I should have liked to have gazed out of the Window until I hadascertained positively what the noise was about; but I remembered thatmy task was only half-accomplished and that I had at the least anotherhalf-dozen Manifestos to write out. I was on the point of sitting downonce more to my Work when I heard Lord Douglas Wychwoode's voice quiteclose to the screen, saying anxiously, as if in answer to some remarkmade by his friend:
"I trust not. My Sister is out in her chair somewhere in thisneighbourhood, and only with her two Bearers."
Apparently the two Gentlemen's attention had also been arrested by thetumult. The next moment Mr. Theophilus Baggs came in, and immediatelythey both plied him simultaneously with questions. "What were thosestrange cries in the street? Was there likely to be a riot? What wasthe cause of the tumult?" All of which Mr. Baggs felt himself unable toanswer. In the end, he said that he would walk down to the corner ofthe Street and ascertain what was happening.
Ensconced within the window recess and hidden from view by the screen, Isoon gave up all attempt at continuing my work. Somehow, the twoGentlemen's anxiety about the Lady Barbara had communicated itself tome. But my thoughts, of course, were of You. Fortunately for my peaceof mind, I knew that You were safe; at some distance, in fact, from thescene of the present tumult. Nevertheless, I had already made up mymind that if the rioting spread to the neighbouring streets, I wouldslip out presently and go as far as Dorset Gardens, where you were busyat rehearsal, and there wait for you until you came out of the Theatre,when, if you were unattended, I could escort you home.
I could not myself have explained why the Noise outside and the obviousrough temper of the People should have agitated me as they undoubtedlydid.
Anon, Mr. Baggs returned with a veritable sackful of news.
"There is a great tumult all down the neighbourhood," said he, "becauseLady Castlemaine is even now at the India House drinking tea, and a lotof rowdy folk have made up their minds to give her a rough welcome whenshe comes out. She is not popular just now, my Lady Castlemaine," Mr.Baggs continued complacently, as he gave a look of understanding to LordDouglas Wychwoode, "And I fancy that she will experience an unpleasantquarter of an hour presently."
"But, surely," protested my Lord Stour, "a whole mob will not be allowedto attack a defenceless woman, however unpopular she may be!"
"Oh, as to that," rejoined Mr. Baggs with an indifferent shrug of theshoulders, "a London mob is not like to be squeamish when its temper isaroused; and just now, when work is scarce and food very dear, the sightof her Ladyship's gorgeous liveries are apt to exasperate those who havean empty stomach."
"But what will they do to her?" urged my Lord, whose manly feelings wereevidently outraged at the prospect of seeing any Woman a prey to anangry rabble.
"That I cannot tell you, my Lord," replied Mr. Baggs. "The crowd hathseveral ways of showing its displeasure. You know, when a Frenchman orsome other Foreigner shows his face in the Streets of London, how soonhe becomes the butt of passing missiles. The sweep will leave a sootyimprint upon his coat; a baker's basket will cover him with dust; atevery hackney-coach stand, some facetious coachman will puff the frothof his beer into his face. Well! you may draw your own conclusions, myLord, as to what will happen anon, when my Lady Castlemaine hathfinished drinking her dish of tea!"
"But surely no one would treat a Lady so?" once more ejaculated my LordStour hotly.
"Perhaps not," retorted Mr. Baggs drily. "But then you, see, my Lord,Lady Castlemaine is ... Well; she is Lady Castlemaine ... and at thecorner of our street just now I heard murmurs of the Pillory or evenworse for her----"
"But this is monstrous--infamous----!"
"And will be well deserved," here broke in Lord Douglas decisively."Fie on You, Friend, to worry over that baggage, whilst we are still indoubt if my Sister be safe."
"Yes!" murmured Lord Stour, with a sudden note of deep solicitude in hisvoice. "My God! I was forgetting!"
He ran to the window--the one next to the recess where I still remainedensconced--threw open the casement and gazed out even more anxiouslythan I had been doing all along. Mr. Baggs in the meanwhile endeavouredto reassure Lord Douglas.
"If," he said, "her Ladyship knows that your Lordship hath come here tovisit me, she may seek shelter under my humble roof."
"God grant that she may!" rejoined the young Man fervently.
