“Yes,” replied Sir Godfrey, handing the letter to his spouse, “I must set out to-morrow. I shall not require you to accompany me; but I will take Jane, to keep the child in countenance and companionship.”
“I wonder if her mother still exists?” said Lady Etherton.
“Not very likely,” answered the Baronet, “in the state France is, that any titled aristocrat would escape, though by birth an Englishwoman. But it’s strange that Mrs. Arden—or the Duchesse de Coulancourt—should in a manner confide her child and a valuable casket, no doubt, to the care of a boy.”
“And a boy of no family or connection,” remarked Lady Etherton, laying down the lawyer’s letter.
“That is of very little consequence now,” Sir Godfrey replied, and, turning to his daughters, said, “You had better, Jane, make some arrangements for to-morrow; I shall leave early, so that we may reach London in good time the following day.”
The two girls then left the room.
“It has just struck me,” remarked the Baronet, “that as this child is, no doubt, totally uneducated, whether it will not be better to place her in some first-rate establishment for the education of young ladies, than to bring her here. For several reasons I think that would be the best plan, as all our girls are finished off, and to bring a governess again into the house would be unpleasant.”
“You might do so in the spring,” returned Lady Etherton; “but for appearance sake I think she had better come here for a few months. I wonder greatly what is in the casket?”
“Some family jewels, I suppose,” replied the Baronet; “perhaps some papers to prove the child’s birth, &c. But I forgot to mention to you that I saw in the Plymouth paper an account of a spirited action fought by the corvette that brought Miss Arden to England with two French privateers. She took one, a very large schooner, which it seems was brought to Plymouth by this young midshipman, William Thornton. The corvette had scarcely half her armament, and it is stated only forty-five men on board at the time. Now, this midshipman has attracted great attention; his gallantry during the action, and the fact of his having shot the captain of the privateer at a critical moment, and also having brought the prize home safely, notwithstanding some tremendous gales, has caused him to be highly spoken of. Even Admiral B—— has taken notice of him, and I think it extremely probable that he will be made a lieutenant at once, without waiting the expiration of his time.”
“Hem, indeed!” returned Lady Etherton, with a contemptuous look and manner. “This boy seems to be fortune’s favourite—a lucky chance, I suppose. I dare say, if Howard had had the opportunity, he would have done equally well.”