The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 120: what you’re looking at

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THE MYSTERIES. 103 were glowing with the flush of health, while her hair glittered like hyperipns with the morning dew—for she lad already taken a gallop three or four times round Hyde Park to give her an appetite. And an appetite, indeed, she brought with her: inasmuch as vigorous were the assaults she made the cold fowl and ham and the pigeon pie which viands she washed down with bottled ale, her taste heing decidedly repugnant to Bolfea and Mocha. When the repast was over, Meagles said, “ Naw, Letitia, let us have a little conversation upon busi- ness. You are such a harum-scarum creature, that it is difficult to induce you to settle down your thoughts to anything serious.” “ That’s not true, Tim,” she exclaimed. “ Did I not play my part well the other day, and afford you ample time to open the Prince’s desk ?—and did you not obtain all the papers you required ~” “Yes—J must admit that you did keep George pretty well engaged in the bath-room,” saiq Tim. “But mind you don’t repeat the pastime till I want your services again for any similar purpose.” “Yon are jealous—are you, Tim t cried the lady, Jsughing heartily. “Why, you unreasonable dog! You first tel] me what I am to do—you make me promise to talk aboyt the bath-room, in order to lead the Prince ta invite me to view it—you know what must inevitably follow—and then you are more than half inclined ta upbraig me. Now, this 1s too bad !” “ Well—we won't say any more about it, Letitia,” returned Meagles, “ Let us talk of business. And, in the first place, J must tell you that I last night had another proof of the Pripce’s utter selfishness and thorough want af heart.” “In what way ?” demanded Letitia. * You know it was George's fault that I did not go off at ance yesterday and pay the money to that poor devil Foster,” resumed Meagles. “The consequence was that J arrived foo late—the poor man had blown his brains out !” “ Goad heavens!” exclaimed the Amazon, with r. “ Yea—and his unfortunate wife fell down dead apen the disfigured corpse of her syicide husband,” continued Meagles. “ This is too shocking!” cried Lady Letitia. “I would not for all the world become the cause of such a catastrophe,” she added, with the emphasis of sin- cerity. “Nor J either. And now will you believe me when I assure you that the Prince received the dreadful intelligence with the most heartless indiffer- ence; —or I should rather say that any feelings which he displayed in the matter were those of an :@tense selfishness, His first impulse was to express l anxiety lest the circumstances of the suicide should | transpire and expose his name to scandal and ob- |toany- But | had already taken measures to save | him from that ignominy ; and when he was thus re- gesyred, he indulged in 8 fiendish hope that I had aot parted with the money which the Marquis af Saint Croix advanced, and which had beey destined to pay the amount due to the rujned Foster J” “JI am not surprised—pbut I am horror-stricken by the Prince’s conduct,” s9jd Lady Letitia. “ What followed ?” “T told the Prince that J had paid the debt for which Hodson and Morley so cruelly pressed the depeasad : and so indeed I had. He was much vexed at having thus lost the chance of using the money for his own purposes: but he speedily con- soled himself with the prospect of passing a jovial night—for he had company in the banquetting-room. I refused to join them—and came home.” “And this is the heartless man who is one day to become the Father of his People!" exclaimed the Amazon, in a tone of deep disgust. “ You do well, Tim, to adopt all kinds of precautions,” she added, at the expiration of a minute, “to guard against being ill-treated by him eventually.” “'Yes—he looks upon me as a mere tool: but he shall find that he cannot play tricks with me,” re- turned ‘Tim, his usually frank and open countenance becoming sombre and menacing. “I have got him in my power—and I shall not easily resign my hold upon him. In the caprice of a moment he is capable of discarding me——” “ Or rather of attempting to do so,” interrupted Letitia. * Yes—that is what I meant,” said Meagles: “ be- cause the instant that he seeks to make me the victim of his heartlessness, I proclaim my inde- pendence—I threaten him with exposure—I wring from him all that I choose to demand! Do you think that a peerage and a good pension for life would be too much for my services, Letitia?” demanded Tim, his countenance expanding into a smile of mingled triumph and satisfaction. “Not a whit!’ was the energetic reply. “And remember,” added the huntress, fixing her wanton looks upon him, “when Sir John Lade dies——”’ “I know what you mean, my beauty,” exclaim ed Meagles: “there is no necessity to remind me of our bargain. Jt shall be a iarriage-partnership—and instead of a baronet’s wife, you shall become a peeress. Yes—this I can safely promise,” he continued, in a musing tone: “ for, possessed as I am of those docu- ments, our royal friend would not dare to refuse me even the title of a Duke in order to purchase their restoration.” “You have examined them attentively?” asked Lady Letitia. “Since they came into my hands the other day I have read and re-read them a dozen times,” responded Meagles. “They fully prove all that we had long suspected in reference to the nature of his connexion with Mrs. Fitzherbert: and, as luck would have it, the packet contained a certain little fragment which I never anticipated to find amongst those papers.” “What! you do not mean the half of the certifi- cate relating to the Prince’s father and Hannah Lightfoot ?” exclaimed the Amazon. “T mean nothing else, I can assure you, my beauty,” answered Tim, chuckling with satisfaction. “ And what is more, we will renew our negotiations with that fellow Warren—the Mazsman, as he is called— respecting the purchase of the other half, which re- mains in the possession of that crabbed old rascal, Lightfoot: but this time, Letitia, these negotiations shall be on our own account, and not for the behoof of the Prince.” ‘“‘Admirable!” cried the gay lady, her splendid countenance glowing with delight. “It is upwards of six months, I should imagine, since we first took steps in that matter; and, having failed, the thing has been neglected. But I never learnt how the half of the document originally fell into the hands of the Prince,” she continued, in an inquiring tone: “ and you have often promised to give me an explana- tion.” COMGLOO S COMM