London Pride Or When the World Was Younger Part 48

"Liar! Impudent, barbarous liar!" roared the old Knight, with his right arm raised, and his body half out of the box, as if he would have a.s.saulted the defendant. "Sir John," said the Judge, "I would be very loath to deal otherwise than becomes me with a person of your quality; but, indeed, this is not so handsome, and we must desire you to be calm."

"When I remember his infamy, and that vile a.s.sumption of my daughter's pa.s.sion for him, which he showed in every word and act of that miserable scene."

He went on to relate the searching of the house, and Warner's happy inspiration, by which Angela's hiding-place was discovered, and she rescued in a fainting condition. He described the defendant's audacious attempt to convey her to the coach which stood ready for her abduction, and his violence in opposing her rescue, and the fight which had well-nigh resulted in Warner's death.

When Sir John's story was finished the defendant's advocate, who had declined to question the old butler, rose to cross-examine this more important witness.

"In your tracing of the defendant's journey between your house and Chilton you heard of no outcries of resistance upon your daughter's side?"

"No, sir. She went willingly, under a delusion."

"And do you think now, sir, as a man of the world, and with some knowledge of women, that your daughter was so easily hoodwinked; she having seen her sister, Lady Fareham, so shortly before, in good health and spirits?"

"Lady Fareham did not appear in good health when she was last at the Manor, and her sister was already uneasy about her."

"But not so uneasy as to believe her dying, and that it was needful to ride to her helter-skelter in the night-time. Do you not think, sir, that the young lady, who was so quick to comply with his lordship's summons, and bustled up and was in the saddle ten minutes after he entered the house, and was willing to got without her own woman, or any preparation for travel, had a strong inclination for the journey, and a great kindness for the gentleman who solicited her company?"

"Has that barbarous wretch set you on to slander the lady whose ruin he sought, sir?" asked the Knight, pallid with the white heat of indignation.

"Nay, Sir John, I am no slanderer; but I want the Jury to understand the sentiments and pa.s.sions which are the springs of action here, and to bear in mind that the case they are hearing is a love story, and they can only come at the truth by remembering their own experience as lovers-"

The deep and angry tones of his client interrupted the silvery-tongued Counsellor.

"If you think to help me, sir, by traducing the lady, I repudiate your advocacy."

"My lord, you are not allowed to give evidence or to interrupt the Court. You have pleaded not guilty, and it is my duty to demonstrate your innocence. Come, Sir John, do you not know that his lordship's unhappy pa.s.sion for his sister-in-law was shared by the subject of it; and that she for a long time opposed all your efforts to bring about a proper alliance for her, solely guided and influenced by this secret pa.s.sion?"

"I know no such thing."

"Do I understand, then, that from the time of your first proposals she was willing to marry Sir Denzil Warner?"

"She was not willing."

"I would have wagered as much. Did you fathom her reason for declining so proper an alliance?"

"I did not trouble myself about her reasons. I knew that time would wear them away."

"And I doubt you trusted to a father's authority?"

"No, sir. I promised my daughter that I would not force her inclinations."

"But you used all methods of persuasion. How long was it before July the 4th that Mrs. Angela consented to marry Sir Denzil?"

"I cannot be over precise upon that point. I have no record of the date."

"But you have the faculty of memory, sir; and this is a point which a father would not easily forget."

"It may have been a fortnight before."

"And until that time the lady was unwilling?"

"Yes."

"She refused positively to accept the match you urged upon her?"

"She refused."

"And finally consented, I will wager, with marked reluctance?"

"No, sir, there was no reluctance. She came to me of her own accord, and surprised me by her submission."

"That will do, Sir John. You can stand down. I shall now proceed to call a witness who will convince the Jury of my client's innocence upon the first and chief count in the indictment, abduction with fraud and violence. I shall tell you by the lips of my witness, that if he took the lady away from her home, she being of full age, she went freely consenting, and with knowledge of his purpose."

"Lies-foul lies!" cried the old Cavalier, almost strangled with pa.s.sion.

He plucked at the knot of his cravat, trying to loosen it, feeling himself threatened with apoplexy.

"Call Mistress Angela Kirkland," said the Serjeant, in strong steady tones that contrasted with the indignant father's hoa.r.s.e and gasping utterance.

"S'life! the business becomes every moment more interesting," whispered Lady Sarah. "Will he make that sly s.l.u.t own her misconduct in open court?"

"If she blush at her slip from virtue, it will be a new sensation in a London law-court to see the colour of shame," replied Sir Ralph, behind his perfumed glove; "but I warrant she'll carry matters with a high hand, and feel herself every inch a heroine."

Angela came into the court attended by her waiting-woman, who remained near the entrance, amid the close-packed crowd of lawyers and onlookers, while her mistress quietly followed the official who conducted her to the witness-box.

She was dressed in black, and her countenance under her neat black hood looked scarcely less white than her lawn neckerchief; but she stood erect and unfaltering in that conspicuous station, and met the eyes of her interrogator with an untroubled gaze. When her lips had touched the dirty little book, greasy with the kisses of innumerable perjurers, the Serjeant began to question her in a tone of odious familiarity.

"Now, my dear young lady, here is a gentleman's liberty, and perhaps his life, hanging on the breath of those pretty lips; so I want you to answer a few plain questions with as plain speech as you can command, remembering that you are to tell us the truth, and the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Come, now, dear miss, when you left your father's house on the night of July 4, in this present year, in Lord Fareham's company, did you go with him of your own free will, and with a knowledge of his purpose?"

"I knew that he loved me."

A heart-breaking groan from Sir John Kirkland was hushed down by an usher of the court.

"You knew that he loved you, and that he designed to carry you beyond seas?"

"Yes."

"And you were willing to leave your father's custody and go with the defendant as his paramour?"

There was a pause, and the white cheek crimsoned, and the heavy eyelids fell over agonised eyes.

"I went willingly-because I loved him;" and then with a sudden burst of pa.s.sion, "I would have died for him, or lived for him. It mattered not which."

"And she has lied for him-has sworn to a lie-and that to her own dishonour!" cried Sir John, beside himself; whereupon he was sternly bidden to keep silence.

There was no intention that this little Buckinghamshire gentleman should be indulged, to the injury of a person of Lord Fareham's wealth and consequence. The favour of the Bench obviously leant towards the defendant.

Fareham's deep tones startled the audience.

"In truth, your Honour, the young lady has belied herself in order to help me," he said. "I cannot accept acquittal at the cost of her good name."