CHAPTER XVII IN WHICH MY LORD AND I PLAY AT BOWLS
THE Governor had brought with him from London the year before, a setof boxwood bowls, and had made, between his house and the fort, a noblegreen. The generality must still use for the game that portion of thestreet that was not tobacco-planted; but the quality flocked to theGovernor's green, and here, one holiday afternoon, a fortnight or morefrom the day in which I had drunk to the King from my lord's silvergoblet, was gathered a very great company. The Governor's matchwas toward,--ten men to a side, a hogshead of sweet-scented to thevictorious ten, and a keg of canary to the man whose bowl should hit thejack.
The season had been one of unusual mildness, and the sunshine was stillwarm and bright, gilding the velvet of the green, and making the red andyellow leaves swept into the trench to glow like a ribbon of flame. Thesky was blue, the water bluer still, the leaves bright-colored, the windblowing; only the enshrouding forest, wrapped in haze, seemed as dim,unreal, and far away as a last year's dream.
The Governor's gilt armchair had been brought from the church, and putfor him upon the bank of turf at the upper end of the green. By his sidesat my Lady Temperance, while the gayly dressed dames and the men whowere to play and to watch were accommodated with stools and settles orwith seats on the green grass. All were dressed in holiday clothes, alltongues spoke, all eyes laughed; you might have thought there was not aheavy heart amongst them. Rolfe was there, gravely courteous, quietand ready; and by his side, in otterskin mantle, beaded moccasins, andfeathered headdress, the Indian chief, his brother-in-law,--the bravest,comeliest, and manliest savage with whom I have ever dealt. There, too,was Master Pory, red and jovial, with an eye to the sack the servantswere bringing from the Governor's house; and the commander, with hiswife; and Master Jeremy Sparrow, fresh from a most moving sermon on thevanities of this world. Captains, Councilors, and Burgesses aired theirgold lace, and their wit or their lack of it; while a swarm of youngeradventurers, youths of good blood and bad living, come from home for theweal of England and the woe of Virginia, went here and there through thecrowd like gilded summer flies.
Rolfe and I were to play; he sat on the grass at the feet of MistressJocelyn Percy, making her now and then some courtly speech, and I stoodbeside her, my hand on the back of her chair.
The King's ward held court as though she were a king's daughter. In thebrightness of her beauty she sat there, as gracious for the nonce as thesunshine, and as much of another world. All knew her story, and to thedaring that is in men's hearts her own daring appealed,--and she wasyoung and very beautiful. Some there had not been my friends, and nowrejoiced in what seemed my inevitable ruin; some whom I had thought myfriends were gone over to the stronger side; many who in secret wishedme well still shook their heads and shrugged their shoulders over whatthey were pleased to call my madness; but for her, I was glad to know,there were only good words. The Governor had left his gilt armchair towelcome her to the green, and had caused a chair to be set for her nearhis own, and here men came and bowed before her as if she had been aprincess indeed.
A stir amongst the crowd, a murmur, and a craning of necks heralded theapproach of that other at whom the town gaped with admiration. He camewith his retinue of attendants, his pomp of dress, his arrogance ofport, his splendid beauty. Men looked from the beauty of the King's wardto the beauty of the King's minion, from her costly silk to his velvetand miniver, from the air of the court that became her well to thetowering pride and insolence which to the thoughtless seemed hisfortune's proper mantle, and deemed them a pair well suited, and theKing's will indeed the will of Heaven.
I was never one to value a man by his outward seeming, but suddenly Isaw myself as in a mirror,--a soldier, scarred and bronzed, acquaintedwith the camp, but not with the court, roughened by a rude life, poor inthis world's goods, the first flush of youth gone forever. For a momentmy heart was bitter within me. The pang passed, and my hand tightenedits grasp upon the chair in which sat the woman I had wed. She was mywife, and I would keep my own.
My lord had paused to speak to the Governor, who had risen to greet him.Now he came toward us, and the crowd pressed and whispered. He bowedlow to Mistress Percy, made as if to pass on, then came to a stop beforeher, his hat in his hand, his handsome head bent, a smile upon hisbearded lips.
