Chapter twenty-nine: The most important day of my life

 (Charles Huntingdon has been secretly brought to Stanegate to talk with Sir James Wilbrahim, who is very ill)

We approached the parlour where Sir James lay. Becky put her ear to the keyhole, and indicated to me that there were no voices within, so he was probably alone. As she knocked on the door, my courage failed me to the extent that with half of my mind I hoped that he would be asleep and my mission would be abandoned; but instead a feeble voice from within bade her enter.

   I heard her say, “If you please, sir, there’s a gentleman here wishes to speak with you.” I pictured her giving a little curtsey as she did so.

   “Indeed?” Sir James replied, “And why do you, not William, show him in?”

   “If you please, sir, I met the gentleman as I was coming back from town, and William must have been round at the stables, so I let him in. He didn’t give no name, sir, but he said it was very important that he spoke to you.”

   “Oh, very well then.” His voice sounded resigned.

    Sir James was lying on a couch with his head propped up on cushions. He wore a long buff-coloured gown, with slippers on his feet and a cotton turban on his head. His face was thin and heavily lined, making him appear ten years older than when I last saw him. There was no-one else in the room.

   “Mr Huntingdon!” he exclaimed in a weary voice, “I did not expect to see you, sir, coming here uninvited in this fashion. What is more, I do not wish to see you. Before you go, I shall take the opportunity to say that your conduct has been disgraceful! You have filled Miss Louisa's head with foolish ideas and encouraged her in disobedience. I have been informed that you secretly brought her back from the fireworks display, which I had specifically forbidden her to attend. This was not the behaviour of a gentleman! Now we have witnessed the disastrous consequences of your influence.  Good day to you, sir!”

   He turned his face away from me, but I was not deterred, and spoke the words I had been rehearsing in my head.

   “I have come here, sir, to speak to you," I said. “As for myself, I apologise most sincerely if I have offended you, for that was never my intention: I have always held you in the deepest respect. I shall not attempt to defend myself except by saying that at the time I believed I was acting for the best. But I earnestly request that you hear what I have to say concerning the allegations against your daughter, who has been grossly misjudged. She is entirely innocent, and is now greatly distressed and desires only to be reconciled with you.”

   “I would have you ejected from my house, sir,” he replied angrily, “but I am weak with illness, and it seems my servants have deserted me. Where is Mr Bunbridge? He was here but a minute past!”

   “The Rector is not here, sir, and I shall speak!”

   I told him how Louisa, arriving in London but not knowing where to find Lord Staines, had been entrapped and imprisoned by Mother Rawton, from whose premises we rescued her.

   “And how did you find her there? Are you in the habit of frequenting brothels?” he asked in a scornful tone.

   “No, sir: friends of mine were able, at my request, to discover her whereabouts, and then we acted to free her.”

   I described the rescue, omitting the names of Mr Wilkes and the others, who were unlikely to have met with his approval. I then began to recount my appeal to the Countess for help, intending to stress that her great kindness would not have been forthcoming had she not entirely believed in Louisa’s innocence; but at this point I was interrupted by the door opening to admit Mr Bunbridge. He regarded my presence with such astonishment that he was briefly silent.

   “How dare you invade this house and weary Sir James with this chatter!” he eventually burst forth. “You, and no-one else, are solely responsible for the disaster that has overtaken us! Leave immediately, and never return!”

   “No, sir, I shall not leave! I am here to tell Sir James the truth of his daughter’s misfortune, and to counter the lies that you, sir, have been spreading!”

   Sir James looked on in stupefaction as we conversed angrily in this fashion. Mr Bunbridge’s face was purple with rage, and I believe that he might even have assaulted me, but at that moment Becky reappeared, through the door that the Rector had left open. She curtsied first to her master and then to Mr Bunbridge, and it was him whom she now addressed.

   “If you please, sir, the young mistress would like to speak with you. She asks could you come up immediate, sir.” 

(The costume of an 18th century maid)

    My astonishment at this invitation could scarcely have been less that of the reverend gentleman, to judge by the expression on his face. What the deuce could she intend to say to him? But Bunbridge did not hesitate, and after delivering a somewhat perfunctory apology to his host he followed Becky out of the room.

   Sir James was no less baffled. “Why has he gone? Why has he gone?” he kept repeating.  

    “I cannot tell you, sir, but it seems that he is otherwise engaged; so before he returns, I shall continue my story.”

   Very soon, however, loud cries, first from one female voice and then from another, echoed through the house; doors slammed and heavy footsteps were heard running down the stairs. Moments later, Louisa and her maid rushed into the parlour. Both were out of breath: Becky’s dress and hair were much disordered and Louisa’s her eyes now blazed with anger. She ran to father’s side and knelt down, taking her father’s hand in both of hers while Becky stood by.

      “What’s this? What’s this?” he exclaimed.

   When she had recovered her breath, Louisa described how she had been in her apartment when she heard Becky scream. She ran out to find the Rector in a nearby room with Becky on his knee, fondling her, while she was shouting at him to desist and beating him on the chest with her fists. On seeing Louisa, he had thrown Becky to the floor and fled. Sir James, greatly to my surprise, appeared suddenly revitalised on hearing this.

   “The old rogue!” he chuckled, “And at his age too!”

   After Louisa had finished speaking, he said, “Well, I wonder if the maid is as much to blame as him, with her flirtatious ways. But even so ….  No, I do not approve of him misbehaving with my servants under my roof, and he must write me an apology before I admit him here again.”

