The Haunted Castle

Preface

. In presenting this volume to the Public, it may be as well to state that it was written merely for the Writers' own amusement ; but being pressed by their friends to publish it, they at last yielded to the request ; trusting that, with all its faults and imperfections, it might meet with a kindly reception.

Chapter I

"Will this road take me to Lewellen Castle?" demanded an elderly gentleman, addressing a wood man whom he happened to meet one bleak November evening in the year 1820. ■ " It will," replied the man ; " but by going this way you will have to cross a dreary common." " Shall I ?" "Yes; then take the turning to the right, and that will bring you direct to the Haunted Castle." " The Haunted Castle !" repeated the gentleman, with surprise. " There must be some mistake: I want the family seat of the Harringtowers." " I know." " And is that the mansion you allude to ?" " It is. It's known here as Lewellen, or the Haunted Castle." $ A " And pray what gave rise to the last appellation?" " La ! bless me ! did you not hear of the affair ; why it's talked of far and near." " I did not. I have been on the Continent for the last ten years."

" Ah, indeed ! AVell, the house and grounds are visited almost every night by the late lord." " The late lord ! AVhy, he has been dead some years." " Just eight this very night," added the woodman, who appeared to keep a strict account of the event he spoke of. " Nevertheless, he comes." " You surprise me," said the former, with a quaint smile. " Is it possible that you are a believer in such things ?" "Faith, I must be, Sir, when the facts come daily before my eyes." Here the gentleman leaped from his horse, and, throwing the reins across his arm, sauntered along by the side of his newly acquired companion. "Baugh!" he replied, "there can be no such facts ; no rising of the dead until the last day." " AVe are told so," rejoined the other ; " but I can assure you the rule doesn't stand good in this case."

" Then, has any one seen him ?" continued the gentleman, musingly. " I believe not ; but the sound of his footsteps, the rustle of the rich dressing-wrapper he was wont to wear, the soft sound^of his embroidered shoes, and the rash turning of the different door-handles, are all as distinctly heard as when he lived. Even the state bedroom is not free from his presence ; any one passing the door about twelve at night can hear him breathing, and tossing about in the bed as if extremely restless." " Then, I presume, the family does not occupy that room ?" " Oh, dear, no ! and they never enter the muniment room, except in daylight." " Why ?" " It's apparently his home, and on some occasions a blue vapoury light issues from the key-hole." " Even so, I am still incredulous," said the gentleman. His hearer smiled knowingly.

" Has the present owner tried to unravel the mystery ?" added the speaker. " Yes ; he has had the place ransacked over and over again, but his efforts are useless. Yet why he torments his brother I cannot think, for the present lord is not to say a bad man. He is a little haughty at times ; but then he has a long line of ancestors to boast of — ancestors that can be traced back to the old Norman kings." " Indeed !" " Oh, that he has." " And are there many in family ?" inquired the other. " My lord has a wife and four children, Sir, and not one of them but has a particular failure." " A failure ! how do you mean ?" A2 " AVhy the eldest, the Honourable Mr. Edgar," continued the man, " is a perfect young tyrant ; and he should certainly have better sense and feeling now, for he is a man in growth and almost one in years."

"He must be that," retorted the former, " for he was eight or nine years old when I left." " I suppose so." " And what's the matter with the second son ? I forget his name." " AValter ?" " Y^es." " Oh, he is a silly drone, good for nothing except to murder manners. Anything like the qualities suitable to his sphere in life cannot, I believe, be taught him. Miss Harringtower and Miss Anne," added the man, " are also queer creatures." "Like the mother, perhaps ?" " AA^cll, not exactly — in fact, it would be rather difficult to find her equal ; she has a heart of stone, and a mind like the most fertile land that was ever ploughed." " A heart of stone !" repeated the listener ; " then is she not charitable ?" " This way : she never gives anything her left hand doesn't know of. But there is one in the old castle still whom all on the land love."

"AVho is that?" " A young gentleman they call Edward Mowbray. He is about ten years old." " And how long has he been at the castle ?" inquired the gentleman. " Oh, some years." " A friend of Lord Harringtower's, I presume ?" "No, Sir." " What, then— his ward ?" " Not that either — in fact, the family look upon him as neither friend nor foe." " Then he must be a protege" ; if so, it speaks well for his lordship's benevolence." The man smiled ; he thought different. "Hold!" added the owner of the horse, "whatlight is that which illumes yonder turret, and throws its sickly, glare across the moat ?" " My God!" exclaimed the woodman, clutching the other's arm, as if to( stay their further progress; "that's the blue light." " The blue light ! AVhat mean you ?" " The late lord is about," replied the woodman in a tremulous whisper.

