The son of a plain country gentleman, he had come to be by reason of his handsome face, his reckless courage, his unfailing impudence, and his gift of savoir-vivre, the most notorious and fortunate of the adventurers who swarmed at the court of St. James. By dint of these and kindred qualities he had become an intimate companion of the Prince of Wales. The man had a wide observation of life; indeed, he was an interested and whimsical observer rather than an actor, and a scoffer always. A libertine from the head to the heel of him, yet gossip marked him as the future husband of the beautiful young heiress Antoinette Westerleigh. For the rest, he carried an itching sword and the smoothest tongue that ever graced a villain. I had been proud that such a man had picked me for his friend, entirely won by the charm of manner that made his more evil faults sit gracefully on him.
Volney declined for the present the quarrel that Balmerino’s impulsive loyalty to me would have fixed on him. He feared no living man, but he was no hothead to be drawn from his purpose. If Lord Balmerino wanted to measure swords with him he would accommodate the old Scotch peer with the greatest pleasure on earth, but not till the time fitted him. He answered easily:
“I know no talisman but this, my Lord; in luck and out of luck to bear a smiling front, content with the goods the gods may send.”
It was a fair hit, for Balmerino was well known as an open malcontent and suspected of being a Jacobite.
“Ah! The goods sent by the gods! A pigeon for the plucking—the lad you have called friend!” retorted the other.
“Take care, my Lord,” warningly.
“But there are birds it is not safe to pluck,” continued Balmerino, heedless of his growing anger.
“Indeed!”
“As even Sir Robert Volney may find out. An eaglet is not wisely chosen for such purpose.”
It irritated me that they should thrust and parry over my shoulder, as if I had been but a boy instead of full three months past my legal majority. Besides, I had no mind to have them letting each other’s blood on my account.