Lady Adelaide's Oath

Front matter

BV THE AUTHOE OF "EAST LYNNE." LONDON: RICHAED BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET. publisher in (Dritinarg lo \tt glajcstg. 1867. l:Y MRS. HENRY WOOD, AUTHOR OF "EAST LYNNE," "THE CHANNINGS," ETC. A NEW EDITION. LONDON: RICHAED BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET. [The right of translation is reserved.] 1867. CONTENTS. CHAPTER pAeK I. HARRY DANE ...... 1 II. KICKED DOWN STAIRS . . . . .14 III. THE FALL FROM THE CLIFF . . . .26 IV. RAVENSBIRD'S ARREST . . . . .34 V. FUTTING HER TO THE OATH . . . .45 VI. ANOTHER PHASE IN THE NIGHT'S STORY . . 59 VII. MORTALITY . . . . . .10 VIII. MARGARET BORDILLION. . . . .82 IX. BROUGHT IN BY THE FISHING-BOAT . . .94 X. THE LEASE OJ THE SAILORS' K1>I^^ 104 XI. UNEXPECTED .11s) xn. Margaret's cup pretty full . . . 126 XIII. changes . . . • . . . 130 XIV. WILFRED LESTER COMES TO GRIEF . . . 140 XV.

LORD DANE HOME AGAIN . . . .163 XVI. SPARING SUGAR AND BUTTER . . . . 17 o XVII. THE SHIPWRECK . . . . . 1S6 XVIII. AT THE SAILORS' REST. . . . .100 XIX. THE BOX THAT THE SEA CAST UP . . 212 XX. UNACCOUNTABLY VANISHED .... 221 XXI. SEARCHING DANE CASTLE .... 234 XXII. APPLYING TO INSPECTOR BENT . . . 24o CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGK XXIII. A BATTLE ROYAL . 253 XXIV. A DISCLOSURE TO WILFRED LESTER . . • 265 XXV. THE RENDEZVOUS IN THE WOOD . • 276 XXVI. A DOSE FOR TIFFLE ..... 288 XXVII. LORD DANE IN THE CHAPEL RUINS . . . 296 XXVIII. THE LONDON BANKER ..... 306 XXIX. THE NIGHT ATTACK . . . . .317 XXX. MADE PRISONER ..... 327 XXXI. THE DEAD IN LIFE ..... 338 XXXII. IN THE TRESTLE-CLOSET .... 350 XXXIII. SOWING AND REAPING .... 360 XXXIV. A MAN MAY NOT MARRY HIS GRANDMOTHER . , . 370 XXXV. SALLY'S STEP-UNCLE ..... 332 XXXVI. WRONGS MADE RIGHT ..... 395 \

Chapter I. Harry Dane

On a somewhat whd part of the coast of England, between one and two hundred miles distant from the metropohs, hes a smah town or village cahed Danesheld. The land on either side of it rises high, higher in some parts than in others, and overlooks the sea, -whilst the descent of the rocks, in places perpendicular, is not so in ah. There are parts where they slope back so gradually that a sure foot may descend with ease : and in these the hard nature of the rock appears to have softened with time, for grass grows upon the sides, and even whd flowers. In ancient times it was a settlement of the Danes : and there is no doubt that the name, now corrupted into Danesheld, was formerly written Danes' Hold. To the right of the village, as you stand facing the sea, the land is wild and rugged, and without sign of human habitation ; to the left, towards the east, may be seen some scattered houses of a superior description, two or three of them hand some mansions ; and behind, hes quite a colony of poor cottages and fishermen's huts, older than the mansions, older even than the village.

It should be noticed that ah these houses he with their faces to the sea, the highroad running immediately before some of them ; and the green heights, or plain, extending out between the road and the rocks. Beyond ah, stih towards the east, and about a mhe distant from the village, rise the conspicuous towers of Dane Castle ; a long but not high building, its red stone dark with age. There is a tower at either end, and a square turret surmounts the great gateway in the middle : from which turret a flag is always floating when the castle's chief, Lord Dane, is sojourning at it. Like the rest of the dwehings, it faces the sea, a narrow strip of greensward intervening between the gates and the highroad. Beyond the road, which has neither hedge nor wah of boundary, the grassland stretches out smooth and flat to the edge of the heights ; it is broad too just here, nearly a quarter of a mhe intervening between the castle and the sea.

