Beauchamp; or, The Error.

by G. P. R. James

  CHAPTER XVII.Miss Clifford is made acquainted with her uncle's embarrassments byCaptain Hayward.

  As soon as the maid had taken herself away, Ned Hayward said in a kindand feeling tone, "I fear I have distressed you much, Miss Clifford;let us walk quite to the other end and talk over this matter; for Ihave only been hurried into revealing this painful fact by my anxietyto consult with some one as to the possibility, if not of remedyingthe existing evil, at least of preventing it from going further."

  Mary walked on by his side in silence, with her hands clasped andher eyes cast down with a look of deep thought; but at length shelooked up, saying in a tone of one communing with himself--"Is itpossible? what, with this fine property? But how can it be, CaptainHayward?--here he is, with an estate of at least eight thousand a yearin his own possession, to do with it what he chooses."

  "To explain all, I had better tell you what I have heard," said hercompanion. "The tale may be false; I trust part of it is so; but agreat part must be true; and the man spoke as if from authority. Thefirst part of their conversation was in a light tone; for a time thelawyer seemed to avoid grappling with the subject, and asked hiscompanion after madam, in not the most respectful manner. The captainreplied, she was very well, and in the other room; but pressed thelawyer to the point. He turned away again, and inquired whetherCaptain Moreton had been successful at the card-table lately. Heanswered, 'Tolerably; he had won a thousand pounds just before he camefrom London;' but then added, 'Come, come, Wharton, no bush-fighting;you know you owe me five hundred pounds, and I must have it.' To thisthe lawyer answered: 'No, indeed, Captain Moreton, you are mistaken; Ihave told you so twice: the property was sold to a client of mine; andif I had chosen to send in my whole bill, your father would have beengreatly my debtor instead of I being yours. The sum given wasfifty-four thousand pounds; forty thousand went to pay off themortgage and your debts; twelve thousand your father had; and my bill,together with that of the solicitor's of the opposite party, amountedin fact and reality to two thousand four hundred and seventy-twopounds. You recollect, I had not been paid for six years.'

  "The next thing I heard," continued Ned Hayward, "was a loud laugh;and then Captain Moreton exclaimed, 'Your client! Wharton! very good,very good, indeed; you must think me exceedingly green: I know as wellas possible who bought the property for two-thirds of its value;employed other solicitors for a fictitious client; pocketed one-halfof their bill, and added thereto a bill of his own, which was morethan the double of what he was entitled to--come, come, Sir; don'taffect to sham a passion, for we have business to talk upon, and thatof a serious kind. You are just going to sell the property again forthe full value; and, before you do so, you shall disgorge a little.'The lawyer attempted to bluster, but unsuccessfully; for when he askedhow Captain Moreton would stop him from selling the property, even ifall he said were true, that worthy gentleman reminded him that hissignature had been necessary to one of the papers, and then when heasserted it had been given, informed him with a laugh, that thesignature he had obtained was that of a marker at a billiard-table;the lawyer's clerk sent after him to Paris, having been unacquaintedwith his person. Mr. Wharton attempted to show that it was of noconsequence; but the matter so far ended by his giving a check forfive hundred pounds, on Captain Moreton's signing another paper, whichI suppose was drawn up in the room, for a silence succeeded for someminutes. A part of what took place then was not distinct; and Icertainly made no effort to hear it."

  "But my uncle," said Miss Clifford, "how does this affect my uncle?"

  "He came upon the carpet next," replied Ned Hayward; "Captain Moretonasked who was going to buy the property; and when the lawyer made amystery of it, saying that he really did not know the true parties,but that Doctor Miles had meddled in the business, the other named SirJohn as the probable purchaser. There at Mr. Wharton laughed heartily,and said, 'I'll tell you what, Captain, Sir John Slingsby is at thismoment next thing to a beggar.'"

  Mary put her hands before her eyes and turned very pale.

  "Forgive me, my dear Miss Clifford," continued Ned Hayward, "forrepeating such unpleasant words; but it is better you should hear all.I will hasten, however: Captain Moreton affected not to believe thetale; and then the lawyer went on to mention the facts. He stated thatyour uncle's property was mortgaged to the utmost extent, that theinterest of two half years would be due in four or five days; thatnotice of fore-closure had been given, and the time would expirebefore six weeks are over, that there are considerable personal debts,and that Sir John had written to him this very day to get a furtheradvance of ten thousand pounds, which are absolutely necessary tostave off utter ruin even for a short time. Now I happen to know thatSir John did actually write to this man; and as Mr. Wharton could haveno object in deceiving the person he was speaking to, I fear the taleis too true."

  "Good heavens! what is to be done?" exclaimed Mary Clifford; "Oh,Captain Hayward, how terrible it is to know this, and not to be ableto assist!"

