Ah, that was a good thought! He should send in the name of Baker and Tranter, and make no other use of the name of the firm or of the information he had got through Freemantle. What an excellent thought that was! With the proceeds of the book, "The Duke of Fenwick," he had been able to undertake this journey, and face any reasonable delay. With the name of the firm to which this man had written the libel on himself and his mother, he should gain admittance to the loathsome detractor. Here was a complete circle of poetic justice!
When asked for his name, he should say:
"A gentleman on business. Kindly mention the name of Messrs. Baker and Tranter. I do not happen to have a card of the firm by me."
When he found himself in the presence of the Marquis, he should announce his own name, and say that he had written that book.
But suppose, when all this had happened, the Marquis said nothing, made no accusations, no admissions, what then?
Oh, confound it, Southwold would say something. Surely the Marquis would betray his opinions in some way or another, and then----
"Ah, is this the bay? Silver Bay? And here is the Castle--Silverview Castle."
The gale struck him with all its force; for he now stood on top of the high land by which the bay was surrounded. On his right rose the favourite home of the great Duke of Shropshire. He was in the ducal grounds, opposite the vast castellated pile of buildings, where the Duke lived when on shore; and before him lay the unquiet green waters of the bay, bounded on the seaward side by the reef of grey rocks and the narrow opening through which the heavy waters wallowed in huge uncouth billows towards the shore at his feet; while all along the reef, and high above the summit of its rock, rose and fell at regular intervals a slow-moving irregular wall of dingy white spray. Beyond the reef lay the German Ocean, heaving and tumbling beneath the impetuous blast.
On the left or northern shore of the bay the water was comparatively smooth, and here a few fishing-boats lay moored. Somewhat south-west of the fishing-boats rose and fell the buoy at which the yacht Seabird swung when in port. At the northern corner of the bay lay the only strip of level ground on the shores of the bay, and there stood a few fishermen's cottages; and from this rose a long private road of gradual ascent to the level of the Castle, reaching the upper land a little to the north-east of the Castle.
Except at that one strip of land at the north-east corner of the bay, at the right angle formed where the reef joined the mainland, the water of the bay was unapproachable by cart or carriage. There were three precipitous paths leading, at different points, from the top of the cliffs to three small sandy coves below. The road and the cottages had been the work of the present Duke. He had made the road, that he might have easy access to the water; and he had built the few cottages, that he might have at hand a few seafaring young men, from whom he might fill up vacancies in the yacht's crew, for neither he nor his son liked strangers. While the wild north-east wind swept over the sea and the downs, the cottages lay in secure shelter under the shadow of the high cliff and gaunt rocks, while the huge Castle stood up white against the withering gale.