by Walter Scott
CHAPTER VII.
"This is he Who rides on the court-gale; controls its tides; Knows all their secret shoals and fatal eddies; Whose frown abases, and whose smile exalts. He shines like any rainbow--and, perchance, His colours are as transient."--OLD PLAY.
There was some little displeasure and confusion on the Countess's brow,owing to her struggle with Varney's pertinacity; but it was exchangedfor an expression of the purest joy and affection, as she threw herselfinto the arms of the noble stranger who entered, and clasping him to herbosom, exclaimed, "At length--at length thou art come!"
Varney discreetly withdrew as his lord entered, and Janet was about todo the same, when her mistress signed to her to remain. She took herplace at the farther end of the apartment, and continued standing, as ifready for attendance.
Meanwhile the Earl, for he was of no inferior rank, returned his lady'scaress with the most affectionate ardour, but affected to resist whenshe strove to take his cloak from him.
"Nay," she said, "but I will unmantle you. I must see if you have keptyour word to me, and come as the great Earl men call thee, and not asheretofore like a private cavalier."
"Thou art like the rest of the world, Amy," said the Earl, suffering herto prevail in the playful contest; "the jewels, and feathers, and silkare more to them than the man whom they adorn--many a poor blade looksgay in a velvet scabbard."
"But so cannot men say of thee, thou noble Earl," said his lady, as thecloak dropped on the floor, and showed him dressed as princes when theyride abroad; "thou art the good and well-tried steel, whose inly worthdeserves, yet disdains, its outward ornaments. Do not think Amy can lovethee better in this glorious garb than she did when she gave her heartto him who wore the russet-brown cloak in the woods of Devon."
"And thou too," said the Earl, as gracefully and majestically he ledhis beautiful Countess towards the chair of state which was preparedfor them both--"thou too, my love, hast donned a dress which becomesthy rank, though it cannot improve thy beauty. What think'st thou of ourcourt taste?"
The lady cast a sidelong glance upon the great mirror as they passedit by, and then said, "I know not how it is, but I think not of my ownperson while I look at the reflection of thine. Sit thou there," shesaid, as they approached the chair of state, "like a thing for men toworship and to wonder at."
"Ay, love," said the Earl, "if thou wilt share my state with me."
"Not so," said the Countess; "I will sit on this footstool at thy feet,that I may spell over thy splendour, and learn, for the first time, howprinces are attired."
And with a childish wonder, which her youth and rustic educationrendered not only excusable but becoming, mixed as it was with adelicate show of the most tender conjugal affection, she examined andadmired from head to foot the noble form and princely attire of him whoformed the proudest ornament of the court of England's Maiden Queen,renowned as it was for splendid courtiers, as well as for wisecounsellors. Regarding affectionately his lovely bride, and gratified byher unrepressed admiration, the dark eye and noble features of the Earlexpressed passions more gentle than the commanding and aspiringlook which usually sat upon his broad forehead, and in the piercingbrilliancy of his dark eye; and he smiled at the simplicity whichdictated the questions she put to him concerning the various ornamentswith which he was decorated.
"The embroidered strap, as thou callest it, around my knee," he said,"is the English Garter, an ornament which kings are proud to wear. See,here is the star which belongs to it, and here the Diamond George, thejewel of the order. You have heard how King Edward and the Countess ofSalisbury--"
"Oh, I know all that tale," said the Countess, slightly blushing, "andhow a lady's garter became the proudest badge of English chivalry."
"Even so," said the Earl; "and this most honourable Order I had the goodhap to receive at the same time with three most noble associates, theDuke of Norfolk, the Marquis of Northampton, and the Earl of Rutland.I was the lowest of the four in rank--but what then? he that climbs aladder must begin at the first round."
"But this other fair collar, so richly wrought, with some jewel like asheep hung by the middle attached to it, what," said the young Countess,"does that emblem signify?"
"This collar," said the Earl, "with its double fusilles interchangedwith these knobs, which are supposed to present flint-stones sparklingwith fire, and sustaining the jewel you inquire about, is the badge ofthe noble Order of the Golden Fleece, once appertaining to the Houseof Burgundy it hath high privileges, my Amy, belonging to it, this mostnoble Order; for even the King of Spain himself, who hath now succeededto the honours and demesnes of Burgundy, may not sit in judgment upona knight of the Golden Fleece, unless by assistance and consent of theGreat Chapter of the Order."
"And is this an Order belonging to the cruel King of Spain?" said theCountess. "Alas! my noble lord, that you will defile your noble Englishbreast by bearing such an emblem! Bethink you of the most unhappy QueenMary's days, when this same Philip held sway with her in England, and ofthe piles which were built for our noblest, and our wisest, and our mosttruly sanctified prelates and divines--and will you, whom men call thestandard-bearer of the true Protestant faith, be contented to wear theemblem and mark of such a Romish tyrant as he of Spain?"
"Oh, content you, my love," answered the Earl; "we who spread our sailsto gales of court favour cannot always display the ensigns we love thebest, or at all times refuse sailing under colours which we like not.Believe me, I am not the less good Protestant, that for policy I mustaccept the honour offered me by Spain, in admitting me to this hishighest order of knighthood. Besides, it belongs properly to Flanders;and Egmont, Orange, and others have pride in seeing it displayed on anEnglish bosom."
"Nay, my lord, you know your own path best," replied the Countess. "Andthis other collar, to what country does this fair jewel belong?"
"To a very poor one, my love," replied the Earl; "this is the Order ofSaint Andrew, revived by the last James of Scotland. It was bestowedon me when it was thought the young widow of France and Scotland wouldgladly have wedded an English baron; but a free coronet of England isworth a crown matrimonial held at the humour of a woman, and owning onlythe poor rocks and bogs of the north."
