CHAPTER XII
NEW FRIENDS
On arriving at the room upstairs, Captain Dave placed his hand onCyril's shoulder and said:
"How can I thank you, lad, for what you have done for us?"
"By saying nothing further about it, Captain Dave. I had hoped thatthe matter would never have come to your ears, and yet I rejoice, forher own sake, that Mistress Nellie has told you all. I thought thatshe would do so some day, for I, too, have seen how much she has beenchanged since then, and though it becomes me not to speak of oneolder than myself, I think that the experience has been for her good,and, above all, I am rejoiced to find that you have fully forgivenher, for indeed I am sure that she has been grievously punished."
"Well, well, lad, it shall be as you say, for indeed I am but a poorhand at talking, but believe me that I feel as grateful as if I couldexpress myself rightly, and that the Earl of Wisbech cannot feel onewhit more thankful to you for having saved the lives of his threechildren than I do for your having saved my Nellie from theconsequences of her own folly. There is one thing that you must letme do--it is but a small thing, but at present I have no other way ofshowing what I feel: you must let me take upon myself, as if you hadbeen my son, the expenses of this outfit of yours. I was talking ofthe matter, as you may have guessed by what I said to the Earl, whenNellie burst into tears; and if I contemplated this when I knew onlyyou had saved me from ruin, how much more do I feel it now that youhave done this greater thing? I trust that you will not refuse me andmy wife this small opportunity of showing our gratitude. What sayyou, John Wilkes?"
"I say, Captain Dave, that it is well spoken, and I am sure MasterCyril will not refuse your offer."
"I will not, Captain Dave, providing that you let it be as a loanthat I may perhaps some day be enabled to repay you. I feel that itwould be churlish to refuse so kind an offer, and it will relieve meof the one difficulty that troubled me when the prospects in allother respects seemed so fair."
"That is right, lad, and you have taken a load off my mind. You havenot acted quite fairly by us in one respect, Master Cyril!"
"How is that?" Cyril asked in surprise.
"In not telling us that you were Sir Cyril Shenstone, and in lettingus put you up in an attic, and letting you go about as Nellie'sescort, as if you had been but an apprentice."
Cyril laughed.
"I said that my father was Sir Aubrey Shenstone, though I own that Idid not say so until I had been here some time; but the fact that hewas a Baronet and not a Knight made little difference. It was afriendless lad whom you took in and gave shelter to, Captain Dave,and--it mattered not whether he was plain Cyril or Sir Cyril. I hadcertainly no thought of taking my title again until I entered aforeign army, and indeed it would have been a disservice to me herein London. I should have cut but a poor figure asking for work andcalling myself Sir Cyril Shenstone. I should have had to enter intoall sorts of explanations before anyone would have believed me, and Idon't think that, even with you, I should have been so comfortable asI have been."
"Well, at any rate, no harm has been done," Captain Dave said; "but Ithink you might have told me."
"If I had, Captain Dave, you would assuredly have told your wife andMistress Nellie; and it was much more pleasant for me that thingsshould be as they were."
"Well, perhaps you were right, lad. And I own that I might not havelet you work at my books, and worry over that robbery, had I knownthat you were of a station above me."
"That you could never have known," Cyril said warmly. "We have beenpoor ever since I can remember. I owed my education to the kindnessof friends of my mother, and in no way has my station been equal tothat of a London trader like yourself. As to the title, it was but amatter of birth, and went but ill with an empty purse and a shabbydoublet. In the future it may be useful, but until now, it has beennaught, and indeed worse than naught, to me."
The next morning when Cyril went into the parlour he found thatNellie was busy assisting the maid to lay the table. When the latterhad left the room, the girl went up to Cyril and took his hand.
"I have never thanked you yet," she said. "I could not bring myselfto speak of it, but now that I have told them I can do so. Ever sincethat dreadful night I have prayed for you, morning and evening, andthanked God for sending you to my rescue. What a wicked girl you musthave thought me--and with reason! But you could not think of me worsethan I thought of myself. Now that my father and mother have forgivenme I shall be different altogether. I had before made up my mind totell them. Still, it did not seem to me that I should ever be happyagain. But now that I have had the courage to speak out, and theyhave been so good to me, a great weight is lifted off my mind, and Imean to learn to be a good housewife like my mother, and to try to beworthy, some day, of an honest man's love."
