Darnley; or, The Field of the Cloth of Gold

by G. P. R. James

Dr. Wilbraham, however, pressed, and insisted so intently upon the pleasure it would give Lady Constance to see him after his escape, and the rudeness which might be attributed to him if he did not wait upon her soon, that he at length consented to go; and shortly after the physician had left them they themselves took their way towards the dwelling of the lady. In this happy age, when choice is as free as thought, we can hardly imagine the generous nobility of England submitting to yield the selection of a companion for life to the caprice of a king or of his favourite; yet such was frequently the case in the times whereof we write; and dangerous would it have been to have opposed the will of the despotic Henry, or his tyrant minister, when the whim of the one, or the interest of the other, led them to seek the union of any two families. It is true that the sad example of Lady Arabella Stuart was not yet before their eyes; but still, the arbitrary power of the king was well enough established to judge of what he might do, and few would have been found bold enough to assert their liberty of choice in opposition to his command. Nor at that time was Wolsey's will less potent than the king's; so that, to the mind of the young knight, the marriage of Lady Constance with Lord Darby seemed fixed beyond recall.

There was, however, something in all that the old tutor said of her anxiety respecting his fate, joined with a certain tenderness that he had felt in her manner towards himself, and the words she had inadvertently let drop respecting the fame he had acquired in Flanders, that gave a vague but delightful feeling of hope to his bosom; and while walking on with Dr. Wilbraham, there was still amongst the wild confusion of his thoughts a strange sort of dreamy plan for winning her yet: the buoyancy of youthful expectation that would not be depressed, like a child's boat of cork, still rising above the waves that had overwhelmed many a goodlier vessel.

"If I dared but think she loved me," thought Sir Osborne, "I should fear nothing;" and he felt as if his single arm could conquer a world. But then came the remembrance, that as an equivalent for her rich lands and lordships, he had nothing, absolutely nothing! and with a sigh he entered the house, which Wolsey had taken care to provide for his fair ward as near his own palace as possible.

Most doors in that day standing open, Dr. Wilbraham, whose sacred character gave him much freedom of access, took no pains to call servant or attendant to announce them; but leading the way up the narrow winding stairs, opened the door at the end of the flight, and brought Sir Osborne into a large room, wherein were sitting several of the young lady's women, occupied in various tasks of needle-work and embroidery. One of these rose, and in silence gave them entrance to a chamber beyond, into which the clergyman conducted his former pupil, without even the ceremony of announcing him.

Lady Constance, at the moment, was seated somewhat listlessly on a pile of oriental cushions, holding her arms extended, while Dr. Butts kept his hand upon her pulse. She was dressed in white, after the mode of the French of that day: the upper part of her robe, except the sleeves, which were large and floating, fitting close to her figure round the waist and shoulders, but falling back, just above the bosom, into a beautiful standing ruff, or fraise, as the French termed it, of fine Italian lace. The skirt of the robe was wide and loose, and, dividing at the girdle, showed part of a satin dress beneath, as well as the beautiful small foot and delicate ankle, which, hanging over the edge of the cushions, indicated, fully as much as the heaviness of her eyes, the languor of sickness and want of rest. A few yards behind her stood her waiting-woman, who remained in the room, fully as much in the capacity of duenna, as for the purpose of serving her mistress.

As Lady Constance did not raise her head when the door opened, thinking that it was some of the domestics who entered, the eyes of the waiting-maid were those that first encountered Sir Osborne; and as she bore him no small goodwill for having given up with such alacrity the tapestry chamber at the inn to herself and lady, immediately on perceiving him she burst forth with a pleasurable "Oh dear!"

Lady Constance looked up, and seeing who entered, turned as red as fire, then pale, then red again; and starting up from the cushions, drew her hand suddenly away from Dr. Butts, advanced a step, hesitated, and then stood still.

"Umph!" muttered the physician, "it's a bad business."

"Oh, Sir Osborne Maurice!" said the lady, her eyes sparkling with pleasure, although she struggled hard to compose herself, to seem disembarrassed, and to hide the busy feelings at her heart; "I am most delighted to see you safe; for indeed I--that is, Dr. Wilbraham--began to be very seriously alarmed; and though he told me there was no danger, yet I saw that he was very much frightened, and--and I hope you got away easily. Will you not take that seat?"

The young knight took the chair to which she pointed, and thanked her for the interest and kindness she had shown towards him, with some degree of propriety, though at first he felt his lip quiver as he spoke; and then he fancied that his manner was too cold and ceremonious; so, to avoid that he made it somewhat too warm and ardent, and in the end, finding that he was going from one extreme to the other, without ever resting at the mean, he turned to Dr. Butts, and said with a sort of anxiety, which went thrilling to the heart of Lady Constance, that he hoped he had not found his patient really ill.