By Right of Conquest Part 50

"I know what you are thinking of, Dorothy--our parting on the hoe."

Dorothy laughed.

"I meant it when I said it, Dorothy, and meant it for a good time afterwards. It was only when it seemed that I should never come back again that I fell in love with some one else; and when you have heard my story, and know what she did for me, and how much I owe her, and come to love her for herself, you won't blame me."

"I don't blame you one bit, Roger," she said, frankly. "When you went away, we thought we cared for each other; but of course we were only boy and girl then, and when I grew up and you did not come home, and it seemed that you never would come home, as you say, I fell in love with someone else.

"And now I will put on my hood, and come round and see your wife. What is her name?"

"Her name is Amenche," Roger said; "and Amenche I mean to call her. When she was christened--for of course she had to be christened before we were married--Father Olmedo said she must have a Christian name, and christened her Caterina; but for all that her name is Amenche, and we mean to stick to it.

"But come along; she has been an hour alone in this strange place, already, and must begin to think that I have run away from her."

Dorothy and Agnes were at once won by the soft beauty of the dark-skinned princess; and when, that evening, Roger told the story of all that had taken place in Mexico, Dame Mercy's last prejudice vanished, and she took Amenche in her arms and kissed her tenderly.

"My dear," she said, "Roger has always been as a son to me, and henceforth you will be as one of my daughters."

As to Diggory, his delight and satisfaction were almost too great for words. He was overjoyed that Roger had returned, vastly gratified that the money he expended on the Swan was to be repaid, and greatly captivated by Amenche.

The princess could speak but a few words of English, for Roger had been afraid to commence her tuition in that language until they were safely in England: but she was greatly pleased with the welcome she received; and began, for the first time, to feel that someday she might come to regard this strange country as home.

There was a long talk, between Roger and his uncle, as to the steps that should be taken. It was agreed that, now Spain and England were so closely allied, it would be imprudent in the extreme to allow it to become known that the Swan had sailed for the Western Indies, or that Roger had obtained wealth there; for if it came to the ears of the Court--and such strange news would travel fast--it might well be that a ruinous fine might be imposed upon all concerned in the matter. Therefore, it was arranged that nothing whatever should be said about it; but that it should be given out that the Swan had been wrecked in foreign parts; and that Roger, who had been sole survivor of the wreck, had settled abroad and made money there, and had married a foreign lady.

More than that, it would be unnecessary to tell. The gems could be sent over, a few at a time, to Amsterdam; and there sold to merchants who would care nothing whence they came; and the partners of Diggory Beggs, in the venture of the Swan, would be only too glad to receive their money back again, and to ask no questions as to how it had been obtained. And so matters were carried out.

For some months, Roger remained in nominal partners.h.i.+p with his uncle; and then bought a large estate, a few miles out of the town, where he set up as a country gentleman. He was, for a time, somewhat shyly looked upon by the magistrates of the county, who deemed it an unheard-of thing for a Plymouth merchant thus to settle among them; but in time he was accepted, especially after it became known that, when he went up to town, he held his place among the highest there, and kept a state and expenditure equal to that of many of the n.o.bles.

His wife was remarkable, not only for her beauty, but for the richness of her jewels, many of which were fas.h.i.+oned in a way such as had never before been seen at the English Court. As time went on, and the relations between England and Spain grew cold, there was no longer any occasion for secrecy; and little by little it became known that the Swan had sailed to the Spanish main, that Roger had formed one of the conquering band of Cortez, and that Amenche was not a Spaniard but an Aztec Princess. This caused a great talk at the time, and added much to the consideration in which Roger was held. He took a leading position in the country and, many years after, fitted out two s.h.i.+ps at his own cost to fight against the Spanish Armada.

Happily, Amenche's health never suffered from the change to the comparatively cold climate of Devons.h.i.+re. She bore Roger several children, and to this day many of the first families in Devons.h.i.+re are proud that there runs in their veins the blood of the Aztec princess.