"I must really remove you, my lady," he said, in a whisper; "his recovery, his very life, may depend upon the soundness of this sleep.
You see yourself, now, the state he is in; and who living has such an interest in his restoration to health as you have?"
"I know it," she whispered in reply. "I will be quiet."
As they spoke, a faint smile seemed to light up his face, which, however, was soon changed to an expression of terror.
"Don"t scourge me," said he, "don"t and I will tell you. It was my mother. I thought she kissed me, as she used to do long ago, when I was a boy, and never thought I"d be here." He then uttered a few faint sobs, but relapsed into a calm expression almost immediately.
The violent beatings of Lady Gourlay"s heart were distinctly felt by the stranger, as he supported her; and in order to prevent the sobs which he knew, by the heavings of her breast, were about to burst forth, from awakening the sleeper, he felt it best to lead her out of the room; which he had no sooner done, than she gave way to a long fit of uncontrollable weeping.
"Oh, my child!--my child!" she exclaimed, "I fear they have murdered him!
Alas! is he only to be restored to me for a moment, and am I then to be childless indeed? But I will strive to become calm. Why should I not? For even this is a blessing--to have seen him, and to have the melancholy consolation of knowing that if he is to die, he will die in my own arms."
"Well, but I trust, madam, he won"t die. The workings of Providence are never ineffectual, or without a purpose. Have courage, have patience, and all will, I trust, end happily."
"Well, but I have a request to make. Allow me to kiss him; I shall not disturb him; and if he should recover, as I trust in the Almighty"s mercy he will--oh, how I should like to tell him that the dream about his mother was not altogether a dream--that I did kiss him. Trust me, I will not awaken him--the fall of the thistledown will will not be lighter than the kiss I shall give my child."
"Well, be it so, my lady; and get yourself calm, for you know not his danger, if he should awaken and become agitated."
They then reentered the apartment, and Lady Gourlay, after contemplating him for a moment or two, stooped down and gently kissed his lips--once--twice--and a third time--and a single tear fell upon his cheek. At this moment, and the coincidence was beautiful and affecting, his face became once more irradiated by a smile that was singularly serene and sweet, as if his very spirit within him had recognized and felt the affection and tenderness of this timid but loving embrace.
The stranger then led her out again, and a burden seemed to have been taken off her heart. She dried her tears, and in grateful and fervid terms expressed the deep obligations she owed him for his generous and!
persevering exertions in seeking out and restoring her son.
This sleep was a long one; and proved very beneficial, by somewhat recruiting the little strength that had been left him. The stranger had every measure taken that could contribute to his comfort and recovery.
Two nurse tenders were procured, to whose care he was committed, under the general superintendence of Dandy Dulcimer, whom he at once recognized, and by whose performance upon that instrument the poor young man seemed not only much-pleased, but improved in confidence and the general powers of his intellect. The physician saw him twice a day, so that at the period of Lady Gourlay"s visit, she found that every care and attention, which consideration and kindness, and anxiety for his recovery could bestow upon him, had been paid; a fact that eased and satisfied her mind very much.
One rather gratifying symptom appeared in him after he awoke on that occasion. He looked about the room, and inquired for Dulcimer, who soon made his appearance.
"Dandy," said he, for he had known him very well in Ballytrain, "will you be angry with me if I ask you a question? Dandy, I am a gentleman, and you will not treat me ill."
"I would be glad to see the villain that "ud dare to do it, Mr. Fenton,"
replied Dandy, a good deal moved, "much less to do it myself."
"Ah," he replied in a tone of voice that was enough to draw tears from any eye, "but, then, I can depend on no one; and if they should bring me back there--" His eyes became wild and full of horror, as he spoke, and he was about to betray symptoms of strong agitation, when Dandy judiciously brought him back to the point.
"They won"t, Mr. Fenton; don"t be afeared of that; you are among friends now; but what was the question you were goin" to ask me?"
"A question!--was I?" said he, pausing, as if striving to recover the train of thought he had lost. "Oh, yes," he proceeded, "yes; there was a pound note taken from me. I got it from the strange gentleman in the inn, and I wish I had it."
"Well, sir," replied Dandy, "if it can be got at all, you must have it.
I"ll inquire for it."
"Do," he said; "I wish to have it." Dandy, in reply to the stranger"s frequent and anxious inquiries about him, mentioned this little dialogue, and the latter at once recollected that he had the note in his possession.
"It may be good to gratify him," he replied; "and as the note can be of little use now, we had better let him have it."
He accordingly sent it to him by Dandy, who could observe that the possession of it seemed to give him peculiar satisfaction.