Opposite to the extreme end of the castle, and very near to the brow of the heights, are the ruins of what was the chapel in the days of the monks ; its walls stih stand, and its casements, from which the glass has long since gone, are sheltered by prolific ivy, a darker screen than any glass could be. The lords of Dane would cause this ivy to be trimmed occasionahy, but it is a clustering mass. Traces of the altar and of its once-inscribed gravestones may be seen inside stih, but no roof remains: it is alike open to the calm and to the stormy sky. A pic turesque sight does that old ruin present in the slanting beams of the rising and the setting sun ; stih more so in the pale, mystic beauty of a moonlight night. In this part the rocks are perpendicular and not very high ; somewhat further on they recede greatly, and some rude steps are cut in them to the beach below ; the young Danes in theh boyhood, the present lord's two sons, would run up and down these steps with impunity, to get to theh boat, which they kept moored underneath.

Behind the castle there is a smah garden ; flowers and fruit do not seem to flourish here ; and, backwards, between the castle and the village, may be seen the signs of husbandry — ploughed fields, grass lands, with here and there a farm-house, surrounded by its ricks and barns ; ah, or nearly ah, belonging to Lord Dane — village, houses, lands ; the various tenants paying him rent for their occupancy. It was a sunshiny day in spring. Perched upon a gate that led into a clover-field, within view of the castle windows at the end facing Danesheld, within view also of the highroad and the green plain before it, there sat a gentleman doing something to a fishing-rod. He looked about eight-and-twenty ; a tah, slender man, with good features, though somewhat thin and sharp, and with dark eyes. His velveteen shooting-coat was thrown back from his shoulders, for the day was really warm ; and he was whistling softly at his work.

Hearing footsteps, he lifted his eyes, and saw, advancing from the direction of the village, a middle-aged man, a stranger, who wore the attire of a gentleman-sailor. As the stranger neared the gate he lifted his glazed hat from his head ; but, whether in courtesy, or whether merely to wipe his brow with his handkerchief, was not clearly ob vious. " Is that Dane Castle ?" asked the stranger. "Yes." " I thought it must be," was the comment of the sailor, spoken in an undertone. " Are the famhy at the castle now ?" The gentleman with the fishing-rod pointed towards the flag. " There is the sign of it. When his lordship of Dane is at home you see the flag waving there ; in his absence it does not show." "But why so?" The young man shrugged his shoulders ; his manner of speech was idle, characterized by a sort of cool equanimity almost bordering on ridicule ; not ridicule of the stranger, but of the Danes he was speaking of.

" Because it's one of the old Dane customs. They have some queer ones. Those scrohs and crosses you see on the flag are the Dane arms." " Are both the sons at home ! Pardon my questions," continued the stranger; " I made acquaintance with one of them abroad, some years ago." "The younger one is at home — the ex-captain," rephed the younr man, equably, as though to answer questions on the Dane family were as much his business in hfe just then as the splicing of the fishing-rod. " The heir is in Paris. He is a fast man, and a continental hfe suits him." " Are the brothers stih at variance ?" " They are, and always wih be." " Some dispute about fortune, is it not ?" " Some ih-blood, but no dispute. There might be dispute if that would alter the existing state of things, but it won't, Not that the ih-blood is on the captain's side ; I'h give him his due in that : the fault is the heir's." " Is there not a young lady staying at the castle P" resumed the stranger, after a pause.

