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The scheming kinsman (page 46).]
FALLEN FORTUNES
E. EVERETT-GREEN
THOMAS NELSON AND SONS, LTD. LONDON, EDINBURGH, AND NEW YORK 1906
*CONTENTS.*
I. On the Field of Ramillies II. Hartsbourne III. The Scheming Kinsman IV. On the Road V. A High-born Dame VI. The Pastimes of the Town VII. A Fair Face VIII. A Startling Discovery IX. "A Mad World, my Masters" X. "The Old Lion" XI. The Lion's Den XII. Triumph XIII. The Hero of the Hour XIV. Fickle Fortune XV. Dark Days XVI. A Night Adventure XVII. In the House of the Duke XVIII. "Good Queen Anne" XIX. Love's Triumphing XX. Merry as a Marriage Bell
*LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.*
The scheming kinsman. . . . . . . Frontispiece
The old garden was another favourite haunt of hers.
He stood quite still to watch Lord Sandford lead away the fairGeraldine.
The hero of the hour.
*FALLEN FORTUNES.*
*CHAPTER I.*
*ON THE FIELD OF RAMILLIES.*
"By the beard of the Prophet, we are in luck's way at last, Dicon; forif that be not the armies of the French and the Allies drawn up inbattle array, my name is not Grey Dumaresq!"
The speaker had just pushed his horse over the brow of a slope which heand his servant had for some time been mounting, through the steamywarmth of a foggy May morning. The thick haze which lay heavy in thisregion of marshy ground had hidden the surrounding country from themhitherto; but as they reached the summit of the gradual rise they hadbeen ascending, the cloud wreaths suddenly drifted away, and the sunbegan to shine out upon the undulating plain stretched before theireyes; and lo, the plain was alive with squadrons of soldiers--infantry,cavalry, artillery--drawn up in battle array; and the note of the buglerang through the air, whilst away in the distance, on the opposite sideof the plain, there was a movement which told that already the battlehad begun. A sullen roar from the guns boomed forth, and the wholeplain shook with the reverberation. Great masses of smoke rolled alongand slowly dispersed after each salvo; but it was upon the evolutions ofthe bodies of horsemen and footmen that the keen eyes of the youthfultraveller were intently fixed.
"Dicon," he cried, "this is in all sooth a battle; and where the battlerages, there will the great victor of Blenheim be. We have not chancedupon this route in vain. Men warned us of the perils of seeking passagethrough a country which has become the theatre of war; but fortune'sstar has befriended us thus far, and now, if I mistake me not, we standwithin sight of the greatest warrior of the age. For greatly shall I beastonished if the Duke of Marlborough himself be not conducting theevolutions of yonder squadrons."
The brilliant dark eyes of the young man lighted with a great glow ofexcitement and admiration. He shaded them with his hand, and intentlyfollowed the evolutions of the moving masses in the plain stretchedbefore his eyes. He was looking upon the village of Tavieres and themound of Ottomond, and the waters of the Mehaign rolled below at hisfeet. The right wing of the French army rested here, as he quickly saw;but for the moment the main activity lay over in the distance beyondRamillies and Offuz, in the direction of Anderkirk. Yet as thetraveller stood intently gazing, he saw a movement in the line of theallied army on this nearer side, and he exclaimed aloud in hisexcitement,--
"See, Dicon, see! That attack yonder is but a feint. The key of theposition lies here beneath us at Tavieres, with its Tomb of Ottomond.See yonder those regiments of marching soldiers creeping round beneaththe shelter of that rising ground! They will fling themselves upon theenemy's right, whilst the French general is diverting his availableforces to protect his left. Villeroi, my friend, you did not well todispose your forces in concave lines. You lose time in passing fromplace to place; and with such a general as our English Duke pittedagainst you, you cannot afford to lose any point in the game. Ha! Seethat? The Dutch and English soldiers are charging down upon Tavieres!Watch how they come on--a great resistless tide of well-drilledveterans. See how they sweep all before them! See how the French flyforth! Ha, Villeroi, what think you now? Yes, you see your error; fainwould you hurry back your reserves from left to right. But the time hasgone by. They are miles away, and here are the Allies carrying allbefore them! Hurrah for old England! hurrah for the great Duke! Dicon,have you stomach for the fight? Do you remember Barcelona andMountjuich? If we were men enough to help there, why not here too?"