The Countess paused, as if what the Earl last said had excited somepainful but interesting train of thought; and, as she still remainedsilent, her husband proceeded:--
"And now, loveliest, your wish is gratified, and you have seen yourvassal in such of his trim array as accords with riding vestments; forrobes of state and coronets are only for princely halls."
"Well, then," said the Countess, "my gratified wish has, as usual, givenrise to a new one."
"And what is it thou canst ask that I can deny?" said the fond husband.
"I wished to see my Earl visit this obscure and secret bower," said theCountess, "in all his princely array; and now, methinks I long to sit inone of his princely halls, and see him enter dressed in sober russet, aswhen he won poor Amy Robsart's heart."
"That is a wish easily granted," said the Earl--"the sober russet shallbe donned to-morrow, if you will."
"But shall I," said the lady, "go with you to one of your castles, tosee how the richness of your dwelling will correspond with your peasanthabit?"
"Why, Amy," said the Earl, looking around, "are not these apartmentsdecorated with sufficient splendour? I gave the most unbounded order,and, methinks, it has been indifferently well obeyed; but if thoucanst tell me aught which remains to be done, I will instantly givedirection."
"Nay, my lord, now you mock me," replied the Countess; "the gaiety ofthis rich lodging exceeds my imagination as much as it does my desert.But shall not your wife, my love--at least one day soon--be surroundedwith the honour which arises neither from the toils of the mechanicwho decks her apartment, nor from the silks and jewels with which yourgenerosity adorns her, but which is attached to her place among thematronage, as the avowed wife of England's noblest Earl?"
"One d
ay?" said her husband. "Yes, Amy, my love, one day this shallsurely happen; and, believe me, thou canst not wish for that day morefondly than I. With what rapture could I retire from labours of state,and cares and toils of ambition, to spend my life in dignity and honouron my own broad domains, with thee, my lovely Amy, for my friend andcompanion! But, Amy, this cannot yet be; and these dear but stoleninterviews are all I can give to the loveliest and the best beloved ofher sex."
"But WHY can it not be?" urged the Countess, in the softest tones ofpersuasion--"why can it not immediately take place--this more perfect,this uninterrupted union, for which you say you wish, and which the lawsof God and man alike command? Ah! did you but desire it half as muchas you say, mighty and favoured as you are, who or what should bar yourattaining your wish?"
The Earl's brow was overcast.
"Amy," he said, "you speak of what you understand not. We that toil incourts are like those who climb a mountain of loose sand--we dare makeno halt until some projecting rock affords us a secure footing andresting-place. If we pause sooner, we slide down by our own weight,an object of universal derision. I stand high, but I stand not secureenough to follow my own inclination. To declare my marriage were to bethe artificer of my own ruin. But, believe me, I will reach a point, andthat speedily, when I can do justice to thee and to myself. Meantime,poison not the bliss of the present moment, by desiring that whichcannot at present be, Let me rather know whether all here is managedto thy liking. How does Foster bear himself to you?--in all thingsrespectful, I trust, else the fellow shall dearly rue it."
"He reminds me sometimes of the necessity of this privacy," answeredthe lady, with a sigh; "but that is reminding me of your wishes, andtherefore I am rather bound to him than disposed to blame him for it."
"I have told you the stern necessity which is upon us," replied theEarl. "Foster is, I note, somewhat sullen of mood; but Varney warrantsto me his fidelity and devotion to my service. If thou hast aught,however, to complain of the mode in which he discharges his duty, heshall abye it."
"Oh, I have nought to complain of," answered the lady, "so he dischargeshis task with fidelity to you; and his daughter Janet is the kindest andbest companion of my solitude--her little air of precision sits so wellupon her!"
"Is she indeed?" said the Earl. "She who gives you pleasure must notpass unrewarded.--Come hither, damsel."
"Janet," said the lady, "come hither to my lord."
Janet, who, as we already noticed, had discreetly retired to somedistance, that her presence might be no check upon the privateconversation of her lord and lady, now came forward; and as she madeher reverential curtsy, the Earl could not help smiling at the contrastwhich the extreme simplicity of her dress, and the prim demureness ofher looks, made with a very pretty countenance and a pair of black eyes,that laughed in spite of their mistress's desire to look grave.
"I am bound to you, pretty damsel," said the Earl, "for the contentmentwhich your service hath given to this lady." As he said this, he tookfrom his finger a ring of some price, and offered it to Janet Foster,adding, "Wear this, for her sake and for mine."
"I am well pleased, my lord," answered Janet demurely, "that my poorservice hath gratified my lady, whom no one can draw nigh to withoutdesiring to please; but we of the precious Master Holdforth'scongregation seek not, like the gay daughters of this world, to twinegold around our fingers, or wear stones upon our necks, like the vainwomen of Tyre and of Sidon."
"Oh, what! you are a grave professor of the precise sisterhood, prettyMistress Janet," said the Earl, "and I think your father is of the samecongregation in sincerity? I like you both the better for it; for I havebeen prayed for, and wished well to, in your congregations. And you maythe better afford the lack of ornament, Mistress Janet, because yourfingers are slender, and your neck white. But here is what neitherPapist nor Puritan, latitudinarian nor precisian, ever boggles or makesmouths at. E'en take it, my girl, and employ it as you list."
So saying, he put into her hand five broad gold pieces of Philip andMary.
"I would not accept this gold either," said Janet, "but that I hope tofind a use for it which will bring a blessing on us all."
"Even please thyself, pretty Janet," said the Earl, "and I shall be wellsatisfied. And I prithee let them hasten the evening collation."
