i must confess to being startled by this proposal. i had not foreseen it. that i should have to do with any woman formed no part of my plans. as i have said, i hated women; i had not forgotten the lesson i had learnt as a lad. hence the suddenness of his proposal took me somewhat aback.
but i did not betray my feelings. instead i walked quietly around the room, occasionally glancing at the two men who watched me closely.
"if i refuse to do this," i said presently, "you will of course make good your claims on trevanion?"
both nodded.
"and if i consent, you will in payment for my services destroy the paper i gave to prideaux,[pg 25] give me back the deeds, and forgive the amount you mentioned?"
"i will have papers drawn up to that effect," replied old peter in honeyed tones. "i will always be a friend to you, and render you any little services in my power. you are but thirty-two. think what a gay life you could live!"
i saw what was in his mind. he thought i should continue my spendthrift habits, and that as a natural consequence he would soon possess the deeds again. but i said nothing. there was no need that i should. besides at that moment i felt a great desire to stay at trevanion, and i formed a resolution that if ever i got the deeds, i would never let them go out of my possession again.
the matter required thinking about; and heedless of the inquiries i still paced treviscoe library, trying the while to read the two trevisas' motives, and understand the whole bearings of the case. i was not long in forming conclusions.
"the restormel estates are valuable, i suppose?" i said at length.
"there is some very good land on it," replied old peter. "molesworth harbour is in it."
"just so; and you mean that young peter should marry this maid?" i continued.
"and what then?" cried old peter. "that's naught to you. you hate all women, you say. you care not what may become of her if you have your deeds back, and become a prosperous man?"
"no!" i replied, shrugging my shoulders. "i[pg 26] care not"; and yet i felt uneasy, i knew not why.
"besides the maid hates the killigrews, hates 'em!"
"how do you know?"
"i've found out."
i must confess i did not like the work. the idea that i should take a maid barely twenty-one from the man claiming to be her guardian, and bring her to treviscoe, the home of these two trevisas, was repellent to me. i was not over-particular what i did as a rule, but this caused a nasty taste in my mouth. this nancy molesworth might marry young peter, crawling ugly worm as he was, that was nothing to me; what matter it who women married? he might have the restormel lands too, if he could get them. still, although i had given myself pretty much over to the devil during the last few years, i did not like the thought that a trevanion should do the dirty work of a trevisa.
had they told me all? why should they select me for this mission? and why should they be willing to pay such a big price? there were plenty of gangs of cut-throats in cornwall who would do their bidding for a less sum.
"you had better place this affair in other hands," i said at length.
"haven't we offered enough?" cried young peter.
"it's too dear at any price, i am afraid," i replied, and yet my heart went out toward trevanion as i spoke.
[pg 27]
"you are prepared to give up your old home, discharge your old servants, and become nameless then?" old peter said, his ferrety eyes fastened on me all the while.
"others would do it cheaper," i replied; "far cheaper. tom belowda's gang would attempt the work for a hundred guineas."
young peter lost his head as i spoke. "could i trust the sweet maid with a gang of roughs?" he cried; "besides, we should place ourselves in their power, they would know our secrets."
"it would pay them not to tell."
"aye, but a secret held by such ceases to be a secret."
i saw that my game was to hold back, and i continued to do so. the thought of retaining trevanion grew dearer each minute, but i did not let them know.
"it's a difficult task," i suggested, still continuing to pace the room.
"not so difficult for such as you," said old peter coaxingly. "when you trevanions make up your mind to do a thing you do it, although the furies stand in your way. you are as strong as a horse and if need be could fight like a fiend from the bottomless pit. not that there would be any need," he added quickly.
"if it is so easy," i retorted, "let young peter do this himself. he says he loves this maid, and love," i laughed sneeringly, "overcomes all difficulties. this is just the work for a lover. it smacks of far-off days. let peter attack the castle like the knights of past ages, and bear off his[pg 28] bride in triumph. he would make a fine sight carrying a maid on his crupper."
i saw a look of vindictive hatred shine from young peter's eyes, but he said nothing.
"peter is not fit for such work," was the old man's reply. "he was delicate from a child. riding wearies him, he has neither the strength nor the daring necessary."
"you say that killigrew has sons?" i said at length, a new thought flashing into my mind.
"yes."
"many?"
"five."
"be they weaklings like you, or strong fighting men?" i said, turning to young peter.
"strong men, giants," he said quickly, and then he tried to qualify his words as though he were afraid that difficulties would hinder me.
for the first time i found pleasure in the thought of accepting the mission. it fired my blood to think of doing battle with these sturdy killigrews. they were papists too, and i had been taught to hate them from my childhood. i longed for some reckless work to do. at first it had seemed tame and mean to carry away a chit of a maid from endellion castle, and take her to treviscoe, that she might become the wife of peter trevisa. i surmised, too, that young peter thought quite as much of restormel as he did of the maid. but to go into a house where there were five young fellows who were giants, and take away a maid who was closely guarded, aroused all my love for adventure.
