while andrew was starting over the hills in the darkness, the family had gathered in the hall. master mowbray had seen that the drawbridge was raised and that everything was safe for the night. audry soon wondered what had become of aline and after a time made an excuse to get away and went up to their room and down to the secret chamber. “is not aline here?” she queried.
“no,” said ian, “she has not been down for a long time.”
ian came towards audry as she spoke. “why? cannot you find her?” he said.
“no, she is not in the hall and not in our room.”
“perhaps old elspeth knows.”
“i had forgotten her for the moment,” and audry’s face brightened up. “i will run and find her.” this she did at once but aline had not been seen.
at length audry felt that she must tell the others. so she came back to the great hall and told master mowbray that aline had disappeared.
“’sdeath,” he exclaimed, “what has happened to her; call the men at once, run, audry.”
“oddsfish man,” said mistress mowbray, “one would think the child was an infant that could not take care116 of itself,—making such a fuss as that! and i do not see that it would be so very great a matter if she were lost. why, you make as much a to-do about her as though she were your own daughter. the hussie is up to mischief and she will see that she does herself no harm.”
master mowbray did not wait for all this, but left his wife talking to the empty air. the first thing was to rouse all the servants and every room inside was speedily examined, but with no result. “she must have gone out before the gate was shut,” suggested audry, “but that is a very unusual thing. she might have gone to speak with one of the servants and crossed the bridge just before it was closed. but even if she had walked a little way and not heard them close the gate, she would have rung the great bell. surely she would not be too frightened.”
to be out after the drawbridge was raised was a very serious fault as every one in the hall knew full well, and many a servant had rather run the risk of staying out all night than incur the wrath and penalties that would follow such an offence.
“i hope the child has not come back and walked into the moat,” said master mowbray. “it is a terribly dark night. come this way,” he added in a husky voice. in his rough way he was fonder of her than he would have admitted even to himself, and her spell was increasing its hold upon him.
they went to the gate and the drawbridge was instantly lowered. they then crossed the bridge and divided into two parties, taking their lanthorns to the right and left.
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audry accompanied her father to the left and they had not gone ten paces before they came upon aline’s little form lying in a broken piece of the moat-wall, half in and half out of the water. it was easy to get down to the water in many places on the outer side although impossible on the inner side. master mowbray stepped down and picked up the slight figure and carried it into the hall.
she had apparently been dead for some time, and audry broke into uncontrollable weeping; her whole frame shook violently and it almost seemed that she would choke herself. every one stood aghast. even mistress mowbray felt something of the atmosphere of grief; she was the only one sufficiently unmoved to speak at all, but she said, “poor little lassie, that was a hard ending. but, audry dear, you must try and control yourself, you will make yourself seriously ill.”
“i do not mind if i do,” the child sobbed in reply. “oh, aline, darling aline, do not leave me, i cannot bear it,” and she flung herself on to the small still form on the old oak settle and they feared her heart would break.
by this time every one was weeping, even the men-servants and mistress mowbray herself.
but as audry passionately pressed the cold wet features to her face, she suddenly cried out, “she is not dead. i am sure she is not dead, i am sure that she still breathes.”
there was a fire in the hall, as the summer was getting on and the evenings were chilly up in the moorland district. in less time than it takes to say, a bed had been made up by the fire and warmed with a warming118 pan, and old elspeth had tenderly undressed the child and put her in the bed, while some one else had brought some warm milk. elspeth was bending over her and lightly rubbing the damp hair, half crooning to herself, “my bairnie, my bonnie bairnie, wake up, my sweetest, wake up once more.” suddenly aline opened her eyes and looked round for a moment, and then closed them again. she gave no more sign that night and it was an anxious time; but hope was strong. hardly any one went to bed but mistress mowbray. even the servants for the most part wandered about, coming every now and then to ask if there was any news. the child was a favourite with nearly all of them, as much on account of her gentle thoughtful ways as on account of her extreme almost supernatural beauty. then there was that strange mysterious power that seemed to hold practically every one with whom she came into contact. there were, of course, one or two who felt her very presence was a sort of standing reproach and who disliked her accordingly, but such was the extraordinary sweetness of her disposition that some, even in this class, found themselves coaxed to a certain extent out of their worse into their better selves against their will.