"I have bidden Master Varney and Master Foster to sup with us, my lord,"said the Countess, as Janet retired to obey the Earl's commands; "has ityour approbation?"
"What you do ever must have so, my sweet Amy," replied her husband; "andI am the better pleased thou hast done them this grace, because RichardVarney is my sworn man, and a close brother of my secret council; andfor the present, I must needs repose much trust in this Anthony Foster."
"I had a boon to beg of thee, and a secret to tell thee, my dear lord,"said the Countess, with a faltering accent.
"Let both be for to-morrow, my love," replied the Earl. "I see they openthe folding-doors into the banqueting-parlour, and as I have ridden farand fast, a cup of wine will not be unacceptable."
So saying he led his lovely wife into the next apartment, where Varneyand Foster received them with the deepest reverences, which the firstpaid after the fashion of the court, and the second after that of thecongregation. The Earl returned their salutation with the negligentcourtesy of one long used to such homage; while the Countess repaid itwith a punctilious solicitude, which showed it was not quite so familiarto her.
The banquet at which the company seated themselves corresponded inmagnificence with the splendour of the apartment in which it was servedup, but no domestic gave his attendance. Janet alone stood ready to waitupon the company; and, indeed, the board was so well supplied with allthat could be desired, that little or no assistance was necessary. TheEarl and his lady occupied the upper end of the table, and Varney andFoster sat beneath the salt, as was the custom with inferiors. Thelatter, overawed perhaps by society to which he was altogether unused,did not utter a single syllable during the repast; while Varney, withgreat tact and discernment, sustained just so much of the conversationas, without the appearance of intrusion on his part, prevented it fromlanguishing, and maintained the good-humour of the Earl at the highestpitch. This man was indeed highly qualified by nature to discharge thepart in which he found himself placed, being discreet and cautious onthe one hand, and, on the other, quick, keen-witted, and imaginative;so that even the Countess, prejudiced as she was against him on manyaccounts, felt and enjoyed his powers of conversation, and was moredisposed than she had ever hitherto found herself to join in the praiseswhich the Earl lavished on his favourite. The hour of rest at lengtharrived, the Earl and Countess retired to their apartment, and all wassilent in the castle for the rest of the night.
Early on the ensuing morning, Varney acted as the Earl's chamberlain aswell as his master of horse, though the latter was his proper office inthat magnificent household, where knights and gentlemen of good descentwere well contented to hold such menial situations, as nobles themselvesheld in that of the sovereign. The duties of each of these charges werefamiliar to Varney, who, sprung from an ancient but somewhat decayedfamily, was the Earl's page during his earlier and more obscurefortunes, and, faithful to him in adversity, had afterwards contrived torender himself no less useful to him in his rapid and splendid advanceto fortune; thus establishing in him an interest resting both on presentand past services, which rendered him an almost indispensable sharer ofhis confidence.
"Help me to do on a plainer riding-suit, Varney," said the Earl, as helaid aside his morning-gown, flowered with silk and lined with sables,"and put these chains and fetters there" (pointing to the collars of thevarious Orders which lay on the table) "into their place of security--myneck last night was well-nigh broke with the weight of them. I am halfof the mind that they shall gall me no more. They are bonds which knaveshave invented to fetter fools. How thinkest thou, Varney?"
"Faith, my good lord," said his attendant, "I think fetters of gold arelike no other fetters--the
y are ever the weightier the welcomer."
"For all that, Varney," replied his master, "I am well-nigh resolvedthey shall bind me to the court no longer. What can further service andhigher favour give me, beyond the high rank and large estate which Ihave already secured? What brought my father to the block, but that hecould not bound his wishes within right and reason? I have, you know,had mine own ventures and mine own escapes. I am well-nigh resolved totempt the sea no further, but sit me down in quiet on the shore."
"And gather cockle-shells, with Dan Cupid to aid you," said Varney.
"How mean you by that, Varney?" said the Earl somewhat hastily.
"Nay, my lord," said Varney, "be not angry with me. If your lordshipis happy in a lady so rarely lovely that, in order to enjoy her companywith somewhat more freedom, you are willing to part with all you havehitherto lived for, some of your poor servants may be sufferers; butyour bounty hath placed me so high, that I shall ever have enough tomaintain a poor gentleman in the rank befitting the high office he hasheld in your lordship's family."
"Yet you seem discontented when I propose throwing up a dangerous game,which may end in the ruin of both of us."
"I, my lord?" said Varney; "surely I have no cause to regret yourlordship's retreat! It will not be Richard Varney who will incurthe displeasure of majesty, and the ridicule of the court, when thestateliest fabric that ever was founded upon a prince's favour meltsaway like a morning frost-work. I would only have you yourself to beassured, my lord, ere you take a step which cannot be retracted, thatyou consult your fame and happiness in the course you propose."
"Speak on, then, Varney," said the Earl; "I tell thee I have determinednothing, and will weigh all considerations on either side."
"Well, then, my lord," replied Varney, "we will suppose the step taken,the frown frowned, the laugh laughed, and the moan moaned. You haveretired, we will say, to some one of your most distant castles, so farfrom court that you hear neither the sorrow of your friends nor the gleeof your enemies, We will suppose, too, that your successful rival willbe satisfied (a thing greatly to be doubted) with abridging and cuttingaway the branches of the great tree which so long kept the sun from him,and that he does not insist upon tearing you up by the roots. Well; thelate prime favourite of England, who wielded her general's staff andcontrolled her parliaments, is now a rural baron, hunting, hawking,drinking fat ale with country esquires, and mustering his men at thecommand of the high sheriff--"
"Varney, forbear!" said the Earl.
