CHAPTER XXXVII.
THE HOROSCOPE.
Ere the next day was over, it was understood throughout the castle thatlord Herbert was constructing a horoscope--not that there were many inthe place who understood what a horoscope really was, or had anyknowledge of the modes of that astrology in whose results they firmlybelieved; yet Kaltoff having been seen carrying severalmysterious-looking instruments to the top of the library tower, the wordwas presently in everybody's mouth. Nor were the lovers of marvel likelyto be disappointed, for no sooner was the sun down than there was lordHerbert, his head in an outlandish Persian hat, visible over the parapetfrom the stone-court, while from some of the higher windows in thegrass-court might be seen through a battlement his long flowing gown ofa golden tint, wrought with hieroglyphics in blue. Now he would standfor a while gazing up into the heavens, now would be shifting andadjusting this or that instrument, then peering along or through it, andthen re-arranging it, or kneeling and drawing lines, now circular, nowstraight, upon a sheet of paper spread flat on the roof of the tower.There he still was when the household retired to rest, and there, in thegrey dawn, his wife, waking up and peeping from her window, saw himstill, against the cold sky, pacing the roof with bent head andthoughtful demeanour. In the morning he was gone, and no one but ladyMargaret saw him during the whole of the following day. Nor indeed couldany but herself or Caspar have found him, for the tale Tom Fool told therustics of a magically concealed armoury had been suggested by a rumourcurrent in the house, believed by all without any proof, and yet not theless a fact, that lord Herbert had a chamber of which none of thedomestics knew door or window, or even the locality. That recourseshould have been had to spells and incantations for its concealment,however, as was also commonly accepted, would have seemed troubleunnecessary to any one who knew the mechanical means his lordship hademployed for the purpose. The touch of a pin on a certain spot in one ofthe bookcases in the library, admitted him to a wooden stair which, withthe aid of Caspar, he had constructed in an ancient disused chimney, andwhich led down to a small chamber in the roof of a sort of porch builtover the stair from the stone-court to the stables. There was no otheraccess to it, and the place had never been used, nor had any window butone which they had constructed in the roof so cunningly as to attract nonotice. All the household supposed the hidden chamber, whose existencewas unquestioned, to be in the great tower, somewhere near the workshop.
In this place he kept his books of alchemy and magic, and some of hisstranger instruments. It would have been hard for himself even to saywhat he did or did not believe of such things. In certain moods,especially when under the influence of some fact he had just discoveredwithout being able to account for it, he was ready to believeeverything; in others, especially when he had just succeeded, right orwrong, in explaining anything to his own satisfaction, he doubted themall considerably. His imagination leaned lovingly towards them; hisintellect required proofs which he had not yet found.
Hither then he had retired--to work out the sequences of the horoscopeshe had that night constructed. He was far less doubtful of astrologythan of magic. It would have been difficult, I suspect, to find at thattime a man who did not more or less believe in the former, and theinfluence of his mechanical pursuits upon lord Herbert's mind had not inany way interfered with his capacity for such belief. In the presentcase, however, he trusted for success rather to his knowledge of humannature than to his questioning of the stars.
Before this, the second day, was over, it was everywhere whispered thathe was occupied in discovering the hidden way by which entrance and exithad been found through the defences of the castle; and the next day itwas known by everybody that he had been successful--as who could doubthe must, with such powers at his command?
For a time curiosity got the better of fear, and there was not a soul inthe place, except one bedridden old woman, who did not that day acceptlord Herbert's general invitation, and pass over the Gothic bridge tosee the opening from the opposite side of the moat. To seal theconviction that the discovery had indeed been made, permission was givento any one who chose to apply to it the test of his own person, but ofthis only Shafto the groom availed himself. It was enough, however: hedisappeared, and while the group which saw him enter the opening was yetanxiously waiting his return by the way he had gone, having re-enteredby the western gate he came upon them from behind, to the no smallconsternation of those of weaker nerves, and so settled the matter forever.
As soon as curiosity was satisfied, lord Herbert gave orders which, inthe course of a few days, rendered the drain as impassable to manor dogas the walls of the keep itself.