"I am sure you will be," Cyril said warmly. "And so, Mistress Nellie,it has all turned out for the best, though it did not seem so at onetime."
At this moment Captain Dave came in. "I am glad to see you twotalking together as of old," he said. "We had thought that there mustbe some quarrel between you, for you had given up rating him, Nellie.Give her a kiss, Cyril; she is a good lass, though she has been afoolish one. Nay, Nellie, do not offer him your cheek--it is thefashion to do that to every idle acquaintance. Kiss him heartily, asif you loved him. That is right, lass. Now let us to breakfast. Whereis your mother? She is late."
"I told her that I would see after the breakfast in future, father,and I have begun this morning--partly because it is my duty to takethe work off her hands, and partly because I wanted a private talkwith Sir Cyril."
"I won't be called Sir Cyril under this roof," the lad said,laughing. "And I warn you that if anyone calls me so I will notanswer. I have always been Cyril with you all, and I intend to remainso to the end, and you must remember that it is but a few months thatI have had the right to the title, and was never addressed by ituntil by Prince Rupert. I was for the moment well nigh as muchsurprised as you were last night."
An hour later Cyril again donned his best suit, and started to payhis visit to the Earl. Had he not seen him over-night, he would havefelt very uncomfortable at the thought of the visit; but he had foundhim so pleasant and friendly, and so entirely free from any air ofpride or condescension, that it seemed as if he were going to meet afriend. He was particularly struck with the manner in which he hadplaced Captain Dave and his family at their ease, and got them totalk as freely and naturally with him as if he had been anacquaintance of long standing. It seemed strange to him to give hisname as Sir Cyril Shenstone to the lackeys at the door, and he almostexpected to see an expression of amusement on their faces. They had,however, evidently received instructions respecting him, for he waswithout question at once ushered into the room in which the Earl ofWisbech and his daughters were sitting.
The Earl shook him warmly by the hand, and then, turning to hisdaughters, said,--
"This is the gentleman to whom you owe your lives, girls. Sir Cyril,these are my daughters--Lady Dorothy, Lady Bertha, and Lady Beatrice.It seems somewhat strange to have to introduce you, who have savedtheir lives, to them; but you have the advantage of them, for youhave seen them before, but they have not until now seen your face."
Each of the girls as she was named made a deep curtsey, and thenpresented her cheek to be kissed, as was the custom of the times.
"They are somewhat tongue-tied," the Earl said, smiling, as theeldest of the three cast an appealing glance to him, "and have beggedme to thank you in their names, which I do with all my heart, and begyou to believe that their gratitude is none the less deep becausethey have no words to express it. They generally have plenty to say,I can assure you, and will find their tongues when you are a littlebetter acquainted."
"I am most happy to have been of service to you, ladies," Cyril said,bowing deeply to them. "I can hardly say that I have the advantageyour father speaks of, for in truth the smoke was so thick, and myeyes smarted so with it, that I could scarce see your faces.
"
"Their attire, too, in no way helped you," the Earl said, with alaugh, "for, as I hear, their costume was of the slightest. I believethat Dorothy's chief concern is that she did not have time to attireherself in a more becoming toilette before the smoke overpoweredher."
"Now, father," the girl protested, with a pretty colour in hercheeks, "you know I have never said anything of the sort, though Idid say that I wished I had thrown a cloak round me. It is notpleasant, whatever you may think, to know that one was handed down aladder in one's nightdress."
"I don't care about that a bit," Beatrice said; "but you did not say,father, that it was a young gentleman, no older than Sydney, whofound us and carried us out. I had expected to see a great big man."
"I don't think I said anything about his age, Beatrice, but simplytold you that I had found out that it was Sir Cyril Shenstone thathad saved you."
