Chapter XI.

The letters of Lady Laura informed her friends, that herself and Col.

Denbigh, had decided to remain with his uncle, until his recovery was perfect, and then proceed to Denbigh Castle, to meet the Duke and his sister, during the approaching holy-days.

Emily was much relieved by this postponement of an interview, she would gladly have avoided for ever; and her aunt sincerely rejoiced that her niece was allowed more time to eradicate impressions, she saw, with pain, her charge had yet a struggle to overcome.

There were so many points to admire in the character of Denbigh; his friends spoke of him with such decided partiality; Dr. Ives, in his frequent letters, alluded to him with so much affection, that Emily had frequently detected herself, in weighing the testimony of his guilt, and indulging the expectation, that circumstances had deceived them all, in their judgment of his conduct. Then his marriage would cross her mind, and, with the conviction of the impropriety of admitting him to her thoughts at all, would come the collective mass of testimony, which had accumulated against him.

Derwent served greatly to keep alive the recollections of his person, however; and, as Lady Harriet seemed to live only in the societyof the Moseley's, not a day passed without giving the Duke some opportunity of indirectly preferring his suit.

Emily not only appeared, but in fact was, unconscious of his admiration, and entered into their amusements with a satisfaction that took its rise in the belief, the unfortunate attachment her cousin Chatterton had once professed for herself, was forgotten in the more certain enjoyments of a successful love.

Lady Harriet was a woman of very different manners and character from Emily Moseley; yet, had she in a great measure erased the impressions made by the beauty of his kinswoman, from the bosom of the Baron.

Chatterton, under the depression of his first disappointment, it will be remembered, had left B--in company with Mr. Denbigh.

The interest of the Duke had been unaccountably exerted to procure him the place he had so long solicited in vain, and gratitude required his early acknowledgments for the favour.

His manner, so very different from a successful applicant for a valuable office, had struck both Derwent and his sister as singular. Before, however, a week's intercourse had passed between them, his own frankness, had made them acquainted with the cause, and a double wish prevailed in the bosom of Lady Harriet--to know the woman who couldresist the beauty of Chatterton, and to relieve him, from the weight imposed on his spirits, by disappointed affection.

The manners of Lady Harriet Denbigh, were not in the least forward or masculine; but they had the freedom of high rank and condition, with a good deal of the ease of fashionable life.

Mrs. Wilson would have noticed, moreover, in her conduct to Chatterton, a something exceeding the interest of ordinary communications in their situation, which might possibly have been attributed to feeling, more than manner. It is certain, one of his surest methods to drive Emily from his thoughts, was to dwell on the perfections of some other lady; and Lady Harriet was so constantly before him in his visit into Westmoreland--

so soothing--so evidently pleased with his presence, that the Baron made rapid advances in attaining his object.

He had alluded, in his letter to Emily, to the obligation he was under to the services of Denbigh, in erasing his unfortunate partiality for her.--

But what those services were, we are unable to say, unless the usual arguments of the plainest dictates of good sense, on such occasions, enforced in the singularly, insinuating, and kind manner which distinguished that gentleman. In fact, Lord Chatterton was not formed by nature to lovelong, deprived of hope---or to resist long, the flattery of a preferencefrom such a woman as Harriet Denbigh.

On the other hand, Derwent was warm in his encomiums on Emily, to all but herself; and Mrs. Wilson had again thought it prudent, to examine into the state of her feelings, in order to discover if there was danger of his unremitted efforts to please, drawing Emily into a connection, neither her religion or prudence could wholly approve.

Derwent was a man of the world--and a christian only in name; and the cautious widow determined to withdraw in season, should she find grounds, for her apprehensions to rest upon.

It was about ten days after the departure of the Dowager and her companions, that Lady Harriet exclaimed, in one of her morning visits:--

"Lady Moseley! I have now hopes of presenting to you soon, the most polished nobleman in the kingdom?"

