The Weird Of The Wentworths Volume I Part 3

Johnny felt he had gone down a peg in Lord Wentworth's estimation, and ten in the groom's. Young Nimrod, such was the horse's name, required indeed a high hand to rule him, and gave Philip not a little trouble, rearing, kicking, and plunging all the way in a manner which made Johnny feel glad he was not exposed to. Little was said on their way to the church;--when they reached it Mr. Lennox, as usual, led the way to the pew, round which stood Mr. Taylor, the upholsterer, and several workmen admiring their handy-work. Indeed, the pew certainly shone out not a little above its compeers, with its crimson curtains--velvet cus.h.i.+ons--and the table in the centre covered with a rich cloth, fringed with gold; a sandal-wood door, and gorgeous oil-cloth, completed the furnis.h.i.+ngs.

"I think, my Lord, this is highly elegant, and distingue," said Mr.

Lennox; "I myself superintended everything."

"I am sorry you took so much trouble," remarked Lord Wentworth, regarding the whole with a gloomy expression. Then turning sharply round on Mr. Taylor, and muttering to himself, "elegant!" "distingue!" he said: "I thought I ordered a plain mahogany door, and how comes there one of sandal-wood?"

"I thought,--my Lord----"

"What business had _you_ to think, sir?--your duty was to _obey_. My orders were implicit, and how dared you disobey them? take the trash away!" and suiting the action to the word, with one kick his lords.h.i.+p literally smashed the frail door to pieces. The light thus admitted revealed for the first time the showy oil-cloth, which excited his ire not a little.

"And what the devil is this?--I ordered a carpet, and not this gin-palace sn.o.bbery!" shouted the enraged peer, forgetting in his pa.s.sion whose house he was in.

Mr. Lennox here interposed, and said it was not Mr. Taylor's fault but his own, as he had thought it would look better.

"Then, another time, Mr. Lennox, I will thank you to mind your own business and let me mind mine--I am not accustomed to have my orders countermanded. Rip the accursed thing up. I will not move till it is gone."

Some workmen standing near executed this order with the utmost despatch, much fearing a more palpable display of wrath.

"And take off that gilt fringe, and let all be plain and quiet. Mr.

Taylor, you have strangely mistaken my meaning: I wished a comfortable pew, not a vulgar display for every one to stare at. Let all this be done by to-morrow, and by heaven! let me catch you disobeying my orders again, and I will find some one else to execute them."

Mr. Taylor in mute fear only bowed acquiescence, and the Earl then turned on his heel, and as ill luck would have it nearly upset Johnny, who, half-amused, half-terrified, and laughing in his sleeve at Mr.

Lennox's discomfiture, stood in stupid astonishment, till he was roused by an angry "Out of the way, boy--what are you blocking up the pa.s.sage for?" and saw his lords.h.i.+p brush past to the door, where he mounted his fretting steed, coldly bowed to the bewildered throng--and, plunging his spurs into young Nimrod, left them to talk over their rebuff.

Bad temper is proverbially infectious, and as soon as he was gone a scene of mutual recrimination ensued. Mr. Ravensworth blamed Mr. Lennox for his officiousness; Mr. Lennox blamed Johnny, as the cause of all by refusing the offer of a ride. Mr. Taylor was much annoyed at his weakness in departing from orders, and even Johnny could not help muttering something about Mr. Lennox's _good taste_, which he did not fail to hear, and which added to his wrath and chagrin not a little.

When Ellen heard the story she was more vexed than any of them,--vexed at this cloud which seemed to banish all her hopes risen on her heaven of blue. Her temper was not bettered by the arrival of Captain L'Estrange, who, however, treated the matter as a joke, and was vastly amused by Johnny's description of the scene, and the door, which he said was stove in as if it had been a band-box.

"I know the Earl," said L'Estrange, "his pa.s.sions are as short-lived as they are violent; had it been the Captain, by Jove! you would not have got off so well: I think he would have floored the whole of you, and thrashed you, Johnny, with his horsewhip had you got in his way. I should have liked to have seen Lennox's face though."

Lord Wentworth rode to the Towers at a fiery speed, his temper decidedly not bettered by a drenching rain which overtook him on his way. When, however, he reached home and found his brother, the Captain, and the Marquis of Arranmore just arrived, all traces of his anger immediately vanished. That evening much had to be talked on over their wine, and after the young ladies had retired the gentlemen adjourned to the smoking-room, where they laughed well over the incidents of the day, till the clock striking twelve warned them Sunday had commenced.