"Is the nurse recovering, my Lord?"
"She is still in bed, and the doctor says she will be some timebefore she quite recovers from the fright and shock. They were allsleeping in the storey above. It was Dorothy who first woke, and,after waking her sisters, ran into the nurse's room, which was nextdoor, and roused her. The silly woman was so frightened that shecould do nothing but stand at the window and scream until the girlsalmost dragged her away, and forced her to come downstairs. Thesmoke, however, was so thick that they could get no farther than thenext floor; then, guided by the screams of the other servants, theyopened a door and ran in, but, as you know, it was not the room intowhich the women had gone. The nurse fell down in a faint as soon asshe got in. The girls, as it seems, dragged her as far as they couldtowards the window, but she was too heavy for them; and as they hadnot shut the door, the smoke poured in and overpowered them, and theyfell beside her. The rest you know. She is a silly woman, and she hasquite lost my confidence by her folly and cowardice, but she has beena good servant, and the girls, all of whom she nursed, were fond ofher. Still, it is evident that she is not to be trusted in anemergency, and it was only because the girls' governess is away on avisit to her mother that she happened to be left in charge of them.Now, young ladies, you can leave us, as I have other matters to talkover with Sir Cyril."
The three girls curtsied deeply, first to their father, and then toCyril, who held the door for them to pass out.
"Now, Sir Cyril," the Earl said, as the door closed behind them, "wemust have a talk together. You may well believe that, after what hashappened, I look upon you almost as part of my family, and that Iconsider you have given me the right to look after your welfare as ifyou were a near relation of my own; and glad I am to have learnedyesterday evening that you are, in all respects, one whom I might beproud indeed to call a kinsman. Had you been a cousin of mine, withparents but indifferently off in worldly goods, it would have been myduty, of course, to push you forward and to aid you in every way tomake a proper figure on this expedition. I think that, after what hashappened, I have equally the right to do so, and what would have beenmy duty, had you been a relation, is no less a duty, and willcertainly be a great gratification to me to do now. You understandme, do you not? I wish to take upon myself all the charges connectedwith your outfit, and to make you an allowance, similar to that whichI shall give to my son, for your expenses on board ship. All this isof course but a slight thing, but, believe me, that when theexpedition is over it will be my pleasure to help you forward toadvancement in any course which you may choose."
"I thank you most heartily, my Lord," Cyril said, "and would nothesitate to accept your help in the present matter, did I need it.However, I have saved some little money during the past two years,and Captain Dowsett has most generously offered me any sum I mayrequire for my expenses, and has consented to allow me to take it asa loan to be repaid at some future time, should it be in my power todo so. Your offer, however, to aid me in my career afterwards, I mostthankfully accept. My idea has always been to take service under someforeign prince, and Prince Rupert has most kindly promised to aid mein that respect; but after serving for a time at sea I shall bebetter enabled to judge than at present as to whether that course isindeed the best, and I shall be most thankful for your counsel inthis and all other matters, and feel myself fortunate indeed to haveobtained your good will and patronage."
"Well, if it must be so, it must," the Earl said. "Your friendCaptain Dowsett seems to me a very worthy man. You have placed himunder an obligation as heavy as my own, and he has the first claim todo you service. In this matter, then, I must be content to standaside, but on your return from sea it will be my turn, and I shall behurt and grieved indeed if you do not allow me an opportunity ofproving my gratitude to you. As to the career you speak of, it is aprecarious one. There are indeed many English and Scotch officers whohave risen to high rank and honour in foreign service; but to everyone that so succeeds, how many fall unnoticed, and lie in unmarkedgraves, in well-nigh every country in Europe? Were you like so manyof your age, bent merely on adventure and pleasure, the case would bedifferent, but it is evident that you have a clear head for business,that you are steady and persevering, and such being the case, thereare many offices under the Crown in which you might distinguishyourself and do far better than the vast majority of those who selltheir swords to foreign princes, and become mere soldiers of fortune,fighting for a cause in which they have no interest, and riskingtheir lives in quarrels that are neither their own nor theircountry's.