   Louisa now told her father of the kisses the Rector had demanded for the delivery of letters, which Becky confirmed. Sir James closed his eyes and showed no reaction. We wondered whether he had fallen asleep, but then suddenly he spoke again, not to his daughter but to me.

   “What you have told me has come as a shock, and I must have time to think on it. I cannot help but think that you may have misunderstood Mr Bunbridge’s conduct towards you. I am an old man and in poor health, and it is too late for me to change my friends now. I have known Mr Bunbridge for many years: he has his faults, as we all do, but I believe these are more than matched by his virtues. He was a great scholar at Oxford, and has never concealed his devotion to the House of Stuart, in consequence of which he has suffered persecution and been denied the preferment that his talents deserve. The advice he has given me has always been good. For these reasons, I have named his as executor in my will, and, if God should soon call me away from this life, he will be guardian of Louisa until she comes of age. These I shall not change. I believe he has her best interests at heart, and after what has passed, I consider her more than ever in need of a strong guardian.”

   All this time, Louisa had remained kneeling beside Sir James, with his left hand in both of hers. She now kissed that hand, told him in the sweetest tones of her love for him and begged his forgiveness for all the distress which her disobedience had caused him. He hesitated for a while, then with a sigh disengaged the hand and placed it on her head, announcing that he did indeed forgive her. Louisa flung herself across to embrace him and kissed him on both cheeks. It was a reconciliation that answered all our prayers.

   Sir James smiled, then he lay back and closed his eyes and was silent for a while. We thought he wished to end the conversation, and were about to leave quietly when he suddenly spoke again.

   “Mr Huntingdon, it would seem I cannot keep you out of my house. Even my servants thwart my wishes. Very well, now you are here, you can help me. I am informed that my accounts are in confusion, and I am too weary to inspect them myself. Your man Clifford is said to be honest, and you may send him here for the task until Bagley is found." 

   I noted that he had not invited me, though neither had he absolutely forbidden me to come. 

   There was a long pause before he continued, though now he spoke as if he was musing out loud to himself rather than addressing us,

  “As for Miss Louisa: even if her conduct has been, as I have been told, entirely innocent, I fear that the world will condemn her. No doubt the upstart nobleman who wrote me that disgraceful letter has jested of it to his friends. Her reputation is ruined. I shall never have a son-in-law: our line has come to an end. That fellow Staines is no loss, for he is a ridiculous and degenerate young puppy. But who would marry her now?”

   Acting on sudden impulse, I took Louisa’s hand in mine. “I will marry her, sir!” I answered boldly.

   “You, sir?” he gasped, “You!” Again he closed his eyes and lay still. Louisa said nothing, but gripped my hand tightly. After a while he began to snore.

   We left the parlour and entered the library, where we found ourselves alone. I turned her to face me and took her by both hands, and looking her in the eyes I declared my undying love for her, my desire to marry her and promised always to support and protect her whatever might befall. I cannot now recall my exact words, which were no doubt as hackneyed as in a scene on stage in a comedy, and spoken much too fast, but which were perfectly sincere for all that. She blushed, and waited a while before venturing a reply, as if choosing her words with extreme care.

   “Sir”, she replied, “I shall ever be in your debt for the manner in which you and your friends rescued me, and I do not doubt that you are speaking from the heart. But all this is very …” she paused to search for a suitable word, “… sudden”, she concluded. She kept hold of my hands.

  “But at least you are not utterly rejecting me?” I protested.

  “Oh no, sir, by no means!” she exclaimed softly.

   I took her in my arms and kissed her full on the lips. For what seemed a blissful eternity I held her close. Then she drew back her face to speak, though she did not disengage herself.

   “My dear Mr Huntingdon – Charles – I am yours and you are mine forever. But for the moment we can do nothing, and I must beg you to keep what has passed between us a secret. After all the distress I have caused my poor father, my plain duty is to stay here and watch over him. I shall remain at his bedside, and I think it would be best if you did not talk to him for a while. I must beg you to tell no-one of what has passed between us. We must be patient, until he recovers, or until …..” She turned her head aside in an attempt to hide the tears in her eyes. I kissed her again.

  “But now you must go”, she said. She rang a little bell that stood on the table, and Becky immediately appeared to show me out. I suspected she had been listening from behind the door, and had heard every word.

 

   When we had left the house, I paused and asked the young maid, who was now smiling happily, “Tell me what really happened to cause that scream.”

   Becky recounted the story. “I told Mr Bunbridge that my mistress wished to talk to him, but when we were near her door I stopped, and took him by the sleeve, and brought my face close to his and whispered, “’It’s me that wants to see you, sir!’ And I led him into a room nearby, and he was in such a hurry that he didn’t lock the door but sat me on his knee and started to kiss me, and he stuck his hand inside my dress. Then I screamed as loudly as I could, which brought the mistress out, and when she saw what was happening she screamed too, and he ran away as fast as he could. You should have seen the look on his face! So then we came down here to tell the master.”

   She told me all this without the least trace of shame. She really was a most pert servant girl!

   “I see. But I have more questions: did you plan all this in advance? Perhaps you summoned me here today with this in mind? And if so, did your mistress know?”

   Becky's only response was to grin and drop a most demure curtsey before retiring into the house. I could well understand why the Rector lusted after her, and in different circumstances I would have felt the same way myself. But my affections had now been given elsewhere: I vowed to myself that henceforth I would foreswear all other women: no-one but Louisa should be in my heart or my mind! This thought made me feel deliriously happy.