University of Virginia Library

9. CHAPTER IX.
THE HEIR.

The emotion which the recital of the
wrongs of his mother had produced in the
bosom of Red Beard, as well as in that of
Griffitt, at length subsiding into comparative
composure, the former then resumed his narrative,
as follows:

`This last blow, the loss of the queen's
confidence, was the finishing stroke of my
mother's wretchedness. As soon as she could
bear the removal she quitted the palace and
once more sought her home in the north.'

`I trust she was kindly received, unhappy
Lady!' said Griffitt, with his generous sympathies
all alive in her fate.

`The intelligence that the queen believed
her guilty, and the second flight of my father
had reached her father in his retirement, and so
affected his spirit and health, that my mother
found him lying dangerously ill. Indeed he
was too low to heed whether she had come
or not; but she soon by her kindness and
care won his heart; and he at length died

blessing her, and assuring her of his confidence
in her innocence.'

`I am glad of that,' cried Ringold warmly,
his eyes sparkling with joy. Her grief must
have been greatly lightened at this.'

`It was, but her heart had sunk beneath so
heavy a weight that nothing was able even
to raise her spirits again. The smile had
forever fled her face. There in solitude
and with prayer, and trusting Heaven would
one day make manifest her innocence, she
devoted her hours to me. I can recollect
that the earliest impressions of my childhood
were of a sweet, pale, beauteous face bending
over me in tearful tenderness. This face
was my mother's. When I was of the age of
seven years a person called on my mother,
saying that he was a solicitor; and showed
her a Gazette in which the present incumbent
of the title and estate of Lord * * * *
was called upon to make his appearance in
person or by representation before the Lord
Chancellor, within three years, otherwise
they would revert to the crown, being without
legal heir or occupant.'

`Now for the first time did my mother have
her thoughts directed towards my inheritance,
and towards my father. Since his departure
from the palace, nothing had been heard of
him; and his estates had remained in the
hands of his stewards till the attention of the
Chancellor was drawn to them. My mother,
absorbed in her grief, had never given a
thought to her husband's possessions, content
to remain quiet and peaceful with her child
in the recesses of her highland estate, which
in itself was a handsome competence. But
now the notice in the Gazette and the presence
of the solicitor brought painfully back
all the past.

“`My Lady,” said the man, “You will of
course claim in right of your son.”

“`Nothing! nothing! I wish not to hear
of the subject,” she said with distrust.

“`But there is no doubt of the death of
Lord * * * *, who has not been heard
from in seven years,” added the persevering
stranger, “and your son is the rightful heir,
although it would appear the Lord Chancellor
does not recognize him!”

“`Do not trouble me, sir,” cried my mother.
“If my husband has relatives, let them
take possession; I only wish to be left here in
peace.”'

“`But, my Lady,” continued the man, “if
you do not present a claim in behalf of your
son, it will be, I beg your ladyship's pardon,
a virtual acknowledgment of his illegitimacy.
If he is Lord * * * *'s son,”
continued the man, heedless of my mother's
anguish mingled with indignant surprise,
“you do him great injury by withholding
him from his birth-right.”'

`And the solicitor said truly so,' remarked
Griffitt with animation. `I was half inclined
to get angry with him for his persevering impertinence
in opening again all the avenues
of her sorrow; but he was right. But what
a painful situation she was placed in.'

`A most trying one. She had hoped to
be suffered to remain in her retirement and
die in peace, after she had performed her duty
to me in perfecting my education, but she
saw that duty to me, as well as a faint hope
that she might establish her innocence and
restore her husband's wounded honor to his
name, led her to resolve to present her claim
to the Earldom.'

`She acted rightly, sir; it became her innocence
and dignity to come forth from her
seclusion at their call.'

`She felt it to be so, and engaged the solicitor
to undertake her cause for her, inasmuch
as she knew him, by his reputation, to
be worthy of her confidence. So she addressed
a letter to the Lord Chancellor, setting
forth the claims of her son, provided that
her husband was no longer living, pronouncing
and declaring me to be the legal representative
inasmuch as I was the lawful son
and heir of the Earl of * * * *. The
letter was characterized by firmness and modesty;
and when reading, the Lord Chancellor
is said to have exclaimed,

“`This is not a guilty woman. It is the
language and tone of innocence and honor.
I do not believe her guilty.”'

`I rejoice that she found a friend and advocate
in this nobleman,' said Ringold.

`But he could do her no good. He found that
public opinion was set strongly against her,
and that the queen was fully convinced of
her guilt. But he did not on this account, any
more believed her guilty; for he knew that
kings had pronounced guilty and crucified
the only innocent person the earth ever saw.
So great names had no influence upon his lordship;
but he wrote to my mother, and while
he assured that her letter had impressed him
with the full belief of her innocence, yet that
he could not forward her claim in my behalf
unless she would consent to prove her innocence
and my legitimacy by a trial according
to the laws of the land; “for,” added he, “if
you pursue this claim you will be compelled
to prove your innocence before your son can
rightfully enter upon what I believe to be his
inheritance.”'

`And what did Lady Alice, your mother,
reply?' asked Griffitt.

`She shrunk from this publicity and underwent
for many days a fearful struggle between
duty and modesty. At length, just
as she had made up her mind to throw herself
upon the laws of the country, the Lord
Chancellor again addressed her, saying that
sufficient information had been communicated
to him touching her husband's living, that
led him to withhold for the present, steps in
reference to the estates and titles. “The information
which I have received,” said his
lordship, “is not so direct as to afford proof
of his existence, yet is of weight enough to
render it necessary that all further proceedings
should be suspended till all vague intelligence
is confirmed.”