"As a husband! Lady Harriet?" inquired the other, with a smile.

"Oh no!--only a cousin!--a second cousin! madam!" replied Lady Harriet, blushing a little, and looking in the opposite direction to the one Chatterton was placed in.

"But his name?--You forget our curiosity!--What is his name?" cried Mrs. Wilson; entering into the trifling for the moment.

"Pendennyss, to be sure, my dear madam; who else can I mean," said Lady Harriet, recovering her self-possession.

"And you expect the Earl at Bath?" said Mrs. Wilson, eagerly.

"He has given us hopes--and Derwent has written him to-day, pressing the journey," was the answer.

"You will be disappointed--I am afraid, sister," said the Duke.

"Pendennyss has become so fond of Wales of late, that it is difficult to get him out of it."

"But," said Mrs. Wilson, "he will take his seat in parliament during the winter, my Lord?"

"I hope he will, madam; though Lord Eltringham holds his proxies in my absence, in all important questions before the house."

"Your Grace will attend, I trust," said Sir Edward. "The pleasure of your company is amongst my expected enjoyments in the town."

"You are very good, Sir Edward;" replied the Duke, looking at Emily.

"It will somewhat depend on circumstances, I believe."

Lady Harriet smiled, and the speech seemed understood by all, but the lady most concerned in it, as Mrs. Wilson proceeded:--

"Lord Pendennyss is an universal favourite"--"and deservedly so,"

cried the Duke. "He has set an example to the nobility, which few are equal to imitating. An only son, with an immense estate,---he has devoted himself to the profession of a soldier, and gained great reputation by it inthe world; nor has he neglected any of his private duties as a man--"

"Or a christian, I hope," said Mrs. Wilson, delighted with the praises of the earl.

"Nor of a christian, I believe," continued the duke; "he appears consistent, humble, and sincere; three requisites, I believe, for his profession."

"Does not your grace know," said Emily, with a benevolent smile---

Derwent coloured slightly as he answered,

"Not as well as I ought; but"---lowering his voice for her ear alone, he added, "under proper instruction, I think I might learn."

"Then I would recommend that book to you, my lord," rejoined Emily, with a blush, pointing to a pocket bible which lay near her, and still ignorant of the allusion he meant to convey.

"May I ask the honour of an audience of Miss Moseley," said Derwent, in the same low tone, "whenever her leisure will admit of her granting the favour."

Emily was surprised; but from the previous conversation, and the current of her thoughts at the moment, supposing his communication had some reference to the subject before them, rose from her chair, and unobtrusively, but certainly with an air of perfect innocence and composure, went into the adjoining room, the door of which was open very near them.

Caroline Harris had abandoned all ideas of a coronet, with the departure of the Marquessof Eltringham and his sisters for their own seat; and as a final effort of her fading charms, had begun to calculate the capabilities of Captain Jarvis, who had at this time honoured Bath with his company.

It is true, the lady would have greatly preferred her father's neighbour, but that was an irretrievable step--he had retired, disgusted with her haughty dismissal of his hopes, and was a man who, although he greatly admired her fortune, was not to be recalled by any beck or smile which might grow out of her caprice.

Lady Jarvis had, indeed, rather magnified the personal qualifications of her son, but the disposition they had manifested, to devote some of their surplus wealth, to the purchasing a title, had great weight; for Miss Harris would cheerfully, at any time, have sacrificed one half her own fortune to be called my lady. Jarvis would make but a shabby looking lord, 'tis true; but then what a lord's wife would she not make herself:---His father was a merchant, to be sure, but then merchants were always immensely rich, and a few thousand pounds, properly applied, might make the merchant's son a baron--- she therefore resolved to inquire, the first opportunity, into the condition of the sinking fund of his plebeianism---and had serious thoughts of contributing her mite towards the advancement of the desired object, did she find it within the bounds of probable success. An occasion soon offered,

by the invitation of the Captain, to accompany him, in an excursion in the tilbury of his brother in law.