We all were on tenterhooks, I as much as the others; and we all gazedout agitatedly in the direction of Fleet Street. Then, all at once, myLord Stour gave a cry of relief.
"There's the chaise!" he exclaimed. "It has just turned the corner ofthis street.... No! not that way, Douglas ... on your right.... That isLady Barbara's chaise, is it not?"
"Yes, it is!" ejaculated the other. "Thank Heaven, her man Pyncheon hashad the good sense to bring her here. Quick, Mr. Notary!" he added."The door!"
The next moment a Sedan chair borne by two men in handsome liveries ofblue and silver came to a halt just below. Already Mr. Baggs hadhurried down the stairs. He would, I know, yield to no one in theprivilege of being the first to make the Lady Barbara welcome in hisHouse. The Excitement and Anxiety were momentarily over, and I couldview quite composedly from above the beautiful Lady Barbara as shestepped out of her Chair, a little flurried obviously, for she claspedand unclasped her cloak with a nervy, trembling hand.
A second or two later, I heard her high-heeled shoes pattering up thestairs, whilst her Men with the Chair sought refuge in a quiet tavernhigher up in Chancery Lane.
CHAPTER IV
MORE THAN A PASSING FANCY
1
I would that You, fair Mistress, had seen the Lady Barbara Wychwoode asI beheld her on that never-to-be-forgotten afternoon, her Cheeks of adelicate pallor, her golden Hair slightly disarranged, her Lipstrembling with excitement. You, who are so inexpressibly beautiful,would have been generous enough to give ungrudging Admiration to whatwas so passing fair.
She was panting a little, for obviously she had been scared, and clungto her Brother as if for protection. But I noticed that directly sheentered the room her Eyes encountered those of my Lord Stour, and thatat sight of him a happy smile at once over-spread and illumined herFace.
"I am so thankful, Douglas, dear," she said, "that Pyncheon happened toknow you were here. He also knew the way to Mr. Baggs' house, and assoon as he realized that the crowd in Fleet Street was no ordinary one,he literally took to his heels and brought me along here in amazinglyquick time. But, oh!" she added lightly, "I can tell You that I wasscared. My heart went thumping and I have not yet recovered my breath."
Her cheeks now had become suffused with a blush and her blue eyessparkled, more with excitement than fear, I imagined. Certain it isthat her Beauty was enhanced thereby. But Lord Douglas, with aBrother's privilege, shrugged his shoulders and said with a show ofbanter:
"Methinks, Babs, dear, that your heart hath chiefly gone a-thumpingbecause you are surprised at finding Stour here."
She gave a gay little laugh--the laugh of one who is sure of Love and ofHappiness; the same laugh, dear Mistress, for which I have hearkened oflate in vain from You.
"I only arrived in London this morning," my Lord Stour explained.
"And hastened to pay your respects to the law rather than to me," LadyBarbara taunted him lightly.
"I would not have ventured to present myself at this hour," he rejoined."And, apparently, would have found the Lady Barbara from home."
"So a beneficent Fairy whispered to You to go and see Mr. Notary, andthus arranged everything for the best."
"The beneficent Fairy had her work cut out, then," Lord Douglasremarked, somewhat impatiently, I thought.
"How do you mean?" she retorted.
"Why," said he, "in order to secure this tryst, the beneficient Fairyhad first to bring me hither as well as Stour, and Lady Castlemaine tothe India House. Then she had to inflame
the temper of a whole Crowd ofRoisterers sufficiently to cause the worthy Pyncheon to take to hisheels, with you in the chair. In fact, the good Fairy must have been toendless trouble to arrange this meeting 'twixt Lady Barbara and herLover, when but a few hours later that same meeting would have comeabout quite naturally."
"Nay, then!" she riposted with perfect good humour, "let us call it ahappy Coincidence, and say no more about it."
Even then her Brother uttered an angry exclamation. He appearedirritated by the placidity and good humour of the others. His nerveswere evidently on edge, and while my Lord Stour, with the egoismpeculiar to Lovers, became absorbed in whispering sweet nothings in LadyBarbara's ears, Lord Douglas took to pacing up and down the Room likesome impatient Animal.
