UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 AT LOS ANGELES
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH
 
 THE 
 
 BEAUTIFUL WRETCH 
 
 THE FOUR MACNICOLS 
 THE PUPIL OF AURELIUS 
 
 ^Ijcee ^torie0, in %\)vzz Folume0 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM BLACK 
 
 AUTHOR OF 'MACLEOD OF DARE,' 'SUNRISE,' ETC. 
 
 VOLUME I. 
 
 HonDon 
 
 MACMILLAN AND CO. 
 1881
 
 Printed ^ R. & R. Clark, Edinburgh.
 
 J 
 
 •p"R 
 
 '^ THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 SINGING SAL. 
 
 i\^ On a certain golden afternoon In August, 
 when the sea was as still and radiant as 
 ^ the vaulted blue overhead, and when the 
 ^ earth was lying so hushed and silent that 
 ^ you would have thought it was listening for 
 the chirp of the small birds among the 
 >J gorse, a young girl of about seventeen or 
 ^ so was walking over the downs that un- 
 dulate, wave on wave, from Newhaven all 
 along the coast to Brighton. This young 
 lady was tall for her age ; slim of form ; 
 
 VOL. I. B 
 
 157062
 
 2 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 and she had a graceful carriage ; her face 
 was fair and markedly freckled ; her nose 
 was piquant rather than classical ; her hair, 
 which was of a ruddy gold hue, was rebel- 
 lious, and strayed about her ears and neck 
 in accidental wisps and rings : her grayish 
 or gray -blue eyes were reserved and 
 thoughtful rather than shrewd and observ- 
 ant. No, she was not beautiful ; but she 
 had a face that attracted interest ; and 
 though her look was timid and retiring, 
 nevertheless her eyes could, on occasion, 
 light up with a sudden humour that was 
 inclined to be sarcastic. So busy, indeed, 
 was she generally, on these solitary wan- 
 derings of hers, with her owii thoughts and 
 fancies, that sometimes she laughed to her- 
 self — a low, quiet little laugh that none but 
 herself could hear. 
 
 This was Miss Anne Beresford, who
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 3 
 
 was called by her sisters Nan. But it was 
 an old friend of the family, and one of 
 England's most famous sailors, who, at a 
 very early period of her career, had be- 
 stowed on her the sobriquet of the Beauti- 
 ful Wretch ; and that partly because she 
 was a pretty and winning child, and partly 
 because she was in the habit of saying 
 surprisingly irreverent things. Now, all 
 children say irreverent things, simply be- 
 cause they read the highest mysteries by 
 the light of their own small experiences ; 
 but Nan Beresford's guesses at the super- 
 natural were more than usually audacious. 
 When, for example, she arrived at the con- 
 clusion that fairies were never seen in the 
 daytime for the reason that God had had 
 them all ' fwied for his bweakfast,' it was 
 clear that she was bringing a quite inde- 
 pendent mind to bear on the phenomena of
 
 4 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 the universe around her. And then, of 
 course, all sorts of sayings that she never 
 uttered or thought of were attributed to 
 her. Whenever a story was particularly 
 wicked, it was sure to be put down to Nan 
 Beresford. The old Admiral, who had at 
 the outset given her that nickname, spent 
 a great deal of time that might have been 
 profitably employed otherwise in deliber- 
 ately inventing impieties, each of which was 
 bruited about in certain circles as ' Nan's 
 last ;' and if you happened to meet him 
 anywhere between the United Service 
 Club and Spring Gardens, completely self- 
 absorbed, his face brimming over with 
 laughter, you might be sure he was just 
 putting on a finishing touch. Rather than 
 abandon one of these self-invented stories 
 of his, I think he would have parted with 
 any half-dozen of his crosses and medals ;
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 5 
 
 but indeed this last would not have been 
 difficult, for he had served In every part of 
 the world where a ship would float, and 
 honours and dignities had been showered 
 upon him. 
 
 Naturally, there came a time when these 
 stones had to cease ; but Nan Beresford 
 preserved her independent way of looking 
 at things, and she was clearly the clever 
 one of the family. Moreover, with all her 
 retiring ways, she was always quite capable 
 of holding her own. Her elder sisters 
 were handsome, and a good many young 
 gentlemen, amongst others, came about 
 the house ; some of whom, thinking to be 
 facetious, would occasionally begin to tease 
 Miss Nan, she being the youngest admitted 
 to lunch or afternoon tea. But this shy, 
 freckled young person, whose eyes could 
 laugh up so quickly, had a nimbleness of
 
 6 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 wit and dexterity of fence that usually left 
 her antagonist exceedingly sorry. One can 
 imagine a gay young swallow darting about 
 in the evening, having quite satisfied him- 
 self as to food, and thinking only in his 
 frolicsome way of chevying and frightening 
 the innocent insect tribe. But what if, by 
 dire mischance, he should dart at some- 
 thing and find he had seized — a wasp ! 
 Some of the merry young gentlemen 
 were glad to leave the Beautiful Wretch 
 alone. 
 
 However, all these things must now be 
 looked upon as bygones. Seventeen has 
 come ; its dignity and seriousness have 
 followed upon the frolics of untutored 
 youth ; and the sweet charm of maiden- 
 hood has smoothed down such angularities 
 as were formerly permissible. If Miss 
 Anne Beresford shows her independence
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 7 
 
 now, it is mostly in a sort of half-declared 
 contempt of sentimentalities and flirtations 
 — of which, to be sure, she sees a good 
 deal around her. She likes to be alone ; 
 she reads much ; she has ideas ; she wor- 
 ships Mr. Huxley; and she needs no other 
 company than her own when she goes off 
 on long explorations of curving shore or 
 inland vale. On this particular afternoon, 
 for example, she was walking all the way 
 to Brighton from Newhaven, having al- 
 ready walked to the latter place in the 
 morning ; and as her light and free step 
 carried her over the close, warm, thyme- 
 scented turf, she was smiling to herself 
 — at some incident, no doubt, that her 
 memory had recalled. 
 
 Well, at this moment some one ad- 
 dressed her. 
 
 'Young lady !'
 
 8 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 She had been vaguely aware that a 
 woman was sitting there, by the side of 
 some furze bushes ; but she had kept her 
 eyes away, being a Httle afraid of tramps. 
 On being challenged, however, she turned 
 and looked, and then she saw that this was 
 no ordinary tramp, but an itinerant musi- 
 cian well known along the south coast by 
 the name of Singing Sal. She was a good- 
 looking, trimly -dressed, strapping wench 
 of five-and-twenty, with a sun-tanned face, 
 brilliant white teeth when she laughed, 
 and big brown eyes that were at once 
 friendly and audacious in their scrutiny. 
 She looked indeed more like a farmer's 
 daughter dressed for market-day; but on 
 one side of her, on the green-sward, lay a 
 guitar ; and on the other, a little leather 
 wallet that she had unstrapped. Appa- 
 rently she had been having a nap on this
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 9 
 
 warm afternoon, for she was smoothing 
 down her black hair. 
 
 ' I beg your pardon, Miss,' she said, 
 with very great respect, but with a sort of 
 timidly friendly look in her eyes, * but I 
 have often seen you as you was walking 
 along the downs ; and many's the time I 
 have wished to have a word with you, 
 if there was nobody by. Yes, and 
 many's the time I have thought about 
 you.' 
 
 Nan Beresford hesitated for a second 
 whether she should stay or not. But she 
 knew this young woman very well by 
 sight ; and her appearance and manner 
 were alike extremely prepossessing. Nan 
 had heard her sing, but never speak ; and 
 she was surprised by the correct way in 
 which she spoke ; she had scarcely any- 
 thing of the Sussex intonation.
 
 10 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 ' Yes,' said Singing Sal, looking up at the 
 young lady, ' many's the time that I have 
 thought I should like to tell you what I've 
 been thinking about you, as I saw you go 
 by. I've often been thinking that if one 
 could only see into it, the mind of a young 
 lady like you — brought up like you in the 
 middle of nothing but kindness and good- 
 ness — why, it must be the most beautiful 
 thing in the world. Just like that out 
 there — clear and silver-like.' 
 
 She nodded in the direction of the sea 
 — where the pale blue plain was touched 
 here and there with silver and golden re- 
 flections. Nan was embarrassed ; never- 
 theless she remained. There was some- 
 thing winninof about the fresh -coloured, 
 frank-eyed lass. 
 
 'And I think I have seen a little bit 
 into your mind. Miss,' said she, with a
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 11 
 
 smile. 'Would you look at this — if I may 
 make so bold ?' 
 
 There was a bit of red silk round her 
 neck, and attached to it was a florin. She 
 held up the perforated coin, and glanced 
 at the face of the young girl. Nan Beres- 
 ford blushed. 
 
 ' You remember, Miss ? That was the 
 night as I was singing in front of the Old 
 Ship, though what I did that for I don't 
 know ; I prefer my own friends and my 
 own haunts. But do you know what I 
 said to myself when I got to my lodgings 
 that night ? I said, " What was the young 
 lady thinking of when she gave you that 
 florin ? It wasn't an accident ; for she 
 took it carefully out of her purse. And 
 it wasn't because she thought you were 
 starving ; for you don't look like that. 
 No, she gave it to you that you might
 
 12 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 think it enough for one night's earnings, 
 and go away home, and not be stared at 
 any longer by a crowd of men. That was 
 what the young lady was thinking in her 
 mind ; and if ever you spend that two 
 shillings, Sal, you'll be a mean wretch." 
 And many's the time I thought I would 
 like to speak to ye, Miss, if only as it 
 might be to ask your name.' 
 
 This woman was frank even to bold- 
 ness in her scrutiny, and her manner 
 was rough and ready ; but there was a 
 touch of something fine about her — some- 
 thing true, downright, unmistakable — that 
 somehow won people's confidence. Nan 
 Beresford drew nearer to her, though she 
 remained standing. 
 
 * Is there anything ?' said Nan ; and 
 
 then she stopped. She was about to ask 
 if there was anything she could do for
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 13 
 
 this new acquaintance ; but she suddenly- 
 reflected that the young woman was 
 smartly dressed and apparently well-to-do. 
 Singing Sal quickly broke in on her em- 
 barrassment. 
 
 * Yes,' she said, smiling, ' you don't like 
 my making a show of myself — singing for 
 coppers in the street. But isn't there 
 worse than that among the people y'ou 
 live among. Miss ? Mind, I see life in 
 the rough ; I can't always choose my com- 
 pany ; and I have to take things as they 
 come ; but when I hear of very fine 
 young ladies — mind, not poor girls driven 
 by starvation, or forced to support a 
 sick mother, or kicked out of doors by 
 a drunken father — and these fine ladies 
 going and selling themselves for so many 
 thousands a year and a swell carriage — • 
 well, it sounds queer, I think. But I'm
 
 14 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 sure, Miss,' she said, regarding the girl, 
 * you won't make a marriage for money. 
 You don't look like that.' 
 
 Again Nan Beresford flushed hastily ; 
 and she said, with a touch of anger, ' I 
 prefer not to speak of such things. I am 
 tired of listening to women who can talk 
 of nothing but sweethearts and marriage. 
 Surely there are other matters of as much 
 importance ' 
 
 But then it occurred to her that this 
 was scarcely civil ; so she turned to this 
 pleasant-looking stranger and said, with a 
 grave courtesy, ' I presume you are return- 
 ing to Brighton ?' 
 
 'Yes, I am.' 
 
 * To remain there ?' 
 
 Sal laughed in her quiet way. 
 
 * Lord love you, my dear young lady, I 
 never saw the town yet that could hold me
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 15 
 
 for more than a couple o' nights. I live in 
 the open. This is what I like best — open 
 sea, open sky, open downs. I do believe 
 my forefathers were either gipsies, or else 
 they had had a good dose o' the tread- 
 mill ; for I'm never content but when I'm 
 on the trudge — wet weather or fine, all's 
 the same to me ; but four square walls I 
 can't endure.' 
 
 ' I am afraid you must lead a very 
 solitary life,' said Nan, with sincere com- 
 passion. 
 
 'Why, bless you, Miss, the world is full 
 of things,' said the other cheerfully ; * and 
 as you tramp along there's always some- 
 thing turning up for you to look at. Oh, 
 I've plenty of friends, too, for the matter of 
 that. I bring a bit of news to the farms, 
 and sometimes toys for the coastguards- 
 men's children — else the women would
 
 16 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 get jealous ; and I have an eye for the 
 mackerel-shoals, for the fishermen ; and I 
 know where the sailors are, if there's any 
 sport going on. Yes, I have a good many 
 friends. Miss. I can tell you it would be a 
 bad business for any one who laid a finger 
 on me, anywheres between Dover and 
 Portsmouth ; I think the word would be 
 passed along pretty quick. Not that I 
 can't take care o' myself,' added Sal with a 
 modest smile. ' I'm not afraid to be out o' 
 nights, when I know where my bed is ; and 
 sometimes I can do without that. Why, 
 that is the best of all the tramps — a clear 
 moonlight night along these downs ; and 
 you have the whole world to yourself ; 
 everything and everybody asleep, except, 
 maybe a watchdog up at one of the farms. 
 And the ships out at sea — you can tell 
 whether they're going up or down Channel
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 17 
 
 by the red or the green Hght, and you think 
 of the poor chap at the helm, and hope 
 he'll get soon home to his wife and children. 
 That is a real fine tramp, Miss ; you want 
 to sing almost, and yet it's too beautiful to 
 be broken by a sound. And then there's 
 a fortnight in the Spring when the birds 
 come over — oh ! that's wonderful. If you 
 start about half-past two or a quarter to 
 three, you get in amongst them ; and the 
 first thing you hear is the whistle, quick, 
 and sharp, and yet far away, of the curlews. 
 Then you begin to feel that they are pass- 
 ing overhead ; you can't see anything ; it 
 is like a whisper filling all the air ; the 
 darkness is just full of wings — soft and 
 soft ; you're afraid to put up your hand in 
 case you might hurt some poor creature at 
 the end of its long voyage ; and you listen 
 and listen as you walk along, waiting for 
 
 VOL. I. c
 
 18 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 the gray daylight in the east, to show them 
 where to pick up some food in the fields. 
 Ah ! Miss, if you only had the courage to 
 rise as early as that ' 
 
 *Oh, I will — I will!' said Nan eagerly, 
 quite forgetting what her mother might 
 have to say about this strange acquaint- 
 ance. * But what has made you take to 
 such a way of living ? You are very well 
 educated.' 
 
 * You are kind to say so, Miss,' remarked 
 Singing Sal, who was evidently greatly 
 pleased. ' But it's little education I ever 
 got, except from two or three books I have 
 made companions of, like. I kept my 
 father's shop in Tunbridge until he married 
 a second time ; then it grew too hot for 
 me, rather ; and so I took to the road, and 
 I've never regretted it. Human nature is 
 what I like to look at ; and if I may make
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 19 
 
 SO bold as to say it, I guess there's more 
 human nature among the poor folk than 
 among the rich. But I'll tell you about 
 that some other time,' she added, returning 
 to her ordinary free-and-easy manner. * I 
 see you want to go. You've looked at 
 your watch twice.' 
 
 ' But you're going to Brighton also } ' 
 said Nan, somewhat timidly. 
 
 * Not with you. Miss,' was the prompt 
 reply. * No, no. But perhaps, if it is not 
 making too free, you will be so friendly as 
 to tell me your name ? ' 
 
 * My name is Anne Beresford, and 
 I live in Brunswick Terrace,' said 
 Nan. 
 
 ' Thank ye kindly. Miss,' said Singing 
 Sal, regarding the young lady with great 
 friendliness and respect. ' Maybe I shall 
 see you some other day on the downs, for
 
 20 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 I think you are as fond of them as I am 
 myself. Good-bye, Miss.' 
 
 She rose with some sense of natural 
 courtesy. But she rather turned away, 
 also ; and she kept her hands behind her. 
 So Nan bade her good-bye in return ; 
 and continued on her way along the lonely 
 cliffs. 
 
 Some considerable time thereafter, when 
 Nan Beresford was nearing Brighton, she 
 turned and looked behind her ; and she 
 could make out, on the summit of one of 
 the rounded undulations towards Rotting- 
 dean, the figure of a woman, whom she at 
 once guessed to be Singing Sal. That 
 solitary figure was impressive there — high 
 up on the edge of the slope ; the still, shin- 
 ing sea far below her ; and all around her 
 and illumining her, as it were, the redden- 
 ing glow flooding over from the westering
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 21 
 
 sun. Nan — perhaps moved by some subtle 
 compunction, perhaps only in token of 
 friendly remembrance — took out her hand- 
 kerchief and waved it twice ; but there was 
 no response.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 IN BRUNSWICK TERRACE. 
 
 That same afternoon all Brighton was 
 astir with curiosity because of a large ves- 
 sel that had slowly come In from the west 
 before an almost Imperceptible breeze. 
 She came unusually, and, as some thought, 
 dangerously close In shore ; and no doubt 
 she looked even larger than she really was, 
 for she had every stitch of canvas set, from 
 her royals down to her lower studding sails, 
 that stood out on each side like great bat's 
 wings ; while all this mass of sail was dark 
 in shadow against the western glow. As
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 23 
 
 the spectators watched her, those among 
 them who knew a little about nautical mat- 
 ters guessed that this must be a man-of-war 
 from the rapidity with which she began 
 to furl her sails — lettingf the pfolden liofht 
 shine along between her spars ; while they 
 further concluded, from the fact that only 
 a kedge was thrown out at her bows, that 
 her stay in these shallow waters would be 
 brief 
 
 Now we must see how the advent of 
 this stranger w^as regarded by the occu- 
 pants of a certain drawing-room in Bruns- 
 wick Terrace. These were five — a mother, 
 son, and three daughters ; and as they will 
 all appear, more or less, in the following 
 history, it may be as well to introduce them 
 now and categorically to the reader. 
 