"When was it that we last sat to see men bowl, lady?" he said. "Iremember a gay match when I bowled against my Lord of Buckingham, andfair ladies sat and smiled upon us. The fairest laughed, and tied hercolors around my arm."
The lady whom he addressed sat quietly, with hands folded in her silkenlap and an untroubled face. "I did not know you then, my lord," sheanswered him, quite softly and sweetly. "Had I done so, be sure Iwould have cut my hand off ere it gave color of mine to"--"To whom?" hedemanded, as she paused.
"To a coward, my lord," she said clearly.
As if she had been a man, his hand went to his sword hilt. As for her,she leaned back in her chair and looked at him with a smile.
He spoke at last, slowly and with deliberate emphasis. "I won then," hesaid. "I shall win again, my lady,--my Lady Jocelyn Leigh."
I dropped my hand from her chair and stepped forward. "It is my wifeto whom you speak, my Lord Carnal," I said sternly. "I wait to hear youname her rightly."
Rolfe rose from the grass and stood beside me, and Jeremy Sparrow,shouldering aside with scant ceremony Burgess and Councilor, came also.The Governor leaned forward out of his chair, and the crowd becamesuddenly very still.
"I am waiting, my lord," I repeated.
In an instant, from what he had been he became the frank and guilelessnobleman. "A slip of the tongue, Captain Percy!" he cried, his whiteteeth showing and his hand raised in a gesture of deprecation. "Anatural thing, seeing how often, how very often, I have soaddressed this lady in the days when we had not the pleasure of youracquaintance." He turned to her and bowed, until the feather in his hatswept the ground. "I won then," he said. "I shall win again--MistressPercy," and passed on to the seat that had been reserved for him.
The game began. I was to lead one side, and young Clement the other. Atthe last moment he came over to me. "I am out of it, Captain Percy,"he announced with a rueful face. "My lord there asks me to give him myplace. When we were hunting yesterday, and the stag turned upon me, hecame between and thrust his knife into the brute, which else might haveput an end to my hunting forever and a day: so you see I can't refusehim. Plague take it all! and Dorothy Gookin sitting there watching!"
My lord and I stood forward, each with a bowl in his hand. We lookedtoward the Governor. "My lord first, as becometh his rank," he said.My lord stooped and threw, and his bowl went swiftly over the grass,turned, and rested not a hands'-breadth from the jack. I threw. "Oneis as near as the other!" cried Master Macocke for the judges. A murmurarose from the crowd, and my lord swore beneath his breath. He and Iretreated to our several sides, and Rolfe and West took our places.While they and those that followed bowled, the crowd, attentive thoughit was, still talked and laughed, and laid wagers upon its favorites;but when my lord and I again stood forth, the noise was hushed, and menand women stared with all their eyes. He delivered, and his bowl touchedthe jack. He straightened himself, with a smile, and I heard JeremySparrow behind me groan; but my bowl too kissed the jack. The crowdbegan to laugh with sheer delight, but my lord turned red and his browsdrew together. We had but one turn more. While we waited, I marked hisblack eyes studying every inch of the ground between him and that smallwhite ball, to strike which, at that moment, I verily believe he wouldhave given the King's favor. All men pray, though they pray not to thesame god. As he stood there, when his time had come, weighing the bowlin his hand, I knew that he prayed to his daemon, fate, star, whateverthing he raised an altar to and bent before. He threw, and I followed,while the throng held its breath. Master Macocke rose to his feet. "It'sa tie, my masters!" he exclaimed.
The excited crowd surged forward, and a babel of voices arose. "Silence,all!" cried the Governor.
"Let them play it out!"
My lord threw, and his bowl stopped perilously near the shining mark. AsI stepped to my place a low and supplicating "O Lord!" came to myears from the lips and the heart of the preacher, who had that morningthundered against the toys of this world. I drew back my arm and threwwith all my force. A cry arose from the throng, and my lord ground hisheel into the earth. The bowl, spurning the jack before it, rushed on,until both buried themselves in the red and yellow leaves that filledthe trench.
I turned and bowed to my antagonist. "You bowl well, my lord," I said."Had you had the forest training of eye and arm, our fortunes might havebeen reversed."