"Nay, my lord, you must give me leave to conclude my picture.--Sussexgoverns England--the Queen's health fails--the succession is to besettled--a road is opened to ambition more splendid than ambition everdreamed of. You hear all this as you sit by the hob, under the shade ofyour hall-chimney. You then begin to think what hopes you have fallenfrom, and what insignificance you have embraced; and all that youmight look babies in the eyes of your fair wife oftener than once afortnight."
"I say, Varney," said the Earl, "no more of this. I said not that thestep, which my own ease and comfort would urge me to, was to be takenhastily, or without due consideration to the public safety. Bear witnessto me, Varney; I subdue my wishes of retirement, not because I am movedby the call of private ambition, but that I may preserve the position inwhich I may best serve my country at the hour of need.--Order our horsespresently; I will wear, as formerly, one of the livery cloaks, and ridebefore the portmantle. Thou shalt be master for the day, Varney--neglectnothing that can blind suspicion. We will to horse ere men are stirring.I will but take leave of my lady, and be ready. I impose a restraint onmy own poor heart, and wound one yet more dear to me; but the patriotmust subdue the husband."
Having said this in a melancholy but firm accent, he left the dressingapartment.
"I am glad thou art gone," thought Varney, "or, practised as I am in thefollies of mankind, I had laughed in the very face of thee! Thou mayesttire as thou wilt of thy new bauble, thy pretty piece of painted Eve'sflesh there, I will not be thy hindrance. But of thine old bauble,ambition, thou shalt not tire; for as you climb the hill, my lord, youmust drag Richard Varney up with you, and if he can urge you to theascent he means to profit by, believe me he will spare neither whip norspur, and for you, my pretty lady, that would be Countess outright, youwere best not thwart my courses, lest you are called to an old reckoningon a new score. 'Thou shalt be master,' did he say? By my faith, he mayfind that he spoke truer than he is aware of; and thus he who, inthe estimation of so many wise-judging men, can match Burleigh andWalsingham in policy, and Sussex in war, becomes pupil to his ownmenial--and all for a hazel eye and a little cunning red and white, andso falls ambition. And yet if the charms of mortal woman could excusea man's politic pate for becoming bewildered, my lord had the excuseat his right hand on this blessed evening that has last passed over us.Well--let things roll as they may, he shall make me great, or I willmake myself happy; and for that softer piece of creation, if she speaknot out her interview with Tressilian, as well I think she dare not, shealso must traffic with me for concealment and mutual support, in spiteof all this scorn. I must to the stables. Well, my lord, I order yourretinue now; the time may soon come that my master of the horse shallorder mine own. What was Thomas Cromwell but a smith's son? and he diedmy lord--on a scaffold, doubtless, but that, too, was in character.And what was Ralph Sadler but the clerk of Cromwell? and he has gazedeighteen fair lordships--VIA! I know my steerage as well as they."
So saying, he left the apartment.
In the meanwhile the Earl had re-entered the bedchamber, bent on takinga hasty farewell of the lovely Countess, and scarce daring to trusthimself in private with her, to hear requests again urged which he foundit difficult to parry, yet which his recent conversation with his masterof horse had determined him not to grant.
He found her in a white cymar of silk lined with furs, her littlefeet unstockinged and hastily thrust into slippers; her unbraided hairescaping from under her midnight coif, with little array but her ownloveliness, rather augmented than diminished by the grief which she feltat the approaching moment of separation.
"Now, God be with thee, my dearest and loveliest!" said the Earl, scarcetearing himself from her embrace, yet again returning to fold her againand again in his arms, and again bidding farewell, and again returningto kiss and bid adieu once more. "The sun is on the verge of the bluehorizon--I dare not stay. Ere this I should have been ten miles fromhence."
Such were the words with which at length he strove to cut short theirparting interview. "You will not grant my request, then?" said theCountess. "Ah, false knight! did ever lady, with bare foot in slipper,seek boon of a brave knight, yet return with denial?"
"Anything, Amy, anything thou canst ask I will grant," answered theEarl--"always excepting," he said, "that which might ruin us both."
"Nay," said the Countess, "I urge not my wish to be acknowledged in thecharacter which would make me the envy of England--as the wife, thatis, of my brave and noble lord, the first as the most fondly beloved ofEnglish nobles. Let me but share the secret with my dear father! Let mebut end his misery on my unworthy account--they say he is ill, the goodold kind-hearted man!"
"They say?" asked the Earl hastily; "who says? Did not Varney convey toSir Hugh all we dare at present tell him concerning your happiness andwelfare? and has he not told you that the good old knight was following,with good heart and health, his favourite and wonted exercise. Who hasdared put other thoughts into your head?"
"Oh, no one, my lord, no one," said the Countess, something alarmed atthe tone, in which the question was put; "but yet, my lord, I would fainbe assured by mine own eyesight that my father is well."
"Be contented, Amy; thou canst not now have communication with thyfather or his house. Were it not a deep course of policy to commit nosecret unnecessarily to the custody of more than must needs be, it weresufficient reason for secrecy that yonder Cornish man, yonder Trevanion,or Tressilian, or whatever his name is, haunts the old knight's house,and
must necessarily know whatever is communicated there."
"My lord," answered the Countess, "I do not think it so. My father hasbeen long noted a worthy and honourable man; and for Tressilian, ifwe can pardon ourselves the ill we have wrought him, I will wager thecoronet I am to share with you one day that he is incapable of returninginjury for injury."
"I will not trust him, however, Amy," said her husband--"by my honour,I will not trust him, I would rather the foul fiend intermingle in oursecret than this Tressilian!"
"And why, my lord?" said the Countess, though she shuddered slightly atthe tone of determination in which he spoke; "let me but know why youthink thus hardly of Tressilian?"