 First of all came Lady Beresford her- 
 self — an elderly, sallow-faced, weak-looking
 
 24 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 woman, the widow of a General Officer 
 who had got his K.C. B.-ship for long ser- 
 vice in India. She had a nervous system 
 that she worshipped as a sort of fetish ; 
 and in turn the obliging divinity relieved 
 her from many of the cares and troubles of 
 this wearyful world. For how could she 
 submit to any discomfort or privation (the 
 family were not very well off for their 
 station in life) ; or how could she receive 
 objectionable visitors, or investigate cases 
 of harrowing distress, or remonstrate with 
 careless livery -stable keepers, or call to 
 account extortionate milliners when this 
 precious nervous system had to be con- 
 sidered ? Lady Beresford turned away 
 from these things and ordered round her 
 bath-chair, and was taken out to the end 
 of the Pier, that she might be soothed by 
 the music and the sea air.
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 25 
 
 The eldest daughter in this drawing- 
 room (the eldest daughter of the family- 
 was married and in India) had not much 
 nervousness about her. She was a hand- 
 some, tall, blonde girl of the clear-cut 
 English type, cold and even proud in 
 manner, strict in the performance of all 
 her duties, and not very charitable in her 
 criticism of others. She had a good figure; 
 she dressed well ; clear health shone in 
 her pale, fair face and bright, cold eyes. 
 She was a darinor horsewoman. Her 
 brother called her ' Nails,' which was a 
 final contraction for ' Old Hard-as-Nails.' 
 
 The next sister, Edith, that same grace- 
 less youth was in the habit of calling ' The 
 Sentimental.' She was the darkest of the 
 family, and the most beautiful also, where 
 every one was more or less good-looking. 
 She had soft brown hair, dark blue-gray
 
 2G THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 eyes of the tenderest expression, and a 
 beseeching innocent look. She was fond 
 of music ; played and sang very fairly 
 herself; but she was most admirable as 
 a listener. In a room filled with half- 
 murmuring people, she alone remained 
 mute and devoted ; her chair drawn close 
 to the piano; her form motionless. It is 
 true her brother boldly attributed Edith's 
 strict observance of this attitude to the 
 fact that she knew she had a striking pro- 
 file, and that in no other way could she be 
 so well seen by the room. But then there 
 are some people who will say anything. 
 
 In point of family order Nan Beresford 
 came next ; but, as we have seen, she was 
 at this moment away out on the downs, 
 marching briskly, and much pleased with 
 herself and the world generally. 
 
 ' The Baby ' was the youngest of the
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 27 
 
 sisters — a pretty child of fifteen ; a trifle 
 spoiled and bad-tempered, otherwise char- 
 acterless enough. So now we may pass 
 on to the personage who considered him- 
 self of chief consequence in the house — 
 Mr. Thomas Beresford, the only son, who 
 now stood at the window, thrumming on 
 the panes, to the infinite annoyance of his 
 mother. He was an exceedingly handsome 
 boy of about eighteen, slightly built, tall, 
 and dressed with an elaborate precision. 
 The lad was clever enough, and good- 
 natured enough, but he had been spoiled 
 all his life long — first by his sisters, and 
 then by the men who wanted to marry his 
 sisters. He harried and worried the whole 
 household indiscriminately, but he was 
 especially hard upon Nan. He said Nan 
 had a character that he wished to form. 
 Girls wanted roughing. There was far too
 
 28 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 much flimsiness and fashlonability about 
 their social circle. In time he trusted 
 to be able to make something out of 
 Nan. 
 
 Well, he was thrumming contempla- 
 tively on the window-panes, watching this 
 big, dark ship come along from the west. 
 
 * Thomas, I wish you would cease that 
 distressing noise,' said his mother, with a 
 plaintive sigh. 
 
 He ceased his thrumming and took to 
 whistling. 
 
 * Tom,' said the musical sister, ' I do 
 wish you wouldn't try to pick up new airs. 
 You can't do It. Why don't you keep to 
 " Home, Sweet Home," or " In a Cottage 
 near a Wood " ? ' 
 
 But, to give effect to this remonstrance, 
 she had turned in her chair In which she 
 was reading, and, in so doing, came in
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 29 
 
 sight of the window, and the sea, and the 
 new arrival there. 
 
 ' Oh ! ' she exclaimed, ' what a beautiful 
 large yacht ! ' 
 
 The youth at the window shrugged hi5 
 shoulders. 
 
 * Well, you ai'e a fool,' he said politely. 
 
 * Thank you,' she replied. 
 
 * I'll tell you what — it's a man-o'-war 
 brig,' continued he, with an air of import- 
 ance. * And what's more, I hope the 
 fellow knows where he's coming to. I 
 don't see them taking any soundings ; and 
 the notion of bringing a man-o'-war in 
 here ' 
 
 He went and got an opera-glass, and 
 returned to the window. He would make 
 observations ; perhaps, if need were, he 
 might put off in a small boat and offer to 
 assist in the navigation of the ship.
 
 30 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 * Young women,' he exclaimed, suddenly, 
 'a light strikes me. That's the Fly-by-nigJit! 
 
 * You pretend you can make out the 
 ship's name at that distance,' said the 
 eldest sister, with the slightest of smiles. 
 
 * Not with the glass, but by the intuition 
 of genius,' he retorted, coolly. ' What's 
 more, I can tell you the name of her com- 
 manding officer, Miss Nails. Which his 
 initials are Francis Holford King.' 
 
 * King ? ' said his mother with but little 
 interest. ' Oh, yes ; I remember.' 
 
 * And he's coming to pay you a visit ; 
 that's what's the matter,' continued the 
 youth, still with the glass raised. * Nails, 
 you'd better hide that novel, and pretend 
 you've been sewing. Beauty [this was an 
 alternative name for the second sister], are 
 you at the proper angle ? Baby, smooth 
 out your pinafore.'
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 31 
 
 ' Thomas, I insist on your treating your 
 sisters with more respect ! ' his mother 
 said, angrily. 
 
 'Well, I should almost like to be that 
 fellow,' continued Thomas, with perfect 
 good-humour. 'Fancy: at five-and-twenty, 
 commanding a ten-gun brig! He has 
 brains, that chap ; not like the others that 
 come fooling around here. Why, old 
 Stratherne told me all about him. They 
 made him a Lieutenant when he was just 
 of age.' 
 
 * With your abilities, Tom,' said his eld- 
 est sister, ' I suppose you'll be commanding 
 one of her Majesty's ships, too, when 
 you're five-and-twenty.' 
 
 He was not at all crushed by the 
 sarcasm. 
 
 ' My abilities,' he said, still looking 
 through the glass, ' are, I know, remark-
 
 32 THE BE A UTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 able ; but I think, on the whole, a rich 
 widow will be more in my line of country.' 
 By this time all the girls had come to 
 the window to watch the busy scene with- 
 out — the small sailing-boats and rowing- 
 boats passing and repassing under the 
 bows and stern of the brig, their occupants 
 staring at the guns in the open ports or 
 listening to the fiddling on the forecastle, 
 where the men were dancing. But the 
 interest of the Beresfords was concentrated 
 rather on the gig that waited below, at the 
 foot of the accommodation-ladder, with five 
 blue-jackets in her. They saw an officer 
 descend and step into the stern of the gig ; 
 then she was shoved off, and simulta- 
 neously the oars struck the water. In a 
 very few minutes the bow of the boat 
 was run up on the beach, the gangboard 
 put out, and then the officer stepped ashore.
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 33 
 
 * Oh, my ! ain't we resplendent ? ' re- 
 marked the brother of the girls, apparently 
 to himself. ' But it will be mortally awk- 
 ward, young sir, if your ship should get 
 aground, with the tide ebbing. Lawks-a- 
 mussy ! a court-martial. Even your first- 
 class certificates, and Sir George Strath- 
 erne, and all the Lords put together, 
 couldn't get you out of that. And, then, 
 the ignominy of it ! Question : What 
 on earth made you take the Fly -by - 
 Night in to Brighton ? Ansiver: Please, 
 sir — ax yer pardon, sir! — I only wanted 
 to spoon one o' them doosid pretty Beres- 
 ford girls.' 
 
 * Thomas, leave the room ! ' said his 
 mother, in a violent rage. 
 
 Thomas could not help it ; he had to 
 go. But he said as he passed by her, 
 
 * Take care, mother ; you are in vol v- 
 
 VOL. I. D
 
 34 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 ing yourself in something serious. Her 
 Majesty's brig Fly-by-Night will be a- 
 ground in about two twinkles ! ' 
 
 A few minutes later Lady Beresford 
 was handed a card, inscribed ' Lieutenant 
 Francis Holford King, R.N. ;' and shortly 
 thereafter the owner of the card presented 
 himself in the drawing-room. Now, there 
 can be no doubt that her Majesty's uniform, 
 especially when women-folk are the spec- 
 tators, lends a certain dignity to the human 
 figure ; but, even in ordinary dress, this 
 new-comer would have seemed to most a 
 manly-looking, well-built young fellow, who 
 had some decision in his face, and a very 
 straightforward way of looking at people. 
 He was of middle height, slight and square- 
 shouldered ; his forehead square ; his hair 
 black, likewise the short moustache twisted 
 at the ends ; while his eyes were of that
 
 THM BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 35 
 
 singularly dark and luminous blue that one 
 never sees, oddly enough, except in the 
 eyes of sailors. However, there was no- 
 thing of the robustious, shiver-my-timbers, 
 conventional sailor about him ; his manner 
 was somewhat reserved ; he had a touch 
 of gravity beyond his years ; perhaps he 
 had acquired it through being put at 
 an early age in command of so many 
 men ; but it never forsook him — not even 
 in the ward -room, among his brother 
 officers. 
 
 He seemed shy, also. When he had 
 shaken hands with Lady Beresford and her 
 daughters, and sat down, there was a dis- 
 tinct flush on the sun -brown face; and he 
 proceeded to say, hastily, 
 
 * I — I heard you had come down here 
 at the end of the season, Lady Beresford 
 — Admiral Stratherne told me — and I had
 
 36 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 a telegram to send off; so I thought I 
 might take the chance of finding you not 
 gone abroad yet.' 
 
 ' I am not going abroad this year,' 
 Lady Beresford said, wearily. ' Really my 
 nerves cannot stand the perpetual fatigue 
 and worry of the railway stations and 
 hotels. But the girls are going — by them- 
 selves. It is becoming quite common 
 now. They don't want even to have a 
 maid with them ; and really I am ashamed 
 of the attention I require ' 
 
 * Nan is going with us too,' said Miss 
 Beresford, staring into the fireplace, where 
 there was no fire. 
 
 * Oh ! indeed,' said the grave young 
 lieutenant. 
 
 * She has never been abroad before. 
 Won't her eyes grow big ! She has a 
 great capacity for wonder and admiration ;
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 37 
 
 she will do all our reverence for us at the 
 proper shrines.' 
 
 'You have seen Sir George recently, 
 then?' said Lady Beresford. 
 
 ' At Portsmouth last week. They were 
 all down from the Admiralty.' 
 
 'What a dear old gentleman he is!' she 
 said. 
 
 * He is the finest sailor and the best- 
 hearted gentleman in her Majesty's service 
 — and that's not saying a small thing,' was 
 the answer, prompt and straight. 
 
 'You are a great pet of his,' said Miss 
 Beresford, * are you not ? ' 
 
 ' He has been a very good friend to me. 
 But you needn't imagine it is because of 
 that I respect him — that I more than 
 respect him — I love him.' 
 
 There was a touch of earnestness in his 
 voice and in the simplicity of the phrase, 
 
 157062
 
 38 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 that made Miss Beresford regard him for 
 a second with almost wondering eyes. 
 She had never seen, for her part, anything 
 about Sir George Stratherne to be enthu- 
 siastic about. 
 
 However, she had to continue the con- 
 versation unaided, for her mother was too 
 languid. Beauty had got into an effective 
 position, and was content to be silent, while 
 the Baby was useless. So she said with a 
 smile, 
 
 * I hope Sir George won't have to find 
 fault with you for bringing your ship into 
 these shallow waters. Tom — my brother 
 Tom, you know — is very anxious about it. 
 I think he would like to give you his advice.' 
 
 ' I should be glad to have it,' said Lieu- 
 tenant King, with befitting gravity, * but I 
 do not think we are in any great danger. 
 And how is your brother ? '
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 39 
 
 ' Oh, very well ; I mean very ill. Worse 
 than ever. I wish you could take him with 
 you for a cruise or two.' 
 
 'As they used to take a cask of raw 
 Madeira,' said he, laughing heartily, * to fine 
 down ? Well, you're right about one thing; 
 there's some good stuff in the lad. He 
 might fine down to something good. But 
 he is not in proper guidance.* 
 
 * He is in no guidance at all,' sighed his 
 mother. 
 
 ' Is he going abroad with you ?' 
 
 ' Not he,' said Miss Beresford. * He 
 wouldn't be bothered with us girls. He 
 will see us as far as Newhaven, perhaps, 
 and make brutal jokes all the way about 
 the Channel.' 
 
 ' You are going soon, then ? ' said he. 
 Somehow there was a kind of constraint 
 about this young lieutenant's manner.
 
 40 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 He seemed to be thinking of something or 
 some one else. His remarks and questions 
 were of the most conventional sort. 
 
 'On the ist of September I think we 
 shall be ready to start.' 
 
 * And are you going far?' he said, in the 
 same preoccupied way. 
 
 * To Lucerne, first, I imagine ; and then 
 over the Splugen, when it is cool enough to 
 go into Italy.' 
 
 * Oh, indeed!' said he. And then he 
 added, after a pause, * Oh, indeed ! ' 
 
 Then he rose. 
 
 ' I see my man has got back,' he said. 
 ' I am sorry. Lady Beresford, I cannot ask 
 you to bring your daughters to look over 
 the ship ; we must be off directly. Some 
 other time, perhaps. It would give me 
 very great pleasure, indeed. I hope, Miss 
 Beresford, you will have a pleasant journey.
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 41 
 
 I have been thinking of going abroad my- 
 self this autumn if I can get sufficient 
 leave. Will you remember me to your 
 brother Tom ? ' 
 
 He bade them good-bye, and left. 
 They were silent until they saw him cross 
 ovef the King's Road. Then the business 
 of criticism began. 
 
 ' He doesn't talk like a sailor at all,' 
 said the Baby, with a pout. ' He talks just 
 like anybody.' 
 
 * At all events he is very good-looking,' 
 said Beauty, warmly. * He has the love- 
 liest eyes I ever saw in a man. And his 
 hands — did you notice his gloves ?' 
 
 'A sailor shouldn't wear gloves,' said 
 the Baby, who had not seen Lieutenant 
 King before, but had heard of him, and was 
 disappointed that he did not correspond to 
 the nautical heroes she had read of.
 
 42 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH, 
 
 ' I think gold lace is far better on blue 
 than on scarlet,' said Beauty. ' I think blue 
 and gold looks better than anything in a 
 ball-room.' 
 
 * He didn't tell us a single wonderful 
 story,' said the disappointed Baby. 
 
 But Mary Beresford's comment was 
 more odd still. She glanced at her mother, 
 and laughed. * Mother, he didn't even 
 once mention Nan's name.'
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 A FIRST BALL. 
 
 Nevertheless, Lieutenant King was quite 
 as well acquainted with Nan Beresford as 
 he was with the other members of the family 
 — and this was how he came to know her. 
 The Beresfords had for many years been 
 the intimate friends of the Strathernes ; 
 and though they saw less of each other 
 since Lady Beresford, on becoming a 
 widow, had gone to live permanently in 
 Brighton, still the London season brought 
 them in a measure together again. Lady 
 Beresford took rooms in Bruton Street
 
 44 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 during the fashionable months of the year 
 for herself and her grown-up daughters; 
 and from time to time, and as a great treat, 
 Nan was allowed to come up for a few days 
 from Brighton. On these rare occasions, if 
 Sir George heard of the Beautiful Wretch 
 being in town, nothing would do but that 
 she should come with her mother and 
 sisters to lunch in Spring Gardens — he 
 being at this time Senior Naval Lord. 
 And Nan was rejoiced. She was not at 
 all a foolish young virgin ; she was well 
 aware of the affection the old Admiral had 
 for her; and while she heartily reciprocated 
 it, she knew that his special patronage of 
 her gave her a sort of distinction among 
 her sisters. 
 