In this ride they passed the equipages of Lady Harriet and Mrs.

Wilson, with their respective mistresses taking an airing. In passing the latter, Jarvis had bowed, (for he had renewed his acquaintance at the rooms without daring to visit at the lodgings of Sir Edward,) and Miss Harris had taken notice of both parties as they dashed by them.

"You know the Moseleys, Caroline?" said Jarvis, with the freedom her own and his manners had established between them.

"Yes," replied the lady, drawing her head back from a view of the carriages, "what fine arms those of the Duke's are---and the coronet, it is so noble--so rich--I am sure if I were a man," laying great emphasis on the word--"I would be a Lord."

"If you could, you mean," cried the Captain, with a laugh.

"Could--why money will buy a title, you know--only most people are fonder of their cash than honour."

"That's right," said the unreflecting Captain, "money is the thing after all--now what do you suppose our last mess-bill came to?"

"Oh dont talk of eating and drinking," cried Miss Harris, in affected aversion, "it is beneath the consideration of nobility."

"Then any one may be a Lord for me," said Jarvis, drily, "if they are not to eatand drink---why what do we live for, but such sort of things."

"A soldier lives to fight, and gain honour and distinction"--for his wife--Miss Harris would have added, had she spoken all she thought.

"A poor way that, of spending a man's time," said the Captain; "now there is a Captain Jones in our regiment, they say, loves fighting as much as eating; but if he does, he is a blood-thirsty fellow."

"You know how intimate I am with your dear mother," continued the lady, bent on her principal object, "she has made me acquainted with her greatest wish."

"Her greatest wish!" cried the Captain, in astonishment, "why what can that be--a new coach and horses?"

"No, I mean one much dearer to us--I should say, her--than any such trifles; she has told me of the plan."

"Plan," said Jarvis, still in wonder, "what plan?"

"About the fund for the peerage, you know--of course the thing is scared with me --as, indeed, I am equally interested with you all, in its

success."

Jarvis eyed her with a knowing look, and as she concluded, rolling his eyes in an expression of significance, he said--

"What, serve Sir William some such way, eh?"

"I will assist a little, if it be necessary,Henry," said the lady, tenderly,

"although my mite cannot amount to a great deal."

During this speech, the Captain was wondering what she could mean, but, having had a suspicion from something that had fallen from his mother, the lady was intended for him as a wife, and she might be as great a dupe as the former, he was resolved to know the whole, and act accordingly.

"I think it might be made to do," he replied, evasively, to discover the extent of his companion's information.

"Do," cried Miss Harris, with fervour, "it cannot fail--how much do you suppose will be wanting to buy a barony, for instance?"

"Hem!" said Jarvis, "you mean more than we have already?"

"Certainly."

"Why, about a thousand pounds, I think, will do it, with what we have," said Jarvis, affecting to calculate.

"Is that all," cried the delighted Caroline; and the captain grew in an instant, in her estimation, three inches higher;--quite noble in his air, and, in short, very tolerably handsome.

From that moment, Miss Harris, in her own mind, had fixed the fate of Captain Jarvis; and had determined to be his wife, whenever--she could persuade him to offer himself--a thing she had no doubt of accomplishing with comparative ease;--not so theCaptain--like all weak men, there was nothing he stood more in terror of than ridicule; he had heard the manœuvres of Miss Harris laughed at by many of the young men in Bath, and was by no means disposed to add himself to the food for mirth to these wags; and, indeed, had cultivated her acquaintance; with a kind of bravado to some of his bottle companions, of his ability to oppose all her arts, when most exposed to them--for, it is one of the greatest difficulties, to the success of this description of ladies, that their characters soon become suspected, and do them infinitely more injury, than all their skill in the art, does them good in their vocation.