The fellow thus addressed grinned from ear to ear, and looked to thepistols in his holsters and the sabre slung at his side. It would nothave been easy to define by a glance the nationality of this pair, whoevidently stood to each other in the relation of master and man. Theirfaces were tanned by sun and wind, their dress, which was somewhattravel-stained and worse for wear, had plainly been purchased as needsuggested--a piece here, and a piece there, and not all in the sameland.
The speaker wore upon his fair curling hair--which was his own, and notone of the immense periwigs then in vogue at home and abroad--a Spanishsombrero of picturesque shape. His faded doublet, with its goldlacings, might have been English made, and was well cut, showing off thegraceful lines of the slender, well-proportioned figure; but he worebuskins of soft Spanish leather with gold eyelets, and the short cloakslung across the saddle-bow had been purchased in Italy. He rode astrong, mettlesome barb, whose glossy bay coat shone like satin in thesunlight. The horse of the servant looked somewhat jaded, but that ofthe master might have just been taken from the stable. He was one ofthose splendid chargers, half Irish, half Spanish by blood, whosesureness of foot, untiring energy, and unquenchable spirit and mettle,made them at once the pride and joy of their owners. Young Dumaresqmight have cut a finer figure in his own person, had he not elected tospend so large a portion of his remaining fortune upon the beast he nowbestrode. But he had never for a moment regretted the purchase; and heboasted that Don Carlos had saved his life on more occasions than one.
The young man's eyes were full of fire; his hand was upon the hilt ofhis sword, which lay loose in its scabbard; the horse was pawing theground and pulling on the rein, for the sound of battle was in his ears,and he was snorting with eagerness to hurl himself into the ranks of thecombatants. The blare of the bugles, the roar of the guns, the shouts,screams, cheers of soldiers, the clash of sabres and the rattle ofmusketry, were as music to his ears. Suddenly flinging up his head, anduttering something between a snort and a neigh, the creature was offlike an arrow from a bow, heading wildly, yet with a restraint andself-control which spoke worlds for his training, towards thehurly-burly raging through the battlefield below. Grey Dumaresq cast ahalf-laughing glance in the direction of his servant behind, who had setspurs to his steed and was following.
"Needs must, where the devil drives!" he said with a laugh. "Don Carloswill make soldiers of us, whether we will or no."
The battle of Ramillies was now raging. Marlborough's generalship hadalready made its mark. Tavieres was in his hands; the right wing of theenemy was shaken, and the Dutch and English soldiers were preparing tocharge the closely-serried lines of the French, even before thetravellers had reached the scene of action. They heard whilst they wereyet half a mile away the concussion of that charge, the yells of thesoldiers, the cheers of the Allies as they felt the wavering of theirfoes. But the French, though the first line had been broken, were notvanquished yet. The second line was composed of the pick of the youngnobility--men car
eless of personal peril, disdainful of death, desirousonly of glory and of victory. Upon these picked troops the Allies flungthemselves in fury; but they stood their ground and hurled back theattacking lines, as the rocks of an iron-bound coast fling back theoncoming waves of the ocean. It was now impossible for the traveller togauge what was happening. He was too near the scene of the tumult; buthe was in the very nick of time to bear a share in one of the minorincidents of the day, which might have proved one of infinite disasterto the cause of his country.
The Duke of Marlborough, who had been directing the attack upon theFrench right, saw that this second charge was less successful than thefirst, and giving orders for reinforcements to be hurried up, he himselfgalloped in the direction of the fight, to encourage with his ownpresence the wavering soldiers, and direct the next critical operationsin person. He was exceedingly well mounted, and his horse, wild withexcitement, and feeling all that sympathy with his master's mood whichis natural to these noble creatures, carried him so swiftly forward,that after he had galloped along the lines, giving orders here, there,and everywhere as he passed, he overshot his position, and withoutnoting it in the confusion, was almost alone and at some small distancefrom his own lines. Before he could pull up his excited horse, therewas a sudden rush from the French lines. Several young nobles andgentlemen had recognized the Duke, had taken in the accidental isolationof his position, and galloping forward with one consent, surrounded himbefore he was well aware what had happened.
