of you ? " 
 
228 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 A man by his side pointed to the foaming sea. 
 
 " Let that answer you." 
 , " It is no answer," said Wilfred Lester. " Where's the 
 life-boat ? " 
 
 He turned in his impulsive indignation, and Mr. Lester 
 drew himself away into the midst of the crowd : he had not 
 cared latterly to come into contact with his son. Lord Dane, 
 on the contrary, pressed up and laid his hand upon the 
 young man's arm. 
 
 " You are excited, Lestar," he quietly observed : " and 
 the sight is sufficient to stir the most stoical. But nothing 
 can be done. You might as well talk of a balloon as a life- 
 boat : the one could no more reach the ship than the other." 
 
 " The effort might be made," returned Wilfred, in angry 
 tones, as he dashed his wild hair from his brow. 
 
 " And the lives of those making it would be sacrificed," 
 rejoined Lord Dane. 
 
 Wilfred Lester disdained further reply, and turned to 
 where a group of fishermen were congregated. He was 
 familiar with them all ; and had been from boyhood. 
 
 " Gand, where's the life-boat ? " he asked of that weather- 
 beaten tar, who looked sixty at the least, to judge by the 
 wrinkles on his face. " Is she ready ? " 
 
 Gand pointed to a small and snug creek at some little 
 distance : he was not a man of many words. The life-boat 
 was moored in the creek, and could be out at sea in a few 
 minutes. 
 
 " Was made ready when the Castle bell tolled out, Master 
 Wilfred," answered he. 
 
 " And why have you not put off in her ? " demanded Wil- 
 fred, in a tone of command. 
 
 " Wouldn't dare, sir. And the sea's higher now, if any- 
 thing, than it was then." 
 
 Wouldn't dare ! " scornfully echoed Wilfred Lester. " I 
 never knew a British sailor could be a coward until now ; I 
 did not think 6 wouldn't dare ' was in his vocabulary. I am 
 going out in the life-boat : if there's one or two amongst 
 you who can overcome fear, you had better come with me." 
 
 He turned to quit the spot and made for the creek, but 
 
TIIE SHIPWRECK. 
 
 229 
 
 fifty voices assailed him. " It would be sheer madness to 
 attempt." " Did ho mean to throw away his life ? " " He 
 and the life-boat would be swamped together ! " 
 
 " Then swamped we will be," retorted Wilfred. 
 
 How contagious is example ; several " good men and 
 true," influenced by the words, declared themselves ready 
 to man the life-boat ; and nearly the whole crowd trooped 
 off in the wake of Wilfred Lester. 
 
 He was fleet of foot, and was already busy with the boat 
 when they reached him. A voice called out that if she 
 must go out Mr. Wilfred had best not be one of those to 
 man her ; he was no sailor. Wilfred Lester caught the 
 words, and turned his handsome face towards the speaker : 
 very pale looked his features in the moonlight— pale, but 
 resolute. 
 
 " Who said that ? " he asked. 
 
 It was old Bill Gand. And Bill avowed it. 
 
 " You are not yourself, Bill Gand, to-night. Should I 
 urge on others a danger I shrink from myself? " 
 
 "Venture in that there boat, Master Wilfred, and you 
 wunna reach the ship alive," cried Bill, " let alone come 
 back. Nor the rest, nor the boat neither." 
 
 " It is possible ; but I think we may hope for a better re- 
 sult," was the answer : and in truth Wilfred Lester seemed 
 lifted out of himself to-night. " We are embarking in a 
 good cause, and God is over us all." 
 
 The last words told: for, of all men, a sailor has the 
 most implicit trust in God's mercy — a simple, childlike 
 trust, that many who call themselves more religious might 
 envy. They were contending now who should man her, 
 many being eager to do so ; and there appeared some 
 ehance of its rising to a quarrel. 
 
 " This is my expedition," said Wilfred Lester, and his 
 voice had all that command in it that these moments of 
 danger will sometimes bring forth. " But for me you would 
 not have attempted it ; allow me the privilege, therefore, of 
 choosing my men. Bill Gand, will you make one of us 
 or not ? " 
 
 " Yes," answered the old sailor, " if it's only to take care 
 
230 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 of you. My wife's in the churchyard, and my two boys 
 are under the waters : I shall be less missed nor some 
 here." 
 
 The others were soon named, and they went into the boat. 
 Wilfred was about to follow them, when some one glided up, 
 and stood before him. 
 
 " Will it prove availing if I ask you not to peril your 
 life?" 
 
 The speaker was Mr. Lester. Wilfred hesitated a moment 
 before he answered : 
 
 " I could not, for any consideration, abandon the expedi- 
 tion : nevertheless, I thank you ; I thank you heartily, if 
 you spoke out of interest for my welfare. Father, this may 
 be our last meeting : shall we shake hands ? If I perish, 
 regret me not ; for, I tell you truly, life has lost its value 
 for me." 
 
 Mr. Lester grasped the offered hand in silence, a more 
 bitter pang wringing his heart than many of the bystanders 
 would have believed : but the incident had been almost 
 unnoticed amidst the thronging crowd. Wilfred leaped 
 into the boat, and it put off on its stormy voyage. 
 
 What a fine picture the scene would have made, could it 
 have been represented both to the eye and ear— not unlike 
 those old paintings of the Flemish school. The doomed 
 vessel and her unhappy human freight, the life-boat 
 launched on her perilous venture, making some way in 
 spite of the wind, and battling with the furious sea : the 
 anxious faces of the spectators, and their breathless interest, 
 as they watched the progress of the boat, or the dim and 
 dreadful spot farther on ! The bright moon lighted ivp the 
 whole scene ; cloud after cloud was hurrying along the 
 night sky : the faint sound of a bell might be heard ever 
 and anon from the ship, and the great Castle bell boomed 
 out still at intervals. 
 
 Would the boat reach the ship ? Those in the boat, as 
 well as those on shore, were asking the question. Bill 
 Gand, the oldest of them, declared that he had never 
 wrestled with a gale so terrific, with waves so furious. The 
 mystery to Bill then — and it would remain a mystery 
 
THE SHIPWRECK. 
 
 231 
 
 through all his aftcr-lifo — was, that they did wrestle with 
 them. Minute after minute, as they strove to labour on, 
 and the angry sea beat them back, did he believe would be 
 their last ; that the next must sec them in eternity : all who 
 were with them believed so, including Wilfred Lester. 
 How was it that they did escape ? It appeared nothing less 
 than a miracle ; and, when endeavouring to account for it 
 afterwards, they were wont to repeat the words Wilfred 
 Lester had spoken on shore : " It was a good cause, and 
 God was over them all." 
 
 But they did not reach the ship. No : too many poor 
 wretches were struggling with the waves, nearer to them ; 
 and they picked up as many as they could — picked them up 
 until the boat would hold no more. It was a very small 
 boat at the best, almost an apology for a boat, and was 
 nearly filled by those who manned it. Danesheld had long 
 cried out against it : but it was easier to complain than to 
 get a new one. Shouting a cheering word of hope to the 
 wreck, which the wind probably took to itself and kept, 
 they turned in-shore again. 
 
 Going back was less labour, for they had the wind with 
 them: but it was not less dangerous. Some of the men, 
 powerful, hardy sailors that they were, felt their strength 
 drooping ; they did not think they could hold out. Wilfred 
 Lester encouraged them, as he had done in going, cheering 
 their spirits, almost renewing their strength. But for him, 
 they would several times have given up the effort in despair, 
 when they were first beating on for the wreck. 
 
 " Bear on with a will, my lads," he urged ; " don't let 
 fatigue master you. I and Bill Gand are good for another 
 turn yet ; but we'll leave you on shore to recruit your 
 strength, and bring others in your stead. You shall join 
 again the third time. On, now, with a will ! " 
 
 One of the rescued spoke up in answer ; apparently the 
 only one yet able to do so. The others w r ere lying, hurt or 
 exhausted, at the bottom of the boat. He was a thin, light, 
 able-bodied seaman, and seemed none the worse for immer- 
 sion in the water. 
 
 " It would take several times, sir ; but you'll never have 
 
232 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 the chance of going to her a third time, if you do a second. 
 She was parting amidships." 
 " Parting amidships ! " 
 
 " The captain said so. I think she must have struck 
 upon a rock ; she was grinding and cracking awfully." 
 " Where docs she come from ? " 
 
 " From New York. A passenger ship. A prosperous 
 voyage we have had all along from starting, and this is tho 
 ending ! A fine ship, eleven hundred tons register, her 
 name ' The Wind.' I didn't like her name, for my part, 
 when I joined her." 
 
 " Many passengers ? " 
 
 " Forty or fifty ; about half-a-dozen of them first class ; 
 the rest, second." 
 
 The above conversation had been carried on in snatches, 
 as the howling wind and the struggling boat permitted. 
 Soon it ceased altogether, for every energy had to be 
 devoted to the boat, if they were to get her to the 
 shore. 
 
 A low, heartfelt murmur of applause greeted their ears 
 as they reached it ; it might have been louder but for the 
 remembrance of what the brave adventurers had yet to do, 
 and their small chance of success — the very small portion 
 these few formed of those still to be saved. As Wilfred 
 Lester stepped ashore, his face white with exertion, the salt 
 foam dripping from him, it is possible that he looked for 
 a father's hand to welcome him, a father's voice to encourage 
 him. If so, he was mistaken. Mr. Lester was there still, 
 but he did not press to the front ; did not appear to recognize 
 that Wilfred was even known to him. Ah, what a difference 
 does it make in our feelings of regard for our friends — their 
 resuscitation from probable death, compared with their 
 embarking upon it ! 
 
 Another spectator had been added to the scene : Mr. 
 Lester's wife. Lady Adelaide, braving the wind, had 
 actually come forth in her woman's curiosity, and was now 
 standing on the beach between her husband and Lord Dane. 
 Was her presence the obstacle that prevented Mr. Lester's 
 farther notice of his son ? — or was he already repenting his 
 
THE SHIPWRECK. 
 
 233 
 
 late greeting ? Wilfred saw her standing there ; but lie was 
 too busy to give it more than a passing thought. 
 
 lie stood, prepared to help the rescued out of the boat, 
 almost jealous, as it seemed, that any one else should touch 
 them. Suddenly he turned his white face full on the 
 spectators, and his voice bore the nameless sound of command 
 it had previously done, when urging the expedition. 
 
 " Have any of you thought to provide warm beds and fires ? 
 Otherwise these poor rescued creatures might almost as 
 well have been left to the water." 
 
 Eichard Eavensbird was the first to respond, pressing 
 forward a little beyond the crowd as he did so. 
 
 " I can receive two or three ; my wife is at home making 
 ready for them. I have not been able to do anything towards 
 saving, but I can towards sheltering. There's a coach here, 
 and Jessop is bringing down his omnibus." 
 
 Lord Dane spoke up, offering the Castle and every accom- 
 modation it could afford. But the Castle was too far off to 
 be of much use to men half drowned. As they raised one 
 man from the bottom of the boat, he spoke faintly. He had 
 very little clothing on, and seemed to be getting in years, 
 for his wet hair shone white in the moonlight. 
 
 " What part of the coast have we been thrown on ? " ho 
 asked. " What place is this ? " 
 
 " Danesheld." 
 
 " My head," came the feeble rejoinder. " I am cold. A 
 shawl for my head." 
 
 One of the bystanders— it happened to be Mitchel — 
 divested himself of a cloak, and it was put over the rescued 
 man. He feebly pulled the cape over his head and face, to 
 guard them from the wind ; and another of the rescued, 
 a young man fully dressed, as if he had flung himself 
 into the sea without a moment for preparation, hastened to 
 assist him. It seemed that he was in attendance on him, 
 as friend or servant ; or, it might be, only as fellow- 
 passengers. Both were passengers ; not sailors. 
 
 "I should be glad to have him conveyed to a decent 
 inn," said the young man, " if there is such a thing at 
 hand." 
 
234 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " Mino is an inn, and close by," said Eavcnsbird. " We 
 will do all we can for him." 
 
 The coach was brought up close, and the man lifted into 
 it. The younger was about to follow, when he grasped 
 Wilfrid Lester's hand : 
 
 " That we owe our lives this night to you, under God, 
 tli ere is little doubt. I shall hope to thank you better than 
 I can do now." 
 
 The voice proclaimed his condition. It was that of a 
 gontleman, its tones remarkably pleasant, its accents refined. 
 A third followed them into the coach ; a sailor this, whose 
 head was much cut ; and the coach took its departure for 
 the Sailors' Eest, Eavensbird having gone on before to be in 
 readiness for the arrival. 
 
 Wilfred Lester began mustering his second crew, Old Bill 
 Gand again making one of them. 
 
 " Not you, Dick," cried Wilfred, putting back another man 
 with his arm. " I won't have you." 
 
 " And why ? " said the man. " I'm strong enough. I've 
 been stronger than ever since that illness in the summer." 
 
 Strong ? Well, perhaps he was ; but it might be that 
 Wilfred Lester was thinking of other reasons. The man had 
 a wife and seven young children. 
 
 " I will not have you, I say. Stand back, Dick ! We 
 have no time to lose." 
 
 Scarcely had the words left Wilfred Lester's lips, when a 
 sound, as of a cry from many united voices, came to them, 
 borne on the wind. 
 
 " What's that ? " asked the crowd. 
 
 Ah, what was it? Another cry went up from those 
 questioners when they knew ; a cry of sympathy and horror. 
 The rescued sailor's words had been too surely and swiftly 
 verified. The vessel had parted amidships, and was settling 
 down in the water. 
 
 Oh, for the life-boat now ! One more voyage, and it may 
 yet save a few of those now launched into the sea. Before 
 it could take a third, the rest will have been launched into 
 eternity. 
 
 And the life-boat hastened out once more amidst loud 
 
AT THE SAILORS' REST. 
 
 235 
 
 cheering upon its mad career. But it rescued only one. It 
 was blown back and buffeted, and all but lost itself ; and 
 when there came a lull, and it still pressed on to its work of 
 mercy, there were no souls left to be saved. The hungry 
 waters had made sure of their prey. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 AT THE SAILORS* REST. 
 
 A bustling night was that for Mrs. Ravensbird. She had 
 all the tact of a Frenchwoman, and was equal to the occasion. 
 Warm beds were in readiness for the shipwrecked, hot 
 flannels, and other restoratives. The three mentioned in 
 the previous chapter were alone conveyed to the Sailors' 
 Rest, the others found accommodation in the guard-house 
 and elsewhere. Ah, so few in all ! for the boat could not 
 make the wreck again. 
 
 The middle-aged passenger was placed in the best room : 
 a comfortable apartment on the first floor. As he was assisted 
 from the coach up to it, Madame Sophie cast a keen glance 
 at him, and came to the decision that he was a tall old man. 
 His hair was silvered, and his features looked white. But 
 he had recovered from his exhaustion sufficiently to decline 
 all assistance in his chamber, into which he shut himself, 
 and when he had got into bed between the hot blankets he 
 then rancj the bell. 
 
 He asked for a basin of hot gruel, with some brandy 
 in it. 
 
 When the maid took it to him, she brought with it . 
 a message. The young man, his fellow-passenger saved, 
 wished to know if he might come in, or whether he could 
 do anything for him. 
 
 No, was the answer returned. And the young man had 
 better lose no time in getting into bed himself. He might 
 
236 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 come to him in the morning, if lie would bo so good : and 
 no one else was to disturb him unless he rang for them. 
 
 Mrs. Eavcnsbird, in common with half Danesheld, did 
 not go to bed that night. She had her hands full ; and was 
 glad also of the excuse for sitting up. She busied herself 
 attending to the rescued sailor's head, which seemed to 
 have been very much cut about, and in drying the younger 
 passenger's clothes, for he had been fully dressed when 
 rescued. 
 
 It appeared that these two were the only passengers 
 saved. The others had all gone down : the officers had 
 perished ; for the two or three others saved were ordinary 
 seamen. As Mrs. Eavensbird doctored the head of the 
 one under her charge, she inquired particulars of the 
 two sleeping men above, but the sailor could tell her 
 nothing : they were first-class passsengers, he said, but he 
 did not even know their names. 
 
 " Are they gentlemen ? " asked the inquisitive landlady, 
 who was learned in social distinctions, the result, possibly, 
 of her residence at Dane Castle ; " or merchants, and people 
 of that sort ? " 
 
 The sailor could not say, but gave it as his opinion that 
 they were most likely merchants, " for lots of trading folk " 
 came and went between England and the States. 
 
 "It's odd you handful of folks should have been saved, 
 whilst all the rest, except one, perished," remarked Sophie. 
 " Quite a miracle, as one might think." 
 
 " I don't know about miracles," answered the man, rather 
 obtusely. " I think it was because we took to the ship's 
 life-boat, and managed to launch her and get into her ; she 
 swamped after a bit, and drowned some of them in her, but 
 it brought the rest of us, you see, nearer to the life-boat 
 that put off from shore." 
 
 " What a fight it must have been amongst you, on board 
 ship, who should get into the life-boat ? " 
 
 " Law bless you ! " cried the man. " A fight ! — it was 
 rather the other way. We could hardly get enough in her : 
 of the two, the ship seemed the safest. The captain said 
 she couldn't live in such a sea, even if we got her clear of 
 
AT THE SAILORS* REST. 
 
 237 
 
 the vessel : and he was right ; she didn't live long. Don't 
 cut off more hair than you can help, ma'am." 
 
 Soon after eight Mrs. Ravensbird was in the bar-parlour 
 alone, rather angrily giving vent to some grievance in her 
 native language, a custom she had never abandoned, when 
 she suddenly found herself interrupted in French as fluent 
 as her own, and rather purer. Turning round in her 
 surprise, she saw the younger passenger, attired in his dry 
 clothes ; by which, in fact, she recognised him, for she had 
 scarcely seen him the previous night. And Madame Sophie, 
 in that first moment, thought she had never seen so pre- 
 possessing a man. He was about four or five-and-twenty, 
 his figure very fine, his features clearly cut, his hair dark, 
 and his countenance and manner singularly attractive. 
 
 "Monsieur is French," remarked the gratified Sophie, 
 with a laugh. 
 
 " You are, I hear," he replied, laughing also. " And 
 somewhat put out just now." 
 
 "Ah, monsieur should have her servants just for a day," 
 was the rejoinder. " That tiresome animal of a barmaid ; 
 thinking of her finery, and not a bit of her work ! " 
 
 " Are you a clever needlewoman ? " inquired the gentle- 
 man in English — English as pure and good as his 
 French. 
 
 More and more won over by the attractive looks, the 
 courteous manner, the pleasant voice, Mrs. Eavensbird 
 protested that there was not a better needlewoman in the 
 world than herself. She had been externe pupil for seven 
 years in a French convent, she said; and let the sisters 
 alone for making girls expert at their needle ! " Did mon- 
 sieur want a button sewn on ? " 
 
 The gentleman smiled. Had it been only that, he thought 
 he could have managed it himself without troubling her, 
 provided she had supplied him with needle and cotton. " I 
 had those with me," he continued, " but they have gone 
 down with my luggage." 
 
 " You have saved nothing, sir ? " 
 
 " Nothing except a pocket-book and a few papers which 
 I happened to have about me. What I want you to do," ho 
 
238 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 continued, " is something that requires rather more skill than 
 sewing on buttons. I want a shade made for the eyes." 
 
 Sophie raised her glance to the eyes looking down at 
 her ; clear, bright eyes they were, of a dark grey ; and she 
 wondered what they could want with a shade. 
 
 " It is for my fellow-passenger," he proceeded to explain. 
 " I have been to his room, and all his cry is for a shade for 
 his eyes. He suffered with them during the voyage, I 
 observed, and the light of the room this morning affects 
 them much. He wishes it made large, he says, of thin 
 cardboard, covered with dark blue or green silk, and tape 
 to tie it on with." 
 
 "Tape!" ejaculated Sophie, in reproof. "You mean 
 ribbon, sir." 
 
 " Anything you like. He will not care what the materials 
 are, provided his eyes are shaded. I asked if I should 
 order breakfast for him, but he seemed only anxious for the 
 shade." 
 
 Sophie soon had her necessary materials in hand ; a sheet 
 of cardboard, which she unearthed from somewhere, and 
 some purple silk, the remnant of a dress ; and set to work. 
 The gentleman sat himself opposite on the arm of an old 
 horse-hair sofa, and watched her fingers. His orders were, 
 he said, laughingly, not to go up again without the shade. 
 
 " Who is he ? " asked Sophie, as she worked. " He 
 seemed to me last night quite an old gentleman. Do you 
 know much of him, sir ? " 
 
 " I saw a good deal of him on board." 
 
 " It's curious how intimate fellow-passengers get on board 
 ship ! " observed Mrs. Eavensbird, whose tongue never 
 failed her. " Is he a merchant ? " 
 
 The gentleman laughed. " You must inquire of him, 
 Mrs. Eavensbird, if you wish to know. I have not been so 
 inquisitive as to do so." 
 
 " I suppose he is an American," she continued, nothing 
 daunted. " What is his name ? " 
 
 " That question I have just asked of himself, for I do not 
 remember to have once heard it mentioned on board," was 
 the reply. " He tells me it is Home." 
 
AT THE SAILORS' REST. 
 
 239 
 
 " Mr. Home ! " complacently continued Sophie, as she 
 gave a turn to the purple shade, now satisfactorily pro- 
 gressing. " And I hope you will give me the gratification 
 of hearing yours, sir. I am sure it's a pleasant one.'' 
 
 "Do you fancy so? " he laughed. " I see nothing much 
 in it myself. Lydney." 
 
 " Lydney ! " repeated Sophie, after him. " That's not a 
 French name." 
 
 " My father was not French. My mother went out to 
 America from her own country ; and she married him there." 
 
 " Ah," said Sophie, " that accounts for your speaking the 
 two languages equally well. Then you would be called an 
 American, sir, not a Frenchman. What a shame ! " 
 
 "I suppose I should be," he assented, his bright grey 
 eyes full of merriment. 
 
 " And have you come over here on business, sir ? " 
 
 " In truth, I think I came for pleasure ; to look about 
 me — never having had the honour of seeing old England 
 before," he answered, with good humour. "How many 
 more questions would you like to ask me, Mrs. Kavcns- 
 bird?" 
 
 " But it's my French nature, and I must ask you to ex- 
 cuse it," she replied, with ready politeness. 
 
 " Suppose I ask you one in return ? Is there such a 
 thing as a tailor in — what do you call this place — Danes- 
 held? Look at me!" 
 
 The salt water had caused his clothes to shrink, and he 
 certainly did not appear dressed in the height of fashion. 
 Sophie laughed, and rattled on in her own tongue. 
 
 But yes, there was a charming tailor, fresh from a London 
 establishment. He had grown ill in the great stifling 
 metropolis, and he came down here, where his wife's friends 
 lived, and opened a shop, next door to Mr. Wild, the sur- 
 geon's, and his cut was perfect. My Lord Dane himself 
 had honoured him with an order for a suit last week. The 
 gentleman did not know my Lord Dane ? 
 
 " Not I," answered Mr. Lydney. " He is your great man 
 here, I presume ? " 
 
 " The greatest of all for miles round," Sophie answered, 
 
240 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " and lie lived at Dane Castle. He was down on tlie jetty- 
 last night when the life-boat brought in Mr. Lydney and 
 the rest. Ah, heaven ! what a wreck it was ! " 
 
 All the pleasure went out of Mr. Lydney's face as she 
 recalled it, to be replaced by true and earnest pain. 
 
 " I awoke three times in the night, and each time that I 
 slept I had the whole scene before me," he said in low tones. 
 " I feel that it will haunt my dreams for weeks to come." 
 
 " You must be thankful that you are amongst the few 
 saved, sir." 
 
 " I am," he answered, very quietly. " When the boat was 
 being launched, the gentleman upstairs touched me on the 
 arm. c I shall risk it/ he said, ' it may give us a chance ; 9 
 and I leaped into it with him ; not, however, thinking that 
 any chance remained to us, either in the boat or the ship." 
 
 " What did he do with his clothes ? " asked Sophie. 
 
 "He ran up on deck without them, washed out of his 
 berth. A large, warm cloth cloak, that he had flung on, 
 was lost in the water." 
 
 "He seemed ill last night, I thought, apart from the 
 shipwreck." 
 
 "He has been very ill all through the voyage. Some 
 inward complaint, I believe. Ah, thank you." 
 
 Mrs. Kavensbird was holding out the shade completed. 
 He said a few words of gallant admiration for her and her 
 quickness, as he took it from her hand. 
 
 "I have not put my best work into it," she observed. 
 " You hurried me too much for that. When would you like 
 breakfast, sir ? " 
 
 " Presently. Let us see what this sick gentleman wants 
 first. He is older than I am." 
 
 Mr. Lydney went upstairs with the shade, and Mrs. 
 Eavensbird began searching her memory for its records of 
 her own country. That she had somewhere seen handsome 
 features to which his bore a resemblance, she felt certain, 
 and had little doubt that in her own young days she must 
 have known his mother in France. " My heart warmed to 
 him from the first," quoth she. " It may even turn out that 
 his mother was a friend." 
 
AT THE SAILORS' REST. 
 
 241 
 
 In the course of the morning, Lord Dane walked into the 
 Sailors' Eest, to make inquiries after the rescued. Eichard 
 Kavensbird was not in at the moment, but his wife was 
 quite equal to receiving his lordship. She did not forget 
 the old days when he, the poor and obscure Herbert Dane, 
 was fond of chattering to her, Sophie Deffloe ; and her 
 manners towards him retained far more of ease than did 
 those of some of his dependents in Danesheld. She began 
 pouring into his ear all the news she had been able to 
 collect regarding the two passengers, coupled with her own 
 additions ; for Mrs. Eavensbird was one of those who form 
 conclusions from their lively imagination, and then assume 
 them to be facts. 
 
 " They were coming over from America," she said : " the 
 elder one, a Mr. Home, travelling for his health, especially 
 for a weakness in the eyes ; the other, a Mr. Lydney, for 
 pleasure. They had met on board as fellow-passengers, and 
 become friendly, and the younger one seemed inclined to be 
 grateful and attentive to the old one, for it was through him 
 he entered the boat and was saved." 
 
 " Both Americans, I presume ? " observed Lord Dane. 
 
 " Mr. Home, yes, certainly ; Mr. Lydney was half American, 
 half French," was Mrs. Eavensbird's answer. " Ah, le 
 malheur ! when she had taken him for a pure Frenchman, 
 if ever there was one on earth. Never was such an accent 
 heard out of Paris. And he was the pleasantest man in the 
 world ; charming in manners ; affable and free as my lord 
 himself used to be in the bygone days." And Madame 
 Sophie cast a half-saucy glance to my lord when she said it. 
 
 " Are they gentlemen ? " inquired Lord Dane. 
 
 " Without doubt ; the younger one at least," answered Mrs. 
 Eavensbird warmly, " every inch of him. There is no 
 taking him for anything inferior. And, do you know, his 
 face puts me in mind of some lady I must have known in 
 France in my early days ; but for the life of me I can't 
 think who, though I've been ransacking my memory all the 
 morning. Wouldn't it be curious, my lord, if it should turn 
 out that I was acquainted with his mother ? " 
 
 Lord Dane smiled. " Is he up ? " he asked. 
 
 Lady Ad hide. 16 
 
242 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " Up ! " echoed Sophie ; " he was up hours ago ; at seven 
 o'clock this morning. H^e went out after breakfast to put 
 a letter in the post, and to find the new tailor; and I'll 
 be bound he then went down to the wreck, for he is in a 
 great way at his luggage being lost, especially some par- 
 ticular box that was amongst it ; and wants to know 
 whether there's any chance of things being got up. Does 
 your lordship think there is." 
 
 " A few things may be, perhaps. I cannot tell." 
 
 " The other one is not up," ran on Sophie. " I thought 
 I would take his breakfast in myself, and inquire after 
 him, but it wasn't much he would answer. All I could 
 see of him was his gray hair and the purple shade I made 
 him. He w T as lying buried in his pillow, under the bed- 
 clothes, with his face to the wall ; and he just told me to put 
 the tray down by his bed and leave it, and he'd help himself." 
 
 " Poor man ! I daresay he was thoroughly exhausted. 
 Will you convey a message to him for me, Mrs. Kavens- 
 bird? Say that I shall be happy to render him any 
 assistance in my power ; and if he would like me to pay 
 him a visit, I can do so now." 
 
 Mrs. Eavensbird ran up to the invalid's chamber, and 
 came back, shaking her head. 
 
 " I'll lay any money he's a cross-grained old bachelor," 
 cried she ; " he seems afraid to look at us. And he won't 
 see you, my lord. I call it quite rude of him. £ My service 
 to my Lord Dane,' said he, £ but tell him I am a private 
 individual, seeking nothing but repose, and am not desirous 
 of making acquaintance with any one at present. I'll pay 
 my respects to his lordshrp when I'm better.' Some of 
 those Americans know nothing of courtesy." 
 
 " Oh, very well," returned Lord Dane, not at all gratified 
 at his friendly offers being rejected, " I won't trouble him 
 again ; he can call on me when he chooses, if it pleases him 
 so to do." 
 
 As Lord Dane turned from the Sailors' Rest toward the 
 town, Mr. Lydney was apj>roaching it from the beach. Lord 
 Dane did not happen to look that way, and consequently 
 did not observe him. 
 
AT THE SAILORS' BEST. 
 
 213 
 
 " Who was that gentleman ? " inquired Mr. Lydney of 
 the landlady, who had attended his lordship to the door, 
 and stood looking after him. 
 
 " It's Lord Dane, sir." 
 
 " Lord Dane ! " came the answer, spoken in surprise. 
 " How young he looks ! " 
 
 Sophie felt rather offended on Lord Dane's account. 
 " Did you think he was old ? " she asked. " Why should 
 you have thought that ? " 
 
 A short pause, and Mr. Lydney broke into a laugh. 
 
 "Now that's the force of association," he cried. "You 
 had spoken of this Lord Dane being the chief of Dancsheld, 
 and my mind at once pictured a venerable man, with hair 
 as white as the invalid's upstairs, or whiter. He is a tall, 
 fine man, and looks quite young." 
 
 " All the Danes were that. He came to inquire after 
 you and the old gentleman, to offer a visit and his services. 
 I took up the message to Mr. Home, but he would not see 
 him, and his lordship's gone off in dudgeon." 
 
 " Perhaps he'll see him when he's up." 
 
 " Perhaps he won't," answered free Sojxhie. " Lord Dane 
 said he should not come again ; if Mr. Home wanted him 
 he might go to him. I must say, sir, it is not very jDolite 
 of your friend." 
 
 " I don't suppose politeness had anything to do with it 
 one way or the other, Mrs. Eavensbird. Mr. Home may 
 have felt physically unequal to receiving a visitor; he 
 certainly seemed so this morning." 
 
 " Why doesn't he call in a doctor then ? " 
 
 " I suggested that to him the first thing to-day, but he de- 
 clined ; saying all he wanted was rest and quiet. I think 
 he's right ; he is not in any way injured." 
 
 " And about his dinner ? " continued Mrs. Eavensbird, 
 rather resentfully. " I went in myself, just before my Lord 
 Dane arrived, asking whether he would like slops, or a nice 
 little chicken, but he growled out something about wanting 
 no dinner at all, and would hardly answer me. Perhaps 
 you'll try, sir." 
 
 Mr. Lydney laughed, and ran lightly up the stairs. 
 
244 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 It was a most comfortable room, the one in which 
 Mr. Home lay, and Mrs. Eavensbird was in the habit of 
 calling it the state chamber. The apartment occupied by- 
 Mr. Lydney was at the opposite side of the passage ; a 
 small room scantily furnished. Mrs. Eavensbird secretly 
 wished the respective occupants had been reversed. She 
 hinted at this in her liking for the young man ; and he, in his 
 free, good-humoured way, said his chamber was paradise after 
 his berth in the life-boat. At the end of the passage was a 
 sitting-room, looking out over the sea. Mr. Lydney took 
 possession of this, and his meals were served in it. 
 
 The invalid lay in bed the whole day. Towards dusk, 
 Eichard Eavensbird went in and found the chamber almost 
 in darkness. The heavy curtains were kept drawn before 
 the windows, on account of the invalid's weak eyes ; the 
 fire had gone down. Eavensbird stirred it into a blaze, and 
 was quietly sweeping up the hearth, when Mr. Home sud- 
 denly addressed him : 
 
 " What sort of a neighbourhood is this ? " 
 
 " Sir ? " he cried, turning round. 
 
 " What sort of a neighbourhood is this ? " 
 
 Mr. Eavensbird probably wondered in what light he was 
 to take the question, whether as to its natural, social, or 
 political features. But he did not inquire. 
 
 " It is rather a dull neighbourhood,'' said he, " except 
 when we have an event like the one last night." 
 
 " Lord Dane is your great man of the locality, I hear 
 from my fellow-passenger in the next room." 
 
 " Yes, sir. The Danes have been the lords of Danesheld 
 from times unheard of. And plenty of state they have kept 
 up. But, to have the Castle closed, or as good as closed, 
 has been like a blight upon the place. The present Lord 
 Dane has not lived at it." 
 
 "Why so?" 
 
 "He went abroad almost as soon as he came into the 
 title, and has not long returned. Eight or nine years he 
 must have been away. Perhaps more; time flies. It's 
 thought he will remain now, and I dare say he will ; he 
 has made changes in the establishment at the Castle," 
 
AT THE SAILORS* REST. 
 
 245 
 
 " He is not married, is lie ? " 
 
 "No, sir. His sister, Miss Dane, is with liim at tlic 
 Castle at present, acting as its mistress." 
 
 "Perhaps you will inform me what you are talking 
 about," cried the invalid, after a pause. " Lord Dane has 
 no sister." 
 
 " Yes he has, sir. And she is with him, as I tell you, at 
 the Castle." 
 
 " Then I tell you he has not a sister," was the sick man's 
 irritable answer, though his tone was, and had been, re- 
 markably low and subdued throughout. " I met a Mr. Dane 
 once in Paris, I remember ; it was the present peer ; there 
 was no sister then." 
 
 It was Richard Ravensbird's custom, when people insisted 
 upon a proposition that he knew to be a mistaken one, to 
 let them hold their own opinion uncontradicted. He did so 
 now. He stretched his neck to get a sight of the invalid's 
 face, feeling sure it was an obstinate one, but did not 
 succeed : the upper part was under the purple shade, the 
 lower part under the bed-clothes. 
 
 " Yes, I met the present peer in Paris, and had a sort of 
 acquaintance with him," continued the invalid. " I heard 
 afterwards that he had succeeded to the title, and of the 
 accident to the younger son, Captain Harry Dane. Has he 
 ever been heard of ? " 
 
 " Who, sir ? " asked Ravensbird. 
 
 " Captain Dane ! " ! 
 
 Mr. Ravensbird did not answer at once. He was wonder- 
 ing whether the stranger could be cognizant of his having 
 been charged with the murder — a point on which he was 
 still sensitive — and was saying this deliberately to insult 
 him. 
 
 " Did you know the particulars of that accident, sir ? " he 
 at length asked. 
 
 " Yes, I did. I did not get them from Mr. Dane, though. 
 A nasty pitch over for him. Was he ever heard of ? " 
 
 " He was heard of, sir, in so far as that his body was 
 found. He lies buried in the family vault." 
 
 " Where was it found ? " 
 
24G 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " At sea. It was picked up by one of our fishing-boats. 
 Not that it had been in the water all the time. But for me, 
 I doubt if they would have recognized it. I knew it by 
 certain marks the moment I put my eyes on it, and I 
 happened to be on the beach when it was brought in." 
 
 " Why should you recognize it more than other people ? " 
 
 " I was Captain Dane's servant, sir ; had been with him 
 several years." 
 
 " Oh, ay ; then I must have heard of you," remarked Mr. 
 Home. " Was there not some quarrel talked of? I'm sure 
 it was reported so." 
 
 Richard Eavensbird came to the conclusion that the 
 gentleman had heard the other report, touching him — the 
 accusation — and was leading up to it. He therefore set 
 himself to speak of it calmly and openly, as he always did, 
 to those aware of his arrest ; otherwise ho preferred to 
 maintain a complete reticence on all points relating to that 
 night. 
 
 " Yes, it was a fatal, fall, a nasty struggle," Eavensbird 
 observed : " and who the adversary was remains a mystery 
 to this day. Two or three were suspected. I, for one, and 
 was taken up on suspicion : and a packman for another, 
 who was seen in angry contest with the captain on the 
 heights just about the time. In my own mind, I suspected 
 somebody very different." 
 
 " Pray whom did you suspect ? " 
 
 "I should bo sorry to tell," answered Eavensbird. 
 
 " And what were the grounds for susj)ecting you ? " 
 
 " A quarrel I had had with Captain Dane. It occurred 
 in the morning, and he kicked me out of the Castle ; the 
 catastrophe took place the same evening, and peojuVs 
 suspicions — naturally enough, I acknowledge — flew to me. 
 But they were wrong. I would have saved my master's 
 life with my own : I would almost bring him back to life 
 now at the sacrifice of my own, were it in my power. I 
 was much attached to him, and I am faithful to his 
 memory." 
 
 " In spite of his turning you away ? " put in Mr. Home. 
 " Tush ! " returned Eavensbird, nettled. " I beg your 
 
AT THE SAILORS' REST. 
 
 247 
 
 pardon, sir. A dispute of a moment, in which we both lost 
 our tempers, could not destroy the friendship of years. 
 Yes, sir, I presume to say it — friendship. He was the 
 Honourable Captain Dane and I but his servant ; and 
 though he never lost his dignity any more than I forgot my 
 place, there was a feeling between us that might be called 
 friendship. No man ever had a more faithful servant than 
 I was to my master." 
 
 A silence ensued. Eavensbird mended the fire, which 
 was getting low, and the invalid turned in his bed. 
 
 " What has become cf the cousin, Herbert Dane ? I used 
 to hear of him. He was to have married some young lady 
 staying at the Castle— at least it was thought there was an 
 attachment between them." 
 
 " Lady Adelaide Errol," said Eavensbird, who had not 
 clearly heard the first part of the question, through some 
 noise with the fire-irons. " Yes there was an attachment, 
 but she w r ould not have him after all, and she married 
 a gentleman whom we call Squire Lester. Ah, she was 
 another mystery." 
 
 " In what way ? " 
 
 " Well, I thought so at the time. She has a whole troop 
 of children now. The young man who was chiefly instru- 
 mental in saving you last night, sir, was Squire Lester's 
 eldest son, Mr. Wilfred Lester: his mother was Squire 
 Lester's first wife. But for him, the life-boat would never 
 have gone out. He is under a sad cloud, poor fellow ? " 
 
 " What sort of a cloud, pray ? " 
 
 " More sorts than one, sir. He is out at pockets and out 
 at elbows ; tales are told that he and his young wife are 
 starving; and when a gentleman is reduced to that con- 
 dition, he's apt not to be too particular as to what he puts 
 his hands to. It's a miserable business altogether, and 
 Lady Adelaide's at the bottom of it." 
 
 " You are speaking in riddles, landlord." 
 
 Eavensbird explained. Telling briefly the circumstances 
 that led to Squire Lester's son being reduced to his present 
 position, and certainly not sparing Lady Adelaide in the 
 recital. 
 
248 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " It's a pity," was the comment of Mr. Home, when he 
 had listened. "I did not take much notice of him last 
 night, was not in a condition to do it, but he seemed a fine 
 young fellow. We were speaking of Mr. Herbert Dane. 
 What has become of him ? Is he at Danesheld ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir, he is now at the Castle." 
 
 " At the Castle ! What for ? " 
 
 Eavensbird gave his neck another stretch, thinking if he 
 could get a tolerable glimpse of the face under the bed- 
 clothes, he might be able to draw some deduction as to 
 whether its owner was in his right mind. In vain ; he 
 could see nothing but the tip of the nose — a thin and 
 handsome nose, it's true, but what of that ? 
 
 " He has come to the Castle to reside there, sir." 
 
 " He ! Does Lord Dane tolerate him in it ? " 
 
 The usually impassive face of Mr. Richard Eavensbird 
 was for once blank with astonishment. Light dawned 
 on it. 
 
 " Why, sir, is it possible you do not know that Herbert 
 Dane is the present peer ? Lord Dane, that we have been 
 speaking of, he who called to inquire after you to-day, was 
 formerly Herbert Dane. He succeeded the old lord." 
 
 Mr. Home raised himself on his elbow, and peered at 
 Eavensbird from under the purple shade. 
 
 "Then what on earth has become of the eldest son — 
 Geoffry — he whom I was with in Paris? Where was he, 
 that Herbert Dane should inherit ? " 
 
 "He died at the same time as his brother," answered 
 Eavensbird, shaking his head. " Before the body of my 
 master was found, the remains of Mr. Dane were brought 
 home for interment in the family vault." 
 
 "Where did he die? What did he die of?" reiterated 
 Mr. Home, who appeared unable to overcome his astonish- 
 ment. 
 
 " He died of fever, sir. I can't take upon myself to 
 say precisely where, for I forget ; it was near Eome, and I 
 know he was put on board at Civita Vecchia. My lady 
 went almost as quickly ; and the old lord did not live above 
 a month or two." 
 
AT THE SAILOIIS' REST. 249 
 
 " I know, I know," cried the stranger, with an impatience 
 that seemed almost feverish ; " I saw their deaths announced 
 in the newspapers ; and I saw the succession of the new 
 peer, ' GeofFry, Lord Dane.' Not Herbert." 
 
 " His name is Herbert GeofFry, sir," explained Eavens- 
 bird. " As soon as he became heir, he was no longer called 
 Herbert, but Geoffry. It is a favourite name with the Lords 
 of Dane." 
 
 Mr. Home lay down again and covered his face. Eavens- 
 bird waited in silence, rather wondering, 
 
 "It has been quite a shock to me, look you, landlord. 
 I had thought to renew my former acquaintance with the 
 Geoffry Dane I once knew, never supposing but that he was 
 the present peer. When they brought me word up to-day 
 that Lord Dane had called, I took it to be him ; but I did 
 not care that he should see me in my present state. Herbert, 
 Lord Dane ! I can't believe it now." 
 
 " Indeed he is, sir ; and has been for this ten years past." 
 
 "Is he liked?" 
 
 " Yes, very much. Not that he has given great oppor- 
 tunity to be liked or disliked, stopping away so long," 
 added Eavensbird. " He has made himself popular since 
 he did come back ; and he behaved generously in the matter 
 of Lord Dane's will. The will left a large amount in 
 presents and legacies, but my lord died before he signed it, 
 consequently it was null and void. The new peer, however, 
 fulfilled all the bequests to the very letter, as honourably as 
 though he had been legally bound to do it." 
 
 " That was well." 
 
 "Fifteen thousand pounds were left to Lady Adelaide 
 Errol : a large sum, but it was paid with the rest." 
 
 " Why did he not marry her ? " rather sharjriy put in the 
 invalid, as if forgetting his former question on the subject. 
 " He was rich enough and great enough then." 
 
 " She turned round, sir, as I tell you, and would not have 
 him. It was a whim, I suppose. My wife was maid to 
 Lady Adelaide at the time, and she heard of the refusal 
 and told me, but we did not talk of it. In fact it was not 
 generally known that there was ever anything between them." 
 
250 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " Perhaps there never was much." 
 
 " yes, there was, sir ; when he was plain Herbert Dane," 
 significantly replied Kavensbird. "Ah, he little thought 
 then, or my Lady Adelaide either, to be what he is now — 
 the Lord of Danesheld." 
 
 " And he has not married, you say ? " 
 
 " Not yet ; and there's no heir. If he were to die, the 
 title would become extinct. People think lie may perhaps 
 marry now, as he has come back to settle down." 
 
 Mr. Home made no reply. He turned his face to the 
 wall; and nothing more was to be seen of him but his 
 silvered hair, and the purple shade. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE BOX THAT THE SEA CAST UP. 
 
 It was a stirring scene ; the sun shone down on it in all its 
 brightness, as if in very mockery. One might have thought 
 a fair was being held on the heights of Danesheld, for jDeople 
 elbowed and jostled each other in eager curiosity : rich and 
 poor, old and young, gentle and simple — all had congregated 
 there on the morning after the wreck ; and if we did not 
 speak of this scene quite in its proper time and place, it was 
 because other things claimed our attention. Venturesome 
 spirits had come out to the beach by daylight, but the 
 heights were unapproachable then from the violence of the 
 wind. Below was the wreck of the once good ship, partially 
 visible at low tide, lying with her larboard side to the 
 shore. Quantities of chips and pieces of wood were floating 
 about. The masts, the yards, the bowsprit were gone ; all 
 in fact had gone that could go, save the old hull which 
 might disappear with the next tide. Mr. Bill Gand, an 
 authority on such matters, gave it as his opinion that 
 " nothing was left inside of her," meaning that stores, cargo, 
 
TITE BOX THAT THE SEA CAST UP. 
 
 251 
 
 and passengers' luggage had alike been washed away ; but 
 that was not altogether certain. Something more than wood 
 or spars floated in occasionally : not near enough, however, 
 to scare away the watchers on the heights, quite half of 
 whom were of the timid sex. 
 
 Mr. Lydncy was amongst them, very anxious : a box that 
 had been on board contained valuable papers, and he was 
 very eager to recover it. 
 
 Standing imprudently near the edge of the heights in 
 their sympathy and sad curiosity, were Miss Bordillion and 
 Maria Lester. A confused story had reached Maria's ears 
 that morning of her brother's heroism ; she had hastened 
 with it to Miss Bordillion's, and they came out together. 
 
 " Margaret, do you think it is true that papa shook hands 
 with Wilfred, and begged him not to risk his life ? " re- 
 iterated Maria, as she stood on the brow of the heights. 
 
 " My dear, you have asked me that question three times 
 over, and I can only repeat to you that I do not know," 
 calmly replied Miss Bordillion. 
 
 " I cannot help being anxious ; I do hope it is true. 
 Why, Margaret, it might lead to a reconciliation between 
 them." 
 
 " I will tell you what I heard, Maria : that when Wilfred 
 came in with his boat of rescued men, saved as from the 
 grave, and people were pressing round to clasp his hand in 
 congratulation, Mr. Lester and Lady Adelaide held aloof 
 from him." 
 
 " It is very unjust," cried Maria, passionately. 
 
 She took a step forward as she spoke, and bent over the 
 heights, partly in her petulance, partly to see what some 
 noise might be about that had arisen below ; wholly without 
 thought. At that moment a blast of wind, more furious 
 than any experienced for the past hour, swept over them. 
 
 " Take care, Maria ! " shrieked out Miss Bordillion, in an 
 agony of terror. 
 
 Whether Maria could have taken care must remain a 
 question. That the wind caught her, and that she might 
 not have been able to recover her balance was certain ; 
 when at the very moment of peril a strong arm was thrown 
 
252 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 around her, and unceremoniously snatched her back to 
 safety. A moment's pause, and then Maria turned her 
 face, white with terror, to her preserver. She had felt her 
 own danger. 
 
 She saw a stranger. A gentleman about the age of her 
 brother Wilfred, who had nobility stamped on every linea- 
 ment of his face. 
 
 "I thank you very much," she said, greatly agitated. 
 " I did not know the wind was still so high." 
 
 " Let me thank you," exclaimed Miss Bordillion, putting 
 her hand into the stranger's in her gratitude. " I do believe 
 you have, under God, saved her from destruction." 
 
 Poor Maria, rather overcome altogether, burst into tears ; 
 which, of course, she felt very much ashamed of, and 
 hastened to dash away. 
 
 " I was saved from much more certain death last night," 
 remarked the stranger to Miss Bordillion. " I was a passenger 
 in that ill-fated ship, and was one of those rescued by the 
 life-boat." 
 
 " Is it possible ! " cried Miss Bordillion. " We heard 
 that only an old gentleman was saved, besides some of the 
 crew." 
 
 " Yes, I was saved also. But for a gentleman who took 
 command of the life-boat, and shamed (as I hear) some 
 sailors into manning her, we should all have perished. He 
 was only a young landsman. I must find out where he 
 lives and thank him." 
 
 " Shall I tell you who it was ? " spoke Maria, looking up 
 to him in her love for the young landsman he spoke of. 
 " It was my dear brother, Wilfred Lester." 
 
 The stranger smiled as he gazed down at the glowing 
 damask cheeks, the earnest eyes, and thought he had never 
 seen a face half so beautiful." 
 
 " Lester ? Yes, that is the name I heard." 
 
 Miss Bordillion interrupted : she was as much taken 
 with the stranger as she had ever been at first sight with 
 any one in her life, setting aside his having rescued Maria 
 from peril. 
 
 " I am Miss Bordillion," she said ; " the nearest relative 
 
THE BOX THAT THE SEA CAST UP. 
 
 253 
 
 Wilfred Lester and this young lady have, except their 
 father. You will allow us to hear your name ? " 
 " William Lydney." 
 
 And continuing to converse, in a few minutes it seemed 
 as though they had known each other for years. There arc 
 seasons and events that break the barriers of restraint more 
 effectually than time can do. 
 
 The next to appear on the scene was Wilfred himself. 
 The two young men clasped hands, and William Lydney 
 spoke a few low, heartfelt words to the other. "I am 
 thanking you for both of us," he said ; " for myself and the 
 other passenger, who is now at the Sailors' Best." 
 
 Again Miss Bordillion interrupted, telling of the danger 
 just incurred by Maria, and of Mr. Lydney's ready hand to 
 save. When Wilfred's first alarm was over, he laughed 
 and said : " If I saved him, you have saved my sister, so the 
 obligation on either side is over." But Mr. Lydney merely 
 shook his head in reply. 
 
 The wind seemed to be rising again, and Miss Bordillion 
 and Maria were glad to leave the heights : Margaret giving 
 her address to Mr. Lydney, and with it a cordial invitation 
 to call upon her. He shook hands, and said he should not 
 fail to avail himself of it. 
 
 As they turned away, Squire Lester happened to be 
 passing. He was merely lifting his hat to Miss Bordillion, 
 to whom he had been very distant since his son's marriage ; 
 but Margaret arrested him, telling of Maria's escape, and 
 that the shipwrecked young man had probably " saved her 
 life." Mr. Lester rather laughed at that ; but reprimanded 
 his daughter for being so imprudent. Lord Dane came up 
 as they were speaking, and heard the news. 
 
 " Who is the young man, I wonder ? " cried Mr. Lester. 
 " I must say a word of thanks to him." 
 
 " He is some young American," said Lord Dane, who had 
 then come straight from his interview with Mrs. Kavens- 
 bird. " The old man we saw lifted out of the life-boat last 
 night was also a passenger and an American." 
 
 "Belatives?" 
 
 " Oh no ; fellow-passengers only. I expect most of the 
 
251 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE* 
 
 people on board were Yankees," continued his lordship. 
 " But I am glad he happened to be near you, Miss Lester, 
 when you imprudently ran into danger." 
 
 " She would not be standing here now, had he not been," 
 warmly observed Margaret Bordillion. 
 
 The days went on. The wind gradually fell to a calm, 
 and Danesheld regained much of its usual quietness. 
 
 People were busy trying to get up articles from the 
 wreck. The preventive-men remained on active duty day 
 and night, keeping guard over anything that might be 
 saved or washed up, so that no depredations should take 
 place. The divers' exertions, however, appeared likely to 
 meet but with very little reward. 
 
 One visitor the beach constantly had ; and that was the 
 young stranger, William Lydney. In fact, it may be said 
 that he passed three parts of his day there, in anxiety about 
 that missing box, already mentioned. One day, when 
 Wilfred Lester had strolled down, he rallied him on his 
 disquietude. 
 
 " One would think all your worldly wealth was entombed 
 in that chest, Lydney. Does it contain gold ? " 
 
 " Neither gold nor bank-notes," was Mr. Lydney's answer. 
 " But it contains valuable deeds and documents, some of 
 which could not be replaced to the owner." 
 
 " To the owner ! Was the box not your own ? " 
 
 " No ; I was only in charge of it. The fact makes me 
 doubly anxious." 
 
 " Suppose it never turns up ! Would the loss be 
 irremediable ? " 
 
 " Upon my word, I cannot say. Some of its papers could 
 be replaced; but others— I would rather not dwell on the 
 possibility," he broke off. 
 
 " Well, I don't know ; it seems to me, that the chance of 
 its recovery is a very faint one," remarked Wilfred. " A 
 hundred to one against it." 
 
 " True ; but I am of a hopeful nature, and something 
 whispers to me it will turn up yet. A few boxes have been 
 got up, larger than that one." 
 
 " How large is it ? " 
 
THE BOX THAT THE SEA CAST UP. 
 
 255 
 
 " Not large. About two foot square ; but it is heavy 
 from its casing, which is impervious to water." 
 
 The two young men reached the spot where the clivers 
 were at work, and gazed at the relics the sea had cast up. 
 They were of various kinds ; things most opposite, as may 
 well be imagined. Tart of a beam of wood ; a gold Albert 
 chain ; a small cask containing salt meat ; a sealed case, 
 holding letters ; and a few boxes. 
 
 With an eager step, when he saw a few fresh things, did 
 William Lydney hasten to inspect them. Owners had been 
 found for none of them ; not for one of those articles lying 
 on the beach. Their owners would awaken no more in this 
 world. 
 
 " Is it among them, sir ? " asked the preventive-man, 
 coming up as Mr. Lydney stood over the boxes ; for his 
 anxiety to recover the chest was no secret. " There's one 
 japanned case, you see, sir, but I fear it's larger than you 
 describe yours to be." 
 
 William Lydney lifted his head, his face expressing keen 
 disappointment. 
 
 " It is not there," was all he said. 
 
 He and Wilfred Lester walked away together. They had 
 become very friendly, and in the daytime might sometimes 
 be seen arm-in-arm, as now. But Wilfred had never 
 invited Mr. Lydney inside his house ; his wife's ill-health 
 was the ostensible excuse ; but in reality, it w r as a home of 
 privation, that might not be laid bare to strangers. The 
 only house to which Mr. Lydney had been welcomed was 
 Cliff Cottage. He had hastened to respond to Miss Bor- 
 dillion's invitation, and soon became intimate there, almost 
 going in and out at will. Thus he frequently saw Maria 
 Lester — had more than once escorted her home in tho 
 evening, when there was no one else to do it. The time 
 was to come when Miss Bordillion took terrible remorse 
 to herself for so imprudently admitting a stranger, of whom 
 she knew positively nothing, to intimacy. The imprudence 
 did not strike her now. She must have been blind, she 
 was wont afterwards to say when Danesheld nearly drove 
 her mad with its reproaches. That Mr. Lydney was a 
 
256 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 thoroughly well-read man, an accomplished gentleman, was 
 indisputable ; that there was a peculiar attraction in himself, 
 and in his manners, was also true ; Miss Bordillion had, 
 unthinkingly, assumed all this to be an earnest of his 
 worth, his truth, his honour — and that was the best that 
 could be said of it. Unfortunately, it happened that 
 another was also assuming it, and was, unconsciously, 
 becoming fascinated — one to whom it could bring more 
 danger than to Miss Bordillion. 
 
 " How long shall you remain in Danesheld ? 99 questioned 
 Wilfred Lester, as they left the beach and came in view of 
 the Sailors' Eest. 
 
 " How long will it be before the box turns up ? " retorted 
 Mr. Lydney. " I can't go without it." 
 
 Wilfred just suppressed a shrug of the shoulders. In 
 that case, his private opinion was that his new acquaintance 
 would remain on for ever and a day. 
 
 " Does that old American get better ? " he suddenly 
 asked, as they halted at the door of the inn. 
 
 " Mr. Home ? He is better, but not well. I think he 
 fluctuates. Some chronic complaint, I believe. He has not 
 left his room." 
 
 " Good- day," said Wilfred. " Better luck to you." 
 
 He walked away, and Sophie, in her gossiping pro- 
 pensities, came out to the door. She, at any rate, had as 
 yet found no fault in Mr. Lydney, for her manner to him 
 was decidedly more respectful than at first. 
 
 " Is there any news yet, sir ? " she asked in French. 
 
 " No," replied the young man, knowing that she alluded 
 to the box. " I don't lose heart, though." 
 
 " Mr. Home has been asking twice, sir, whether you've 
 come in." 
 
 Mr. Lydney went straight to the invalid's room, to whom 
 he was exceedingly attentive. He continued very unwell 
 indeed, and he was making the young man's trouble about 
 the box his own. It tended to excite him, and that was 
 not good for the malady under which he laboured. 
 
 William Lydney's hopefulness did not fail him. On the 
 day following this, when he went as usual down to the 
 
THE 130X THAT THE SEA CAST UI\ 
 
 257 
 
 beach, he found the divers in the act of bringing up 
 another relic. Mitchel, the preventive-man, now standing 
 there on duty, was looking on. 
 " Is that it, sir?" 
 
 But the man, glancing at Mr. Lydney, need not have 
 asked the question. Intense joy was lighting up his face, 
 proving the box to be in truth the one so coveted. In the 
 moment's excitement he took it, single-handed, from the 
 grasp of those who bore it. William Lydney was a strong 
 man, but scarcely strong enough to lift that heavy case in 
 ordinary moments. 
 
 " It's him you've been looking for, master ? " came a 
 diver's question, as it fell on to the beach. 
 
 " Yes it is. You shall be well rewarded, my men." 
 
 It was a japanned box, about two feet square, just as 
 Mr. Lydney had described it. The initials, V. V. V., 
 surmounted by a Maltese cross, were studded on it in gilt 
 nails. Mitchel was almost as pleased as Mr. Lydney, of 
 whom he had seen a great deal upon the beach. His liking 
 for Mr. Lydney had begun when that gentleman brought him 
 a handsome gratuity from his elderly fellow-passenger for 
 the loan of the cloak the night of the wreck ; and it had 
 increased for Mr. Lydney's own sake. 
 
 " Those are not your initials, sir," remarked Mitchel. 
 
 " I never said they were," returned Mr. Lydney, with a 
 laugh. 
 
 " But the box is yours, sir." 
 
 " No, it is not. I am only in charge of it. Just as I now 
 leave you in charge of it, Mitchel," he added, " whilst I go 
 and get Kavensbird to send some men down with a truck or 
 barrow. Take you care of it, for it's very precious." 
 
 " I'll take good care of it, sir," answered Mitchel, with a 
 smile. " It's all in my duty and my day's work. Where you 
 leave it there you'll find it." 
 
 But Mr. Preventive Mitchel had reckoned without his 
 host. 
 
 Hardly had Mr. Lydney sprung away — with a light step 
 and a lighter heart — when Lord Dane appeared upon the 
 scene. He was in a black velvet coat and dark leggings, his 
 
 J-ady Adelaide. 1 7 
 
258 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 usual sporting attire, and many in Danesheld thought his 
 fine figure never appeared to better advantage than when 
 this was donned. His keeper had gone to the preserves 
 with the guns and dogs, and Lord Dane was on his way- 
 there also, but turned off for a moment to the beach, and 
 came up to Mitchel. Mitchel stood over the things in 
 pursuance of his duty, and over the box especially, as he 
 promised Mr. Lydney. 
 
 "Is this all?" exclaimed Lord Dane, in an accent of 
 surprise. " I thought they must have got up half the 
 shipful. That young boy you call Shad came grinning up 
 at me, saying the beach was covered." 
 
 " A light-fingered young rascal," apostrophised Mitchel ; 
 " I have just driven him off the beach. It would take a man 
 with a dozen eyes to watch him. No, my lord, they have 
 not got up much, as you see, and I don't suppose they will. 
 That box has turned up at last, that the gentleman has been 
 in such a worry over. He said all along he was sure it 
 would ! " 
 
 " What gentleman ? — what box ? " inquired Lord Dane, 
 who lived in too exalted a sphere to become readily 
 cognizant of the interest of temporary sojourners at the 
 Sailors' Kest. 
 
 " That fine young man who was saved in the life-boat, and 
 is staying at Eavensbird's, my lord. I should say nobody 
 was ever so anxious over a lost box before : as if it was full 
 of thousand-pound bank notes : and this morning it has 
 turned up. That's it behind your lordship." 
 
 Lord Dane turned at the words, and stood gazing at the 
 box. That something in it particularly attracted his 
 attention, was apparent to Mitchel, for he remained as one 
 transfixed. When he lifted his head it was to walk round 
 it, and attempt to lift it ; in short, he looked at it just as 
 a curious child looks at a new toy, and as if he would 
 very much enjoy pulling it to pieces to see what was 
 inside it. 
 
 " To whom do you say this belongs, Mitchel ? " 
 " To that young American, my lord, who was brought 
 ashore in the life-boat. Your lordship must have seen him 
 
THE BOX THAT THE SEA CAST UP. 
 
 259 
 
 about the place. A fine, handsome man, he is ; pleasant to 
 speak to. I mean Mr. Lyclney." 
 
