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diff --git a/old/50388-0.txt b/old/50388-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 70cb3c1..0000000 --- a/old/50388-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8049 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's My Lady Peggy Goes to Town, by Frances Aymar Mathews - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: My Lady Peggy Goes to Town - -Author: Frances Aymar Mathews - -Illustrator: Harrison Fisher - -Release Date: November 5, 2015 [EBook #50388] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY LADY PEGGY GOES TO TOWN *** - - - - -Produced by KD Weeks, Chris Curnow and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - Transcriber’s Note: - -Minor errors in punctuation and formatting have been silently corrected. -Please see the transcriber’s note at the end of this text for details -regarding the handling of any textual issues encountered during its -preparation. - -This version of the text cannot represent certain typographical effects. -Italics are delimited with the ‘_’ character as _italic_. - -The full-page illustrations are referred to, in the list provided, by a -quote from the text, and the page reference is to the quote, rather than -the position of the illustration in the text. In some cases, these were -re-positioned to fall nearer the scene referenced. - -These illustrations also had no captions. They are distinguished, here, -by the first few words of the quoted text. - -[Illustration: Then Lady Peggy, laughing...] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - MY LADY PEGGY - GOES TO TOWN - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - _By_ - - FRANCES AYMAR MATHEWS - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - ILLUSTRATED BY HARRISON FISHER - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - GROSSET & DUNLAP - PUBLISHERS : NEW YORK - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - _Copyright, 1901, - By The Bowen-Merrill Company_ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration: MY LADY PEGGY GOES TO TOWN] - - THE DECORATIONS DESIGNED BY VIRGINIA KEEP - THE COVER DESIGNED BY FRANCIS HAZENPLUG - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration: ILLUSTRATIONS] - - _Then Lady Peggy, laughing, humming such a gay _Frontispiece_ - snatch of a song, comes tripping down the - stairs._ - - _And Lady Peggy and her woman found themselves on _Page 40_ - the road to town._ - - _“A touch, a hit!” cry all at once as a spurt of _Page 68_ - blood darts up the supposed Sir Robin’s blade._ - - _Two watched her as she came in on Beau Brummell’s _Page 112_ - arm._ - - _At the table sat Kennaston, inky-fingered, _Page 158_ - scribbling; eyes now rolling to the ceiling, now - roving hither and yon._ - -[Illustration] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - _The instant that Lady Peggy felt herself in the - highwayman’s saddle, she knew that her wrists - had met their match._ _Page 186_ - - - _“I am Sir Robin McTart! Who, the devil, are - you?”_ _Page 278_ - - - _“Ah, Peggy, my adored one,” says he, devouring - her pale face with his happy eyes._ _Page 336_ - - -[Illustration] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - ENVOI - - When gay postillions cracked their whips, - And gallants gemmed their chat with quips; - When patches nestled o’er sweet lips - At choc’late times; and, ’twixt the sips, - Fair Ladies gave their gossips tips; - Then, in Levantine gown and brooch, - My Lady Peggy took the coach, - For London Town! - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration: MY LADY PEGGY GOES TO TOWN] - - - - - _In the which My Lady Peggy sends off her - lover broken-hearted and promptly - falls into a swoon._ - - -Kennaston Castle lies in Surrey. The Earl of Exham is master of the -picturesque old pile and of the estate, and decidedly the slave of the -very considerable number of debts which were up to His Lordship’s ears -when he came of age, some four and fifty years ago, and by this time -have reached almost to the crown of his head. He is also father to his -son and heir, Kennaston of Kennaston, and to the heir’s tall twin, My -Lady Peggy. - -My Lady Peggy at this particular moment sits a-swinging on the top -branch of a plum tree at the foot of the kitchen garden whence she -commands a tolerable view of the highway. - -“Impertinent sun!” cries Peggy, shading her handsome eyes with her hand -as she stares off along the dusty road. “How is’t you dare shine when -there’s no fine gentleman a-comin’ from the east; no gallant with -disheveled locks, powdered shoulders, disordered mien, distracted looks, -spurs a-digging into his beast, lips apart, heart beating like spent -rabbit’s, and ‘Peggy, lovely Peggy,’ the clapper to his eager tongue at -every jolt of his saddle, every rut of his way? Go cloud yourself, I -say! since Sir Percy tarries. I’d have the skies weep, even if I can’t.” -A peal of merriest laughter concludes this sally, and an apronful of -plums comes tumbling down all over the other young woman who stands -under the tree in waiting on her mistress. - -“Is His Lordship not yet in sight, My Lady?” asks this one. - -“Nay! that is not he, Chockey, and whisk me! but when His Lordship does -come, he’ll find a very sorry entertainment. I swear, as dad says, I’ll -not see him when he does appear, that will not I. Nay, shake not your -head, girl. Is’t not true that Lady Peggy had once a lover?” - -“’Twere truer say a dozen of that sort of gentry, Madam,” replies the -buxom Chockey, as she sorts the plums, the best in her bonnet, the flaws -over the wall where the chickens and hens cackle to the refuse. - -“Well, well, twenty if you like! but one more favored than the rest? the -properest sort of man at saddle, gun, line, wrestle, toast, song, or -dance? honest, straightforward, beautiful, as dad says the angels are he -saw painted on the walls at Rome. Speak I truth, eh, Chockey?” - -“Madam, that you do.” - -“And this paragon so worshiped his Peggy as, when she went off a-three -months since to visit her godmother in Kent, he vowed by all the saints -in the calendar he’d scarce survive until her return. False or true, eh, -Chockey?” - -My Lady Peggy punctuated this query by an accurate aim and hit, on the -top of her waiting woman’s head, with an especially large plum. - -“True, Madam,” dodging the fruit, and still with an eye on the road. - -“And then, back comes My Lady Peggy, cutting short her stay in Kent, -where she had much pleasure, to tell the truth, in the society of a very -fine young nobleman.” - -“Lawk, Madam! another?” interrupted the faithful Chockey. - -“Another, Chock,” vouchsafes her mistress. “Sweet, sweet Sir Robin -McTart!” - -“Oh, My Lady!” cries the girl, vainly endeavoring to conceal a smile. - -“Aye, Chock,” proceeds Peggy, “I say again, a sweet and most entrapping -young man.” - -“Madam, a squint eye, a wry nose, an underlip that hangs, a pair of -fox-teeth, and a chin that’s gone a-huntin’ for his throat!” - -“Tut, tut! Chock,” laughs Lady Peggy, leaning back in her leafy bower, -“what’s all that to a nimble wit, a galloping conversation, and a -faithful heart?” Lady Peggy’s tone is as light as the May breeze blowing -her soft locks about her lovely blooming face, full of mockery, -witchery,—and then a bit of a sigh, low as flowers’ whispers, and up -with her drooped head higher than before, as in the half mannish tone -her twinship and long play-fellowship with her brother have given her, -she adds curtly— - -“D’ye see aught coming yet, Chock?” - -“No, My Lady, not yet,” answers the girl ruefully. - -Peggy bites her lips until they hurt. - -“As I was a-sayin’, Chock, your mistress cuts short her visit, sends -word to her lover she’ll be home o’-Thursday, and, as I live! to-day’s -the Monday after, and him still on the way! See him!” Peggy’s white -teeth close tight, and her eyes flash, and her little hands clench. “Not -I! Let him come now an’ he goes again faster than he ever traveled. The -vain coxcomb! the deceitful, cozening, graceless poppet! He’ll ne’er set -eyes on her he used to call his Peg again, or I die for’t.” And Peggy -jumped to the ground. - -“Madam! Madam!” exclaims Chockey, pointing joyfully to a cloud of dust -far up the highway. “Look! Yonder comes Sir Percy! Don’t I know? Ain’t I -watched his long roan any day this twelve month a-turnin’ by the lodge?” - -Lady Peggy seizes Chockey’s arm, and runs breathless to the house; in, -a-scrambling up the broad stairs to her chamber; a-pulling out of -drawers from their chests; a-hunting of ribbons and fallals, combs, -brushes, kerchiefs, perfumes, patches, powder, whatever else besides! - -“Hurry, Chock, do my hair as he likes it!” urges Lady Peggy. - -“Lawk, Madam! I thought you swore just now you’d never set eyes on Sir -Percy again?” - -“You thought! Bless you, Chock, never be a-wastin’ your time a-thinking -where a woman’s concerned. When her heart steps up and lays hold the -reins, the steed gallops to the goal; she’s always time to think after -she’s acted.” - -“Yes, Madam,” concurs Chockey, with a mental reservation back of her -mouthful of pins. “There, My Lady, Your Ladyship’s hair is lovely; your -Levantine gown becomes you like a pheasant do its plumage, and your eyes -is a-shinin’ with love and—” - -“Tut, girl! It’s anger, wrath, temper,—so!” Peggy marches up and down -before the mirror, tossing her lovely head. “Thus attired, Chock, a lady -can flout, deride, harass, and madden one of the opposite sex, as can -she not do in cotton frock and fruit-stained apron. Give me my comfit -box, I pray. Tell me how long Sir Percy now hath been cooling his heels -in the drawing-room?” - -“But little lacking the hour, Madam.” - -“Good! I’d keep him there until Thursday, an I could. Now go tell him -I’ll be with him presently.” - -Chockey went. - -Lady Peggy stood at the door ajar; she heard the impatient footsteps of -her lover below, but yet she tarried, tapping her high red heel on the -sill. - -“Lud!” cried she, “an I show no proper spirit, Percy’s uncle’ll have the -right of it when he says of one he’s never seen yet, ‘She’s a-hunting -your bank-notes, boy! She’s heiress to debts, Sir, and by my life, Sir! -I’ll never father-in-law her, so long as I’m above the sod, Sir!’ -Despicable old wretch! as if ’twere not Percy I adored, without a care -if he have a farthing to his fortune, or a roof to his head!” - -And then Chockey, her palm warm with a sovereign, came with a rush. - -“My Lady!” cries she, “’f you could see Sir Percy! White as milk, -tremblin’, shakin’, chatterin’, a-begging and a-praying as you’ll -condescend to go to him inside of another hour!” - -“White, said you Chock?” - -The girl nods vehemently. - -“Shaking?” - -“Aye, Madam.” - -“Like to faint, think you?” - -“Like to die, My Lady!” - -Then Lady Peggy, laughing, humming such a gay snatch of a song, comes -tripping down the stairs, pulling out her petticoats, stopping her -lover’s outstretched arms of eagerness with such a splendid curtsy as -any Court lady might have envied. - -Still laughing.—“Lud! Sir Percy! is’t you?” amazed. - -“Aye!” returns he, more amazed than she, and standing off with dropped -arms. “Whom did you think it was?” - -“Another. My woman’s stupid, and when she described the gallant that she -did, it matched a different sort of him than you, methinks. However, -let’s be civil; the crops are good, the game likely to be, later; the -King in health,—prithee have a chair.” And Peggy swept a second curtsy, -motioning toward a seat. - -“Peggy! Sweet lips! Joy of my soul, what’s it? Not one warm word for him -who only lives for thee? Who’s counted every hour since he parted from -you, eh?” The young man draws nearer to her, and bends upon his knee, -venturing, as he does so, to take her hand in his. - -“Since you spent your time a-counting the hours, Sir, pray you, how many -hours have passed since in this same room we parted, now three months, -three weeks, and a few days since?” - -Sir Percy sprang to his feet. - -“Zounds! Peggy, and you flout me so?” - -“Zounds! Sir Percy, did not I write you—and very well you know writing’s -not my forte,—that I’d be home o’-Thursday?” - -“Aye, but I never got it until this morning; then did I put spurs and -leave my uncle in the lurch to fly to you.” - -“What, Sir! not get my letter? An idle, silly, and foolish excuse. I -sent it by Bickers, and trustier man ne’er breathed. He vowed me he’d -put it in your hands.” - -“Peggy, believe whichever of the two you like; but, in mercy tell me! -What kept you so long away? I’ve heard rumors of another. Eh, Peg, ’tis -not true, swear me ’tis not true? Oh, by the hue of my visage must you -know what jealous pangs have racked me!” - -Lady Peggy nods her head maliciously. - -“Jealous pangs, forsooth! and you thought to medicine them, I dare be -sworn, with vaulting the country over in the wake of Lady Diana Weston, -the greatest heiress in the market! Bah, Sir, and you’ve heard rumors! -I’ll match ’em. I’ve seen the minx from afar. She is handsome, Sir; your -taste does you credit.” - -“Peg, I swear ’twas but to please my uncle!” cries Sir Percy. - -“Aye, and so displease me!” - -“Nay, you know too well that I’ll never do that of my will; but my -uncle, as I’ve told you, must be coaxed, and then when once I gain his -consent to seeing you, our battle’s won. To see thee, Peg ’s to worship -thee! Lord Gower’ll kneel when he beholds thee!” - -“Our me no ours, Sir!” returned Peggy. “Let’s here and now make an end -on’t all. You go pound the roads after your new mistress with her acres -and notes, and I—” - -“Well, you what?” asks the young man impetuously and yet with a certain -grave dignity. - -“Oh, I’ll acquit myself to a certainty with one that’s faithful as the -sun, and gallant from his head to his heels.” - -“What’s his name?” inquires Sir Percy in a hard, strained voice. “If -he’s a better man, Peg, and you can say you love him—God keep me!” - -“His name’s a very honorable and ancient one, he’s Sir Robin McTart, -twenty-third Baronet!” - -“Peggy!” - -If a thunderbolt had fallen betwixt Peggy’s red shoes and his brown -ones, Percy could not have been more astounded. - -“Well, Sir?” returns she, scarce controlling the twitching of her lips. - -“A milk-sop, molly-coddle! Oh Peggy, an you drop me, take a better man! -Peg, you’re a-joking. Not that bumpkin! I’ve never seen him, but report -has it he’s afeard if one of his own dogs looks him in the eye and -bays!” - -“Sir Percy, have you finished?” inquires Peggy with dignity. - -“No, have I not! By my soul, Peg, an you pitch me to hell for that -jackanapes, I’ll go to hell as fast as wine and dice, and cards and -brawls, and usurers, and all that sort of crew can carry me! I’ll up to -London, and one morning when your brother sends you word he’s found me -with a rapier stuck in my throat, my pockets empty, and ‘Peggy’ writ on -the scrap o’ paper a-lying over my heart, then you’ll believe Percy -loved you!” - -“Lud, Sir! Men are apt at such chatter, and a fortnight after, the -vicar’s a-publishing their banns with the other lady!” - -“Peg!” He takes her kerchief end, as it droops away from her pretty long -throat, in his fingers; he looks down deep into her eyes; his voice -shakes, so does his hand. - -“Whatever betides, my bonny sweetheart, there’s only one that’ll ever -have banns read with me, and that’s—” He takes her by surprise and by -the shoulders, and squares her to the mirror in its niche. - -“Farewell, Peg—since you send me, it’s the devil and dice, for by the -Lord! I can’t live a quiet life lacking your smiles.” - -In two minutes more Chockey, from the upper window, saw the long roan -flying away from Kennaston faster than she ever galloped to it; and went -down to find her young mistress a-lying prone in a fine wrinkled heap of -silken gown, lace frills and furbelows, on the threadbare carpet of the -big drawing-room. - -To rush across the wide hall to the dining-room, seize a game-knife, -back again; cut her mistress’s stays; pour a glass of cider down Lady -Peggy’s throat, willy-nilly; clap her palms; pound her back; set her on -her feet; and half carry her to her chamber, occupied not many minutes -for stout Chockey. - -“Lawk, My Lady,” said she, surveying the prostrate form on the couch, -arms a-kimbo, eyes saucer-wide, “who’d ever have thought to see your -haughty Ladyship so mauled for the sake of any gentleman as lives!” - -Lady Peggy lay still, but presently, from the depths of the pillows she -spoke. - -“I ain’t mauled, Chock, not I!” Her Ladyship now sat up and stared -around the big room. “It’s only for sorrow for havin’ had to disappoint -Sir Percy, on account of dear Sir Robin.” - -“Oh!” ejaculates the worthy Chockey in a tone of undisguised and -sarcastic disbelief. - -“Chockey!” exclaimed her mistress in the tone of a drill sergeant, now -rising to her feet. - -“Lawk! My Lady, I didn’t mean nothin’.” - -“Chockey,” echoes Lady Peggy faintly, sinking to her knees, “whatever’ll -I do? Oh Chock! Chock! and Sir Percy just the centre of my heart, and me -to behave to him like a brute! Out of my sight, away with you! There’s -the first bell a-ringin’ for dinner. Say to daddy I’m too deep in my -hand-writin’ lessons to eat to-day! Say to him I’m gone out to break the -new colt and not got back. Say to him I’m gone to the devil!” - -And Lady Peggy fell a-weeping with such violence as Chockey had never -seen; and, being a wise damsel, she left her mistress alone and went -down to soothe the gouty Earl, tied to his chair, as best she could for -the absence of his daughter Peg from dinner. - -[Illustration] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - II - - _In the which Her Ladyship wheedles her - noble father and makes up her mind._ - - -The Earl forsooth was a testy gentleman, and his girl was his plague and -his pride; on her, rather than on his heir, the old man’s fancy was set, -for the reason that Kennaston, disclaiming all the country sports, the -half wild outdoor life, the lusty joys and racing bumps and cups that -had been vastly helpful in reducing the little his parent had started -his career with, had elected instead to try his luck at that most -inscrutable, vile trade of scribbling! - -Peg’s twin, her fellow in height and build, which made a slender youth -of him indeed, had gone up to London quill-armed, ink-fingered, -brain-possessed with rhymes; empty-pursed, determined to carve with such -unlikely weapons as that apt bird, the goose, furnishes, a fame and -fortune for himself, that should dazzle the world and recoup the -fortunes of his well-nigh fallen house. - -While the Earl jeered, Peg, herself scarce able to spell a two-syllabled -word, looked up to her brother as nothing short of whatever stood in her -mind for Shakespeare; for, low be it spoke, the fair Peggy had small -notion of books, their makers or their pleasurable usage. To her they -represented waste time almost, and only as a means of communication with -Kennaston did she, since his absence began, pore daily over a -dictionary, a speller, and a copy-book. - -So sat she now, a couple of months after the parting betwixt her and Sir -Percy; lips pursed, brows knit, goose-feather in finger, poring over a -blank sheet of paper first, and from it turning to the closely-writ page -of a letter from her twin. - -Chockey sat on a stool hard by,—they were both in the buttery, for Lady -Peggy was apt with all the mysteries of housekeeping, and had as fine a -churning, as big cheeses, as fat chickens, as nice eggs, as good hams as -any other in the county,—had she not, the Earl, her father, had lacked -something or all of his comfort. Chockey, then, sat working butter, -squeezing all the white milky bubbles back and forth in the wooden bowl, -and printing the pats in the trays, while her mistress sighed, -swallowed, and at last burst forth in speech. - -“Chockey, I shall fall into a fit, an I’ve ever another letter to write -in this world. The last I writ was for Sir Robin to introduce him to -Lord Kennaston when he should go up to town—and belike, I forgot to give -it to him as I promised and have it safe here. It took me a week to -finish, and I’ve copied all the words out of it I can, yet do I lack -thousands more, methinks, to say what I would to my brother. Lud! -Learning’s a wonderful thing! Look at that, Chock!” - -Lady Peggy holds up the well covered pages of Kennaston’s letter before -the eyes of the Abigail. - -“Aye, Madam,” giggles this one, “it has the air to me of where spiders -has been a-fightin’! Now, for true, My Lady, do it say words as has a -meanin’?” - -“Listen,” replies the mistress, reading off quite glibly, since ’tis the -one hundredth time since she got it that she’s rehearsed the same to -herself. - - -“SWEET SISTER PEGGY: I’d have written before but that literature pays -ill until a man hath contrived by preference and patronage, the rather -than by his wits, to place himself at evens with the Great and the -Distinguished. So far I find Fame’s hill hard in the Climbing, but do I -not complain, for there’s that spirit reigning in my breast as bids me -welcome Poverty, even Starvation, lead it but to the sometime -recognition of my Talents. I take up my pen not to riddle your ears with -plaints, but on another matter, which is Sir Percy.” - -Lady Peggy’s head droops a bit to match her voice, whilst Chockey’s -bright little eyes sparkle, and she twists the yellow butter into heart -shapes as she pricks her ears and sighs. - -“Sir Percy,” continues My Lady Peggy, reading, “as you know came up to -town, now these seven weeks agone, straight as a die to my meagre -chambers, where welcome was spelled, I can assure thee, all over the -bare floor, barer board, and barer master thereof,—for of a truth I love -him as should I the brother I had hoped he’d be! Peg, what’s this -thou’st done to the lad? Thrown him, a gallant with as big a heart as -God ever made, over into the Devil’s own mire, for sake of that little -tow-haired sprat, Robin McTart! with his pate full of himself and none -other,—so I’ve heard say, for never set I eyes upon the blackguard from -Kent! Zounds! twin! What are ye women made of? And I write to say Percy, -what with carousals and brawls, and drink and fights, and all night at -the gaming-table, and all day God knows where, ’s fast a-throwing -himself piecemeal into the grave he’s a-digging daily for your cruel -sake. Could you but see him! A ghost! Wan, with eyes full of -blood-spots, and hair unkempt! Madam, there’s love for you—and love’s -what ladies like. Go match him, Sister, with McTart if you can, but twin -me no more ever again an you and I wear black ribbons for Percy de -Bohun!” - - -Lady Peggy’s lip quivers; so does Chockey’s. - -“Lawk, My Lady!” cries the girl, splashing tears into the butter, -reckless. - -“‘Black ribbons,’ Chock! ‘A ghost,’ Chock! ‘McTart,’ Chock! Lord ha’ -mercy! What’s to become o’ me?” Peggy’s tears smart her eyes as she -flings the goose-quill over to a cheese on the shelf, where it sticks, -and one day surprises the Vicar at his supper. - -“Get out of my sight!” she flings after it. “I can’t write! Who can -write out her heart and soul, when it’s devilish hard even to speak it. -Oh! Would I were my brother for one fine half-hour!” cries Peggy, rising -and stamping up and down the stone floor of the buttery. - -“An’ if you were, Madam?” asks Chockey meekly, “what then?” - -“I’d swear! Yea, would I! Such a lot of splendid oaths as’d ease my mind -and let me hear from my own lips what a fool’s part I’d played with my -own—my adored Percy! Could I but see him! as Kennaston says.” Peggy in -her progress now upsets a pan of cream, and has genuine pleasure in -splashing it about over her slippers as she speaks. - -“But I! What am I? A girl! swaddled in petticoats and fallals; tethered -to an apron, and a besom, and a harpsichord, and a needle,—yet can I -snap a rapier, fire a pistol, jump a ditch, land a fish, for my brother -taught me. Still it’s girl! girl! sit by the fire and spin! dawdle! -dally!” The cream now spots up as far as Peggy’s chin and flecks its -dimple. - -“Stop-at-home, nor stir-abroad! Smile, ogle!” each word emphasized with -heel and toe. - -“And—” Lady Peggy now flops back into her chair, breathless, “wait on -man’s will and whims,—that, Chock, ’s what ’tis to be a woman.” - -“Aye, ’tis,” assents the waiting woman. “But yet, My Lady, if I dared -make bold, there’s summat Your Ladyship might do, an My Lady, Your -Ladyship’s mother, came back home again from her visit to your uncle in -York.” - -“Out with it!” says Peggy hopelessly, folding up her attempted letter -and tucking it in her reticule. - -“Mayhap you could persuade, by much weeping and praying, falling into -swoons and such like, that Her Ladyship would take you up to London! -Once there, Sir Percy couldn’t keep his distance from you.” - -Peggy looks at Chockey as if she were a vision sent from on high; then, -quickly succeeding derision curls her lip. - -“My Lady mother take a squealing chit like me up to town! Never! She’d -say my manners weren’t fit, or my figger, or my wardrobe. Lud! Chock! -Bethink thee, lass, of my gowns in London town! and me no more -acquainted with the ways yonder, than our Brindle is with the family -pew!” - -Lady Peggy walked out into the paddock, rubbed the cream from her -slippers on the turf; caressed the ponies; munched the sweet cake she -had in her apron-pocket, felt the keen sweet air blow over her hot -forehead, and saw, dancing ever before her mind’s eye, that insidious -sweet suggestion of “going up to London.” - -How did one go up to London? - -In the coach: aye to be sure; and the coach left the “Mermaid” in the -village every Tuesday and Thursday at five in the morning. The coach! -The splendid coach, a-swinging on its springs like a gigantic cradle; -the postillions a-snapping their whips, the coachman a-cracking his long -lash and a-shouting “All h’up for London!” and the ladies and -gentlemen—well armed, these last, in dread of the highwaymen on the -heath—all a-piling in and a-settling themselves; and the guards -a-tooting their horns, the landlady and the boots and the maids and the -hostlers all a-bowing and a-scraping and—off they go! for London -town—where Percy was a-pining and a-dying for her, so her twin writ in -his letter. - -Well, Lady Peggy went in, clapt on a fresh gown and shoes, and never was -daughter more tender and patient with crabbed, gouty, crusty dad than -she all through that lovely day. Playing backgammon; spelling out the -newspaper; trouncing the cat when it jumped on His Lordship’s leg; -blowing the fire; wheeling his chair from hither to yon; stroking the -bald head; combing the white whiskers; and finally said she, - -“Daddy, London’s a very big sort of a place, now, isn’t it?” - -The Earl nods, coddling his leg into the slip of sunshine that’s walking -westerly away from him. - -“My brother lodges, so he says, at the corner of Holywell Road and Lark -Lane; tell me, dad, where should that be now?” Lady Peggy has a careless -air, and flecks a buzzing fly out of His Lordship’s bowl of porridge. - -“Eh?” pursues she, “is’t for instance, in the city, or nigh London -Bridge, or where the quality lives, or toward Southwark, or where?” - -“Rot me!” cries His Lordship, looking up at his daughter in surprise, -“what’s my poppet got into her pretty head now, forsooth? Tut, tut, -girl, what’s town to thee, or its bearings? hey? stick thy eye into thy -churn an’ keep thy hand on the dasher,—’twere better’n all the shops in -Piccadilly, or all the fops at Court.” - -“Slow, dad! I was only askin’ of my twin’s whereabouts. Shops and fops -are not dizzyin’ your Peggy, you may swear; ’tis my brother, Sir, of -whom I’d learn!” - -“’Twere better chase the scoundrel out’n my head, Peg, than hammer him -in! A lad with every chance here in the county to raise his house, and -make a good match with a nice plump girl, havin’ land joining his own; -but no! Up and off to town to starve and scratch!” - -The Earl pommels the floor with his stick, causing the cat to leap into -the air. - -“Let him die in want! Let him freeze, thirst, come to the gallows, say -I! For such as leaves plenty to pursue want, gets no sympathy from me!” - -“He ain’t begged for’t yet, dad,” says Peggy very mildly. “All I was -a-wonderin’ was this: When my brother took the coach at the Mermaid that -mornin’ you mind? how far off the inn where he alighted was the lodgin’ -at the corner of Holywell Road and Lark Lane?—eh, dad? Surely”—and here -Lady Peggy knelt and stroked his lordship’s gouty member, and her voice -positively trembled, doubtless with excess of filial zeal and devotion. - -“Surely,” resumed she, “you, who were, I dare be sworn”—such arch eyes -as Lady Peggy now made!—“a fine gallant not so many years ago, must -remember that,—don’t you?” - -“Let’s see, let’s see,” responds His Lordship, rubbing his head. “They -set ye down at the King’s Arms, nigh the Bridge, Southwark Bridge, yes; -Well! Damme! I ought to know! Lark Lane? A devil of a hole; why, girl! -it’s not a quarter hour’s trot from the inn, but it’s a beastly -environment. Gad! that son of mine chooses pens, ink and writing-paper -there, rather than—” - -“Lady Belinda here, weight fourteen stone; acres two thousand; guineas, -countless; temper, amazin’; years, untold! ha! ha! ha! Oh, daddy!” Lady -Peggy springs up and dances about a minute in most genuine gaiety, then -she seizes her father’s head between her palms and hugs and kisses him -with much grateful warmth; then flops down a-coddling of the gout again; -laughing, giggling, pinching puss, and saying,— - -“Daddy, drop London! Care I no more for’t. Know I quite enough. Let’s -chat of aught else in the world, until you fall a-napping, which will be -soon now, guessing by the shadows.” - -’Twas very soon. - -Then Lady Peggy tiptoed off to her chamber; then she pulled the rope -that rang in the kitchen, and presently Chockey came, chopper and bowl -in hand, checkered apron over white one; for serving maids were scarce -in Kennaston Hall, footmen there were none; butler there was when he was -not doing t’other half his duty at the stables. - -“Come hither, Chockey,” says her mistress in a whisper, with a beckon. -“Shut the door; go on with choppin’ your leeks and carrots, cook’ll want -’em for the soup,—but listen, Chock; unlock your ears Jane Chockey, as -never you did before in your life.” - -Chockey bobs as she chops, leaning against the headpost, for support of -her occupation, and also of her curiosity. - -“You know my mother’s box, the small one that was re-covered last spring -with the skin of the red calf that died natural? Bickers put it on with -a gross of brass nails?” - -Chockey again bobs. - -“Put into it,” continues Lady Peggy, “a change of linen for yourself and -me, two night-rails,” Chockey’s eyes dilate, “my gray taffeta gown with -the flowered petticoat, my green hood and kerchief; powder, patch-box, -lavender, musk, pins, needles; my red silken hose; your Sunday cap and -sleeves”—Chockey’s chopper ceases to work, and the bed-post creaks. “All -of which,” continues her mistress, “is but prelude to saying: ‘I’m going -up to London by to-morrow’s coach, and I’m takin’ you with me!’” - -“Madam!” Down goes the bowl, leeks, carrots, chopper and all a-spilling -over the floor. - -“Aye,” says Peggy calmly, “gather up thy mess, Chock, and to work with -the duds. Lay out my Levantine gown, my blue kerchief, my black silk -hose, my brown cloak; and, from my mother’s press, take the thick fall -of Brussels lace and the brown bonnet it’s tied to, and bring ’em -hither; put them under the bed beside thy trundle so’s my father’ll not -see ’em when he stops to bid me good-night. Borrow cook’s hat she bought -at the Fair when she was young, and her delaine veil for thyself; for, -so appareled as not to be recognized, will you, dear Chock, and my Lady -Peggy take the coach on April the twelfth. But, Chock, remember, mum’s -the word, an you let your tongue wag to my undoing, but the thousandth -part of a syllable, your mistress and you part company forever! Go.” - -Chockey picked up Lady Peggy’s waving hand between a pinch of her apron, -lest her onion-smelling fingers should foul so dainty a morsel, kissed -it, and off and obeyed, speechless from surprise and veneration, both. - -At night’s fall,—the Earl, somnolent again from fire’s warmth and the -port he would take, despite the surgeon’s orders to the contrary,—Lady -Peggy, Chockey in her wake, purse in hand, went scouting through the -kitchen-garden, the paddocks, the cowyard to the stable where Bickers’s -pipe shone in the gloaming like a fire-gem as he dodged and lurched -after a refractory colt. - -Bickers, albeit sometimes the slave of beer, was all times Lady Peggy’s -abject, and it took no effort nor persuasion to gain him to her will. He -took his orders amiably,—they were to secure two places in the London -mail for to-morrow morning, and strictly to hold his peace both now and -forever about the whole concern. - -Peggy gave him the price of the seats and with wise Castle-mistress -foresight, she showed Bickers a sovereign beside. - -“And Bickers,” said Lady Peggy, “considering that the devil walks abroad -often in the Mermaid’s tap-room, I am told, I’ll keep the sovereign for -you ’til you come back, lest he rob you of it, eh?” - -“Well, My Lady,” said Bickers; “a whole sovereign, My Lady, ain’t often -seen out of the quality’s pockets, and the devil might think I’d stole -it, My Lady, and try to get it from me. Keep it, My Lady, keep it!” - -With which the old man, having conquered the colt, set off for the -village by a side-path all too well known to his tread. Presently by the -spark in his pipe-bowl the two women saw that he had turned back; that, -as he came close to them, he clapped his thumb over the glow, and, - -“My Lady Peggy,” mumbled he sheepishly. - -“Whatever is’t, Bickers?” cries his mistress in alarm. - -“Naught to fright ye, My Lady, only it’s been on my mind these many days -to tell you as the letter you sent me with to Sir Percy de Bohun—” - -“Well, well?” Lady Peggy’s words came with a gasp, as the old man dead -stops. - -“Go on Bickers, I say!” the mistress’s foot stamps with a thud on the -damp earth. - -“Askin’ Your Ladyship’s parding, the devil caught me that time at the -Kennaston Arms, My Lady, and he clawed that tight, My Lady, that I -couldn’t stir, and—and—” - -Peggy now stooped, seized a billet of wood as big as her arm and gave -Bickers a sound drub across his hands. The pipe fell in bits, the ash -glowed; Bickers jumped, so did Chockey. - -“‘And, and’ what?” drubbed Peggy with a will. “Not so much as ha’ penny -of the sovereign, unless you out with the whole truth!” - -“I will! I will!” cried the old man. “Sir Percy never got the letter, My -Lady, until the very day I seen him on the long roan a-ridin’ for’s life -away from the Castle yonder,” and Bickers jerked his thumb toward the -house as he now made off. - -The devil did not catch Bickers that night; he earned his sovereign -before the moon rose. - -As he sped, Lady Peggy took Chockey’s proffered arm. - -“You see, Chock, you see, how we that are born to wear petticoats are no -better’n puppets! a-dancin’ and a-cryin’; or a-kneelin’ and a-weepin’, -as it happens to suit the whim of what, Chock? Who, Chock? Tell me, -Chock!” cries Lady Peggy excitedly. - -“Lawk, My Lady, that can I not!” - -“A man, Chock, a man! it’s a him that pulls the strings, girl, and all -we’ve to do is to simper and jerk this way, that way. To think,” here -Peggy’s voice falters, for they’ve gained the house and are clambering -the back stairs in the dark. “To think that Bickers, Bickers! should ha’ -made me treat my worshiped Percy like a hog! Yes, Chockey, like a hog! -even that name ain’t vile enough for me. But, oh, an I reach London in -safety, and gain my brother’s chambers, and learn from him that ’tis for -very love of me Sir Percy’s canterin’ to perdition, then, Chock, Lady -Peggy’ll know how to spell paradise for him she’s riskin’ much to hear -the truth about.” - -“But, My Lady,” ventures Chockey, who, notwithstanding the blissful -prospect of seeing London, still had a practical eye toward the dangers -that beset the path, both thereto, and once there. - -“But, My Lady, supposin’ we can’t find Lord Kennaston’s lodgin’s; -supposin’ he’s away from home when we get there; or, a-havin’ a party, -or ain’t got no place for us to sleep; or suppose—” - -“Suppose me no supposes, Chock!” Lady Peggy shakes out the Levantine -gown from its wrinkles. “If London were the black pit, and an army of -Satans a-sittin’ grinnin’ around the brim, still would I go and find out -for myself if it’s for me he pines—or, if Lady Diana Weston is up in -London too!” With which Her Ladyship gives the petticoat, she takes from -its peg against the morrow, a somewhat emphatic, not to say malicious -shake. - -[Illustration] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - III - - _Wherein is recounted how Her Ladyship set - forth, accompanied by her faithful - woman, for London Town._ - - -Whoever knows the rare delights of an English dawn nowadays can figure -for himself, to the letter, how ’twas when Lady Peggy and Chockey, after -a make-haste toilet in the dark, slipped out into the sweetness that -long-ago spring morning. The mists were rolling and creeping slowly back -and over from the river-meadows; the brawl of the stream tinkled in -their ears; the scents of the flower-garden next the court-yard of the -Castle, came potently, lured by the flush that by now was tingeing all -the pallid east with rose; the yellow moon hung low to her setting, and -two stars for handmaidens still shone, of all her million troupe, at -either side the disk; yonder, the steeple of the church pricked up to -heaven; hither, the oaks, greening to their full leafage; there a brown -rabbit scurried across the road; here the rooks hopped and ha-ha-ed to -their fellows. Else, ’twas all a-hush with that recurring fond -expectancy of hope, with which every day of every year so waits and -wonders for “to-morrow” to be born. - -Lady Peggy took the lead, kirtle high upheld, shoes soon bedrabbled in -the dust and dew. Chockey, bearing the newly-covered box in her stout -arms, followed close at heel. Both women, veiled double, and being -wholly unused to such matters, sighting the path much the worse for the -covering; in fact Peggy stumbled along like some old crone, and yet -laughed under her breath merrily back at floundering Chockey. - -“Hist! Chock, had I now but brought dad’s cane and snuff-box, I must -sure be taken for some three-score dame come yawning out of bed before -her hour, to overtake, mayhap, a recreant grandson! Zounds! as my twin’d -say, were he here,” and hauling at the mischievous Brussels veil, down -flopped Her Ladyship, on her knees betwixt two villainous ruts. - -“Oh, My Lady!” moaned the waiting-woman panting under cook’s delaine and -the calf-skin box. “Lord ha’ mercy! an this be the way to London. I’d -liefer be sittin’ in the kitchen chimney a-blessin’ my porridge and -spoonin’ of’t, than this!” assisting her mistress to her feet. - -“Fie upon thee, Chock! Remember you’re waiting-woman now to a lady of -fashion, to wit myself, and well used to journeys up to town in coaches -every season! Lud!” Here Peggy stood in a puddle to take breath. “I -wonder if we’ll ever pass muster at the inn; and yet I’m sure, landlord, -or dame, or hostler’d never think o’ me.” - -“Haste, Madam,” returns Chockey, “for do not forget the coach starts at -five on the stroke, and we’ve still the quarter-mile to go.” - -So on they went. My Lady Peggy unable to restrain, from time to time, -however, the keen relishful overflow of her spirits. When one’s young -and not ailing, a new day whips the blood and brain to such a pinnacle -of unquestioning gladness as breaks bonds, be they never so weighty, -and, pro tem., sweet few-years comrades him with the happiness of earth -and air and sky. - -But once the curl of cheerful smoke from the “Mermaid” chimney full in -view above the oak-tops, My Lady sobered much, and, clutching Chockey’s -arm, both fell a-trembling; stood stock-still, and stared into each -other’s eyes, as lace and wool would let. - -“Lady Peggy,” cries Chockey, “an it please Your Ladyship,” with -tell-tale gasps of throat, “let’s go back home!” - -“Jane Chockey!” answered her mistress, only needing this spur to set her -a-panting the more to her purpose, “we’ll go on.” - -And on they went. Peggy with a measured tread; Chockey plodding after. -Into the inn-yard, where even now the great coach with its four bays -waited the signal to start. - -The passengers were piling on; and, atop already, quipped a trio of -college lads in beavers. There stood mine host and hostess, maids, men, -boys, cooks, and scullions; tips were tossed, baggage packed in the -boot; farewells spoken; candles held high, lashes cracked; prancing, -pawing; a rattle, a door-bang, curtsies, bows,— - -“All h’up for the London mail!” shouted the coachman merrily. - -And Lady Peggy and her woman, neatly sandwiched between a fat, fussy -dowager and a swearing, tearing old gentleman who together absorbed the -most of the vehicle and all the attention of their fellow passengers, -found themselves on the road to town. - -No one paid the least heed to them, save that, at the stops, the guard -came civilly to ask Chockey if her mistress required any refreshment, to -the which Chockey, well prepared, always answered “no”; since, to raise -their veils might betray their identity. So ’twas in hunger, silence and -oblivion that the momentous journey was taken. - -When they crossed the heath, the testy old gentleman did turn toward -Peggy, thereby flattening her the more, and, pulling out a brace of -pistols, said: - -“Have no fears, Madam, I’ve traveled this road these sixty years, -probably you have yourself”—thus paying tribute to Peggy’s now trembling -agitation, which he pleasantly mistook for age. - -“And the damned rascals, Madam, know better’n to attack the coach when -I’m aboard. You’re not in fear?” now bending a pair of sharp old eyes on -the Brussels lace. - -Lady Peggy, smothering her laughter, and recalling how often, -half-a-score years ago, she’s sat on this old gentleman’s knee (he was a -friend of her father’s), puts hand to ear, and nudges Chockey behind the -broad back of the dowager. - -The old gentleman nods comprehendingly, turns square to Chockey, and -says “deaf?” - -And Chockey, divided between terror and mirth, nods back again. - -Without other incident, the journey up to the great city is -accomplished, and, by three in the afternoon, up pull the four horses -before the door of the King’s Arms in the Strand, and Lady Peggy, and -her woman, and her box, are set down in the yard, amid the din and -bustle incident always to the arrival of travelers. - -[Illustration: And Lady Peggy and her woman...] - -Not much attention is bestowed on them. A couple of unpretending -appearing women, evidently not persons of quality, as the meek little -calf-skin box is their sole belonging; coming up to London too without -even one man-servant,—bespeak but little consideration in the throng of -ladies of fashion, gallants over their coffee, courtiers popping in for -the news, sparks intent on ogling a pretty face or noting a trim ankle, -that much o’er crowded the yard, ordinary and parlor of the King’s Arms. - -Just here once, for an instant, Lady Peggy’s brave heart failed her; -most, when she espied at the door, just getting into her -silken-curtained chair, a lady, so young and beautiful, so richly girt, -so spick and span, with such wonderful patches and such snowy powdered -locks, such sparkling eyes, such begemmed fingers glistening through her -mitts,—and knew at once that Lady Diana Weston was indeed “in town”! - -She faltered a bit, indeed sank down on the box which Chockey had set in -a corner of the yard, and, for a brief moment, both mistress and maid -bedewed their masking falls with a few splashing tears. - -Then spoke Lady Peggy, rising and plucking up her spirits,—“Chock,” said -she, “beckon me a boy from yonder group; inquire the path to the corner -of Holywell Road and Lark Lane; order him shoulder the box and lead the -way. Speak with a swagger, Chock; knock the drops out of your lashes -with a laugh, girl! Let ’em think we’re old hands at the town and used -to bein’ waited upon!” Lady Peggy straightened herself in her grimy -shoes, and gave the Levantine a twitch which she hoped was quite the -mode. - -Meantime Chockey did her mistress’s bidding, and in less time than it -takes to set it down, the two were following the lad, in and out of such -a net and mazework of streets and lanes as set their heads a-whirling; -now they wheeled around this bend, now across that alley,—foul-smelling -as a ditch or a dirty dog; anon up a broader way where knockers shone -and chairs waited at the curb; then a cut down here, and at last this -was Holywell Road and yonder the opening of Lark Lane. - -Well, to be sure, ’twas a sorry spot. As Lady Peggy paid the boy and -stood on the step, she ruefully surveyed the environment; the -wig-maker’s opposite, with a wig in the window, she half-laughingly -noted, the very yellow counterpart of Sir Robin McTart’s round pate; a -dingy chocolate-house at t’other end of the row of dark, timbered, -nodding houses; and this one of the stretch, taller, grimier