"However, all this we can talk over when you come back after having,as I hope, aided in destroying the Dutch Fleet. I expect my son upto-morrow, and trust that you will accompany him to the King's_levee_, next Monday. Prince Rupert tells me that he has alreadypresented you to the King, and that you were well received by him, asindeed you had a right to be, as the son of a gentleman who hadsuffered and sacrificed much in the Royal cause. But I will take theopportunity of introducing you to several other gentlemen who willsail with you. On the following day I shall be going down into Kent,and shall remain there until it is time for Sydney to embark. If youcan get your preparations finished by that time, I trust that youwill give us the pleasure of your company, and will stay with meuntil you embark with Sydney. In this way you will come to know usbetter, and to feel, as I wish you to feel, as one of the family."
Cyril gratefully accepted the invitation, and then took his leave.
Captain Dave was delighted when he heard the issue of his visit tothe Earl.
"I should never have forgiven you, lad, if you had accepted theEarl's offer to help you in the matter of this expedition. It is nogreat thing, and comes well within my compass, and I should have beensorely hurt had you let him come between us; but in the future I cando little, and he much. I have spoken to several friends who arebetter acquainted with public affairs than I am, and they all speakhighly of him. He holds, for the most part, aloof from Court, whichis to his credit seeing how matters go on there; but he is spoken ofas a very worthy gentleman and one of merit, who might take aprominent part in affairs were he so minded. He has broad estates inKent and Norfolk, and spends the greater part of his life at one orother of his country seats. Doubtless, he will be able to assist yougreatly in the future."
"I did not like to refuse his offer to go down with him to Kent,"Cyril said, "though I would far rather have remained here with youuntil we sail."
"You did perfectly right, lad. It will cut short your stay here but aweek, and it would be madness to refuse the opportunity of getting toknow him and his family better. The Countess died three years ago, Ihear, and he has shown no disposition to take another wife, as hemight well do, seeing he is but a year or two past forty, and has aspleasant a face and manner as I have ever seen. He is not the sort ofman to promise what he will not perform, Cyril, and more than ever doI think that it was a fortunate thing for you that John Wilkesfetched you to that fire in the Savoy. And now, lad, you have no timeto lose. You must come with me at once to Master Woods, the tailor,in Eastcheap, who makes clothes not only for the citizens but formany of the noble
s and gallants of the Court. In the first place, youwill need a fitting dress for the King's _levee_; then you will needat least one more suit similar to that you now wear, and three for onboard ship and for ordinary occasions, made of stout cloth, but inthe fashion; then you must have helmet, and breast- and back-piecesfor the fighting, and for these we will go to Master Lawrence, thearmourer, in Cheapside. All these we will order to-day in my name,and put them down in your account to me. As to arms, you have yoursword, and there is but a brace of pistols to be bought. You willwant a few things such as thick cloaks for sea service; for though Isuppose that Volunteers do not keep their watch, you may meet withrains and heavy weather, and you will need something to keep youdry."
They sallied out at once. So the clothes were ordered, and the Courtsuit, with the best of the others promised by the end of the week;the armour was fitted on and bought, and a stock of fine shirts withruffles, hose, and shoes, was also purchased. The next day SydneyOliphant, the Earl's son, called upon Cyril. He was a frank, pleasantyoung fellow, about a year older than Cyril. He was very fond of hissisters, and expressed in lively terms his gratitude for theirrescue.
"This expedition has happened in the nick of time for me," he said,when, in accordance with his invitation, Cyril and he embarked in theEarl's boat in which he had been rowed to the City, "for I was in badodour with the authorities, and was like, erelong, to have been senthome far less pleasantly; and although the Earl, my father, is veryindulgent, he would have been terribly angry with me had it been so.To tell you the truth, at the University we are divided into twosets--those who read and those who don't--and on joining I foundmyself very soon among the latter. I don't think it was quite myfault, for I naturally fell in with companions whom I had knownbefore, and it chanced that some of these were among the wildestspirits in the University.
