CHAPTER LIII
FERGUS A SUITOR
Waverley had, indeed, as he looked closer into the state of theChevalier's court, less reason to be satisfied with it. Itcontained, as they say an acorn includes all the ramifications ofthe future oak, as many seeds of tracasserie and intrigue as mighthave done honour to the court of a large empire. Every person ofconsequence had some separate object, which he pursued with a furythat Waverley considered as altogether disproportioned to itsimportance. Almost all had their reasons for discontent, althoughthe most legitimate was that of the worthy old Baron, who was onlydistressed on account of the common cause.
'We shall hardly,' said he one morning to Waverley when they hadbeen viewing the Castle--'we shall hardly gain the obsidionalcrown, which you wot well was made of the roots or grain whichtakes root within the place besieged, or it may be of the herbwoodbind, parietaria, or pellitory; we shall not, I say, gain itby this same blockade or leaguer of Edinburgh Castle.' For thisopinion he gave most learned and satisfactory reasons, that thereader may not care to hear repeated.
Having escaped from the old gentleman, Waverley went to Fergus'slodgings by appointment, to await his return from Holyrood House.'I am to have a particular audience to-morrow,' said Fergus toWaverley overnight, 'and you must meet me to wish me joy of thesuccess which I securely anticipate.'
The morrow came, and in the Chief's apartment he found EnsignMaccombich waiting to make report of his turn of duty in a sort ofditch which they had dug across the Castle-hill and called atrench. In a short time the Chief's voice was heard on the stairin a tone of impatient fury: 'Callum! why, Callum Beg! Diaoul!' Heentered the room with all the marks of a man agitated by atowering passion; and there were few upon whose features rageproduced a more violent effect. The veins of his forehead swelledwhen he was in such agitation; his nostril became dilated; hischeek and eye inflamed; and hislook that of a demoniac. Theseappearances of half-suppressed rage were the more frightfulbecause they were obviously caused by a strong effort to temperwith discretion an almost ungovernable paroxysm of passion, andresulted from an internal conflict of the most dreadful kind,which agitated his whole frame of mortality.
As he entered the apartment he unbuckled his broadsword, andthrowing it down with such violence that the weapon rolled to theother end of the room, 'I know not what,' he exclaimed, 'withholdsme from taking a solemn oath that I will never more draw it in hiscause. Load my pistols, Callum, and bring them hither instantly--instantly!' Callum, whom nothing ever startled, dismayed, ordisconcerted, obeyed very coolly. Evan Dhu, upon whose brow thesuspicion that his Chief had been insulted called up acorresponding storm, swelled in sullen silence, awaiting to learnwhere or upon whom vengeance was to descend.
'So, Waverley, you are there,' said the Chief, after a moment'srecollection. 'Yes, I remember I asked you to share my triumph,and you have come to witness my disappointment we shall call it.'Evan now presented the written report he had in his hand, whichFergus threw from him with great passion. 'I wish to God,' hesaid, 'the old den would tumble down upon the heads of the foolswho attack and the knaves who defend it! I see, Waverley, youthink I am mad. Leave us, Evan, but be within call.'
'The Colonel's in an unco kippage,' said Mrs. Flockhart to Evan ashe descended; 'I wish he may be weel,--the very veins on his brentbrow are swelled like whipcord; wad he no tak something?'
'He usually lets blood for these fits,' answered the Highlandancient with great composure.
When this officer left the room, the Chieftain gradually reassumedsome degree of composure. 'I know, Waverley,' he said, 'thatColonel Talbot has persuaded you to curse ten times a day yourengagement with us; nay, never deny it, for I am at this momenttempted to curse my own. Would you believe it, I made this verymorning two suits to the Prince, and he has rejected them both;what do you think of it?'
'What can I think,' answered Waverley, 'till I know what yourrequests were?' 'Why, what signifies what they were, man? I tellyou it was I that made them--I to whom he owes more than to anythree who have joined the standard; for I negotiated the wholebusiness, and brought in all the Perthshire men when not one wouldhave stirred. I am not likely, I think, to ask anything veryunreasonable, and if I did, they might have stretched a point.Well, but you shall know all, now that I can draw my breath againwith some freedom. You remember my earl's patent; it is dated someyears back, for services then rendered; and certainly my merit hasnot been diminished, to say the least, by my subsequent behaviour.Now, sir, I value this bauble of a coronet as little as you can,or any philosopher on earth; for I hold that the chief of such aclan as the Sliochd nan Ivor is superior in rank to any earl inScotland. But I had a particular reason for assuming this cursedtitle at this time. You must know that I learned accidentally thatthe Prince has been pressing that old foolish Baron of Bradwardineto disinherit his male heir, or nineteenth or twentieth cousin,who has taken a command in the Elector of Hanover's militia, andto settle his estate upon your pretty little friend Rose; andthis, as being the command of his king and overlord, who may alterthe destination of a fief at pleasure, the old gentleman seemswell reconciled to.'