"Madam," replied the Earl, "my will ought to be a sufficient reason. Ifyou desire more, consider how this Tressilian is leagued, and with whom.He stands high in the opinion of this Radcliffe, this Sussex, againstwhom I am barely able to maintain my ground in the opinion of oursuspicious mistress; and if he had me at such advantage, Amy, as tobecome acquainted with the tale of our marriage, before Elizabeth werefitly prepared, I were an outcast from her grace for ever--a bankrupt atonce in favour and in fortune, perhaps, for she hath in her a touch ofher father Henry--a victim, and it may be a bloody one, to her offendedand jealous resentment."
"But why, my lord," again urged his lady, "should you deem thusinjuriously of a man of whom you know so little? What you do knowof Tressilian is through me, and it is I who assure you that in nocircumstances will he betray your secret. If I did him wrong in yourbehalf, my lord, I am now the more concerned you should do him justice.You are offended at my speaking of him, what would you say had Iactually myself seen him?"
"If you had," replied the Earl, "you would do well to keep thatinterview as secret as that which is spoken in a confessional. I seek noone's ruin; but he who thrusts himself on my secret privacy were betterlook well to his future walk. The bear [The Leicester cognizance was theancient device adopted by his father, when Earl of Warwick, the bear andragged staff.] brooks no one to cross his awful path."
"Awful, indeed!" said the Countess, turning very pale.
"You are ill, my love," said the Earl, supporting her in his arms."Stretch yourself on your couch again; it is but an early day for you toleave it. Have you aught else, involving less than my fame, my fortune,and my life, to ask of me?"
"Nothing, my lord and love," answered the Countess faintly; "somethingthere was that I would have told you, but your anger has driven it frommy recollection."
"Reserve it till our next meeting, my love," said the Earl fondly, andagain embracing her; "and barring only those requests which I cannotand dare not grant, thy wish must be more than England and all itsdependencies can fulfil, if it is not gratified to the letter."
Thus saying, he at length took farewell. At the bottom of the staircasehe received from Varney an ample livery cloak and slouched hat, in whichhe wrapped himself so as to disguise his person and completely concealhis features. Horses were ready in the courtyard for himself and Varney;for one or two of his train, intrusted with the secret so far as to knowor guess that the Earl intrigued with a beautiful lady at that mansion,though her name and duality were unknown to them, had already beendismissed over-night.
Anthony Foster himself had in hand the rein of the Earl's palfrey, astout and able nag for the road; while his old serving-man held thebridle of the more showy and gallant steed which Richard Varney was tooccupy in the character of master.
As the Earl approached, however, Varney advanced to hold his master'sbridle, and to prevent Foster from paying that duty to the Earl which heprobably considered as belonging to his own office. Foster scowled atan interference which seemed intended to prevent his paying his courtto his patron, but gave place to Varney; and the Earl, mounting withoutfurther observation, and forgetting that his assumed character of adomestic threw him into the rear of his supposed master, rode pensivelyout of the quadrangle, not without waving his hand repeatedly in answerto the signals which were made by the Countess with her kerchief fromthe windows of her apartment.
While his stately form vanished under the dark archway which led out ofthe quadrangle, Varney muttered, "There goes fine policy--the servantbefore the master!" then as he disappeared, seized the moment to speak aword with Foster. "Thou look'st dark on me, Anthony," he said, "as if Ihad deprived thee of a parting nod of my lord; but I have moved him toleave thee a better remembrance for thy faithful service. See here!a purse of as good gold as ever chinked under a miser's thumb andfore-finger. Ay, count them, lad," said he, as Foster received the goldwith a grim smile, "and add to them the goodly remembrance he gave lastnight to Janet."
"How's this? how's this?" said Anthony Foster hastily; "gave he gold toJanet?"
"Ay, man, wherefore not?--does not her service to his fair lady requireguerdon?"
"She shall have none on't," said Foster; "she shall return it. I knowhis dotage on one face is as brief as it is deep. His affections are asfickle as the moon."
"Why, Foster, thou art mad--thou dost not hope for such good fortuneas that my lord should cast an eye on Janet? Who, in the fiend's name,would listen to the thrush while the nightingale is singing?"
"Thrush or nightingale, all is one to the fowler; and, Master Varney,you can sound the quail-pipe most daintily to wile wantons into hisnets. I desire no such devil's preferment for Janet as you have broughtmany a poor maiden to. Dost thou laugh? I will keep one limb of myfamily, at least, from Satan's clutches, that thou mayest rely on. Sheshall restore the gold."
"Ay, or give it to thy keeping, Tony, which will serve as well,"answered Varney; "but I have that to say which is more serious. Our lordis returning to court in an evil humour for us."
"How meanest thou?" said Foster. "Is he tired already of his prettytoy--his plaything yonder? He has purchased her at a monarch's ransom,and I warrant me he rues his bargain."
"Not a whit, Tony," answered the master of the horse; "he dotes on her,and will forsake the court for her. Then down go hopes, possessions, andsafety--church-lands are resumed, Tony, and well if the holders be notcalled to account in Exchequer."
"That were ruin," said Foster, his brow darkening with apprehensions;"and all this for a woman! Had it been for his soul's sake, it weresomething; and I sometimes wish I myself could fling away the world thatcleaves to me, and be as one of the poorest of our church."
"Thou art like enough to be so, Tony," answered Varney; "but I thinkthe devil will give thee little credit for thy compelled poverty, and sothou losest on all hands. But follow my counsel, and Cumnor Place shallbe thy copyhold yet. Say nothing of this Tressilian's visit--not a worduntil I give thee notice."
"And wherefore, I pray you?" asked Foster, suspiciously.
