The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 153: what you’re looking at

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did recollect you, though,” she added with one of her bland smiles. “ Well—are you still carrying on the old game?” he asked, chuckling significantly: and then he - continued to smoke his cigar. *‘ Just the same, sir—just the same,” responded the woman. “I shall be glad to see you up in the Square: my house is greatly altered ——-” ~ Quite a palace, I dare say?” observed Brad- shaw, with a laugh, - Well—it is a nice comfortable place, sir,” she replied. “I have made a little money—and what igs more, Mr. Bradshaw, I know how to keep it.” “T wish the deuce I did,” he exclaimed, abruptly. “My pockets are so infernally leaky—and then I have got the habit of shaking my elbow——” ‘‘ Of what, sir?” cried Mrs. Gale, in unfeigned astonishment. ' “Why, of gambling—rattling the dice-box, I mean,” was the answer. “I don’t mind telling you all this, because I look upon you as an old ac- gQuaintance. IL am staying up at the Manor just for the present—but only for a few days, I think : and then I shall be off to France again. I have got my wife with me: but her company is some- what of the dullest at times—and so I stepped down here to the Blue Lion in the hope of meeting some one to chat to in the parlour. I was however all alone till you dropped in. But, by the bye, what on earth are you doing in this part of the world at such an hour ?” “Well, Mr. Bradshaw,” replied the woman, as- suming a mysterious air of confidence, “ since you are good enough to treat me as an old acquaint- ance, [ must not make astranger of you. The fact is, Lam engaged on a little enterprise which, if it succeed, will put a few hundreds into my pocket, and a good many hundreds into the pocket of some lucky girl, if L can only find just what I want.” “ And what do you want, in the devil’s name?” demanded Bradshaw, his curiosity excited by the Mysterious, or rather incomprehensible response which he had just received; besides, he was always interested in any matter where money formed a por- tion of the topic, “Well, sir,’ continued Mrs, Gale, drawing her chair nearer to the one in which he was seated, ‘it is the strangest adventure in the whole worid—and yet not the first of the sort, either, that I’ve known or been engaged in. The truth is, my best patron is anelderly gentleman—a little olier than you may be, sir—begging pardon for the allusion: and he is a terrible rake—a terrible rake! Well, sir, he came to me this morning, and said that he was quite wearied of all the conquests he had recently made— the old fool! I could scarcely help laughing in his face—and yet he is a very good-looking man, con- sidering his age—and enormously rich—in fact one of the richest commoners in England.” “Well—and what did he want with you?” in- quired Bradshaw: “to find him some new beauty to tempt his sated appetite and please his palled fancy 2?” “Just so,” returned Mrs. Gale. “ But she must be a lady—a perfect lady in manners and speech as | well as in appearance—and of course very beautiful. In tact, with the exception of these stipulations, he left the affair for me to manage as I choose: and hearing of a lovely creature who was reported to a ’ ' THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. live at Wandsworth, I have been to inquire about her. But I find she has left with her husband—and now [ am at my wit’send. It would have been a thousand guineas in her pocket—and from all I have heard, she was not so prudish as to have re jected the offer.” ‘* A thousand guineas!” echoed Bradshaw. hundred you mean ?” “I mean what I said, sir,” replied the artful woe man, already confident that success awaited her. “A thousand guineas will this old fool give—and yet T ought not to speak disrespectfully of him, for it would be worth acouple of hundred guineas to meif I succeeded. But where to search for such a being ? “And do you mean to teli me that this simpleton, whoever he is, will toss his money away in sucha manner ?” inquired Bradshaw. “ Why, sir, he is worth a hundred thousand a year,’ returned Mrs. Gale: “ and being a bachelor, devoted to pleasure, he cares not how much he spends upon the gratification of his whims and phantasies.” “Well, there are such fools in the world—plenty of them,’ observed Bradshaw: then, with some little hesitation, he said, “ It is very singular—but I think I know a lady who for such an amount might be induced to overcome her scruples —-—” “Ah! my dear sir,if you could only put me in the way of success in this instance, 1 should be so thankful!” exclaimed the woman. “The strictest secrecy may be relied upon, as a matter of course . “And about the payment of the money 2” said Bradshaw, his voice dropping to a low confidential tone. “Qh! in any way most agreeable,” replied Mrs. Gale. “Suppose that I was to fetch the lady ina coach, I would hand over half the amount at once on my own responsibility: and the other half should be presented to herself by the gentleman at my house, where the luterview must take place.” “Will you allow me to help in the management of this affair 2” demanded Bradshaw: “and I pro- mise you that the lady whom I will introduce to you shal! even exceed your expectations in every point. Beautiful—of elegant manners—fascinating and seductive when she chooses—young and well formed——” “My dear sir, if you can really manage this mat- ter as you say,” interrupted Mrs. Galey apparently thrown into an ecstacy of delight, “ I not only accept your services, but shall be infinitely obliged into the bargain.” “Then let us consider the compact made,” said Bradshaw. “ Let me see—this is Saturday evening; shall we say Monday night at eight or nine o'clock, whichever you choose ?”’ “ In what neighbourhood must I be to receive the lady ?” asked Mrs. Gale. “Why, to tell you the truth,” was the response, ‘sheis a friend of my wife’s—a married woman, mind—but her husband is absent—in France, I believe—and she has been a little gay, but quite pri- vately and secretly——” “All these particulars I do not seek to know,” interrupted Mrs. Gale. ‘The gentleman for whom Lam acting will not ask her name—although he may communicate his own, if he is pleased with her and desires to see her again. This, however, L commiclaaalxs, “oy