At the end of the second street, he had occasion to be glad that he did so, for by the small portion of light that was remaining, he saw a very extravagantly dressed personage, with black hair and beard, take hold of Ida Mara by the arm, while a stout man, who was with him, thrust himself in between her and her attendant, seemingly inclined to pick a quarrel with the latter.
"Ah! my dear; have I found you at last?" cried the man with the black beard.
"What, in Satan's name, are you running over me for?" said his companion, taking Arabella's servant by the throat.
"I will soon show you," answered the man, drawing his sword; while Ida Mara struggled to disengage herself from the grasp of the other, who only laughed, and exclaimed, "Ah! you cannot get away now!"
But just at that moment, Markham ran up to take part with Arabella's servant, and Sir Harry West, who was still a powerful man for his time of life, seized the fellow by the collar, who had got hold of his fair protegée, and by one pull, with a kick against the bend of the knees behind, laid him upon his back on the pavement. The man hallooed piteously; but the Knight merely spurned him with his foot, saying, "Get up, impostor, and be gone. I know thee."
It is probable that the old Knight would not have suffered him to escape without further chastisement, had he not been afraid of bringing a crowd about the party, which might have proved inconvenient; and worthy Doctor Foreman, for he it was who had been thus overthrown, scrambled upon his feet again, showing but little inclination to bluster.
"Come away, come away," he cried, to the man who was with him, and then took two or three steps towards the corner of another street. Before he reached it, however, he turned, and exclaimed, with a significant gesture of the hand, "I will have my day!"
"To be hanged," replied Sir Harry West; and seeing that the other man was beating his retreat also, the old Knight took Ida Mara by the arm, saying, "Come, my dear, I will see you safe to the boat." He accordingly led her on to the water-side, and did not leave her till she was safely embarked upon the Thames. Sir Harry then returned with Markham to his lodging, more completely to define their plan of operations, and to commence the carrying of them into effect at once.
In the meanwhile, Ida Mara returned to the house of Sir Thomas Parry, from which her absence had passed unobserved, and bore with her some hope of consolation to poor Arabella, who had given herself up to despair at the prospect of being removed to such a distance from her husband. She still remained so ill and weak, however, that the worthy Knight who held her in his custody, judged it expedient to intimate to the King, that it would be dangerous to force a long journey upon her in her situation at the time.
The reply of the King was as cold and unfeeling as might be. He believed she was feigning, he said; but that, at all events, she must be removed to Highgate, where his physician should visit her.