 " Lyclney — Lydney ? Oh yes ; I remember the man 
 now," observed his lordship. " Lydney ! " he repeated to 
 himself. " The name does not at all strike upon my 
 memory, as one I have known. And he claims this box, 
 does he, Mitchcl ? " 
 
 " Yes, my lord. It's the one he has been in such a fever 
 over. The letters don't stand for his own name," continued 
 Mitchel, observing the peer's keen glance at the initials, 
 and fancying he discerned the drift of his thoughts. " I 
 remarked to him at once that they didn't, and he answered 
 me that he had not said they did. He is gone to send a 
 barrow to remove it to the Sailors' Best." 
 
 Lord Dane examined the rest of the things, suffering 
 his keen glance to linger on each one individually. The 
 scrutiny ended, he turned to Mitchel. 
 
 " Does any of this belong to him ? " 
 
 " No, my lord ; nothing but that japanned box. He says 
 he had a good bit of luggage on board, but he has not 
 seemed in the least to care for any part of it except this box." 
 
 Lord Dane walked away very quickly, and Mitchel 
 remained on guard. Presently, to the coastguardsman's 
 surprise, he saw Lord Dane coming back again, followed 
 by an empty cart and two men. The cart belonged to a 
 miller on the Dane estate, and had been on its way to fetch 
 wheat to be ground. Lord Dane encountered it as he 
 turned off the beach into the road, and pressed it into his 
 own service, for what purpose you will see. 
 
 Down came the cart, its two attendants, and his lordship ; 
 halting close to Mitchel and the recovered debris. Lord 
 Dane pointed to the things, and spoke curtly to the miller's 
 men. 
 
 " Hoist them in." 
 
 The men did so, to the astonishment of Mitchel, and 
 made short work of the process. None of the articles were 
 heavy, except the japanned box. That went in with the 
 rest. Then the cart and its contents proceeded to move 
 away again, and Mitchel found his tongue. 
 
260 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " My lord," cried lie, in a perfect ecstasy of consternation, 
 " they must not take off the things ; especially that tin 
 chest. I am left here to see that nobody does so." 
 
 "I have ordered them to the Castle for safety," said 
 Lord Dane. 
 
 " But that tin case, my lord — its owner is coming down 
 for it directly. And I passed my word that he should find 
 it here safe and untouched. If he complains to the 
 supervisor I may lose my place, your lordship." 
 
 " Lose your place for yielding to my authority ! " 
 returned Lord Dane, in a good-humoured tone. " We don't 
 know yet to whom these things may belong, and they will 
 be in safety at the Castle." 
 
 " But — I hope your lordship will pardon me for speaking 
 — this tin box has its owner," persisted Mitchel. " When 
 the gentleman returns for it, what am I to say to him ? " 
 
 "Mitchel," replied his lordship, quietly, "you must 
 understand one thing, which you do not yet appear to be 
 aware of. As lord of the manor, I possess a right to claim 
 all and everything fished up from that w r reck, whether the 
 owners be alive or not. I do not wish to exert this 
 privilege : I should not think of doing so ; but I do choose 
 that these things shall, for the present, be placed in the 
 Castle, that they may be in safety. You may say that to 
 Mr. Lydney." 
 
 The cart was half-way off the beach by this time, and 
 Lord Dane strode after it, leaving Mitchel mute and motion- 
 less. The procedure did not meet with his approbation at 
 all, either on his own account or Mr. Lydney's. In defiance 
 of the lord of the manor's assurance, he did not feel clear 
 that no trouble would arise to him in consequence, and he 
 was sure it would make Mr. Lydney angry. There he 
 stood ; and there he remained staring and wondering. 
 
VANISHED ! 
 
 2G1 
 
 CHAPTEli XX. 
 
 VANISHED ! 
 
 Down came Mr. Lydney almost directly, Kavensbird with 
 him and a man with a truck. The former cast his eyes 
 around. 
 
 " Why, where are the things — wherc's the box ? " he ex- 
 claimed, turning about. " Mitchel, what have you done 
 with the box ? " 
 
 " I don't know," replied Mitchel, " speaking as helplessly 
 as he looked. " I have not done anything with it. Lord 
 Dane came down, and sent it away ; and the other things 
 also." 
 
 " Sent it where ? " asked Mr. Lydney. 
 
 " Up to the Castle, sir. He was lord of the manor, and 
 possessed a right to claim what was got up from the wreck, 
 he said. Not that he should think of claiming them, but 
 they must be put in the Castle for safety till the owners 
 turned up — which, of course, they are never likely to do. 
 But perhaps he meant their friends." 
 
 "The owners of that japanned box had turned up" 
 cried Mr. Lydney. " His lordship had no business to 
 interfere, so much as to put his finger upon it. How 
 could you think of allowing it, Mitchel ? You are to 
 blame for this." 
 
 " If you were not a stranger here, sir, you would never 
 think of asking that question," was the reply. " Lord 
 Dane is master of everything — Danesheld, and the people 
 in it. I had no more power to keep your box back, when 
 Lord Dane said it was to go, than I have to stop that sea 
 from flowing." 
 
 " Nonsense," said Mr. Lydney, who appeared much pro- 
 voked. " Lord Dane cannot be allowed to play the 
 martinet over all the world." 
 
 "Well, sir, I assure you it was no fault of mine," 
 answered the aggrieved Mitchel. " He happened to come 
 cn the beach and see the things, and he went and brought 
 
262 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 down a miller's empty cart, that I suppose he met, and sent 
 the things away in it. He seemed quite struck with your 
 box, sir ; I suppose he thought the cross on it looked odd." 
 
 " Mitchel, I tell you, you should not have allowed even 
 Lord Dane to touch my box," said Mr. Lydney quietly. 
 " I left it with you in trust ; in trust, do you understand ? " 
 
 " I'm more sorry than you can be, sir ; and I wish Lord 
 Dane had chanced to walk any other way than on this 
 beach," was poor Mitchel's answer. " But, of course, he'll 
 give it up, sir, as soon as you apply for it." 
 
 " Not so sure of that," put in Eavensbird, who had 
 listened in silence. 
 
 " Why?" asked Mitchel. 
 
 " Well — when my Lord Dane gets crotchety on the score 
 of his own ' rights,' he's rather difficult to deal with," was 
 the reply. " I don't think you'll get it readily, sir," turning 
 to Mr. Lydney. " You'll have to go to work cautiously." 
 
 With a curl of the lip, and an angry toss of the head, 
 but without saying another word, William Lydney strode 
 off in the direction of the Castle. The man and the truck 
 followed him, in obedience to orders. Eavensbird turned 
 away to his own home. 
 
 Einging a peal at the gate, it was opened in the same 
 minute by the butler, Bruff, who was still in the service, 
 and happened to be coming forth. 
 
 " I wish to see Lord Dane." 
 
 " His lordship is out, sir." 
 
 " I was informed he had just returned here, in charge of 
 some property got up from the wreck. Let me in, if you 
 please." 
 
 Bruff looked at the speaker, who was thus presuming to 
 speak in those scornful tones of Lord Dane and his doings ; 
 and Bruff came to the conclusion that no man had ever 
 come to that Castle yet, possessing in an equal degree the 
 bearing of a master. Bruff bowed low, and threw wide the 
 gate. 
 
 <fc My lord did return here, sir, with the men who brought 
 the things, but he went out again directly, as soon as they 
 were put away." 
 
VANISHED ! 
 
 2G3 
 
 "Amongst those things was a box, which I claim," 
 proceeded Mr. Lydney. " I must request you to deliver it 
 to me." 
 
 " It is not in my power, sir. I dare not meddle with the 
 things against the orders of Lord Dane." 
 
 " I say that I claim the box," quietly returned Mr. Lydney. 
 " I must have it given up to me." 
 
 " I am sure, sir, when you remember that I am Lord 
 Dane's servant, you will see how impossible it is that I 
 can meddle with anything contrary to his lordship's 
 orders." 
 
 " The things are in the Castle ? " 
 
 " Certainly they are, sir. His lordship had them put in 
 the death room that they might be in safety. He gave me 
 the key, and charged me not to let them be touched." 
 
 " The death room ! " echoed Mr. Lydney. 
 
 <; I beg your pardon, sir, the strongroom, I ought to have 
 said — as it is called now. We used to call it the death 
 room, and the name comes naturally to me." 
 
 " Do you know that you may do me an irreparable injury 
 by refusing to deliver up that property?" pursued Mr. 
 Lydney. 
 
 " I am sorry to hear you say so, sir ; but my lord charged 
 me not to allow anyone access to the room, on any pretence 
 whatever." 
 
 Mr. Lydney felt nonplussed. He saw how useless it 
 would be to argue the point further with the retainer. 
 
 " Is there anyone who holds authority at the Castle, to 
 whom I can apply ? " he inquired. 
 
 " Miss Dane is at the Castle, sir, my lord's sister : but as 
 to authority — you can see her if you please, sir." 
 
 The visitor motioned with his hand in reply, and Bruff 
 ushered him indoors, and led the way up to the drawing- 
 room. 
 
 " What name, sir ? " he asked, pausing with his hand on 
 the door. 
 
 " Mr. Lydney." 
 
 Miss Dane was there, playing with a canary bird, and 
 turned at his entrance. She had not aged very much since 
 
204 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 we last saw her ; the lines of the face were deeper, and the 
 hair was perhaps a little thinner, but luxuriant still. She 
 was in her forty- second year, but would have gone into a fit 
 of hysterics, had she supposed Danesheld remembered it. 
 She assumed still the dress and manner of a girl of twenty. 
 Her cheeks were pink, though perhaps less pink than of 
 old ; her features were small and pretty ; her brown glossy 
 ringlets fell low on her neck, and her blue eyes had a habit 
 of shyly shrinking from the gaze of other eyes, especially 
 of gentlemen. Putting her vanity and her affectation aside, 
 Miss Dane's real simplicity had something pleasing in it. 
 She was attired in a light-blue silk gown and jacket to 
 match, set off with silver buttons. At the first moment, 
 William Lydney really thought she was a young girl. 
 
 " I have the honour of speaking to Miss Dane ? " 
 
 Miss Dane shut the canary bird into its cage, and curtsied 
 and simpered. She retained her old propensity for admiring 
 attractive strangers, and had never seen one more attractive 
 than this before her. " What a noble-looking man t " quoth 
 she to herself, and fell in love with him forthwith, hoping 
 he was returning the compliment. 
 
 Mr. Lydney, however, was too much engrossed by his tin 
 box and its appropriation to admit softer impressions just 
 then, even though he had been as susceptible as the lady. 
 He gave her a concise history of the affair, and inquired 
 whether she would not issue orders that his box should be 
 restored to him. 
 
 " I never heard of such a procedure," cried she, in her 
 pretty little weak voice, as she shook her ringlets affectedly. 
 " Geoffry — my brother — went down to the beach, and 
 ordered the recovered things up here, you say ? Why did 
 he do that ? What did he want with them ? " 
 
 " That is precisely what I should be glad to know, Miss 
 Dane." 
 
 " I don't think they can have come here ; I fancy there 
 must be some error. I will ring for Bruff." 
 
 She tripped to the bell before Mr. Lydney could forestall 
 her ; and Bruff appeared in answer to the summons. 
 
 " Bruff," asked Miss Dane, " have any boxes and things 
 
VANISHED ! 
 
 2G5 
 
 been brought here this morning belonging to that wrecked 
 ship ? " 
 
 "Yes, miss," answered Bruff, for Miss Dane, though 
 living at the Castle as its mistress, never would submit to be 
 addressed as " madam." It might have made her look old. 
 
 " Is this gentleman's box here ? " 
 
 " I suppose it is, miss, if it was in the cart with the rest 
 of the things. They were all put in the strong-room." 
 
 " It is of the very utmost consequence that I should have 
 this box, Miss Dane," struck in the claimant. " Lord Dane 
 would surely not object to its being returned to me were he 
 at home ? " 
 
 " Of course not, sir," warmly acquiesced Miss Dane. 
 " Bruff, you cannot do wrong in giving up to this gentleman 
 his own property." 
 
 " My lord's orders were that the things should not be 
 touched under any pretence whatever, miss," remonstrated 
 Bruff. 
 
 " Yes, I can understand that. When there were no 
 claimants for them, he naturally would wish them to remain 
 in security. But this gentleman claims his box and requires 
 it. You must give it to him, Bruff." 
 
 " Not upon my own responsibility, miss," returned the 
 butler. " If you order me to do so, that of course alters 
 the case." 
 
 " Dear me, Bruff, how tiresome and precise you are ! " 
 ejaculated Miss Dane, with her childish simper. " It stands 
 to reason that his lordship, in taking possession of the 
 property, could only have had regard to the interests of the 
 owners ; therefore we cannot do wrong in delivering up to 
 this gentleman what belongs to him." 
 
 Mr. Lydney turned to Bruff. " It is a japanned box, with 
 initials and a cross on the lid in gilt ; you cannot mistake 
 it. But I may as well go with you and point it out." 
 
 But Mr. Bruff scarcely saw his way clear, even now. 
 The man was willing enough to give up the box : he knew 
 it ought to be given up ; but he did not care to risk his 
 master's almost certain displeasure. He stood looking 
 almost as helpless as Mitchel had done. 
 
266 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " Miss Dane," lie said at length, with much deprecation, 
 "you know what my lord is, when disobeyed. Now, I 
 really dare not deliver up this box myself ; if you will do 
 it, that's a different thing." 
 
 " But I am doing it, Bruff. I am ordering you to do it." 
 
 " Yes, miss, I know. Perhaps you'd not mind coming to 
 the strong-room and taking the matter into your own 
 hands. If you give up the box there to the gentleman, my 
 lord can't well blame me." 
 
 Miss Dane did not mind it at all ; she rather liked the 
 expedition, especially when the handsome young stranger 
 gallantly offered his arm as an escort. Down the broad 
 staircase they went, leaving the fine hall to the right, and 
 straight on through the passages to the strong-room, Miss 
 Dane mincing and chattering as she walked. Bruff pro- 
 duced the key and unlocked the door. 
 
 The cold, gray room was just what it used to be ; the 
 floor of stone, the windows high ; no furniture whatever was 
 in it, but the things from the wreck lay indiscriminately on 
 the flags as they had been hastily thrown down. Keleasing 
 Miss Dane with a bow, Mr. Lydney turned to the heap, his 
 eyes rapidly scanning the articles one by one. A look of 
 stern anger arose to his face. 
 
 " My box is not here ! " he exclaimed. 
 
 It was a contretemps that neither Miss Dane nor Bruff 
 had expected — and it may be that the latter felt rather 
 relieved by it than otherwise. Certainly no japanned chest 
 was amongst the articles lying there. Mr. Lydney turned 
 to the butler. 
 
 " Where has it been carried to ? " he demanded, and his 
 voice, though perfectly quiet, bore an unmistakable sound of 
 command to the man's ear. 
 
 " If it is not here, sir, it was not brought to the Castle," 
 was the prompt reply. " The things were carried from the 
 cart straight to this room, and I can be upon my word that 
 nobody has been near them since." 
 
 "It was brought to the Castle safe enough," returned 
 Mr. Lydney. " If you saw the things taken out of the cart, 
 you must remember it." 
 
VANISHED ! 
 
 267 
 
 " A small japanned box you say, sir," cogitated Bruff, 
 casting his thoughts back. "I don't remember to have 
 seen it. The fact is, I took no particular notice of the 
 things, though I can attest that they were all placed in 
 this room." 
 
 " Then it has been removed since," was the rejoinder of 
 Mr. Lydney. 
 
 Bruff shook his head. " Indeed, sir, I can equally attest 
 that that could not be. The key has never been out of my 
 own possession." 
 
 Mr. Lydney said no more. He felt sure the box had 
 been removed, and he began casting his eyes around in 
 search of hiding-places. They fell upon the door of a 
 closet, and he pulled it open by the key which was in the 
 lock. Excepting a pair of trestles that leaned against the 
 wall, it was empty. There were no signs of the box. 
 
 " It is like magic," observed Miss Dane. " If the box 
 was positively brought up in the cart, as you affirm, dear 
 sir, the cart must have taken it away again ; that's the only 
 solution I can come to. My brother, hearing it was yours, 
 may have sent it to your lodgings." 
 
 But this hypothesis was destroyed by Bruff, who declared 
 that when the cart drove away from the gate it was perfectly 
 empty. 
 
 Mr. Lydney appeared to consider, and then inquired at 
 what hour he could see Lord Dane. Bruff, and Miss Dane 
 also, said there was no certainty of his being in much 
 before dinner. They were going to dine early that day — 
 at six o'clock. 
 
 Wishing Miss Dane good morning — to her great re- 
 luctance — Mr. Lydney was shown out by Bruff, and went 
 in search of the cart and the miller's men, Bruff having 
 readily told him where he was likely to find them. He 
 found them without difficulty, but the fact did not serve 
 him. They were a couple of dull, stupid clodhoppers, of 
 that species of rustic whom we are apt to marvel at, and 
 almost question whether they can be human beings ; 
 possessing just sufficient brains to get through their day's 
 work at the miller's. 
 
268 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " A tin box, japanned, wi' gilt marks outside on't ? Tliey 
 didn't know : my lord telled 'em to pick up the things what 
 laid on the shingle and take 'em to the Castle, and they 
 did so. There couldn't be no box missing out of 'em, 
 'twarn't likely," 
 
 "But I tell you that it is missing," said Mr. Lydney. 
 " As to your not recollecting it, if you lifted it into the 
 cart, and then removed it from the cart to Lord Dane's 
 strong-room, you must have observed it. It was a peculiar- 
 looking box, very heavy." 
 
 The men could not remember. They moved the things 
 for sartin theirselves, but they didn't mark one thing more 
 nor another. By token, my lord hisself had watched the 
 cart safe up. 
 
 " And you left all the things at the Castle ? " questioned 
 Mr. Lydney. 
 
 They left 'em all, and come away with the empty cart to 
 fetch their sacks o' wheat. 
 
 And nothing more definite than this could William 
 Lydney draw from them : it was all they knew. And he 
 went home to the Sailors' Rest in anything but a satis- 
 factory state of mind. 
 
 Mr. Bruff entertained an idea that there was no policy equal 
 to that of " taking the bull by the horns." Accordingly he 
 quitted the Castle, after the visitor's departure, and contrived 
 to cross that portion of the Dane preserves where he deemed 
 it most likely he should find Lord Dane. Upon seeing him 
 (as if by accident), he went boldly up and related the oc- 
 currences of the morning, dwelling upon the fact that the 
 room had been opened by Miss Dane's orders, against his 
 own remonstrance. 
 
 Lord Dane was sitting on the stamp of a tree, solacing 
 himself with a sandwich and something from a flask. Bruff 
 stood humbly before him, expecting little less than that his 
 head would be snapped off. Few people visited disobedience 
 more sharply than Lord Dane. 
 
 "As a general rule, Bruff, you know that what I say 
 is law, and may not be violated with impunity," cried his 
 lordship. " In this instance the matter was not momentous ; 
 
VANISHED ! 
 
 2C9 
 
 but I shall speak to Miss Dane, who appears to have been 
 more in fault than you. Did you give the young man his 
 box?" 
 
 " The box was not there, my lord ; at least the one he 
 said he was looking for," replied the amazed and relieved 
 Bruff. " A tin box, japanned, with gilt initials, he deseribed 
 it. There was nothing answering to the description, your 
 lordship." 
 
 " Then what brought the fellow intruding at the Castle ? " 
 cried his lordship, testily. " That's just what I expected it 
 would be, — that every man, woman, and child, who might 
 have ever so remote an interest in the ship, would be coming 
 up to look at the relics ; and it was for that reason I ordered 
 you to keep the room closed." 
 
 " The young gentleman says the box was found and 
 brought to the Castle, my lord," returned Bruff, believing 
 Lord Dane was mistaking the facts. " But, as I told him, if 
 the box came with the other things, there it would now be, 
 with them." 
 
 " And of course it is with them," carelessly returned Lord 
 Dane. "It could not sink through the floor. You must 
 have overlooked it, Bruff." 
 
 " If I could overlook it, my lord, the gentleman wouldn't : 
 he was too eager about it," was Bruff's rejoinder. " He 
 said he should call at the Castle and see your lordship 
 about it." 
 
 " He is welcome to do so," replied Lord Dane, rising to 
 resume his sport. 
 
 Bruff went home again. A little before six, Mr. Lydney 
 again made his appearance at the Castle, and was shown into 
 the great hall — or, as they more often termed it now, the 
 audience chamber. Lord Dane sent word he would be down 
 immediately. His lordship had but just returned home from 
 shooting, Bruff said, and was dressing. He soon appeared 
 and received the stranger with frank politeness. As they 
 stood together, that young applicant and the lord of the 
 Castle, one might have almost fancied a likeness between 
 them ; both were tall, fine, upright men, noble men, as they 
 have already been called, and both had features cast in a 
 
270 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 noble form : Lord Dane was the better-looking, according 
 to the lines that are supposed to constitute beauty, but in 
 the other countenance there was a good sense, a keenness of 
 intellect, a nameless power, that might have adorned a face 
 older than that of William Lydney. 
 
 " My butler has been telling me some rigmarole about a 
 box vanishing out of the strong room," began his lordship, 
 in free cordial tones. " But the thing is impossible. If 
 the box was placed in the strong-room, it must be there 
 still." 
 
 " The box was certainly put into the cart to be brought 
 to the Castle — to that Mitchel can testify," returned Mr. 
 Lydney, in a tone as independent as his lordship's, though 
 somewhat more haughty. And Lord Dane wondered who 
 the young fellow could be, presuming to address him on an 
 equality. " The question is, where was it placed after it 
 reached the Castle ? " 
 
 " Did Mitchel take notice of the box ? " 
 
 " Yes," emphatically replied Mr. Lydney. " And Mitchel 
 says that your lordship also took notice of it ; something 
 passed about the initials not being my own." 
 
 " Is that the missing box ? — the one with three Vs upon 
 it ? " exclaimed Lord Dane. " Oh, that was certainly placed 
 in the cart ; I saw the men put it in." 
 
 " May I inquire why your lordship should have meddled 
 with the box at all ? " 
 
 " I had the things brought up for security," replied Lord 
 Dane. 
 
 " But I had claimed that particular box, had left it in 
 Mitchel' s care, whilst I went for means to remove it ; and 
 this was represented to you," said Mr. Lydney. " It appears 
 to me that it could not be any concern of your lordship's. 
 As to safety — Mitchel, I say, was in charge of it." 
 
 " Were you accustomed to see much of wrecks, which I do 
 not imagine you are, you would know how next to impossible 
 it is for any preventive-man to stop the pilferers that infest 
 the coast. It was my duty, as lord of the manor, to take 
 care that the things recovered remained intact," continued 
 Lord Dane, loftily, for the benefit of the American ; who 
 
VANISHED ! 
 
 271 
 
 could not be supposed to know much about the rights of 
 lords of the manor, or of lords cither, for that matter. 
 
 " I want my property," said Mr. Lydney. 
 
 " And you are at liberty to take it," was the candid answer, 
 spoken in a kindly tone. " Bruff might have given it to 
 you, under the circumstances, without waiting for my 
 permission." 
 
 " But where is it ? " questioned Mr. Lydney. " It is not 
 with the rest of the things brought up from the beach." 
 
 " Sir, to reiterate such an assertion makes me quite angry," 
 tartly rejoined Lord Dane. " A box locked up safely in a 
 strong-room could not vanish from it : it must be there still. 
 I told Bruff so." 
 
 * It was not there to-day, when I was introduced into the 
 room." 
 
 Lord Dane would not contend further. He opened the 
 inner door of the hall and conducted his visitor to the 
 passage, calling to Bruff to bring the key of the strong- 
 room. The butler did so, and the two gentlemen entered it 
 together. 
 
 " Your lordship must perceive that the box is not here," 
 said Mr. Lydney, pointing to the things as they lay on the 
 floor. 
 
 Lord Dane glanced at them with a keen and curious eye. 
 When he found beyond doubt that the box was really 
 missing, he looked confounded and appeared on the point of 
 losing his temper. Striding to the door, he shouted for 
 Bruff, and the man came back in haste. 
 
 " Whom have you dared to admit to this room ? " demanded 
 Lord Dane. " This gentleman's box must have been 
 removed from it." 
 
 " I declare, my lord, that not a soul has entered it 
 except the gentleman himself and Miss Dane ! " exclaimed 
 the unhappy Bruff, confused at the tables being turned on 
 him in this unexpected manner. " The key was never out 
 of my pocket. The box could not have been brought to the 
 room." 
 
 " To which other room was it taken ? " asked Mr. Lydney 
 quietly of Lord Dane. 
 
LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " I assure you, on my word of honour, that every individual 
 thing taken out of the cart was brought to this room and 
 to no other," was the peer's emphatic answer ; and even Mr. 
 Lydney, prejudiced though he was, could only acknowledge 
 that it sounded like a true one. " The men had no oppor- 
 tunity of entering any other, and did not enter one." 
 
 " I can bear my lord out in that, sir," interposed Bruff, 
 turning his honest face upon the stranger. " The things 
 were brought straight to this room through the outer 
 passage, not the inner ; had the men wished to enter 
 another room, they could not have done it. Besides, I 
 was with them all the time, and my lord also was looking 
 on." 
 
 " I surmise how it is, " said Lord Dane : " the men must 
 have omitted to remove the box from the cart." 
 
 " No," said Mr. Lydney. " I have questioned the men, 
 and am satisfied that it was brought into the Castle." 
 
 " My lord," put in the butler, " I watched the cart go 
 away from the gates, and it was quite empty." 
 
 " Well, I cannot understand it," returned Lord Dane, half 
 testily, as if he would give up the affair as hopeless. " I 
 can certainly affirm that the box was put into the cart ; I 
 saw the men lift it in, and thought how heavy it seemed ; 
 and I can also affirm, if necessary, on my oath, that every- 
 thing in the cart was brought direct to this strong-room. 
 The men must have lost it on the road." 
 
 " Did your lordship notice the box after the cart reached 
 here ? " asked Mr. Lydney. 
 
 " No, I did not ; I paid no particular attention to the 
 things then. The truth is, I was impatient to be gone, for 
 my keeper had been waiting for me some time. Were its 
 contents of value ? You appear to set great store 
 by it." 
 
 " Its contents were of great value : they consisted of 
 documents which cannot be replaced." 
 " Was it your own box ? " 
 
 " It was not mine ; but I was in charge of it, and am 
 responsible to the owner, who entrusted it to me in 
 America." 
 
Vanished ! 
 
 273 
 
 "Who is the owner?" asked Lord Dane, some curiosity 
 in his tone. 
 
 " That question is superfluous to the present matter," was 
 the reserved and haughty answer. 
 Lord Dane smiled. 
 
 " I allow for your vexation, sir, and all I can say is, 
 that I hope the box will soon be found. Lost it can- 
 not be." 
 
 " It shall be found if there be law or justice in England," 
 warmly spoke the young man. 
 
 " A moment, sir. You appear to throw blame on me ; 
 surely that is not just." 
 
 " It is in my nature to be candid, even where unpleasant 
 suspicions are concerned, and therefore I avow my opinion 
 that your lordship has possession of the box," was young 
 Lydney's bold rejoinder, and Mr. Bruff stared to hear it. 
 " Had it been lying on the beach unclaimed, as the other 
 things were, when you ordered it to the Castle, I could have 
 understood it ; but that you should do so in the face of 
 Mitchel's assurance that it was mine, and that I was then 
 bringing assistance to remove it, does appear to me to be a 
 procedure fraught with suspicion. I can only believe that 
 your motive was to obtain possession of the box, and that 
 you have yourself removed it from the room." 
 
 " Why ! what do you suppose I wanted with the box ? " 
 exclaimed Lord Dane. 
 
 " I am unable to say." 
 
 " You are smarting under this loss, sir, which I confess is 
 vexatious, and therefore I excuse your language," returned 
 his lordship with equanimity. " Perhaps you have not 
 reflected how void of foundation your suspicion must of 
 necessity be. That the things were all brought to this 
 room I have testified to you ; my servant has done the same, 
 and you say you have questioned the miller's men. Now 
 this room is not near the other rooms in the Castle : it is 
 some distance from any one of them ; and I ask you how it 
 would be possible for me to carry a heavy box, w r hich most 
 likely I could not even lift, through the passages. You may 
 be capable of deeming that my servants helped me, or 
 
 Lady Adelaide. 18 
 
274 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 carried it by my orders ; but I give you hearty leave to 
 question them. No, Mr. Lydney, I saw the things put into 
 this room, and I locked the door upon them, and gave the 
 key to Bruff. Since then their safety lies with him." 
 
 Bruff looked up deprecatingly, but did not again defend 
 himself. He thought it very unreasonable of the gentleman 
 to cast suspicion on his master, but excused it on the score 
 of his youth and inexperience. 
 
 There was nothing to be gained by lingering in tho 
 strong-room, and Mr. Lydney quitted it, Lord Dane follow- 
 ing and Bruff remaining to lock the door. Mr. Lydney 
 was sorely perplexed, and it may be that the good sense of 
 Lord Dane's defence was making its way within him. Only 
 — where could the box be ? 
 
 He had to return to the hall, for he had left one of his 
 gloves there. Standing just inside it, close to the dining- 
 room door, was Miss Dane, apparently having run in after a 
 little pet dog, in reality watching for the handsome stranger. 
 Her ringlets were now interspersed with blue ribbons, and 
 her white muslin dinner dress, sweeping the beautiful 
 mosaic pavement, was made in a girlish fashion, and also 
 decorated with blue. She came forward with a little start 
 of surprise, dropping her hands and eyes like a timid 
 child. 
 
 " Oh dear, sir ! is it you again ? Oh, I do hope you have 
 found your box ! " 
 
 " It cannot be found," was the answer. " It appears to 
 have vanished in some unaccountable manner from Lord 
 Dane's strong-room." 
 
 " Vanished as the ghosts do," she said with a pretty 
 simper. 
 
 " Exactly. Only that the days of ghosts are over, Miss 
 Dane." 
 
 She put out her hand when he was bowing his adieu, and 
 he frankly met it, and gave it a hearty shake. Lord Dane 
 drew down the corners of his lips at the young man's 
 presumption. If his sister was absurd, he had no right to 
 take advantage of it; and would not, had he been a 
 gentleman, was the peer's thought. He condescendingly 
 
VANISHED ! 
 
 275 
 
 bowed liim out of the hall ou his own score, and into the 
 charge of Bruff. 
 
 "Is his box quite gone, Geoffry?" sighed Miss Dane, 
 gently shaking back her curls and her blue ribbons. 
 
 "Gone! It can't be gone. It seems to have disappeared 
 in some inexplicable manner." 
 
 " What a pity ! Geoffry, did you ever see anyone so 
 good-looking before ? " 
 
 " H m," returned Lord Dane, laughing at his sister. 
 
 " Not a bad figure though." 
 
 " Of whom does he put you in mind, Geoffry ? " 
 
 " I can't think. He does put me in mind of some one ; 
 there's no doubt of it." 
 
 "It's his face," she cried. "It is like Lady Dane's, 
 Geoffry." 
 
 " What Lady Dane's ? " exclaimed Geoffry in surprise. 
 " I never knew but one, Geoffry. Old Lady Dane, my 
 aunt and yours." 
 
 " Nonsense, Cecilia ! " 
 
 " But, Geoffry, dear, it isn't nonsense. I've rarely seen 
 such a likeness in my life. It struck me when he first 
 came in." 
 
 Poor Cely ! As Lord Dane took her kindly on his arm 
 to lead her into the dining-room, he thought how very 
 many foolish things had struck her in the course of her 
 simple life. 
 
 " I wish you had asked him to stay to dinner, Geoffry ! " 
 " Ask him to stay ! " echoed Lord Dane. " My dear 
 Cecilia!" 
 
 "Wouldn't it do, Geoffry?" 
 
 "No, indeed, it would not do," said Lord Dane. "A 
 doubt is dawning on my mind, Cecilia — and I have cause 
 for it — whether this young American, this Lydney, is not 
 an adventurer." 
 
 " Oh, Geoffry ! But he is so good-looking ! He is just 
 like a prince in a fairy-tale." 
 
 " That's just it. I fancy he means to trade on his good 
 looks." 
 
 Miss Dane gave a little cry of mortification. It was 
 
276 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 genuine ; not affected, as her cries were in general. She 
 knew how clear-sighted her brother was ; how generally- 
 right in his judgment ; how charitably-judging as a rule ; 
 and therefore she accepted the opinion as a fiat. But, apart 
 from it, she had never seen any stranger in whom she could 
 have put so much trust as in William Lydney. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXI. " " 
 
 SEARCHING DANE CASTLE* 
 
 Bruff, meanwhile, was showing out the said adventurer, 
 or gentleman, or whatever he might be. The butler felt 
 a little uncomfortable at this singular disappearance, and 
 could not allow Mr. Lydney to leave without attempting an 
 excuse. 
 
 " I hope, sir, you do not attribute this loss to any fault 
 or carelessness of mine ? " 
 
 " I do not," was the ready answer. " But you must 
 admit that the disappearance of the box is strange in the 
 extreme." 
 
 " I can't make it out in any way, sir. Turn it about as I 
 will, I cannot possibly see where the box has gone to." 
 
 " Lord Dane delivered the key to you immediately after 
 the things were put into the room ? " 
 
 " He did, sir," was Bruff's hearty answer. " After the 
 men had put the things in, I followed them to the gate, 
 and saw them drive away with the empty cart. I then 
 turned back along the passage to the room, and there stood 
 my lord, outside the door, waiting for me. He locked the 
 door just in my sight, gave me the key, and charged me to 
 allow no person to enter. He went out as he spoke, and 
 returned but now : and as for the key, it has not been out 
 of my pocket, except when I opened the door for you and 
 Miss Dane. Now, sir, even allowing that my lord had an 
 
SEARCHING DANE CASTLE. 
 
 277 
 
 inclination to remove that box elsewhere, as you seem to 
 suspect, he could not by any possibility have had the time, 
 either to do it himself, or to get it done : and my own 
 moral persuasion is, that the box never did come into the 
 Castle. I should not say so much, sir, but for your thinking 
 my lord must be in fault." 
 
 " At any rate, I do not think you are in fault," was the 
 rejoinder, given with a pleasant smile, and Mr. Lydney 
 slipped a heavy gold piece into the man's hands. 
 
 " Oh, sir, indeed you are too good. I Holloa, you 
 
 young eavesdropper ! What do you do here ? " 
 
 The interruption was addressed to a boy, lingering in 
 close proximity to the Castle gate. It was Shad. Mr. 
 Lydney turned hastily, and thought he had never seen so 
 queer a specimen of young humanity. The butler pointed 
 his finger of authority, and the boy shuffled off. 
 
 "Had the box been light, I might have thought that 
 young reptile had pilfered it from the cart," observed 
 Bruff. " He must have stolen up after the cart when it 
 came here from the beach, for I saw him hovering close by 
 as the men were taking the things from it. A box of that 
 weight of course he could not take." 
 
 Mr. Lydney strode away, overtook Shad, and laid his 
 hand upon his shoulder. " What is your name ? " 
 asked he. 
 
 " Please, sir, it's Shad." 
 
 " Shad— what ? What's your other name ? " 
 
 " Please, sir, I never had none." 
 
 " The divers recovered some things this morning from 
 the wreck, and a cart took them up to Dane Castle. You 
 followed it, I believe. Did you see the cart unloaded ? " 
 
 " I didn't finger nothing," was the response of the boy. 
 
 " That is not what I asked you. Can you speak truth ? " 
 proceeded Mr. Lydney, a doubt crossing his mind whether 
 one possessing such a countenance as that he was gazing 
 on could do so. 
 
 Shad made no reply, except that his wide mouth parted 
 with a grin. 
 
 Mr. Lydney took a sixpence from his pocket, and held it 
 
278 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 up. " You see this, Shad ? I am going to ask you a question 
 or two ; answer me with strict truth, and it shall be yours. 
 Equivocate only a word, and instead of the sixpence, you 
 shall get something of a different character." 
 
 " I know what you'd ask me," burst forth the boy, for- 
 getting his usual role of " simpleton " in the fascination of 
 the sixpence. " It's about your lost box, that a row's being 
 made over, her with the three brass letters on it, and t'other 
 thing a-top of 'em. I see it took into the castle." 
 
 « You did?" 
 
 "I see it with these two eyes o' mine," avowed Shad, 
 lifting his sly orbs, sparkling now, to the face of Mr. 
 Lydney. " It was a'most the last thing left in the cart ; the 
 two millers carried of it in, and Mr. Bruff went a'ter 'em up 
 the passage." 
 
 " Where was Lord Dane, then ? " 
 
 "I didn't see him. I think he was a-gone into the 
 Castle afore." 
 
 " What made you follow the cart to the Castle ? " 
 
 " 'Cause Mitchel had druv me off the beach, and I'd got 
 nothing to do. I didn't follow it for no harm. I see 'em 
 unload it, and I see it go away empty." 
 
 " You are sure it was empty ? " 
 
 " I'se certain ; there warn't a thing left in her," replied 
 the boy, earnestly. " I've telled ye the truth, sir, and now, 
 please, for the sixpence." 
 
 " Should I find later on that you have not told the truth, 
 it shall go hard with you," said Mr. Lydney, dropping the 
 sixpence into his hand. " But if you could only learn, Shad, 
 how much better it is to speak the truth than the contrary, 
 what a great amount of trouble it saves, you would never 
 say another false word again." 
 
 Shad's only reply was to shamble off, his arms flung about 
 in wild delight at possession of the sixpence : and Mr. 
 Lydney went down to the Sailors' Rest. There he at 
 once sought an interview with his elder fellow-traveller, 
 and asked his advice on the state of affairs. Ravensbird was 
 called into the room, and certain questions were put to him, 
 chiefly touching on the disposition and habits of Lord Dane. 
 
SEARCHING DANE CASTLE. 
 
 279 
 
 Mr. Home's opinion — sitting with his purple shade on 
 whilst he gave it — was that Lord Dane had taken possession 
 of the box, and concealed it somewhere. A doubt certainly 
 crossed him, whether it might not have been abstracted, 
 whilst the cart was on its way to the Castle, by some light- 
 fingered gentry, plenty of whom, Eavensbird said, prowled 
 about Danesheld ; and this doubt also arose to Mr. Lydney. 
 
 " It was a conspicuous box, you see," the latter observed 
 to Mr. Home ; " the cross and initials rendering it so. I 
 am, therefore, surprised — if the box really did go to the 
 Castle — that the butler, Bruff, should not have noticed it. 
 Lord Dane also says he did not observe the box amongst the 
 things when they arrived at the Castle." 
 
 " If Lord Dane is concealing the box for any purpose of 
 his own, he, of course, would not confess to having seen 
 it there," remarked Mr. Home. "What do you think, 
 Eavensbird ? " 
 
 " I think it amounts to this, sir : has Lord Dane a motive 
 for possessing the box, or not? If he has why then no 
 doubt he has secured it ; if he has not, I should be inclined 
 to fancy it was taken from the cart on its way to the 
 Castle." 
 
 " There's a suspicious phase in the affair, and it's one I 
 can't get over," said William Lydney, warmly, to Mr. Home ; 
 " and that is, ordering the box to the Castle at all. Mitchel 
 told Lord Dane the box was claimed by me, that I had gone 
 for assistance to move it away ; nevertheless, he conveyed it 
 at once to the Castle, and that in the teeth of a remon- 
 strance Mitchel ventured to speak. I'd lay any money he 
 has the box." 
 
 But, even allowing this hypothesis to be correct, what was 
 to be done ? Mr. Lydney felt himself in the position of a 
 bird with its wings clipped. Lord Dane was a man not to 
 be approached lightly, or accused without due reason : and 
 he really appeared to know nothing of the box. William 
 Lydney walked about the invalid's room in a fever of un- 
 certainty, and the commotion could not have been altogether 
 agreeable to the elder man. 
 
 " What would you advise, sir ? " he suddenly asked. 
 
280 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 ' ; If you will sit down quietly, I will tell you," answered 
 Mr. Home. " I incline to the belief that my Lord Dane 
 
 has the box ; and in that case 1 can't talk unless you sit 
 
 down." 
 
 Lydney closed the door, and sat down, controlling his 
 impatience. They were alone then, for the landlord had 
 been called away ; and Mr. Home quietly discussed the 
 matter, and tendered his opinion and advice. And as he 
 talked, the younger man became more fully impressed with 
 the conviction that the box was in Dane Castle, in the secret 
 keeping of its lord. He did not ask himself how this 
 could be, in the face of the improbabilities mentioned by 
 Bruff ; he only succeeded in persuading his own mind that 
 it was so. 
 
 Later in the afternoon he took his way to Danesheld Hall, 
 on a mission to Squire Lester, and met that gentleman coming 
 out of it with Lady Adelaide. The carriage waited at the 
 door, and they were apparently in a hurry. 
 
 " I fear I have come at an unseasonable hour," remarked 
 Lydney. " I wished to speak to you, Mr. Lester, on a matter 
 of business." 
 
 It happened that Lady Adelaide had not met the young 
 stranger before. She had seen him in the street, and thought 
 him a very attractive man. Attractive men had charms for 
 Lady Adelaide still, and she was gracious to Mr. Lydney 
 now. 
 
 " I hope your business can wait," she said. " Mr. Lester 
 is going out with me, and we are already late. Will this 
 evening not do for it." 
 
 " Certainly, it shall do," replied Mr. Lydney. 
 
 "Step in this evening, then," added Squire Lester. 
 " Any time ; eight o'clock or nine ; when you like. Lady 
 Adelaide will give you a cup of tea." 
 
 Mr. Lester's feeling towards young Lydney was a kindly 
 one. He had thanked him for the service rendered to Maria, 
 and a speaking acquaintance had sprung up between them. 
 Mr. Lester supposed him to be a gentleman ; otherwise, he 
 would never have dreamt of giving the invitation just 
 proffered. 
 
SEARCHING DANE CASTLE. 
 
 281 
 
 And between eight and nine William Lydney duly arrived. 
 But as the servant was showing him to the drawing-room, he 
 arrested the man's steps, saying that he would first of all see 
 his master in private. So he was taken to Mr. Lester's 
 study, and that gentleman came to him. 
 
 " It is not a very seasonable hour for business, and I must 
 ask you to excuse my entering on it," observed young 
 Lydney, as they shook hands, and sat down. " You are, I 
 believe, in the commission of peace for the county ? " 
 
 Mr. Lester nodded. 
 
 " Then I have to proffer a request, which — which will, 
 perhaps, surprise you ; nevertheless, I hope you will accede 
 to it. I want you to grant me a warrant to search Dane 
 Castle." 
 
 Had Mr. Lester been asked for a warrant to search his 
 own house, he could not have evinced more intense surprise. 
 For a few moments he only stared at the applicant. 
 
 " Search Dane Castle ! " he echoed at last. 
 
 Young Lydney entered on the explanation. The un- 
 accountable loss of the box was already known to Mr. 
 Lester, as it was to all Danesheld, for the place had lost 
 none of its propensity for tale-bearing. 
 
 " Rely upon it, Mr. Lestsr, that box is in Dane Castle, 
 purposely concealed there." 
 
 If anything could have added to Mr. Lester's surprise, it 
 was that assertion. But he resented the insinuation. 
 
 "What grounds can you possibly have for such an 
 opinion ? " he questioned in tones of remonstrance. 
 
 " I draw my deductions from facts," was the reply. " What 
 right had Lord Dane to interfere with that box at all? 
 Mitchel told him it was mine ; that I was most anxious 
 about the box ; that I had gone for people to take it up to 
 the inn where I was staying. In the face of that, he took 
 possession of it, and sent it to his Castle. I ask what his 
 motive could have been ? " 
 
 " I do not myself see the necessity for his doing so," 
 reflectively replied Mr. Lester. "As to his motive, it 
 must have been zeal — over-zeal that no harm should happen 
 to the things — your box amongst them. He can have no 
 
282 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 reason for detaining or concealing your box. If it were in 
 his hands he would bo only too glad to restore it to you 
 as the claimant.' , 
 
 " One would think so," was the reply, tinctured with 
 
 sarcasm. 
 
 " Were I to hazard a conjecture, I should say the box fell 
 from the cart unseen, on its way to the Castle." 
 
 " I think that would scarcely be your conjecture if you 
 knew how heavy the box is, Mr. Lester. It could not fall 
 unseen or unheard ; and one of the men walked behind the 
 cart. Lord Dane, as I hear, w r as also behind, keeping the 
 cart in view. This supposition may be wholly put aside, 
 for the box was seen carried into the Castle. 
 
 Mr. Lester pricked up his ears. The last bit of informa- 
 tion was new to him. 
 
 " Seen ! By whom ? " 
 
 "A somewhat noted young gentleman of your vicinity, 
 Shad, saw it taken in there." 
 
 Squire Lester interrupted with a laugh. "Pardon me, 
 Mr. Lydney, but the remark proves what a stranger you 
 are. Shad ! Why, he's the falsest boy you can conceive ; 
 he tells more lies in an hour than anyone else would in a 
 life-time. I doubt if he ever spoke a word of truth yet, 
 knowing it to be truth." 
 
 " I agree with you in all that," replied Mr. Lydney, who 
 had sat perfectly composed until the laugh was over. " My 
 landlord has told me what he is ; and from my own limited 
 observation of the boy, I should judge him to be an exceed- 
 ingly bad boy, an habitual and systematic deceiver. Never- 
 theless, I avow my belief that in this instance he has told 
 me truth. He says the two men carried the box into the 
 Castle, that it was nearly the last thing taken out of the 
 cart, and that Lord Dane's butler followed them in." 
 
 " But I thought you convinced yourself that the box was 
 not in the Castle." 
 
 " I convinced myself that it was not with the rest of the 
 things. That it was taken into the Castle, I feel certain." 
 
 " Then what can have become of it ? You surely don't 
 suspect any of the servants of having taken it ? " hastily 
 
SEARCHING DANE CASTLE. 
 
 283 
 
 added Mr. Lester. " Bruff is as honest as the day ; a most 
 respectable man : was butler to the late lord." 
 
 " I do not suspect the servants. From what I can gather, 
 none of them, except Bruff, went near the things." 
 
 It was an unlucky admission, destroying all semblance of 
 a plea for granting the warrant ; at least in the opinion of 
 the magistrate before him. 
 
 " Then whom do you suspect ? " rejoined Mr. Lester, fixing 
 his eyes on the young man. " Surely not Lord Dane ? " 
 
 " It is a nice question, Mr. Lester ; one that I am not 
 entirely prepared to answer. I do believe the box to be in 
 Dane Castle, either inadvertently concealed there, or 
 purposely concealed, and therefore I am asking you to grant 
 me a warrant to search for it." 
 
 " I cannot grant it you," replied Mr. Lester. " I am sorry 
 to refuse it ; but — putting other considerations aside — I 
 really believe neither law nor circumstances would justify it. 
 All the evidence you have, that the box went into the Castle, 
 is from Shad ; scarcely one upon whose word we could 
 venture to thrust the insult of a search-warrant upon Lord 
 Dane. Besides, I am not sure but that he would have power 
 as the lord-lieutenant, to draw his pen through it. You 
 will never get it from me or from any other magistrate. 
 And now let us go and have some tea." 
 
 Lord Dane was in the drawing-room with Lady Adelaide 
 and Miss Lester. He had come to sj)end the evening, and 
 learnt that Squire Lester was just then engaged with Mr. 
 Lydney. 
 
 " With Mr. Lydney ! " echoed his lordship. " Oh, ay ; the 
 young American lodging at the Sailors' Eest ; " and there 
 was a patronizing tone in his comment that somehow caused 
 Maria's cheeks to burn. " What is his business with Mr. 
 Lester?" 
 
 " I know nothing about it," said Lady Adelaide. " We 
 asked him to come to us for an hour this evening." 
 " Here ? Lydney ! " was the surprised question. 
 "Yes." 
 
 Lord Dane drew down the corners of his lips, and 
 mentally wondered in what sort of guise the American 
 
284 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 would present himself, to the evening society of English 
 gentlewomen. 
 
 His doubts on the point were speedily solved. Mr. Lester 
 came in, and his guest with him, in evening attire as orthodox 
 and simple as my Lord Dane's. 
 
 Again, let it be remarked, they did not look unlike each 
 other, allowing for the difference in age. Of the same 
 height ; the same noble cast of feature ; wearing the same 
 sort of quiet evening dress. Maria Lester's heart fluttered 
 when Mr. Lydney shook hands with her as it had never flut- 
 tered for Lord Dane. 
 
 It may as well be stated that Lord Dane had not as yet 
 spoken formally to Miss Lester, or personally urged his own 
 claims. That she knew he wished to prefer them, he was 
 aware ; but her manner gave him no encouragement, and he 
 deemed it well to wait a little. 
 
 She was a fair prize. None could feel that more deeply 
 than Lord Dane felt it as she stood before him to-night, in 
 her evening dress of light-blue silk, with a neeklace and 
 bracelets of crystals set in gold, and a single white rose in 
 her hair. Far more lovely in Lord Dane's eyes than even 
 Lady Adelaide had been in those bygone days. Adelaide 
 Errol had never possessed the sweet countenance, the gentle 
 spirit, that characterized Maria Lester. 
 
 One thing gave displeasure to Lord Dane, and that was 
 the manner of Mr. Lydney. Far from appearing to feel his 
 inferiority of position, he held his own just as though he 
 were an equal. Had he been ennobled as my Lord Dane 
 himself, his manner could not have been easier or more 
 self-possessed. He seemed accomplished, too, at least in 
 music; played with a soft skilful touch, sang with the 
 quietest and sweetest melody. 
 
 Lady Adelaide suddenly asked if he could sing a certain 
 duet ; he said yes, if Miss Lester would sing it with him 
 and play the accompaniment. Maria sat down to the 
 piano. 
 
 " A trifle quicker than you played it last night," said 
 Mr. Lydney to Maria, as he bent over her to look at the 
 music. 
 
SEARCHING DANE CASTLE* 
 
 285 
 
 " Quicker?" 
 
 " I think it would be better." 
 
 Lord Dane, standing by, caught the colloquy, and rather 
 opened his eyes. " Were you singing this with Mr. Lydney 
 last night ? — here ? " he inquired of Maria. 
 
 "Not here; at Miss Bordillion's," said Mr. Lydney, 
 answering for her. 
 
 And the answer by no means pleased Lord Dane. It was 
 not at all the thing for Miss Lester, whether as the daughter 
 of Mr. Lester of Danesheld Hall, or as his future wife, to 
 be subjected to the chance companionship of unknown 
 young Americans, cast up by the sea ; especially of those 
 who assumed the manners of gentlemen. 
 
 " What do you know of him ? " abruptly asked Lord Dane 
 of Mr. Lester when the evening came to an end, and Mr. 
 Lydney had departed. 
 
 "Know of him? Nothing. The young fellow called 
 here about his lost box, and I asked him to come in to tea." 
 
 " Is it wise of you to admit a stranger indiscriminately ? " 
 
 " Oh, I don't know," indifferently answered Mr. Lester, 
 who hated music and was feeling tired to death. " It's only 
 once in a way. I dare say he'll never be inside the house 
 again. But I think he is a gentleman." 
 
 The morning came. And Mr. Lydney, bearing in mind a 
 remark of Squire Lester's, that he would not get a magis- 
 trate to grant a search-warrant for Dane Castle, went direct 
 to the police-station and asked to see the chief officer. It 
 was a roomy station, newly built, containing cells for 
 refractory prisoners, and a large front room, in which was a 
 railed-off compartment with two chairs and a desk, and 
 taking in one of the windows; the windows looking out on 
 the street and the opposite shop of Minn the tailor. 
 
 Mr. Bent was at Danesheld still : formerly sergeant, now 
 inspector. He had grown portly, and rather bald. Bent, 
 however, was not in when Mr. Lydney called, and one of 
 the subordinates invited him to a chair inside the rails, and 
 listened to what he had to say. The purport of the appli- 
 cation was the lost box ; and a demand that Dane Castle 
 should be searched for it. 
 
286 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 The policeman shook his head with a faint smile. He 
 could not- take the responsibility of answering such an 
 application himself, he observed, but would report it 
 to his superior, and the gentleman had better call 
 again. 
 
 Little was William Lydney acquainted with the usages of 
 the neighbourhood, and with Lord Dane's sway in it, if he 
 supposed the police could receive such an application and 
 not make his lordship acquainted with it. The inspector 
 himself carried it to the Castle in the course of the day, and 
 Lord Dane accorded him a private interview. 
 
 " Search the Castle, forsooth ! " ironically cried Lord 
 Dane. " Search it for what ? For that lost box of his ? 
 Does the American suspect my servants ? " 
 
 Mr. Bent presumed that the American did. 
 
 " It were more to the purpose that he permitted himself 
 to be searched, for who he is, and for what he is," cried his 
 lordship angrily. " Look at the facts of the case, Bent. 
 Here's a Yankee saved from a wreck with what he stands 
 upright in; he is sheltered in a public-house and remains 
 there ; dresses up in new clothes like a gentleman, and 
 worms himself into the best houses in the neighbourhood. 
 All very well this, provided he is a gentleman ; but who is 
 to prove it ? He is silent as to his antecedents ; has been 
 asked of them, to my knowledge, but does not answer ; and I 
 say it is altogether fraught with suspicion. How do we know 
 that he is not an adventurer ? For my own part, I believe 
 him to be one ; I have my reasons f for thinking so. He 
 sj>ent last evening at Squire Lester's." 
 
 Mr. Bent, who had gained experience and was moreover a 
 tolerably shrewd man, was struck with the argument. 
 Coming, as it did, from Lord Dane, it made all the more 
 impression on him. 
 
 " He has become positively intimate at Miss Bordillion's 
 — intimate," went on the peer impressively, " and possibly so 
 at other houses. He came up here, to the Castle, and got 
 admitted to my sister, just as boldly as though he carried 
 his credentials in his hand." 
 
 " Why, there's no knowing what it may end in ? your 
 
SEARCHING DANE CASTLE. 
 
 287 
 
 lordship, if the man is really an adventurer ! " exclaimed the 
 dismayed inspector. 
 
 "It will end in the neighbourhood's having cause to 
 repent its credulity ; at least, that is my oj)inion," said Lord 
 Dane. " Stay, don't go yet, Bont ; we have not finished 
 about this box that he claims : a box which he acknowledged 
 to me was not his own. Between ourselves, it is just as 
 likely to have belonged to some other passenger, who has 
 gone where he can't claim it." 
 
 Summoning BrufF, Lord Dane went with Bent to the 
 strong-room. The butler unlocked it, and Lord Dane 
 pointed to the floor. 
 
 " Here the things are, Bent, lying just as they were 
 thrown down yesterday. Does it stand to reason that if the 
 box had been put here, it could have vanished ? — and Bruff 
 will testify to you that no one could have come in to 
 remove it ; he has not suffered the key to go out of his own 
 possession. Why, it was not, as I hear, five minutes after 
 the articles had been brought in, that this Lydney came up, 
 and saw for himself that the box was not amongst them. 
 Who is to know that he did not contrive to get it from the 
 cart himself, and is making this fuss to throw the police off 
 the scent ? No end of unpleasant suspicions are suggesting 
 themselves to my mind." 
 
 As they were to Mr. Bent's. " A pretty fellow, my lord, 
 to talk of getting a search-warrant for the Castle ! " 
 
 "I'd see him hanging from the yard arm of the tallest 
 ship in the harbour before he should execute it," haughtily 
 spoke his lordship. 
 
 And Mr. Bent nodded approvingly. 
 
 " But," resumed Lord Dane, " I am far from wishing to 
 impose the same restriction on the police. If you, Bent, 
 would like, for your own satisfaction, to go through every 
 room and examine every nook and corner of the Castle, you 
 are at liberty to do so. Bruff will guide you, or you may 
 go alone, just as you please. Here's the trestle-closet," 
 he added, throwing open the door. " Begin with that." 
 
 " Certainly not, my lord ; I should not think of doing so. 
 Unless it would be for your lordship's satisfaction," added 
 
288 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE 
 
 Bent, a thought striking him. " Your lordship does not 
 cast a doubt on any of the servants ? " he added in a low 
 tone. " The men, down at the station, thought that must 
 be what the American was aiming at." 
 
 "No, I do not cast suspicion on my servants," coldly 
 returned Lord Dane. " But there, you had better go 
 through the Castle," he concluded ; it will set the matter at 
 rest." 
 
 And accordingly Inspector Bent did go through the Castle, 
 searching it thoroughly, without finding any trace of the 
 lost box. Lord Dane's manner had changed to one of chilling 
 hauteur when the officer rejoined him. 
 
 " Look you, Bent. When this man — Lydney, or whatever 
 his name may be — shall presume to speak to you again of a 
 search-warrant for Dane Castle, inquire a little as to whom 
 he may be himself, and what he is doing here." 
 
 " I will, your lordship." 
 
 " Understand me," said his lordship, thawing a little, " you 
 have my private orders to do this. I wish to know who and 
 what the fellow is." 
 
 And as Mr. Bent walked back to Danesheld, he turned 
 the affair over in his own mind, and came to the conclusion 
 that Lord Dane's view, of there being much to doubt in the 
 conduct of this young Lydney, was a correct one. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 APPLYING TO INSPECTOR BENT. 
 
 The shades of evening were gathering in the wood at 
 Danesheld as Maria Lester walked quickly through it with 
 her brother. Once more she had transgressed home 
 mandates, and gone to see Wilfred's wife ; and the visit had 
 been productive of a pain she scarcely cared to conceal. 
 Things seemed to be growing worse in their cottage home : 
 Wilfred's reputation was not growing better. 
 
APPLYING TO INSFECTOR BENT. 
 
 289 
 
 " Is tliere nothing that you can do ? " she suddenly asked, 
 in an access of despair that rendered silence intolerable. 
 "Try and get a situation of some sort — no matter what; 
 anything that will enable you to earn a little. Throw pride 
 to the winds." 
 
 " Pride ! " he repeated, as if he and pride had no longer 
 much to do with each other. " What situation would you 
 suggest ? " he added, with sarcasm. " I have thought of 
 several, but nothing comes of it. I cannot open a general 
 shop, for want of funds ; I cannot engage myself as keej)er 
 to Lord Dane — he hasn't a vacancy ; I don't suppose I should 
 be hired if I offered myself as footman to my father, to 
 replace the one I hear is leaving." 
 
 " How can you turn what I say into ridicule ? " rejoined 
 Maria. " I did not mean places of that sort." 
 
 " You meant, no doubt, something more suited to a gentle- 
 man ? " he rejoined. " I am not eligible for it — possessing 
 no clothes ! " 
 
 "Oh, Wilfred! No clothes ! " 
 
 " Except this velveteen suit, everything else is put away ; 
 and I may have to put this away, if they'll take it, and go 
 about scandalizing Danesheld in shirt-sleeves." 
 
 Her cheeks were crimson, tears rested in her eyes. She 
 had suspected all this, and more ; but it was not pleasant to 
 have it put pointedly before her. And his mocking tone 
 troubled her worse than all. 
 
 "A little bird whispered to me, Maria, that you were 
 likely to marry Lord Dane," he resumed, his tone changing 
 to one kindly and serious. " Is it true ? " 
 
 Her face flushed. "Little birds are a great deal more 
 busy than they need be." 
 
 " I have no right to interfere, I suppose. But, Maria, I 
 would have you think twice ere you unite yourself to Lord 
 Dane. He is nearly double your age. Do you care for 
 him?" 
 
 " No, I don't care for him, Wilfred — not in that way. I 
 like Lord Dane very much as an acquaintance, but I should 
 not like to be his wife. Neither has he asked me yet." 
 They came to the end of the road, and Maria said good- 
 Lady Adelaide. IS) 
 
290 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 evening, and hastened onwards, for the dinner hour was at 
 hand. The emotion she would not give way to before her 
 brother had its own course now, and for a moment the tears 
 rained from her eyes. An unlucky moment. At the turning 
 near the Hall, she met a foot-passenger face to face, and it 
 was William Lydney. Maria brushed away the tears, and 
 spoke cheerfully, carrying off matters in the best way she 
 could. 
 
 " Have you found your box yet, Mr. Lydney ? " 
 
 " No," he replied, turning to walk by her side. " I have 
 been dancing attendance at that police-station all day, and 
 have not yet managed to see its head — Bent, I think they 
 call him. They have now told me he will be visible in half- 
 an-hour, and I am walking my impatience off until the half- 
 hour shall expire." 
 
 " I wish you could hear of it. It seems a strange thing 
 altogether — unless it was lost on its way to the Castle. 
 Were the contents of so very much consequence to you ? " 
 
 " They were of the very utmost consequence to the owner. 
 Strictly speaking, neither box nor contents belonged to me, 
 but I would rather give every shilling I possess in the 
 world than not recover them." 
 
 " Then I sincerely hope you will recover them," she said, 
 as Mr. Lydney rang the Hall bell ; and she held out her 
 hand to say adieu. " Indeed, you have my best wishes." 
 
 "Thank you. Yes — I feel sure I have. What was 
 grieving you just now ? " he resumed, as he held the hand 
 in his, and looked straight into her eyes. 
 
 The flush came into her cheeks again, but she made no 
 answer. 
 
 " Is it anything I may share — or alleviate ? " 
 
 " No, no ; don't ask me," she hurriedly answered, as the 
 door opened. " It was not my own trouble ; it is nothing I 
 can speak of. Thank you very much, Mr. Lydney." 
 
