Queen Mab. A novel

Chapter I

IjgwJOSTYX HA 1. 1., the seat of the *|ojflR§J Musts ii family, was situated in '■'■::1^ one 0f Midland counties, as famous for its hunting as for its shooting. The Quorn, Cottesmore, and Belvoir packs were all accessible from Mostyn, while the home coverts, though not of great size, held both foxes and pheasants. To Squire Mostyn it would have been a greater annoyance to have had his coverts drawn 1 VOL. I. blank than to have heard that he had heavily OA*erdrawn his account. And if his friends could not have accounted for their eight hundred head upon his best day by fair shooting, then either the guns or his head - keeper must have been to blame. If the former, nothing was said. But if the latter, none knew better than the keeper himself that his place was not worth a A\*eek's purchase. A large rambling house was Mostyn Hall, old and heaA'ily covered A\*ith ivy.

Built in the seA*enteenth century, it had been largely added to until it became a A*ery imposing structure, though somewhat too straggling and irregular to please the exact eye of an architect. The property, some four thousand acres in extent, yielded a gross rent-roll of about nine thousand a year; and this, as the successive owners had ne\*er exhibited very extravagant tastes, was amply sufficient to keep the old Hall an open house, and to alloAv the proprietor to indulge in all the country pursuits for which he had an in clination. The squires of Mostyn had never at tempted to vie AA*ith their richer neighbours ; to maintain a good house, a first-rate stable, and fair shooting had been the height of their ambition. A county contest had indeed cost the present head of the family some seven thousand pounds.

But that Avas many years ago ; and being defeated, Lionel Mostyn had cheerfully paid his ex penses, but also registered a secret vow to abstain in future from interfering with politics at all. Nor could all the entreaties and arguments of his neighbours move him from this resolve. ' I gave them the chance once,' he good humouredly remarked, AA*hen severely re- 1—2 monstrated with for his apathy by the Lord Lieutenant of the county. ' Faith, and that once, though long ago, was enough for me ! I Avon't be refused a second time, that I promise you. Fifteen years before the opening of our story Lionel Mostyn, by the death of his Avife at the birth of his only child, had suffered a shock from AA*hich he never re covered. Not even his dearest friend could get him to talk of his wife. She had been the one woman he prized beyond all the world, and his married life of barely tAvelve months had been a period of utter happiness and contentment.

From the day upon which he had stood, apparently unmoA*ed, by her open grave, Lionel Mostyn had become a changed man. Old friends noticed that he seemed year after year to grow sterner and more reserved. To hounds he rode harder than ever, l}ut life seemed to have no interest or joy for him save one ; for his little daughtei , the innocent cause of her mother's death, he entertained a feelino; almost akin to idolatry. As the child grew old enough she accompanied him everywhere, he grudg ing even the very few hours which she spent in the schoolroom — Avhere, if the truth be told, she did pretty* much as she chose. Her lovely face and coaxing ways made her a general favourite. The farmers and tenantry idolized her, and ever since she had been old enough to ride her tiny Shetland helter-skelter about the surround ing country, she had reigned over them as a queen.

Besides being the future possessor of Mostyn Hall, little Margaret Mostyn was known to be absolute mistress over her father. To secure a favour from the Squire, nothing further Avas needed than the kindly word of Miss Margaret ; and knowing this, everyone, from the Rector's wife to the humblest farmer, seemed to have joined in a compact to pet and spoil her. Did the Rector Avant an odd hundred pounds with Avhich to finish a neAv schoolhouse, or did a burly farmer require the rabbits on his land to be a trifle feA\*er, no surer way of obtaining: their Avishes than through her. From her imperious ways and regal manner, she had acquired the pet name of Queenie or Queen Mab ; and, except by the servants, she Avas rarely called anything else. But Queen Mab, though everyone gave Avay to her, Avas far from being haughty or self-willed.