It was just at this critical moment that the two travellers, halfstunned by the noise of the battle, ignorant of what was happening, buteager for a share in the fray, topped a little rise in the ground whichhid the plain from them, and came full upon the scene of the Duke'sdanger. The great General never lacked presence of mind, was neverdaunted by personal peril. He had realized his position, and settinghis horse at a furious gallop, he had already broken through the ring ofwould-be captors, and was charging furiously for his own lines. At thevery moment when Grey Dumaresq and his servant took in the meaning ofwhat they saw, he had put his horse at a wide ditch which lay across hispath, and the animal was rising to the leap.
"Zounds! but the beast is down! They will have him again!"
This shout rose from Dicon's throat. Grey set his teeth hard.
"It is the Duke himself; they shall never take him. Don Carlos shallsave him from that!"
The Duke's horse had fallen heavily, throwing his rider over his head.Others besides his foes were heading wildly for the spot. All who sawit knew how much hung upon the turn of the next few seconds. First ofall came the young stranger, who flung himself from his splendid horse,just as Marlborough rose to his feet, bruised and shaken, but with everyfaculty alert.
"Mount, sire, mount!" cried the traveller, holding the horse by the headto still his excited plunging. "The enemy are closing round; but onlymount, and he will carry you safely. I will stake my last ducat uponit!"
The Duke had hold of the saddle by now; one of his own officers sprangforward to hold the stirrup. Next instant the General was in the saddle;but the head of the Colonel who stood at the stirrup was rolling uponthe ground. A cannon ball had carried it off. How the Duke had escapedwas a marvel and a mystery.
Excitement and lust of battle had fast hold of Grey Dumaresq and hishorse. The gallant animal carried the Duke safely back to his ownlines, amid the cheers of his soldiers. The young man swung himselfupon the back of the riderless horse belonging to the killed Colonel,and followed him, scarce thinking what he was doing. None forbade him.Many had seen his prompt and timely action; many watched him as the tideof battle raged this way and that, and saw that, whether a trainedsoldier or not, this young stranger was no novice in the art of war.The Duke himself turned more than once to watch him, as he joined insome headlong charge, and turned and wheeled, or gave thrust or parrywith the ease of practice and the skill which only comes throughexperience. Once in a pause he beckoned the young man to his side, andsaid,--
"I would speak with you, sir, when I am at leisure. Come to myquarters, wherever they may be, when the battle is over. I havesomewhat to say to you."
The young man bowed low, and promised compliance with this request; butit was many long hours before he and the victorious General stood faceto face. The battle itself had been won in less than four hours, butthe pursuit had been long, lasting far into the night; and the dawn waswell-nigh breaking in the eastern sky when Grey received a message thatthe Duke desired speech of him in the house at Meklert, where he hadstopped short, whilst his soldiers continued the pursuit of the flyingfoe almost up to the walls of Louvain.
Marlborough was sitting at a table, whereon stood the remains of a hastymeal; and from the writing materials before him, it was plain that hehad been penning one of those dispatches to his wife without which hecould never rest, even after the most arduous day's campaigning. He hadchanged some of his clothes, and though pale and somewhat jaded,preserved that air of elegance and distinction which was always one ofhis most marked characteristics. But even without spotless linen andfine array, there was something in the high-bred courtesy ofMarlborough's manner, and in the singular beauty of his face and person,which always won the hearts of those about him, and particularly soduring those years when the magnificence of his military genius wasmaking him the man of greatest mark in Europe.
He rose as the young stranger was ushered in, and offered his hand witha frank and gracious courtesy free from any alloy of condescension orpatronage.
"I wish to thank you in person, sir, for the great service you this dayrendered me with such timely promptitude. I have never bestridden abetter horse, and owe you much for the loan. I would fain learn thename of the gentleman to whom I am so deeply indebted."