 Well, one of these opportunities arrived, 
 and Nan, not a little elated, but outwardly 
 very demure, drove away with her mother
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 45 
 
 and sisters, in a hired brougham, to New 
 Street. In due course they arrived at their 
 destination, and they had just got inside 
 the door when, as chance would have it. 
 Sir George himself came from the dining- 
 room into the hall. He was a wiry-looking, 
 handsome, elderly man, with grizzled hair, 
 a firm face, and the kindliest of gray eyes ; 
 while on this occasion he was very gorge- 
 ously attired, for he had already dressed for 
 a Levee, and, moreover, it was a Collar 
 Day. It was extraordinary to see how 
 naturally Nan went up to him, taking it 
 for granted he would scarcely have a word 
 for anybody else. And he hadn't. Of 
 course he shook hands with Lady Beres- 
 ford and Mary and Edith, and welcomed 
 them in a kind of way ; but it was Nan 
 that he seized with both hands ; and it was 
 Nan that he himself escorted up stairs to
 
 46 THE BE A UTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 the drawing-room ; and it was Nan that he 
 presented to Lady Stratherne, just as if 
 there was nobody else in the world. Lady 
 Stratherne, though she was also a miracle 
 of kindness, knew her duties better, and 
 busied herself with the others, leaving 
 those two to themselves. 
 
 * Well, now,' said the old sailor, briskly, 
 * what is our first dance to be ? ' 
 
 * I beg your pardon, Sir George ? ' she 
 said. 
 
 * Why, don't you know, girl, that you're 
 coming to the ball ? ' 
 
 ' What ball. Sir George ? ' said she, quite 
 innocently. 
 
 What ball, indeed ! And she had heard 
 her sisters speak of nothing else for a 
 fortnight. 
 
 ' Why, my ball ; our ball, everybody's 
 ball ! Why, don't you know that the world
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 47 
 
 is going to stand still on Thursday night — 
 in amazement. And if you didn't know, 
 now you know ; and that's the ball you're 
 coming to, as sure as my name is Jack 
 Horner — now, now, I've set my mind on 
 it ' 
 
 Nan was no longer a hypocrite. Her 
 heart began to beat rapidly — not with joy, 
 but with fright. 
 
 'Oh, Sir George, I — I never was at a 
 ball — I — I never go out — mamma would 
 never dream ' 
 
 He turned and sung across the room — 
 
 ' Mother ! ' 
 
 The lady who was addressed in this 
 homely fashion was herself far from 
 homely : she was a distinguished-looking 
 woman, with pale, refined features, and a 
 singularly intelligent and sweet expression. 
 
 ' Mother, this girl is coming to the ball
 
 48 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 on Thursday, whether she Hkes It or not, 
 I want a partner ; I insist on having a 
 partner. Get a card and Invite her — a 
 card all to herself — her name In capital 
 letters — the honour of the company of the 
 Beautiful Wretch : will that do ? ' 
 
 Lady Stratherne said nothing at all, but 
 regarded the other mother with a sort of 
 puzzled smile. 
 
 * Oh, Sir George ! ' Lady Beresford pro- 
 tested, ' it is impossible. Thank you very 
 much — but it is impossible ' 
 
 'Impossible?' he cried. * We don't 
 know what that is at the Admiralty. The 
 men who write In the newspapers expect 
 us to be able to do everything at a 
 moment's notice ; and of course they're 
 right ; and so of course we can do it. 
 And so can you ; the end of the argument 
 being that Nan is coming to our ball on
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 49 
 
 Thursday night, as I'm a Uving Dutch- 
 man.* 
 
 But the matter was not so easily- 
 settled. There was a fierce fight. It was 
 ridiculous that a school-girl, who ought to 
 be walking two and two along the Marine 
 Parade, should go to one of the big balls 
 of the London season. How could a ball- 
 dress be got ready by Thursday night ? 
 And so forth : and so forth. Sir George 
 paid no attention to all this firing of cotton 
 pellets. She was coming to the ball on 
 Thursday night, he maintained with a 
 dogged obstinacy worthy of Nelson. And 
 the end of it was that before they 
 went down to lunch it had been finally 
 agreed that Nan was to come to this 
 ball ; her mother remarking to Lady 
 Stratherne, with a sigh of resigna- 
 tion — 
 
 VOL. I. E
 
 50 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 * I can't imagine what Sir George sees 
 in that gawky child.' 
 
 Now, we have it on the best authority 
 — or what ought to be the best authority — 
 that is to say, we have it from a multitude 
 of lady- writers, that the prospect of going 
 to a first ball is one of the great joys of a 
 young girl's life. The present writer, at 
 all events, is not bold enough to impeach 
 such an array of witnesses, and will only 
 state the simple fact that in the case of 
 Nan Beresford this prospect filled her 
 mind with nothing but terror and dismay. 
 It was in all sincerity that she had be- 
 sought Sir George to let her off; though 
 she might as well have gone down on her 
 knees to the Monument. He could not 
 understand why a young girl of seventeen 
 should be really reluctant to go to a dance 
 — and a very pretty dance, too, for the
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 51 
 
 rooms were to be decorated with flags. 
 And when Nan told her mother and sisters 
 that she would far rather not go to the 
 ball, her mother fancied she was afraid 
 that her dress, being hurriedly made, 
 would not compare well with her sisters' 
 long- studied costumes, while the sisters 
 simply said to each other, ' Oh, she knows 
 she can't dance.' 
 
 There was some little truth in this last 
 remark. Although she lived in a well- 
 frequented house, where there were plenty 
 of people coming and going. Nan had 
 grown up very much apart. She had her 
 own ways and occupations, which were 
 mostly solitary. And dancing had never 
 been a favourite amusement of hers. Of 
 course, in the evening, when some young 
 people were present, there was frequently 
 a carpet-dance Improvised ; and then some-
 
 52 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 times Nan was dragged in to make up 
 a set at some square dance. She got 
 through it mechanically ; but it afforded 
 her no special pleasure ; and as for round 
 dances, she said they made her giddy, and 
 so she got excused. Giddy she said ; and 
 yet she could walk, without the slightest 
 sensation in the brain, along the extreme 
 verge of those high chalk-cliffs, to watch 
 the jackdaws, and hawks, and gulls at nest- 
 building time, and she could swing for an 
 hour in a trapeze, so long as the seat was 
 comfortable and you gave her a book to 
 read. 
 
 Not that she at all played the part of 
 Cinderella in the house. Her mother was 
 exceedingly fond of her — partly, perhaps, 
 because Nan alone took the trouble to 
 humour all her mysterious nerve-miseries ; 
 while her sisters tolerated her, though they
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 53 
 
 thought her unsocial. Even this dress, 
 when it did appear — and a thousand times 
 Nan had inwardly prayed that it might not 
 be ready in time — was quite as pretty as 
 theirs. It was very pretty indeed ; but, 
 somehow, Nan, as she regarded herself in 
 the big mirror, convinced herself that there 
 was not enough of her to carry off a ball- 
 dress. Her sisters had a certain 'pre- 
 sence ' that a grand costume became. She 
 thought she was too thin — that she looked 
 more like a school-girl than ever ; and she 
 wished that she were not freckled. When, 
 at last, she was in the carriage with the 
 others — Mr. Thomas had crone in a han- 
 som rather than ride with the coachman 
 — she said, cunningly, 
 
 * Mamma, dear, I am sure you will be 
 excited with speaking to so many old 
 friends ; and you know your nerves cannot
 
 54 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 stand it. Let me sit by you, and take as 
 much of the talk as I can. I really don't 
 care to dance. ' I would rather not dance. 
 I would far rather sit by you, mamma. 
 And I am sure it is not necessary for us 
 to stay long ; it will do you such a deal of 
 harm.' 
 
 Lady Beresford sighed. 
 
 'When one has grown-up daughters 
 ,' she said almost to herself. 
 
 * Mamma, dear,' said Nan, eagerly, 
 ' would you rather stay at home ? 
 Wouldn't you rather stay at home ? and 
 I will keep you company ' 
 
 ' Don't be silly, child,' said her eldest 
 sister. * Do you think your dress cost 
 nothing ? ' 
 
 The worst time of all was the waiting 
 in Spring Gardens, where there was a 
 block of carriages. It was all darkness,
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 55 
 
 and expectation, and the hopeless sense 
 that, being imprisoned in this slowly mov- 
 ing line, there was no escape. But when 
 they were once at the entrance, and when 
 Nan got a glimpse at the hall, her courage 
 revived wonderfully. There was such a 
 crowd of people — coming, going, waiting, 
 looking for friends, and arranging dresses 
 — that she felt that she could slip into this 
 self-interested throng, and be lost from 
 observation altogether. She began to be 
 forgetful of herself. When they were 
 going up the stairs she heard names after 
 names announced that she was quite 
 familiar with — either throuofh the news- 
 papers or through the conversation at 
 luncheon -tables ; and she was almost 
 anxious to get quickly up to have a 
 glimpse at these celebrated people. When 
 she got to the landing, she did not see
 
 56 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 Lady Stratherne at all ; for her eyes were 
 filled with wonder at the blaze of light and 
 colour beyond — the draperies of flags, and 
 masses of chandeliers — and she said, under 
 her breath, ' Oh, mamma, isn't it beauti- 
 ful ! ' The next thing she heard was 
 * Nan, dear, how well you are looking ! 
 What beautiful forget-me-nots ! ' and in a 
 startled way she found that she was shak- 
 ing hands with Lady Stratherne, whose 
 kind eyes were regarding her with a 
 momentary approval. Instinctively, how- 
 ever, she knew from the way that her 
 hostess's eyes had turned to the next 
 comers — there were far too many loiterers 
 about this landing, and Lady Stratherne 
 had enough to do to prevent a dead block 
 on the stairs — that she need not stay to 
 speak ; so she followed her mother and 
 sisters into the large, brilliantly-lit room.
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 57 
 
 Oh, how glad she was that it was crammed 
 with this dense busily-occupied crowd ! 
 She felt quite safe ; she felt happy ; she 
 was pleased that those few forget-me-nots 
 looked nice. And there was no dancing 
 at all. ' Oh, mamma, tell me who all the 
 people are,' she said. She began to con- 
 sider herself quite at home in the middle 
 of such a crowd of strangers ; she had only 
 to be delighted with the blaze of colour, 
 the brilliant costumes, the scent of flowers, 
 the wonders of diamonds. 
 
 Momentarily her great good fortune in- 
 creased. Friends of Lady Beresford began 
 to come round her ; and they made a sort 
 of circle, as it were ; and Nan found she 
 could keep herself just a little bit outside of 
 it, seeing everything, herself unseen. Her 
 cup of happiness was full. She had passed 
 the ordeal unscathed. Why, it was nothing !
 
 58 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 All the people were engaged with them- 
 selves ; there was not a sound of music ; 
 nothing but a hum of talking, and always 
 that bewildering glow of light and colour, 
 and here and there a figure and face sud- 
 denly revealing to her somebody she recog- 
 nised from photographs and portraits in the 
 illustrated papers. She was becoming 
 quite lost to herself. She could have stood 
 there for ever. She was not thinking of 
 Nan Beresford at all when 
 
 When suddenly there was a long low 
 growl from a violoncello. Her heart sank. 
 
 Almost at the same moment she saw 
 another little group — of elderly men, 
 mostly — open out at one corner of the 
 room near her ; and the next thing she 
 knew was that Sir George's keen eyes had 
 caught sight of her. He was by her side 
 in a second.
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 59 
 
 * What,' said he, ' standing all alone ? 
 Why, where 's Charley ? What's Charley 
 about ? Lady Beresford, how are you ? 
 Ah, Mary ? Edith, you are lovelier every 
 day. But where is that rascal Charley ? I 
 must find a partner for my sweetheart ' 
 
 * Oh, please, Sir George,' said Nan, with 
 her heart beating fast. 
 
 But by this time there was a noise of 
 preparatory music, and in the middle of the 
 crowd there was somethinof visible like the 
 formation of a double line. At the same 
 instant young Charley Stratherne came 
 hurriedly along, with an eagle eye for pos- 
 sible partners. Him his father instantly 
 seized. 
 
 'Where's Frank King? Go and get 
 Frank King. I want Frank King.* 
 
 And behold, Frank King was at his 
 elbow!
 
 60 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 'Sir George ?' 
 
 * Oh, that's you, Frank King. Ask this 
 young lady if she will dance with you ' 
 
 ' Come on, Frank,' said the youthful 
 M.C., in his hurried bewilderment of duty. 
 * You'll just do. Let me introduce you to 
 Miss Anne Beresford. Lieutenant King. 
 They want a couple at the other end.' 
 
 So he disappeared in the crowd ; and 
 Nan found herself in the possession of this 
 young naval officer, who seemed to take 
 matters very coolly, considering that they 
 were wanted right at the top of the spaci- 
 ous assembly-room. Happily, she heard 
 from the music that it was the Lancers 
 that was about to begin ; so she was not 
 entirely dismayed. 
 
 ' I suppose we shall get through some- 
 how,' said he, surveying the close mass of 
 people with the eye of a strategist. The
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 61 
 
 clearing of the space in the middle had 
 naturally made the surrounding crowd 
 denser. 
 
 * I think it will be difficult,' said she, 
 timidly. 
 
 'Well, we can try this end,' said he, 
 about to lead her in that direction. 
 
 *0h!' she said, very earnestly, 'I am 
 sure we shall only embarrass them if we 
 have another set at this end. And — and 
 — I am not anxious to dance the Lancers. 
 I would as soon not,' she said. 
 
 Then for the first time it seemed that 
 he turned towards her ; and as she hap- 
 pened to be looking up at him to Impress 
 on him that she would as soon not dance, 
 she instantaneously lowered her eyes and 
 sought refuge in the little scented pro- 
 gramme. 
 
 ' Perhaps,' said he, after the fifteenth
 
 62 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 part of a second, ' perhaps you would give 
 me a dance that you like better.' 
 
 Her innocent answer was to hand him 
 her programme, upon which there was as 
 yet not a scrap of writing. So, when that 
 matter was arranged, he said to her, 
 
 'Would you like to see this dance, 
 then ? It's very pretty, when you are at 
 a little distance. And I know how to 
 get to that recess there ; it's raised a few 
 inches, you know ; and I think you could 
 see.' 
 
 * Oh ! I should like that ! ' she said. 
 How grateful she was to him ! 
 
 They made their way to this side re- 
 cess, which had been built out, temporarily, 
 from the drawing-room, for the sake of 
 additional space. It was decorated with 
 trailing-plants, trained on trellis-work ; and 
 two or three circles of red candles, amid
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 63 
 
 so much green foliage, had a pretty effect. 
 There were a few people standing about 
 and looking on at the dancing, or talking ; 
 it was possible to talk, for here the music 
 was softened. 
 
 Nan's companion led her to a raised 
 bench, from which she could see very- 
 well ; but even as she sat down, and 
 while she was so glad to have been re- 
 lieved from dancing out there amid all 
 those people, she was touched by some 
 strange misgivings. It was her duty to 
 have danced. She had been presented 
 with a partner ; and if only she had not 
 shown herself reluctant, she knew very 
 well he could have found places for them. 
 Were not officers always fond of dancing ? 
 And then it suddenly occurred to her that 
 she ought to try to make him some amends. 
 She ought to entertain him with brilliant
 
 64 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 conversation, as it were. Meanwhile, what 
 was he doing ? Not thinking of her — 
 except as a booby, a child who could not 
 talk. No doubt he was looking out at all 
 those beautiful women there, and wishing 
 he was not imprisoned in this corner. 
 
 Nan timidly raised her eyes, and in- 
 stantly dropped them again. He had 
 been for the moment looking at the for- 
 get-me-nots in her hair.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE SAME. 
 
 Nan was growing desperate. Speak she 
 must, if only to let him know that she was 
 sensible of his kindness in affording her 
 this blissful relief; for she believed it was 
 entirely on her account that he had pro- 
 posed to sit out the dance. So she said, 
 wildly, 
 
 * You go to a great many balls, I sup- 
 pose ?' 
 
 ' Oh, dear no,' he said. ' I am not much 
 ashore.' 
 
 Of course. She might have known. 
 
 VOL. I. F
 
 66 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 Was there not an air of command about 
 him, young as he was ? No doubt he held 
 far too important a position to waste time 
 on idle entertainments. 
 
 * I mean earlier — as a midshipman,' she 
 stammered. * You must have been to many 
 places, and — and — I thought the life of a 
 midshipman was nothing but parties and 
 balls, along with a great deal of mischief. 
 That is what one reads, you know, about 
 the young gentlemen — always tumbling 
 into trouble, and always getting happily 
 out of it, and always amusing themselves 
 just as much as they amuse others.' 
 
 This was not so bad. Nan's face had 
 brightened ; she regarded him with her 
 clear eyes. 
 
 ■ 'You are thinking of Captain Marryat,' 
 said he, laughing. * But times have changed 
 sadly for the middy since then. It isn't all
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 67 
 
 beer and skittles now. Nowadays, the 
 poor chap can scarcely call his soul his 
 own ; and if he is going in for his Three 
 Ones ' 
 
 * I beg your pardon ; what is that ?' she 
 said, with a grave interest. 
 
 • Trifling little things,' said he, jocosely. 
 * Only first-class certificates in gunnery, 
 seamanship, and mathematics ; then, to 
 finish up with, the unhappy youth has to 
 look forward to an interview or two with 
 the hydrographer, who isn't at all a gentle- 
 man to be made a fool of.' 
 
 How was it that she knew instinctively 
 that this young ofiflcer had got his Three 
 Ones — nay, that he had carried them off 
 easily, triumphantly ? What was there in 
 his manner, or the shape of his forehead, 
 or his expression, that rendered her per- 
 fectly certain that he had nothing to
 
 68 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 fear from all the hydrographers ever 
 born ? 
 