The child's nature Avas too good and honest to be anything but sweet tempered and kind. Though she had never known what it was to have a Avhim ungratified, or a Avish refused, yet the girl's inherent good breeding saved her from being spoiled. And everyone Avho knew Queen Mab loved her, from the humblest cottager on the Mostyn property to the magnates of the county. Our story opens in glowing July. The great heat of middle day had passed, giving place to the somewhat cooler shades of evening. Mostyn Hall, with its ivy-covered walls and large mullioned windows, was looking its best. The long sloping terrace, which ran the whole length of the southern side of the house, seemed cool and inviting in the extreme when compared with the fiery* glow still resting on the neighbouring gardens and the farstretching park.

It was a glorious country from a sports man's point of vieAv. Far beyond the park on every side stretched, not golden cornfields or hop-gardens, but large stiffly enclosed pastures, the cream of the grass coimties — the scene of many a gallant run with the celebrated Cottesmore hounds. On the southern terrace, engaged in watching the sports of tAvo colleys and a precocious foxhound puppy, stood two figures, as unlike each other in appearance as nature could possibly* make them. The elder of the tAvo was a lady ap parently between fifty-fiA*e and sixty, with a kind, beautiful face — beautiful eA*en at her age, though no art or colouring adorned, or rather disfigured it. Her hair, plentifully sprinkled with grey, was drawn plainly from her clear intellectual forehead, and neatly coiled behind her head, o\*er wliich she wore a lace veil wdiich fell to her shoulders.

This was Mrs. Desmond, to Avhom Mr. Mostyn had entrusted the somewhat serious task of educating and directing his somewhat wayward Queen Mab. Mrs. Desmond, a daughter of one of Ireland's oldest though most impoverished families, Avho had married a penniless subaltern at seventeen and had been left a widow at twenty, was fully equal to the charge — with her, indeed, a labour of loA*e. She treated Queen Mab more as a daughter than a pupil, and Avell Avas her affection repaid. Queen Mab, in whom, young though she Avas, pride of race Avas very strong, knew that in point of birth Mrs. Desmond AA*as her equal ; and never since the age of ten, when Mrs. Desmond first took the little girl under her charge, had there been a single misunderstanding be tween them. Queen Mab, leaning over the grey stone balustrade, seemed Avholly absorbed in watching her three canine faA*ourites.

Dressed in a tight-fitting blue silk jersey, Avhite cashmere skirt, and white Carlist cap, the girl made a very pretty picture, as her lovely face lit up with laughter and her eyes danced Avith fun at the gambols of the three dogs beloAv her. ' Oh, Mrs. Desmond, do look, dear !' she exclaimed eagerly, throwing her hair off her face, as she looked laughingly round at her governess. ' See, the puppy has twice been rolled over — do look at his face ! And Hector knoAvs he must not hurt him. What a puppy it is ! See, he has caught Moira by the tail !' ' Does not Mr. Mostyn return this even ing, Queenie?' asked Mrs. Desmond, after duly admiring the bravery of the foxhound puppy. ' He has stayed aAvay two days longer than you expected, has he not ?' ' Yes ; I do not know what has kept him in London,' slowly replied the girl, again resting her arms upon the grey balustrade, and looking dreamily over the lovely scene before her. ' He did not tell me in his letter this morning — in fact, he said very little except that I was to meet him at the station.

I shall drive the new bays. What a lot I shall have to tell him !' she continued, brightly. ' I wonder if he knoAvs that Lord Darell has returned to Heron Castle at last. I am so glad, the place looked so dismal all closed up — as it has been ever since I can remember, for the late Earl never Avould live there.' ' Has young Lord Darell really returned ?' asked Mrs. Desmond quietly, as the tAvo strolled side by side towards the end of the terrace. ' Who told you, Queenie ? I have heard nothing of it. I always believed that he Avould never be able to live at Heron Castle — the late Earl left him very badly off.' ' At any rate he has returned,' replied the girl. ' My maid told me, and her brother is head-gardener at Heron. I A\*onder AA'hat he is like ?' she Avent on, musingly. ' I hope he is nice ; after all, Heron Castle is the principal place in our county, and if he should not be nice it will be dreadful.