 He knew just as well as she did that it concerned Wilfred, 
 for the gossip of Danesheld had reached his ears. Maria 
 entered. She saw her father in his study at the back of the 
 hall, and went straight to the room. 
 
 "Papa," she said, closing the door> and untying her 
 
APPLYING TO INSPECTOR BENT. 
 
 291 
 
 bonnet-strings, partly in haste at the approach of dinner, 
 partly from inward commotion, " there was an embargo laid 
 on me, more implied than expressed, that I should not go to 
 Wilfred's house." 
 
 " Of course there was," replied Mr. Lester. 
 
 " I have come to tell you that I have transgressed it twice, 
 papa." 
 
 Mr. Lester surveyed his daughter for a minute in silence. 
 " And pray what took you there ? " 
 
 " I went to see Edith. Papa, I fear she is dying." 
 
 The glasses across Mr. Lester's nose — for he had been 
 reading a letter when interrupted by Maria — went down. 
 He made no answer. 
 
 " And she is dying of hunger — of famine," continued 
 Maria with emotion. " Dying of famine, papa." 
 
 " Don't talk absurdly," came the angry reproof. 
 
 " It is so, papa. Edith cannot eat ordinary food, and she 
 is sinking for the want of better nourishment. Sally tells 
 me she is slowly dying of starvation and neglect. Slowly 
 dying. Oh, papa ! will you not help them ? Let me take 
 her something from our superfluities." 
 
 It may be that a question crossed Mr. Lester whether he 
 might venture (having his wife before his mind) to accede 
 to the prayer, for he hesitated. But only for a moment. 
 
 " No, Maria. Wilfred and his wife have deliberately 
 brought this state of things on themselves, defying me ; 
 and they must abide by it." 
 
 The tears came streaming from Maria's eyes. " If you 
 would only give me a little ready money for them, 
 papa " 
 
 " Be silent," testily interrupted Mr. Lester. Ready 
 money had become a scarce commodity with him ; and his 
 daughter was making him feel disagreeably uncomfortable. 
 As to " famine," he put that down to a flight of imagina- 
 tion. 
 
 " It is no affair of yours, Maria ; they have brought it on 
 themselves, I say. I desire that you do not go near 
 Wilfred's place again." 
 
 "Please do not impose that command upon me," she 
 
292 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 interrupted. "I am not sure — dear papa, pardon my 
 saying so — but I am not sure I could strictly obey it. He 
 is my brother ; lie is deserted of all ; and I fear it may be 
 my duty to stand by him a little — even though you bade 
 me not do so. Do not bar all intercourse between us. I 
 will promise to go but rarely — never unless occasion should 
 seem to need it; and if you like, I will always tell you 
 when I have been. Our mother is dead ; you have other 
 ties : but I and Wilfred stand alone." 
 
 Not a word spoke Mr. Lester. He was taken by sur- 
 prise, possibly. Never had he seen his daughter display 
 similar agitation. After a moment's pause, Maria turned 
 slowly to the door, and had opened it, when he addressed 
 her. 
 
 " If you are determined to take your own course in this 
 matter, why did you speak to me ? " 
 
 " I could not be disobedient without telling you, papa." 
 
 He said nothing more, and Maria left the room. Ah ! 
 but she had not told him all she had hoped to do. She had 
 wished to hint at the unpleasant rumours touching Wilfred's 
 doings, as an additional reason why he should be helped ; 
 but her courage had failed her. 
 
 The dinner-bell was heard, and as Maria went upstairs, 
 she met Lady Adelaide in dinner dress, a fan and bouquet 
 in her hand. 
 
 "Don't you intend to appear at table to-day, Miss 
 Lester ? " she coldly asked. 
 
 " Oh, thank you, Lady Adelaide ; never mind me to-day," 
 was the answer returned, as if the speaker were agitated. 
 " I have a headache." 
 
 My lady swept on down the stairs, and poor Maria went 
 up. Tiffle came out of a nook near the study, and cast a 
 stealthy glance after Maria, 
 
 " Shouldn't I like to have the shaking of that young 
 woman! I'd make her remember her interference — with 
 her Wilfreds and her famishings! My lady must be 
 warned of this plot ; Guy Faux's was nothing to it." 
 
 By which it may be inferred that Tiffle had mysteriously 
 heard what passed inside the study of Mr. Lester. 
 
APPLYING TO INSPECTOR BENT. 
 
 293 
 
 Meanwhile Mr. Lydney went again to the police-station, 
 and found Inspector Bent waiting for him. As before, he 
 was accommodated with a chair within the railings of the 
 front room, under the gas-burner, but was not taken to any 
 more private place. They had lighted up early at the 
 station to-night. The inspector stood in the shade, leaning 
 against the desk in a careless fashion, listening carelessly 
 (as it seemed) to what the applicant said. In reality, he 
 was at work most attentively and cautiously, endeavouring 
 to learn what he could of Mr. Lydney and his belongings. 
 
 " Am I to understand that you accuse Lord Dane of 
 stealing the box ? " asked the inspector. 
 
 "I do not accuse him, not having sufficient proof at 
 hand," was the bold answer. " That Lord Dane had the 
 box taken away in the cart is indisputable; that it must 
 have reached the Castle is almost equally indisputable ; 
 and also, in my opinion, that it entered it. Where, then, is 
 the box ? Lord Dane does not give it up ; he either 
 cannot, or he will not — one of the two ; and the only 
 course left to me, by which I may obtain redress, is to have 
 the Castle searched by the police.' , 
 
 " But only think what an insult that would be to my 
 Lord Dane," said Mr. Bent, fencing with the question. 
 " You must remember who he is — a peer, lord-lieutenant 
 of the county, lord of the manor, a man of high charac- 
 ter " 
 
 " High character ! " interrupted the young gentleman. 
 
 "Why, yes — high character, and very high," answered 
 Mr. Bent, staring at the applicant. " Have you anything 
 to urge against him ? " 
 
 " That I have, if he has taken my box." 
 
 " Enough ! " said the inspector, tartly. " Before we can 
 listen to any such charge — if you were thinking of making 
 it — we must know who it is that would bring it." 
 
 " What difference does that make ? " 
 
 " It makes all the difference," was the significant answer. 
 " Were any unknown worthless fellow to come to us with 
 some trumped-up complaint against Lord Dane, we should 
 show him the door for his temerity ; but were any such 
 
294 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 complaint preferred by a gentleman of character and posi- 
 tion, it might carry weight with it. Now do you see the 
 distinction ? " 
 
 Such distinction of course Mr. Lydney could not fail to 
 see. 
 
 "I am a gentleman, if you require that assurance," he 
 observed. " I am entitled to position and consideration." 
 " Can you prove it ? " 
 " You have my word for it." 
 
 The inspector smiled in a way that annoyed Mr. Lydney. 
 But he continued quietly : 
 
 " It is a word that has never yet been doubted." 
 
 " Maybe, sir ; but words don't go for much in law, unless 
 backed by proofs. You are an American, we have been 
 given to understand ? " 
 
 " In so far as that I was born on the soil — no further. 
 My father was an Englishman, my mother French. My 
 father's family are of repute in England, and know how to 
 hold their own." 
 
 The inspector's ears were opened an inch wider, and his 
 answer was ready. 
 
 "Where do they live? In what part of England? 
 Lydney? Lydney? The name is not familiar to me as 
 borne by any family of note." 
 
 " I cannot give you further information. It is as I have 
 told you, and you must trust to my word." 
 
 " But where can be the objection to speak out ? " urged 
 the officer. 
 
 " That is my business," was the cool reply. 
 
 "Very well, sir; you have said just as much as I ex- 
 pected you to say, and no more," returned the police- 
 officer. " You assert that you are somebody, and when 
 I ask you for proof you decline to give it. Now, do you 
 think that any charge from you against my Lord Dane 
 would be listened to ? " 
 
 Lydney regarded him in silence. He was thinking. 
 
 " Will you tell me what your business may be in this 
 neighbourhood ? — and how long you intend to stop in it ? " 
 
 " My business in the neighbourhood ! " echoed Mr. 
 
APPLYING TO INSPECTOR BENT. 
 
 295 
 
 Lydney. " Why, did not the sea cast me upon it ? As to 
 my remaining, if I choose to remain in it for good, I 
 believe there is no law to prevent me. I can promise you 
 one thing : I don't quit it until the box is found." 
 
 "Our conference is at an end, sir," said the inspector, 
 " My time is valuable." 
 
 " Am I to understand that the police refuse to assist me 
 in my efforts to recover the box ? " 
 
 " Not at all," more cordially replied Mr. Bent ; " we 
 should be very glad to find it for our own satisfaction. 
 What we decline to do, is to act in any offensive manner 
 towards Lord Dane. Especially," he pointedly added, 
 "when a stranger, and one who won't declare anything 
 about himself, urges it. But now, sir, I am not ill-natured, 
 and if it will ease your mind at all to know it, I can testify 
 that the box is not in the Castle." 
 
 " You cannot know that it is not." 
 
 "I never testify to a thing that I don't know," re- 
 turned Mr. Bent. " I searched the Castle myself for it 
 to-day." 
 
 " You!" 
 
 " I did. I searched it effectively and thoroughly. There 
 was not a space the size of that," holding up his hand, 
 " that I did not go into; When you went the length of 
 applying for a search-warrant this morning, we thought it 
 time to acquaint my Lord Dane, and I stepped up to the 
 Castle towards middle day. My lord was indignant, which 
 was to be expected, and said he'd see you far enough before 
 you should search his house. But he cooled down in a 
 few minutes, and said if I liked to go through it for my 
 own satisfaction, I might. I availed myself of the offer, 
 and can swear that the box is not in the Castle. Every 
 place that it was possible to put a box into was thrown 
 open to me by the butler, who seemed as anxious to find 
 the box as you can be. It is not in Dane Castle, and, I 
 feel persuaded, never was in it." 
 
 The information took Mr. Lydney by surprise. 
 
 " Then where can it be ? What can have become of it ? " 
 he exclaimed aloud. 
 
396 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE* 
 
 " I can't say ; to my mind, it's a queer business altogether," 
 acknowledged Mr. Bent. " I don't much like the fact of 
 that Granny Bean's Shad having been near the cart when it 
 was unloading. That imp would lay his hands on anything 
 he could ; a japanned box, got up from a wreck, would be the 
 very treasure he would like to finger. Still, that idea does 
 not go for much with me. That he did not carry it off himself 
 is certain — first, because he could not, from its weight ; 
 next, because I have evidence that when the cart went away 
 empty, he shambled off, empty-handed, after it." 
 
 "You have been collecting evidence upon this loss, I 
 perceive." 
 
 " Undoubtedly, When losses take place, especially mys- 
 terious ones, it is our business to do so. We were yesterday 
 in possession of all the facts — so far as they go." 
 
 "And what are your deductions?" asked Mr. Lydney. 
 " Can you give a guess as to how or where the abstraction 
 took place ? " 
 
 " Not the faintest. It's about as uncertain a case as ever 
 I had to do with. It is your own box, I think you said ? " 
 the inspector carelessly added, with a keen rapid glance of 
 the eye. 
 
 " I did not say so. It was in my charge, and I have 
 authority to claim it as such ; but neither the box nor its 
 contents belonged to me." 
 
 " May I inquire whose it was ? " 
 
 " When the box shall be found," was Mr. Lydney's re- 
 joinder ; and his caution did not tell well for him with the 
 man in authority. " I may rely, then, upon your efforts to 
 help me in finding the property ? " 
 
 " Yes — in a legitimate way. We'll do our best." 
 
 Mr. Lydney went out, the inspector standing at the door 
 and looking after him, as he disappeared in the darkness 
 of the evening. In acknowledging that it was a " queer " 
 business, Mr. Bent spoke exactly as he thought ; and now 
 that he had seen and conversed with the claimant, he put 
 away that idea first suggested by Lord Dane, of any 
 nefarious acting on Lydney's part. The young man's 
 bearing and speech were those of an honest man and a, 
 
APPLYING TO INSPECTOR BENT. 
 
 297 
 
 gentleman ; and Mr. Bent had found himself a great deal 
 less short with him than he had previously intended to be. 
 
 " I'll be hanged if there isn't something about him that 
 puts me in mind of the old Lord Dane ! " said the inspector, 
 arousing himself from his train of thought. " He has just 
 
 the same commanding way. As to the box Halloa, sir ! 
 
 is it you back again ? " 
 
 " It has occurred to me that it might be of use to offer a 
 reward for the recovery of the box," said Mr. Lydney. 
 " What do you think ? " 
 
 " Well, yes, it might," answered the inspector. " I have 
 been turning the matter over in my mind this last minute 
 or two, and think the box must have been stolen from 
 the cart on its way to the Castle. I can't see any other 
 way out of the difficulty. We have two or three loose 
 characters in Danesheld, I can tell you, sir— older and 
 stronger than Shad. If any of them were hanging about, 
 why, that's how the job was done; and in that case, a 
 reward would be almost sure to get the box back." 
 
 "Then be so good as to take the necessary steps to 
 announce it. Spare no trouble, no time, no expense ; you 
 shall be well repaid." 
 
 " Very good, sir. What reward shall wo say ? Five 
 pounds — ten pounds ? " 
 
 " Offer a thousand pounds." 
 
 " Sir ! " cried the inspector, backing a step or two in his 
 astonishment. 
 
 " A thousand pounds ; to be paid to any one who shall 
 restore the box intact," continued Mr. Lydney, as quietly as 
 though he had said a thousand pence. 
 
 " A thousand pounds ! " echoed the inspector, startled at 
 the munificence of the amount. " The box must be valuable, 
 sir, and you rich, to offer that." 
 
 " The box, to its owner, is valuable. As to the money, it 
 would be paid from his pocket, not from mine." 
 
 " A tithe of the money would fetch back a score of such 
 boxes, whatever their contents, from the minor sort of base 
 characters we have about here, whose business chiefly 
 consists of poaching and smuggling." 
 
298 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " And," pursued Mr. Lydney, " as you have remarked upon 
 my being unknown, I may as well mention that vouchers for 
 the money can be deposited with you whenever you please, 
 as a guarantee for the good faith of my offer." 
 
 He turned with the last word, and departed, Mr. Inspector 
 Bent gazing after him, and unable just yet to recover from 
 his amazement. 
 
 " I said it looked queer all along," was his mental com- 
 ment. " A thousand pounds ! What on earth can his box 
 have got inside it ? " 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 A BATTLE ROYAL. 
 
 Mr. Lydney walked away with a slow step, his brain working. 
 The assurance of the police that his box was not in Dane 
 Castle upset his previous conclusions. He began to think 
 he had misjudged Lord Dane, and to fall into the theory of 
 the inspector, as the only feasible conclusion — that the box 
 had been stolen on its way to the Castle. If so, there was 
 one person who must undoubtedly have witnessed the theft 
 — and that was Shad. 
 
 Somewhat impulsive in what he did, and very anxious, 
 William Lydney determined to seek Shad on the instant, 
 and question him again. Mr. Shad was perhaps keeping 
 the secret, but a glance too cunning, or a word too sharp, 
 might betray the fact. He was not quite sure which road 
 would best conduct him to the hut inhabited by Granny 
 Bean ; he had a general impression that it lay on the outer 
 border of the wood, and concluded that it must be down 
 somewhere by Wilfred Lester's. So he marched along, 
 swiftly now, in the starlight of the summer evening, until 
 he came to Wilfred's cottage. 
 
 " I believe now I ought to have gone on by Miss Bordil- 
 
A BATTLE ROYAL. 
 
 299 
 
 lion's, and taken the further turning," he soliloquized, 
 halting in his course. " Suppose I ask Lester ? " 
 
 Opening the gate, he stepped into the little porch, where 
 something occurred that considerably startled him. The 
 door unclosed stealthily, and he was pounced upon by a 
 tall female, and pulled into the dark passage. It was no 
 other than Sally, and she spoke in a whisper. 
 
 " Thanks be to goodness you've not gone yet ! Now it's 
 of no use your being angry and struggling to get off! I 
 have had you in my arms when you were a baby, Mr. Wilfred, 
 and I know what's right and what's wrong. I've heard a 
 whisper that the keepers are going on the watch to-night, 
 and there'll be bloodshed again, as sure as death, if the 
 poachers show themselves. You shan't go, sir ! You are 
 killing your wife outright, for she's beginning to suspect 
 something. I've just been vowing you are in the kitchen, 
 smoking your pipe by the fire. Come in, sir, and let me 
 bar the door ; come in." 
 
 " My good woman," he exclaimed, when he found himself 
 able to speak, "for whom do you take me? I am Mr. 
 Lydney. Is your master at home ? " 
 
 Sally fell against the wall without a word. Mr. Lydney 
 repeated his question. 
 
 " I'm just a fool and nothing else," cried she, turning the 
 matter off with a laugh. " I've been expecting a friend 
 to-night, and I thought it was him. You must please to 
 forgive me, sir. The master? No, sir, I think he must 
 have gone out. I've been up in my mistress's sick-room, 
 and can't find him in the house." 
 
 "Never mind. I merely called to ask some of you to 
 direct me to Goody Bean's. Am I going right for it ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir ; straight on. You'll have to keep to the left 
 of that three-cornered field that divides the wood, and you 
 will come to the place in a few minutes — a little low cottage 
 hid in the trees, standing by itself. Sir," she added, " I 
 beg your pardon for my mistake, and I hope you'll not 
 think about it, or talk of it." 
 
 " Not I," answered Mr. Lydney, with a laugh. " Make 
 my compliments to your master." 
 
300 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE, 
 
 The laugli was a pleasant one, the tone gay, purposely made 
 so ; nevertheless, the woman's unintentional disclosure had 
 struck a chill on William Lydney's heart. It seemed a 
 confirmation of the damaging rumours that were being 
 whispered. 
 
 A few minutes brought him to a low dwelling, hali 
 cottage, half hut, on the borders of the wood, which he had 
 no doubt was Goody Bean's domicile. It was closely shut 
 up, and he might have imagined its inmates, Granny and 
 Shad, had retired to rest, but for a commotion that was 
 taking place within. Now an old woman's voice rose in 
 shrill shrieks of rage ; now Shad's in shriller whines. Mr. 
 Lydney knocked first at the door, then on the shutters ; but 
 little chance was there of his being heard whilst the noise 
 lasted. 
 
 " You wicked young imp ! " he heard her say, with a 
 profuse sprinkling of language, which the reader would not 
 care to have transcribed ; " to go and rob your granny of 
 her hard-earned savings ! You'll come to the gallows, you 
 will." 
 
 " It's not yourn," returned Shad, his denial interspersed 
 with similar embellishments. " The new gen'alman gave 
 it me yesterday for telling him about the box, and I'll take 
 my oath to it. Come ; hand it over." 
 
 " You vile story-teller ! As if any gen'alman would go 
 and give you a whole silver sixpence ! Now, will you be off ? 
 You ought to have been on the watch a good half-hour ago." 
 
 Mr. Shad apparently turned restive. " I won't go on the 
 watch," said he. " I won't stir till I gets my sixpence. I've 
 kep' it in my pocket till I gets twopence more, to buy that 
 there gray rabbit off Ned Long." 
 
 A fresh contest, sounds of blows, and a final shout of 
 triumph from Shad, which seemed to proclaim him the 
 victor. Mr. Lydney gave a loud knock on the shutters. 
 
 Total silence supervened : the summons had been heard, 
 and evidently startled the disputants. Stealthy movements 
 inside ensued, and Mr. Lydney thought he heard a door 
 shut. He knocked again. 
 
 It brought forth the head of the woman at a window- 
 
A BATTLE ItOYAL. 30l 
 
 Casement on the right. The cottage had two rooms, both 
 on the ground-floor, a window in each. She opened the 
 shutters, and thrust her face through the aperture, recon- 
 noitring — a red and wrinkled face, surmounted by a cap in 
 tatters, the result probably of the recent conflict ; the head 
 shaking as if she were suffering from palsy. 
 
 "Have you been committing murder here?" demanded 
 Mr. Lydney. 
 
 " I was a-saying of my prayers out loud, if that's murder,'' 
 returned the dame. " What now ? what do you mean ? " 
 
 The bold assertion deprived him of speech for a moment. 
 Of what use bandying words with such a woman ? " I want 
 Shad," he resumed. 
 
 " Shad ! I can't go for to disturb him from his rest to- 
 night. Shad's a-bed and asleep." 
 
 " Why, you audacious old creature ! " he could not help 
 exclaiming, " I wonder you dare tell so deliberate a false- 
 hood ! You and Shad have just been at it, tooth and nail, 
 fighting after a sixpence. Let me tell you the sixpence is 
 his, for I gave it him." 
 
 "Now, did you indeed, sir?" was the bland whining 
 answer, the surly tone changing as if by magic. " What a 
 dear, good, generous gentleman you must be ! You haven't 
 got another about you, to bestow in charity upon a poor, 
 lone, wretched, half-starved widder, have you? I'd re- 
 member you in my prayers ever after, I would." 
 
 " If I had fifty, I would not give you one ; and I don't 
 imagine your prayers will do yourself much good, let alone 
 anyone else. I want Shad, I say." 
 
 " Shad's a-bed and asleep, which I'll swear to, and I 
 darden't break into his night's rest," was the impudent 
 retort. " A delicate child as he is, and the stay and staff o' 
 my life — if I was to lose him, I should die of grief. Come 
 any time in the morning, sir, when his night's rest's over, 
 and you're welcome. I tucked him up, the darling, an hour 
 ago, in his little bed, and a sweet sleep he dropped off 
 into." 
 
 "Of all extraordinary characters I think you must be 
 the worst ! " exclaimed Mr. Lydney. " Shad's no more in 
 
302 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 bed than I am. I heard your conflict, I tell you. These 
 false assertions sound perfectly awful from a woman at your 
 time of life.'' 
 
 " Strange noises is heard outside this hut at times ; folks 
 have said so afore," said the old woman with a sniff. " It's 
 the wdtches a-playing in the air, I fancy; and it's them 
 you must have heard — unless it was me at my prayers." 
 
 " Will you send out Shad ? " 
 
 " I'm sure I'd obleege you in any ways but that, such a 
 nice gentlemen as you seem to be ; but I wouldn't wake up 
 my poor sickly gran' child for anything — no, not if you 
 offered me fifty sixpences." 
 
 Giving a good-night to Granny Bean more emphatic than 
 polite, Mr. Lydney strode away. He must put off seeing 
 Shad until the morning. He struck round to the back of 
 the hut, where he believed he should find a path that led 
 direct through the wood, which would cut off a portion of 
 the way homeward. Curiosity induced him to turn and 
 look at the cottage, and there he saw a door; so Master 
 Shad and his reputable granny had entrance and exit by 
 the back way as well as the front. 
 
 Pursuing the path which was narrower than he had 
 expected, Mr. Lydney sped on with a quick step, buried in 
 thought. It was a light night in the open ground, but dark 
 and gloomy in the wood. He was half-way through it, 
 when a sound as of one pushing through the brambles 
 caught his ear. Knowing that certain suspicious characters 
 were said to haunt the place, Mr. Lydney drew just within 
 the trees, and looked out to see who might be approaching. 
 
 It was Wilfred Lester. Panting, eager, excited, he came 
 tearing along, at right angles with Lydney, where there 
 seemed to be no pathway. He crossed the open path at a 
 bound, penetrated the trees on its opposite side, and went 
 pushing on, as though making straight for home. 
 
 Mr. Lydney remained immovable, wondering what the 
 movement could mean, and what Wilfred was about. That 
 he was excessively agitated was apparent, and the words 
 spoken by the servant, when she had so unceremoniously 
 made him a prisoner, rose with apprehension to his mind. 
 
A BATTLE HOYAL. 
 
 303 
 
 He was, as the saying runs, " putting this and that together," 
 and by no means liking the look of things, when something 
 else attracted his attention. 
 
 Stealing out on to the path in the trail of Wilfred Lester, 
 came Mr. Shad like a young hound scenting its prey. Once 
 in the path he made a dead stoppage, unconscious that any 
 eye or ear was near him. 
 
 "He's tored home to his house," soliloquized he aloud, 
 looking at the direction in which Wilfred Lester had dis- 
 appeared. " No good to track him further to-night. I'll 
 go and tell her." 
 
 Mr. Lydncy had stretched out his hand to lay it on the 
 boy, but a second impulse prompted him to hesitate. Far 
 better follow this erratic gentleman, and discover, if 
 possible, what treason was being hatched. That some plot 
 was on foot against Wilfred Lester, that he was being 
 watched to his own possible destruction, Mr. Lydney felt 
 convinced. He also felt very nearly convinced of another 
 thing — that Wilfred was hatching enough mischief of his 
 own accord against himself. 
 
 Shad fled down the path in a direction opposite to Granny 
 Bean's, and at the end of the wood, near to Squire Lester's, 
 entered the trees again to the right. Mr. Lydney followed. 
 Agile and slender, he could penetrate the trees as well as 
 Shad ; and when Shad stopped, he stopped. 
 
 Shad was in his favourite attitude ; twined just like a 
 snake round the thin stem of a tree skirting the road. Mr. 
 Lydney halted sufficiently near to see and hear. He 
 wondered who the " her " was to whom Shad was bound. 
 Having had experience by this time of the insatiable nature 
 of Madame Eavensbird's curiosity, and of her great amount 
 of information on all subjects, a half suspicion crossed his 
 mind that it might be to her that Shad was hastening. Not 
 so, however. 
 
 In answer to a soft whistle of Shad's, a female emerged 
 from a low gate on the opposite side of the road, a gate that 
 led to the back entrance of Squire Lester's house. She 
 crossed the road with a stealthy shambling gait, not unlike 
 Shad's own, entered the trees, and stood with Shad in a 
 
304 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 small deal' space. Mr. Lydney recognized in her the upper 
 servant at the Hall — Tiffle. 
 
 " Well ? " began she, rather sharply. 
 
 " He's gone right off home," said Shad in answer. " When 
 I got up to 'em, they was having hot words — him, and 
 Beecher, and Drake, and another, which I think were Bill 
 Nicholson. Lester was a-blowing of 'em up for wanting to 
 go right off where the keepers would be, which might cause 
 blood to be spilt, he said ; and they got in a passion one 
 and t'other, and Lester he swore he'd have nothing to do 
 with 'em, and went off back again. I say, Mrs. Tiffle, 
 where'll be the pull o' my dodging him, if he takes to 
 shirking ? " 
 
 " How did they ferret out where the keepers would be ? " 
 asked Tiffle, who had listened in silence. 
 
 " Can't tell," answered Shad. " I only got up at the tail 
 o' their conflab. I didn't hear nothing of what they'd been 
 saying afore." 
 
 "Then you were late, and a wicked, inattentive, good-for- 
 nothing little villain." 
 
 " Yes, I were late, and it were granny's fault," boldly 
 announced Shad. "She set on me and a'most killed me. 
 You should be hid in the oven some day, and see her in her 
 tantrums ; you'd not believe it was anything but Old Nick's 
 mother let loose. Look here ! here's where she bited me, 
 and here's where she kicked at me, and here's where she 
 scratted me, and clutches of my hair she tored out by 
 han'fuls." 
 
 Shad exhibited various damaged spots about his face and 
 arms, and let fall a shower of tears. Tiffle became re- 
 markably demonstrative in her sympathy, clasping Shad 
 to her with tenderness, and kissing the places with her own 
 lips. It caused Mr. Lydney's eyes to open — in more senses 
 than one. 
 
 " My poor boy ! Granny's a regular hyenia when she's 
 put up. I'll be even with her. What did she do it for ? " 
 
 " She have the nastiest, slyest ways," returned Shad, who 
 appeared not to relish the embrace in an equal degree with 
 Tiffle, and wriggled himself from it as soon as he possibly 
 
A BATTLE ROYAL. 
 
 305 
 
 could. " Slic dives into my pockets, slie do, and to-niglit 
 she found a sixpence in 'em, and she set on and swored it 
 were hern, and said I'd robbed her on't, and she grabbed it 
 from me, and — my ! wasn't there a shindy ! and such a 
 row came to the shutters amid it. I got it again, though," 
 concluded Shad, with glee, as he took out the bright six- 
 pence and exhibited it to Tiffle. "Why, she haven't a 
 sixpence to grab ! " 
 
 Tiffle did not look at it with equanimity. She came to* 
 the conclusion that someone had been robbed of it, if not 
 Granny Bean, and her affectionate mood changed into wrath. 
 
 " You little divil, you ! If you begin to grab money now, 
 you'll end your days a- working in gangs and irons. Now 
 you just tell me where you stole that." 
 
 " If ever I see the like ! You're as bad as granny," 
 whined the boy. " I might as well be a mad dog, and 
 roped up at once ! That there sixpence was gave me by a 
 gen'alman ; gived out and out." 
 
 " Gave for what ? " sharply responded Tiffle. 
 
 " For telling about his box. It's that tall spark what's 
 stopping at the Sailors' Eest. He asked me did I see the 
 things took up to the Castle gates, and I said I see 'em ; and 
 then he said if I'd tell him the truth, and no lie, whether 
 the box went into the Castle or not, I should get a sixpence ; 
 and I did tell him, and he give it me." 
 
 " Did you see the box taken in ? " quickly asked Tiffle. 
 
 " What should ail me ? " responded Shad. " I were stood 
 there watching," 
 
 " And it was taken right in ? " 
 
 " It was took right in," answered Shad, his eyes glisten- 
 ing : " as right in as ever anything was took into that Castle 
 yet. Them two miller's chaps carried of it, like they did 
 t'other lots ; and that big Mr. Bruff might have see'd 'em if 
 he'd looked, only he was talking to a lady what passed." 
 
 " That young fellow's name's Lydney, Shad ; and " 
 
 "J know," interrupted Shad, with a careless emphasis 
 that seemed to carry with it an assurance there were few 
 things he did not know. 
 
 " Well, I want you to keep your eyes on that Lydney," 
 
 Lady Adelaide. 
 
 20 
 
 / 
 
306 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 proceeded Tiffle. " Look after him just as keen as you arc 
 looking after Will Lester. He looks like a gentleman, but 
 he might be one of them gentlemen that come to places after 
 watches, and chains, and rings ; and I heard my Lord Dane 
 drop a doubt of him. You find out what you can. I've got 
 my reasons. And just you note down in your head when- 
 ever you see him with Miss Lester." 
 
 Mr. Lydney, from his hiding-place, felt infinitely indebted 
 to her. 
 
 " I've see'd him often with her," returned Shad. " I see'd 
 him with her this evening. They went right up to the 
 Hall together. He have took to come to the wood, too, he 
 have, that Lydney ! And, I say, Mrs. Tiffle, Miss Lester 
 went to her brother's place this evening." 
 
 " Yes, she did," said Tiffle, sharply. " But now there's 
 no more to be done to-night, Shad, and you cut home as 
 quick as you can, and get to bed." 
 
 " And if granny sets on me again ? " whined Shad. 
 
 " Leave granny to me ; I'll see to her." 
 
 Shad turned into the wood ; Tiffle looked cautiously out 
 on either side, and then hurried across the road. She had 
 barely gained the gate leading to Mr. Lester's premises, 
 when my Lord Dane appeared from the direction of Miss 
 Bordillion's. He was probably coming from the railway 
 station. The line of rail had now been extended to Danes- 
 held, its station being beyond Miss Bordillion's, and this 
 was the nearest way to it from the Castle. Tiffle waited at 
 the gate when she saw who it was. 
 
 " Is it you, Tiffle ? " cried his lordship, gaily. " Enjoy- 
 ing a ramble by starlight ? " 
 
 " Oh, my lord, you are pleased to joke," simpered Tiffle. 
 " My days for starlighted rambles are over. I leave 'em for 
 the young now, my lord ; I've had my turn. This evening 
 that ever was, I see Miss Lester walking cosy in the star- 
 light — least way, the evening star was out — and I thought 
 how romintic it was ; putting me in mind of my own sen- 
 timintal clays, my lord. That gentleman was with her that 
 the wreck cast up." 
 
 Had it been daylight instead of starlight, Tiffle would 
 
A BATTLE KOYAL. 
 
 307 
 
 scarcely liave presumed to fix her eyes so keenly upon my 
 Lord Dane. Amongst all cunning women, she wore the palm, 
 and she knew she was throwing out a shaft that would tell. 
 
 u Wrecks cast up rogues as well as gentlemen," observed 
 his lordship, in a tone of stern displeasure. " An American, 
 whom nobody knows, is scarcely one to be walking by 
 starlight with Miss Lester. Good-night, Tifflc." 
 
 Every word could be heard by William Lydney in his 
 retreat, from which he had not yet been able to get away. 
 The road was very narrow ; in fact, it was more of a lane 
 than a road ; and the tones came over it with perfect dis- 
 tinctness in the still night air. 
 
 Lord Dane walked on, and Tiffle disappeared from view/ 
 But Mr. Lydney felt by no means sure she was not on the 
 watch still, and therefore he did not choose to step out into 
 the road and show himself. He penetrated further into the 
 wood to gain a path that would bring him out at the back 
 of the town. His rambles with Wilfred Lester, who seemed 
 to prefer the wood for exercise to the open country, had 
 rendered him tolerably familiar with it. 
 
 This night appeared prolific for Mr. Lydney in adventures 
 and encounters. As he was pursuing his way, he came sud- 
 denly into contact with a man dragging himself covertly 
 and noiselessly through the trees — a youngish man, as 
 far as could be distinguished, who appeared alarmingly 
 startled at the encounter, and levelled his gun. 
 
 "Halloa, my man! what's that for?" demanded Mr. 
 Lydney, speaking with equanimity, and showing neither 
 fear nor hurry. " Have the goodness to drop that." 
 
 u If you don't say who you are, and what you are doing 
 here, I'll shoot you," was the reply. 
 
 "I feel infinitely obliged to you. Have you any more 
 right to be in the wood than I have ? I should be glad to 
 know." 
 
 Mr. Lydney spoke with courtesy ; and the man could not 
 fail to remark that his voice was that of a gentleman. He 
 had no doubt feared a keeper. 
 
 " You were posted there to watch me ! " he exclaimed. 
 
 " Nay," said Mr. Lydney ; " I may with equal reason 
 
308 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 reverse tlio accusation, and say you wore watching me. I 
 don't know who you are ; I never saw you in my life that I 
 know of. Why should I watch you ? You must have 
 escaped from a lunatic asylum." 
 
 The man let fall his gun. He had been peering at Mr. 
 Lydney as well as the obscurity allowed him, and made out 
 that he was not a foe. 
 
 " I ask your pardon for my haste," he said ; " I thought 
 you were somebody else. The fact is, none but suspicious 
 characters are ever prowling in the wood so late as this, 
 unless it's those confounded keepers who are ready to swear 
 an innocent man's life away." 
 
 Mr. Lydney laughed — a kindly laugh. He had no 
 objection to a spice of adventure — was just of the age and 
 temperament to relish it. 
 
 " Are you aware of the self-accusation those words imply ? 
 Nobody but suspicious characters? Meaning, I conclude, 
 poachers." 
 
 " And keepers too," growled the man. 
 
 " Very good. I am neither the one nor the other. If 
 you choose to beat about this wood from January to Decem- 
 ber, a gun in one hand and snare-nets in the other, you are 
 welcome, for all the business it is of mine. Were they my 
 preserves, it would be a different matter." 
 
 " You won't go and say to-morrow that you dropped upon 
 me here with a gun ? " 
 
 " 1 should be clever to say it, seeing I know you neither 
 by sight nor by name. But if you prefer a specific promise, 
 you may take it. Life is short enough, my man ; better 
 pass it in kindliness than in doing gratuitous injuries." 
 
 The poacher liked the tones and the words ; and that 
 rather hardened part within him which did duty for a 
 heart, went out at once to the speaker in a manner he would 
 have been puzzled to account for. 
 
 "I think, sir, you are the gentleman stopping at the 
 Sailors' Kest, whose box is missing ? I nearly got into 
 trouble over that box yesterday." 
 
 "How was that?" inquired Mr, Lydney, his interest 
 suddenly awakened. 
 
A fcATTLE ROYAL. 300 
 
 " I happened to be passing the Castle on my way home as 
 the cart was unloading, and I halted a few minutes and 
 looked on. Those keen police got to know of it, and I'll be 
 hanged if they didn't have me up to the station ? Whether 
 they thought I had walked the box oft", or had seen anybody 
 else walk it off, I don't know. I laughed at them. Young 
 Shad and two or three more urchins could testify that I 
 didn't go near enough to touch anything on the cart." 
 
 " You must have heard the box described. Did you see it ? " 
 
 " I did not see it, sir, to my recollection. But if, as I 
 hear, it was underneath the rest of the things, I was not 
 likely to see it. I stopped but a few minutes, and they had 
 only then begun to unload." 
 
 " You cannot guess where it is gone, or who took it, I 
 suppose ? " resumed Mr. Lydney. 
 
 " No, I can't ; I have not thought much about it. That 
 Shad's as ready-fingered as a magpie, but they say it was 
 too heavy for him to lift." 
 
 " I would give a good reward if it were restored to me 
 untampered with." 
 
 " Would you, though ? " quickly rejoined the poacher, as 
 if the sound were music to his ears. 
 
 " Fifty guineas." 
 
 " Fifty guineas ! " uttered the man, as much astonished as 
 the inspector had been that evening at mention of a thousand 
 pounds. 
 
 " Fifty guineas, and no questions asked, provided it bo 
 restored to me before to-morrow night. After that, a dif- 
 ferent offer may be made, and questions asked — pretty sharp 
 ones." 
 
 " By jingo ! that's worth looking after," exclaimed the 
 man. " I know two or three fellows who have done a little in 
 the fingering line, sir, and I'll — I'll be on to them. If I can 
 hear of the box you shall have it on those terms. Honour 
 bright, though ? " 
 
 " Honour bright, on the word of a gentleman. The fifty 
 guineas shall be paid, and no inquiries made. I fancy you 
 may perhaps hear of it amongst your friends." 
 
 Little cared Mr. Ben Beecher, junior— for it was no 
 
310 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 other — for the last delicate insinuation. A golden vision 
 had been opened to him, and in that he was absorbed. 
 
 But the two, so strangely met, were not to part without 
 being observed. Ben Beecher offered to show Mr. Lydney 
 a short-cut out of the wood that would bring him nearer the 
 Sailors' Kest than the exit he had been making for. The 
 outlet gained, Ben Beecher was stealing into the wood again, 
 when Mr. Lydney stopped him for a parting word. 
 
 " You will not fail me ? " 
 
 " I'll not fail, if the box is to be had. But look here, sir," 
 added the man after a minute's thought, " couldn't you meet 
 me here in the wood ? I shouldn't care to be seen going 
 after you to the Sailors' Best." 
 
 Now it happened at this critical juncture that no less an 
 individual should be passing than my Lord Dane. Cattley's 
 cottage lay in this direction — the gamekeeper who had been 
 injured — he was progressing slowly, and Lord Dane, in his 
 affability, had turned out of his way on leaving Tiffie to 
 make a personal inquiry after the man. He stayed a few 
 minutes with him, and was walking back, on his way home, 
 when the sound of voices caught his ear. 
 
 Becognizing the one for Mr. Ben Beecher's, Lord Dane's 
 thoughts naturally flew to the poachers, who were giving 
 him at the time a great deal of trouble. In the moment's 
 impulse, he stepped aside into the trees as noiselessly as 
 Mr. Beecher himself could have done, and gazed through at 
 the speakers. Yes, sure enough, there was Mr. Ben Beecher, 
 gun in hand ; the other Lord Dane could not see, but felt 
 convinced it was either Drake or Bill Nicholson — the latter 
 he thought, by the height. He hushed his breath, for this 
 one was beginning to speak. * 
 
 " Why so ? " was the short question asked of Beecher. 
 And Lord Dane seemed to have a confused remembrance of 
 the voice ; and it was not Nicholson's. 
 
 " Well, for reasons," answered Beecher. " I'd rather you 
 were not seen openly working with me in this, sir, if you 
 can understand me." 
 
 " I daresay you wouldn't, Mr. Beecher ! " mentally 
 apostrophised my Lord Dane from his hiding-place. 
 
A BATTLE ROYAL. 
 
 311 
 
 "I will be at the fairy circle in the wood — the spot we 
 passed two or three minutes ago — at eight o'clock to-morrow 
 night, if that will do," continued Beecher 
 
 « Very well," replied the voice that was puzzling Lord 
 Dane. " I'll meet you there at that hour." 
 
 "All right — all right," mentally repeated Lord Dane. 
 " I'll be down upon you, my gentlemen, to-morrow night. 
 Whose is that voice ? I've heard it somewhere." 
 
 Stretching his neck, he prepared to take a good view, for 
 he to whom the voice belonged was coming forth. And the 
 view nearly drove Lord Dane backwards. 
 
 Lydney ! 
 
 His lordship rubbed his eyes to make sure he was awake. 
 That this interview and the one appointed for to-morrow 
 night could have reference to anything but poaching purposes 
 never entered his imagination. He was very excessively 
 astonished, and came to the conclusion that Mr. William 
 Lydney was even a lower and more disreputable character 
 than he had supposed him to be. 
 
 " I'll lay any money he stole the box originally ! " 
 cried his lordship. " Perhaps ran away with it from 
 America." 
 
 Mr. Lydney was already out of sight, making the best of 
 his way to the Sailors' Eest. He went straight into Sophie's 
 private parlour, as he frequently did. Madame Sophie 
 was just finishing her supper of bread and cheese and salad, 
 with some thin claret wine. She wore a coquettish cap of 
 lace and scarlet ribbons, and a black silk perfectly-fitting 
 gown, with narrow bands of Irish linen, by way of collar 
 and cuffs. 
 
 Mr. Lydney sat down and began gossiping — or it may be 
 more correct to say, that he said a word or two to set her 
 off, and she gossiped. Insensibly he continued to lead her 
 on to the subject of the Beechers — in particular to young 
 Mr. Ben. Mrs. Ravensbird tossed her head. 
 
 " A nice lot, those Beechers ! The old father was nothing 
 but a smuggler : and the son's a poacher. A very nice lot 
 they are, sir ! " 
 
 " He's quite a young man, is he not, the son ? " 
 
312 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE* 
 
 " Not much over twenty. Old Beecher did not marry till 
 he was getting in years." 
 
 "Kather superior for what he is, I fancy, that young 
 Beecher?" 
 
 "He might have been," returned Sophie, with a con- 
 siderable amount of scorn, meant for Mr. Beecher, junior. 
 " His mother was a very respectable woman indeed, sir, with 
 a life income ; old Beecher married her at a distance, and 
 it's thought he deceived her as to his position and means. 
 As long as she lived, the boy was well taken care of — sent 
 to boarding school, and all that ; but he has gone all wrong 
 since she died, and idles his time away shamefully." 
 
 Ah ! this explanation accounted for what had rather 
 surprised William Lydney — the superiority in Ben Beecher's 
 accent and manner as compared with his condition in life. 
 
 CHAPTEK XXIV. 
 
 A DISCLOSURE TO WILFRED LESTER. 
 
 Perched on the arm of the sofa in his little sitting-room, the 
 sun shining brightly on him and his employment — that of 
 making artificial flies for fishing — was Wilfred Lester. It 
 was the morning following the night mentioned in the last 
 chapter, and Mr. Wilfred was giving his thoughts to sundry 
 events of that night much more than he was to his flies. 
 
 Had he been more observant, he might have seen that 
 something was troubling his wife in an unusual degree. 
 She sat on the sofa, reclining her head on the opposite arm 
 to where Wilfred was sitting. A fair, fragile girl she looked 
 — her features painfully delicate, her blue eyes unnaturally 
 bright, her light hair taking a tinge of gold in the sunlight. 
 She wore a white wrapper, or dressing-gown, which made 
 her appear still more of an invalid. Glancing at her husband 
 
A DISCLOSURE TO WILFRED LESTER. 313 
 
 once or twice, as though she wished to say something and 
 could not, she at length burst forth with a courage born of 
 desperation, her voice timid and trembling. 
 
 " Where did you go last night, Willy ? " 
 
 Mr. Wilfred Lester took a momentary and rapid glance at 
 the speaker. Something in the tone of the voice rather 
 startled his conscience. 
 
 " Where did I go last night ? Nowhere in particular, 
 that I remember. Bother the catgut ! I was out and about 
 talking to one and another." 
 
 " So you always say, Wilfred," and the giiTs tone dipped 
 to one of dread, and she seemed to shiver as she spoke. " You 
 had that gun out with you." 
 
 " Ay. It's lock has a trick of catching, and I meant 
 to show it to the smith ; but the shop was shut," replied 
 Mr. Wilfred, beginning to whistle the bars of a popular 
 song. 
 
 Perhaps the greatest misfortune that had as yet fallen upon 
 Edith Lester, was having been an involuntary hearer of a 
 certain conversation a few days back. Sally, ironing before 
 the open kitchen window, had been accosted by some passer- 
 by, and Edith had listened to words (or, rather, to questions) 
 regarding her husband that turned her sick and faint. 
 " Was it true that he had joined the poachers ? that he had 
 been in the recent attack what had nearly killed Cattley ? 
 that he went regularly out at night ? If so, he'd get taken 
 up and transported, as sure as apples was apples ! " 
 
 Words which were bad enough in themselves for a j)oor 
 young wife's ears, but which were rendered all the more 
 forcible by the servant's vehement denial. Over-zeal tends 
 to destroy itself; and Sally entered on a defence that was 
 untruthful. She protested, in the most unblushing manner, 
 that her master never was abroad after sunset — how could 
 he be when he sat reading to his poor sick lady till bed-time, 
 and then retired to rest with her ? Granny Bean could not 
 have done it more audaciously. 
 
 The assertion, suspicious enough in itself — for it w r as 
 after sunset that Wilfred usually went out, and sometimes 
 remained out for hours — was rendered more ominous by the 
 
314 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 suppressed fear in Sally's tones, all too apparent to Edith 
 Lester. An awful dread took possession of her ; and though, 
 when she ventured to ask a timid question of Sally, that 
 worthy domestic denied the conversation in toto, and declared 
 her mistress must have heard it in a dream, the misery had 
 been sown. 
 
 " Why do you choose the night for going out, Willy ? " 
 
 " Oh, just to stretch my legs," he answered, breaking off 
 his song to do so, and resuming it again. 
 
 Far better, perhaps, that he had treated it differently : this 
 assumption of unconcern defeated its aim. Edith Lester had 
 sound sense, but she also possessed one of those vivid 
 imaginations that are peculiarly subject to be acted upon 
 by terror. She rose from the sofa with a cry, and caught 
 hold of her husband. Wilfred dropped his whistling and 
 his flies together. 
 
 " Why, Edith, what has come to you ? " 
 
 " Oh, Willy, tell me the truth ! Were you with the 
 poachers when they attacked Cattley ? " 
 
 " Most certainly not" was the emphatic answer ; and he 
 seemed in earnest enough now. "You silly girl! What 
 next will you be fancying ? I would no more join in 
 attacking a keeper than I would attack you." 
 
 " Do — you — ever — join in taking the game wholesale ? " 
 she asked, scarcely able to bring out the words between 
 weakness and agitation. 
 
 He burst into a laugh. 
 
 " Serve Lord Dane right if I did. He has sent me to 
 Coventry ever since he came here. Serve my father right if I 
 took his and left not a single bird for his table and Lady 
 Adelaide's. My darling, you just reassure that poor little 
 fluttering heart. I'll take care of myself and of you." 
 
 " Willy, if anything happened to you, I should die ! Is 
 it true?" 
 
 " No, it is not true," he said very hastily. " For goodness 
 sake get rid of these fancies, Edith, or you'll be worse than 
 you are. But for you, I should like to get into some des- 
 perate escapade ; it might shame my father to reason. As 
 it is, I shall keep straight for your sake." 
 
A DISCLOSURE TO WILFRED LESTER. 
 
 315 
 
 The emotion had exhausted her feeble strength, and she 
 lay down on the sofa, white, sad, and only half-convinced. 
 
 " The very fact of my continuing so hard-up, and unable 
 to get you proper necessaries, Edith, might prove that I 
 don't make a fortune at poaching." 
 
 " I have all I want," she eagerly said, lifting her wan 
 face pleadingly to his. " Oh, Willy, don't think of me ! I 
 shall grow strong soon. It is hard for both of us just now, 
 but if we can only be patient, it will grow better — I am 
 sure it will. Only let us endure ! Only let us put faith in 
 God ! People say we could not expect anything better, and 
 are suffering for our disobedience. It may be so, but a 
 happy ending will come to it all, Willy." 
 
 That an end must come, and not very long first, he knew 
 only too well ; whether it would be a happy one, was not so 
 certain. He went on with his fly-making, his manner gay, 
 his heart aching for his wife's sake, his spirit terribly re- 
 bellious against his father and Lady Adelaide. Presently, 
 in the midst of a light song, he put down his working 
 materials, and went into the kitchen for something he 
 wanted. The servant sat at the table, shelling broad beans. 
 
 " Where's the gum-bottle, Sally? " 
 
 " Up there," answered Sally, rather unceremoniously, in- 
 dicating a shelf of the dresser. " But it's empty, sir." 
 
 He took down the bottle, saw with a rueful look that it 
 was as she said, and put it back again. Sally pointed to the 
 beans. 
 
 " I don't know what's to be done for my mistress to-day. 
 She can't eat these." 
 
 " There's a partridge in the house," answered Wilfred. 
 
 " Well, sir, the truth is, she can't eat partridge any longer. 
 She has managed to swallow a bit lately, but she's one of 
 them, and I'm another, whose tastes turn at game. When 
 folks are sick, too, they take likes and dislikes ; and you 
 know, sir, that for the last month there has been nothing 
 but game in the house. I have tried the partridges every 
 way to tempt her ; I've roasted 'em, boiled 'em, fricasseed 
 'em, fried 'em, and one day I chopped 'em up, and made 'em 
 into balls ; but it didn't do. It ivas partridge, and that was 
 
316 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 enough. She has made a show of eating before you ; but 
 she can't pretend any longer." 
 
 Wilfred Lester stood near the table, gloomy and per- 
 plexed. He knew no way whatever of procuring anything 
 else for Edith ; all credit was gone. If a mutton chop 
 would have saved her life, he must pay the butcher for it 
 before it was sent in. 
 
 " Can't you do up some eggs for to-day ? " he asked. 
 
 " I could if I had 'em. Eggs are no more to be had than 
 anything else, without money. And there's another thing, 
 sir, staring us in the face : the coals are almost out." 
 
 Can you imagine how bitter were his feelings as he stood 
 there, knowing that he was powerless to answer these 
 appeals ? He turned back into the parlour again, and took 
 up his flies, glancing at Edith. Her eyes were closed now, 
 as if she would sleep, and the lashes lay on her wan cheek. 
 
 Suddenly commotion arose in the kitchen. Wilfred had 
 left the doors unclosed, and the sounds penetrated to the 
 quiet parlour as clearly as though uttered within it. Sally's 
 voice was heard in angry dispute. Wilfred turned his head, 
 and Edith's ears and eyes opened. 
 
 " Then I say he's not in, and he won't be in to-day— 
 that's more. So just you walk out, please." 
 
 " I say he is in," responded a man's gruff voice. " I see 
 him with my own eyes through that there kitchen winder, 
 and here I shall stop till I can speak to him. I've a private 
 message, which I can't give to you." 
 
 Wilfred Lester did not recognize the voice, but the 
 intimation " private message " struck on his ear. Private 
 messages, not expedient to be intrusted to other people, 
 especially to Sally, came to him once in a way. Never a 
 thought of treachery entering his head, he threw down his 
 flies, and went into the kitchen. There stood Sally, armed 
 with the tongs, which she presented at the stranger in a 
 menacing manner to bar his farther progress. The man 
 quietly put a paper into Mr. Lester's hand, and went out 
 with a laugh. Sally flung the tongs back on the hearth in 
 a passion. 
 
 " Now, why couldn't you keep out of sight ? " she ex- 
 
A DISCLOSURE TO WILFRED LESTER. 
 
 817 
 
 claimed, in wrath. " Where's the use of me telling a 
 hundred lies in a day for you — and I hope Heaven will 
 forgive me — if you are to upset 'em in this way? I know 
 what it is. As long as he didn't serve it, you were safe." 
 
 " He'd have served it to-morrow if he hadn't to-day," 
 answered Wilfred, opening the document. " Don't make 
 a fuss about it." 
 
 " No, he needn't," retorted Sally. " You might have 
 dodged My goodness, ma'am ! what's the matter ? " 
 
 Edith had come into the kitchen, shaking like a leaf, the 
 image of terror. She clung to her husband in an excess of 
 hysterical emotion. 
 
 " What is it all ? What paper is it ? Show it me. Oh, 
 Wilfred, show it me ! " 
 
 " My dear, don't agitate yourself for nothing," he mis- 
 takenly answered, as he crumpled the paper in his hand. 
 " It's nothing but a bill." 
 
 Sally gave a snatch at the paper; Wilfred would not 
 release it, and there was actually a tussle for its possession, 
 in which the paper was torn, and Sally conquered. She was 
 rather in the habit of domineering over the two in her 
 superior age and wisdom. 
 
 " There, ma'am ; now you can see that it's nothing but a 
 demand for money," cried Sally, laying it open before her 
 mistress. " Couldn't you just read that she feared some- 
 thing worse, sir," she added, in an undertone of reproach to 
 her master. 
 
 And the woman was right; she had keen perceptive 
 faculties and strong sense. Edith Lester was connecting the 
 visitor with the wild rumours afloat of the night- work ; 
 terrific visions arose of handcuffs, a prison, a criminal trial, 
 perhaps death. 
 
 But what with one thing and another, Sally grew alarmed, 
 and she went out that day, and laid all her trouble and fear 
 before her late mistress, Miss Bordillion. Wilfred Lester, 
 in his pity for his poor young wife, and his resentment against 
 the world, was growing more reckless, and unless substantial 
 help came for Edith, Sally's opinion was that he would be 
 caught at something desperate. 
 
318 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " 1 can't take the responsibility of concealing these things 
 any longer, ma'am," she said 1 " and it isn't right that I 
 should." 
 
 " But what is to be done, Sally ? " was Miss Bordillion's 
 piteous answer. 
 
 " Well, ma'am, it seems to me that if Squire Lester won't 
 give some help, he should be made do it." 
 
 " Made ! " echoed Miss Bordillion, as Sally left her. 
 
 She sat on, after the woman's departure, in sad delibera- 
 tion, endeavouring to find out where her duty lay. 
 
 She was aware of a fact which, if disclosed, might bring 
 great help to Wilfred ; but in disclosing it, she would be 
 acting directly against Mr. Lester, and also be guilty of an 
 interference that under most circumstances would be un- 
 justifiable. But now Miss Bordillion not only weighed the 
 whole matter according to her own poor judgment, but 
 prayed to be directed to the right. In an hour's time, she 
 despatched a note asking Wilfred to come to her. 
 
 " I have surprised you, no doubt, by sending for you to 
 my house, Wilfred," she said, when he entered it, for the 
 first time since his marriage, and she drew a chair for him 
 near to herself; "but not more than I shall surprise you 
 by what I am about to say. You know how very much I 
 esteem Mr. Lester," she proceeded, the delicate pink rising 
 to her cheeks. " How unwilling I have been throughout 
 this business to say a word that could reflect on his judgment 
 or on Lady Adelaide's " 
 
 "Margaret, excuse me, but I would rather not discuss 
 Lady Adelaide. I might lose my temper," interposed 
 Wilfred. " It was a dark day for me and Maria when my 
 father married her." 
 
 Margaret thought within herself that it had not been a 
 particularly bright day for someone else. She resumed. 
 " Did you ever know that there was a sum of money given 
 you by Mrs. Hesketh, to be paid to you when you came of 
 age." 
 
 " No ; I think not." 
 
 " I am not speaking of a trifle that was left to you in her 
 will, and which only devolves to you on the demise of 
 
A DISCLOSURE TO WILFRED LESTER. 
 
 819 
 
 Mr. Lester ; I speak of a sum of twelve hundred pounds. 
 Mrs. Hesketli was your godmother, as you know ; and the 
 day you were christened, she brought with her a deed, whicli 
 she flung — I remember it well — into Katherine's lap — I 
 should have said your mother's lap, Wilfrod. It was a deed 
 of gift of twelve hundred pounds. The money was at once 
 paid over to Mr. Lester, and he holds it still. The deed 
 stated that it was to be paid to you absolutely the day you 
 were of age, your mother receiving the interest towards your 
 maintenance." 
 
 Wilfred's dark blue eyes lighted up with a fire not recently 
 seen there. " And where is the deed ! Where's the 
 money ? Who has it ? " he reiterated. 
 
 "Mr. Lester has the deed. I spoke to him about the 
 money a short time ago, when things were getting bad with 
 you and Edith. His answer to me was, that the money had 
 been paid to you in the shape of an allowance ; that finding 
 himself unable to furnish you with funds from his own 
 resources, he had used this money of yours for that purpose. 
 Now, I think Mr. Lester could not do this. So far as I 
 believe, he was bound to pay that sum over to you when you 
 came of age, with proper legal formality. If so, it is due to 
 you still ; and you might, I think, claim it without further 
 delay." 
 
 Wilfred rose up. " What a shame ! " he uttered. 
 
 "Listen, Wilfred. Mr. Lester may have been legally 
 justified in paying it to you, as he says. In any case, I feel 
 sure he could no more pay you the whole sum than I could 
 pay it. My advice to you would be to go to him in a 
 friendly spirit, and ask what he will or can do. If he 
 gave you a hundred pounds to begin with, it would be 
 something." 
 
 A hundred pounds ! A hundred pounds would be as a 
 gold mine to poor reduced Wilfred. In his glad impulse, 
 he was darting away, but Margaret laid her calm hand on 
 his and made him sit down again until he should more fully 
 understand the case, and had discussed with her his precise 
 line of conduct. Above all, she begged him not to quarrel 
 with his father. 
 
320 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 That same afternoon, Wilfred went to Danesheld Hall, 
 and presented himself before his father in the study. Civilly 
 and respectfully he requested a few minutes' audience, and 
 Mr. Lester was surprised into making no resistance to the 
 petition. Wilfred sat down and entered on his business, 
 temperately stating what had come to his knowledge : that 
 there was a sum of money, twelve hundred pounds, belonging 
 to him, now lying in his father's hands, but not stating 
 whence he had derived the information. 
 
 Mr. Lester was taken aback, but he did not show it. He 
 was perfectly cool, answering, with matter-of-fact equanimity, 
 that Wilfred had received the money. 
 
 " I think not, sir," said Wilfred. " This money requires 
 to be paid over to me formally, and you know that nothing 
 of the sort has been done. You have never as much as 
 mentioned to me that you held it." 
 
 " Miss Bordillion has been giving you this information, I 
 see," observed Mr. Lester. " The money was paid to you in 
 the shape of a yearly allowance, and you spent it, which of 
 course was your own affair." 
 
 " But the money could not be so paid to me," persisted 
 Wilfred. "The deed of gift, as I understand, was so 
 worded that it could not be paid in that way," 
 
 " You are mistaken, Wilfred." 
 
 " Have you the deed ? " 
 
 " I have. It is there." 
 
 Mr. Lester pointed to a small iron safe, which had stood 
 in the corner of his study as long as Wilfred could 
 remember. 
 
 " Will you allow me to read it, sir ? " 
 
 " Certainly not. To what end ? You can believe my 
 word. After I had paid over the money to you as an 
 allowance, a doubt arose to myself whether what I had done 
 was legal, or whether I was not still responsible for the sum. 
 Upon that I submitted the deed to counsel." 
 
 " Well ? " cried Wilfred, for Mr. Lester had stopped. 
 
 "Well, the opinion returned to me was, that the deed 
 was not so clearly worded as it ought to have been, and 
 therefore the interpretation I had put upon it (that of 
 
A DISCLOSURE TO WILFRED LESTER. 
 
 321 
 
 paying over the money in a somewhat different manner 
 from what on the whole it appeared to enjoin) would hold 
 good." 
 
 There was a pause. 
 
 " You must let me see the deed, sir." 
 
 " I shall not let you see it," said Mr. Lester. " To what 
 end, I ask ? " 
 
 " That I may be myself convinced that there is nothing 
 coming to me." 
 
 " You may allow my word to convince you of it, for it is 
 the truth." 
 
 And Wilfred Lester knew by the hard, set countenance, 
 the firm tone, that further pressure on this point would be 
 hopeless. Never, with his father's consent, would he obtain 
 sight of the deed. And the colloquy went on to hasty words : 
 but Wilfred calmed down. 
 
 " I did not come wishing to inconvenience you, sir. I 
 should not think of asking for the whole sum at once," he 
 resumed, really wishing to be friendly and conciliate his 
 father. " If you would only let me have a hundred pounds 
 of it now, I should be satisfied." 
 
 Mr. Lester quite laughed, and Wilfred, with some agitation, 
 entered on his troubles, and craved some help as a favour, 
 if not as a right. He showed his father the writ ; he spoke 
 of his wife's absolute necessities. 
 