"Of course I had my horses, and, being fond of riding, I was moreoften in the saddle than in my seat in the college schools. Thenthere were constant complaints against us for sitting up late anddisturbing the college with our melodies, and altogether we stood inbad odour with the Dons; and when they punished us we took ourrevenge by playing them pranks, until lately it became almost openwar, and would certainly have ended before long in a score or more ofus being sent down. I should not have minded that myself, but itwould have grieved the Earl, and I am not one of the new-fashionedones who care naught for what their fathers may say. He has beenpraising you up to the skies this morning, I can tell you--I don'tmean only as to the fire but about other things--and says he hopes weshall be great friends, and I am sure I hope so too, and think so. Hehad been telling me about your finding out about their robbing thatgood old sea-captain you live with, and how you were kidnappedafterwards, and sent to Holland; and how, in another adventure,although he did not tell me how that came about, you pricked aruffling gallant through the shoulder; so that you have had a largershare of adventure, by a great deal, than I have. I had expected tosee you rather a solemn personage, for the Earl told me you had moresense in your little finger than I had in my whole body, which wasnot complimentary to me, though I dare say it is true."
"Now, as a rule, they say that sensible people are very disagreeable;but I hope I shall not be disagreeable," Cyril laughed, "and I amcertainly not aware that I am particularly sensible."
"No, I am sure you won't be disagreeable, but I should have beenquite nervous about coming to see you if it had not been for thegirls. Little Beatrice told me she thought you were a prince indisguise, and had evidently a private idea that the good fairies hadsent you to her rescue. Bertha said that you were a very proper younggentleman, and that she was sure you were nice. Dorothy didn't saymuch, but she evidently approved of the younger girls' sentiments, soI felt that you must be all right, for the girls are generally prettysevere critics, and very few of my friends stand at all high in theirgood graces. What amusement are you most fond of?"
"I am afraid I have had very little time for amusements," Cyril said."I was very fond of fencing when I was in France, but have had noopportunity of practising since I came to England. I went to abull-bait once, but thought it a cruel sport."
"I suppose you go to a play-house sometimes?"
"No; I have never been inside one. A good deal of my work has beendone in the evening, and I don't know that the thought ever occurredto me to go. I know nothing of your English sports, and neither ridenor shoot, except with a pistol, with which I used to be a good shotwhen I was in France."
They rowed down as low as Greenwich, then, as the tide turned, madetheir way back; and by the time Cyril alighted from the boat atLondon Bridge stairs the two young fellows had become quite intimatewith each other.
Nellie looked with great approval at Cyril as he came downstairs in afull Court dress. Since the avowal she had made of her fault she hadrecovered much of her brightness. She bustled about the house, intentupon the duties she had newly taken up, to the gratification of Mrs.Dowsett, who protested that her occupation was gone.
"Not at all, mother. It is only that you are now captain of the ship,and have got to give your orders instead of carrying them outyourself. Father did not pull up the ropes or go aloft to furl thesails, while I have no doubt he had plenty to do in seeing that hisorders were carried out. You will be worse off than he was, for hehad John Wilkes, and others, who knew their duty, while I have gotalmost everything to learn."
Although her cheerfulness had returned, and she could again be heardsinging snatches of song about the house, her voice and manner weregentler and softer, and Captain Dave said to Cyril,--
"It has all turned out for the best, lad. The ship was very nearwrecked, but the lesson has been a useful one, and there is no fearof her being lost from want of care or good seamanship in future. Ifeel, too, that I have been largely to blame in the matter. I spoilther as a child, and I spoilt her all along. Her mother would havekept a firmer hand upon the helm if I had not always spoken up forthe lass, and said, 'Let her have her head; don't check the sheets intoo tautly.' I see I was wrong now. Why, lad, what a blessing it isto us all that it happened when it did! for if that fire had been buta month earlier, you would probably have gone away with the Earl, andwe should have known nothing of Nellie's peril until we found thatshe was gone."
