CHAPTER IX--THREE IS COMPANY, AND FOUR NONE
The rest of the day I slept in the corner of the hen-house upon
Flora's shawl. Nor did I awake until a light shone suddenly in my
eyes, and starting up with a gasp (for, indeed, at the moment I
dreamed I was still swinging from the Castle battlements) I found
Ronald bending over me with a lantern. It appeared it was past
midnight, that I had slept about sixteen hours, and that Flora had
returned her poultry to the shed and I had heard her not. I could
not but wonder if she had stooped to look at me as I slept. The
puritan hens now slept irremediably; and being cheered with the
promise of supper I wished them an ironical good-night, and was
lighted across the garden and noiselessly admitted to a bedroom on
the ground floor of the cottage. There I found soap, water,
razors--offered me diffidently by my beardless host--and an outfit
of new clothes. To be shaved again without depending on the barber
of the gaol was a source of a delicious, if a childish joy. My
hair was sadly too long, but I was none so unwise as to make an
attempt on it myself. And, indeed, I thought it did not wholly
misbecome me as it was, being by nature curly. The clothes were
about as good as I expected. The waistcoat was of toilenet, a
pretty piece, the trousers of fine kerseymere, and the coat sat
extraordinarily well. Altogether, when I beheld this changeling in
the glass, I kissed my hand to him.
'My dear fellow,' said I, 'have you no scent?'
'Good God, no!' cried Ronald. 'What do you want with scent?'
'Capital thing on a campaign,' said I. 'But I can do without.'
I was now led, with the same precautions against noise, into the
little bow-windowed dining-room of the cottage. The shutters were
up, the lamp guiltily turned low; the beautiful Flora greeted me in
a whisper; and when I was set down to table, the pair proceeded to
help me with precautions that might have seemed excessive in the
Ear of Dionysius.
'She sleeps up there,' observed the boy, pointing to the ceiling;
and the knowledge that I was so imminently near to the resting-
place of that gold eyeglass touched even myself with some
uneasiness.
Our excellent youth had imported from the city a meat pie, and I
was glad to find it flanked with a decanter of really admirable
wine of Oporto. While I ate, Ronald entertained me with the news
of the city, which had naturally rung all day with our escape:
troops and mounted messengers had followed each other forth at all
hours and in all directions; but according to the last intelligence
no recapture had been made. Opinion in town was very favourable to
us: our courage was applauded, and many professed regret that our
ultimate chance of escape should be so small. The man who had
fallen was one Sombref, a peasant; he was one who slept in a
different part of the Castle; and I was thus assured that the whole
of my former companions had attained their liberty, and Shed A was
untenanted.
From this we wandered insensibly into other topics. It is
impossible to exaggerate the pleasure I took to be thus sitting at
the same table with Flora, in the clothes of a gentleman, at
liberty and in the full possession of my spirits and resources; of
all of which I had need, because it was necessary that I should
support at the same time two opposite characters, and at once play
the cavalier and lively soldier for the eyes of Ronald, and to the
ears of Flora maintain the same profound and sentimental note that
I had already sounded. Certainly there are days when all goes well
with a man; when his wit, his digestion, his mistress are in a
conspiracy to spoil him, and even the weather smiles upon his
wishes. I will only say of myself upon that evening that I
surpassed my expectations, and was privileged to delight my hosts.
Little by little they forgot their terrors and I my caution; until
at last we were brought back to earth by a catastrophe that might
very easily have been foreseen, but was not the less astonishing to
us when it occurred.
I had filled all the glasses. 'I have a toast to propose,' I
whispered, 'or rather three, but all so inextricably interwoven
that they will not bear dividing. I wish first to drink to the
health of a brave and therefore a generous enemy. He found me
disarmed, a fugitive and helpless. Like the lion, he disdained so
poor a triumph; and when he might have vindicated an easy valour,
he preferred to make a friend. I wish that we should next drink to
a fairer and a more tender foe. She found me in prison; she
cheered me with a priceless sympathy; what she has done since, I
know she has done in mercy, and I only pray--I dare scarce hope--
her mercy may prove to have been merciful. And I wish to conjoin
with these, for the first, and perhaps the last time, the health--
and I fear I may already say the memory--of one who has fought, not
always without success, against the soldiers of your nation; but
who came here, vanquished already, only to be vanquished again by
the loyal hand of the one, by the unforgettable eyes of the other.'