" AVhilst it remains in the turret the inhabited part of the castle is free ; when it disappears his wanderings commence." " You seem startled," said the gentleman ; " per haps you had better come no further." " AVell, you can't go astray now, Sir ; a step or two will take you to the gate." " Very well, thank you."

Chapter II

On entering the Castle, the gentleman, who prided himself on being Squire Rodnom, was most cordially received by the noble owner of Lewellen. The mistress of the mansion also smiled, and tendered her well-formed hand most graciously ; still, as she did so, there was a half-suppressed look, and contorted gathering of the lofty brow, which told plainly that the visit of the Squire was anything but pleasing to her; policy, however, made her restrain her real feelings, and she deceptively observed : " I am so pleased to see you ; our fire-side seemed dull without you." The visitor, who seemed to divine her thoughts, merely thanked her, and then continued : " What a change time makes ! your son AValter was but a very little boy when I went away, and as for that youngster. that star of your family," he added, pointing to Edward Mowbray, "he had not then gracedtheearth."

His hearers seemed confused, but her ladyship quickly rejoined — " Pardon, he must have been two or three years old then." " AVell, I never saw him before." " AVhich of the lads do you mean ? " demanded his lordship. " Y our son Edward," replied the visitor, in whose breast a strange interest respecting young Mowbray had sprung up. " A'hem ! I see. He is not my son," stammered the nobleman. " He is only papa's ward," chimed in Miss Har ringtower. " That's false ! " cried her brother, the Hon. Mr. Edgar, who might have been termed handsome but for the lewd expression that played around his mouth. " He is only our protege." " Silence, Edgar ! " roared his father. " Bless me ! does your lordship mean it ? " con tinued Rodnom, " AVhy I thought I saw a great *-" " This is my daughter Anne, Squire," interrupted her ladyship — " Squire Rodnom, my love."

The young lady, who now advanced, was in her seventeenth < year, and without any pretensions to beauty. " Ha ! " thought her ladyship, " How fortunate I am ! Anne's arrival has closed the subject, perhaps for ever. The star of our family, indeed ! AVhat does Ethelbert think now? His children slighted, and a pampered bastard, a beggar's brat, elated — ay, elated with the sound of praise that has been poured into his youthful ear. But wait : Maud Harringtower is not yet foiled." " Then, I presume, he is your nephew ? " con tinued the visitor, much to the chagrin of Lady Maud. " A sis " " Ethelbert ! " interrupted his wife, a dark scowl passing over her marble features, " You are stupid to-night. The boy," she added, addressing Rod nom, " is in no way related to us, he is merely a dependant on his lordship's bounty," At the word " dependant," the hot blood rushed to the cheek of Edward Mowbray, who was, in truth, a beautiful boy.

But suddenly cnecking the emo tion, he went on with a game of drafts which he had been playing with Miss Anne. " I trust his lordship will reap his reward," was the quiet reply. " He fcas," added the former, " as good a bed, and is as well fed, clothed, and educated as our own children. But we don't let people know of our good deeds." " I cannot think what else you are doing now, then," thought the Squire. " Neither should we, madam," he added, speaking aloud. " True, but it is not everyone you will find like us." " Y^our ladyship's right ; the Lord made us all different." " Very polite," thought the lady ; " a continental tour has not altered his manners, I see." " Lord Harringtower," observed the former, as if some new thought had flashed across his brain, " AVere you present at your brother's death ?

" " Yes ; I was summoned to his bedside a week before he died." " He never married, I suppose ? " " No," replied his lordship, a pallor overspreading his features. " He remained a bachelor to the last." " Strange ! " said his hearer. " How, strange ? " demanded Lady Maud, haughtily ; " are there not many men who die un married ? " " There are, madam, but rarely do you find them men of title ; the latter generally like to have heirs of their own." " AVell, my brother," said his lordship, " preferred me to either a wife or son." " Then it's rumoured in Spain that he was married, and that to a very charming young person." " Then it was false," retorted the other, " and mad as it was false. Had it been otherwise, don't you think he would have told me of it on his deathbed ? But I have no doubt the gay life he led may have given rise to the supposition."