I watched the three of them with ever-growing interest. Being verysensitive to outward influences, I was suddenly obsessed with thefeeling that through some means or other these three Persons, so farabove me in station, would somehow become intermixed with my Life, andthat it had suddenly become my Duty to watch them and to listen to whatthey were saying.
I had no desire to pry upon them, of course; so I pray You do notmisunderstand nor condemn me for thus remaining hidden behind the screenand for not betraying my Presence to them all. Certainly my Lord Stourand Lord Douglas Wychwoode had known at one time that I was in the Room.They had seen me installed in the window-recess, with the treasonableManifestos which I had been set to copy. But since then the twoGentlemen had obviously become wholly oblivious of my Presence, and theLady Barbara did not of course even know of my Existence, whilst I didnot feel disposed to reveal myself to any of them just yet.
2
Lord Douglas, thereafter, was for braving the Rioters and for returninghome. But Lady Barbara and Lord Stour, feeling happy in one another'sCompany, were quite content to bide for a time under Mr. Baggs'sheltering roof.
"You must have patience, Douglas," she said to her Brother. "I assureyou that the Streets are not safe. Some rowdy Folk have set themselvesto attacking every chair they see and tearing the gold and silver lacefrom the Chairmen's liveries. Even the side-streets are thronged.Pyncheon will tell you of the difficulty he had in bringing me here."
"But we cannot wait until night!" Lord Douglas urged impatiently.
"No!" said she. "Only an hour or two. As soon as the people have seenLady Castlemaine and have vented their wrath on her, they will begin todisperse, chiefly into the neighbouring Taverns, and then we can slipquietly away."
"Or else," broke in Lord Stour hotly, "surely the watchmen will comeanon and disperse that rabble ere it vents its spite upon a defencelessWoman!"
"A defenceless Woman, you call her, my Lord?" Lady Barbara retortedreproachfully. "She is the most dangerous Enemy England hath at thismoment!"
"You are severe, Lady Barbara----"
"Severe!" she exclaimed, with a vehement tone of resentment. "Ah! youhave been absent, my Lord. You do not know--You do not understand! Overabroad You did not realise the Misery, the Famine, that is stalking ourland. Money that should be spent on reclaiming our Industries, whichhave suffered through twenty years of civil strife, or in helping thepoor to tide over these years of lean Harvests, is being lavished by anirresponsible Monarch upon a greedy Wanton, who----"
"Barbara!"
She paused, recalled to herself by the stern voice of her Brother. Shehad allowed her Indignation to master her maidenly reserve. Her cheekswere aflame now, her lips quivering with Passion. Of a truth, she was aWoman to be admired, for, unlike most of her sex, she had profoundfeelings of Patriotism and of Charity; she had valour, enthusiasm,temperament, and was not ashamed to speak what was in her mind. Iwatched my Lord Stour while she spoke, and saw how deeply he worshippedher. Now she encountered his Gaze, and heavy tears came into her Eyes.
"Ah, my Lord," she said gently, "you will see sadder sights in theStreets of London to-day than ever you did in the Wars after thefiercest Battles."
"'Tis no use appealing to him, Babs," Lord Douglas interposed withobvious exacerbation. "A moment ago I told him of our Plans. I beggedhim to lend us his sword and his hand to strike a blow at the Profligacyand Wantonness which is sending England to perdition worse than everbefore----"
Lady Barbara turned great, reproachful eyes on my Lord.
"And you refused?" she whispered.
My Lord looked confused. All at once, I knew that he was alreadywavering. A weak Man, perhaps; he was deeply, desperately enamoured. Igathered that he had not seen the Lady Barbara for some months. Nodoubt his Soul hungered for her Smiles. He was the sort of Man,methinks, who would barter everything--even Honour--for the Woman heloved. And I do not think that he cared for much beyond that. HisFather, an you remember, fought on the Parliament side. I do not saythat he was one of the Regicides, but he did not raise a finger to helpor to serve his King. And he had been a rigid Protestant. All theStourcliffes of Stour were that; and the present Earl's allegiance toKing Charles could only have been very perfunctory. Besides which, thisis the age of Conspiracies and of political Factions. I doubt not butit will be another twenty years before the Country is really satisfiedwith its form of Government. I myself--though God knows I am but ahumble Clerk--could wish that this Popish marriage for the King had notbeen decided on. We do not want religious factions warring with oneanother again.