 * Why, even in my time, I can remember 
 when the middy was allowed a good deal 
 more law,' he continued ; and now he had 
 sat down beside her, and her eyes met his 
 quite frankly. * I remember a fearful scene 
 at Cherbourg, at a ball there; that was 
 when the fleet went over, and there was a 
 great round of festivities. Well, this ball, 
 I think, was given by the Mayor — I am 
 not quite sure ; but, at all events, the mid- 
 shipmites were invited with the rest, and 
 those who could get leave went of course. 
 Well, we had the run of the refreshment- 
 room, and we used it. There was far too 
 much champagne, and all our seniors were 
 in the ball-room, — the Duke of Somerset, 
 and the whole of them, — so we set to work 
 to chaff the waiters in unknown tongues.
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 69 
 
 Anything more patient or friendly than 
 the conduct of these amiable creatures I 
 never saw. They entirely entered into 
 the spirit of the thing, and grinned and 
 nodded in high glee when we inquired 
 about their mothers and sisters — in Eng- 
 lish, of course ; and then we tried bad 
 French on them, and Welsh, with a 
 touch of Lancashire thrown in ; and then 
 they grinned all the more, and shrugged 
 their shoulders. My chum Greville was the 
 worst, I think ; he kept asking for all sorts 
 of ridiculous things, and was very angry 
 when he couldn't get them. '' Avez-vous 
 du vin de Cockalorum f " he asked of one 
 fellow : of course Greville spoke real true- 
 blue English-French, ''Coque-a-lorrrrmeT^ 
 said the waiter. " Je crois que non, Mon- 
 sieur ." "■ Pourquoi navez vous pas 
 
 du vin de Cockalorum f said Greville, with
 
 70 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 great indignation. " Cest tine chose vions- 
 triieuse. Nous somines les invitds de la 
 grande nation Fraizcaise ; nous sonnnes les 
 officiers de sa Majestd la Reine d' Angle- 
 terre ; et vous staves pas du vin de Cocka- 
 lorum ! " There was enough of other wine, 
 at all events,' added Frank King. ' I am 
 afraid there was a good deal of headache 
 next morning among the younger officers 
 of her Majesty's fleet:' 
 
 ^Weren't you afraid,' said Nan, who 
 had forgotten what shyness was by this 
 time ; ' weren't you afraid the French might 
 be tempted to take a mean advantage and 
 capture the fleet bodily ?' 
 
 ' It would have been no more mean 
 advantage,' said he, with a laugh, ' than 
 we used to take in fighting them when 
 they were sea-sick.' 
 
 ' Sailors sea-sick ?' she exclaimed.
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 71 
 
 ' Yes, that's just where it was,' he said, 
 and the friendly interest he displayed in 
 this young lady was very wonderful. Al- 
 ready they seemed to have known each 
 other for a quite indefinite time. ' Mind 
 you, people laugh nowadays at the old 
 belief that one English sailor was as good 
 as seven French ones. But it was quite 
 true ; and the explanation is simple enough. 
 The fact was that the English kept such a 
 strict blockade of the French ports that the 
 French sailors never had a proper chance 
 of finding their sea legs. They never got 
 out. When they did come out they had to 
 fight ; and how can you expect a sea-sick 
 man to fio:ht ? But I was talkino^ of that 
 chum of mine, Grevllle. He was the cool- 
 est hand I ever came across. Once he and 
 I — when we were mids, you know — had to 
 go down by rail from Genoa to Spezia '
 
 72 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 At this moment the music slowly ceased ; 
 and the kaleidoscopic groups out there, 
 that had been going through all sorts of 
 interminglings and combinations, lost co- 
 hesion, as it were, and melted away into the 
 murmuring and amorphous crowd. Miss 
 Nan knew very well that she ought now to 
 return to her mamma ; but how was she to 
 break in upon this story ? When one has 
 already begun to tell you something, more 
 particularly when that something is about 
 himself and an old companion — and espe- 
 cially if you do not wish to be perplexed 
 with invitations to dance — it is not polite 
 to Interrupt. 
 
 So the young lieutenant, taking no notice 
 whatever of the cessation of the dancing, 
 continued his story, and told several more, 
 which Miss Nan found intensely interesting 
 — so absorbing, indeed, that she met the
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 73 
 
 eyes of her companion without any abash- 
 ment, and frequently laughed in her low, 
 quiet way. These two seemed very friendly, 
 and heedless of what was going on around 
 them ; and might, in fact, have continued 
 talking for a quite indefinite time had not, 
 all of a sudden, Charley Stratherne come 
 up, followed by a tall man with a long 
 yellow beard ; and before Nan knew what 
 had happened, she was being led away to 
 pierce the great throng that had now 
 grown very dense indeed, a waltz having 
 already begun. As for the young lieuten- 
 ant, he somewhat abruptly declined his 
 friend's offer to find him a partner. 
 
 ' You have plenty of dancing men ; there 
 won't be room to move shortly.' 
 
 Charley Stratherne was too busy to stay 
 and ask why his friend refused to dance, 
 and would not even remain in the ball-
 
 74 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 room ; the next second he was off. Then 
 the young lieutenant managed to make his 
 way through the crowd to the door ; and 
 as there were still plenty of people arriving, 
 he succeeded in passing his hostess unob- 
 served and making his way downstairs. 
 
 He entered the brilliantly-decorated but 
 quite empty supper room, and sat down. 
 One of the servants happened to come in 
 and stared at him. 
 
 ' Look here,' said he, ' could you get 
 me an evening paper?' 
 
 * Oh yes, sir,' said the man : and he went off 
 and speedily returned with the newspaper. 
 
 Frank King sat down, turned his back 
 to the table, and was soon all by himself in 
 this long chamber, apparently deeply ab- 
 sorbed in the evening's news. What he 
 really was doing, however, was listening to 
 the music overhead.
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 75 
 
 Meanwhile, Nan got through the waltz 
 somehow. The crush was so great that 
 her partner, who was not much of a pilot, 
 generally succeeded in steering her into 
 some little side bay, where they came slowly 
 to rest by mere friction, or else landed her 
 right in the middle of the room, where 
 there was a throng of unskilful dancers 
 become stationary in spite of themselves. 
 At last she was surrendered again to 
 her mother's care. 
 
 'Well, Nan,' said Lady Beresford, with 
 an amused look, ' how did you get on ? ' 
 
 ' You mean how much did I get off ? ' 
 said she. ' I believe I'm all in rags. And 
 that elephant of a man bumped me against 
 every person in the room.' 
 
 Here the Admiral came along — bustling 
 as was his wont, talking to everybody at 
 the same time, and invariably putting his
 
 76 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 hand on the shoulder of those whom he 
 knew best, to give effect to his speech. 
 
 ' Well, well, my girl,' he said, ' how did 
 you like your partner ? Did he amuse 
 you ? Did he compliment you on the roses 
 in your cheeks — ah, that's the Brighton 
 air, that is.' 
 
 * Oh, if you mean Lieutenant King,' said 
 Nan, without any hesitation or embarrass- 
 ment, * I think he is very amusing indeed 
 — very. And very clever, too, is he not?' 
 
 'Oh, yes, he's a smart young fellow — a 
 smart young fellow is Frank King. We've 
 had an eye on him for some time back.' 
 
 ' I should say now,' remarked Nan, with 
 a wise air, 'that he had got his Three 
 Ones ?' 
 
 The Admiral stared at her, and then 
 burst out laughing. 
 
 * You young impertinence ! What do
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 77 
 
 you know about the Three Ones? He 
 had got his certificates before he was one- 
 and-twenty. But here, I will tell you some- 
 thing.' 
 
 He took her a step aside. 
 
 * Hush, now — hush-sh. It is a State 
 secret. Don't say a word. But I'll tell 
 you what we're going to do with Frank 
 King to-morrow ; we're going to give him 
 the command of the Fly-by-Night. What 
 do you think of that for a lieutenant of five- 
 and-twenty ? ' 
 
 * If he has relatives, I suppose they will 
 be very proud,' said Nan. 
 
 ' Relatives ? Don't you know the Kings 
 of Kingscourt ? But there now, I mustn't 
 keep you talking ; I suppose you're engaged 
 for every dance. Mind you are down at 
 supper while I'm there; I will drink a glass 
 of wine to the roses in your cheeks '
 
 78 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 And so he was off again before she could 
 say, as she greatly wished to say — ' Oh, Sir 
 George, I would rather talk to you than 
 have to do any more dancing. Surely 
 there are enough people dancing.' 
 
 Then she looked round the room for 
 some considerable time. At last she said 
 to herself, contentedly, 
 
 * Yes, I thought he was too clever look- 
 ing to care about dancing, and I don't 
 wonder he has gone home. But it would 
 have been nice if I had had the chance to 
 tell him he was going to have the com- 
 mand of the Fly-by-Night.'
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE SAME. 
 
 The night passed quickly, and amid all this 
 bewilderment of music and dancing and 
 introductions, Nan very soon forgot even 
 the existence of the young Lieutenant 
 whose acquaintance she had made. More- 
 over, the succession of these rapid excite- 
 ments left no room for anything resembling 
 stage-fright — although, it is true, each time 
 the band began anew she felt a little throb. 
 But Lady Stratherne, who had now all 
 her guests assembled, was so indefatigable 
 in seeing that Nan should not be left ne- 
 glected, and the dancing in this crowd was
 
 80 THE BE A UTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 so much a matter of experiment and acci- 
 dent, and the fact that she was introduced 
 to one or two partners who seemed no more 
 expert than herself, was so reassuring, that 
 on the whole Nan was very much delighted 
 in her demure way, and that delight showed 
 itself in her face and in her clear, bright 
 eyes. Her hair was a little wild, and she 
 had lost some of her forget-me-nots, and 
 there were one or two flying tags that had 
 got dissociated from the skirt of her dress ; 
 but was not that all part of the play ? Nan's 
 cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were 
 pleased and bright ; the only thing that 
 troubled her in this whirl of excitement was 
 an occasional qualm about her mother. 
 Had she not promised to keep the poor 
 mamma company ? But a time would 
 come, and then she would make amends 
 by being particularly affectionate.
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 81 
 
 The time did come. On consulting the 
 programme Nan found opposite the next 
 dance a scrawl that might be made out to 
 be ' F. H. King;' and then she bethought 
 herself of the young sailor. Well, he had 
 left. That was very opportune. She 
 would devote the time of this dance to 
 her mother, and take her into the tea-room, 
 and ask which of her old friends she had 
 met, and even offer to go home with her if 
 she felt fatigued. 
 
 * Mamma,' she said to Lady Beresford, 
 * don't you think I've done enough ? Eng- 
 land can't expect you to do more than your 
 duty, even with all those flags overhead. 
 Come away, and I will get you some tea, 
 though what would be better for you still 
 would be some B. and S.' 
 
 ' Nan, how dare you !' said her mother, 
 angrily, and glancing round at the same 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 82 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 time. ' You may use such expressions, if 
 you like, when you are with your brother. 
 Pray don't disgrace the whole family when 
 you are elsewhere.' 
 
 'Mamma, dear,' said Nan, contritely, 'it is 
 madness, pure madness. The excitement 
 of my first ball has got into my brain ' 
 
 * Into your what? ' said her mother, with 
 a smile. Nan, and Nan alone, could pacify 
 her in a second. 
 
 At the same moment the band began 
 again ; and somehow Nan, looking up, 
 found before her some one who was no 
 other than the young Lieutenant she had 
 met at the beginning of the evening. She 
 was somewhat bewildered by this Jack-in- 
 the-box sort of appearance. 
 
 ' I think you promised me this next 
 dance, Miss Beresford,' said he. He was 
 a grave-looking young man for his years —
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 83 
 
 a Corsican Brother — the Ghost in Hamlet. 
 She did not know what to make of him. 
 
 ' I thought you had left,' she stammered. 
 'You have not been dancing?' 
 
 * No, I have not been dancing,' he re- 
 peated. 
 
 * I will come back to you soon, mamma,' 
 she said, and she put her hand on his arm, 
 and moved away with him. 
 
 * The fact is,' said he, ' I don't like much 
 being introduced to strangers. Most girls 
 stare at you so, with a sort of hold-off air, 
 and it is so difficult to get on pleasant and 
 friendly terms with them.' 
 
 ' I should not have thought you were so 
 shy,' said Nan, with an honest laugh. 
 He flushed a little, and said — 
 ' If you've lived most of your life on 
 board ship, you may feel a little bit awk- 
 ward ; but mind,' he added with some
 
 84 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 eagerness, ' sometimes, not often (once in 
 half a dozen years, maybe) you meet with a 
 girl who is quite different from the others, 
 quite different. You know it at once from 
 her manner, and you can make friends with 
 her with the greatest ease, simply because 
 she is intelligent and quick in appreciation, 
 and not affected in her ways, or stiff.' 
 
 This eager encomium passed upon an 
 imaginary person struck Nan as being 
 somewhat out of place ; for the waltz had 
 already begun, and she wanted to get back to 
 her mamma : whereas this Lieutenant King 
 seemed to wish to stand there and talk to her. 
 
 ' Of course, that's special good luck for 
 a sailor,' said he with a smile, ' to be able 
 to make friends in a short time ; for it's 
 only a short time he has. Ashore to-day, 
 and off to-morrow again ; and what's worse, 
 out of sicrht out of mind.'
 
 THE BE A UTIFUL WRETCH. 85 
 
 ' Oh, not always,' said Nan, cheerfully. 
 
 ' Oh yes. It is,' he said ; ' people on shore 
 are too much concerned among themselves 
 to think about the people away at sea. 
 Why, you yourself now; after you leave this 
 house to-night you will completely forget 
 that there are such things as either ships or 
 sailors until you come back here to another 
 ball, and then the bunting will remind you.' 
 
 ' Now there you are quite wrong,' said 
 she firmly, ' for I see ships and sailors every 
 day of my life.' 
 
 ' Why, how is that ? ' he exclaimed with 
 great interest. 
 
 ' We live in Brighton,' said Nan simply, 
 ' and I walk a good deal along the downs 
 towards Newhaven, you know. The ships 
 are a good way off, generally ; still, you watch 
 them, and you are interested in them.' 
 
 'You walk along the downs between
 
 86 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 Brighton and Newhaven?' he said, as if 
 that was an extraordinary matter. 'Alone ? ' 
 
 ' Usually.' 
 
 ' When I am passing I will look out for 
 you ; I will imagine that I can see you.' 
 
 Nan thought this was idle talk, so she 
 said with a smile, 
 
 * Shall we give up this dance too ? The 
 fact is, I want to take mamma and get her 
 some tea, or an ice, or something.' 
 
 *0h, don't do that!' said he, eagerly; 
 'introduce me to her, and I will take you 
 both down to supper. There are some 
 people there already ' 
 
 * But I must not go down — not yet,' said 
 Nan, remembering her youth. 
 
 'Why not?' said he boldly. ' I know Lady 
 Stratherne well enough for anything. Why, 
 nothing could be more natural. Of course 
 you will come down with your mamma.'
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 87 
 
 ' I'm very hungry, and that's the truth,' 
 said Nan ; ' for I was too excited or fright- 
 ened to think about dinner. But if I went 
 down now, wouldn't they think it was a 
 Httle bit ' 
 
 She was about to say * cheeky,' but she 
 remembered in time that this was not her 
 brother. He broke in abruptly — 
 
 ' Never mind what any one thinks ; come 
 away, Miss Beresford, and introduce me to 
 your mamma.' 
 
 Then he looked at the various couples 
 rapidly moving round that open space to 
 the sound of the seductive music, and he 
 said, rather wistfully — 
 
 * Don't you think we might have one 
 turn ? I shall not dance again this evening.' 
 
 ' Oh yes, certainly, if you wish it,' she 
 said, quite blithely ; and she gave him her 
 fan to hold, and arranged her train, and a
 
 88 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 couple of seconds thereafter they were lost 
 in that slowly circling whirlpool of muslin 
 and silk and satin. 
 
 When they came out of it again he was 
 introduced to Lady Beresford, and although 
 he was quite anxiously humble and cour- 
 teous to the elder lady, he would hear of 
 nothing but that she and Nan should forth- 
 with go downstairs to supper. By and by 
 there would be too great a crush. It was 
 a kindness to Lady Stratherne to go before 
 everybody else wanted a place. And Miss 
 Anne was hungry, which was a great matter. 
 
 Lady Beresford looked at Nan, but that 
 young lady was unconscious. The end of 
 it was that these three very speedily found 
 themselves below, in the supper room, where 
 as yet there were only a number of elderly 
 people who had grown tired of the duties 
 of chaperoning. And they had scarcely
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 89 
 
 sat down when Frank King, who was most 
 assiduous in his attentions to Lady Beres- 
 ford, and scarcely saw Nan at all, discovered 
 that the mamma knew certain relatives of 
 his, and knew all about his own family, and 
 had even on one occasion visited Kings- 
 court a good many years ago. Lady Beres- 
 ford was very kind to him. He was a 
 pleasant- mannered, clever- looking young 
 man, and he had a distinguished air that 
 lent value to the little courtesies he paid. 
 She even said, as they were talking of 
 chance meetings and the like, that she 
 would be glad if he called on them while 
 she and her daughters were in London. 
 