 " You must be aware that you have brought all this upon 
 yourselves. What else could you expect would come of 
 such a marriage as yours ? " 
 
 " You make a pretence of punishing me for my marriage, 
 but I don't suppose you blame me so much in your heart," 
 said Wilfred boldly. " Father, from my soul I believe you 
 would have done the same under similar circumstances. I 
 believe you would have sanctioned it yourself but for Lady 
 Adelaide. She has always been my enemy ; she has stood 
 between us ever since she entered the house." 
 
 " That's enough," said Mr. Lester. 
 
 Wilfred rose. His lips were quivering, his dark-blue 
 eyes went out with a strange yearning to his father's. 
 
 " Give me only a little help, father ! This poor ten pounds 
 Lady Adelaide. 21 
 
322 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 for which I am about to be sued. I ask it for Edith's 
 sake." 
 
 There was — or Wilfred fancied it — a shade of pity in 
 Mr. Lester's countenance. He might possibly have yielded 
 — possibly ; but at that moment Lady Adelaide entered the 
 room, her air and countenance imperious. She drew aside 
 her gown with a scornful gesture as she passed Wilfred to 
 confront her husband. 
 
 " They told me your son was here, but I did not at first 
 believe it. Can you allow his presence, Mr. Lester? and 
 thus make light of filial rebellion in the sight of my 
 children V" 
 
 " He is not here by my wish, Adelaide. I had already 
 dismissed him. There's the door, sir. Why don't you 
 go ? " he sharply added, turning from his wife, for whom he 
 was drawing forward a chair. 
 
 Wilfred crushed the writ into his pocket, and swung 
 away with an ugly word, to tell Margaret of his defeated 
 mission. By the time he reached her house, he was in a 
 comfortable fury, and could no more have helped giving 
 
 vent to it than But he did not try to do so. Mr. Lydney 
 
 was there ; Maria was there ; but it was all one to the 
 angry man. 
 
 " He means to keep me out of the money altogether, Mar- 
 garet. He wholly refuses me a sight of the deed, though it 
 was in the very room at his elbow. I told him my wife was 
 dying of want; I told him I was going to the dogs, or 
 something worse. Look here " (dashing the writ out of his 
 pocket), " I showed him this, and begged him like any men- 
 dicant to help me over this stile, and save me from prison. 
 But no " 
 
 "Oh, Wilfred! what's the matter?" came the interrup- 
 tion, wrung from Maria in her terror. " What is that 
 paper ? " 
 
 " Pshaw ! " returned Wilfred, crushing it into his pocket 
 again. " Margaret, I do think he would have helped me a 
 little ; but Lady Adelaide came in and stopped it. If there's 
 
 justice in heaven Maria, what's the matter ? Don't pull 
 
 at me like that." 
 
A DISCLOSURE TO WILFRED LESTER. 
 
 323 
 
 " I think you want a strait-waistcoat, Wilfred," put in 
 Miss Bordillion. " You will frighten me presently, as well 
 as Maria." 
 
 " He as good as taunted me with my wings being 
 clipped, when I said something about going to law with 
 him," continued Wilfred, in his passion. " I'll get at 
 that deed if I have to break into the house whilst he's 
 sleeping ; I will. The money's mine, and he's afraid of my 
 reading it." 
 
 " I will not hear this, Wilfred," interposed Miss Bordillion, 
 with stern authority. 
 
 " Very well. I see you are all against me. I may go to 
 the dogs my own way." 
 
 Snatching up his hat, he went forth from the house in 
 the same passion that he had entered it. Margaret Bor- 
 dillion, regardless of the fact that she wore neither bonnet 
 nor shawl, went into the road after him. 
 
 Of course the scene had told Mr. Lydney a great deal. 
 Maria, ashamed, puzzled, and terrified, began some apology 
 for its having taken place in his presence — the presence of a 
 stranger. 
 
 " A stranger ! " he replied, standing before her. " I was 
 in great hopes that you no longer considered me in that 
 light, Miss Lester." 
 
 " It is true," she murmured, " we do not. And yet, when 
 I look back and remember how very short a period, counting 
 by time, it is that we have known you, I can only wonder at 
 the fact. We seem to be like old friends ; but I fear it is 
 very bold of me to say so." 
 
 His lips parted with a smile, and somehow it brought the 
 colour back to Maria's face. " I wish to be a friend," he 
 said, his voice assuming a low tone of earnest confidence. 
 " I think your brother wants one, Miss Lester. May I speak 
 to you on this subject without reserve ? " 
 
 Indeed, she needed some one to do it, for her heart felt 
 sick and faint within her for her brother's sake. She looked 
 at Mr. Lydney by way of answer — a piteous, beseeching 
 look, and half her terror went out of her. It may have 
 appeared to her that there was help, protection, in that 
 
LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 strong form ; it had long appeared to her that there was 
 perfect truth in the good, earnest, handsome face. 
 
 " I dread — I scarcely know what I do dread," she mur- 
 mured. 
 
 " You dread that, smarting under privation and unmerited 
 wrong, Wilfred may be drawn into escapades not altogether 
 honourable to the son and heir of Squire Lester ? " 
 
 The son and heir ! Was the word spoken in mockery ? 
 The burning tears rushed into Maria's eyes. 
 
 " Have faith in me," he impressively said, bending a little 
 as if to give an earnest to his words, and taking both her 
 hands in his. " All that one man can do for another, I will 
 do for your brother. He saved my life ; I will try and save 
 him from trouble." 
 
 " I have so loved Wilfred," she said, in apology for her 
 fast falling tears ; " I have until now so looked up to him ; 
 he is four years older than I am. Mamma died : papa 
 grew estranged from us; we had only each other to care 
 for." 
 
 " Trust to me, Miss Lester." 
 
 But she could not get her hands free, and felt rather con- 
 fused in consequence, her words and manner being confused 
 likewise. 
 
 " He is so impetuous, you see ; he thinks he is being 
 wronged ; and he is painfully anxious about his wife. Oh, 
 Mr. Lydney, if you could help him ! I should not know 
 how to thank you ; I could never repay you." 
 
 A very peculiar smile arose to his lips, a warm light 
 illumined his eyes, and a sudden glow thrilled through 
 Maria Lester's heart. Mr. Lydney released the hands, for 
 Miss Bordillion was coming in. 
 
THE RENDEZVOUS IN THE WOOD. 
 
 325 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 THE RENDEZVOUS IN THE WOOD, 
 
 Mr. Lydney and Wilfred Lester stood together against the 
 railings of the cottage. The former, hastening to overtake 
 the latter, had found him leaning, in a woe-begone fashion, 
 on the said railings. In truth the disappointment resulting 
 from the interview with Squire Lester was great, as well as » 
 the reaction from the anger into which Mr. Wilfred had 
 subsequently put himself. Lydney laid his hand upon his 
 shoulder. 
 
 " Shake off dull care and send it packing, Lester. What's 
 the matter ? " 
 
 " The matter ! You were present just now at Miss 
 Bordillion's." 
 
 " There's no need for you to be out of heart." 
 
 " When a fellow's out at elbows and out of credit, out of 
 help and out of friends, there's enough need. I'm hard-up 
 in all ways ; and by Jove ! I don't care who knows it : the 
 shame lies with others, not with me." 
 
 " If I am cognisant of your troubles, you may thank 
 yourself for speaking of them before me. Pardon me if 
 
 i — " 
 
 " I don't care who knows of them, I say," said W r ilfred, 
 impatiently interrupting the implied apology. " I'd mount 
 a public rostrum with pleasure, and proclaim them to the 
 world. Still, I don't see any good in your recurring to the 
 subject." 
 
 " No good at all, unless I could help you out of them ; 
 which I dare say I can do, if you will only behave like a 
 reasonable being. Lester," he continued earnestly, a 
 genuine emotion checking his free utterance, " I owe my 
 life to you ; but for your brave exertions that awful night, I 
 should not now be here. At the risk of your own life, you 
 saved mine. It is a debt that I can never repay, but you 
 may lessen my sense of the obligation by allowing me to be 
 your friend, by treating me as a brother," 
 
326 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " Eisking my life ! " said Wilfred, with a mocking laugh. 
 " As to that, it's not so valuable to me that I need care to 
 prolong it." 
 
 " It may be valuable to your wife, at any rate. Suffer me 
 to be to you what a brother would be, if you had one. You 
 are wrongfully kept out of money : I have more than I 
 know what to do with. Let me be your banker." 
 
 The red colour flushed into the face of Wilfred Lester. 
 He did not speak, and Mr. Lydney resumed : 
 
 " Borrow of me as one friend would of another — as I dare 
 say you have been borrowed from in your day — as I may 
 have borrowed. You can repay me, you know, when things 
 come round again." 
 
 " When things come round again ! " echoed Wilfred 
 Lester in derision. " They will never come round. That 
 twelve hundred pounds — but I swear I'll not relinquish that 
 without a fight for it." 
 
 "Never mind thinking of it now. How much shall I 
 lend you ? " 
 
 " Are you serious in making this offer ? " asked Wilfred 
 Lester. 
 
 " Serious ! " returned Lydney ; " what do you mean ? Is 
 it anything so very great, that you should doubt or 
 hesitate ? " 
 
 " Then you are a good fellow, Lydney, and it's more than 
 anyone else has done for me. I'll take ten pounds, to get 
 rid of this cursed writ." 
 
 " Nonsense about ten pounds ! You must " 
 
 " No more — no more," interrupted Wilfred, the sensitive 
 colour dyeing his face again. " Save me from prison, and 
 I'll thank you ; but I want none for myself." 
 
 Mr. Lydney looked him full in the face, and spoke in low 
 tones. 
 
 " There may be others who want it, if you do not." 
 
 " Not a fraction more," said Wilfred, passionately. " I 
 would not take this, but that it's necessary I should keep out 
 of prison." 
 
 " Oh, Lester ! why won't you treat me as a friend ? " 
 
 " I am treating you as a friend in taking so much ; and I 
 
THE RENDEZVOUS IN THE WOOD. 
 
 327 
 
 thank you truly, Lydney, and will repay you when I can. 
 As to other assistance — no." And the emphatic denial 
 closed the matter. 
 
 "Wilfred Lester paid a visit to Mr. Apperly, the solicitor. 
 He was formerly the man of business of Squire Lester, hut 
 a rupture took place between them, and the master of Danes- 
 held Hall went over to an opposition house, which Mr. 
 Apperly had never forgiven. 
 
 " Tell you about the deed of gift ! " exclaimed the lawyer, 
 in answer to Wilfred. " What is there to tell ? I believe 
 the fact to be just this : that when Mr. Lester made you the 
 yearly allowance before you came of age, he had not the 
 least intention that it should come out of your own money. 
 But he had become so embarrassed in his circumstances when 
 the time arrived for paying the twelve hundred pounds, that 
 he seized upon the pretext of having paid it in that yearly 
 allowance. That, I fancy, was the case : and I shouldn't 
 care if he heard me say it." 
 
 " What he says is, that he paid it me after I came of age ; 
 that it was, in fact, the allowance he made me when I was in 
 the Guards." 
 
 " Oh, that's what he says, is it ? I misunderstood you. 
 Well, it amounts to almost the same thing." 
 
 " Could he do it— legally ? " 
 
 " That depends upon how the deed is worded." 
 
 " Did you never read it ? " asked Wilfred. 
 
 " Yes, I read it at the time the gift was made, when you 
 were a baby. Too long ago for me to remember its pro- 
 visions now. My impression is that he could not do it." 
 
 " In which case I could now compel him to pay me the 
 twelve hundred pounds ? " 
 
 "Clearly. And with interest for the years that have 
 elapsed since you were twenty-one. Of course I only give 
 this opinion conditionally," continued Mr. Apperly. " It 
 would depend entirely on the wording of the deed." 
 
 " Would you take up the affair for me ? " inquired Wilfred, 
 his eyes lighting with eagerness. 
 
 Mr. Apperly paused. He did not by any means approve 
 of Mr. Wilfred Lester's recent escapades, from his marriage 
 
328 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 down to his poverty ; men, as a rule, had no more business 
 to be poor than they had to contract a marriage with nothing 
 to live on. On the other hand, he liked justice in the 
 abstract, and he would very much like to administer a 
 wholesome pill to Squire Lester. 
 
 " I could not answer your question one way or the other 
 without first seeing the deed." 
 
 " But he won't let me have the deed." 
 
 The lawyer raised his eyebrows. " Then I cannot help 
 you." 
 
 Wilfred sat, gloomily twirling his shabby felt hat, believ- 
 ing — as he had long believed — that all the world was 
 against him. 
 
 " Would you mind doing this much, Mr. Ajjperly — write 
 to my father, and request him to allow you to look over the 
 deed ? To look over it on my part as my solicitor ? " 
 
 " I don't mind doing that. And if he lets me see it, I 
 will then tell you whether I think you can stir in the affair 
 or not." 
 
 And there it was left. Wilfred took his departure, and 
 Mr. Apperly wrote to Mr. Lester, and awaited his answer. 
 
 The facts were very much as the lawyer surmised. 
 Squire Lester, in his increasing embarrassments, had made 
 no move to pay the money over when his son came of age. 
 Wilfred was unconscious of the bequest, and there was no 
 one to come forward and compel Mr. Lester to pay it. 
 Later, when conscience told him that he might be liable to 
 be called upon for it at any moment, he hit on the expedient 
 of pleading that it had been paid in the yearly allowance, 
 should he ever be questioned. To give Mr. Lester his due, 
 he was not sure whether the law would or would not up- 
 hold him in this : and once, when a gentleman was tem- 
 porarily staying with him, a young man just called to the 
 bar, he opened the matter, showed him the deed, and asked 
 whether the law would not justify his view of the case. 
 Whatever this young barrister's opinion might have been, he 
 clearly saw what his host wished it to be : perhaps he had 
 no very certain opinion himself either way. It seemed to 
 him to be a nice question, he answered — one he could not 
 
THE RENDEZVOUS IN THE WOOD. 
 
 320 
 
 speak positively upon ; but Squire Lester had probably the 
 law with him. 
 
 Squire Lester put the parchment back in his iron safe, 
 reassured, and had thought no more about it from that day 
 to this. 
 
 It was a clear night, as bright as stars could make it, 
 when Mr. Lydney walked forth to his rendezvous with Ben 
 Beecher the poacher. The place appointed — a circle, or 
 ring, in the wood where the trees grew not, and the moss 
 was soft underfoot, which had probably given rise to its 
 appellation in Danesheld. of the " Fairy Circle " — was as 
 obscure a spot as Mr. Beecher could have chosen. 
 
 Nevertheless, Mr. Lydney and his friend were not alone. 
 One was assisting at the interview whom they little sus- 
 pected—my Lord Dane. To give that nobleman his due, he 
 was above playing the eavesdropper in general ; but his 
 suspicions in regard to Lydney had been unpleasantly 
 awakened, and he felt it to be a duty to society to confirm 
 them by any means in his power. Good-natured also, and 
 easy though he was in general, those troublesome poachers 
 were carrying things beyond a joke. To imprison the 
 whole lot for two years, Lyclney included, would have 
 greatly solaced the heart of Lord Dane. 
 
 " It has been of no go, sir," was Ben Beecher's salutation, 
 as he came stealing up through the trees to Mr. Lydney, 
 who was at the spot first. " The box has not been lifted." 
 
 " No ! " exclaimed Mr. Lydney, in an accent that betrayed 
 his keen disappointment. 
 
 Lord Dane's ears were strained to catch the tones. But 
 now, see how unkind was fate ! Instead of taking up their 
 position on this side of the circle where my lord was, the 
 two conspirators took it up on the other. His lordship, 
 ensconced where the trees were densest, did not dare to 
 move an inch either way, lest the rustling of the leaves 
 should attract their attention. It is true, Mr. Lydney and 
 Mr. Beecher paced about occasionally whilst they talked, 
 by which means Lord Dane's ears came in for a few chance 
 words. That they were conspiring against every head cf 
 game upon his lands he fully believed, 
 
330 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " I Lave seen the right men, sir, and I can assure you 
 they know nothing whatever of the box," continued Mr. 
 Beecher. " They think you must look for it in the Castle." 
 
 " What reason have they for thinking so ? " 
 
 " Well, I don't know that they have much reason, but it's 
 their opinion. Sharp cards they are too, and their opinion's 
 worth having, sir. For one thing, they say that if the box 
 had been stolen they should know of it. Young Shad asserts 
 that it was carried into the Castle." 
 
 " But Shad's word is not to be depended on." 
 
 " He would not deceive these men," returned Beecher, in 
 significant tones. " At any rate, sir, if the box is not in the 
 Castle, they have no notion where it can be." 
 
 The words bore an accent of truth, but Mr. Lydney was 
 aware that these men might deceive as well as Shad. 
 
 " Would a higher reward bring forth the box ? " he asked. 
 
 "Not if you offered a bank-full — not if you offered a 
 thousand pounds," answered Beecher, unconsciously naming 
 the very sum he announced on the morrow. " What they 
 haven't got they can't give up ; and they think you must 
 look for it in the Castle." 
 
 " But Lord Dane says it is not in the Castle. More than 
 that, the police say so, and they have searched it." 
 
 " Has Lord Dane any interest in hiding or detaining the 
 box ? " asked Beecher ; and Lord Dane heard the audacious 
 words, for they had halted near to him. 
 
 " Why do you ask that ? " 
 
 "Because it's said that there are places in the Castle 
 where things could be put away; and the police would 
 never suspect them — no, not if they went about with magni- 
 fying-glasses. I was talking to my old father about this 
 matter. Says he : ' If my Lord Dane wanted to keep that 
 box in hiding, he could do it fast enough/ Tales go, sir, 
 that in years gone by, smugglers used to stow their booty in 
 the Castle, and that Lord Dane (he was grandfather to the 
 late lord) was in league with them." 
 
 How did my Lord Dane's ears like being regaled with 
 that ? Mr. Lydney was surprised ; he put little faith in 
 the information. 
 
THE RENDEZVOUS IN THE WOOD. 
 
 331 
 
 " Docs your father know where these hiding-jdaccs arc ? " 
 
 " Not a bit of it. He's not sure there/ are any; it's only 
 a sort of tradition. No one would brave Lord Dane's anger 
 by saying such a thing openly." 
 
 " A martinet, when crossed, I suppose ? 99 
 
 " All the Danes are something of that sort," was Becchcr's 
 answer ; " even the captain was, and he was the most liked 
 of all. He was killed, poor fellow ! " 
 
 "Ay, I have heard him spoken of since I came here. 
 My landlord was his servant. A hot-tempered man, he 
 says, but generous." 
 
 " Why, sir, Ravensbird was arrested for the murder," 
 cried Beecher, " but he was soon released again. After that 
 they suspected a packman, but they could never find him." 
 
 " Was the present Lord Dane — Mr. Herbert he was called 
 then, according to Ravensbird — ever suspected ? " asked Mr. 
 Lydney, carelessly. 
 
 " Heart alive, no ! " returned the poacher in astonishment. 
 " Whatever made you think that, sir ? " 
 
 " My good man, don't run away with a wrong notion. I 
 merely asked the question. Gentlemen quarrel and wrestle, 
 sometimes, and Captain Dane's fall might have been acci- 
 dental." 
 
 Beecher shook his head, and Lord Dane from his hiding- 
 place distinctly saw him do it, for they were near him still. 
 
 " There was not a breath of suspicion against him, sir, 
 no grounds for it. That puts me in mind, though. At the 
 time it happened there was a chap declared he saw Mr. 
 Herbert Dane run off the heights ; but he was three sheets 
 in the wind, and couldn't see straight. We made him hush 
 his tongue." 
 
 " What chap was it ? " 
 
 " Well, it was a sort of half-brother of mine. He's dead 
 now." 
 
 Beecher's words were interrupted by a shot. He turned 
 his head, listening, and then crossed quickly to the other 
 side of the circle, peering through the trees. Mr. Lydney 
 followed him, and this took them beyond the hearing of 
 Lord Dane. 
 
332 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " If it was later, I should have said that shot's a ruse to 
 deceive the keepers," remarked Beecher. " They have 
 grown sharp, now Lord Dane's at home. We had a rare 
 time of it whilst he was away. It was within an ace cf 
 being hot work last night." 
 
 " What pleasure can you find in this lawless life ? " asked 
 Mr. Lydney in tones of remonstrance. "It is fall of 
 danger." 
 
 " A man must live, sir." 
 
 " But a man might live honestly." 
 
 " Not when he has gone in for this sort of thing, and 
 made it his trade. Who'd trust him, or help him to honest 
 work again ? " 
 
 " I would for one. If a man turned back to the straight 
 path after straying from it, I would give him countenance 
 and help." 
 
 " Ah, well, sir, it's easy to talk. I wish I could have 
 found your box : that fifty guineas might have helped some 
 of us." 
 
 " Keep a look-out still ; it is possible you may hear of it. 
 Meanwhile, that will repay you for the trouble you have 
 already taken." 
 
 Ben Beecher looked twice at the sovereign before he 
 believed it was real. 
 
 " I tell you what it is, sir," he cried, in a burst of grati- 
 tude ; " if we had such people as you to deal with in this 
 Daneshcld, we might turn back into straight paths yet. 
 Thank you, sir ; and a hearty good-night to you." 
 
 When the coast was clear Lord Dane emerged from his 
 place of concealment, wiping his brow like a man in utter 
 consternation. 
 
 " A pretty devil's plot these fellows are hatching ! " quoth 
 he. " Secret places in the Castle, forsooth ! If ever a man 
 deserved hanging, it's that traitor Lydney. The whole set 
 of poachers are gentlemen compared with him." 
 
 And in fact, Lord Dane, having heard only snatches of 
 the conversation, and those snatches happening to affect 
 himself, did believe he had cause to take up a very bad 
 opinion of Lydney. The incidental question put by that 
 
THE RENDEZVOUS IN THE WOOD. 
 
 333 
 
 gentleman : " Was Mr. Herbert suspected of having been 
 the adversary of Captain Dane in the night struggle ? " was 
 enough to anger him from its very insolence. He went 
 home deliberating in his own mind how to rid the neigh- 
 bourhood of so doubtful a character. 
 
 On the following morning a handbill appeared outside 
 the police-station. It contained a description of the lost 
 box, and offered a reward of a thousand pounds for its 
 recovery intact. The notice took Danesheld by storm, and 
 the crowds that collected to stare at it and make their 
 comments, sensibly impeded the traffic. 
 
 It happened that Lord Dane was in the town rather early, 
 and came right upon the commotion at the police-station. 
 
 When he saw its cause — the handbill — he stood still with 
 astonishment, feeling inclined to rub his eyes, and make 
 sure that he was not dreaming. Striding through the 
 crowd, he went into the station. 
 
 " What's the meaning of that notice, Bent ? " inquired he 
 of the inspector, who was standing writing within the 
 railings. 
 
 " Ah, a fine mob it's collecting, isn't it, my lord ? " returned 
 Mr. Bent, respectfully coming forward to receive his noble 
 visitor. " Stupid people ! It's a pity but they had some- 
 thing better to do." 
 
 " The reward, I alluded to. What's the meaning of it ? " 
 
 "It's being offered, my lord. We had the bills ready 
 yesterday afternoon ; but Mr. Lydney stopped their issue 
 until this morning. We are having them put up on the 
 walls, and in the shop-windows. The box must be valuable, 
 my lord, to call forth the offer of a thousand pounds 
 reward." 
 
 " But who does offer it ? " asked Lord Dane in his 
 astonishment. " Where's your authority ? " 
 "We have it from Mr. Lydney." 
 Lord Dane's lip curled. 
 
 " Take care what you are about, Bent. It is very easy to 
 offer a large sum. I might offer a million, without being 
 able to find it. This Lydney could no more find a thousand 
 pounds than he could find fifty." 
 
334 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " My lord, lie said freely that tlie box was none of his, 
 and that the reward would come from the pocket of the 
 owner, not from his own. He offered to deposit vouchers 
 for the money." 
 
 " Had you taken him at his word, you might have found 
 what the offer was worth. Do you remember the charge I 
 gave you, Bent — to try and discover who this man is, and 
 what he wants here ? " 
 
 " Yes," said Bent ; " and I put a few questions to him, 
 but I got nothing satisfactory in reply. He said he was of 
 English descent, and of good family, and that's about all he 
 would say. When I asked what his business was in the 
 place, he said the sea had. cast him up upon it, and here he 
 should stay till he had found the box. He seems to be a 
 gentleman, my lord." 
 
 " A gentleman ! " scornfully echoed Lord Dane. " Whilst 
 you have been questioning, Bent, I have been working, and 
 I have discovered a great deal more of this Mr. Lydney and 
 his doings than he would like to have known. Accident 
 gave me a clue, and I followed it up." 
 
 Lord Dane's manner was peculiar : his voice had dropped 
 to a low tone. Mr. Bent drew nearer to him. 
 
 " He is in league with the poachers — a poacher himself. 
 I traced him last night into the wood ; he was there with 
 that Ben Beecher, the two conspiring together. They were 
 there the previous night also, to my positive knowledge ; in 
 fact, they are together every night, beyond doubt. That's 
 your gentleman of family ! " 
 
 " Is it possible ! " uttered the inspector. " Perhaps I had 
 better take down the notices." 
 
 " You can use your own discretion in regard to that," was 
 the answer, delivered loftily, as if the point, one way or the 
 other, were quite beneath the noble speaker. " But I must 
 request you to understand one thing, Bent : that I have told 
 you this in confidence, for yourself only. Keep things 
 quiet, and you may get at something. My only object is to 
 banish the fellow from the neighbourhood ; to put him on 
 his guard will not aid me in this. He can neither be driven 
 from the place, nor yet put into prison, unless he breaks the 
 
THE RENDEZVOUS IN THE WOOD. 
 
 335 
 
 law. The wood is my property, but its paths are open to 
 the public, and the man cannot be taken up for frequenting 
 them, however evil his intentions may be. Wait and watch, 
 and we shall have him. You take me, Bent ? " 
 " Quite so, your lordship." 
 
 Lord Dane went out, and Mr. Bent fell into thought. To 
 doubt the information did not occur to him, though he could 
 not have believed it of a young man who seemed so entirely a 
 gentleman. Something of this latter feeling caused the in- 
 spector to hesitate as he was about to tear down the bill 
 posted outside. It might be as well, perhaps, that he first 
 of all spoke to Lydney, for the young man had offered to 
 give vouchers for the money, and there was no ignoring 
 that. So he sent a message to the Sailors' Kest, desiring 
 Mr. Lydney to come up at once and speak to him. 
 
 And the result was, that before the day closed, Mr. 
 Lydney's landlord, Eichard Eavensbird, became security for 
 the thousand pounds reward to the police authorities. 
 
 This fact exceedingly astonished Lord Dane when he 
 heard of it. He deemed it his duty to give a hint to 
 Eavensbird, although he was no particular favourite of his 
 — the man's manner was too independent to allow of his 
 being much of a favourite with anyone, and especially 
 independent it had been towards Lord Dane. Taking an 
 opportunity to walk down to the Sailors' Eest, he was 
 received by Mr. Eavensbird himself in Sophie's parlour. 
 
 " I called to speak to you on a little matter, Eavensbird, 
 in your own interest," began Lord Dane, accepting the chair 
 presented to him, whilst the ex-servant of the family stood. 
 " You have been answering, I hear, for the thousand pounds 
 offered by this lodger of yours, Lydney. Is it true ? " 
 
 " It is, my lord," replied Eavensbird. 
 
 " But if the box is found, you may be called upon to pay it ! " 
 
 " He would pay it himself," returned Eavensbird. " The 
 police thought it well to be on the safe side, and my 
 answering for the money was a matter- of-form, just to 
 satisfy them." 
 
 " But you may be called upon to find the money, I say ! " 
 reiterated Lord Dane. 
 
336 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE!. 
 
 "No, my lord, I've no fear of that. This young Mr. 
 Lydney has shown me documents and papers to convince 
 me that he is sufficiently responsible." 
 
 " What documents ? " came the quiet question. 
 
 " Bonds for invested money and railway shares," replied 
 Eavensbird. " At first Mr. Lydney thought of depositing 
 these with the police, but he concluded it would be a shorter 
 way if he showed them to me, and I answered for him. Of 
 course Bent knows I am good for a thousand pounds," added 
 Eavensbird, with a slight laugh. 
 
 " Well, now, Eavensbird," returned Lord Dane, and his 
 tone invited confidence, for he really wished to do a friendly 
 action, " I came here for the purpose of giving you a quiet 
 hint of the state of affairs, and you had better withdraw 
 your word whilst there's time. It was exceedingly rash of 
 you to promise such a thing for a stranger. 
 
 " But he showed me these bonds and vouchers, my lord," 
 repeated Eavensbird, speaking as if the fact were an 
 unanswerable argument. ] 
 
 " They were false, Eavensbird. False, or forged, or some- 
 thing of the sort : I could take upon myself to answer for 
 it. In short — but I say this only to your private ear — I 
 have discovered that this fellow, Lydney, is a bad character. 
 He consorts with poachers, is no doubt one himself: an 
 adventurer who schemes to live. Withdraw your word to 
 Bent without loss of time; and the next thing turn the 
 fellow out of your house." 
 
 " Surely I can't do that, my lord, as long as he pleases to 
 stay in it." 
 
 " Not do it ! Does he pay his bill ? " 
 
 "Yes; he does. He settled up with me this very 
 morning." 
 
 "Eavensbird, you will oblige me by getting rid of 
 him," rather peremptorily spoke Lord Dane. " I never 
 show quarter to that sort of characters, or approve 
 of its being shown. If the man is not in your debt, 
 which I am surprised to hear, turn him out on some other 
 plea." 
 
 " But, my lord," debated Eavensbird, " I cannot put forth a 
 
ME RENDEZVOUS IN THE WOOD. 
 
 337 
 
 gentleman in that fashion. So long as he conducts himself 
 
 properly in my house, and pays his way in it " 
 
 " A gentleman of course you could not ; but an impostor 
 you can," interrupted Lord Dane. " The man has wormed 
 himself into some of the best families here, and — and — 
 knowing what I do know of him, I feel myself in a degree 
 answerable for any unpleasant consequences that may 
 ensue. Is that a man to countenance in your house, 
 Ravensbird ? " 
 
 Ravensbird shook his head : not a more obstinate spirit 
 existed than his, when he took up an opinion. 
 
 "What Mr. Lydney may do out-of-doors, or where he 
 may visit, I know nothing of, my lord, and it's not my place 
 to enquire into it. I see nothing wrong in him myself, 
 neither have I heard it of him. In this house he conducts 
 himself as a quiet, well-behaved, honest gentleman ; and 
 that is all I have to regard. My wife is uncommonly taken 
 with him, 
 
 " I particularly wish this done, Ravensbird. You are my 
 tenant, and must oblige me." 
 
 " My lord, I am your tenant, but I pay you rent for your 
 house, and am master of it. In taking the Sailors' Rest, I 
 did not part with my freedom of action. I should be happy 
 to oblige your lordship in any other way, but to turn out a 
 harmless gentleman (as far as I see) is what I can't do." 
 
 " Say you won't, Ravensbird ? " 
 
 "Well, my lord, I'll say I won't if you prefer it," 
 answered the man, though with every token of civility and 
 respect. " If this young Mr. Lydney behaved himself ill 
 under my notice, it would be a different thing." 
 
 The sturdy independence of his tenant, compatible 
 though it was with the character of Ravensbird, angered 
 Lord Dane not a little. 
 
 " Have you forgotten that I could thrust you from this 
 house at six weeks' notice, Ravensbird ? " 
 
 " Well, no, my lord, I am not likely to forget it ; and I 
 have never known why you inserted the clause in my 
 lease." 
 
 " You stand a chance, I think, of its being acted upon." 
 
 Lady Adelaide. 22 
 
338 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " As your lordship pleases, of course," was the equable 
 answer : and Mr. Bavensbird never stood his ground more 
 independently than now, as he gazed into the face of the 
 peer. " I should be sorry to leave my house, for it suits 
 me; still, there are other tenements to be had in Danes- 
 held." 
 
 Lord Dane moved to the door, putting on his hat. " It 
 seems that I have met with little satisfaction in coming 
 here," he observed. " Considering that you were once our 
 servant, Eavensbircl, I think it is your duty to behave 
 differently." 
 
 For once, a tinge of red flashed into the man's sallow 
 face. 
 
 "I beg your pardon, my lord; I was servant to the 
 Honourable Harry Dane, I was not servant to Mr. Herbert." 
 
 It needed not that to complete his insolence. Lord Dane 
 strode haughtily away, Bavensbird attending him with due 
 respect. At the outer door, a doctor's boy was giving in a 
 bottle of medicine. 
 
 " For Mr. Home," said the lad. 
 
 It reminded Lord Dane of the other passenger who had 
 been saved from the wreck. He wheeled round on Bavens- 
 bird. 
 
 " Has Mr. Home not gone away yet ? " 
 
 " He has not found himself well enough to go, my lord ; 
 we have had to call in Dr. Green. He is waiting, too, for 
 remittances, he says." 
 
 Lord Dane threw back his head as he walked away. 
 The answer seemed to imply that Bichard Bavensbird stood 
 a chance of losing by this other traveller. " And serve him 
 right, too ! " thought my lord. 
 
A DOSE FOR TIFFLE. 
 
 339 
 
 CHAPTEE XXVI. 
 
 A DOSE FOR TIFFLE. 
 
 A lapse of time occurred, and it was now October. The 
 thousand pounds reward still stared Danesheld in the face 
 at conspicuous halting points, but nothing came of it ; the 
 japanned box had not turned up, and at times Mr. Bent felt 
 inclined to indorse Lord Dane's opinion, that Lydney him- 
 self had possession of the lost property. 
 
 Depredations on Lord Dane's preserves went on auda- 
 ciously. Whole dozens of game were bagged, the poachers 
 seemed to enjoy their full swing, and the keepers were set 
 at defiance night after night. People given to irony said 
 the keepers kept out of the way instead of showing fight — ■ 
 that their easy reign during their lord's ten years' absence 
 had made them timid. Lord Dane heard this, and went 
 into a fit of wrath, subsequently to be visited on his keepers. 
 He was losing patience, and felt inclined to offer a thousand 
 pounds himself to catch the poachers. Heartily would he 
 have given it had Lydney been entrapped with them ; but 
 nothing tangible could as yet be brought against him. 
 That he was sometimes in the woods at night, making him- 
 self at home with the poachers, Lord Dane knew for a fact ; 
 and at these times he was generally side by side with 
 Wilfred Lester. 
 
 For Wilfred Lester aj)peared to be going in for lawless 
 doings quite as openly as the poachers. A very bitter 
 feeling, born of despair and of a sense of injustice, had 
 taken possession of this young man. Squire Lester had 
 promptly answered Mr. Apperly's note, and declined to 
 allow the deed to be read ; the money had been paid over to 
 his son, he wrote, therefore, to read the deed would answer 
 no purpose whatever. Before Wilfred had ceased his ex- 
 plosions at this answer, the lawyer left Danesheld for 
 France, on business for a client. His stay there was destined 
 to be protracted ; and Wilfred Lester was not the only 
 client incommoded by it. Mr. Lydney, who had tardily 
 
340 
 
 lady Adelaide!. 
 
 made up his mind to consult the lawyer as to future pro- 
 ceedings touching the lost box, called at Mr. Apperly's office 
 for that purpose the very day after that gentleman's de- 
 parture, and was now waiting his return with impatience. 
 
 Meanwhile, things seemed to be going on more smoothly 
 at Wilfred Lester's in regard to domestic affairs. Sally 
 applied to some relative of hers at a distance, that she called 
 her " step-uncle," and it brought forth a little ready money. 
 She also contrived, by dint of large promises, to obtain 
 further credit from different tradespeople. Mrs. Lester 
 secretly would sigh, and wonder, with fear and trembling, 
 when the supplies would be paid for. Her husband evinced 
 that utter indifference to consequences which is akin to 
 despair ; and, had Sally pledged his credit for hundreds, it 
 was all the same to him. All Wilfred Lester's wrath just 
 now was directed against his father for refusing him per- 
 mission to read the deed ; he took up a notion that the deed 
 would prove the money was still due to him, and that Mr. 
 Lester's refusal arose from that fact. At first he was very 
 loud and noisy over it, threatening revenge, vowing he 
 would obtain possession of the deed by some desperate 
 means ; but this subsided into sullen silence, and he spoke 
 of his wrongs no more. 
 
 A coolness was arising in Danesheld towards Mr. Lydney, 
 And this not from any private disclosure of Lord Dane's, 
 but from a doubt springing naturally out of the state of 
 things. The heads of families who had learned to welcome 
 him, began to notice that he said no more of who he was, 
 and what he was, as intimacy increased ; on the contrary, 
 he observed a marked reticence on the point, and quietly 
 parried cunning hints as well as direct questions. It was 
 so very strange, people began to say, that a young man 
 should be thus thrown amongst them and never breathe a 
 syllable of his circumstances. When anything of this was 
 talked of in the presence of Lord Dane, his head would be 
 thrown back with a haughty gesture, and his lips curl in 
 scorn ; and this, coupled with Lord Dane's marked avoidance 
 of Mr. Lydney, was enough to damage him of itself. Mr. 
 Lydney was conscious of the doubtful feeling, and tacitly 
 
A DOSE FOR TIFFLE. 
 
 341 
 
 bowed to it, withdrawing himself gradually from the houses 
 where he had been welcomed ; he still chatted with the 
 families when they met abroad, but that was all. The only 
 house where he was yet a frequent visitor was Miss Box*- 
 dillion's, and he went now occasionally to Wilfred Lester's ; 
 at rare intervals, also, he called at Daneshcld Hall, Lord 
 Dane said little openly against him — he was waiting for 
 proof. 
 
 Another week or two, and Daneshcld awoke one clear, 
 bright morning to be shaken to its centre. There had been 
 a night encounter at last between the poachers and the 
 keepers, and Lord Dane was enraged. The miserable 
 keepers were worsted — one of them rather seriously hurt 
 by a blow — and the poachers had got off triumphantly, 
 scot-free. Lord Dane bestirred himself with a vengeance, 
 and it was thought the men would be in custody before 
 night. 
 
 Poor Maria Lester ! She heard a whisper of evil, dropped 
 by Tiffle, and an awful fear smote her for her brother. 
 Sick, faint, trembling, she sat until sitting became un- 
 bearable, and then framed some excuse for going into 
 Danesheld, thinking she might gather either confirmation 
 or contradiction. She chose the path through the wood — a 
 narrow public path much frequented in the day — and went 
 along, quite unconscious that she had a follower. Tiffle 
 happened to have devised an errand for herself into Danes- 
 held at this hour, and took the opportunity to keep Miss 
 Lester in view. 
 
 Maria was about half-way through the wood, and very 
 near to the fairy circle, when she met Mr. Lydney, who was 
 coming along with a smart step. Hastening towards him 
 in her glad impulse, he caught her hands in his, and saw 
 that she was unable to speak from agitation. 
 
 That the mutual attachment, which perhaps had taken 
 root the first day they met on the heights, had grown into 
 an impassioned, fervent love, was tacitly known to both of 
 them. Not with love, however, was Maria trembling now, 
 but with fear, as she murmured a question as to whether he 
 had heard the news, 
 
342 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " I heard of it the first thing this morning," he said with 
 a smile, retaining the hands he had taken in greeting. 
 
 " Do you know " — she could scarcely get out the words 
 in her terrible agitation — "what men were in it? Have 
 you heard of any in particular ? " 
 
 " No. I think the lawless fellows had their usual luck, 
 and escaped recognition. I saw one man sneak out of the 
 wood myself at one in the morning ; but it's no business 
 of mine. I was returning from your brother's, where I 
 spent the evening." 
 
 Maria's countenance changed; her lips parting with 
 suspense as she listened. 
 
 " And what Mrs. Lester will say to me for sitting there 
 with her husband to that unconscionable hour, I know not," 
 he resumed, appearing not to see the varying cheek. " I 
 am going there now with this ; I promised it to Wilfred." 
 
 He touched a small pocket-book that lay in his breast- 
 pocket. But Maria could keep up the play no longer ; and 
 her very lips turned white. 
 
 " Oh, is it true ? You are not saying this to content me ? 
 Are you sure you were with him all the evening ? " 
 
 " I never tell you anything but truth," he said, pressing 
 her hands warmly. " It is all right indeed, Maria. I got 
 into a discussion with Wilfred, and kept him up until one 
 o'clock : the time slipped by unwarily." 
 
 The encounter with the keepers had taken place before 
 half-past twelve, as Maria knew. 
 
 " How kind you are ! " she exclaimed, in the sudden re- 
 vulsion of feeling. 
 
 " In what way ? " he asked, with a laugh. " Kind for 
 telling you this, or for keeping Wilfred up shamefully, and 
 running the risk of Mrs. Lester's displeasure ? " 
 
 " Kind in every way, I think," she answered, her face 
 radiant. " But for you " 
 
 Mr. Lydney raised his hand with a warning gesture, and 
 Maria looked round in surprise. Clearing some spaces with 
 a bound, he sprang upon young Mr. Shad, who was entwined 
 round a tree in his favourite attitude, and listening with all 
 his ears. He drew him forth, partly by the hair, partly by 
 
A DOSE FOR TIFFLE. 
 
 343 
 
 the arm, Sliad yelling unmercifully. Maria said good- 
 morning to Mr. Lydney, and went her way, leaving the 
 capturer and the captured. Shad kicked, struggled, 
 writhed, roared, but Mr. Lydney held him fast. In the 
 midst of the disturbance, up came Time. 
 
 " Well, if ever I heard such a noise ! " cried she, innocently ; 
 " I thought it must be some young panthier got loose. Who 
 is it ? It's something like Granny Bean's Shad." 
 
 " He's going to kill me ! he's wanting to whack me ! he'd 
 like to pull my hair up by the roots ! " shrieked Shad. 
 " Make him let me go." 
 
 " Let him go, please, sir," said Tiffle. " I'm sure you're 
 too much a gentleman to strike a poor little weak boy." 
 
 "I'm sorry I have not my cane with me," said Mr. 
 Lydney to his howling captive. " You should have tasted 
 it well. But now listen, Mr. Shad : if ever I catch you 
 dodging my steps or Miss Lester's again, I'll do my best 
 to get you a month at the treadmill. You came up 
 opportunely, Mrs. Tiffle," he added, releasing the boy. 
 
 " To prevent the beating ? " cried Tiffle, peering round 
 with her sly eyes. 
 
 " No ; to hear my promise. The next time he attempts 
 anything of this sort he shall surely suffer for it, although 
 he is only your cat's-paw. Therefore you had better think 
 twice before again giving him orders to track people." 
 
 " Oh ! " screamed Tiffle, with a great show of indignation, 
 " what treasonous words are these ? I give him orders to 
 track people ! What have I to do with him ? Am I a 
 perlice officer ? " 
 
 " You have more to do with him than the world suspects, 
 and in more ways than one, unless I am mistaken," was Mr. 
 Lydney's significant whispered retort. "Now, my good 
 woman, set him to watch me again ! " 
 
 The rush of scarlet on Tiffle's face was succeeded by a 
 livid pallor. She shook her fist after him in impotent rage 
 as he went on his way further into the wood. 
 
 " I vow I'll be revenged on him ! " she breathed softly. 
 
 "I know what," cried Shad, "I saw him last night just 
 after the row. I think he'd been in it ! " 
 
344 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " Where did you see him ? " returned Tiffle, eagerly. 
 
 " A-coming out o' Wilfred Lester's. I see him with my 
 two eyes. The clocks was striking one. Maybe they'd just 
 got home there from the fight." 
 
 "Did you see Will Lester, Shad? Was he out with 
 them?" 
 
 " I didna see Lester, but I dare say he was in it," was the 
 boy's reply. " I couldna see all that was there. Maybe 
 Lester got wounded, and this one took him home. Any 
 way, I'll swear he was coming out o' there as the clocks 
 struck one : and Lester, he have never come abroad yet this 
 morning." 
 
 Tiffle, giving a few directions to Shad, continued her way 
 to Danesheld in a state of mind not to be envied. In turn- 
 ing out of a shop, during the execution of her commissions, 
 she saw Lord Dane on the opposite side of the way, crossed 
 over, and presumed to stop him. Tiffle had had plenty of 
 time to cool down : but to cool down from an evil spirit was 
 not in her nature. 
 
 " W'ell, Tiffle, and how are you ? " cried Lord Dane, in his 
 usual affable manner, albeit he rather wondered at the 
 woman's putting herself in his way. 
 
 "I'm none the better, my lord — craving your lordshij^'s 
 pardon for answering so — for the dreadful tales told by 
 every shop you go into. Is it true, my lord, that one of 
 the poor keepers was cut in half ? " 
 
 " Not quite," replied Lord Dane, checking a momentary 
 inclination to laugh. " He is hurt rather badly in the head. 
 I wish I could lay my finger on the villain that did it." 
 
 " My lord," said Tiffle in a low tone, as she glanced round 
 to make sure there were no eaves-droppers passing at the 
 moment, " one that's sure and safe, but that I should decline 
 to name, saw him at one o'clock in the morning at Mr. 
 Wilfred Lester's door. The opinion is," continued Tiffle, 
 raising her sly eyes, " that Mr. Wilfred Lester was out too, 
 and got wounded, and this other had been taking him home. 
 If your lordship could get that Lydney transported, it 
 would do good service to some in Danesheld, which is 
 including of Miss Lester," 
 
A POSE FOR TIFFLF. 
 
 345 
 
 " Why do you bring in Miss Lester's name in particular ? " 
 returned Lord Dane, rather haughtily. 
 
 " Because there's cause to do it," answered Tiffle. " She's 
 getting enthrilled by him ; she is, my lord. I saw 'em 
 meet just now in the wood. Miss Lester happened to be 
 before me, and I was following on respectful, thinking of 
 nothing, when he came swinging along — and a regular 
 swing in tho walk he has that Lydney, which is like his 
 insolence, for I never saw anybody with it in these parts 
 except the Danes. He squozed her two hands into his as if 
 he had been her lovier." 
 
 Lord Dane's face grew black as night. Tiffle left her 
 shaft to tell, and recurred to the other subject, before 
 passing on. 
 
 " They do say that Mr. Wilfred has not been seen this 
 morning, which, if he's wounded, my lord, is accounted for." 
 
 Lord Dane strode away. The woman's communication 
 had not pleased him ; at least that portion of it that related 
 to Miss Lester. He did not fear with Tiffle that she was 
 " getting enthrilled," but it vexed him very much that she 
 should be even on speaking terms with that doubtful man, 
 Lydney. Truth to say, Lord Dane, absorbed by these other 
 unpleasant interests, had a little neglected his wooing ; he 
 had received Mr. Lester's permission to address Maria, but 
 had not yet done so. 
 
 But that did not impose the necessity for his entering on 
 it in this desperate haste. After quitting Tiffle, he went in 
 search of Maria, and overtook her as she was returning 
 home. Raising his hat, a pleasant smile on his handsome 
 face, he shook hands with her, and walked on by her side. 
 And there, in that hasty manner — in that perhaps not very 
 appropriate place — he asked her to be his wife. 
 
 Her answer was in the negative ; a gentle, hesitating sort 
 of answer : for Maria really liked Lord Dane very much as 
 an acquaintance, and was sorry to pain him. Of course he 
 pressed his suit, and then she spoke more positively. 
 
 " Tell me why you reject me," he said, in his mortifica- 
 tion. 
 
 " Indeed there is no particular reason, except — that I — do 
 
346 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 not — do not care for you sufficiently to become your wife," 
 she answered, blushing painfully. 
 
 " Ah, I see ; I have spoken prematurely," he murmured, 
 partly to himself. " Well Maria, we will let the question 
 remain in abeyance for a time. Have you seen your brother 
 this morning ? Do you know how he is ? " 
 
 " I met Sally, their servant, in the town just now, and she 
 said her master and mistress were well," replied Maria, 
 speaking absently, her thoughts elsewhere. 
 
 "Then there is no truth in the report that he is 
 wounded ? " 
 
 She turned her startled face on Lord Dane. He saw how 
 incautious he had been. 
 
 " Wounded ? " 
 
 " I heard it. I make no doubt it was an idle report." 
 
 " I am sure it must be," she said, trying to bring some 
 colour into her lips again. " Mr. Lydney told me he was 
 at the cottage last evening with Wilfred, and stayed there 
 until one o'clock this morning. The time slipped on 
 unwarily, he said." 
 
 The allusion angered Lord Dane ; his face blazed with 
 scorn. 
 
 " I do not doubt it," he rejoined ; " I think it exceedingly 
 likely they were together until that hour. Birds of a feather 
 — but I should be very sorry to class Wilfred Lester, with 
 all his faults and follies, with a man of Lydney's stamp." 
 
 " Mr. Lydney is a gentleman," she observed, in a low 
 voice. 
 
 " Allow me to ask what proof you have of that, beyond his 
 own assertion ? " 
 
 Not being able to give any conclusive answer to this, 
 Miss Lester walked on in silence, her face rather raised, its 
 expression somewhat hard, and her heart beating with 
 resentment for Lydney's sake. Lord Dane continued his 
 hints against Lydney, but Maria was as one who heard not. 
 She could have doubted the whole world rather than him. 
 
 " Mr. Lydney told me one day," she said, " that his 
 search after his lost box had brought him into contact with 
 some odd characters. He laughed as he said it." 
 
A DOSE FOR TIFFLE. 
 
 347 
 
 " Ay, anything for a plausible excuse," was Lord Dane's 
 sarcastic answer. And it was on the tip of his tongue to 
 open the full budget of Lydncy's misdoings —of his being 
 under the surveillance of the police. But he restrained 
 himself. At that moment Wilfred Lester came into view, 
 walking as well as he ever walked in his life, with no sign 
 or symptom of a wound about him. As if not wishing to 
 meet them, he leaped a fence and struck into the wood. 
 Maria looked at Lord Dane. 
 
 "Yes, I see that rumour at least was false. I wonder 
 whether I could not get him some Government appoint- 
 ment," mused Lord Dane aloud. " There are places to be 
 had where the work's easy enough and the pay good ; four, 
 six, eight hundred a year. It would be very desirable to 
 get him out of Danesheld." 
 
 Desirable ! Desirable for Wilfred to exchange his present 
 life of poverty, ill-repute, danger, the fear of which was 
 turning Maria's heart to sickness day and night, for respect- 
 ability and comfort and hundreds a year ! She turned her 
 lovely face, crimson now with excitement, on Lord Dane. 
 
 " Oh, will you not interest yourself to get him one ? 99 
 
 " Willingly ! Upon condition that you interest yourself 
 with yourself for me." 
 
 He spoke entirely in the moment's impulse, never in- 
 tending to be dishonourable : for he really was above it. 
 Her fading colour recalled him to his words and the con- 
 struction that might be put upon them. 
 
 " I spoke in jest, Maria," he murmured. " As to Wilfred, 
 I will get him something if I can. The worst is, one has 
 to wait so long for any appointment that's worth having." 
 
 Lady Adelaide was in the drawing-room alone. Lord 
 Dane went in, but Maria ran upstairs, considerably shaken. 
 It is not possible for a thoughtful girl to receive an offer of 
 marriage unmoved. In Maria's case, she had been expecting 
 it, fearing it, and she had all along done what she could in 
 a quiet way to discourage its being made. It had come, 
 however, and had shown her, as if in a mirror suddenly 
 presented to view, the cause of her secret repugnance to it 
 — that her whole heart and love were given to William 
 
348 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 Lydney. There was not so much as a corner in it for my 
 Lord Dane, or for any one else in the world. 
 
 And the conviction half terrified Maria, for Lydney was 
 a stranger, an alien, unknown to all; and trusted, as it 
 seemed, by none. 
 
 Lady Adelaide Lester was leaning back on the sofa, her 
 eyes closed in listlessness of spirit. The appearance of 
 utter ennui could not be mistaken : and her start at being 
 interrupted was one almost of terror. She wore a morning 
 robe of delicate hue, a sort of pale primrose ; her golden 
 hair was shaded by a charming cap of lace, and her cheeks 
 flushed as she rose to greet Lord Dane. 
 
 " Yes, I was feeling very dull," she said in reply to a 
 remark of Lord Dane's. " I think I must have been asleep 
 since Mr. Lydney left." 
 
 Lord Dane's pulses stood still. " Has lie been here ? I 
 understood — I fancied he was not admitted here now." 
 
 u He came on some business, I think," carelessly returned 
 Lady Adelaide. " I know he spoke of an American docu- 
 ment that required a magistrate's signature. No, we scarcely 
 ever see him now." 
 
 " Which perhaps may be no loss," was the slighting 
 answer. " A stranger, without introductions, is not always 
 to be received on trust, Lady Adelaide." 
 
 " That is true. I think what made me rather take to him 
 was his likeness to the Danes." 
 
 " His likeness to the Danes ! " echoed his lordship, all the 
 Dane blood within him rising up in resentment. 
 
 " There is certainly a general resemblance. Did it never 
 strike you? He puts me in mind of both my aunt and 
 uncle ; and, a little, of — Harry Dane." 
 
 She paused before the last name, as if not caring to 
 speak it. Lord Dane turned to the window and looked out 
 from it. 
 
lord dane In the chapel ruins. 
 
 349 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 LORD DANE IN THE CHAPEL RUINS. 
 
 A pew days, and time and events went on again. One 
 gloomy evening close upon November, when it was very 
 dark in the wood, and growing dark outside it, three men 
 were together in close conversation. They thought them- 
 selves alone : but, lying flat on the ground, was Shad, the 
 little serpent, listening, not for plans of another battue on 
 the pheasants, but to as nefarious a scheme of house-breaking 
 as was ever concocted. Shad had not yet assisted at great 
 crimes, and his hair rose up on end as he cowered there. 
 What with his personal fear (for Shad fully believed that 
 if any untoward accident betrayed his proximity he should 
 be riddled through with bullets), and what with the low 
 tones the men conversed in, Shad obtained but a partial 
 insight to the plot. Some mansion was about to be broken 
 into, and the plate " bagged." Shad at length made out 
 that it was Dane Castle, but that the night had yet to be 
 fixed. 
 
 Waiting until the men dispersed — for he did not dare to 
 move before — Shad rose up and tore along at his full speed 
 to the spot where he was in the habit of meeting Tiffle. 
 She was not there to-night, and Shad, with all his cunning, 
 was at fault. He scarcely dared approach Mr. Lester's, 
 which was strictly forbidden by Tiffle, but he was burning 
 to be delivered of his secret. At length he crept, in his 
 stealthy fashion, to the servants' entrance, and humbly asked 
 to speak to Mrs. Tiffle. 
 
 The message was carried to Tiffle, and it brought forth 
 an explosion of virtuous indignation. Granny Bean's Shad 
 want her ? Her ! It must be a mistake ! Tiffle, however, 
 flounced out, and there, sure enough, stood the boy. Her 
 first impulse was to treat him to a shaking. 
 
 " Don't you begin upon me, then, till you know why I 
 come," whined Shad, cleverly dodging out of her reach. 
 " I've been hearing murder." 
 
350 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " Hearing murder ! " repeated Tiffle. 
 
 " They are going to break into the Castle, murder Lord 
 Dane, and lift the plate," whispered the boy. " It were 
 them three, Drake, and Ben Beecher, and Nicholson. I've 
 been with my nose to the ground ever since dark, listening 
 to 'em, afraid to draw breath. I say, I wonder they go in 
 for murder." 
 
 Tiffle wondered also. In point of fact, she was more 
 intent on working petty ills and aggravations to her species 
 than on great crimes. Murder bore as much horror to her 
 ear as it does to most people's, and Tiffle received the com- 
 munication with considerable doubt. Mr. Shad, however, 
 was both positive and earnest, and he did not want either 
 for brains or cunning. 
 
 " It's the murder that they're going for, more nor the 
 plate," persisted the boy. " They said one to another, that 
 while the business was being done they'd get a minute to 
 stow in the plate-chest, and nobody be none the wiser. 
 They said it twice over. I says to myself, as I listened, 
 What is the business if it's not the plate-chest ? It must bo 
 to murder Lord Dane." 
 
 " Good boy ! " apostrophised Tiffle, proud of the excellent 
 sense displayed. " Is Lydney to be in, Shad ? " 
 
 " That he is. They named his name only once, and then 
 the rest said hush ! and after that they called him 6 L.,' but 
 I was up to it. It was him set them upon it ; I heard 'em 
 say so. Why, they said that while c L.' went forward and 
 £ did the business ' they'd secure the plate. I say, shouldn't 
 Lord Dane be told ? Look here ; one on 'em dropped this 
 as they moved away." 
 
 « What ! is it you, Mrs. Tiffle ? You'll catch cold. And 
 young Shad, as I'm alive ! " 
 
 The speaker was one of the Hall footmen, who had been 
 out on some errand of his own. Mr. Lester and Lady 
 Adelaide had gone that day to Great Cross, and the servants 
 were in a degree at liberty. 
 
 " Come to beg a drop of my linerment for Granny Bean's 
 rheumatics," responded Tiffle, shuffling into her pocket the 
 paper Shad had produced. " Her back's a'most double with 
 
LORD DANE IN THE CHAPEL ItUINS. 
 
 351 
 
 it to-night, he says. Have you brought a bottle, young 
 Shad?" 
 
 " A-groaning awful ! " returned Shad, on the verge of 
 sympathising tears for the suffering Mrs. Bean. " And 
 please, ma'am, I fell down coming along, and the bottle 
 broke." 
 
 " What a careless boy you must be ! " reprimanded Tiffle. 
 " I suppose I must find one. Wait there." 
 
 Tiffle sent out the stuff, or something that did for it, and 
 then put her things on, casually remarking in the hearing 
 of the servants that she had an errand to do for her lady in 
 Danesheld. Not into Danesheld, however, did she bend her 
 steps, but to Dane Castle. 
 
 Now, it may as well be stated that Mrs. Eliza Tiffle had 
 her dreams of ambition. To become the housekeeper of a 
 fine establishment like Dane Castle, with a master who, 
 being a bachelor, could not be expected to look too clearly 
 into things, was 1 very dazzling to her aspiring vision. The 
 housekeeper at the Castle was old, nearly useless, and Tiffle 
 meant to be promoted to the place. Of course, should the 
 thread of Lord Dane's life be severed by any such summary 
 process as the one hinted at by Shad, Tiffle's rise into 
 society must fade into air. She went to the Castle, and sent 
 in a message by Bruff. 
 
 Lord Dane was alone in his dining-room — the large hand- 
 some room opening from the great hall. Solitary enough 
 he looked in its depths. The rays of the chandelier fell on 
 the dining table, with its snow-white cloth and rich 
 appointments. A tempting table : but its master had turned 
 his back on it to face the fire, where he sat musing. 
 
 " Tiffle ? What can she want with me ? " he wondered 
 aloud to Bruff. " Send her in." 
 
 " Oh, my lord, the most wicked plot ! " began Tiffle, when 
 admitted, throwing her bonnet back in her flurry, and 
 putting up her hands. " The Castle's going to be rifled, and 
 your lordship murdered promiskeous in your bed." 
 
 Lord Dane had never felt a greater inclination to laugh. 
 The first doubt that crossed him was, whether the woman 
 had not been making free with her master's wine. 
 
352 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " You can sit down, Tiffle. You seem a little excited.' 5 
 " My lord, it may sound absurd to you ; no doubt at the 
 first going off it does," returned Tiffle, who was not without 
 a sense of probabilities and the fitness of things ; " but it's 
 gospial truth ! " 
 
 " What is ? " asked Lord Dane. 
 
 Tiffle sat deprecatingly on the edge of the chair, calmed 
 down, and told her tale. It comprised all she had heard, 
 and a trifle that she had not heard, for Tiffle's news un- 
 consciously increased in telling, which happens to many of 
 us. Lydney was breaking into the Castle to murder his 
 lordship ; and Ben Beecher, Drake, and Bill Nicholson 
 were intending to steal the plate on their own account. 
 Tiffle went over the story twice before Lord Dane could 
 make head or tail of it. She particularly dwelt upon the 
 point that the expedition was Lydney's. 
 
 " Was it you who heard this fine plot ? " he asked. 
 
 " Me, my lord ! As if I should be trailing about the 
 wood at night, hazarding of my repitation ! " 
 
 Lord Dane looked at the wizened old face before him, and 
 coughed to keep down a smile. 
 
 " Who did hear it, then ? " 
 
 " I could not impart that point to your lordship." 
 
 " Then you had better not have imparted the tale," was 
 the rejoinder, delivered carelessly. " We don't fight with 
 shadows." 
 
 " But, my lord, you'll have the catastrify occur for 
 certain," cried the alarmed Tiffle. "Something must be 
 done." 
 
 " Just so ; and you must put me in communication with 
 this person, whoever it may be. Otherwise I shall cause 
 the matter to be investigated to-morrow before Squire 
 Lester." 
 
 This would not have suited Tiffle at all ; and yet she did 
 not care to mention Shad. But there was no help for it ; 
 and Lord Dane, sitting there with the resolute Dane face, 
 was not to be trifled with. 
 