[pg 29]
"what is this endellion castle?" i asked. "is it one of the old cornish fortresses?"
"part of the castle still stands," replied young peter. "the grandfather of the present colman killigrew built the present house adjoining it."
"it is well guarded, i suppose?"
"yes," replied young peter reluctantly. "colman killigrew and all his sons are rebels at heart. in his father's days he and his family supported king james; they long for a catholic to be on the throne, and there is a rumour that they are planning against our good king george."
"hath anything been proved against them?"
"no, not proved, but matters look suspicious. rumour saith, that should there be a rebellion he could command five hundred swords. there is a strong papist feeling in the neighbourhood of endellion."
"and the maid, is she a papist?"
"her father, godfrey molesworth, was a strong protestant, but heaven only knows what they have persuaded her to be."
this information caused new thoughts to come into my mind, and i determined to remember what he had told me.
"are colman killigrew and his sons beloved by the neighbouring families?" i asked presently.
"he is both beloved and hated. some of the catholics are his friends, but others mistrust him sorely."
these matters came out slowly. evidently young peter did not care about discussing them. perchance he was afraid lest i should shrink[pg 30] from trying to carry out his plans when i knew them.
i was silent for some time. i pondered much over what i had heard.
"all this should be nothing to thee, roger, lad," said old peter, becoming more and more familiar in his tones. "all the trevanions for many generations have sought to help the oppressed. thou hast the blood of thy fathers within thee. this is work worthy of the best. besides, if thou wilt do this, both peter and myself will befriend thee always. peter's heart went out after the maid, and he longed to set her free. she is suffering, roger, suffering greatly. killigrew will rob her, and sell her to one of his brutal sons. such a work as we asked will win the blessing of heaven."
"have done with this quaker talk!" i cried. "i care nothing about such things. perchance the maid will be better off where she is than with you; perchance, too, one of these killigrews will make a better husband for her than your puling lad."
"nay, think not so," cried the old man; "peter is a good lad, weak in body, but quick in thinking, and hath a kind heart."
"i like a fight," i blurted out; "i do not object to a rough bit of work, but——" i mused.
"but what, roger, lad?"
"i hate aught that hath to do with women. this matter presents many difficulties. i must get to speak with the maid, if she be as you say. if not, i must carry her off by force. anyway i shall have a wench on my hand for days. i [pg 31]dislike this. i am no woman's man, and i should repel her by my roughness."
peter's eyes glistened. "but you would be kind to her?" he asked eagerly.
"kind!" i replied. "i would always treat a helpless maid with respect. no man who is a man could be cruel to these poor things, who cannot fight for themselves. still one cannot trust women. mostly they would betray a man at a pinch even though he were fighting for their welfare."
"that is why we are anxious to have such a man as you to help us," cried old peter. "if we gave this to some, my lad would be eating his heart away with jealousy. he would think they would be plotting to take her away from him. but you, roger, you have been badly treated by women, therefore——"
"i should pay them scant courtesy," i interrupted.
"i know a trevanion would always treat a well-born maid as she should be treated. besides——"
"besides what?"
"if you promise to bring the maid here, you will bring her."
"yes," i replied grimly, "if i promise."
"you are as clever as a lawyer, and strong as a horse," wheedled old peter, "and a trevanion always keeps his promise."
to this i vouchsafed no reply, but i saw the old man's purpose in trying to flatter me.
"will you promise?" cried young peter at length, after much more talk.
[pg 32]
i considered the matter again. i thought of the trevanion deeds, and the forgiveness of half the debts my father had contracted. on the other hand, i pictured myself going into the world a landless wanderer, after having turned all the old servants adrift. it was not pleasant. then i tried to realize the work these two trevisas wanted me to do. should i bring a maid, badly as she might be treated by the killigrews (and i much doubted this portion of their narrative), a maid well born and beauteous, to be the wife of a crawling worm like young peter trevisa? but this did not trouble me much. what did i care who she married? killigrew, a giant cut-throat, or trevisa, a weak-chested, knocked-kneed, sensual little vermin?—it mattered not. neither did i trouble much as to who possessed the restormel lands. still i was a trevanion, and a trevanion hates dirty work—at least of that kind.
on the other hand, i loved adventure. the thought of spiting these killigrews and taking the maid from them, even though i knew little of them, except that they were papists, stirred my blood. true i did not understand all the motives of the trevisas in selecting me to do this work, but that did not matter. i doubted much if the maid would consent to marry young peter, although i brought her to treviscoe. that, however, was not my business. old peter regarded his son as a handsome man, with brains enough for two; i knew him to be a flat-chested, ugly weakling with plenty of cunning.