He looked me up and down. "You are kind, sir," he said thickly."'To-day to thee, to-morrow to me.' I give you joy of your pettyvictory."
He turned squarely from me, and stood with his face downstream. I wasspeaking to Rolfe and to the few--not even all of that side for which Ihad won--who pressed around me, when he wheeled.
"Your Honor," he cried to the Governor, who had paused beside MistressPercy, "is not the Due Return high-pooped? Doth she not carry a bluepennant, and hath she not a gilt siren for figurehead?"
"Ay," answered the Governor, lifting his head from the hand he hadkissed with ponderous gallantry. "What then, my lord?"
"Then to-morrow has dawned, sir captain," said my lord to me. "Sure,Dame Venus and her blind son have begged for me favorable winds; for theDue Return has come again."
The game that had been played was forgotten for that day. The hogsheadof sweet scented, lying to one side, wreathed with bright vines, wasunclaimed of either party; the servants who brought forward the keg ofcanary dropped their burden, and stared with the rest. All looked downthe river, and all saw the Due Return coming up the broad, ruffledstream, the wind from the sea filling her sails, the tide with her, thegilt mermaid on her prow just rising from the rushing foam. She came asswiftly as a bird to its nest. None had thought to see her for at leastten days.
Upon all there fell a sudden realization that it was the word of theKing, feathered by the command of the Company, that was hurrying,arrow-like, toward us. All knew what the Company's orders wouldbe,--must needs be,--and the Tudor sovereigns were not so long in thegrave that men had forgot to fear the wrath of kings. The crowd drewback from me as from a man plague-spotted. Only Rolfe, Sparrow, and theIndian stood their ground.
The Governor turned from staring downstream. "The game is played,gentlemen," he announced abruptly. "The wind grows colder, too, andclouds are gathering. This fair company will pardon me if I dismiss themsomewhat sooner than is our wont. The next sunny day we will play again.Give you God den, gentles."
The crowd stood not upon the order of its going, but streamed away tothe river bank, whence it could best watch the oncoming ship. My lord,after a most triumphant bow, swept off with his train in the directionof the guest house. With him went Master Pory. The Governor drew nearerto me. "Captain Percy," he said, lowering his voice, "I am going now tomine own house. The letters which yonder ship brings will be in my handsin less than an hour. When I have read them, I shall perforce obey theirinstructions. Before I have them I will see you, if you so wish."
"I will be with your Honor in five minutes."
He nodded, and strode off across the green to his garden. I turned toRolfe. "Will you take her home?" I said briefly. She was so white andsat so still in her chair that I feared to see her swoon. But whenI spoke to her she answered clearly and steadily enough, even with asmile, and she would not lean upon Rolfe's arm. "I will walk alone," shesaid. "None that see me shall think that I am stricken down." I watchedher move away, Rolfe beside her, and the Indian following with hisnoiseless step; then I went to the Governor's house. Master JeremySparrow had disappeared some minutes before, I knew not whither.
I found Yeardley in his great room, standing before a fire and staringdown into its hollows. "Captain Percy," he said, as I went up to him, "Iam most heartily sorry for you and for the lady whom you so ignorantlymarried."
"I shall not plead ignorance," I told him.
"You married, not the Lady Jocelyn Leigh, but a waiting woman namedPatience Worth. The Lady Jocelyn Leigh, a noble lady, and a ward ofthe King, could not marry without the King's consent. And you, CaptainPercy, are but a mere private gentleman, a poor Virginia adventurer;and my Lord Carnal is--my Lord Carnal. The Court of High Commission willmake short work of this fantastic marriage."
"Then they may do it without my aid," I said. "Come, Sir George, hadyou wed my Lady Temperance in such fashion, and found this hornets' nestabout your ears, what would you have done?"
He gave his short, honest laugh. "It's beside the question, Ralph Percy,but I dare say you can guess what I would have done."
"I'll fight for my own to the last ditch," I continued. "I married herknowing her name, if not her quality. Had I known the latter, had Iknown she was the King's ward, all the same I should have married her,an she would have had me. She is my wife in the sight of God and honestmen. Esteeming her honor, which is mine, at stake, Death may silence me,but men shall not bend me."