It is to be feared I may have lent at times a certain resonancy to
my voice; it is to be feared that Ronald, who was none the better
for his own hospitality, may have set down his glass with something
of a clang. Whatever may have been the cause, at least, I had
scarce finished my compliment before we were aware of a thump upon
the ceiling overhead. It was to be thought some very solid body
had descended to the floor from the level (possibly) of a bed. I
have never seen consternation painted in more lively colours than
on the faces of my hosts. It was proposed to smuggle me forth into
the garden, or to conceal my form under a horsehair sofa which
stood against the wall. For the first expedient, as was now plain
by the approaching footsteps, there was no longer time; from the
second I recoiled with indignation.
'My dear creatures,' said I, 'let us die, but do not let us be
ridiculous.'
The words were still upon my lips when the door opened and my
friend of the gold eyeglass appeared, a memorable figure, on the
threshold. In one hand she bore a bedroom candlestick; in the
other, with the steadiness of a dragoon, a horse-pistol. She was
wound about in shawls which did not wholly conceal the candid
fabric of her nightdress, and surmounted by a nightcap of
portentous architecture. Thus accoutred, she made her entrance;
laid down the candle and pistol, as no longer called for; looked
about the room with a silence more eloquent than oaths; and then,
in a thrilling voice--'To whom have I the pleasure?' she said,
addressing me with a ghost of a bow.
'Madam, I am charmed, I am sure,' said I. 'The story is a little
long; and our meeting, however welcome, was for the moment entirely
unexpected by myself. I am sure--' but here I found I was quite
sure of nothing, and tried again. 'I have the honour,' I began,
and found I had the honour to be only exceedingly confused. With
that, I threw myself outright upon her mercy. 'Madam, I must be
more frank with you,' I resumed. 'You have already proved your
charity and compassion for the French prisoners, I am one of these;
and if my appearance be not too much changed, you may even yet
recognise in me that ODDITY who had the good fortune more than once
to make you smile.'
Still gazing upon me through her glass, she uttered an
uncompromising grunt; and then, turning to her niece--'Flora,' said
she, 'how comes he here?'
The culprits poured out for a while an antiphony of explanations,
which died out at last in a miserable silence.
'I think at least you might have told your aunt,' she snorted.
'Madam,' I interposed, 'they were about to do so. It is my fault
if it be not done already. But I made it my prayer that your
slumbers might be respected, and this necessary formula of my
presentation should be delayed until to-morrow in the morning.'
The old lady regarded me with undissembled incredulity, to which I
was able to find no better repartee than a profound and I trust
graceful reverence.
'French prisoners are very well in their place,' she said, 'but I
cannot see that their place is in my private dining-room.'
'Madam,' said I, 'I hope it may be said without offence, but
(except the Castle of Edinburgh) I cannot think upon the spot from
which I would so readily be absent.'
At this, to my relief, I thought I could perceive a vestige of a
smile to steal upon that iron countenance and to be bitten
immediately in.
'And if it is a fair question, what do they call ye?' she asked.
'At your service, the Vicomte Anne de St.-Yves,' said I.
'Mosha the Viscount,' said she, 'I am afraid you do us plain people
a great deal too much honour.'
'My dear lady,' said I, 'let us be serious for a moment. What was
I to do? Where was I to go? And how can you be angry with these
benevolent children who took pity on one so unfortunate as myself?
Your humble servant is no such terrific adventurer that you should
come out against him with horse-pistol and'--smiling--'bedroom
candlesticks. It is but a young gentleman in extreme distress,
hunted upon every side, and asking no more than to escape from his
pursuers. I know your character, I read it in your face'--the
heart trembled in my body as I said these daring words. 'There are
unhappy English prisoners in France at this day, perhaps at this
hour. Perhaps at this hour they kneel as I do; they take the hand
of her who might conceal and assist them; they press it to their
lips as I do--'
'Here, here!' cried the old lady, breaking from my solicitations.
