Alice, or the Mysteries — Book 07

								

What sort of looking person was this Alice Darvil,--pretty, of course?"
"I never saw her; and none but the persons employed in the premises knew
her by sight; they described her as remarkably lovely."
"Fair and slight, with blue eyes, I suppose?--those are the orthodox
requisites of a heroine."
"Upon my word I forget; indeed I should never have remembered as much as
I do, if the celebrity of Mr. Maltravers, and the consequence of his
family in these parts, together with the sight of his own agony--the most
painful I ever witnessed--had not served to impress the whole affair very
deeply on my mind."
"Was the girl who appeared at the gate of Hobbs' Lodge described to you?"
"No; they scarcely observed her countenance, except that her complexion
was too fair for a gypsy's; yet, now I think of it, Mrs. Tiddy, who was
with her father when he told me the adventure, dwelt particularly on her
having (as you so pleasantly conjecture) fair hair and blue eyes.  Mrs.
Tiddy, being just married, was romantic at that day."
"Well, it is an odd tale; but life is full of odd tales.  Here we are at
the house; it really is a splendid old place!"

CHAPTER V.


PENDENT opera interrupta.*--VIRGIL.


* "The things begun are interrupted and suspended."
THE history Vargrave had heard he revolved much when he retired to rest.
He could not but allow that there was still little ground for more than
conjecture that Alice Darvil and Alice Lady Vargrave were one and the
same person.  It might, however, be of great importance to him to trace
this conjecture to certainty.  The knowledge of a secret of early sin and
degradation in one so pure, so spotless, as Lady Vargrave, might be of
immense service in giving him a power over her, which he could turn to
account with Evelyn.  How could he best prosecute further inquiry,--by
repairing at once to Brook-Green, or--the thought struck him--by visiting
and "pumping" Mrs. Leslie, the patroness of Mrs. Butler, of C-----, the
friend of Lady Vargrave?  It was worth trying the latter,--it was little
out of his way back to London.  His success in picking the brains of Mr.
Onslow of a secret encouraged him in the hope of equal success with Mrs.
Leslie.  He decided accordingly, and fell asleep to dream of Christmas
battues, royal visitors, the Cabinet, the premiership!  Well, no
possession equals the dream of it!  Sleep on, my lord! you would be
restless enough if you were to get all you want.
For the next three days, Lord Vargrave was employed in examining the
general outlines of the estate; and the result of this survey satisfied
him as to the expediency of the purchase.  On the third day, he was
several miles from the house when a heavy rain came on.  Lord Vargrave
was constitutionally hardy, and not having been much exposed to
visitations of the weather of late years, was not practically aware that
when a man is past forty, he cannot endure with impunity all that falls