The Young Duchess; or, Memoirs of a Lady of Quality — page 58: what you’re looking at

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44 THE YOUNG DUCHESS; OR, MEMOIRS OF A LADY OF QUALITY. It was about two o’clock in the afternoon, and the young Duchess was reclining upon a sofa in her elegantly furnished boudoir. She was still in a morning deshabillée; and though looking eminently beautiful, as usual, she had a certain air of fatigue as if she had not passed much of the preceding night in her couch. The door of the boudoir opened; and her Grace’s principal maid—a handsome, genteel- looking woman, whose age approached thirty— made her appearance. She bore a silver salver, on which rested a sealed packet; and this she presented to the Duchess. ‘‘ Ah! it is from the banker's!” said the bril- liant lady, with a significant smile bent with patronismg familiarity upon her confidential maid: then opening the packet, she examined its contents. The confidential maid waited with visible curi- osity and suspense for farther intelligence from the lips of her mistress; and the Duchess all of a sudden burst out into a laugh— not loud, but nevertheless unmistakably genuine in the merri~ ment of its silvery tones. “Only think, Lavinia!” she exclaimed; ‘he presented himself at the bank as soon as the doors opened this morning ———”’ “‘Indeed, my lady !” said the confidential maid, —' but only to find himself outwitted ?” ‘“‘ Precisely so. Here is anote from the manag- ing partner, who tells me what took place; and he has sent me back the note which I penned at the mill. Ah! it is an adventure which I shall never forget as long as I live! should have after all succeeded in outwitting so very cunning a person as Mr. Timothy Gaffney! How foolish he must have looked when the banker gave him to understand that the order was not to becashed! It seems that he at first thought there was a mistake; but when he could no longer con- ceal from himself that by some means or another he was baffled, he lost no time in beating a retreat from the banker’s private parlour.” ““T am afraid that the man will owe your Grace @ serious grudge,” said Lavinia; ‘and he is doubtless a very dangerous character. I should not at all wonder if he keeps vehicles for hire at Maidstone, merely that he may have the oppor- tunity of robbing and murdering travellers whom he undertakes to drive; and perhaps the old mill’ has proved the scene of many a fearful crime.” “Very likely,” said the Duchess; “ but it proved the scene of a glorious triumph on my part.” Then, after a pause, the patrician lady added, ‘‘Go and see, Lavinia, if his Grace has arrived; for if so, he may wish to speak to me.” - The maid quitted the boudoir; and the Duchess thought to herself, ‘I have no doubt that La- vinia is dying with anxiety to learn why I under- took that secret expedition into Kent, and why on arriving at Maidstone I dressed myself in male toilet, and leaving her behind, set out for Adding- ton. Does she take it to be an idle freak? or does she think that I was engaged in some love- intrigue? Ah! she must fancy what she will: but she shall not know the truth from my lips. Besides, she is all discretion; and so long as she is well paid, she only uses her eyes, her ears, and her lips, according to my bidding.” In a few minutes Lavinia returned to the bou- doir, with the intimation that the Duke had just To think that I. , arrived at Ardleigh House and would be with her Grace in a few minutes. “You can withdraw, Lavinia,” said the Duchess, with an air of seeming carelessness. The confidential maid retired; and in about five minutes the Duke of Ardleigh entered the bou- doir. He endeavoured to compose his features as much as possible: but there was a certain under- current, so to speak, of distress and suspense which failed not to be fathomed by the scrutinizing re~- gard which his wife bent upon him. ‘“‘T promised to be with you to-day, Mary,” he said, taking a seat upon a chair near the sofa on which she was half-reclining; ‘“‘and I have kept my word. I can scarcely venture to ask upon what terms we are to meet, because after the dis- covery which you made last evening, I feel, as I then said, that I am utterly in your power, and must yield to whatsoever you may choose to dic- tate. At the same time——’” He stopped short: the Duchess waited for up- wards of a minute to allow him an opportunity to continue ; and then she coldly asked, “ What were you about to observe ?” “You said something last evening,” continued the Duke, “in reference. to a paper which you wished me to sign. Of course, whatever its na- ture may be, I must submit. But I hope to God that you meditate no step which may possibly lead to an exposure before the world! It would ‘do you no good—while on the other hand it would brand the noble name of Ardleigh with infamy: and my brothers and sisters who are growing up, ‘would have to blush for me. And then too, Mary, you will remember the peculiar circumstances under which I married you. You were a mother ——you had a child by another when I led you to the altar—and this is the first time that I have ever alluded to the fact during the four years that we have now been united !” “You have been generous, Herbert,” replied the Duchess; “and therefore you may at once set your mind at rest—for I intend to be equally ge- nerous towards you. And yet I tremble on your behalf !—for it is evident that you have perpe- trated a tremendous fraud towards the unfortunate creatuke——” ‘Yes, yes—I have!” ejaculated the young Duke: “but now that I am reassured in respect to the mode in which you regard the discovery you have made, I will take care to prevent expo- sure in other quarters.—Answer me one word. Do you intend to stipulate that I shall see Ethel no more?” ‘You love her very much, Herbert?” inquired the Duchess. ‘‘ Mary, you may conceive how much I love her when in order to possess her I ran the fearful risk of all the consequences attendant upon bigamy ! Iwas maddened and infatuated,—I was not the master of my own actions—I would have sold my soul to Satan sooner than have resigned that beauteous girl! Ah! but perhaps you are of- fended that I speak thus enthusiastically on a sub- ject which is of course so painful to your own feelings ?” “Speak candidly,” said the Duchess. “ Pro- ceed——tell me all that is floating in your thoughts. Our marriage was inauspicious, Herbert: it was solemnized in the midst of a delusion. You be- lieved that you loved me with a lasting fervour— COMO YN Wn) Colin