even than -its forlorn neighbors, was where poor scribbling Kennaston hunted that -jade called Fame! - -At double-knock, came hobbling the charwoman, loath to be disturbed at -her twilight pipe, but brisking at sight of Lady Peggy’s now uncovered -face and shilling between fingers. - -“Yes, indeed, here His Lordship lodged and ate; was His Lordship at -’ome? Nay, that was he not! but surely might be before cock-crow -to-morrow! His Lordship’s sister! Lawk! Would Her Ladyship and Her -Ladyship’s woman condescend to come in and mount? What a beautiful -surprise for ’is young Lordship when he did get ’ome to be sure! No, he -’adn’t gone out alone, a gay spark, a gentleman of the first quality ’ad -come, as often ’e did, and fetched h’off His Lordship with ’im, last -night; ’is name? Was it Sir Robin McTart peradventure? No, no, that was -a name she ’ad never ’eard! ’Twas no Duke nor Earl neither, but a—Sir, -Sir—?” - -And as the old woman and Chockey, carrying the calf-skin box between -them, reached the last landing and set their burden down in -thankfulness, Lady Peggy, feeling the way, said: - -“Sir Percy de Bohun, perchance? Methinks my brother has a companion by -some such title!” - -“Aye, that’s ’im! Ah, My Lady, as splendid a gentleman as ever sang ‘God -save the King!’ free with ’is sovereigns, My Lady, as trees is with -their nuts; and, to match ’im for oaths! there’s not that Prince o’ the -blood as can swear so beautiful when ’e’s dead drunk. These is ‘is -Lordship’s your brother’s chambers, My Lady!” throwing open the door and -ushering Peggy and her servitor into as dingy, dirty, empty, sad, bare, -and unkempt an appearing place as ever mortal and intrepid lady set two -tired feet within. - -But Lady Peggy, for the nonce, was only eager on one point. - -“Drunk, say you, dame? and wherefore should so generous a young -gentleman be a-gallopin‘ that silly road, eh?” - -“Lawk! Your Ladyship! ‘ow should I know? but His Lordship’s own -gentleman, My Lady, what ‘olds ‘im up and steadies His Lordship in ‘is -cups, do say”—the old charwoman, whisking the dust of ages from a wooden -chair, sets it for Lady Peggy and bends to tidy the hearth and gather -together the few shingles and faggots strewn about. - -“‘Say’ what?” urges Peggy, with eager eyes and a sixpence shining in her -hand (another shilling’s more than she dare hazard of her slender -store). - -“Do say, My Lady,—God bless Your Ladyship’s sweet face! as it’s h’all on -account of a young lady!” - -Lady Peggy’s eyes sparkle and all at once the smoky room seems cheerful, -and the tardy blaze in the fire-place glows and thaws her chilled bones -and blood. - -“Ah?” she says, smiling. - -“Yes, My Lady, a splendid young lady of fashion, an heiress, a beauty, -with half London a-danglin’ after ’er; and ’er that ’aughty, as if she -was of the royal family, and ’im a-killin’ ’imself for ’er sake!” - -And back again slide Kennaston’s chambers into their original depravity -of dirt and dreariness; and down goes the charwoman to her pipe; and -Lady Peggy on the wooden chair, Chockey on the box, spread their fingers -to the reluctant warmth and are silent; while the clock ticks on the -mantel-shelf; while the slit of blue that peers in at the window, grays; -while the noises that are all new to these two, come rasping, roaring, -shouting up to them through the broken pane—the dizzying, multitudinous, -incoherent surge of London town, as it first smites ears not yet wonted -to its fascination or its meaning—merely lonely, forlorn, dispirited -new-comers who have not yet learned the passion and the melody that lie -hidden in its Babel. - -The waiting-woman is the first to move; with the homely excellent -instincts of her class, she rises, and, after a slow glance around the -place, falls “a-reddin’ of it up” as she mentally designated her -attempt. She seized the stumpy broom from its corner and swept the -floor, brushed the maze of cobwebs from ceiling and walls; beat the -mats; wiped the stools and table, the broad window-sills and the -shelves; shook out the dingy, ink-stained cloth; straightened the litter -of books and papers, quills and horns; and finally went a-peering into -the cupboards. A grimy coffee-pot and a well-matching kettle were fished -out and rubbed; the kettle filled with water from the tubfull on the -landing and straightway hung upon the crane; plates and cups and saucers -and spoons brought forth; a paper of coffee, a jug of milk and a bottle -of sugar discovered, and presently Chockey handed her mistress a cup of -steaming mocha and modestly poured one for herself. - -“Oh, Chock!” cries Lady Peggy, setting down the empty cup. “What a fool -was I to come! What am I, forsooth, in all this great desert but a grain -of sand! And Percy, not,” Lady Peggy stamps her muddy red-heeled shoe -fiercely, “a-dyin’ for me in the least! and my twin a-livin’ in such a -hole! wherever does he sleep, Chock?” Surveying the barn-like apartment -in disgust and dismay, her gaze finally arrested by a ladder slanting in -the darkest corner and reaching up to an opening in the ceiling. - -“Up there, I dare be sworn! Lud! If this ’tis to be an author,” flouts -Peggy, “God ha’ mercy on ’em! I tell you what, Chock. I’ll tarry a -little, have a word with Kennaston; then we’ll back, girl, whence we -came, quick; I’ll send word to Sir Robin McTart, and then let -weddin’-bells ring as soon as ever he sees fit. No more o’ love for me, -Chock. I’m done with it forever in this world; I’ll take marriage -instead!” - -Chockey shakes her head ruefully as her mistress, more to emphasize her -latest resolve than from any other motive, flings wide open the cracked -doors of the clothes-press next the chimney-piece and gives a -tempestuous shake-out to the garments a-hanging on the pegs. - -“Lud! look! Kennaston’s suit of gray velvets, not much the worse for -wear! Small need has the poor lad for fine clothes, I warrant ye; most -like a-keepin’ of ’em for pawn-shop use and bread and butter! Chock, -unlock the box, and get out the waistcoat I broidered for my twin, at -much expense of temper, against his birthday. So! Smooth it out! it’s -brave, eh, Chock? Fit for Court, I should fancy, and, that’s right, the -laced cravat! poor duck, I do misdoubt me, if he’s seen a frill on his -wrist since quittin’ home! There!” - -Lady Peggy surveys the gifts she’s brought, as Chockey takes them out. - -“Lawk, Madam, ’twere better, were’t not, I bundle all Your Ladyship’s -duds and mine up yonder against His Lordship’s comin’?” - -“Right, Chock! up with ’em, and I’ll steady the road while you climb!” -Suiting action to word, as Chockey, bearing the calf-skin box, -cautiously mounts the rickety ladder. - -“What’s it like, Chock?” - -“Nothin’ I ever seed afore, My Lady; dark, stuffy; a mattress -a-sprawlin’ on the bare boards, and a pair of torn quilts, and a piller -no bigger’n my fist, that’s all!” - -“Enough, Chock; you and I can sleep our one night in London there as -soundly,” Lady Peggy’s proud lip quivers, “as I could on down or ’twixt -my mother’s best lamb’s wool! Come down, Chock, by the fire; and list, -to-morrow, at first crow, we’ll back to Kennaston. We’ll ’a’ been up to -town, Chock! and, savin’ my twin, never will Lady Peggy look again on -face of any man who now treads London street. I swear!” - -“Hark, Madam!” - -Chockey jumps from the ladder, eyes a-popping, while the hubbub in the -street below cuts short her mistress’s valiant speech. Such a -hullaballoo; such a shouting, echoing from one end of the precinct to -t’other, as speeds mistress and maid both to the window, a-craning their -necks far out; as sends the charwoman from her ingle-nook under ground, -a-hobbling up the steep four flights. - -[Illustration] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - IV - - _In the which is rehearsed how Her Ladyship - did nimbly slip into man’s - attire and estate._ - - -Through the fast gathering mist, through the smoke that’s London’s own, -the two women leaning behold a gay company of gallants rounding the far -corner, two hundred feet away; linked arms, swords a-touching, heels -a-clattering; one voice high and young, uplifted in a lilt like this: -Lady Peggy had heard that voice before. - - _In years to come when gallants sing, - In praise of ladies fair, - All will allow, I pledge you square, - That brighter eyes n’er banished care, - Than those that bade us do and dare, - When George the Third was King! - Let roof and rafter chime and ring, - Let echo shout it back: we sing - The merry days, My Lords and Sirs! - When George the Third is King!_ - -And at the chorus, a brave dozen more of pairs of lusty lungs to take it -up and urge it on with flashing rapiers, knocking points, in the flare -of the lights from the coffee-house at hand; and good twelve of plumed -hats a-tossing in the air, and catch-again; and laughter loud and long, -then dying down as that fresh sweet voice begins its second verse, and -just so the old charwoman knocks hastily at the door, calling in Lady -Peggy’s head and Chockey’s from the open. - -“’H’askin’ Your Ladyship’s parding,” says she, “but I thought it no -more’n my duty to acquaint Your Ladyship, as can’t see from this ’eight, -that Your Ladyship’s brother, Lord Kennaston’s a-comin’ ’ome, and -a-bringin’ with ’im ’is comrades, among ’em, Sir Percy de Bohun, and -mayhap ’er Ladyship’d like best,”—now addressing Chockey, as Lady Peggy -paced the floor in a too-evident agitation—“like best,” continued the -dame, “to ’ide ’erself, and h’if so, the noble gentlemen h’all of ’em, -I’m thinkin’, bein’ summat raised with wine, my ’umble bit of a place -h’is h’at Her Ladyship’s service for the night or as long as Her -Ladyship sees fit, for I am this minute sent for to go down into the -country immediate, where, God help us all! my tenth daughter what’s -married to her second husband lies at death’s door!” - -And all the while the old charwoman is speaking between her bits of -broken teeth, Peggy hears that other voice uplifted, ringing, gay, glad, -care-free, as it seems to her strained ears, up and down the darkening -little street, tapping at the window-panes, tapping at her heart-strings -and stretching them to such a tension of anger, outraged pride, and -wounded affection as never Lady suffered before. - -She thanks the old woman and hastily dismisses her; then facing about -from the window whence she has been able to descry the merry group -making a rush into the coffee-house, Her Ladyship, seized by a sudden -mad impulse, says to her woman: - -“Chock, take my purse, tumble as fast as your two legs can carry you -down, out, across to the wigmaker’s we laughed at when we came in, buy -me the yellow wig, Chock, that adorns the front, an’ come not back -without it, an you love me, Chock; wheedle, coax, promise more’n there -is here,” sticking the purse in the astounded woman’s hand, “but get me -the wig that is the very double of dear Sir Robin’s own sweet pate!” She -pushes Chockey out on the landing with an impetus that sends her well on -her errand, and then, shutting and buttoning the door, Lady Peggy gets -herself out of her furbelows and petticoats, her stays, her bodice, her -collar, brooch, kerchief, pocket, hoop and hair pins, and into her -brother’s suit of grays, the new waistcoat and cravat she’s brought him -for a gift; she tips the coffee-pot and washes her face and pretty -throat and hands in the brown liquid; she plaits her long hair and winds -it close and tight about her head; she buckles on Kennaston’s -Court-rapier, she fetches his gray plumed hat with its paste buckle from -the press; she ogles herself in the six-inch mirror; she swaggers, -swings, struts; and, says she, dipping her finger in the soot of the old -chimney and marking out two black beetling brows over her own slender -ones,— - -“An I know not how to play at being Sir Robin, Lady Peggy’s chosen -sweetheart, boldly and with a loud voice; know not how to swear and -prance and pick a pretty quarrel, crying ‘Match me your Lady Diana with -my Lady Peggy!’ then never did I dozen times for sport don my twin’s -breeches and coat and masquerade at being that sweet creature,—a man! -Ha! I have it all at fingers’ ends!” cries Peggy, fumbling in her -discarded pocket. “Here’s the very letter I writ for Sir Robin to take -and present to my brother. ’Twill stand me in good stead to-night that I -forgot to give it to him. If Chockey but succeed in cajoling the man out -of his wig, an’ if the gallants come not ere I can fit it to my -head!”—opening the door impetuously almost to bump against the returning -Chockey’s nose. - -“Thou hast it! Oh Chock! ’Tis I! be not afraid. Come in; adjust it to my -poll,—so! Lose not a moment; pick up my petticoats, leave not a scrap -that bespeaks a woman; there! You’re dropping a hair-pin; now, up with -ye to the loft! an’ no matter if rats nibble your toes, Chock, or mice -come play bo-peep with your eye-winkers, or spiders weave across your -mouth, an you stir, cry out, move an inch to the creaking of a board, -I’ll leave you here your lone self to shift as best you may! Up girl!” -touching the speechless Chockey with the rapier-tip urgingly, “and ’tis -Sir Robin McTart that bids you!” - -The obedient and trembling waiting-woman was not much sooner out of -sight in the loft, than again the voice echoed up to where Lady Peggy -stood in the gruesome ambush of the landing, well back in the darkest -corner behind a pile of boards and débris, bricks and dust, and -what-not-else tumbled there from the chimney during the last and many -previous storms. - -Nearer came the song, then the chorus, broken now with more of chat and -laughter; the footsteps sound upon the street, the house-door opens, -slams, and up they troop, stumbling in the blackness but knowing well -the way, it seems; merry, jocund, up, up, with the refrain of the song -still lingering amid their talk in snatches, until they gain the top. - -“Are we then indeed at your door, Kennaston?” cries the first to reach, -as he feels at the latch. - -“Split me, Escombe, you’re there if you can go no farther. Egad! Sirs,” -cries the young host, “an I never reach to pinnacle of Fame’s ladder, at -the least do I lodge as high as I could get:—a roof that suits my empty -purse!” - -“Nay, Kennaston.” Peggy, in her man’s gear, trembles at sound of that -tone, for ’tis Percy who speaks now, whiles they all push pell-mell into -her twin’s chambers, strike lights, pull out candles from cupboard, stir -the fire. - -“Nay, Kennaston,” says this one, “while De Bohun lives there’s ever a -full purse lad, t’ exchange for thy empty one,—and well thou know’st -it.” - -“Tut, tut!” answers the young man of letters, adding as he glances -about, “’pon my soul, gentlemen, my Hebe has been outdoing herself. Saw -we ever before in this room, stools lacking dust? floor, riff-raff? -walls their festoons? hearth its ashes? coffee-pot its rust? and, by my -life, the kettle filled and steaming!” - -A peal of mirth greets this nimble sally, as the host pulls from the -table drawer a pack of cards and his guests from their pockets a dozen -bottles of Falernian. - -“Dead broke, am I, My Lords and Gentlemen,” says he, “but here’s the -whole Court and the deuce,” flinging the pack in the midst of his -guests, “play away an ye’ve a shilling left amongst ye. Let it be -Commerce or Hazard; I’ll hold the counters; fill the glasses, as long as -there’s a drop to pour; keep a lookout for sharpers,” laughing, “and -thank God I’ve even a garret wherein to welcome men of vogue like -yourselves!” - -A burst of applause follows this; plumed hats are tossed aside, -wrist-frills upturned; His Grace of Escombe is shuffling the pack; Sir -Percy stands with his back to the fire, coat-skirts held from the -cheerful blaze he’s made; stools are drawn up; the host takes his silk -kerchief from his throat and polishes the mugs. Chockey has her eye -glued to a chink in the cover that divides her loft from the scene of -revelry below;—when, a bold knock sounds at the door, and the master -with a cheery: - -“Come along!” throws wide the portal. - -The fine gentleman who stands before him makes a profound bow, to which -he responds with one not less magnificent. - -“Allow me, Lord Kennaston of Kennaston, since it is, I am persuaded, the -brother of Lady Peggy Burgoyne whom I have the pleasure of addressing—?” -and at her name, Sir Percy lets his brocaded skirts flop and starts -forward eagerly—“of addressing, to present to you this note in the -hand-writing of Your Lordship’s adorable sister, the which she gave me, -wherewith to present and commend me to Your Lordship’s good offices -while I am up in town!” - -Another salaam given and returned, while Kennaston, with grace, ushers -his new acquaintance in, sets him a stool, all the while eye -quick-perusing Lady Peggy’s scrawl. - -“Gentlemen!” says their host, “allow me to introduce to you, and, Sir, -these gentlemen to you, Sir Robin McTart of Robinswold, Kent, His Grace -of Escombe, Sir Percy de Bohun, the Honorable Jack Chalmers, Sir Wyatt -Lovell,” etc., etc., etc. The which ceremony being concluded amid many -bows and all due forms of mutual delight, the new-comer was cordially -invited to take a hand in the game. - -Now, as true ’twas that Lady Peggy had never been in a coach until the -morning to which this was evening, so true was it that Her Ladyship had -not a farthing to her pocket left, and although a good gamester’s -daughter, she hesitated, making pretense of hanging her hat and of -settling to its proper place her rapier, and pinching her ruffles. While -she did so, the rest chatting, Sir Percy crossed the room, and, in a -tone that was not heard save by the one he addressed, said to Kennaston: - -“As I live, Sir, now’s my chance; I’ll pick a quarrel with this -jackanapes that’s dared to oust me from Peggy’s heart. Aye, will I! the -sooner the better; blood’ll spill, Kennaston, or ever that puppet and I -are thirty minutes older! Mark me! Your sister shall know and hear I’m -willing to die for her sake, or—to kill!” - -Peggy, meantime, in this second, got her courage well screwed up, and, -with a laugh, fitly disguising her voice, said she, seating herself with -her legs well under the table—for, at this particular juncture, Her -Ladyship, looking down, had beheld with dismay the womanish and -forgotten fashion of her shoes. - -“Rot me! Gentlemen, your humble servant’s fresh from Will’s, where, ’pon -my life! such an apt company of wits and beaux encountered I, as swept -my pockets clean and left me not the jingle of a shilling wherewith to -bless myself. Your Grace, My Lords, Sirs, and Gentlemen,” quoth Peggy -with a fine inclusive wave of her hand, “will, I’m sure, thus excuse me -from the game to-night.” - -But she had counted without either host or guests, for all of these save -Sir Percy de Bohun on the instant pulled purses out and tendered them, -crying, as with a single voice,— - -“Fie! Fie! Sir Robin! Are we highwaymen? tricksters? Honor us by using -our sovereigns as they were your own, eh, Sir Percy, have we not the -right of the matter?” asked Jack Chalmers, turning to the tall young -man, who, having crossed the room again, now stood leaning moodily -against the chimney-piece, frowning, tapping hearth with heel in too -evident impatience of the subject of discussion. - -“I humbly ask your pardon, Mr. Chalmers,” he replies, “both for -differing with you all, and for expressing the same. To my way of -thinking”—adds Sir Percy, with deliberation, ill-matched by the flash of -his eyes as they take a scornful measure of the supposed Sir Robin—“to -my way of thinking, any gentleman who carries his company into any other -gentleman’s chambers without the means of a paltry game of loo or écarté -in ’s pocket’s not quite such a proper young man ’s he might be!” And -with this, Sir Percy laid his hand upon his sword hilt, and Kennaston -laid his upon that, attempting to stay the torrent. - -“Tut! tut!” cried this one and that. - -“His Lordship’s dead drunk with Cupid, Sir Robin, mind him not,” -whispers another. - -“De Bohun breaks a joke,” exclaims a third, all at once. - -And in the same moment, also, upsprings my Lady Peggy, hand on hilt too, -and says she loudly, same time as the rest: - -“A pox on ye for a libeler! Sir Percy de Bohun, mayhap it’s the errand -Your Lordship’s up in town a-pursuing hath turned Your Lordship’s -brain?” Here Lady Peggy laughs in derision and stands full height -updrawn upon her girl’s red heels. - -“Curse me! but you are impertinent, Sir,” responds Percy, taking a step -forward, his anger rising as he beholds his purpose galloping to the -goal of its quick fulfilment. “What then, an it please you, is my -‘errand up in town?’ since you are thus familiar with my gaits; tell ’em -off, Sir Robin McTart, I give ye leave!” - -“With your leave, or without it,” cries Peggy in a voice that causes -Chockey to lift the loft-cover an inch higher, and so, kneeling with -nose flattened against floor, to behold her mistress’s fine and splendid -show of valor. “I’d have you hear, Sir, that to persons of fashion the -matter of your suit near Lady Diana Weston’s a jeer and jest of the -first flavour,—for ’twere easy seen a lady of her quality, Sir, ’d not -be a-wasting her time on you.” - -“Damme! Sir!” cries Sir Percy, now thoroughly aroused and far more in -earnest than ever he was at the beginning. “You lie! Aye, My Lords, -Sirs, and Gentlemen! Nay, ye can not stop my mouth,” unsheathing his -rapier; Peggy does likewise, each pushing and warding from them the -restraining hands and words of their associates. - -“A foul lie! My errand up in town, Sir Robin McTart, is to try to drown -my sorrows as I may, because the only lady that ever I loved set me the -pace to the devil by a-refusing of my suit come Easter-day, three months -to an hour ago.” - -Lady Peggy flushes under the coffee stains; her arm trembles; but she is -valiantly happy and confident, and her heart goes beating the joyfullest -sort of a tune beneath the ’broidered waistcoat she’d made for her twin. - -“And her name,” cries Sir Percy with a glance of imperious, aggressive -temper shot right into Peggy’s very face,—“her name’s not Lady Diana -Weston, but ’tis Lady Peggy Burgoyne!—” - -Now Chock’s whole head slips leash, and she bends with bated breath and -heaving breast to listen closer. - -Lady Peggy starts, but waving her rapier over her head, laughs loud, -long and derisively. - -“Lady Peggy Burgoyne, Sir,” shaking the hilt of his weapon under Peg’s -nose, repeats Sir Percy. “And until you, Sir, with your damnable arts -and silly bumpkin ways, when she encountered you in Kent, had turned her -from me, she was to me kindest of ladies and of loves. Your servant, Sir -Robin McTart,” concludes Percy with a low bow, sticking the floor with -his rapier-point, “when and where you please!” - -“Here and now!” cries Peg, her heart a-thumping for joy, but so -pleasured and alas! so puzzled with the getting out of a scrape, which -she has found so little difficulty in getting into, that she is feign -on, and make the best cut she can with her cloth. - -“Here and now!” repeats Her Ladyship, “for I do throw back into Your -Lordship’s teeth the lie”—Peg bows low to her opponent—“you gave me -whiles, and affirm that for these many years, or ever you, Sir, set eyes -upon her, Lady Peggy Burgoyne’s been mine, heart and soul, Sir!” - -“Damn you, Sir!” interrupts Percy hotly, unable to contain his -choler,—“to so defame the noblest lady that ever was born!” - -“I repeat,” cries Peggy, glowing with suppressed delight at her lover’s -fidelity, and eager for as much more as he may have to vent. “Lady -Peggy’s eyes are glued fast of this face of mine! Peggy’s hands are my -hands! Peggy’s lips are my lips! Peggy’s kisses have ever been my -kisses!” - -At this, Sir Percy tears off his coat, waistcoat, cravat; flings them -into the corner; rolls up his sleeves, while a confused murmur -circulates amid the gallants over their cards and Falernian wine. - -“Peggy’s heart beats in my breast!” continues Her Ladyship, ranting and -swashing up and down the room; upsetting a couple of candles in her -path, and now all unrecking of her womanish shoes. “Gentlemen,” panting, -smiling, triumphant, saluting her companions with her weapon, “Lady -Peggy and I do so adore, love and worship one another that we are not -two but one!” - -“Here and now!” shouts Sir Percy. “Off with your coat and ruffles, Sir, -and choose any two of these gentlemen to your seconds, Sir; I’ll take -who’s left!” - -Chalmers and Kennaston press forward to Lady Peggy, while His Grace of -Escombe and Mr. Wyatt cross to Sir Percy. - -“Lord Kennaston, I pray you pace off the distance,” says Lady Peggy, now -at the top of her bent and delirious with joy over Percy’s love of her, -with no least intention of touching him, good fencer though she be, and -willing enough—such a woman is she—to risk a prick at his hands for sake -of the after-salve of the mighty gratitude and passion the minx is now -sure of. - -“Off with your trappings, Sir,” cries Percy. - -“That will I not!” cries Peggy, taking the first position on the field -of honor in all the bravery of her twin’s suit of gray velvets. “You’ll -kill me, an you do’t at all, with my clothes on ready to my burial, and -I swear ye all, with my latest breath, Lady Peggy and I’ll lie in the -same coffin when it comes to that ceremony.” - -Then in the smoky flare from the dying fire and the slovening candles -stuck in their bottles; ’mid the murmur and succeeding hush of the -gallants, some with cups, some with cards in their hands, Peggy and her -lover salute and take their stands. - -Says she: “What’s the word, My Lord?” - -Says he: “If you like, let Lord Kennaston shake the dice-box; at the -third throw, Sir, I’m here, ready food for your steel to flesh in!” - -“It suits me well,” answers Peg, as her twin rattles the ivories. -“Here’s for Lady Peggy!” cries she. - -“Here’s for Lady Peggy Burgoyne!” shouts he, as Kennaston makes the -third throw, and Chockey, like to swoon and she a stout heart, never-ail -or afeard of even a churchyard on the darkest night, shaking like an -aspen-leaf, puts foot on the top rung of the ladder; and Peg and Percy -thrust, lunge, withdraw, riposte, hither, yon, keen-eyed, pitched to -highest note, nerves strung to cracking—just for a few seconds, shorter -time’n it takes to set it down, far. - -“A touch, a hit!” cry all at once as a spurt of blood darts up the -supposed Sir Robin’s blade, and Percy bows, declaring himself quite -satisfied, as he must, though ’tis a state of mind he’s very remote from -enjoying. - -[Illustration: A touch, a hit!...] - -My Lady Peggy winces under her wound, but she has not been Kennaston’s -playfellow for naught, and as ugly pricks as this one have been her -portion in the past; Chockey, nevertheless, from her nest, pales and -utters a smothered shriek which is quite lost in the loud talking that -follows, while Chalmers winds the kerchief Sir Percy tenders about the -wrist of the wounded. - -“Now to the cards, gentlemen,” cries His Grace of Escombe, pulling out -his purse. “To such a gallant as our friend Sir Robin here, my fingers -itch to lose ten, twenty, nay as many pounds as his skill can rid me of; -for such a pretty play of the steel as his must argue a lucky throw of -the dice.” - -“Hear! hear! hear!” shout they all, drinking brimming mugs to the two -who have lately fought, and settling themselves at the tables with a -rattle and a rush of laughter and merry humor. - -Lady Peggy sits, gritting her teeth at the slit in her white flesh, with -her back to the door and, betwixt the uproar and clinking and shuffling, -she hears footsteps coming up the stairs. Some intuition bids her be the -one to respond to the rapping that presently sounds out. - -“Asking your pardon,” murmurs Her Ladyship to her companions as she -quits the table. When, as she opens, a new-caught street urchin speaks -sharp, with saucer eyes in-peering at the quality. - -“An it please yer Lordships, there’s a fine gentlemen below as his name -is Sir Robin McTart.” - -Peggy draws in, bangs the door in the boy’s face, squares about, and -says: - -“By your leave, gentlemen, a most particular messenger awaits me below; -for a few moments only, I crave your indulgence for my absence. I’ll be -with you in ten minutes.” - -“No! no! no!” cry they all, save De Bohun, who is counting his cards, -and Sir Wyatt who exclaims: - -“Yes, an it be a messenger on business for a fair lady; no, an it be -otherwise. Gadzooks! Sir Robin, make a half-clean breast of it. Comes -Mercury from Phyllis or from a mere man?” - -Peg answers: “I swear to you, Sirs, I go down on business of the gravest -import to a lady,” and makes for the door. - -“Pledge her! Pledge her! a bumper! a bumper!” cry they all in one voice -with much pleasant laughter. - -“Here’s to Sir Robin’s nameless fair! Zounds! but for so little yeared a -personage to have two strings to his bow!” - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - V - - _Wherein Lady Peggy doth encounter her flouted - lover, receiveth a rapier-prick: makes acquaintance - of her hated rival and - of Mr. Brummell._ - - -And much more of a like nature reaches Lady Peggy as she plunges down -the stairs and presently finds herself, by the light of the lamp of his -chair, a-confronting Sir Robin McTart himself! - -“Nay, nay, Sir! I am not Kennaston of Kennaston,” responds Peg, looking -grave, and making excellent show of her blood-stained, linen-bound -wrist. - -“’Tis here he dwells, and, as I know well by reputation, you are a -peaceful, law-abiding man, I’d counsel you not to mount. Such a company -of cut-throat, cut-purse brawlers, Sir, as would not leave a farthing in -your pocket or lace upon your shirt.” - -Sir Robin, as Her Ladyship had shrewdly guessed, drew back and shivered -at this lively description. - -“Trust me, Sir Robin: hist!” Peg’s voice sinks to a mere whisper. “I am -Lady Peggy’s best friend and neighbor at home; ’twould be her will, an -she stood here, that you should not adventure your precious life in the -unseemly crowd with which her brother hath seen fit to surround -himself.” - -“Lud, Sir! Who are you,” chatters Sir Robin trembling betwixt delight -and terror, “that knows so well the temper of Lady Peggy Burgoyne’s -disposition? What’s your name, Sir?” - -“No matter for my name, Sir, I have Lady Peggy’s best interests at -heart, and yours. She bade me, did ever I encounter you in evil -neighborhood, tell you, for her sake, eschew it. Hark ye! Sir Robin, out -of this hole as fast as your men’s legs can carry you. Above yonder, ’s -one who’s sworn to kill you!” - -“Who’s he?” demands Sir Robin, one foot now in his sedan, his little -eyes twinkling both ways with fright. - -“Sir Percy de Bohun,” replies Peg in a hollow whisper. “Look you, Sir,” -showing her bloody wrist, “there’s a taste of his quality. I warn -you—’tis from Peggy’s own self—get back to Kent, whence you came, and -tarry not, for your life’s at yonder desperado’s mercy while you linger -up in town.” - -“Is My Lady Peggy returned to Kent to her godmother?” quavers Sir Robin, -now well inside his chair. - -“Nay, Sir; as her brother supposes, she’s at home at Kennaston.” - -“I’ll seek her there!” cries Sir Robin, tendering his hand. “And, Sir, -my humble duty and gratitude to you for your admirable condescension. I -would I knew your name and station.” - -“I’m up in town incognito, Sir, for a lady’s sake,” smiles the minx. - -“When I return, Sir, I’ll seek you out at White’s or Will’s. I dare be -sworn so fine a gentleman must needs be a buck of the first order.” - -“Seek me, Sir, and Godspeed you down to Kennaston or Kent!” - -At the word, Sir Robin in his chair sets forth a-swinging round the -corner, light of heart and bright of hope, while the subject and object -of his thoughts and passion stands for a moment leaning, sighing, -betwixt laughter and tears, against the door-frame. - -My Lady Peggy’s first impulse is to cut and run; indeed her slim legs -are so stretched to begin, when the remembrance of poor Chock in her -garret cage comes to her mind, and, with a grimace, she turns in, jumps -up the stairs, and is in the midst of the group, now well on in their -cups and more hilarious than orderly in their conversation. - -Peg was not her father’s girl for naught that night. To the tune of -three hundred pounds, fourteen and six, was she the richer, and rewarded -for the many dreary evenings she had spent at Kennaston, a-watching her -father win and lose with the Vicar and the Bishop, whenever the latter -came on his visits. - -By dint of spilling her wine deftly under the table, she had emptied as -many mugs as the best bibber among ’em, and at four in the morning found -herself the only one who was sober, or even awake. - -’Twas not a beautiful sight thus to behold, in the pale pink of the -dawn, a dozen or so of merry gentlemen a-sprawling about on floor, -tables, chairs,—a-snoring and a-tossing in their sleep; but ’twas of the -fashion of the times when, to be a fine gentleman, one must be drunk, at -the least, once in the twenty-four hours. - -All save Sir Percy; almost at swords’ points he had quitted the company -hours before, a little in his cups, but steady withal, murmuring to -himself as he fumbled on the rickety stairs—Peg, leaning over the rail, -unseen in the darkness, womanlike to watch lest he trip and fall, heard -him: - -“’Sdeath! an what that popinjay say be true, I’ll marry Lady Diana out -of hand, and show the minx I’m not to be cut out of a wife by such a -flea-bitten rotten-rod as Sir Robin McTart!” - -“So easy taken then is my loss!” says Peggy, with a renewed fire of -jealousy burning at her heart, as she returns to the scene of her -winnings. - -Sick at heart, for a single instant she surveys the room, and then, -finger on lip, it does not take her long to signal up to Chockey, motion -her down with the calf-skin box, and to begin, with shamed face, in the -darkest corner, to strip off her man’s attire. - -Lady Peggy has laid aside the yellow wig; Chockey weeping, praying that -they may get away in safety, is spreading out the Levantine fit for her -mistress to jump into it, when, for the second time within the twelve -hours, Her Ladyship’s heart stands still to the patter and thump of -footsteps climbing the last flight. - -“Hold, Chock!” cries she, clapping on the wig. “Bundle up my duds, tie -’em tight; so! give me it; pick up the box, put on your cloak and bonnet -and a bold face; follow and ape me. An you love me, Chock, an’ I thrust, -thrust too! an’ I knock ’em down, follow suit! I’d sooner die, Chock, -than be caught now!” - -With which, My Lady Peggy flung wide the door, pushed out the Abigail, -drew her weapon, and, with a rush, the two of them tumbled down the -stairs, taking on their way a giant of a man who struggled and struck -out, and dropped fruits and flowers and curses, and yet gave in to the -splendid tweeks and pinches which the lusty Chockey dealt him on his -arms and legs, and, falling headlong, on the lower stairs, darted up the -street crying: - -“Watch!” at the top of his lungs, nor getting any answer, for Watch was -snoring in the tavern and the sun now shining broad. - -“Chock,” said her mistress, “go you on before me to the King’s Arms, -where we alighted, engage the seats in the coach, and hark ye, child, an -aught betide I come not, get you home without me and tell His Lordship -I’m gone to Kent on a sick-call from my godmother. Lud! it’s lies all -the way to being a man! I’ll not walk with you, lass; ’tis not seemly, -and when I reach the inn I’ll pretend I know you not, hire a room, -change my clothes and slip down to you, unseen if I can. Now, off with -you, quickly, for I ache to follow. Would to God I could doff these -garments and into my petticoats again!” added Lady Peggy ruefully, -glancing at her hastily tied up bundle and, at the same moment, with the -broad of her sword, pushing Chock into the street with a will that sent -her a-spinning on her way. - -Indifferent then, as though the outgoing damsel were no concern of hers, -presently, with a swagger, yet ill-concealing the anxiety she felt -afresh as now sobs and female voices assailed her ears, the mock Sir -Robin McTart emerged upon the street. - -There halted a chair between the posts. In the chair sat Lady Diana -Weston accompanied by her woman. Both wept and trembled, while still -afar the stout lungs of the terrified giant shouted: - -“Watch!” - -Peg stood still and stared; all the jealous blood in her burned in her -cheeks. Lady Diana here! and wherefore? and at such an untoward hour; -veil displaced, eyes red, but still most undeniably handsome, nay -beautiful. - -“Oh Sir!” cried Lady Diana beseechingly, raising two imploring hands -outside the chair door toward Lady Peggy. - -“I pray of your honor!” whimpered the Abigail in concert. - -“I implore your protection, Sir, as you are a gentleman and man of -honor, as your mien disposes me. I came here but now and sent my footman -up to the rooms of a—a friend, who is ill, Sir,—with a token of regard -in the shape of fruit and flowers, when the man must have been set upon -by thieves and beaten, for he—” - -“I heard him,” finishes Peg, stepping nearer to the chair. “And I assure -you, Madam, I put the varlet who attacked him to his pace with a prick. -If I can serve you further, command me.” - -As My Lady bows low, she is conscious that it now behooves her to state -concisely her name and station; and, loathing and hating the deception -more than she could express, she still adds (her motive not unmixed with -the natural curiosity to discover who is the object of Lady Diana’s -morning call): - -“Sir Robin McTart of Robinswold, Kent, at Your Ladyship’s service.” - -Diana bows, blushes, almost ogles, minx that she is, noting well the -fine eyes and beautiful mouth of the gallant at her side. - -“Lady Diana Weston, Sir Robin, daughter to the Earl of Brookwood, at -your service.” - -Peg bows, hat in hand, bundle under arm. Swift as youth’s impulse ever -is, says she, taking lightning-like measure of her chance and determined -to probe matters to their core: - -“Your Ladyship’s name was on the lips above,” nodding up at Kennaston’s -windows. “I drank the toast with a will, I do assure you, and would -double it now. Surely, if you’ll allow me to say so, Sir Percy de -Bohun’s a gentleman of a rare good taste, likewise Lord Kennaston, Sir -Wyatt Lovell, half-a-dozen more a-pledging Your Ladyship to the tune of -_nonpareil_ all night long.” - -“You flatter, Sir, I do protest!” cried the lady in the chair, blushing -like the reddest rose that grows, but who might say for whose sake? -since Peg had named so many. - -“Oh, Sir,” Lady Diana’s voice now lowered. “Your countenance is one to -inspire confidence. I pray you judge me not harshly if I venture to -inquire, since you were of their company, how fares poor Sir Percy de -Bohun? The fruits and flowers I fetched were for him, since I am -informed he pines, eats nothing, droops, mopes, and no longer is to be -enticed among the fair. Can you give me news of him?