" Perhaps so." " Never married, " mused Rodnom, as he wended his way home. " AVard ! protege ! dependant ! sister's son ? That's what his lordship would have said, had not that cold calculating woman inter rupted him. I trust no crime is shrouded beneath the mantle of benevolence." " He is gone, and may he never come back ! " ex claimed Lady Harringtower, when alone with her husband. " Lady Maud ! " cried the gentleman. " Ay ! you may stare," she passionately replied ; " but your looks matter naught to me. I have been grossly insulted this night, and you, who call yourself my husband, and a man of honour, sat on like some silly dotard, crest-fallen cur, and listened." " How insulted ? AVhat do you mean ? By whom ? " " By that old, inquisitive, prying fool — a fool," she added bitterly, " that I have often prayed you to thrust like a dog from your door, yet you would not."

" Hold, woman ! " interrupted his lordship sternly, " Know to whom you speak. AVhat, I again ask, has he done to offend you 1" " Listen to him! " her ladyship retorted, mockingly — " just listen to him speak, as if he didn't know to what I allude ; as if he did not hear the fellow call that low-born whelp ' the star of our family,' whilst Edgar, our son, our heir, stood by unnoticed." " Pooh ! pooh ! " exclaimed the gentleman, " the boy's appearance merited the compliment." " Indeed ! then does his birth also merit it ? " Her husband bit his lip. " But be that as it may, Ethelbert," she continued, " you must refuse him the house." " I shan't." " Then abide the consequence." " AVhat consequence ? " " AVhy, he will pry into and ferret out," she added, every annal, every epoch, and every event which has long since passed away, until he roots out the secret that has so long lay hidden in your breast."

" Secret! " repeated her husband. " Let him do his worst ; and in the end he will doubtless find that Ethelbert Harringtower is a match for his prowess." " AVell, Edward Mowbray must quit the Castle, and that for ever." " By whose orders ? " " Yours." " I cannot, I dare not," retorted the gentleman. " How often have I told you so before ? " " AAThat ! Is it the Lord of Lewellen says that he cannotturn out a beggar — acreature without a name? " " Silence, Maud! " roared her hearer ; " harass no longer my ears by such words ; you prate of Edgar, but if Edward Mowbray's blood were put side by side with his, you would then to your cost see the difference. Ah ! you stare," added the speaker ; " you think of Edgar, so do I ; and in the thought my hate, my wish, the feeling nearest my heart, suc cumbs to the interest nearest at stake.

At the same time," continued the gentleman, greatly excited, " do not try to ferret out that which has been a secret for years, lest you find when it is too late that the knowledge blasts, crushes, annihilates for ever your hopes and ambition." His hearer now sat motionless, her cold grey eye rivetted on the features of her husband. She in wardly felt that some great crime had been com mitted, robbery — nay, murder perhaps — and yet she was unable to account for its origin, its meaning, or its end. At length, however, striking the table with her clenched hand, she observed — IS 1 PW THE HAUNTED CASTLE. " Then, Ethelbert, I defy even destiny itself to do that." " AVell, it's more than I can do," replied the former. " I daresay you cannot," the lady coolly remarked ; " but had you taken me into your confidence years ago, the case would be different."

" I did, and do prefer acting alone," was the gloomy response. " Then you will fail." "Never!" " AVell, tell me," she said, " Have you made up your mind yet as to the trade the boy's to have ? " " AVhat boy ? " "Mowbray." " Trade ! " he repeated. " Ay, trade — what else would you have me say ? " " Ridiculous ! " cried his lordship. " Ridiculous ! AVhy so ? Did you not promise me eight years since, when his bastard breath first tainted the air of our dwelling, that you would bind him to a trade the very day he became tea years old, and by that means rid me and my family of his pre- 7 s, se nee : " I did ; but I am unable to fulfil my words : and even if I could," added the gentleman, " would you have the tenantry mock, sneer at me as I pass them by?" " Folly! " interrupted the haughty woman.

" They dare not attempt it. They know too well that if they did they would, in less than a month after, be turned out upon the streets to starve, and that their homesteads would be burned to the ground, I my self setting the first match." " Allowing all that," the gentleman carelessly said, " there are others, Maud, over whom you have no control — others^who would hoot and upbraid me for treating; a child of such tender vears in such a manner." " And pray how many are there," demanded his wife, " who earn their own living at his age, and even younger?" " Granted, Maud, granted ; but they have not been reared as Edward has been. They have been born to increase the number of the sons of toil — made to shift for themselves from almost their very cradle." " And more fool you, Ethelbert, that it's not so in this case.