[pg 33]
"have you made up your mind?" asked old peter at length.
"yes," i cried.
"you will undertake the work?"
"on conditions."
he got up from his seat and held out his hand to me. "let's shake hands on it," he cried.
"not yet," i replied; "i must name my conditions first."
"well, what are they, roger, lad? don't be unreasonable."
"first," i replied, "this business will need money. it may take many weeks. i know not what will happen to me on the way. i must not go to endellion a moneyless man."
"we have thought of that," replied young peter; "there are a hundred guineas in this bag."
"that is well," i replied; "it is a stingy allowance, but it may suffice. the next condition i make is, that you draw up a writing stating what you have just promised me."
"it shall be done."
"then send for mr. hendy, my attorney, without delay."
"why?"
"that it may be placed in his hands."
"i—i cannot consent to that," cried old peter. "i want no other person to know our plans. i will keep the paper safely, lad, quite safely."
i thought i saw his cunning now. if they kept the agreement, i should be quite powerless to claim my own, even if i did my work. i saw,[pg 34] too, why they were so willing to offer liberal terms.
"if you refuse, i refuse," i replied. "i stake everything on this, peter trevisa. if i fail to bring that maid here to treviscoe, it will mean that i am a dead man, for i swear that i will not give up while i am alive. if i promise, i promise." this i said firmly, for i knew the danger which attended my work.
"but i will do right, you may trust me," wheedled the old man.
"maybe," i replied; "do as i say, or i refuse. i simply demand that you write the matter down and sign it. on conditions that i bring the maid, nancy molesworth, to treviscoe, within two months, you give me back the trevanion deeds, the paper i gave prideaux, and a declaration that you forgive me the money you mentioned. if i do not bring the maid here in that time, it shall be returned to you, and you can destroy it."
he tried to wriggle out of this, and brought forward as many objections as if he were a lawyer. but i did not yield, and so at length, doubtless believing they would be able to get the better of me, even if i succeeded in my mission, he promised.
"let us send for lawyer hendy at once, and then the matter will be settled," he said, as though he were thinking of means whereby he could keep me in his power.
"not yet," i said; "there is yet another condition."
[pg 35]
"no, no!" he cried; "i have made no more conditions."
"this will have to be complied with," i replied with a laugh, for to see these men yielding to my terms made me merry.
"what more do you want?" asked old peter after many words.
"i demand that lawyer hendy shall manage trevanion while i am away," i said. "if i do not return in two months you may conclude that i am dead. in that case i demand that certain sums of money be given to the servants who have served our family for many years." these sums i named, also the servants to whom they were to be given.
"i agree to the first part of the condition, not the second," cried old peter.
"why?" i asked. "do you expect me to fail? do you think i shall be killed? is the expedition so dangerous? a little while ago you said it was very easy, and that i should be sure to succeed."
"but it is not fair," whined he. "in that case i should lose much money for nothing."
"and i risk everything. you will have to do this only in case of my death. i may lose my life, and you refuse to lose a few paltry guineas."
"i tell you i will not!" he cried.
"very well, then you may get some one else to do your work."
"then i will have trevanion. every stick, every field, every jot and tittle will be mine, and you will have to leave the county a vagrant," shrieked the old man.
[pg 36]
"no," i said firmly. "i will go to endellion on my own account. possibly the maid might bring me fortune."
"but you promised you would not," pleaded young peter.
"i promised nothing of the sort. i said i would tell no man. neither will i."
"but you hate women," he continued; "you have refused your lawyer to marry a woman with money, even although it might save your estates!"
i laughed aloud, for this speech was uttered in a whining, yet savage way, just like a dog who is afraid whines, showing its teeth all the time.
"i did not know then what i know now," i said with glee, for it was a pleasant thing to see these scheming money-grubs having the worst of a game.
they wriggled and twisted finely for some time, and then consented, as i knew they would, for i saw from the beginning that they had concocted a scheme which would mean much profit to them. besides i believe that young peter was really much in love with the maid nancy molesworth. so lawyer hendy was sent for, old peter trying to ply me with wine the meanwhile. in this he did not succeed, however, for i felt i must not lose my head, and thus be led to do foolish things.
we drew up the papers as i had stipulated; they were signed by both peter and his son, and lawyer hendy was given full instructions.
on leaving, i took the money old peter had offered me and counted it carefully.
[pg 37]
"you will do your best, roger; you will not break your promise?" he said tremulously.
"i do not break promises," i replied.
"when will you start?"
"to-morrow morning!"
"god bless you, roger."
"i am not sure he can while i do your work," i replied.