"Sir Cyril--no, I really cannot call you Cyril now," Nellie said,curtseying almost to the ground after taking a survey of the lad,"your costume becomes you rarely; and I am filled with wonder at thethought of my own stupidity in not seeing all along that you were aprince in disguise. It is like the fairy tales my old nurse used totell me of the king's son who went out to look for a beautiful wife,and who worked as a scullion in the king's palace without anyonesuspecting his rank. I think fortune has been very hard upon me, inthat I was born five years too soon. Had I been but fourteen insteadof nineteen, your Royal Highness might have cast favourable eyes uponme."
"But then, Mistress Nellie," Cyril said, laughing, "you would befilled with grief now at the thought that I am going away to thewars."
The girl's face changed. She dropped her saucy manner and saidearnestly,--
"I am grieved, Cyril; and if it would do any good I would sit downand have a hearty cry. The Dutchmen are brave fighters, and theirfleet will be stronger than ours; and there will be many who sailaway to sea who will never come back again. I have never had abrother; but it seems to me that if I had had one who was wise, andthoughtful, and brave, I should have loved him as I love you. I thinkthe princess must always have felt somehow that the scullion was notwhat he seemed; and though I have always laughed at you and scoldedyou, I have known all along that you were not really a clerk. I don'tknow that I thought you were a prince; but I somehow felt a littleafraid of you. You never said that you thought me vain and giddy, butI knew you did think so, and I used to feel a little malice againstyou; and yet, somehow, I respected and liked you all the more, andnow it seems to me that you are still in disguise, and that, thoughyou seem to be but a boy, you are really a man to whom some goodfairy has given
a boy's face. Methinks no boy could be as thoughtfuland considerate, and as kind as you are."
"You are exaggerating altogether," Cyril said; "and yet, in what yousay about my age, I think you are partly right. I have lived most ofmy life alone; I have had much care always on my shoulders, and graveresponsibility; thus it is that I am older in many ways than I shouldbe at my years. I would it were not so. I have not had any boyhood,as other boys have, and I think it has been a great misfortune forme."
"It has not been a misfortune for us, Cyril; it has been a blessingindeed to us all that you have not been quite like other boys, and Ithink that all your life it will be a satisfaction for you to knowthat you have saved one house from ruin, one woman from misery, anddisgrace. Now it is time for you to be going; but although you areleaving us tomorrow, Cyril, I hope that you are not going quite outof our lives."
"That you may be sure I am not, Nellie. If you have reason to begrateful to me, truly I have much reason to be grateful to yourfather. I have never been so happy as since I have been in thishouse, and I shall always return to it as to a home where I am sureof a welcome--as the place to which I chiefly owe any good fortunethat may ever befall me."
The _levee_ was a brilliant one, and was attended, in addition tothe usual throng of courtiers, by most of the officers and gentlemenwho were going with the Fleet. Cyril was glad indeed that he was withthe Earl of Wisbech and his son, for he would have felt lonely andout of place in the brilliant throng, in which Prince Rupert's facewould have been the only one with which he was familiar. The Earlintroduced him to several of the gentlemen who would be hisshipmates, and by all he was cordially received when the Earl namedhim as the gentleman who had rescued his daughters from death.
At times, when the Earl was chatting with his friends, Cyril movedabout through the rooms with Sydney, who knew by appearance a greatnumber of those present, and was able to point out all thedistinguished persons of the Court to him.
"There is the Prince," he said, "talking with the Earl of Rochester.What a grave face he has now! It is difficult to believe that he isthe Rupert of the wars, and the headstrong prince whose very braveryhelped to lose well-nigh as many battles as he won. We may be surethat he will take us into the very thick of the fight, Cyril. Evennow his wrist is as firm, and, I doubt not, his arm as strong as whenhe led the Cavaliers. I have seen him in the tennis-court; there isnot one at the Court, though many are well-nigh young enough to behis sons, who is his match at tennis. There is the Duke of York. Theysay he is a Catholic, but I own that makes no difference to me. He isfond of the sea, and is never so happy as when he is on board ship,though you would hardly think it by his grave face. The King is fondof it, too. He has a pleasure vessel that is called a yacht, and sohas the Duke of York, and they have races one against the other; butthe King generally wins. He is making it a fashionable pastime. Someday I will have one myself--that is, if I find I like the sea; for itmust be pleasant to sail about in your own vessel, and to gowheresoever one may fancy without asking leave from any man."
