“Then I presume you are a Jacobite?” said the countess.
“As ardent a Jacobite as your ladyship,” replied Mrs. Scarisbrick.
“I know you are very well informed, Mrs. Scarisbrick,” observed Lord Derwentwater. “What think you of the news that General Wills has arrived at Wigan?”
“I don’t believe it,” she replied. “Had it been the case, I must have heard of it. There are all sorts of disquieting rumours at present-but General Forster needn’t trouble himself about them.”
“I don’t,” said Forster, emphatically.
“You may depend upon having early information from me,” said Mrs. Scarisbrick. “I have friends at Wigan who will be sure to send me word if anything is to be apprehended. You may therefore rest quite easy.”
“Nevertheless, I think you ought to advance to-morrow, general,” observed Lord Derwentwater.
“To-morrow!” exclaimed Mrs. Scarisbrick. “I am sure Lady Derwentwater will never consent to that.”
“I would if there were any necessity for the step,” rejoined the countess.
“But there is none-none whatever!” said Mrs. Scarisbrick.
“You say you are a particular friend of Sir Henry Hoghton, Mrs. Scarisbrick,” remarked Lord Derwentwater. “May I ask whether you have heard from him since he left?”
“I had a letter from him this very morning,” she replied.
“Indeed!” exclaimed the countess and Dorothy.
“I showed it to General Forster, as he will tell you,” pursued Mrs. Scarisbrick. “But Sir Henry doesn’t say a word about General Wills.”
“Not very likely he would,” remarked Dorothy.
“There I differ with you,” said the general. “I am certain he would.”
“So am I,” said Mrs. Scarisbrick. “Besides, I have other correspondents as well as Sir Henry, and I am confident they would have sent me information of so important a circumstance.”
“Then you think we may rest easy for the present?” observed Dorothy.
“Perfectly,” said Mrs. Scarisbrick. “You shall have timely information of any danger from me.”
“No need to send a spy to Wigan to watch the enemy’s movements,” observed Forster, with a laugh. “I get all the information I require without trouble.”
“So it seems,” remarked Lord Derwentwater. “But I again counsel an immediate march on Wigan.”
“Nay, nay, let us rest quietly here for a day or two, and enjoy ourselves,” said Forster. “We can’t have better quarters. Preston has a hundred recommendations that no other place possesses. And since the countess has joined us, I shouldn’t have thought your lordship would desire to move. What says your ladyship?” he added, appealing to her.
“I should certainly like to remain here for a day or two, if it can be done with safety,” she replied.
“It can-I’ll answer for it,” said Forster; “and since I am responsible for any mistake, you may be sure I shall be careful.”
“Trust to me,” said Mrs. Scarisbrick. “Depend upon it I will procure information of the enemy’s movements.”
“Is she to be relied on?” whispered Dorothy to the earl.
“I cannot tell,” he replied in the same tone. “But your brother is so bewitched that he will never move. You must look after him.”
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V
Important Recruits
JUST then a great tumult was heard outside, and the ladies flew to the windows, which looked upon the street, to see what was the matter.
The disturbance was caused by the arrival of some five or six well-mounted gentlemen, each attended by a dozen armed retainers on horseback, so that they formed quite a troop. A shouting crowd followed them, adding to the noise.
General Forster, who had likewise rushed to the window, was greatly delighted by the sight, since it could not be doubted that these gentlemen had come to join his forces. They had stopped at the entrance to his quarters, and were told by one of the sentinels stationed at the gate, that the general was then at Lord Derwentwater’s house on the opposite side of the street.
At this juncture, however, Lord Widdrington came forth, and shook hands very heartily with one of the recruits, a very fine-looking man.
“Who is that handsome and distinguished-looking person?” said the countess to her lord, who had followed her to the window.
“That is Mr. Townley, of Townley,” replied the earl. “He is Lord Widdrington’s brother-in-law, and belongs to one of the oldest families in Lancashire. I am rejoiced to see him here.”