 * May I be allowed to call on you at 
 Brighton, some day, Lady Beresford.'* ' he 
 said quickly. * The fact is, my leave is 
 out ; I have to rejoin my ship at Ports- 
 mouth to-morrow.'
 
 90 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 At this Nan pricked up her ears. She 
 suddenly remembered that to her had been 
 entrusted the covert intelligence of his pro- 
 motion. But was it necessary it should be 
 kept so great a secret, she asked herself, 
 rather breathlessly, and with her heart be- 
 ginning to beat quickly ? If he were to 
 know on the morrow, why not now? It 
 would make him very happy ; it would in- 
 deed add a few hours of happiness to his 
 life ; and surely Sir George Stratherne, 
 who was the very soul of kindness, would 
 rather approve ? 
 
 Well, she let these two talk on for a 
 time; she wished to be discreet; she wished 
 to be less nervous. For was it not a great 
 event in the career of a young man ? And 
 how might he take it ? She said to her- 
 self, * The old monarchs used to kill the 
 messengers who brought them bad news.
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 91 
 
 and they used to give heaps of presents to 
 those who brought them good news. I 
 am glad I shall be able to tell him of his 
 promotion, for he has been so excessively 
 kind to mamma.* 
 
 She waited her opportunity. 
 
 * Oh, Lieutenant King, do you know a 
 ship called the Fly -by -Night?' she said, 
 quite casually, and in an off-hand way. 
 
 ' Yes,' he said, regarding her with some 
 surprise. ' She's what they call a school- 
 brig — a training -brig. I think she's at 
 Plymouth.' 
 
 * A training-brig ?' said Nan, innocently. 
 * Then they want a clever officer, I sup- 
 pose, to be in command of a training-brig.' 
 
 * Yes, they want a smart fellow,' said 
 he, without any great interest ; and he was 
 about to turn to Lady Beresford again 
 when Nan continued —
 
 92 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 ' Would it — would it surprise you if you 
 heard you were to be transferred to the 
 Fly-by-Nightr 
 
 * I shouldn't like to hear of it,' said he, 
 laughing ; ' I am satisfied where I am.' 
 
 * But I mean to command her.' 
 
 * I'm afraid that's a long way off yet,' 
 said he, lightly. 
 
 ' Oh no, it isn't,' said Nan timorously. 
 * I am sure it is no great secret — you will 
 know to-morrow — you are to be appointed 
 to-morrow to the command of the Fly-by- 
 
 Night: 
 
 His face flushed a deep red. 
 
 'You are joking, Miss Beresford.' 
 
 ' Oh no, I am not,' said Nan, hastily. 
 ' Sir George told me to-night ; I am not 
 
 joking at all Captain King,' said she, 
 
 at a wild venture. 
 
 For an instant she saw his under lip
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 93 
 
 quiver. He sat quite silent. Then he 
 said — 
 
 * That is Sir George's doing — if it is 
 possible.' 
 
 He had scarcely uttered the words when 
 the Admiral himself appeared, bringing in 
 a little old lady with a portentous head- 
 dress. Nan instantly conjectured that she 
 must be a dowager-duchess, for she thought 
 that no one but a dowager-duchess would 
 dare to wear such a thing. 
 
 Sir George paused as he passed them. 
 
 * Hillo, here's my sweetheart. I told 
 you I wanted to drink a glass of wine 
 with you. Doing your duty, Frank King } 
 When's your leave out ?' 
 
 ' I am going down to Portsmouth to- 
 morrow, Sir George.' 
 
 'No, no ; you'll have a message from 
 the Admiralty to-morrow. I didn't see
 
 94 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 you dancing to-night ; you young fellows 
 are getting lazy.' 
 
 He passed on. Nan looked triumphantly 
 across the corner of the table. Frank King 
 said — lausfhinof off his embarrassment — 
 
 * I have a vague impression that I ought 
 to thank you for it, Miss Beresford ; and I 
 don't know how. I hope it is true. They 
 never gave me a hint of it. You would 
 have thought Charley Stratherne would 
 have known.' 
 
 ' It was very imprudent of my daughter,' 
 said Lady Beresford, severely, ' to mention 
 such a thing ; but Sir George makes a pet 
 of her, and I hope no harm has been done.' 
 
 Frank King warmly protested. How- 
 could any harm be done ? And he re- 
 doubled his attentions to Lady Beresford. 
 Not only that, but when they returned to 
 the ball-room he was very anxious to be
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 95 
 
 introduced to Nan's sisters, and was most 
 polite to them, though he did not ask them 
 for a dance. Moreover, he got hold of 
 Charley Stratherne, and through him made 
 the acquaintance of Mr. Tom Beresford ; 
 and these three, having g,djourned for a 
 time to a certain remote snuggery where 
 were sherry and soda and cigarettes, Frank 
 King was quite content to accept from 
 Mr. Tom hints concerning things about 
 town. There was in especial a famous 
 * lion comique ' — the Great Dunse, or the 
 Jolly Ass, or some such creature — about 
 whom Mr. Tom was much exercised ; and 
 Frank King professed himself quite in- 
 terested in hearing about this person. 
 The grave young Lieutenant was indeed 
 extraordinarily complaisant this evening. 
 He was unusually talkative — when he was 
 not a most attentive listener. You would
 
 96 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 have thought that he had acquired a sud- 
 den admiration for the brilHant social 
 qualities of Mr. Tom, and that he had 
 never heard such good stories before. 
 
 Well, the Beresfords left about three ; 
 and that was the end of Nan's first ball. 
 On the whole she had every reason to be 
 pleased. She had acquitted herself fairly- 
 well ; she had gratified the soft-hearted old 
 Admiral ; she hadn't fallen in love with any- 
 body ; and she had seen a number of cele- 
 brated persons in whom she was interested. 
 She thought she had done a kindness, too,, 
 in telling Lieutenant King beforehand of 
 his appointment. 
 
 She was surprised, however, and a little 
 bit annoyed when, on the afternoon of the 
 next day but one, her brother Tom brought 
 in this same Frank King to five o'clock 
 tea. He said, with something of a blush,
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 97 
 
 that he wished to tell her that her news 
 had been true ; he had heard from the 
 Admiralty that morning, and he wished 
 to thank her. Nan was somewhat cold in 
 her manner ; she had thought with some 
 pride that he was not like the other gentle- 
 men who came about the house in the 
 afternoon. She had seen enough of them 
 and their idleness, and aimless flirtations, 
 and languid airs. She had taken Frank 
 King to be of firmer stuff, and not likely 
 to waste his time at afternoon teas. 
 
 He was kind and polite enough, no 
 doubt, and he distributed his attentions in 
 the most impartial manner — even includ- 
 ing two young lady visitors to whom he 
 was introduced ; but Nan seized an early 
 opportunity of slipping away to her own 
 room, where she resumed certain very seri- 
 ous studies that occupied her mind at this 
 
 VOL. I. H
 
 98 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 time. When she came downstairs again 
 Lieutenant King was gone. 
 
 On the following day her holiday ended, 
 and she went down to Brighton. Many a 
 time she thought of the ball, and always 
 with a pleasurable recollection. When, 
 however, she happened to think of Frank 
 King — and it was seldom — it was always 
 with a slight touch of disappointment. No 
 doubt his leave was extended ; probably he 
 was still in town, and repeating those after- 
 noon calls in Bruton Street. As for Nan, 
 she honestly did not care to which train of 
 admirers he might attach himself — whether 
 he was to be Mary's captive or Edith's 
 slave. But she was disappointed. 
 
 ' I did think he was a little bit different 
 from the others,' she would say to herself; 
 and then she would turn to Mr. Lockyer's 
 last discoveries in spectrum analysis.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS. 
 
 'Nan, do you see that ship out there?' 
 said Mary Beresford. 
 
 * I saw it as I came along, said Nan. 
 This was the afternoon on which she had 
 fallen in with Singing Sal. Nan was rather 
 tired after her long walk, and was not in- 
 clined to show much interest in that now 
 lessening vessel, which was slowly sinking 
 into the dusk of the west. 
 
 * Do you know what her name is ?' said 
 Mary Beresford, still regarding her younger 
 sister.
 
 100 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 * No,' said Nan. ' I heard people say- 
 she was a man-of-war.' 
 
 * That is the Fly-by-Night: 
 
 ' Oh, indeed,' said Nan, with no greater 
 interest than before. 
 
 'And Lieutenant King has just called 
 here,' the elder sister said, pointedly. 
 
 ' Oh, indeed,' said Nan. ' I wish I had 
 been in ; I should like to have seen him in 
 uniform.' 
 
 That was all she said, and all she 
 thought ; for now there were far more 
 serious things than ball-rooms and young 
 lieutenants occupying Nan's attention. She 
 and her sisters were going abroad — she 
 for the first time ; and she was busy with 
 foreign languages, and lives of the great 
 painters, and catalogues, and guide-books, 
 and dressing-cases. The world she hoped 
 to plunge into on the following week was,
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 101 
 
 in her imagination, composed of nothing 
 but cathedrals and picture-galleries ; and 
 she could have wished that the picture- 
 galleries might contain nothing but the 
 labours of Botticelli and Andrea del Sarto. 
 The clear ethereal beauty and tenderness 
 of the one, the solemn thoughtfulness of 
 the other : these were things that filled 
 her mind with a mysterious gladness, as if 
 something had been added to her own life. 
 Rubens she cordially hated. Of Titian she 
 had as yet seen hardly anything. 
 
 At last the wonderful day of setting out 
 arrived, and Mr, Tom graciously consented 
 to accompany his sisters as far as New- 
 haven. It was towards the afternoon that 
 they started, in an open carriage, the maid 
 on the box beside the coachman. Tom 
 was making facetious remarks about south- 
 west gales, and his two elder sisters were
 
 102 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 angrily remonstrating with him. Nan was 
 silent. She had not a thought for the ships 
 and sailors out there, or for any pensive 
 young officer bitterly saying to himself that 
 out of sight was out of mind ; and she had 
 forgotten for a moment all about Singing 
 Sal and her free-and-easy ways. Nan's 
 mind was at this time filled with Dante, 
 and Florence, and the young Raphael, and 
 the Doge wedding the Adriatic, and Pom- 
 peii, and Savonarola, and goodness knows 
 what else. When they reached Newhaven 
 — when they forced her to descend from 
 the carriage — her eyes had a bewildered 
 look. She had not seen Newhaven at all. 
 She had been watching the execution of 
 Savonarola — she standing in the middle of 
 the great crowd in a square in Florence. 
 
 They stayed the night at the hotel at 
 Newhaven. Next morning falsified all
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 103 
 
 Mr. Tom's malicious forecasts ; the weather 
 was fine, and they had a smooth passage 
 across. In due time they reached Paris. 
 
 To Nan, Paris meant picture-galleries. 
 The streets were new- looking, non- his- 
 torical, filled with common-place people ; 
 but in the picture-galleries she was with 
 great names, in great times. 
 
 'Nan,' her sisters remonstrated, 'what 
 is the use of dawdling over pictures like 
 this ? The Old Masters are all alike. 
 There are plenty of Holy Families and 
 broken-necked angels in England. Why 
 don't you put off all this till you get back 
 to the National Gallery ?' 
 
 Fortunately, Nan was the most biddable 
 of companions. She seemed to be in 
 dreamland. You could do what you liked 
 with her if only you allowed her to gaze 
 with her great eyes, and think, and be silent.
 
 104 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 Now it is unnecessary to follow in detail 
 the various journeyings and adventures of 
 these three young ladies and their maid ; we 
 may pass on to a certain evening when they 
 found themselves in Lucerne. It was an 
 exceedingly hot evening ; and after dinner 
 the crowd in this great hotel had been glad 
 to pour out into the spacious verandah, 
 which was formed by a succession of arches 
 all hanging with evergreens. There they 
 formed little groups round the small tables, 
 lit up by the orange glow streaming out 
 from the windows of the hotel, some taking 
 coffee, some smoking, all chatting idly. 
 
 ' It feels like thunder,' said Mary Beres- 
 ford to her sister Edith. * It would be odd 
 if we were to have a real thunderstorm just 
 after listeninsf to the imitation one in the 
 Cathedral. ' 
 
 * The vox humana stop is better at some
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 105 
 
 things than at others,' said Miss Edith, 
 critically. ' In the chanting the boys' 
 voices are good, and the tenor voices are 
 good ; but the bass is too musical. You 
 hear that it is the organ. And it vibrates 
 too much.' 
 
 * They must make a good deal of money 
 by it,' said the elder sister, * in the tourist 
 season. I am sure there were a hundred 
 people there.' 
 
 ' I wish I knew the name of the piece. 
 I should like to try one or two of the airs.' 
 
 * It was considerate of them to finish up 
 in time to let us get back for the table 
 d'hote! 
 
 * Sooner or later that organ will shake 
 the Cathedral to bits : the vibrations were 
 fearful. I thought there was a great deal 
 too much noise. You lose effect when you 
 pile up the agony like that : people only
 
 lOG THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 want to stop their ears to prevent their 
 heads being spHt.' 
 
 So they chatted on. But what was it 
 that Nan, who had accompanied them, had 
 heard as she sat in the great, empty, 
 dimly-ht Cathedral, with her hands clasped, 
 her head bent forward on them, her eyes 
 closed ? Or, rather, what was it that she 
 saw ? — for this seemed to be a picture in 
 music. She saw a small chapel far away 
 up in the mountains, the trembling red 
 rays in the windows looking strange above 
 the snow. She heard the monks at their 
 midnight chanting — low, and sad, and dis- 
 tant. And then it seemed, as she listened, 
 as if the stars overhead were being blurred 
 out, and a murmuring wind came down the 
 gorge, and the air grew cold. The dark- 
 ness deepened ; the wind rose and moaned 
 through the pine forests ; then an angry
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 107 
 
 gust swept along, so that the intoning of 
 the monks was lost altoo-ether. There was 
 a rumble of distant thunder — overhead, 
 among the unseen peaks. But still, un- 
 conscious of the threatening storm, those 
 within the small building went on with their 
 holy office, and there were snatches of the 
 clear singing of boys — so faint that you 
 could scarcely hear ; and again the strong, 
 sad, sombre voices of the men. Then the 
 tempest broke, fierce and terrible : the 
 elements seemed mingled together. She 
 lost sight of the chapel in the whirling 
 snow ; the heavens rattled overhead ; and 
 the wind swept down so that the whole 
 earth trembled. A horror of wrath and 
 darkness has overwhelmed the world ; and 
 what of the patient choristers now ? No 
 longer are their voices heard amid the ap- 
 palling fury of the hurricane ; the sudden
 
 108 THE BE A UTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 lightning-flash reveals nothing in the black- 
 ness ; the powers of evil have overcome ; 
 and the universe has lost its hope. But 
 now there comes a lull ; and suddenly — far 
 away, and faint, and triumphant — rises the 
 song of reliance and joy. The demons of 
 the night mutter and moan ; but the divine 
 sonof rises clearer and more clear. It is 
 the voice of faith, silver-toned and sweet ; 
 and the very heavens themselves seem to 
 listen ; and the thunders rumble away into 
 the valleys ; and the stars, shining, and 
 calm, and benignant, come out again over 
 the mountain-peaks. And lo ! once more 
 she can descry the faint red rays above the 
 snow ; and she can almost see the chor- 
 isters within the little building; and she 
 listens to the silver-clear song ; and her 
 heart is filled with a strauQ-e new gladness 
 and trust. What must she do to keep it
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 109 
 
 there for ever ? By what signal self-sacri- 
 fice — by what devotion of a whole life-time 
 • — by what patient and continuous duty — 
 shall she secure to herself this divine peace, 
 so that the storms and terrors and trials of 
 the world may sweep by it powerless and 
 unregarded ? 
 
 When she rose and blindly followed her 
 sisters, she was all trembling, and there 
 was a great lump in her throat. She was, 
 indeed, in that half-hysterical state in which 
 rash resolves are sometimes made that may 
 determine the course of a human life. But 
 Nan had the sense to know that she was 
 in this state ; and she had enough firmness 
 of character to enable her to reason with 
 herself. She walked, silent, with her sisters 
 from the Cathedral to the hotel ; and she 
 was reasoning with herself all the time. 
 She was saying to herself that she had had
 
 110 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 a glimpse, an impression of something 
 divinely beautiful and touching, that at 
 some time or other might influence or even 
 determine her course of life. When that 
 time came she could remember. But not 
 now — not now. She was not going to 
 resolve to become a Catholic, or join a 
 sisterhood, or give herself up to the service 
 of the poor, merely because this wonderful 
 music had filled her heart with emotion. 
 It was necessary that she should think of 
 something hard and practical — something 
 that would be the embodiment of common 
 sense. She would force herself to think of 
 that. And, casting about, she determined 
 to think — about Singing Sal ! 
 
 It was rather hard upon Sal, who had a 
 touch of vanity, and was quite conscious of 
 what she deemed the romantic side of her 
 way of life, that she should be taken as the
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. Ill 
 
 sort of incarnation of the prosaic. Never- 
 theless, all through that table d'hote dinner, 
 Nan kept to her self-imposed task, and was 
 busying herself about the wages of the 
 coastguardsmen, and the probable cost of 
 mackerel, and the chances of Sal's having 
 to face a westerly squall of wind and rain 
 when she was breasting the steep hill rising 
 from Newhaven. Was Sal singing that 
 night before the Old Ship ? Or was she 
 in the little cul-de-sac near the Town -hall 
 where the public-house was that the fisher- 
 men called in at on their way home ? Nan 
 was apparently dining at the table d'hote of 
 a hotel in Lucerne ; but in reality she spent 
 that evening in Brighton. 
 