In the middle of the previous night, Marquis had returned, and announcedhimself by scratching and whining for admittance at the door ofDorothy's room. She let him in, but not until the morning discoveredthat he had a handkerchief tied round his neck, and in it a letteraddressed to herself. Curious, perhaps something more than curious, toopen it, she yet carried it straight to lord Herbert.
'Canst not break the seal, Dorothy, that thou bringest it to me? I willnot read it first, lest thou repent,' said his lordship.
'Will you open it then, madam?' she said, turning to lady Margaret.
'What my lord will not, why should I?' rejoined her mistress.
Dorothy opened the letter without more ado, crimsoned, read it to theend, and handed it again to lord Herbert.
'Pray read, my lord,' she said.
He took it, and read. It ran thus--
'Mistress Dorothy, I think, and yet I know not, but I think thou wilt be pleased to learn that my Wound hath not proved mortal, though it hath brought me low, yea, very nigh to Death's Door. Think not I feared to enter. But it grieveth me to the Heart to ride another than my own Mare to the Wars, and it will pleasure thee to know that without my Lady I shall be but Half the Man I was. But do thou the Like again when thou mayest, for thou but didst thy Duty according to thy Lights; and according to what else should any one do? Mistaken as thou art, I love thee as mine own Soul. As to the Ring I left for thee, with a safe Messenger, concerning whom I say Nothing, for thou wilt con her no Thanks for the doing of aught to pleasure me, I restored it not because it was thine, for thy mother gave it me, but because, if for Lack of my Mare I should fall in some Battle of those that are to follow, then would the Ring pass to a Hand whose Heart knew nought of her who gave it me. I am what thou knowest not, yet thine old Play-fellow Richard.--When thou hearest of me in the Wars, as perchance thou mayest, then curse me not, but sigh an thou wilt, and say, he also would in his Blindness do the Thing that lay at his Door. God be with thee, mistress Dorothy. Beat not thy Dog for bringing thee this.
'RICHARD HEYWOOD.'
Lord Herbert gave the letter to his wife, and paced up and down the roomwhile she read. Dorothy stood silent, with glowing face and downcasteyes. When lady Margaret had finished it she handed it to her, andturned to her husband with the words,--
'What sayest thou, Ned? Is it not a brave epistle?'
'There is matter for thought therein,' he answered. 'Wilt show me thering whereof he writes, cousin?'
'I never had it, my lord.'
'Whom thinkest thou then he calleth his safe messenger? Not thydog--plainly, for the ring had been sent thee before.'
'My lord, I cannot even conjecture,' answered Dorothy.
'There is matter herein that asketh attention. My lady, and cousinDorothy, not a word of all this until I shall have considered what itmay import!--Beat not thy dog, Dorothy: that were other than hedeserveth at thy hand. But he is a dangerous go-between, so prithee lethim be at once chained up.'
'I will not beat him, my lord, and I will chain him up,' answeredDorothy, laughing.
Having then announced the discovery of the hidden passage, and givenorders concerning it, lord Herbert retired yet again to his secretchamber, and that night was once more seen of many consulting the starsfrom the top of the
library tower.
The following morning another rumour was abroad--to the effect that hislordship was now occupied in questioning the stars as to who in thecastle had aided the young roundhead in making his escape.
In the evening, soon after supper, there came a gentle tap to the doorof lady Margaret's parlour. At that time she was understood to bedisengaged, and willing to see any of the household. Harry happened tobe with her, and she sent him to the door to see who it was.
'It is Tom Fool,' he said, returning. 'He begs speech of you,madam--with a face as long as the baker's shovel, and a mouth as wide asan oven-door.'
With their Irish stepmother the children took far greater freedoms thanwould have been permitted them by the jealous care of their own motherover their manners.
Lady Margaret smiled: this was probably the first fruit of her husband'sastrological investigations.
'Tell him he may enter, and do thou leave him alone with me, Harry,' shesaid.
Allowing for exaggeration, Harry had truly reported Tom's appearance. Hewas trembling from head to foot, and very white.
'What aileth thee, Tom, that thou lookest as thou had seen a hobgoblin?'said lady Margaret.