 " My lord, it's not that I have any particular motive for 
 denying who it was — and your lordship might see him, of 
 
LOUD DANK IN THE CHAPEL RUINS. 
 
 353 
 
 course — only I could not havo it known. He's useful to me 
 in many ways. I give him a penny in charity now and 
 then, or a pair of old shoes, which he's attached to me 
 through, and koops his eyes open, and brings me news un- 
 suspected 5 so I hope your lordship wouldn't publish him 
 abroad." 
 
 "Agreed," said Lord Dane, divining Tiffle's moaning 
 through her vague words. 
 
 " It's that unfortunate boy, my lord, that nobody knows 
 who he is, or whence he is, or whether he didn't grow out of 
 the earth — Granny Bean's Shad." 
 
 " Granny Bean's Shad ! " was the surprised echo. " Why, 
 every second word that boy speaks is a barefaced lie." 
 
 Tiffle bent her face a little towards Lord Dane, and the 
 light of the chandelier fell upon it. Something in its 
 earnestness — an expression he had never seen before- 
 arrested his attention. 
 
 " That Shad will tell you the truth in this, my lord, I'll 
 answer for with my own life. He has less faults and more 
 sense than Danesheld thinks for." 
 
 " I'll see him," said Lord Dane. " When do you say 
 these gentlemen purpose making the attack ? " 
 
 "My lord, they didn't know themselves. Not for some 
 nights yet. They are waiting for something, but Shad 
 could not hear what : perhaps it's for the moon to go." 
 
 "Very well; send Shad to me. Take care you don't 
 speak of this : to do so might defeat the ends of justice." 
 
 Tiffle gave an emphatic nod. To defeat the ends of 
 justice where Mr. Lydney was concerned, was certainly not 
 her wish. As she rose to leave the room, she put a scrap of 
 torn paper into Lord Dane's hand, having kept her best 
 card as a bonne bouche until the last. 
 
 " One of the conspirators dropped this right ag'in Shad's 
 head, my lord." 
 
 It proved to be part of a note, the latter portion only re- 
 maining. Lord Dane read the following words : 
 
 " impossible to join you to-night, but to-morrow you 
 
 may expect me ivithout fail. — W. L." 
 
 "It's Lydney's," said Tiffle. "I have seen his writing 
 
 Lady Adelaide. 23 
 
354 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 upon pieces of music at our house, and I saw a note of his 
 to Miss Lester. 'Tvvas only a line or two about a book, but 
 it was that very self-same handwriting, and I'll swear to it, 
 my lord, with the same autigriff at the end of it, 6 W. L.,' 
 which is the short for William Lydney." 
 
 Lord Dane put the scrap into his pocket-book, and Tiffle 
 withdrew, remarking that the matter was in his lordship's 
 hands now, and out of hers. His lordship, to tell the truth, 
 was a little puzzled what to do with it, now that his hands 
 had it ; for he scarcely knew whether or not to believe the 
 tale. He felt altogether unable to fathom the motive for 
 any such attack. Loose in character as the three men men- 
 tioned had been, running raids on game and smuggling 
 petty flasks of brandy, they had never been capable of this 
 sort of dangerous crime. As to Lydney — he did not seem 
 the kind of man to attempt murder and housebreaking. 
 
 The more Lord Dane thought of it, the less he understood 
 it. Calling to Bruff that Miss Dane was not to wait tea for 
 him, he took his hat and strolled out ; a dim purpose of 
 speaking to Bent confidentially looming hazily in his mind. 
 The night had changed. The wind, veering round to the 
 east, had chased away the gloomy clouds of the day ; in the 
 clear air there was a suspicion of frost ; the moon was high 
 in the sky, and unusually bright. 
 
 As Lord Dane stood at the gateway in deliberation, he 
 became conscious that something was approaching him with 
 exceedingly cautious and hesitating movements ; and he 
 recognised Shad. Tiffle had sent him at once, the gentleman 
 having been on the watch for her when she left the Castle. 
 Lord Dane conveyed his visitor across the road to the oppo- 
 site heights, where there was no chance of his being over- 
 heard, and bade him speak out. 
 
 Shad told his tale, speaking a little more earnestly than 
 usual, and forgetting for once his ordinary role of semi- 
 childishness. And Lord Dane, in the midst of his surprise 
 at Mr. Shad's change of character, felt a certain conviction 
 that the story was not to be despised. 
 
 Dismissing the boy with a caution to be silent, Lord 
 Dane crossed the road again in perplexed thought. He 
 
LOUD DANE IN THE CHAPEL RUINS. 
 
 355 
 
 could not understand Lydney. Was the man an out-and- 
 out villain ? Lord Dane had scarcely believed him to be 
 that : rather one of those cool and plausible swindlers who, 
 whilst they live by their wits, manage to keep their heads 
 above water. What could be his motive for originating this 
 attack ? Could he want to share in the booty of the plate- 
 chest ? If his object was to murder him — but on this point 
 Lord Dane remained entirely sceptical — better take a high- 
 wayman's shot at him from some convenient corner ; it might 
 be safer. To say the truth, it was this one point, the 
 absence of motive on Lydney's part for so damning a scheme, 
 that in Lord Dane's mind threw doubt on the tale. 
 
 Pacing gently to and fro before the Castle-gate, his best 
 discernment directed to the puzzle, Lord Dane balanced the 
 question whether or not to take Mr. Bent into confidence. 
 The police had not pleased him of late. He had suggested 
 that the notice of the thousand pounds reward should be 
 withdrawn, unless Lydney satisfied them of his own personal 
 ability to meet it, and they had not done it : it was taking 
 an unfair advantage of Eavensbird, to allow him to peril his 
 word and his property ; besides this, Bent 
 
 All at once, a thought darted into his brain with the 
 quickness of a revelation — Lydney's motive. Lord Dane 
 actually stopped still and laughed. Laughed to think how 
 obvious it was, and how obtuse he had been not to see it 
 before. He was breaking into the Castle in search of the box / 
 Where had his, Lord Dane's, wits been ? 
 
 All was explained now. That which had appeared so in- 
 comprehensible, was made clear as the sun at noonday. 
 There was no murder in contemplation for himself — unless, 
 perchance, he offered resistance, and it came to a personal 
 conflict — but the Castle was to be stealthily ransacked for 
 this miserable box, and the plate-chest visited as a little 
 profitable interlude between the acts. Lord Dane had not 
 forgotten overhearing the poacher, Ben Beecher, inform 
 Lydney that tradition said there were secret hiding-places 
 in the Castle. 
 
 " The villain ! * exclaimed Lord Dane, his angry eye 
 flashing. "He deserves hanging for seducing those poor 
 
356 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 poachers into it. And this man has been admitted to 
 people's drawing-rooms here as an equal ; has forced himself 
 into the companionship of Maria Lester ! " 
 
 Sudden remorse, or something very like it, seized on Lord 
 Dane. He had been keeping silence whilst he watched this 
 man, giving him his tether, as it were, hoping to find him 
 out ; but he now asked himself whether he had not done very- 
 wrong, and whether society would not have just cause to 
 blame him. Another idea came into his head ; and it 
 seemed to him most extraordinary that he should never have 
 thought of it before : was Lydney hoping to delude Miss 
 Lester into a marriage, for the sake of her fortune ? Every 
 moment the conviction grew upon him that it was so, and a 
 hot flush dyed his face as he remembered his reprehensible 
 silence to Mr. Lester. Ere the flush had cooled, he was 
 striding along to Danesheld Hall. 
 
 Mr. Lester and Lady Adelaide had just come in from 
 Great Cross, and Maria was alone in the drawing-room. She 
 came up to him smiling, her hand held out ; he thought how 
 charming she looked in her pretty white muslin dress, with 
 the rose-blush on her cheeks. Lord Dane asked for Mr. 
 Lester. 
 
 " They will be down directly," said Maria. 
 
 Maria sat down, quiet and conscious ; very conscious had 
 she felt in his presence since the offer. Lord Dane, as he 
 looked at her, could have bitten his supine tongue with 
 anger — that it should have kept silence before Mr. Lester, 
 and so have perhaps given further opportunities for that 
 adventurer, Lydney, to meet the lovely, inexperienced, and, 
 in some degree, unprotected girl before him. None knew 
 better' than Lord Dane how she was neglected and suffered 
 to go her own way by her stepmother. 
 
 " Had I known you were at home alone to-day, I would 
 have brought Cecilia to pay you a long visit." 
 
 " I was all the afternoon at Miss Bordillion's. We were 
 trying a new game she has had given her — table steeple- 
 chase. Did you ever play at it ? " 
 
 " No," said Lord Dane. " How many does it take ? " 
 
 " Oh, I think any number. We were four." 
 
LOUD DANE IN THE CHAFEL RUINS. 
 
 357 
 
 " Yourself and Miss Bordillion, and " 
 
 It needed not his steady gaze to call up the rush of red to 
 her face, as he waited for the reply, which she could not 
 avoid giving. 
 
 "And young Mrs. James, who had called in, and Mr. 
 Lydney." 
 
 Remembering what had passed between her and Lord 
 Dane in regard to the latter, she could not have helped the 
 hesitation at his name ; remembering, knowing, what her 
 own feelings were, she could as little help the confusion she 
 betrayed. She grew scarlet, her eyelids fell, her fingers 
 nervously trembled. Lord Dane approached, speaking very 
 gently as he stood and looked down upon her. 
 
 " I would not say a word to pain you, Maria ; I would 
 give the whole world rather than do it ; but I did think you 
 would have listened to my warning and avoided that man. 
 A worse man never lived."' 
 
 " Oh, Lord Dane ! you should not say it ! " 
 
 He bent down and laid his hand upon her shoulder in his 
 earnestness. " I am telling you the simple truth, Maria. 
 And that it is truth will in a very few days be known to 
 yourself, as to all. I do not wish to say more to you just at 
 present ; only, take care of yourself." 
 
 Mr. Lester appeared. Lord Dane went with him to his 
 study, and there entered on his word of warning against 
 Lydney. The squire, all unconscious, received it with an 
 indifference that provoked Lord Dane. He then bade Mr. 
 Lester take care, for, unless he was greatly mistaken, the 
 man was secretly looking after Maria and her fortune, and 
 was scheming to entrap her into some engagement. Mr. 
 Lester was thunderstruck. The possibility presented itself 
 to him for the first time ; and he saw it at once with an 
 inexplicable fear. Looking after his daughter and her 
 fortune ! that fourteen thousand pounds that it would just 
 ruin him to give up ? 
 
 Lord Dane said not a word that could reflect on Maria ; 
 he did not even mention the game at steeple-chase. Neither 
 did he breathe a hint of the proposed raid on the Castle. 
 But he enlarged on the gentleman's poaching propensities, 
 
358 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 his doubtful antecedents : and when he took his departure 
 Mr. Lester felt convinced that so audacious a villain had 
 never gone unhung. 
 
 Mr. Lester repaired to his heavy tea in the dining-room, 
 where his wife and Maria were waiting for him. Scarcely 
 had she sat down to it, when the ring of a visitor sounded, 
 and Lydney's voice was heard in the hall. Out rushed Mr. 
 Lester in a storm of anger, and with many unnecessary 
 words of insult, ordered the young man away again. Lady 
 Adelaide stood in consternation, Maria was terrified, the 
 servants came peeping forth. 
 
 " What has occurred ? What have I done ? " were the 
 amazed questions put by Mr. Lydney. But the squire 
 would descend to no explanation. He stormed, and was as 
 insulting as a man in fierce rage can be. Mr. Lydney stood 
 his ground, impassive, unruffled, entirely calm. 
 
 " An explanation ! — to you ! " foamed the squire. " How 
 dare you ask it ? There's the door, sir, and if you don't go 
 out of it without further parley, my servants shall put you 
 forth. Never presume to approach this threshold again." 
 
 Lydney stood yet a minute, his head raised with a half 
 smile, every lineament of his face, every turn of his bearing, 
 showing proud command, as if he was altogether superior to 
 the insult. Then, making a movement of courtesy to Lady 
 Adelaide, and another to Miss Lester, who was ready to fall, 
 he turned and went out through the door, which the footman 
 was holding open. And Mr. Lester stared after his guest in 
 some bewilderment, for it had suddenly struck him how 
 very much, just then, he was looking like that other guest 
 who had preceded him. 
 
 The other, Lord Dane, was striding home, deep in thought, 
 deliberating on the course he should take in regard to this 
 threatened night attack. The evening's work had agitated 
 him, and he crossed to the heights for a little sea air before 
 entering the Castle. He stood on the brow of the cliff in the 
 clear atmosphere, enjoying the rising breeze, and looking 
 out on the broad expanse of sea. All in a minute, it oc- 
 curred to him that he stood on the exact spot from whence 
 his cousin, Harry Dane, had fallen, and he wheeled round, 
 
LORD DANE IN THE CHAPEL RUINS. 
 
 359 
 
 in sudden discomfort, to walk back again. Eight in his 
 path, unless he turned aside, lay the decaying chapel. The 
 moon, never brighter, flickered her light on the picturesque 
 ruins as she had done in the old days, on the broken walls, 
 the tangled green ivy, the worn apertures. Lord Dane had 
 never been inside those ruins since that long-time past, when 
 he was making love to the Lady Adelaide in his heart's 
 fresh romance. 
 
 As he stepped into the ruins, the past days came forcibly 
 back to him, as it was natural that they should. The place 
 looked just as it then looked ; there w r ere the faint remains 
 of altars, the grave-stones cold and gray, the damp moss, 
 the ghostly-looking open windows ; Lord Dane remembered 
 every spot ; nothing had changed ; but in himself — ah, how 
 much ! 
 
 Insensibly as he lingered within the ruins, he lost himself 
 in the past. Vanished scenes came back to him, passing 
 before his mind's eye, not as a fleeting phantasmagoria, but 
 as if actually present, a living reality. His love for 
 Adelaide, and her sudden and mysterious rejection of him ; 
 their mutual deceit towards Harry Dane, and the awful 
 death of the latter. "When he had wandered as far back as 
 this, the reminiscences grew slightly unpleasant, especially 
 in that lonely place, so peopled, according to popular belief, 
 with ghostly tenants and ghostly fancies. 
 
 It is just possible that Lord Dane, though as little given 
 to superstition as most practical men, might have acknow- 
 ledged to some such feeling. At any rate, he was moving 
 to pass out, when a form rose up outside the aperture of a 
 window close by, and stood there in the moonlight looking 
 in ; looking as it seemed, at him, Lord Dane. 
 
 And if ever my Lord Dane's noble mind could have 
 brought itself to believe in ghosts, it was surely then. He 
 stood still and stared ; stared at the face in the aperture. As 
 its lineaments grew upon him, the perspiration oozed from 
 every pore of the skin, and a half-smothered cry escaped his 
 lips: for that face was the face of the dead — of Harry 
 Dane. 
 
 They were almost close to each other ; that face and his 
 
360 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 own. The once familiar features stood out quite distinctly 
 in the moonlight, far too clearly for Lord Dane to mistake 
 them for any other man's. Would he be ashamed, in after- 
 life, to remember that an awful feeling of dread superstition 
 shook him to the centre, and that he glanced round as if 
 seeking some protection from it ? It was only for a moment 
 that his eyes were turned away, for when he looked back the 
 figure had disappeared. 
 
 An instant given to recalling his senses, and he sprang 
 through the nearest doorway. Nothing was to be seen. He 
 ran round the ruins in search. If it was not a ghost, it 
 must have been a man : one thing Lord Dane was ready to 
 swear to, if necessary, that it was not imagination. No 
 person whatever was to be seen ; no thing, animate or in- 
 animate, was within that view : that any one could have 
 escaped across the heights in any direction, was an im- 
 possibility, and Lord Dane came to the conclusion that he had 
 seen his cousin's spirit. He was a middle-aged, sensible 
 Englishmen, of practical mind, and yet he believed it. 
 
 He shook himself to see whether he was awake : he took 
 off his hat and rubbed his damp brow, and stared up at the 
 sky, and into the moon's face, to make sure he was not 
 dreaming. He knew he was thinking of his cousin at the 
 time it occurred, and he knew that imagination is prone to 
 play curious tricks. All in vain. He could neither shake 
 off the belief in the apparition nor the fear it left behind it ; 
 so he turned round, and walked across to his home with 
 marked quickness. 
 
 At the gateway stood Bruff, airing himself; the butler 
 had always been given to the custom, and it grew with his 
 years. As he drew aside for Lord Dane to pass, he 
 naturally looked at him ; and the man quite started. In the 
 pinched, livid features, on which the Castle lamp shone, 
 in the terrified eyes, Bruff could scarcely recognise his 
 master. 
 
 " If he don't look as if he had seen a ghost ! " cried 
 the unconscious Bruff. And perhaps it was as well, all 
 things considered, that Lord Dane did not hear the words. 
 
THE LONDON BANKER. 
 
 361 
 
 CHAPTEE XXVIII. 
 
 THE LONDON BANKER. 
 
 A telegraphic despatch went up to Scotland Yard from 
 Lord Dane. It was answered by a chief detective officer 
 in person, who reached Dane Castle early the following 
 morning. He gave in his name as Blair ; and Lord Dane, 
 who was only then dressing, hastened to him. He found a 
 gentlemanly sort of man in plain attire, educated, pleasant, 
 well-informed, with nothing remarkable about him, except 
 that he was given to silence and had a habit of partly 
 closing his eyes when he looked at people. Miss Dane, who 
 was curious on the subject of the strange gentleman with 
 whom her brother was going to breakfast in private, peej)ed 
 out at him as he was being conducted to a dressing-room, 
 and saw a good-looking man of forty, or thereabouts. She 
 waylaid her brother. 
 
 " Oh, Geoffry, dear, do tell me who he is ! " 
 
 He muttered something indistinct about his "man of 
 business." 
 
 An appellation which Miss Dane's ideas immediately con- 
 nected with money. " Do you mean your London banker, 
 Geoffry?" 
 
 " That's near enough," carelessly answered Lord Dane, 
 laughing to himself, for he had not the slightest intention 
 of allowing it to transpire who the stranger was. Upon 
 which Miss Dane, confidentially chattering to the household, 
 communicated the fact that it was his lordship's London 
 banker come down on a visit. And the news travelled 
 forthwith to Danesheld. But never in all Miss Dane's 
 experience had she imagined anyone could be so long a time 
 at breakfast as this same London banker. 
 
 The meal perhaps was not taking very long, but the con- 
 versation was. In Lord Dane's own pleasant morning-room, 
 overlooking Danesheld with a side view of the sparkling sea, 
 he told his tale. Of Lydney's being saved from the wreck ; 
 of his claiming the japanned box, and its disappearance ; 
 
362 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 of his having wormed himself into the best houses in the 
 place ; of his discovered secret connection with the poachers 
 and other bad characters ; and of his suspected designs on 
 the fortune of Miss Lester, the daughter of Danesbeld Hall. 
 The final communication came last — Lydney's projected 
 attack on the Castle. 
 
 Mr. Blair listened to the whole in silence. It may be 
 that he did not yet see the absolute necessity for the services 
 of a detective in the matter ; but he did not say so. 
 
 " The name of the inspector here is Young, I think ? " he 
 observed. 
 
 " No ; Bent," said Lord Dane. " Young was moved to 
 Great Cross a short time ago, and Bent took his place. 
 Bent was always an opinionated sort of man ; and, I may be 
 wrong in the notion, but it seems to me that he upholds 
 Lydney, and so I sent for you." 
 
 " If I gather your lordship's wishes rightly, you would 
 prefer the attack on the Castle not to be stopped ; but that 
 the light-fingered gentry may be caught in the act ? " 
 
 "Precisely so. The neighbourhood shall have its eyes 
 opened as to the nefarious doings of this Lydney ; therefore 
 the attack must be allowed to take place. I am sorry for 
 the other men, and would have spared them if I could ; but 
 there's no help for it, and they must share the penalty. 
 They have been too fond of helping themselves to hares and 
 pheasants ; of setting my keepers at defiance ; of doing a 
 little private business in the smuggling line : but they 
 would no more have ventured to plan such a feat as this 
 than I should. Lydney has drawn them into it." 
 
 " I scarcely follow your lordship," said Mr. Blair. " You 
 think Lydney's object in breaking into the Castle is not 
 plunder?" 
 
 " Not his primary object. He will no doubt take his 
 share of the plunder : but his chief object, as I believe, is 
 to search for the box." 
 
 " This boy you speak of, Shad, hinted at an assault upon 
 yourself." 
 
 " He took up a wrong idea," was Lord Dane's confident 
 answer. " Rely upon it, they would be too glad that I 
 
THE LONDON BANKER. 
 
 3G3 
 
 should sleep, undisturbed, through the proceedings, and only 
 wake up to find them and the plate-chest safely off again." 
 
 Mr. Blair seemed to bo following out things on his 
 fingers. 
 
 " This man, Lydney, as good as accused you of detaining 
 his box ? " 
 
 " He has insolently accused me of it from the first ; both 
 before my face and behind my back. My own opinion is, 
 that the box never belonged to him, never was in his charge ; 
 that he put in a claim to it when it was lying on the beach, 
 thinking he could do so with impunity." 
 
 " He has offered a thousand pounds reward for its 
 recovery," quietly remarked the detective. 
 
 Lord Dane drew down the corners of his lips. "Yes, 
 and got his credulous landlord to be answerable for the 
 money. Bent shirked the subject when I was last with 
 him, simply telling me to my face that they were satisfied." 
 
 "Did I understand your lordship correctly, that Bent 
 searched the Castle himself for the box ? " 
 
 " Yes, immediately after the stir arose respecting it. I 
 allowed it, for he seemed rather to doubt whether any of 
 my servants could have secreted the box. Which, however, 
 was an impossibility." 
 
 " And why did Bent not tell this to Lydney ? " 
 
 " Bent did tell him — told him at once." 
 
 " Then, excuse me, Lord Dane, but I do not see very clear 
 probabilities just here. If Lydney has been assured by the 
 police that the box is not in the Castle, how can you suppose 
 that he is breaking in to search for it ? " 
 
 Lord Dane paused. He did not wish to repeat the scandal 
 he had heard whispered by Ben Beecher, touching possible 
 secret hiding-places in the Castle and former smuggling, 
 even to Mr. Blair. That Lydney was breaking in, in con- 
 sequence of that communication, to search for secret places, 
 he had not the faintest doubt ; but he felt it not altogether 
 convenient to say as much to this detective. 
 
 " Rely upon it that Lydney's object is to search for the 
 box," was the impressive rejoinder of Lord Dane. " I don't 
 say but the plate may contribute its attraction." 
 
364 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 Mr. Blair mused. " Have you any reason to think tins 
 American entertains an ill-feeling towards you ? " he 
 j^resently asked. 
 
 " No ; except what may arise from his ridiculous suspicion 
 that I detained the box. He is aware, no doubt, that I have 
 found him out to be a bad character: perhaps has heard 
 that I warned his landlord, Eavensbird, against him. I 
 have also warned Squire Lester." 
 
 Mr. Blair's fingers were quiet now, but he was evidently 
 thinking. " Where is your police-station ? " he inquired. 
 
 " In the heart of Danesheld. I will walk with you to it." 
 
 " I understand that your lordship gives the entire charge 
 of this business into my hands ? " observed the detective. 
 
 " Undoubtedly." 
 
 " Then you must allow me to go to work my own way. 
 I would prefer to visit the station alone. All your lordship 
 has to do is to keep still." 
 
 " And what are your plans ? " 
 
 cc I have formed none at present. There will be no 
 difficulty, of course, in entrapping these gentry when they 
 make the attack : but to find out who this American is, and 
 his antecedents, may not be so easy. And I presume it is 
 on this point you chiefly require my services." 
 
 " It is. The attack on the Castle could have been dealt 
 with by the police here ; but they are not capable of tracking 
 out the past of this Lydney." 
 
 Mr. Blair rose. 
 
 " Your lordship of course understands that it must not be 
 known who I am, and what I have come about ? " 
 
 Lord Dane laughed : " You are a friend on a visit to me, 
 Mr. Blair." 
 
 Mr. Blair walked into the town and found the police- 
 station. On its door, conspicuous enough, though greatly 
 soiled, was the notice still, offering the thousand pounds 
 reward for the recovery of the japanned box. He read it 
 rapidly as he entered, not seeming to stop, and thought the 
 description of it somewhat curious : three Vs on the lid, 
 surmounted by a Maltese cross. 
 
 Perched upon a stool, within the railings already men- 
 
THE LONDON BANKER. 365 
 
 tioned, was Mr. Bent. Scotland Yard had had communica- 
 tions from Mr. Bent, and judged him to be a shrewd officer, 
 in spite of sundry errors in spelling and composition. The 
 stranger, in a summary sort of way, began asking questions 
 of Danesheld and its inhabitants, of its police-station, and 
 other things. It aroused the ire of the inspector, who was 
 a great man in his own estimation, and objected to be 
 interfered with, except by the local magistrates or by my 
 Lord Dane. 
 
 " I should be glad to know who you arc— coming in and 
 examining into my business ! " cried he, resentfully. 
 
 " Should you ? " was the quiet answer. " I am Mr. 
 Blair." 
 
 " Mr. Blair ? " repeated Bent, wondering where he had 
 heard the name, for it seemed familiar to him. 
 
 " Of Scotland Yard. I have come down on a matter of 
 business." 
 
 It was explained now, and the inspector jumped off his 
 stool in inward tremor. 
 
 " I beg your pardon, sir ! I had no idea — please to step 
 into the inner room. I'm sure I hope nothing in our office 
 has fallen under displeasure up there ? " 
 
 " Not that I have heard of," said Mr. Blair, as he followed 
 to the inner room, from which a policeman, quietly reading 
 the newspaper was unceremoniously expelled. 
 
 He sat down, and entered into easy conversation with 
 Bent, about nothing in particular, his shrewd perceptions at 
 work all the while as to the man before him : and he saw 
 that he might be trusted and could be discreet. 
 
 " Now then, Mr. Bent, I want a little information from 
 you. Who is this American, stopping in the place, named 
 Lydney ? " 
 
 " Well, I don't know who he is," confidentially rejoined 
 Mr. Bent, who stood whilst he talked, and appeared to 
 prefer it. " We can't make him out, sir. He seems every 
 inch a gentleman : in speech, in manners — in short, you'd 
 not take him for anything less than a nobleman. Perhaps, 
 though, what has led us to the thought is, that there's such 
 a likeness to the Danes about him." 
 
366 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 Mr. Blair lifted his Lead. " To Lord Dane ? " 
 
 " Well, yes, to Lord Dane : a sort of general resem- 
 blance — and particularly to some of the Danes who are 
 gone. The fact has, I think, given us a good impression of 
 him. On the other hand, he mixes himself up with poachers 
 and disreputable people, goes into the woods with them at 
 night, lodges at a public-house, and — in short, we are 
 puzzled. He is an exceedingly pleasant young fellow." 
 
 " Was it his own box that was lost ? " 
 
 " He says not. He has been in a fever over it all along, 
 and has offered a thousand pounds reward." 
 
 " When he is probably not worth a hundred pence. Had 
 that box been produced, and the reward claimed, you might 
 have found yourselves in a dilemma. You countrymen are 
 so incautious." 
 
 " We have not been incautious in this, though we are 
 countrymen," returned Mr. Bent, with a cough. " I hold 
 the money." 
 
 " The thousand pounds ! " exclaimed Mr. Blair. 
 
 " Yes, sir, in bank-notes. Lord Dane and others seemed 
 to cast reflections upon me for accepting the guarantee of 
 the landlord, Eavensbird, so I spoke to Mr. Lydney, and he 
 brought the notes and deposited them with me." 
 
 "Good ones, I suppose?" carelessly remarked the inspector. 
 
 Mr. Bent gave a significant nod. " Of course I handed 
 him an acknowledgment, and he can claim them whenever 
 he chooses to withdraw the offer of reward." 
 
 " Lord Dane does not know of this." 
 
 " Noboby knows of it, sir, but myself : the young man 
 exacted a promise of absolute secrecy. Lord Dane's opinion 
 is, that Lydney himself has possession of the box ; but " 
 
 " No, it is not," interrupted Mr. Blair. 
 
 " I can assure you that it is," said the inspector. 
 
 " I can assure you that it is not" authoritatively corrected 
 Mr. Blair. " If his lordship has told you so, he must have 
 had his own reasons for the assertion." 
 
 The inspector did not like to contradict again. He 
 looked at his superior, and waited. The latter lowered his 
 voice. 
 
T1IE LONDON BANKER. 
 
 367 
 
 " Have you heard that there's a plot afloat to break into 
 Dane Castle ? " 
 
 " No ! " cried Mr. Bent in surprise. " Who's getting it 
 up?" 
 
 So much as he deemed necessary for the furtherance of 
 his own purposes, Mr. Blair told. He said that Lydney's 
 primary object appeared to be to search for the box, his 
 second, the plate-chest. " It is," he concluded, " the busi- 
 ness that I have been summoned down upon." 
 
 " I never was more perplexed in my life," cried Bent, 
 when he had somewhat gathered his senses. " Lydney 
 break into the Castle after plate ! It seems impossible. I 
 can't understand this at all, sir." 
 
 " Neither can I, now that you have told me you hold the 
 thousand pounds," acknowledged Mr. Blair. "It was 
 tolerably clear before. A man capable of offering a thou- 
 sand pounds reward for the recovery of a small box, and 
 depositing the money, would scarcely break into a house to 
 steal plate. What was in the box ? " 
 
 "Documents, he says. He has always expressed a 
 conviction that the box is in the Castle. Surely he'd never 
 break in after it ! " 
 
 " But it was never seen to enter the Castle," debated the 
 detective. 
 
 "Only by a disreputable boy, named Shad, who is the 
 deuce's own cousin for telling lies when it suits his purpose. 
 He says it did go in, the reptile ; and I don't know in this 
 case why he should say so if it didn't. I can't tell ! " 
 concluded the man, as if the matter were wholly beyond 
 him. "It's the oddest thing in the world where the box 
 can be." 
 
 Mr. Blair began to think so too. " Where can I get at 
 this Shad?" he asked. "I should like to meet him — 
 accidentally, you understand." 
 
 The inspector directed him to the wood, where Shad was 
 always prowling about, giving at the same time a description 
 of the gentleman's person, not likely to be mistaken ; and 
 Mr. Blair went out. 
 
 And now it is necessary to mention that the first use 
 
368 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 Squire Lester made of Lord Dane's communication regard- 
 ing Lydney, was to carry it to Miss Bordillion, and caution 
 her to drop all intercourse with him. 
 
 That lady was not altogether unprepared for the warning. 
 She had for some little time been aware that her own 
 house was nearly the only one whose doors were cordially 
 opened to Mr. Lydney ; she began to have doubts herself, 
 and she acquiesced with a sigh in Mr. Lester's recommenda- 
 tion that those doors should be closed in future. 
 
 There had been no opportunity for acting upon it, for 
 Mr. Lydney had not called : but on this morning, whilst 
 Mr. Blair was making his visit to the police-station, it 
 happened that he presented himself. 
 
 " Not at home, sir," answered the servant, Mary, turning 
 very red with the untruth. 
 
 But at that identical moment, who should come to the 
 window — which in the small house was near the door — but 
 Miss Bordillion herself. Mr. Lydney looked at her and 
 then at the servant, a smile crossing his face. The girl felt 
 vexed and confused ; and she attempted a justification. 
 
 " It is not my fault, sir, that I can't admit you : I am only 
 obeying orders." 
 
 " Miss Bordillion has desired you not to admit me when 
 I call?" 
 
 " Well yes, sir, she has. I'm sure I'm very sorry to be 
 rude." 
 
 He tore a leaf from his pocket-book, wrote on it some 
 words, and sent it in. 
 
 " Allow me to see you for a few minutes. I ash it as a 
 favour" 
 
 Miss Bordillion thought one more interview could not 
 signify. With that noble face of his there before her, she 
 seemed to lose all her doubts about him. Karely had she 
 seen any one, but for these doubts, in whom she could have 
 placed confidence so implicit : and she liked him very much 
 for his own sake. 
 
 " I thank you for admitting me," he began, as he entered 
 and held out his hand, which she took as usual. " That I 
 am not in favour with Danesheld, the last week or two has 
 
THE LONDON BANKER. 
 
 369 
 
 made me painfully aware ; but I did hope the prejudice 
 would not extend to you. You have regarded me as a 
 friend, Miss Bordillion, and I now come purposely to ask 
 you to treat me as one. Tell me, if you can, what the 
 rumours Against me are, and what form they take." 
 
 Miss Bordillion hesitated in perplexity, a flush called up 
 by the unpleasantness of the position in her delicate face. 
 
 " You have probably heard that Mr. Lester has turned me 
 from his door," he continued, finding she did not speak ; 
 and Miss Bordillion bowed in answer. " I inquired his 
 grounds for that gratuitous insult, but he wholly refused to 
 state them. Yesterday I was passed in the street by 
 Captain Duff and his wife ; upon meeting the captain later, 
 I demanded what the cause was, and he civilly evaded the 
 question. It appears to me that I have a right to be told 
 what all this is, and so I come to you, Miss Bordillion. A 
 man cannot meet a charge unless he knows its nature." 
 
 " That there are tales, vague rumours, abroad to your 
 prejudice, it would be folly for me to pretend to ignore," 
 she at length answered. " But I think the removing of 
 them rests in a great measure with yourself." 
 
 " In what way ? " 
 
 " It appears to me that you should declare who you arc. 
 You have said you are of good family, a family of some 
 note in England. I am sure I received the assertion with 
 perfect reliance on its truth, as I make no doubt others did. 
 But you see a long time has gone on, and you do not give 
 more particulars." 
 
 An expression of amusement crossed his face ; and it 
 rather vexed Miss Bordillion. 
 
 " I suppose people have been searching the Peerage and 
 Baronetage, and all your other red books, to find the name 
 of Lydney," said he. 
 
 "Something very like it, I believe," she answered. 
 " You must perceive , hcv/ it is, Mr. Lydney : had you said 
 nothing about your father having been of good English 
 family, the question would not have arisen. American 
 birth no one thinks of inquiring into." 
 
 " Who first originated these doubts ? " 
 
 Lady Adelaide. 24 
 
370 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " I do not know." 
 
 " Lord Dane, in all probability. Miss Bordillion, I did 
 not think you would have closed your doors against me." 
 
 " I cannot do otherwise," she said, quite distressed at the 
 turn the conversation was taking, yet considering it better 
 to speak pretty freely. " It is impossible that I can fly in 
 the face of society : for one thing the circumstances do not 
 justify it ; for another, I should greatly anger my con- 
 nections at the Hall, the Lesters." 
 
 " Ah ! " returned he, significantly. "I am accused, I 
 hear, amidst other heinous sins, of entertaining designs on 
 the fortune of Miss Lester." 
 
 " Where did you hear that ? " she exclaimed in her 
 surprise. 
 
 " I am supposed to be doing my best to delude Miss 
 Lester into a runaway marriage for the sake of grasping 
 her fourteen thousand pounds," he continued, passing by 
 the question. . " Allow me to assure you, Miss Bordillion, 
 and I do so on my honour, that whenever I do marry, it 
 will be of no moment to me whether my wife shall possess 
 fourteen thousand pounds or not as many pence." 
 
 " I wish you would not mention these things," she cried ; 
 " they only pain me to hear them. For myself I cannot 
 help feeling confidence in you ; there is something about 
 you that I have trusted from the first, and trust still. But 
 if you reflect for a moment, you will see how impossible 
 it is that I can run against the stream of popular opinion 
 by continuing to receive you here. Were you only more 
 open as to yourself, the case would be different. If I were 
 you, Mr. Lydney," she suddenly said, rising and holding out 
 her hand as a signal of departure, " I would not remain any 
 longer at Danesheld." 
 
 " That proves how much you share the general prejudice," 
 he rejoined, as he shook her hand heartily. " I do nbt 
 blame you, Miss Bordillion : and of course I cannot intrude 
 longer : but you must allow me to express a hope that the 
 time will come when you may welcome me again." 
 
 The air seemed lighter to Miss Bordillion as hp went out. 
 In her confusion of mind, she actually slipped the bolt of 
 
THE LONDON BANKER. 
 
 371 
 
 the room door. One thought above all others was making 
 itself prominent — that he had not said a single word to 
 clear up the slander. Neither did he betray any shame, 
 but on the contrary had never in his life looked more 
 independent, or carried a lighter air with him. 
 
 As he went out, he found Miss Lester talking to the 
 servant. The girl, in fact, still waiting at the front door, 
 was giving her the history of the contretemps. He 
 accosted the young lady, requesting a few moments' con- 
 versation with her, and, without waiting for yes or no, 
 drew her rather peremptorily into a small room where she 
 and Edith used to do their lessons in the old days. 
 Trophies in the shape of slates and maps, adorned the 
 walls still. Closing the door, he stood before her : 
 if Miss Bordillion, bolted in her parlour still, had only 
 known it,! 
 
 "Maria," he began, calling her, as he had rarely done 
 before, by her Christian name, " I am about to put your 
 friendship, your confidence in me to the test. Dark tales 
 are abroad to my prejudice; insinuations that I am not 
 what I appear to be, a gentleman, but, on the contrary, a 
 suspicious character, altogether an adventurer. Do you 
 believe them ? " 
 
 " No," she quietly answered, lifting her eyes, full of trust, 
 to his. 
 
 " Thank you. If I owe refutation of them to any one, 
 above all others it is to you. And yet I cannot do it ; the 
 time has not yet come. Will you wait on a little while, 
 never doubting me ? " 
 
 She looked at him again, her face full of faith and hope ; 
 and he took both hands and held them in his. 
 
 " It is brought against me, I find, amidst other charges, 
 that I am striving to gain the affections of Miss Lester, for the 
 sake of securing her fortune. Into the state of Miss Lester's 
 affections I may not enter, but I honestly avow that she 
 has gained mine. I can say no more now, except that when 
 I present myself before Mr. Lester to ask his daughter's 
 hand in marriage, he will find that in fortune and condition 
 I am at lenst his equal. I — I am not offending you, in 
 
872 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE, 
 
 saying so much?'' ho broke off, for she was struggling to 
 free her hands. 
 
 No, he was not offending her : far from it ; her heart 
 only beat more responsively to the avowal ; but she was 
 in truth terribly agitated. Here he was — this adventurer, 
 as every one was calling him — making her an offer of 
 marriage, and she was only too conscious that she loved 
 him, whatever he might be. 
 
 " Until then, you will trust me," he whispered in a tone 
 of the deepest tenderness. 
 
 Again she only glanced at him in answer, but it was 
 quite enough. As he held her hands to him, the temptation 
 to bend his head and kiss the blushing face was very great ; 
 but William Lydney was a man of honour, in spite of what 
 they said of him, and he resisted it. 
 
 " God bless you, Maria. The cloud will soon pass." 
 
 Mary, discreetly waiting at the front door, and giving 
 no warning to her mistress, as of course she might have 
 done, offered a word of excuse to Mr. Lydney as he passed 
 her. " Indeed, sir, I was obliged to do it," she said, looking 
 inclined to cry. 
 
 " Of course you were ; it was not your fault," he cordially 
 answered, slipping some silver into her hand. " Who's 
 that ? " 
 
 The " who's that " applied to a stranger who was passing : 
 a gentleman who turned round and looked keenly at him ; 
 very keenly, Mr. Lydney thought. It was not, however, an 
 offensive stare ; but the eyes that gave it appeared to have 
 a peculiar power of their own for taking in all points of any 
 object on which they rested. 
 
 " I hope he will know me again," said Mr. Lydney, good- 
 humouredly. " I wonder who he is." 
 
 " It's my Lord Dane's banker, sir," was the girl's answer. 
 " One of the Castle footmen went by just now with a carpet- 
 bag he had been fetching from the station ; he told me it 
 belonged to my lord's London banker, who has come down 
 on a visit ; and just then the gentleman came in sight and 
 he said that was him. Thank you very much, sir. Good- 
 morning, Mr. Lydney, sir." 
 
THE LONDON BANKER. 
 
 373 
 
 The last words, spoken loudly, for Mr. Lydncy was already 
 nearly out of sight, reached the ears of the " hanker." He 
 turned and accosted the servant. 
 
 " Did I hear you call that gentleman Lydncy ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir. That's Mr. Lydney." 
 
 Mr. Blair gazed after him until he was out of sight. It 
 might be that Lydncy did not answer to the picture he had 
 mentally formed of him. 
 
 " He does look like a gentleman," were the words that 
 escaped him ; it seemed involuntarily. 
 
 " He is a gentleman, if ever there was one," cried the 
 young woman warmly. 
 
 " Ah," soliloquized Mr. Blair, " just the fellow to drop 
 down in a country place and take it by storm, whether the 
 good looks are false or whether they're genuine. Bent's 
 right : there's a cut of Lord Dane about him ; I wonder " 
 
 What Mr. Blair wondered, was never spoken, even to 
 himself. For he dismissed his thoughts, as not being likely 
 to hold water. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXIX. 
 
 THE NIGHT ATTACK. 
 
 Lord Dane's London banker remained on his visit, and 
 made himself popular. There was scarcely a jdace to which 
 he did not penetrate, even to Granny Bean's hospitable 
 dwelling, where he won that estimable old crone's heart by 
 a huge present of tobacco, and took a pipe with her. Granny 
 gave him her version of a great many people, and par- 
 ticularly of Lydney and Wilfred Lester. She called them 
 " limbs," and sundry other names. 
 
 Mr. Blair became intimate with Bavensbird and his wife, 
 amidst others. The Sailors' Rest was a convenient halting- 
 place in going to and from the Castle, and Mr. Blair took a 
 
374: 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 fancy to some French liqueur kept there, and was con- 
 tinually turning in for a petit verre. Sometimes he would 
 talk to Eavensbird whilst he drank it, sometimes to madame, 
 and he grew curious, in a social friendly way, as to their 
 guest, young Lydney. But with all Mr. Blair's craft, he 
 really elicited nothing that was of service to him, either for 
 or against that young man. Lord Dane had wanted Lydney 
 turned out, Eavensbird said confidentially one day ; but he 
 didn't see his way clear to doing it : so long as the American 
 paid for what he had, and conducted himself well, why should 
 he part with a profitable customer ? Altogether Mr. Blair 
 obtained no reliable information from any quarter, and so 
 there was nothing for it but to wait until Lydney cut off his 
 own head. 
 
 If visits to Lawyer Apperly's office could accomplish that 
 decapitation, it was being done quickly. Never a day 
 passed but Mr. Lydney was there, without any result, 
 demanding whether there was news of that man of law, and 
 when he ivould be at home. 
 
 On the Saturday morning, however, the Saturday of the 
 week that had witnessed the arrival of Mr. Blair at Danes- 
 held, news came, and no one was more glad of it than the 
 clerk, young Crofts, for he had grown, as he avowed to his 
 friends, " sick and tired of seeing that bothering Lydney." 
 
 " He'll be home to-night or to-morrow," said the clerk. 
 " Any way, in time for business on Monday morning." 
 
 " You are sure ? " cried Mr. Lydney, eagerly. " Have 
 you heard from Mr. Apperly himself ? " 
 
 " How could I tell you if we hadn't heard ? " retorted 
 young Crofts, resentfully. " Perhaps," he continued, with 
 sarcasm, " Mr. James might let you see the letter if you ask 
 him." 
 
 Away went Mr. Lydney with the information to Wilfred 
 Lester. Wilfred received it with indifference. Eager as 
 he had once been for the lawyer's return, latterly he had 
 cooled down about it. What good could Apperly be to him, 
 or any other lawyer, while his father refused to show the 
 deed ? For this week past it had struck Lydney that 
 Wilfred Lester avoided him, and the young American asked 
 
THE NIGHT ATTACK. 
 
 375 
 
 himself whether he also could be influenced by the tales that 
 were abroad to his prejudice. It made no difference to him ; 
 he never lost sight of his promise to Maria, and three parts 
 of his time, night and day, were spent in quietly looking 
 after the movements of Wilfred. But the poachers seemed 
 unusually quiet, and nothing was stirring. Nothing had 
 come of the projected attack on the Castle. Night after 
 night when the household had retired, Bruff, the only one 
 to whom the secret was disclosed, let in a small band of 
 policemen in plain clothes, and let them out again with 
 morning light. Mr. Blair wondered whether his visit was 
 to turn out a superfluous one, and Lord Dane grew fidgety. 
 
 On the Sunday evening they were sitting in the dining- 
 room, lingering over their wine, when a faint tap was heard 
 at one of the windows. Lord Dane rose, pulled aside the 
 white blind, and found Mr. Shad's face on the other side of 
 the glass. He had climbed the iron railings and was 
 standing on the spikes, leaning forward and holding on by 
 the window frame. 
 
 " You young imp ! " exclaimed Lord Dane, throwing up 
 the window, " what brings you here ? " 
 
 Shad, active as a cat, was in the room in a trice, and 
 stood, out of breath between running and excitement. 
 
 " They are coming on this very night, my lard. They — 
 they be there a-planning it." 
 
 Mr. Blair advanced, seated Shad upon a chair, and got 
 him to tell his news calmly. The substance of it was that 
 he had seen the conspirators in the wood, and heard enough 
 to convince him the attack was about to be made this night. 
 When he left, they were tying black crape to their hats. 
 
 " How many did you see ? " asked Mr. Blair. 
 
 "I see four: two tall and two short," answered Shad. 
 " The three was them I telled my lard on before ; the t'other, 
 which was tallest of all, was like — I didn't see his face, 
 though," broke off Shad. " He was sitted down on the 
 stump all the time, with the black afore his nose." 
 
 " Who is he like ? Speak out." 
 
 " Well, I never heerd him speak, and I never see him get 
 up, but he was like Will Lester." 
 
376 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE, 
 
 " Nonsense ! " interposed Lord Dane. " As if Wilfred 
 Lester would turn housebreaker ! The boy's a fool, Blair, 
 and has always been deemed one. You must mean Lydncy," 
 he sharply added to Shad. 
 
 Now the boy was not a fool : he had a great deal too much 
 cunning to be a fool ; and that cunning he was incessantly 
 calling into requisition. It did not in the least matter to 
 Shad whether the silent gentleman in the crape might be 
 Mr. Lydney or Mr. Wilfred Lester : his opinion was that 
 it was the latter ; but as the suggestion appeared to give 
 offence to Lord Dane, who would evidently be better pleased 
 to hear that it was Lydney, Shad's canning prompted him 
 to veer round. 
 
 " Well, I dunno," said he, with admirable simplicity. 
 " Lydney 's tall, too, he is : and the man was broad, here," 
 touching his chest, " and so's Lydney. Yes, my lord, 'twas 
 more like Lydney. 'Twas the leggin's made me think o' 
 Will Lester ; but I see Lydney with a pair on one day." 
 
 " Safe to be Lydney," said Lord Dane to Mr. Blair. And 
 the latter nodded. 
 
 " What more did you hear ? " he asked of Shad. 
 
 " I didn't hear no more, sir. They warn't talking, except 
 a' odd word about the veils; and I crept off to tell his 
 hardship." 
 
 Mr. Blair turned to Lord Dane, and they spoke together 
 for a few moments in an undertone. Mr. Shad was then 
 gently lifted on to the spikes again, and told to jump down. 
 This accomplished, Lord Dane gave him a parting word of 
 admonition. 
 
 " You go home at once, Shad, and get to bed. If you 
 lingered near the Castle, there might be a danger of your 
 gat ting shot in mistake for one of the thieves. Should these 
 men be dropped upon through your information, you shall 
 have such a reward as you have never dreamed of in your 
 life. Make the best of your way home." 
 
 Away tore Shad, but the moment he was at a safe distance 
 from the Castle, he darted within shade of the friendly 
 hedges of a by-lane, to give vent unseen to his superfluous 
 jollity, quite unconscious that he nearly darted into the 
 
THE NIGHT ATTACK. 
 
 377 
 
 emorace of a gentleman. Shad threw up his arms, capered 
 with his feet, performed, in short, all sorts of antics, and 
 muttered : 
 
 " Go home to bed, my lard says. Not I ; I'd like to see 
 the fun. And as if I didn't know Will Lester, though he 
 have got the black crape over his face ! He " 
 
 Shad found himself pinioned. The gentleman was Mr. 
 Lydney, who had strolled out from the Sailors' Rest to 
 smoke a cigar. 
 
 " What is that about Will Lester and black crape, Shad ? " 
 
 Shad began to howl. Ho w T as a-going home to his 
 granny's to bed, he was. 
 
 " You little hypocrite ! " exclaimed Mr. Lydney, " do you 
 suppose I want to hurt you ? Look here, Shad ; you cannot 
 play the simpleton with me, so just put off that idiotic folly. 
 I ask you what you meant, when you alluded to Wilfred 
 Lester's having black crape over his face, and I ask to know. 
 If you don't choose to tell me, I will take you off to the 
 police-station now, and you shall tell it there." 
 
 " I daredn't tell nobody," rejoined Shad. 
 
 " Yes, you dare : you can tell me. What ' fun 9 is it that's 
 going on to-night ? I mean to know." 
 
 A little more skirmishing, and then Mr. Lydney suddenly 
 exclaimed : " Did you ever see a sovereign, Shad ? " 
 
 " I have see'd 'em," returned Shad, with a stress upon the 
 "see'd." 
 
 " Would you like to possess one ? " 
 
 " Oh ! " aspirated Shad in trembling delight, his mouth 
 beginning to water. 
 
 " I said I would give you a sixpence if you told me the 
 truth about the box. Tell the truth now of what is doing 
 to-night, and I will give you a golden sovereign." 
 
 For that tempting bait, Shad would have sold Danesheld 
 and everyone in it, himself included. A sovereign, twenty 
 whole shillings, really seemed to the boy interminable 
 riches, sufficient to buy up all the tame rabbits within the 
 circuit of his knowledge. But Shad was feeling puzzled. If 
 this was the night of the grand expedition, and Mr. Lydney 
 was strolling about enjoying idleness and a cigar, he could 
 
378 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 not be in it, as had been surmised. Shad, with his cunning, 
 came to the rapid conclusion that he was not in it, and that 
 they had been under a mistake in supposing so. Still he 
 hesitated, uncertain whether the disclosure might not bring 
 him inconveniently under the enemy's displeasure. But 
 Mr. Lydney's sovereign was irresistible to the poor covetous 
 eyes, and Shad made a clean breast of the secret, putting 
 him into possession of as much as he knew himself. " The 
 Castle was about to be broke into that night, and the plate- 
 chest stoled, and my lord murdered," was the substance. 
 
 " I see 'em ; they be a-tying the black crape over their 
 faces at this very time," was Shad's eager rejoinder. 
 " There's Drake, and Nicholson, and Ben Beecher ; and 
 Will Lester was sitting down, ready. My lord broke out 
 upon me sharp, a-saying it warn't him ; he said it was you." 
 
 " Lord Dane said it was I ! " repeated Mr. Lydney. 
 
 "Leastways," cried Shad, retracting, lest he might be 
 getting himself into hot water, " he said, ' Was it Mr. 
 Lydney, or was it Will Lester ? ' 'cause both was tall. So 
 I said as I couldn't swear to neither of 'em for certain, 
 when I see it angered him. As if I didn't know Will 
 Lester ! " 
 
 After some further colloquy, Shad was dismissed, and Mr. 
 Lydney remained in a state of great perplexity and discom- 
 posure. That Wilfred Lester had joined in certain night 
 expeditions of the poachers, he was only too sure of ; but 
 that he would rush madly into crime, he did not believe. 
 
 How could he, Lydney, prevent its taking place ? at any 
 rate prevent Lester's joining in it ? It was indispensable 
 that he should be prevented, not only for his own sake, but 
 for his family's ; and a deep flush rose to Mr. Lydney's 
 brow, as he thought of the terrible disgrace it would reflect 
 on Maria, of the misery to the poor young wife. As he 
 thus mused, he became conscious that some men were 
 passing in the direction of the Castle ; not together, but 
 singly and quietly; they were in plain clothes, but he 
 recognized the faces of two of them, and knew them to be 
 the police going up to their night-watch in the Castle, as 
 described to him by Shad, who had tracked their steps 
 
THE NIGHT ATTACK. 
 
 379 
 
 night after night. All Mr. Lydney could do was to follow 
 them ; to search the wood for Wilfred Lester then, would 
 be hopeless ; and he took up his position so as to command 
 a view of the approach to the Castle back and front ; and 
 there he remained on watch. 
 
 Meanwhile, the inhabitants of the Castle retired to rest 
 as usual, in blissful unconsciousness that any attack was 
 contemplated, or that Mr. BrufF remained up to admit 
 night-guardians. Mr. Blair privately told the men that 
 the attack might be expected ; the lights were put out, and 
 all was in readiness. 
 
 They waited, and waited : the men in their appointed 
 places, Mr. Blair and Lord Dane conversing in whispers 
 and listening with all their ears. They waited and waited 
 on. The clock struck one. 
 
 " It's odd they don't come," muttered Mr. Blair. 
 
 Suddenly shots were heard in the distant wood. The 
 police came out of their hiding-places ; Lord Dane and 
 Bruff, unused to this sort of thing, made a silent rush to 
 the hall. 
 
 " Back, every one of you," was the stern whisper of Mr. 
 Blair. " It is coming on now." 
 
 " They have met with some obstacle and are fighting in 
 the wood," said Lord Dane. 
 
 " Back all of you, to your places," reiterated the detective. 
 " Those shots are a ruse to draw the attention of the 
 keepers from the Castle, should any be near it. I expected 
 something of the sort. They'll be here directly now. What- 
 ever you may hear or see, let none stir forth until I give the 
 signal." 
 
 Back they went, and the Castle was once more silent. 
 And still they waited and waited on. 
 
 Mr. Lydney was also waiting at his post outside, thinking 
 the night and the housebreakers very long. He heard the 
 town-clock strike one ; and he heard the shots in the wood. 
 It did not occur to him to take the view of them that the 
 detective had done, and they disturbed him much : but he 
 could not quit his present post. It was a muggy, disagree- 
 able night; the early part of it had been clear, but the 
 
380 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 weather was changing — anything but a pleasant night to 
 remain on the watch in the open air. 
 
 Suddenly, a sound broke on his ear : not, however, as of 
 the covert approach of housebreakers, but of a boy's feet 
 scampering over the ground with all possible haste. Mr. 
 Lydney looked out and encountered Shad. 
 
 " So you are here ! instead of having gone home to bed ! " 
 
 " Don't lay hold on me then, please, sir," panted Shad, 
 who was out of breath. " I'm a-going to the Castle to tell 
 Lord Dane. I know he's up a-waiting." 
 
 " To tell him what ? " 
 
 « 'Taint the Castle they be on to. It's the Hall." 
 " What ? " cried Lydney. 
 
 " They've a-broke into it : they be in it now. I've been 
 a-dodging on to 'em all the night, and they be gone right 
 into the Hall, instead o' coming here. They've took a pane 
 out at one o' the winders." 
 
 All that had been dark grew clear to Lydney. Wilfred 
 Lester was after the deed — the deed relating to his property 
 which his father persisted in withholding from his perusal. 
 The conviction came upon Lydney with the light of a 
 revelation. 
 
 Poor, mistaken, reckless Wilfred Lester deemed he was 
 doing quite a justifiable thing in breaking into the Hall at 
 night to seize upon his own property. Had Mr. Apperly 
 been at home to advise him, it might never have occurred ; 
 but Mr. Apperly was away, and had curtly declined to have 
 anything further to do with the business. So Wilfred 
 organized the attack, and persuaded the three men men- 
 tioned to join in it. He supplied himself with keys, but 
 they might fail; and in that case the leaden safe would 
 have to be carried away : hence the numerous" company. 
 And it perhaps scarcely need be added, that Wilfred was 
 ignorant of the men's intention to do a little work on their 
 own account and to make off with the plate and anything 
 else of value they might chance to lay hands upon ; this was 
 a little private arrangement of their own. They had never 
 gone so far in crime yet, but the opj^ortunity seemed too 
 good to be missed. 
 
THE NIGHT ATTACK. 
 
 381 
 
 With a cry of dismay, Lydney turned towards the Hall ; 
 but, ere he had gone a yard, he stopped and grasped Shad. 
 
 " You must not go to the Castle, Shad : there's no need to 
 acquaint Lord Dane with this. I will not have you go 
 there." 
 
 Shad lifted his cunning and covetous eyes. " They be on 
 the w r atch, up there, they be ; and if I goes and tells his 
 lordship that the lot hain't coming, maybe he'll pay me 
 for it." 
 
 " And a pretty thing you'd do ! " returned Mr. Lydney, 
 meeting cunning with cunning. " You would put them off 
 their guard at the Castle : and how do you know that the 
 lot, as you call them, may not take a turn up there, after 
 they have done with the Hall ? Would Lord Dane reward 
 you for that ? " 
 
 Shad opened his eyes. The idea had not struck him. 
 
 "You be quiet, Shad, that is all you have to do. Be 
 silent as to the doings of this night, and especially as to 
 Wilfred Lester. If I find that you are so, I will do some- 
 thing better for you than even the sovereign." 
 
 Lydney sped towards the Hall, and Shad, the prospect of 
 seeing the "fun " being irresistible, shambled off in his wake. 
 
 Lydney seemed to reach the Hall in no time. All was 
 silent as the grave. Nothing was to be seen, nothing heard ; 
 the blinds were drawn before the windows ; the inmates, as 
 far as could be observed to the contrary, were sleeping in 
 peace. Had that iniquitous Shad deceived him, he was 
 beginning to wonder, when he was startled by the report of 
 a pistol within the house. At the same moment, some 
 figure, who or what he could not see in the obscurity, ran 
 out at the front door, and darted into the clustering shrubs 
 on the right. As quickly, and perhaps incautiously, 
 Lydney darted into the Hall, confused thoughts of suc- 
 couring the inmates and of screening Wilfred, passing 
 through his brain. 
 
 Mr. Shad had not been deceitful. The pane was cut out 
 of a back window : and Drake entering, undid its fastenings 
 and admitted the rest. When fairly in, the four stopped to 
 strike a light, to listen and take breath. 
 
382 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " This way," whispered Wilfred Lester, who of course 
 knew the turnings and the windings of the old house, while 
 they did not. 
 
 He took them into the front hall, at the back of which, as 
 you may remember, was his father's study. The key was in 
 the door, and they entered it without trouble, and began 
 operations. Wilfred Lester tried his keys on the safe, Ben 
 Beecher held the light, Drake kept the door against surprise, 
 and Nicholson did nothing. The safe yielded to one of the 
 keys. 
 
 Strange objects they looked there, with the black crape 
 on their faces. Wilfred Lester could not get at the deed 
 readily ; the safe seemed full of papers, and he grew 
 confused in his haste. Some were tied with red tape, some 
 were sealed, others were unfastened. They were disposed in 
 tolerable order; but looking over them took time. He 
 came to one, superscribed " Will of George Lester, Esquire ; " 
 and the temptation to open it, and read of his disinheritance, 
 crossed him ; his disinheritance in favour of the second 
 children. But he would not be dishonourable : if you can 
 understand the remark of one who was visiting his father's 
 private safe. At length he came to the deed ; he knew it 
 by the indorsement, and a suppressed cry of exultation 
 broke from him as he clutched the parchment. 
 
 " All right, boys ! I have it at last." 
 
 The men had doubtless thought the search a long one, 
 and there was a murmur of satisfaction. Whilst he was 
 putting the papers in order again within the safe, Drake 
 and Nicholson attempted to steal out of the room. 
 
 " Where are you going ? " said Wilfred. " Stay where you 
 are." 
 
 " Why, you'd never begrudge us a snack of bread and 
 cheese, sir ! " cried Drake, " We shall find it in the pantry, 
 while you are putting straight here : it won't be missed." 
 
 Wilfred turned on the man in suppressed anger. 
 
 " Drake, you know the bargain. Nothing must be touched 
 in the house ; no, not a crust of bread. They shall not 
 have it to say that we came in, like thieves, for plunder." 
 
 " I'll take a stroll through the place, any way," answered 
 
THE NIGHT ATTACK. 
 
 383 
 
 Drake, with his natural hardihood. " And as to not taking 
 
 a mouthful if I see it " 
 
 " I'll shoot the first man who lays his finger on anything 
 in my father's house, no matter what it be," was the stern 
 interruption of young Lester, as he took a pistol from his 
 pocket. " Drake ! Nicholson ! do you sec this ? You know 
 the agreement, I say. I have promised you a reward for 
 aiding me ; having secured the deed, I shall be well able to 
 pay you ; but the contents of the house must remain 
 intact." 
 
 The pistol was no doubt a surprise to the men : and it 
 was probable that Wilfred Lester had brought it in anticipa- 
 tion of some such contingency. But the fellows were bold 
 and callous ; they had entered on the expedition with an 
 end to their own views and it was not easy to relinquish 
 them. A whispered conversation took place between Drake 
 and Nicholson, whilst Lester arranged the papers in order, 
 so as to leave no trace of the safe's having been visited. 
 
 " Now then," said he, as he closed and locked the safe, 
 " to get out as cleverly as we came in ! " 
 
 This was easy enough to say, not so easily done. Closing 
 the study-door, and leaving the key in the lock as he found 
 it, he pointed to the front door, just before them. 
 
