[CHAPTER XXVI.]
CARMELA SAYS "YES."
Meanwhile, quite unaware of the troubles in which Vassalla was involved, Carmela was enjoying herself very much at Bellfield. She was in much better spirits than she had been previously, as her conversation with Foster and Ronald had relieved her mind of a great weight, and she had come to the conclusion that her sister was not guilty, in which case she would not have to marry her cousin. Everyone stopping at Bellfield was in excellent spirits, and so Carmela felt the influence of merry company, and was as gay and joyous as anyone present.
It being Bell's birthday, they decided to celebrate it with a picnic at Medmenham Abbey, and were all down at Hurley Lock, embarking in the boats. Pat was especially exuberant, as he had discovered, beyond all doubt, that Miss Lester was in love with him, and he was only waiting for a good opportunity to propose. A merrier party were never on the river than the young people from Hurley.
And what a delightful morning it was on the river in this glowing July weather. They had no servants with them, as Sir Mark preferred full freedom for once, and the young men rowed the boats quickly up, passing other gay parties on the way.
Up the placid stream they went, past Lady Place, with its quaint old roof and mellow-tinted walls, under the arched wooden bridge that springs over the Thames; up through the still waters with the broad green meadows on each side, filled with quiet cattle, until the gables of the Ferry Hotel at Medmenham came in sight, and here they went on shore. They found the lawn crowded with young men in flannels, and young ladies in boating costumes; went to the ruins of the old Abbey, with all its memories of the Hell-fire Club, and the orgies they held therein.
It is said that the present Abbey is a pinchbeck affair, and the only genuine ruins of the old Abbey are to be found in the solitary pillar which stands at the back, near the haystacks; but surely the great building, with its ruined tower, overgrown with ivy; its quaint windows, scribbled all over with names, and its low-roofed door, with the famous motto, "Fay ce que voudrais," are genuine enough.
After they had explored the Abbey, all the party strolled away inland to see the lions of the locality. An old-fashioned street it is that leads through the village of Medmenham, with the flint-built houses on either side, overgrown with ivy, and one can imagine a cavalier, after the defeat of unlucky Charles Stuart, spurring swiftly down the lonely road, in his wild flight for safety.
Then the church, with the square Norman tower, around which the rooks are always wheeling and cawing, casting its mighty shadow over the green grass, beneath which the quiet dead sleep soundly, as they have done for so many hundred years. Opposite the church stands the "Dog and Badger," a very old hostel, with mellow-tinted roofs and numerous gables, and within, low-ceilinged rooms with great beams overhead, and queer, twisted staircases and unexpected cupboards all over the house.
At the back, high up on the hill, and commanding a magnificent view of the Thames Valley, stands the stern-looking old farm-house, said to have been mentioned in the Domesday Book, and where Charles II. and pretty, witty Nell Gwynne are reported to have stayed for a night. Then, farther on, the quiet little village of Hambledon, through which it is said Charles I. rode with a brilliant train of gallant cavaliers, on his way to meet his rebellious subjects. The whole neighbourhood is full of antiquities and traditions, which lend a peculiar charm to the place.