“How enchanted you must be that the siege is over!” she exclaimed, as he concluded his narration.
“Yes, but there was great excitement about it,” replied Standish. “A nocturnal sortie, such as I have just described, is quite a pleasant pastime. We kept the besiegers in a constant state of alarm.”
“But suppose you had been unsuccessful. Suppose the enemy had driven you back, or captured you.”
“I cannot suppose an impossibility. The enemy never did drive us back. In every conflict we had with them they got the worst of it. Good fortune always attended us. We rarely lost a man, but generally left twenty killed behind us, and sometimes brought away prisoners. Now you must own that a sortie is exciting.”
“When I look at those dreadful trenches, I wonder you ever got across them.”
“The trenches were the worst part of it,” observed Standish; “and I wonder I did not find a grave in them. But happily the siege is over, and since most of us are unhurt, we can afford to laugh at its perils. Have you seen enough? Will you descend?”
“Stay a moment,” cried Engracia. “I have something to say to you, and here it ought to be said. You have fought well in those entrenchments and have escaped with life, but you may not be always equally lucky. If you are wise you will play no more at this hazardous game of war—”
“But I cannot retire, unless with my lord’s consent,” he interrupted. “If he would dispense with my services, I would accompany you to Spain.”
“Ask him to free you from your engagement, and I am certain he will do it,” she said.
“I know not that,” he replied. “He has need of faithful followers. I do not think he will be willing to part with me; and unless he consents, I cannot go.”
“But will you ask him?”
“I like not to do so, fearing a refusal.”
“He cannot refuse you after what you have done.”
“I have some claim upon him certainly—”
“You have the strongest claim upon his gratitude. Without you, Lathom House might not have been held. By the frequent successful sorties you have made, you contributed materially to its defence, as the countess will be first to acknowledge. Lord Derby can refuse you nothing, I repeat. But you desire military renown, and will remain under his command.”
“Only for a time.”
“But long enough to lose me. If we part now, we shall never meet again. Will you come with us to Spain?”
“I dare not promise till I have spoken with my lord.”
“Ah! I understand,” she cried. “You prefer glory to me.”
“No, by Heaven!” he exclaimed. “I should be far happier with you in Spain than fighting here.”
“If you really think so, come with me,” she said; “and leave this dreadful Civil War to be fought out by those who like it. Now let us go down.”
And they left the Eagle Tower.
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IX
How Prince Rupert visited Lathom House
EARLY in the morning the countess had received a letter from her lord, in which he told her she might expect him and Prince Rupert about noon; adding that the prince would only have a small guard with him, as the whole of the forces on quitting Bolton would march to besiege Liverpool, and halt at Knowsley and Prescot, where his highness proposed to join them.
This intelligence being immediately communicated to Major Farrington, he gave all necessary orders, and long before the hour appointed, everything was in readiness for the reception of the earl and his illustrious guest.
The weather was splendid, and the brilliant sunshine heightened the effect of the scene. The old mansion looked its best, for the damage it had sustained could scarcely be perceived. Every soldier in the garrison was on the alert. Cheery voices were heard on all sides, and the aspect of the men was very different from what it had been.
As the musketeers gathered on the ramparts, or on the towers of the gateway, they had a blithe look that bespoke utter absence of anxiety.
The court-yard itself presented a curious picture. Besides being crowded with soldiers, it contained several large pieces of ordnance taken from the enemy, conspicuous among them being the great mortar.