The contract with the son of the Duchess was thus promptly broken off; and whilst Marie and her lover rejoiced together, the delighted soldiers raised mighty cheers for the happiness of their beloved Daughter of the Regiment.
MARTHA
The Lady Henrietta was dull. She sat one summer morning in the gilded boudoir of her fine house at Richmond and heaved sigh upon sigh, for although Maid-of-Honour to Queen Anne, and the loveliest and most fascinating of all the Court beauties, she found no satisfaction in life. She was wearied to death of balls and routs, of the ceaseless flatteries of her many admirers, and of the tiresome monotony of Court life; and, satiated with pleasure, she had retired to her own home for a few days' respite, to indulge in vapours to her heart's content.
Her merry little waiting-maid, Nancy, sat watching her mistress with anxious eyes, not knowing what to make of this new mood; and at last she said: "Surely, my lady, you are to be envied, with your high position, your dazzling beauty and social success! Why, then, mope, when such joys are still to be had?"
"But I am weary of just those very joys, Nancy!" answered the pleasure-sated Court lady, pettishly. "And unless I can find some new interest or excitement soon, I shall die of dulness!"
Just then a footman announced "Lord Tristan Mickleford!" and a stout, middle-aged gentleman of foppish manners, dressed in the extreme of the fashion, entered the room. He was a cousin and would-be admirer of the handsome Maid-of-Honour; and bowing elaborately before her, he began to make courtly speeches in exaggerated language, putting himself at her service for the day, and offering to escort her to any amusement she wished to indulge in. But the spoilt beauty turned away impatiently, declaring heartlessly that his society only bored her; and then, hearing sounds of merriment coming from without, she ran to the open window to see what was going on.
A group of gay country maidens and youths were passing by on their way to the statute fair at Richmond, where they would stand in ranks to be hired as servants for the ensuing year, according to a local custom; and the sight of these merry rustics suddenly suggested a daring frolic to the bored Henrietta, who sprang to her feet and exclaimed: "No more dulness to-day! We will dress ourselves in peasant garb, Nancy, and go to the fair as country wenches seeking a master! 'Twill amuse us vastly, and perhaps someone will hire us as servants. Oh, what a frolic! And you shall come too, my good Tristan, as our protecting brother."
The foppish Lord Tristan was shocked and dismayed at the scheme, protesting pompously that it was quite beneath his rank and dignity to mingle in the motley crew of a fair; but upon Henrietta declaring she would never speak to him again unless he obeyed her sovereign will in this matter, he gave a feeble consent, and grumblingly allowed himself to be garbed as a country bumpkin. By the time he was ready, his mischievous cousin joined him again with Nancy, both of them attired in homespun, with short bright skirts, neat bodices, and quaint head-dresses, certainly the prettiest and smartest peasant maidens ever seen in those parts; and full of gaiety and eager excitement, the two girls dragged off their unwilling swain to the fair.
When they arrived upon the scene, the business of the day was at its height; and quickly noting the long row of country wenches standing at one side waiting to be hired as domestic servants, Henrietta determined to join their ranks. She adroitly invented an excuse for getting rid of the disgusted Lord Tristan for a short time, and then, bubbling over with mirth, the two saucy girls took up their stand amidst the serving-maids.