Had not the stranger been a man capable of maintaining great restraint over the exercise of very strong feelings, he could never have conducted himself with so much calmness and self-control in his interview with Lady Gourlay and poor Fenton. His own heart during all the time was in a tumult of perfect distraction, but this was occasioned by causes that bore no a.n.a.logy to those that pa.s.sed before him. From the moment he heard that Lucy"s marriage had been fixed for the next day but one, he felt as if his hold upon hope and life, and all that they promised him, was lost, and his happiness annihilated forever; he felt as if reason were about to abandon him, as if all existence had become dark, and the sun himself had been struck out of the system of the universe. He could not rest, and only with difficulty think at all as a sane man ought. At length he resolved to see the baronet, at the risk of life or death--in spite of every obstacle--in despite of all opposition;--perish social forms and usages--perish the insolence of wealth, and the jealous restrictions of parental tyranny. Yes, perish one and all, sooner than he, a man, with an unshrinking heart, and a strong arm, should tamely suitor that n.o.ble girl to be sacrificed, ay, murdered, at the shrine of a black and guilty ambition. Agitated, urged, maddened, by these considerations, he went to the baronet"s house with a hope of seeing him, but that hope was frustrated. Sir Thomas was out.
"Was Miss Gourlay at home?"
"No; she too had gone out with her father," replied Gibson, who happened to open the door.
"Would you be kind enough, sir, to deliver a note to Miss Gourlay?"
"I could not, sir; I dare not."
"I will give you five pounds, if you do."
"It is impossible, sir; I should lose my situation instantly if I attempted to deliver it. Miss Gourlay, sir, will receive no letters unless through her father"s hands, and besides, sir, we have repeatedly had the most positive orders not to receive any from you, above all men living."
"I will give you ten pounds."
Gibson shook his head, but at the same time the expression of his countenance began manifestly to relax, and he licked his lips as he replied, "I--really--could--not--sir."
"Twenty."
The fellow paused and looked stealthily in every direction, when, just at the moment he was about to entertain the subject, Thomas Corbet, the house-steward, came forward from the front parlor where he evidently had been listening, and asked Gibson what was the matter.
"This gentleman," said Gibson, "ahem--is anxious to have a--ahem--he was inquiring for Sir Thomas."
"Gibson, go down stairs," said Corbet. "You had better do so. I have ears, Gibson. Go down at once, and leave the gentleman to me."
Gibson again licked his lips, shrugged his shoulders, and with a visage rather blank and disappointed, slunk away as he had been desired. When he had gone,
"You wish, sir," said Corbet, "to have a note delivered to Miss Gourlay?"
"I do, and will give you twenty pounds if you deliver it."
"Hand me the money quietly," replied Corbet, "and the note also. I shall then give you a friend"s advice."
The stranger immediately placed both the money and the note in his hands; when Corbet, having put them in his pocket, said, "I will deliver the note, sir; but go to my father, and ask him to prevent this marriage; and, above all things, to direct you how to act. If any man can serve you in the business, he can."
"Could you not let me see Miss Gourlay herself?" said the stranger.
"No, sir; she has promised her father neither to see you, nor to write to you, nor to receive any letters from you."
"But I must see Sir Thomas himself," said the stranger determinedly.
"You seem a good deal excited, sir," replied Corbet; "pray, be calm, and listen to me. I shall be obliged to put this letter under a blank cover, which I will address in a feigned hand, in order that she may even receive it. As for her father, he would not see you, nor enter into any explanation whatsoever with you. In fact, he is almost out of his mind with delight and terror; with delight, that the marriage is at length about to take place, and with terror, lest something might occur to prevent it. One word, sir. I see Gibson peeping up. Go and see my father; you have seen him more than once before."
On the part of Corbet, the stranger remarked that there was something sneaking, slightly derisive, and intimating, moreover, a want of sincerity in this short dialogue, an impression that was strengthened on hearing the relation which he bore to the obstinate old sphinx on Const.i.tution Hill.
"But pardon me, my friend," said he, as Corbet was about to go away; "if Miss Gourlay will not receive or open my letter, why did you accept such a sum of money for it?" He paused, not knowing exactly how to proceed, yet with a tolerably strong suspicion that Corbet was cheating him.
"Observe, sir," replied the other, "that I said I would deliver the letter only--I didn"t undertake to make her read it. But I dare say you are right--I don"t think she will even open it at all, much less read it. Here, sir, I return both money and letter; and I wish you to know, besides, that I am not a man in the habit of being suspected of improper motives. My advice that you should see my father is a proof that I am your friend."