The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 315: what you’re looking at

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

284 REYNOLDS’ WORKS “Through the recommendation of the landlady with whom we lived, my lord, and whose daughter is in service at Lady Octavian Meredith’s.”’ The Duke of Marchmont now felt more and more assured that it was all a concocted arrangement on Meredith’s part to get Miss Ashton into his house, and that the landlady just alluded to had lent herself to the scheme, even if Chris- tina herself had not. “Cunning dog, that Octavian!” he thought to himself; ‘but perhaps I will outwit him yet.”’ And then he said, speaking aloud, “‘ I am well acquainted with Lord Octavian Meredith. Ah, by the bye, now I bethink me, it was on account of a Miss Ashton that he fought a duel some little time back, and I was his second on the occasion.”’ “Lord Octavian Meredith! ”’ ejaculated Christian, open- ing wide his fine dark eyes in bewildered astonishment at this intelligence. ‘‘ No, my lord, there is some mistake. It was a Mr. Percival.’’ ‘Cunning dog, that Octavian! ’’ again thought the duke to himself, for it immediately struck him that the young nobleman had concealed his aristocratic rank under a feigned name, and perhaps represented himself as an un- married man, the better to carry on a love siege against the heart of the beautiful Christina. Then again speaking aloud, Marchmont said, ‘‘ I am afraid I have let out a secret, for it assuredly was Lord Octavian Meredith who fought on your sister’s behalf. About twenty-two or twenty-three years of age, very good-looking, slender shape, brown hair and moustache — ”’ ‘The same, my lord!” cried Christian, more and more bewildered. ‘Don’t look so astonished,’’ said the duke, smiling. “ It is perfectly intelligible that Lord Octavian should have taken a feigned name. By the bye, I recollect that he told me so, and that his reason was the fear that your sister would go and take steps to prevent the duel. But I suppose he called upon you afterward? ”’ ‘Once, my lord, and only once,”’ responded Christian. ‘“ And you were present? ”’ ‘The whole time. He only remained a short while, and that very same evening we removed to other lodgings. We never saw Lord Octavian again. What a singular coin- EORMICLNOWO KS (E(0)