 And she was still thinking of Brighton 
 when, as has been related, there was 
 a migration from the dining -saloon to 
 the verandah outside ; so that she did
 
 112 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 not hear much of what her sisters were 
 saying. 
 
 * We are certainly going to have a real 
 thunderstorm after the imitation one,' Miss 
 Beresford repeated. * Do you hear that ? ' 
 
 There was a low rumble of thunder ; 
 likewise some pattering of rain -drops on 
 the leaves outside. 
 
 * It won't be half as fine though,' said 
 the musical sister. 
 
 There was a sudden white flash of light 
 that revealed in a surprising manner the 
 sharp outline of Pilatus ; then darkness 
 and a crashing peal of thunder. The rain 
 began to pour ; and some passers by took 
 shelter under the densely- foliaged trees 
 fronting the gravelled terrace of the hotel. 
 The light that came through the tall 
 windows fell on those dark figures ; but 
 dimly.
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 113 
 
 Nan had been thinking so much of 
 Brighton, and Sal, and the downs, and 
 ships and sailors, that when this orange 
 glow fell on a gentleman whom she thought 
 she recognised as Lieutenant Frank King 
 she was scarcely astonished. She looked 
 hard through the dusk; yes, surely it was 
 he. 
 
 ' Mary, ' she said, but without any great 
 interest, ' isn't that Lieutenant King stand- 
 ing by that farthest tree ? ' 
 
 The eldest sister also peered through 
 the obscurity. 
 
 ' Well, yes, it is. What an extraordinary 
 thing ! Oh, I remember, he said he was 
 going abroad. But what a curious coinci- 
 dence ! Why don't you go and speak to 
 him, Nan?' 
 
 * Why should I go and speak to him ? ' 
 said Nan. ' I should only get wet.' 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 114 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 ' What can have brought him here ? ' 
 said Edith. 
 
 ' Not his ship, at all events,' said Mary 
 Beresford, smartly. ' It's only Shakspeare 
 who can create seaports inland.' 
 
 ' You ought to know better than that,' 
 said Nan with some asperity, for she was. 
 very valiant in protecting her intellectual 
 heroes against the attacks of a flippant 
 criticism. * You ought to know that at one 
 time the Kingdom of Bohemia had sea- 
 ports on the Adriatic : every school-girl 
 knows that nowadays.' 
 
 ' They didn't when I was at school,' 
 said Mary Beresford. * But aren't you 
 going to speak to Lieutenant King, Nan }' 
 
 * Oh, he won't want to be bothered with 
 a lot of girls,' said Nan ; and she refused 
 to stir. 
 
 A few seconds thereafter, though there
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 115 
 
 was still an occasional flash of lightning, 
 the rain slackened somewhat ; and the 
 young Lieutenant — who was clad in a 
 travelling- suit of gray, by- the -way, and 
 looked remarkably like the other young 
 Englishmen loitering about the front of the 
 hotel — emerged from his shelter, shook the 
 rain-drops from his sleeves, and passed on 
 into the dark. 
 
 The very next morning the Beresfords 
 left Lucerne for Zurich. They stayed 
 there three days — Nan busy all the time in 
 teaching herself how to propel a boat with 
 two oars, her face to the bow ; and she 
 liked to practise most in moonlight. Then 
 they left Zurich one afternoon, and made 
 their way southward into the mountainous 
 region adjacent to the sombre Wallensee. 
 The stormy sunset deepened and died out ; 
 rain, rain, rain pursued them all the way to
 
 116 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 Chur. They got to their hotel there hi an 
 omnibus that jolted through the mud and 
 the darkness. 
 
 But next morning, when Nan Beresford 
 went to the window of the litde sitting- 
 room and looked abroad, she uttered a cry 
 of surprise that was also meant as a call to 
 wake her sleeping sisters. She stepped 
 out on to a wooden balcony, and found her- 
 self poised high above the flooded river 
 that was roaring down its channel, while 
 in front of her was the most vivid and 
 brilliant of pictures, the background formed 
 by a vast semicircle of hills. She had it 
 all to herself on this lovely morning — the 
 fresh air and sunlight ; the plunging river 
 below ; the terraced gardens on the oppo- 
 site bank ; over that again, the tumbled- 
 about collection of gleaming white houses, 
 and green casements, and red roofs, and old
 
 THE -^BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 117 
 
 towers and belfries ; and then, higher still, 
 and enclosing, as it were, the picturesque 
 little town, the great ethereal amphitheatre 
 of pale blue mountains, with here and there 
 a sprinkling of snow glittering sharply, as 
 if it were quite close at hand. How fresh 
 and cold the morning air was, after the 
 sultry atmosphere of the lakes ! How 
 beautiful the snow was ! Nan did not like 
 to be alone. She wished to share her 
 delight with some one. ' Edith ! Edith ! ' 
 she called. There was no answer. 
 
 Suddenly she found she was no longer 
 the solitary possessor of this brilliant little 
 picture. Happening to turn her head 
 somewhat, she perceived some one coming 
 across the bridge ; and, after a minute's 
 surprise and doubt and astonishment, she 
 convinced herself that the stranger was no 
 other than Frank King. The discovery
 
 118 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 startled her. This time it could be no 
 mere coincidence. Surely he was following 
 them ? Could it be possible that he had 
 come with bad news from Brig^hton ? 
 
 She did not stay to waken her sisters. 
 She hastily put on her hat and went down- 
 stairs ; and the first person she saw was 
 Lieutenant King himself, who was calmly 
 looking over the list of arrivals.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 AUF DER REISE. 
 
 The frank, clear, dark-blue eyes of this 
 young Lieutenant were expressive enough ; 
 they said a good deal more than he did, 
 when he happened to turn and catch sight 
 of her. He, mdeed, was surprised and 
 embarrassed ; it was only his eyes that 
 dared to say, 'Oh, how glad I am to have 
 found you ! ' 
 
 * You have no bad news ? ' she said, 
 quickly. * There is no one ill at Brighton ?' 
 
 * Oh, no,' he said, wondering. 
 Relieved from her sudden fear, she
 
 120 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 paused, as it were to take breath. Her 
 first thought was that her hair was far 
 from being properly dressed. Her next 
 that it was annoying to find the command- 
 ing officer of one of her Majesty's vessels 
 lounging about the Continent like an 
 ordinary tourist. But even in this cos- 
 tume she had to admit to herself that 
 he looked handsome, and clever, and dis- 
 tinguished ; moreover, he was so clearly 
 glad to see her, that she must needs be 
 civil. 
 
 ' I saw you at Lucerne — for a moment,* 
 she said. 'And when I saw you again just 
 now from the window, I thought you 
 might have a message for us.' 
 
 ' Oh, no,' he said. * But I — I — half ex- 
 pected to meet you somewhere. Your 
 sister said you were going over the Splii- 
 gen Pass.
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 121 
 
 * But what have you done with your 
 ship ? ' she asked, still regarding that 
 tourist costume with disapproval. 
 
 * I am my own master now,' he said ; ' I 
 can take my leave any time of the year I 
 like ; and, of course, just now all one's 
 friends are on the Continent, and — and — a 
 sailor has so few chances of makinof friends 
 that he doesn't like to lose them ' 
 
 ' Then you are with a party ? ' she said, 
 in her downright way. 
 
 ' No,' said he, rather confusedly. ' I — 
 I am alone, as it happens. I thought I 
 should like to have a short time in Italy 
 
 You see, I have never been over one 
 
 of the passes ; and they say the Splugen 
 is very fine.' 
 
 ' Oh, you are going over the Spliigen ? 
 she said, with wide eyes. 
 
 * Yes,' he said, unblushingly. ' I sup-
 
 122 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 pose you and your sisters will be starting 
 from here to-morrow or next day ?' 
 
 ' We start this morning at half-past ten,' 
 said Nan. 
 
 'How very odd!' he exclaimed. *I 
 have got the chance of a return carriage 
 that also leaves this morning.' 
 
 * I thought gentlemen walked/ said 
 Nan, severely, ' when they wished to see 
 mountain scenery.' 
 
 'When they have time I suppose they 
 do,' he answered. ' But I have only a few 
 days. I must get back to my ship.' 
 
 ' I can't understand yet how you have 
 left her,' said Nan. 'I thought you would 
 take such a pride in your own ship. And 
 what need have you of miscellaneous friends 
 when you have your brother officers ?' 
 
 ' Ward - room talk is apt to become 
 monotonous. Besides, the Fly -by -Night
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 123 
 
 is in dock just now ; and I needn't get 
 back until the repairs are done. 
 
 'Well,' said Nan, who hoped she had 
 not been rude, * the Splugen Pass doesn't 
 belong to me, and I have no right to ob- 
 ject to your crossing.' 
 
 'Well, that is very kind of you,' said 
 he, laughing ; and then he said more seri- 
 ously, ' but don't think I am likely to take 
 any offence. Miss Beresford. I see quite 
 clearly what you mean ; and it is very kind 
 of you to take any interest in the — in the 
 ship. And I wish you would let me send 
 you a photograph of her ; they say it is 
 very well done : it is so difficult, don't you 
 know ' 
 
 It seemed to Nan that this young man 
 was going to stand there talking to her 
 for ever; and she knew that his eyes, 
 which were extremely keen and observant,
 
 124 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 were regarding her dishevelled hair. At 
 the best of times, order and smoothness 
 had never been the strong points of what 
 a Brighton youth had on one occasion 
 irreverently termed her wig. She remem- 
 bered that boy and his insolent phrase at 
 this very moment. ' Hallo, ginger ! where 
 did you buy your wig ?' he had called out. 
 She wished she had taken a minute to 
 consider before rushing downstairs. 
 
 ' Will you come and see my sisters after 
 breakfast ?' she said, with a wild effort to 
 get away. 
 
 But no ; he continued to talk in a 
 gentle, familiar, submissive way, as if he 
 had known her a very long time, and yet 
 did not like to presume on the intimacy. 
 And he talked about a good many things 
 (it was as yet not eight o'clock, and there 
 was scarcely any one about), though he
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 125 
 
 generally came round to suggesting" that 
 there were certain favoured people in the 
 world whose fineness of character was 
 easily apparent. And he said that you 
 ouo^ht not to lose the chance of securinof 
 the friendship of such rare mortals : it 
 would be one of the joys of life. To be 
 thought well of by people such as they, 
 whose approval was worth something ; to 
 be remembered in absence ; to know there 
 were some people not fickle, trivial, or 
 insincere. ... In short, he talked about 
 everything and nothing, apparently for the 
 sole purpose of detaining her, and Nan 
 knew that all the time he was looking at 
 those wisps and rings of unbridled hair. 
 
 'Good-bye for the present,' she said, 
 holding out her hand. 
 
 He held her hand for a second — inad- 
 vertently, it seemed.
 
 126 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 ' I shall come round about half-past nine 
 to see your sisters. It was excessively 
 kind of you to come down ; I might have 
 missed you again as I missed you at 
 Lucerne.' 
 
 * Oh, well,' she said, in the most matter- 
 of-fact way, ' I thought it might be more 
 than an accident. Good-bye!' 
 
 Nan found that her sisters had got up 
 and were nearly ready to come downstairs, 
 so that she must have been kept talking 
 there for a considerable time. At break- 
 fast she remarked casually that Lieutenant 
 King was In Chur, and that he was also 
 thinking of setting out for Spliigen that 
 morning. Edith the Beauty opened her 
 brown eyes very wide ; Mary, the elder 
 sister, began to ask a few questions. Pre- 
 sently the latter laughed in her cold 
 way.
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 127 
 
 * It is rather audacious,' she said. 'What 
 are we to do with him ?' 
 
 ' We have nothing whatever to do with 
 him,' said Nan, somewhat hotly. 
 
 'It will be very nice,' said Edith, 'if 
 there is a table d'hote in the evening. 
 And if we were to get into trouble with 
 the driver, it would be useful to have a 
 man near to use bad language.' 
 
 'Well, we shan't see much of him on 
 the way,' remarked Miss Beresford. 'We 
 have four horses ; of course he will only 
 have two.' 
 
 * I don't know,' said Edith. ' You may 
 be sure he doesn't live on his lieutenant's 
 pay. Mamma says the Kings of Kings- 
 court are very rich.' 
 
 ' They say the elder brother has gone 
 fearfully to the bad,' said Miss Beresford, 
 in a lower voice. ' The old people are
 
 128 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 very proud of this one, and the way he has 
 got on in his profession.' 
 
 ' Well,' said Edith, ' he is very good- 
 looking, at all events. I hope he will 
 come and make up a little party at the 
 table d'hote; it will be an amusement. 
 Very good-looking I call him. It must 
 be his eyes. They are very extraordi- 
 nary, to be so clear and yet so dark in the 
 blue ; I never saw eyes like that before.' 
 
 Nan, sitting silent and indignant, con- 
 sidered that it was more than ridiculous — 
 it was unfeminine, it was altogether abom- 
 inable — for a girl to talk like that about 
 a man's eyes. If she had spoken about 
 the shape of his forehead, and admired 
 that, then that would have been sensible 
 enough ; but to talk about his eyes as if 
 he were a doll — as if he were a wax figure 
 in a hair-dresser's window — as if he were
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 129 
 
 one of the Idiotic beauty -youths of the 
 King's Road — that stirred her to revolt 
 altogether. But Edith always was a gaby. 
 At half-past nine Frank King called, 
 and was very kindly and gravely received 
 by the two elder girls. But he made no 
 pretence of being there by accident. He 
 said he had remembered Miss Beresford's 
 telling him that they were to cross the 
 Spltigen into Italy ; and as he was quite 
 alone, he thought he would choose the 
 same route on the chance of running across 
 them somewhere. And they would see 
 something of each other on the road. It 
 was true he had only two horses, and 
 doubtless they had four ; but the return 
 carriage he had hired was a light little 
 thing, and he had scarcely any luggage ; 
 and no doubt he would meet them again 
 at lunch. Did they propose to lunch at 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 130 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 Thusis ? It was at Thusis they proposed 
 to lunch. He should most likely see them 
 at Thusis ; meantime he would only say 
 au revoir. 
 
 So, in due course, the great old-fashioned 
 chariot was brought round, the four horses 
 shaking their heads and jangling their 
 bells ; and the luggage of the girls, which 
 was considerable, was corded on behind ; 
 and the maid got on the box, and then the 
 girls themselves appeared and took their 
 places, and the landlord bowed and took 
 off his hat, and the driver cracked an 
 enormous whip, and away they went from 
 Chur along the level river valley, by the 
 perpetual maize - fields, under the gray 
 scarred mountains. It was a changeable, 
 doubtful-looking day, with gleams of sun- 
 light and sudden darkenlngs over of rain- 
 cloud ; but the rapid motion of the com-
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 131 
 
 fortable old carriage kept them merry 
 enough. Farther and farther Into the 
 mysterious mountain - land they went ; 
 rattling through small towns with violently 
 coloured frescoes on the walls ; swinging 
 along the valley road, with always the 
 turbid rushing river below ; passing in- 
 numerable ruined towers perched on pre- 
 cipitous crags ; and generally wondering 
 when the serious business of climbing the 
 Alps was to begin. The mountains had 
 grown grander now, and there were snow- 
 slopes gleaming afar in the wan sunlight. 
 It was not a settled sort of sunlight at all. 
 Just as they entered Thusis they were 
 caught by a smart shower, and were glad 
 to take refuge in the inn. 
 
 Now, Miss Beresford had only finished 
 ordering luncheon — which she did in ex- 
 cellent German, of a clear, hard, Hano-
 
 132 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 verian kind — when in walked Frank King, 
 very pleased to rejoin them, apparently 
 quite delighted with the rain, and plainly 
 anxious to be allowed to join their table. 
 That was what it came to. Moreover, as 
 luncheon proceeded, the mountains outside 
 darkened. 
 
 *We are in for a bad afternoon,* said 
 he ; and then he added, in an off-hand 
 way, * Does your maid speak German, 
 Miss Beresford ?' 
 
 * Parsons speaks nothing but English,' 
 said Miss Beresford. 
 
 'And that indifferently,' added Nan. 
 
 ' Oh ! Because, you see, it will be un- 
 commonly hard for her to be sitting there 
 till evening, not speaking a word, and fac- 
 ing pelting rain all the time.' 
 
 * She can come in beside us,' said Nan, 
 promptly.
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 133 
 
 ' I was going to suggest,' said he in the 
 same off-hand fashion, 'that — I only mean 
 if it rains — if it rains, I was going to sug- 
 gest, don't you see, that she could have my 
 trap, if she chose, and then — then if you 
 wouldn't mind giving me a seat in your 
 carriage, which has plenty of room, I should 
 think ' 
 
 ' It is rather a roundabout way out of 
 the difficulty,' said Miss Beresford laugh- 
 ing ; ' but we shall be very pleased if you 
 will come into our carriage, if it rains.' 
 