—or of—Lord -Kennaston?” adds Lady Diana wilily and with another magnificent -accession of color. Thus did Slyboots pursue inquiry on that lame horse -which is named Subterfuge. - -“Aye, Madam, that can I. ’Tis as you say; but as you yourself, if report -speak true, be the cause of his distemper, methinks you should know how -to effect the cure. I see Your Ladyship’s man returning; there is no -more danger. I take my leave of you, Madam,” hand to heart, bundle -sticking out under other arm. “It is to me one of the most fortunate -chances of life to have had this encounter,” bending sweet eyes, which -Diana returns with a will. “Fear nothing! the cut-throats have long -since made off by a rear alley. The shouter is doubtless ere this at his -cover. Did you need my further protection, ’twould be yours.” - -“From my heart, Sir, I thank you,” cries Lady Diana very sweetly. “May -we meet again, and soon!” - -Peggy bowing, walks quickly off, her pretty teeth gritted together. - -“May we meet again! Never! Fruits and flowers! forsooth! Pines and -droops! forsooth! ’Slife! and how the minx reddened at his name. -A-seekin’ of him out like that at cock-crow too! Lud! an these be town -fashions and morals I’ll be glad to get home! No I won’t! No I won’t!” -spake out Lady Peggy’s heart fit to burst bonds. “Percy’s here, and my -soul’s here, and ’tain’t no use to talk about having a spirit, and -a-stoppin’ lovin’ when you ain’t loved! You can’t do it!” - -Peggy, recking not of her path, eyes glued to ground, paced on, having -forgot the whole world else, in the misery of her discovery of Lady -Diana’s passion for Sir Percy. - -There were few abroad at that early hour. Some market wagons leisuring -to the city; an occasional chariot full of gallants getting home after -the night’s frolic; and just now, at the cross of two streets, a -handsome coach thrown open-windowed, with a gentleman, the very pink and -model of all elegance, lolling back amid the cushions. - -By the lead of his eyes ’twas plainly to be seen he had not slept for -forty-eight hours or so, but otherwise his aspect was as if newly out of -a perfumed bandbox. Suddenly his gaze caught Peggy at the crossing, -fixed itself upon the lace cravat at her throat, and then, with a spring -as alert as that of any monkey throwing himself out of tree by his tail, -this mirror of fashion thrust his head out at window, jerked his -coachman’s arm, said in a voice not loud, but piercing: - -“Worthing, run down the young gentleman at the crossing; don’t hurt him, -but run him down an’ I’ll give you twenty shillings!” He then sank back -again amid the pillows. - -No sooner said than done. - -Just at the instant when Peggy recalled her position and was -bewilderedly wondering where she had wandered to, clutching her bundle -and all of a muddle, click! grazed coach-wheels against her shins, cock -went her hat into the puddle, but, heaven be praised! her wig clung, and -she clung to her bundle; out of coach the pink brocade gentleman, down -from the rumble his footman, pick up Lady Peggy, hat and all, rubbing -the mud out of her silk stockings, clapping her hands; yet relented she -not from the bundle, and all a-breath the loller cries: - -“Into my coach, Sir! I do humbly crave pardon, Sir, I do indeed. I’ll -not take no for an answer, Sir, not by my oath! Such a damage from one -gentleman to another, Sir, demands all the reparation possible, Sir,” -and forthwith Peggy is lifted into the splendid coach and the splendid -gentleman springs in after her, and the footmen jump up and the whip -cracks, and off they whirl before she can open her mouth. - -“Mr. Brummell at your service, Sir,” continues he, feeling of Peg’s -palm, noting the wound at her wrist, and the pallor of her face which -shines even though the coffee stains. “We’re en route to Peter’s Court -where my surgeon shall attend you. ’Slife! Sir, you’re not hurt, I’m -sure. I told Worthing not to endanger a hair of your head and it’s -impossible he should have disobeyed me!” - -Peggy hears this singular string of speeches and, although stunned a bit -and not a little alarmed in her mind, she has country breeding at her -back and such a robust constitution as rallies on the spot. - -“I’d be obliged, Mr. Brummell, if you’d set me down at once, Sir! I’m -none the worse, and I’ve business of import calling me far hence, and -with dispatch.” - -“Never, Sir, never!” returns Beau Brummell, with an impressive wave of -his jeweled hand. “Zounds! Sir, I had you spilled to get me the pattern -and fashion of tying your cravat from you! and split me! if I let you go -until I’ve mastered that adorable knot! I’ve my reputation at stake, -Sir, for the tying of ’em. You’ve outdone me at your throat, Sir, and -’tis Beau Brummell, the best dressed and worst imitated man in Europe, -that has the honor of telling you so. Come, come, Sir,” continues this -nonesuch, famed alike at Court and brawl for his finery and drollery, -“out with your name, Sir, I beg, and render me your eternally grateful.” - -Lady Peggy’s gaze falls inadvertently on the bundle across her knees; it -begins to bulge and burst the paper and string, indeed a tape of her -petticoat is oozing out even now as she pokes it back, hiding its -tell-tale under the skirt of her coat. - -“’Slife!” says Peggy to herself in a terrible heat. “An I must stop a -man, I must. God’s will—or the Devil’s, as dad says—be done!” and -forthwith she tucks up her knee, lays hand on sword-hilt, laughs quite -merrily and answers: - -“Sir Robin McTart of Robinswold, Kent, at your service, Mr. Brummell. I -do protest, upon my oath! ’twas a marvelous device to spill me to borrow -my tie. ’Tis yours, Sir, and the fashion of it, an you’ll do me the -honor to accept a lesson.” - -“Sir Robin McTart!” echoes the Beau delightedly, “my old friend Sir -Hector’s son and heir? I swear, boy, you favor not your sire. Peace to -his soul, ’twas an ugly gentleman, while you, Sir,—Zounds! The ladies’ll -make hay for you, I promise you. Where do you stop? Are you up in town -long? What letters do you bring?” - -“The King’s Arms, Sir, in the Strand,” replies Peg glibly, while the -Beau frowns. “I’m arrived but yesterday. I brought not a letter, Sir. -There you have my history.” - -“No King’s Arms for Sir Hector’s son. You’ll home with me, lad; and I’ll -show you what town life is. I’ll put you up at the best clubs, introduce -you to the Prince; present you at Court; dine, wine, mount -you,—Gadzooks, Sir Robin, the man that invented that tie of the lace!” -tipping his finger at Lady Peggy’s home-made cravat, “deserves all and -more than Brummell can do for him!” - -At which Peggy laughed the more heartily, as that she felt the paper -beneath her coat skirts crack wider, and was spent wondering what she -should do when they should reach Peter’s Court, and when she might be -able to get into her Levantine once again. - -[Illustration] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - VI - - _In the which Sir Percy de Bohun’s own man - goes on his master’s errand to Kennaston - Castle, crossing Sir Robin - McTart on the road._ - - -Somewhat later in the day, as the sun peeped in at the narrow windows of -Kennaston’s garret in Lark Lane, it shone straight down upon the face of -Peg’s twin, and also upon that of Sir Percy de Bohun, just returned, -after a tub and a grooming at the hands of his faithful man Grigson, who -even now was performing like offices for the young host. The other -gentlemen had long since been set upon their legs and fetched off to -their homes by their men. - -Percy held his chin between his palms, his elbows resting upon the table -where cards and glasses still littered. - -“’Sdeath, Kennaston,” cries he, without moving. “I can live this fashion -no longer! To be shot like a partridge would be better. Flouted by -Peggy, derided by this upstart Sir Robin, who, by my life! is a pretty -fellow all said and done, is past endurance! Give me a pistol, Grigson, -and I’ll put an end of myself now and here.” - -To this passionate declaration, Kennaston merely makes answer by lifting -an arm above the tub, waving it in the air, and, as Grigson scrubs him -down, wagging his wet head and remarking: - -“Don’t be damned ridiculous, Percy, and pray hold your peace, since I am -at this moment composing an ode to my mistress’s smile.” - -“Your mistress be hanged, Sir! What know you of love to sit in a tub and -make verses to her?” - -“I know enough of’t,” sighs the host, “to have been in like case with -yourself any time this twelve-month! and ’tis a monstrous thing for you -to thus impeach me, when ’tis you whom My Lady Diana favors rather than -myself.” - -“Lady Diana be damned!” cries Percy rising. “She’s a coquette, Sir, and -at bottom adores you, as does the fish the bait the while she plays and -sidles ’round it, being sure in th’ end she’ll swallow it, hook and -all.” - -“Very fine, i’ faith, yet while I sigh, you’re the one she smiles upon. -Oh, Percy! Had I but a fortune! Could I but make my name in letters! -Then perchance I’d stand my chance; but as ’tis,”—Peg’s twin fetches a -sigh that sends the water splashing about the wine-stained floor. - -“As ’tis, Sir, counsel me, an you love me. Shall I hie me to Kennaston -and wait upon your sister?” - -“Write her a letter of fire and sword, and blood and famine; stuff it -full of oaths, protests, suicides, murders, as is a Christmas pudding of -plums! There’s quill, ink and paper to your hand.” - -“I’ll do it and send it by Grigson on my fastest horse this day. I -should have the answer before Friday?” - -“Aye, you should,” allows the host with an evident reservation. “Now, -for God’s sake, Sir, stop cackling and let me finish my ode.” - -Which he did a-sitting in his bath, while Grigson dressed his wig. - -The toilet, and the letter, and the poem, were all three finished at -once, and, without more ado, Sir Percy dispatched his man with the -missive to Lady Peggy. - -“Come not back until you deliver it in person,” quoth the lover; “an you -show yourself minus an answer, I’ll ship you to the Colonies by the next -packet.” - -After seeing him off the two young men repaired to the coffee-house they -frequented, and there the first news that greeted them was an account, -exaggerated to the last degree, as was the fashion of those times as -well as these, of “Lady D—— W——’s adventure with footpads in Lark Lane, -where her chair crossed en route to her mantua-maker’s; of how Sir R——n -McT——t had rescued Her Ladyship and Her Ladyship’s Abigail from the -clutches of these villains at the hazard of his own life; had, -single-handed, put the whole gang to flight; and this, although -suffering from a severe wound in the right wrist, the which this gallant -young scion of a noble name had received in an affair of honor with Sir -P——y de B——n only that very night previous.” In point of fact gossip -cried, and print set forth, that “the town was ringing with the valor of -Sir R——n McT——t, whose fame as a buck and man of fashion was no less -than his expertness at the saving of Beauty in distress. For be it known -that no other personage than the renowned Beau B——l had set his seal -upon Sir R——n’s mould by begging from him the pattern of his cravat and -the mode of his knot. That Sir R——n was now a guest at Mr. B——l’s home, -and, being up in town for the season, let ladies fair beware and set -their most adorable caps, for ’twas well understood so fine a young -gentleman was nowhere else to be met with, nor one of such courage and -skill at cards, saddle, or the dance.” - -The which as he read it gave Sir Percy no great food for congratulation, -but the rather caused him to sink into a kind of melancholy from which -no effort of his companion could arouse him. Like a dullard he sat, -staring at the print or the walls, the livelong day, and far into the -night, waiting for Grigson’s return, and beside himself with a silent -jealous fury as each new entrance to the coffee-room gave his own -particular version of Sir Robin’s vogue. - -The real little Sir Robin, meanwhile, on his journey down to Kennaston -in search of My Lady Peggy, had got some three hours’ start of the -faithful Grigson, and even now, he, for the first time in his life, -stood in the long, bare drawing-room of Kennaston Castle, tip-toeing to -the mirror, pulling his wig this way and that in instant expectation of -beholding the object of his passion, and rewarding her for her devotion -to him, so manifested in the person of the gentlemanly “Incognito” of -his last night’s experience. - -Hark! Yes, her footstep on the stair, the swish of female garments, a -halt at the door. Sir Robin minced the length of the room and, reaching -the entrance, found himself face to face with Chockey! - -“Your mistress, bud, your mistress! Here!” thriftily pressing a shilling -into Chock’s palm. “Go tell her I am consumed with impatience, and eaten -up with desire for a glimpse of Her Ladyship’s form, and figure, and -face. Go! Go!” - -But Chockey does not budge. - -“What ails the wench? Deaf?” cries Sir Robin, pinching her arm, for -which he gets back a smart slap on his cheek. - -“Tut! tut! What manners is that, and you handsome enough to kiss,” adds -the little Baronet diplomatically. “Come now, off and implore Lady Peggy -to hasten.” - -“Her Ladyship’s from home,” finally Chockey says. - -“What! Not at Kennaston?” Sir Robin’s sharp eye can not help peering -regretfully at the shilling Chockey twirls in her fingers. - -“In Kent, doubtless, a-visiting her godmother, and a-hoping to see me -there! eh, in Kent?” - -“I don’t know, Sir,” replies the girl with a hint of tears in her voice. - -“Don’t know! What do you mean?” exclaims Sir Robin suspiciously. - -“I means, Sir,” fires up Chock, “that My Lady ain’t by way of telling me -her matters. His Lordship, her father’s down with his leg; Her -Ladyship’s mother is a-visitin’ the sick in York. As they supposes, Sir, -Lady Peggy is in Kent, also, a-visitin’ the sick, Her Ladyship’s -godmother.” - -Chockey curtsies and turns to the door, out of which Sir Robin -reluctantly goes, putting spurs to his horse, dining at the Mermaid and -then chartering a post-chaise to take him, sans delay, to Kent. - -He crossed but one traveler on his way from Kennaston Castle to the -village inn; a man of stout and comely build on a steed that took even -Sir Robin’s dull eye, so was its blood and lineage marked in its long -splendid gait. - -This horseman too pulled rein at Kennaston, sprang from his saddle, and, -as Bickers hobbled up to take his beast, Mr. Grigson, for ’twas he, -jumped up on the steps and caught Chockey’s apron-string just as it was -fluttering in the closing door. - -“Hey, missus!” cried he, twirling Chock about and chucking her under the -chin, which was rewarded by as smart a slap as that which had erstwhile -burned Sir Robin’s cheek. - -“I must see Lady Peggy Burgoyne on the spot, without ceremony or -a-waitin’ ’ere coolin’ my heels. I’ve a letter for Her Ladyship meanin’ -life and death to my master, Sir Percy de Bohun.” - -“Have you?” says Chock, looking with admiring eyes upon the smart livery -of Mr. Grigson, dust and mud-stained though it was. - -“Yes, straight from London town, where ’pon my life, there’s no sweeter -mug than hers I sees before me now!” - -“Lawk!” cries Chock, appeased. “But my mistress is from home.” - -“Not here! where is she then? A-visiting in the neighborhood?” Mr. -Grigson turns on his heel and chirrups for his mount. - -“No,” returns Chockey. “She ain’t.” - -“Well, whereabouts is she? For if it’s as far as the Injies, Grigson’s -bound to find her and deliver this love-letter!” - -“I don’t know where she is, Sir,” whimpers Chock. - -“There, there! Don’t be a-cryin’ and a-sobbin’, Duckie, I ain’t gone, -yet! Go ask His Lordship the address; bring me a mug of ale, and I’ll -give you a kiss.” - -“Drat you, Sir,” cries Chockey. “Don’t you be talkin’ like that!” Yet -sidles she quite cozily in the encircling arm of the admirable Grigson. - -“His Lordship, nor Her Ladyship, nor no one else knows where my mistress -is.” - -“What! eloped? Scuttled! Flown the nest! When? How? Where?” cries Sir -Percy’s man thunder-struck. “She ain’t gone with Sir Percy! Can it be -with Sir Robin McTart?” - -Chockey shook her head vigorously. - -“Look a-here,” says Mr. Grigson, now regarding the girl attentively. -“Damme, but you knows where she is. Tell me and I’ll give you two kisses -and ten pounds to boot.” - -“Oh, Sir!” cries Chock, pushing away both kisses and pounds with one and -the same hand. “I does know; leastways I knows my young lady’s up in -London, but whereabouts in that pit of sin and willainy, I can’t say, -nor who she’s with, nor how long she’s goin’ to stop; only she charged -me make His Lordship and Her Lady mother believe she was gone to Kent, -back again to see her godmother. There! I’ve been bursting to tell some -one, and you’ll swear you’ll keep it secret, won’t you, Sir?” - -Grigson obligingly nods and caresses Chock’s arm. - -“Thank the Lord it’s out o’ me!” adds she. - -“Amen,” ejaculates Sir Percy’s man with fervor, at the same time fixing -a contemplative and shrewd eye on his companion. - -“Her Ladyship up in town,—where, with whom, you doesn’t know; her father -and mother thinks she’s in Kent; and you’re cock-sure she ain’t runned -away with Sir Robin McTart?” - -“That I am!” cries the girl, warmly. “Little squint-eyed monster!” - -“Eh?” exclaims Mr. Grigson, who had beheld the supposed Sir Robin at -Kennaston’s rooms the night before last, and clearly recollected that no -such description fitted the slim, elegant, handsome young buck who had -got a prick in the wrist from his own master’s rapier. - -“Monster! I said,” repeats the girl. “Hist, I’ll tell you more,” says -she, drawing close, hand over mouth. “You’ve seen the puppy. He was here -anon, a-askin’ and a-tearin’ as to where My Lady was!” - -Grigson stares. - -“Aye, you must have met him on the road not ten rods off the Castle -gates, for, as you galloped in, the undersized cockatrice cantered out. -Lady Peggy wed with him, indeed!” - -Grigson is now (recalling his having crossed a small squint-eyed -gentleman as he came) morally certain that Chockey has been well drilled -in her part, and that Lady Peggy has indeed run away up to London with -Sir Robin McTart. So much for his thoughts; he says: - -“I did. Fortunately I beheld the personage what you describes. Your -humble servant, missus. I must be off and no time for love-makin’ -to-day,” turning quickly on his heel and tossing sixpence to Bickers who -holds his bridle at the stone. - -“I ain’t ‘missus,’” remarks she plaintively. - -“But you will be some day, lass, or my name ain’t James Grigson. Here’s -to you and many thanks for putting me on the right track!” - -“Tush, Sir! For the love of heaven and of anybody else you thinks a deal -of, find my young lady!” - -“Trust me,” flings Mr. Grigson from his saddle. “I’ll find her and him -as holds her in durance wile!” - -Kissing his fingers to Chockey, off puts Sir Percy’s own man to the -Mermaid; stables his horse; hires a fresh one; claps spurs, and up to -town as fast as four spavined bay legs can carry him, firmly convinced -that he has solved the greater portion of the mystery, and that his -master’s lady fair is indeed, beyond a doubt, the bride of the gallant -Sir Robin, or mayhap his unwilling prisoner. - -[Illustration] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - VII - - _In which is set down how My Lady is whisked - off to a rout, willy-nilly, at the home - of her hated rival._ - - -Mr. Brummell was a most shrewd and an altogether kindly personage as -well; he had easily, on alighting from his carriage and assisting Lady -Peggy to do the same, espied the disreputable looking parcel which the -supposed son of his dear old friend vainly tried to conceal; and the -Beau was not long of putting two and two together, and of concluding -that young Sir Robin had lost his all at play, and had even perhaps -pawned his wardrobe,—saving the ill-looking bundle—for the price of his -last few days’ food. Therefore it was, that, in the most obliging -manner, he not only installed Sir Robin in an elegant and spacious -apartment, but vowed he would at once send for both his tailor and -perruquier to wait upon him, and ended by assuring his guest that his -own man Tempers would be up presently to make the young gentleman’s -toilet for him. - -“Your pardon, Sir, Mr. Brummell,” quoth Peggy, while her maiden heart -set off at such a race-horse flutter as it seemed must never quiet down. -“But, pray you, remember I am country-bred, unused to town ways, have -never had a man to wait upon me in my life” (the solemn truth!) “and -should never know how to comport myself in such altered conditions.” - -The Beau shrugged his shoulders in the French fashion, lifted his -eyebrows, thought ’twas amazing strange that Sir Hector’s son should -have been so ill educated; said: - -“Your pleasure, Sir, whilst under my roof, shall be mine; nor can I -misdoubt but that one who has had the genius to invent that tie is amply -able to array and perfume himself, even to the dressing of his own wig.” - -“You flatter, Sir, I protest!” answered the guest. “I await with -impatience the moment when, in cleaner case, I may have the honor of -instructing you in the intricacies of the knot you are good enough to -admire.” - -With any number of bows, the distinguished host closed the door, and My -Lady Peggy was left to herself. - -For a moment she stood quite still, her heart yet a-clapping madly in -her bosom, her eyes wandering about the princely room in which she found -herself, and at last resting on the mirror wherein was reflected her own -slim figure, tricked out in Kennaston’s suit of gray velvets, and in the -yellow wig, which was indeed the counterpart of the real Sir Robin’s -pate. Her countenance?—sure none would recognize it since neither twin -nor quondam suitor had—was dark with the coffee-stains; her eyes were -ringed with sleeplessness and unaccustomed wine; her general aspect that -of a young gentleman very much the worse for whatever his most recent -experiences might have been. - -Peg laughed, then she cried, then ran to the door and fastened it -securely; then untied her bundle when out fell night-rail, green hood -and kerchief, powder, patch-box, lavender, musk, pins, needles, red -silken hose, Levantine gown, and veil of Brussels lace. She shook the -skirt out of its wrinkles, laid off her wig and ’broidered waist-coat; -unpinned her long plaited hair from its coil, and was stoutly making up -her mind to brave all, get into her petticoats, and confess everything -to Mr. Brummell. But, as she was about to wash the dark stains from her -face, comes there a “rap-a-tap” at the door, and Peg, dropping the ewer, -calls out fiercely: - -“Who’s there?” - -“An it please you, Sir Robin, Mr. Brummell bids me say to you that Mr. -Chalk, the tailor, a person of the best fashion, will have the honor of -waiting upon you for your measurements in a quarter of an hour, if -you’ll be pleased to see him then, or later?” - -Peg hesitated; there was a battle fought within her those sixty seconds -wherein all that was noblest and best struggled and strove to know which -was the right thing to do; nor could she determine, save that, at second -thought of confiding her sex to Mr. Brummell, it appeared to her she -could not. - -“I shall be ready to see Chalk, I thank you, in fifteen minutes, more or -less,” humming a tune with elaborate carelessness, rolling up the -Levantine, the hood, veil, and night-rail into a ball, and pitching them -into the chest of drawers; disposing the powder and perfumes and pins on -the dressing-table; throwing the needles and patches into the fire; -untying the kerchief and taking out soap, scissors, brushes. - -“’Tis clear as water, I’m to be a man yet awhile,” whispered she. -“Heaven grant it may not be long! So!” seizing the scissors and shaking -out the locks. “Snip! clip, and away with you! that I was once vain of, -because a vile deceiver named Percy vowed he loved you!” - -And off came Peg’s hair, the which for silly liking of she stuffed into -the drawer beside the Levantine and let fall a tear or two. Then snip, -clip again as she had often done for her twin; so that, in no time at -all, her head, with its short curly locks brushed back at this side and -that of her broad forehead, had all the aspect of a man’s. - -“There,” cried she, sweeping the last litter of her black tresses into -the flames. “An I be a gentleman, I’ll be a gallant one. I sighed once -to taste the sweets of bein’ of t’other sex for only one-half an -hour.—Zounds! as daddy’d say, would that I’d never quit my frocks. What -hath it bettered me? To behold with mine own eyes the charms of her -who’s routed me from his heart; to hear him a-pledgin’ me just to please -my brother, and for the sake of spitin’ Sir Robin McTart; to get myself -into a position that makes me burstin’ with shame and feelin’ sure I can -never hold up my head again in this world. Me, that’s always loathed a -hoyden! and even have I the muscle of a lad, and can I stride a horse, -and jump any ditch was ever dug,—yet, yet,—oh! How did I ever bring -myself to put on _these_?” And My Lady Peggy slaps her breeches with a -whack, and promptly falls upon her knees a-praying for her father and -mother, and brother, and Sir Percy, and Chock, and Bickers. - -“And, Oh God, high up in Heaven, forgive me for all my wilfulness and -jealousy and foolhardiness, and stealin’ my twin’s clothes; and deceit, -the which has got me into this foul station, wherein I have told naught -but lies—and I do despise lies,—they are most disgustin’ and utterly -wicked. Forgive me for all the horrible sins I’ve committed—” - -Footsteps now resound in the corridor and the voice of Mr. Brummell’s -own man says blandly: - -“This way, Mr. Chalk,” as he raps gently at the door. - -“—And for all those I shall have to commit!” concludes Her Ladyship, as -she springs to her feet and unfastens the door, admitting the tailor _a -la mode_. - -That night, the suit of grays well brushed, her wig re-curled, and her -pocket-napkin richly perfumed, her mother’s Brussels veil stripped up -and made into a cravat of so ravishing a device as caused her host -almost a spasm when he beheld it, Sir Robin McTart sat at honor-place at -dinner, and was, to make a long story short, the cynosure and toast of -the occasion. - -The duel with Sir Percy, the rescue of My Lady Diana, the invention of a -cravat, the nimble wit, the handsome face, soon bespoke Peggy into a -favor, that, considering all other things, was well-nigh incredible; and -when, the following day; she appeared in one of the suits Mr. Chalk had -made, with a dash of powder on her wig and a bronzed complexion due to -surreptitious purchase at the players’ cosmetic shop in Drury Lane, of -sundry brown, red, and black pastes while making feint of being a -comedian, the satisfaction of her host was unbounded. - -“Robin, my boy,” said this one, with a side-glance at his guest, “an -you’re a bit short of money, I’ll put a few hundreds to your account at -my banker’s. Young gentlemen will be wild and spendthrift at times; -London’s new to you I fancy, and—” - -“I thank you, Mr. Brummell, from my heart,” returned Peg, “but I’ve -three hundred pounds now idle in my pocket. That will last me, I’m -confident, until I reach home, and, by your leave, I’m thinking I’ll -quit town this evening.” - -But Mr. Brummell has no ears for any such scheme. The Beau’s erratic -fancy has not been caught by a new object for the mere sake of losing -it; his joy in the dash and buoyancy, the originality and naïvete of his -latest discovery is genuine, and no argument, of the very few Lady Peggy -can offer, but he breaks down at once. - -“Zounds, Sir! Are you a fool, Sir? Your sire was not one before you. To -have half London a-talkin’ about you; all the prints a-chronicling your -movements; all the ladies a-dying for a glimpse of you, and you only up -in town these few days; and a-proposing to go back and bury your talents -for tying Brussels, in Kent! Fie upon you, Sir! I listen to no such -whims. Here’s my basket loaded with invitations for you already. Lady -Brookwood’s rout to-night!” with a sly glance at Peg’s really blushing -face; “Lady Diana Weston’s mother, as you are doubtless aware? The -Charity Bazaar at Selwyn’s to-morrow; dinner at Holland House; -Almacks’s, and my own little plan for next Thursday which is an outing -to my seat in Surrey a-horseback; dinner, bowls, a look over the -stables, and home by the light o’ the moon. ‘Back to Kent,’ forsooth! -No, Sir, not yet.” - -A few hours later, as Lady Peggy got into her magnificent suit of -crimson satin, gold embroidered; as she beheld her image in the glass -and caught the hilt of her sword in her hand, the blood that surged over -her face and throat was ruby-red; and, at her wits’ ends for what to do, -the girl’s tears forced themselves to her eyes once again. - -She was to be off soon to Lady Brookwood’s; here she should encounter -not only Lady Diana, but doubtless Percy himself; mayhap Kennaston, if -he had been able to get him a decent coat to wear in place of the gray -velvets! Doubtless, too, all those others she had met in Lark Lane. - -For the hundredth time she cast wildly about in her mind as to how she -could, now at this present moment, rid herself of the hated disguise, -get into her Levantine, get home to her mother’s arms, hide her head -forever, and never, no never! look into face of man again! - -But Peggy saw no road. Every path seemed barred, save those that would -forever damn her in the eyes of foes and friends alike. - -“Oh,” cried she in desperation. “How easy ’tis to get into breeches, a -coat, a waist-coat, and a wig, but God ha’ mercy! will I ever be able to -get out of ’em?” - -It is to be put down to the credit of My Lady Peggy’s up-bringing in the -country with most times only a lad for her playmate, that now she bore -herself with not only a fine ease and grace, but also with as splendid a -swagger and daring as any young macaroni that carried a sword. - -“An I’m to be a man, I’ll be one!” cried she, “and if Lady Diana ogles, -lud! I’ll give as good as she sends. Little him as I love’ll know, ’tis -of his sometime Peggy he’ll be jealous!” - -So it was with a prodigious fine flutter of her napkin and a mightily -impudent twirl of her eye-glass (purchased not two hours since), that -Her Ladyship made her bows and kissed the finger-tips of Lady -Brookwood’s handsome daughter. - -“I am your most grateful, Sir Robin!” cried this one, “and more pleased -than I can express to welcome you. I only regret that Lord Brookwood is -at Brookwood Hall, and not here to thank you for rescuing his daughter.” -And so forth and on, with presentations to a dozen of fine ladies, -dowagers and damsels, and a precious lot of fine gentlemen; and it -seemed to Peggy, in her simplicity, as if the whole of Mayfair were -a-bowing and scraping and making her out a hero,—which indeed was not -far off the fact. - -[Illustration: Two watched her as she came in...] - -Two watched her as she came in on Beau Brummell’s arm. These were Sir -Percy and Kennaston; one green with anxiety for Grigson’s return from -his errand, jumping at every sound; having left word both at Lark Lane, -his coffee-house, as well as at home where he had gone, that Grigson -should report to him at once he arrived; the other green with envy of -Peggy and any other who neared his divinity, yet afraid and too -diffident to approach her closer than with the devouring gaze of his -eyes. - -“That damned puppy again!” cries Percy, under his breath, as he surveys -Peg in her satins. “By Gad, Sir, every lady in the room’s turning spite -eyes on t’other, your incomparable Diana included, for fear he won’t -stop and pay her a compliment.” - -“Ah,” sighs the young poet. “Percy, an you loved like me ’twould be -bliss to even gaze upon your fair. Think you I dare make bold now to -cross and make my bow?” - -“Why not?” returns the other gloomily. “Forgive my humor, Kennaston. -Truth is, Sir, I’m mad, mad for Peg, and my ears are cracking and my -brain splitting until that rascal, Grigson, gets back with answer to my -letter. He’s been gone long enough to have made the journey four times -over!” - -“Oh, Percy,” returns Peg’s twin. “I love you as a brother, an could I -but physic Your Lady into complaisance, I’d give my life for it. What -owe I not to you?” adds the young man with deep feeling. “You’ve fed me, -and zooks! Sir, to-night you’ve clothed me, for since the scurvy knaves -that frightened Lady Di stole my suit of grays and my sword and hat, -what had I left? Where would I be now, were’t not for you?” - -“Tush, Ken, lad, I love you for yourself,—and ten thousand times more -for her sake. Ken, I love her so that as I told her, if Sir Robin were a -better man I’d cry off, an she said she loved him.” - -“What said she?” - -“Not that she loved him, but that she might,” he continues with sadness, -as his eyes follow Peg on her almost royal progress about the -drawing-rooms. “’Tis a proper fellow, enough, and I’d always heard he -was a fright and a coward.” - -Kennaston presently took heart of grace and crossed to pay his duty to -Lady Diana, who, ’twas plain to be seen by every other than this bashful -swain, was by no means the indifferent to him she would feign play off. -Her color came and went as Kennaston, blushing to match his lady, -ventured to spout his ode to her; and, leaving the pair to gallop on -this pleasant path, Sir Percy at a distance unconsciously followed Lady -Peggy, at least with his gaze. - -Peggy meantime, denying right and left the story of her prowess, with -quips and jests and ogles of the fair, still kept her eye on Percy. Not -yet had she seen him approach Lady Diana; yet hold! even now, catching -her own gaze fixed upon him, he turned and was presently bending over -the little beauty’s fingers. - -A pang shot through Peg’s heart, and the tears were like to force their -way; she made an excuse and left the long drawing-room, taking refuge in -a small apartment where the tables were ready for cards. She sank into a -chair and buried her face in her hands. The candles were not yet lighted -and she was totally unobserved. Dashing the salt drops from her lashes -with her hand,— - -“What am I!” she cried in her bitterness, “that I can not abide to even -see him a-bending over her hand! Ain’t you no spirit, Peg? No pride? -He’s not thinking of you, my dear; didn’t he say plain, if Sir Robin was -the better man he’d give up to him! What kind of a suitor’s that, Peg? -Lud! I’d not give up him to any one, whether they were my betters or -no!” - -Could My Lady but have postponed her exit for a few brief moments she -would have beheld Sir Percy, at a word in his ear from a footman, quit -Lady Diana’s side with but the smallest ceremony, dash out into the -vestibule, seize with a vice-like grip the man who stood there pale and -trembling, and gasp out: - -“At last! the letter, the letter?” - -Grigson shook his head and got even whiter. - -“No letter?” Percy says in a dazed way. - -“Only your own, Sir Percy,” handing back the missive. “Her Ladyship was -from home, Sir.” - -“Well, what of that! you infernal, damned rascal, did I not command you -seek her, if ’twere at the other end of the world!” - -“Aye, Sir, and the quickest way of settin’ about findin’ Her Ladyship -was for me to get back to town, Sir, as fast as the cursed beast I was -cheated into hirin’, Sir, would fetch me.” - -“Speak out, for God’s sake! Is Her Ladyship up in London?” asked Sir -Percy, actually shaking with impatience and astonishment. - -Grigson nods and without more ado proceeds to give an exact if somewhat -rambling account of his entire experiences, from the moment he had -quitted his master until the present. - -’Twere idle to attempt to describe Sir Percy’s state of mind. Up to now -there had ever lingered in his heart the hope, nay, one of those -unconscious beliefs men have, that in the end Peggy would be his. This -news that Grigson brought crushed every such thought from his brain, but -put in its place such a hatred of the young man now tasting the sweets -of hero-worship (in little), in the adjoining room, as caused his -fingers to itch for his steel and t’other’s flesh to meet once more, and -to the death. - -He drew Grigson in from the vestibule and, unobserved in the crush, down -the corridor to the darkness of the card-room where Peggy still sat -disconsolate in her far-off corner. - -She, for the moment, is even unconscious that any one has entered until -the voices arrest her attention. - -“By Gad!” Sir Percy cries in a low tone, falling into a seat and -clapping his brow. “Up in London! The woman, vowing Sir Robin had -crossed your entrance, inquiring for Her Ladyship! Your meeting, not Sir -Robin, but an ill-conditioned little popinjay with squint eyes and of -the height of the dwarf that waits upon my Lady Brookwood?” - -“Aye, Sir Percy,” returns Grigson. “No more like Sir Robin, which, Sir, -begging your honor’s parding, is a very pretty young nobleman, with a -good eye and a proper height.” - -Sir Percy nods. - -“Then,” speaking as if to himself and motioning the man away, “since -she’s up in town without her parents’ knowledge and with a cock-and-bull -story stuck into her Abigail’s mouth, it must be she’s eloped with the -scoundrel out of Kent!” - -Grigson going, ventures to ask: “Any more h’orders, Sir Percy? Will I -cover the town, all the inns and taverns, Sir?” - -The young man shakes his head and the servant bows himself away. - -[Illustration] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - VIII - - _Wherein Lady Peggy picks a very pretty quarrel - with her presumed rival: and is - later bid to Beau Brummell’s - levee in her night rail._ - - -At this precise moment Lady Peggy, scarce able to contain herself longer -and, reckless of every possible consequence, being about to cast herself -upon her quondam lover’s protection, and to be rid forever of being a -man, is stopped short of her purpose by the words that now fall slowly -from the young man’s lips. - -“To deceive! to lie! to scheme! and plot, and bring shame and trouble -upon her father and mother! Gad’s life!” Sir Percy brings his clenched -hand down with a thump upon the card-table. “I had never believed that -of Peggy! I’d have felled him that had hinted she could even plan a lie, -or run off to a secret marriage with the best man that lives.” - -At which speech My Lady’s color burned as never before since she was -born, and her choler rose at the double charge, both the one that was -true as to her deceit, and the one that was not as to her secret -nuptials. - -Palpitating with rage and wounded sensibility, with remorse and -wretchedness; brought to bay with a situation she could not endure, Peg -now utterly forgot her breeches or her shame at these, and, stepping -boldly forth into the small circle of light shed in at the doorway, from -the candles in the corridor, she saluted Sir Percy and spoke: - -“I bid you good-evening, Sir Percy de Bohun, and, having had either the -good, or the ill fortune to unintentionally overhear your remarks -concerning Lady Peggy Burgoyne, I feel it my duty and pleasure alike to -defend her from the unjust and unworthy attack which you, Sir, have just -been pleased to make.” - -“Sir Robin McTart!” exclaims Percy, with a start and in a prodigious -anger. “I deny your charges, Sir, and would remind you that -eaves-droppers are ever the cumberers of dangerous ground.” - -“Sir!” responds Lady Peggy, her temper rising the more at the sense of -the injustice and falseness of her whole tenure. “You coupled just now -the name of a lady with that of Sir Robin McTart. I demand how you dare -to assume such a responsibility, Sir, until at least either the lady in -question, or I, gives you our confidence, or our leave.” - -“‘Our’ forsooth! ‘Our!’” comes fiercely from between Sir Percy’s -clenched teeth, while his hand flies to his sword-hilt. - -“Why the devil, Sir—an you’ve been so lucky as win the lady for your -bride—make off with her i’ the dark, shut her up in some unfindable -hole? cheat her parents, and go strutting like some vain peacock up and -down other ladies’ drawing-rooms? Be a man, Sir, and publish your -triumph broadcast, nor let the town presently go gossiping and -countryside wagging with the scandal of an elopement! Zounds! Sir Robin -McTart, that!” flipping a stray card from the table almost in Her -Ladyship’s face, “for your gallantry and your honor!” - -“What do you mean, Sir?” cries Peggy, struck with horror all a-heap, and -with terror as well, yet keeping up a brave show with her drawn rapier -and sparkling eyes. - -“Whatever you damned please, Sir,” returns Percy, now white-heat too, -and most reckless of time or place. - -“I’ve too much regard for Lady Peggy, Sir, not to postpone the climax of -this matter until our next meeting, let it be when you see fit!” cries -Peg with woman’s wit and wisdom too. - -“’Slife, Sir, I ask you as one gentleman to another, nay, I implore it -of you,” cries Sir Percy, rent betwixt choler, love and apprehension, -“most humbly, is Lady Peggy your wife?” - -Her Ladyship was now like to laugh, so near akin are mirth and sorrow, -but she replied very loftily: - -“I decline to discuss the matter, Sir, and would remind you that report -hath your attentions engaged in quite another direction.” - -“You know where Lady Peggy Burgoyne is at this moment?” says Sir Percy -hotly, determined to push his matter to its ending this very night, and -almost crazed by his passion and its balking. - -“That I do, Sir,” returns Her Ladyship with a covert smile. - -“Tell me, or I’ll brain you where you stand.” Percy makes an ugly lunge -at his opponent with his fist, but merely as a threat. - -“That will I not,” says she firmly. - -What might have further ensued is, at this crisis, put out of the -question by the entrance of Kennaston, who, espying Percy the first, -cries out joyfully: - -“Percy, Percy, Lady Diana hath given me leave to tell you she consents—” - -“Tush, Sir!” interrupts Percy, jerking his head toward the other -occupant of the room. “Sir Robin McTart and I have come near to blows, -and must fight of a surety, on the subject of your sister, Sir; and ’tis -for you to know without more delay that Lady Peggy is up in London, -unknown to her parents; that Sir Robin hath her whereabouts and -absolutely refuses to reveal the same.” Percy crosses the room, strikes -a tinder and lights the candles on the mantel-shelf. - -“You are cursedly badly mistook, gentlemen, both of you,” says -Kennaston, quietly enough. “I’ve got a letter which I found upon my -table this very night, just come from my sister at Kennaston,” with -which her twin pulls My Lady’s most ill-spelled and crumpled missive -from his pocket and holds it up before the four astonished eyes that are -staring at it. - -Peggy in amaze recognizes the letter she had written to her brother the -day long since in the buttery, and which she had taken up to town in her -reticule and must have dropped when she had paid her ill-starred visit -to Kennaston’s chambers in Lark Lane. - -“Frowse, the charwoman’s daughter, vowed she’d found it a-lying in the -entry under the water-tub. There’s an end of your dispute, Sirs, I -trust,” glancing from one to the other. “Come, come, Sir Percy, and you, -Sir Robin, whom indeed the letter you brought me from Lady Peggy the -other night doth most highly commend to my good offices, must be -friends,” taking a hand of each. “Nor let Dame Rumor split ye asunder -with her lies about my little twin’s being up in town. Gadzooks, Sirs, -the child’s not a notion of a difference betwixt Mayfair and—Drury Lane! -I beg of you, Mr. Brummell,” as this one now comes mincing in together -with Lord Escombe, Sir Wyatt, Mr. Jack Chalmers and others for their -game, “for you’ve the graces I lack in such matters.—These two gallants -have had a difference, and ’tis you, Mr. Brummell, can set ’em straight -again.” - -“Cards! cards! Spades, clubs, diamonds, hearts,” exclaims the Beau, -touching the Queen of Hearts with the toe of his high-heeled shoe, as it -lies on the floor where it was shot from Sir Percy’s hand. - -“Split me! but ’tis them that are at the bottom of every quarrel, Sirs; -whisk me, but if a spade, or a club, or a heart, provided it be a -lady’s, or a diamond, which the Jews have a lien on, ain’t the only -causes for disagreement in this world!” - -“Correct as your own toilet, Sir!” cries Wyatt. - -“Now, ’twas hearts of course, damn ’em, and the queen of ’em that’s -roused both your tempers, but for God’s sake, gentlemen,” taking now the -hand of each which has slipped clear of Kennaston’s fingers, “bethink -you, if the lady, whose name I can’t even guess, whom you both adore, -stood here, what would her pleasure be, Robin, my lad, answer me, for of -brawling there can be none here and fighting no more. Speak, Sir!” - -“Faith!” answered Lady Peggy, with splendid valor and a rise in her -color and her heels, “to my certain knowledge the lady’d have her name -put out of the matter wholly, and she’d sooner die, Sir, than have any -fighting over her preferences, by either Sir Percy de Bohun or Sir Robin -McTart.” - -The which being taken to be, by all present, a most prodigious and -amazing gentlemanlike and politic speech, Sir Percy was feign accept, -mock-smile and bow, while all the rest blew their lungs hollow -applauding and praising his still hated and still suspected rival. - -Peace restored outwardly, whatever else raged in the breasts of the two -opponents, the gallants sat to their tables, Kennaston managing to -whisper to Sir Percy across the deal: - -“As I was telling you when I entered, Percy, Lady Di permits me to let -you know she consents to my dedicating the ode to her, and Lillie, at -the corner of Beanford Buildings in the Strand, hath engaged to publish -it at once!” - -But this, Lady Peggy, at a distant table, engaged in picquet with His -Grace of Escombe, hears not; there rings in her ears naught save the -words Kennaston uttered when he came into the card-room—“Lady Diana hath -given me leave to tell you she _consents_.” - -“Consents!” To what else but his suit? Which, egged on by his noble -uncle, has been pushing any time these ten years, since boy and girl Sir -Percy and Lady Di had played, ridden, romped, quarreled as brother and -sister together. - -“Consents!” - -It echoes and resounds in Her Ladyship’s head over and over again the -night through, and ’tis quite of a piece with her mood that she seeks -out Lady Diana when tea and cakes are passing, and, with sly looks, -congratulates Her Ladyship on the happiness she has this night conferred -on a very gallant gentleman not so many miles away! - -And quite in Lady Diana’s line of reasoning, having heard from Kennaston -that Sir Robin has come up to town highly commended to him by his -sister, and that, although he had been sorely jealous and distraught at -the said Sir Robin’s good fortune in the matter of the rescue of Her -Ladyship, he still believed him to be head over heels in love with his -twin, etc., etc., etc., and so, Her Ladyship argued, Kennaston had -doubtless confided to the said Sir Robin such tokens of her favor as the -said Lady Diana had that evening seen fit to manifest; never for a -moment misdoubting that any other swain was in the supposed Robin’s mind -any more than he was in her own! - -“_Consents!