CHAPTER XXVI.
A PACKET OF LETTERS.
IT will be remembered that the members of the female Vehme-Gericht had dispersed after having deputed Lady Lavinia Gathercole to despatch a letter to the Duchess of Ribblesdale. This she accordingly did, and in fact for some time her Grace was positively overwhelmed with letters, which, along with their answers, are here inserted as nearly in due order as possible.
The Palace.
DEAR DUCHESS OF RIBBLESDALE,
The more than _maternal_ solicitude which your Grace has from the first exhibited towards _the Last Importation_ into our hitherto eminently _Proper_ Coterie, imposes on me the painful task of informing you that the _Young Person in question_ is altogether unworthy of your countenance and regard. She was this day descried by two unimpeachable witnesses, as well as by _the General Public_, walking in the Royal Park of Bushey hand in hand with _a Horse Soldier_, and with his arm unblushingly placed around her waist. These Persons were afterwards seen embracing each other on _the Public Turnpike_, and in immediate propinquity to no less than _Six Pleasure Vans_, filled with a crowd of Londoners of _both sexes_. When I add that this revolting scene, which, for the credit of the Morality of our Common Nature, I trust was altogether unexampled in the annals of _Brazen Effrontery_, was ocularly witnessed by our friends Lady M’Adam and Miss Helen Scheimes, your Grace, I feel sure, will appreciate the _Extreme Gravity_ of the situation, and will not hesitate to pluck out the _Viper_ which you have inadvertently cherished in your too-confiding bosom. I am, my dear Duchess, your Grace’s faithful servant,
LAVINIA GATHERCOLE.
_P.S._--Such occurrences as these are indeed calculated to impress one with the conviction of the unregenerate condition of the _Mass of Mankind_.
Scarcely had the Duchess had time to read the above precious epistle, when Gilray entered the room, and placed another letter in her hands. It ran as follows:--
H. C. Barracks.
MY DEAREST MOTHER,
I am just starting for Town, but I cannot go without writing one line to tell you that I have made the most wonderful discovery in the world. That wonderful Sergeant Smith about whom everyone is talking is--who do you think? Why, no other than my dear old schoolfellow and friend, Wilfred Manwaring, and the brother of our Miss Manwaring, or of _your_ Miss Manwaring, as I ought rather to say. I had come here to call on Captain Parkhurst, and was waiting in his quarters, as he was out, when Serjeant Smith entered the room, and we met face to face. Further _incognito_ was impossible, and I had the whole matter out with him. He is the noblest fellow. He met his sister only this very day, and they were made known to each other, but they do not wish the secret divulged, except to you, until the day after to-morrow, when they will have had time to hear from their old lawyer in the North. I got leave to tell you, for I know how fond you are of Miss Manwaring, and how glad you will be to hear I have found my friend.
And now for another secret. Smith, or rather Manwaring, who is a V. C. man--in fact, you saw him invested by the Queen yourself--is to be given his Commission, and I believe Colonel Hawkins, who commands his regiment, is to come over from Hounslow on Thursday to give it to him in person. I am so happy.
Your most affectionate son, FRANK.
On the receipt of this letter, the Duchess immediately sat down and wrote the following note:--
H. C., _Tuesday_.
MY DEAR EVELYN,
Will you come over and see me this evening any time after nine, as I am very anxious to see you about a matter which concerns you nearly.
Yours ever, CATHARINE R. and S.
No sooner was this note despatched, than the following note from Evelyn was brought in to the Duchess:--
MY DEAR DUCHESS,
Your great and constant kindness emboldens me to ask a favour at your hands. If you are alone this evening, may I come across and see you, as I have something of great importance to communicate? I am your always grateful and affectionate
EVELYN MANWARING.
To this the Duchess sent an immediate line in return:--
DEAR E.,--I shall expect you at nine. Our notes crossed. Yours,
C. R. & S.
Having sent off this note, the Duchess sat for some time buried in thought, and then she wrote the following:--
Hampton Court, _Tuesday Evening_.
DEAR LADY LAVINIA,
I cannot say how grieved I was to receive your communication. I fear I shall be unable to see you until Thursday evening, when you and your friends, Lady M’Adam and Miss Scheimes, have kindly promised to come to me.
I am, truly yours, CATHARINE RIBBLESDALE & SCARSWICKE.
The reference in this note was to a Reception, to which, according to her wont, the Duchess had already sent out cards of invitation to everyone who had apartments in the Palace. The Duchess’s epistolary labours, however, were not yet concluded. She had still another letter to write, which it will be necessary to lay before the reader.
H. C., _Tuesday Evening_.
MY DEAREST BOY,
I heartily congratulate you on the unlooked-for recovery of your noble young friend. It is really quite a romance, and I shall be anxious to make his acquaintance and learn all the particulars of his story. I have a little scheme in my head, and shall count on your assistance to carry it out. You must _insist_ upon Mr. Manwaring coming to my reception on Thursday evening. Tell him that, when he arrives, he will be shown into the Book Room, as I want to speak to him before I present him to the company, and that I shall expect him to appear in _uniform_, and to wear his Victoria Cross. I shall depend upon _that_. He will meet his sister, who has just written to demand an interview with my Grace, and she is coming in after dinner, no doubt to tell me all the particulars which you have been cruel enough to forestall. And now, my dear son, I do beg you will try _by all the means in your power_ to get Colonel Hawkins to come to me on Friday evening, and to bring the Commission with him. I want him to assist at a grand _Tableau Vivant_, and I don’t think he will refuse my particular request and _yours_; for though I have not seen him for years, he was under obligations to your father. Please come early yourself, for I want you to receive and make yourself agreeable to my guests, until such time as I choose to make my solemn entry. You see I am becoming a schemer in my old age. Now I must go and get ready for dinner, which I sincerely hope I may be able to eat in peace, without receiving or having to answer any more letters.
Your most loving mother, CATHARINE R. & S.