Forest Days: A Romance of Old Times

by G. P. R. James

  CHAPTER XXVI.

  Richard de Ashby mounted the stairs with a slow step, paused at thefirst landing-place and grasped his forehead with his extended hand,then turned upon his steps; and, descending to the kitchen, in whichwere seated an immense number of various classes, he beckoned to one ofhis servants, who was near the fire-place.

  The man started up, and came to him at the door, when his master said,in a low tone, "You must take your horse as soon as he is fed, andspeed across the country as if for life and death, to bear a letterfrom me to the Lord Alured, in Cumberland.--Have every thing ready inan hour."

  "What! to-night, sir?" demanded the servant.

  "Ay, to-night, villain!" replied his master; "to-night, I say!--Do yougrumble?" and without waiting for any further answer, he turned, andonce more ascended the stairs.

  The inn was a rude old building, having a square court in the centre.It consisted of two stories above the ground-floor; and two ranges ofopen galleries ran round the whole yard, the chambers having no screenbetween them and the free air of heaven but the single door by whichone entered or went out of each.

  It was to the highest of the galleries that Richard de Ashby nowdirected his steps, for arriving late, it had been with difficulty hehad found lodging at all. He had no light with him; but finding his wayby the dim glare of some lanterns in the court, he stopped at the lastchamber on the right hand side: and, after another halt of more than aminute passed in stern meditation, he threw, open the door and went in.

  The room was a large one, forming the corner of the building, andhaving windows either way. There was a wide chimney, in which was ablazing log of wood, lighted to dispel the damp which the chamber mighthave contracted by disuse; and gazing at the changing aspect of theflame, sat fair, but unhappy, Kate Greenly, with her head resting onher hand, and her eyes full of deep and sorrowful thought.

  "Get thee to bed," cried Richard de Ashby, in a rude and angry tone, assoon as he saw her; "did I not bid thee get to bed before?"

  "I have had many things to think of," answered the girl. "I wish thouhadst left me behind thee, Richard. I love not going so near what wasonce my home."

  "It was my will," replied he; "that must be enough for thee. Get theeto bed, I say.--I have to write and think."

  Kate took a step away from him, but then looked round, and said, "Tellme first, Richard, art thou taking me back, wearied of her you used tolove, to the once happy dwelling from which you brought me not sixmonths ago?--If so, I will not go with you any farther."

  "Thou wilt do what I order," he answered, sternly; "I am in no moodeither for squabbling or jesting to-night.--Thou wilt go no farther,ha! By heaven thou wouldst make me resolve to take thee back by force,or send thee with a billet like some packet of goods.--But no, I willnot send thee," he added, "I will not take thee; and knowest thou why?Not that I love thee--not that I care for thee more than for the flowerthat was yesterday in my breast, and is now cast away into the dust.But they have asked me to send thee back--they have ordered me; andtherefore I will not! There is no power on earth shall tear thee fromme; but I will take care to make thee serviceable, too. Get thee tobed, I say, and importune me no more.--What! send thee back to pleaseHugh de Monthermer!"

  "He is a noble gentleman," answered Kate, "and in good sooth wished mewell, though I knew it not."

  "Thou art a fool!" cried Richard, violently; and, at the same moment,he took a step forward and struck her a blow on the cheek with hisextended hand, adding, "Get thee to bed, minion, and let me hear thytongue no more."

  Kate's flashing eyes glared at him as if she could have stabbed himwhere he stood; but the instant after she darted towards the bed, castherself upon her knees beside it, and, hiding her weeping face upon thecoverings, she murmured forth some rapid and eager words, which herbase seducer neither heard nor cared to hear.

  Seating himself by a table on which stood a lamp, he took forth thematerials for writing from some large leathern bags which lay near; butere he commenced the letter which he proposed to send, he passed a fullhalf hour in deep meditation. Once during the time he looked round,apparently to see if the poor girl he had treated so basely was stillup; but she had retired to bed; and, hearing her breathing deep andslow, he concluded that, like a child, she had wept herself to sleep.He then turned himself to meditate again, and we must look into hisbosom, and give the turbulent words which were uttered in his inmostheart as if they had been spoken aloud.