in the morning it was apparent that immediate danger was passed, which caused mistress mowbray to exclaim,—“drat the bairn for frightening us all like that without any reason. how stupid of her to fall into the moat.”
as soon as aline was able to talk she had to explain how it happened. they had gently moved her to another room and audry and master mowbray were seated at the bedside. she had told them of what she had seen119 and how andrew had thrown her into the water. “as i fell,” she went on, “i felt my head strike violently against something. i luckily did not become unconscious at once, but was able to scramble through the water to the bank. i remember trying to get into a sort of hole in the wall, and then i remember no more till this morning.”
“but can you swim?” said master mowbray in blank astonishment, as it was not considered a little girl’s accomplishment.
“a little bit,” said aline, not too anxious to draw attention to her powers in this direction; as after the river tees incident she felt it might be better if they did not know what she was capable of doing.
“i am afraid, sire, that the man is likely to be the same that took your silver cup and other things,” she said, “but i am glad that i have not had my wetting for nothing, and that you will be able to stop any more corn being taken.”
master mowbray stooped and kissed her. he did not often kiss the children, not even audry, as his was not a demonstrative nature. “poor sweet soul,” he said, “how can i repay you for what you have done?”
“let us go into the library again,” said aline at once.
“of course, of course,” he said hastily; “however, we must do something better than that; but for the present i must see about those scoundrels, andrew woolridge and thomas carluke.”
when thomas heard what had happened on his arrival in the morning he cursed the fates, saying to himself, “why was andrew such a fool as not to go and get a long rod and feel all around that moat-side. she120 could never have got out on the inner side. but who would have known that the skelpie could swim?” and he bit his lips in indignation. “i wonder if they will suspect me? no, andrew is gone. i shall be safe; but curse her, curse her a thousand times.”
andrew had not even dared to go to his own house but had slipped away over the hills at once; consequently, when they sent down there, nothing was known of him. news, however, soon leaked out of what had happened and soon the whole country-side was on his track, with the consequence that, before three days were spent, he was safely lodged in what was known as the lower tower-room, in the old pele-tower on the west side of the hall.
master mowbray was determined to send him to york to stand his trial as soon as possible, but to his great surprise he met with opposition from a very unexpected quarter. he went and told aline the next morning after the successful capture and added that his intention was to send andrew to york on the following day but one, expecting that the news would give her satisfaction.
aline did not seem particularly pleased; but audry, who was there, said, “oh, i am glad they have caught him; i hope he will soon be hanged.”
aline looked up rather puzzled. “isn’t that rather blood-thirsty?”
“oh, no! aline, dear aline, if he had succeeded! oh!” and audry nearly wept at the bare thought.
“i don’t know. i am not sure that people should be hanged.”
“of course they should be hanged,” said master richard.
aline felt a certain spirit of opposition arising.121 “certainly,” she thought, “hanging does not seem to be a particularly helpful road to repentance.” her head ached and she could not think very clearly; but of a surety if once she let the man be hanged it would be too late to do anything.
the others watched her silently for a few moments and then to master mowbray’s amazement aline begged with tears in her eyes that he would let andrew off if he would confess all that he had taken and restore it as far as possible, and promise to make all the amends that lay in his power. master mowbray at first absolutely refused; but, at last, to humour the child, promised that he would reconsider the question on the following day if she were better.
aline was stronger and brighter the next day and when richard mowbray came in to see her she renewed her request,—“you said, sire, yesterday,” she began, “that you would like to do something better for me than just let audry and me use the library again, so i want, please, to make this my request,—that you will not punish andrew and thomas if they show that they are really sorry.”
“of course, if you put it that way, child, i shall have to do what you ask, as far as is possible.” he sat for a few moments without speaking, and then added,—“i have examined into the matter and find that thomas did not actually steal anything himself, nor did he get anything out of it; but he seems to be a poor cowardly sort of fellow whom andrew used as a tool. i might let him stay on in the house if you greatly wish it, but i really cannot, even if we pardon andrew, have him any longer at the hall. i think that the man is too violent to be122 trusted. he does not really belong to this neighbourhood at all and it might be possible to send him back to carlisle whence he came. that is about all that i can suggest. there is a cousin of mine near there who might keep an eye on him, and if he gives sign of trouble this could still be kept hanging over him. but do you really wish it? do you understand, child, what you are doing?”