AVhat blood, what birth, what lineage, has he to boast of that he should be treated different to his fellow slave ? " " AVell, hark it, my good woman," observed his lordship, " If I could manage Edward's going to a trade, I would ; feeling for him would, I can assure you, be the very last obstacle, for he is a thorn, and a bitter one, in my path," added the ambitious nobleman. The lady's plans were formed, and, inwardly exulting, she inquired : " AVill you leave the accom plishment of the act tome?" " AVell, yes, provided you run no risk — that's to say, no great risk." ' " All right ! to a trade he goes to-morrow ; we can easily add a year or two to his age." " Edward Mowbray to a trade ! oh, never! never ! " cried Carlow Fletcher, entering to put some coals on the fire. His hair had grown snow white in the service of the Harringtowers, and he had attended the late owner of Lewellen whilst ill, and was present at his death, as also at bis burial.

At the sound of his voice Lady Maud's husband sank back in his chair, a pallor overspreading his features. It was evident the old man's words had a great effect upon him. " Begone, sir ! " exclaimed his mistress, who had apparently nothing to fear. " How dare you let your voice be heard in our presence, until you were spoken to?" "I am going, my lady," he replied; "but mark me, no trade for Edward Mowbray ; a profession, if you like, but not even that till he is fourteen." " Did you hear me, sir ? " she again demanded. " I did, my lady." "Then go this instant." " Lord Harringtower," continued the old man, heedless of her ladyship's command, " you have heard my words ?" " I did, Carlow, I did," said his master, " and it shall be as you say." Lady Maud stood almost petrified. Could it be possible, she thought, that a menial dared to brave her.

Little did the arrogant woman dream that her ambi tious husband had been often braved before, and that, too, by the same menial. " It is well," he replied. The next instant the speaker opened the door with the intention of quitting the apartment ; but suddenly staggering back, he exclaimed in accent* the most terrific — " Gracious ! Mercy ! " " AArhat's wrong ? " cried his master. " The the the " Both lord and lady now sprang to their feet, and, gazing in the direction of the door, they once more beheld the dreaded blue light spoken of by the woodman. It gradually rose, waved to and fro, as if determined at every move to set the papering on fire ; then fell, then rose, and darted out and in. " Oh, Ethelbert !" gasped her ladyship, as with quivering frame she leant on the arm of her husband, " will it never pass on ?"

" Not a word, my lady, above our breath !" whispered Carlow, who still kept his back to the lady and her husband ; " he will then seek rest." In another second the lurid glare darted up the Hall with the rapidity of an electric shock. " Thank Heaven, it is gone at last !" murmured Lady Maud. " Look out, Carlow," said his lordship, who stood some distance from the door, " and see where it has fled to." AVith stealthy steps, his hands pushed far behind him, the old man peeped round the jamb of the door, and almost immediately observed — " It has "— " Well !" interrupted his master. "Just entered the strong room, my lord." " Oh ! I am so pleased," sighed her ladyship ; " may he nejær leave it ! We must surely quit this house," she added, as the servant disappeared ; " it has been nothing but harass, harass, since we took possession.

I hope you don't owe your brother AValter anything, when he annoys us like this. I am sure he cannot bear me any spite." Her husband shuddered. Perhaps the visit of the blue light had not yet passed from his memory. " It will ever be so, if you don't let Edward alone," he retorted. " If I do not—" " Do you know what hour it is ?" the former suddenly interrupted. "No." " The dial hand points to twelve." " And what means that ?" " The sooner we get to bed the better," was the cool reply. Her ladyship took the hint. She knew it was about that hour the ghost of her brother-in-law became most troublesome — a fact the servants also knew, and therefore generally took the precaution of locking themselves into their rooms before the turret bell struck the midnight hour. "Thank goodness, she is gone at last!" muttered her husband.

" It puzzled me to find words where with to shut her mouth. Yet I may be unfair to her. But, no ! no ! the title of lady, and a castle to live in, is to so vain a woman sufficient payment for all the annoyance she has to suffer. Little, oh, little is it to the mental torture I endure !"

Chapter III

" Yes, I shall do it. AVhy should I falter ? No tear of pity bedewed her cheek when the hope of my life was blasted for ever. Jlo pang of regret shall ring my heart when my lips pronounce that word which will destroy her happiness for ever. Throw her on the world as a heartless outcast, a fit object for the finger of scorn to be pointed at, the eye of pity to be cast on. Ay, Mabel Everleith, your hour of triumph has arrived. This night you shall go forth ; the bleak wind or the white snow of heaven shall not detain you. Hark !" added the speaker, " is that a footstep ? Ay, it is ; now is my time !" On finding herself in the open air a cold chill ran through the stately frame of Mabel. Y^et, heedless of the nipping frost, she with rapid steps traversed two B or three streets, and at length stopped opposite a dark-looking mansion.