The Captain, however, was little troubled by religious scruples, and continued over his punch more than an hour after all the rest had sought the charms of Morpheus, a feat the Captain alone was capable of, as a man must be very far gone who can sit down and enjoy his toddy quite alone as he did.

CHAPTER IV.

"But if the rogue have gone a cup too far, Left out the linchpin."--_Progress of Error._

We must now s.h.i.+ft the scene to the ancestral residence of the De Veres.

Dun Edin Towers, or as it was called, for brevity's sake, The Towers, stood on a slight eminence at the foot of the Lammermoor Hills. On three sides it was bounded by the densest woods, whilst in front an ample park, dotted over with fine trees, stretched downwards till it ended in a bosky dell, the resort of woodc.o.c.ks, pheasants, and all kinds of game; at the bottom of this dell a mountain torrent gushed amid the stones, now lost in rocks rough with brachen, now bursting over the sunny s.h.i.+ngle, and revealing to the practised eye myriads of trout gaily shooting past. After heavy rains, or when the snows on the hill began to thaw, the bubbling rivulet changed its character, and "tumbling brown the burn came down, and roared frae bank to brae." The castle was itself a large quadrangular pile, with four lofty towers at the four corners: from these towers it took its name, and as they peeped above the woods they served for a landmark to the country for many a league round. The round towers proclaimed its Norman architecture, and the building was now h.o.a.ry with age, but its masonry seemed solid as when it was first raised, and having outlived its lords for so many ages it seemed as though it would serve not only as the home, but the tomb of its present occupant; for in one tower was the long last dwelling-place of the De Veres. Partly covered over with ivy, its b.u.t.tresses formed an asylum for owls and bats, which from time immemorial had built their nests there, and they seemed as much the rightful possessors as any of its human masters.

My readers must cross with me the drawbridge, swinging, on its hoa.r.s.ely sounding chains, over the deep moat that surrounded the castle, and pa.s.sing the frowning gateway, under the old portcullis, along the winding pa.s.sage, with loopholes pierced on either side, we enter the ample courtyard paved with stone. In its centre stood an ancient sun-dial. Opposite us is the doorway, and as our story leads us to the inmates of this hold we will continue our journey up the broad flight of stairs, and, sounding the bell which, in conformity with ancient usage, was still hung there, wait till the ma.s.sive oaken door with its clamps of bra.s.s is opened, and discloses the entrance hall, a small square room full of ancient armour, intermingled with trophies of the chase. Above the door are crossed two pennons, which had been wrung from the Moslems in the days of the Crusades. All round spears, battle-axes, and lances of the olden time, with whole suits of chain and steel armour, hung side by side with more modern implements of war, guns--swords, pistols, and bayonets, that had fought well in battle fierce. Stags' antlers, boars'

tusks, and grinning heads of wolves and foxes peeped forth here and there; and, instead of mats, tigers' and bears' skins were stretched on the polished oak floor. All of these were bequeathed by the ancestors of the present family, or collected by themselves. Strange scenes had been here enacted, if tales told the truth. In the centre of the room was a dark stain on the oaken planks--the stain of blood--a stain blood only can wipe away.

Opening next a door of carved oak, we find ourselves in the great hall.

It is upwards of ninety feet in length, and about the middle on either side is an ancient fireplace, so large that a family might occupy either, seated round the log fire on the stone seats. Above each hung a fine picture. One was of a beautiful young woman in the dress of an abbess, wandering with naked feet through dense woods--this was Augusta de Vere. Opposite, was the portrait of the stern Sir Ralph. From these two pictures an endless line of family portraits was continued to the end of the hall either way. There were many winning faces, none more so than the two last, pictures of the Ladies Edith and Florence. There were many handsome and manly faces, none more so than the three last--pictures of the present lord, and his two brothers. There was a peculiarity in this picture gallery--can any of my readers guess what it was? There was no old face from Sir Ralph downwards. They were all young--all in their early prime--yet all but five were laid low.

