"Home?--so soon?" said Elfric.
"Yes, you must leave tomorrow, when a messenger will be prepared to accompany you, and to explain the cause of your dismissal from court to your father, whom I most sincerely pity; and let me hope that you will find leisure to repent of your grievous sin in the solitude of your native home."
"Must my father be told everything?"
"I fear he must: you have left us no choice; and it is the better thing, both for him and for you; he will understand better what steps are necessary for your reformation--a reformation, I trust, which will be accomplished in good time, whereat no one will rejoice more than I."
A pert answer rose to Elfric"s lips, but he dared not give utterance to it; the speaker was too great in his wrath to be defied with impunity.
"Farewell," said Dunstan, "would that I could say the word with brighter hopes; but should you ever repent of your sin, as I trust you may, it will gladden me to hear of it. I fear you may have done great harm to England in the person of her future king, but G.o.d forgive you in that case."
Elfric felt the injustice of the last accusation; he coloured, and an indignant denial had almost risen to his lips, but he repressed it for Edwy"s sake--faithful, even in his vice, to his friend.
"Am I to consider myself a prisoner? you have posted a sentinel, as if I were a criminal."
"You must be confined to your apartment, but you may have books and anything else you desire. The prince is forbidden to see you again. Your confinement will only be for one day; tomorrow you will be free enough; let me beg you to use the occasion for calm reflection, and, I hope, penitence."
Dunstan left the room, and Elfric heard his retreating steps go heavily down the stairs, when a sudden and almost unaccountable feeling came over him--a feeling that he had thrown himself away, and that he was committed to evil, perhaps never to be able to retrace his course, never to all eternity; the retreating steps sounded as if his sentence were pa.s.sed and the door of mercy shut. He shook off the strange feeling; yet, could he have seen the future which lay undiscovered before him, and which must intervene before he should see that face again, or hear those steps, he might have been unable thus to shake off the nameless dread.
The day wore away, night drew on; he laid himself down and tried to sleep, when he heard voices conversing outside, and recognised Edwy"s tones; immediately after the prince entered.
"What a shame, Elfric," he said, "to make you a prisoner like this, and to send you away--for they say you are to go tomorrow--you shall not be forgotten if ever I become king, and I don"t think it will be long first. The first thing I shall do will be to send for you; you will come; won"t you?"
"I will be yours for life or death."
"I knew it, and this is the faithful friend from whom they would separate me; well, we will have this last evening together in peace; old Dunstan has gone out, and Redwald has put a man as your guard who never sees anything he is not wanted to see."
"What a convenient thing!"
"But you seem very dull; is anything on your mind which I do not know?
What did Dunstan say to you?"
"He is going to write home to my father all particulars. It will make home miserable."
"Perhaps we may find a remedy for that," said Edwy, and left the room hastily.
Shortly he returned in company with Redwald.
"Come with us, Elfric," said the prince "there is no one in the palace to interfere with us. Old Dunstan received a sudden message, and has gone out hastily; we will go and see what he has written."
Somewhat startled at the audacity of the proposal, Elfric followed the prince, and Redwald accompanied them. After pa.s.sing through a few pa.s.sages, they arrived at the cell, or rather study, usually occupied by Dunstan when at court, and entered it, not without a slight feeling of dread, or rather of reluctance.
"Here it is," said Edwy, and held up a parchment, folded, sealed, and directed to "Ella, Thane of Aescendune."
"I should like to know what he has written," said the prince. "Redwald, you understand these things; can you open the letter without breaking the seal?"
"There is no need of that," replied the captain of the hus-carles, "I can easily seal it again; see, there is the signet, and here the wax."
So he broke the letter open and extended it to the prince, whose liberal education had given him the faculty of reading the monkish Latin, in which Dunstan wrote, at a glance, and he read aloud:
"TO MY BROTHER IN CHRIST,
"ELLA, THANE OF AESCENDUNE--
"It grieveth me much, most beloved brother, to be under the necessity of sending your son Elfric home in some little disgrace; but it is, alas a necessity that I should do so, in virtue of the authority our good lord and king, Edred, hath entrusted to me. The lad was bright, and, I think, innocent of aught like deadly sin, when he came to this huge Babel, where the devil seems to lead men even as he will, and he hath fallen here into evil company--nay, into the very company most evil of all in this wicked world, that of designing and shameless women, albeit of n.o.ble birth. It hath been made apparent to me that there is great danger to both the prince and your son in any further connection, therefore I return Elfric to your care, sincerely hoping that, by G.o.d"s help, you will be enabled to take such measures as will lead to his speedy reformation, for which I devoutly pray. The bearer will give such further information as you may desire.
"Wishing you health, and an abiding place in the favour of G.o.d and His saints--Your brother in the faith of Christ,
"DUNSTAN, O.S.B."
Edwy read the letter aloud with many a vindictive comment, and then said to Redwald--"What can be done? Must this letter go?"
"Does your father know the Saint"s handwriting, Elfric?"
"He never heard from him before, I believe."
"Well, then, I will venture to enclose a different message," and he sat down at the table, and wrote--"TO MY BROTHER IN CHRIST,
"ELLA, THANE OF AESCENDUNE--
"It rejoiceth me much, most beloved brother, to send you good tidings of the good behaviour and growth in grace of your son, whom the king hath concluded to send home for the benefit of his health, since London hath in some degree destroyed the ruddy hue of his countenance, and he needeth a change, as his paleness sufficiently declareth.
"The king hath bidden me express his great satisfaction with the lad"s conduct, and the prince mourneth his enforced departure. Wishing you health and an abiding place in the favour of G.o.d and His saints--Your brother in the faith of Christ,
"DUNSTAN, O.S.B."
The boys laughed aloud as they read the forgery.
"But about the messenger--will he not tell the truth?"
"Oh, I will see to him, he is not above a bribe, and knows it is his interest to serve his future king, although Dunstan thinks him so trusty."
All at once the booming of a heavy bell smote their ears.
"It is the bell of St. Paul"s, it tolls for the death of some n.o.ble,"
said Redwald; "what can it mean? has any member of the royal family been ill?"
They listened to the solemn dirge-like sound as it floated through the air, calling upon all good Christians to pray for the repose of the departed or departing soul. No prayer rose to their lips, and they soon returned to the subject in hand.
"When is the letter to be despatched?"
"Early in the morning the messenger will await you; and now, I should recommend some sleep to prepare for a fatiguing journey."
Elfric and the prince returned to their chamber, but they did not take Redwald"s hint, and remained talking till just before daybreak, when they were aroused by the hasty step of an armed heel, and Redwald stood before them. His demeanour was very strange; he bent down on one knee, took the hand of Edwy, who resigned it pa.s.sively to him, kissed it and cried aloud--"G.o.d save the king!"
"What can you mean, Redwald?" exclaimed both the youths.
"Heard you not the pa.s.sing bell last night? Edred sleeps with his fathers; he died at Frome on St. Clement"s day."