Preston Fight Part 12

BOOK THE FOURTH.

THE RISING IN NORTHUMBERLAND.

I.

Dilston revisited

SINCE our last visit to Dilston Castle, the place had acquired a new interest from the marriage of the young Earl of Derwent.w.a.ter with the beautiful Anna Webb.

The event occurred about three years previously, and was productive of unalloyed happiness to the earl, who made it his entire study to please his lovely wife. In his eyes her charms had improved, and as she was scarcely two-and-twenty, she might not yet have attained the point of perfection.

Mistress of this proud mansion and all belonging to it, adored by the husband who had raised her to this exalted position, the countess ought to have been happy-and to all appearance she was so.

Yet were we to search her breast, we should find a secret sorrow there. She had made every effort to banish the feeling, but without effect. The consciousness that she had a secret from her husband troubled her, but she dared not reveal it to him. Even to Father Norman, she had not entirely laid bare her heart.

One day, when she was at confession in the small chamber, employed for her private devotions, and which was furnished with an altar and a crucifix, the good priest thus addressed her: "I grieve to find, dear daughter, that you still keep back from the earl, your husband, the secret that has so long weighed upon your breast. This ought not to be. He is ent.i.tled to your fullest confidence, and any concealment from him even of a trivial matter is sinful."

"I know it, father," she replied; "and I ardently desire to relieve my breast of its burden by disclosing all to him, and am only deterred by the fear of giving him pain."

"Perhaps you are right, daughter," said the priest, after some reflection. "As no good purpose can be answered by this disclosure, and it is possible it might cause temporary estrangement of the earl's affections, I will not urge you to incur that hazard. But I should be glad to learn that you have at last entirely dismissed the silly fancy which you have so long allowed to occupy your breast. Give me an a.s.surance to that effect, and I shall be content."

"I am far easier than I was, father," she rejoined, with a sigh. "But I have not entirely subdued the feeling."

"Persevere, daughter, and you will succeed," said the priest. "Fasting and prayer will do much."

"I am willing to undergo any penance you may enjoin, father," she replied; "and, however severe it may be, I shall not complain-provided I obtain relief."

"With these good resolutions you cannot fail, daughter, and you shall have my best a.s.sistance."

The good father's injunctions were strictly obeyed by the countess, and after a time she told him her breast was tranquillised.

Meantime, the earl's felicity was entirely undisturbed, except by some misgivings as to the future.

Since his marriage a remarkable change had taken place in his sentiments. At one time he had been chiefly engrossed by the thought of accomplishing the restoration of the Chevalier de Saint George and no peril would have deterred him from making the effort. He now dreaded being engaged in a civil war. He had everything that could contribute to happiness-a lovely wife, to whom he was pa.s.sionately attached-high rank, great wealth, large possessions, a splendid mansion-all of which would be sacrificed, if the enterprise should fail. The game was too hazardous-the stake too high. Never, since his marriage, had he been separated from his beautiful countess, and the thought of quitting her-even for a brief season-was intolerable. He told her of his fears, and she laughed at them.

"I should not love you half so well as I do," she said, "if I did not believe you would fight for King James-fight for him to the death. Should a rising take place, you must join it-must take a prominent part in it."

"Since I wedded you, dearest Anna, life has acquired such value in my eyes, that I am not disposed to throw it away lightly."

"Do you call it throwing life away lightly to die for your king?"

"'Twould be worse than death to lose you, Anna."

"This is mere weakness. Shut me from your heart. The king's claim is paramount. 'Twould be a crime to desert him. If you wish to preserve my love, you will draw the sword for King James, when called upon."

And she quitted the room.

Much irritated by the scornful tone in which the countess had spoken, the earl walked forth into the wood, and did not return till he had regained his calmness. He found the countess in the garden. She received him with a smile, that dissipated any lingering feelings of anger, and no further allusion was made to the subject at the time. Still, her observations rankled in his breast, and produced the effect she had designed.

He felt that if he did not support King James, he should not retain her love, and that would be a death-blow to his happiness. Whatever course he might take seemed to lead to difficulty and danger.

Fortunately, he was not called upon for an immediate decision. Another year of wedded bliss was allowed him.

Not till the expiration of that term did the storm begin to gather that was destined to burst upon his head.

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II.

A Warrant issued for the Earl's Arrest

AT length, the mandate came.

A letter arrived from the Chevalier de Saint George, enjoining the Earl of Derwent.w.a.ter to prepare for immediate action.

"So soon as the standard is set up in Scotland by Mar, you must rise," ran the missive.

Aware that the earl had received a despatch from France, the countess flew to his cabinet, and found him pacing to and fro within it, in a state of great perturbation.

"Read that," he said, giving her the letter.

Her cheeks flushed as she scanned it, and she exclaimed almost joyfully, "You will obey his majesty's orders. There must be no hesitation now. If there is one man in England on whose zeal and fidelity King James ought to be able to count, it is the Earl of Derwent.w.a.ter, with whom he is connected by birth, and whom he regards as a brother. Would you disappoint all the hopes he has formed of you! Shake off this worse than womanish weakness if you would not have me despise you."

"No more!" cried the earl, almost fiercely. "You have said enough. You have hardened my breast. I care not now what ensues."

"I am glad I have roused you," she cried. "Had you been wanting in the hour of action, you would have been deemed a traitor to your king, and have lost the respect of all honourable men."

Just then Father Norman entered the room.