We must not delay here too long, but ascend the princ.i.p.al staircase, and crossing an almost endless corridor, with doors ranged on each side, at last finish our route by opening the door of the boudoir, in which the family usually a.s.sembled after breakfast. There are three members only present. From his picture we recognise the young Earl, possessor of the most famed name, and broadest lands in the kingdom. We see the same lofty mien--the artist has but faintly caught--the same n.o.ble outline of features, and dark brown hair, curled close as the tendrils of the vine over his broad forehead. His air is dignified and high, he looks what he is, and yet there is about his face something which tells us he has all the love of his race for the field, and his look does not belie his character; never was he happier than when he had flown the pomps of a court in which he shone a star of the first magnitude, and forgot anxious cares in the calm retreats of The Towers--wound the view halloo, and was first in at the death. The Earl was fully six feet in height, and stout and strong in proportion. He is now standing before a blazing wood fire, and close beside him stands a fair-haired girl of perhaps fifteen years. Her melting blue eyes and complexion of dazzling purity, lit up with the chastest and sweetest of smiles, gave an air of peculiar interest to her face. To look at Lady Florence was to love her.

How dim, how earthly is the picture now, when before us stands the bright original. Her sister, the proud, romantic Lady Edith, remains to be described; she is deeply interested in some book over which she is bent, her dark brown hair and hazel eyes lend an air of pleasing melancholy to her face; she has all the proud hauteur of an English beauty, and carries birth and majesty in every movement. She was three years older than her sister.

"I suppose we are too late for church this morning," said Lady Edith, glancing a moment off her book.

"Oh! much too late; but I have ordered the carriage to be here in plenty of time for the afternoon service," answered her brother.

"Are you going, Edie?" said Lady Florence.

"I suppose so; you are going too, are you not?"

"Oh dear, yes; I do so long to see the wonderful pew; do you think, Wentworth, it will be altered all nicely now?"

"I fancy so; Taylor knows me too well now to neglect my orders again.

Are you going?" continued Lord Wentworth, addressing a young man who then entered, followed by the Marquis of Arranmore.

This was Captain de Vere; to look at him one could not help calling him handsome: his dark eye, and closely-cut black hair gave him a military air--a das.h.i.+ng, soldierly appearance, and his height, which exceeded the Earl's slightly, combined with a splendid figure, gave him a fine manly mien; but there was something in his face cruel and unrelenting; his fierce moustache, and arched nose were those of a Roman, and in his eye there was the twinkle that told the libertine;--his handsomeness was that of a Nero, not so in its true significance.

"Going where?" he answered abruptly.

"To church," replied the Earl.

"See you d----d first," was the curt reply. "Nor will Arranmore; he and I are going to the barracks to look out Musgrave."

"Oh! John, you shouldn't swear so," said Lady Florence; "but where is Frank? perhaps he will come."

"How the devil should I know--I am not Frank's keeper?" answered the Captain, showing how little he cared for the reproof.

"Frank is in the dell," said Lord Arranmore, "looking after some woodc.o.c.ks the keeper had told him about."

"A hopeful set you all seem," said the good-natured Earl; "however, this is Liberty Hall, every one to his own mind, and no questions asked."

"But won't you come, Arranmore?" said his betrothed.

The Marquis looked doubtful.

"No, no, that won't do, Edith," said the Captain, interrupting; "you are not going to get round Arranmore, and rob me of my companion; you don't catch us darkening your accursed church doors. Come along, old fellow,"

pulling the Marquis by the sleeve, "leave them to read sermons."

"You should be ashamed to say so," answered Lady Edith, but her voice was lost in the clap of the door, as the irreligious young officer went off with his friend, coolly whistling "_Deil tak' the minister_," an old Scotch song. "Order two horses, Andrew, and tell Philip we shan't want him--be quick, you old rascal."

"Yees, Captain," said the old privileged butler; "but, Lord bless us, he suld need wings wha wad do your orders, and I am but an auld man ye ken."

"Then send James, and be d----d to you!"

Leaving these two to ride where they listed, we shall follow Lord Wentworth and his sisters to church, accompanied, however, by Frank, as he was always called, a young man about seventeen, just preparing to join the 60th, and a pa.s.sionate sportsman.

"There is a fall of woodc.o.c.ks in the round wood above the dell--three keepers saw them, so as I can't shoot to-day, I will go to church for once in a way to kill time," said Frank, getting into the carriage. We fear his brother's example was not doing Frank much good.