His father, according to my old nurse, must haA*e been a species of ogre.' ' Then you have ne\*er seen him ?' in quired Mrs. Desmond, in a low voice. ' That seems strange, seeing that you and he Avill be the two largest landowners in the countv.' ' Oh, but I have seen him,' laughed Queenie, as with one bound she cleared the whole flight of steps to the gravel path beneath. ' But it was when I was quite a child.' ' What a very long time ago that must have been !' returned Mrs. Desmond, looking somewhat wistfully into the bright laughing face beloAv her. ' But where was it, Queenie, and when ?' ' It was years ago — ages,' answered Queen Mab, in a confidential tone. ' Ten years at least. I was about six, and I suppose he must have been tw*eh*e ; Ave met at a children's party at the Boswells'.

I remember him quite well, because I danced with him ; he danced vilely, and kicked my ankle. I recollect that I cried, and he gave me a box of bonbons, Avhich nurse took away from me.' ' Very interesting ! But you can't remember Avhat he was like, I suppose, Queenie ?' returned her governess, with an amused look. ' He Avas dressed in dark blue velvet, I think,' replied Queen Mab thoughtfully, ' and he had a nice face — but I don't remember very much. I knoAv I was very tired, and cried, and nurse took me away. I have neA-er seen him since.' ' Lord Darell and your father were neA*er great friends,' continued Mrs. Desmond, in a Ioav and rather subdued voice. ' He w*as the cause, I believe, of Mr. Mostyn not being returned for the county ; but that was many years ago — years before you Avere born.' ' I don't knoAv ; but I am sure father was in the right — he always is,' answered the girl eagerly. 'Father never did an unjust action in his life ; and if old Lord Darell and he were not friends, it could not haA*e been any fault of his.

Nurse says that old Lord Darell was an ogre, and I believe her.' ' He Avas a great man, though a bad one,' murmured Mrs. Desmond, as if speaking to herself — ' ambitious, headstrong, extrava gant. He ruined the Darell property, and others with it. Yet, Avith all his faults, Lord Darell was by no means an ogre, Queenie. What am I thinking about ?' she continued with a forced laugh, as she caught the wondering gaze of her companion fixed full upon her. ' Surely, Queenie, if you are going to meet your father it is time you started. SeA*en o'clock has struck — the train is due at 7.48.' ' Then let us walk round to the stables,' replied the girl lightly* ; ' the bays will not take long trotting o\*er. I will take the colleys with me ; you won't mind taking the puppy back to the house, will you ?

And please tell Soames we will have dinner at halfpast eight.' Long after the two fast-trotting bays had whirled the light double dogcart out of sight, Mrs. Desmond still stood listening to the faint rumbling of the AA-heels, until all sound was hushed by distance. Then, with a heavy sigh, she turned to quit the stable-yard, and, with her hand still upon the collar of the foxhound puppy, prepared to return to the Hall. ' And so Lord Darell has returned to Heron Castle!' she murmured, as she slowly walked up to the southern entrance. ' AVhat for ? Though only a boy — literally a boy of tA\*enty-two — I hear that he is the equal of his father in profligacy. Handsome he is sure to be, no Darell ever was other wise — winning and smooth-tongued also, or he Avould not be his father's son. And he is noAv at Heron Castle — Avhat for ?

Though others may be blinded I will not ; and, though none saA*e myself may credit it, I know that only the fair acres and big rent roll of my darling little Queenie could tempt Lord Darell to play the hermit at Heron Castle, when the London season is at its height.' J

Chapter II. Ou

look tired, father ; and you have ne\*er told me what kept you so long in London,' began Queen Mab, when, dinner over, and the Squire's small round table with its bottle of port being wheeled to the side of his armchair, she threw herself doAvn on the bearskin rug at his feet, betA\*een two colleys and a huge mastiff. ' Business, my pet ; what else do you suppose would keep me ?' and Mr. Mostyn laughed someAvhat awkwardly, avoiding his daughter's eyes Avhile he filled his glass, 2 VOL. I. and with his disengaged hand fondly stroked the luxuriant tresses of her hair. ' Business, my little ( Queenie, with Avhich you know I neA'er trouble you. Is it not enough that you should have the AA'hole care of my household without bothering yourself about the estate ? I belieA'e, Queenie,' he continued, ' that you would like to intervieAv Mr. Henderson yourself, and take everything off my hands.' ' Of course I should,' replied the girl, as she nestled closer to her father's knee ; ' that is, if I could help you.