'Behave yourself before folk! Saw ever anyone the match of that?
And on earth, my dears, what are we to do with him?'
'Pack him off, my dear lady,' said I: 'pack off the impudent
fellow double-quick! And if it may be, and if your good heart
allows it, help him a little on the way he has to go.'
'What's this pie?' she cried stridently. 'Where is this pie from,
Flora?'
No answer was vouchsafed by my unfortunate and (I may say) extinct
accomplices.
'Is that my port?' she pursued. 'Hough! Will somebody give me a
glass of my port wine?'
I made haste to serve her.
She looked at me over the rim with an extraordinary expression. 'I
hope ye liked it?' said she.
'It is even a magnificent wine,' said I.
'Aweel, it was my father laid it down,' said she. 'There were few
knew more about port wine than my father, God rest him!' She
settled herself in a chair with an alarming air of resolution.
'And so there is some particular direction that you wish to go in?'
said she.
'O,' said I, following her example, 'I am by no means such a
vagrant as you suppose. I have good friends, if I could get to
them, for which all I want is to be once clear of Scotland; and I
have money for the road.' And I produced my bundle.
'English bank-notes?' she said. 'That's not very handy for
Scotland. It's been some fool of an Englishman that's given you
these, I'm thinking. How much is it?'
'I declare to heaven I never thought to count!' I exclaimed. 'But
that is soon remedied.'
And I counted out ten notes of ten pound each, all in the name of
Abraham Newlands, and five bills of country bankers for as many
guineas.
'One hundred and twenty six pound five,' cried the old lady. 'And
you carry such a sum about you, and have not so much as counted it!
If you are not a thief, you must allow you are very thief-like.'
'And yet, madam, the money is legitimately mine,' said I.
She took one of the bills and held it up. 'Is there any
probability, now, that this could be traced?' she asked.
'None, I should suppose; and if it were, it would be no matter,'
said I. 'With your usual penetration, you guessed right. An
Englishman brought it me. It reached me, through the hands of his
English solicitor, from my great-uncle, the Comte de Keroual de
Saint-Yves, I believe the richest emigre in London.'
'I can do no more than take your word for it,' said she.
'And I trust, madam, not less,' said I.
'Well,' said she, 'at this rate the matter may be feasible. I will
cash one of these five-guinea bills, less the exchange, and give
you silver and Scots notes to bear you as far as the border.
Beyond that, Mosha the Viscount, you will have to depend upon
yourself.'
I could not but express a civil hesitation as to whether the amount
would suffice, in my case, for so long a journey.
'Ay,' said she, 'but you havenae heard me out. For if you are not
too fine a gentleman to travel with a pair of drovers, I believe I
have found the very thing, and the Lord forgive me for a
treasonable old wife! There are a couple stopping up by with the
shepherd-man at the farm; to-morrow they will take the road for
England, probably by skriegh of day--and in my opinion you had best
be travelling with the stots,' said she.
'For Heaven's sake do not suppose me to be so effeminate a
character!' I cried. 'An old soldier of Napoleon is certainly
beyond suspicion. But, dear lady, to what end? and how is the
society of these excellent gentlemen supposed to help me?'
'My dear sir,' said she, 'you do not at all understand your own
predicament, and must just leave your matters in the hands of those
who do. I dare say you have never even heard tell of the drove-
roads or the drovers; and I am certainly not going to sit up all
night to explain it to you. Suffice it, that it is me who is
arranging this affair--the more shame to me!--and that is the way
ye have to go. Ronald,' she continued, 'away up-by to the
shepherds; rowst them out of their beds, and make it perfectly
distinct that Sim is not to leave till he has seen me.'
Ronald was nothing loath to escape from his aunt's neighbourhood,
and left the room and the cottage with a silent expedition that was
more like flight than mere obedience. Meanwhile the old lady
turned to her niece.
'And I would like to know what we are to do with him the night!'
she cried.
'Ronald and I meant to put him in the hen-house,' said the
encrimsoned Flora.
