The Young Duchess; or, Memoirs of a Lady of Quality — page 101: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE YOUNG DUCHESS; OR, MEMOIRS OF A LADY OF QUALITY. — make her appearance at that particular junc- “Oh, we will see!” cried the Duchess. ‘ This person” —turning towards Tim Gafihey—“‘ will perhaps have the goodness te inform me——But, by the bye, what is your name, sir?” The fellow had started on hearing the Duchess of Ardleigh’s voice. He looked at her very hard from under his eyebrows; and he fidgeted about with his hat. Could it be possible that the Duchess of Ardleigh and the disguised lady whom he had driven between Maidstone and Addington, were one and the same person? [If so, would she continue to pretend not to know him? And was she now asking his name for the purpose of help- ing out that pretence? Such were the questions which the fellow asked himself; and he very naturally concluded that her wanderings in mas- culine apparel, if the same lady it really were, must be unknown to her husband, and that she would not therefore for the world seem to recog- nise Mr. Timothy Gaffney } ‘“‘My name, your Grace?” said the man, after a brief hesitation. ‘ Why, it’s Gaffney, at your service.” “‘ Gaffney ?” repeated the Duchess, with a merry laugh. ‘What asingular name! Gaffney! I wonder whether I ever heard it before ?” The Duke looked annoyed; and he hastily whispered, ‘‘ Don’t offend the man, Mary.” “T have not the slightest intention of giving Mr. Gaffney any offence,” said the Duchess, speaking audibly. ‘I am sure he will excuse me for making myself merry at his name not, Mr. Gaffney ?” ‘Oh, to be sure, your Grace!”—and now Tim affected to laugh also; but somehow or another he did not altogether feel completely at his ease. “ Well, Mr. Gaffney,” continued the Duchess— and there was a roguish merriment lurking in her clear liquid blue eyes,—‘‘have you anything in the shape of horseflesh that will suit me, accord- ing to the requirement which you just now heard me mention to his Grace? Or perhaps your com- panion there——-By the bye, permit me to ask his name?” The individual thus alluded to felt somewhat abashed: but Tim Gaffney, plackiag up his courage as he beheld the mirthful appearance of the Duchess, hastened to say, ‘‘ This is my friend Mr. Peppercorn.” ‘“‘ Oh, indeed! Gaffney and Peppercorn— horsedealers ! an excellent firm, no doubt !”—and again the Duchess laughed merrily, her musical voice ringing through the room. and her parting lips displaying the two rows of her beautiful teeth, so white and so even. The Duke looked at her in a perplexed man- ner: he felt as if there were a scene passing before him which he could not understand. ‘And pray,” she went on to inquire, ‘“‘ where may your establishment be situated—in London or in the country ?” _ “Qh, in the country, your Grace,” answered Gaffney. ‘ At Maidstone.” “Ah, at Maidstone? Let me see!” continued the Duchess, as if she were deliberating within herself. “I think I have heard of another horse- dealer of some celebrity in the same neighbour- hood. I believe I’ve had some dealings with him. To be sure! Irecollect now! His name was Bax.” é 87 Jack Peppercorn now gave a sudden start ; for all in a moment it struck him that the Duchess of Ardleigh must be the disguised lady of whom his friend Tim Gaffney had told him, and who had played the said Gaffney so clever a trick in stop- ping the draft or order which she had given on a banking establishment in the Strand. Tim in- stantaneously trod on Peppercorn’s toe, as an in- timation that he was to keep quiet and betray nothing before the Duke; so that Jack was again instantaneously on his guard. ‘Ah! Bax, I believe,” said the Duchess, “is a highly respéctable man.” _ “¥ do not remember ever to have heard of him,” said the Duke, again gazing upon his wife in bewildered astonishment. __ “Indeed? Then you must have forgotten the name,” she responded, with an air of the utmost naiveté. ‘' But I’m afraid I am only interrupting business and detaining Messrs. Gaffney and Pep- percorn with my frivolous discourse. ‘Therefore I will not stay more than a minute longer; and that is for the purpose of saying that you, Mr. Gaffney, must really endeavour to procure me such horses as I require.” “Leave it to me, my dear,” said the Duke; “and I will give Mr. ey a memorandum of what you want.” __ “The very thing I myself was about to do!” exclaimed the Duchess; “and then I will take myself off.” Thus spéaking, she proceeded to shift her posi- tion to the further extremity of the table, where will you | there were writing materials; and having penned a few lines upon a slip of paper, she folded it up, and tossed it across the table to. Gaffney, saying, “There! put that in your pocket, and look at it at your leisure.” | “T won't lose sight of the matter, your Grace,” replied Tim as he consigned the paper to his waistcoat pocket ; and at the same time he darted a significant look at the Duchess—for he felt as- sured that there was some ulterior meaning veiled beneath the proceeding which she had just adopted. , She retired from the library; and the Duke now fancied that what he had conceived to be peculiar in her manner must have been after all nothing more than a mood of hilarious gaiety to which a special impulse was given by the mention of a name that had tickled her fancy. ‘“‘Her Grace really believes that you are horse- dealers,” said the Duke, with a smile, as the door closed behind her. ‘“‘Oh, yes—her Grace believes it, my lord,” re- lied Gaffney. ‘‘But here’s the bank-notes,” he “We've managed to change a few ” continued. of ’em—— ‘‘How many have you there that you cannot change ?” inquired the Duke. ‘“‘There’s flimsies to the amount of fifteen hun- dred pound,” responded Tim. “ Then I will tell you what I can do,” said the Duke: “J will give you a cheque on my banker, and you can ask to have it all in gold.” “Well, Pd rather not, my lord,” answered Tim, fidgeting with his hat. ‘Somehow or another I don’t like bankers they’ve a orkard way of asking chaps how they come by cheques for large ’ amounts—— ‘Then how can we manage it?” exclaimed NOO oO Connic — i ee Colin