'Please you, my lady,' answered Tom, 'I am in mortal terror of my lordHerbert.'
'Then hast thou been doing amiss, Tom? for no well-doer ever yet wasafeard of my lord. Comest thou because thou wouldst confess the truth?'
'Ah, my lady,' faltered Tom.
'Come, then; I will lead thee to my lord.'
'No, no, an't please you, my lady!' cried Tom, trembling yet more. 'Iwill confess to you, my lady, and then do you confess to my lord, sothat he may forgive me.'
'Well, I will venture so far for thee, Tom,' returned her ladyship;'that is, if thou be honest, and tell me all.'
Thus encouraged, Tom cleansed his stuffed bosom, telling all the part hehad borne in Richard's escape, even to the disclosure of the watchwordto his mother.
Is there not this peculiarity about the fear of the supernatural, evenlet it be of the lowest and most slavish kind, that under it men speakthe truth, believing that alone can shelter them?
Lady Margaret dismissed him with hopes of forgiveness, and goingstraight to her husband in his secret chamber, amused him largely withher vivid representation, amounting indeed to no sparing mimicry ofTom's looks and words as he made his confession.
Here was much gained, but Tom had cast no ray of light upon the matterof Dorothy's imprisonment. The next day lord Herbert sent for him to hisworkshop, where he was then alone. He appeared in a state of abjectterror.
'Now, Tom,' said his lordship, 'hast thou made a clean breast of it?'
'Yes, my lord,' answered Tom; 'there is but one thing more.'
'What is that? Out with it.'
'As I went back to my chamber, at the top of the stair leading down frommy lord's dining parlour to the hall, commonly called my lord's stair,'said Tom, who delighted in the pseudo-circumstantial, 'I stopped torecover my breath, of the which I was sorely bereft, and kneeling on theseat of the little window that commands the archway to the keep, I sawthe prisoner--'
'How knewest thou the prisoner ere it was yet daybreak, and that in thedarkest corner of all the court?'
'I knew him by the way my bones shook at the white sleeves of his shirt,my lord,' said Tom, who was too far gone in fear to make the joke ofpretending courage.
'Hardly evidence, Tom. But go on.'
'And with him I saw mistress Dorothy--'
'Hold there, Tom!' cried lord Herbert. 'Wherefore didst not impart thislast night to my lady?'
'Because my lady loveth mistress Dorothy, and I dreaded she wouldtherefore refuse to believe me.'
'What a heap of cunning goes to the making of a downright fool!' saidlord Herbert to himself, but so as Tom could not fail to hear him. 'Andwhat saw'st thou pass between them?' he asked.
'Only a whispering with their heads together,' answered Tom.
'And what heard'st thou?'
'Nothing, my lord.'
'And what followed?'
'The roundhead left her, and went through the archway. She stood amoment and then followed him. But I, fearful of her coming up the stairand finding me, gat me quickly to my own place.'
'Oh, Tom, Tom! I am ashamed of thee. What! Afraid of a woman? Verily,thy heart is of wax.'
'That can hardly be, my lord, for I find it still on the wane.'
'An' thy wit were no better than thy courage, thou hadst never hadenough to play the fool with.'
'No, my lord; I should have had to turn philosopher.'
'A fair hit, Tom! But tell me, why wast thou afeard of mistressDorothy?'
'It might have come to a quarrel in some sort, my lord; and there is onething I have remarked in my wanderings through this valley of Baca,'said Tom, speaking through his nose, and lengthening his face beyondeven its own nature, 'namely, that he who quarrels with a woman goesever to the wall.'
'One thing perplexes me, Tom: if thou sawest mistress Dorothy in thecourt with the roundhead, how came she thereafter, thinkest thou, lockedup in his chamber?'
'It behoves that she went into it again, my lord.'
'How knowest thou she had been there before?'
'Nay, I know not, my lord. I know nothing of the matter.'
'Why say'st it then? Take heed to thy words, Tom. Who then, thinkestthou, did lock the door upon her?'