"Dull beast!" replied Varney. "In my lord's present humour it were theready way to confirm him in his resolution of retirement, should he knowthat his lady was haunted with such a spectre in his absence. He wouldbe for playing the dragon himself over his golden fruit, and then, Tony,thy occupation is ended. A word to the wise. Farewell! I must followhim."
He turned his horse, struck him with the spurs, and rode off under thearchway in pursuit of his lord.
"Would thy occupation were ended, or thy neck broken, damned pander!"said Anthony Foster. "But I must follow his beck, for his interest andmine are the same, and he can wind the proud Earl to his will. Janetshall give me those pieces though; they shall be laid out in some wayfor God's service, and I will keep them separate in my strong chest,till I can fall upon a fitting employment for them. No contagious vapourshall breathe on Janet--she shall remain pure as a blessed spirit, wereit but to pray God for her father. I need her prayers, for I am at ahard pass. Strange reports are abroad concerning my way of life.The congregation look cold on me, and when Master Holdforth spoke ofhypocrites being like a whited sepulchre, which within was full ofdead men's bones, methought he looked full at me. The Romish was acomfortable faith; Lambourne spoke true in that. A man had but tofollow his thrift by such ways as offer
ed--tell his beads, hear a mass,confess, and be absolved. These Puritans tread a harder and a rougherpath; but I will try--I will read my Bible for an hour ere I again openmine iron chest."
Varney, meantime, spurred after his lord, whom he found waiting for himat the postern gate of the park.
"You waste time, Varney," said the Earl, "and it presses. I must be atWoodstock before I can safely lay aside my disguise, and till then Ijourney in some peril."
"It is but two hours' brisk riding, my lord," said Varney. "For me,I only stopped to enforce your commands of care and secrecy on yonderFoster, and to inquire about the abode of the gentleman whom I wouldpromote to your lordship's train, in the room of Trevors."
"Is he fit for the meridian of the antechamber, think'st thou?" said theEarl.
"He promises well, my lord," replied Varney; "but if your lordship werepleased to ride on, I could go back to Cumnor, and bring him to yourlordship at Woodstock before you are out of bed."
"Why, I am asleep there, thou knowest, at this moment," said the Earl;"and I pray you not to spare horse-flesh, that you may be with me at mylevee."
So saying, he gave his horse the spur, and proceeded on his journey,while Varney rode back to Cumnor by the public road, avoiding the park.The latter alighted at the door of the bonny Black Bear, and desired tospeak with Master Michael Lambourne, That respectable character was notlong of appearing before his new patron, but it was with downcast looks.
"Thou hast lost the scent," said Varney, "of thy comrade Tressilian.I know it by thy hang-dog visage. Is this thy alacrity, thou impudentknave?"
"Cogswounds!" said Lambourne, "there was never a trail so finelyhunted. I saw him to earth at mine uncle's here--stuck to him likebees'-wax--saw him at supper--watched him to his chamber, and, presto!he is gone next morning, the very hostler knows not where."
"This sounds like practice upon me, sir," replied Varney; "and if itproves so, by my soul you shall repent it!"
"Sir, the best hound will be sometimes at fault," answered Lambourne;"how should it serve me that this fellow should have thus evanished?You may ask mine host, Giles Gosling--ask the tapster and hostler--askCicely, and the whole household, how I kept eyes on Tressilian whilehe was on foot. On my soul, I could not be expected to watch him like asick nurse, when I had seen him fairly a-bed in his chamber. That willbe allowed me, surely."
Varney did, in fact, make some inquiry among the household, whichconfirmed the truth of Lambourne's statement. Tressilian, it wasunanimously agreed, had departed suddenly and unexpectedly, betwixtnight and morning.
"But I will wrong no one," said mine host; "he left on the table inhis lodging the full value of his reckoning, with some allowance to theservants of the house, which was the less necessary that he saddled hisown gelding, as it seems, without the hostler's assistance."
Thus satisfied of the rectitude of Lambourne's conduct, Varney began totalk to him upon his future prospects, and the mode in which he meantto bestow himself, intimating that he understood from Foster he was notdisinclined to enter into the household of a nobleman.
"Have you," said he, "ever been at court?"
"No," replied Lambourne; "but ever since I was ten years old, I havedreamt once a week that I was there, and made my fortune."
"It may be your own fault if your dream comes not true," said Varney."Are you needy?"
"Um!" replied Lambourne; "I love pleasure."
"That is a sufficient answer, and an honest one," said Varney. "Knowyou aught of the requisites expected from the retainer of a risingcourtier?"
"I have imagined them to myself, sir," answered Lambourne; "as, forexample, a quick eye, a close mouth, a ready and bold hand, a sharp wit,and a blunt conscience."
"And thine, I suppose," said Varney, "has had its edge blunted longsince?"
"I cannot remember, sir, that its edge was ever over-keen," repliedLambourne. "When I was a youth, I had some few whimsies; but I rubbedthem partly out of my recollection on the rough grindstone of the wars,and what remained I washed out in the broad waves of the Atlantic."
"Thou hast served, then, in the Indies?"
"In both East and West," answered the candidate for court service, "byboth sea and land. I have served both the Portugal and the Spaniard,both the Dutchman and the Frenchman, and have made war on our ownaccount with a crew of jolly fellows, who held there was no peace beyondthe Line." [Sir Francis Drake, Morgan, and many a bold buccaneer ofthose days, were, in fact, little better than pirates.]
"Thou mayest do me, and my lord, and thyself, good service," saidVarney, after a pause. "But observe, I know the world--and answer metruly, canst thou be faithful?"