“yes, i really would like it,” she said.
“then i shall go and speak to the men,” said mowbray, and departed.
after half an hour he came back again. “would you mind seeing them?” he said. “i think it would be good for them. i have told them what you asked and at first they hardly seemed to believe it. andrew scarcely said anything, though thomas was profuse in his gratitude.”
“i will see them if you wish it, but it is not easy.”
he looked at the sad little figure and his heart smote him and yet somehow he felt that it was the right thing to do, so he went down again and brought up the men.
aline was propped up on pillows; she looked very weak, but the wonderful pearly, almost translucent, complexion that distinguished her had for the moment recovered its usual brilliancy. andrew was led in with his hands tied behind his back; he looked sullen and sheepish, whereas aline had seldom looked more queenly in spite of her condition. thomas was not bound and looked singularly at ease.
“you have both of you behaved most disgracefully,” master mowbray said in a judicial tone; “you have meanly taken advantage of the house that had provided123 you with your livelihood and one of you has committed a crime so vile that it is not for me to find words in which to express my abhorrence. if i were doing what my real judgment tells me i should do, you, thomas, for your part, would spend a long time in york gaol, and as for you,” he continued, turning to andrew, “the world would soon be rid of you altogether. however, mistress aline has asked me to give you both another chance, as you know; but i wanted you first to see the result of your sin and to give you an opportunity of thanking her for what you do not deserve; so i have brought you here. aline, child, tell them what you want them to do.”
it was a very difficult task for the small invalid, and master mowbray did not at all realise what he was demanding from the sensitive highly strung little maiden. but she nerved herself for the task and tried to forget herself and everything but the men before her.
“oh, please, andrew,” she said, “i only want to tell you that i am feeling much better. i shall be all right in a day or two, and master mowbray says that you are to go to carlisle, where you used to live. my father once took me to carlisle when i was a very little girl and it is a fine town, much bigger than appleby. you should easily find work there and you will not forget, will you, to send master mowbray something every month to replace the things that have gone? master mowbray’s cousin will let us know how you are getting on, and please, sire,” she continued, turning to richard mowbray himself and then looking at andrew’s bonds but not mentioning them, “i want to shake hands with andrew and hope that he will be happy.”
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the master of holwick looked at her rather amazed and then untied the rope. “you will promise to repay what you have stolen,” he said.
“yes,” mumbled andrew sulkily.
“now say how grateful you are to her and how sorry you are for what you have done.”
“thank you, i’m sorry.”
aline held out her beautiful little hand and smiled sweetly at him. andrew stiffly responded and then let his arm fall to his side. this was all entirely beyond his comprehension; why she did not wish him hanged he utterly failed to grasp. what was the use of having one’s enemy in one’s hands if one did not crush him? “certainly,” he thought, “there were some foolish people who were generally called good, who did not behave in that way, and who preached to one about one’s sins, but this child said nothing about his sins and was simply beyond calculation altogether.”
she turned to thomas with the same frank smile to take his hand, “so you are going to stay with us, thomas; i wonder whether you would be kind enough to help mistress audry to look after my falcon while i am ill.”
“oh, yes, indeed, mistress aline,” he replied, “i shall never forget your kindness to me. may the mother of god bless you for what you have done. we are all of us sinners and may god have mercy upon me.” he kneeled as he spoke and pressed her hand to his lips and added, “you may be sure that i shall always be ready to serve you to my dying day. it will be my lasting honour to carry out your least wish.”
thomas congratulated himself on having escaped so125 easily, and as they were dismissed and were crossing the courtyard he said to andrew,—“she is a soft one and no mistake.” andrew did not reply; he had not recovered his senses. she must be a fool, he thought, and yet she made him look a pretty fool, too; he was not sure for the moment that he did not hate her more than ever. but, as he came to think it over in after years, the scene would rise before his eyes, and he would see that fascinating delicate face with pain written all over it, and hear the musical voice pleading,—“you will not forget, will you?”