 And it did. It was through streaming 
 window panes that they beheld the gloomy 
 gorge of the Via Mala, with the pine-clad 
 mountains rising sheer overhead, and far 
 below the thundering of the Rhine along 
 the narrow and twisting chasm. It was 
 but vaguely that they knew of the wonder- 
 ful tunnels through the rocks, and the over-
 
 134 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 hanging precipices, and the rich-coloured, 
 dripping autumn foliage, and the hideous 
 declivities that went down to the roaring 
 and swollen torrent. But it has been re- 
 marked before now that in the case of 
 driving parties people's spirits always get 
 highest in bad weather. Whether they get 
 into a sort of despairing madness, or 
 whether it is out of a reckless defiance, the 
 fact remains that the finest enjoyment of a 
 driving trip is experienced in pouring rain. 
 And that party of four, within the shut-up 
 old chariot, seemed merry enough. Their 
 talking and laughing quite drowned the 
 roaring of the river. Nan was a trifle 
 silent, perhaps ; but then Frank King did 
 talking for two, and he had innumerable 
 adventures and stories to tell relatinsf to 
 every corner of the earth. He had no 
 longer any official gravity to observe. His
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 135 
 
 laughter was so genuine as to be infectious; 
 even Nan felt herself smiling, though she 
 thouo-ht that the commander of a man-of- 
 
 o 
 
 war ought not to go on like this. And how 
 could Frank King, who had been practi- 
 cally all his life at sea, know so much about 
 the rustics in Wiltshire ? How could he 
 have gone through those poaching adven- 
 tures, for example ? She knew that Kings- 
 court was in Wiltshire ; but if, as he had 
 told her, he was in the navy when the 
 English fleet paid its famous visit to Cher- 
 bourg, he must have left Wiltshire when he 
 was a very small boy indeed. 
 
 They got higher and higher into the 
 mountains as the evening fell, and the mists 
 closed down upon them. Outside they 
 heard nothing but the rattle of the rain on 
 the top of the carriage, and the tinkle of the 
 horses' bells. By and by the lamps were
 
 136 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 lit. Later they were in absolute blackness 
 — plunging through the streaming night ; 
 but they were contented enough. 
 
 When the carriage stopped they were 
 quite surprised. Spliigen already ! And 
 where was the inn } Frank King sprang 
 out, and found himself in a sort of big 
 square, with the rain pelting down, and the 
 building opposite him apparently closed. 
 But presently a man appeared with a 
 lantern, who informed him that they could 
 have beds certainly, but in the dependance, 
 as the hotel was overcrowded. Then the 
 gentleman with the lantern disappeared. 
 
 It was fortunate, indeed, for these young 
 ladies that they had a male protector and 
 champion with them ; for the bad weather 
 had detained many people, the hotel was 
 crammed full, and as this was the table 
 d'hote hour, the landlord and all his staff,
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 137 
 
 with every disposition in the world to be 
 obliging, were at their wits' end. Every- 
 one was wanted in the dining - chamber : 
 how could any one look after the new ar- 
 rivals, or show them their rooms on the 
 other side of the square, or attend to their 
 luggage ? Now it was that this young 
 sailor began to show a touch of authority. 
 First of all he got the young ladies to 
 descend, and bundled them into the little 
 reading-room ; that was clearing the decks 
 for action. The last they saw of him was 
 that he had seized a man by the collar and 
 was quietly, but firmly, taking him to the 
 door, addressing him the while in an extra- 
 ordinary mixture of French and German 
 concerning luggage, and rooms, and the 
 necessity of a lantern to show people across 
 the square. In about a quarter of an hour 
 he returned, dripping wet.
 
 138 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 ' Well, that's all settled,' he said, cheer- 
 fully, as he dried his face with his handker- 
 chief. * I've seen the rooms — very big, and 
 bare, and cold, but the best they have. 
 And I've left Miss Parsons in the kitchen, 
 tearing her hair over some things that have 
 got wet. And I've got four places at the 
 ^ad/e (Thote, which is going on. Now, if 
 you wish to go and see your rooms and 
 dress for dinner, there is a little girl waiting 
 with a lantern ; or If you prefer going in to 
 the table dliote at once ' 
 
 *Oh, certainly,' said Miss Beresford. 
 ' Let us take it when we can get it. They 
 won't mind us going in as we are. We all 
 look respectable enough, if it wasn't for 
 Nan's hair : she must have been asleep.' 
 
 * At all events, you will find it warm in 
 here,' said he, leading the way, ' and that's 
 something. The bedrooms will make you
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 139 
 
 shiver ; they look Hke a jail. You must 
 remember you are up some height now.' 
 
 So crowded and busy was the modest 
 little Speisesaal that they entered quite un- 
 noticed, and found themselves relegated to 
 a small side-table at the upper end of the 
 room. It was a most comfortable and ex- 
 cellent arrangement, and the pleasant good- 
 humour that had prevailed throughout the 
 afternoon did not desert them now. Even 
 Nan began to make little jokes — in her 
 quiet way ; and as for Lieutenant Frank 
 King he was so particularly civil to every- 
 body that the landlord himself went away 
 to get the wine he had ordered. 
 
 * One thinof is certain,' said Frank KinQf. 
 * We are in a capital position for raking 
 that dinner- table from end to end with 
 criticism. Look at the big man in the 
 middle. Did you ever see anybody so
 
 140 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 pompous, and stilted, and portentous ? He 
 never speaks. I believe be must be first 
 cousin to the Sphinx.' 
 
 * He is only the centre of gravity; every 
 dinner-table should have that, you know,' 
 said Nan, shyly. 
 
 He gave her a quick look and said, 
 
 * Do you know, Miss Anne, you have 
 made a great discovery ? You have dis- 
 covered the raison d'etre of stupid people.' 
 
 * Have I ?' said Nan, with a laugh. 'Then 
 I must be first cousin to M, Jourdain.' 
 
 ' They are the ballast of the social ship, 
 don't you see?' he said eagerly. 'You 
 can't sail a ship without ballast ; and with- 
 out the weight of the stupid people the 
 feather-headed people — the topsail-headed 
 people — would tear everything out of her 
 and send her flying. And so you want a 
 good substantial centre of gravity at a
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. Ul 
 
 dinner-table, as you say ; a solid root for 
 lighter things to branch from ; a buffer 
 coming between the electric sparks ' 
 
 ' I am afraid we are getting a little bit 
 mixed,' said Mary Beresford, with her cold 
 smile. 
 
 ' I wish, Lieutenant King,' .said Edith, 
 who was just a trifle annoyed, ' that you 
 would begin and talk to Nan about log- 
 arithms and co-sines and triangles and 
 things like that. She crushes us, because 
 we don't know. Now we should like to 
 see her found out.' 
 
 ' I am too wise to try anything of the 
 kind,' said Frank King, laughing. * It 
 might be the other way round ; it is more 
 likely that Miss Nan would find me out.' 
 
 So they chatted, and the evening passed 
 cheerfully and pleasantly ; and they retired 
 to rest early, for they had to start betimes
 
 142 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 in the morning. Already Lieutenant Frank 
 King seemed quite to belong to the party ; 
 it was the most natural thing in the world 
 that he should sit at the same table and 
 order things for them. And no one noticed 
 — he did not notice it himself — that he had 
 advanced from 'Miss Anne' to 'Miss 
 Nan.' Perhaps he would soon drop the 
 'Miss' altogether.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 SNOW AND MIST AND SUNLIGHT. 
 
 The desolation of that next morning ! A 
 wonder of snow outside the windows — the 
 large dark flakes slowly, noiselessly passing 
 the panes ; snow on the open space front- 
 ing the great, gaunt hostelry ; snow on the 
 small spire of the church ; and snow on 
 the far reaches of the hills, retreating up 
 there into the gray mists, where every 
 pine tree was a sharp black thing on 
 the broad expanse of white. The girls 
 were greatly downcast. They had their 
 breakfast brought to them in the big cold
 
 144 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 room ; they took it hurriedly, with scarcely 
 a word. They saw Parsons rushing across 
 the square ; when she came in there were 
 flakes of snow in her hair, and her fingers 
 were blue with cold. 
 
 ' The English go abroad for pleasure,' 
 said Edith, with sarcasm. 
 
 By and by they heard the jingle of the 
 bells outside, and on going below they 
 found Frank King in the doorway, encased 
 from head to foot in an ulster. 
 
 ' This Is indeed luck — this is great luck,' 
 said he, blithely. 
 
 * Luck do you call it?' said Edith Beres- 
 ford. 
 
 ' Certainly,' said he ; * the first snow of 
 the year! Most opportune. Of course 
 you must see the Splugen Pass in snow.' 
 
 * We shan't see anything,' said Edith in 
 gloom.
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 145 
 
 'Never mind,' said Miss Beresford, good- 
 naturedly ; * we shall have crossed the 
 Alps in a snowstorm, and that sounds well. 
 And I daresay we shall amuse ourselves 
 somehow. Do you feel inclined to give 
 up your carriage to-day again ? ' 
 
 She had turned to Frank King. There 
 was a smile on her face, for she guessed 
 that it was no great sacrifice on his part. 
 Moreover, she had enjoyed that drive the 
 day before ; the presence of a fourth person 
 broke the monotony of the talking of three 
 girls together. It is needless to add that 
 Frank King eagerly welcomed her pro- 
 posal, and in due course the two carriages 
 drove away from the big, bare hostelry to 
 enter the unknown mountain-world. 
 
 A strange world they found it, w^hen 
 once they had left the level of the little 
 valley and begun to climb the steep and 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 146 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 twisting road cut on the face ot the moun- 
 tain. The aspect of things changed every 
 few minutes, as the rolHng mists slowly 
 blotted out this or that portion of the land- 
 scape, or settled down so close that they 
 could see nothing but the wet snow in the 
 road, and the black-stemmed pines beyond, 
 with their green branches stretching out 
 towards them through the pall of cloud. 
 Then sometimes they would look down 
 into extraordinary gulfs of mist — extraor- 
 dinary because, far below them, they would 
 find the top of a fir tree, the branches laden 
 with snow, the tree itself apparently resting 
 on nothing — floating in mid air. It was a 
 phantasmal world altogether, the most 
 cheerful feature of it being that at last the 
 snow had ceased to fall. 
 
 This decided Nan to get out for a 
 walk.
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 147 
 
 'You will be wet through,' her elder 
 sister exclaimed. 
 
 ' My boots are thick,' said Nan, ' and 
 Parsons has my waterproof.' 
 
 When she had got down, and disap- 
 peared. Miss Beresford said, 
 
 * She is a strange girl ; she always wants 
 to be alone.' 
 
 ' She seems to think a great deal, and 
 she always thinks in her own way,' said 
 Frank King. * No doubt she prefers to 
 be alone ; but — but don't you think I 
 ought to get out and see that she is all 
 right ? ' 
 
 * There are no brigands in these moun- 
 tains, are there?' said Miss Beresford, 
 laughing. 
 
 * And she can't lose her way,' said the 
 more serious Edith, ' unless she were to 
 fall over the side.'
 
 U8 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 * I think I will get out,' he said, and he 
 called to the driver. 
 
 He found that Nan was already some 
 way ahead, or rather overhead ; but he 
 soon overtook her. She was startled when 
 she saw him, for the snow had deadened 
 the sound of his approach. 
 
 ' I believe it will clear soon,' he said at 
 a venture. 
 
 ' It is altogether very strange,' Nan said 
 in something of a lower voice. ' The fir- 
 trees laden with snow like that, the cold, 
 the gloom : it looks like some bygone 
 Christmas come back suddenly. It is 
 strange to find yourself in another part of 
 the year : yesterday, summer ; to - day, 
 winter. I should not be surprised to meet 
 a cart filled with holly, or to hear the bells 
 ringing for morning service.' 
 
 * You know there are people who never
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 149 
 
 see winter,' said he ; 'I wonder what it 
 feels hke when you move from place to 
 place so as to live in a perpetual spring 
 and summer.* 
 
 ' I don't think it can be the real spring,' 
 she said, after a second. ' The summer, I 
 suppose, is the same anywhere ; it hasn't 
 the newness and the strangeness of the 
 spring. Wouldn't it be a nice thing now 
 to be able to take some poor English lady 
 who has been compelled to live all the 
 early months of each year in the south, 
 among hot-house sort of things, and just 
 to show her for a minute a little English 
 village in the real spring time, such as she 
 must have known when she was a girl, 
 with the daffodils in the cottage gardens, 
 and the young leaves on the elm and the 
 hawthorn. And perhaps a lark would be 
 singing high up ; and there might be a
 
 150 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 scent of wallflower ; and the children com- 
 ing home with daisy wreaths. She would 
 cry, perhaps ; but she would like it better 
 than the hot-house flowers and the Riviera. 
 There are some things that have a wonder- 
 ful way of bringing back old memories — 
 the first smell of wallflower in the spring 
 is one, and the first fall of snow in the 
 winter. And there's an old-fashioned kind 
 of musky smell, too, that always means 
 Sunday clothes, and a tall pew, and a vil- 
 lage choir.' 
 
 * But you seem to have a strong faculty 
 of association,' said young Frank King, 
 who was far more interested in Nan than 
 in musk. 
 
 ' I don't know,' she said, carelessly. ' I 
 don't study myself much. But I know I 
 have a strong bump of locality — isn't that 
 what they call it ? I wish I had been born
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 151 
 
 in a splendid place. I wish I had been 
 born among great mountains, or amongst 
 remote sea islands, or even beautiful lake 
 scenery ; and I know I should have loved 
 my native place passionately and yearned 
 for it ; and I should have thought it was the 
 most beautiful place in the world — especi- 
 ally when I was away from it — ^^for that's 
 the usual way. But when you are born 
 in London and live in Brighton, you can't 
 make much out of that.' 
 
 Then she added, with some compunc- 
 tion, 
 
 ' Not but that I am very fond of the 
 south coast. I know it so well ; and of 
 course you get fond of anything that you 
 are very intimate with, especially if other 
 people don't know much about it. And 
 there is far more solitariness about the 
 south coast than the people imagine who
 
 152 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 come down to the Bedford Hotel for a 
 week.' 
 
 'You are a great walker, are you not ?' 
 he said. 
 
 * Oh, no ; but I walk a good deal.' 
 'And always alone ?' 
 
 'Generally. It is very seldom I have 
 a companion. Do you know Singing Sal ?' 
 
 * Singing Sal ? No. How should I ? 
 Who is she ?' 
 
 'A kind of tramping musician,' said 
 Nan, with a grave smile. ' She is a friend 
 of the fishermen and coastguardsmen and 
 sailors down there ; I dare say some of 
 your men must have heard of her. She 
 is a good-looking woman, and very plea- 
 sant in her manner, and quite intelligent. I 
 have seen her very often, but I never made 
 her acquaintance till the week before last.* 
 
 ' Her acquaintance !'
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 153 
 
 * Yes,' said Nan, simply ; ' and I mean 
 to renew it when I get back, if mamma 
 will let me. Sinofine Sal knows far more 
 about the coast than I do, and I want to 
 learn more. . . . Oh, look !' 
 
 Both of them had been for some time 
 aware of a vague luminousness surround- 
 ing them, as if the sun wanted to get 
 through the masses of vapour ; but at this 
 moment she, happening to turn her head, 
 found that the wind had in one direction 
 swept away the mist, and behold, far away 
 in the valley beneath them, they could see 
 the village of Splugen, shining quite yel- 
 low in the sunlight. Then the clouds 
 slowly closed over the golden little picture, 
 and they turned and walked on. But in 
 front of them, overhead, the wind was still 
 at work, and there were threads of keen 
 blue now appearing over the twisting
 
 154 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 vapours. Things began to be more cheer- 
 ful. Both the carriages behind had been 
 thrown open. Nan's face looked pink, 
 after one's eyes had got so used to the 
 whiteness of the snow. 
 
 ' I suppose there are no people so warmly 
 attached to their country as the Swiss are,' 
 she said (she was not ordinarily a chatter- 
 box, but the cold, keen air seemed to have 
 vivified her). ' I am very glad the big 
 thieves of the world left Switzerland alone. 
 It would have been a shame to steal this 
 little bit from so brave a people. Do you 
 know the sono- of the Swiss soldier in the 
 trenches at Strasburg ? I think it is one 
 of the most pathetic songs in the world.' 
 
 ' No, I don't,' he said. How delighted 
 he was to let her ramble on in this way, 
 revealing the clear, beautiful soul, as Sing- 
 ing Sal might have thought.
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 155 
 
 ' He tells the story himself,' she con- 
 tinued. ' It is the sound of the Alphorn 
 that has brought this sorrow to him, he 
 says. He was in the trenches at night, 
 and he heard the sound of the Alphorn far 
 away, and nothing would do but that he 
 must try to escape and reach his father- 
 land by swimming the river. Then he is 
 taken, and brought before the officers, and 
 condemned to be shot ; and he only asks 
 
 his brother soldiers to fire straight 
 
 But I am not going to spoil it.' 
 
 She put her hand up furtively for a second 
 to her eyes, and then she said cheerfully — 
 
 ' I have had enough walking. Suppose 
 we wait for the carriage ?' 
 
 ' I think I ought to apologise to you, 
 Miss Anne,' said he. 'You prefer walking 
 by yourself — I ought not to have come and 
 bothered you.'
 
 156 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 'It is of no consequence,' said Nan, 
 looking back for the carriage, ' so long as 
 you haven't wet your feet.' 
 
