The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 158: what you’re looking at

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’ Manor. 144 me—my God! it maddens me! I will not endure it—I will not submit toit! No—by heaven! I will adopt some course——But, ah! that secret— that awful secret!” And as if stricken with a mortal consternation by the effect of some appalling reminiscence, she suddenly stopped short in her musings and be- came still and motionless with despair. Even the very tide of her thoughts was frozen, congealing into all the horrors which at the moment filled them, and thus remaining present to her numbed imagination which could neither retreat from them nor outstrip them. | In this state she lay for a few minutes, until tears came to her relief and broke up the ice- bound stagnation of her soul. Then she gave free vent to her reflections again; and they soon flowed into the same channel as at first. “Yes—I will do something to release myself from this horrible condition of existence,” she murmurea, “It will kill me—it is killing me al- ready! To be dragged through the mire by the man whom I once Joved so tenderly and for whose sake I sacrificed so much—O heaven! it is dread- ful—dreadful! And this love of mine is rapidly turning to hate—it will soon become a longing for revenge! Yes—I willseek to emancipate myself from this abhorrent thraldom—I will even become the mistress of some one who will treat me kindly, rather than live as the wife of this man whose con- duct is so brutal !” Here the current of the unhappy lady’s musings was broken by the return of her husband, who im- mediately extinguished the candle and lay down again by the side of his beauteous but afflicted wife. “ Now will you condescend to tell me what all this means ?” she said, in a voice which indicated a firm resolve to ascertain the real truth and not be satisfied with mere evasions and palpable sub- terfuces, “ Well, haven’t I already told you that it is my friend Mr. Jones, who is in some little trouble about debts and Sheriffs officers?” exclaimed Bradshaw, with brutal abruptnoess. “ He was per- ished with cold—and so I was obliged to make him a fire to warm him, and get him hot brandy and water——” “ And where does this Mr. Jones live?” inquired the lady, with that gentle and subdued sarcasm in her voice that showed how utterly she discredited the tale that was thus told her. “* Somewhere in Pall Mall or St. James’s Street, I forget which,” returned Bradshaw: then, not choos- ing to perceive, or rather to notice his wife's ironical manner, inasmuch as it did not suit his purpose to pick a quarrel with her on the eve of broaching his infamous arrangement with Mrs. Gale, he said, “‘ But we will talk more about the affair in the morn- ing. You must be sleepy now——” “Not at all,” interrupted his wife. “Well, I am then,” he rejoined abruptly: and she did not dare speak another word. They arose in the morning at the usual hour; and Bradshaw hurried into his dressing-room, evidently to avoid further explanations with his wife concern- ing the presencaof the mysterious Mr. Jones at the, On descending to the breakfast- parlour she inquired of her husband whether Mr. Jones pur- posed to join them at the repast but her voice was full of satire and her looks expressive of incredulity, THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT. ‘Now I tell you what it is, madam,” said Brad- shaw, tarning abruptly round upon her, so that she started as if fearful that he was about to strike her. “JT don’t like this bantering humour of your’s—and I will not put up with it. The person in the house is a friend of mine: and he is in difficulties. If he chooses to call himself Jones, or Smith, or Robinson, or anything else, it is nothing to you. He will pro- bably remain here a few days: but he will keep his own chamber—and therefore you need not expect any intrusion upon your privacy. I will attend upon him myself: and so there is an end of the matter.” “ But is this just —is it generous?” exclaimed Mrs. Bradshaw, the tears trickling down her cheeks. “Am Ito be compelled to live beneath the same roof with a person who does not even dare quit his apartment ?—and can I believe that pecuniary diffi- culties alone force him thus to dwell in solitude and seclusion ?” “In one word, madam,” demanded Bradshaw, fiercely, “do you want to quarrel with me? If so, speak out frankly—and we can soon ascertain who will get worst off'in the conflict of open warfare,” he added, with a diabolical significancy in his looks. “Letus be at peace, then, for God’s sake!” ex- claimed the untappy woman, recoiling in horror from the deep meaning expressed upon her husband’s features. Thus baffled, defeated, and crushed beneath the dark menaces conveyed in Bradshaw’s looks and words, the afflicted lady took refuge in silence and resigned herself to endure for the present all the tyrannyand cruelty of which he might choose to make her the victim. For not even her great beauty—the extraordinary seductiveness of her personal attrac- tions—her musical voice and her imploring looks, had any influence to move the stony heart of that dreadful man. Again, however, did the resolve spring up in her mind to seek the first opportunity of emancipating herself from this wretched thral- dom: and again did she feel that the hatred, which had already supplanted her love, was fast verging towards a longing for revenge. So soon as she had prepared the breakfast, Brad- shaw placed a cup of tea, some bread, butter, and cold meat, upon a small tray, which he carried up to Mr. Jones’s chamber. absence from the parlour, old Mrs. Underdown en- tered to bring a dish of broiled ham; and she in- quired whether anybody had arrived at the Manor during the night. Mrs. Bradshaw gave some expla- nations to allay the old woman’s curiosity; and soon During his temporary | — —— - i alter the latter had retired, Bradshaw came back to | the parlour, where he sate down to eat his breakfast. For some time a profound silence was main- tained between the husband and the wife: but at last, so soon as the former had eaten and drunk as much as he cared for, he pushed away his plate, exclaiming, “ Well, a plentiful meal puts a person in a good humour, notwithstanding all things.” His wife, who thoroughly understood her hus- band’s character, saw that this observation was the prelude towards the revelation of some new scheme or design on his part: and she then recalled to recollection the remark he had made, when they were aroused at two in the morning, relative toa © little business of which he purposed to speak to her. But she said nothing, although her curiosity was already excited. CONIC OOOKS