'And I can tell you he is to go to no such a place,' replied the
aunt. 'Hen-house, indeed! If a guest he is to be, he shall sleep
in no mortal hen-house. Your room is the most fit, I think, if he
will consent to occupy it on so great a suddenty. And as for you,
Flora, you shall sleep with me.'
I could not help admiring the prudence and tact of this old
dowager, and of course it was not for me to make objections. Ere I
well knew how, I was alone with a flat candlestick, which is not
the most sympathetic of companions, and stood studying the snuff in
a frame of mind between triumph and chagrin. All had gone well
with my flight: the masterful lady who had arrogated to herself
the arrangement of the details gave me every confidence; and I saw
myself already arriving at my uncle's door. But, alas! it was
another story with my love affair. I had seen and spoken with her
alone; I had ventured boldly; I had been not ill received; I had
seen her change colour, had enjoyed the undissembled kindness of
her eyes; and now, in a moment, down comes upon the scene that
apocalyptic figure with the nightcap and the horse-pistol, and with
the very wind of her coming behold me separated from my love!
Gratitude and admiration contended in my breast with the extreme of
natural rancour. My appearance in her house at past midnight had
an air (I could not disguise it from myself) that was insolent and
underhand, and could not but minister to the worst suspicions. And
the old lady had taken it well. Her generosity was no more to be
called in question than her courage, and I was afraid that her
intelligence would be found to match. Certainly, Miss Flora had to
support some shrewd looks, and certainly she had been troubled. I
could see but the one way before me: to profit by an excellent
bed, to try to sleep soon, to be stirring early, and to hope for
some renewed occasion in the morning. To have said so much and yet
to say no more, to go out into the world upon so half-hearted a
parting, was more than I could accept.
It is my belief that the benevolent fiend sat up all night to baulk
me. She was at my bedside with a candle long ere day, roused me,
laid out for me a damnable misfit of clothes, and bade me pack my
own (which were wholly unsuited to the journey) in a bundle. Sore
grudging, I arrayed myself in a suit of some country fabric, as
delicate as sackcloth and about as becoming as a shroud; and, on
coming forth, found the dragon had prepared for me a hearty
breakfast. She took the head of the table, poured out the tea, and
entertained me as I ate with a great deal of good sense and a
conspicuous lack of charm. How often did I not regret the change!-
-how often compare her, and condemn her in the comparison, with her
charming niece! But if my entertainer was not beautiful, she had
certainly been busy in my interest. Already she was in
communication with my destined fellow-travellers; and the device on
which she had struck appeared entirely suitable. I was a young
Englishman who had outrun the constable; warrants were out against
me in Scotland, and it had become needful I should pass the border
without loss of time, and privately.
'I have given a very good account of you,' said she, 'which I hope
you may justify. I told them there was nothing against you beyond
the fact that you were put to the haw (if that is the right word)
for debt.'
'I pray God you have the expression incorrectly, ma'am,' said I.
'I do not give myself out for a person easily alarmed; but you must
admit there is something barbarous and mediaeval in the sound well
qualified to startle a poor foreigner.'
'It is the name of a process in Scots Law, and need alarm no honest
man,' said she. 'But you are a very idle-minded young gentleman;
you must still have your joke, I see: I only hope you will have no
cause to regret it.'
'I pray you not to suppose, because I speak lightly, that I do not
feel deeply,' said I. 'Your kindness has quite conquered me; I lay
myself at your disposition, I beg you to believe, with real
tenderness; I pray you to consider me from henceforth as the most
devoted of your friends.'
'Well, well,' she said, 'here comes your devoted friend the drover.
I'm thinking he will be eager for the road; and I will not be easy
myself till I see you well off the premises, and the dishes washed,
before my servant-woman wakes. Praise God, we have gotten one that
is a treasure at the sleeping!'
The morning was already beginning to be blue in the trees of the
garden, and to put to shame the candle by which I had breakfasted.
The lady rose from table, and I had no choice but to follow her
example. All the time I was beating my brains for any means by
which I should be able to get a word apart with Flora, or find the
time to write her a billet. The windows had been open while I
breakfasted, I suppose to ventilate the room from any traces of my
passage there; and, Master Ronald appearing on the front lawn, my
ogre leaned forth to address him.