" I forget her name." "Adelaide Errol," was the answer, given with the same coolness of tone and manner ; but this time the young man lifted his eyes, and scanned the sahor. "A whd Scotch lassie is what Danesheld styles her." " I have heard her cahed an angel," returned the sailor, "nothing less laudatory." "Then," and the dark eyes were fixed on the stranger as though they would read him through and through, " if you have heard that, I'h wager it was from no other than Harry Dane." " From Wihiam Dane." " William Henry, it is ah one ; we dub him Harry here. The old i o peer is fond of the name of Harry, so also is my lady ; and they have rarely cahed him anything else." " And the name of the elder one is Geoffry, I remember. He " " You'd not find the heir to Dane named anything but G-eoffry," came the interruption.

"Another of their superstitions." " Indeed ! Is Wihiam Dane to marry Adelaide Errol ?" The gentleman raised his eyebrows. " Weh, people say so. The captain, gallant son of Mars though he be — or was — has singed his wings in the brightness of her fascinations. He " " I wish you'd talk plain English, sir," cried the stranger, a httle testily : upon which the other accorded him a prolonged stare ' ' What else am I talking ? Dutch ?" "Khapsody: and it is a language I never understood. Is Captain Dane to marry the yoimg lady, or is he not ?" " What a very unreasonable man you seem to be!" was the rejoinder, accompanied by a half laugh. " Don't I teh you it is said he wih ? Captain Harry worships the very ground she treads on. You'h call that rhapsody again, perhaps • but it is fact." "And she?"

The young man drew down his hps with an air that seemed to in timate it was no business of his. "How do I know? there's no answering for women. Perhaps she returns his love ; perhaps she does not. My Lady Dane impress upon her the fact that the Honour able Wihiam Henry, although he may be getting on for middle hfe, is no bad match for a portionless damsel." " Wihiam Dane is rich," remarked the stranger. " I wish I were a tithe as rich. Some arrangement exists in the Dane famhy by which the younger branches step into their fortune as soon as they are of age; and Harry, who comprised ah the branches in his own person, took possession of his. It was fifty thousand pounds. To the back of that there was another fifty thousand ; more —for it had been accumulating some few years— left him by his uncle William Henry Yerner.

And the captain can't be spending hah his income. Just now, visiting at home, he is spending nothhi°\" " How long does he intend to remain at home ?" "You had better ask that of Adelaide Errol. When he arrived at home, he said he had come for a week or two " " You mean when he landed from the States ?" " I mean when he landed from the States. And what the deuce brought him wandering so long in the States has always been a mystery to me. He must have grown into a born American' He came home, saying he should remain a week or two : that's six months ago : and he's here stih, fooled by this mad passion for the — But it's no business of mine," broke off the young man. " He once talked of repurchasing into the army ; for my part I can't think why he sold out of it." " Why do you cah it a mad passion ?"

The young man took out his penknife, and leisurely scraped a spot off the fishing-rod. " Random figures of speech slip from us at times which frequently have little meaning." " I beg yoiu* pardon. That may be the Dane famhy." The young man turned his head. A group had appeared on the greensward near the chapel, the most prominent object amidst it being an invahd chair, iu which reclined a fine-looking old man, whose grey hair was fast turning to white. It was pushed forward by a man-servant in the Dane livery — purple velvet waistcoat and breeches, and a white coat laced with silver. A tah, fine, very handsome old lady accompanied the chair. Behind came a man of noble features, who might be approaching his fortieth year, upright and stately, slender stih, and far above the middle height. A fair girl of nineteen walked by his side — danced, rather ; for now she was before him, now behind him, chattering to him, and putting forth ah her attrac tions, as it was in her nature to do.

She had a very brilliant com plexion, blue eyes, and a mass of fair hair — a lovely vision undeniably, taken altogether ; but the features were not especiahy good, and the eyes roved about too much for true ones. Behind ah, came another footman in the same hvery. "You are right," was the answer; " it is the Dane family. They have been taking my lord for his morning airing. The two servants reheve each other in pushing the chair." " Is Lord Dane an invahd ?" " An invahd !" echoed the young man, as he hasthy put his fishing rod together. " It is to be hoped neither you nor I shall ever be such an one. Lord Dane had a dreadful fah with bis horse last autumn, when out hunting, and has become paralyzed in the lower limbs. There's no cure for him, the doctors say ; it whl only go on from bad to worse.