  "Ay," he thought, "if Alured had been here this mischief would not haveoccurred. The old fool is in his dotage! I wonder how it happened, whenmany a brave, strong man fell at Evesham, ere the battle had ragedhalf-an-hour, this feeble old wiseacre went through the whole dayunwounded! Had he been killed it might have made a mighty difference tome, and no great harm to any one."

  At that point his thoughts seemed to pause for several minutes,ruminating on the advantages which might have accrued to himself hadthe Earl fallen at Evesham. "And yet," he continued, "this bull-headedcousin of mine, Alured, were nearly as great a stumbling-block in myway, even if the old man were removed. He would not be long, if leftalone at the head of the house, ere he wedded some fair and fruitfullady, to exclude my claims for ever with a whole host of healthywhite-headed children. I was in some hopes, if he sought out Monthermerin the battle, as he said, our enemy's lance might have proved friendlyto me, and sent my noble cousin to another world. But it was not to be,and I suppose I must go on the poor dependent all my life.

  "No," he continued, after another pause, "no, it shall not be so.--Whyshould I fear for drivelling tales of other worlds told by the monksand priests, and invented by them also?--Were Alured once dead, 'twerean easy matter to remove that weak old man--and yet, perhaps, it werebetter to send him first to his account.--Ha! I see, I see.--If onecould manage it so as to cast suspicion on Monthermer, Alured wouldspeedily accuse him of the deed; wager of battle must follow, and Iwere a fool if I could not contrive it so that Alured's vain strengthshould go down before Monthermer's skill and courage."

  "In such fields as those," he added, speaking, though in a low,thoughtful tone, "such men separate not with life.--Methinks the matterwere easily managed.--'Tis no light prize one plays for!--the earldomof Ashby, the broad lands, the parks, the woods, the fields--ay, and tocrown the whole, the fair hand of Lucy herself; for, her brother andher father dead, she must needs become my ward, and if my ward, mywife. It is worth striving for, and by heaven and hell, it shall beso,--ay, let what will stand in the way,--Could I but breed a quarrelbetween this old dotard Earl and the ancient enemy of our house, whomhe is so ready to take to his bosom, I would soon accomplish the rest.But it shall be done,--it shall be done!" And leaning his dark browupon his hands, he revolved the means for carrying his plan intoexecution.

  For several minutes he hesitated as to whether he should write to hiscousin as he had proposed or not; but then again he thought--"I willnot do it!--his presence would but embarrass me. In some chanceencounter with this Monthermer, with arms and weapons unprepared by me,he might prove the conqueror, and once having vanquished him, he wouldtake him to his heart and give him half his fortune--the hand ofLucy--anything. I know my vain-glorious cousin well! No, no, we willdeal with the father first.--But I must on to Nottingham, and seek thetools to work with. I will write to Ellerby too, he is ready for anydesperate work, and in his store of knowledge has always informationwhere to find persons as fearless and as shrewd as himself."

  Having thus made up his mind, Richard de Ashby rose, and once moresought out the kitchen of the inn, taking the lamp with him. Revelryand merriment were still going on in all quarters of the house, and itwas no unpalatable news to the groom, who was waiting below, ready todepart, that his master had changed his purpose, and would not send himas he had proposed, though he had orders to be prepared to set out bycock-crow. After having given this intimation, the Earl's kinsmanretired to his chamber again, and, sitting down at the table, wrote afew lines to the ma
n whose unscrupulous assistance he required.

  It was not without long pauses of thought, however, that he did so, andin the end he put his hand to his head, saying, "I am tired." Wellindeed he might be so; for though the body had been still, the mind hadstruggled and laboured during the last few hours, with that eager andpainful energy, which communicates afterwards to the corporeal frameitself no slight portion of the lassitude which follows greatexertions. He next sought to seal the letter he had written, but hecould find neither wax nor silk, and laying it down upon the tableagain, he said, aloud, "It must wait till to-morrow; but I must takecare that no one comes in and sees it before I wake, for that were ruinindeed!"