  Captain Hayward paused a single instant and then replied with a lookof deep feeling and interest, "Perhaps I ought not to have told youthis, Miss Clifford," he said; "but I am a very thoughtless person, Iam afraid, and yet I did not do this without thought, either; you knowthat I have a deep regard for your uncle, he was a very kind friend tome in days gone by, but having observed him well and with thataccuracy which, strange as it may seem to say, is only to be found inextreme youth; I know that it is perfectly in vain to talk with him onthe subject of his embarrassments, unless at the very moments whenthey are the most pressing and severe. To talk with him then may betoo late. He is one of those--and there are many of them--who, with ahopeful disposition, many resources in their own minds, and a happyfaculty of banishing unpleasant thoughts, go on from one difficulty toanother, finding means through a great part of life of putting off theevil day, and who, thinking the chapter of accidents inexhaustible,come suddenly to a full stop in the end, with all their resourcesexhausted and no possible means of disentangling themselves from theirembarrassments. It has been his constant axiom for twenty years, to mycertain knowledge, that something would turn up, and when such is thecase, it is perfectly in vain to attempt to consult with a person socircumstanced as to the means of extricating him from difficulties, ofwhich he always expects to be delivered by a lucky chance. Havingfound Fortune his best friend, he goes on trusting to her, till thefickle dame deserts him, and then looks around in bewilderment forassistance which cannot arrive."

  "Too true a picture, too true a picture," replied Miss Clifford, in asorrowful tone; "I have seen it myself, Captain Hayward, and have beengrieved to see it."

  "Well, do not let us grieve, but act, my dear lady," said Ned Hayward;"let us consult together, and see what can be done, good Sir John mustbe saved at any cost."

  "But what can I do, Captain Hayward?" she inquired. "Perhaps you donot know that the whole of my fortune is tied up by my father's willso strictly, that I can dispose of nothing till I have reachedone-and-twenty years of age; and though I would willingly, mostwillingly, sacrifice any thing to relieve my uncle, I am as powerlessin this business as a child."

  "This is unfortunate, indeed," said Ned Hayward, in reply, "veryunfortunate, I had hoped that you had command of your own property, orthat you might be able to point out one, who would be able and willingto take this mortgage and relieve your uncle."

  "I know of no one, no one on the earth," she answered; "my mother's isbut a jointure; I am not of age for nine or ten months, and beforethat time it will be all over."

  "The security is perfectly good," continued Ned Hayward in a musingtone, as if he had not heard her, "and I feel very sure that theproperty is worth a great deal more than this man has advanced,or any of his clients, as he calls them. Otherwise it would not havebeen done. We should easily find some one, I think, to take themortgage, if we could but pay this cursed interest and stop thefore-closure--perhaps at a less per centage, too--that man is a rogue,I am sure, and we may very likely cut down a g
reat many of thecharges; for I feel very certain he has been purposely entangling goodSir John, till at length, when he thinks there is no possibility ofescape, he pounces upon him to devour him."

  "But what is to be done? what is to be done?" reiterated MissClifford.

  "Well, it does not matter," said Captain Hayward, in the samethoughtful tone; "I'll tell you what we must do: I have a sum sixteenthousand pounds in the funds. Ten thousand, it seems, will be wantedfor the most pressing matters--we will call it twelve thousand; for noman in your uncle's position reckons very closely what is needed, andhis calculation is always below instead of above the mark. I will goup to town and sell out; that will put off matters for six weeks ortwo months; and, in the meantime, we must set all our wits to work forthe purpose of finding some one who will take the mortgage atreasonable terms, and of putting your uncle's affairs altogether intoorder."

  "Oh! how can I thank you, Captain Hayward?" said Mary Clifford,putting her hand upon his arm; "indeed, indeed, I am very grateful."

  "Without the slightest occasion," replied Ned Hayward. "I wish toHeaven I had the means of taking the mortgage myself; but the fact is,my poor father--as good a man as ever lived--was too kind and too easya one. He put me very early into what is called a crack-regiment,which in plain English means, I suppose, a regiment likely soon to bebroken, or, at all events, likely to break those that enter it. I hadmy expensive habits, like the rest, and never fancied that I shouldnot find five or six thousand a-year, when I returned from Gibraltarat my father's death. Instead of that, I found the unentailed propertytotally gone; the entailed property was mine, as I was the last of myrace; but there were debts to the amount of forty thousand pounds; butif I did not pay them, who would? The men would have had to go withouttheir money; so I sold the property, paid the debts, put the littlethat remained, between fifteen and sixteen thousand pounds, in thefunds, and have lived within my income ever since. Thus, you see, Ihave not the means of taking the mortgage."