And now, Mr. Sailor, I must wish you a good morning." " I thank you for your courtesy in answering my questions," said the sailor. " Sh," rejoined the young man, in a deliberate tone, and he turned round to speak it, "I have told you nothing that you might not have heard from any man, woman, or child within the dominions of my Lord Dane. The pohtics of the famhy, so far, are patent to the world." He sauntered away as he spoke with that indolent languor of movement we are apt to associate with the idea of a gentleman ; perhaps because it belongs so exclusively to the upper classes. The sailor looked at the distant group ; he had no difficulty in divining that the tah old lady must be Lady Dane ; the young and pretty one Adelaide Errol. Captain Dane he knew. At that moment another person came up, walking along the road from the direction of the village; a dark, short, thick-set man, dressed in the plain black atthe of an upper servant.

The sailor — as we have been calhng him, though he was nothing of the sort — went forward to the road and accosted him. " Can you teh me who that gentleman is ?" he inquired, pointing to the one with the fishing-rod. " It is Mr. Herbert Dane." " Not a son of Lord Dane ?" cried the other, seeming puzzled. The man threw back his head, as though the question hurt his con sequence. "Oh dear, no; he is nothing but a relative. That is Lord Dane's son, the Honourable Captain Dane." He was moving on, after speaking, but the sailor once more arrested him. " P.avensbhd, I think you have forgotten me." The man turned round and stared, and then touched his hat with respect. "Colonel Moncton! Indeed, sir, I beg your pardon. I don't think I had looked at you ; I was watching the famhy. We often see strange sailors about here, and I took you for one."

"Tell your master I am here, Ravensbhd. Stay; don't say who it is before them ah. I have no time to eah at the castle. Say to Captain Dane that a strange gentleman wishes to speak to him." The servant touched his hat and hastened forward. Herbert Dane had joined the party then : they were just entering the castle gates. Ravensbird spoke to Captain Dane, whose servant he was, and the latter turned. " A gentleman wants me ? What gentleman, Ravensbhd ? Where is he ?" , " Down there, sir. He wishes to see you very particularly." Captain Dane felt annoyed, and walked away impatiently. That fair girl by his side was more to him than all the gentlemen iu the world. She looked after him, and then threw her eyes — rather self willed eyes, and not always pleasant in expression, in spite of their azure brightness — on the servant.

" Who is it, Ravensbhd?" " A stranger, my lady." "And a Yankee," added Herbert Dane; "as I'll protest, by his accent." They were underneath the great gateway now, and the young lady at once put her arm within Mr. Herbert Dane's, and began to pace it with him, whhe the servants were occupied in taking Lord Dane home. Herbert told her of the stranger's questioning curiosity ; and they both laughed together. The account given by Herbert Dane of the famhy was a correct one, so far as it went, and was patent, as he had observed, to the world — that is, to the world of Danesheld. Lord and Lady Dane had but two sons, no other children ; and since the two grew up, had not derivedmuch comfort from either. The heh, Geoffry, was a spendthrift, passing his time chiefly away, and when at home, making it disagreeable by reason of his temper ; but nevertheless he was the favourite, and had been indulged to excess.

He was envious of his younger brother ; envious of his popularity, his good looks, and, above all, of his fine income — a far larger one than he enjoyed, for Lord Dane had heavy expenses, and could not give him an ex orbitant ahowance. An enmity grew up between the brothers — " bitter blood," Danesheld called it — and there seemed every prospect that it would be lasting. The chief offender was undoubtedly Geoffry; he flung scorn and insult upon Harry; and Harry, hot tempered, retorted in kind. Nor could there be a doubt that Harry Dane in his heart resented the love and favour lavished at home on his brother. When Captain Dane was three-and-twenty, he accom panied his regiment to Canada, from which, after a few years' stay there, he came home an invahd, and then sold out. After a year or so of home sojourn, he went again to America ; and from that period he had chiefly hved in the New World, travelling about to different parts of it, and paying a visit to England only on rare occasions.