With these views in the respective champions, the campaign opened, and the lady on her return, acquainted his mother, with the situation of the privy purse, that was to promote her darling child to the enviable distinction

of the peerage--indeed, Lady Jarvis was for purchasing a baronetcy with what they had, under the impression, that when ready for another promotion, they would only have to pay the difference, as they did in the army, when he received his captaincy ---as, however, the son was opposed to any arrangement, that might make the producing the few hundred pounds he had obtained from his mother's folly, necessary---she was obliged to postpone the wished-for day, until their united efforts could compass the means of effecting it---as an earnest, however, ofher spirit in the cause, she gave him a fifty pound note, that morning obtained from her husband; and which the Captain lost at one throw of the dice, to his brother-in-law, the same evening.

During the preceding events, Egerton had either studiously avoided all danger of collision with the Moseleys, or his engagements confined him to such very different scenes--- they never met.

The Baronet had felt his presence a reproach, and Lady Moseley, rejoiced that Egerton yet possessed sufficient shame to keep him from insulting her with his company.

It was a month after the departure of Lady Chatterton, that Sir Edward returned to B--; as related in the preceding chapter---and the arrangements for the London winter were commenced.

The day preceding their leaving Bath, the engagements of Chatterton with Lady Harriet were made public amongst their mutual friends---and an intimation given that their nuptials would be celebrated, before the family of the Duke left his seat for the capital.

Something of the pleasure, she had for a long time been a stranger to, was felt by Emily Moseley, as the well-remembered tower of the village church of B-- struck her sight, on their return from their protracted excursion in pursuit of pleasure--- more than four months had elapsed, sincethey had commenced their travels, and in that period, what change of sentiments had she not witnessed in others---of opinions of mankind in general, and of one individual in particular, had she not experienced in her own person--the benevolent smiles, the respectful salutations they received, in passing the little group of houses which, clustered round the church, had obtained the name of "the village," conveyed a sensation of delight, that can only be felt by the deserving and virtuous--and the smiling faces, in several instances glistening with tears, which met them at the Hall, gave ample testimony to the worth, of both the master and his servants.

Francis and Clara were in waiting to receive them, and a very few minutes had elapsed, before the rector and Mrs. Ives, having heard they had passed, drove in also-- in saluting the different members of the family, Mrs.

Wilson noticed the startled look of the Doctor, as the change in Emily's appearance first met his eyes--her bloom, if not gone, was greatly diminished, and it was only when under the excitement of strong emotions, that her face possessed that character of joy and feeling, which had so eminently distinguished it, before her late journey.

"Where did you last see my friend George?" said the Doctor to Mrs.

Wilson, in the course of the first afternoon, as he tooka seat by her side, apart from the rest of the family.

"At L--," said Mrs. Wilson, gravely, in reply.

"L--," cried the doctor, in evident amazement---"Was he not at Bath, then, during your stay there?"

No--I understand he was in attendance on some sick relative, which detained him from his friends there," said Mrs. Wilson, wondering why the Doctor chose to introduce, so delicate a topic, between them--his guilt in relation to Mrs. Fitzgerald, he was doubtless ignorant of, but surely not of his marriage.

"It is now sometime since I heard from him," continued the Doctor, regarding Mrs. Wilson expressively, but to which the lady only replied with a gentle inclination of the body--and the Rector, after pausing a moment, continued:

"You will not think me impertinent, if I am bold enough to ask, has George ever expressed a wish to become connected with your niece, by other ties than those of friendship?"

"He did," answered the widow, after a little hesitation.

"He did, and--"

"Was refused," continued Mrs. Wilson, with a slight feeling for the dignity of her sex, which for a moment, caused her to lose sight of justice to Denbigh.

Dr. Ives was silent--but manifested, by his dejected countenance, the interest he had taken in this anticipated connection---and as Mrs. Wilson had spoken with ill-concealed reluctance on the subject at all, the Rector did not attempt a renewal of the disagreeable subject, though she saw for some time afterwards, whenever the baronet or his wife mentioned the name of Denbigh, the eyes of the Rector were turned on them in intense interest.