As Jerome Caryl turned up the stairs of the Duke of Berwick’s lodging, he was greeted by a hubbub of noise, above which rose the prolonged giggle of a man and the interchange of women’s voices.
Jerome opened the door without ceremony and stepped in.
The center of the room was occupied by a long table, surrounded by a varied company, who laughed, talked, and sang with little regard for each other; at the head of the table sprawled a very tall young man in a soiled blue satin suit and torn cravat; his wig hung on the knob of his chair, his fair hair fell untidily over his blond face; his was the good-humored, high-pitched giggle that rose above all other sounds.
The rest of the company was mostly ill-clad and ill-looking, though a certain careless good nature redeemed most of the faces; of the two women present one was a dark-skinned girl with an arched nose and a quantity of heavy black hair, the other a slim and elegant lady, who sat a little apart from the others; her companion, a gentleman, better attired than the others and who showed signs of great agitation, glancing round, wringing his hands and dabbing his face with his handkerchief. At Jerome Caryl’s entry he gave a great start and something like a suppressed shriek, an action that brought on him a glance of contempt from the lady.
“La!” cried the tall young man as he caught sight of the new-comer. “We wasn’t expecting you, Caryl—we thought you was on a visit to little Hooknose.”
“I am free, sir,” answered Caryl, advancing into the company, “I thought your grace had left England,” he added briefly.
“Sink me, if I can,” smiled Berwick, good-humoredly. “Hunt’s cottage ain’t in working; who is going to take me across the Channel? Therefore here we are—eating, drinking, making merry—for to-morrow we die.” And he giggled again.
Jerome Caryl’s melancholy eyes traveled with a faint disgust round the company; he dropped into the vacant seat beside Berwick and briefly narrated what had occurred at Kensington.
The gathering listened eagerly, for there had been anxiety under this daredevil show.
As Caryl ceased there was silence for the space of a second, then the Duke of Berwick burst into a great laugh.