_” - -’Twas reverberating in Peg’s ears and a-knocking at her heart for the -hundredth time, when, returned to the card-room, she learned that Mr. -Brummell was inviting the company for the Thursday to his seat Ivy Dene. -’Twas to be a gentlemen’s party only; out on horseback, the twenty -miles, leaving the White Horse at ten in the morning, with luncheon en -route at the Merry Rabbit at Market Ossory; a look over the stables and -paddocks on arriving at Ivy Dene,—a quiet game, maybe, and such a dinner -as only, the Beau swore, his country cook could get up; with the ride -back to town by the light of the near-full moon. - -Lady Peggy was soon made aware that this festivity was solely in her -honor, and succumbed to it as cheerfully as she might. - -God keep her! All the while staring at the ribbon of her twin’s wig, -a-longing to cast her arms about his neck and pray him cover her up in -his wraprascal and fetch her home; vowing she’d run away from ’em all -the next minute, but where? How? Which way could it be done so that -capture, discovery, and humiliation would not follow? Peggy could -contrive no method, and the girl was literally terrified both at the -prospect before her and by the realization that easy as it had been to -jump into man’s attire ’twas well-nigh impossible to get out of it -again. Should she on returning to Peter’s Court lay off her satin suit, -wig, and rapier, and resume her Levantine gown, hood, petticoats, -patches, and reticule, how and of what hour of the day or night could -she in safety leave the mansion and find her way unsuspected to the -King’s Arms and the coach? ’Twould be out of the question; servants were -up and about at all hours, and were a woman seen emerging from her room, -what piece of scandal would not the next day ring from one end of the -town to t’other. - -With “consents” tattooing in her brain, My Lady recklessly put all the -heart there was left in her into the present moment, lost a hundred -pounds to Escombe with a fine grace; won five hundred with no more ado; -laughed, drank a little wine, went home with her host at four in the -morning, and fell heavily asleep. - -At two of the afternoon the Beau usually held an informal levee attended -by the more noted of the bucks and macaronis of the town; vastly -entertaining half hours, wherein, while soundly abusing the newspapers -for their being stuffed with lies, the company still eagerly devoured -every scrap of gossip they contained; where the amount of frizz towering -above Lady This’s brow was measured and scanned, the better appearance -of Lady That in the new-fashioned gown discussed; and the horrid aspect -of the Hon. Miss So and So’s toupee and her general resemblance to a -malt-sack tied in the middle, talked over. This couplet and that comedy -were torn to pieces by as many pretty wits as chanced to be present, -while Tempers dressed his master’s wig in a corner and a footman and a -negro page handed chocolate round in silver trays. - -The Beau, himself, reclined on his great bedstead with its fine tester, -a half dozen of pillows richly laced at his head; a flowered gown about -his shoulders, his night-cap on, a coverlet embroidered by the Chinese -over him, his snuff-box at hand, reading aloud from the damp and freshly -arrived print whilst Sir Wyatt, Lord Escombe, Mr. Jack Chalmers, and a -dozen more sat or stood, cup in fingers, ’twixt lip and saucer, -hearkening, eager, to the news. - -“’Tis by this on the tip of every tongue in town that there occurred -last night at Lady B——d’s rout an encounter (the second within a -se’ennight), betwixt Sir P——y de B——n and a certain young gentleman from -Kent whose handsome face, genteel manners, and dashing behavior, have -conspired to place him in so brief a time at the very height of favor in -society, and more especially in the eyes of Lady D——a W——n. It had been -supposed that the affair recounted in these pages as having taken place -in the chambers of Lord K——n of K——n was on account solely of the above -mentioned adorable young scion of a noble house. We are in a position to -assure the world of fashion that such is not the case, and that both the -unfortunate disputes betwixt these two gallants are to be laid to the -door of Lady P——y B——e, sister to Lord K——n. Report hath it that Her -Ladyship is in London; rumor contradicts report and avers that the fair -one has not stirred from home. The issue is awaited with interest, as -the verbatim account of an unsuspected elopement may be looked for at -any moment. Safe to say the vivacious Lady P——y B——e, whom the town hath -never had the pleasure of beholding, has succeeded in stirring Mayfair -to its depths and has been the cause already of a very pretty pair of -quarrels between two young gentlemen of the first quality.” - -“’Slife!” cried Beau Brummell. “Who now the devil’s Lady P——y?” - -“By the dragon, himself, I never heard that Kennaston had a sister!” -said Lord Wootton and Mr. Vane at once. - -“Yes!” exclaims Sir Wyatt, tapping his forehead, recollectively, “I do -recall that Sir Robin McTart, the night we were at Kennaston’s chambers, -entered with the presentation of a letter of introduction from ‘Lady -Peggy Burgoyne to her brother,’ and ’sdeath! ’twas, I believe, she about -whom they fought, too!” - -“Ha! ’tis not only Lady Di, then, that’s at the bottom of their quarrel -after all,” says Mr. Brummell, reflectively. - -“Where is the fair one?” asks Escombe. “Who knows that?” - -“Faith! no one. Stop! Sir Robin must know, since ’tis for her he -unsheathes twice in a week,” cries the host. - -“Where is he?” - -“Bring him in!” - -“Send for Sir Robin!” is the cry of the company. - -“Zooks! Sirs, but our reputations as gallants are broken up, an we’ve -not seen her of whom the prints speak thus!” says the Beau, adding at -once: - -“Tempers, my compliments to Sir Robin McTart, and beg of him to join us, -for, at the least, a few moments. I know he’s averse to early rising, -but pray inform him to skip across in his dressing-gown and slippers, -and night-cap, we’ve no ladies here about to ogle him!” - -The which message being conveyed to My Lady Peggy a-sitting by the -pulled-out chest of drawers, mournfully contemplating her long shorn -tresses with barred door, arouses in her such a fever of sorrow as -well-nigh chokes her utterance. - -“Say to Mr. Brummell I’m asleep, Tempers, and crave to know his -pleasure, the answer to which I’ll send as faithfully as Morpheus will -permit, by you for Mercury! Off with you!” and Her Ladyship softly -stroked her locks, and for the thousandth time went planning her escape. - -Peels of laughter, rattling of rapiers, click of heels, and now— - -“Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat!” on the door. - -“McTart! McTart! Up with you from betwixt coverlets and into your -Persian quilt!” - -“Out with ye, Sir Robin, or by Gad! Sir, we’ll in, the fifteen of us! -and rout you up from Morpheus’s arms.” - -“Come, Sir Robin, dally no longer with sweet sleep; up, Sir, and bethink -you of Beauty spelled with a P-E-G-G-Y!” shouts Sir Wyatt, chorused by -the rest. - -At first clap of voices Peggy stuck her hair back into the drawer, -jumped up, and stood, hand upon the dressing-table, her expression like -nothing else so much as that of a fawn caught in a thicket. - -“’Sdeath! Gentlemen, I pray of you, a few moments grace!” cries she, -trembling from the knees down, for ’tis quite of the temper of the -manners of the day that in a second more the whole company should batter -down the mahogany and burst in. - -“Three-and-thirty, an you like, Sir Robin!” says Escombe, who is soberer -than the rest. - -“Give us the whereabouts of Lady Peggy Burgoyne,” shouts Mr. Chalmers, -“and we’ll trouble you no more ’til doomsday!” - -“Lady Peggy Burgoyne!” - -“Lady Peggy Burgoyne!” - -“Where’s Lady Peggy Burgoyne?” - -“Where’s Lady Peggy Burgoyne?” - -“Where is the fair one for whom you and Sir Percy de Bohun have fought -with blades and tongues, twice now, since this day last week?” - -“Lady Peggy Burgoyne!” cried they in hot concert, joined in most lustily -by the Beau from his bed across the corridor, and accompanied by the -pounding of fifteen rapier points on the parquet, and thirty fists on -the woodwork, as well as the demoniacal screams of the Beau’s little -negro and the parrot on his wrist. - -“Tell us where she is!” came high staccato last from Sir Wyatt’s -exhausted lips. - -“My Lords and Gentlemen!” answers Her Ladyship, standing close to the -door enveloped from top to toe in a sheet over her night-rail. “Would to -God I could!” - -There was a ring of heartfelt truth in the reply, and its utterance was -succeeded by a second’s surprised pause. - -The young bucks regarded each other with shrugs, pursed mouths, and -interrogation points bristling in their eyes. - -Mr. Chalmers, recovered of his surprise sooner than the others, says: - -“Do you mean to say, Sir Robin, that the whereabouts of the lady with -whose name the prints and the coffee-houses are ringing; for whose sake -you came near to fighting Sir Percy only last night, and did fight him -in Lark Lane o’ Thursday last, ain’t known to you?” - -“Is she in London?” pipes the Beau, pinching the little black till he -squeaks again. - -“That I can not tell,” responds Her Ladyship. “I do know she’s not in -Kent; and she’s not at Kennaston Castle. ’Slife! Sirs,” adds she, “I -pray your consideration. Guess what you will; this matter of Lady Peggy -sticks me closer than you dream, and I’d give my life to know her safe -at home with her mother.” - -Silence ensues; the disappointed fifteen get them back to the Beau’s -bedside to talk over this latest development as to the mysterious Lady -Peggy. - -[Illustration] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - IX - - _In the which Lady Peg overhears a horrible - plot to murder; and wherein - Mr. Incognito encountereth - Sir Robin._ - - -She herself falls into such an immediate flood of tears as shakes her -well, and then up she rises from her depths, and with all the courage of -her race and blood, she vows that, come another sunset she will quit -Peter’s Court as if for a walk, and never return; that in small clothes, -since it must be, she will journey back to Kennaston Castle, and risk -all the discomfiture and disgrace her doing so may bring upon her. - -In point of fact, My Lady Peggy was at that state of mind when it seemed -to her no degradation or humiliation, no sorrow that could be visited -upon her, would be too much punishment, or enough, for the sins without -number she had committed since the luckless day she took the coach for -town. - -When she emerged from her room for dinner, ’twas to learn that Mr. -Brummell had been summoned hastily to St. James’s on so important an -affair as to initiate His Royal Highness into the mysteries of the new -tie of Sir Robin’s own invention! and that he trusted in this audience -to obtain permission to fetch Sir Robin to the Palace and present him -within a few days to several august personages, etc., etc., etc. - -Her Ladyship, therefore, dined alone, scantily too; food choked her, -wine burned her throat, and to speak truth she was heartily glad not to -have to drink it, for Her Ladyship was an abstemious young lady and -believed milk, Bohea and Pekoe the beverages for her sex, to the -exclusion of any stronger. - -At twilight, having made her duds and her tresses up into a reputable -enough parcel, Lady Peggy, in a suit of claret velvet, leaving all the -rest of her man’s attire hanging in the presses, sauntered carelessly -out of the house, declining the footman’s offer of a chair, or even a -hackney chaise, or a page to carry her parcel, and set off at a swinging -pace across the square and toward the river. It was her intention, by -way of frustrating any attempts at tracing her which might be set afoot, -the discovery of her flight once made, to so double on her own tracks, -and to seek out such unimagined and unlikely streets to traverse, as -must puzzle both bell-man, watch, and redbird alike, as well as her -acquaintances. - -She swaggered along toward St. Stephen’s where a coach containing -quality was occasionally met even now; then down Horseferry Road, almost -to the river’s bank; then along Jackanapes Row, with little idea of the -cut-throat locality she was haunting; back again toward better -neighborhoods; then a lurch to the Thames making into Farthing Alley and -Little Boy Yard, at the end of which she found herself at the old Dove -Pier. - -Peg stood still, her heart beating both with her quick walk, and at the -strangeness of all that surrounded her. She had no fear, because her arm -was stout, her aim sure, pistols at her belt and a good sword at her -side; and she was perfectly ignorant of any harm here to be found, -greater than at the door of Beau Brummell’s house. - -The dark dwellings of the yard frowned at one another, with not an ell -of sky to share between ’em at their roofs; the sign of the “Three Cups” -swung and creaked in the slow breeze; the river, black and gruesome, -lapped at the foot of the stone pile against which she leaned. On the -river the tired bargemen rested at their oars, and the dip of a -water-bird was the only sound that struck upon her ear. Peggy was -casting about in her mind whether to enter the inn and inquire her road -to the King’s Arms in the Strand, and had just turned to do so, when in -the cavernous doorway of one of the gaunt-looking tenements she beheld -three figures. The faces of two were toward her, and by the light of the -fish-oil lamp swinging at the next-door tavern, she beheld them, so -sinister and forbidding as to cause her to halt for a space, and then, -overcoming her dread, to pursue her path, but slowly and by crossing the -yard. - -As she did so, her weapon caught in her heel and as she bent to -disengage it, a voice speaking in low muffled tones arrested her gait. - -It was the voice of Sir Robin McTart saying: - -“If I make it ten guineas apiece on the spot, you swear to leave him -cold on the pier yonder, come Sunday night, or to tie a stone about his -throat and throw him into the river?” - -“Aye, aye,” grunts one of the two companions of this most valorous -gentleman. “’E’s h’always ’ulkin ’ereabouts o’ Sunday nights.” - -Lady Peggy, with such a pull-string of terror at her heart as she never -had before, draws closer to the wall of the tenement before which she -has halted, creeps nearer to the portal wherein these cavaliers are -quartered. - -“Let it be five guineas apiece to-night,” squeaks the Baronet, “and the -remainder when the business is done?” - -“The devil knock you into hell with your, ‘when the business is done!’” -mutters the other. “We’s doin’ your job for you for little enough. -Tain’t everyone as’d h’undertake the funeral of a h’Earl’s heir like Sir -Percy de Bohun——” - -Her Ladyship’s like now to fall in a swoon; but not she; only leans she -a bit against the bricks, her bosom heaving, her eyes dilating, her lips -bitten in until they are almost bleeding. - -“Hush-h-h! no names, you varlets!” interrupts Sir Robin. - -“Hey?” responds the other, “the walls ain’t got no h’ears, and if they -’ad wot I’m a-sayin’s the cussid truth, eh, Bloksey?” - -Bloksey grunts. - -“The town’ll be afire when it’s out that a gallant like ’im that’s heir -to Lord Gower’s been done fer; and then, my fine gentleman, who’s to pay -for’t, if we’s caught and if we ’appens to be seen by any one when we’re -a doin’ of your job? No, money all down now, or Sir Percy lives as long -as ’e likes, for us!” - -Peg’s hand’s upon the hilt of her sword. - -Shall she spring and run Sir Robin through? - -Shall she hide and buy the rascals out at a higher price than he has -paid? - -But no sooner do these thoughts rush through her brain than the utter -impossibility of compassing the one, or of performing the other, -undetected, if even with her life, and she so at the mercy of these -cut-throats, comes to steady her, and she realizes that her only part is -to get away as fast as she may, and unseen if she can. - -Meantime Sir Robin concludes his bargain with the two desperadoes, and -as they withdraw into their haunt, and he turns on his heel, he espies -Lady Peggy rounding the corner with her bundle under her arm. The little -Baronet with a sidelong glance in at the hallway to make sure his men -are out of sight, darts to the opposite side of the court on tiptoe, and -then, putting hands to mouth, calls across softly, but clearly, in a -tone half of joy, half anger. - -“Mr. Incognito! Mr. Incognito! Ho! I say, Incognito!” - -Peg stops short. ’Twere wiser perhaps to try to discover what had put -Sir Robin McTart up to the murder. - -“By Gad, Sir!” cries this one, making a dash now over to Peg’s side of -the way. “Here have I scoured the town for you day and night, and no -trace of you anywhere! ‘Incognito’ me no more, Sir! Who are you, Sir? -Damme! I’ll stand no more such nonsense!” Sir Robin’s valor’s thoroughly -based on the knowledge that, were blade to be unsheathed to his hurt, he -could and would shout for his hirelings to the rescue. - -’Twas the first and only time in his life that he was ever known to -urge, or even hint, a quarrel _in propria persona_. - -“I’ll ‘incognito’ you to the end of the chapter, Sir Robin McTart,” -answers Lady Peggy, clapping hand to hilt. - -“Very well, Sir, very well,” says the Baronet, reflecting that another -corpse might cost him ten guineas more, ere he were done with it; and -besides yearning for the news of His Lady which he thinks he may glean. -“I’ve small stomach for fightin’ any man. Religion don’t teach us that -lesson, but ’tis a devilish trick you’ve played me, Sir.” - -“In what way, Sir? Out with it,” replies Peggy. - -“You, Sir, sent me to Kennaston a-seeking Lady Peggy Burgoyne, Sir; she -was from home, and not a word else could I buy or wring out of her -servant’s cursed mouth. Then I hied to Kent, believing, from your fine -messages to me from Her Ladyship, that she must be there at her -godmother’s. No, Sir! she was not; nor could any one tell but that she -was at Kennaston Castle for all they knew. Back in town post-haste, I -seek Lark Lane, where her brother lodges, so I had heard, only to learn -that he has gone to stop with Sir Percy de Bohun, in Charlotte Street.” - -“Well, you sought him there?” inquires Peg quivering with suppressed -excitement. - -“I did not, Sir!” replies Sir Robin with emphasis. - -“Thank heaven!” says his companion fervently, an exclamation which may -do double duty, and is well taken by the little gentleman from Kent. - -“No, Sir; you do not suppose, Sir, that I’m a-going to risk a life -that’s dear to Lady Peggy, at the hands of a ripping brawler and -sure-kill like Sir Percy, do you?” - -“Ah, Sir Robin,” quoth Her Ladyship. “If you knew what a consolation it -would be to Lady Peggy to hear of your unwillingness to hazard your -precious person in such company, ’twould ease your mind and heart.” - -“Look you!” whispers Sir Robin, plucking at Peg’s sleeve. “But tell me -where she is? This mystery’s killing me! How fares she? Does she pine -for me? and is this true?” With shaking hands Sir Robin takes from his -pocket a copy of a print of the day previous, and unfolding, reads to -the astonished Peg the following paragraphs. - -“Town’s talk is all for the very pretty quarrel betwixt Sir P——y de -B——n, and the gallant and handsome Sir R——n McT——t of Kent. ’Tis all -over Mayfair, and far beyond, that the cause of the dispute’s the lovely -but mysterious Lady P——y B——e.” - -“’Slife!” interrupts Peg, catching at straws. “You now perceive, Sir -Robin, why ’tis that Her Ladyship must keep her whereabouts a secret, -even,” she adds with sentimental deflection, “from you. Trust me, Sir, -as you would trust her, and be guided by my counsel!” - -Sir Robin nods vigorously, fluttering his sheet with anxious fingers. -“Listen, Sir, listen, to this further.” He reads on. “Sir P——y de B——n -has sworn by all that’s sacred, so ’tis said, to stick Sir R——n McT——t -to the death, and serious consequences are feared.” - -“Ah!” cries Lady Peggy, overjoyed to hear anything that may serve to -keep the little Baronet and Sir Percy from meeting. “’Tis a gentleman of -his word, I promise you. Better get back at once to Robinswold, and let -London and Sir Percy gallop to the devil, an they see fit!” - -“Nay,” replies the one addressed. “Not I, Sir Incognito. It is not for a -McTart to turn his back on danger, but the rather,” and here by the -fish-oil gleam, the little gentleman’s squint eyes leer cunningly up -into Her Ladyship’s face: “The rather,” continues he, glancing -cautiously around, “take measures to protect myself.” - -“Very commendable of you, Sir Robin, by my faith,” cries Peggy, although -she shudders, now linking her arm in her companion’s, and assuming an -air of easy confidence, by the which she hopes to ensnare him into a -complete revelation of his plans. - -“Since you go armed, and are, I doubt not, a master in the art of -self-defense, what have you to fear from Sir Percy de Bohun?” - -“True,” responds the Baronet, with a reservation to himself and no mind -at all to proceed any further with his revelations. “Gad! Sir, a fellow -like that,” clutching at the newspaper stuck among his ruffles, “ain’t -to be trusted as long as he’s above the ground. I swear, Sir! I fear to -walk abroad and hold myself housed at my inn in Pimlico, close, not -daring to show my face. A ruffian that’s publicly printed as seekin’ -life’d stick me in the back in the dark, an he got the chance.” - -“Nay, nay, Sir Robin,” says Peg, up for her sweetheart, “he’s not that -sort of a gentleman—but, look you, keep close, frequent neither club, -coffee or chocolate-house, or rout or drum; eschew Vauxhall, Richmond -and the play-house, or any likely place where bucks gather, for trust -me, Sir, an you do meet Sir Percy, there’ll be the devil to pay, and his -blade’s his obedient slave.” - -Poor Peg! She has not only to protect Percy of his life, but, as before, -to prevent any discovery of her usurpation of the little Baronet’s name. - -“Curse him! I fear him not!” responds this one, his itching fingers -twisting about the empty purse in his pocket. - -“But of Her Ladyship, Sir Go-between?” adds he presently, as they emerge -upon the broader and better lighted road. “’Pon my life, but to so find -myself the hero of a romantic passion with the Lady secluded in a -mystery, a nobleman thirsting for my blood, a nameless gentleman playin’ -Mercury betwixt me and my fair, ’tis amazing, Sir! prodigious amazing!” -Sir Robin struts and takes snuff very comfortably, since he has got out -of a very dangerous environment. - -Peg’s soul sickens within her as she listens to him. - -“Tell me now, how fares she?” - -“Not so well,” answers she. - -“You’ve seen her?” - -“Not I.” - -“Are like to?” - -“No, Sir.” - -“You can convey messages to her by some fond way she’s planned to get -her news of me, eh?” - -“I can, Sir Robin.” - -“Sir, whoever you are, for pity’s sake, tell me where is she?” - -“Not far, Sir.” - -“Gad, Sir, to touch her hand, her cheek! You’re in her sure confidence? -She does favor me? She will not give me hopes, Sir, to turn around and -break my heart by marryin’ of another?” - -“Lady Peggy’ll never marry any man, Sir Robin, I’m of the opinion, so -I’d not give that for your chances!” answers she. - -“Think you she ever cared for Sir Percy?” asks he. - -“Sir, who can fathom a woman’s heart? ’Tis deeper than the sea; so deep, -methinks, ofttimes she herself holds not that plummet that can sound it. -Sir Robin, I take my leave of you.” - -“Hold! hold! Sir, not so fast. Where next may I encounter you?” - -“That must be as Her Ladyship says,” answers Peggy. “Your inn’s in -Pimlico?” - -“Yes, the Puffled Hen, not far off Battersea Bridge.” - -“Farewell, Sir, and look you keep close in-doors, and risk no quarrel -with Sir Percy de Bohun.” - -“Farewell, Sir,” watching Her Ladyship turn down the street as he turns -up. “Gad’s life! ’twas well he happened when he did, and not earlier, to -eavesdrop my bargain with the wharf-rats! ’Sdeath! Risk no quarrel with -Sir Percy! Not so long as there’s guineas left to buy corpses with!” and -the little gentleman trots over to Pimlico, tolerably well pleased with -his evening’s work; there, however, to be greeted with the reading of -more newspapers, including that one which had earlier in the day so -entertained Beau Brummell and his familiars. - -Not for a moment did the Baronet mistrust, or have a suspicion, other -than that his fame had caused him to be made the subject of such a pack -of pretty stories as was then the custom of the press, as now, regarding -any gentleman of position and gallantry. Sir Robin’s vanity easily -swallowed the dose, and he even slapped his thigh and laughed his little -dice-rattle laugh, as he reflected how safe he really was with never a -challenge or a brawl to his cowardly credit since he got his first -flogging at Eton. - -He actually mouthed over his prospective wooing, and assured winning of -Lady Peggy, and felt a calm satisfaction in the knowledge that the one -rival he feared would so soon be beyond the reach of ladies’ smiles or -tears. No qualms came to disturb his genial enjoyment of purposed -assassination. In those days to kill was nearer men’s tempers than it is -to-day. ’Twas with blackguard and man of honor alike, the first redress -for even the pettiest sort of a dispute; with the difference of method -only, that the gallant blade fought out his quarrel on the open field, -while the craven bought a hireling’s dagger to do it in the dark. - -Meantime, My Lady, by as direct a route as she can fathom out of the -labyrinth of her ignorance and her distracted state of mind, makes back -to Peter’s Court with her parcel of duds still under her arm. - -She enters, mounts the stair-case, seeks her room, closes the door, and -sits down. - -“’Tis now not to be doubted,” she says to herself, “but that the Devil’s -at the helm of my ship—and that I am to be a man for the rest of my -life. ’Sdeath! as dad says, I’ll stop over till Sunday night’s o’er -past, and as surely as my name’s Peggy Burgoyne I’ll foil that little -dastardly groat of a Baronet’s plot to murder him that I once l-loved. -Bah!” cries she half aloud. “What’s the use of mincin’ matters that’s -true? Him that I love! Even if he’s dyin’ for Lady Diana, and goin’ to -be her husband instead of mine! ‘Consents!’” murmurs she, flinging -herself on the bed in a flood of tempestuous tears. - -In vain regretting, she now too fully realized that her own wilful -words, her jealousy, her falsehoods, her deceits, were the sole causes -for Sir Robin’s terror, and, therefore, for the abominable scheme which -he had just concocted. - -Presently she arose, tossed the bundle once more back into its -hiding-place, and set to pacing up and down the floor as she’d seen her -twin do at home when he was looking high and low for a rhyme. - -’Twas weightier matters kept Peg moving for an hour or more, and -quick-spinning as were her heart and temper, her brain bore a more even -balance. - -First she had thought to warn Percy by a letter unsigned; the which she -knew he’d pitch into the fire and think no more about. Then, that she’d -write one to Kennaston imploring him to keep Percy from the pier Sunday -night or any other; this she soon recognized would have the fate of -t’other. Then, ’twas to contrive some plan to fetch him to Richmond, -Windsor, any place else for Sunday; but to this arose the objection that -the blackguards cheated of one day, or place, would not fail to wait -upon their prey some other. At the last, Her Ladyship’s shrewd -common-sense and indomitable pluck plainly showed her there was but one -safe plan out of the danger; and this must be to go herself to the river -Sunday night, and there concealed, armed, await the coming of the -cut-throats from their den, and from the rear, put a shot into each at -one and the same moment. - -Could she do it? - -Her Ladyship had muscles of steel, no nerves, as the fine ladies of her -day comprehended them; as brave and loyal a heart as ever beat in any -breast; good faith in God, for all her frowardness; and that species of -love burning within her for Sir Percy de Bohun, which has, not a few -times in the world’s history, made frailest woman into man’s equal for -courage. - -To Lady Peggy there seemed a divine compensation in the fact that it had -come to her, to save the very one whom, by her lies and wilfulness, she -alone had been the means of endangering. - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration: At the table sat Kennaston...] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - IX - - _In this same Her Ladyship’s mount is shot - dead under her in Epstowe Forest, and - she makes off on Tom Kidde’s horse._ - - -This young gentleman now stood looking from a window of his uncle’s -house, upon all the dewy leafing beauty of the Park at May. His brow was -knit, his lips tight shut, his hand amid his ruffles clenched. - -At the table sat Kennaston, inky-fingered, scribbling; eyes now rolling -to the ceiling, now roving hither and yon. - -“Ah!” sighs this one. “If the critics do not find this canto to their -taste, may I be damned!” - -“You’re like to go to Court to the Devil, I’m thinking then, dear lad,” -speaks de Bohun over his shoulder. - -“Fame! Fame!” cries the young poet, pushing back in his chair, wig awry -and quill poised in air. “I’ll hunt thee to my dying hour, and if thou -escap’st me then, ’twill all be Lady Diana’s fault.” - -“How’s that?” asks Percy, with, however, but small ring of interest in -his voice. - -“Oh!” exclaimed Peg’s twin, “the minx mocks me! ’Tis Monday, kindness -and all smiles, to wake on Tuesday for indifference; pouts on Wednesday; -lure-me-ons o’ Thursday; forgetfulness for Friday; radiance for -Saturday, and all a-jumble, sweets-and-frowns! showers! sunshine! what -you will!—and will not!—for my Sunday fare.” - -Percy sighs and smiles. - -“Percy, sometimes I think Diana does love you!” - -“No, Sir, never. We’re like brother and sister, nothing else, save my -uncle’s absurd, obstinate (now-cured) whim, since childhood, to match -his heir with Brookwood’s heiress. Odzooks! Ken, you’re like every other -swain that ever sighed, always looking for a rival to be jealous of! -Lady Di cares for you; an you doubted it before, ’tis time to take up -hope, since you are asked to Brookwood for a visit, and go popping off -to-night, with me left home to think alone on Peggy.” - -“Zounds! Sir, ’tis not you only that’s thinking of her!” cries the young -man rising and crossing to the fire. “But, what would you! if I call out -the bell-man, publish her disappearance in the newspapers; get word to -my father and my mother; what comes of’t all, but scandal? and like as -not dad an apoplexy, and My Lady mother a set of fits and a death-bed!” - -“Ken, I’m a damned fool ever to stop inside of doors or to cease pacing -streets, haunting inns, shadowing Sir Robin McTart, until I find her!” - -“Fie, Sir, if she’s gone off with Sir Robin McTart, ’tis, I promise you, -with a wedding-ring on her finger, and not else! An she loves him, -what’s to be said or done, if he’s her lawful lord?” - -“Naught. I myself went down to Kennaston yesterday. I said nothing to -you, Ken,” he adds, noting the other’s surprised and reproachful start, -with a hand upon his junior’s shoulder. - -“I thought I’d not interrupt the epic and your frenzies about Lady Di, -with my troubles.” - -“Well, what news of Peg? Any?” asks her twin anxiously. - -“None. I saw Chockey, and only got from her what Grigson had, the -positive assurance that her mistress had gone up to London. ‘Of her own -free will?’ I asked. ‘Yes, Sir Percy,’ said she. ‘Alone?’ I inquired. -‘No, Sir Percy,’ was her answer, nor could I force, frighten, or buy the -baggage into any further confidence. She did beg of me, however, seek -out Her Ladyship, if I could, and find how she fared.” - -“Gad’s life, Sir! She has eloped. ’Tis clear as crystal!” - -“One thing more, I asked Chock: Had Her Ladyship money in her purse? -‘Lawk, Sir Percy! cried she, ‘two hundred pounds I know of!’” - -“‘Two hundred pounds!’” repeats Peg’s twin in vast amazement. “’Tis sure -more’n she ever saw before in our whole lives put together. Oh, the -girl’s safely wedded, Sir, beyond a doubt!” - -“Sir!” says Percy, sitting at the table, with his head low in his hands. -“The blackguard’s won her from me!” - -“I fear so, Sir.” The two men’s hands meet and grasp in the silent -fashion of their sex: ofttimes more eloquent than any words e’er -speeched. - -“Would I had made a hole in his heart that night in Lark Lane!” cried -Sir Percy next. - -“Sir Robin’s nimble, Sir, and knows a trick or two with steel, as well -as dice.” - -“Aye: a gallant every inch; ’tis for that I hate him all the more; and -yet, Ken, sometimes, lad, when I’ve been a-staring at him from afar, -I’ve caught something in his countenance resembling Peg, and it’s that’s -made me halt like a chit at provoking of him further.” - -Kennaston nods. “Aye: I’ve remarked it; but held my peace, Percy, for -’tis said man and wife often grow to look alike, and I doubt not, -sometimes begin after the same pattern.” - -Sir Percy sighs again: turns up the room with drooped lids; in silence -getting that grip upon his soul which noblest natures insist on with -themselves, even in crises like his. ’Tis a bitter battle, closer fought -and quicker, too, than any won or lost with swords and guns. The -struggle’s writ upon his face as he goes; but when he comes his -victory’s writ there too. - -“Kennaston,” says he, very quiet and off-hand, “I’m thinking I’ll go to -the Colonies, to Virginia.” - -“What! no!” ejaculates the poet, placing a hand on either of his -friend’s shoulders. - -“Yes, Ken, dear lad, I could not live in England without her; perhaps -yonder, over the sea, in the new land that’s growing up, I may learn to -lead a new, better life, just for her sake that’s lost to me forever. At -the least I can strive, at such a distance, to serve my country and my -King like a man—until the end I’ll pray for comes.” - -Kennaston turns off, with tears in his eyes. - -“Mostly,” says he brokenly, “were not Peggy my twin, I’d be in a ripe -mood for a-cursing of her! When, Percy?” asks he, after a pause. - -“As soon as may be,” is the reply. “I’ve the promise of a commission by -my uncle’s influence! Come, come, lad o’ my heart,” laughs he through -his own misty eyes. “The wind’s not in my ship’s sails yet. I promised -Mr. Brummell for his expedition to Ivy Dene for the morrow, and I’ll -hardly be ready in all points to get under way before you’re back in -town from your visit to Brookwood; whence I foresee you’ll fly with -Diana’s ‘yes’ betwixt her kiss on your cheek.” - -’Twas now Mr. Brummell’s famous and long-talked-about party to Ivy Dene -this very next day that dawned. - -Now, Her Ladyship had vowed to herself that, come what might, she would -avoid this, even did Fate keep her in London. ’Twas no part of her -program, although she could do it as well as any sporting squire, to -make for her future any such memory as riding a horse astride for thirty -miles out and back, in the company a half-score of gentlemen must -furnish; yet, so is each of us rather the creature of circumstance than -will, that the hour appointed found Peg mounted on a gray with blood in -his veins, and a-pacing down Piccadilly to the White Horse beside Beau -Brummell’s bay. - -She could not, with Sir Robin’s murderous pact in her perpetual view, -make up her mind to omit a company that should include Sir Percy. - -It seemed to her that any day spent by him out of her sight might prove -fatal; that Sir Robin’s hirelings might conceive it better to their -purpose to put an end to their intended victim before the Sunday. So, -aching with an insane but not unnatural impulse to pull rein and confess -all; burning with shame to remember ’twas of Lady Diana’s sweetheart she -was thinking; mortified beyond belief every time her saddle grazed her -breeches; intent lest an unsuspected sword should flash from the -hedge-rows, the sheep-cotes, or the shadows of Epstowe Forest, which -they traversed on their way; My Lady Peggy, wishing amidst all this that -she had never come to town, yet contrived to display a very cheerful -mien, to laugh as loud as she dared, keeping her high notes cautiously -to herself, as she had in her speech ever since the night, as Sir Robin, -she had made her first appearance in Lark Lane—to join in jest, quip, -prank, such as a gay cavalcade of jovial gentlemen were then wont to -indulge in. - -Such are some of the strange vicissitudes incident to being that most -amazingly delicious compound, a wilful and withal true-hearted woman. - -As Mr. Brummell had planned, they halted for refreshment at the Merry -Rabbit at Market Ossory, and left, after a game of bowls on the green, -to pursue their way. Percy lingered a bit in the rear: truth to tell, -his reflections were none of the gayest, and the presence of the -supposed Sir Robin McTart, and the conclusion, which, together with Ken, -he had been forced to reach, that Lady Peggy had run off with the -Baronet, did not by any means conspire to the lightening of his spirits. -As he watched his presumed rival, heard the ringing laugh, the brilliant -jest: noted the careless air, and thought of this cavalier as Lady -Peggy’s lord, his choler knew no bounds, and it appeared to him that, -come what might, he must invent cause of quarrel, and one or the other -of ’em be left cold on the field. - -“Why,” a thousand times he asked himself, “this mystery regarding her -marriage? Why not have wedded Sir Robin from her father’s home, and with -her father’s blessing, since,” Sir Percy reluctantly admitted, “no fault -could be found with so fine a young gentleman; and his fortune, he knew -to be considerable.” - -He was aware that Her Ladyship was romantic to a degree, and he could -but decide that this predilection had caused her to elope and to -preserve the matter in a wrapping of secrecy for a time; no doubt even -now from her retirement looking forward to the hour when she should -emerge as Lady McTart! - -Sir Percy gritted his teeth together and struck his spurs so deep that -his horse gave a plunge which brought him up, neck and neck, with the -gray of the supposed Baronet, and the black of Mr. Chalmers. - -“To the rescue, Sir Percy!” cried this one jocularly. “Your assistance I -beg, and the loan of your wits in our argument.” - -“With all my heart!” answers Percy, scenting a possible chance to worst -his rival, even in a battle of words. “What’s the subject?” - -“A truce to ’t!” exclaims the Beau, with an expressive shake of his head -at Mr. Chalmers, who, however, seldom notes any obstacle to the pleasure -of his present moment. - -“No truce at all, Mr. Brummell!” answers he gaily. “’Tis—” - -“’Tis nothing whatever, Sir Percy,” interrupts Lord Escombe, putting his -hand on Chalmers’s rein, and adding in an undertone: “Gadzooks! man, -hold your peace. The matter’s like tow and tinder betwixt Percy and -McTart.” - -“’Pon my soul, Gentlemen!” now cries Percy, “I insist upon Jack’s being -allowed to proceed with his remarks. If he wants my counsels, they’re -his. Come, Sir, speak.” - -“’Tis but this,” says Mr. Chalmers. “I say to Sir Robin that since the -world’s busy with rumors of his secret marriage to Lady Peggy Burgoyne; -since as I learn (by my man, who had it at the gate of the very best -authority—Gad! Sirs, ’tis a fact, even if we don’t relish it, the gist -of our gossip comes from below stairs, up!) that Lady Peggy is from -home, her father believing her in Kent at her godmother’s!” Mr. Chalmers -smiles, “her mother being in York, believing her safe at Kennaston, I -say, My Lords and Gentlemen, it behooves Sir Robin confide the matter to -his best friends, and give them chances to congratulate him and the -Lady. Have I the right of’t, Percy, yes or no?” - -Percy is silent for a moment: it seems to him a desecration of the -sweet, modest and womanly girl he has so long adored, thus to hear even -her name, much less a discussion of her most private matters, made into -mirthful subject on a morning’s ride. - -His anger, too, is great that the man whose name is coupled with hers -has not already put a stop to such a conversation, even were it at the -point of the sword. - -Shall he, here and now, so reply to Mr. Chalmers as shall breed an -instant retort from Sir Robin, and a challenge on the spot? The wild -thought even flashes through his brain that Sir Robin might, by the -grace of God! be left dead on the ground, and that some time in the dim -future he might win Peggy back to himself. - -But, with a tightening rein, he checks himself, as well as his horse, as -he answers. - -“Mr. Chalmers, the Lady you name is one whom I honor most deeply, and it -seems to me if she has seen fit to go into seclusion, or to marry -secretly, that, while I may wish to God it had been in open church! I -must continue to respect her preferences, until she elects to change -them;” with which, breaking the little pause of silence which follows, -Sir Percy gallops ahead, joining Mr. Brummell, who has put himself -quickly out of the commotion he had foreseen as likely to arrive. - -Meantime, it may be correctly imagined that Her Ladyship, with all her -sex’s exquisite ingenuity at plaguing itself whenever it possibly can, -had seized upon those words of Sir Percy’s most easily twisted into a -means of self-torture. - -“I wish to God it had been in open church!” instantly stuck itself in -her thoughts beside “Consents;” the two forming just that species of -flagellation which ladies so situated in mind are wont to inflict upon -themselves. - -The supposed Sir Robin, from this on, until the arrival of the party at -Ivy Dene, became taciturn, even morose, and not a syllable could be got -from him in answer to the wildest gibes. - -Her eyes intent upon Sir Percy, who now kept to the fore with his host, -My Lady Peggy, on the keen lookout for the possible assassin, and to the -tune of “consents,” and its running-mate, “I would to God it had been in -open church!” put in a very dolorous twenty miles; but, on dismounting -at Mr. Brummell’s doorstep, she endeavored to infuse a little joyousness -into her looks and speech. - -Indeed, ’twas difficult; yet no more so to-day than any other since she -had been coerced by circumstances into an acceptance of the Beau’s -hospitality. Every mouthful of bread and meat Peggy ate well-nigh choked -her, as she remembered ’twas meant for Sir Robin McTart. She felt -herself a trickster, a villain of the deepest dye, and yet saw no way -out of her usurped character with honor and repute; no way of keeping in -it save by the deeper dyeing of her soul in sin, which she promised -herself, and heaven, to expiate as soon as Percy should be safe from Sir -Robin’s men. - -The afternoon was spent as had been planned; the country cook’s dinner -was voted a perfect success: Mr. Chalmers, slightly raised by wine, even -going so far as to send her down, with his compliments, his favorite -ruby heart-pin: when, on the spot, not a gentleman present but whipped -out a jewel from ruffle, finger, pocket or fob, and Peggy herself tying -’em up in a pocket-napkin laced with Brussels and perfumed like the -civet-cat, sent them down to the astonished lass in the kitchen. - -A game of cards was in order after the repast: a tilt at politics: a -wager on the question of tea in the Colonies; Lady Peggy and Sir Percy -keeping, by the grace of each, well apart in all these encounters; and -at twelve o’clock, just as the moon was rising behind a bank of splendid -star-fringed clouds, Mr. Brummell and his guests set forth on their -homeward road. - -The beauty of the night was such as soothes and casts its own mantle of -peace over even those unquiet spirits which may be abroad. - -It reminded Lady Peggy, as she rode along, of just such another when she -and Percy had wandered up and down together in the weedy gardens at -Kennaston. Of that identical night Percy also was thinking, and of his -wilful Lady’s bright sallies, quick smiles, frowns; yea, even of one -little touch of her red lips, light as thistledown, which now he seemed -to feel the ghost of, on his forehead. - -The cavalcade had left the highway some distance behind; the moon was -fast being overtaken by the clouds whence she had, an hour or more ago, -emerged; the dews fell thick, and the scent of the hawthorn was sweet in -the air as they plunged into Epstowe Forest. - -“Ah, Gentlemen,” cried out Mr. Brummell, snapping his whip, “by Gad, -Sirs, what a night for Tom Kidde and his merry men! the skies dark, the -moon playin’ hide and seek, fifteen watches and purses, and as many -rings, pins and seals between us as you left not at Ivy Dene with my -cook Elizabeth!” - -“Ha! ha! ha! No fears of Tom Kidde, an he knows our caliber, jumping out -upon us!” laughs Lord Wootton. - -“’Slife! Sir, he’s the sort of highwayman to jump out on the best mettle -that strides horse-flesh or carries gold. The young devil’s afraid of -nothing that breathes, and has been the terror of travelers now these -three or four years gone,” says Vane. - -“He’s not above one-and-twenty, smooth-faced as a girl, those say who’ve -caught a glimpse of him under his mask; dresses like a macaroni, voiced -like a choir-singer, and nimble as an Indian monkey!” - -“Frequents he this neighborhood?” queries Lady Peggy, who at mention of -the word “highwayman” has tightened her rein, clapped a hand on her -holster, and felt her heart thump, as she involuntarily connects it with -possible danger to Percy. - -“That he does,” said Mr. Chalmers. “His den, or one of ’em’s somewhere -in the depths of Epstowe; and no one can tell when or where he’s like to -turn up next.” - -“When did he turn up last?” says Sir Wyatt, laughing. - -“I can tell you,” returns Vane. “’Twas about Candlemas. I was down at -home on a visit from town, when the news came, almost frightening my -mother out of her wits, and setting the maids a-shivering like so many -poppies in a storm. Tom Kidde had pounced on Lord Brookwood not a mile -from his own gates, lifted him off his mount in the politest fashion -imaginable, rifled His Lordship’s pockets, appropriated his weapons, and -ridden off on his victim’s horse, leaving His Lordship tied to a tree at -the roadside, where he was found by Biggs, the J.P., the next morning, -a-bellowin’ and a-cursin’ like a wild bull.” - -A hearty laugh greets Mr. Vane’s description. - -“Yes, but that ain’t all of’t, My Lords and Gentlemen,” continues he. - -“By no means!” cries Beau Brummell, out of his fit of hilarity. “I -recall now, that I rode over from Lauriston Castle, where I was -visiting, that very morning, and heard the adventure from Brookwood -himself. I fancy he had the laugh, or will have it some day, on Tom, or -some of his men, for the stolen mare was none other than His Lordship’s -famous ‘Homing Nell.’” - -“Is it possible!” exclaims Sir Percy, “the mare that’s been taken off a -hundred miles, let loose, and finds her way home again; the mare that’s -been sold and ridden fifty miles away, and then, when she felt a hand at -her mouth she could master, has taken the bit between her teeth, and the -one in the saddle’s only sometimes been able to keep his seat, and let -her take him straight back whence she came?” - -“The very same ‘Homing Nell.’ Brookwood’s sure of her getting back -sooner or later,” says the Beau. - -“They’ll never catch Tom, though,” cries Escombe. - -“If they do,” remarks Vane, “he’ll hang not two hours after he’s bagged; -his death-warrant’s been lying signed in Mr. Biggs’s pocket-book any -time this twelvemonth; and there’s still a gibbet standing on the hill -above Brook-Armsleigh Village!” - -“Zounds! Sirs!” exclaims Mr. Chalmers, “what a life ’t must be, tho’; -sleep o’ days, wake o’ nights, prowling under the branches, harkening -for game from dusk till dawn, all seasons the same, one’s heart in one’s -mouth, till the hoof’s heard, and then a masking dash, a brawl, a thrift -quick as the lightning’s flash; a corpse or two, and your purse the -heavier by as many guineas as the game’s had under cover—and all to the -tune of the owl’s cry, and I doubt not for some sweet Maid Marian’s -sake!” - -“’Slife! hear the boy!” cries Mr. Brummell. “One would think him sired -by a Jack Sheppard rather than by the gentlest Sir that ever lived. For -your froward tendencies, Sir, you shall pay a penalty.” - -“Yea, yea! a penalty! a penalty!” cry they all. - -“In what kind?” returns Jack, waving his hat over his head. - -“A song! a song!” they answer. - -“Which one?” asks he, nothing loath, for his lungs are lusty and his -reputation for singing above the ordinary. - -“What you will,” they answer. - -“Well, then, what say you to ‘Lady Betty Takes the Air,’ since all can -join me in the chorus?” - -“Good!” - -“Percy,” says Jack, “you’ve a pretty pipe in your throat; give me the -key, will you? not too high, you rascal, I’m not vainglorious at my -music. So, and, so—there,” as Percy does as he is asked. - - When all the May is deck’d about - With hawthorn bud and blow; - When pinkly shows the heather’s tip, - And harebells nod a-row— - - Lady Betty takes the air, - Sing ah fa, la-la-la! - With a rush hat on her hair: - Sing ah fa, la-la-la! - - When all the brown earth thrills to green, - When rivers laugh and sing; - When lark and thrush cajole and coax, - And all the wood’s a-wing— - Lady Betty takes the air, etc. - - When Corydon most sad, forlorn, - With wrinkled hose, distraught, - All flouted by his worshiped Fair, - Walks forth as one that’s daft, - Lady Betty takes the air, etc. - - When, at the turn-stile next the park, - The sad swain stops to sigh— - “No lady ever lived so dear - As she for whom I’d die!” - Lady Betty takes the air, etc. - - When, as the sun walks up the glade, - And as the milkmaid hies - Across the paddock with her pails, - And as the lark doth rise— - Lady Betty takes the air, etc. - - Cries Betty, flaunting past, “Oh fie! - A gallant all unkempt, - Such ungenteel and woful sight - Kind fortune me exempt!” - Lady Betty takes the air, etc. - - When speaking thus, the May-breeze blew - Her rush hat o’er the stile, - And Corydon caught quick the gaze, - And swift his sigh turned smile, - Lady Betty takes the air, etc. - - Thus, when the May is deck’d about - With hawthorn bud and blow, - Sweet Betty ties her hat-strings fast, - A gallant in the bow! - Lady Betty takes the air, etc. - - ’Twas ever thus, dear maids and men, - Whene’er ye walk abroad— - ’Tis e’er the little breeze that blows - Each lady to her lord! - Lady Betty takes the air, etc. - -Every one joins in the chorus with a hearty good will; all save Her -Ladyship. Peggy dares not lift her woman’s voice, lest Escombe at right, -or Wootton at her left, shall hear its most unmannish lilt. She mouths -the words, though, and listens, as she has many a time before, to Sir -Percy’s tones, and wonders if the sentiment is making him think of the -Lady Diana. - -The Lady Diana, however, is very far from Sir Percy’s imagination. He -has been moodily ruminating on the possibilities of Tom Kidde (the most -renowned desperado in all England of that day) suddenly bursting upon -the party, and leaving a corpse behind him—that of Sir Robin McTart! He -has been picturing to himself the profound pleasure it would give him to -assist in fetching Sir Robin to the nearest church for decent burial, -and the almost hilarious joy that would be his in attending his rival’s -body to the grave! These were, according to the strict code, most -murderous thoughts, and yet how pleasant, if how altogether unprofitable -they were also. - -Mr. Chalmers is in the midst of his last verse, his voice echoing into, -and back, from the depths of the great green wood; there is not a wisp -of the moon visible by this, and no light, save the halo from her beauty -which lines and rims the vast masses of clouds above them. - -Peggy is listening to the song; she hears it well: also the crunch of -her horse’s hoofs on the narrow path; also, the crackle of the fresh -twigs as they snap before the advance; and too, so sharp are her ears, -the sleepy cheep of some disturbed bird in its nest, and, what else? - -What is this curious stealthy stir, far-off, and creeping nearer in the -wood? - -And, hark! Peggy puts her hand to her ear to hear a subdued whistle, -sweet, tuneful, underbreath, but patent to her sense, and too, to Sir -Percy’s. - -Before either can move, or, indeed, had as yet gathered the impulse of -even self-defense, into the midst of Mr. Chalmers and the rest, with -their chorus, dashes a company of riders in masks. - -A shot, low-aimed, and merely intended as a slight warning of what may -be expected, should occasion demand, strikes the ground at Her -Ladyship’s right. - -With remorse and reparation at his heart-strings—’tis the kind of man -who could be but generous to his worst enemy—Sir Percy’s horse is flung -betwixt the supposed Sir Robin and the band. - -“Good evening, My Lords and Gentlemen,” says the leader, in a voice like -a lute. “I thank you heartily for coming my way! Purses and watches, -merry Sirs, jewels, trinkets, snuff-boxes, if of gold, pins, fobs, -seals, these are all the toll I demand, and shall be forced to collect, -if you show any disposition to deny.” - -It might he wisely argued that, while this speech was being made, any -gentleman might have either run the highwayman through, or put an ounce -of lead into his heart, but the fact of the matter was, each gentleman -found himself face to face with another gentleman who held a blunderbuss -up to within three inches of his nose. - -My Lady’s first thought had been that Sir Robin’s men had not waited for -the Sunday night to come, but presently she recognized the truth, and, -stung by the fact that Sir Percy had put himself between her and danger, -she was the only one of the whole company who stirred in her saddle -other than to do the bidding of Tom Kidde. - -While the rest were busily engaged in emptying their treasures, she, -making feint to do the same, says very low and tauntingly to Sir Percy: - -“Had I but one to show fight with me, I’d ne’er give in to these -scoundrels.” - -“As soon done as said, Sir Robin,” whispers Percy. “No man can say I’m -his lesser in courage!” with which he wrests his bridle from the -blackguard whose hand’s upon it, whips out his sword with one hand, -picks out his pistol with the other, grips his reins in his teeth, and -strikes with steel and shot, both at once. - -Peg’s his match, imitating him with such a will as sets every gentleman -of ’em a-shooting, a-lunging and a-cursing with all the arms and breath -he’s got; and sets the robbers for a second to their wits, for they are -not used to any sort of encounter, save one that’s terror-stricken and -submissive in the opponent. - -’Tis a bit of a mêlée quite in the dark; slashing and pounding betwixt -the branches: now a man unhorsed, anon up again; shots resounding, -powder flashing, until in about ten minutes or less the chief makes a -plunge for Sir Percy, crying out, - -“So ’twas you said ‘fight,’ was’t! Have a care; no man can defy Tom -Kidde and live to tell it!” - -“Nay!” shouts Her Ladyship, with spurs all inches into the gray’s sides, -making him rear as she puts herself between Percy and the highwayman, -“’twas I said ‘fight’!” - -Whizz! and a ball intended for Sir Percy strikes the gray dead under -her. - -Whizz! and her ball strikes Tom Kidde from his mount. - -In less time than it takes to tell it, Peg was straight in the -highwayman’s saddle; he was picked up by two of his men, bleeding, set -before one of ’em, and off: My Lords and Gentlemen find themselves once -more alone in the midst of Epstowe Forest, a-crawling about on their -hands and knees a-gathering up their spilled guineas and trinkets by -flash of tinder-box. - -Sir Percy, trying to explain to them who had been the means of their -recovering their valuables and of putting the desperadoes to flight, -cries out: - -“I tell you! we owe’t all to Sir Robin here! ’Slife, Gentlemen, I’d not -have ventured to think of resistance had it not been for him. ’Twas he -said, close in my ear, ‘fight,’ and by Gad! Sirs, he’s lost more’n any -of us; the horse shot under him.” - -“The gray’s well lost teaching Tom Kidde he can’t terrify all the men in -England,” answers the Beau from his sprawling search after his diamond -snuff-box. - -“Ho, Sir Robin! Sir Robin! Sir Robin!” Sir Wyatt shouts it out, and the -rest of the company take it up with a long, mellow cadence that echoes -for a mile. - -“Answer man, for, by the faith, if we can’t pledge you here in anything -but a lap of May-dew out of a primrose leaf, we’ll drink you such a -bumper, an we reach the White Horse, as never was filled before! -London’ll toast you at every dinner-table in Mayfair. Odzooks, Sir, were -you the fashion yesterday, what will you be to-morrow!” This from -Escombe. - -“Where is Sir Robin?” asks Percy. “He was beside me not five seconds -since, but now, by my tinder, nor yet by the coming dawn, can I descry -him,” shading his eyes with his hand and peering about, for of a truth -’tis close to four o’clock, and, notwithstanding the heavy clouds, the -east begins to thrill with the touch of day. - -“Robin! Sir Robin! Ho, now! Think not to play a trick on us and -presently spring from a greenwood tree,” says Wootton. - -“Sir Robin,” exclaims Percy loudly, “I pray you answer and leave not -your friends to imagine evil.” - -“Tut, tut, ‘evil’,” puffs the Beau, rising from his knees. “Evil’ll -never happen to him. Zounds! but my legs ache! He’s laughing in his -sleeve now, hard by; Robin’s not one to court notice or praise—as modest -a youth as I ever beheld.” - -“Worthy of Lady Peggy Burgoyne even, I suppose?” says Mr. Chalmers -mischievously, as he adjusts his recovered fob. “I could embrace him for -the rendering of me back my watch, but I think him a fool to eschew good -company and make home alone to town.” - -“Jack,” says Percy, low, “I like not his quitting of us. ’Twas too -sudden. I believe I’ll go a-hunting him,” pulling his rein as the -cavalcade once more prepared to start. - -“Where?” asks Jack. “Bah! be not such a ninny; belike he’s off to his -Lady, to win kisses off her lips by the rehearsal of his prowess. An a -man chooses to flee me, I let him: do you the same, Percy; ’tis a good -advice, I promise you!” - -“But suppose those devils attack him again when alone?” says this one, -not all reassured, as he and Jack linger a bit in the rear of their -companions. - -“Go to the devil!” remarks Mr. Chalmers, blithely. “I’m for breakfast at -the White Horse, and for leavin’ the hero of the hour to eat his where -he sees fit. He’s safe enough.” - -“I’ve a misgiving,” answers de Bohun, “and he risked his life for mine -to-night. I’ll strike off here to the west and join you when I find -him.” - -“Good luck to you for a fool!” laughs Jack, putting spurs and going on -to tell this news to the others. - -[Illustration: The instant that Lady Peggy...] - -The instant that Lady Peggy felt herself in the highwayman’s saddle, she -knew from long acquaintance with every colt Bickers had bred, raised, or -broke, since she was six, that her wrists had met their match. Before -she had time to utter a word, turn her head, or think, she felt the warm -flesh under her quiver with that recovering impulse which horsemen know -so well; that streak of untamed and untamable nature which lies, however -deep-hidden, in every four-foot that breathes, and which never fails to -spurt to the front when it gets exactly the right chance. - -Peggy’s light, nay, by this, weak hand, now gave the big black its -chance, and with a snort, a toss of its head, and a vicious swell of its -sides, it laid back its ears, took the bit between its teeth as if it -had been a mess of oats, and reared a length on its forelegs: when, -finding its rider still on, it started on a run which Her Ladyship had -not the slightest power to check. All she could do was to keep her seat. - -Like a flash, out of the forest on to the width of the heath, plume -waving, sword flapping, laces rippling, curls flying; the mare’s mane -slapping in her face; legs and arms and will all at work to stop the -beast or bring it into some sort of subjection. To no purpose. The black -head now low, as if picking up a scent from the turf it tore; now up, as -though snuffing its goal from afar, the mare skirted the heath, gained -the meadows; over hedges where the birds rose in flocks behind its -heels; ditches, where the muddy waters splashed over Her Ladyship’s -satin clothes: here a bolt into an orchard, leaving a ribbon a-hanging -on a limb; over the wall like a rocket, and, at breakneck gait, through -a hamlet, rousing the people out of their beds to peep at pane, and -wonder. Slap-dash into a pasture, scattering ewes and lambs like wool -before the wind, taking a five-bar into a common, thence to highway; -scampering a footbridge to leave it shivered behind them, and all Peg’s -thought just a brave prayer to be kept alive, so that she might not fail -of foiling Sir Robin’s men Sunday night! - -Where she was going, she knew not. Where she was, she had no smallest -idea when, as the sun looked over the long low line of horizon before -her, she with a shudder beheld a gibbet outlined against the morning -sky. The black gave a lunge that knocked her feet out of the stirrups -(quick in again), reared, whinnied like a devil, and, nose to ground, -now made her rider understand that up to the present she had done -nothing much in the way of speed, or of efforts at emptying the saddle. - -Yet Her Ladyship stuck on, with flying colors, too, and no loss of -either wig, hat, weapon or will, and with grateful heart she now found -herself being spun across a magnificent park, where the deer fled before -her, it is true, but at the upper end of which she saw looming the -turrets and towers of a fine castle. - -[Illustration] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - XI - - _Wherein Lady Peggy is condemned to be - hanged, and sets forth, attended by the - clergy, for the gallows._ - - -Although Sir Percy had cheerfully foretold for Kennaston the roseate -picture of Lady Diana’s “Yes” crowning the young poet’s somewhat -diffident suit with untold happiness, the fact was quite other. Her -Ladyship, on the day of Mr. Brummell’s party to Ivy Dene, having -overheard the Honorable Dolly Tarleton, in the library, laying six to -four to Lady Biddy O’Toole, that their host’s daughter was “only waiting -for the beautiful young poet’s asking, to jump into his arms -immediately,” did, with such sudden change of demeanor from sweets to -sours, languishing eyes to averted looks, smiles to pouts, corner chats -to open flouts, put her lover into a state of mind, the like of which he -presently described, as only he could, in a copy of verses, which the -next night at White’s were pronounced to be, indeed, “the masterpiece of -one whose heart pants, whose whole being’s but at the beck and call of -her who wears a smocked petticoat, ogles with a witching eye, and should -be vain that so much genius lays itself at her feet, to wit, Lady D——a -W——n.” - -For, taking immediate fright at his Lady’s coldness, Kennaston had -ordered a post-chaise from the Brookwood Arms, and without a word of -farewell to Lady Diana, save that embodied in an ode, “To Chloe When -Unkind,” which her woman found pinned to Her Ladyship’s cloak when she -was putting it on her shoulders the following morning, had gone to town, -and just in time at the White Horse to be haled into Mr. Brummell’s -party for breakfast, and to learn of the adventure with Tom Kidde, the -valor of Sir Robin McTart, and the absence of that young gentleman, as -also Sir Percy, from the board. - -When Lady Diana’s woman hooked her mistress’s cloak about her ’twas at -five o’clock in the morning, and of the party at the Castle every lady’s -woman was performing the same office, adding hood over curls and puffs, -and sticking the finest of cambric pocket-napkins into their mistress’ -hands by the half dozens; for ’twas easily seen that such early rising -could be for no other cause than to go forth to bathe their Ladyships’ -faces in the May-dew; the which, when gathered from little copses and -shadowy nooks before the sun had yet shone upon’t, was warranted to -enhance that beauty which was already evident, and to create those -charms which, alas! are occasionally lacking. - -Lady Diana spelled out her lover’s verses as best she could, tripping -from door to door, and calling her young companions from their mirrors; -sending a footman and a page to summon the gallants who were to -accompany them in their expedition, and laughing heartily as she made -out more from a footman than from Kennaston’s muse that he had betaken -himself to town rather than longer incur her displeasure and her frowns. - -“Bless me, but my suitor’s in a fine pickle! Lud! though, I’m not -disposed to have these hussies a-laying six to four on my bein’ ready to -jump at his offer; still, I’d rather he’d stopped over, or else that -some one most amusin’ were here; for instance Sir Robin McTart, which is -not to be!” - -Then a-rapping at the doors, and laughter from girlish lips; pattering -of heels down the hall and stair-case; out to meet the gentlemen, bowing -and complimenting on the terrace; over the lawns, and through the -flower-gardens, and past the offices and stables, where Lord Brookwood, -even thus early, was sunning himself in the yard, and talking over -county matters with Mr. Biggs, J.P. - -“Where to? Where to?” sings out His Lordship cheerily with hat in hand, -and Mr. Biggs down to the ground before so much beauty, fashion and -rank. - -“Off to the copse, father,” calls back Diana, “to gather the May-dew and -wash our faces; when we come back you must tell us all how much more -beautiful we are to-day than we were yesterday!” - -With which lively sally Lady Diana and the rest of ’em are crossing the -hill and laughing as they pass out of sight on their two miles’ away -walk to Armsleigh Copse. - -Lord Brookwood is about to resume his conversation with Biggs, while the -half-dozen grinning stable boys, behind His Lordship’s back, are rubbing -their fists in the wet turf of a paddock, and smearing their red faces -with the dew, the head-groom touching them up with a lash; when a -whinny, that sets every animal in the stalls and out of ’em a-replying, -sets all the cocks crowing, hens cackling, chicks peeping, dogs barking, -geese squawking, smites their startled ears, and yonder, hilly-o-ho! -Sirs; in a cloud of upturned soil, in a shower of splash from the river, -with a thud on the wooden bridge, a bound over the stone wall of the -kitchen garden; comes a black with nigh every tooth in its mouth bared, -foaming, smoking, bloody; rider bent double to saddle’s bow, clinging -with legs and arms. - -“Homing Nell and the highwayman! Tom Kidde! Tom Kidde!” - -“Homing Nell!” the shout goes up from every throat there, from His -Lordship to the ’ostlers and boys. - -“Tom Kidde! Tom Kidde!” - -“By Gad! Sir,” cries the Earl. “I knew Nell’d come back sooner or later! -Surround him. Bag him!” - -Peggy hears the shouts as the ungovernable steed lunges, lurches, rears -beneath her spurs and still tightly gripped reins; she takes in the -situation, but not to its full import, until she now hears the voice of -Biggs uplifted. - -“Lord Brookwood! Lord Brookwood! mind her heels, My Lord, mind her -heels! Leave the takin’ of the damned cut-purse to me and the boys!” - -At the word “Brookwood,” Her Ladyship realizes that she is on the -domains of Lady Diana’s father! and being mistaken for a Knight of the -Road! - -The latter she felt she could easily abide, and as easily refute; but -the former was more than even her spent spirit could stand. So, as -Biggs, His Lordship, the grooms, the stable-boys and ’ostlers and -helpers all formed into a ring with whips, canes, stones and halloos to -take her prisoner, she plucked up courage from the depths, and, raising -herself in her saddle and her head in the air, with one superhuman tug -at the bridle and prick with the steels, she made to get off! and away! -But Her Ladyship’s nerve was not the equal of Homing Nell’s, nor yet to -be pitted with success against the waving arms and jumping legs of a -dozen stout men. With the final crack of the head-groom’s lash about her -heels, with the pop in the air above her hat of Mr. Biggs’s blunderbuss, -caught from the hand of one of the lads, “Homing Nell” was brought to a -quivering stand-still, and My Lady Peggy to bay in the stable-yard of -Brookwood Castle! - -“Ha!” cries the Earl, “my pretty fellow, you’re trapped at last! The -night you stole the black mare from me I shouted after you, as well as -the gag at my mouth would permit, that she’d bring you no luck, and that -muscles of iron wouldn’t hold her the day she made up her mind to get -home.” - -Peggy, glad of the use of her lungs once more, and now nigh bursting -with laughter at being so glibly mistook for one of the most reckless -fellows in all England, took off her hat, bowed low, and said: - -“My Lord Brookwood, ’tis, I believe, I have the honor of addressing?” - -“Ho! ho! ho!” Mr. Biggs, from a survey of the saddle-bow now bursts out -in triumphant joyfulness. - -“’Od’s blood, My Lord! but here’s luck, here’s justice, here’s what -comes of my bein’ here when I am!” and Mr. Biggs now holds aloft upon -the point of his stick the black mask of Master Tom Kidde, which the -rogue had dropped when he was hit, and which had caught and hung by its -riband from that moment to this, unseen by Lady Peg. - -“Highwayman! highwayman! highwayman!” yells every lung in the place, -while the whole dozen, including His Lordship and the Justice, threaten -Lady Peggy with their cudgels, lashes and stones. - -“I pray ye, My Lord, Gentlemen, and good fellows!” cries she, -remembering now the entire history of the animal she bestrides, as -rehearsed some six hours earlier by Beau Brummell and Mr. Vane. “I am no -highwayman.” - -A groan of derision greets this announcement. - -“Nay, but the rather am I the victim of Tom Kidde, than he himself! -Together with a party of my friends, being at mid-night last, on the -return from a visit to Mr. Brummell’s seat, Ivy Dene, we were set upon -by the rogues in the midst of Epstowe Forest; I had the luck, both good -and bad, to put a ball into Tom, to get my horse shot under me, and to -mount the scoundrel’s steed, the which has brought me to Your Lordship’s -door, and the mare, herself, to where she belongs, it seems!” - -“A damned fine story, ’fore George!” exclaims Biggs, laughing -triumphantly, now holding up two watches, three rings, a diamond -snuff-box, a seal, two magnificent pins, and a most splendid jeweled -stomacher, high above his head in the tip of the sunshine. - -“’Sdeath!” cried Lord Brookwood, seizing one of the trinkets and -examining it with his spy-glass. “What’s this? ‘Percy de Bohun, -Christmas from his aff. mother,’” reads His Lordship. Then another, -“‘Wyatt Lovell souvenir of Italy!’ Gad, Biggs,” looking Her Ladyship -over, where she still sits atop of the steaming black, “we’ve got the -cursed blackguard this time! What else in his saddle pockets? aught?” - -These Biggs, assisted by the head-groom, is energetically emptying of a -miscellaneous collection of valuables, while Lady Peggy looks on in -amazement as yet only flavored with amusement, and one more vain regret -for her abandoned petticoats. - -“Yes, My Lord, these thousands of pounds’ worth,” replied the Justice, -holding aloft his treasure trove; “and it’ll be a short shrift for the -devil, I can say that.” - -“Hark ye,” now says Her Ladyship, as she recalls with a not unnatural -tremor the death-warrant she had heard was lying to hand in Mr. Biggs’s -pocket. “Lord Brookwood, I am no highwayman; my story is true; I am”—the -words stuck in Peggy’s throat; she coughed, the stable boys tittered; -then the head-groom tilted the saddle and spilled her out of it to the -ground; at a word from Biggs, a couple of the men tied her, hand and -foot, with a stout rope, and a pair of farming reins about her middle. - -“Now who do you call yourself, my fine fellow?” says His Lordship. - -“Sir Robin McTart of Robinswold, Kent!” cries Peggy, glad to be able to -answer without the lie direct. “And I demand instant freedom and -immunity,” cries she, tortured and quivering beneath the rude hands and -ruder gibes of the grooms and ’ostlers. - -“Demand away! my pretty buck-skin, with your jeweled hilt!” returns -Biggs, stripping the weapon from her thigh. “Your satin breeches and -gold-laced waistcoat! ’Tain’t no use denyin’ you your speech, and your -will to palaver on whatever matter you will, for before the clock -strikes eight, you’ll be home with your father in hell.” - -“Tut, tut, Mr. Biggs,” says His Lordship. “Call Mr. Frewen, the Curate, -he’s at his studies in the library, we havin’ sat late over our cards -last night; and let him have his prayer-book to hand, open at the page -for malefactors after condemnation.” - -“Go, you, Michael,” this to one of the now awestruck lads hanging, -staring at Peg over the paddock paling. “Ask Mr. Frewen to come -quickly.” - -“But this is monstrous, Sir!” cries Her Ladyship, now thoroughly -alarmed, and near to losing her wits betwixt her endeavors to keep up -her man’s estate, her contempt of her own frowardness, her shame at -being thus at the mercy of her rival’s parent, and her actual terror of -her position. - -“I do beseech you, I am an honest person, my tale is true. Is it not but -the justice due to any subject of His Majesty’s, however humble, that he -should not be condemned before he is tried, or even his identity -proven?” - -“I’ll be sworn, My Lord,” exclaims Biggs, “’tis a voice and air to -wheedle fine ladies out of their stomachers and chains, but not to tempt -the law. Sirrah!” he continues, addressing himself to Her Ladyship, who -is by this firmly tied to a post like a colt about to be broken to -harness. “’Tain’t no use for you to be imaginin’ as justice and His -Majesty ain’t a-doing their best for you. Here have you been a terror to -all God-fearing, law-abiding Englishmen any time these half-dozen of -years. A-poundin’ every heath in England, Hornslow, Bagshott, and all -the commons, Wimbledon, Wandsworth, Finchley; a-hulking in Epstowe with -your mates, and making the lives of travelers a burden most horrible; -ain’t you secreted uncountable pounds’ worth of plunder in your devilish -caves and dens? Haven’t you left the earth strewed with corpses in your -ugly path? Answer me, Sir!” and Mr. Biggs stamps his foot on the ground. - -“No, Sir!” shouts Peg, “I ain’t and haven’t, and I’m not! ’Slife, My -Lord Brookwood,” cries she in a terrible way, twisting her tied hands -together. “For God’s sake, send up to town post-haste, and find out Mr. -Brummell, Mr. Vane, Mr. Chalmers, Lord Escombe, Sir Lovell Wyatt!” - -But His Lordship has turned up the path toward the Castle and met Mr. -Frewen, to whom he is explaining the necessities of the situation. - -’Tis such a fair May day, with bud and blossom, bough and bird; fowls, -men, beasts, all free of tether, and My Lady is like to weep; cry out -her sex, her very name and estate, as she feels the gall upon her wrists -and ankles, and knows what fate awaits her. - -She even, for one weak moment, thinks she will implore Lord Brookwood to -send up to London for her rival, his own daughter, Lady Diana, and let -her come down and tell him who is Sir Robin McTart—for Lady Peggy -believes Lady Di to be in town and has no knowledge to the contrary. - -Yet, there in the stable-yard, with imprisonment as she supposes, and -even death dangling for her at no great loss of time, with her liberty -gone; her word no better than a thief’s; with no earthly hand upraised -to sustain her, My Lady Peggy’s stout heart does not flutter to dismay. -For that one brief instant ’tis, without doubt, in her mind to confess -and fling herself upon the mercy of the Earl and the Curate, who now -draw nigh; but when she reflects upon the monstrous tissue of her -deceits, and the unutterable shame of the exposure of the cause of them, -’tis then she is like to whimper, but for naught else. - -Mr. Frewen approaches; ’tis a young man of a pale cadaverous -countenance, whose first bow to a highwayman is indeed, though he find -him in durance vile, a timid one. - -The supposed Tom Kidde gives the man of the cloth eye for eye, so that -this one quails and stumbles in his speech; and finally, leaving in the -rear all his preconceived plans for a hasty reformation, he promptly -remarks, opening his prayer-book to the riband: - -“You know your doom, Mr. Kidde; shall I pray for you here?” - -“Faith!” says Lady Peggy, plucking up heart, once her resolution is -taken not to reveal her secret, come what may. “I do not know my doom, -Sir! It seems sufficient ‘doom’ for an honest English gentleman, who has -met with a mishap, to be brought to a nobleman’s threshold and get foul -treatment rather than welcome. Pray for me, Sir, an you will, there’s -none so much deserves or needs it. Pray on!” - -“Frewen!” beckons His Lordship, as he watches the ’ostlers rubbing down -the restored Homing Nell, and confers with Mr. Biggs as to the plunder -and the meting out of justice. “Frewen, gain the wretch’s confidence an -you can, the whereabouts of all the gold and jewels he has stolen; my -watch. And also, if he have wife or child, it might not be amiss, eh, -Biggs? to inquire if he have any message for them?” - -“Aye, My Lord” puts in the pompous Biggs, up-looking from his perusal of -a long, sealed, important-appearing parchment, unrolled before his eyes. -“By ascertaining their whereabouts, we should perhaps get the clue to -all the bloody rascal’s pelf.” - -A combination of Christian charity and official shrewdness, which -commended itself highly to His Lordship, as he sent the Curate back to -the comforting of the malefactor across the yard. - -“Hark ye, Mr. Kidde,” says Mr. Frewen, lowering his voice, and, for the -credit of his soul, with gentleness at his heartstrings. - -“I’m not Mr. Kidde, I tell you, I swear’t!” says Her Ladyship firmly. - -“Well, well,” says the man of the Church, “mayhap that’s an assumed -name; but surely, now, Sir, with not two hours of life left you, to me, -me alone, Sir, it were wiser drop all disguises. Surely now you are not -Sir Robin McTart?” in a soothing and sorrowful tone. - -Peggy winces. - -“Go seek and ask all the noblemen and gentlemen I’ve named, Sir, they’ll -quickly set me to rights in your eyes, I pledge you. Oh, Sir, for the -love of God!” cries she, whispering very low. “I speak the truth! I am -no highwayman.” - -“I am used to quibbles, Mr. Kidde; I know that now you are no robber, -but merely a prisoner under sentence of death.” - -“What!” cries she. “’Tis not possible that a man is taken, tried, -disallowed to prove himself, and put out of the world, betwixt sunrise -and breakfast, in the reign of His Majesty George the Third!” - -“’Tis so,” answers the Curate, pulling the rope and leathers, and -pushing Her Ladyship around a bit toward the east, as he points what he -considers a salutary finger. “Yonder’s the gibbet, Mr. Kidde, and from -it you must hang by eight. I implore of you now—” - -Lady Peggy’s eyes are fastened upon the arms and cross-beams of the -gallows, which are outlined clearly against the deep blue sky, and full -in the shine of the spring sun. - -“Well,” says she to herself, all in a flash, as thoughts can travel -three abreast ofttimes, and twelve times quicker than the scrivener can -set ’em down—“I’ve been a very accursedly wicked girl; but, thank God! -my pride ain’t all gone yet. I’ll hang! but I’ll never give up my -secret! When I’m gone, if they find it out—I won’t be here to be -a-hearin’ of the taunts and jeers and sympathies; and of my mother’s and -father’s sorrows!” At this point Peggy is very near to tears, when the -Curate says, interrupting their possible flow: - -“Now, Mr. Kidde, if you have any message for—your wife—perhaps?” he -ejaculates hesitatingly, and with good knowledge that the marriage -ceremony was one usually omitted from the code of gentlemen of the road. - -“I have no wife!” cries Her Ladyship, in a heat betwixt her remorse for -her parents and the unconscious ridiculousness of Mr. Frewen’s question. - -“Or it might be,” suggests this one with a sigh, “you have a little -child, Mr. Kidde—?” - -“No, Sir,” says My Lady very low and quick. “That I haven’t.” - -“A dear friend and comrade?” pursues the Curate. - -“Yes, I have,” answers she, for during all this hour just past, a -thousand thoughts have come to Peggy about Sir Percy. - -“Ah,” responds Frewen joyously. “Now tell me where he’s to be found, and -entrust me with the message, and be assured all will be carried out to -your wishes.” - -“Thank you,” says Peggy. “Free my right hand if you will; give me -something to write with, and the leaf out of your prayer-book, and I’ll -ask you the favor.” - -The Curate, under the strict superintendence of Biggs, who has all this -while been dispatching boys on horses, hither and yon, to notify the -quality and the country side both, that Tom Kidde’s been taken and will -hang at eight from the gibbet a-top of Armsleigh Hill, loosens Her -Ladyship’s arm of the thong, and gives her a leaf and a pencil with the -top of the post for a support. - -“To Sir Percy de Bohun, Charlotte Street, London,” writes she. “plese An -you lov God And The Kinge goe not evar Again toe walke onne The dove -peere at The Bottomme of littel Boye yarde Their isse onne swares Toe -Kille you & you doe This isse writ bye onne now noe more.” - -Her Ladyship folds the scrap of paper over and over; hands back the -pencil to Mr. Frewen; and then she says: - -“Sir, will you promise me on that Book you’re holding in your hand, -you’ll not look at this or send it until I’m dead?” - -“I will,” answers the young man, more touched than he cares to admit, -even to himself. - -“And further,” says she, “will you pledge me your word it shall reach -him it’s intended for before this time Sunday?” - -“I will,” is the reply, “unless it be in the depths of Epstowe and -inaccessible to my horse or myself.” - -“’Tis in London, Sir, and quite accessible. ’Tis a warning for life and -death, and I’ll count you fail me not, nor him whose life you’d be the -means of saving.” - -“I pledge my word, Mr. Kidde,” replies the Curate, backing away to make -room for Justice Biggs, and with the very laudable sensation in his mind -that he is to be the instrument of preserving some unknown from the -clutches of the doubtless repentant outlaw’s own men. - -In less than five minutes after, Biggs had marshaled his cavalcade and -rode forth of the stable-yard of Brookwood Castle; his white cob at the -head, a-holding in his left hand the duly signed warrant for the -execution of one Thomas Kidde. Following him, strode the hastily -summoned Master William Lambe, the butcher, who was to do duty as -hangman (sooth to say, hangings were rare in this county, and there was -no one appointed by law to the office, it being thus left to the -discretion of the Justice). - -The Earl, mounted, rode next with a dozen of his servants, and in the -midst of these My Lady Peggy, astride of the black once more, but with -face to tail, hands tied together, and no hat to her head; Mr. Frewen at -her side walking; a motley crowd growing and gathering at every step, -about her, of gaping, wondering, jubilant and curious persons of all -ages, sexes, and conditions. - -Never a whimper out of My Lord, the Earl of Exham’s only daughter. A set -rigid look about the drawn lips, and an unearthly pallor shining through -all the dark stains Her Ladyship had been a-using of late. - -Not a word did she say, save to ask Mr. Frewen to read the Declaration -of Absolution or Remission of Sins out of his prayer-book as they went; -which he did under his breath, and much jolted by the rough highway, -which now the procession had gained; and likewise laying much unction to -his soul that, in so short a space of time, his comfortable -ministrations had produced so seeming abundant godly results! - -When he had finished Her Ladyship said, “Amen,” and thereafter held up -her head with that courage which is born of one of two things, conscious -innocence or a profound repentance for sins, which, while to others they -may appear puerile, to the offender are worthy of the wrath of the -Creator and the condemnation of man. - -She noted the hawthorn in the hedges, the dew upon the turf; the tall -mawkin swaying in the wind in the middle of a newly sown field; and, as -her lids raised, the mustering crowds, all with steps bent, and greedy -eyes fixed, yonder to the hill-top where the gibbet stood, and where the -new rope dangled for her neck. - -Yet she made no sign. - -Not even when she heard the rabble laying their groats and sixpences, -that Kidde would, or wouldn’t “die game.” - -[Illustration] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - XII - - _Rehearseth how, in the very nick o’ time, - Her Ladyship’s neck is saved from - the noose by Sir Percy._ - - -As yet, in the depths of Armsleigh Copse, no news of the supposed -highwayman’s capture had penetrated, although the Earl, with commendable -foresight in behalf of the entertainment of his young daughter and her -companions, had sent a messenger to impart the sight shortly to be had; -the messenger, having a sweetheart in the other direction, must needs go -apprise her first! So the gay Ladies and their cavaliers sat on fallen -logs, strolled hither and yon, knelt to sop their bits of linen in the -dewy hollows, laughed, chatted, dabbed their faces, now lacking any coat -of crimson, save that which Nature might have vouchsafed, and made great -show of a fine rural simplicity. - -“La!” cried the Honorable Dolly. “Water hasn’t touched my face before -since know I not when!” pecking at her cheeks with the corner of her -pocket-napkin. “But it has a monstrous refreshing sensation!” - -“Oh, Doll, ’tis not thus and so you must apply it, as ’twere some French -essence worth its weight in guineas; but look!” cried Lady Diana, -flopping down and burying her face in a bath of the dew-drops, and -laughing as she looks up dripping. - -“That’s the way, faith,” coincides Lady Biddy, scrubbing her own round -cheeks with her wrung out linen, then both fists into her blue eyes to -dry off the winkers. - -“’Slife, Ladies!” exclaims one of the gentlemen, “but you almost tempt -us to follow your example.” - -“Hither, ye gossoon,” answers Lady Biddy, “an’ I’ll be afther makin’ -your countenance shine. Hark! Hoofs!” - -“Hoofs! Hoofs!” cry all these fair ones, a-darting this way and that, -stuffing their napkins into their bodices, as a courteous voice, with a— - -“By your leave, Ladies and Sirs!” greets them, and none other than Sir -Percy, self and horse spent in his fruitless search for the supposed Sir -Robin, emerges from the bridle-path across the common, at the edge of -the copse. - -“The top of the morning to you, Sir Percy de Bohun,” laughs Lady Biddy. - -“Percy!” exclaims Lady Diana, “prithee, what are you doing out of doors -at this hour?” - -“Seeking May-dew! mayhap,” suggests the Honorable Dolly. - -“But nay, Your Ladyships,” returns he. “I am seeking Sir Robin McTart.” - -And forthwith Sir Percy proceeds to give them a history of the -adventures of the night, omitting no smallest detail of the prowess of -Sir Robin. He has just concluded his recital amid a burst of tumultuous -“Ohs! ahs! Luds!” and a vast deal of commiserating sympathy, and a -monstrous collection of pretty oaths and curses for Tom Kidde, when into -the center of this colloquy jumps Lord Brookwood’s messenger, nudging -his sweetheart behind a tree, to tell as best he can his errand. To bid -all the company at once to see the sight, it now not lacking more than -the quarter to the hour when Mr. Lambe will adjust the noose, and send -one of the boldest and most courtly young outlaws of his day a-swinging -to his deserts. - -This information, it may be imagined, was received with acclaim of all, -and by Sir Percy with positive joy; his only regret, as, dismounting and -leading his jaded horse, he walked at Lady Diana’s side, being that Sir -Robin had so contrived to give them the slip, and not even to have the -happiness of witnessing justice done the rogue who had so near deprived -him of existence. - -“Here’s to drive off the vapors an any one had ’em!” cried the lively -Lady Biddy, swinging her hat by its ribands. “And sure’n it’s not -believed I’ll be, when I get home to County Cork and tell ’em I saw a -highwayman strung up!” - -“Faith, Di,” says Sir Percy, “’twas a lucky chance for the whole country -when the rascal made off with your father’s famous black!” - -“That was it!” answered she. “The time always comes when no man’s muscle -on earth can hold Homing Nell; and ’twas a fine fortune, by my life! -when Tom Kidde essayed to ride her. ’Twas a wonder he didn’t jump and -run for his life, though,” adds she thoughtfully. - -“Zounds! there’s a sort of devil-may-care humor in the composition of -those fellows that keeps ’em sticking in any saddle they leap into, -until the beast’s bestridden that can throw them out of it. They’re so -used to taking chances, I doubt if they ever dream of danger until it’s -too late!” - -“When’ll we see the gibbet?” asks the Honorable Dolly, panting with her -quick pace. - -“Soon,” answers Lady Di. - -“Ochone, an’ I hope we’ll not be afther bein’ too late to see it all!” -chimes in Lady Biddy short-breathed too. - -“Percy,” says Diana, “up in your saddle and spy, for I’d not have us -miss so fine a sight for a hundred pounds!” - -“No sooner said than done!” answers Sir Percy de Bohun, from atop of his -horse, where he shades his eyes with his hand and gazes off to the hill -where the gibbet stands. - -“Good God!” cries he, clapping spurs that send spurts of blood into the -eyes of one of the gentlemen, and a shower of sand all over the whole -party, and away with him! Tearing up the turf as he goes; into the midst -of the strings of gaping, jostling, hurrying folk; scattering ’em right -and left, leaving ’em in his wake dumfounded, picking each other up. -Through the high street of Brook-Armsleigh Village, clatter! dash! -plunge! with prick and urge, and goad of thigh and lash! and straining, -starting eyes fixed on the face he sees outlined against the fair blue -morning sky; the brave undaunted face, dark, under its yellow hair, -bearing the strange likeness to His Lady—His Lady! nay, this is His -Lady’s lord and love, for whom he rides,—and with noose about his neck -now, and man-of-cloth and man-of-blood both at hand; this one with book, -that one with cap, the sea of open faces seething breathless all around. - -“On! on!” whispers Percy bending to the bow, and whispering hoarsely to -the long roan, his very soul in tremor, his lips parched, his forehead -and lip dripping sweat. - -Into the midst of ’em; nearly throwing Lord Brookwood from his seat; off -his beast like a thunderbolt, and with a long leap up on the boards -beside Lambe, the butcher, and Biggs, the Justice, and Frewen, the -Curate. - -“By God! Sirs,” cries he, “what’s this ye’re doing? This gentleman’s Sir -Robin McTart of Robinswold, Kent!” tearing the hemp from Her Ladyship’s -throat, from her wrists; pushing away the three of ’em, and half lifting -the supposed Baronet in his lusty arms, he drags, carries, swings Peg -down to the ground, and up into his own saddle. - -And then the explanations! the astonishments; the monstrous wonder of -it. The humility, the subjection, the apologies; the supplications of -all these Lords, Gentlemen, Ladies, worthies, worships, vagabonds and -multitudes. - -Woman-like, as she sits there for a few moments, dazed, so sudden -fetched from death to life, she has but the thought that ’tis to him she -loves she owes deliverance. - -But none of their hospitality or amends will she have, or even listen -to; no tarrying at Brookwood Castle; no smallest glance back for all the -wheedles and coaxes of Lady Diana, Lady Biddy, the Honorable Dolly and -the rest. All she asks, and gets, is her scrawl from Mr. Frewen. - -Courtly acceptance of Lord Brookwood’s abject attempts at amends; -gracious bows, hands, words, laughter at last; and My Lady in a hastily -procured post-chaise bids the gibbet at Brook-Armsleigh Village -farewell, and starts for London, where she swears she’s due and must not -fail of being, for to-morrow, Sunday. - -Sir Percy, too, affirms, he must up to town without delay, to have the -honor and pleasure of himself rehearsing at Will’s the splendid courage -of Sir Robin, and his almost miraculous escape from a horrible and -ignominious death. - -In truth Percy longed, after the excitements of the past four-and-twenty -hours, to be alone; to seek, as was his wont of late, in some -unfrequented, obscure part of the town, such as the desolate -neighborhood of the Dove Pier, an opportunity to ponder upon Lady Peggy; -to guess fruitlessly of her whereabouts; to curse himself, and Sir Robin -who had, with a good cause, he generously allowed, so known how to win -her from him; to marvel how, at ev’ry turn, this same Baronet appeared -to become entangled in his own matters; to question if Peggy were indeed -now the lawful wedded wife of this gentleman from Kent. In brief, to -pester Fate with queries and surmises far too numerous and intricate to -set down. - -Thus upon reflection, he purposely absented himself, after his first -visit to Will’s on reaching London, from either of the chocolate or -coffee-houses, which he was accustomed to patronize, knowing full well -that the most pressing and absorbing things he should hear would all -have Sir Robin McTart for text. He did not even repair to Mr. Brummell’s -house to give an account of the rescue of the Beau’s protégé from the -hangman, feeling unwilling to recount his own part in the affair and but -too certain that long since the whole matter would have traveled to -Peter’s Court and into every other precinct of the town. Having, also, -learned from Lady Diana that Kennaston had quitted Brookwood Castle in a -dense of a melancholy humor, he did not either go to Lark Lane, (not -finding Peg’s twin at the house in Charlotte Street), but moped the -Sunday through, thankful that his uncle was gone down into the country; -listening to the church-bells; thumbing a prayer-book Lady Peggy had -given him one Easter-day, now five years since; finally flinging it from -him; pacing up and down the hall; side-curls awry, waistcoat unbuttoned; -ruffles tumbled; breeches wrinkled; mind distract, and altogether as -valiant a young gentleman as ever made a wager or a toast, unsheathed a -blade, or mounted a horse, rendered all of a-muddle by not knowing which -way to turn