`I do not know whether my mother was
sorry that such hopeful news should render
it no longer necessary for her to come forward,
to prove her innocence in the face of
her country. The idea of my father's be
ing alive she could not entertain, and had
long, as became a loving wife, worn weeds
for him, while my own apparel was always
black till my fifteenth year. When I reached
this age, my mother's health began seriously
to fail. For eight years she had heard
nothing more from the Lord Chancellor, and
had nearly buried in oblivion all the painful
past. At length one day as I was out hunting
I met a Laird's son about my own age, who
was rudely treating a pretty little peasant girl
who was driving homeward her mother's
few sheep. I took her part, and protected her
from his insults, when he turned upon me, calling
me by a term that made my ears tingle. I
leaped upon him and seizing him by the throat,
was about to force him to unsay the words,
when I was hailed by some one who sternly
cried out.

“`Ho, bastard, release him.”

`I looked round, and beheld a young man,
his kindsman, who coming up would have
given me battle. But I was so shocked, so
confounded by being twice called by this degrading
epithet, that I stood passive. I began
to think, and coupling it in quick memory
with some mysterous words I had heard
in former years, how or when I knew not,
the fearful idea flashed upon my mind that
there might be some reason unknown to me
for this epithet. I therefore stood looking
them full in the face.

“`Why do you apply this term to me? You
cannot insult one well-born with so idle a
word.”

“`No, and therefore we insult you with it,”
answered the youngest with a sneer.

“`If you don't know the truth, it is time you
did, my lord,” continued the elder haughtily.
With these words they turned away and
walked off enjoying my perplexity and shame.
I remained transfixed to the spot. Numerous
incidents, trifles light as air, that had no
meaning to my ear once, now were pregnant
with damning infamy. I groaned aloud.
The peasant girl came near, and said kindly:

“`You should not mind it, bonnie laird.”

“`What should I not mind?” I asked sternly.
“Have you heard this term before coupled
with my name?”

“`Oh, yes, laird, often; it is na' new, and
sae you should ne'er heed it.”

`I made no reply. I started upon a swift
flight homeward. I found myself in my
mother's chamber and at her feet. I briefly
and hastily told her what had passed, and
asked her what it meant. I thought I had
killed her, for as I have said, she was in feeble
health. She became as white as marble,
and appeared to be suffocating! I know well
that the shock my words gave her hastened
her end! at length she answered me, and told
me if I would sit by her she would tell me
all; and I listened to it all—all!

`I will not dwell upon emotions with which
I heard the story of her wrongs. I embraced
her again and again; kissed her tears
from her cheek and comforted her with words
of hope and peace. I told her that I would
go forth and challenge the world but I would
prove her innocence.'

“`It is too late for me, Robert,” she said,
sadly, “but for thyself, when I am dead, you
may go, and may Heaven smile upon you. I
know not for what sin I have been thus
chastened; but I trust I have borne it with
meekness and patience. Your confidence in
me has gladdened my spirit and I shall die
happier. One day my innocence will be
made manifest. In order that nothing may
be wanting when you establish your claim,
my son,” she added, “I have written a full
account of every thing that transpired from
my departure out of Scotland to the Court of
England, a happy bride, alas! to the seventh
year of your life. All letters and papers
bearing upon that period are folded up with it.”

`Having made this declaration, she daily
grew worse, but not too ill to converse a good
deal with me upon a subject, which, as you
may suppose, was constantly in my thoughts.
I commenced reading the manuscript history,
and passed a whole night as well as a day in
carefully going over it. I marked such por
tions as I wished to be more particularly informed
upon, and then afterwards consulted
my mother touching them. In this way I became
fully possessed with all the details and
facts; for as my mother lingered several
months, I was enabled to receive the fullest
information on every point.

`At length this hapless lady's end drew
nigh. She took a tender farewell of me, and
said, that she felt impressed with the conviction
that I should yet be the instrument of
establishing her innocence.'

`And yet many years have passed sicne
then,' said Griffitt; `but perhaps you have
succeeded in doing it?'

`Many years have passed but I have not
yet succeeded,' answered Red Beard with
emphasis, and emotion. `But the time I
believe is not far distant, when, if Providence
favors me, and those I put confidence
in fail me not, I may prove her dying words
prophetic. I know and feel that you will
lend me your aid in this thing, should I have
occasion to ask it.'

`My life if you ask it,' answered Griffitt
with warmth. `But if there is any hope of
this lady's innocence being established, what
a pity that she lives not to know it, and that
such time has elapsed.'

`We cannot control time nor direct events
as we would, Master Ringold. As my mother
died conscious of her purity, and firmly
convinced it would be one day established,
so far as she herself and her happiness were
concerned, it was the same whether the fact
were made known to her or not; for the good
look upon the life beyond as a part of this,
and if things trouble them and go ill with
them here, they feel that they will be regulated
there, and so in anticipation are happy.
So it was, at least with my sainted mother.'

`And have you recently heard any thing
which tends to develope any new facts bearing
upon the subject and which will be evidence
to the world of your mother's spotless
innocence?' asked Griffitt.

`You shall hear,' answered Red Beard, as he
walked to the door to see if all was still abroad.