The Young Duchess; or, Memoirs of a Lady of Quality — page 70: what you’re looking at

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

BG us " Herbert drew forth his pocket-book; and by - the light of the moon which was now rising, he counted ten bank notes for a hundred pounds each. ws . “There,” he said, ‘ is the hush-money in re- spect to my secret. The other thousand pounds shall be forthcoming when the work you have undertaken is accomplished.” ‘“ And if we find any difficulty,” said Tim Gaffney, “in changing the notes, your Grace will help us to turn them into gold ?” ‘* Come to me at my house in London,” re- joined the Duke quickly, “ and I will give you bags of gold in exchange for the notes. ‘No one need know why you call upon me or who you are. You can pretend that you have horses to sell—or in short invent any excuse you like!” ‘Good, my lord,” said Peppercorn; “ that’s speaking like a brick. Your Grace’s business shall be done. Tim Gaffney knows me, and I know Tim Gaffney; and when we two puts our heads or hands together to transact a bit of busi- ness, it isn’t our fault if it ain’t done in a right superior style. Now, my lord, have you any fur- ther orders? and what’s to be done with the young lady when she’s set free ?” “‘T know all this part of the country well,” re- sumed the Duke: “I have fished in all the streams for many miles around :”——and he sighed deeply as he thought of the days of dreamy happiness when, a sojourner at Southdale, he was wooing the lovely Ethel Fraser. ‘“ You of course know the road the postchaise will presently take ?” “To be sure, my lord,” replied Gaffney. “ It’s the same we took, only in a contrary direction, when coming by the stage from Dorchester this afternoon.” : ‘Good !” observed the Duke. ‘‘ At a distance of seven miles along the road, is the village of Eleanor’s Cross; and I will be waiting for you with a vehicle of some kind just about a couple of miles beyond that village. I shall go and start off at once—and you have no time to lose.” , ‘Trust to us, my lord,” interjected Gaffney. “So now let’s away to business.” The two men hastened off at a running pace towards a fence at a little distance; while the Duke pursued his way along the avenue of the park leading towards the’ village. He scon gained the inn; and he was delighted to find that no messenger had as yet arrived from the Firs to order the postchaise to convey Ethel to Dor- chester ; so that the intelligence of what had happened was as yet unknown at the hostelry. The Duke ordered the chaise that had brought him to be gotten in immediate readiness; and he said in a whisper to the landlord, ‘I am going with all possible speed to Dorchester on very important business indeed.” “Why, surely, Mr. Trevor,” said Mr. Good- man, with an air of surprise, * you are not going to see the prize-fight ?” “What do you mean ?” asked the Duke. “Why, sir, don’t say a word,” responded the landlord; ‘but those two men which came this evening by the stage, are concerned in a fight which is to come off somewhere along the road of course I don’t exactly know where, because these sort of fellows always tell you one place when they mean another, in order to throw you off the eMC CTONIN rift Cl OFCONO) THE YOUNG DUCHESS; OR, MEMOIRS OF A LADY OF QUALITY. scent. But they’ve asked for my phaeton—it’s just getting ready for them—though betwixt you and me, Mr. Trevor, & shouldn’t have let ’em have it if they hadn’t lodged a fifty pound note in my hand. So it’s all right.” ) . ‘¢ What?” said the Duke, inwardly admiring the astuteness of his two agents’ proceedings ; ‘‘ do you think they are prize-fighters ?” “Lord, no, Mr. Trevor!” replied Goodman : “‘they’re what’s called the backers. But these ind of fellows always have plenty of money. Of se they only whispered it to me as a great secret that they’re connected with the prize-fight, just to account for their wanting the phaeton ; and so, as I don’t want to spoil their game | “Nor I either,” added Herbert; ‘and there- fore I shall not breathe a word of all you have been telling me.” He strolled forth in front of the tavern; and at the same moment the hostler was bringing round from the stables a neat phaeton and avery decent- looking animal. Messrs. Gaffney and Peppercorn, having just disposed of a little hot brandy-and- water, were lighting their cigars; and they both flung rapid looks of significancy upon the nobleman. They then took their‘ seats in the phaeton, and drove laway at asmart pace. Herbert was just thinking of hastening up-stairs to bestow a kiss upon his child, when his own postchaise made its appearance; and flinging himself upon the seat inside, he gaye the order in a loud voice, ‘To Dorchester!” ' About four miles outside of Southdale, ‘the phaeton was seen stopping at the door of a way- side public-house ; and by the light which streamed forth from that door, the figures of Tim Gaffney and Jack Peppercorn might: be perceived. They were drinking more brandy-and-water: but Her- bert well knew that this was only an excuse to allow the chaise that was to convey Ethel, to pass along the road to some spot convenient for stop- . ping it. “God grant that the plan may succeed!” ex- claimed the young Duke to himself: and then, with a deep sense of anguish, he added, “It would kill me—Oh, it would break my heart, to see poor Ethel consigned to a dungeon !” The chaise rolled on: the village of Eleanor’s Cross was presently reached; and when the equi- page had passed a couple of miles beyond, the Duke called to the postilion to stop. ‘““Now, my good fellow,” he said, as the man leapt down from his horse and came up to the door, ‘something will perhaps presently take place which it were just as well to conceal. It is no highway robbery—still less a murder: it is only the rescue of a young lady who has no busi- ness to'be in custody. Do you think you can hold your tongue on the subject if I give you twenty guineas ?” ‘Well, sir, I thinks I can,” answered the post- boy witb a grin. ‘But if you can’t for the mere sake of the | bribe,” added the Duke, “perhaps you may be enabled to do so when I tell you that if the busi- ness ig fonnd out every one engaged in it will stand a chance of being transported——-By the bye, have you a wife and children ?” ““Yes—a wife and six childer,’ was the re- sponse. . ‘Well then, for the sake of your wife and six ScCOnn