to find the whereabouts and wherefores of a certain fair -lady; which has been a state of affairs not uncommon to young gentlemen -before this one’s day, and like to occur until the species is extinct. - -Yet, ’tis quite true, too, that Sir Percy’s case was a bit out of the -usual, inasmuch as the mystery of Lady Peggy’s present abiding place -remained as deep to-day as ’twas a fortnight ago. - -“Well, Grigson,” asked his master, as his man appeared unsummoned, “what -is it?” - -“Asking Your Honor’s pardon,” replies this one, “but I made bold during -Your Honor’s absence from town to go down to Kennaston Castle.” - -“Well, well?” cries Sir Percy excitedly, “what news?” - -“With submission, Sir,” replies the man, sadly. “None.” - -“’Od’s blood! you fool!” exclaimed the master. “Why do you seek me with -your ‘none’! Is Her Ladyship still from home?” - -Grigson bows. - -“And her mother still in York?” - -Grigson bows. - -“And the Earl still believing his daughter to be in that damned Kent -with her godmother?” - -Grigson bows for the third time. - -“And that cursed Abigail still affirming that her mistress is up in -London?” - -Grigson bows for the fourth time. - -“Asking your pardon, Sir Percy,” he adds, noting with a keen and -generous sympathy, which not infrequently exists in the hearts of -serving-men for their masters, the deepening pallor of the young -gentleman’s countenance, and his most disheveled appearance. - -“Asking your pardon, Sir, but whiles I might be doing your wig, which is -most uncommon tousled, I’d make bold to tell you, Sir, that Mistress -Jane Chockey, Lady Peggy’s own woman, Sir, is in an awful way, Sir!” - -“My wig may go to the devil, you idiot!” cries Percy. “What’s the -blabbing jade’s tantrums to me! Get out of my sight.” - -“With submission, Sir Percy, but Chockey does nothing at all but cry out -her eyes from morning till night, and went on her knees a-beseechin’ me -to find Her Ladyship, which all I could coax out of her by my best -endeavors at wheedlin’ the seck, Sir, was that she last saw Her Ladyship -standin’—” - -“Where! where?” gasps Sir Percy, seizing Mr. Grigson by the arm with a -grip of steel. - -“Before the door of Lord Kennaston’s lodgin’s, Sir, in Lark Lane—a—” - -“Yes? yes? go on!” with glaring, gazing eyes fixed on his man’s ruddy -visage. - -“A-talkin’, Sir, to some one a-sittin’ inside of a most elegant chair!” - -“Did she see the man’s face?” he asks tensely. - -“No, Sir Percy; but Her Ladyship bade Chockey go home and not tarry for -her, and make such excuse to His Lordship as you have learned before. -And, asking your pardon humbly, Sir, Mistress Chockey is of the opinion -that her young Lady got into that chair and was carried off, a willin’ -wictim, Sir, to the h’altar, and married to the contents of the chair, -Sir, afore that wery noon.” - -“Damn Chockey and her opinions!” mutters Sir Percy, under his breath, -picking up his hat from the table and rushing into the street, nigh to -choking with his emotions and his despair. - -He turned the corner, almost knocking over a couple of link-boys in his -path, tossed them some pennies for their tumble, and into Piccadilly. - -“Fare, Sir? fare, Your Honor? fare, Your Lordship?” cry a half-dozen of -’em, and he jumps into a hackney chaise purposeless. - -“Where to, My Lord?” asks the man. - -“To the devil!” replies the passenger, “or anywhere else, only drive -fast and let me down within walk of the river.” - -[Illustration] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - XIII - - _In the hereinunder Her Ladyship doth shoot - two varlets at one fire; and appointeth - a meeting with Sir Robin - at Vauxhall._ - - -The man, who is shrewd, and has, in his time, fetched and carried many -gentlemen of the first quality hither and yon, takes this one’s measure -and sets off at a tearing pace down to the city, past the Tower, across -the Bridge, into Southwark, back over Southwark, up to Westminster; to -Pimlico,—past the very Puffled Hen where, at this very moment, Sir Robin -McTart, himself, and not his _soidisant_, sits huddled in his upper room -over a fire, cheering his small soul with dreams of murder and love. On -to Chelsea, and a whirligig ’round again to that region which froths -foully over to the Thames bank in Little Boy Yard, and the jutting, -rotting, creaking old Dove Pier. - -“This be’s a young nobleman,” soliloquized the cabman, “wot’s in love, -or else is a-meditatin’ on a-takin’ ’is own life, or a-runnin’ away from -the Jews, or from his gamin’ debts, or I’m not James Finney. An’ this -here’s the spot for him to be dropped at; the river most ’andy, also -deep, and h’if he’s bound to make an end of hisself, no man wot owns a -hoss is as worthy of the reward wot’ll be published for the recovery of -His Lordship’s corp, as me.” With which pious reflection the chaise is -brought to a sharp standstill, causing Percy to start from his -melancholy and look out of the pane. - -“Where are we?” asks he, not at first, such is the depth of his -suffering, recognizing a spot with which, as Sir Robin had been at pains -and expense to have discovered for him, he was indeed of late most -familiar. - -“This be Dove Pier, My Lord,” answered Mr. James Finney, now descending -from his box and standing respectfully at the kennel. - -“Ha! Yes, to be sure. I’ll get out.” - -He does so and pays the fare with such a largess as makes Mr. Finney, -through his tanned hide, almost blush to take it. - -“Wot’s the odds, though?” remarks he to himself, “three sovereigns is -better off in my pocket than actin’ as sinkers to a nobleman’s body.” To -Sir Percy he says: - -“I thought Your Lordship’d fancy this bit of the river; it’s lonesome -and wery pleasant and wery deep. Good-night to Your Lordship, and good -luck.” - -“Good luck!” echoes Sir Percy, under his breath, as he strides down the -length of the rotten pier, his gaze now fixed on the black and swiftly -ebbing tide, now raised to meet a sky no whit the brighter than the -sobbing waters beneath it. No stars, nor moon; only a sickly thin gleam -shot out of the lamp that swings far up Little Boy Yard over the door of -the tavern. - -Dark, sad, despairing, the whole of it, with but the lap, lap of the -Thames’s life beating against the old piles, as it swirls and swings on -its hurrying way to fall once again into the sea. - -Percy de Bohun is no cowardly sort, even to think of ending his woes in -a watery grave; he is merely a brave, sore-stricken young man, whose -whole faith and heart have been pinned to one who has forsaken him -forever (as he thinks); and, with the instincts of his kind, he is glad -to be here, away from mankind or woman either, to get his grip once more -on himself, to fight out for the last time, he swears, the wild, jealous -covetousness which is tugging at his heartstrings, to quell the tumult -in his soul, and then to get back home to his uncle’s house like a -Christian; and, God helping him! to lead a decent life and a brave life, -for King and country in the great new world across the seas. - -All this and more traverses his brain, the “more” being mostly -tantalizing visions of Lady Peggy in all the gamut of her humors, -slipping in and out of every resolution he makes, every fond farewell he -swears he’ll take of her most dear, most faithless memory forever! - -His eyes are bent upon the ground. He neither sees nor hears, nor would -heed if he did, aught about him. - -In truth there is not anything to hear, save the river on its journey. - -But there is something to see. - -Sir Robin’s two desperadoes, a-lurking yonder up in the close shadow of -the timbered tenements, which line the precinct on the side where the -oil-lamps shine. - -Across the narrow street, where the huddling houses, with their broken -chimneys, rag-stuffed windows, flapping strings of bird-cages, old -clothes, and forlorn archways, are deeper in gloom even than their -opposites, there’s ambushed another. - -One who, arrived in town the night before, and set down at Mr. -Brummell’s in Peter’s Court, made a change of garments and off again, -since the master of the house was out, to a quiet inn in High Holborn; -spent there a few hours; then out of doors and wandered as far as the -Temple Church; back again to the inn, and, with rising excitement, and -an almost frantic and curious impatience, awaited the fall of night; -then a hackney coach to Westminster, alighting at Horseferry Road; -dismissing the vehicle; thence afoot to the pier; hiring a boat; a pull -alone down the river to Dove Pier; tying the skiff to a rusty hook; a -quick run bent to ground; up, and across the yard to her present place -of concealment. - -’Twas indeed Lady Peggy, her heart in her mouth, her breath coming -fiercely betwixt her tight-shut lips, the drops standing on her -forehead, each hand grasping a pistol ready cocked, and her dark eyes -pinned to the two crouching objects not three yards away from her; anon, -following the jerks of these worthies’ thumbs as they indicate the tall -figure with bent head still pacing the pier back and forth, she knows -her lover and his doom are nearing each the other. - -Will high Heaven help her? - -Her Ladyship can not hear them, if indeed they speak at all, which is -unlikely; the language of such gentry at such crises consisting usually -of signs. Luckily for her, the glint from the Three Cups, meager though -it be, falls athwart the cut-throats, who now move stealthily down the -yard toward the pier, timing their pace so that they shall reach t’other -side of the rickety float when their victim shall attain the hither. It -falls out as they have designed, and now, not ten paces separate Sir -Percy de Bohun from his end, when Peggy darts light-footed, having cast -aside her shoes, down her side the kennel to the pier, bringing her -exactly behind the murderers. - -With the slow, precise tread of beings accustomed to such enterprises, -not too hurried at the performance of a not unsavory task, they slip -over into Sir Percy’s very wake, Peggy at their backs, noting now, with -her pretty nose within twelve inches of their cat-like heels, the gleam -of a dagger in the hand of each. - -Before she had thought, the two scoundrels seized Percy from the rear, -the one clapping his hairy hand over the game’s mouth for a gag, the -other grasping the young man’s two hands which had been hanging idly -clasped at his back. Not a word, a whisper, even a gasp— - -But two shots! sounding like one, and striking Sir Robin McTart’s -hirelings in their flanks, laying them on the ground, free Sir Percy de -Bohun, stunned, bewildered, to yet catch merely a glimpse of a figure -running to pier’s end, jumping into a boat; then the flash of quick oars -fading into the silence and the blackness of the Thames. - -With drawn sword he gave himself a rap on the chest and believed he had -been dreaming. - -But no, for at his feet lay two prostrate forms, each bleeding a bit, -and feigning, as such apt rogues will, to be stone dead. - -Percy knelt, struck a tinder and essayed to look at their faces; they -were unknown to him, and perceiving now their estate, he formed the -conclusion that a couple of footpads had nearly made an end of him, and -walked away. - -But of his rescue? the manner of it? the mysterious flight of his -preserver? the boat ready at the pier’s end? the twin shots just in the -nick of time! What of all this? - -Bah! Some bargeman with an honest heart a-passing by had seen the foul -attempt, and paused to thwart it; some gentleman, maybe, on his way to -rout or tryst, thinking to divert himself with a couple of pistols and -so save a human life; some third desperado, envious of the chances of -these two, making shift to rob them of their prey, since he was left out -of their plot. - -But no! None of these explanations bore the least resemblance to -probabilities, in fact showed not an atom of reason in their suggestion, -and Percy was feign return to his uncle’s house, thrice puzzled now, -since he had not alone Lady Peggy’s oblivion to unravel, but the -miraculous saving of his own life to match it! - -Her Ladyship, once safe in the boat, pulled hard to the upper pier, paid -the boatman, and back by devious ways to Peter’s Court and into her -room; shut door and latched; down on her knees, wig thrown on the -hearth, a-thanking God Percy was safe! - -Tears? A shower of ’em, and trembling legs and arms, and heart beating -to burst after the mad strain of the past eight-and-forty hours. - -“Now,” said Her Ladyship to herself, “now I can go back to Kennaston and -spend the remainder of my life making cheeses for the Vicar to munch o’ -Sundays; brewing cider for daddy to accelerate the pace of his gout -withal; breeding chicks as will win prizes, and pigs as will be the envy -of all! and—” a sob occurred here—“presently a-reading in the London -print of the grand marriage of Sir Percy de Bohun with Lady Diana -Weston! And me without the chance of weddin’ even that little ape, Sir -Robin McTart! But it’s all right as ’tis,” adds Her Ladyship. “Had I -hung on Armsleigh Hill, ’twould not have been too bad for one reared as -I have been in a God-fearing fashion, and who, for naught save jealousy, -envy and all uncharitableness, did go and so unsex myself! Lud! Is’t I? -Peggy Burgoyne, spinster, a-sittin’ here in breeches and waistcoat, a -guest in Mr. Beau Brummell’s house, without any other lady to keep me in -countenance! ’Tis said one gets broke in to anything; but ’tis false! -false! I’m not broke in to bein’ a man, and I never should be! I detest, -abhor, and can’t endure the bein’ one! I that had always figured to -myself the happy day when I’d be taken up to town!” - -Lady Peggy is now pacing the room, a trick, as has been set down -earlier, that she’d borrowed from her twin. - -“I’d thought to be of the ton, a most genteel young lady, monstrous -fine, a lovely creature; a-taking a dish of tea at Ranelagh; a-ridin’ to -Court in dad’s old coronet-coach and with all the feathers I could -borrow on top of my frizzes and powder; and two sweet patches set just -at the corner of my dimples! That’s what I’d dreamed of, with Percy -a-staring at me, lost in admiration, and—love!” Her Ladyship stamps her -foot. “But what ’tis, is this!” and she now picks up the wig from the -hearth and flings it on the couch beside her coat and sword. - -“’Taint no more in this world fine gentlemen sighin’ and dyin’ for me! -no wedding favors and cake; no husband, no children; never! for there’s -no marryin’ in heaven, an I ever get there! Nay, ‘Peggy Burgoyne’ ’ll be -writ on my tombstone, and like as not the lines followin’ ’ll be ’a -maker of most uncommon fine sweetmeats and cheeses’!” - -Another flood of tears, and then My Lady Peggy, obeying that -well-balanced head of hers, brushes them away and proceeds to plan out -her homeward journey, and to administer a cunning retouch of the -cosmetics she had erstwhile bought of the players’ apothecary in Drury -Lane. - -’Tis clear now, as it has been from the start, that she may not quit Mr. -Brummell’s house in other than man’s attire, nor, so far as she can see, -will it be possible for her to resume her own garments at any inn, or -time, or place, before she reaches Kennaston, which she means to do ere -night falls; and then the stableyard, where she knows Chockey will be -milking, once gained, a cloak, the casting of Sir Robin’s wig, and Her -Ladyship feels certain she can enter her father’s home unnoticed beneath -the shelter of the faithful Chockey’s argus eye. - -But, though neatly laid, Her Ladyship’s project was not quite yet to go -into execution. Even as she was once more taking out the bundle from its -hiding-place and tying up in it the long tail of her cut hair, she heard -a hum of noises, voices below, inquiring if Sir Robin had as yet reached -the house, and evidently obtaining an affirmative answer, for,— - -“Where is the hero? Our hero! Our hero!” - -“Where is our highwayman? Our highwayman!” - -“Where is Tom Kidde, the gallant? The gallant of gallants!” - -And a lot of such merry cries came echoing up the staircase and corridor -toward her room. - -Lady Peggy had utterly forgot the hanging. - -The more recent matter of Percy and the assassins had put her own -adventure completely out of her head. For the first time she realized -that she had not seen either Mr. Brummell or any of his company since -she had unwillingly been borne away from them by Homing Nell in the -midst of Epstowe Forest. - -’Twas a halt she had not counted on; but, clapping on wig and coat, she -flung wide the door, and was presently raised on the shoulders of Sir -Wyatt and His Grace of Escombe and borne triumphantly down to the -dining-room and placed in a chair of honor at the supper-table, whence, -what with toasts, songs, stories, acclaims, wonders, amazements, -applause, Florence wine, cards, etc., etc., this gallant company did not -arise (or some of them slip under) until seven on Monday morning. - -Her Ladyship got up from the mahogany with but one-pound-ten in her -pockets, and a surmise in her head as to how far this sum would take her -on her homeward way. - -But homeward way there could be none just yet, for before too many -bumpers had been filled and drunk, Beau Brummell had made proposition of -a most lively affair, which indeed he had already set afoot, for the -celebrating of Sir Robin’s restoration to his friends by the timely -arrival and prowess of Sir Percy. This was nothing else than going to -Vauxhall by water on Tuesday night, and in masques. A score of ladies -and gentlemen had been bidden to join, including the Ladies Diana and -Biddy, the Honorable Dolly, the Misses Lovell, Lady Chelmsford, with -Lady Brookwood to act as duenna for the unmarried fair. - -In vain Lady Peggy protested, swore she could not, would not. These -gentlemen would not take no for an answer, and once again Her Ladyship -perceived, as she reluctantly acceded to the masquerade, how far more -difficult ’twas to be out of breeches than into ’em. - -Percy was to be there, at least he was invited; so much she knew from -Mr. Brummell, and, as Lady Diana was positive to come up to town for -such a novelty as a party in masquerade, of course her suitor was -certain to attend her. - -Very well! Why should she, whose whole life was to be passed in the -compounding of cream-cheeses and the visiting of poor old women, not -give to herself one more cause of vain regretting? one more glimpse of -him she adored? - -At that hour, when Mr. Brummell and his guests were doing honor to the -supposed Sir Robin, the real Baronet was called upon to receive two most -lamentable-looking blackguards who followed the Boots up to the -gentleman’s room, unheeding both remonstrances and ugly words on the way -thither. - -At sight of Mr. Bloksey and his companion-in-arms, each lame, bound-up -and wound-up of leg and back, with their bonnets pulled down over their -brows, Sir Robin skipped from his easy-chair with a gasp, half terrified -at the appearance, wholly eager to learn the outcome of the plot. - -“Hist!” cries he, under his breath, and pointing to the door, finger on -lip. - -“Heh?” responds the villain. “There’s no fear here. We’s well enough -known down in our own neighbor’ood, but up ’ere we passes for two pious -beggars wot lives by h’alms from the parish church!” - -A grim smile from his partner confirms this remark, and Sir Robin, thus -reassured, says tremblingly: - -“Well, ’tis done?” - -“’Tis done,” both nodding in concert, “and,” adds Mr. Bloksey, “we’re -both nigh done too! Wot with bullets apiece h’inside of us from the -gentleman’s pistols, and wot with gettin’ our h’eyes knocked h’out of -us, and most bein’ caught by the Watch when we was a-lowerin’ Lord -Gower’s heir h’into the Thames, we’re ’ere, Sir Robin McTart, to ’umbly -remind you that we wants more.” - -The Baronet shakes his head, hands thrust in pockets, clutching purse -and pence. - -“Oh, no,” answers he, “the job was paid for in advance, my good men. Not -another groat will you get.” - -“Werry good,” murmurs Bloksey, turning on his slip-shod heel. “We’ll -just go down to the round house, and if it turns out as Your Lordship -gets h’admission to the Tower free, you needn’t be too much surprised. -We doesn’t mind a-tellin’ ’ow we saw you a-prickin’ Sir Percy de Bohun -last night! and a-weightin’ of his mangled corp, and a-throwin’ of the -same h’into the river at the old Dove Pier!—Oh, no! we doesn’t!” This at -the door-sill. - -“What! what! you knaves! Here, come back! Come back, I say!” shrieks the -terrified little gentleman, seizing a shoulder of each and forcing them -into seats. - -After which simple application of primary methods, Mr. Bloksey and his -friend find no difficulties whatever in the way of wresting from their -patron another hundred pounds, with which they make off, again and again -rehearsing to him how great risks they had run in decently interring the -body of his hated rival. - -Once rid of them, Sir Robin rose, stretched himself, and yawned. - -’Twas an abject soul, one of those creatures born of a good and honest -stock on either side, which sometimes cumber the earth as if in ribald -jest against the accepted laws of birth and breeding. - -With no misgiving, save that of a possible detection, Sir Robin, now -that this even had been disposed of at an expense of a hundred guineas, -felt nothing if not jubilant, and on the morrow proceeded to order him a -suit of satins in crimson, a hat of the latest fashion, ruffles, -cravats, silk hose, a muff, and a lot of other fallals at Monsieur -Jabot’s in Holborn. For the Baronet, freed, as he fancied, of his enemy, -and feeling positive that Lady Peggy would soon, out of the overflow of -her vast affection for him, contrive a message through her obliging Mr. -Incognito, desired to be equipped in the latest mode for that summons to -his Lady’s presence, which he believed must ultimately, and perhaps -presently, arrive. - -It is true, he expected that his entrance into the gay world of fashion, -which, he promised himself by way of introduction, should be at -Vauxhall, might be a bit hampered by the accounts he must hear of the -sudden disappearance of Sir Percy de Bohun, but this seemed a trifle in -the path of a gentleman for whose sake Lady Peggy Burgoyne had come up -to town, remained invisible, employed an Incognito as Mercury, and of -whose name, albeit falsely, the prints had made most marvelous mention. - -Now, Sir Robin had not seen the tenth part of these last. No, not any of -’em, in truth, save the one he had shown to Her Ladyship the evening -they had encountered each other at the Dove Pier. To be entirely candid, -Sir Robin was an indifferent scholar; write he could not; to read was a -plague which he willingly deputed, when it was necessary, to his former -instructor—that patient, worthy man, the Vicar of Friskingdean, -incumbent of the living next Robinswold. - -This one was even now, so Sir Robin had got word, up in London to -consult a great man for the benefit of his eyes, and ’twas presently -agreed between ’em at the Bishop, where the Vicar stopped, that they -should proceed together to Vauxhall on the Tuesday night. - -“I have heard, my dear Robin,” observed the excellent old man, “that -there is to be a rare sight in the gardens that evening, nothing less -than a most curious novelty just come into vogue in the world of -fashion.” - -“Ha, and what’s that, Sir?” inquires the Baronet. - -“A party of Beau Brummell’s to come by water to the pier, every soul of -’em in masks,—Lords, Ladies, and all persons of the first quality; some -of the names I heard in the coffee-room. There’s to be Sir Wyatt Lovell, -the Earl of Escombe, Lady Diana Weston, Lady Chelmsford, Lord Kennaston -of Kennaston—” - -“Hold, Sir!” cried the Baronet, jumping about the room, like one -demented, the idea bouncing into his pate that if Kennaston is to be -there, his twin-sister will also form one of the distinguished party. -“What’s to prevent me buying a couple of masks and, with our cloaks set -out by our swords, a-joining in this gay diversion?” The little -gentleman’s eyes twinkle with sweet anticipation. - -“But,” hesitates the Vicar, “would such levity be counted seemly for one -of my years and profession?” - -“Tut, tut, Sir,” cries Sir Robin, “I’ll not take a refusal. Hark ye, I -have reasons,” adds he mysteriously. “There’s one of the Fair likely to -be present who pines to see me, Sir, and whom I yearn to behold once -more. There hath been an obstacle,” continues the cold-blooded monkey, -“but Providence hath removed it. I pray of you accompany me, Sir, and -t’will lead mayhap to banns bein’ read on Sunday se’ennight in the -church at Friskingdean.” - -The Vicar, being carried away by two natural and one of ’em a most -laudable emotion, at last consented. He was quite in fatherly sympathy -with his old pupil’s ambition to settle in life, and he had that curious -hankering after just a nibble at the edge of the flesh-pots of Egypt, -which is not uncommon to gentlemen of even his sedate years and failing -sight. - -Sir Robin bought masks and cloaks of black and ordered them sent to the -Bishop, where he had agreed to sup on Tuesday and go thence by land to -Vauxhall. Indeed he had just now come out of the draper’s shop and -turned down toward the Vicar’s inn, when he caught sight of Lady Peggy -walking swiftly from him. She had been buying stains for her skin and -eyebrows. - -“Mr. Incognito!” cried he, scampering hither and yon, into the kennel, -onto the path, jostling fair ladies’ chairs, running into a porter’s -pack, thumping a horse in the nose with his ill-worn weapon, and, -finally, gaining on the one he pursues, and dealing Her Ladyship’s -shoulder no gentle blow. - -“Ha, there!” cries she, turning, hand on hilt. Then, perceiving who -’tis, she almost shudders and draws up to her full height. - -“Dear Mr. Incognito,” pants Sir Robin, “how fares My Lady? Tell me, I -beseech you!” - -“She fares but ill, Sir,” answers she, making to proceed. - -“No, no, not so fast, I implore; oh, Sir, I die for her!” - -“Very well, Sir, she is willing. I am pressed for time and must away.” - -“One word. You say she’s willing I should die for her?” - -“Oh, Sir Robin, importune me no further. I know not what she’s willing -for!” - -“Now, now,” soothes the Baronet. “We’re well met, Mr. Incognito, that -I’m assured of; and that Lady Peggy’d far rather I’d live than die for -her,” leers he, “since for the sake of communicating with me she’s at, -no doubt, great expenses in maintaining you?” - -At this Her Ladyship laughs, as many a lady may do any day, at the -strange construction a man who is blessed with vanity contrives to put -upon her actions. - -“’Tis so, I know’t!” exclaims he, grinning unctuously. “Now, Sir, tell -me, goes she—” his voice sinks to a whisper as he applies his mouth nigh -to Peg’s ear—“goes she to Vauxhall in Beau Brummell’s party, along with -her brother, o’ Tuesday night?” - -A thousand thoughts rush helter-skelter through Her Ladyship’s brain, -pro and con the answering of this query. - -Presently, sedately, at the corner of the street, says she, with no -smallest notion of the import or the outcome of her words, merely -uttered as a light and easy means of make-off: - -“Go and see!” and she disappears from view. - -“By jingo!” rattles the gentleman from Kent to himself, as he jumps into -a hackney-coach and tools out to the Puffled Hen. “But she loves me! -Curse me! but I believe she’s had that incognito rascal at upwards -probably of ten shillings a day, just on purpose to watch for my -appearance, and so to glean tidings of my welfare! Without a doubt ’tis -by her commands he said that ‘go and see.’ Zounds! I’ll do’t, with the -Vicar to bear me out,” adds this prudent lover, “should any disagreeable -incident occur between me and any one of these coxcombs with their town -ways. Damn ’em, tho’! with a secret affair going on betwixt me and -Peggy, I can snap my fingers at His Gracious Majesty himself, should we -encounter!” - -Well pleased, therefore, with himself, Sir Robin descended at the -Puffled Hen and bestowed upon the cabman out of that abundance of the -heart which occasionally causes the pocket, as well as the heart, to -speak—two-pence. - -[Illustration] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - XIV - - _In this same Sir Robin believes he meets his - Fair: and Lady Biddy O’Toole is the - means of putting the whole Gardens - into a vast commotion._ - - -After quitting Sir Robin, Her Ladyship, jingling the few shillings that -now remained to her, since purchasing unguents and the mask and cloak -necessary for the approaching festivity, suddenly made up her mind to -escape at once, to leave the bundle of her clothes, her shorn tresses, -and whatever else beside to tell what tale they might, and, here and -now, to shake the dust of London from her feet forever. And to this end -she was about to summon a chair to start her as far on her journey as -her purse would permit, when out comes Mr. Brummell himself from the -shop of Monsieur Jabot, and links his arm in hers with his accustomed -pleasant familiarity and easy condescension. - -“’Pon honor!” exclaims the Beau. “Well met, Sir! Since you were nigh -hanged, Sir, I’ve not had too much of your agreeable company. I’d have -you know I’m just from Monsieur Jabot’s back room, where, the whiles I -took a dish of tea, I explained the riddles of your most amazin’ twist -of the lace. Faith, Robin, ’twas a lucky hour for me, when, having left -a pile of failures, so high! in the corner of my dressing-room, I beheld -your cravat and bade my man knock you down!” - -Lady Peggy laughs. The cool audacity of Beau Brummell is a relief after -the mawkish sighs of the little scoundrel she has just parted from, and, -hoping that Mr. Brummell will soon spy either one of the Fair or a Royal -Highness, and so be diverted from her side, she bows and answers: - -“Robin McTart must ever account that a lucky day for him, Sir!” - -“Hark ye, my young buck,” proceeds the Beau. “Monsieur Jabot is so -enchanted with your manner of the cravat that to-day, with my -compliments, he introduces it at Court! And since I’ve been seen with -it,” adds he pompously, “’tis sure, by this day week, to be the height -of the mode!” - -“Aye?” responds Her Ladyship, a-wondering how she can best get away. - -“Aye!” echoes her companion in a monstrous amazement. “Rot me! Sir, but -such a distinction’s not often conferred upon a young gentleman up in -town for the first time. What’s the matter with you, boy?” cries he, -turning to observe Her Ladyship’s somewhat absent-minded aspect. - -“Naught, I swear!” cries she, recovering herself. - -“’Sdeath! Robin, are ye in love?” asks the Beau, taking a pinch of snuff -and tendering his box, as, attended by all eyes, the two make their way -down Piccadilly, betwixt ogling ladies in their chairs and chariots, -gallants, dowagers; each, all, mincing and la-la-ing as they go. - -Her Ladyship inclines her head. She is well pleased to speak truth when -she can. - -“By Gad! Mr. Brummell, you’ve hit the mark,” says she. - -“Sleep not o’ nights? fickle at your meat? wake sighing? dream of -patches, smiles, and dainty fingers? mistrust yourself? easily -affronted? believe the whole world’s pointing at you in raillery? take -no pleasure in horse, man, gun or dog? loathe all the Fair, save one? -love solitude?” - -Her Ladyship’s feign to smile in the midst of the snuff, which she -abhors, and has only taken because she had to. Sneezing, she nods as her -companion continues: - -“Hate company? are cursin’ me now for an addle-pated fool, and wishing -I’d leave you to yourself, eh? Don’t answer. I know it, Robin, well; a -thousand times, more or less, have I been where you stand to-day, and -had just cause, I fancied, to damn the Prince himself, since that which -I was then pleased to dub his foolish prattle served to distract my -ruminations from whichever Lady ’twas at the moment claimed my fancy. I -cursed him then, Sir, for clinging to my arm, but now I bless him, as -you will me some future day—for, Robin, hark ye, there’s not one of the -jades but deceives us, no, Sir! and I’m goin’ to hang on to you, Sir, -for keepin’ of you out of the vapors. Zounds, Sir! I’ll not leave you to -any such ill company as himself proves to a young man in your -predicament. Come, Sir, come; we’ll up and into Will’s, and there, me -stickin’ faster than a burr, we’ll home to Peter’s Court and with a -merry lot of gentlemen make a pretty night of’t against to-morrow with -its evening at Vauxhall.” - -With which pleasant and most well-intentioned sally, Lady Peggy again -finds herself constrained to put off that redemption of her true estate -for which she so deeply yearns. - -Mr. Brummell’s party went by water to Vauxhall, and ’twas indeed a -heavenly night for such an expedition, with no large lady-moon -a-staring, but the rather a thin slip of a silver damsel hanging in the -vault, and millions of stars a-waiting on her, not any of these -a-revealing too much or a-telling any tales if a gentleman’s hand -chanced to come in contact with a lady’s amid the folds of brocade, or -under the long cloth of the black, crimson or blue cloaks in which all -these merry masqueraders were enveloped. - -Sir Percy de Bohun was beside Lady Diana Weston; Peggy noted the same -with jealous, despairing eyes; while at the left of Lord Brookwood’s -daughter sat her own twin—only the second time she had seen him since -the memorable night in Lark Lane; nor did she see him plainly now, for -all the company had set forth in their masks, and only removed them -between whiles to gain a breath of fresh air. ’Twas expected that the -larger number of the party would meet them at the Gardens, and -thereafter the sport and mystification would begin. - -So it turned out; not only all the rest of Mr. Brummell’s friends in -their cloaks and masks, with glimpse now and then of satins, taffetas, -laces, ribands, jeweled stomachers, bodices ablaze, and so forth, but a -vast assemblage of other folk also awaited the arrival of the Beau’s -barge at the bottom of the Gardens. - -Among these, two lurked in the shadow of the trees; they were Sir Robin -and the Vicar. The former noted with deep joy that he had, by a happy -chance, chosen a crimson color for his new suit, exactly corresponding -to that of one of these gallants; that his cloak of sable hue was also -quite the ton, and that he could thus, with ease, mingle with the party, -and presently, no doubt, either discover Lady Peggy’s identity, or, more -than likely, she herself would disclose the same to him, and at last -reward his faithfulness and patience. No qualm visited the little -gentleman’s conscience-pocket with regard to his supposed victim, -although, it is true, he had given him a vicious thought as he had stood -near the river’s bank waiting for Mr. Brummell’s barge to come in sight. -So had Peggy, as she was being rowed past the old Dove Pier; into her -mind and into Sir Percy’s had come the memory of the Sunday night, but -he spoke of it no more than, certes, did she. - -Sir Robin, his cup overflowing with pleasurable anticipation and the -gratified sense that the one who had sworn to take his life lay, -fish-food, at the bottom of the Thames, flitted hither and yon, dragging -the bewildered Vicar of Friskingdean in his wake. - -Wherever the company of Mr. Brummell wandered, there followed, hanging -on to the fringe, as ’twere, these two, whom presently one-half the -guests accepted as a matter of course to be of themselves. - -First, always followed by an admiring and gaping crowd, ’twas up and -down the formal Walks somewhat sedately, for the masquerade, as has been -said before, was at that period but just coming into vogue, and fine -ladies and gentlemen were, at the outset of an evening, not as easy in -their disguises as they became after a promenade in the unaccustomed -duds; then, they formed a circle of mysterious appearance around the -orchestra; then, ’twas into the Room to stare at the pictures through -the peepholes of their masks; then a rush to gaze at the Cascade, which -the whole of them, save Lady Peggy, Sir Robin and the Vicar, had seen a -hundred times before; later, ’twas up and down the Walks again; and here -Sir Robin at last made bold, having long since joined himself and the -somewhat reluctant Vicar to a group of the Beau’s company, to address a -few words, as it chanced, to the lively Lady Biddy O’Toole! - -It had seemed to him, after a careful survey of all, and having been -able, by dint of his ears, to learn which was Kennaston, whose was the -only personality so far in his possession, that Lady Biddy’s arch turn -of the head was the most like to belong to the object of his passion. So -up he springs, mincing, leaving the Vicar to huddle in the shade, and, -pulling Her Ladyship’s mask-riband with a twitching finger and thumb, as -he had seen others do just now, he said, very low, in her ear: - -“I’m sure I know who Your Ladyship is!” - -“Out with it,” says she, very low too. - -“It’s she whose image is writ on my heart,” answers he. - -“Sure,” answers she, “that’s a thing that can never be known until -you’re dead, and maybe not as soon, since the surgeons don’t cut up -everybody! Lud, Sir, give me your name, and we’ll talk of your heart -anon.” - -“I am Sir Robin McTart of Robinswold, Kent,” exclaims he, feeling -positive that this saucy minx is none other than his adored, for be it -remembered Lady Biddy spoke under her breath and with a disguised tone -to her voice. - -“’Od’s blood!” now whispers Her Ladyship, with an accent of mock terror, -into Sir Robin’s ear. “You! the highwayman! the cut-throat! the robber! -what, I’ve heard, sticks gentlemen in the back, or has your men do it -for you, and profits by that same!” laughing fit to kill herself. - -But the little man does not laugh; the cold sweat stands out all over -his sallow countenance, and he’s so terrified, recalling the threats of -Mr. Bloksey, that he stands stock-still, and really can not move a leg. - -They are nigh the Dark Walks as Sir Robin comes to his halt, and Lady -Biddy, not pausing even to note his silence, goes merrily on with her -most apt discourse. - -“Oh,” proceeds she, “but you are the hero of the day, Sir Robin, and -it’s myself that’s proud to be in your company, and faith! I’d like to -have died running to see you hang on Saturday last!” - -“Hang!” gasps he, getting back the use of his voice, but not of his -shaking legs. “Saturday last!” - -“Don’t be that bashful, Sir Robin, making as if you’d never heard of -such before!” And Lady Biddy gives the Baronet’s cloak a playful tweak. -“Lud, Sir! you and Sir Percy de Bohun’s the two most talked about, of -all the bucks in town!” - -“Sir Percy de Bohun!” repeats he, his knees knocking together. - -“Sure’n didn’t he save you from the gibbet? Oh, go-along with you, Sir -Robin, you can’t palaver Lady—” - -“Lady who?” he contrives to ejaculate, struck nearly dumb at this -mention of his rival, while Lady Biddy now bridles and is mute. - -“You are Lady Peggy Burgoyne, are you not?” he goes on more softly, -bending toward his companion, and concluding at last that the Lady’s -words must have been the mere hap-hazards of a sparkling disposition. - -Now Lady Biddy, in common with other ladies of fashion and moving in -certain high circles of society, had heard a deal of the mysterious and -all unseen Lady Peggy. She well knew the supposition that was rife as to -Lady Peggy’s being secretly the wife of Sir Robin McTart. She knew from -her bosom friend, Lady Diana Weston, who had the same most direct from -her suitor, Lord Kennaston, Lady Peggy’s own twin-brother, that his -sister was from home, unknown her whereabouts to father or mother, kith -or kin, maid or man, save that she was “up in London”; that Sir Percy de -Bohun was mad for love and loss of her; that her brother, had he not -been in like case by means of Lady Diana, would long since have made -public search, as he was indeed making such privately, for the discovery -of the eloping Fair. She likewise was aware that Sir Robin frequented -the gay world, was not adverse to ogling a lady, as she herself could -testify; stopped at Mr. Brummell’s house; and, albeit ’twas said had -fought a duel with Sir Percy because of Lady Peggy, still did not absent -himself from any rout, ridotto, or ball, on her always absent account. - -So, equipped with such a fund of knowledge and any amount of surmise, -Her Ladyship replied coyly beneath her mask: - -“Why do you think so, Sir Robin, and pray if I were Lady Peggy, what, -now, would you be afther saying to me?” - -“Zounds! ’tis she!” exclaims the Baronet, carried away by the fact that -Lady Biddy’s hand beneath her cloak has more than half-way met his own -moist and trembling fingers. - -“Loveliest of women! Oh, ’twas indeed by your express directions, was’t -not, that Mr. Incognito on Monday, watching for me in High Holborn nigh -the shop of Mounseer Jabot, bid me come here to-night to meet you?” - -Lady Biddy, although much averse to the clammy touch of her cavalier, -gives his fingers an assuring pressure. - -“Why, oh, why!” pursues Sir Robin, now as much elated by this tacit -confession of her passion for him, as he was but lately overwhelmed by -the mention of such strange words as “hanging, highwayman, Sir Percy de -Bohun,” etc., etc., “why have you seen fit to keep me in such a length -of suspense? Why have I not been allowed, before this, to behold you, -and renew the days of our sojourn in Kent? Speak, my angel, speak!” - -“La, Sir!” murmurs Lady Biddy, minx-like, ever anxious to get at the -heart of this now much deepened enigma, “la, Sir, do you not know but -too well the whys and wherefores of my secrecy?” Her Ladyship from Cork -actually squeezes the little Baronet’s crooked little hand. - -“That do I not! Mr. Incognito never would tell me aught, but thus and -so; and bade me, from your adorable lips, keep myself in seclusion and -safety,—nor ever,” continues he, his tone sinking to a mere breath, -“endanger my precious self,” now stooping to imprint a chaste kiss on -Her Ladyship’s hand, “in the meeting even once of Sir Percy de Bohun, -for he had sworn to kill me on beholding me. Dearest life,” proceeds Sir -Robin, withdrawing Lady Biddy a bit into the shade of the great trees, -“I have obeyed your commands. I have never set eyes upon the scoundrel, -but have kept myself close housed at my inn in Pimlico, awaiting your -dear pleasure.” - -“Have ye?” murmurs Lady Biddy, now more bewildered than she ever was -before in her life, and seeing no clear way, either to read the puzzle -or, truth to tell, to elude the gentleman. Yet the wits of a lady, -especially if she happen to have been born in Ireland, may usually be -trusted to extricate her from almost any dilemma; therefore, when Sir -Robin has done swearing of his impatient probation passed at the Puffled -Hen, says she, tweaking her hoop and making a courtesy: - -“Lud! Robin,” (the hussy!) “but you are a killing creature! Nay, nay!” -drawing out a few steps, he after her, from the shade of the trees and -more in the flare of the twinkling globe lamps. “Nay, tarry here but a -moment; there are the same reasons for your not accompanying me now that -have prevailed upon me to keep our matters secret hitherto. I pray you, -stir not from the neighborhood of this wooden lion—see?