"My name, your Grace, is Grey Dumaresq; and that of my horse, DonCarlos. I thank you for your gracious words. We shall feel honouredfor all time in that kind Fortune gave us the chance of rendering yousome small aid in a moment of peril. The world would have been terriblythe poorer by this day's work, had mischance touched the Duke ofMarlborough!"
The General smiled, and motioned the young man to be seated. He himselftook a seat opposite, and studied him with some attention.
"If you and your good horse are in any sort disposed to put yourstrength and skill at the service of your country, Mr. Dumaresq, I thinkI can promise you a position not far from my own person, which will notbe without opportunities of profit, and will give scope to your prowesswith sword and lance, which I have had the opportunity of observing morethan once this day."
The young man's face flushed with pleasure. He looked eagerly into theface of the great man.
"Were I a free agent, your Grace, most gladly would I take advantage ofyour offer, asking nothing better at Fortune's hands than to serve youfaithfully. But I am on my way to England to learn news of my father.For three years I have been absent from my native shores. For threeyears I have been a wanderer, and, I fear me, a spendthrift to boot. Ihave spent or squandered the fortune with which I started forth. Rumourhas reached me that my father's health has given way, and that I amneeded at home. I fear me I have not been a good son to him heretofore.I must therefore seek to be the solace of his declining years, if thereports I have heard concerning him be true."
Marlborough mused awhile with a slight smile upon his lips. He had agood memory for names, and had an idea that Sir Hugh Dumaresq, theprobable father of the youth before him, had not been a man to inspireany very deep affection in the heart of his son. He bore the reputationof being a rake of the first order. It was said that he had broken hiswife's heart, and cared nothing for the boy who would succeed him.
"That is a pious resolution on your part, my friend. I trust you may berewarded, and I will not seek to stay you. Methinks your mother was agood and gentle woman. Her son will live to do her credit yet."
The young man's eyes lighted, and his face softened.
"My mother was an angel upon this earth. Would
God I had not lost herso soon! Did you know her, my lord? She was kinswoman to the haplessLord Grey, who took up the cause of the Duke of Monmouth twenty yearssince, and whom your Grace defeated and routed on the field ofSedgemoor, fatal to so many. She gave me her name, and she bequeathedto me the small fortune which passed into my keeping three years ago,when I came of age. Since then I have been a wanderer in many lands. Ihave seen hard blows given and taken; I have been in many perils andbattles. I was with Lord Peterborough when he fell upon the fort ofMountjuich, and made himself master of Barcelona, just when all hope oftaking it seemed at an end. I have fought in the ranks of the Duke ofSavoy against the veterans of France. I have been a soldier of fortunefor this year or more, and though often in peril and hard pressed, havenever received aught but a scratch now and again. I did hope that Ishould not travel northwards without seeing something of the campaignunder the great Duke, whose name is in all men's mouths; but I did notdare to ask or hope for the honour which has been mine to-day."
Marlborough's eyes lighted as the young man spoke, and he asked manyquick and pertinent questions of the traveller anent those lands ofSpain and Italy, in whose politics and disposition of parties he was sokeenly interested. He had desired above all things to prosecute thissummer an Italian campaign. Difficulties with the Dutch field-deputiesalone hindered the more dashing and offensive policy which he would sogladly have adopted. He listened with keen interest to Grey's accountof his journey through Savoy, his interview with Victor Amadeus, and hissuccessful feat of carrying important dispatches into Turin, thoughhemmed in by the French, and waiting sorrowfully for relief; and hisescape thence, and journey to the camp or Prince Eugene, who was seekingto carry relief to the Duke of Savoy, and eventually to drive the Frenchback over their own borders.
All this was intensely interesting to Marlborough, and he more than everfelt a desire to keep in his service a youth who seemed to possess somany of the qualifications which he most prized. But he was a man, too,who never undervalued the domestic side of life, or willingly interferedwith the duties engendered by filial or conjugal ties. So he checkedthe words which had well-nigh risen once again to his lips, and onlysaid graciously,--
"You have indeed been smiled upon by Dame Fortune, Mr. Dumaresq. Many ayoung blood would give half his fortune for the chances you have had.Methinks the world will hear of you yet. The brow of a poet, the thewsof a warrior, a head calm and well-balanced, and a soul that shrinks notin the hour of peril--"
He paused a moment, and the young man's cheek glowed.