  Thus speaking, he turned to the door of the room and locked it; andthen, after a few minutes more given to thought, he undressed himself,and, without prayer, lay down to rest.--Without prayer!--he neverprayed: the blessed influence even of an imperfect communion withHeaven never fell like the summer rain upon his heart, softening andrefreshing. The idea of his dependence upon Providence, or hisresponsibility to God, would have been far too painful and cumbersometo be daily renewed and encouraged by prayer. He was one of theidolaters; and the god of his heart was himself. His cunning was thewisdom of his Deity, his passions, his pleasures, his power, its otherattributes; and to the Moloch of self he was ready at any time tosacrifice all else that the world contained. He rose without asking ablessing on works that he knew were to be evil, he lay downsupplicating no pardon for the offences of the day.

  Ay! reader, and he slept, too, with sound, unbroken, heavy sleep. Whatbetween passions, and pleasures, and schemes, and exertions, his bodyand his mind were usually exhausted together; and throughout a longcourse of years he had slept each night, as he did now, with a slumber,deep, dreamless uninterrupted.

  The lamp remained unextinguished in the chamber; and for about an hourall was still, his heavy breathing being the only sound that madeitself heard; except the occasional voices of revellers in other partsof the house, becoming more and more faint as the night advanced. Atthe end of that time, however, a female figure glided from between thecurtains of the bed and approached the table.

  Richard de Ashby had left, lying across the letter which he had beenwriting, the dagger, with the pommel of which he had prepared to sealit, and Kate Greenly, with her teeth tight shut, and her brow knit,took up the weapon, drew it from the sheath, gazed upon the edge, andfelt the sharp point. She then turned her head towards the bed, andstrained her eyes upon it with a wild fierce look.

  The moment after, she thrust the blade back into its covering, andpressed her hand upon her brow, murmuring--"Not now!--No, no, no!--Notnow!--The time may come, however--the time may come, Richard!--But Iwill have thee in my power--at all events, I will have thee in mypower! The worm thou treadest on may sting thy heel, oppressor.--Thanksto the good priest who taught me to read and write!" she continued,taking up the letter and unfolding it. "Would I had attended to hisother teaching as well;" and bending over the lamp, she read:--

  "Come to me post haste, Ellerby,"--so ran the letter--"I have a stag often for you to strike. My mind is made up, and I am resolved to throwdown the screen that keeps me from the sun. If we succeed--and successis certain--your reward shall be in proportion to the deed: tenthousand sterlings to begin with. But you must not come alone, you mustbring some three or four men with you, able and willing to perform abold act; so make no delay, but quit all vain pastimes and idlepleasures, and hasten to certain fortune and success.

  "Yours, as you shall use diligence,

  "R. A."

  Kate Greenly read the lines again and again, as if she wished to fixthem indelibly on her mind; then folding up the letter again, she laidit down upon the table, placed the dagger across it, and remainedmusing for several minutes in deep thought.

  "No, no," she murmured, at length, "I will not believe it. No; he maywrong a poor girl like me; he may break his vows, oppress, and trampleon the creature in his power; but murder--the murder of a kinsman?--No,no!--And yet," she added, "what can the words mean? They arestrange--they are very strange! I will think of it no more--and yet Imust think of it. I wish I had not seen that paper! But having seen it,I must see more.--I must watch--I must inquire. There shall be nothingkept from me now.--Murder? It is very horrible.--But I will go tosleep."

  Kate Greenly crept quietly back to bed again; but the reader need notbe told that she found there no repose. Had her heart not been burdenedeven with her own sin, the dangerous knowledge she had acquired of theguilt of others would have been quite sufficient to banish sleep fromher eyes. Hour after hour she lay and thought over the words which shehad read. She strove to find some other meaning for them; but, alas!she had, more than once before, heard muttered hints and dark longingsfor the possessions of others, which directed her mind ever to the samecourse, and ever to the same conclusion.

  The thought was agonizing to her; for, notwithstanding all herwrongs--notwithstanding anger and indignation--notwithstanding herknowledge that he was a villain--notwithstanding her certainty that hewould cast her off whensoever it pleased him--ay, doom her to poverty,contempt, and disgrace--love for Richard de Ashby yet lingered in theheart of poor Kate Greenly.

  At length, just as the morning was growing grey, her heavy eyelids fellfor a moment; and she was still asleep when her seducer rose and beganhis preparations for departure. He discovered not that the letter hadbeen examined; but making her get up in haste to find some wax andsilk, he sealed the epistle; and, after dispatching it by a messenger,set out himself for Nottingham, carrying the unhappy girl with him,followed by only two attendants.