  Mary Clifford cast down her eyes, and was silent for a minute or two;for there were very strong emotions at her heart--sincere respect andadmiration; more powerful, far, than they would have been had sheconceived a high opinion Ned Hayward's character at first, or if hehad made a parade of his feelings and his actions. He treated it alsolightly, however, so much as a matter of course, both what he had doneand what he was about to do, that many an ordinarily minded personwould have taken it on his own showing, and thought it a matter ofcourse too. But Mary Clifford was not an ordinarily minded person, andshe felt deeply.

  "But what will you do yourself, Captain Hayward?" she said, at length;"my uncle will be long before he is able to repay you, and the want ofthis sum may be a serious inconvenience to you, I fear."

  "Oh! dear, no," replied Ned Hayward, with the easiest air in theworld, "I shall have four thousand pounds left, which will enable meto get upon full pay again, and, though this is a sad peaceful time weare in, may have some opportunity afforded me. I had held this sum,which I put by, quite sacred, and would never touch a farthing of it,though I was very much tempted once or twice to buy a fine horse or afine picture; but cut off as I am, my dear Miss Clifford, by my wantof fortune, from forming those ties which are the comfort andhappiness of latter years to most men, I may as well go and serve mycountry as well as I can to the best of my power, as linger out mydays in hunting, and shooting, and fishing, reading poetry, andlooking at pictures. Sir John will pay me when he can, I know; for hewill look upon it as a debt of honour; and, if he never can, why, itcan't be helped; at all events, I do not wrong my heirs, for I havegot none;" and he laughed right cheerfully.

  Mary Clifford looked in his face with a smile; it was a sort ofphilosophy so new to her, so good, so generous, so self-devoted, andyet so cheerful, that she felt strongly infected by it. She had beenbred up amongst people and by people equally good, equally generous inall great things; but somewhat rigid in smaller ones; severe, if notstern; grave, if not harsh; and they had committed the sorrowfulmistake of thinking, and of trying to teach her to think, that truepiety is not cheerful. Her father had been the person from whosebreast this spring of chilling waters had been welled forth; andMary's mother, though originally of a gay and happy disposition, hadbeen very much altered by the petrifying influence of the stream. Thecontrast, too, in Mrs. Clifford's case, between her brother and herhusband; the one of whom she might love, but could not respect; theother whom she loved and respected, nay, somewhat feared, tended toclench her mistake, which the dean had striven to implant; and to makeher believe that cheerfulness and folly, if not vice, were companionsrarely separate. Mary Clifford saw the mistake now, though her ownheart had told her long before that an error existed somewhere. Butshe felt, at the same time, that she also had a part to play towardsone who sacrificed so much for the nearest relation she had except hermother; and with a beaming smile upon her lips, she said:

  "Captain Hayward, I shall never forget your conduct this day; but, atthe same time, you must not run any risk, or be any loser. If I hadany power over my own fortune, I would do what you are now kind enoughto do; but, at all events, I give you my word, that, the moment I amof age, I will repay you."

  "Oh, I dare say Sir John will do that," answered Ned Hayward, "but, atall events, my dear young lady, pray say nothing to him on thissubject till the last moment. We must let the matter press him veryhard before he will hear reason; then, when he sees no means of escapewhatever, he will consent that others shall find one for him. You hadbetter talk to his daughter, but enjoin her to secrecy. If I have anopportunity, I will sound Beauchamp; I have a notion that he is rich;I feel very sure he is liberal and kind, and may take the mortgageif he finds it a reasonable security. That it is so, I am quitecertain--nay, more, I am convinced, that if Sir John would let memanage all his affairs for him for one year, I would remove all hisdifficulties, and leave him a better income, in reality, than he hashad for a long while. But now I must run away and leave you, for I seethe people are getting up about the place, and I have two importantpieces of business to do before noon."

  "Indeed," said Mary, struck by something peculiar and indefinable inhis manner; "I hope nothing unpleasant?"

  "I will tell you what they are," said Ned Hayward, in a gay tone; "andthen you shall judge for yourself. I have, first, to catch the largesttrout in the river; I made a bet last night with your uncle that Iwould do so, and I always keep my engagements; and then I have to makeready for London to sell out this money."

  "But need you go yourself?" said Miss Clifford, with a look ofinterest; "can you not send?"

  "True, I can," said Ned Hayward, "I never thought of that--but yet Ihad better go myself.--Good bye, good bye!" and he turned away; thenpausing for a moment, something which he struggled against, got thebetter of him, and, coming back, he took Mary Clifford's hand in his,and pressed it gently, saying, "Farewell! There are some people, MissClifford, whose society is so pleasant, that it may become dangerousto one, who must not hope to enjoy it long or often."