Sussex
CONTENTS
| PAGE | ||
| Prologue | [1] | |
| CHAP. | ||
| I. | Which introduces the Dog with a Bad Name | [6] |
| II. | Which describes a Fortuitous but Fateful Meeting | [20] |
| III. | Telleth of Mrs. Rose, the Guileful Innocent | [29] |
| IV. | Sheweth the Wicked Dering in a New Rôle | [34] |
| V. | The Allure of Simplicity: Moonlight and an Elopement | [39] |
| VI. | Of Souls, Solitude and a Dusty Road | [46] |
| VII. | Which introduces My Lord Sayle and the Clash of Steel | [54] |
| VIII. | Of a Post-chaise, Iniquity and a Grandmother | [65] |
| IX. | Describes the Adventures of the True Believer | [71] |
| X. | Further concerning the Same | [79] |
| XI. | Of an Altruistic Scot | [85] |
| XII. | Describeth the Duplicity of Innocence | [94] |
| XIII. | Concerning the Advent of John Derwent | [99] |
| XIV. | How the Man of Sentiment sentimentalised in a Ditch | [109] |
| XV. | Which introduces a Frieze Coat and its Wearer, one George Potter | [119] |
| XVI. | Describes a Scandalous Item of Fashionable Intelligence and the Consequences thereof | [129] |
| XVII. | How Sir John Dering came back to Mayfair | [140] |
| XVIII. | How Sir John Dering went a-wooing | [143] |
| XIX. | Tells how Sir John went “Bear-baiting” | [149] |
| XX. | How Sir John pledged his Word: with Some Description of the Properties of Snuff | [156] |
| XXI. | Of George Potter, his Whistle | [163] |
| XXII. | My Lady Herminia Barrasdaile weaves Webs for an Unwary He | [176] |
| XXIII. | How George Potter circumvented the Preventives | [181] |
| XXIV. | Of Mr. Bunkle and the Room with Five Doors | [193] |
| XXV. | Telleth how Sir John beheld the Ghost | [200] |
| XXVI. | Concerns itself mainly with the “Morning after” | [206] |
| XXVII. | Telleth how Mr. Derwent began his Wooing | [212] |
| XXVIII. | Telleth how My Lady adopted a Fairy Godmother | [223] |
| XXIX. | Giveth some Descriptions of a Tea-drinking | [228] |
| XXX. | In which Sir John receives a Warning | [238] |
| XXXI. | Being a Chapter of no Great Consequence | [243] |
| XXXII. | Telleth how Sir John Derwent went a-wooing | [247] |
| XXXIII. | Which, among other Small Matters, telleth of a Snuff-box | [251] |
| XXXIV. | Concerns itself with One of the Many Mysteries of the ‘Market Cross Inn’ | [258] |
| XXXV. | Being the Shortest in this Book | [271] |
| XXXVI. | Which contains further Mention of a Certain Snuff-box | [273] |
| XXXVII. | Which giveth Some Description of a Murderer’s Hat | [281] |
| XXXVIII. | Of the Terror by Night | [289] |
| XXXIX. | How they warned Captain Sharkie Nye | [299] |
| XL. | Describes, among Other Things, how My Lady trampled triumphantly at last | [308] |
| XLI. | Telleth of the Duel on Dering Tye | [318] |
| XLII. | Mr. Dumbrell mediates | [325] |
| XLIII. | In which Sir John devotes himself to the Muse | [331] |
| XLIV. | In which the Ghost flits to Good Purpose | [337] |
| XLV. | Which, as the Reader observes, Begins and Ends with My Lord Sayle | [344] |
| XLVI. | Tells how Sir John Dering fled the Down-country | [352] |
| XLVII. | Telleth how My Lady Herminia Barrasdaile went a-wooing | [360] |
| XLVIII. | Which is, happily, the Last | [366] |
SIR JOHN DERING
PROLOGUE
The light of guttering candles fell upon the two small-swords where they lay, the one glittering brightly, the other its murderous steel horribly bent and dimmed; and no sound to hear except a whisper of stirring leaves beyond the open window and the ominous murmur of hushed voices from the inner chamber.
Suddenly the door of this chamber opened and a man appeared, slender, youthful and superlatively elegant from curled peruke to buckled shoes, a young exquisite who leaned heavily, though gracefully, in the doorway, glancing back over his shoulder while the slim fingers of one white hand busied themselves to button his long, flowered waistcoat and made a mighty business of it.