Darnley; or, The Field of the Cloth of Gold

by G. P. R. James

All being now prepared, an hour or more of anxious expectation succeeded. Little was said by any one, and the tempest had ceased; but the grinding sound of the ship fretting upon the rock still continued, and a sad creaking and groaning of the two masts that remained seemed to announce their speedy fall. The wind had greatly subsided, but the air was heated and close; while the clouds overhead, still agitated by the past storm, every now and then came down in thick small rain. Towards four o'clock the tide turned; and, as Bradford had prognosticated, the surf upon the shore gradually subsided, and the sea became more smooth, though agitated by a heavy swell, foaming into breakers along the whole line of reef on which the ship had struck. After looking out long, in the vain hope of seeing some boat coming to their assistance, Bradford approached Lady Constance, and addressing her, as indeed he had done throughout, with far more gentleness and consideration than might have been expected from a man of his rough and turbulent character, "Lady," said he, "there seems to be no chance of a boat; the sea is now nearly smooth; I can't warrant that the ship will hold together all night, and we may have the storm back again. If you like to go now, I will get you safe to land, I am sure. I can't answer for it if you stay."

"I will do as you think right," said Lady Constance, with an involuntary shudder at the thought of trusting herself to the mercy of the waves. "I will do as you think right; but pray take care of Dr. Wilbraham."

"No, no!" said the good chaplain; "make the lady all your care. I shall do well enough."

"Here, good fellow!" said Constance, taking a diamond of price from her finger; "perhaps you may reach the shore without either of us: however, whether you do or not, take this jewel as some recompense for your good service."

The man took the ring, muttering that, if he reached the shore, she should reach it too; and then, after giving some directions to Dr. Wilbraham in regard to rowing himself on towards the land with his arms, which were free, he carried Lady Constance to the side of the vessel, which had now heeled almost to the water's edge. Returning for Dr. Wilbraham, with the assistance of Jekin he brought him also to the side; and then it became the question who should be the first to trust himself to the waves. Constance trembled violently, but said not a word, while Jekin Groby, holding back, exclaimed, "Lord 'a mercy! I don't like it--at all like!"

It was upon him, however, that Bradford fixed, crying, "Come, jump over, Jeky; there's no use of making mouths at it. I want you to help the clerk to steer. Come, jump over!" and he laid his hand upon his shoulder.

"Well, well; I will, Master Bradford," cried Jekin, "don't ye touch me, and I will. Oh dear! oh dear! it's mighty disagreeable. Well, well, I will!" and bending his hams, he made as if he would have taken a vigorous leap; but his courage failed him, and he only made a sort of hop of a few inches on the deck, without approaching any nearer to the water. Out of patience, Bradford caught him by the shoulder, and pushed him at once head-foremost into the water, from which he rose in a moment, all panting, buoyed up by the wooden case under his arms.

"Here, Jekey," cried Bradford, "take the doctor's feet, as your arms are free;" and with the assistance of the worthy clothier, who bore no malice, he let down Dr. Wilbraham into the water, and returned to the lady.

As pale as death, Constance shut her eyes and held her breath, while the rough sailor took her in his arms, and let her glide slowly into the water, which in a moment after she felt dashing round her uncontrolled. Opening her eyes, and panting for breath, she stretched out her arms, almost deprived of consciousness; but at that moment Bradford jumped at once into the sea, and seizing the board to which she was tied, put it in its right position; so that, though many a domineering wave would rise above its fellows, and dash its salt foam over her head, her mouth was generally elevated above the water sufficiently to allow her full room to breathe.

The distance of the ship from the land was about a quarter of a mile; but between it and the shore lay a variety of broken rocks, raising their rough heads above the waves that dashed furiously amongst them, making a thousand struggling whirlpools and eddies round their sharp angles, as the retiring sea withdrew its unwilling waters from the strand. Constance, however, did not see all this; for, her face being turned towards the sky, nothing met her sight but the changeable face of heaven, with the clouds hurrying over it, or the green billows on either side, threatening every moment to overwhelm her. Often, often did her heart sink, and hard was it for the spirit of a timid girl, even supported by her firm trust in God's mercy, to keep the spark of hope alive within her bosom, while looking on the perils that surrounded her, and fancying a thousand that she did not behold.