'And what becomes of the homage?'
'Curse the homage! I believe Rose is to pull off the queen'sslipper on her coronation-day, or some such trash. Well, sir, asRose Bradwardine would always have made a suitable match for mebut for this idiotical predilection of her father for the heir-male, it occurred to me there now remained no obstacle unless thatthe Baron might expect his daughter's husband to take the name ofBradwardine (which you know would be impossible in my case), andthat this might be evaded by my assuming the title to which I hadso good a right, and which, of course, would supersede thatdifficulty. If she was to be also Viscountess Bradwardine in herown right after her father's demise, so much the better; I couldhave no objection.'
'But, Fergus,' said Waverley, 'I had no idea that you had anyaffection for Miss Bradwardine, and you are always sneering at herfather.'
'I have as much affection for Miss Bradwardine, my good friend, asI think it necessary to have for the future mistress of my familyand the mother of my children. She is a very pretty, intelligentgirl, and is certainly of one of the very first Lowland families;and, with a little of Flora's instructions and forming, will makea very good figure. As to her father, he is an original, it istrue, and an absurd one enough; but he has given such severelessons to Sir Hew Halbert, that dear defunct the Laird ofBalmawhapple, and others, that nobody dare laugh at him, so hisabsurdity goes for nothing. I tell you there could have been noearthly objection--none. I had settled the thing entirely in myown mind.'
'But had you asked the Baron's consent,' said Waverley, 'orRose's?'
'To what purpose? To have spoke to the Baron before I had assumedmy title would have only provoked a premature and irritatingdiscussion on the subject of the change of name, when, as Earl ofGlennaquoich, I had only to propose to him to carry his d--d bearand bootjack party per pale, or in a scutcheon of pretence, or ina separate shield perhaps--any way that would not blemish my owncoat of arms. And as to Rose, I don't see what objection she couldhave made if her father was satisfied.'
'Perhaps the same that your sister makes to me, you beingsatisfied.'
Fergus gave a broad stare at the comparison which this suppositionimplied, but cautiously suppressed the answer which rose to histongue. 'O, we should easily have arranged all that. So, sir, Icraved a private interview, and this morning was assigned; and Iasked you to meet me here, thinking, like a fool, that I shouldwant your countenance as bride's-man. Well, I state my pretension--they are not denied; the promises so repeatedly made and thepatent granted--they are acknowledged. But I propose, as a naturalconsequence, to assume the rank which the patent bestowed. I havethe old story of the jealousy of C----and M----trumped upagainst me. I resist this pretext, and offer to procure theirwritten acquiescence, in virtue of the date of my patent as priorto their silly claims; I assure you I would have had such aconsent from them, if it had been at the
point of the sword. Andthen out comes the real truth; and he dares to tell me to my facethat my patent must be suppressed for the present, for fear ofdisgusting that rascally coward and faineant (naming the rivalchief of his own clan), who has no better title to be a chieftainthan I to be Emperor of China, and who is pleased to shelter hisdastardly reluctance to come out, agreeable to his promise twentytimes pledged, under a pretended jealousy of the Prince'spartiality to me. And, to leave this miserable driveller without apretence for his cowardice, the Prince asks it as a personalfavour of me, forsooth, not to press my just and reasonablerequest at this moment. After this, put your faith in princes!'
'And did your audience end here?'
'End? O no! I was determined to leave him no pretence for hisingratitude, and I therefore stated, with all the composure Icould muster,--for I promise you I trembled with passion,--theparticular reasons I had for wishing that his Royal Highness wouldimpose upon me any other mode of exhibiting my duty and devotion,as my views in life made what at any other time would have been amere trifle at this crisis a severe sacrifice; and then Iexplained to him my full plan.'
'And what did the Prince answer?'
'Answer? why--it is well it is written, "Curse not the king, no,not in thy thought!"--why, he answered that truly he was glad Ihad made him my confidant, to prevent more grievousdisappointment, for he could assure me, upon the word of a prince,that Miss Bradwardine's affections were engaged, and he was undera particular promise to favour them. "So, my dear Fergus," saidhe, with his most gracious cast of smile, "as the marriage isutterly out of question, there need be no hurry, you know, aboutthe earldom." And so he glided off and left me plante la.'
'And what did you do?'
'I'll tell you what I COULD have done at that moment--sold myselfto the devil or the Elector, whichever offered the dearestrevenge. However, I am now cool. I know he intends to marry her tosome of his rascally Frenchmen or his Irish officers, but I willwatch them close; and let the man that would supplant me look wellto himself. Bisogna coprirsi, Signor.'
After some further conversation, unnecessary to be detailed,Waverley took leave of the Chieftain, whose fury had now subsidedinto a deep and strong desire of vengeance, and returned home,scarce able to analyse the mixture of feelings which the narrativehad awakened in his own bosom.