'Ronald,' she said, 'wasn't that Sim that went by the wall?'
I snatched my advantage. Right at her back there was pen, ink, and
paper laid out. I wrote: 'I love you'; and before I had time to
write more, or so much as to blot what I had written, I was again
under the guns of the gold eyeglasses.
'It's time,' she began; and then, as she observed my occupation,
'Umph!' she broke off. 'Ye have something to write?' she demanded.
'Some notes, madam,' said I, bowing with alacrity.
'Notes,' she said; 'or a note?'
'There is doubtless some finesse of the English language that I do
not comprehend,' said I.
'I'll contrive, however, to make my meaning very plain to ye, Mosha
le Viscount,' she continued. 'I suppose you desire to be
considered a gentleman?'
'Can you doubt it, madam?' said I.
'I doubt very much, at least, whether you go to the right way about
it,' she said. 'You have come here to me, I cannot very well say
how; I think you will admit you owe me some thanks, if it was only
for the breakfast I made ye. But what are you to me? A waif young
man, not so far to seek for looks and manners, with some English
notes in your pocket and a price upon your head. I am a lady; I
have been your hostess, with however little will; and I desire that
this random acquaintance of yours with my family will cease and
determine.'
I believe I must have coloured. 'Madam,' said I, 'the notes are of
no importance; and your least pleasure ought certainly to be my
law. You have felt, and you have been pleased to express, a doubt
of me. I tear them up.' Which you may be sure I did thoroughly.
'There's a good lad!' said the dragon, and immediately led the way
to the front lawn.
The brother and sister were both waiting us here, and, as well as I
could make out in the imperfect light, bore every appearance of
having passed through a rather cruel experience. Ronald seemed
ashamed to so much as catch my eye in the presence of his aunt, and
was the picture of embarrassment. As for Flora, she had scarce the
time to cast me one look before the dragon took her by the arm, and
began to march across the garden in the extreme first glimmer of
the dawn without exchanging speech. Ronald and I followed in equal
silence.
There was a door in that same high wall on the top of which I had
sat perched no longer gone than yesterday morning. This the old
lady set open with a key; and on the other side we were aware of a
rough-looking, thick-set man, leaning with his arms (through which
was passed a formidable staff) on a dry-stone dyke. Him the old
lady immediately addressed.
'Sim,' said she, 'this is the young gentleman.'
Sim replied with an inarticulate grumble of sound, and a movement
of one arm and his head, which did duty for a salutation.
'Now, Mr. St. Ives,' said the old lady, 'it's high time for you to
be taking the road. But first of all let me give the change of
your five-guinea bill. Here are four pounds of it in British Linen
notes, and the balance in small silver, less sixpence. Some charge
a shilling, I believe, but I have given you the benefit of the
doubt. See and guide it with all the sense that you possess.'
'And here, Mr. St. Ives,' said Flora, speaking for the first time,
'is a plaid which you will find quite necessary on so rough a
journey. I hope you will take it from the hands of a Scotch
friend,' she added, and her voice trembled.
'Genuine holly: I cut it myself,' said Ronald, and gave me as good
a cudgel as a man could wish for in a row.
The formality of these gifts, and the waiting figure of the driver,
told me loudly that I must be gone. I dropped on one knee and bade
farewell to the aunt, kissing her hand. I did the like--but with
how different a passion!--to her niece; as for the boy, I took him
to my arms and embraced him with a cordiality that seemed to strike
him speechless. 'Farewell!' and 'Farewell!' I said. 'I shall
never forget my friends. Keep me sometimes in memory. Farewell!'
With that I turned my back and began to walk away; and had scarce
done so, when I heard the door in the high wall close behind me.
Of course this was the aunt's doing; and of course, if I know
anything of human character, she would not let me go without some
tart expressions. I declare, even if I had heard them, I should
not have minded in the least, for I was quite persuaded that,
whatever admirers I might be leaving behind me in Swanston Cottage,
the aunt was not the least sincere.
