“This court favour cost him his life,” I added, “for he remained faithful to his king during the Belgian Revolution; his castle near Larken was pillaged and burnt by the populace, and he himself cruelly murdered whilst defending his wife and children.”
“Another fact out of those sad and confused times which I so well remember. My men were burning with rage to punish such rebels and brigands, but, alas! they were kept inactive. What became of the widow and children?”
“She returned to Holland with one son and seven daughters, of whom the eldest married my father, Jonker van Zonshoven. I am their only son.”
“Then I am your great-uncle, Jonker.”
“I have made the same calculation, General, and it is for this reason——”
“You don’t come to talk to me about family affairs, I hope?” he interrupted, growing uncomfortable.
“But, my dear uncle, we can speak of family affairs without their necessarily causing unpleasantness.”
“Hum! Well, you are a Van Zonshoven, a stranger to all the pitiful feuds which have separated me from the Roselaers. Whole treasures have been thrown away on the lawsuits they have brought against me. Francis and I are both still suffering from such losses. Look here, if you bring any painful news for Francis, or any humiliating tidings for me—I know that even the validity of my Swiss marriage is contested—I beseech you, be generous, spare her as long as possible, for she is ignorant of this fact. Perhaps, old and broken though I be by trials, I can ward off the evil day a little longer; but be sincere and tell me plainly——”
“I assure you, General, my chief desire—as I have already told Miss Mordaunt—is to save you every kind of trouble I can. I wish simply to draw family ties closer, and my most ardent desire is that a Van Zonshoven may have the good fortune to heal the wounds caused by the Roselaers.”
“Many things are necessary! Much money! As we soldiers say, gold is the sinews of war—and, pardon me if I make a mistake, the Van Zonshovens are not rich.”