—until I return, -which I will do presently.” - -“Faith!” cries the Baronet, “I’ll not budge, my divine Peggy! until you -are once more at my side!” and with a horrid leer through his peepholes, -he essays to take Lady Biddy’s hand once more, but she’s off, balking -him. - -Quick as thought, she scampered across to the edge of the orchestra, -where she discovered a group of masks and among ’em one, whom, by the -rose pinned to her bloom-colored bodice, she knew to be Lady Diana, and -she made certain that two of the three bloods near her, canes dangling -at their button-holes, must be Sir Percy and Lord Kennaston. - -“Hist!” exclaims Lady Biddy, panting partly from speed, partly from the -fright a lady alone might experience in running the gauntlet of so many -macaronis and fops, not to speak of thieves and pickpockets, as perforce -was the case in progressing about Vauxhall. - -“What is’t Biddy, for I know you by your silver heels,” answers Lady Di. -“Mischief, I’ll dare be sworn, or it’s not you! Speak your mind; there’s -none here but what can keep a secret, and the whole of us have been -a-watching you with some one, fie! at the entrance to the Dark Alleys.” - -“Is Sir Percy here? Is this he?” whispers Biddy. - -Sir Percy bows, for he is there; while the other two gentlemen, -inferring from her tone that she seeks a private ear, instantly withdraw -to one of the boxes for a glass of Burgundy to refresh their spirits. - -“I’ve news for you, of one you’re a-dyin’ for, of Lady Peggy Burgoyne!” -exclaims she triumphantly. - -“What! What!” comes simultaneously from behind each of the masks she -addresses. - -“Aye; I’m after learning from, whom, think you?” - -“Proceed, for the love of God, Madam!” says Percy, very low. - -“From him that’s supposed to be her husband, Sir Robin McTart, that -mistook me for her,” Biddy titters, “that she’s here to-night by an -appointment with him, made by a trusted servant of hers, called 'Mr. -Incognito’; sent to meet Sir Robin before the shop of Monsieur Jabot in -Holborn; and he’s not seen Her Ladyship,—I mean Sir Robin’s not seen her -since they were sojourning in Kent together! and there’s a mystery for -you! And I made excuses and left him a-standin’ by the lion, for I could -no longer contain the news, but must run back to him now to extract the -rest of it. Pray heaven, Lady Peggy herself comes not by, and lets out -that I was not she at all, at all!” - -“Good God!” murmurs Percy under his breath, as Biddy rattles on. “Can -this thing be? and what does it all mean?” - -Restraining Lady Biddy, both he and Lady Diana endeavor to quiet her -abounding spirits, and to gain from her the detailed account of her -encounter with Sir Robin. Percy, in the midst of her voluble tongue and -her giggling, striving to form some plan of action which shall this -night bring matters to the touch between himself and the Baronet and -leave one or t’other of ’em stiff and stark. - -Meantime, Sir Robin, with greedy eyes fixed on Lady Biddy, so long as he -can see her, and until she and her companions withdraw into a box, -stands as if at one with the wooden lion; presently, however, his gaze -is diverted hither and yon, not only by the playful and engaging remarks -of various young ladies who challenge his mask in the most direct and -obliging fashion, but by a certain Figure which he beholds moving about -aimlessly, it would seem, and alone, beneath the dark shadows of the -trees toward the river. - -There is something in this Figure’s motions, although cloaked and -masked,—therefore, the Baronet notes, one of Mr. Brummell’s party,—which -strikes him as familiar, and when, presently, the unknown lifts mask and -reveals the countenance behind it, Sir Robin sidles up, one eye on the -wooden lion of his tryst, however, and plucking Lady Peggy by the arm, -says: - -“Ho! Mr. Incognito!” - -Peggy turns, and betwixt disgust, dismay, horror, and amusement, remains -silent. - -“’Tis I, Sir, Robin McTart,” lifting his own mask a trifle to assure his -companion of his identity. - -“Soh!” returns she, “I do perceive.” - -“Oh, Mr. Incognito, what do I not owe to your being in My Lady’s employ! -She is indeed here.” - -Her Ladyship, taking this for a question, answers thus, with emphasis: -“Yes, she’s here—indeed.” - -“I have seen her,” sighs the little Baronet, leaning his head, just -exactly the height of Her Ladyship’s own, down on Peggy’s shoulder in an -excess of sensibility. - -“Have you?” exclaims she, not daring to stir in the embarrassment of -believing it possible that the scoundrel has discovered her identity. - -“Oh, yes,” sighs Sir Robin, “I have received a pressure, nay two of ’em, -from her hand. I’ve kissed her fingers; I await her return to meet me at -the wooden lion yonder.” - -“Do you?” says Lady Peggy, mystified beyond everything. “Did she look as -you expected her to?” - -“Ah!” gasps Sir Robin, “she has not yet lifted her mask for me to behold -her countenance, but when she returns, I shall beseech her for one -glimpse!” - -“Ah!” returns Peggy, now fully persuaded that some one has been making a -jest of her companion, but none the less disquieted on her own score. - -“Hark ye, Sir Robin,” says she, “you have ever found my counsels wise. -Be advised by me now; leave Vauxhall at once. Lady Peggy Burgoyne is not -safe, so long as you tarry here.” - -The little Baronet, doughtily, although trembling, puts his hand to his -hilt. - -“Nay, Sir!” continues Peg, “your weapon would not avail for her -preservation. She leaves town this very night for Kennaston. Do you the -same, nor risk detection longer here.” Her Ladyship uses the word -advisedly, and has the satisfaction of seeing Sir Robin shiver with -terror, then steady again as he reflects that Her Ladyship’s fears can -but be in connection with her own escapade; since, ’tis plain from all -he can spy and eavesdrop, not a soul as yet has missed Sir Percy de -Bohun from his accustomed haunts. - -“But she swore me she’d be back in a few moments, Mr. Incognito, and -’sdeath! Sir!” perceiving Lady Biddy emerging from the box and advancing -toward the lion alone, “there she is!” - -Off and away Sir Robin McTart to join his Fair, while Lady Peggy, -screened by the increasing shadows, for the dripping lamps are one by -one, by this, dying down in their globes, beholds one—she devines not -which—of Beau Brummell’s lady guests, courtesying and greeting the -Baronet with her finger-tips. - -Now My Lady’s heart’s a-thumping monstrous hard; she beholds, as well as -Sir Robin and his supposed Peggy, two others—alas! she knows too well -who they are, a-peeping out from the corner of the box-entrance whence -Lady Biddy came just now, and watching her encounter with Sir Robin. - -These are Lady Diana and Sir Percy. - -Together? Aye and a-goin’ to be “together” for all their lives, she -sadly thinks, both of them, quite forgetting, save perchance for a -moment’s beguilement, her very existence. But it behooves her, if not -for her own sake, of which she has come to the pass of recking but -little, then for her father’s and mother’s, now to bid farewell forever -to disguises, falsehoods, cheatings, man’s estate, and even the -melancholy chance of seeing the countenance of Sir Percy. She will off -presently, and reach home as best she may. - -A few minutes, more or less, can make no odds, and ’tis but too true -that Her Ladyship stood there in ambush of the branches in the vain hope -that Percy might lift his mask, if but for an instant, and thus allow -her parting gaze to rest upon his features. - -It is quite true that mortals, although in never such haste to reach a -desired crisis, still ofttimes halt at the threshhold of its attainment; -so Her Ladyship, with now nothing to hinder her escape, still stood -leaning against an oak, listless, but for the eager eyes fixed on the -pair in the box entrance. These presently crossed into the throng and, -joining others of the maskers, were lost to her view; but the Baronet -and Lady Biddy had not been idle of their tongues this while. - -Much simpering, angling for news, tittering, and a neat show of wit in -the manner of plying a gentleman with questions on a matter about which -he was quite ignorant, on the lady’s side; ardor, impatience, as much -daring as his little spirit permitted, on the gentleman’s. Finally said -he: - -“Mr. Incognito says you start for Kennaston this very night, my dearest -life, is’t so?” - -“Tell me who is Mr. Incognito?” says she, “and I’ll answer you -straight.” - -“He’s your paid servant, sworn slave, and the bearer of all tender -messages between us.—Now, go you to Kennaston to-night?” - -“As sure as I’m Lady Peggy Burgoyne,” returns Biddy. “I start for home -ere cock-crow!” - -“I’ll follow you poste-haste, but,” cries Sir Robin, “loveliest of -created beings, I beseech, I implore! one glimpse of your angelic -countenance before we part—to meet only when I can claim you as my own!” - -“No! No!” exclaims Biddy, restraining the Baronet’s hand which is laid -upon the lutestring of her mask. - -“But divine creature, I insist!” with one arm seizing the buxom Lady -Biddy about the waist, while with the other he essays to untie the -riband which hides her charms from view. - -Then Lady Biddy O’Toole, whose lungs were of the best, let such a bawl -as rang far up and down the Thames, causing a score of red-stockinged -boatmen to leave their wherries and dash up the Gardens; causing every -tongue in Vauxhall to cease clacking, every glass to jingle to its -table, every echo to resound; every other lady there to shriek; the -musicians to stop; the waiters to drop their trays; each gentleman to -draw sword; and a vast number of persons of both sexes to shout: - -“Watch! Watch! Murder! Thieves! Highwaymen!” and whatever else beside. - -While a concourse of people of every condition at once closed in around -Sir Robin and Lady Biddy, at the outside rim of which, shivering betwixt -terror and that lively curiosity which overrides even a desire for -personal safety, gaped the now unmasked Vicar of Friskingdean, unable to -find his natural protector and sometime pupil in all this hurly-burly. - -[Illustration] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - XV - - _Wherein Sir Percy and Sir Robin come face - to face, to the unfeigned amazement of - each: and where My Lady takes - to her heels and a wherry._ - - -When Lady Diana and Percy quitted the box, he, after conducting her to -the care of Lady Brookwood, strode off into the Dark Alleys, taking with -him, not Kennaston, for the hopeless youth, flouted still by Diana, had -gone a-mooning by the river’s bank, but a company of valiant and merry -gentlemen all raised a bit by the partaking of the famous Vauxhall -punch; and to them he confided sufficient of his reasons and intentions, -as made plain their course to them as his friends, to do aught and all -in their several powers toward the promoting of a quarrel betwixt him -and Sir Robin McTart; whom, he would presently point out to them, as -they should stroll, seeming careless, the length of the walk. - -Thus, arm in arm, Sir Percy, Sir Wyatt Lovell, His Grace of Escombe, and -Mr. Jack Chalmers, across the path, swaggering with sticks and tassels -hanging, hats at a cock, perfumed with Venus oil, and most jocund of -demeanor; with Beau Brummell behind ’em spying, waving his little muff, -and chatting with Lord Wootton and one or two more gay sparks, all -disporting themselves carelessly, but hilts eased for the drawing. - -Just as they were nearing the wooden lion of Sir Robin’s tryst, Lady -Biddy’s shriek assailed their ears, and Sir Percy, thanking Providence -for so opportune an occurrence, which, not to say that it was in any way -premeditated, yet continued to ring out louder and louder, even after -Sir Robin had ceased to pull at her mask-string and stood, held fast in -Her Ladyship’s stout grasp, the very center of a blaze of light from -footmen’s flambeaux,—they and the masses pushing every way, screaming -and cursing. - -Into the thick of this mêlée dashed Sir Percy de Bohun, with his friends -on either side of him. - -But a moment sufficed for him to wrest the Lady from her assailant and -to deliver her over to the care of Diana and the Duchess, who carried -her swooning (whether with laughter or emotion ’twould be difficult to -set down), to the Room. - -In another second, taking his silver-fringed gloves from his pocket he -threw them into the masked face of Sir Robin McTart. - -The little Baronet, who had both temper and vanity, which brace now got -the upperhand of his cowardice, and, believing that Lady Peggy’s eyes -were upon him, that Sir Percy was at the bottom of the Thames, and with -full foreknowledge that he could run away before the meeting could be -arranged, caught the gloves as they struck and flung them back into -their owner’s covered countenance. - -“Take that! ’sdeath!” squeaked Sir Robin, now much the more valiant as -he beheld the Vicar screwing his way toward him through the excited -crowds. - -[Illustration: I am Sir Robin McTart!...] - -“Unmask, and show yourself for who you are!” cried Percy, every one of -his companions echoing: - -“Unmask! Unmask! Unmask, or we’ll run ye!” - -“Willingly,” responded the trembling gentleman from Kent, tugging at the -slip-knot in his mask-string. - -“I am Sir Robin McTart! Who, the devil, are you?” - -“I am Sir Percy de Bohun!” replied his opponent, as both masks came off -at the same instant, and the two confronted one another, staring with -four eyes that fairly popped in their sockets. - -’Twould be hard to say which of these two was the more astounded, -although Sir Percy’s amazement had quite a different flavor from the -Baronet’s abject terror. - -“You! Sir Percy de Bohun!” he quavered, turning ashy pale. “I’ll not -believe it. ’Tis a lie!” - -“You! Sir Robin McTart!” replied Percy, hotly. “Gentlemen,” turning to -his friends, “I pray you bear me out in this, not to the exclusion of my -challenge of this impostor, which holds good until one or t’other of us -sheds blood, but for the preservation of the honor of a valiant -gentleman, who is not far off of us now. That this weazen wretch may -meet his dues, for not only does he masquerade his face, but seeks to -usurp the character and name of one whom we all know to be both -handsome, brave and courageous.” - -Percy’s blood runs high as he speaks these generous words, while every -soul about him stands breathless, staring, struck dumb with the -singularity of the episode. - -“But I am Sir Robin McTart,” cries the Baronet, brandishing his weapon -with a will, since there is none to oppose him, and the Vicar, now, -although well-nigh choked, not above ten yards distant from him. - -“Tut, tut, Sir, whoever you are,” interposed Lord Escombe. “Your game’s -up, and you’d better give your lies a rest.” - -“Hold!” cries Sir Percy to Robin, “whoever you are, I challenge you to -fight me ten minutes hence, yonder in the open, towards the river, and -those ten minutes my friends and I’ll spend in calling the actual Sir -Robin McTart into your presence, and confronting your impudence with his -reality. Lend me your lungs, My Lords and Gentlemen; Sir Robin’s in call -somewhere in the Gardens as we all know.” - -And with one accord the shout went up, ringing up and down the river and -far across to the highway, where it caused the horse-patrol to think -that every highwayman in the kingdom had broken loose upon Vauxhall, and -presently brought them rearing, plunging, swearing, firing, thumping -cutlasses right and left, into the midst of the surging thousands, by -this all shouting: - -“Sir Robin McTart! Sir Robin McTart! Sir Robin! Sir Robin! Sir Robin -McTart!” at the top of their voices. - -But for all their bawling, no one answered, no one came, and but one of -the vast throng went. - -This was Lady Peggy, at a loss to know the meaning of the shouts, not -having been near enough to the scene of the encounter to learn its -purport, and only now realizing that ’twas herself was sought and meant -by the concerted cry that rent the air. Scenting a new if unknown -danger, she followed her woman’s instinct, and, in the waiting pause -that succeeded the tumultuous call, Peggy fled to the landing, pressed a -handful of shillings, almost her last, into the palm of the only boatman -there, jumped into the wherry and bade him get her as swiftly as he -could to Queenhithe Stairs; for determined was she, now more than ever, -to leave no traces in her wake, and to return, at all risks, to Mr. -Brummell’s house for her bundle of woman’s clothes. - -For a long way down the Thames the renewed cry of the Vauxhall crush -rang in her distracted ears: - -“Sir Robin McTart! Sir Robin McTart! Sir Robin! Sir Robin! Where are -you? Come forth! Show yourself!” - -But none other came forth, and the Baronet, taking such courage as he -might through his astonishment at Sir Percy’s being alive,—and not -forgetting, even at this point, to reckon how much the lying assassins -had mulcted him of, now, in the second breathless halt of the calling -his own name, waved his weapon and answered it, saying again: - -“I am Sir Robin McTart!” - -“Prove it,” shouted Chalmers, with a derisive shrug. - -“Faith! and so he can by me!” exclaimed the panting Vicar, as, borne -rather by the surging of the people than by his slender legs, the tenant -of the cloth was pitched somewhat unceremoniously head-first into his -pupil’s middle. Sputtering, but yet winning the attention which truth -and the clergy usually and righteously obtain, the Vicar raised his -right hand, and, laying his left on the Baronet’s shoulder, he spoke: - -“This is Sir Robin McTart of Robinswold, Kent. I have known him from his -birth; his father before him; he has been my pupil. Who dares use his -name than himself is an impostor and a thief!” - -“What!” and now comes forward Mr. Brummell with open hand. “And my old -friend,” says he, “’sdeath, Mr. What’s-your-name, you were a curate when -we met last, twenty years ago, but I remember you, Sir, at Robinswold. -So this,” surveying the Baronet, “is my old friend’s son and heir? Of a -truth he favors his sire more than the pretty young rapscallion that’s -been a-fooling us all for now these four weeks past; for gentlemen,” -adds the Beau, turning to Sir Percy, “’tis as well we confess ourselves -to have been duped. Gad, Sir,” this _sotto voce_ to Percy alone, “I -always wondered where Sir Hector found that handsome lad, for he was as -ugly a gentleman as ever was wedded to wife.” - -After the storm there came that calm which is the inevitable successor, -save that, in this case, while the noise subsided, the wonder grew. -Every one of Mr. Brummell’s company and all of the rest of the world -beside, was rehearsing his and her own surmise as to the identity of the -young gentleman who had, for above a month, been the town toast, and who -had now disappeared as suddenly as he came. Some believed him to be Tom -Kidde himself; some, a Lord out of France; some, a Prince of the blood; -some, the Devil; some, an astrologer; there was no lack of inventions as -to Her Ladyship’s identity by the time the ten minutes of Sir Percy’s -setting had come to an end. - -He cast an eye about the place looking for Sir Robin, and his veins were -fairly on fire to know the color of his rival’s blood and wring from -his, he hoped, dying lips, a confession of where Lady Peggy was. -Presently, not spying his opponent, he begged Escombe and Chalmers to -have the goodness to seek him out; settle the spot; ask him to choose -his seconds; call a surgeon (of whom there were always a score in -attendance at Vauxhall, ready for just such affairs), while he himself -swung down toward the river to look for Kennaston and give him one last -word for Peggy, should Sir Robin run him through. - -Peg’s twin lay on the turf sleeping. Such are the effects of being at -once a poet and a lover, not yet twenty, and quite fagged with -wide-awake nights and days and a fair lady’s cruel caprices. Sir Percy -looked at him, smiled, and whispered as he knelt: - -“Dear lad, thou that art My Lady’s twin, when next thou seest her, sure -I know she’ll lay her dear lips on thy brow, and there she’ll find, -this.” Percy kissed the boy as he spoke. “’Tis doubtless more than she’d -care to discover, but, if death comes, ’twill ease the blow and charm -the pain while I remember this message that I send her now.” - -He turned away and left Peg’s brother lying there to waken at his -leisure. - -When he reached the Walk again, another clamor greeted him identical -with its predecessor. - -“Sir Robin McTart! Sir Robin McTart! Sir Robin! Sir Robin! Come forth of -your seclusion. The time is up. Sir Robin, I say-y-y-y!” - -This Sir Robin McTart had vanished as mysteriously as the other one, and -though the entire company made the welkin ring with the same cry over -again: - -“Sir Robin McTart! Sir Robin! Sir Robin! Sir Robin McTart!” no Sir Robin -appeared or could be found, and they were fain be content, reinforced by -the ladies now well out of their swoons and terrors, to finish up the -night with punch and loo in the boxes, all brains much of a muddle with -the strange adventures and miraculous disappearances incident upon Beau -Brummell’s never-to-be-forgotten masquerade party at Vauxhall. - -[Illustration] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - XVI - - _Which doth set forth how My Lady Peg, Sir - Percy and Sir Robin all put up at the - “Queen and Artichoke:” and what a - fine hurly-burly thereupon ensues._ - - -The moment that the excitement of the Vicar’s identification had -subsided, the Baronet, leading the worthy old man to the gates and there -quitting him under pretext of fetching a hackney coach, skipped without, -and, hiring one with a couple of the horse-patrol at a squeezing price, -jumped in and made off for his inn at Pimlico, leaving his whilom -preceptor to shift for himself. - -Sir Robin had no mind at all for duels with any one, least of all with -the resurrected Sir Percy de Bohun, whom his guilty conscience suspected -to be fully cognizant of the author of his attempted assassination. -Terrified with all this and, if possible, more so by the accounts he had -listened to, right and left, of his valorous and most mysterious -name-sake, the little gentleman at once made up his mind as to the -course wisest for him to pursue, and forthwith pursued it. - -Back to Pimlico, and into bed, shivering betwixt the linen and feathers; -up for a toilet of the best and neatest; curling his wig thriftily -himself by the fire; a good breakfast; a coach at noon with Kennaston -Castle for goal; and himself and his ardent and blissful hopes and -beliefs for freight and luggage. - -For, not twelve hours since, had not My Lady Peggy’s own emissary, the -delightful “Mr. Incognito,” told him that his mistress was leaving for -home last night? Nay, had not Peggy herself, with her own lips, said -that she started for Kennaston “ere cock-crow”? and whatever could such -words mean but that he, the object of her tenderest solicitude, should -follow her at once? - -Lady Biddy’s bawl, ’tis true, echoed in the Baronet’s recollection, but -’twas, to his way of thinking merely an index of the liveliness of her -disposition and the enchanting coyness of her moods. - -He adjusted his wig with a beaming smile, snapped his crooked little -fingers at the mere memory of Sir Percy de Bohun, the Vicar, his -spurious name-sake, and all the rest of it, as he blithely set off on -his amorous quest, at high noon, from the Puffled Hen in Pimlico. - -That same morning toward dawn, Percy had ridden home alone, leaving -Kennaston, cheered by a smile and a pressure of Lady Diana’s hand, to -return to his chambers in Grub street, whither the young poet had -removed some few days since from Lark Lane, at the instance of having -had a piece of good fortune, in the way of a commendation from no less a -personage than the great Doctor Johnson himself. - -The reflections of Peggy’s adorer were various and most tormenting; his -brain, as he tossed in his bed, was a labyrinth wherein he wandered, -vainly endeavoring to solve such riddles as— - -“Where was Lady Peggy? Was she indeed the bride of either of the Sir -Robins? Who was the comely young gentlemanly rogue who had for weeks -bewitched the fair and charmed the brave? Where had he disappeared? To -whom, in reality, was he indebted for the saving of his own life at the -Dove Pier; and whose were the St. Giles’s hirelings who had near made an -end of him there?” - -Bewildered and at wits’ end, he finally, as the sun was at meridian, -sprang from his uneasy couch, rang and rapped thrice for Grigson, made a -sorry pretense at conversing on politics with his uncle, whom he -presently encountered in the hall; inwardly cursed the old gentleman; -and at last, by three o’clock, got his will, which was, astride of the -long roan, Grigson on the black, to cross to the Surrey side of the -river, and ride as fast as ever he could to Kennaston Castle. - -“By heavens!” cried he to himself, pounding Battersea Bridge. “It is -time her father knew, and Her Lady mother too, that she is neither in -Kent or anywhere else in their reckoning; and if it puts ’em both into -their shrouds, they’ll hear the truth, and set about solving the riddle -before sunrise to-morrow. I’m sailing on Thursday for the Colonies, but -I go not until I am assured of her safety,—and her happiness.” - -Thus it happened that not above three hours after Sir Robin had started -from Pimlico with his destination Kennaston, Sir Percy quitted Charlotte -Street with the same beacon in view; and each, the one in his coach, -t’other in his saddle, brain full and heart bursting with but one -thought, and that Lady Peggy Burgoyne. - -Her Ladyship meantime, on landing from the wherry, fairly scampered her -way to Mr. Brummell’s for fear of desperadoes and Mohocks. At one point -wild cries of— - -“Watch!” greeted her ears from the open window of a gaming-house; at -another a bullet whizzed above her head, the outcome of a duel being -fought in a narrow street she traversed. In and out she threaded her -path, until presently the pink flush of the dawn pierced the fog into a -silvery mist and she had gained the Beau’s threshhold. Passing the -sleepy servants, Peggy ran up to her room and once again drew the bundle -from its hiding place, tucked the long tail of her dark hair well -inside, cast a glance of pitiable amusement about the chamber, and says -she, going: - -“God knows if I ever get leave to put on a lady’s garments again; but -I’ll never come back here, that’s certain, since now am I no one, not -even Sir Robin McTart!” - -So, challenged merely by the still drowsy footman who asks: “Beg pardon, -and with submission, Sir Robin, but will you be home for dinner, Sir, or -not until supper?” - -“For neither, to-day,” answers Her Ladyship, running out into Peter’s -Court, and then coming to a dead halt. - -She drew a long deep breath, as deep as the fog would let her, much as a -dog does before he starts on the scent; she jingled the little money -left in her purse, gave her hat the cock as she beheld a passer-by, and -struck out for London Bridge, which, at this early hour of the day, she -found easy enough to cross afoot, barring the filth and mud. - -’Twas the first time she had been on it since the memorable afternoon -when she and Chockey had first come up to town in the coach from the -Kennaston Arms. Now stalking along with a will, and a swing to her -bundle, My Lady had chance to note the tall gaunt houses lining the -bridge at each side where the pin-makers dwelt and worked; the gigantic -water-wheel under the arches which supplied the town with water; the -increasing tide of wagons, carts, pedestrians, porters, whoever else -(save the chairs or coaches of fine ladies and gentlemen of which, at -this time of day, there were none). Arrived at Surrey side, Her Ladyship -paused to consider and, wrapping herself well in her camlet cloak, the -which she had used at the masquerade so lately, thereby hiding her blue -velvet breeches, laced waistcoat, point ruffles, Mechlin lace cravat, -rich coat, and jeweled hilt, soon obtained fare in the one-seated cart -of a country clown who was off for Tooting. - -Her Ladyship decided very quickly that ’twas but a necessary precaution -for her to avoid highways, stage-coaches, and inns of reputation, since -probably by this a full description of the supposed Sir Robin would be -word of mouth from Westminster to Mile End, and a dozen miles out of -town with the Lord knows but a price set upon his head! - -Once arrived at Tooting, ’twas her intention to double on her tracks, -return with some bumpkin’s load of vegetables to Garret Lane and thence -to foot it across country or by penny’s-worth rides with village folk, -reaching the neighborhood of Kennaston, perhaps late that night; or, if -she should be compelled to sleep under some friendly farmer’s roof, at -least by the next high noon. - -But Her Ladyship reckoned, if not without her hosts, most decidedly -without taking count of the weary beast that dragged her, nor yet of any -possible fellow-guests she might encounter on arriving at the Queen and -Artichoke at Tooting. - -It was nightfall, when, limp and unnerved, possibly for the very first -time in her life conscious of such physical conditions, the clown pulled -her up before the inn in order to allow her to alight. Bundle under arm; -feet and legs, up to calves, well bespattered with mud from the reek of -her passage across London Bridge afoot; wig somewhat tangled for all -that she had slipped her wig comb out of pocket and essayed to smooth it -a bit; sleeves upturned, cloak dragging over her arm to heels,—a sorry, -disheveled-appearing young personage jumped from among a pile of -oat-bags, leathern aprons, chairs, unsold produce, wilted flowers, and -under the askant eyes of ’ostler, boots, barmaid, mistress, and host, -marched boldly into the parlor of the Queen and Artichoke. - -“Was there a chamber to be had?” for Her Ladyship plainly saw she must -lie at Tooting and not proceed on her homeward journey until the morrow. - -There was a chamber; an admission hesitatingly made, even at this modest -hostelry, to a young gentleman arriving without either servant, luggage, -box, horse, coach, or dog, and by means of a vile rickety little cart. -Yet, such was Her Ladyship’s swagger, notwithstanding a full splash of -mud on the tip-end of her handsome little chin, she was presently -conducted to a decent chamber, up-stairs, at the rear, it is true, yet -overlooking the green, where a game of bowls was in progress, and with a -fine trellis, thick with vines, beneath its small-paned window. - -“Was there an ordinary?” - -Oh, the shame and humiliation of it! that the daughter of the Earl of -Exham should be put to such an ebb, instead of ordering the best the -house afforded sent at once to her room. - -Aye, there was an ordinary of two dishes and a pastry at ten-pence, and -it would be ready in the quarter hour. - -“Ten-pence.” - -Her Ladyship had just eleven pence ha’penny left in her purse. - -Yet, thought she, refreshed by a good meal and the leaving of her weapon -as a hostage for her lodging, she would better eat than faint to-night, -whatever might betide on the morrow. - -While she washed her hands, after hiding the bundle under the feather -bed, Her Ladyship heard the ring of horses’ hoofs on the stone pave of -the inn yard; and her quick ear even detected the fact that one of the -steeds went lame. - -She peered out of window and beheld Sir Percy astride of his own long -roan, with Grigson just dismounting from the smoking black. - -“This is cursed luck!” mutters the master, as he himself, out of saddle, -stoops to examine the roan’s much swollen off hind-leg. - -“It is, Sir Percy,” returns the man, “but, by your leave, Sir, it may be -we can hire a mount here, although it don’t look too promisin’.” - -“Unlikely,” says Sir Percy. “The best we can do is to lie in this hole -for the night, and by a hot poultice and a bandage, the roan may be in -condition by to-morrow forenoon.” - -“Very well, Sir; it be a damn poor place of entertainment, Sir Percy, -with an ordinary at ten-pence, Sir.” Grigson’s tone of derision is -marked by the guest who draws close about her face the cotton curtain of -the upper rear chamber window. - -“Will you be pleased to be served in your room, Sir Percy, at once, and -of whatever can be had? What wine, Sir?” - -“Tut, tut, Grigson. I’ll into the ordinary; off with you to the stables -with the roan, rub her down and medicine her, then to your own supper in -the kitchen.” - -“Host,” observes Mr. Grigson, loftily, as that worthy obsequiously -appears in the yard with an attendant train, as is customary in -welcoming persons of quality, “Sir Percy de Bohun has the condescension -to say he will sup in the ordinary, and—” - -Whatever Mr. Grigson’s further remark may have intended to result in, -was, at this crisis, lost to posterity by such a clattering from up on -the high road ’round the corner of the green lane, where nestled the -Queen and Artichoke, that every eye was turned to behold such a cloud of -dust as joyed the soul of Boniface, whose tuned intelligence foresaw a -coach and four horses; in the light of which Sir Percy de Bohun’s -reeking lame roan and ill-kempt aspect faded into almost as much -insignificance as had, long since, the traveler who had arrived in the -clown’s cart. - -Boots alone was left to guide Sir Percy to his apartment, while the rest -made a concerted dash for the yard entrance, just in time to make their -most profound bows and courtesies before the spick little gentleman who -thrust his inquiring little head out of window, keeping his door closed, -as he beckoned the landlord to him with eager heavy eyes well under -cover of his pulled-down hat. - -“What guests have you to-night?” asked the little gentleman. - -At the very moment he was propounding his query, Sir Percy, now sunk to -ignominy even in the eyes of Boots by announcing he would sup at -ten-pence, was being ushered into an upper chamber adjoining the very -one in which sat, dejected, robbed of even the prospect of food by his -presence, Lady Peggy Burgoyne. - -“Very few, My Lord,” answered the host glibly, “the very best chamber on -the first floor with the sitting-room has been kept for Your Lordship,” -applying hand to latch of coach-door, the which, however, is still -firmly held by its occupant. - -“Their names?” asks the little gentleman, while at the fleck of one of -the postilion’s lashes his wheelers begin to prance and advance so far -into the yard as that their racket brings Peggy a second time to her -narrow pane, a-squinting up her eyes to see who this may be. For, in the -midst of her distress, as befalls often enough to all of us, she takes -unconscious note of minor happenings, the which, those who study such -matters affirm to be proof of the two-sided condition of men’s minds. - -“Your guests’ names?” reiterates the small gentleman, as, followed by -the cortège of dame, maid, man, dog, cat, and tame magpie, the coach -comes to a halt within excellent range of Her Ladyship’s coign of -vantage and earshot. “I must know them before I alight.” - -“Well, My Lord, there’s Mr. Bigge, the Curate from Risley Commons, as -stops over here on his way to Finchley every week; Mr. Blunt, the -traveling tailor; His Grace the Duke of Courtleigh’s own man, off on his -holiday; Mr. Townes and his new married wife a-goin’ to settle in the -lodge at the Manor-house; a young spark drabbled with mud and havin’ no -boxes and no servants, what arrived by means of a market cart just anon, -and Sir Percy de Bohun, a fine gentleman what’s just ridden in the yard -before Your Lordship’s coach, but”— - -“Who?” The little gentleman turned green in his pallor, and shot back in -his cushions with a gasp. - -“Not much of any account, My Lord, I’m thinking, since Jenny here tells -me he sups at the ordinary; of course Your Lordship’ll be served in your -own sitting-room and dame and myself to humbly wait upon you.” - -“Hold your tongue!” says the little man, gathering his scattered wits -and pausing to think, while his steeds paw noisily on the cobble -pavement. - -Peggy, at the pane, almost laughs as she regards the shrinking weazened -visage. - -“Sir Robert McTart!” she says to herself, shaking her head at the little -vixen. “’Tis indeed a merry fate that puts me and Percy and you all -under one roof this night. That is, if his presence don’t fright you -into a gallop!” - -Sir Percy himself, also for a second standing moodily at his casement, -could and did behold thence Sir Robin’s restive and hungry leaders, and -had a passing wonder as to what the devil brought any gentleman to stop -at such an inn, save as himself, by the misfortune of a nail in his -animal’s foot. - -Sir Robin, however, with that discretion and prudence, not to say -cowardice, which distinguished him, had purposely chosen the Queen and -Artichoke, for, upon second thought, he had determined to sleep in -comfort. - -Sir Robin loved his feathers and quilts of a night far better than the -jolt of ruts and ditches, and dreaded highwaymen more than even the -pangs of delayed love-making. - -By his choice he had hoped to escape the least chance of an encounter -with Sir Percy, whom he believed to be in hot pursuit of him, and at -this juncture his wise little pate quickly resolved that it were better -for him to alight, gain his chamber, and harbor there in safety until -such time as that Sir Percy should have unsuspectingly proceeded on his -quest. - -“If you can ensure me a perfect privacy; to go unseen to my rooms, a -fair service, and dry linen, with quiet as to cocks and neighbors, I -will remain here for the present,” says Sir Robin, almost taking in Lady -Peggy by the squint of his uncontrollable left eye. - -In a trice, Sir Robin is attended to his bower, and ere long the best in -the larder is laid before him. Sir Percy partakes of the homely fare of -the ordinary; and Her Ladyship sits, unheeding the tardy summons of the -dame, supperless, hungry, fagged, in her tiny room where the warmth from -the kitchen chimney reaches her, and where the goodly smells from Sir -Robin’s fowls, sausages, eggs, and fruit-pie assail her senses. - -Mr. Grigson, doctoring the roan, endeavored with much creditable tact to -get wind of the name or title of the master of the coach, but Sir -Robin’s men had had their lesson, and not a hint was to be got out of -either of them by Mr. Grigson, or by the curious host of the Queen and -Artichoke himself. - -By eleven every candle was out in the house. All the guests, save two, -slept the sleep of the presumably just. - -[Illustration] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - XVII - - _Wherein Her Ladyship slips leash of all mankind, - runs for her life, and finds goal in - the arms of Sir Robin McTart._ - - -These were Peggy and the little Baronet. Her Ladyship, mind made up to -flee in the darkness, leaving six-pence on the table to pay for her -lodgings, even now stood, latch in hand, bundle once more under arm, -still a man, not having dared to change her garments. - -Sir Robin lay ensconced betwixt the quilts; the realizing sense that his -mortal enemy, one who sought his life, who coveted His Lady—from whom he -was running away, to be veracious,—lay not many yards off him, seeming -to banish that restful repose that had seldom hitherto forsaken this -worthy and exemplary little person. - -A mouse squeaked, and Sir Robin shivered; a beetle pattered across the -hearth, his hair stood on end. - -Surely a footstep sounded in the hallway; the boards creaked; something -metallic struck against the panel of his door, and he sprang from his -couch and chattered to his sword. - -Lady Peggy’s blade had struck the woodwork as she made her way -stealthily down in the darkness; while Sir Robin shook, she gained the -lower end of the hall but, not being acquainted with its ways and -turnings, above all, having forgot the two broad steps that cut the -straight road to the entrance in two, Her Ladyship, with much clanking -of her weapon on the brick flooring, fell sprawling; her bundle shooting -off into the unseen, she up on hands and knees, hither, yon, seeking it; -Sir Robin beating on his wainscot such a tattoo as was fit to wake the -dead, shrieking, from the safe shelter of the muffling pillows where he -huddled: - -“Murder! Thieves! Ho there! Landlord! Tom! James! Ho there, I say! Help! -Help!” - -Sir Percy, out of his four-post up-stairs in a flash, tinder struck, -door flung open; in night-rail and cap, with rapier drawn, hanger -uplifted, and— - -“’Sdeath! What the devil is the matter!” cries he at top of lung. “Speak -or I’ll fire!” and down the stair he plunges to Sir Robin’s very sill. - -This one, having successfully summoned those more doughty than himself -to cope with the supposed danger, now recognizing Sir Percy’s voice, -shivers and sweats as he cowers and pulls the counterpane over his head, -grasping his purse in his sharp little fingers; wisely never undoing of -his door. - -“Speak or I’ll fire,” repeats Sir Percy, whose candle has been blown out -by the draught. He takes a few steps down the hallway where he hears the -curious scratching noise Her Ladyship is making as she distractedly -feels around for the bundle. - -At last she grasps it and creeps up unwittingly to Sir Percy’s very -side; _de facto_ her arm grazes his as she now raises herself to a -standing posture, exactly as her lover, no answer being vouchsafed him, -pulls his trigger and the ball goes a-whizzing through Sir Robin’s door -panel and finds lodgement in the chimney bricks. - -Peggy, her customary composure being much the worse for hunger and the -general excitement, jumps when the shot pops, and thus inadvertently now -palpably touches Percy’s elbow. He turns upon her and seizes her wrists -in a grip of steel; she, as tightly hugging the bundle under her armpit, -utters no sound, but wriggles and twists to such a purpose that she is -about to get free when her opponent renews his endeavors with an oath. - -“Speak!” says he, “or I’ll brain you!” making to hold Peg’s two hands -prisoner in one of his, the while he may seize his rapier and put a -finish to the matter. - -She does not speak, but to the scene jump now the heavy cumbrous -country-folk, rattled out of their deep slumber by Sir Percy’s ball and -no less by the piercing and prolonged shrieks of Sir Robin, each Colin -Clout and Dowsabel of ’em, armed with whatever they could catch; yet, -luckily for Her Ladyship, no one of them with sense enough to fetch a -candle. - -“A light! a light! you damnable idiots!” cried Sir Percy, while Her -Ladyship makes a final twist to free herself, fruitless as before. She -feels her ebbing strength at its last pinch and feels, too, the bundle -loosening in her hold. - -Then, as landlord stumbles to his tinder-box, amid an uproar from all -the travelers, especially the new made bride and her spouse, Peggy finds -herself let go, nay, almost thrust aside as her captor ejaculates -testily: - -“Zounds! girl, why did you not proclaim your sex, and not leave me to -find it out by a long wisp of woman’s hair between my fingers? Lights! -Lights! I say! and we’ll get the fellow yet! He must be in the house, -for no one’s left it.” - -Sir Percy has been for the moment meshed in his Lady’s long tresses, -which, in the skirmish, have broke leash of the bundle and dangle out -yard’s length. - -For an instant she stands on the landing at bay. To unbolt the big door -and make an open dash for freedom would mean certain death; to turn up -therefrom and regain her chamber was her sole chance, and this must be -done before a light could be struck. - -She wheeled around and rushed up the hall, up the stairs among the -clustering folk, nudging she knew not whom, skipped along the narrow -rear passage, and into her room before candle flames revealed to the -amazed company that neither bolt, bar, or latch had been disturbed, nor -anything in the house taken! - -Even while they rummaged in the bar-room till, counted the forks and -spoons—pewter though they were, Her Ladyship, tying the luckless bundle -about her waist with a hastily cut bed-cord, cautiously opened the -casement, crawled out on the trellis, which unsteadied a bit beneath her -weight but did not break; clambered in and out the vines to the edge, -and then, lightly, thanks to her twin’s training, swung herself to the -ground clear, crept across the yard, leaped the stone wall, with a bound -and over; flew the width of the meadow; struck the lane, up to the high -road; by the moon, took a southerly course which she knew made for -Kennaston, and paused not much for breath until she had left a matter of -five miles betwixt her and the Queen and Artichoke. - -It was coming three o’clock by this, and, all the little night winds -hushed, all the earth and trees and grasses, flowers, shrubs and weeds -expectant, vibrant of the nearing dawn, whose pink and beauteous herald -now looked over the hill-tops at the east, and put the lingering stars -to shame, and woke the little birds, and bade every drop of dew flash on -cup and blade; and all the things that breathe to grow and pulsate; to -thrill through all their veins with joy that still another day was born. - -Her Ladyship too was glad, for, brave as she had been through all the -brief ordeal of her manhood, this last adventure had broken her spirit a -bit, and hunger and fatigue had sadly weakened her flesh. As the lark -mounted, singing to the now risen sun, she struck in a bit from the road -and began an endeavor to calculate how far she might be from Kennaston -village, or from any place familiar to her. But it was vain to -speculate. Peggy, in all her cross-country rides, could not place the -spot in which she now found herself. - -Food was what she needed most and she came out into the open, shading -her eyes with her hand and looking everywhere about for a curl of smoke -that might guide her to a cottage. But no friendly film greeted her, and -her hand fell listless at her side. - -Hark! The tinkle of a bell, the soft lowing of a cow; not far off -either. She ran a piece up the road and presently descried the herd -huddling at the pasture bars waiting for their milking, yet no maid nor -man in sight, no milking-stool nor pail nor cup, only the soft inviting -lowing of the kine. Her bundle still tied about her waist, Her Ladyship -let down the top bars, edged through, off with her once splendid but now -much tarnished hat, set it under the nearest cow, knelt, and presently -had the cock full of as fine foaming milk as one might wish to see. She -rose and drank thankfully, rubbing the cow’s nose in gratitude; then; -amid the concerted cries of the herd, she made off, a little refreshed, -still keeping her southerly course; still haphazarding her way, for no -house came in sight. - -After a matter of a dozen miles, and now reaching the edge of a woods, -with the tower of a Castle just sticking up out of the horizon for her -only beacon, Peggy halted and, the refreshment of the milk having been -by this exhausted, the tears forced their way to her eyes and even -ploughed two small furrows the length of her cheeks, cupping in the -dimple of her chin, and splashing at last, on her much rumpled Mechlin -lace cravat. - -“Bah!” cried she. “I weep only because I am hungry. I am not afraid. -Odzooks! She