'I know not, my lord, and dare hardly say what I think. But let yourlordship's wisdom determine whether it might not be one of those demonswhereof the house hath been full ever since that night when I saw themrise from the water of the moat--that even now surrounds us, mylord!--and rush into the fountain court.'
'Meddle thou not, even in thy thoughts, with things that are beyondthee,' said lord Herbert. 'By what signs knewest thou mistress Dorothyin the dark as she stood talking to the roundhead?'
'There was light enough to know woman from man, my lord.'
'And were there then that night no women in the castle but mistressDorothy?'
'Why, who else could it have been, my lord?'
'Why not thine own mother, Tom--rode thither on her broomstick todeliver her darling?'
Tom gaped with fresh terror at the awful suggestion.
'Now, hear me, Thomas Rees,' his lordship went on.
'Yes, my lord,' answered Tom.
'An' ever it come to my knowledge that thou say thou then saw mistressDorothy, when all thou sawest was, as thou knowest, a woman who mighthave been thine own mother talking to the roundhead, as thou callest aman who might indeed have been Caspar Kaltoff in his shirt sleeves, Iwill set every devil at my command upon thy back and thy belly, thysides and thy soles. Be warned, and not only speak the truth, as thouhast for a whole half-hour been trying hard to do, but learn todistinguish between thy fancies and God's facts; for verily thou art agreater fool than I took thee for, and that was no small one. Get theegone, and send me hither mistress Watson.'
Tom crawled away, and presently mistress Watson appeared, lookingoffended, possibly at being called to the workshop, and a littlefrightened.
'I cannot but think thee somewhat remiss in thy ministrations to a sickman, mistress Watson,' he said, 'to leave him so long to himself. Had hebeen a king's officer now, wouldst thou not have shown him more favour?'
'That indeed may be, my lord,' returned mistress Watson with dignity.'But an' the young fellow had been very sick, he had not made hisescape.'
'And left the blame thereof with thee. Besides, that he did for hisescape he may have done in the strength of the fever that followeth onsuch a wound.'
'My lord, I gave him a potion, wherefrom he should have slept until Isought him again.'
'Was he or thou to blame that he did not feel the obligation? When a maninstead of sleeping runneth away, the potion was ill mingled, I doubt,mistress Watson--drove him crazy perchance.'
'She who waked him when he ought to have slept hath to bear the blame,not I, my lord.'
'Thou sho
uldst, I say, have kept better watch. But tell me whom meanestthou by that same SHE?'
'She who was found in his chamber, my lord,' said mistress Watson,compressing her lips, as if, come what might, she would stand on thefoundation of the truth.
'Ah?--By the way, I would gladly understand how it came to be knownthroughout the castle that thou didst find her there? I have theassurance of my lady, my lord marquis, and my lord Charles, that neverdid one of them utter word so to slander an orphan as thou hast now donein my hearing. Who then can it be but her who is at the head of themeinie of this house, who hath misdemeaned herself thus to the spreadingamongst those under her of evil reports and surmises affecting herlord's cousin, mistress Dorothy Vaughan?'
'You wrong me grievously, my lord,' cried mistress Watson, red with thewrath of injury and undeserved reproof.
'Thou hast thyself to thank for it then, for thou hast this night saidin mine own ears that mistress Dorothy waked thy prisoner, importingthat she thereafter set him free, when thou knowest that she denies thesame, and is therein believed by my lord marquis and all his house.'
'Therein I believe her not, my lord; but I swear by all the saints andangels, that to none but your lordship have I ever said the word;neither have I ever opened my lips against her, lest I should take fromher the chance of betterment.'
'I will be more just to thee than thou hast been to my cousin, mistressWatson, for I will believe thee that thou didst only harbour evil in thyheart, not send it from the doors of thy lips to enter into otherbosoms. Was it thou then that did lock the door upon her?'
'God forbid, my lord!'
'Thinkest thou it was the roundhead?'
'No, surely, my lord, for where would be the need?'
'Lest she should issue and give the alarm.'
Mistress Watson smiled an acid smile.