 " We'll go out that way," he whispered to his companions. 
 " It is handier, and I know the fastenings." 
 
 Stealing over the oil-cloth, he gained the door, undid the 
 bolts, drew it cautiously open about an inch, and looked 
 round for his friends. The men stood as he had left them, 
 not one following him : Beecher was putting the candle on 
 a bracket that rested against the wall. 
 
 And now Drake, the hardiest and boldest of the three, 
 threw off the mask of hypocrisy, finding that there were no 
 other means of obtaining his ends, and avowed he would 
 not go away empty-handed. 
 
 "We have helped you to your ends, Master Lester; if 
 you don't like to help us to ours, you must wink at them. 
 We came into the house with a resolve to pay ourselves, 
 and you need make no bones over it. You've accomplished 
 your little game, and well try and accomplish ours. I take 
 
LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 my oatli I won't go away without something, if it's only a 
 silver spoon." 
 
 Wilfred Lester's reply was to raise his pistol and cock 
 it : not to fire npon them, but hoping to coerce them into 
 withdrawing, under fear that he would do so. Ben Beecher 
 the best of the group, believing life was in danger, stepped 
 close and threw up Lester's arm. The pistol went off; the 
 bullet shattering a glass-door at the back of the Hall, and 
 making a tremendous noise. 
 
 " Fools ! " bitterly exclaimed Wilfred Lester. " Save 
 yourselves, and be quick over it. Fools ! fools ! " 
 
 He sped through the hall-door, leaving it open for them 
 to follow, and darted into the shrubs on his right-hand, 
 whence he could readily gain the road by scaling the iron 
 rails. It was at this moment that William Lydney had 
 come up and was watching. Beecher and Nicholson ran to 
 escape, but Drake seized upon them. 
 
 " Don't show yourselves cowards ! " he cried in a hoarse 
 whisper. " We may get the plate yet. If the folks was 
 sleeping sound, the shot mayn't have roused 'em. Wait and 
 see ; plenty of time to get off then." 
 
 Even as he spoke, an interruption took place that they 
 did not bargain for. The hall-door was opened wider, and in 
 rushed a tall man. At first they thought it was young Lester 
 come back again. But as the light of the candle fell upon 
 him, they recognized Mr. Lydney. 
 
 "You misguided, miserable men!" he uttered in agita- 
 tion. " Where's Wilfred Lester ? " 
 
 Before they could frame an answer — whether it would 
 have been one of civility, repulsion, or attack — Nicholson's 
 eye caught sight of someone on the staircase in white 
 drapery, whose face was peeping at them through the 
 balustrades. The figure was in a crouching position, and 
 might have been there some time. The sound of the pistol 
 had also done its work : doors were being opened and closed 
 in consternation. * . 
 
 " It's all over ! " stamped Drake. " A race for it now, boys." 
 
 " Wilfred Lester ? " questioned Lydney, in emotion. " Is 
 he in the house, or not ? " 
 
THE NIGHT ATTACK. 
 
 385 
 
 " Not ; I swear it," said Bccchcr, speaking up. " I 
 wouldn't deceive you, Mr. Lydney ; he escaped as you 
 entered." 
 
 Scarcely waiting to realize the assurance, Lydney rushed 
 out again in search of Wilfred Lester. The rest were rush- 
 ing also, pell-mell ; Beecher was last ; he waited to blow 
 out the light. He closed the door behind him with a bang ; 
 and TifnVs voice might be distinguished on the stairs as she 
 shrieked out " thieves " and " murder." 
 
 CHAPTER XXX, 
 
 MADE PRISONER. 
 
 Exceedingly surprised was the great London detective, Mr. 
 Blair, and in the same surprise must be included his noble 
 host, to find that this night passed off as the others had done 
 — without attack. There was perhaps a little feeling of 
 discomfiture added to it. But when they came to hear 
 that it was the Hall which had been broken into and not the 
 Castle, no words could express their astonishment. Lydney 
 had been in it, and was recognized, rumour ran ; and my 
 Lord Dane openly wondered whether he suspected the 
 japanned box had been conveyed there for safety, and so 
 broke in to steal it : he could scarcely be suspected of 
 breaking in to steal Miss Lester. 
 
 Mr. Lester was puzzled. Alarmed by the report of the 
 pistol, he came out of his room to find Tiffle shrieking on 
 the stairs. Tiffle began stating what she had seen : " four 
 assassinors in the house, three of them with blackened faces, 
 and the other one not blacked, which w r as Lydney." Mr. 
 Lester and his aroused men-servants went over the house in 
 consternation. Nothing whatever appeared to have been 
 taken: nothing was disturbed except the pane of glass, 
 
 Lady Adelaide. 25 
 
386 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 which had been cut out : and Mr. Lester thought that 
 plunder could not have been the object of the entrance. 
 But of course the outrage would have to be investigated. 
 
 Lord Dane could not understand it at all. He went in 
 the morning to Mr. Lester's, and heard the account given by 
 that gentleman. Lord Dane said nothing of Lydney, or of 
 the expected attack on the Castle : and it must be re- 
 membered that Mr. Lester had never heard of it, therefore 
 the whole affair was to him a mystery. Mr. Blair had 
 rather a long interview with Bent : in which Bent shook 
 his head, and declined to believe that Lydney was in it for 
 harmful purposes. He had seen and spoken with him that 
 morning. Mr. Blair said little on his own score : truth to 
 say, that estimable detective was puzzled. At the earnest 
 request of Lord Dane, the expected attack on the Castle was 
 for the present buried in silence — and certainly that could 
 not have had anything to do with the attack upon the Hall. 
 Lord Dane forbade the three men to be apprehended : he 
 spoke with authority, and was listened to accordingly. 
 Perhaps this was not of much consequence one way or the 
 other : for the police, looking after the men on their own 
 private account, found all three had disappeared. Lord 
 Dane would have spared these, and metaphorically speaking, 
 hung Lydney. 
 
 Lawyer Apperly had not kept faith. Here was Monday, 
 and no sign of him. Mr. Lydney was " in a way over it," 
 as young Crofts expressed it, " in and out of the office like a 
 dog in a fair." 
 
 Early in the afternoon there was a gathering at Danes- 
 held Hall, partly impromptu. Mr. James, the locum tenens 
 of Lawyer Apperly, and acting as clerk to the magistrates 
 since his departure, had come by appointment to hear what 
 Tiffle had to say on the matter. Lord Dane, who had 
 happened to call in with his friend the London banker, 
 determined to remain and hear it also, and Mr. Bent 
 received a hint from Squire Lester that he might be present 
 if he liked. The inspector was the last to make his appear- 
 ance, and he was accompanied by William Lydney. Mr. 
 Lester's face turned red and angry. 
 
MADE PRISONER. 
 
 387 
 
 " 1 thought he ought to come, and so I brought him, sir," 
 whispered Bent. "It's only right that a suspected man 
 should hear the charge against him ; besides, I had another 
 reason." 
 
 Lydney looked as little like a housebreaker as it was 
 possible to conceive : my Lord Dane himself was not more 
 calmly self-possessed; if the one was dignified, self-con- 
 tained, and apparently unconscious of evil, so was the other : 
 and Mr. Blair, who saw everything in his silent way and 
 seemed to see nothing, could not help thinking so. 
 
 Lady Adelaide was present. Intensely curious on the 
 subject of the midnight outrage, she saw no reason why she 
 should not hear what was to be heard as well as other 
 people. Mr. Lester suggested she had better perhaps 
 retire ; her ladyship replied that she should remain. Maria 
 sat in the background, quite overlooked by Lady Adelaide 
 and her father, who were not in the habit of giving super- 
 fluous attention to her. She bent over some light em- 
 broidery, her trembling fingers almost refusing to control 
 the needle, for she had her theory as to the business, one 
 that brought with it an awful fear, and was turning her 
 heart to sickness. Lady Adelaide did nothing, except hold 
 a screen between the fire and her delicate face, and exchange 
 a languid word or two with Lord Dane. Mr. James, who, 
 by-the-way, was a nephew of the incumbent of Danesheld, 
 sat at the table and dotted down with a pen and ink any 
 point that struck his attention. 
 
 Tiffle came in, ambling and curtseying, and smoothing 
 her hands whilst she made her statement. 
 
 " I retired to rest last night, sir," she began, addressing 
 particularly her master, " and was unable to get to sleep ; 
 the more I tried to shut my eyes and lose myself, the more 
 pertineshously I kept awake. Soon after the clock struck 
 one, I thought I heard a noise downstairs ; I heard it twice ; 
 and I sat up in bed and listened for some time, and con- 
 cluded I was mistaken. I'm sure it must have been twenty 
 minutes after that that I was startled again, and if ever I 
 heard supprissed voices talking, I heard 'em then. The 
 flurry it put me in is indiscriptable ; I thought the servants 
 
388 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 were up to some pranks, for it's a tight hand I have to keep 
 over 'em, sir, and they'd like to delude me ; and I jumped 
 out of bed and crept down the stairs till I could see into the 
 front hall. I thought I should have dropped; my heart 
 was in my mouth " 
 
 "Never mind your heart," interrupted Mr. James. 
 " What did you see ? " 
 
 " Gentlemen, I saw this. Three horrid men in the hall, 
 with black faces ; and, close on that, a pistol went off, 
 blinding me with smoke and fright. The next thing I saw 
 was a fourth man whisking out at the front door ; leastways 
 I saw his coat-tails. If ever anybody was near fainting, it 
 was me, gentlemen ; but I wouldn't faint ; I had the family 
 to protect, and that gave me courage. I looked down still, 
 and I saw the man whisk in again, and I'm sorry to say " — 
 Tiffle coughed and dropped her voice— "that it was Mr. 
 Lydney." 
 
 There was a pause. 
 
 " What next ? " asked Lord Dane, some eagerness in his 
 tone. 
 
 "My lord, nothing. Except that Mr. Lydney stood a 
 moment talking with the other three, and then they all four 
 tore off together, one trying to get off faster than another, 
 and amidst 'em, they blew out the light, and left the place 
 in darkness. It all passed in less than a minute." 
 
 Mr. Lydney glanced at Maria. The work had dropped 
 on her lap, and her white face was uplifted. He smiled at 
 her : it did not look like the smile of a guilty man. 
 
 " You hear ! " exclaimed Squire Lester to him im- 
 patiently. 
 
 " I do hear," was the reply. 
 
 " Can you offer any explanation ? " 
 
 "I swear it was him," broke forth Tiffle with animus, 
 before he could speak. " If he denies it, he'll perjury him- 
 self. I saw him as plain as I see him now. I didn't know 
 the others, because their faces were disguised, but his was 
 not." 
 
 " I did enter your house last night, Mr. Lester, but only 
 once," said Lydney with marked calmness. " If a man went 
 
MADE PRISONER. 
 
 S89 
 
 out of it before I came in, as your servant testifies, it was 
 not myself." 
 
 There was a general feeling of astonishment at his 
 admitting so much. Mr. James looked derisive. 
 
 " I happened to be close to the Hall at the moment," con- 
 tinued Lydney. " I heard the report of the pistol ; I saw 
 the front door open ; and I rushed in, in the moment's 
 impulse, and met the men coming out. My chief thought 
 was of giving help should it be needed." 
 
 " If that's your best explanation, it's a lame one," spoke 
 Mr. Lester, harshly. " Can you not justify yourself better 
 than that?" 
 
 " Allow me five minutes' conversation with you in private, 
 and I will enter on my justification," was the young man's 
 answer. " You may deem it a satisfactory one, Mr. 
 Lester." 
 
 Mr. Lester repulsed the request indignantly. He was 
 not accustomed to grant private interviews to midnight 
 intruders. Had Lydney anything to say, he must speak out. 
 " We don't want half explanations," he added. " If you do 
 not choose to avow publicly why you were near my house 
 at that hour, and why, being in it, you did not arouse me, I 
 shall know what to think. Tell it all out fully before my 
 Lord Dane and these gentlemen, or not at all." 
 
 " Then — I think— I have no resource but to be silent," 
 returned Mr. Lydney, hesitating whilst he reflected. 
 " Nevertheless I am innocent of any offence. Yes ; for the 
 present, I can only be silent." 
 
 Lord Dane took a step forward. " You have called your- 
 self a gentleman ? " he remarked, the mockery in his tone 
 remarkable. It seemed to arouse young Lydney s spirit, 
 and he went up and confronted him. 
 
 " I am at least as much of a gentleman as your lordship 
 — in all respects," was the firm answer. " Did we come to 
 examine into rank and rights, I might possibly take prece- 
 dence of you." 
 
 The extreme coolness of this assertion set Lord Dane 
 laughing. The room stared at Lydney for making it, and 
 came to the conclusion that he was a very bad man indeed. 
 
390 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 Meanwhile, Mr. James, at the dictation of Squire Lester, 
 was making out the warrant for William Lydney's com- 
 mittal on a charge of suspicion of breaking into Danesheld 
 Hall. 
 
 " I am sorry to do it if you are not guilty," said Mr. 
 Lester to him, and the tone of his voice was one of un- 
 disguised sarcasm. cc There will be an official inquiry 
 to-morrow morning before my brother magistrates : until 
 then you must remain in custody." 
 
 " In custody — where ? " exclaimed Mr. Lydney, wheeling 
 round. The Squire answered, with much politeness — 
 
 " Mr. Bent will take care of you. There's accommodation 
 for guests in the station-house." 
 
 " But, Mr. Lester, this is beyond a joke," remonstrated 
 Lydney. " You cannot seriously suppose I broke into your 
 house ? " 
 
 "At any rate, it will now have to be proved," was the 
 retort. " Bent, the prisoner is in your charge." 
 " But, Mr. Lester " 
 
 " Silence, sir ! " cried the Squire. " I refuse to hear 
 more." 
 
 And Mr. Lydney remained silent, not particularly in 
 obedience to the mandate, but in self-communing. It was 
 undoubtedly an awkward predicament to be placed in ; and 
 he did not see how he could extricate himself from it without 
 betraying Wilfred Lester. 
 
 " You will at least take bail ? " he observed. 
 
 " No," said Mr. Lester, very quietly. " There's nothing 
 more, Bent." 
 
 This was a hint for Mr. Bent to take himself and his 
 prisoner away. He, the prisoner, however, suddenly ad- 
 vanced to Lady Adelaide and Miss Lester. 
 
 " Appearances seem against me now : but I beseech you 
 to believe that I have a good motive for not speaking just 
 yet to clear myself. A little while, and what is dark shall 
 be made light. Only trust me." 
 
 He addressed them collectively, but it was evidently for 
 Maria that the last words were meant. She raised her 
 eyes to him in answer, Ml of trust ; and there was a whole 
 
MADE PRISONER. 
 
 391 
 
 world of sincerity and truth in his lingering smile as he 
 turned from her. 
 
 " I am ready, Mr. Bent. I will accompany you without 
 any trouble." 
 
 They went out together — leaving a curiously uncomfort- 
 able feeling in the room. Lady Adelaide looked up, as if 
 from a reverie. 
 
 " I declare he frightens me. "When he came out to the 
 middle of the carpet, meeting you, and drew up his head 
 with that calm proud look, he was so like the Danes that I 
 started back — you saw me, perhaps. It is the very way 
 Lord Dane had with him : and Harry Dane also, though in 
 a less degree." 
 
 "He has impudence enough for all the Danes put 
 together," observed Lord Dane. " The insolence of his 
 addressing you and Miss Lester ! I declare that I could 
 have knocked him down." 
 
 The assembly broke up. When Mr. James got back to 
 the office, he was greeted by the sight of its truant chief. 
 The lawyer had arrived about an hour ago, and the news 
 was spreading in Danesheld. Mr. James, amidst other 
 information, gave him a concise history of Lydney's past 
 doings, and his present apprehension. 
 
 The interview was rudely broken in upon by Madame 
 Eavensbird. With her natural independence, she had com- 
 pletely ignored the remonstrance of young Mr. Crofts, that 
 his two chiefs were on no account to be disturbed, and went 
 in at once with her dripping umbrella. The gentlemen 
 happened to be laughing. 
 
 " I thought so ! only talking and laughing together ! Va ! 
 Monsieur Apperly, you will put on your hat, please, and 
 come with me." 
 
 " I dare say," returned the lawyer, who was rather fond 
 of gossiping with Madame Eavensbird at fitting times and 
 seasons. " I am too busy." 
 
 " But I have come for you," cried Sophie, stamping her 
 pretty foot. " There's not one minute to lose. That 
 gentleman at our house has been waiting for you ever since 
 you went away, and he won't wait another minute, now he 
 
392 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 knows you have come home. He is very ill. He is choleric, 
 too, and he may have an attack." 
 
 " What does he want with me ? — to make his will ? I 
 can't go down to him in the rain," said Mr. Apperly, half- 
 laughing. 
 
 " You will come with me in the rain or in the hail, 
 monsieur," cried Sophie, so authoritatively as to surprise 
 Mr. Apperly. " It is of more consequence than you suppose, 
 and you must not dare to refuse or to linger. It is one hour 
 by the clock since he first heard you were come home ; it is 
 two hours since he sent out young Mr. Lydney to ask if you 
 were come." 
 
 " Sent young Lydney, did he ? " rejoined the lawyer, in 
 a slighting tone. " Ah ! he has had some business of his 
 own on hand this afternoon : Mr. Bent has him in safe 
 custody at the station-house." 
 
 "Mr. Bent has Mr. Lydney, in — what you say?" shrieked 
 Sophie. 
 
 " Safe enough, Mrs. Eavensbird. That young Lydney 
 was one of those that broke into Squire Lester's house last 
 night ! the only one of the lot as yet recognised ; and he is 
 in custody for it." 
 
 With a succession of ejaculations Mrs. Eavensbird turned 
 without ceremony, and ran down the street in the rain 
 towards the Sailors' Eest, leaving her umbrella behind her. 
 The lawyer caught it up, took another for himself, and 
 followed. 
 
 Some one else was out in the rain that afternoon, and that 
 was Maria Lester. Instinct whispered that her reckless 
 brother Wilfred had been in the trouble of the past night, 
 and that William Lydney, true to his promise to herself, 
 was only screening him. Why Wilfred should have done 
 such a thing she could not tell ; her fears were vague, 
 undefined, but almost unbearable. 
 
 She stole out towards dusk, when no one was likely to 
 miss her, and hastened to her brother's. The weather 
 seemed to clear up rather suddenly before she arrived there ; 
 the rain ceased, and a broad streak of gold illumined the 
 western sky. 
 
MADE PRISONER. 
 
 393 
 
 Edith was alone in the sitting-room, the light from a 
 blazing fire playing on her face, which was beginning to 
 look so much better than it had of late. Maria cast an 
 anxious glance round the room. 
 
 " Where's Wilfred ? " she asked. 
 
 " Gone over to Great Cross ! " replied Edith. 
 
 " Gone to Great Cioss ! " repeated Maria, with a rush of 
 disappointment. " I — I wanted just to say a word to him." 
 
 " He will be back soon," said Edith carelessly. " Why 
 don't you sit down, Maria ? " And Maria sat down with a 
 suppressed sigh. 
 
 " What a great fire you have, Edith ! " she remarked 
 mechanically, her thoughts far away. 
 
 " How Sally manages the coals I can't think," said Edith, 
 turning to her confidentially. " She comes in and throws 
 on half a scuttlefull as if expense were of no moment what- 
 ever. It is of no use saying anything : you know Sally. 
 I can't imagine how she gets half the things that she does, 
 unless — it has crossed me at times to think it — Aunt 
 Margaret supplies her with money. Only I don't see where 
 Aunt Margaret can get it from herself." 
 
 " What has Wilfred gone to Great Cross for ? " asked 
 Maria, paying no attention to all this. 
 
 " To see some lawyer, he said. He was talking rather 
 strangely before he went out, declaring that we should soon 
 be rich now. I don't think he can be well." 
 
 " How has he been ? " inquired Maria, her heart beating 
 a shade quicker. 
 
 " So very restless —I should say, nervous, if I were 
 talking of a woman," replied the poor unconscious wife. 
 " When people have knocked at the door, he has peeped out 
 to see who they were : twice he bolted the room door, and 
 stood with his back against it. I asked him what he feared, 
 why he was so agitated, but could get nothing out of him. 
 He has seemed frightened at his own shadow." 
 
 Terrible confirmation! Maria's heart went on beating. 
 One thing she did wonder at : that Mrs. Lester did not 
 allude to the occurrence at the Hall. 
 
 " Sally has seemed fidgety too, to-day. She would 
 
394 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 scarcely open the door to people, but answered them from 
 the window. I heard her talking so crossly to Wilfred this 
 morning. I'm sure if he's ill, poor fellow, she need not be 
 cross to him." 
 
 " Perhaps Wilfred has not had a good night's rest ; if so, 
 that might make him restless to-day," stammered poor 
 Maria. " Did he go to bed early ? " 
 
 " Well, now, Maria, that's what I am unable to tell you. 
 I went up at nine o'clock, fell asleep directly, and never 
 woke until morning. Sally says it is good for me, that my 
 weakness is sleeping itself off." 
 
 Maria rose to depart ; and for all she had learnt she 
 might as well not have come. She had stolen up almost 
 like a criminal, hoping to gain some tidings, some little 
 word of certainty, whether for good or for ill. Have you 
 ever been on the rack of some awful suspense, my reader ? 
 Then you will understand Maria Lester's feeling. It is far 
 worse to bear than the worst reality. 
 
 Saying good-bye to Edith, she turned into the kitchen as 
 she passed it. Sally was laying her mistress's modest tea- 
 tray, and kept her back turned to Miss Lester with a great 
 want of politeness, but that was nothing extraordinary for 
 Sally. 
 
 "Mrs. Lester seems a little better, Sally," observed 
 Maria, absently fingering the corner of a cloth on which 
 Sally was cutting some bread and butter. 
 ~" Ugh!" growled Sally. " She might be better if folks 
 would let her." 
 
 " Where has my brother gone to ? " asked Maria, for she 
 had not known whether or not to believe in the journey to 
 Great Cross. 
 
 Sally noted the sound of fear in the tone. Down went 
 the knife and the loaf with a dash. 
 
 " If something's not done with him, we shall all be ruined 
 together. - He's just going mad ; that's what he is : and 
 unless he is got out of Danesheld, why — " 
 
 The woman's pause was more ominous than any words 
 could have boen. Maria's answer was a low wail of 
 entreaty. 
 
MADE PRISONER. 
 
 395 
 
 "Oh, Sally, tell me! Indeed I cannot bear suspense. 
 Was he out last night ? " 
 
 " Yes, he was out, Miss Lester ; and I wouldn't tell you, 
 but that it's necessary somebody should be told and some- 
 thing done. I winked, so to say, at the poaching ; that is, I 
 kept my tongue still about him ; and I opened my mind to 
 Miss Bordillion : but it did no good, and now things have 
 come to a climax. He went out last night whilst I was up 
 undressing my mistress, for she's weak yet, poor child. 
 When I came down he was gone : that was about nine. I 
 waited here in the cold, for I had let my kitchen fire out, 
 till going on for two in the morning, and then he came in 
 with Mr. Lydney. I saw his hat this morning, Miss Lester, 
 and of course it told me what he had been at — hearing what 
 took place in the night." 
 
 " Saw his hat ! " faltered Maria. 
 
 " That old felt thing that he wears — indeed he has got no 
 other. There had been black crape pinned on the inside of 
 it," continued the woman. " It had been torn out : but one 
 pin and a bit of the edge was left." 
 
 Maria raised her trembling hand to her brow, which was 
 beating wildly. The disclosure was little more than her 
 fears had suggested, but it turned her sick and faint. 
 Visions of a felon's bar, and Wilfred standing at it, rose 
 before her eyes ; Wilfred for whom she would willingly 
 sacrifice herself. 
 
 " I took the pin out, and I burnt the edge," added Sally. 
 " And I'm sure every knock at the door to-day has brought 
 my heart into my mouth, thinking it might be the officers of 
 justice. If he should be taken upon this, Miss Lester, it 
 will just kill his wife : she'd be in the churchyard in a week. 
 She has heard nothing yet of the matter." 
 
 " Has he really gone to Great Cross ? " 
 
 " Yes, I think he has. He wouldn't dare to be about in 
 Danesheld, I fancy ; a rare fright he has been in all day 
 indoors ! I haven't said a word to him ; it's got too serious 
 for me now." 
 
 " What should have brought Mr. Lydney with him ? " 
 cried Maria, with hesitation. 
 
396 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 Sally tlirew back her head with a short laugh. "And 
 they've taken him up, I hear, for breaking into the Hall ? 
 The fools ! not to see that Mr. Lydney is different to that. 
 I could tell them a tale, if I chose to open my mouth. 
 Why, he has just been the salvation of my master till now ; 
 looking after him night and day to keep him straight ! Mr. 
 Lydney was here for an hour with him after he brought 
 him home, never going away till near three o'clock : he 
 was on the watch for him last night; I heard so much; 
 but couldn't find what he was up to till the mischief was 
 done. Yes, Mr. Lydney did go into the Hall," added Sally, 
 fiercely addressing an imaginary audience straight before 
 her, " but it was to get my master out of it." 
 
 " He told mo he would try and take care of him," said 
 Maria, very softly. 
 
 " And he has taken care of him ; in a manner, if all was 
 known, that few men would take care of another," cried 
 Sally, who had worked herself into a passion. " And 
 where's been the good of it, with such an ending as this ? " 
 
 Maria stood shivering. 
 
 " Whatever will be done, Sally ? Mr. Lydney can't suffer 
 for him, you know." 
 
 " It's beyond me to tell what will be done," retorted 
 Sally, crustily. "I have been half mad since I heard he 
 was took up : old Gand told me when he was bringing the 
 shrimps for missis's tea. I think — I do think he'd be 
 generous enough to go to prison, rather than tell on Mr. 
 Wilfred; but your brother, he's generous in his way too, 
 Miss Lester : and what I'm fearing is, that the moment he 
 gets home from Great Cross, and hears what has happened, 
 he'll go right off and tell the truth to the police, so that Mr. 
 Lydney may be released. Hasn't my foolishness come home 
 to me!" 
 
 " Your foolishness ? " returned Maria, surprised at the 
 avowal. 
 
 " Well, yes, Miss Lester. I was soft enough to encourage 
 them in their plan of getting married, telling them I'd serve 
 them, and do the work of two servants. Truth was, I took 
 their part against the cruelty of Squire Lester and his fine 
 
MADE PRISONER. 
 
 397 
 
 wife, and I've loved Mr. Wilfred as a boy of my own ever 
 since I nursed him. It serves me right. But I never 
 thought he'd turn out like this." 
 
 " Sally, do you know why he — my brother — did it? what 
 his object was ? " 
 
 " Not I," crossly responded the woman. " I suppose 
 they were all going shares in the plate, and anything else 
 they could carry away. When a gentleman begins to go 
 from bad to worse, he doesn't stop at much." 
 
 There seemed no comfort anywhere, and Maria departed 
 with her dread. The evening was drawing on. In every 
 tree she feared an enemy: in every turn of the road an 
 ambush : even now the officers of justice might be searching 
 for her brother. Some hours had gone on since William 
 Lydney was taken, and he had perhaps declared the truth. 
 
 When she reached home, she found a servant holding the 
 door open for her father to come forth. Mr. Lester appeared 
 to be in some commotion. Never, except when he had 
 expelled Lydney, had Ma,ria seen him so angry. 
 
 " Set at liberty a prisoner committed by me for an outrage 
 on my house ! " he exclaimed. " How could Bent dare to do 
 it ? I'll have him taken back again." 
 
 He passed Maria in a fury, never noticing her. " What 
 is it ? " she asked of the servant. 
 
 " Well, miss, there's a report that Mr. Lydney is set at 
 liberty," was the man's reply. " My master is gone to see 
 about it. He and my Lord Dane told Bent to-day they 
 wouldn't hear of bail." 
 
 With a beating heart, and a confused idea, Maria ran 
 after her father. Mr. Lester heard the steps, and turned. 
 
 " Papa, papa ! " she exclaimed, hardly knowing what she 
 said or what she ought to say, " hear me for a moment. 
 Don't pursue this matter further. If they have released 
 Mr. Lydney, or if they are thinking of releasing him, let 
 it be so. We have lost nothing from the Hall ; don't 
 pursue it." 
 
 " Eelease Lydney ! not pursue the matter ! " reiterated 
 Mr. Lester, staring at her. " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " He is not guilty, papa ; he is not what you think him." 
 
398 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " Your reasons for saying this, young lady ? " was the 
 sarcastic rejoinder of Mr. Lester, suppressing his anger. 
 
 " I — I have none that I can give," she answered, her 
 countenance terribly distressed. " Except — except the con- 
 viction of my own heart." 
 
 " The conviction of your folly," exclaimed Mr. Lester. 
 " You ought to feel shame, even to mention the name of this 
 man. I will pursue him to — to the death," added Mr. 
 Lester, using a strong word in the moment's heat. 
 
 " Oh, papa, don't, don't ! " she exclaimed, and bursting 
 into tears. " Let well alone ; let it die away. You don't 
 know what you may do or what dreadful secrets it might 
 bring to light. Has it never struck you that some one else 
 may have been concerned in this, instead of Mr. Lydney ? " 
 
 " Why, what do you mean ? " he asked in consternation, 
 not so much at the words as at her very strange manner. 
 " Are you going mad ? " 
 
 " I dare not say what I mean, — I dare not say it. But, 
 papa, if you have any regard for your own honour and 
 happiness, you will not press for an investigation into the 
 affair of last night." 
 
 She retreated towards the house as she spoke. Mr. Lester 
 looked after her in angry perplexity. 
 
 A miserable suspicion that she had become attached to 
 this adventurer, Lydney, was stealing over him. But the 
 eyes of Mr. Lester's mind were blinded, and he never cast 
 a thought to the possibility that she was afraid for any one 
 else, or that his own son Wilfred could have taken any part 
 in the previous night's work. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 THE DEAD IN LIFE. 
 
 In the invalid's room at the Sailors' Eest — for so they had 
 taken to calling the chamber tenanted so long by the sick 
 
THE DEAD IN LIFE. 
 
 390 
 
 stranger — sat Mr. Home in a fever of expectation. He was 
 not a man accustomed to be crossed or contradicted, or to 
 wait for the fulfilment of bis mandates : be bad waited in 
 ill-disguised impatience for tbe return of Mr. Apperly to 
 Daneshcld, and now that be bad returned, Mr. Home bad 
 peremptorily demanded him. 
 
 The lawyer came bustling in at last, marshalled by Mrs. 
 Eavensbird. He — carrying bis own umbrella and hers — 
 had overtaken her as she was turning into the Sailors' Eest. 
 Not a word spoke she as she showed him into the room and 
 shut the door upon him. Eavensbird was standing near the 
 sofa occupied by the sick man, their backs to the door. 
 The lawyer, summoned in such peremptory haste, was full 
 of nothing but some will that was to be made. He stepped 
 round to the front of the sofa, speaking as he went. 
 
 " I am sorry to hear you are seriously ill, sir," he began. 
 " Mr. Home, I believe." 
 
 The invalid raised his head and threw his eyes upon him. 
 His high features, somewhat attenuated now by suffering, 
 his keen eyes, and his silver hair, formed a fine picture. 
 Mr. Apperly gazed at him, and then backed a few paces, 
 astonishment mingled with terror on his countenance. 
 
 " Good heavens ! " he uttered, as he wiped his brow. " It 
 — it — can it be ? It is Captain Dane ! come to life again." 
 
 " No, sir," rejoined the invalid, very sharply for one so 
 ill. " It is not Captain Dane. I am Lord Dane. And so 
 I have been ever since my father's death." 
 
 The lawyer was utterly bewildered, as well he might be. 
 He turned from the invalid to Eavensbird, from Eavensbird 
 to the invalid. 
 
 " Is it a dream ? " he gasped. 
 
 " It is not a dream," said Eavensbird. " It is my old 
 master, sure enough ; my lord now. I have been proud to 
 know it ever since the day after the shipwreck." 
 
 Have you been prepared for it, too, reader ? It was 
 indeed, Harry Dane. The fall had not killed him, and you 
 will hear presently how he escaped ; but there is matter on 
 hand to relate first that will not tarry. He had been living 
 ever since in the New World, chiefly travelling from place 
 
400 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 to place ; and completely unconscious that the Lord Dane 
 reigning at the old house was not his brother Geoffry. 
 
 " Why you — you— are supposed to be lying in the Danes- 
 held vaults, sir — my lord ! " exclaimed Mr. Apperly. " Good- 
 ness me ! " he broke off in his former hot fashion. " If you 
 are in truth Lord Dane, who is he — the other Lord Dane — 
 at the castle ? " 
 
 " If I am in truth Lord Dane ! " retorted the invalid. 
 " What do you mean, Apperly ? I am my father's son." 
 
 " Yes, yes, of course ; but these sudden changes confuse 
 me," cried the perplexed lawyer. " Who is he at the castle, 
 I say? I can't collect my senses. Were you really not 
 killed, my lord?" 
 
 " If I was killed I came to life again," said Lord Dane, 
 intending the words as a joke. " He at the castle is plain 
 Herbert Dane, and has, in actual right, never been anything 
 else. I'm afraid he won't like being deposed after enjoying 
 his honours so long. But now -" 
 
 "And how were you saved?" interrupted the lawyer, 
 unable to realize the position yet. 
 
 " I was saved by Colonel Moncton, and conveyed on board 
 his yacht to America. And I had not the remotest suspicion, 
 until I was shipwrecked on this coast a few weeks ago, that 
 I had any right to the honours of my ancestors, or that my 
 brother Geoffry was dead. That's sufficient explanation for 
 you for the present, Apperly ; and now to business, for there 
 are matters on hand that are very pressing. First of all — 
 Do you enlist on my side, or on that of Herbert Dane, should 
 there be litigation between us ? " 
 
 " There cannot be litigation, if you mean as to your rights," 
 returned the lawyer impulsively. " Lord Dane — I mean 
 Mr. Herbert — could not hold out against you for an hour." 
 
 " But I don't mean as to my rights," was the rejoinder, 
 given with quiet equanimity. " Just answer my question, 
 will you, Apperly — and bear in mind that every moment of 
 time is precious — will you act as my legal adviser, or as his 
 whom you call Lord Dane ? " 
 
 " As if there could be a question, my lord ! As yours, 
 of course ; it is my natural right. With Lord — with Mr. 
 
THE DEAD IN LIFU. 
 
 401 
 
 Herbert I have not been very cordial ; or rather, be has not 
 with me ; and be now chiefly employs Mr. Lester's solicitor." 
 
 " Good. Had you decided the other way, things for me 
 might have been difficult yet to set straight. About that 
 lost box, Apperly ? I must have it found." 
 
 " Young Lydney's," remarked the lawyer in reply. " And 
 a fine row he has been making over it, I hear." 
 
 " Ah ! But it's not his ; it 'is mine." 
 
 " Yours, my lord ! " cried Mr. Apperly, after a pause. 
 " Then that explains the mystery of the thousand pounds 
 reward. That a fellow such as Lydney should offer it, 
 astonished Danesheld not a little." 
 
 " How do you mean," 6 a fellow such as Lydney ? ' " cried 
 Lord Dane, sharply taking up the words. 
 
 " Well, of course it has been suspected what sort of a 
 character he is — although he did happen to be your lordship's 
 fellow-passenger, and was saved with you from the wreck. 
 However his career's cut short now, and he is in safe custody. 
 Bent has walked him off to the station-house." 
 
 " Walked Mr. Lydney off to the station-house ! " ex- 
 claimed Eavensbird, while Lord Dane's eyes assumed an 
 ominous expression, as they looked at the lawyer for ex- 
 planation. 
 
 " Reports have been abroad some time, I find, connecting 
 him with the poachers," said Mr. Apperly ; " but he has now 
 got himself into real trouble. He and three more, with 
 blackened faces, broke into Squire Lester's last night, after 
 the plate : but they were fortunately disturbed before they 
 could carry it off. Lydney was the only one recognised, 
 and he is given into custody." 
 
 " How dare you so traduce him, and in my presence ? " 
 cried Lord Dane, his countenance flashing with wrath. 
 " You don't know what you are saying, Mr. Apperly. Are 
 you aware who he is ? " 
 
 " Not I, my lord. I know nothing about him, except that 
 his name's Lydney — as he says. Danesheld looks upon him 
 as an adventurer." 
 
 " He will be Danesheld's chief, sir ; I can tell you that," 
 returned his lordship, with emotion. " Ah, you may stare, 
 
 Lady Adelaide. 
 
 26 
 
402 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 but he will. He is my own lawful son, and will be my Lord 
 Dane before very long, for I fear that my days are 
 numbered." 
 
 " Why, it is mystery upon mystery ! " exclaimed Mr. 
 Apperly, who certainly did stare, in no measured degree, 
 and grew hotter every minute. " He goes by the name of 
 William Lydney." 
 
 " He is my own son, I tell you — the Honourable Geoffry 
 William Lydney Dane. Geoffry is his first name, but we 
 have always called him William : my wife, a lady of French 
 extraction, used to say her lips would not pronounce the 
 Geoffry. And you assert that he is in custody ! Ah, well ! 
 that will be soon set to rights/' concluded Lord Dane, 
 leaning back on the sofa, and calming down from his 
 excitement. 
 
 " He certainly was in Mr. Lester's house with the others ; 
 he does not deny it," debated the lawyer, hopelessly 
 puzzled. 
 
 " Then, sir, he was there for some good and legitimate 
 purpose," cried Lord Dane, with dignity. " I know nothing 
 of the matter ; he has not confided it to me ; but I can take 
 upon myself to answer for so much. Pshaw, sir ! talk of 
 housebreaking in connection with William Dane, one of the 
 best and most honourable of men. Once more let me beg of 
 you to listen to me," resumed the invalid. " That box, 
 about which so much commotion has been made, was 
 originally my mother's, Lady Dane's. The initials stood 
 for her maiden name, Verena Vincent Verner; she was a 
 niece, as you may remember, of General Vincent's, and his 
 name was given to her. There's not the least doubt that 
 Herbert Dane recognized the box as it stood on the beach ; 
 he had seen it many times, and he knew that my mother's 
 brother, young Verner, had caused the Maltese cross to be 
 added to it in a freak. This box, as it happened, I had left 
 in Canada when I came over to England on that last visit. 
 Herbert Dane, when he recognized it on the beach, must 
 have been attacked with some vague fears, which caused 
 him to convey the box to the Castle. He may have thought 
 his victim was coming to life again to accuse him." 
 
THE DEAD IN LIFE. 
 
 403 
 
 " His victim ! " cried Mr. Appcrly. 
 
 " Yes, his victim. It was he who threw me over the cliff ; 
 Mr. Herbert Dane. Not intentionally ; I admit that ; hut 
 he suffered my faithful friend and servant here," touching 
 Eavensbird, " to be suspected and accused of it. I know 
 not what he may have feared, and it does not matter what ; 
 he took the box, and is keeping it. And now, Appcrly, to 
 my chief business with you. Are there, to your knowledge, 
 any secret places in the Castle, where such a thing might be 
 hidden away ? " 
 
 " Yes, there are," was the prompt reply. " Old Lord Dane 
 — your father — once showed them to me. In the trestle- 
 closet in the strong-room — the death-room as we used to 
 call it — there's a secret spring ; touch it, and it moves a 
 sliding panel, leading to several small hiding-places." 
 
 " Then that's where my box is ! " cried Lord Dane. 
 "Young Beecher told William he had heard the castle 
 contained such hiding-places, but I doubted it. And that's 
 why I have been waiting for you. I thought you'd be sure 
 to know. It's strange my father never told me of them." 
 
 " I don't think he much cared to allude to them : there 
 was an old tale that one of the lords of Dane had been in 
 league with smugglers," replied Mr. Apperly. "It was 
 partly through accident that he informed me. I showed the 
 place to the present Lord after he came into the title." 
 
 " Very well. How can we best get at that box, 
 Apperly?" 
 
 " He may have destroyed it," was the answer. 
 
 " I think not. He could not open it without the key, 
 which is a sure one. "William had it in his pocket-book 
 when he was saved. And to break it open might cause 
 more noise and trouble than would be convenient to give, in 
 a household, to stolen property." 
 
 " And what was in the box ? " asked Mr. Apperly. 
 
 " Instead of asking particulars, which may be left till 
 later, suppose you apply yourself exclusively to the matter 
 in hand," suggested Lord Dane, with a touch of the Dane 
 peremptoriness. " How is this box to be got out of the 
 Castle ? " 
 
404 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " I see only one way, my lord : your declaring yourself. 
 Once you show yourself at the Castle, you are its master." 
 
 " Ah ! but I would rather get the box first, if there's a 
 possibility of doing it," remarked Lord Dane, " I wish I 
 had a clever detective here !" They find their way to every- 
 thing." 
 
 "There's one in Danesheld at this moment," said Mr. 
 Apperly. " What his business here may be, I don't know, 
 but I saw him pass my oflice this afternoon, and recognised 
 him : he did some business for me once." 
 
 The lawyer spoke in all unconsciousness of recent events, 
 or that the detective had been for nearly a week at the 
 Castle ; Eavensbird listened, equally ignorant that Mr. 
 Blair, the great London banker, could be the gentleman 
 alluded to. 
 
 " Couldn't you bring him to me ? " said Lord Dane. 
 
 " I might try," replied Mr. Apperly. " He may have left 
 again, for all I can tell ; if not I don't know where to look 
 for him." 
 
 " Go out and try," urged Lord Dane. " I must have that 
 box ; and there's my son in custody for felony : things are 
 coming to a pretty pass. Go at once, sir," he added, with 
 authority ; " and don't open the budget to the man yourself ; 
 leave that for me to do." 
 
 The lawyer had no choice but to obey. No end of 
 curiosity was racking his brain, and the temptation to look 
 into Mrs. Eavensbird's parlour and have " just a word with 
 her " was irresistible. The motive was not either great or 
 good, but it was destined to be rewarded. Standing there, 
 talking to Mrs. Eavensbird, was Mr. Blair. The lawyer 
 seemed to come in for nothing but surprises. 
 
 " It's my Lord Dane's banker, Mr. Blair," said Sophie, 
 glancing significantly at Mr. Apperly as she mentioned the 
 title. " He has been visiting his lordship at the Castle." 
 
 Mr. Apperly had heard my lord's banker was visiting 
 him ; but — this the banker ? He looked at the detective : 
 and the latter, seeing he was recognised, quietly made a sign 
 to him and placed his finger on his lips. 
 
 Mr. Blair's business in Danesheld was over. As Lydney, 
 
THE DEAD IN LIFE. 
 
 405 
 
 through the precipitancy of Squire Lester, was in custody, 
 Bent must deal with the affairs of that adventurer now. Mr. 
 Blair could not altogether fathom things ; he and Lord Dane 
 entertained adverse opinions on trifling points, and they had 
 parted coolly. Mr. Blair, on his way to the station, had 
 called in to say a word of adieu at the Sailors' Kest and to 
 sip a final petit verre. The lawyer took him aside : said 
 that a client of his, staying at present in that very inn, had 
 need of the services of a detective, and inquired of Mr. Blair 
 if he would then see him. 
 
 " I must promise that you will have to act against Lord 
 Dane, though in what manner I do not precisely understand 
 myself," observed the lawyer. " Will your private feelings 
 allow you to do so ? " 
 
 " An officer must have no private feelings," was Mr. 
 Blair's reply. "Lord Dane demanded a detective from 
 town, and I was sent down. My business with him is 
 concluded ; and if I am required by another party, I have 
 neither wish nor plea for refusing, whether my services may 
 be put in requisition against Lord Dane, or against any 
 other lord. I am at your service." 
 
 They went upstairs at once. Lord Dane w r as then standing 
 by the fire, talking to Eavensbird ; who, by the way, might 
 have been surprised at the banker's developing into a 
 detective, had it been in his nature to be surprised at any- 
 thing. Mr. Apperly remarked that he had soon found his 
 man, and introduced him as Mr. Blair. 
 
 " Sir," said the peer, turning upon him his fine face 
 and form, " I have need of advice and assistance against 
 Herbert Dane — Lord Dane as he is called. Can you aid 
 me ? " 
 
 " I do not know," was Mr. Blair's reply. " I can inform 
 you whether anything can be done, if you will put me in 
 possession of the circumstances. Mr. Home, I believe ? " 
 
 " No, sir. When I was in want of a temporary name, I 
 called myself Home ; but it may be dropped now. I am 
 Lord Dane." 
 
 The detective gave a slight cough ; impressed with the 
 belief that the gentleman before him was labouring under a 
 
406 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 mania, and required a keeper rather than a police officer. 
 His eye glanced at Mr. Apperly. 
 
 " His lordship says rightly," observed the latter. " He is 
 the true Lord Dane." 
 
 " The true veritable William Henry Lord Dane, only 
 surviving son of the old Lord Dane, of whom you may have 
 heard," continued the peer. " You look astonished, Mr. 
 Blair : I thought police officers were surprised at nothing- 
 You may probably have learnt, Mr. Detective, that Captain 
 the Honourable William Henry Dane went over the cliff one 
 moonlight night, by accident or by treachery, and lost his 
 life ; that his body, turned up by the sea some weeks after- 
 wards, was buried in the family vault ! " 
 
 " I have heard this," replied Mr. Blair. 
 
 " Well, sir — but have the goodness to take a seat whilst 
 you listen," interrupted the peer. " I, William Henry Lord 
 Dane, did not die in that fall : I was saved, and carried to 
 America in a friend's yacht ; and I have lived there ever 
 since, always believing that the peer who succeeded my 
 father, and reigned here at Dane Castle, was my elder 
 brother, Geoffry Dane. Sir, he who threw me over the cliff 
 was Herbert Dane, at present called Lord Dane." 
 
 The detective raised his eyes a little, but did not other- 
 wise interrupt. 
 
 " I saw English journals occasionally," continued Lord 
 Dane. " I knew that my mother was dead, that my father was 
 dead, and that ' Geoffry, Lord Dane,' as the papers called it, 
 succeeded him and reigned : and it never occurred to me to 
 suspect it was not my brother Geoffry. Had I known it was 
 Herbert, and that I myself was the true Lord Dane, the first 
 and fleetest steamer would have brought me over. I had 
 not been friendly with my brother Geoffry ; nevertheless I 
 wrote to him after his (supposed) succession ; I received no 
 reply to that letter, and I resented it in my heart with a 
 haughty resentment, and would not write again. Ah ! we 
 are prone to indulge such feelings, but punishment is sure to 
 overtake us sooner or later. After the lapse of years, when 
 I found my health failing, I deemed it right to return home 
 at once. I had never heard of Lord Dane's marriage, and 
 
THE DEAD IN LIFE. 
 
 407 
 
 my son, after me, was the direct heir. We took our passago 
 in the Wind ; my poor servant was drowned in her, but I 
 and my son were saved from tho wreck, as you may have 
 heard— " 
 
 " Your son ? " Mr. Blair interrupted, speaking for the first 
 time. 
 
 "Yes, sir, my son," returned the narrator, his choler 
 rising. " The gentleman who had been ordered into custody 
 to-day by George Lester, on a charge of midnight plundering 
 is my son." 
 
 " By Jove ! " exclaimed Mr. Blair, astonished for once in 
 his life. 
 
 "William happened to have his pocket-book about him 
 when we were saved. In it were letters of credit and other 
 papers ; so that we have been at no inconvenience of that 
 nature. And now you are naturally wondering why I did 
 not at once declare myself. I will tell you. For many 
 hours I was so ill and shaken that I could only remain quiet 
 and avoid excitement. Before that was over, I learned, to 
 my unbounded astonishment and vexation, that it was 
 Herbert Dane who had succeeded instead of my brother. I 
 thought it necessary to be cautious ; I continued very ill, 
 fearing excitement, which is so pernicious to my complaint, 
 and I was hoping the box would come up from the sea. My 
 early marriage, sir, had been a private one. I married in 
 Canada, when I first went out, the daughter of a French 
 merchant who had settled there. She was wedded to me in 
 secret, unknown to her father, whose hatred to the English 
 was so great that any attempt to obtain his consent would 
 have been hopeless. My wife lived on unsuspected at her 
 father's house, making plausible absences from it occasionally. 
 During one of these William was born, and was christened 
 Geoffry William Lydney. Her father died, leaving her a 
 very large fortune, and close upon it she died, and the 
 money became my son's. I am giving you only the heads, 
 Mr. Detective," broke off Lord Dane ; " there is no time for 
 the details. I had no particular motive for concealing my 
 marriage from my own family, except that I knew there 
 would be great reproach in store for me on the score of my 
 
408 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE, 
 
 wife's being a merchant's daughter. When I was last at 
 home I disclosed the fact of my being a widower to Lady 
 Adelaide Errol, whom I was then wishing to marry. I did 
 not tell her of the boy : but I should have declared all 
 openly both to her and my family before the preliminaries 
 of my marriage with her were agreed upon — in fact, the 
 settlements would have necessitated it. Well, I was pitched 
 over the cliff : that is, I and Herbert Dane were scuffling 
 together, and an unlucky blow of his — not an intentional 
 one, I am sure — sent me over. I was found by my friend 
 Colonel Moncton, carried on board his yacht, and thence on 
 to America. All that is of the past : it need not be enlarged 
 upon ; but I come now to the point. That box, cast up 
 from the wreck, is, I know, in Dane Castle : how can I get 
 it out of it ? " 
 
 Mr. Blair drew his chair a few inches nearer to Lord 
 Dane : his part was beginning now. 
 
 " Herbert Dane must have recognised the box. My 
 mother gave it me when I first went out with my regiment 
 to Canada, and the very day I was putting my papers and 
 best treasures into it, Herbert Dane, then a young boy of 
 ten or so, stood by and helped me. I remember that the 
 cross on the box surmounting the three V.'s particularly 
 drew his attention ; and my mother told him how she had 
 once lent the box to a brother of hers, and it came back to 
 her thus decorated. Why, sir, that box is valuable as a 
 family relic, if for nothing else : but its present contents 
 are to me priceless, for my son's sake." 
 
 " Permit me," said Mr. Blair, interposing. " Will your 
 lordship inform me what its contents were when you had it 
 on board ? " 
 
 " They were varied, sir. Papers and documents relating 
 to my property in America, and to that of my son. My will 
 was also in it. All these can be replaced ; but it might be 
 less easy to replace the testamentary papers of my marriage 
 and my son's birth. And, sir, if that birth were questioned, 
 if it could not be proved, Mr. Herbert Dane would be my 
 legal heir, and succeed to the position he has so long un- 
 justly enjoyed. That box has been the cause of my remain- 
 
THE DEAD IN LIFE. 
 
 409 
 
 ing on in this Louse in secrecy and seclusion," continued 
 Lord Dane. " I never intended, you may be sure, to return 
 home otherwise than openly, as my own proper self; but 
 the moment the life-boat had saved us — for which we may 
 . thank young Lester — came the knowledge that we were 
 thrown on this coast — Danesheld. I gave William a hint 
 to be quiet ; I was feeling so ill ; and afterwards, as I have 
 told you, the news burst upon me that he who reigned as 
 baron was Herbert Dane : and next came his theft of the 
 box." 
 
 " He could not possibly have known the contents of the 
 box then," observed Mr. Blair, musingly. " What was his 
 motive for taking it, I wonder ? " 
 
 " I don't know. My theory is this : that the sight of the 
 box frightened him ; that some vague fear attacked him of 
 the past being about to be brought to light — I mean as to 
 his share in my supposed death. I don't know what else it 
 can have been : a man with a secret remorse on his 
 conscience is always in fear, more or less ; and the sight of 
 the box must have recalled me forcibly to his remembrance. 
 Perhaps Lady Adelaide Lester disclosed my early marriage 
 to him, and he may have feared an heir would turn up to 
 depose him." 
 
 " Your lordship speaks of a letter you wrote to your 
 brother ; do you think Mr. Herbert Dane received that, and 
 knows you are in existence ? " 
 
 " I cannot tell. Will you, now that you are in possession 
 of my story so far — and these witnesses," pointing to 
 Eavensbird and Mr. Apperly, " will corroborate it — help 
 me with your advice as to regaining possession of the box ? " 
 
 "Certainly I will." 
 
 " Good. Will you also get my son released from 
 custody?" 
 
 "Yes, I think I can do that. Upon condition that he 
 will, to myself privately, account for his presence last night 
 with those men in Mr. Lester's house." 
 
 Lord Dane raised his head. " I know nothing about it," 
 he said, " but I do know that William is of the kindest and 
 most honourable nature, All his spare time is spent in 
 
410 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 looking after that ill-used son of Mr. Lester's — in trying to 
 keep him straight, poor fellow ; and I dare say he was after 
 him last night. I'll give you a pencilled line to him, 
 telling him to confide in you. He may do it ? " questioned 
 Lord Dane : " I mean as to this unhappy young Lester ? " 
 
 " In all security. I'll listen as a friend, not as a detective. 
 Perhaps I had better go there at once, whilst I think about 
 the other matter, upon which I will give your lordship my 
 advice when I return." 
 
 Meanwhile William Lydney — if we may still call him so 
 — sat waiting in the station-house, in the prisoners' room. 
 Not caring to disturb his father with the news of his 
 incarceration, he had done nothing but despatch messengers 
 for Mr. Apperly. The sudden opening of the door gave 
 him hopes that the lawyer had at length arrived ; but it 
 proved to be only Lord Dane's banker, Mr. Blair. 
 
 " I bring you a line from Lord Dane," began Mr. Blair, 
 putting the folded paper in his hand. 
 
 William looked at it, and then at his visitor. 
 
 " From whom did you say ? " 
 
 " From the true Lord Dane," was the answer, given in a 
 low tone, " and I believe I have now the honour of speaking 
 to the future lord. Your father, in that note, bids you 
 confide in me — he has done so. Perhaps it may be in my 
 power to order your release." 
 
 " But what can you possibly have to do with it ? " ex- 
 claimed the prisoner. " You are a friend of — of him at the 
 castle — his town banker." 
 
 "You have been flourishing in Danesheld under false 
 colours, Mr. Dane; so have I. I am not Lord Dane's 
 banker — the title will slip out — and how the report got 
 wind is more than I can say. I am one of the chief 
 detective officers of the police force. Your father has called 
 in my aid to assist him, and I am ready to assist you. 
 First of all : What took you to Mr. Lester's with those 
 companions last night ? " 
 
 " I cannot explain ; I cannot tell you anything about it," 
 was the quick response. 
 
 " You were not with them ? — joining with them ? " 
 
THE DEAD IN LIFE. 
 
 411 
 
 " I ! " returned William Dane, as haughtily as any Dane 
 had ever spoken. " You intimated just now your cognizance 
 of my rank ! I do not forget it, I assure you, neither am I 
 likely to disgrace it." 
 
 "Will you give me your reasons for not confiding in me ? " 
 
 " I don't object to doing that. It is because I could not 
 declare the truth without conrpromising other people." 
 
 " Just so : you allude to young Lester, Mr. Dane. But 
 now, I give you my promise that anything you may say shall 
 not harm him. I have not been in Danesheld without 
 acquiring an insight into its gossip ; it lies in my business 
 to do so ; and I know and suspect nearly as much about 
 that misguided young gentleman as you can tell me. I 
 fancy he was the chief actor in that affair last night, not 
 you. Though how he could so far forget himself as to go 
 stealing his father's plate does surprise me." 
 
 William Dane saw that the best plan would be to confide 
 the whole truth to the experienced man before him. And he 
 did so. Poor ill-judging Wilfred Lester— though more 
 hardly judged by others than he deserved, emphatically 
 pronounced his friend — had not broken in after the silver, 
 but after his own deed ; it was in defending the silver from 
 attack that the discovery took place : he told all. 
 
 " These facts ought to be confided to Squire Lester," 
 observed Mr. Blair. " For his son's sake he cannot pursue 
 this." 
 
 " I am not sure but Squire Lester would deem it all the 
 more reason for pursuing it," was the reply. " He is 
 bitterly set against his son. No, I would rather stay where 
 I am than betray Wilfred Lester. He saved my life and my 
 father's." 
 
 " You seem wonderfully easy under your captivity," re- 
 marked Mr. Blair, gazing at the calm good-looking face. 
 
 " A man with his conscience at peace is generally easy 
 under most circumstances. As to the accusation against 
 me, I have only to point to the Sailors' Rest, and say there's 
 the true Lord Dane, returned to assume his rights, and you 
 may know me for his son. Danesheld would soon scatter 
 the charge to the winds." 
 
412 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " I think I can scatter it myself, so far as your detention 
 goes," returned Mr. Blair. " Come with me." 
 
 He led the way into the front room, where Bent sat 
 writing. The latter rose sharply at seeing his prisoner 
 come out. That he secretly favoured young Lydney was 
 true ; but not to the length of showing him outward favour, 
 now he was committed. 
 
 "I am about to relieve you of your prisoner, Bent," 
 quietly observed Mr. Blair. " This gentleman has satisfied 
 me of his innocence, and he must be set at liberty." 
 
 " Where's the authority for it ? " asked Bent, after a pause 
 of blank consternation. 
 
 " Your authority is that you are bound to obey my orders," 
 was the conclusive reply. 
 
 " But how I am to answer for it to my Lord Dane and to 
 Squire Lester ? " cried the unhappy inspector, believing him- 
 self to be an excessively ill-used man. " They'll be on to 
 me with all sorts of pains and penalties." 
 
 " Kefer them to me," said Mr. Blair. " Pass out, sir." 
 
 He held the door open as he spoke, and bowed to the ex- 
 prisoner to precede him. There was a suspicion of deference 
 in the bow that caught the attention of the inspector. Had 
 he possessed ten eyes he could not have stared away his 
 perplexity. Mr. Lydney looked back, laughing. 
 
 " It's all right, Bent. The time may come when you will 
 find it so." 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXII. 
 
 IN THE TRESTLE-CLOSET. 
 
 As a matter of course, news of the arrest of Mr. Lydney had 
 spread all over Danesheld. Therefore, to see him at liberty, 
 walking side by side with my Lord Dane's banker, created 
 no small surprise ; and the popular opinion arrived at wa$ 
 
IN THE TliESTLE-CLOSET. 
 
 413 
 
 that the wealthy financier must have become bail for him. 
 Quite a queue followed them along the street ; and one 
 kindly officious man flew off at the toj) of his speed to tell the 
 news to Squire Lester. 
 
 But, as Mr. Blair and his companion were on the point of 
 turning down to the Sailors' Rest, who should come swing- 
 ing along the middle of the road but my Lord Dane. To 
 describe his amazement when he saw Lydney at large would 
 be altogether beyond the power Of pen. Taking a full 
 minute to make sure his vision was not deceiving him, he 
 made a sign to Mr. Blair, whom he was nearly as much sur- 
 prised to see. Lord Dane was not in the best of humours ; 
 for the absence of result in the detective's visit to Danesheld 
 rested on his mind as an unsatisfactory failure ; neither had 
 his parting with that functionary been as cordial as their 
 meeting. 
 
 " What is the meaning of this ? " he haughtily demanded. 
 " Who has dared to liberate that man ? " 
 
 Mr. Blair turned off the pathway. Lydney, slightly raising 
 his hat — and Lord Dane took the action, meant in courtesy, 
 to be one of mockery — strolled gently on. 
 
 " Circumstances have come to my knowledge, Lord Dane, 
 since the proceedings at Squire Lester's which render it 
 inexpedient that Mr. Lydney should be kept in custody. I 
 have deemed it my duty to release him." 
 
 " W T hat do you mean ? " returned Lord Dane. " Circum- 
 stances ? " 
 
 " They have, indeed : Mr. Lydney is not guilty." 
 
 " I think you must be out of your mind," slowly ejaculated 
 Lord Dane. " Not guilty ! Why there never were plainer 
 proofs of guilt ! Do you know that in thus releasing him 
 you are setting us all at defiance ? — myself, Mr. Lester, the 
 police, the — the law itself ? " 
 
 "lam sorry to have had to do it. When the circumstances 
 I speak of shall be explained " 
 
 " Circumstances explained ! " interrupted Lord Dane, too 
 angry to listen further. " What circumstances can excuse 
 the evasion of justice — the releasing from custody of a 
 guilty man ? How dared Bent connive at it ? " 
 
414 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 Bent had no choice," said Mr. Blair. " When I issue 
 orders he has not the power to disobey." 
 
 " I will see whether he has the power to disobey me," 
 foamed Lord Dane. " I shall at once order him to retake 
 this felon, under pain of dismissal from the force." 
 
 " I must submit — with all due respect to your lordship — 
 that it will be waste of time for you to do so. So long as 
 I am here, I am chief of the police force, and Bent is my 
 servant." 
 
 Lord Dane felt beaten on all sides. Never, since he 
 became Lord Dane, had he been so bearded. He actually 
 stood at bay. 
 
 " What do you do in Danesheld still ? " he presently 
 demanded. " You left my house for the station an hour 
 ago." 
 