"Did you not know the world," answered Lambourne, "it were my duty tosay ay, without further circumstance, and to swear to it with life andhonour, and so forth. But as it seems to me that your worship is one whodesires rather honest truth than politic falsehood, I reply to you, thatI can be faithful to the gallows' foot, ay, to the loop that danglesfrom it, if I am well used and well recompensed--not otherwise."
"To thy other virtues thou canst add, no doubt," said Varney, in ajeering tone, "the knack of seeming serious and religious, when themoment demands it?"
"It would cost me nothing," said Lambourne, "to say yes; but, to speakon the square, I must needs say no. If you want a hypocrite, you maytake Anthony Foster, who, from his childhood, had some sort of phantomhaunting him, which he called religion, though it was that sort ofgodliness which always ended in being great gain. But I have no suchknack of it."
"Well," replied Varney, "if thou hast no hypocrisy, hast thou not a naghere in the stable?"
"Ay, sir," said Lambourne, "that shall take hedge and ditch with my LordDuke's best hunters. Then I made a little mistake on Shooter's Hill,and stopped an ancient grazier whose pouches were better lined than hisbrain-pan, the bonny bay nag carried me sheer off in spite of the wholehue and cry."
"Saddle him then instantly, and attend me," said Varney. "Leave thyclothes and baggage under charge of mine host; and I will conduct theeto a service, in which, if thou do not better thyself, the fault shallnot be fortune's, but thine own."
"Brave and hearty!" said Lambourne, "and I am mounted in aninstant.--Knave, hostler, saddle my nag without the loss of one second,as thou dost value the safety of thy noddle.--Pretty Cicely, take halfthis purse to comfort thee for my sudden departure."
"Gogsnouns!" replied the father, "Cicely wants no such token from thee.Go away, Mike, and gather grace if thou canst, though I think thou goestnot to the land where it grows."
"Let me look at this Cicely of thine, mine host," said Varney; "I haveheard much talk of her beauty."
"It is a sunburnt beauty," said mine host, "well qualified to stand outrain and wind, but little calculated to please such critical gallants asyourself. She keeps her chamber, and cannot encounter the glance of suchsunny-day courtiers as my noble guest."
"Well, peace be with her, my good host," answered Varney; "our horsesare impatient--we bid you good day."
"Does my nephew go with you, so please you?" said Gosling.
"Ay, such is his purpose," answered Richard Varney.
"You are right--fully right," replied mine host--"you are, I say, fullyright, my kinsman. Thou hast got a gay horse; see thou light not unawareupon a halter--or, if thou wilt needs be made immortal by means ofa rope, which thy purpose of following this gentleman renders notunlikely, I charge thee to find a gallows as far from Cumnor as thouconveniently mayest. And so I commend you to your saddle."
The master of the horse and his new retainer mounted accordingly,leaving the landlord to conclude his ill-omened farewell, to himselfand at leisure; and set off together at a rapid pace, which preventedconversation until the ascent of a steep sandy hill permitted them toresume it.
"You are contented, then," said Varney to his companion, "to take courtservice?"
"Ay, worshipful sir, if you like my terms as well as I like yours."
"And what are your terms?" demande
d Varney.
"If I am to have a quick eye for my patron's interest, he must have adull one towards my faults," said Lambourne.
"Ay," said Varney, "so they lie not so grossly open that he must needsbreak his shins over them."
"Agreed," said Lambourne. "Next, if I run down game, I must have thepicking of the bones."
"That is but reason," replied Varney, "so that your betters are servedbefore you."
"Good," said Lambourne; "and it only remains to be said, that if the lawand I quarrel, my patron must bear me out, for that is a chief point."
"Reason again," said Varney, "if the quarrel hath happened in yourmaster's service."
"For the wage and so forth, I say nothing," proceeded Lambourne; "it isthe secret guerdon that I must live by."
"Never fear," said Varney; "thou shalt have clothes and spending moneyto ruffle it with the best of thy degree, for thou goest to a householdwhere you have gold, as they say, by the eye."
"That jumps all with my humour," replied Michael Lambourne; "and it onlyremains that you tell me my master's name."
"My name is Master Richard Varney," answered his companion.
"But I mean," said Lambourne, "the name of the noble lord to whoseservice you are to prefer me."
"How, knave, art thou too good to call me master?" said Varney hastily;"I would have thee bold to others, but not saucy to me."
"I crave your worship's pardon," said Lambourne, "but you seemedfamiliar with Anthony Foster; now I am familiar with Anthony myself."
"Thou art a shrewd knave, I see," replied Varney. "Mark me--I do indeedpropose to introduce thee into a nobleman's household; but it is uponmy person thou wilt chiefly wait, and upon my countenance that thou wiltdepend. I am his master of horse. Thou wilt soon know his name--it isone that shakes the council and wields the state."
"By this light, a brave spell to conjure with," said Lambourne, "if aman would discover hidden treasures!"
"Used with discretion, it may prove so," replied Varney; "but mark--ifthou conjure with it at thine own hand, it may raise a devil who willtear thee in fragments."
"Enough said," replied Lambourne; "I will not exceed my limits."
The travellers then resumed the rapid rate of travelling which theirdiscourse had interrupted, and soon arrived at the Royal Park ofWoodstock. This ancient possession of the crown of England was then verydifferent from what it had been when it was the residence of the fairRosamond, and the scene of Henry the Second's secret and illicit amours;and yet more unlike to the scene which it exhibits in the present day,when Blenheim House commemorates the victory of Marlborough, and no lessthe genius of Vanbrugh, though decried in his own time by persons oftaste far inferior to his own. It was, in Elizabeth's time, an ancientmansion in bad repair, which had long ceased to be honoured with theroyal residence, to the great impoverishment of the adjacent village.The inhabitants, however, had made several petitions to the Queen tohave the favour of the sovereign's countenance occasionally bestowedupon them; and upon this very business, ostensibly at least, was thenoble lord, whom we have already introduced to our readers, a visitor atWoodstock.