that has had the hemp about her neck to be strung up for a -highwayman must not fear to encounter one of her own ilk,” and Her -Ladyship essays to laugh as she plunges into the wood. - -It proves a harmless, peaceful, if somewhat devious neighborhood, where -an occasional rabbit scurries over the dry leaves of last autumn’s -falling, and where a large company of rooks are holding a caucus, but -’tis interminable; and Peggy’s legs are not of steel, it seems, but of -that lusty flesh and blood and bone which, when made to do duty fasting, -now these twenty hours, begin to give out. Her head, too, spins, the -knot of her cravat seems to choke her as she loosens it; the weight of -the bundle appears like twenty stone at the least about her waist, and -she cuts the bed-cord and lets it drop, just for a few moments’ ease, -she tells herself, as, at last, the other side of the forest is gained -and she beholds a wide stretch of downs and naught but the elusive tower -of the distant Castle, appearing farther away even than at first. - -What common can this be? - -Once again she shades her blood-shot eyes and stares up at the sky. In -crossing the woods, she must have struck mistakenly to the west. The sun -is nearing the set, and Peggy now knows she has come to Farnham Heath -where, report has it, some of the boldest cut-throats in the country -rule the roost. - -Shall she start to cross it? Kennaston Village lies only ten miles on -t’other side of it. That will-o’-the-wisp tower? that castle yonder? yes -’tis home! and she such a dullard as not to have mistrusted it before! - -She will push on. Why not? What has she, forsooth, to tempt any thief, -unless he took her for ransom. - -Well, let him, since Percy de Bohun at this very moment, in all -liklihood, kneels at the feet of Lady Diana; if highwaymen want to bear -her off, why should she complain? And just then the tinkle of the little -brook at the wayside beckons in Her Ladyship’s ear, the Castle tower -appears to he dancing up and down against the sky; the two stark trees, -yonder on the heath, are surely turning somersaults; the bundle drags -all forgotten at her heels, and presently lies in the tall grasses which -she threaded on her way to the brook. Her head swam, ten thousand -blunderbusses seemed to be firing off inside of it; she pulled off her -wig and threw it far from her; she unbuttoned her coat and waistcoat, -and drew her cloak in a twist about her; she staggered, caught at an -elder; it swayed with her to the water, as she fell swooning with her -thirsty lips just in touch of the sparkling bubbles; her wan face -shining in the glint of sunshine, the whole round world and all the men -and women in it quite forgot, even her sword, unbuckled with the -bed-cord, now lay glinting its jewels in the sedges half a dozen rods -away. - -A pair of robins eyed her from the bushes, a bee swerved and swung above -her mouth; the minnows darted next her cheek, but My Lady did not wake -for any or all of these. She lay there motionless until the sun had gone -down and all the sweet scents and drowsy sounds and whirrs and flutters -of twilight had come up; until a fine coach with four horses and two -postilions came prancing and pawing at a great rate of speed out of the -wood to the heath. Until a little weazened fine gentleman, who had dozed -in his bed until long past noon for fear of encountering a certain other -gentleman, had risen leisurely, dined with relish, set out from the -Queen and Artichoke only after being assured that the other gentleman -had gone off on a ruined horse back to Garratt Lane in the hopes of -obtaining a suitable mount, which same was not to be had short of the -ten mile return; until the little gentleman, then, thrusting his face -out of his coach window as the vehicle came to a sudden standstill, -spoke: - -“Is this the heath?” he asks with blinking eyes and a shiver. - -“Yes, Sir Robin, Farnham Heath, Sir!” answers one of the postilions. - -“Your pleasure, Sir Robin?” asks the second man respectfully, quieting -his horses. - -“Well,” returns the little Baronet, “if you think can gallop across -faster than those devils could overtake us, I say, proceed. If not—” he -glances back over his shoulder. - -To tell the truth, the gentleman from Kent considered himself as betwixt -two very impending fires, and, ’tis safe to say, he dreaded Sir Percy de -Bohun’s possibility at his back as much, if not more, than he did the -robbers in front of him. - -“We’re in the best condition, Sir,” returned the man, “and fifty minutes -ought to take us out of all chances of danger.” - -“Unless,” replies the master, again casting an apprehensive eye to the -rear, “they might close in on us from behind.” - -“No fear, Sir,” cries the lackey, “our pistols are loaded and cocked; -with your own rapier, pistols and the blunderbuss, Sir Robin, we -should—” - -“What’s that?” exclaims the second man, eyes bulging, as with the handle -of his whip he points to the fallen figure by the brookside. - -“Zounds!” cries the first, rising in his seat to peer. - -“’Sdeath! Damnation!” squeaks Sir Robin, pulling down the coach-sash. -“On with ye, you devils! On, I say!” thumping impatiently on the pane -with his signet ring. - -“No fear, Sir, no fear, Sir Robin!” exclaims the second man, jumping to -the ground and inspecting Her Ladyship. “It’s only a corp.” - -“Are you sure?” opening the door cautiously. “Sure?” - -“Aye, Sir Robin, a quality corp, Sir. Mayhap shot down by them vagabones -out of the heath. Had I best see if there’s any life left in the young -gentleman, Sir?” - -Sir Robin descends from his coach, a pistol in one hand, a drawn rapier -in the other. - -“Keep an eye on the lookout, James,” he whispers to the postilion who -remains in his seat, and the Baronet minces in and out of the tall -grasses, shaking the dew daintily from his sprawling feet, until he -gains the spot, where his man kneels above the prostrate form. - -“Ugh!” says he, turning aside his head in a species of disgust, “I never -could abide the sight of the dead.” - -’Twas the very first time in his life he’d ever had a chance to behold -such! - -“He ain’t quite cold yet, Sir Robin,” says the postilion. “There’s a -flicker to his eye-lids, Sir, look!” - -The Baronet looks; out of his hands tumble rapier and pistol. - -“’Slife!” he cries, down on his knees, feeling at Her Ladyship’s pulse, -pulling his flask from his pocket and trying vainly to pour the liquor -between the firmly shut lips. - -As he tries, the little gentleman’s wits work nimbly, which they could -do on occasions, and, not stopping even to wonder at his discovery, only -to accept instantly as a fact that his Lady had been struck down while -pursuing him, he is so overjoyed at the beauty, sentiment, and -opportuneness of the adventure, as to be scarce able to restrain his -elation, even in the face of a serious swoon. - -“Into the coach at once, James,” he says, raising Her Ladyship’s head -himself, “your gentlest endeavors and a guinea apiece to you,” nodding -to the other, as between them they carry the limp form to the coach, “if -you bring me to Kennaston Castle before curfew.” - -“Never fear, Sir Robin; if the young gentleman only holds out for a -single hour, I swear, Sir, in the teeth of all the highwaymen in the -kingdom, we’ll have you there.” - -“Tut, tut,” says Sir Robin, smiling, no longer restraining an expression -of his happiness and triumph, as he makes ready the rugs and cushions -within to receive the burden James, for the moment, bears alone. - -“’Tis no young gentleman, you rogues, ’tis My Lady Peggy Burgoyne, my -bride that is to be. Wait a moment, Thomas, while I spread this shawl; -and James, look you sharp behind us, for there’s a gentleman in pursuit -of this Lady would kill me on sight if he can.” - -[Illustration] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - XVIII - - _In the which Sir Percy steals a coach and - four and the living contents thereof and - makes off therewith at breakneck - speed for life and death._ - - -At this very moment, two horsemen, sorry mounted enough, especially the -master, are rounding the turn of the woodland path and about to emerge -upon the open next the heath. He who rides the lame roan has his eyes -bent upon the ground, a thousand sad and conflicting thoughts crowding -his brain, as ’tis impossible even to urge his hurt steed, and a -jog-trot is all that can be got out of her ever again. Garratt Lane had -sent him away only with his own again. - -“Sir Percy, with submission, Sir,” exclaims Grigson, “this be Farnham -Heath, Sir, and, ’pon my life, Sir!” jumping from his saddle and darting -to the grassy side of the way, “a rapier, Sir Percy!” picking it up and -dragging with it the straggling bed-cord and its appending bundle. - -Percy leaped to the ground and seized the weapon. - -“Grigson!” cried he, “there’s been foul work hereabouts. This is the -sword of a gentleman I know, or my name’s not Percy de Bohun! He is a -scurvy fellow, and my enemy, but if he has fallen among thieves, by the -heaven above us! I’ll rescue him, even if ’tis to punish him later -according to my own will. Take the rapier.” - -As he hands it back to his man, the bed-cord from the Queen and -Artichoke, being a full century old, gives entirely away and My Lady -Peggy’s duds, long tail of dark hair, pins, needles, whatever else -beside, fall, scatter, topsy-turvy to the ground, and at the very same -moment Percy sees before him, as in a nest among the sedges and ferns of -the marshy brookland, the wig that Her Ladyship had flung off, and a -scrap of tumbled paper addressed to himself, flapping, spiked on a -thistle-top near it! Thunderstruck, he is about to read it, when -Grigson, who has gone on afoot a few steps, starts back, and, reckless -of all things, seizes his master’s arm and drags him to the turn of the -road. - -“Sir Percy! Hist! For the love of God, Sir, look!” - -Thrusting the bit of paper into his waistcoat, Percy gasps and gazes. He -beholds Sir Robin and his man lifting a limp and slender form, -ill-defined, ’tis true, in its swathe of camlet cloak, into the coach; -he beholds a head of dark short hair, a face of ashen pallor, and, in -two seconds more, before he can rush back and leap into his saddle, -motioning Grigson to do the same, the coach containing Sir Robin and his -prize is dashing as fast as whip, spur, sixteen thoroughbred legs, and a -backing-up of wholesome terror can urge it, over the bleak and gruesome -waste of Farnham Heath! - -“’Slife! Grigson, man,” cries Percy, digging steel into the poor roan’s -flanks till they spurt blood in a stream. “We must overtake ’em, unhorse -’em, spill out the wretch inside; I’ll into the coach then to protect -the lady, you mount the leader and gallop us over the heath for your -life!” - -“Trust me, Sir Percy,” answers Grigson from a length behind his master. -“God grant, Sir, that the roan drop not out of the race and leave us but -one saddle betwixt you and me, Sir.” - -“Poor beast,” says Percy, pricking her hard and striking her shoulder -with the flat of his rapier. “She’ll die, and in a good cause if she -gain me the goal.” - -And all the while they’re speaking, flash and crack go the whips of Sir -Robin’s postilions, and Sir Robin’s splendid beasts cover the ground -with a swing and a will that keeps the coach rocking, but yet awakens -not Lady Peggy, whose dark cropped head reposes on the crooked shoulder -of Sir Robin, while her white eyelids remain sealed and no quiver of -returning consciousness thrills about her drawn and bloodless lips. - -“Gad!” exclaims Percy, as he beholds the vehicle swinging and spinning -farther and farther from him, and as Grigson’s black now is up nose and -nose with his own expiring mare. “Gad, girl,” bending his lips to the -roan’s laid-back ear, “go on! help me to save her! to reach her; go on, -I say, in God’s name!” - -As if the faithful creature comprehended her master’s entreaty, with -that not uncommon last flash of superhuman strength that inheres in man -and beast alike, the roan raised her fine head in the air, pricked her -ears, stretched out her neck, gathered herself up with a twitch of her -nerves that thrilled to her rider’s heart, and off! as in her best days, -when she could distance the fleetest mount in the county; off, with the -whirl and whirr of those coach-wheels beckoning to her; off, with that -pair of straining eyes, those parted lips, blessing her as she began to -gain on Sir Robin,—began to? nay, ’twas all a matter of beginning and -ending in a breath. Before the postilions, amid their own clatter and -calling, had caught hint of the pursuit, the roan was up with the -windows out of which the apprehensive little Baronet was peering; his -scream of terror: - -“Highwaymen! Faster! On! lads, on! A hundred pounds if we outrun ’em! -On!” was their first advertisement of danger. - -But while the two were drawing their hangers from their belts, Sir -Percy, with a swerving dash, pulled the roan on her hind legs directly -in front of the galloping leaders. ’Twas but an interposition of -Providence (coupled with very excellent cool-headed horsemanship) that -he was not then and there dispatched into the hereafter. - -The leaders plunged, grinding the wheelers with their hind hoofs; the -wheelers fell back of a heap, smashing in the fine front glass and -cutting Sir Robin across the lip, but not so much as waking his burden -from her deathlike sleep. - -“Down with ye!” cries Sir Percy, a pistol in each hand, as Grigson rides -up with another brace to reinforce his master, putting a hand as well to -the quieting of the coach horses. - -“Aye, aye, Sir! but spare our lives and we’ll do your bidding!” cry Sir -Robin’s lackeys, leaping to the ground. - -“We’ve not a groat betwixt us, Your Honor, on our life!” - -“I want no groats, nor guineas either!” says Percy, now leaving his man -to cover the steeds and the postilions, while he jumps off the roan’s -back and springs to the side of the coach. - -To wrest the door from the feeble clutch of the shrieking little -gentleman from Kent; to open it; seize him, stopping his frantic and -craven cries with a thrust of a pocket napkin in his mouth; to haul him -out and send him spinning over the turf with his gold and silver -scattering from purse and pockets, is, with Sir Percy, the work of a -very few seconds. - -“Mercy! Mercy! Mr. Highwayman!” whimpers the Baronet, cringing on his -knees, as Grigson lifts himself up on the off leader’s back and Percy -props the swooning figure within the coach. - -“’Slife, Sir, whoever you are! Raise your eyes! I am Sir Percy de Bohun, -at your service any time three hours hence.” - -Sir Robin glances up, his crooked little legs now bowing more into an -arc than before, as he hears the dread name of his rival. - -Clapping hand to hilt, however, he stands up. - -“Sir,” says he, pushed into a valiance he has no smallest sympathy with, -solely from fear that Lady Peggy may have open ears by this time. “Sir, -that Lady is my affianced. I command you, quit her and leave us to -pursue our journey in peace. D’ye hear, Sir?” Sir Robin brandishes his -weapon, now reinforced by the approach of his servants. “I’ll stick you -where you stand, Sir!” shouts McTart, prancing a bit nearer and actually -touching Percy’s shoulder with the point of his weapon,—be it remembered -de Bohun’s back was toward him as he leaned into the coach arranging the -cushions. - -“Will you!” says Sir Percy, coolly turning and seizing the little man’s -blade and administering therewith to its owner a smart box on his -out-flapping ears. “Had I time to waste,” adds Percy, now jumping into -the coach, “I’d leave your carcass here. Put up your pistol, Sir,” says -he, aiming his own straight at Sir Robin’s now un-wigged pate, “or, damn -you! you’ll be cold inside a second. On with you, Grigson,” calls master -to man. “Life and death are in this matter. If the four beasts, and you, -too, drop at the finish, get us to Kennaston faster than the wind -travels.” - -Even while he speaks, he watches the still white face so near him with -his finger on his trigger, Sir Robin discreetly backing away and rending -the air with noisy and impotent curses; then a plunge, a long, -resounding call from Grigson; the two lackeys agog at finding themselves -alive, Sir Robin’s coach starts on as if the very devil himself were in -its wake. - -Percy does not draw Peggy to him; he lays her back among the pillows; he -bathes her head and lips and hands with liquor from his flask; he holds -the slender fingers in his palm, as, amid awful terror lest his Lady -die, he is racked with consternation and wonder at the present outcome, -and in his distraught mind endeavors to patch and piece out the strange -network of the mystery now beginning to solve itself before his eyes. - -As he prays God to spare her, if not for him, for some better man, a -shrill, weird sound smites his ear. - -Percy throws back his head and listens; ’tis the long roan neighing for -the last time back on Farnham Heath, where Sir Robin, picking up his -money, dejectedly shivering like an aspen (since he would rake hell with -a nail to secure a ha’penny, and fairly weeps at the six-pences he can’t -recover), presently and ruefully, one of his men behind him, pillion -fashion, t’other running at his side, turns back to Tooting on top of -Grigson’s black, his fox teeth chattering in his wide mouth as he -congratulates himself on his second and miraculous escape from the -famous Sir Percy de Bohun. - -’Twas, in sooth, for this latter a bitterly sad hour which was spent in -covering the distance between the heath and the Castle. Revived a bit, -no doubt by the fumes of the liquor, Her Ladyship’s lids quivered, -contracted, and finally opened, but it was with a distraught and -unrecognizing stare that she surveyed her companion. - -“’S death!” cries she aloud, her feeble right hand seeking her -sword-side, “I tell ye, Chock, your mistress is now full-fledged a man! -Hist, girl, an you love me, keep it close. Sir Percy’s wed to Lady -Diana! Aye!” Peggy laughs with such a heart-break in her voice and such -tears in her winkers as causes Percy a pang of cruelest misery. - -“Tut, tut, Chock! What’s his marriage to me? Fetch the pack, Mr. -Brummell; aye, I’m at your service, loo, crimp, or whist! I, Sir Robin -McTart, ’ll lay you a thousand to nothing! Zounds! Sir, fetch coffee to -stain my face with! and where, oh, where’s my precious bundle with my -woman’s duds in’t, my patch-box that I burned, and the long tail of my -hair I cut off when you, Chock, bought me the counterfeit of Sir Robin’s -own wig at the perruquier’s in Lark Lane. Aye! So!—No! No! No!” and now -a shiver and a lower tone, as Lady Peggy, with her wide wild eyes, -shrank back in the far corner of the jolting coach. - -“My Lady Mother,—I command you, Chock, tell her not of my escapades; and -when Percy comes home with his bride, swear him, as will I, I was off -pleasuring in Kent at my godmother’s. Mother! Mother!” cries she, -piteously now, as Percy’s arms enfold her, and a thousand fond words -jostle each other on his lips. - -Then she sinks into the stupor again, and remains so until the great -coach rolls through the park and up to the entrance of her home; until -Percy, with few words, lays her in the stout arms of the faithful -Chockey and sees her mother bending above her; her father distract in -his night-rail and cap; cook wailing, being from Kerry and prompt at any -sort of hubbub; Bickers’ toothless mouth agape with groans; sees his -Lady carried up, limp, little hands down-hanging, to her chamber out of -his sight. - -Sir Percy leaves Peggy’s bundle, which he had gathered up as best he -could and slung about his shoulders, on the table in the hall. The -little scrap of paper he carries away with him and reads when he reaches -home that night; ’tis Her Ladyship’s note to him, written on the -fly-leaf of the prayer-book of the young Curate of Brook-Armsleigh -Village. As he scans it, presses it to his lips, sits until dawn, -remembering many things since he parted from his Lady long ago in the -parlor at Kennaston, the most of the mystery is unraveled by light of -the scrawl; and the delirium of his joy at knowing himself to have been -in her heart almost equals the mad anxiety that consumes him now as to -her life and well-being. - -[Illustration] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -[Illustration] - - - - - XIX - - _Which sets forth how My Lady Peggy recovers - of her illness—gets once more into - hoops and petticoats—and puts - a very fine and noble young - gentleman into an - earthly paradise._ - - -Until midsummer he rides over to Kennaston twice each day, morning and -night, to find out how it fares with her, and ’twas not until then that -the Earl gave him hopes he might see her, perhaps within the se’ennight. - -Notes there had been, daily, as soon as Chockey had let him know that -her mistress was in her head once more, and the two surgeons, down from -London, had pronounced Her Ladyship on the mend; notes, and flowers and -fruits, and game and fish to tempt her appetite; a little dog from -Pomerania; a Persian boy to wait upon her whims; a mare, as white as -milk; sweetmeats from the Indies; damasks from China and France; shells -and curious beadwork slippers from the American Colonies—whither, it is -needless to say, a certain good ship had sailed, leaving a certain young -gentleman behind—all these things, and many more besides, were offered -up at Her Ladyship’s shrine, but never yet had she been able to bring -herself to scribble one line to her suitor, or to send any message, save -polite civilities by Chockey. - -’Twas only after the buxom damsel (having the night previous heard from -Grigson that his master was like to die of suspense, and having imparted -the same to Her Ladyship), together with the Lady Mother and the Earl, -had argued and preached into her the great and chivalrous devotion of -Sir Percy, that Peggy at last had brought her mind into a condition of -acquiescing in his coming up to her morning-room on the Thursday (being -St. James’s Day) after the sixth Sunday after Trinity; which same she -carefully marked in her prayer-book with a dab of the crimson her mother -sent in to beautify her pale cheeks with, against Sir Percy’s advent. - -“Oh, slitterkins! Madam,” cries the Abigail under her breath, “and -asking Your Ladyship’s pardon, but how can I do up Your Ladyship’s hair -an’ it no longer than the peltry of a meadow-mouse!” - -“True enough, Jane Chockey,” replies her mistress, contemplating her -countenance in the mirror. “Of a fact, I resemble nothing so much as one -of those weazen little vermin; my nose is sharp, too, and my cheeks—” - -“Stay, My Lady,” says Chock, taking up the rouge, and putting on layer -after layer. “Who’ll say Your Ladyship ain’t handsome now? Lawk, Madam! -You look like an angel! What a blessing of Providence the French is with -their nostrums!” - -Peggy regards herself. - -“Now, My Lady,” cries Chockey, “would you but borrow your Lady Mother’s -worked head, a cup of powder, and Her Ladyship’s pink feathers atop of -it! What a sight would you be for Sir Percy to behold!” - -Peggy shakes her head. The three feet of wire, wool, pommade, frizz and -plumage the hand-maiden suggests, even causes her to laugh aloud as she -figures it above her own face. - -“Nay, Chock, none o’ that!” says she, “I’ll do as I am. Sir Percy has -seen my cropped head; faith, he ’twas, you tell me, that fetched the -tail of my locks to Kennaston in his saddle-pocket, or tied upon him -somewhere?” - -“Aye, My Lady, Mr. Grigson says never, since Adam and Eve began courtin’ -under the fig-tree, has any young nobleman been seen in such a frenzy as -Sir Percy about Your Ladyship. Lawk, Lady Peggy! When a young gentleman -goes off his feed, ceases swearin’ and cursin’ his man, and stops down -in the country nigh three months in the season, a-readin’ loud to his -deaf aunt, there ain’t no sort of doubt as to the quality of his -passion!” - -Her Ladyship smiles as she spreads her train and glances at it over her -shoulder. - -“Chock,” says she, “look you, now, while I cross the room; does the -paduasoy stand out well over my hoop?” - -“Like the dish-clout, My Lady, when I spreads it to dry over one of the -biggest hen-coops. ’Tis monstrous fine, finer, I should swear, than -anything Lady Diana could have!” Chockey sighs, lost in admiration. -“Though belike Lord Kennaston wouldn’t think so.” - -“And, Chock, look again.” Her Ladyship crosses back to the divan. “’Tis -thus the town ladies give the true quality sweep to their trains. Give -me the trinket Sir Percy sent me last night.” Peggy takes a fan of most -beautiful feathers from a mother-of-pearl box and waves it back and -forth. “’Tis so, Chock, the London fine ladies flutter the fan, as ’tis -called, and every wriggle hath a different meaning!” - -“Oh!” Chockey is well-nigh speechless as she watches her mistress -sidling, bridling, agitating the fan back, forth, hither, and yon. -“Madam, ’tis amazin’ grand! A glass of port now, My Lady, as by the -orders of the surgeons?” - -“Nay,” says Peggy, “I ain’t in need of such.” - -“A mug of ale? cider? milk?” - -“I’ll none of ’em, Chock,” returns Her Ladyship, seating herself on the -divan, and spreading out the paduasoy as ’twere a tail and she the -peacock owning it. - -“Set my _étui_ beside me on the stand; place that large chair far off -yonder by the window for Sir Percy, that he may not disturb my -furbelows, and—” - -“Hark, Madam! Hoofs!” - -“Lud!” cries Her Ladyship, “his new horse’s hoofs! I’ve learned the ring -of ’em as well as I once knew that of the poor long roan.” Peggy sighs; -she has heard much during her convalescence by way of Mr. Grigson and -the Abigail. - -“Go you down, Chock, and, after a suitable period of waiting,—I mean -such decent few minutes,” cries she after the girl, “as may be occupied -in dutiful greetings to Dad and Her Ladyship, you may send Sir Percy up -to see me.” - -She hears his voice in the hall greeting her father and mother; she -glances over at the mirror, and, snatching her pocket-napkin from her -bag, Peggy tips it to the top of the essence-bottle and rubs the red -from her cheeks; she flings the fan down, draws in her splendid train to -a crumpled heap about her, gives the hoop as smart a thrust as her -feeble strength will permit, hears a footstep, and promptly buries her -shamed face in the cushions of the divan. - -She does not answer the light rap on the half-open door, nor does her -lover wait; he enters, and in a second, kneeling at her feet, his two -arms about her, he raises her sweet face and lays his yearning lips on -Her Ladyship’s own beautiful mouth. - -“Ah, Peggy, my adored one,” says he, devouring her pale face with his -happy eyes, stroking her cropped head with caressing fingers. - -“Oh, Percy!” says she, with real roses blooming in her cheeks. - -[Illustration: Ah, Peggy, my adored one...] - -“I know a deal,” whispers he, “but one thing I must ask. You’ll tell me -at once, will you?” - -“What is’t?” says she, smiling, as she leaves her two hands in the hold -of one of his. - -“Why did you adventure so much? for what, for whom, whose sake? -Wherefore?” The young man’s voice is feverish with anxiety. - -She hangs her head; raises it proudly; wishes she had him at a distance, -and so, leave to swing her train and use her fan indifferent. - -“My beloved,” cries he, “answer me! ’Tis your own Percy, him that -worships the ground you tread upon; who has never had a thought apart -from you; to whom every other lady on God’s earth’s but a puppet—that -asks—eh, Peg, for whom, who?” coaxes he with eyes, lips, hands, -heart-beats. - -“For your sake, Sir, and none other,” she answers. “’Twas because I knew -I’d done wrong and sent you from me careless; I would not give in; but, -you up in town, Ken writin’ me as he did—I could abide it no longer—and -I went.” - -“Now the God above us, bless you,” says he, taking her in his arms, and -at the same instant pulling from his waistcoat pocket the scrap of a -note she’d written him in the eye of the scaffold. - -“Peg, Peg! I’m not worthy to mate with you, and when I learned of all -your hairbreadth ’scapes, your twice saving of my life—when I read this, -’slife! My Lady, what’s a man like me to such as you!” - -“I’ll tell you,” says she, laying her head on his shoulder, “he’s the -man she loves.” - -“Will you marry me in a fortnight, Peggy?” asks he, rapturous. - -“Nay!” answers she, laughing. “I’ve another suitor to consider, Sir.” - -“And who is he?” - -“Sir Robin McTart! He was over yesterday to ask my hand from Daddy.” - -“The devil!” - -“Nay, Sir, not enough courage for that!” - -“Peggy, sweetlips, will you be mine the Tuesday after Transfiguration?” - -“Lud! No, Sir Percy! that will I not!” - -“When will you, then, love?” - -“Next Christmas.” - -“Split it,” cries he, imploringly, “make it the first quarter of the -October moon?” - -“Well,” she answers, looking up to where her father and mother stand in -the doorway, “an Daddy and my Lady Mother consent, you shall have your -way, Sir.” - -The young man glances up, following Peggy’s eyes, springs to his feet, -raises her from the old divan and leads her before them. - -“My Lord and Your Ladyship,” says he, “will you consent, as Peggy has, -to our being made man and wife on October the fifth? and will you give -My Lady and my unworthy self your blessing?” - -They kneel down and the Earl puts out his hands above their heads; the -words stumble, for there are drops in his old eyes, as he looks and -beholds about their faces that most splendid of all aureoles, the light -of love and faith, honor with youth, and hope and wholesome minds to -guide. - -[Illustration] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - A FEW OF - GROSSET & DUNLAP’S - Great Books at Little Prices - NEW, CLEVER, ENTERTAINING. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -GRET: The Story of a Pagan. By Beatrice Mantle. Illustrated by C.M. - Relyea. - -The wild free life of an Oregon lumber camp furnishes the setting for -this strong original story. Gret is the daughter of the camp and is -utterly content with the wild life—until love comes. A fine book, -unmarred by convention. - -OLD CHESTER TALES. By Margaret Deland. Illustrated by Howard Pyle. - -A vivid yet delicate portrayal of characters in an old New England town. - -Dr. Lavendar’s fine, kindly wisdom is brought to bear upon the lives of -all, permeating the whole volume like the pungent odor of pine, -healthful and life giving. “Old Chester Tales” will surely be among the -books that abide. - -THE MEMOIRS OF A BABY. By Josephine Daskam. Illustrated by F.Y. Cory. - -The dawning intelligence of the baby was grappled with by its great -aunt, an elderly maiden, whose book knowledge of babies was something at -which even the infant himself winked. A delicious bit of humor. - -REBECCA MARY. By Annie Hamilton Donnell. Illustrated by Elizabeth - Shippen Green. - -The heart tragedies of this little girl with no one near to share them, -are told with a delicate art, a keen appreciation of the needs of the -childish heart and a humorous knowledge of the workings of the childish -mind. - -THE FLY ON THE WHEEL. By Katherine Cecil Thurston. Frontispiece by - Harrison Fisher. - -An Irish story of real power, perfect in development and showing a true -conception of the spirited Hibernian character as displayed in the -tragic as well as the tender phases of life. - -THE MAN FROM BRODNEY’S. By George Barr McCutcheon. Illustrated by - Harrison Fisher. - -An island in the South Sea is the setting for this entertaining tale, -and an all-conquering hero and a beautiful princess figure in a most -complicated plot. One of Mr. McCutcheon’s best books. - -TOLD BY UNCLE REMUS. By Joel Chandler Harris. Illustrated by A.B. Frost, - J.M. Conde and Frank Verbeck. - -Again Uncle Remus enters the fields of childhood, and leads another -little boy to that non-locatable land called “Brer Rabbit’s Laughing -Place,” and again the quaint animals spring into active life and play -their parts, for the edification of a small but appreciative audience. - -THE CLIMBER. By E.F. Benson. With frontispiece. - -An unsparing analysis of an ambitious woman’s soul—a woman who believed -that in social supremacy she would find happiness, and who finds instead -the utter despair of one who has chosen the things that pass away. - -LYNCH’S DAUGHTER. By Leonard Merrick. Illustrated by Geo. Brehm. - -A story of to-day, telling how a rich girl acquires ideals of beautiful -and simple living, and of men and love, quite apart from the teachings -of her father, “Old Man Lynch” of Wall St. True to life, clever in -treatment. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - GROSSETT & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26TH ST., NEW YORK - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - GROSSET & DUNLAP’S - DRAMATIZED NOVELS - A Few that are Making Theatrical History - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -MARY JANE’S PA. By Norman Way. Illustrated with scenes from the play. - -Delightful, irresponsible “Mary Jane’s Pa” awakes one morning to find -himself famous, and, genius being ill adapted to domestic joys, he -wanders from home to work out his own unique destiny. One of the most -humorous bits of recent fiction. - -CHERUB DEVINE. By Sewell Ford. - -“Cherub,” a good hearted but not over refined young man is brought in -touch with the aristocracy. Of sprightly wit, he is sometimes a -merciless analyst, but he proves in the end that manhood counts for more -than ancient lineage by winning the love of the fairest girl in the -flock. - -A WOMAN’S WAY. By Charles Somerville. Illustrated with scenes from the - play. - -A story in which a woman’s wit and self-sacrificing love save her -husband from the toils of an adventuress, and change an apparently -tragic situation into one of delicious comedy. - -THE CLIMAX. By George C. Jenks. - -With ambition luring her on, a young choir soprano leaves the little -village where she was born and the limited audience of St. Jude’s to -train for the opera in New York. She leaves love behind her and meets -love more ardent but not more sincere in her new environment. How she -works, how she studies, how she suffers, are vividly portrayed. - -A FOOL THERE WAS. By Porter Emerson Browne. Illustrated by Edmund - Magrath and W.W. Fawcett. - -A relentless portrayal of the career of a man who comes under the -influence of a beautiful but evil woman; how she lures him on and on, -how he struggles, falls and rises, only to fall again into her net, make -a story of unflinching realism. - -THE SQUAW MAN. By Julie Opp Faversham and Edwin Milton Royle. - Illustrated with scenes from the play. - -A glowing story, rapid in action, bright in dialogue with a fine -courageous hero and a beautiful English heroine. - -THE GIRL IN WAITING. By Archibald Eyre. Illustrated with scenes from the - play. - -A droll little comedy of misunderstandings, told with a light touch, a -venturesome spirit and an eye for human oddities. - -THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL. By Baroness Orczy. Illustrated with scenes from - the play. - -A realistic story of the days of the French Revolution, abounding in -dramatic incident, with a young English soldier of fortune, daring, -mysterious as the hero. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26TH ST., NEW YORK - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - A FEW OF - GROSSET & DUNLAP’S - Great Books at Little Prices - -CY WHITTAKER’S PLACE. By Joseph C. Lincoln. Illustrated by Wallace - Morgan. - -A Cape Cod story describing the amusing efforts of an elderly bachelor -and his two cronies to rear and educate a little girl. Full of honest -fun—a rural drama. - -THE FORGE IN THE FOREST. By Charles G.D. Roberts. Illustrated by H. - Sandham. - -A story of the conflict in Acadia after its conquest by the British. A -dramatic picture that lives and shines with the indefinable charm of -poetic romance. - -A SISTER TO EVANGELINE. By Charles G.D. Roberts. Illustrated by E. - McConnell. - -Being the story of Yvonne de Lamourie, and how she went into exile with -the villagers of Grand Prè. Swift action, fresh atmosphere, wholesome -purity, deep passion and searching analysis characterize this strong -novel. - -THE OPENED SHUTTERS. By Clara Louise Burnham. Frontispiece by Harrison - Fisher. - -A summer haunt on an island in Casco Bay is the background for this -romance. A beautiful woman, at discord with life, is brought to realize, -by her new friends, that she may open the shutters of her soul to the -blessed sunlight of joy by casting aside vanity and self love. A -delicately humorous work with a lofty motive underlying it all. - -THE RIGHT PRINCESS. By Clara Louise Burnham. - -An amusing story, opening at a fashionable Long Island resort, where a -stately Englishwoman employs a forcible New England housekeeper to serve -in her interesting home. How types so widely apart react on each others’ -lives, all to ultimate good, makes a story both humorous and rich in -sentiment. - -THE LEAVEN OF LOVE. By Clara Louise Burnham. Frontispiece by Harrison - Fisher. - -At a Southern California resort a world-weary woman, young and beautiful -but disillusioned, meets a girl who has learned the art of living—of -tasting life in all its richness, opulence and joy. The story hinges -upon the change wrought in the soul of the blasè woman by this glimpse -into a cheery life. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26TH ST., NEW YORK - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - A FEW OF - GROSSET & DUNLAP’S - Great Books at Little Prices - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -QUINCY ADAMS SAWYER. A Picture of New England Home Life. With - illustrations by C.W. Reed, and Scenes Reproduced from the Play. - -One of the best New England stories ever written. It is full of homely -human interest * * * there is a wealth of New England village character, -scenes and incidents * * * forcibly, vividly and truthfully drawn. Few -books have enjoyed a greater sale and popularity. Dramatized, it made -the greatest rural play of recent times. - -THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF QUINCY ADAMS SAWYER. By Charles Felton Pidgin. - Illustrated by Henry Roth. - -All who love honest sentiment, quaint and sunny humor, and homespun -philosophy will find these “Further Adventures” a book after their own -heart. - -HALF A CHANCE. By Frederic S. Isham. Illustrated by Herman Pfeifer. - -The thrill of excitement will keep the reader in a state of suspense, -and he will become personally concerned from the start, as to the -central character, a very real man who suffers, dares—and achieves! - -VIRGINIA OF THE AIR LANES. By Herbert Quick. Illustrated by William R. - Leigh. - -The author has seized the romantic moment for the airship novel, and -created the pretty story of “a lover and his lass” contending with an -elderly relative for the monopoly of the skies. An exciting tale of -adventure in midair. - -THE GAME AND THE CANDLE. By Eleanor M. Ingram. Illustrated by P.D. - Johnson. - -The hero is a young American, who, to save his family from poverty, -deliberately commits a felony. Then follow his capture and imprisonment, -and his rescue by a Russian Grand Duke. A stirring story, rich in -sentiment. - -WHEN A MAN MARRIES. By Mary Roberts Rinehart. Illustrated by Harrison - Fisher and Mayo Bunker. - -A young artist, whose wife had recently divorced him, finds that a visit -is due from his Aunt Selina, an elderly lady having ideas about things -quite apart from the Bohemian set in which her nephew is a shining -light. The way in which matters are temporarily adjusted forms the motif -of the story. - -A farcical extravaganza, dramatized under the title of “Seven Days” - -THE FASHIONABLE ADVENTURES OF JOSHUA CRAIG. By David Graham Phillips. - Illustrated. - -A young westerner, uncouth and unconventional, appears in political and -social life in Washington. He attains power in politics, and a young -woman of the exclusive set becomes his wife, undertaking his education -in social amenities. - -“DOC.” GORDON. By Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman. Illustrated by Frank T. - Merrill. - -Against the familiar background of American town life, the author -portrays a group of people strangely involved in a mystery. “Doc.” -Gordon, the one physician of the place, Dr. Elliot, his assistant, a -beautiful woman and her altogether charming daughter are all involved in -the plot. A novel of great interest. - -HOLY ORDERS. By Marie Corelli. - -A dramatic story, in which is pictured a clergyman in touch with society -people, stage favorites, simple village folk, powerful financiers and -others, each presenting vital problems to this man “in holy -orders”—problems that we are now struggling with in America. - -KATRINE. By Elinor Macartney Lane. With frontispiece. - -Katrine, the heroine of this story, is a lovely Irish girl, of lowly -birth, but gifted with a beautiful voice. - -The narrative is based on the facts of an actual singer’s career, and -the viewpoint throughout is a most exalted one. - -THE FORTUNES OF FIFI. By Molly Elliot Seawell. Illustrated by T. de - Thulstrup. - -A story of life in France at the time of the first Napoleon. Fifi, a -glad, mad little actress of eighteen, is the star performer in a third -rate Parisian theatre. A story as dainty as a Watteau painting. - -SHE THAT HESITATES. By Harris Dickson. Illustrated by C.W. Relyea. - -The scene of this dashing romance shifts from Dresden to St. Petersburg -in the reign of Peter the Great, and then to New Orleans. - -The hero is a French Soldier of Fortune, and the princess, who -hesitates—but you must read the story to know how she that hesitates may -be lost and yet saved. - -THE MUSIC MASTER. By Charles Klein. Illustrated by John Rae. - -This marvelously vivid narrative turns upon the search of a German -musician in New York for his little daughter. Mr. Klein has well -portrayed his pathetic struggle with poverty, his varied experiences in -endeavoring to meet the demands of a public not trained to an -appreciation of the classic, and his final great hour when, in the -rapidly shifting events of a big city, his little daughter, now a -beautiful young woman, is brought to his very door. A superb bit of -fiction, palpitating with the life of the great metropolis. The play in -which David Warfield scored his highest success. - -DR. LAVENDAR’S PEOPLE. By Margaret Deland. - -Mrs. Deland won so many friends through Old Chester Tales that this -volume needs no introduction beyond its title. The lovable doctor is -more ripened in this later book, and the simple comedies and tragedies -of the old village are told with dramatic charm. - -OLD CHESTER TALES. By Margaret Deland. Illustrated by Howard Pyle. - -Stories portraying with delightful humor and pathos a quaint people in a -sleepy old town. Dr. Lavendar, a very human and lovable “preacher,” is -the connecting link between these dramatic stories from life. - -HE FELL IN LOVE WITH HIS WIFE. By E.P. Roe. With frontispiece. - -The hero is a farmer—a man with honest, sincere views of life. Bereft of -his wife, his home is cared for by a succession of domestics of varying -degrees of inefficiency until, from a most unpromising source, comes a -young woman who not only becomes his wife but commands his respect and -eventually wins his love. A bright and delicate romance, revealing on -both sides a love that surmounts all difficulties and survives the -censure of friends as well as the bitterness of enemies. - -THE YOKE. By Elizabeth Miller. - -Against the historical background of the days when the children of -Israel were delivered from the bondage of Egypt, the author has sketched -a romance of compelling charm. A biblical novel as great as any since -“Ben Hur.” - -SAUL OF TARSUS. By Elizabeth Miller. Illustrated by André Castaigne. - -The scenes of this story are laid in Jerusalem, Alexandria, Rome and -Damascus. The Apostle Paul, the Martyr Stephen, Herod Agrippa and the -Emperors Tiberius and Caligula are among the mighty figures that move -through the pages. Wonderful descriptions, and a love story of the -purest and noblest type mark this most remarkable religious romance. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26TH ST., NEW YORK - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - Transcriber’s Note - -In several cases, the author (or printer) uses an apostrophe -incorrectly; three times as the possessive pronoun, and once as 3rd -person present (‘let’s’). Each has been corrected. Other minor lapses in -punctuation have been corrected as well, without further mention. - - p. 43 even than [it’s] forlorn neighbors - p. 85 hiding [it’s] tell-tale under the skirt of her coat - p. 251 links his arm in [her’s] - p. 266 and [let’s] out that I was not she at all - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of My Lady Peggy Goes to Town, by -Frances Aymar Mathews - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY LADY PEGGY GOES TO TOWN *** - -***** This file should be named 50388-0.txt or 50388-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/3/8/50388/ - -Produced by KD Weeks, Chris Curnow and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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