Now his stay in the old home promised to be a longer one, for he had fallen in love with the Lady Adelaide Errol. He spoke already to her of marriage ; he spoke fondly of taking her out to America after wards, to introduce her to his friends there ; and then he proposed to return to England and settle down for good. Herbert Dane was not far wrong when he said the captain worshipped the very ground she trod upon. The chief pleasure of his existence seemed that of being ever with her ; and there is no doubt that he imparted to her in con fidence much of the history of his past hfe. And the Lady Adelaide? She was one of the veriest, vainest coquettes that ever secured the love of man. People, looking fondly on her winning ways, were apt to say what a warm-natured, sweet girl she was. They were entirely mistaken : few girls were so in nately selfish, though as yet she herself was unconscious of it.

She had come to Dane Castle two years ago, and was the daughter of the deceased Earl of Irkdale, a very poor Scotch peer. Adelaide Errol, on the death of her mother, (the sister of Lady Dane), found herself without a home ; for that of her brother, the whd young earl, was not a desirable one, so Lady Dane sent for her to Danesheld, where she arrived with her French maid, Sophie ; and had been turning the heads of the surrounding neighbourhood ever since. Captain Dane walked quickly up to the stranger, and theh hands met in a warm clasp. Colonel Moncton was an American, and they had been close friends. They stih corresponded, and it was in Cap tain Dane's recent letters that the colonel had read of Adelaide Errol. Nothing could exceed Captain Dane's astonishment ; he had supposed him to be safe in New York.

" Where in the world did you spring from ?" he exclaimed. " Have you taken a tour through the bowels of the earth, and come up on this side ?" Colonel Moncton laughed. " I was tempted into buying a yacht, and must needs try her at once, like a child with a new toy. The wind was fair and wafted us to England. We put in at Plymouth, and there " " And thence you came round to Danesheld, hke the good fehow that you are !" interrupted Captain Dane, in a burst of gratification. ' ' I heard an hour ago there was a large clipper-built yacht in the bay, sporting the stars and the stripes, but I never thought of you. I was going down to have a look at her : the passion for yachting was a passion of my own once." " I was about to say," continued the American, gravely, "that when we reached Plymouth I found that the last mail had brought over letters for me.

Dane, they are letters of recall. My wife has been seized with sudden illness, and we are putting back again with ah speed." " But you whl surely stay a little time with me — at least a clay or two ?" "I cannot, indeed. Pardon the seeming discourtesy, Dane. As the yacht had put in here, I would not leave without trying to see you, but " " Then you did not put in on purpose ?" cried Captain Dane, in a tone of reproach. " The yacht's master put in because he could not help himself. We ran foul of a stupid barge last evening, and got some slight damage : nothing to speak of — a few hours wih repair it. Walk down with me and look at her." " But you wih come into the castle first, and be introduced to inv family?" " This afternoon I wih," answered the American, as he linked his arm within his friend's and led him towards the village, close beyond which was situated the small bay.

" You have Ravensbhd with vou still, I see ?" " Oh yes, he's a fixture. They don't like him at the castle : he's too independent for them. He sihts me ; and he is in my confidence, besides." " Who was that bright-looking girl vou were walking with, just now ?" The red rose actually died the captain's cheeks, as though they had been a schoolgirl's. His love was powerful within him. " That was Adelaide Errol." " I thought so. And when are you to take possession of her ? — as we say of other things." " It is impossible to know with any certainty," answered the captain, his lips parting with a fond smile. " She is a capricious little beauty, as capricious as your yacht, Moncton, and plays fast and loose. It wih be some time this year." " And shah you never visit the New Country again ?" " Once more ; and bring her with me, I hope.

I must make arrangements, you know, for having my " At that moment Mr. Herbert Dane overtook them, his fishing-rod stih in his hand. He strohed by their side, speaking a few idle sen tences, but Captain Dane did not appear to encourage him, neither did he introduce him to his friend. So Herbert Dane walked on. "The gentleman is a relative of yours, I believe," observed Colonel Moncton. " A cousin. His father was the Honourable Herbert Dane, Lord Dane's brother ; but the Honourable Herbert got out of his money, and has left his son and daughter nearly penniless. But for an income secured to Miss Dane, they'd not have enough to hve on. I don't think it is of much consequence to Herbert in the long run ; he has the same talent for spending, and would inevitably have got through all, if his father had not done it before him.