Varney and Lambourne galloped without ceremony into the courtyard of theancient and dilapidated mansion, which presented on that morning a sceneof bustle which it had not exhibited for two reigns. Officers of theEarl's household, liverymen and retainers, went and came with all theinsolent fracas which attaches to their profession. The neigh of horsesand the baying of hounds were heard; for my lord, in his occupation ofinspecting and surveying the manor and demesne, was of course providedwith the means of following his pleasure in the chase or park, said tohave been the earliest that was enclosed in England, and which was wellstocked with deer that had long roamed there unmolested. Several of theinhabitants of the village, in anxious hope of a favourable result fromthis unwonted visit, loitered about the courtyard, and awaited the greatman's coming forth. Their attention was excited by the hasty arrival ofVarney, and a murmur ran amongst them, "The Earl's master of thehorse!" while they hurried to bespeak favour by hastily unbonneting, andproffering to hold the bridle and stirrup of the favoured retainer andhis attendant.
"Stand somewhat aloof, my masters!" said Varney haughtily, "and let thedomestics do their office."
The mortified citizens and peasants fell back at the signal; whileLambourne, who had his eye upon his superior's deportment, repelledthe services of those who offered to assist him, with yet morediscourtesy--"Stand back, Jack peasant, with a murrain to you, and letthese knave footmen do their duty!"
While they gave their nags to the attendants of the household, andwalked into the mansion with an air of superiority which long practiceand consciousness of birth rendered natural to Varney, and whichLambourne endeavoured to imitate as well as he could, the poorinhabitants of Woodstock whispered to each other, "Well-a-day! God saveus from all such misproud princoxes! An the master be like the men, why,the fiend may take all, and yet have no more than his due."
"Silence, good neighbours!" said the bailiff, "keep tongue betwixtteeth; we shall know more by-and-by. But never will a lord come toWoodstock so welcome as bluff old King Harry! He would horsewhip afellow one day with his own royal hand, and then fling him an handfulof silver groats, with his own broad face on them, to 'noint the sorewithal."
"Ay, rest be with him!" echoed the auditors; "it will be long ere thisLady Elizabeth horsewhip any of us."
"There is no saying," answered the bailiff. "Meanwhile, patience, goodneighbours, and let us comfort ourselves by thinking that we deservesuch notice at her Grace's hands."
Meanwhile, Varney, closely followed by his new dependant, made his wayto the hall, where men of more note and consequence than those left inthe courtyard awaited the appearance of the Earl, who as yet kept hischamber. All paid court to Varney, with more or less deference, assuited their own rank, or the urgency of the business which brought themto his lord's levee. To the general question of, "When comes my lordforth, Master Varney?" he gave brief answers, as, "See you not my boots?I am but just returned from Oxford, and know nothing of it," and thelike, until the same query was put in a higher tone by a personage ofmore importance. "I will inquire of the chamberlain, Sir Thomas Copely,"was the reply. The chamberlain, distinguished by his silver key,answered that the Earl only awaited Master Varney's return to come down,but that he would first speak with him in his private chamber. Varney,therefore, bowed to the company, and took leave, to enter his lord'sapartment.
There was a murmur of expectation which lasted a few minutes, and wasat length hushed by the opening of the folding-doors at the upper end orthe apartment, through which the Earl made his entrance, marshalled byhis chamberlain and the steward of his family, and followed by RichardVarney. In his noble mien and princely features, men read nothing ofthat insolence which was practised by his dependants. His courtesieswere, indeed, measured by the rank of those to whom they were addressed,but even the meanest person present had a share of his gracious notice.The inquiries which he made respecting the condition of the manor, ofthe Queen's rights there, and of the advantages and disadvantages whichmight attend her occasional residence at the royal seat of Woodstock,seemed to show that he had most earnestly investigated the matter of thepetition of the inhabitants, and with a desire to forward the interestof the place.
"Now the Lord love his noble countenance!" said the bailiff, who hadthrust himself into the presence-chamber; "he looks somewhat pale. Iwarrant him he hath spent the whole night in perusing our memorial.Master Toughyarn, who took six months to draw it up, said it would takea week to understand it; and see if the Earl hath not knocked the marrowout of it in twenty-four hours!"
The Earl then acquainted them that he should move their sovereignto honour Woodstock occasionally with her residence during her royalprogresses, that the town and its vicinity might derive, from hercountenance and favour, the same advantages as from those of herpredecessors. Meanwhile, he rejoiced to be the expounder of hergracious pleasure, in assuring the
m that, for the increase of tradeand encouragement of the worthy burgesses of Woodstock, her Majesty wasminded to erect the town into a Staple for wool.
This joyful intelligence was received with the acclamations not only ofthe better sort who were admitted to the audience-chamber, but of thecommons who awaited without.
The freedom of the corporation was presented to the Earl upon knee bythe magistrates of the place, together with a purse of gold pieces,which the Earl handed to Varney, who, on his part, gave a share toLambourne, as the most acceptable earnest of his new service.
The Earl and his retinue took horse soon after to return to court,accompanied by the shouts of the inhabitants of Woodstock, who made theold oaks ring with re-echoing, "Long live Queen Elizabeth, and the nobleEarl of Leicester!" The urbanity and courtesy of the Earl even threw agleam of popularity over his attendants, as their haughty deportment hadformerly obscured that of their master; and men shouted, "Long life tothe Earl, and to his gallant followers!" as Varney and Lambourne, eachin his rank, rode proudly through the streets of Woodstock.