" Is your master at home ?" she demanded. " He is," replied the powdered official. " I must speak with him," rejoined the lady. The next instant she stood in the presence of General Sir Arnold Everleith. "My gracious ! you here, Mabel, and at this hour, too !" exclaimed the baronet, starting to his feet. " Ay, Arnold," replied his sister, " even at this hour. I am faithful to your cause, and yet expect nothing better than reproaches." " Say not so ; you know how I love you ; but ease my anxiety," he added, " and tell me what brought you." " No idle errand, you may be sure, brought Mabel Everleith out to-night with the snow upon the ground. Look at my shoes, they are covered with the soft down of heaven, and all this to keep up the honour of my father's name." "The honour of his name!" repeated the general.

" Surely it's not upon that subject you would speak again ?" " It is, though. I suppose you will again tell me that Amanda is purity itself?" " I do, and you know she is. Yret, Mabel, for months you have almost driven me mad upon that point." " Not without reason, Arnold. And if you had only listened to me in time, much of the impending THE HAUNTED CA3TLE. 19 disgrace might have been spared you ; but you would not. All your confidence was placed in the vow of one who is hourly breaking it. "Silence, miss!" cried the gentleman ; "remember it is of my wife you speak." " Your wife in name, but not in affection. It is months since I told you that Amanda never loved you." " She does. I could stake my existence on it ; else why would she have rejected the hand of a noble lord to become my bride ?"

"Your fortune was immense, your family diamonds magnificent," said the heartless woman. " Do you mean to say that had anything to do with it ?" " Everything ; she herself told me so." False ! Mabel, false !" cried the general. " Those words, I could swear it, never crossed the lips of my wife." " Ingrate !" observed his sister, as her eyes flashed, " after all I have done for you — but there," she added, mockingly, " go to your wife ; embrace her, and dandle in your arms that infant whose baby cries will soon disgrace the ancient halls of your ancestors." "Mabel, thou art surely a fiend!" exclaimed her hearer. " You know the last time we spoke upon this distressing subject I told you I would listen to no more. I again repeat my words ; for all you will ever say will never shake my belief in Amanda's innocence." 2 b " Unless I produce proofs," replied his hearer, fixing her eyes upon him, " proofs such as I can offer."

"My God! Mabel! proofs of Amanda's guilt!" groaned her brother. " Oh ! never ; it cannot be. Oh ! say that you lie," he continued, in a paroxysm of grief, " that she on whom I bestowed my tenderest affections is still faithful to me, and — " " Willingly would I say it, Arnold, if I could," interrupted his sister — " but I cannot, even to pro mote your happiness, pollute my lips with a lie. Alas ! she who calls herself your wife is unworthy of your name." "The traitress! the false-hearted schemer!" cried the gentleman, starting to his feet. " But where is he who has thus robbed me of my happiness ? point him out to me, that I may tear out his heart, and throw it at her feet !" " Spoken like yourself, Arnold," replied the lady. " The true blood of your forefathers runs in your veins. But it is not him you have a right to blame.

" The house — your house," she repeated, seeing the effect her words were producing on the wretched husband, " was offered him by her who has always met you with her most engaging smiles, and who has so often let you press your lips to that cheek which the fairest rose would fail to match, but yet knew in her heart that its colour was dimmed by the polluting kiss'bf another." " Oh !" groaned her hearer. "It's true," she continued, with renewed energy ; " and therefore, as a man, as the noble descendant of the Everleiths, there is nothing left you but to cast her off, and that for ever." " Stay ! Mabel, for God's sake, stay ! or you will drive me mad." " Insanity is better than dishonour," chimed the former. "Tell me the name of the villain!" exclaimed Sir Arnold. " Reginald Eustaces ;" and if you will come with me to Clarinda Hall you will find him with her," said Mabel, as her lips became bloodless.

" Find him with her !" gasped the general, as he snatched up his sword, and rushed out, closely fol lowed by his sister. "Hold, Arnold!" she whispered, trying to impede his progress. " You are like a madman, and by your hurry you will ruin everything." " Yes ! his heart's blood," murmured the general, heedless of her words. " Look ! for heaven's sake look !" cried Mabel, pointing to a dark shadow in the doorway of Clarinda Hall. The next instant a gentlemanly looking man rushed •out, observing, " I must fly. Good night, Amanda." With one spring the outraged husband darted from the side of Mabel, in order to overtake the destroyer of his peace ; but his efforts were useless, the ruffian had disappeared, dropping, as be did so, a diamond bracelet. " That is your wife's," observed his sister, pointing to the bracelet.