 " True. But on my way to the station I fell in with a 
 solicitor of this place, named Apperly, who put some 
 business into my hands. Lord Dane, believe me, I have 
 not ordered the release of this young man to annoy you — 
 why should I ? — but because I have learnt that the grounds 
 on which he was given into custody were mistaken ones ; 
 and some of us might eventually have got into trouble 
 had he been detained. But I must wish your lordship 
 good-evening, for I have pressing business awaiting me." 
 
 He turned away with a salute, leaving Lord Dane 
 standing helplessly. Set him at defiance, the lord and the 
 chief of the county ! His lordship privately believed that 
 all the social institutions of life must be coming to an end. 
 
 He strode on to the station and met Bent coming out of 
 it. The best excuse that ill-used inspector could offer was, 
 that he was nobody whilst Mr. Blair was at Danesheld. 
 
 A political dinner, long looked forward to, was held that 
 night in Danesheld, presided over by one of the county 
 members ; he was supported on either side by Lord Dane 
 and Squire Lester. Neither of the two supporters were in 
 a genial frame of mind. The release of the prisoner 
 Lydney was an indisputable fact; and as yet Mr. Lester 
 at least was utterly at sea in regard to it, for he had not 
 been able to see Bent. 
 
IN THE TRESTLE-CLOSET. 
 
 415 
 
 Whilst they were safely seated at table, Mr. Appcrly 
 might have been seen walking at a sharp pace towards 
 Dane Castle. His object was to make a call on Mr. Bruff ; 
 and, as if fate wished to facilitate the courtesy, the lawyer 
 found Mr. Bruff standing at the gateway, taking the air 
 there in his usual fashion, and without his hat. 
 
 " Good-evening, sir ; I heard you had returned," said he 
 cheerily, for the advent of any acquaintance at these 
 moments rejoiced the butler's heart. " You've not come 
 up to see my lord, I hope Mr. Apperly ? He has gone to 
 the dinner." 
 
 " I come to see you, Bruff," was the response. " I want 
 you to take a walk with me." 
 " A walk ? " repeated Bruff. 
 
 " At the request of Lord Dane. Get your hat, and I'll 
 tell you about it as we go down. Say nothing in-doors." 
 
 " Bruff came bustling out with his hat, and the lawyer 
 set off at a very sharp pace again, back to Daneskeld. The 
 portly butler could scarcely keep up with him. 
 
 " My lord's not ill surely ! " he cried, thinking it must be 
 either that, or that Mr. Apperly was walking for a wager. 
 " What can he want with me ? " 
 
 " He is very ill," gravely responded Mr. Apperly. " I — 
 I fear, Bruff, that he will never be well again." 
 
 Bruff stopped ; an idea had occurred to him. 
 
 " For heaven's sake tell me the worst, Mr. Ajrperly ! He 
 is not dead, is he ? " 
 
 " No, no, no ; come along : he is as much alive as you or 
 I. Why, he sent me for you, Bruff ; there's no time to lose. 
 I said ill, not dead." 
 
 " It was thinking of the other night made me fear it," 
 returned Bruff, putting his best foot forward. " My lord 
 had been for a walk on the heights — a lovely moonlight 
 night it was, about a week ago — and I caught a glimpse of 
 his face as he came in. Mr. Apperly, if ever you saw a 
 corpse you might have thought he was one then ! his face 
 was livid and so scared and strange I did not like to accost 
 him. He looked like a man who " 
 
 " Had seen a ghost," interrupted the lawyer. 
 
416 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " A ghost ! " returned Bruff, disdainfully. " Like a man 
 who is attacked by some mortal illness, I was going to say. 
 Perhaps it's the same thing to-night. Pray goodness he 
 gets over it." 
 
 " I fancied you did not own to any ultra fondness for his 
 lordship." 
 
 " Not as I did for the past family," spoke Bruff, with 
 something like emotion ; " especially for the old lord, and 
 for Mr. Harry. I never did greatly like Mr. Herbert. But 
 the rest are dead and gone, and he is Lord Dane. He is a 
 good master." 
 
 " Could the old family — any one of them — rise from their 
 graves to life, should you deem yourself bound to serve 
 them or the present lord ? " 
 
 " Why, the present lord would not be Lord Dane in that 
 case," debated Bruff, after a minute given to consideration. 
 " Where's the use of bringing up impossibilities, Mr. 
 Apperly ? As if I should serve any one in the world but 
 the old family were they living ! " 
 
 Mr. Apperly bore on with his quiet step and turned down 
 to the Sailors' Kest. Bruff looked his disjdeasure. 
 
 "Is my lord so ill that they've brought him here ! It 
 would not have been so much farther to his own house, if 
 they must have moved him." 
 
 " Come on and don't grumble," cried the lawyer. 
 
 He marshalled Bruff up the stairs and into the invalid's 
 chamber. Bruff cast an impatient glance around. He saw 
 young Lydney, Bavensbird, Mr. Blair, and some one on 
 the sofa whom he took only a passing look at. That he 
 had supposed the one gentleman to be in custody for house- 
 breaking, and the other in the train half-way to London, 
 did not much trouble him at the moment 
 
 " Where is my lord ? " he cried, anxiously. 
 
 " There," said Mr. Apperly. 
 
 Lord Dane came from the sofa and stood before Bruff 
 with a smile. Bruff 's face grew long as he gazed, and he 
 backed against the wall. Any one believing in ghosts had 
 excited Mr. Bruff's pitying contempt all his life : he could 
 not have asserted that he did not believe in one now. 
 
m THE TRESTLE-CLOSET. 
 
 417 
 
 " Don't you know me, Bruff ? I am real flesh and 
 blood." 
 
 " It — it's the living image of what Mr. Harry once was, 
 saving the hair ! " ejaculated Bruff, staring from one to 
 another in hopeless perplexity and some fear. " But it can't 
 be!" 
 
 " Yes, it can, Bruff. Mr. Harry was not killed by his fall 
 over the cliff, and Mr. Harry is living still. I thought you 
 would have known me better." 
 
 Ah ! the voice came home to his ear. Could he have 
 mistaken other signs, he could not mistake that. The water 
 rushed into the man's eyes, and his very hands trembled 
 with emotion, as he knelt before Lord Dane. 
 
 " My lord ! my true and veritable lord ! I do know you ! " 
 he uttered, the tears streaming from his eyes. 
 
 Lord Dane took his hand and bade him rise. " I shall 
 not reign there long, Bruff ; a short time will see me where 
 I am supposed to be — in the family crypt. But," added 
 Lord Dane, motioning his son towards him, and laying his 
 hand upon his shoulder, " I hope you will serve another as 
 truly and loyally as you would have served me. This will 
 be the Castle's lord in the future." 
 
 "He is ? " 
 
 " Another Geoff ry, Bruff ; the Honourable Geoffry William 
 Lydney Dane ; he is my only son. Be faithful to him, for 
 his father and grandfather's sake." 
 
 " I said he was a chieftain," answered Bruff, his delighted 
 eyes glistening ; " the first time he ever came to the Castle 1 
 saw he was born to be a chieftain. Miss Dane declared he 
 was like my lady — she did, indeed ! " 
 
 " Like my mother ? Yes, the resemblance has struck me ; 
 but he has the Dane features. Bruff, I require a service at 
 your hands. Will you execute it ? " 
 
 "Ay, my lord; anything for you and yours — though it 
 should be to the laying down of my life." 
 
 "Understand first of all, Bruff, it will involve some 
 treachery to him at the Castle, your present master." 
 
 " I can't help it if it does," was the old retainer's answer. 
 " And as to his being my master — I hope you'll never let 
 
 Lady Adelaide. 27 
 
418 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 me know another master than you, my lord, while you are 
 spared. 5 ' 
 
 "Good. I don't like treachery myself, but perhaps it's 
 excusable in some cases to meet treachery with treachery. 
 He has exercised it long enough. You don't ask who it was 
 that sent me over the cliff." 
 
 Bruff did not ask even now. A dim suspicion was 
 stealing over him. 
 
 "It was Herbert Dane. But not in treachery. The 
 treachery touching that, lies in his having duped every one 
 afterwards by passing himself off as innocent and uncon- 
 scious. That is done and over ; but something else 
 remains. Where's that box, Bruff ? " 
 
 " The missing box ! " said Bruff, shaking his head. " My 
 lord, I don't know ; I have never known," 
 
 "It was my box, Bruff, and my mother's before me. I 
 have reason to believe that Herbert Dane has that box 
 secreted in the Castle. Mr. Blair — this gentleman — thinks 
 you may perhaps get it out to-night, whilst your master is 
 away at dinner. His opinion is worth listening to, Bruff, 
 for he is a detective officer." 
 
 Poor Bruff's face grew hot. The affable London banker, 
 who had made quite a friend of him and encouraged him to 
 talk, a detective ! What might he not have said in his 
 incaution ? And as to the box — Bruff could have taken an 
 affirmation, there and then, that it was not in the Castle. 
 
 Mr. Apperly set about enlightening him, telling of the 
 secret places in the Castle, opening from the trestle-closet. 
 Bruff wiped his face over and over again as he listened, and 
 thought he should never recover from his surprise. 
 
 He entered into the plot, however, with all his heart and 
 spirit, and there was no time to be wasted. He and Mr. 
 Apperly set out for the Castle, Ravensbird following them at 
 a distance with a truck. It was better not to call any 
 stranger into the service at this stage of the affair. 
 
 He, Bruff, procured the keys, and took Mr. Apperly 
 through the unused passage at the back of the Castle to the 
 death-room. No one saw their entrance, or suspected it : 
 and Ravensbird, sitting on his truck, quietly waited in an 
 
IN THE TltESTLE-CLOSET. 
 
 410 
 
 obscure corner outside. The spring in the closet, as once 
 shown to Mr. Apperly by the late Lord Dane, was found 
 without difficulty, and the panel went sliding slowly back. 
 
 A small room, seven feet square, lay disclosed to view. 
 It was empty except for one object in the middle — the 
 missing box. u Ah ! " cried Mr. Apperly. 
 
 Bruff, when he had done gazing at the box — for he had 
 remained somewhat sceptical as to the possibilities — was 
 protesting to himself that he should never feel certain of • 
 anything again. 
 
 " I'll tell you what," he said to the lawyer : " he must 
 have lugged this in here himself at the moment of his 
 arrival, while I was seeing the miller s men out. Though 
 how he should have had strength to move it I can't 
 conceive." 
 
 "I wonder where that leads to?" cried the lawyer, 
 pointing to a little obscure doorway in a corner. " To the 
 vaults, I suppose, below the Castle." 
 
 Hovering near Eavensbird and the truck, in case of any 
 surprise from the police which might render his authority 
 desirable, was Mr. Blair. Nothing, however, occurred. 
 The box was deposited in the truck, jealously covered up 
 from the view of chance passers-by, and safely wheeled away 
 by Eavensbird, Mr. Blair and the lawyer keeping the truck 
 in sight. Bruff remained at the Castle : not quite yet was 
 his service to its ostensible lord over. 
 
 And when the box, arrived at the Sailors' Eest, was 
 carried up the stairs, still jealously covered, and into the 
 presence of its owner, the real lord, and he saw it was still 
 intact and inviolate, he looked at his son, thanksgiving 
 filling his heart. The true heir of Dane from henceforth, 
 and to be known as such ! All need for concealment was 
 over. 
 
 "But understand, William, that you do not proclaim 
 yourself; I choose to do it for you, and to take my own 
 time about it," said Lord Dane. " For to-night at least you 
 are William Lydney." 
 
 " Very well," was the laughing answer. " Take a week if 
 you like : I rather enjoy the fun." 
 
420 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE* 
 
 The young man took up his hat as he spoke, to search for 
 Wilfred Lester. He had not seen him all day, and was 
 unable to get rid of an undefined feeling of uneasiness with 
 regard to him. 
 
 He chose the road by Danesheld Hall. Not for conve- 
 nience ; it was the longest way ; but there was no other so 
 charming to William Lydney. As he came to the wood- 
 path, he heard voices in something like dispute, and 
 recognised Wilfred and his sister. He had returned from 
 Great Cross, and Maria, in her uneasiness, had gone out 
 again to meet him. j3he offered him a little money, all she 
 could get together ; she begged him to leave the place until 
 the danger should blow over. Wilfred stood in sullen 
 anger. He was fond of Maria, and felt terribly vexed that 
 she should suspect anything. Her entreaties were met with 
 angry denials : one word led to another, and at length Maria 
 burst into tears, and whispered that he would be kinder if 
 he knew that she might have to sacrifice herself for his sake 
 and marry Lord Dane. 
 
 " Oh, indeed ! " said Wilfred, and just at that moment 
 Mr. Lydney came up. Wilfred had not heard of his late 
 capture ; Maria supposed he was out on bail. She felt very 
 much ashamed to be caught crying, and Mr. Lydney was 
 silent from surprise. 
 
 " Yes, you may well stare ! " said Wilfred, in his reckless 
 spirit. " They have ordered her now to marry my Lord 
 Dane ; by which arrangement the Hall will be rid of both 
 of us." 
 
 " Oh, Wilfred ! " she interposed, her cheeks flaming. 
 
 "I was going to your house, Lester," interposed Mr. 
 Lydney, hoping to put them at their ease. " I want to speak 
 to you." 
 
 " All right ; you can walk back with me," he readily 
 answered, rejoiced at the prospect of getting rid of Maria 
 and her suspicions. " Would you mind just seeing my 
 sister to the turning, Lydney ? " he continued ; " I don't 
 care to go further myself, and will wait for you here." 
 
 Thus unceremoniously disposed of, Maria could only 
 hasten away. Mr. Lydney followed her. 
 
IN THE TRESTLE-CLOSET. 
 
 421 
 
 " Let mc share your distress," lie began in low confidential 
 tones. " Perhaps I may be able to alleviate it, whatever it 
 may be." 
 
 It brought back all her fears and she was too agitated to 
 speak. 
 
 " You are ill — or agitated," he resumed, perceiving the 
 fact. " Which is it ? " 
 
 " Both," she replied, turning her face to him. " Oh ! do 
 you tell me the truth about last night ! The suspense is 
 killing me." 
 
 " Do you mean the truth about myself? " 
 
 " No, no ; I have never doubted you. I know that you 
 are one of the firmest friends man can possess : I know that 
 you have been publicly bearing to-day the sins of another 
 in generous silence, so that he should not be suspected. It 
 was Wilfred who came into the Hall last night, and Tiffle 
 mistook him for you." 
 
 " No so ; Tiffle's eyes are too keen to be deceived. It 
 was myself she saw." 
 
 " If you only knew how terrible my fears and suspense 
 are, I think you would not play with me, Mr. Lydney," she 
 faintly said, as if wearied with the contest. " You asked 
 me once to trust you, and I do trust you wholly and entirely, 
 as I would my brother. Will you not bestow on me a little 
 confidence in return ? I have learnt that Wilfred was one 
 of those who came in. What was his motive ? " 
 
 Finding she knew so much, he told her all, describing 
 the facts as they occurred. She listened with a strange 
 sinking of the heart. 
 
 " What was his object ? " she questioned. " It is im- 
 possible that it could have been the plate — unless he has 
 gone quite mad." 
 
 "Not the plate, certainly. It w r as in defending that 
 against the men who were with him that discovery arose. 
 Have you forgotten something else that Wilfred wanted to 
 gain possession of ? " he continued : and a sudden light 
 flashed on Maria. 
 
 "The deed! It was for that ! Did he get it ? " 
 
 f< He did, Mr. Lester has no suspicion of the loss ; and 
 
422 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 it is well he has not, for it might help him to guess at the 
 real offender." 
 
 " I see it all," she murmured. " And you are bearing 
 the odium to shield him ! How shall we ever repay you ! " 
 
 A peculiar smile crossed his lips. " I may be asking for 
 it some time," he said ; " but meanwhile let me beg of you 
 to set your fears at rest. There is one quite as powerful 
 as your friend Lord Dane, who has taken Wilfred's interest 
 to heart. His intention is to see him safe out of his troubles 
 generally, including this one, and I am sure he will carry 
 it through." 
 
 " Do you mean yourself ? " 
 
 " No. I am only an agent in the matter. Believe me, 
 things will be made right. Maria, I would not assure you 
 of this lightly." 
 
 " But how shall you exonerate yourself? You cannot be 
 tried for him ! You are only out on bail ! " 
 
 William Lydney laughed. " I am a great deal more all 
 right than he is ; and I am released absolutely, not con- 
 ditionally. Eemember one thing, Maria ; that as yet Wil- 
 fred is not suspected in Danesheld of having been in this ; 
 you must be cautious not to let a hint of it escape you. 
 The best plan will be to forget it yourself. Don't you think 
 you can do so ? " he added, turning to her. 
 
 " I wish I could." 
 
 " Nay, but is it so very difficult, when you have me to trust 
 to ? " he softly whispered. " I hope you will have greater 
 things to trust me in than this, as we go through life." 
 
 The words called up a vivid blush, a feeling of sadness. 
 Even now, only in walking with him thus, she was all too 
 aware of the scornful reproach that would have been cast on 
 her had Danesheld been by to see. She knew not who or 
 what he was ; she had only her own conviction of his worth 
 and honour to guide her. But Maria Lester was not one to 
 throw herself in the face of the world's opinion, and publicly 
 set up a standard of her own. 
 
 " In a very short time — it may be in a few hours — I shall 
 have it in my power to speak to Mr. Lester, You will give 
 me permission to do so ? " 
 
IN THE TRESTLE-CLOSET. 
 
 423 
 
 " To speak to him ? " she rejoined, not understanding. 
 
 "On your account. As I hear that Lord Dane would 
 press his claims, I must advance mine, and ask that you may 
 be allowed to choose between us." 
 
 He took her hand in his. Her heart, in spite of its 
 doubts and troubles, was beating with a wild sensation of 
 happiness ; perhaps it was this that caused her not to notice 
 footsteps behind them. 
 
 They were Lord Dane's. His lordship had made his 
 escape from the dinner, unseen, on the removal of the cloth. 
 He was ill at ease, and chose the quieter road home. The 
 dining-hall, one recently built, was near the new railway 
 station. 
 
 But to describe his indignant astonishment when he made 
 out that the man who turned to look at him was the ex- 
 prisoner, and the young lady by his side Miss Lester, would 
 be difficult. Maria, with a sense of the apparent unfitness 
 of things, offered some confused explanation of having just 
 left Wilfred. Lord Dane haughtily expressed his intention 
 of seeing her safe home, and made a movement to take her 
 on his arm, which Mr. Lydney prevented by unceremoniously 
 taking her on his own. 
 
 " Your pardon, Lord Daxe ; I am quite competent to take 
 charge of Miss Lester." 
 
 " Unhand Miss Lester, sir," cried Lord Dane passion- 
 ately. " Maria, can you be aware how you are degrading 
 yourself ? " 
 
 Between the two her position was anything but pleasant, 
 and she grew agitated. She strove to withdraw her arm, 
 but Mr. Lydney held it firmly. It rather vexed her to see 
 a careless smile upon his face. Lord Dane turned his anger 
 on Maria. 
 
 " I shall begin to believe the disgraceful report current 
 in Danesheld, that this man, this adventurer, this midnight 
 housebreaker, has gained Miss Lester's ear, when he would 
 cajole her into forgetting social ties and decency, and ally 
 herself to him ! " 
 
 "As your lordship has entered on the topic, I may as 
 well avow that the first hope of my life is, so far, to gain 
 
424 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 Miss Lester's ear — and heart — and hand," he coolly answered. 
 "Should I succeed, she shall at least find happiness. It 
 may be, that, of the two, I can insure that better than your 
 lordship would." 
 
 " Maria," cried Lord Dane, his breath half taken away 
 and his eyes flashing, " can you bear this insolence tamely ? 
 I cannot. Permit me to remind you that it is a gross insult 
 on you, the future Lady Dane." 
 
 " No, it is not," said William Lydney, whilst Maria rather 
 wished the earth would open and extricate her from this 
 position of embarrassment. " As to her being the future 
 Lady Dane — my earnest hope is that she will be." 
 
 Maria started. Lord Dane looked on the words as a bit 
 of insolent mockery, and would have liked to fell him to 
 the ground. But the turning was gained now ; the entrance 
 to Mr. Lester's was at hand, and Maria, seeing the door open, 
 freed her arm and escaped into it. Mr. Lydney struck 
 across the wood-path, which was the nearest way to the 
 Sailors' Eest, at the risk of keeping Wilfred Lester waiting ; 
 but he had somewhat to say to his father, and Lord Dane 
 went on towards home in a fever of passion, registering a 
 vow as he strode along that the morrow should see Danes- 
 held rid of this dangerous man. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 SOWING AND REAPING. 
 
 Things generally happen by contraries. As Maria dashed 
 into the Hall in blindfold haste, she ran against Lady 
 Adelaide and Mr. Apperly. The lawyer had come with an 
 urgent, if somewhat mysterious, request that her ladyship 
 would accompany him at once to see a gentleman lying ill 
 at the Sailors' Rest, An old friend of hers, he said. Lady 
 
SOWING AND REAPING. 
 
 425 
 
 Adelaide complied, and was going forth now with her things 
 on — a suspicion having at once crossed her that the 
 mysterious stranger was her random brother, Lord Irkdale, 
 come to grief. 
 
 She spoke sharply to Maria for coming in so late from 
 (as she supposed) Miss Bordillion's, asking who had seen 
 her home. 
 
 And Maria had no resource but tp say Mr. Lydney : for 
 the question was a peremptory one, and Wilfred's name she 
 dared not mention. 
 
 Lady Adelaide lifted her eyebrows in pitying scorn, and 
 went out. 
 
 " Were Miss Lester my own daughter, I should know how 
 to treat this matter," she observed to the lawyer. " As it 
 is, I wash my hands of her. If she chooses to lose caste, as 
 her brother has done, why she must do so. How you lawyers 
 and police people can have allowed the man to go out on 
 bail I cannot understand." 
 
 " There were grave doubts, I hear, as to his guilt, Lady 
 Adelaide. But in regard to this report — that he is seeking 
 to win Miss Lester for his wife " 
 
 " I think the less you allude to that in my presence, sir, 
 the better," came the haughty interruption. 
 
 " I beg your pardon, Lady Adelaide : I was only going 
 to say that Miss Lester might go farther and fare worse." 
 
 " She might — what ? " cried Lady Adelaide, surprised 
 into the question. 
 
 " Go farther and fare worse," was the calm rejoinder. 
 And Lady Adelaide clasped her shawl round her with an 
 impatient movement, disdaining an answer. 
 
 " I suspect it is my brother, Lord Irkdale, who is playing 
 me this trick : bringing me out at this unseasonable hour ! " 
 she presently said. " It would be just like him to be in 
 some scrape, and unable to show himself." And this time 
 it was the lawyer's turn to make no reply. 
 
 The only person Lady Adelaide saw on entering the 
 invalid's room at the Sailors' Kest, was William Lydney. 
 He advanced as if to receive her : indignation flashed from 
 her voice and eye, reproach from her lips, 
 
426 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 "Is this your doing, sir? Have you dared to call me 
 from my home ? " 
 
 " It was I who sent for yon, Adelaide." 
 
 The voice came from behind Lydney, and she started at 
 the sound. There, holding out his hands in greeting, stood 
 Harry Dane, if ever she had seen him in her life — Harry 
 Dane, who was supposed to be lying in the vault at 
 Danesheld. She screamed, shivered, and might have fallen, 
 but that William Lydney hastened to support her. He then 
 quietly retired, and left them together. 
 
 Crouching as one in mortal shame and repentance, her 
 face buried on the pillow of the sofa, was the Lady Adelaide, 
 when explanations had partly taken place. In the surprise 
 of the first moments she spoke words which disclosed to 
 Lord Dane — the real lord — what he had suspected from the 
 revelations of Eavensbird and Sophie — that she had re- 
 cognized both himself and Herbert Dane that fatal night, 
 and that the solemn oath she took was a false one. 
 
 " My days, for year afterwards, were as one living misery," 
 she wailed in her despair ; " the awful terror of discovery 
 was ever upon me. Had I been tried for the crime of 
 perjury, and sent to prison I could not have suffered more 
 than I have suffered ; over and over have I lived it again in 
 my dreams." 
 
 He sat by, at a little distance, listening. 
 
 " And that was not all. I have looked upon myself as 
 your murderer also in a degree : for, had I told at once 
 what I saw, you might have been rescued ; and I did not 
 tell it, in my infatuation for Herbert Dane. Ah, how the 
 sin came home to me ere many hours had elapsed ! But it 
 was too late then, and I took that oath which has been so 
 fatal to my peace." 
 
 " A heavy secret to bear, Adelaide." 
 
 " A secret that has made the curse of my existence," was 
 the passionate answer. "In the day's excitement, in the 
 midnight solitude, I have had one awful scene ever before 
 me — the struggle between you and Herbert on the heights, 
 and my false oath following on it. See you not what might 
 have been brought home to me, had the truth come out ? — 
 
SOWING AND REAPING. 
 
 427 
 
 complicity in the crime. In the daily intercourse, in the 
 conversation with friends, these thoughts have come flashing 
 before my mind's eyes, and I have stopped to shudder. Oh 
 heavens ! do you know what secret terror is, Harry ? never- 
 ceasing terror of being discovered in some awful guilt ? 
 When I did get to sleep in the dark night, it has awakened 
 me, terrified, as from some ghastly dream. They grew to 
 say in the household that I was subject to nightmare ; my 
 husband thought it. As a heavy burden on the shoulders 
 weighs down the body, so has the past weighed down my 
 spirit — and I have never dared to tell of it." 
 
 " Did Herbert bind you to secrecy ? 99 
 
 " Never. He does not know to this hour that I recognized 
 either him or you. He may have suspected it : I cannot tell. 
 I have held scarcely any communication with him since." 
 
 " Altogether, then, my supposed death did not bring you 
 happiness, Adelaide ? " 
 
 A wail of pain was the only answer. Happiness ? Her 
 days had been, as she said, one living misery. The 
 haunting fear, the remorse (it was not repentance), had 
 made her the wretch she was — cold, cruel, indifferent — 
 hateful in her selfishness. 
 
 Once more Harry Dane rose and essayed to raise her from 
 her abject position. He succeeded this time, and she sat 
 on the sofa ; but she let her brow fall upon its arm. 
 
 " But for your own conduct, Adelaide," he said, resuming 
 his chair, " that night's work had never taken place." 
 
 Did she not know it — better than he — putting up her 
 hand as if to bar remembrance ? " It is past, Harry — it is 
 past." 
 
 " Yes, it is past," he assented, " and may bear to be 
 spoken of, now that romance has yielded to the realities 
 of life. I am older than my years, slowly dying of a 
 complaint that is incurable : you are a married woman, and 
 the mother of many children." 
 
 She lifted her head. " Who says that you are dying ? " 
 
 " I say so ; the medical men say so ; my frame says so. 
 Nothing is more deceitful than my apparent strength : it 
 is deceitful as you were, Adelaide," 
 
428 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 She made a deprecating motion with her hands : nothing 
 more. 
 
 " Why did you deceive me ? " resumed Lord Dane. " Every 
 thought of your life, as I learnt too late, was full of deceit 
 towards me. It came of your absorbing love for Herbert. 
 You refused, after all, to marry him ; and I don't wonder, 
 looking on him as a murderer. Did your love for him cease 
 with that night ? " 
 
 "Can love cease so rapidly?" she asked. "I am not 
 sure that it had quite left me when he came back from his 
 ten years' absence. If I have been false in other things I 
 was at least true in that : I could not help it." 
 
 " Yet, in the midst of this love, you married George 
 Lester ! " 
 
 " What else was left to me ? It seemed a more tolerable 
 fate than to be banished to Scotland. He has been an 
 indulgent husband." 
 
 "Very much so, I hear," returned Lord Dane. "More 
 indulgent than he has been to poor Katherine Bordillion's 
 children." 
 
 The severe, honourable Dane face was bent upon her, 
 and her own flushed, with a burning flush. If the treatment 
 she had pursued towards those children never came home 
 to her before, it came now in all its sin and shame. 
 
 " Won't you tell me how you escaped ? " she asked, 
 striving to drown the subject. 
 
 " And how I discovered the treachery that led to the 
 catastrophe?" he answered, evidently not feeling inclined 
 wholly to spare her. " Can you cast your recollections back 
 to the time ? " 
 
 " As if they had not always been cast back ! — for these 
 ten years." 
 
 " I heard that you — Adelaide Errol, whom I so loved — 
 were deceiving me : that, whilst you only professed to care 
 for me, your real love was given to Herbert Dane. I heard 
 that you were in the habit of running out to him on the 
 heights at night. I disbelieved the story, and resented it 
 on my informant. But, as I was going through the chapel 
 ruins with Colonel Moncton, I found a bow of pink ribbon. 
 
SOWING AND REAPING. 
 
 429 
 
 Studded in the centre with pearls. I recognised it for the 
 one you had worn the previous day at dinner, and knew you 
 must have been out with Herbert Dane in the evening. In 
 a moment my eyes were opened, and I determined to watch. 
 Do you remember my coming in unexpectedly to dinner, 
 when my father thought I was dining on board the Pearl ? 
 — Do you remember my silence ? I had been brooding over 
 my wrongs all the afternoon, and was in no mood even for 
 Moncton's society. Dinner over, I quitted the Castle to go 
 on board the yacht, and say farewell ; but I first crossed to 
 the heights, and there I was followed by a man with a tray 
 of small wares on his back. He took it down, and im- 
 portuned me to buy. I refused — harshly enough, I dare 
 say, for I was in no mood for suavity — and the fellow grew 
 loud and insulting. I promised him if he did not be off I 
 would call forth the servants from my father's castle to 
 convey him and his pack to the lock-up : he hurried away, 
 and I went on to the ruins and stepped inside. I was look- 
 ing out for proofs of the tale I had been told, waiting for 
 you and for Herbert Dane." 
 
 Lord Dane paused and regarded her ; but there came only 
 a faint moan by way of answer. 
 
 " He came. He came stealing up to the ruins ; and in 
 my angry emotion I gave some indication of my presence 
 there — not intentionally : I had meant to wait until later to 
 have it out with him ; I had engaged to go to his house that 
 evening. He heard the sound and spoke in a whisper : 1 Is 
 that you, my dearest ? ' Can you wonder, Lady Adelaide, that 
 the words goaded my fiery nature beyond control ? I sprang 
 out, and reproached him with his infamous treachery : it came 
 to blows ; to a struggle ; and he pushed me over the cliff." 
 
 "Did he do it purposely?" she gasped, showing for a 
 moment her haggard and anxious face. 
 
 " No ; I think not. In our passion we were both, I fancy, 
 unaware that the edge was so near. I fell, insensible ; and 
 he, no doubt, made a speedy escape." 
 
 "But how were you rescued?" she asked. "Mitchel, 
 the coastguardsman, left you for dead, and the tide was 
 coming up," 
 
430 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE* 
 
 "I was rescued by one of those special interpositions of 
 Providence that come direct from Heaven," reverently 
 replied Lord Dane. "Colonel Moncton, disappointed of 
 seeing me on board, anxious to bid me farewell, caused his 
 yacht to heave-to, when she was abreast of the Castle, put off 
 in the boat with a hand, and came to the very spot where I 
 was lying, intending to seek me at home. Now, mark you : 
 he was not well acquainted with the coast, and he mistook 
 this small beach for the larger one higher up, which I had 
 shown him in the morning : we had gone down the steps to 
 it from the heights together. He found me lying there 
 insensible ; and instead of wasting time by trying to find 
 the place, he put me in the boat with the help of the sailor, 
 and they pulled back to the yacht. The motion revived me. 
 Moncton was for putting back to port; but I, smarting 
 under the treatment of the Lady Adelaide, preferred to go 
 on with him, and make the voyage. 1 Not back, not back ! ' 
 I reiterated ; 4 go on, go on ! ' My head was confused from 
 its injuries, my arm and side were badly hurt; but they 
 listened to my earnest cries, and sailed gently on. I would 
 not have them put in anywhere; I would not even have 
 Moncton write. ' Let them think me dead,' I said to him." 
 
 « But why?" 
 
 " Ah, why ! You may well ask it. Why do we say 
 foolish things in our passionate tempers? I was feeling 
 that the whole world was against me ; that Heaven had 
 turned its eyes from me ; and it seemed to my bitterness — 
 my selfishness, if you will — very gratifying to resent it." 
 
 " But to go off in that way ! " she murmured reproachfully, 
 thinking of the life's pain that might have been spared her. 
 
 " That night was the turning-point in my life as well as 
 in yours," was Lord Dane's significant answer. " It opened 
 my eyes to the fact that she for whom alone I cared on 
 earth was but playing a game with me — that whilst her 
 shafts of ridicule and dislike were thrown at me, she kept 
 her heart's love for Herbert Dane. He boasted of this in 
 the scuffle. To become an alien seemed the most sensible 
 thing I could do : perhaps I was romantic enough to enjoy 
 the momentary pang my supposed death might inflict on the 
 
SOWING AND HEAPING. 
 
 431 
 
 Lady Adelaide : and for myself, England had suddenly 
 become hateful to me." 
 
 How hateful the past deceit was feeling to her now, she 
 alone knew — hateful in its shame. 
 
 "But now: I never supposed but that the fact of the 
 yacht's picking me up would have been seen, and of course 
 known," resumed Lord Dane. " Thus I was at ease in 
 regard to the suspense of my father . and mother ; and they 
 could wait for letters from me. By the time we reached the 
 end of the voyage I was in a low fever, a long nervous 
 fever, prostrating both mind and body. 'I will write to 
 them when I get well/ I said to Moncton ; and again I 
 forbade him to write. It incapacitated me for months, and 
 was the result, I take it, of the blow to my head, combined 
 with the sickness and disappointment of mind. I put off 
 writing from time to time, as one, sick, will put off things ; 
 they were not writing to me, and I did not write to them. 
 It was very wrong of me, and I was severely punished. One 
 night, when weeks if not months had gone on, I was 
 dreaming very much of my father and mother. In the 
 morning it struck me that I had been on the wrong tack — 
 that my silence was nothing but unjustifiable ingratitude. 
 ' I'll write to-day,' I said. And I did write. That is I had 
 paper and ink before me, and was in the middle of the first 
 page, when a friend came in with a London weekly news- 
 paper. 8 I'm afraid there's something here that concerns you, 
 Dane,' he said, and I took the paper in my hand. These 
 curious coincidences have been known before, Adelaide — 
 home news following upon a home dream. The paragraph 
 told me of the death of my father and mother." 
 
 « Of both ? They did not die at the same time." 
 
 "Of both. The real news intended by the paragraph 
 was the death of Lord Dane, my father ; but it commented 
 on the short time which had elapsed since the decease of his 
 wife. A concluding sentence — it was only a word or two — 
 mentioned the succession of £ Geoffry, now Baron Dane ; ' 
 and I of course took it to be my brother. I w r rote at once, 
 and I never had an answer." 
 
 She looked up quickly. 
 
432 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " No ; I received no answer. It vexed me ; I supposed 
 Geoffry was nourishing our old brotherly resentment, and 
 I, so to say, let him nourish it, and washed my hands of him. 
 Altogether I did not much care whether I ever heard from 
 England again, or whether I did not. I remained away, 
 holding no communication with it, passing the years in 
 visiting remote regions of the New World, travelling every- 
 where, and never dreaming it was Mr. Herbert who reigned. 
 The remembrance of me cannot have been pleasant to him,' , 
 concluded Lord Dane after a pause of thought. 
 
 Lady Adelaide shook her head. " Others wondered why 
 he went abroad on coming into possession and remained 
 away for years. I could have told them — that the sight of 
 the old spot was unbearable to him." 
 
 " Yes," responded Lord Dane. " And he may have felt 
 himself safer when beyond the pale of British law. The 
 fear of detection, of the discovery that he was the actor in 
 the night scene, Harry Dane's assailant, must have caused 
 him many a sleepless night: the coroner's verdict was 
 < Wilful Murder.' " 
 
 A pause ensued. It seemed that she could never look 
 up from her agony again. 
 
 "Did Herbert receive that letter — the one I wrote to 
 Geoffry ? It was addressed to The Lord Dane." 
 
 " I know nothing about it. I have held scarcely any 
 communication with him since that night; literally since 
 that night. I should say that he did not receive it." 
 
 " Why should you say it ? " 
 
 "Because — to judge of his feelings by my own — the 
 finding that you were alive must have been the greatest 
 relief that earth or heaven could give him, and he would 
 have hastened to make reparation for the past. At least, it 
 seems so to me. When did you arrive at Danesheld ? " she 
 continued. "To-day?" 
 
 " Last September, when the troubled sea cast me ashore 
 on my own coast. A curious thing that, was it not ? But 
 for your stepson's exertions with the life-boat I had never 
 again seen Danesheld." 
 
 " Last September ! " she repeated, full of astonishment. 
 
SOWING AND REAPING. 
 
 433 
 
 " Was it you who were saved ? Is it you who have been 
 lying here since, as the old passenger named Home ? " 
 " Even bo." 
 
 " But why have you done so ? " 
 
 " I have had my reasons for it. Possibly — for one thing — 
 from the delicacy of not wishing to deprive my Lord Dane 
 too abruptly of his title and rent-roll." 
 
 There was a grim smile of moqkery on his face as ho 
 spoke. Lady Adelaide Lester slightly started as the full 
 import of the words struck her. She had not thought of it 
 before. 
 
 " Why, yes ; as you are here, Herbert cannot be tho 
 rightful possessor," she slowly said. "You — must — be — 
 Lord Dane ! " 
 
 " I am. Herbert is not and never has been Lord Dane." 
 
 " Then why have you not returned to assume your title ? " 
 
 " I knew not that I had a title to assume. Did you not 
 understand what I said — that I thought Lord Dane was my 
 brother Geoffry?" 
 
 " I see, I see : my mind is all confusion. What a blow 
 in that respect it will be for him ! " 
 
 "Not the least doubt about that. I hear of a rumour 
 abroad that he is seeking a wife in Maria Lester. Pretty 
 child! I can only think of her as she was in the old 
 days." 
 
 "How can you have heard that?" exclaimed Lady 
 Adelaide. 
 
 " I hear most things," was the careless answer. " Do 
 you favour his hopes ? " 
 
 " I neither favour nor discourage them. I would not 
 interfere in any project of marriage for Herbert Dane. 
 Maria does not care for him : she is degenerate as her 
 brother, and has fallen into an acquaintance with that 
 Lydney, who must have been your fellow-passenger from 
 America. But you must be cautious, Harry : I saw him in 
 your room when I came in. He has turned out to be a sad 
 character ; an adventurer, a poacher, a midnight robber ; 
 and he is after Maria for the sake of her money. He broke 
 into our house last night." 
 
 Tjady Adelaide. 28 
 
434 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " Indeed!" was the composed rejoinder. "Grave 
 accusations to bring against a Dane." 
 
 " Against a Dane ! Of course they would be ; but I am 
 not speaking of a Dane." 
 
 " I am. William Lydney is a Dane, and was born one." 
 
 Lady Adelaide sat up half stupefied. Lord Dane bent 
 forward and touched her arm. 
 
 " You may remember that I informed you of my early 
 marriage. I did not tell you that I had a son born of it, 
 but I intended to acquaint you with it, Adelaide, before I 
 made you my wife. It is he whom you Danesheld people 
 have been mistaking for an adventurer and all the rest of it. 
 He is my own son — Geoffry William Lydney Dane." 
 
 " Why then he — he — will be — surely — Lord Dane ! " 
 uttered she, when she had gathered her senses together. 
 
 " The very moment this fleeting breath shall go out of my 
 body he is lord of Danesheld." 
 
 " And he is really your son ? But when you entrusted 
 me with the secret of your marriage, why did you not tell 
 me about him ? " 
 
 " I suppose I thought it better to disclose the facts by 
 degrees. As a matter of course — I may say of necessity — I 
 should have told you before our marriage. In a pecuniary 
 sense he could have made no difference. The boy had his 
 own large fortune, and required no more from me. I never 
 expected then to succeed to the title, and did not give that 
 possibility a thought. My brother, poor fellow, was as 
 healthy a man as I was, and intended to marry some time." 
 
 " Your son is rich, then ? " 
 
 " Very : apart from the Dane revenues. He would be a 
 better match than the cousin Herbert for Maria Lester." 
 
 " Shall you proceed against him ? " she asked in a low tone. 
 
 " What for ? Poaching ? or housebreaking ? " 
 
 " O, Harry, don't joke ! it seems to mock my misery. I 
 meant — but never mind, never mind ! " She had been 
 thinking of Herbert. 
 
 " Take it for all in all, then, Adelaide, life has not been 
 to you all flowers and sunshine." 
 
 Flowers and sunshine ! Take it for all in all — as Lord 
 
SOWING AND REAPING. 
 
 435 
 
 Dane put it — it had been a wretched life. The world had 
 spoken of the gay Lady Adelaide ; it had more cause to tell 
 of the miserable one. An awful fear of detection had been 
 ever upon her, as it had been on Herbert Lord Dane. And 
 she burst into tears, for the first time during the interview. 
 
 11 As we sow, so must we reap," said Lord Dane. " Deceit, 
 sooner or later, brings its own punishment." 
 
 Suddenly she rose up, and flung herself on her knees 
 before him. She looked up, her eyes streaming. 
 
 " Harry, you will keep my wretched secret ! You will 
 not betray me ! I ask it by the love you once bore me." 
 
 " The secret ? " he rejoined, scarcely understanding her. 
 
 " That I recognised you and Herbert that night. " Oh, I 
 heard some of the words you said, and knew the quarrel was 
 about me ! Heaven is merciful ; don't you be less so ! I 
 would rather die, here as I am, than have the shame and 
 reproach of that oath brought home to me." 
 
 Not until he gave her the promise — which he did readily 
 — would she get up, or let him raise her. " From hence- 
 forth it should be buried in silence," he answered, " as must 
 other matters connected with the past." 
 
 She wound her shawl about her and put her bonnet on 
 to go forth. Lord Dane wondered where his son was, that 
 he might see her home: but she shook her head and put 
 up her hands to wave off the suggestion ; she would go 
 forth alone. 
 
 " Will you oblige me in one thing, Adelaide ? — For the next 
 few hours keep these matters wholly to yourself. I prefer 
 to make myself known in my own way : until then I am 
 Mr. Home." 
 
 She bowed her head, and went down the stairs with her 
 veil drawn tightly before her disturbed face, haggard enough 
 then. Mrs. Ravensbird met her at the foot of the stairs. 
 
 " Oh, my lady ! I would have warned you had I dared," 
 she whispered. " I hope it did not overwhelm you ! " 
 
 " Have you known it all along, Sophie ? " 
 
 " Since the second night he was here, my lady. He took 
 off the shade, which was nothing but a disguise, and disclosed 
 himself to Ravensbird. Of course it could not be kept from 
 
436 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 me, as I should have known him for myself. And to think 
 I was ransacking my memory for some face in France that 
 young Mr. Dane's was like, when I might have found it 
 nearer home in my late lady's." 
 
 Lady Adelaide turned from the gossip and went forth 
 alone — alone with her humilation and her pain. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXIV. 
 
 A MAN MAT NOT MARRY HIS GRANDMOTHER. 
 
 Lord Dane— meaning Herbert, but we must give him the 
 title a little longer — sat in the breakfast-room at the Castle 
 with his sister. The meal had long been over: but he 
 seemed in a doubtful, reflective, undecided sort of mood. He 
 had work on his hands that day — the getting rid of Lydney ; 
 and he did not altogether see in what way to set about it. 
 Miss Dane, airily attired as usual in gay colours, pink pre- 
 vailing, was playing Bo-peep with a canary-bird, whose cage 
 hung in the window. She was in a little dilemma on her 
 own score ; for she had done something that might not be 
 pleasant to her brother, and had now to confess it. 
 
 " Geoffry, dear, I want to tell you something," she began. 
 " You won't be angry ? " 
 
 " When am I angry with you, Cely ? " was the answer. 
 
 "Well, then, I've written to ask Mr. Lydney to call 
 here." 
 
 Lord Dane turned sharply round. "You have written 
 to ask Lydney to call Jiere?" he echoed in incredulous 
 surprise. 
 
 " Well, yes, it was last night, Geoffry. When I heard 
 that the police had released him from that horrid charge, I 
 wrote and asked him to call upon me the first thing this 
 morning. And, Geoffry, dear, if they had kept him in 
 custody, I should have gone in the carriage to the station, 
 
A MAN MAY NOT MARRY iHIfc GRANDMOTHER. 437 
 
 and paid him a morning visit, just to show my respect to 
 him, and to let Danesheld know how very much I resent the 
 opinion taken up about him. I asked him, one day, whether 
 he was rich — rich enough to keep a wife ; and he laughed, 
 and said, 'Yes, and a gilt coach-and-six for her.' He is 
 entitled to consideration, Geoffry, and I shall show it him." 
 
 She had delivered all this very quickly, and Lord Dane's 
 attempt to interrupt her had failed. But he spoke with 
 determination now. 
 
 " You will certainly not receive him in my house, 
 Cecilia. ,, 
 
 " Ah, but I must, Geoffry, dear, for he's coming up the 
 road now," she answered, with a laugh of simplicity. " You'll 
 hear his ring in a minute." 
 
 And in truth a ring was speedily heard. Lord Dane went 
 out of the room, muttering a speech not at all complimen- 
 tary, in which he told her she was a " little fool," and strode 
 downstairs. William Lydney was already in the large hall, 
 and Lord Dane was just in time to see Bruff bowing to him. 
 Bowing to a housebreaker ! 
 
 " What do you do here, sir ? " he asked, confronting the 
 intruder. 
 
 " I came in obedience to a request of Miss Dane's," replied 
 Lydney, courteously. " My visit is not to your lordship." 
 
 "Iam the master of this house, sir ; and there's the door," 
 was the haughty retort. " Go out of it." 
 
 He raised his hand as if to enforce the mandate. Bruff 
 hastened between them, full of excitement. 
 
 " Oh, my lord, don't, don't ! " he pleaded, in an agitation he 
 could not suppress. " You may be sorry for it later. This 
 gentleman may have as much right as your lordship— to — 
 to enter castles." 
 
 Before Lord Dane could fling Bruff aside — if he had a 
 mind to do it — Mr. Blair entered, having followed Lydney 
 to the Castle. He took in the scene at a glance, and 
 advanced to Lord Dane. 
 
 " Sir," he said in a low tone, " will you grant me an inter- 
 view before dealing further with this gentleman ? " 
 
 " Sir ! Sir I " repeated Lord Dane, astonished at the style 
 
438 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 of address. For some ten years now lie had left the " sir " 
 behind him. 
 
 " I speak advisedly," was Mr. Blair's answer. " I have 
 strange tidings to communicate to you." 
 
 Lord Dane glanced around him — glanced waveringly 
 from one to the other, as if seized with some inward terror. 
 The detective officer stood calm and impassive ; Lydney 
 dignified, yet with somewhat of pity in his countenance ; 
 Bruff terribly troubled, but testifying much respect to the 
 young man. Lord Dane noted it all, and for once his self- 
 possession deserted him. The prevision of some impending 
 calamity was upon him, but he did not guess its true 
 nature. 
 
 " Pass in here," he said to Mr. Blair, motioning to Bruff 
 to open the door of the dining-room ; and, as the old butler 
 hastened to obey, he saw the same livid look on his master's 
 face which it had worn the night he passed him in the gate- 
 way. They were shut in, and Lord Dane motioned to the 
 officer to take a chair. 
 
 " I have come here to prepare you for a most unwelcome 
 surprise," began Mr. Blair, somewhat at a loss for words in 
 which to break the strange tidings; "and I have but a 
 minute or two to do it in, for one is following me close at 
 hand whose appearance may startle you unpleasantly. But 
 you are ill ! " 
 
 " No," replied Lord Dane, biting his quivering and rebel- 
 lious lips. " Proceed." 
 
 " You were surprised at my addressing you as ' sir,' and 
 naturally so. I am sorry that it should have fallen to my 
 task to inform you of the change hanging over your head ; 
 but I must do my duty, unpleasant as it. When I released 
 William Lydney from custody, you questioned my motives, 
 my right — I believe my good feeling. I could not explain 
 matters to you then, but I have come to do so now ; and I 
 can only ask you to bear it as a man." 
 
 Lord Dane made no reply. He stood with his arms 
 folded, and his pale face turned on the speaker. That he 
 only controlled himself to calmness by a very great effort, 
 was evident. 
 
A MAN MAY NOT MARRY HIS GRANDMOTHER. 439 
 
 "Some ten years ago," proceeded Mr. Blair, "a catas- 
 trophe occurred in the Dane family. Captain the Honour- 
 able Harry Dane met his death, as was supposed, in falling 
 from the heights, struggling with an assailant. Until a 
 day or two ago, it was neither known nor suspected who 
 the other was ; but it is at length discovered to have been 
 yourself." 
 
 Mr. Blair paused, alarmed at the appearance of Lord 
 Dane, whose agitation was growing painful. 
 
 And well it might be ! All that he had secretly dreaded 
 for years had come at last. Lady Adelaide wailed over her 
 burden, but hers was light compared with his. One per- 
 petual nightmare had lain upon his soul. In his visions by 
 day, his dreams by night, the racking terror of discovery 
 had ever been present in all its torment ; when he should 
 be dragged from his high pinnacle to answer for the murder 
 of his cousin Harry; perhaps to suffer for it a felon's 
 punishment, death upon the scaffold. That the officer now 
 speaking was about to arrest him, and was thus preparing 
 him, in his humanity, for the blow, he entertained no 
 manner of doubt. The perspiration broke on his brow in 
 great drops of anguish, and he threw up his entreating 
 hands to Mr. Blair. 
 
 " It was not wilful murder," he gasped, in tones of the 
 sharpest pain. " If you arrest me for it, you will do me a 
 foul wrong, for I am innocent. We were quarrelling, and 
 it came to blows ; he struck the first, as I have a soul to be 
 saved ! It was he who attacked me. We approached too 
 near the edge of the cliff in our strife, and he went over, 
 but I did not mean to push him : I swear I did not. I was 
 as guiltless of intentionally causing his death as I am of 
 causing yours. Could Harry Dane speak to you from the 
 next world he would say so." 
 
 " Nay, but there is no cause for this violent agitation," 
 interposed Mr. Blair. " Had you heard me to an end " 
 
 "I have thought that something of this unpleasant 
 nature was coming upon me," continued Lord Dane, in a 
 dreamy tone, never so much as hearing the interruption. 
 " A few nights ago Harry Dane appeared to me." 
 
440 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE, 
 
 " Oh, he did, did he ? " cried Mr. Blair. « His ghost, I 
 suppose ? Where ? " 
 
 " Ay, ridicule it ! As I have always ridiculed such tales, 
 deeming them worthy of the veriest mockery. Ghosts! 
 visions ! supernatural appearances ! they might do well 
 enough for children and women, but not for men. Never- 
 theless I tell you, in the broad light of day, and in full 
 possession of my senses, that I saw the apparition of my 
 cousin Harry. I was passing through the ruins opposite, 
 and I saw, at one of the apertures, gazing in upon me, the 
 form of Harry Dane. It was bright moonlight. I recog- 
 nized the features as plainly as ever I had recognized them 
 in his lifetime." 
 
 Lord Dane's words concluded abruptly. A stir in the 
 hall, as of much bustle and many voices, was heard. He 
 supposed that the officers of justice were come to apprehend 
 him ; and, before Mr. Blair could explain, he opened the 
 door about an inch, and peeped out. 
 
 Not much like officers of justice, however, did the group 
 look that met his view. Standing in the hall, his left hand 
 affectionately laid on the shoulder of William Lydney, was 
 a tall, upright figure, whose high and handsome features it 
 was impossible to mistake for any but Harry Dane's. " In 
 the body or in the spirit ? " crossed the thoughts of the one 
 who was stealthily looking on. Eavensbird was there; 
 Lawyer Apperly was there ; and Bruff's tears were openly 
 running down his cheeks. 
 
 " Do you understand it ? " whispered Mr. Blair. " It 
 was not your cousin's spirit you saw the other night; it 
 was he himself. He did not die in that fall over the cliff; 
 he was saved by a friend's yacht, Colonel Moncton's, and 
 he has been in the States ever since, the true Lord Dane, 
 though he knew it not. You are not about to be arraigned 
 as a murderer, Mr. Dane, but you will have to put up with 
 the loss of state and station, for he, Lord Dane, has come 
 back to enter upon his own." 
 
 Herbert Dane drew a deep breath. 
 
 " And he ? " he pursued, pointing to Lydney, when his 
 scared senses allowed him to speak, as a conviction flashed 
 
A MAN MAY NOT MAURY HIS GRANDMOTHER. 441 
 
 over his mind that he had been all along labouring under 
 
 some extraordinary delusion as to the young man's doings 
 
 and character. 
 
 " His son : the Honourable Geoffry William/' 
 
 Herbert Dane wiped the drops from his brow. He 
 
 went forth, and they stood face to face, gazing at each 
 
 other. 
 
 " Herbert ! "— « Harry ! " 
 
 In a moment their hands were locked together, and alone 
 they retired to the dining-room, Lord Dane leaning upon 
 Herbert. 
 
 " First of all, Herbert, let me say that I forgive you " 
 
 " It was not purposely done," interrupted Herbert Dane, 
 with emotion. " I did not send you over intentionally ; I 
 knew not that we were so near the edge until you fell. 
 Harry, I swear it." 
 
 " Not for the encounter," explained Lord Dane. " I have as 
 much need of your forgiveness for that, as you have of mine, 
 for I believe that I was the aggressor. But you might have 
 come to see after me or sent assistance to me when I was 
 down." 
 
 " I never supposed but that it must have killed you, and 
 in my cowardice I dreaded detection and punishment. As 
 for assistance, I saw that one of the preventive-men was 
 underneath." 
 
 " What I would forgive you for is the provocation — the 
 deceit practised towards me by you and Adelaide. Do you 
 realize what it must have been to me ? I forgive you, as I 
 have forgiven her." 
 
 " She was worthy neither of you nor me, Harry ; I have 
 lived to learn it. She jilted me afterwards just as she had 
 been ready to jilt you. Many a thousand times have I 
 wished, in my pain and remorse, that I had let you win her. 
 It would have been well for us all." 
 
 " Did you know or suspect that I was still in existence ? % 
 asked Lord Dane. 
 
 " Never. How was it possible ? " 
 
 " Did you receive no letter from me ? I despatched one 
 to c Lord Dane,' after he came into the title, supposing, of 
 
442 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 course, that the Lord Dane was not you, but my brother 
 Geoffry. That would have testified to my existence." 
 
 " I never received it, or heard of it. No such letter 
 came to the Castle to my knowledge. After I went abroad 
 there was at first some irregularity in forwarding my 
 letters, and I knew that two or three were lost ; I was 
 vexed with Cecilia in consequence, and she laid the blame 
 on Mrs. Knox. Harry, had any intimation come to me 
 that you were in existence, and I not a slayer of man, I 
 should have hailed it as a boon from heaven." 
 
 The words bore their own earnest of truth, and Lord 
 Dane could doubt no longer. " But you played me a 
 shabby trick, Herbert, about that box," he resumed. 
 " What induced you to take it, and conceal it ? " 
 
 " I can't tell you," was the prompt answer ; " I don't know 
 myself. When I saw the box on the beach — your box — it 
 oppressed me with a nameless fear. What I dreaded, I knew 
 not. I have feared detection in every leaf and sound these 
 ten years, and in the panic that came over me I had the box 
 taken to the Castle, and concealed it. When the fuss arose 
 about it I thought I had been a fool for my pains ; but it 
 was too late to give it up then. Neither did I believe that 
 young Lydney had a right to claim it. You shall have the 
 box, Harry ; it is safe in the Castle." 
 
 " I don't fancy it is," thought Lord Dane. " But now, 
 Herbert, comes another question : Why have you so perse- 
 cuted my son ? " 
 
 " I did not know him for your son. I no more supposed 
 him to be your son than I supposed him to be mine. I 
 believed him to be altogether what he appeared — a sus- 
 picious character, consorting with poachers " 
 
 " Consorting with poachers ! " interrupted Lord Dane, 
 scorn in his tone. " He was searching for the box — that's 
 what brought him first of all into the poachers' company ; 
 and he stayed with them to look after Wilfred Lester, who 
 was going headlong to ruin. Who but Wilfred Lester, do 
 you suppose, broke into his father's house? My son 
 William went there to get him out of it." 
 
 " Wilfred Lester !— broke into his father's house ! He did?" 
 
A MAN MAY NOT MARRY HIS GRANDMOTHER. 443 
 
 " He, and no other. Not for ordinary robbery : to get 
 some deed that his father denied him." 
 
 Herbert Dane made no answer. Little by little the past 
 was becoming clear to him. 
 
 " Herbert, I don't suppose you like moralizing any more 
 than I do," said Lord Dane ; " but I must ask you whether 
 such a thing ever crossed your mind as Retribution. Have 
 you remarked how surely our doings bring forth their own 
 fruit ? We plant an acorn, and it springs up an oak-tree ; 
 we sow a grain of wheat, and it ripens into corn ; we set a 
 noxious weed, and it comes up tares. Just so it is with the 
 moral world : as we plant, so must we gather. You and 
 Adelaide Errol did me a bitter wrong. It was not the 
 injury of a moment — that which may be committed in a 
 moment of passion, without premeditation ; but it was a 
 concerted, long-continued wrong — a deception that you 
 carried on through months of time, one day planning how 
 you should best blind and deceive me the next. What has 
 that conduct borne for you in the end ? Adelaide would 
 not have you. She entered on her penance, and married 
 George Lester, driving, by her ill-treatment, that fine son' 
 of his and Katherine Bordillion's to desperation. Thanks 
 to that, I and my son were saved, for none but a man whose 
 life was valueless to him would have launched the life-boat 
 on that awful night ; and here we are, I to dispossess you 
 of your estate, William of your bride; for that Maria 
 Lester will choose William, there can be no doubt. See 
 you not how it has been working all along, under 
 Providence ? " 
 
 Herbert Dane did see it ; and a recollection flashed over 
 him of young Lydney's expressed hope that Maria might 
 yet become Lady Dane. He felt bewildered. 
 
 " I have come to remain, Herbert," resumed Lord Dane. 
 " The Castle from to-day must own me for its lord, and you 
 will be my honoured guest. We shall be closer friends 
 than of old, Herbert. But now let me present my son to 
 you in his proper character." 
 
 Lord Dane opened the door as he spoke, intending to 
 call in his son. But what he saw induced him to change 
 
444 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE 
 
 his intention, and go forward himself. Nearly all the 
 retainers of the Castle were gathered there. The elder 
 ones recognized him, and a murmur of joyous agitation 
 arose. 
 
 " I said you would know me again," he smiled, his eyes 
 full, and his hand grasping those of his father's faithful 
 servants. "I should have been with you all along, but 
 that I thought my brother Geoffry reigned here." 
 
 The hall was rent with a shout. " Long live Lord Dane ! 
 Long live the true Lord Dane ! " 
 
 " Not for very long, I fear, my dear old friends ; for that 
 grim enemy of us all is already gripping hold of me. But 
 I shall leave one to replace me," added Lord Dane, placing 
 his hand upon his son's shoulder, and standing with him 
 side by side. " My friends, who is he like ? " 
 
 " He is like a Dane," came the answer. 
 
 " Yes, he is like a Dane. You have known him only as 
 plain William Lydney ; you may have heard him traduced 
 as an adventurer. My old friends, Danesheld little knew 
 whom it was accusing. He is my only son, your future 
 lord, the Honourable Geoffry Dane." 
 
 Geoffry Dane held out his hand, and they clasped that as 
 they had clasped his father's. " But my name is William 
 Lydney, too," he said, with a laugh. "I have not been 
 sporting altogether false colours." 
 
 " There is nothing false about him," interposed Lord 
 Dane, with emotion. " He is a genuine Dane of the old 
 stock: honest and upright. Serve him truthfully in all 
 good faith, as he will be faithful to and protect you. 
 Herbert" — and Lord Dane wheeled round — "here he is! 
 How is it you did not know him ? " 
 
 " Cecilia said he was like Lady Dane," observed Herbert, 
 as he took Geoffry Dane's hand, and tried to put on a good 
 grace. "I laughed at her, but I hope we shall eschew 
 mistakes for the future." 
 
 " You will let me go up to her now, won't you ? " asked 
 the young man, with a merry laugh. 
 
 They were interrupted by Miss Dane herself. She put 
 her head timidly in to reconnoitre. Whilst she sat up- 
 
A MAN MAY NOT MARRY HIS GRANDMOTHER. 445 
 
 stairs, trembling over the quarrel that might be taking 
 place between her brother and Mr. Lydney, Bruff had 
 bethought himself of her, and carried her the wonderful 
 news. 
 
 " May I not come in ? " she pleaded. " I don't think I 
 shall ever have my proper understanding again ; it seems 
 to be turned upside down. They tell me that Harry has 
 come back as Lord Dane. Harry, is it indeed you ? " 
 
 He met her with outstretched hands ; he gave her a few 
 hearty kisses, and she burst into tears. She and Harry 
 had been as fond brother and sister — and would be so 
 again. 
 