But haA*e you really been in London all this time, father ? Your last letter,' she added with a bright laugh, ' was dated Grosvenor Street, but the post-mark was Newmarket.' ' You ought to haA*e been a detective, Queenie !' answ*ered the Squire more cheer fully, after slowly draining and refilling his glass. ' Yes, my child, I Avas at NeAvmarket. I went doAvn on purpose to buy a tAA*o-year-old filly of DaAvson's; he Avanted tw*o thousand guineas for her — a stiff price, as she has neA*er run, but I have every faith in his judgment. My errand was bootless, however, for Lord Darell had been before hand with me — he telegraphed from Paris.' ' Lord Darell !' echoed the child, as her large eyes opened in surprise. ' Why, he is here — at least at Heron Castle; he came yesterday, so nurse says.' ' I am very glad to hear it,' returned Mr. Mostyn — ' glad on more accounts than one.

I should like to know him better than I do — I have seen A*ery little of him. Now, Queenie, suppose you leaA*e off fond ling that very ugly colley of yours, and Avrite a letter for me. I should like Darell to come and dine here to-morrow or next day, whichever suits him best.' ' Not noAv, father,' pleaded the girl. ' I 2—2 don't feel inclined to write ; I wall when I go upstairs, and one of the grooms can take the note over in the morning at exercise. It is really late, nearly ten o'clock.' ' So it is,' returned the Squire. ' Time for you to be going to bed, my little pet. I have plenty to do before I do the same' Henderson comes to-morrow,' he continued rather wearily, ' and I shall haA*e a great deal of business to get through. Good night, Queenie ; God bless you, my darling ! You cannot think how much I have missed you all the week.' ' Not more than I have you,' ruefully replied Queen Mab. ' That horrid Hender son !' she continued with a pout, ' what can he want to-morrow, after all the days he has had you in town ?

And I had so much to show you ! Dolly has had puppies, five such beauties ; and I have made the chestnut foal quite tame, and I Avanted you so much to myself to-morrow. You will not be with him all day, will you, father ?' ' Only in the morning, Queenie. You shall dispose of the afternoon as you like. Good-night, my* darling ; come and see me the first thing in the morning as usual — vou won't forget ?' ' At eight o'clock you can expect us,' laughingly returned Queen Mab, with her hand on the door-handle — ' myself, Moira, Hector, and also the puppy, father ; he is a new addition to the house since you left. How you will love him !' ' Humph !' muttered the Squire, taking seA'eral letters from his pocket and laying them carefully on the mantelpiece. ' That is doubtful, Queenie. But you know you are welcome to bring an elephant into the house if the whim should take you.' Arrivingin her own co.sy little bedroom, luxuriously furnished and hung with rose and white draperies, Queenie threw herself into a huge armchair Avith a sigh of satis faction. ' Send nurse to me, Madeline !' she ex claimed, after having her hair brushed out and being attired in her little rose-coloured dressing-gown. 'I Avant somebody to talk to.

Tell nurse I want her at once.' ' Certainly, miss,' replied the offended abigail, in a somewhat injured tone; adding to herself, : If Miss Margaret Avanted some one to talk to, I should have thought I, who have lived in the highest families, could have amused her more than that dratted old Avoman.' Queenie' s nurse, being one of the persons her young mistress loved most in the world, was naturally hated by all her felloAv servants. This, however, Mrs. Parsons heeded not a rush. Secure in the attach ment of her ' bonny child,' as she called her little mistress, she ruled supreme, even the portly butler treating her with respect. With Madeline, Queenie's maid, she was in a state of perpetual warfare, for, as she expressed it, ' The lass was too high and gallivanting to please her ; and as for her dress — well, when she was young that was not the way decent serA*ants clothed them selves.' Madeline, on her part, called Mrs. Parsons an old guy, and marvelled how her young lady ever put up Avith her impudence.