"Your Grace thinks too highly of my poor merits, I fear me. I trust Ihave not spoken as a braggart; for, in sooth, it is little I have toboast me of. A good horse beneath me, a faithful comrade by my side, akeen Toledo blade in mine hand, and all else came of itself. I havebeen happy in my days of peril and adventure; but now I must lay asidemy weapons and my roving habits, and strive to show myself a good son,and take up my duties as my father's right hand and helper, if it betrue that he is laid aside from active life, and needs me with himhenceforth."
Marlborough had taken up a pen, and was writing a few lines upon a sheetof paper which lay upon the table. When he had finished, he handed itopen to the young man.
"A pass for yourself and your servant, Mr. Dumaresq; you may find ituseful in passing through a disturbed country. But you will be wise toavoid the French frontier, and all cities where they have garrisons, andto confine yourself to the Dutch Netherlands, to make your way to theHague, and thence to England. With this pass in your possession, youshould then have small difficulty in travelling without molestation.And let me ask you if you have funds sufficient for your needs, since itis dear work at times travelling through a country devastated by war,and I would not have my benefactor crippled for lack of a few pieces ofgold."
The young man's face flushed slightly, but his eyes were frank andsmiling. He laid his hand upon an inner breast pocket, and tapped itsignificantly.
"I thank your Grace from my heart; but, albeit I have squandered myfortune something too lavishly, I have yet enough and to spare to takeme home. Were it otherwise," he added, with a very engaging look uponhis handsome features, "there is nobody to whom I would be more gladlyindebted than to his Grace of Marlborough."
The Duke's face was pleasant to see. He had taken a great liking forthis young man. He hesitated a moment, and said,--
"You would not care to sell your horse? I would give a goodly price forsuch a charger."
"My lord, if I loved him less, most gladly would I beg your Grace'sacceptance of him, and would rejoice that Don Carlos should be thushonoured. As it is, he is the greatest friend and best comrade Ipossess in the world. I trow I must needs take him home with me."
"You are right, boy, you are right. And it is better so; for he mightmeet a bloody end any moment in these rough campaigning days. But youmust not go hence without some token of the good will and gratitude JohnChurchill bears you. Take this ring, and wear it for my sake. Andshould ever trouble, or loss, or misfortune fall upon you, and you be inneed, in my absence abroad, of a friend at home, take it and show it tomy wife. I shall write to her of this day's peril, and how I was savedin the nick of time; and when she sees that ring in your hands, she willknow who was her husband's deliverer, and will know, too, how to receiveand reward him."
The ring held out was a large amethyst of great brilliance and beauty,with a curious oriental-looking head engraved upon it, with what mightbe a legend in some Eastern tongue. It was a trinket which, once seen,would not easily be forgotten, and Grey Dumaresq slipped it upon hisfinger with a smile of gratification. It was no small thing to feelhimself thus honoured by Europe's greatest general.
He rose to his feet and bowed low; but Marlborough held out his hand andpressed his fingers warmly. "I shall not forget you, my friend. I trustthat yours will be one of the faces that will greet me first, when Ishall return home to England after the close of the campaign."
The young man's face lighted with pleasure at these words.
"I think your Grace may rely upon that," he said. "I thank you with allmy heart for this most gracious reception."
"The thanks are mine to give--yours to receive," spoke the Duke with hiswinning graciousness. "Farewell, my friend. May Dame Fortune continueto smile upon your career; and may you live to be prosperous and famous,and find one to love and be loved by faithfully--for, believe me,without true conjugal love, a man's life is desolate and empty, andnothing can fill the ache of a heart that has no loving ones at home torejoice with him in his joy and weep at his misfortunes. Ambition maygo far, success may be sweet; but it is love which is the true elixir oflife. A man who loves and is loved can defy misfortune, poverty, evenage and sickness and death; for love alone is eternal."
He spoke like one inspired, and his whole face kindled. Grey Dumaresqnever forgot the smile upon the face of the great victorious General, ashe saw it in that little room at Meldert on the morrow of the victory ofRamillies.
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