"I fear I have come at an unlucky moment," he said, perceiving from their looks that some misunderstanding had occurred between them; "and I would at once retire, had I not important news to communicate. I have just received private information from Newcastle that a warrant has been issued for your lordship's arrest on a charge of high treason. The officers will be here tomorrow, and as they will be accompanied by a party of horse-militia, you must either resist them, or keep out of the way. Since you are not fully prepared for a rising, I would counsel the latter course."

"And I advise resistance," said the countess.

"No-that would precipitate the outbreak," said the earl. "I must concert measures with my friends ere I take up arms."

"You cannot remain in the castle, my lord," said the priest. "A most rigorous search will be made, and if you are discovered, you will be apprehended, and placed in confinement."

"Where shall I find a secure retreat?" said the earl.

"You ought not to be too far off, in case of a sudden emergency," said the countess.

"Your lordship would be perfectly safe in Nathan the woodcutter's hut in the thicket," said the priest. "No one will seek you there-and even if the place should be visited, you can easily escape into the wood."

"Nathan Blacklaw is a trusty fellow," said the earl. "I can perfectly depend upon him. His hut will afford me an excellent hiding-place. When inquiries are made for me, the servants can say that I am gone to visit some Roman Catholic friends in Lancashire. The statement will be credited, since the magistrates must have learnt that Lord Widdrington is now staying with his brother-in-law, Mr. Townley, of Townley, in that county. I will now go and see Nathan Blacklaw, and direct him to prepare for me tomorrow morning."

"Take me with you, I entreat!" said the countess. "I should like to see how you will be lodged in the hut. I wish I could bear you company."

"Alas! that cannot be!" sighed the earl. "Your presence would reconcile me to any inconvenience. But it would infallibly lead to my discovery. Besides, you must be at the castle to see how things go on, and communicate with me."

"I quite understand," she replied.

"When my brother returns from Corbridge, acquaint him with my purpose," said the earl to Father Norman. "I do not think he is in any danger of arrest."

"I have received no caution respecting Mr. Charles Radclyffe," said the priest. "I believe your lordship to be the only person threatened. But I may hear further at night, as I expect a second messenger."

"Long before then, Charles will have returned," said the earl. "And now for the hut," he added to the countess. "I have a melancholy foreboding that when I once quit the castle, I shall never come back to it."

"Dismiss these thoughts, my dear lord," said the priest. "Rest a.s.sured that better days are in store for you."

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III.

The Woodcutter's Hut

Pa.s.sING through the garden, the earl and countess took a path that led them along the rocky edge of the ravine, at the bottom of which flowed the Devil's Water.

At length they reached the wood, and entered a sombre alley, arched over by boughs, and designated the "Maiden's Walk."

According to a legend connected with the place, a phantom, wearing the form of a beautiful female, was sometimes seen in the alley, and the appearance of the "Maiden" was thought to bode ill to any member of the Radclyffe family.

Not without some superst.i.tious terror did the earl track this darksome walk. He had often been there, but had never beheld the phantom, but this seemed an occasion, when, if ever, the Maiden might be expected to appear.

At the end of the alley, a narrow path turned off on the left, that brought them, after several windings, to an open s.p.a.ce in the heart of the thicket. Here stood the hut; and thus buried, it was not likely that the little habitation would be discovered, unless its situation were pointed out.

As the n.o.ble pair drew near the hut, a savage growl was heard, and a large, fierce-looking dog rushed from behind a great stack of wood. The moment, however, the savage animal beheld the earl, he became quiet, and crouched at his feet.

At the same time, the woodcutter made his appearance.

Nathan Blacklaw was strongly built, and had a manly, resolute look. On his shoulder he carried a hatchet, and his costume consisted of a leather jacket, a leather cap, and long leather gaiters, reaching considerably above the knee. He had come forward on hearing his dog bark, and immediately recognising the earl and countess, doffed his cap, and made a rough obeisance.

"Cheviot knows me as well as you do, Nathan," observed the earl, patting the dog's large head.

"Ay, he wad no ha' allowed any one but your lordship and my lady to come nigh the hut," said the woodcutter.

"You must find him a good companion in this solitary spot, Nathan," remarked the countess.

"Deed I do, my lady. I dunna know what I and my dame should do without Cheviot."

"We have come to have a look at the hut, Nathan," said the earl. "Show us inside it, will you?"

Just then a good-looking woman-not more than thirty-five-plainly, yet not unbecomingly dressed, came forth.

Without any hesitation or embarra.s.sment Dame Blacklaw at once ushered the n.o.ble pair into the cottage.

Necessarily it was very small, but it looked clean and tidy. It contained only a couple of rooms: in the largest, on which the door opened, the inmates had their meals; it was furnished with a chest of drawers, a small oak table, an arm-chair, a rush-bottomed chair, and a settle.

Besides these there was a clock, and in one corner was a cupboard containing pewter plates, three or four drinking-mugs, certain articles of crockery, and a brace of squat-looking Dutch bottles. Fixed against the wall on the side opposite the cupboard was a crucifix, for Nathan and his wife were Papists. On the hearth burnt a cheerful wood fire, and above it hung a large iron pot. Over the mantelpiece was placed a gun. The inner room, about half the size of the other, held the bed of the worthy couple, who had no family.

"What will you say, dame, when I tell you that I am coming to spend a few days with you?" remarked the earl.

"Your lordship is pleased to jest," she replied, with a smile. "It isn't very likely you will stay here."

"Likely or not, you may expect me to-morrow morning," said the earl.

She held up her hands in astonishment.

"To speak plainly, I don't find it safe at the castle," said the earl. "If I remain there I shall be arrested, so I mean to take refuge in your cottage."