When it came to his turn Cyril passed before the King with the Earland his son. The Earl presented Sydney, who had not before been atCourt, to the King, mentioning that he was going out as a Volunteerin Prince Rupert's vessel.
"That is as it should be, my Lord," the King said. "England neednever fear so long as her nobles and gentlemen are ready themselvesto go out to fight her battles, and to set an example to the seamen.You need not present this young gentleman to me; my cousin Rupert hasalready done so, and told me of the service he has rendered to yourdaughters. He, too, sails with the Prince, and after what happenedthere can be no doubt that he can stand fire well. I would that thistiresome dignity did not prevent my being of the party. I wouldgladly, for once, lay my kingship down and go out as one of thecompany to help give the Dutchmen a lesson that will teach them that,even if caught unexpectedly, the sea-dogs of England can well holdtheir own, though they have no longer a Blake to command them."
"I wonder that the King ventures to use Blake's name," Sydneywhispered, as they moved away, "considering the indignities that heallowed the judges to inflict on the body of the grand old sailor."
"It was scandalous!" Cyril said warmly; "and I burned withindignation when I heard of it in France. They may call him a traitorbecause he sided with the Parliament, but even Royalists should neverhave forgotten what great deeds he did for England. However, thoughthey might have dishonoured his body, they could not touch his fame,and his name will be known and honoured as long as England is anation and when the names of the men who condemned him have been longforgotten."
After leaving the _levee_, Cyril went back to the City, and the nextmorning started on horseback, with the Earl and his son, to thelatter's seat, near Sevenoaks, the ladies having gone down in theEarl's coach on the previous day. Wholly unaccustomed as Cyril was toriding, he was so stiff that he had difficulty in dismounting whenthey rode up to the mansion. The Earl had provided a quiet andwell-trained horse for his use, and he had therefore found nodifficulty in retaining his seat.
"You must ride every day while you are down here," the Earl said,"and by the end of the week you will begin to be fairly at home inthe saddle. A good seat is one of the prime necessities of agentleman's education, and if it should be that you ever carry outyour idea of taking service abroad it will be essential for you,because, in most cases, the officers are mounted. You can hardlyexpect ever to become a brilliant rider. For that it is necessary tobegin young; but if you can keep your seat under all circumstances,and be able to use your sword on horseback, as well as on foot, itwill be all that is needful."
The week passed very pleasantly. Cyril rode and fenced daily withSydney, who was surprised to find that he was fully his match withthe sword. He walked in the gardens with the girls, who had now quiterecovered from the effects of the fire. Bertha and Beatrice, beingstill children, chatted with him as freely and familiarly as they didwith Sydney. Of Lady Dorothy he saw less, as she was in charge of her_gouvernante_, who always walked beside her, and was occupied intraining her into the habits of preciseness and decorum in vogue atthe time.
"I do believe, Dorothy," Sydney said, one day, "that you areforgetting how to laugh. You walk like a machine, and seem afraid tomove your hands or your feet except according to rule. I like youvery much better as you were a year ago, when you did not thinkyourself too fine for a romp, and could laugh when you were pleased.That dragon of yours is spoiling you altogether."
"That is a matter of opinion, Sydney," Dorothy said, with a deepcurtsey. "When you first began to fence, I have no doubt you werestiff and awkward, and I am sure if you had always had someone byyour side, saying, 'Keep your head up!' 'Don't poke your chinforward!' 'Pray do not swing your arms!' and that sort of thing, youwould be just as awkward as I feel. I am sure I would rather runabout with the others; the process of being turned into a young ladyis not a pleasant one. But perhaps some day, when you see thefinished article, you will be pleased to give your Lordship's augustapproval," and she ended with a merry laugh that would have shockedher _gouvernante_ if she had heard it.