'Then the doer of that evil deed,' pursued lord Herbert, 'must be now inthe castle, and from this moment every power I possess in earth, air, orsea, shall be taxed to the uttermost for the discovery of that evilperson. Let this vow of mine be known, mistress Watson, as a thing thouhast heard me say, not commission thee to report. Prithee take heed towhat I desire of thee, for I am not altogether powerless to enforce thatI would.'
Mistress Watson left the workshop in humbled mood. To her spiritualbenefit lord Herbert had succeeded in punishing her for her cruelty toDorothy; and she was not the less willing to mind his injunction as tothe mode of mentioning his intent, that it would serve to the quenchingof any suspicion that she had come under his disapproval.
And now lord Herbert, depending more upon his wits than his learning,found himself a good deal in the dark. Confident that neither Richard,Tom Fool, nor mistress Watson had locked the door of the turret chamberafter Dorothy's entrance, he gave one moment to the examination of thelock, and was satisfied that an enemy had done it. He then started histhoughts on another track, tending towards the same point: how was itthat the roundhead, who had been carried insensible to theturret-chamber, had been able, ere yet more than a film of grey thinnedthe darkness, without alarming a single sleeper, to find his way from apart of the house where there were no stairs near, and many rooms, alloccupied? Clearly by the help of her, whoever she was, whom Tom Fool hadseen with him by the hall door. She had guided him down my lord's stair,and thus avoided the risk of crossing the paved court to the hall doorwithin sight of the warders of the main entrance. To her indubitably theyoung roundhead had committed the ring for Dorothy. Here then was onesecret agent in the affair: was it likely there had been two? If not,this woman was one and the same with the person who turned the key uponDorothy. She probably had been approaching the snare while the traitresstalked with the prisoner. What did her presence so soon again in thevicinity of the turret-chamber indicate? Possibly that her own chamberwas near it. The next step then was to learn from the housekeeper whoslept in the neighbourhood of the turret-chamber, and then to narrow theground of search by inquiring which, if any of them, slept alone.
He found there were two who occupied each a chamber by herself; one ofthem was Amanda, the other mistress Watson.
Now therefore he knew distinctly in what direction first he must pointhis tentatives. Before he went farther, however, he drew from Dorothy anaccurate description of the ring to which Richard's letter alluded, andimmediately set about making one after it, from stage to stage of itsprogress bringing it to her for examination and criticism, until, beforethe day was over, he had completed a model sufficiently like to pass forthe same.
The greater portion of the next day he spent in getting into perfectcondition a certain mechanical toy which he had constructed many yearsbefore, and familiarising himself with its working. This done, he foundhimself ready for his final venture, to give greater solemnity to whichhe ordered the alarum-bell to be rung, and the herald of the castle tocall aloud, first from the bell-tower in the grass-court, next from theroof of the hall-porch in the stone-court, communicating with theminstrels' gallery, that on the following day, after dinner, so soon asthey should hear the sound of the alarum-bell, every soul in the castle,to the infant in arms, all of whatever condition, save old motherPrescot, who was bed-ridden, should appear in the great hall, that lordHerbert might perceive which amongst them had insulted the lord and therule of the house by the locking of one of its doors to the imprisonmentand wrong of his lordship's cousin, mistress Dorothy Vaughan. Threestrokes of the great bell opened and closed the announcement, and agreat hush of expectancy, not unmingled with fear, fell upon the place.
There was one in the household, however, who at first objected to thewhole proceeding. That was sir Toby Mathews, the catholic chaplain. Hewent to the marquis and represented that, if there was to be anyexercise whatever of unlawful power, the obligations of the sacredoffice with which he was invested would not permit him to be present orconnive thereat. The marquis merrily insisted that it was a case ofexorcism; that the devil was in the castle, and out he must go; that ifSatan assisted in the detection of the guilty and the purging of theinnocent, then was he divided against himself, and what could be betterfor the church or the world? But for his own part he had no hand in it,and if sir Toby had anything to say against it, he must go to his son.This he did at once; but lord Herbert speedily satisfied him, pledginghimself that there should be nothing done by aid from beneath, andmaking solemn assertion that if ever he had employed any of the evilpowers to work out his designs, it had been as their master and nottheir accomplice.
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