A mine of gold, more or less, would be nothing to him." " Does he live at the castle ?" " Certainly not. I'll show you where he lives directly. The worst thing his father ever did for him was to bring him up to no profession. The Church, the Bar, the Civh Service, all are legitimate openings for a poor man of famhy ; the Army scarcely is, because you can't get along in that without a private fortune. I'm sorry for Herbert, on the whole, though I don't like him." Turning down a green lane on the right as be spoke, which led to three or four houses, Captain Dane halted before one of them ; a smah, iow dwelling, covered with ivy. It was a pretty place, though little larger than a cottage ; a verdant lawn in front, with some beds of un pretending flowers. " That's his house, and there Herbert vegetates, doing no earthly thing in hfe except a httle fishing or a day's sporting.

The house is Iiis, and he and his sister live there — a fond, foohsh girl, who thinks him perfection. She has three hundred a year of her own, and Her bert has about one, and so " A summary stop was put to any further revelations Captain Dane might have made. A young lady, with a profusion of ringlets and very pink cheeks, came running out along the garden path, burst open the little hon gate, and caught hold of his arm. She was in a thin, airy dress, and had the most childish manner in the world. " Oh, Harry, I'm so glad to see you ! I'm going away this after noon, you know, for a week or two. You said you'd come last night and wish me good-bye." " But I was unable to come, Cecilia — Colonel Moncton, Miss Dane." Miss Dane curtsied, and simpered, and blushed, and put her hands to the tips of her ringlets, and was altogether abashed at the sight of the stranger.

But Captain Dane had no time to waste on her this morning. He wished her a pleasant visit, and walked away. " Poor Cecilia !" he laughed, as he put his arm within his friend's. " She's a good-hearted httle soul, but has not a particularly large share of brains." They went on through the town and reached the smah bay — so smah as to be unavailable for large craft — where the yacht was .yin"-. A beautiful vessel was this American yacht ; she was named the Pearl, and was at the present moment the pride of Colonel Moncton's hfe. He was fond of fresh pastimes and fresh toys ; and, being a man of good fortune, could afford to indulge his fancies. Meanwhile, Mr. Ravensbird had entered the castle, and sought a companionship he was fond of seeking, that of Lady Adelaide's French maid, Sophie Deffloe.

He was a dark, sahow-complexioned, stern looking man, ugly at the first glance, but nevertheless the face was an honest one, and there was a kindly expression in the penetrating black eyes. The castle wondered what pretty Sophie could see in Richard Eavensbird : but ugly men often find the greatest favour with women, as all the world knows. He had been into the town on an errand for her now, and she would only abuse him for it. "There's your commission, Mam'sehe Sophie," said he, putting on the table a small paper parcel. " I hope it's executed to your mind." Sophie unfolded the paper and took out its contents, three or four yards of inch-wide ribbon. She was an exceedingly neat, trim damsel, dressed to perfection in her quiet attire ; her features were saucy, her eyes dark grey, and her head and hair might have made the fortune of any hahdresser's window.

She stamped her foot petu lantly as her eyes seh on the ribbon. " If ever I sawthe like !" she exclaimed — and she spoke Enghsh with great fluency, though with a foreign accent. " I send you to buy me four yards of blue ribbon, and you bring purple ! I have told you, fifty times and fifty, that you have not the eye for the colours." Ravensbird laughed. Her grumbling was sweeter to him than others' praise, and Mademoisehe Sophie knew that it was, and pre sumed accordingly. " I did my best, Sophie ; won't it do ?" " Do ! It must do. If I order you back you might bring grey ; but don't think you are going ribbon-buying for me again. You need not expect it." " You sent me, Sophie." " And if I did ? Did I expect that you would be more stupid than a camel ? Hand me my workbox, monsieur. It is on the table there.