 "And William Lydney?'' she said, recovering herself, 
 and looking round. " Bruff said that he — but I don't 
 understand it : I think old Bruff must have been dreaming." 
 
 " That William Lydney is not himself, but somebody 
 else," he said, advancing to her, with his pleasant smile. 
 " I must introduce myself as your cousin, Miss Dane." 
 
 " Oh, dear ! Cousin ? " she exclaimed, a blank look rising 
 to her face. " Why, to be sure, you must be, if it's true 
 what Bruff said — that you are Harry's son. Is it a second 
 cousin, or what ? " 
 
 And making some indistinct excuse about having left her 
 canary out of the cage, Miss Dane ran upstairs, caught up 
 her prayer-book in a flutter of doubt, and opened it at 
 that page which begins, " A man may not marry his grand- 
 mother." 
 
 But meanwhile you may have missed Mr. Blair. In truth, 
 that gentleman, who had previously carved out his little 
 plans of action with Lord Dane, disappeared from the Castle 
 as soon as he had prepared its pseudo master for what was 
 coming upon him, took his way to Daneshelcl Hall, and 
 asked to see Squire Lester. 
 
 Squire Lester assented readily enough. He was in his 
 study, moodily dwelling upon the cross and contrary nature 
 of things in general, and was rather glad of the interruption 
 that took him out of them. The release of the prisoner 
 Lydney from custody, and the refusal of the police to 
 account for their authority, had. given him great offence ; 
 
446 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 all the more because lie did not understand it. The chronic 
 state of vexation in which he lived in regard to his son, 
 was also beginning to tell upon his spirit. He could not 
 deaden all natural feeling for "Wilfred ; and there were 
 moments when he wondered what his wife could be made 
 of, to expect it. 
 
 " Lord Dane's banker ! 99 cried he, briskly repeating the 
 words the servant used in announcing him. " Yes, I'll see 
 him. Show him in." 
 
 The permission seemed not to be required, for the banker 
 was already within the room, and the servant left them 
 together. 
 
 "I am disturbing you early, Mr. Lester, but business 
 must be my excuse. Before I enter upon it, allow me to set 
 you right upon one point. I am not Lord Dane's banker, or 
 any banker at all ; nothing half so important in a commer- 
 cial point of view. I am one of the chief detective officers 
 of the police force." 
 
 " Bless my heart ! " ejaculated Mr. Lester. 
 
 "I came down to watch certain business in Danesheld, 
 and it is convenient to us at such times not to be known for 
 what we really are. Let that pass : I only mention it to 
 convince you that when I ordered young Lydney's release 
 from custody, Bent, whom you are so angry with, had no 
 resource but to obey me." 
 
 " Did you discharge him? What could possess you to do 
 it ? " continued Mr. Lester sharply. " The man is as great 
 a villain as ever walked. Did you do it to screen him from 
 the consequences of his guilt ? " 
 
 " Hardly. My office is to bring offenders to punishment, 
 not to screen them from it. I released him because he was 
 not guilty. Listen, Mr. Lester. In the attack made on 
 your house, there was a ringleader who planned it, and 
 induced the others, poor poaching fellows, by bribes, to join 
 him ; on him, in my opinion, nearly the whole guilt rests." 
 
 "It is precisely my opinion," interrupted Mr. Lester. 
 " The ringleader is the one sole guilty man, and that was 
 Lydney." 
 
 " Mr. Lester, give me credit for being assured of my facts ; 
 
A MAN MAY NOT MARRY HIS GRANDMOTHER. 447 
 
 otherwise I should not have come to you. The ringleader 
 was not Lydney." 
 
 Mr. Blair's voice had dropped to a low, solemn key, and 
 in his countenance, as he sat, his hands on his knees, his 
 head bending forward, there was a look of severe compas- 
 sion. The Squire did not altogether relish these signs. 
 
 " The ringleader was Wilfred Lester." 
 
 Up started Mr. Lester, overturned the inkstand on the 
 table beside him, loud and angry in his son's defence, and 
 hardly knowing what he spoke. Mr. Blair sat with profes- 
 sional coolness until the outburst was over. 
 
 " I am not sorry to hear one admission from your lips, Mr. 
 Lester — that it is being under the cloud of your displeasure 
 which drives him to be wild. It was your son who broke 
 into your house; it was his own expedition, planned and 
 executed. You can have ample proof of it if you wish ; but 
 you may be sure, knowing now who I am, that I should not 
 come to you with an unsubstantiated story." 
 
 There could no longer be any holding out against convic- 
 tion, and Mr. Lester sat down in his chair, an abject man, 
 the father of a midnight housebreaker. 
 
 " But what was his motive ? " he gasped. " There was no 
 robbery ? " 
 
 "There was no robbery in the ordinary sense of the 
 term ; and the pistol you heard discharged, was raised by 
 him at one of the men who seemed inclined to effect a little 
 on his own private score. There was, however, something 
 taken/' 
 
 " What was it ? " asked Mr. Lester, glancing about him, 
 as if to make sure that the chairs and tables were in their 
 places. 
 
 " Have you examined your iron safe ? " 
 
 " No." But Mr. Lester turned short round and examined 
 it then. That is, he stared at the outside. 
 
 " I fancy his object was to get into his possession a 
 certain deed relating to some money he believes he is 
 entitled to, but which you withhold. And I think he suc- 
 ceeded." 
 
 After a pause of astonishment, Mr. Lester hastily drew 
 
448 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 some keys from his pocket, and unlocked the safe. The 
 deed was gone. 
 
 " You now perceive your son's motive," resumed Mr. Blair. 
 " I don't defend him ; mind that ; but some people may 
 deem he had a right to peruse his own deed, which you 
 denied him." 
 
 " Are you going to apprehend him ? " was the rejoinder 
 of Mr. Lester, who was cutting rather a sorry figure, as most 
 men do when convicted of dishonour ; and he knew he had 
 been all along dishonourable to Wilfred. 
 
 " To apprehend him is not in my department. If you 
 choose to do so, you can hand your warrant and instructions 
 to Inspector Bent. Your son might receive the punishment, 
 but I do not think the odium would fall upon him. There's 
 not a judge upon the bench but would recoil from sentencing 
 him." 
 
 "I am not going to give him into custody," said Mr. 
 Lester, tartly. " You need not preach." 
 
 " But that I felt convinced Squire Lester was a good man 
 at heart, and had been led away (he knows best by what 
 influence) to act harshly, I should not have disclosed to him 
 the true culprit," observed Mr. Blair, looking him steadily 
 in the face. " I knew he would shrink from bringing public 
 punishment on one who is his son, and ought to be his heir, 
 thereby furnishing further food for scandal in Danesheld." 
 
 " Further food," retorted Mr. Lester. " I have furnished 
 none yet." 
 
 " My good sir," returned the officer, " if you only knew 
 the hard words bestowed upon you from one end of the 
 place to the other, you would not say that. Wilfred, with 
 all his ill-doings, is popular and respected, compared with 
 you." 
 
 " You are bold," chafed Mr. Lester. 
 
 " It is the fault of my trade," was the answer. " But if 
 you will consider the past with less prejudice than you have 
 probably been in the habit of doing, you may arrive at the 
 same conclusion as myself — that had Wilfred Lester been 
 treated differently by his father, he might never have 
 forfeited his good name." 
 
A MAN MAY NOT MARRY IIIS GRANDMOTHER. 
 
 U9 
 
 Mr. Lester gave liis brow a rub. It was growing hot. 
 
 " And now I come to William Lydncy's share in the 
 night's exj)loits " 
 
 " Yes, William Lydney ? " was the fierce interruption, as 
 if Squire Lester found a vent for his anger in the name. 
 "You cannot palliate his conduct. He had no deed to 
 get at." 
 
 " Pray listen, Mr. Lester. It came accidentally to William 
 Lydney's knowledge on Sunday night that your son was 
 then in the wood with two or three companions, the convoy 
 engaged in the respectable employment of tacking black 
 crape to their hats. Circumstances led him to believe 
 that they were about to attack the Castle. Yes, you look 
 surprised, Squire, but I've no time to explain. He, Lydney, 
 waited on in the cold damp air, hoping to intercept them 
 and to save your son. At the eleventh hour, he found they 
 had attacked the Hall — were in it — and he rushed on here ; 
 but not in time to be of much service, excej^t that he got 
 Wilfred home in safety. He allowed himself to be taken 
 into custody because he would not betray him ; he has had 
 his character taken from him for Wilfred's sake ; whilst 
 Danesheld reproached him with consorting with bad charac- 
 ters, he was only looking after and shielding Wilfred 
 Lester. A friendship had arisen between them." 
 
 " Wilfred always had a hankering after low company," 
 was the slighting remark of Squire Lester. 
 
 "If he never gets into lower company than young 
 Lydney's, he won't hurt," returned Mr. Blair, bursting into 
 a laugh. 
 
 Something in its tone upset Squire Lester's equanimity. 
 "Why, who is Lydney?" 
 
 " Oh, as to that, you can ask him when you next see 
 him. But it is not every man who would quietly bear the 
 opprobrium that another merits, even to going to prison for 
 him." 
 
 "Lydney must have had his motive for it," scoffed 
 Mr. Lester. 
 
 " Or motives— true. Wilfred Lester saved his life, and 
 he may have been actuated by gratitude. A feeling is 
 
 Lady Adelaide. 29 
 
450 
 
 tiADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 abroad that lie would undergo a great deal for one so 
 nearly related to Miss Lester." 
 
 The allusion upset the remainder of Mr. Lester's temper. 
 
 " Lydney is a villain, that's what he ig. He has been 
 stealthily undermining my daughter's principles. Can you 
 defend him in that, sir ? " 
 
 " I think I had better leave him to defend himself," said 
 Mr. Blair, as he rose to depart. His mission to Danesheld 
 was over. 
 
 " Were I Lord Dane I would shoot him." 
 
 " Were you Lord Dane, I do not fancy you would," 
 laughed Mr. Blair. And again there was that in his tone 
 and manner which was incomprehensible to Squire Lester. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXV. 
 
 sally's step-uncle. 
 
 Almost as Mr. Blair left Danesheld Hall, three gentlemen, 
 who had just descended from a carriage entered it. As 
 the servant admitted them, he looked askance on one, 
 William Lydney ; the second was Apperly, the lawyer ; the 
 third was a commanding looking man of attenuated features, 
 a stranger. 
 
 " I wish to see Mr. Lester," said the latter. 
 The servant bowed and led the way to the study. He 
 laid his hand on the handle of the door, and turned. 
 " What name, sir ? " 
 " Lord Dane." 
 
 " I — I beg your pardon, sir," stammered the man in hi§ 
 surprise. " I asked what name." 
 
 " Lord Dane," was the distinct repetition ; and the servant 
 wondered what old madman had got in, as he announced ii 
 Mr. Apperly followed, but William Lydney had disappeared 
 when the man looked round for him. 
 
sally's step-uncle. 
 
 451 
 
 Squire Lester, pacing his study in perturbation — for 
 Mr. Blair's communication had been anything but a 
 pleasant one — heard the announcement and saw a stranger 
 enter. He supposed some mistake had been made, or that 
 Lord Dane was following. He scanned the bearing and 
 features of the stranger, and felt strangely startled. 
 
 " I — I thought he said Lord" Dane," broke from him in 
 his embarrassment. 
 
 " So he did," was the stranger's answer, as he held out 
 his hand. " Don't you know me, George ? Who else, but 
 myself, should be Lord Dane ? " 
 
 Mr. Lester staggered back against a chair utterly 
 petrified. 
 
 " Harry Dane did not die, George : and he has come back 
 at the eleventh hour to claim his own. I should have been 
 home ten years ago, had I dreamt that it was Herbert who 
 was representing the Dane peerage ; I never supposed but 
 it was my brother Geoffry." 
 
 Mr. Lester, feeling that there was nothing but surprise 
 upon surprise happening, sat down in a whirl, and prepared 
 to listen to the explanation. It was given in a very 
 cursory manner. Lord Dane was anxious to call in his 
 son. 
 
 " Has your son accompanied you home ? Is he in 
 Danesheld ? " asked Mr. Lester. 
 
 " He is here, in this house. I sent him to the drawing- 
 room whilst I came to you. The truth is, Lester — though 
 I suppose it's premature to say it — he has seen your 
 daughter, and fallen in love with her." 
 
 " Where can he have seen her ? " wondered Mr. Lester. 
 
 " I am agreeable," continued Lord Dane. " Perhaps you 
 will be — although report goes that you have promised her 
 to Herbert. The Castle will still be her destination, you 
 see ; the only difference being that her husband will be the 
 true peer, not the false one." 
 
 Strange to say, Mr. Lester never thought of the truth — 
 of Lydney. He might have done so at a more collected 
 moment ; but the step from a poacher and suspected house- 
 breaker to a future peer of England, was altogether too 
 
452 
 
 liADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 great for his mind even to glance at. Lord Dane rang the 
 bell, and desired that the gentleman who came with him 
 should be requested to appear. 
 
 The servant went to the drawing-room and gave the 
 message. Mr. Lydney had been sitting there alone, having 
 found it untenanted. But, even as the man spoke, he saw 
 Maria enter the conservatory from the lawn, and went out 
 to her. Ah ! how lovely she looked in her pretty morning 
 dress of delicate lilac muslin. 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Lydney ! " she exclaimed, in her confusion and 
 dismay dropping some late flowers she had been cutting, 
 " what brings you here ? How could you dare to venture ? 
 Papa will only order you out again." 
 
 " I hope not. He might turn out William Lydney ; he 
 will not, I think, turn out Geoffry Dane." 
 
 She raised her eyes to him in surprise. As well she 
 might. 
 
 He took her two hands in his, and held her before him, 
 rather persistently. His dark grey eyes, dancing with love, 
 smiled down on her blushing cheeks. 
 
 " Lord Dane is now with Mr. Lester, asking — at least, I 
 think it likely that he is — asking for you. Will you 
 promise to be the future Lady Dane, Maria ? Promise it 
 now to me." 
 
 The soft blush deepened, and she strove to draw away 
 from him. But he held her all the tighter. 
 
 " Or would you rather promise to be my wife ? " he con- 
 tinued, in triumphant tenderness. " Maria, it is of no use ; 
 I will not let you go without an answer. My darling ! I 
 shall never tease you or deceive you again. You trusted the 
 unknown William Lydney. He was obscure, he was under 
 a cloud, and he could not explain or declare himself. I told 
 you the trust was not misplaced. I am Geoffry Dane. My 
 father, Captain Harry Dane, did not die in that fall. He 
 has come home to his own. He is Lord Dane. It is he 
 who is with your father. Maria, will you give mo your 
 promise now ? " 
 
 She did not understand at all ; but there was a ringing 
 sound of truth and powor in his voice, and Maria closed her 
 
sally's step-uncle. 
 
 453 
 
 eyes, and sighed with a feeling of some intense happiness. 
 He gathered her in his sheltering arms, taking from her 
 lips, as of right, tho kiss he had so long yearned for — all 
 unconscious, both of them, that Mrs. Tiffle's green eyes wcro 
 peering in at the outer door of the conservatory. 
 
 It did not last a minute ; theso stolen snatches of bliss 
 rarely do : Fate must be envious of them. Lady Adelaide 
 was coming forward, and Maria vanished behind a towering 
 tropical plant, ready to die at the scene of anger that might 
 be approaching. If anything could have added to her stato 
 of wonder, it was to see Lady Adelaide advance with out- 
 stretched hand to her lover, and call him " Geoffry." They 
 went forward then to obey the summons to the study, he 
 holding his hand back for Maria. Lord Dane, impatient at 
 the delay, was ringing again. 
 
 "What is keeping Geoffry ?" he was asking, tartly 
 enough. " I want you to see him. In point of wealth your 
 daughter will be better off with him than she would have 
 been with Herbert. Geoffry inherits an immense fortune 
 from his mother, and I have not been spending half my 
 income. So that, apart from the Dane revenues, my son will 
 be rich." 
 
 " It is a most flattering, munificent offer for her," cried 
 the gratified Mr. Lester. " And if Maria will only hear 
 reason — We have had a bad, insidious character about the 
 
 place lately, and Halloa ! " again broke off Mr. Lester, 
 
 starting up angrily as he saw Lydney coming in. " You 
 here ! You audacious man ! How dare you presume to 
 — — I beg your pardon, Lord Dane, but this is the fellow I 
 was just speaking of, Lydney " 
 
 Mr. Lester stopped — for Lord Dane had linked his arm 
 within the " audacious man's," and was leading him up. 
 
 " An instant, George Lester. You shall tell me about 
 Lydney when I have made the introduction. My son, 
 Geoffry Dane." 
 
 The consternation of Mr. Lester was something ludicrous. 
 " He your son ? " he gasped. 
 
 "My own and only son; Geoffry William Lydney Dane. 
 Ah, Lester! you and Danesheld have been abusing him, 
 
454 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 have been laying all sorts of outrageous sins to his charge ; 
 but Maria saw him for what he was — a man of worth and 
 honour. I think you will have to give her to him, in spito 
 of the prior claims of Mr. Herbert Dane." 
 
 Mr. Lester paused. He looked at Maria, who had been 
 drawn into the room almost against her will ; he looked at 
 Geoffry Dane. How could he ever have mistaken that noble 
 face ? Truth to say, he had from the first been favourably 
 impressed by it, until circumstances and Herbert Dane rose 
 up to bias him. 
 
 " Maria shall choose for herself,'' he said, in a kindly 
 tone. And some of us do become kindly, in our stubborn 
 hearts, when humility is forced upon us. 
 
 Geoffry Dane smiled ; Maria drooped her head : and Lord 
 Dane began talking to her in a whisper, which brought the 
 brightness back again. Presently he rose, saying that now 
 all was right he must be going. 
 
 « Where ? " asked Mr. Lester. 
 
 " Where ! why to show myself abroad with my son ; to 
 make a call or two, as I have made one here, previous to 
 holding my levee at the Castle this afternoon," answered 
 Lord Dane. " I shall go about it rather charily, Lester, 
 lest timid people should take me for a ghost. Herbert 
 thought me one the other night. It was the only time 
 I have ventured out : but I felt pining for a breath of fresh 
 air, and I went as far as the ruins. There, as I looked in at 
 one of the windows, I saw Herbert, and I know he took me 
 for an apparition. Whilst he was coming out, I stole round 
 to the nearest aperture and got in. But for having shown 
 myself to him later in flesh and blood, he would havo 
 believed in the ghost for ever. Are you ready, William ? 
 We will go first to Wilfred Lester's." 
 
 " To Wilfred Lester's ! " involuntarily repeated that mis- 
 guided young man's father. 
 
 "Yes, sir, to Wilfred Lester's," replied Lord Dane, 
 turning round and speaking in a stern tone, perhaps uncon- 
 sciously. " If hi s own flesh and blood have abandoned him 
 to the mercies of a cold world, it's time the world took him 
 up. I intend to carry him and his wife to the Castle to-day, 
 
sally's step-uncle. 
 
 455 
 
 and I shall keep them there, my guests and William's, until 
 some one sees about a provision for them. Daneshcld shall 
 see that Wilfred has one efficient friend, at any rate. Pretty 
 Edith ! who used to be more ready with her kisses for Cap- 
 tain Harry Dane than you were, Miss Maria. I have heard 
 
 of starvation, George Lester ; I have heard of but I 
 
 had better not go on," broke off Lord Dane. " Thank God, 
 I have come home to remedy it ! " 
 
 He went out in a suppressed storm. At the door, as he 
 was stepping into the carriage, Miss Bordillion came up : 
 the wonderful news, spreading fast over Danesheld, had 
 penetrated to her. 
 
 w It is really true, then ! " she exclaimed, the tears rising 
 in her gentle eyes, as the once intimate Harry Dane 
 clasped her hands. " I thought people wero relating a 
 dream." 
 
 " I told you the time might come when you would wel- 
 come me to your house again," said William, when she 
 had leisure to turn to him. " Your door will, I hope, be 
 open to Geoffry Dane, Miss Bordillion, though it was closed 
 to William Lydney." 
 
 " And what about Maria ? " she asked, her senses rather 
 scattered just then. 
 
 "Oh, I had serious thoughts of running away with 
 Maria," laughed he ; " but Mr. Lester has obviated the 
 necessity. He tells me I may take her without it." 
 
 Miss Bordillion gazed after the carriage as it swept 
 away ; at the smiling face of the new heir, as he sat in it 
 opposite to his father. 
 
 " I never ivill be persuaded out of my senses again," said 
 she emphatically. " My judgment trusted him, my heart 
 spoke for him ; I knew he was no adventurer." 
 
 Lady Adelaide had not appeared. No, her courage failed 
 her. Shame was rife in her bosom ; fear still ; and she 
 had stolen away to the solitude of her own chamber. Tiffle, 
 who was watching an oj)portunity, came in with an inter- 
 ruption — 
 
 " And grieved I am to have to disclose it, my lady ; but 
 my duty to the family is paramint," she began with her* 
 
456 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 soffc sly ton os. " I was stepping into the conscrvetry just 
 now ; wanting the gardener about them sparagrass-tops for 
 the glasses, and thinking he might be there, when I saw — 
 but it's a barefaced thing to repeat to your ladyship, and I 
 vow I've been red ever since to my fingers' ends." 
 
 " Do go on Tiffle, without nonsense. What is it ? " 
 
 " My lady, that Lydney was there, he was ; him and 
 Miss Lester. And he had her all scrambled to him like, 
 and was — if your ladyship will excuse my saying the word 
 — kissing of her. Kissing of her lips with his own, my 
 lady, like — like anything." 
 
 Lady Adelaide languidly raised her eyebrows. " Very 
 sad, of course. But as Miss Lester is to be his wife, Tiffle, 
 I don't know that it matters." 
 
 " His wife ! " cried Tiffle, her green eyes wide with 
 amazement. " What, and go out with him — excuse me, my 
 lady — a Botany Bay convic ! " 
 
 " Tiffle ! " spoke Lady Adelaide, in a sharp tone of repri- 
 mand, as she pointed to the door with her haughty finger. 
 " Have the goodness to recollect that you are speaking of 
 Miss Lester." 
 
 Tiffle backed out subdued, not to say thunderstruck, and 
 came against a maid-servant, who said Shad was asking to 
 see her. 
 
 " To see me ? — the oudacious little reptile ! " responded 
 Tiffle in a great amount of wrath. " That Granny Bean is 
 always wanting a fresh supply of stuff for her rheumatix." 
 
 She went out, however, and Shad, gathered humbly 
 against a dirty brick wall, accosted her in an under-tone : 
 
 " Granny said I was not to mind calling at the house for 
 once, but to cut right off and tell ye. Lord Dane's come 
 back." 
 
 " Come back from where ? " demanded Tiffle. " Where 
 has he been ? " 
 
 " Not him at the Castle : he ain't Lord Dane no more. 
 T'other's come to life again — him that fell over the cliff 
 years agone. He have took up his footing at the Castle, 
 and this 'un's got to turn out. Granny said I was to tell 
 ye as Lydney ~" 
 
sally's step-unole. 
 
 457 
 
 " Well ! " said Tiffle, impatiently, staring with all her 
 eyes. " Get on quicker/' 
 
 " As Lydney have been here in disguise, a-looking after 
 what folks did wrong, but not helping of 'em, as was 
 thought. He's t'other's son, and his name's Geoffry Dane ; 
 and he'll be Lord Dane after him." 
 
 Tiffle gathered in the sense of the words, gathered in a 
 summary of her own past policy, and fell back in what was 
 nearly a real fainting fit, 
 
 Never, sure, was such a levee seen or heard of. It had 
 no parallel in social history. Modern courts hold their 
 levees, but the crowds flocking to them are of the class who 
 bask on the sunny side of life ; no Lazarus must dare to 
 enter. The levee at Dane Castle was all different. 
 
 The news of Harry Dane's resuscitation had gone forth 
 to Danesheld, together with his assumption of the home 
 and honours of his forefathers, and of the reception he w r as 
 about to hold. It was his pleasure that all should come to 
 it, high and low, rich and poor, The fishermen were 
 bidden as well as the gentry ; the poachers and smugglers 
 were especially invited. The lower end of the hall was 
 lined with the Dane servants, in their handsome livery of 
 white and silver and purple. Bruff and Kavensbird stood 
 behind Lord Dane ; it was hard to say which of the two 
 looked the proudest. 
 
 How fast the visitors flocked in, it were a tale in itself to 
 tell, all pushing eagerly to welcome and do honour to Lord 
 Dane. Had he been made of hands, there would not have 
 been sufficient to satisfy the ardent crowd. He stood with 
 them outstretched ; he had a kindly look ; a low, heart-felt 
 word for all. His son stood at his right hand, and he 
 presented him individually to every one. Herbert Dane 
 was there, Wilfred Lester was there, both treated by him 
 with marked esteem and distinction. It would not be Lord 
 Dane's fault if poor Wilfred's escapades were not over ; 
 and it must be remembered that the public knew nothing 
 of his share in the doings of the past Sunday night. The 
 audience, ever ready to be led away by a straw in popular 
 feeling, saw that Squire Lester shook hands with his 
 
453 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 son, and they at once elbowed each other in hastening to 
 do the like. 
 
 When the hall was full, and people had done coming in, 
 so far as could be judged, Mr. Dane — no longer Mr. Lyd- 
 ney — left his father's side to mingle with the crowd. The 
 first face his eye lighted on was Inspector Bent's, and the 
 face did not look altogether at ease. Had he known that 
 young Lydney the suspected would turn out to be the 
 Honourable Mr. Dane, he had certainly treated him less 
 familiarly. 
 
 " I hope, sir, you'll not bear malice to me for the past. 
 I'm sure if I had had any idea " 
 
 " Malice ! " interrupted young Dane cheerily. " What an 
 idea ! I gave you credit for better sense, Bent ; or, at 
 least, believed you would give me credit for better. I 
 think I have a great deal to be obliged to you for : you 
 might have made things worse for me, and did not." 
 
 The gratified inspector took the hand held out to him. 
 Mr. Blair, it may be mentioned, had left by the mid-day 
 train, and Bent felt important again. Mr. Dane went on, 
 and came up to Ben Beecher, who was in an obscure corner 
 behind the servants, not daring to advance into notice. 
 
 " Is it you, Beecher, come to pay me a visit in my own 
 house ? " he exclaimed, in the same hearty tones ; and, in 
 point of fact, he had been looking for the man. " More 
 space to welcome you here than I had at the Sailors' Rest. 
 Why don't you come forward to my lord ? Your father has 
 already had his confab with him.' , 
 
 " Sir, how could you go on deceiving us and blinding us 
 in that way ? " returned Ben Beecher, in a tone of reproach. 
 " If we had dreamt that you were the Lord Dane — or as 
 good as the lord — should we ever have let you into our 
 secrets ? Why, there's not a thing about us but what you 
 know, even the very worst." 
 
 William Dane burst into laughter. "I'm glad I do, 
 Beecher. It is the very best calamity that could have hap- 
 pened to you." 
 
 " Yes, sir, it may be fun for you ; but you may just have 
 ns all transported to-morrow upon your sole evidence," 
 
sally's step-uncle. 
 
 u And do you think I am likely to do it ? " 
 
 " Look here, sir," cried the man, dropping his voice ; " I'll 
 swear that we were led into that bad job by young Lester. 
 He " 
 
 " Hush, Beecher ! " came the quick and solemn warning. 
 " That is of the past, never to be alluded to. It has been 
 agreed on all sides that bygones shall be bygones.'' 
 
 " Is that to apply to all the past, Mr. Lydney ? " 
 
 " Mr. Dane," corrected William, half jestingly, wishing 
 to put the man at his ease. 
 
 " Dash my memory ! I wish it never had been Mr. Dane, 
 though. Why, you know all about our poaching, sir! — 
 and the haunts ! — and — you know everything." 
 
 " I don't intend to remember anything, Beecher. The 
 past is past. But I want you to promise me to keep straight 
 for the future." 
 
 " To keep straight ? " returned Beecher, dubiously. 
 
 " In our first encounter in the wood, which you may not 
 have forgotten, I told you that it was no business of mine 
 did you prowl about the Dane preserves all day, a gun in 
 one hand and snares in the other, seeing that they were not 
 mine. Virtually they were mine, at least my father's, but 
 actually they were in possession of him who was then 
 called Lord Dane. I told you also that, if they were mine, 
 the affair would be very different. You must see that it is, 
 Beecher. It is my duty now to protect the lands, and I 
 shall do it. I care more for one man's well-doing than for 
 all the pheasants in England : nevertheless, I respect and 
 shall uphold the Game Laws. Cannot you and I contrive 
 to remain friends, Beecher, in spite of them ? " 
 
 " Friends ! " echoed the man, with deep feeling. 
 
 " I said friends. It will be your fault if we are not. 
 You cannot suppose I shall take advantage of the past in 
 any way, unless it he for your good. You once said, 
 Beecher, that had you and your companions been dealt 
 with in a kindlier spirit, you might have been different men. 
 Begin to be different from this day, and I will help you." 
 Beecher made no answer : his face was working. 
 " You shall have suitable work found for you, and good 
 
460 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 wages. I shall get my men to give me their best service, 
 and on my part I shall ever be to them a considerate 
 friend. Yes, Beecher, I mean it. I intend that we shall 
 be friends in the best sense of the word, identifying our 
 interests one with the other. Will you promise, Beecher ? " 
 
 The man shyly held out his hand. " Ay, I will, sir ; I'm 
 almost tired of the life I lead, and so are others ; and this 
 last business has frightened the lot of us. I'll do as you 
 wish me from this day." 
 
 " A bargain," said William Dane, as he shook the hand 
 heartily. " And we will never, I hope, go from it, Beecher. 5 ' 
 
 The one who seemed most anxious of all to accept the 
 position that day and make the best of circumstances, was 
 Mr. Herbert Dane, He was wise to do so. It is true he 
 was suddenly thrown from state and fortune, but, in reality, 
 he had never had a right to either, and had been an un- 
 conscious usurper. Lord Dane was not going to talk about 
 mesne profits : on the contrary, he was intending to settle a 
 handsome income upon Herbert. Altogether, things might 
 have been worse for the ex-lord ; and oh, to have that 
 awful nightmare lifted from his soul. That of itself seemed 
 heaven. 
 
 " You must have been astonished when you found who 
 it was the life-boat brought ashore," lie remarked, during 
 a desultory chat with Bavensbird in the course of the 
 afternoon. 
 
 " Astonished is not the word for it, sir," replied Eavens- 
 bird. " It's not strong enough ; there's no word that is. My 
 first thought, after I got over the surprise, was that I had 
 been a regular idiot to mistake that drowned man for my 
 master. He began upon all sorts of questions the night 
 after he was saved from the wreck, and he learnt that it 
 was you, sir, at the Castle, and not his brother, Mr. Dane. 
 Presently he pushed the purple shade off his face and sat 
 up in bed, and asked me if I knew him. You might have 
 knocked me down with a feather. Then there was a con- 
 sultation between us whether Sophie should be told: my 
 lord was afraid of her letting out the secret ; but I saw 
 there was no help for it, for she'd be sure to know him. 
 
sally's step-uncle. 
 
 How slie suceccted in keeping it and mortifying her gossip 
 will always be a joke against her : but my lord threatened 
 her with unheard-of penalties if she disclosed it." 
 
 " Eavensbird," said Herbert Dane, awaking from a reverie 
 into which he had fallen, " did you witness the struggle on 
 the heights that night ? — for I presume that Lord Dane has 
 told you the truth respecting it." 
 
 " He has told me, sir ; but not for me to mention it 
 again," answered the man with considerate respect. " I 
 did not witness the struggle ; I was not on the heights that 
 night." 
 
 " And yet you would not disclose where it was you had 
 been when you were absent from the Sailors' Best." 
 
 " That was my obstinacy, sir ; I had no other reason. I 
 was only doing a bit of courting. Sophie had promised to 
 come out and meet me, and we were walking about at the 
 back of the Castle." 
 
 " What was your suspicion at the time ? " 
 
 " Well, sir — if I must say it — I suspected you. Of course, 
 I wasn't sure ; my opinion was on the balance, as it were. 
 I thought it almost certain that you had been the one 
 quarrelling with him ; but, on the other hand, you seemed 
 positively to suspect me, and then there came up the 
 suspicion of that packman. I was never sure about it, one 
 way or the other, until my lord came home. Sophie, she 
 also at first suspected you, and thought my Lady Adelaide 
 would have screened you at my expense ; but I did all I 
 could to put her off the scent — it might have led to mischief ; 
 and I was not sure myself." 
 
 " And I, on my part, got to Suspect that you had been on 
 the heights at the time, Eavensbird, and saw the scuffle. 
 Let it drop. I am more pleased to see him back, in life, 
 than ever I was at coming into the inheritance." 
 
 The levee over, there was a dinner gathering at the 
 Castle ; a family party only — the Danes, and the Lesters, 
 and Margaret Bordillion. Unpleasant topics were not 
 alluded to ; but William contrived to give Mr. Lester and 
 his wife a hint of the doings of Tiffle. Even Lady Adelaide 
 might not have been so inveterate in her persecution of 
 
462 
 
 JlADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 William Lester, but for tlie never-ceasing tales, tlie insidious 
 promptings of that woman. 
 
 The first thing Mr. Lester did on the following morning 
 was to send for Sally. He was an early riser, and the 
 woman made her appearance, in answer to the summons, 
 before the breakfast was well over at the Hall. Sundry 
 reminiscences had been rising up within Mr. Lester, con- 
 victing him of a great deal that he felt bitterly ashamed of, 
 now that it was brought home to him. He could not undo 
 the past ; but he might, perhaps, help to stop the scandal 
 from henceforth, if he could screw out a little ready money 
 for Wilfred's tradespeople. As a preliminary, he must learn 
 from Sally what the debts were. Mr Lester received her 
 alone in the breakfast-room. 
 
 She came in with her uncompromising face, and he 
 entered upon the subject in a cold, distant tone, the better 
 to disguise his feelings — as if it were a wondrous favour 
 and condescension for him to notico the matter at all. 
 Sally mentioned what debts there were, so far as she had 
 cognizance of them ; but they did not appear to be recent 
 ones. 
 
 " You have been getting in things — as I hear — without 
 stint, of late," observed Mr. Lester. " Even wine, I have 
 been told of. I cannot think how you obtained the credit." 
 
 " I didn't have credit," spoke Sally, bluntly. 
 
 " Not have credit ? " 
 
 " No, sir. I paid ready money." 
 
 " But where did you get the money ? " he asked, staring 
 at her. 
 
 " Prom one that folks were pulling to pieces as a thief 
 and a vagabond," was Sally's, answer ; " and I used to wish, 
 as I listened, that I could tie the whole lot together and 
 pump on 'em for it. He made friends with me, and told me 
 I must join him in a little bit of deceit for my master and 
 mistress's Sake — Mr. Wilfred being proud and refusing to 
 bo helped straightforward. He found the money, and I 
 invented a step-uncle, and said I had it from him. And 
 as true as I'm here, sir, I believe that it's thanks to him 
 Miss Edith is alive this day." 
 
sally's step-uncle. 
 
 463 
 
 " And he was " Mr. Lester stopped in hesitation. 
 
 William Lydney. Knowing now that his father was 
 Captain Harry Dane, I'm not surprised : of course the plot 
 was made up between them. But it isn't many would 
 have carried it out as that young man did. Mr. Wilfred 
 was just going to the dogs as fast as he could go — yes he 
 was, sir ; you are his father, but I'm not going to eat my 
 words ; and William Lydney saved him, and bore scorn and 
 suspicion for his sake. People talk of the noble Danes, but 
 there never was one as noble as this young one ! " 
 
 Before the words had well left her lips, a violent noise, 
 as of fighting and angry words, was heard outside the door. 
 Mr. Lester pulled it open in displeasure, supposing it to be 
 his children. To his excessive astonishment, there stood 
 Shad and Tiffle, engaged in a pitched battle, scratching, 
 biting, tearing, and shrieking at each other. 
 
 The cause was this : Shad had presented himself at the 
 back-door, apparently in a state of much excitement and 
 fear, and demanded to see Mrs. Tiffle. The girl, who 
 answered it, ungraciously told him to "Go and look for 
 her : " for the fact was, Tiffle, who had got up in a most 
 vile temper, had been making several of the servants suffer, 
 and this girl more particularly. Shad, bold as he had 
 never been before, in the terror that was upon him, went 
 into the passages, peeping here and there, until he reached 
 the hall, and there he saw Tiffle, with her ear glued to a 
 keyhole. In truth, Tiffle had a mind to know what her 
 master's business could be with Sally, she feeling rather 
 disturbed at the aspect of affairs in general. Shad stole 
 softly up behind and laid hold of her. Tiffle, startled 
 beyond measure, fearing she was caught at last, turned 
 round ; but when she saw who it was, her temper broke 
 out beyond control, and she began to pay the boy off by 
 sundry tingling slaps on the cheeks. Shad, unprepared for 
 the reception, retaliated in kind, and the result was a 
 contest. 
 
 " What is the meaning of this ? " demanded Mr. Lester* 
 "Tiffle!" 
 
 Tiffle softened down to meekness, her sly eyes flashing 
 
464 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 out a glance at Lady Adelaide, who appeared on the scene. 
 Shad only howled. 
 
 " I'm sure I beg pardon, sir, and my lady," quoth she : 
 " This wicked ragamuffyan of Granny Bean's came startling 
 me to throw me over, just as I was going into the break- 
 fast-room in search of my lady. Little Miss Ada " 
 
 " You wasn't going in," raved Shad, smarting under the 
 late correction ; " you was a-stopping at the door, listen- 
 ing." 
 
 " The ready lies that these young creatures invent ! " 
 ejaculated Time, turning up the whites of her eyes. " I 
 would not have cared for his startling of me, but it vexed 
 me to see him, all bold, in a gentleman's house. Be quiet, 
 you young rep " 
 
 " You be quiet, Tiffle," interposed Mr. Lester's voice of 
 stern authority. " How did you get in, Shad ? " 
 
 " I come to the door and I asked for Mrs. Tiffle," sobbed 
 Shad ; " and the young woman she telled me to come and 
 find her " 
 
 "Asked for me — you!" interrupted Tiffle, in a glow of 
 indignation. " The impidince of that ! " 
 
 " What be I to do ? " howled Shad. « Granny's dead, 
 she is, and I'm afraid to stop there. Who be I to tell ? " 
 
 The words caused a lull in the storm. Mr. Lester 
 questioned the boy. 
 
 "I'm sure on't," sniffed Shad. "She's a-sitting back in 
 her chair, with her face all blue, and her mouth open, and 
 her eyes staring. I wondered as she didn't screech at me 
 to get up ; so I lay a-bed, and when I went to her she was 
 like that. And because I comes and tells, I'm kicked at 
 and my hair tored out." 
 
 " Please, sir, hadn't I better go back with him, and see 
 what it really is ? " asked Tiffle, as mild now as milk, and 
 speaking in quite a confidential tone. 
 
 " You can do so if you choose," replied Mr. Lester. " But 
 — step in here for a minute, Tiffle. Shad, sit down," he 
 added, pointing to one of the hall chairs. 
 
 Safely inside his study, where he motioned her to enter 
 and Lady Adelaide followed, Mr. Lester shortly told the 
 
WRONGS MADE RIGHT. 
 
 165 
 
 woman that ho and her lady had come to the resolution of 
 parting with her : she could leave them in a month's time. 
 
 " To pa — pa — part with me ! " gasped Tiffle, turning her 
 dismayed face to Lady Adelaide. " What have I done ? " 
 
 Mr. Lester would not enter into particulars ; and Lady 
 Adelaide maintained a haughty silence ; the truth was, she 
 herself shrank from this task, and had left it to her 
 husband. He gave Tiffle a hint that her ferreting pro- 
 pensities had been discovered, together with her falsity, 
 and, therefore, she would no longer suit Danesheld Hall ; 
 and then, jmssing from the subject as if it were over, he 
 quietly asked her whether there w r as not some relationship 
 between herself and Shad. 
 
 What little temper had been left to Tiffle by the com- 
 munication, this bold question completely took away. It 
 drove her wild. Having no ready answer at hand, except a 
 vague denial raved out in indignant words, she burst out of 
 the room and seized upon the unhappy Shad, drawing her 
 nails down his face to begin with. Mr. Lester himself 
 came to the rescue ; opened the front door, and sent Shad 
 out of it — howling piteously. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXXVI. 
 
 WRONGS MADE RIGHT. 
 
 Things and people subsided by degrees into their proper 
 places. Lord Dane strove to make the happiness of all. 
 Herbert Dane chose Paris as a residence. He was fond of 
 the gay city, and Danesheld no longer held claims on him, 
 or had attractions for him. Miss Dane returned to the 
 ivied house with Mrs. Knox, and was intensely happy 
 directly, planning out the most charming dress that could 
 be worn by an assistant at the marriage ceremony. Wilfred 
 Lester, partly through interest, partly through a good sum 
 advanced by Lord Dane privately, was appointed to a post 
 in London, which he would enter on in the spring, and 
 Lady Adelaide. 30 
 
466 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 meanwhile lie and his wife remained the guests of Lord 
 Dane. Mr. Lester had refunded the twelve hundred pounds 
 to which the deed related, unable to shelter himself under 
 the false excuse that it had been paid. 
 
 " I should make Apperly insist on interest as well, 
 Wilfred, were I you," was the remark of Lord Dane, who 
 was inclined to regard the whole matter with severity. 
 " He shall keep Maria's fourteen thousand pounds ; William 
 does not want it ; but he ought to pay you in full." 
 
 Wilfred laughed. He could afford to be generous now ; 
 and he did not take the advice about claiming interest. 
 
 The marriage was pressed on. Lord Dane's health de- 
 clined daily, and he wished to see his son settled before he 
 died, Maria made no objection : the day on which she 
 quitted the Hall would be a red-letter one. 
 
 It dawned — that day — a clear bright morning early in 
 the new year. Sophie Eavensbird dressed the bride : there 
 was no one else capable of it in Danesheld, she said, with 
 national vanity. Lord Dane went to church, but was not 
 equal to being present at breakfast. 
 
 A grand breakfast was held at the Hall. All friends and 
 relatives were present, except Herbert Dane, who did not 
 come from Paris for it. Squire Lester presided, wearing the 
 subdued, weary manner latterly characteristic of him ; Lady 
 Adelaide was gay with a gaiety that seemed more false 
 than true. She had learnt that her life had been a sad 
 mistake, and wondered where comfort would be found. 
 
 The breakfast went on to its close. The feasting was 
 over, the wedding-cake had gone round, and the Eev. Mr. 
 James was on his old-fashioned legs, making a speech to 
 the bridegroom and bride, when the door slowly opened, 
 and a tall, spare stranger, with a military air and bronzed 
 features, came in, and stood still, leisurely surveying the 
 company. The company, in their turn, surveyed him. He 
 seemed to strike upon their senses somewhat after the 
 fashion of Banquo's ghost. 
 
 " Which is Edith ? " he asked, without moving. 
 
 Curious words to come from him, and the sea of faces 
 stared in blank consternation, Edith's not less blank than 
 
WRONGS MADE RIGHT. 
 
 467 
 
 theirs. Suddenly there was a faint cry, and Miss Bordillion 
 rose and hastened to him. 
 
 "You must be my brother. Oh, Henry, how you are 
 altered ! I am Margaret." 
 
 She was right : it was Colonel Bordillion. He had just 
 landed from India, having come home without apprising 
 any one. 
 
 Congratulations ensued : all pressing forward with their 
 eager welcome. Edith held aloof in confusion : she had 
 parted from him a little girl, and did not believe that old- 
 looking man was her father. Colonel Bordillion looked 
 round — perhaps seeking the youngest and fairest — and 
 went up to Maria. 
 
 " You are Edith ! " 
 
 " Oh papa, papa, no — it is I ! " said Edith, as the smile on 
 the face awoke a chord in her memory. She suddenly 
 realized the fact that it was her father, and burst into tears 
 of emotion. " I am Edith." 
 
 " And you ? " asked Colonel Bordillion of Maria, when he 
 had given a few moments to his daughter. 
 
 " I am Maria Lester." 
 
 " No, you're not," said the bridegroom, " you are Maria 
 Dane." 
 
 There was a laugh at poor Maria. Colonel Bordillion 
 did not seem to understand. " Are you Wilfred ? " he asked 
 of the speaker. 
 
 " No, sir. I am Geoffry Dane, Lord Dane's son." 
 
 " I see ; it is the face and form of a Dane," observed the 
 colonel. " But I did not know there was a son. And what 
 is the cause of this festive assemblage ? Your dress looks 
 like a bridal one, my dear." 
 
 He touched Maria's veil and wreath ; he looked at the 
 flowing white silk that glittered as she turned. Many 
 tongues hastened to enlighten him, and Wilfred came up to 
 be noticed and received. 
 
 " I can understand what they said to me at the station 
 just now — that I should be c late,' " observed Colonel Bor- 
 dillion. " So I should have been had I come to give the 
 bride away, or to be best man." 
 
468 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 He sat down at the table with them. He was of an 
 exceedingly guileless, open nature, and he entered without 
 ceremony upon his own affairs before every one. 
 
 " I have done with service," he observed, " and have come 
 home to rest during the remainder of my days. You and I 
 can live together, Margaret.'' 
 
 " Oh, yes, yes ! " she answered : but there was a little sob 
 of the breath as she remembered how very poor a home hers 
 was to welcome him to. 
 
 "A sad affair that bank going," exclaimed one of the 
 guests. " Quite ruined you, did it not, Colonel ? " 
 
 " I thought so at first. It was believed there would not 
 be a shilling for any one, but it has turned out differently. 
 We have got back more than fifty per cent, of our losses. 
 Over thirty thousand pounds they have refunded to me." 
 
 " Over thirty thousand pounds 1 " 
 
 " Yes ; that's the first dividend." 
 
 Over thirty thousand pounds. The poor, ruined Colonel 
 Bordillion ! Margaret stole a glance at Wilfred and Edith, 
 and laid a hand upon her own beating heart. 
 
 " Why, you must have been a sixty-thousand pound man, 
 Colonel ! " exclaimed an elderly gentleman, who had known 
 Henry Bordillion in early life. " A good fortune, that ! " 
 
 " What do we wear our lives out in India for, but to make 
 fortunes?" asked the Colonel. "I assure you, the very 
 instant I could draw my dividend, I did so, and made 
 arrangements for returning home to relieve my honoured 
 friend and connection, Squire Lester. It has fallen to him 
 to supply his son and daughter-in-law with an income 
 hitherto, and I thought it high time I took my turn at the 
 cost." 
 
 If ever a flush of shame dyed a man's countenance, it 
 dyed at that moment George Lester's. How had he supplied 
 them ? Left them to starve : almost allowed Edith to drop 
 into her grave from absolute want : suffered Wilfred to go 
 to ruin as fast as he pleased ! An uncomfortable feeling 
 pervaded the room, and Lady Adelaide glanced at Edith, a 
 pleading look on her burning face. It seemed to say, " Do 
 not in pity expose me." So Edith understood it, and a 
 
WRONGS MADE BIGHT. 
 
 469 
 
 sweet, reassuring smile went back to her. But Cecilia Dane 
 came unconsciously to the rescue* 
 
 " You don't remember me," she said, suddenly approach- 
 ing him. 
 
 " N — o," said Colonel Bordillion, rather puzzled. " Unless 
 you are — Miss Harkaby." 
 
 Cecilia Dane gave a genuine scream of mortification. Miss 
 Harkaby had been an elderly young lady of thirty-five when 
 Lieutenant Bordillion went away : she was quite sixty now. 
 The Colonel had not been calculating the lapse of time. 
 
 " Oh, how cruel of you ! And you were so nice and kind 
 as Henry Bordillion. I remember you well, though I was 
 only a little girl. I didn't think you had forgotten Cely 
 Dane." 
 
 Not very many evenings after this — they might have been 
 counted by seven — the setting sun, lighting up the west 
 with floods of gold, illumined a busy scene. Idlers, dressed 
 in their best, had gathered along the road in front of the 
 Castle ; children were sporting on the heights. Silly 
 people ! attracted as much by curiosity as by affection, they 
 had assembled there to see the return of the bride and bride- 
 groom, who had been recalled thus early from their wed- 
 ding tour by the increased weakness of Lord Dane. 
 
 The carriage came in view, a travelling chariot and four, 
 with the Dane arms on the panels. As it turned the corner 
 of the road, the gathered people became visible to William 
 Dane, who sat in it with his wife. 
 
 " What can this mean ? " he exclaimed in the surprise of 
 the moment. " Look, Maria ! " 
 
 Whilst she was looking and wondering, a lovely bouquet 
 of hot-house flowers was thrown in at the window on her 
 lap. She turned to see Mrs. Eavensbird. 
 
 " Thank you, Sophie ; thank you," she said, leaning 
 forward and laughing. " William, they have assembled to 
 give us an ovation, I am sure." 
 
 " Yes ; and I never was more thankful to see anything." 
 
 " Thankful ; for this ! I would rather have come home in 
 peace and quietness." 
 
470 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " It is an earnest, I hope, that my father is better," he 
 quietly continued. "At least, not so ill as I have been 
 fearing." 
 
 " Ah, yes ! Forgive my thoughtlessness, William. Look ! 
 there is your friend Ben Beecher." 
 
 William Dane's eyes went searching out until they caught 
 Ben Beecher's. He gave him a smile and a nod all to him- 
 self, and Ben reddened with pride. 
 
 Standing somewhat apart from the rest, were two people : 
 one, a woman in smart attire — a scarlet shawl, and pink 
 bows in her yellow bonnet — and a young gentleman 
 smothered in a new suit of corduroy, ornamented with a 
 great many fancy metal buttons. William Dane took his 
 wife's hand and pointed to the spot. 
 
 " See there, Maria ! " 
 
 " Shad and Tiffle ! " exclaimed Maria. " How she is 
 decked out ! I wonder she should have that boy with her ! " 
 
 " As to that, I have a strong suspicion that Shad has more 
 right to be with her than with any one else," said Mr. 
 Dane. 
 
 " What do you mean, William ? " 
 
 He only laughed, giving no explanation. The carriage 
 drew slowly to the gates, and Tiffle pushed forward to be 
 ready for the descent. Granny Bean had left a letter, 
 bequeathing Shad to Tiffle's tender care ; and the friend 
 who wrote the letter for Granny disclosed a fact confided to 
 her : that Shad was — not to put too fine a point upon it — 
 related to Tiffle. Danesheld had just got hold of the news ; 
 and Tiffle, after a day and a night of abusive denial, now 
 brazened it out. 
 
 As Mr. Dane was handing his wife from the carriage, 
 Tiffle's yellow bonnet intervened. Never had there been a 
 falser smile on that false countenance than disfigured it now. 
 
 " Here's wishing of your lordship every happiness in life, 
 and the same to your lordship's lady ! " curtsied Tiffle, with 
 a great amount of boldness. " Though I have been shame- 
 fully used and abused, I'm not one to bear malice, and I 
 says to Shad, we'll put on our things and go up and offer our 
 kingretilations with the rest on this ouspicious occasion; 
 
WRONGS MADE RIGHT. 
 
 471 
 
 which I am now doing of. Long life and happiness to my 
 Lord and Lady Dane ! " 
 " Houray ! " put in Shad. 
 
 They were the first distinct words William Dane had 
 caught, and he started at their significance. 
 
 " I am not Lord Dane yet," he sharply said, in his fear. 
 
 " 'Twon't be long first, by all accounts," rejoined Tifflc, 
 " but I might have said the future Lord and Lady Dane. 
 We wish 'em every health and happiness." 
 
 " The future Lord and Lady Dane beg to thank you," was 
 the response, coldly spoken, as he turned from her. But 
 Tifile was not to be repulsed. 
 
 " And I've taken up my residence in the cottage which 
 was Granny Bean's, having accumulated enough for a small 
 indepindince," pursued Tiffle. "And if I can serve your 
 lord or ladyship in any way, I shall be grateful to do it." 
 
 " Have you taken to Shad as well as to the cottage ? " 
 asked Mr. Dane. 
 
 " Yes, sir, I have. Not being ashamed to acknowledge in 
 the face of inemies that he's a connection of mine," was the 
 assured response. 
 
 " The best thing for Shad would be to put him into a re- 
 formatory," said Mr. Dane ; " the next best would be to send 
 him to a strict, plain, industrial school. I promised the boy 
 I would do something for him, and I will. He must be 
 rescued from his present vagabond life." 
 
 " And it's with thanks for your intentions, sir, but I don't 
 wish to do myself the pleasure of excepting them," spoke 
 Tifile, in wrath at the word reformatory, while the boy 
 broke out into something like a howl. " Shad's no more a 
 vagabond than other folks, and I've adopted him for my — 
 my nephew and heir." 
 
 Suppressing a laugh at the concluding announcement, 
 waving the woman and the subject away for future consi- 
 deration, William Dane stood facing the crowd, his wife on 
 his arm, bowing his thanks before the gate closed upon him. 
 It was a scene worth depicting. The stately old Castle and 
 its waving flag ; the group of humble friends gathered there, 
 tendering their homage and affection ; and the fine young 
 
472 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 chieftain standing to receive it, bare-headed, free and noble, 
 his face lighted up by the setting sun. A fine face ! with 
 its kind, earnest, thoughtful eyes, its calm, keen sense, and 
 its unmistakable expression of goodness stamped on every 
 line. As they gazed, those people, they felt that for them 
 henceforth Danesheld in its lord would possess a friend* 
 Maria leaned on him, her cheeks blushing ; and very glad 
 indeed when they could take shelter in the Castle. 
 
 Lord Dane was better that evening, free from pain, upright 
 almost as ever, as he advanced to meet them. It seemed 
 that nature had rallied all her powers for the welcome home. 
 But William was startled — so great a change had the last 
 few days made in him. Death could not be very far off now, 
 and a pang of self-reproach darted through the young man's 
 heart for having remained away even those seven days. 
 
 Lord Dane had assembled guests around him to join in 
 the welcome : the Lesters, Miss Dane, Colonel and Miss 
 Bordillion. Lord Dane, exerting himself beyond his strength 
 and feeling consequent fatigue, withdrew to his room, in- 
 tending to lie down for a few minutes before dinner. 
 
 "I thought his lordship was here," said Bruff, looking 
 round, when he came to say that dinner was served. 
 
 " He has not come down yet, Bruff," observed William. 
 " You had better tell him." 
 
 Bruff went and came back again, beckoning William out 
 of the room. 
 
 " I can't get into my lord's chamber, sir," he whispered. 
 " The door's fastened, and he does not answer." 
 
 William was before it in a moment. As Bruff said, the 
 door was fastened ; bolted inside. William put his lips to 
 the keyhole. 
 
 " My dear father, are you ready ? " he asked in a clear, 
 distinct voice. " We are waiting dinner." 
 
 There was no response. William Dane turned his face, 
 growing so pale with emotion, on the servant. 
 
 " He does not usually fasten his door ? " 
 
 " No, sir, never. Perhaps he slipped the bolt now, not to 
 be disturbed while he rested. He might have thought you 
 or his servant would be going in." 
 
WRONGS MADE EIGHT. 
 
 473 
 
 The rest, to whom some vague fear had spread, came 
 flocking up. Miss Dane grew rather excited. 
 
 "Do pray just speak one word, Lord Dane, if only to 
 assure us you are not in a fit," she called out in coaxing and 
 trembling accents. " Harry, then ! tvon't you speak ? " 
 
 " I shall break open the door," said William hurriedly. 
 " Had you not bettor " — he looked at Maria and the rest — 
 " go back to the drawing-room ? " 
 
 The door was forced, and Lord Dane was found lying 
 upon the bed in a fainting fit. Medical men were sum- 
 moned, and he revived to speech and consciousness. But 
 the end was at hand. 
 
 Perhaps they did not suspect it, however ; and he grew 
 quite cheerful as the evening went on. Lady Adelaide 
 Lester knelt by the bed in deep sorrow and emotion, her 
 haggard face pressed on the counterpane : and a haggard 
 face it was at all times now. That confession did not 
 appear to have brought her either peace or security ; it 
 seemed a question whether she would ever gain either. 
 Worn, weary, miserable, she lived on, finding life good 
 neither in the present nor the past. As that past deceit and 
 that awful oath had lain upon her conscience then, so they 
 lay on it still : and she could not feel secure that some 
 chance fate would not betray her. In truth there was little, 
 if any, probability of it ; but the terror of a guilty con- 
 science is like jealousy — as given to us by that master- 
 hand — " making the food it feeds on." 
 
 It happened that they were alone for a moment, she and 
 the dying man. She looked up suddenly, speaking a word to 
 him in her terrible despair : telling of the unrest that was 
 upon her, the miserable disquietude of her mind and heart. 
 
 " Ah, Adelaide," he replied, gently and compassionately 
 laying his hands upon hers. " You ask for peace — peace ; 
 but you have not sown it. Adelaide, my dear, you must 
 begin again : it is not yet too late ; you have been all on the 
 wrong tack, and you must change it. Oh, child, how will 
 you dare to hope for peace in the next world, unless you 
 seek to shed it in this ? " 
 
 " If I could, if I could \ Oh, Harry, if I only could ! " 
 
474 
 
 LADY ADELAIDE. 
 
 " You can set out from to-clay. There will be a 
 struggle at first — there will be need of much patience ; but 
 you will find the good end at last if you bear steadily on. 
 Throw aside your hard selfishness, and take up instead the 
 sweet spirit of loving help and pity ; you will be no longer 
 miserable. Adelaide, it is my dying charge to you." 
 
 A few hours, and the Castle flag was floating half-mast 
 high : William Henry, seventeenth Baron Dane, had gone 
 home to his ancestors. 
 
 They laid him in the family vault, by the side of that un- 
 known stranger who had been buried for him. Herbert 
 came over to the funeral. Never was there such an attend- 
 ance seen at any burial in Danesheld. They walked to the 
 grave through the crisp white snow, the blue sky smiling 
 overhead. Geoffry William, eighteenth Baron Dane, walked 
 alone in right of his position. Herbert followed him with 
 Squire Lester, and the rest as chance led them. 
 
 Mr. Apperly produced the will on their return to the 
 Castle. All had been remembered. Herbert Dane had a 
 large sum bequeathed to him absolutely, equal to twelve 
 hundred a year ; Cecilia had three hundred a year in an 
 annuity. A remembrance was left to Lady Adelaide, and 
 five thousand pounds to Wilfred Lester, as " a thank-offering 
 for having saved my life, and that of one far more precious 
 to me — my dear son, Geoffry William." A thousand pounds 
 were left to Bruff, and two thousand pounds to " my faithful 
 friend and servant, Kichard Eavensbird ;" a like sum — two 
 thousand pounds — was directed to be equally divided between 
 the Castle servants; and the rest of his private fortune 
 went to his son. 
 
 " What a wealthy man he died ! " quoth Mr. Wild in an 
 undertone, who had also been remembered. 
 
 " He died something better than that — a good one." 
 
 Mr. Wild had not thought he was overheard, and turned 
 at the words, which came from the young lord, whilst the 
 tears shone in his earnest eyes as he gave them utterance. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES ANI> SONS, LIMITED, STAMFORD STREET 
 AND CHARING CROSS. 
 
THE NEW 3/6 EDITION. 
 
 AT ALL BOOKSELLERS'. 
 
 MRS. HENRY WOOD'S NOVELS, 
 
 HE following Volumes appeared in 1888 in the 
 
 NEW EDITION, in Three-and-Sixpenny 
 
 form, in scarlet cloth, and overleaf will be found 
 
 JOHNNY LUDLOW (1st Series). 
 
 MILDRED ARKELL. 
 
 ST. MARTIN'S EVE. 
 
 TREVLYN HOLD. 
 
 GEORGE CANTERBURY'S WILL. 
 
 THE SIX -SHILLING EDITION, IN 28 VOLUMES, CAN 
 STILL BE OBTAINED. 
 
 1888, 
 
 particulars of the succeeding issues during 1889 
 and 1890 : 
 
THE NEW 3/6 EDITION. 
 
 Issued in Monthly Volumes. 
 
 MRS, HENRY WOOD'S NOVELS. 
 
 1889. 
 
 fHE NEW ISSUE in Three-and-Sixpenny 
 Volumes, in scarlet cloth (which commenced 
 in January, 1888), is expected to be continued 
 — a volume each month — in the following order : 
 
 THE RED COURT FARM. 
 WITHIN THE MAZE. 
 ELSTER'S FOLLY. 
 LADY ADELAIDE. Jn 
 OSWALD CRAY. 
 
 JOHNNY LUDLOW (2nd Series). 
 
 ANNE HEREFORD. 
 DEAN HOLLOW. 
 EDINA. 
 
 A LIFE'S SECRET. 
 POMEROY ABBEY. 
 COURT NETHERLEIGH. 
 
 To appear in 1890. 
 Lady Grace. j Parkwater. 
 
 Bessy Bane. Johnny Ludlow (3rd Series). 
 
 The Master of Greylands. \ Orville College. 
 The Story of Charles Strange. 
 
 1*1, 
 
 THE SIX- SHILLING EDITION, IN 28 VOLUMES, CAN 
 STILL BE OBTAINED.