Left alone by her maid, and pending the arrival of her nurse, Queenie bethought her self of her promise to Avrite to Lord Darell ; and drawing her chair closer to the table, after some consideration concocted the fol lowing note : ' Mostyn Hall. ' Dear Lord Darell, ' We have only* just heard of your return to Heron Castle, and my father wishes to know if you Avould care to come and dine here to-morroAV or next day*. We dine at eight, and shall be delighted to see you if you can come. ' Sincerely yours, ' Margaret Mostyn. ' P. S. — How unkind it was of you to buy that filly of Mr. DaAvson's, Avhen my father had set his heart on her !' Having read this over twice, Queenie enclosed it in one of her pretty envelopes ; and, having addressed it, threw herself back in her chair, and somewhat impatiently awaited the coming of her nurse. ' I wonder what nurse will say ?' she mused, a light laugh rising to her lips. ' Since I was a bab}* she has ahvays told me such hobgoblin tales of the late Earl.

I wonder if it is true that there are men's bones in the vaults at Heron, and skeletons Avith chains round their waists ? What a horrid idea ! I could not sleep comfortably over a dungeon. I like my OAvn little rose curtained bed best !' ' Madeline only j ust told me that you Avanted me, Miss Margaret,' began Queenie's old nurse, as she entered her young mis tress's room. ' I must say,' she continued rather irritably, ' that she has taken her time over deli\*ering her message ; but that does not surprise me. Her airs are ' ' Now, nurse,' laughingly interrupted Queen Mab, turning to look archly at the old woman's wrathful face, ' you know this is Avhat I neA*er permit — not even from you. I do not alloAV Madeline to talk about you, and I do not allow you to talk about her. I sent for }*ou,' she con tinued merrily, ' because I did not feel inclined to go to bed, and I wanted you to tell me a story.

Now, can't you remember one? Tell me a ghost-story ; something to make my hair stand on end.' 'Indeed, I will do nothing of the kind, Miss Margaret,' answered the old woman. ' It is high time you were in bed, and ghost-stories will only give you a night mare. Mercy on me !' she continued hastily, her eye falling on the letter addressed to Lord Darell. ' The Earl ! Miss Margaret, Avhat can you be writing to his lordship about ?' ' That letter? Ah, yes,' returned Queen Mab unconcernedly. ' I forgot to tell Madeline that Jervis or one of the grooms must ride over with that note early, to Heron ; they can take it at exercise, and bring back the answer. What are you staring at, nurse? — the envelope will not bite you ! What is the matter?' ' Nothing is the matter, Miss Margaret,' almost solemnly answered the old nurse, taking possession of the letter and placing it in her pocket. ' I will give it to Jervis myself, with your orders.

I did not know you knew the Earl — at least, not since he was a little boy. I had charge of you then, and child though he was, I took you away from the ball-room and brought you home as soon as I saw him come and speak to you. That Avas many years ago, and you may not remember it. Noav I can do nothing. But, Miss Margaret,' continued the old Avoman, in a broken voice, tears rushing to her eyes, ' if by giving my poor old, useless life I could hinder your ever knoAving Lord Darell, or any of his race, gladly Avould I lay it doAvn. When you Avere born I took you from your poor mother, I have loved you as a mother myself, and brought you up all these years. Miss Queenie, do listen to me! The Darells have ahvays been a race of fiends — oh, I know them, and Avell— none better ! I tried when you A\*ere quite a child to instil a dislike and dread of them in your mind, and now ' ' Really, nurse,' broke in Queen Mab, startled by her companion's vehemence, and rising from her chair — ' really, I cannot allow this.

You do not know what you are saving. I wrote that note by my father's wish, to ask Lord Darell to dinner — just as I write all imitations. How poor Lord Darell can have offended you, I cannot imagine. My father knows him and likes him. That is enough for us. You pretend to be charitable, nurse,' con tinued the girl severely. ' What has this young man got to do Avith the faults of his father? He is only twenty-two, and for all you know he may be one of the best men living.' o ' Then if he is, his reputation sorely wrongs him ' obstinately replied the old woman. ' A good Earl of Darell !' she continued scornfully. ' When has there ever been one? Earl Francis, Earl George, Earl Walter — father, grandfather, and great-grandfather — aye, and further back still ! None ; no, not one.' ' Really, nurse, you are absurdly preju diced,' returned Queen Mab, resuming her chair and amusing herself by playing with her long, luxuriant hair. ' I suppose Lord Darell is much the same as other men of his age and position.