"Your best hope is in my Lord of Buckingham," he said. "They say itis out of sight, out of mind, with the King, and, thanks to thisinfatuation of my Lord Carnal's, Buckingham hath the field. That hestrains every nerve to oust completely this his first rival since hehimself distanced Somerset goes without saying. That to thwart my lordin this passion would be honey to him is equally of course. I do notneed to tell you that, if the Company so orders, I shall have no choicebut to send you and the lady home to England. When you are in London,make your suit to my Lord of Buckingham, and I earnestly hope that youmay find in him an ally powerful enough to bring you and the lady, towhose grace, beauty, and courage we all do homage, out of this coil."
"We give you thanks, sir," I said.
"As you know," he went on, "I have written to the Company, humblypetitioning that I be graciously relieved from a most thankless task,to wit, the governorship of Virginia. My health faileth, and I am,moreover, under my Lord Warwick's displeasure. He waxeth ever strongerin the Company, and if I put not myself out, he will do it for me. IfI be relieved at once, and one of the Council appointed in my place, Ishall go home to look after certain of my interests there. Then shall Ibe but a private gentleman, and if I can serve you, Ralph Percy, I shallbe blithe to do so; but now, you understand"--
"I understand, and thank you, Sir George," I said. "May I ask onequestion?"
"What is it?"
"Will you obey to the letter the instructions the Company sends?"
"To the letter," he answered. "I am its sworn officer."
"One thing more," I went on: "the parole I gave you, sir, that morningbehind the church, is mine own again when you shall have read thoseletters and know the King's will. I am free from that bond, at least."
He looked at me with a frown. "Make not bad worse, Captain Percy," hesaid sternly.
I laughed. "It is my aim to make bad better, Sir George. I see throughthe window that the Due Return hath come to anchor; I will no longertrespass on your Honor's time." I bowed myself out, leaving him stillwith the frown upon his face, staring at the fire.
Without, the world was bathed in the glow of a magnificent sunset.Clouds, dark purple and dark crimson, reared themselves in the west todizzy heights, and hung threateningly over the darkening land beneath.In the east loomed more pallid masses, and from the bastions of the eastto the bastions of the west went hurrying, wind-driven cloudless, darkin the east, red in the west. There was a high wind, and the river,where it was not reddened by the sunset, was lividly green. "A storm,too!" I muttered.
As I passed the guest house, there came to me from within a burst ofloud and vaunting laughter and a boisterous drinking catch sung by manyvoices; and I knew that my lord drank, and gave others to drink, to theorders which the Due Return should bring. The minister's house wasin darkness. In the great room I struck a light and fired the freshtorches, and found I was not its sole occupant. On the hearth, the
ashesof the dead fire touching her skirts, sat Mistress Jocelyn Percy, herarms resting upon a low stool, and her head pillowed upon them. Her facewas not hidden: it was cold and pure and still, like carven marble. Istood and gazed at her a moment; then, as she did not offer to move, Ibrought wood to the fire and made the forlorn room bright again.
"Where is Rolfe?" I asked at last.
"He would have stayed," she answered, "but I made him go. I wished tobe alone." She rose, and going to the window leaned her forehead againstthe bars, and looked out upon the wild sky and the hurrying river. "Iwould I were alone," she said in a low voice and with a catch of herbreath. As she stood there in the twilight by the window, I knew thatshe was weeping, though her pride strove to keep that knowledge from me.My heart ached for her, and I knew not how to comfort her. At last sheturned. A pasty and stoup of wine were upon the table.
"You are tired and shaken," I said, "and you may need all your strength.Come, eat and drink."
"For to-morrow we die," she added, and broke into tremulous laughter.Her lashes were still wet, but her pride and daring had returned. Shedrank the wine I poured for her, and we spoke of indifferent things,--ofthe game that afternoon, of the Indian Nantauquas, of the wild nightthat clouds and wind portended. Supper over, I called Angela to bearher company, and I myself went out into the night, and down the streettoward the guest house.