Shrewsbury: A Romance
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CHAPTER XLIII
My lord persisted in his design of retiring to Eyford; nor could allthe persuasions of his friends, and of some who were less his friendsthan their own, induce him to attend either the meeting of the partyat Admiral Russell's, or that which was held in Lincoln's Inn Fields;a thing which I take to be in itself a refutation of the statement,sometimes heard in his disparagement, that he lacked strength. For itis on record that his Grace of Marlborough, in the great war, where hehad in a manner to contend with Emperors and Princes, held alltogether by his firmness and conduct; yet he failed with my lord,though he tried hard, pleading as some thought in his own cause. Tohis arguments and those of Admiral Russell and Lord Godolphin, thehearty support of the party was not lacking, if it could have availed.But as a fact, it went into the other scale, since in proportion ashis followers proclaimed their faith in my lord's innocence, anddenounced his accusers, he felt shame for the old folly andinconsistency, that known by some, and suspected by more, must now beproclaimed to the world. It was this which for a time paralysed thevigour and intellect that at two great crises saved the ProtestantParty; and this, which finally determined him to leave London.
It was not known, when he started, that horse-patrols had been orderedto the Kent and Essex roads in expectation of His Majesty's immediatecrossing. Nor is it likely that the fact would have swayed him had heknown it, since it was not upon His Majesty's indulgence--of which,indeed, he was assured--or disfavour, that he was depending; my lordbeing moved rather by considerations in his own mind. But atMaidenhead, where he lay the first night, Mr. Vernon overtookhim--coming up with him as he prepared to start in the morning--andgave him news which presently altered his mind. Not only was HisMajesty hourly expected at Kensington, where his apartments were beinghastily prepared, but he had expressed his intention of seeing Fenwickat once, and sifting him.
"Nor is that all," Mr. Vernon continued. "I have reason to think thatyour Grace is under a complete misapprehension as to the character ofthe charges that are being made."
"What matter what the charges are?" my lord replied wearily, leaningback in his coach. For he had insisted on starting.
"It does matter very much--saving your presence, Duke," Mr. Vernonanswered bluntly; a sober and downright gentleman, whoseafter-succession to the Seals, though thought at the time to be anexcessive elevation, and of the most sudden, was fully justified byhis honourable career. "Pardon me, I must speak, I have been swayedtoo long by your Grace's extreme dislike of the topic."
"Which continues," my lord said drily.
"I care not a jot if it does!" Mr. Vernon cried impetuously, and thenmet the Duke's look of surprise and anger with, "Your Grace forgetsthat it is treason is in question! High Treason, not in the clouds and_in pr[oe]terito_, but _in pr[oe]senti_ and in Kent! High Treason inaiding and abetting Sir John Fenwick, an outlawed traitor, and by hismouth and hand communicating with and encouraging the King's enemies."
"You are beside the mark, sir," my lord answered, in a tone offreezing displeasure. "That has nothing to do with it. It is a foolishtale which will not stand a minute. No man believes it."
"May be! But by G----d! two men will prove it."
"Two men?" quoth my lord, his ear caught by that.
"Ay, two men! And two men are enough, in treason."
My lord stared hard before him. "Who is the second?" he said at last.
"A dubious fellow, yet good enough for the purpose," theUnder-Secretary answered, overjoyed that he had at last got a hearing."A man named Matthew Smith, long suspected of Jacobite practices, andarrested with the others at the time of the late conspiracy, butreleased, as he says----"
"Well?"
"Corruptly," quoth the Under-Secretary coolly, and laid his hand onthe check-string.
My lord sprang in his seat. "What?" he cried; and uttered an oath, athing to which he rarely condescended. Then, "It is true I know theman----"
"He is in the Countess's service."
"In her husband's. And he was brought before me. But the warrant wasagainst one John Smith--or William Smith, I forget which--and I knewthis man to be Matthew Smith; and the messenger himself avowing amistake, I released the man."
"Of course," said Mr. Vernon, nodding impatiently. "Of course, butthat, your Grace, is not the gravamen. It is a more serious matterthat he alleges that he accompanied you to Ashford, that you there inhis presence saw Sir John Fenwick, that you gave Sir John a ring--and,in a word, he confirms Sir John's statement in all points. And therebeing now two witnesses, the matter becomes grave. Shall I stop thecoach?" And he made again as if he would twitch the cord.
The Duke, wearing a very sober face--yet one wherein the light ofconflict began to flicker--drummed softly on the glass with hisfingers. "How do you come by his evidence?" he said at last. "Has SirJohn approved against him?"
"No, but Sir John sent for him the morning he saw Devonshire for thesecond time, and I suppose threatened him, for the fellow went toTrumball and said that he had evidence to give touching Sir John, ifhe could have His Majesty's word he should not suffer. It was givenhim, more or less; and he confirmed Sir John's tale _totidem verbis_.They have had him in the Gatehouse these ten days, it seems, onTrumball's warrant."
The Duke drew a deep breath. "Mr. Vernon, I am much obliged to you,"he said. "You have played the friend in my teeth. I see that I havetreated this matter too lightly. Sir John, unhappy as he is in some ofhis notions, is a gentleman, and I was wrong to think that he wouldaccuse me out of pure malice and without grounds. There is some illpractice here."
"Devilish ill," Mr. Vernon answered, scarce able to conceal hisdelight.
"Some plot."
"Ay, plot within plot!" cried the Under-Secretary, chuckling. "Shall Ipull the string?"
The Duke hesitated, his face plainly showing the conflict that waspassing in his mind. Then, "If you please," he said.
And so there the coach came to a standstill, as I have often heard, onan old brick bridge short of Nettlebed, near the coming into thevillage from Maidenhead. One of the outriders, spurring to thecarriage window for orders, my lord cried "Turn! Maidenhead!"
"No, London," said Mr. Vernon firmly. "And one of you," he continued,"gallop forward, and have horses ready at the first change house. Andso to the next."
The Duke, his head in a whirl with what he had heard, pushedresistance no farther, but letting the reins fall from his hands,consented to be led by his companion. In deference to his wishes,however--not less than to his health, which the events of the last fewweeks had seriously shaken--it was determined to conceal his return totown; the rather as the report of his absence might encourage hisopponents, and lead them to show their hands more clearly. Hence, inthe common histories of the day, and even in works so learned andgenerally well-informed as the Bishop of Salisbury's and Mr. ----'s,it is said and asserted that the Duke of Shrewsbury retired to hisseat in Gloucestershire before the King's return, and remained therein seclusion until his final resignation of the Seals. It is probablethat by using Mr. Vernon's house in place of his own, and by hisextreme avoidance of publicity while he lay in town, my lord hadhimself to thank for this statement; but that in making it thesewriters, including the learned Bishop, are wanting in accuracy, thedetails I am to present will clearly show.
Suffice it that entering London late that night, my lord drove to Mr.Vernon's, who, going next morning to the office, presently returnedwith the news that the King had ridden in from Margate after dining atSittingbourne, and would give an audience to Sir John on the followingday. But, as these tidings did no more than fulfil the expectation,and scarcely accounted for the air of briskness and satisfaction whichmarked the burly and honest gentleman, it is to be supposed that hedid not tell the Duke all he had learned. And, indeed, I know this tobe so.