Your faA*ourite Sir Ronald Estmere, I have heard, is no saint.' ' Sir Ronald Estmere !' answ*ered the old Avoman quickly. ' No ; and what young man is? But he is good and true. Look hoAv he is beloved by all ! And, Miss Mar garet,' she continued hesitatingly, ' he likes you, and I thought once you liked him.' ' Did you?' quietly retorted Queen Mab, a rosy* flush spreading over her face. ' Then, nurse, I am afraid you Avere wrong. And as for his liking me, that again is only your imagination. He certainly never told 7 me so. ' It is not my place to speak. I have already gone further than I should,' said Mrs. Parsons sorrowfully. ' Forgive me, Miss Queenie — your mother's last words Avere to bid me loA*e and care for you — and I haA*e — not even your father loves you as I do. But I fear I have forgotten my position.

It was not my place to speak as I haA'e spoken of my betters.' ' It is your place to do Avhatever 3*011 choose, dear nurse!' impulsh*ely cried Queen Mab, rising from her chair and throAA*ing her arms round the old woman's neck — ' at Mostyn Hall at any rate, so long as I am mistress here. But, nurse,' she continued graA*el}*, ' do not be silly — ■ and do not mention Sir Ronald's name again to me as you did just now. I assure you,' she continued, with a saucy laugh, ' that I care more for my chestnut horse, Blue Ruin, than for any man in the Avorld — except, of course, my father. With you and my father, Blue Ruin and Moira, I could be perfectly* happy on a desert island.' ' Yes, Miss Queenie, I know,' slowly re plied her nurse. ' But that wdll not last long. Your father and Moira and I will be secondary considerations very soon.

At least I and Moira will. Your father always must command your love and respect — a nobler gentleman neA*er lh*ed.' ' Now* I am going to bed,' said Queen Mab. ' Nurse, mind that the letter goes, and tell Holster that I shall want Blue Ruin at twelve o'clock. Father will be engaged all the morning, so I shall go for a ride. Good-night ; see that Madeline calls me at eight. I will breakfast in my own room. Mr. Henderson will be here, and I cannot stand him — besides, father Avill get over his private business all the quicker. What are you crying about?' she asked, in a softer voice, as the old woman's tears fell upon her face Avhen she bent down to kiss her. ' Don't be silly, nurse. Do you fancy the goblins from Heron Castle are coming to carry me away?'

Chapter III

WSBja|ERON CASTLE, the principal .■gwEfi sc^t of the Darell family, was "" certainly by far the most im posing structure in the Midland counties. Built on a steep and rocky summit, it commanded a view of almost two entire counties. In the fifteenth century Heron Castle had been a place of strength, and, if Avell gar risoned, quite capable of standing a long siege. Of the old feudal towers only the Round Tower, as it was called, and the barbican remained ; the rest of the Castle 3 VOL. I. having been almost entirely rebuilt. But though, with a vieAV to comfort, the pro prietors had replaced the old and massive walls and turrets with more modern wings and terraces, still the original architecture had been adhered to as far as possible ; and though no longer boasting its once formid able strength, Heron Castle, w*ith its huge round tower and barbican, remained a monument of a bygone age.

The drawing-rooms, billiard-room, library and dining-room covered almost the Avhole of the ground-floor, the windows of each opening upon the Avestern terrace which ran the entire length of the Castle. From this terrace the lawns and rose-gardens sloped gradually away until they seemed almost to join the park, from which, how ever, they Avere separated by a wide and deep moat surrounding the Castle on every side. Beyond the moat, far as the eye could reach south, east, and west, stretched the heavily timbered park-glades covered with oak, green and copper beech, and gigantic firs, giving it the semblance of a veritable forest. Here, amidst the high ferns and luxuriant vegetation, roamed herds of deer and w*ild Highland cattle, their rough shaggy coats and huge horns making them look even fiercer than they really were.