But all this is beside the mark, nor would I dwell on it save for mydesire to be, above all, just to these three People who were destined todo the Man I love best in the world an irreparable injury.
As I said before, I could see that my Lord Stour was hesitating. NowLady Barbara invited him to sit beside her upon the Sofa, and she begantalking to him quietly and earnestly, Lord Douglas only putting in aword or so now and again. What they said hath little to do with theportent of my Narrative, nor will I plague You with the telling of it.Those people are nothing to You; they have nothing to do with humblePlebeians like ourselves; they are a class apart, and we should nevermix ourselves up with them or their affairs, as Mr. Betterton hath sincelearned to his hurt.
3
While they were talking together, the three of them, I tried once moreto concentrate my mind upon my work, and finished off another two orthree copies of the treasonable Manifesto.
All this while, you must remember that the noise and rowdiness in thestreets had in no way diminished. Rather had it grown in intensity.The people whom I watched from time to time and saw darting downChancery Lane or across the corner of Fleet Street, looked more excited,more bent on mischief, than before. I had seen a few stones flyingabout, and once or twice heard the ominous crash of broken glass.
Then suddenly there came an immense Cry, which was not unlike thesnarling of hundreds of angry Beasts. I knew what that meant. My LadyCastlemaine was either on the point of quitting the India House or hadbeen otherwise spied by the Populace. I could no longer restrain myCuriosity. Once more I cast my papers aside and leaned out of thewindow. The shouting and booing had become more and more ominous.Apparently, too, a company of the City Watchmen had arrived. They weretrying to force through the throng, and their calls of "Make way there!"sounded more and more peremptory. But what was a handful of Watchmenbeside an excited crowd of Rioters determined to wreak their temper uponan unpopular bit of baggage? I doubt not but that His Majesty'sBody-guard could alone restore order now and compass the safety of theLady.
As I leaned out of the Window I could see stones and miscellaneousmissiles flying in every direction; and then suddenly I had a clearvision of a gorgeous Sedan Chair escorted by a dozen or more CityWatchmen, who were trying to forge a way for it through the Crowd. Theywere trying to reach the corner of our Street, hoping no doubt to turnup this way and thus effect an escape by way of the Lower Lincoln's InnFields and Drury Lane, while the Crowd would of necessity be kept backthrough the narrowness of the Streets and the intricacies of the Alleys.
The who
le point now was whether the Chairmen could reach our cornerbefore the Roisterers had succeeded in beating back the Watchmen, whenof course they meant to tear Lady Castlemaine out of her chair. Poor,wretched Woman! She must have been terribly frightened. I know that Imyself felt woefully agitated. Leaning out toward the street, I couldsee Lady Barbara's pretty head at the next window and my Lord Stour andLord Douglas close beside her. They too had forgotten all about theirtalk and their plans and Conspiracies, and were gazing out on theexciting Spectacle with mixed feelings, I make no doubt. As for me, Ifeel quite sure that but for my sense of utter helplessness, I shouldhave rushed out even then and tried to lend a hand in helping anunfortunate Woman out of so terrible a Predicament, and I marvelled howdeep must have been the hatred for her, felt by Gentlemen like my LordStour and Lord Douglas Wychwoode, that their Sense of Chivalry forsookthem so completely at this Hour, that neither of them attempted to runto her aid or even suggested that she should find shelter in this House.
As for Mr. Baggs, he was not merely idly curious; he was delighted atthe idea that my Lady Castlemaine should be maltreated by the mob;whilst Mistress Euphrosine's one idea was the hope that if the Riotersmeant to murder the Baggage, they would not do so outside this door.She and Mr. Baggs had come running into the Parlour the moment therioting reached its height, and of a truth, dear Mistress, you wouldhave been amused to see us all at the three front windows of thehouse--three groups watching the distant and wildly exciting happeningsin Fleet Street. There was I at one window; Mr. and Mrs. Baggs at theother; Lady Barbara and the two Gallants at the third. And theejaculations which came from one set of Watchers or the other would fillseveral pages of my narrative.