 They got into the carriage and con- 
 tinued on their way ; and very soon it 
 became apparent, from the flashes of sun- 
 light and gleams of blue, that they had 
 worked their way up through the cloud- 
 layers. In process of time, indeed, they 
 got clear of the mists altogether, and 
 emerged on to the higher valleys of the 
 Alps — vast, sterile, the white snow-plains 
 glittering in the sun, except where the 
 rocks showed through in points of intense 
 black. There were no longer any pines. 
 They were in a world of snow and barren 
 rocks and brilliant sunlight, with a cold 
 luminous blue sky overhead ; themselves 
 the only living creatures visible ; their voices 
 sounding strangely distinct in the silence.
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 157 
 
 When they were quite at the summit of 
 the pass, a smurr, as we say in Scotland, 
 came over ; but it did not last. By the 
 time they had got the drags on the wheels, 
 the vast gorge before them — descending 
 and winding until it disappeared in a wall 
 of mountains of the deepest blue — was 
 again filled with sunlight ; and now they 
 began to be a little bit sheltered from the 
 wind as the horses trotted and splashed 
 through the wet snow, carrying them away 
 down into Italy. 
 
 They lunched at Campo Dolcino, still 
 some thousands of feet above the level of 
 the sea. Then on again, swinging away 
 at a rapid pace down into a mighty valley ; 
 rattling through galleries cut in the solid 
 rock ; then out again into the grateful sun- 
 light ; taking the sharp curves of the road 
 at the same breakneck speed ; with always
 
 158 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 below them — and so far below them that it 
 was silent — a rushing river sweeping down 
 between fair pastures and dots of villages. 
 As the evening fell, this clatter of hoofs 
 and wheels came to a sudden end ; for 
 they were entering the town of Chiavenna, 
 and there you must go at walking pace 
 through the narrow little thoroughfares. 
 It was strange for them to come down from 
 the snow -world into this ordinary little 
 town, and to find in the hotel not only 
 all sorts of products of a high civilisation, 
 but even people who were speaking the 
 familiar English tongue. 
 
 There was a telegram addressed ' Lieu- 
 tenant F. H. King, R.N.,' in the case in the 
 bureau ; when Frank King had got it out 
 and read it he was silent for a second or two. 
 
 * I hope there is no bad news,' said 
 Miss Beresford, in a kindly way. She was
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 159 
 
 not a very sympathetic person ; but Frank 
 King had brightened up their tour during 
 these last two days, and she was in a 
 measure grateful to him. 
 
 ' No,' he said, absently. ' Oh, no, not 
 bad news. The telegram is from the 
 officer I left in charge of the Fly-by-Night ; 
 I rather think that I shall be setting out 
 for home again in a couple of days.' 
 
 ' Oh, I am sorry for that,' she said, quite 
 naturally. 
 
 'You go on again to-morrow, Miss 
 Beresford ? ' 
 
 We were proposing to do so.' 
 
 ' And where do you think of going to 
 when you get to Lake Como ? ' 
 
 * Bellagio, most probably.' 
 
 ' Oh, well, I will go with you as far as 
 Bellagio, if I may,' he said, somewhat 
 thoughtfully.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE SERENATA. 
 
 Next morning also he was preoccupied 
 and anxious, Insomuch that even Nan no- 
 ticed it, and good-naturedly hoped he had 
 had no bad news. He started somewhat. 
 
 * No, oh no,' he said. ' Only the tele- 
 gram I got last night makes it necessary 
 for me to start for home to-morrow.* 
 
 ' Then, at least,' said Nan cheerfully, 
 * you will see Lake Como before you go.* 
 
 Her eldest sister smiled in her superior 
 way. 
 
 * Nan's head is full of romance,' she said.
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 161 
 
 * She expects to see the Como of the print- 
 shops : don't you, Nan ? Blue water and 
 golden boats, and pink hills, and Claude 
 Melnotte's castle lifting its — whatever was 
 it ? — to eternal summer. I am afraid the 
 quotation is not quite correct.' 
 
 And the truth was that, despite this 
 warning, Nan did seem somewhat disap- 
 pointed, when, after hours of rattling and 
 splashing along a muddy road, they came 
 upon a stretch of dirty, chalky-green water 
 that in a manner mirrored the gray and 
 barren crags above it. 
 
 * That isn't Como ! ' cried Nan. ' It 
 can't be.' 
 
 ' Oh, but it is,' Miss Beresford said, 
 laughing. ' At least it's the upper end 
 of it' 
 
 But Nan would not believe it ; and 
 when at last they reached Colico, and 
 
 VOL. I. M
 
 162 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 fought their way through the crowd of 
 swarthy good-for-nothings who strove to 
 attach themselves to every scrap of lug- 
 gage, and when they had got on board the 
 steamer and secured commanding positions 
 on the upper deck, then Nan declared that 
 they were about to see the real Lake of 
 Como. It was observed that the young 
 sailor glanced once or twice rather anxi- 
 ously at the sky and the seething clouds. 
 
 Well, they sailed away down through 
 this stretch of pallid green water, that was 
 here and there ruffled with wind, and here 
 and there smooth enough to reflect the 
 silver-gray sky ; and they called at succes- 
 sive little villages ; and they began to be 
 anxious about a certain banking up of 
 purple clouds in the south-west. They 
 forgot about the eternal summer, and got 
 out their waterproofs. They were glad to
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 163 
 
 find themselves drawing near to Bellagio, 
 and its big hotels, and villas, and terraced 
 gardens. The wind had risen ; the driven 
 green water was here and there hissing 
 white ; and just as they were landing, a 
 pink flash of lightning darted across that 
 dense wall of purple cloud, and there was a 
 lono: and reverberatino^ rattle of thunder. 
 
 ' It seems to me we have just got in in 
 time,' said Frank King in the hall of the 
 hotel. 
 
 The storm increased in fury. The girls 
 could scarcely dress for dinner through 
 being attracted to the window by the 
 witches' cantrips outside. The thunder 
 blackness in the south-west had deepened ; 
 the wind was whirling by great masses of 
 vapour ; the water was springing high 
 along the terraces ; and the trees in the 
 terraced gardens were blown this way and
 
 164 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 that, even though their branches were 
 heavy with rain. Then it was that Edith 
 Beresford said — 
 
 ' Nan, you ought to persuade Lieutenant 
 King to stay over another day. He hasn't 
 seen Como. This isn't Como.' 
 
 ' I ? ' said Nan, sharply. ' What have I 
 to do with it ? He can go or stay as he 
 pleases.' 
 
 * Besides,' continued Edith, * in conse- 
 quence of this tempo cattivo * 
 
 * I suppose that means weather that 
 rains cats and dogs,' said Nan, whose anger 
 was of the briefest duration. 
 
 * the grand Serenata is put off till 
 
 to-morrow night. Now he ought to stay 
 and see the illuminations of the boats.' 
 
 ' The illuminations,' said Nan. * I should 
 think he had something else to think of.' 
 
 Nevertheless, when, at dinner, Miss
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 165 
 
 Edith was good enough to put these con- 
 siderations before Lieutenant King, he 
 seemed very anxious to assent, and he at 
 once called for a time-table ; and eventually 
 made out that by taking the night train 
 somewhere or other, he could remain at 
 Bellagio over the next day. And he was 
 rewarded, so far as the weather went. The 
 morning was quite Como-like — fair and 
 blue and calm ; the sun shining on the far 
 wooded hills, and on the sparkling little 
 villages at their foot ; the green lake 
 still running high, with here and there a 
 white tip breaking ; a blaze of sunlight on 
 the gardens below — on the green acacia- 
 branches and the masses of scarlet salvia 
 — and on the white hot terraces where the 
 lizards lay basking. 
 
 It was a long, idle, delicious day; and 
 somehow he contrived to be near Nan
 
 166 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 most of the time. He was always anxious 
 to know what she thought about this or 
 about that ; he directed her attention to 
 various things ; he sometimes talked to 
 her about his ship — and about what sailors 
 thought of when they were far from 
 home and friends. They went out on the 
 lake — these four ; the hot sun had stilled 
 the water somewhat ; reclining in the 
 cushioned stern of the boat, in the shelter 
 of the awning, they could hear the bells on 
 shore faint and distant. Or they walked 
 in that long allee leading from one end of 
 the gardens — the double line of short chest- 
 nuts offering cool and pleasant shadow; 
 the water lapping along the stone parapet 
 beside them ; and between each two of the 
 stems a framed picture, as it were, of the 
 lake and the velvet-soft slopes beyond. It 
 was all very pretty, they said. It was a
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 167 
 
 trifle commonplace, perhaps ; there were a 
 good many hotels and little excursion 
 steamers about ; and perhaps here and 
 there a suggestion of the toy-shop. But it 
 was pretty. Indeed, towards sunset, it was 
 very nearly becoming something more. 
 Then the colours in the skies deepened ; in 
 the shadows below the villages were lost 
 altogether; and the mountains, growing 
 more and more sombre under the rich gold 
 above, began to be almost fine. One half 
 forgot the Cockneyism and familiarity of 
 the place, and for a moment had a glimpse 
 of the true loneliness and solemnity of 
 the hills. 
 
 As the dusk fell they began to be- 
 think themselves of what was before 
 them. 
 
 ' It would have been a bad thing for the 
 musicians from La Scala if they had at-
 
 168 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 tempted to go out last evening,' Miss 
 Beresford remarked. 
 
 ' It will be a bad thing for us,' said 
 Edith, who was the musical one, * if we 
 attempt to go on board their steamer this 
 evening. It will be far too loud. You 
 should never be too near. And, especially 
 where there is water, music sounds so well 
 at some distance.' 
 
 'You can hire a small boat, then,' said 
 Nan. * They are all putting up their 
 Chinese lanterns.' 
 
 * Oh, I wouldn't advise that,' said Frank 
 King, quickly. * I don't think it would be 
 safe.' 
 
 'A sailor afraid of boats!' said Miss 
 Edith with a laugh. 
 
 ' Oh, as for that,' said Nan, warmly, 
 'every one knows that it's those who are 
 most ignorant of boats who are most
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 169 
 
 reckless in them. It's very easy to be 
 brave if you're stupidly ignorant. I know 
 papa used to say it was always the most 
 experienced sportsman who took most care 
 about unloading his gun on going into a 
 house. Why, if you're walking along the 
 pier, and see some young fools standing up 
 in a boat and rocking it until the gunwale 
 touches the water, you may be sure they're 
 haberdashers down from the borough for a 
 day, who have never been in a boat before.' 
 
 In the dusk they could not see that 
 Frank King's face flushed with pleasure 
 at this warm defence ; but he only said 
 quietly, 
 
 * You see there will be ten or twelve 
 steamers churning about in the dark ; and 
 if some careless boatman were to make a 
 mistake — or lose his head — you might be 
 under the paddles in a second. I think
 
 170 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 you should either get on board or stay 
 ashore ; and I should say you were as well 
 off here as anywhere. You will see the 
 procession on the lake very well ; and even 
 if they should halt over there at Caden- 
 abbia for the music, we could hear it here 
 excellently.' 
 
 ' It is very good advice, Edith,' said 
 Miss Beresford, seriously. ' I don't at all 
 like small boats. And there goes the first 
 dinner-bell ; so let's make haste.' 
 
 At dinner Frank King did not say 
 much ; he seemed to be thinking of his 
 departure on the morrow. Once, however, 
 when they happened to be talking about 
 Brighton, he looked across the table to 
 Nan, and said, 
 
 ' Oh, by-the-way, what was the name of 
 the woman you told me about — whom you 
 met on the downs ? '
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 171 
 
 ' Singing Sal,' answered Nan, with com- 
 posure. 
 
 * I shall ask about her when I get to 
 Portsmouth,' he said. 
 
 * She is seldom in the big towns ; she 
 prefers tramping by herself along the 
 country roads.' 
 
 'Is this another of Nan's protegdesf 
 asked Miss Beresford. ' She knows the 
 most extraordinary people. She is like 
 the children when they are sent down to 
 the beach when the tide is low ; they are 
 always most delighted with the monstrous 
 and hideous things they can pick up.' 
 
 ' You must have seen Singing Sal,' said 
 Nan, quietly. ' And she is neither mons- 
 trous nor hideous. She is very well 
 dressed, and she sings with a great deal of 
 feeling.' 
 
 * Perhaps she will come and have after-
 
 172 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 noon tea with us ? ' said Edith, with a 
 sarcastic air. 
 
 ' I don't think she would find it interest- 
 ing enough,' Nan answered, calmly. 
 
 When, after dinner, they went out on to 
 the balcony above the garden, they found 
 that the wonders of the night had already 
 begun. Far on the other side of the lake 
 the houses of Cadenabbia were all ablaze 
 with millions of small gold points, the yel- 
 low glow from which glimmered down on 
 the black water. Then in the garden here, 
 there were rows upon rows of Chinese 
 lanterns, of all colours, just moving in the 
 almost imperceptible breeze ; while along 
 the shore, the villas had their frontage- 
 walls decorated with brilliant lines of illu- 
 minated cups, each a crimson, or white, or 
 emerald star. Moreover, at the steps of 
 the terrace below, there was a great bustle
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 173 
 
 of boats ; and each boat had its pink paper 
 lantern glowing like a huge firefly in the 
 darkness ; and there was a confusion of 
 chaffering and calling with brightly dressed 
 figures descending by the light of torches, 
 and disappearing into the unknown. Then 
 these boats began to move away — with 
 their glow-worm lanterns swaying in the 
 black night. The hotel seemed almost 
 deserted. There was silence along the 
 shores. 
 
 By and by, at a great distance, they 
 beheld a wonderful thing come slowly into 
 view — far away in the open space of dark- 
 ness that they knew to be the lake. It was 
 at first only a glow of crimson ; but as it 
 came nearer, this glow separated into 
 points, each point a ruby-coloured shaft of 
 fire, and they saw that this must be a 
 steamer illuminated by red lamps. And
 
 174 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 then another steamer, and another, came 
 saiHng up, with different colours gleaming; 
 until one, far higher than the others — a 
 great mass of glittering gold — appeared in 
 the midst of them, and round this all the 
 fleet of small boats, that were, of course, 
 only distinguishable by their parti-coloured 
 lanterns, seemed to gather. 
 
 * That is the steamer that has the 
 musicians, clearly,' said Frank King. 
 
 ' Yes ; but I don't hear any music,' 
 answered Edith, in a voice that seemed 
 rather ominous. 
 
 They sat and waited. The last of the 
 guests had got into the small boats and 
 gone away ; they were left alone in front 
 of the big hotel. The moon was rising 
 behind the hills in the south, and already 
 the surface of the lake was beginning to 
 declare itself — a dull blue-black.
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 175 
 
 ' I cannot hear the least sound ; is it 
 possible they can be playing ? ' said Edith, 
 disappointedly. 
 
 It was a beautiful spectacle, at all events, 
 even if there were no sound accompanying 
 it. For now the moon had risen clear, and 
 there was a pale soft light all along the 
 northern hills, and just enough radiance 
 lying over the bosom of the lake to show 
 the darkness of the hulls of the distant 
 steamers. And then, as they watched, 
 some order seemed to grow out of that 
 confusion of coloured lights ; the high 
 golden mass drew away ; and then the 
 others followed, until the long undulating 
 line seemed like some splendid meteor in 
 the night. There was no sound. Caden- 
 abbia, with all its yellow fire, was as clearly 
 deserted as this Bellagio here, with all its 
 paper lanterns and coloured cups. The
 
 176 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 procession had slowly departed. The Sere- 
 nata was taking place somewhere else. 
 The gardens of this hotel were silent but 
 for the occasional voices of Frank King 
 and his companions. 
 
 Well, they laughed away their disap- 
 pointment ; and chatted pleasantly, and 
 enjoyed the beautiful night, until Miss 
 Beresford thought it was time for them to 
 go indoors. 
 
 * But where's Nan?' she said. 'That 
 girl is never to be found.' 
 
 * I think I can find her,' said Frank 
 King, rising hastily. He had been re- 
 garding for some time back that long allee 
 between the chestnuts, and a dark figure 
 there that was slowly pacing up and down, 
 occasionally crossing the patches of moon- 
 light. When he had got about half-way 
 along, he found Nan leaning with her
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 177 
 
 elbows on the parapet, and looking out on 
 the moonlit lake. 
 
 'Oh, Miss Anne,' he said, 'your sister 
 wants you to come indoors.' 
 
 'All right,' she said cheerfully, raising 
 herself and preparing to go. 
 
 ' But I want to say a word to you,' he 
 said hurriedly. ' I have been trying for an 
 opportunity these two days. I hope you 
 won't think it strange or premature or 
 impertinent ' 
 
 ' Oh no,' said Nan, with a sudden fear 
 of she knew not what ; ' but let us go in- 
 doors.' 
 
 ' No, here, now,' he pleaded. ' Only one 
 moment. I know we are young ; perhaps 
 I should not ask you to pledge yourself, 
 but all I ask for is to be allowed to hope. 
 Surely you understand. Nan, will you be 
 my wife — some day ? ' 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 178 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 He would have taken her hand ; but she 
 withdrew quickly, and said with a sort of 
 
 gasp, 
 
 ' Oh, I am so sorry. I had no Idea. It 
 must be my fault, I am sure ; but I did not 
 know — I was not thinking of such a thing 
 for a moment ' 
 
 ' But you will give me leave to hope?' 
 he said. ' I mean some day — not now.* 
 
 ' Oh no, no ! ' she said with an earnest- 
 ness that was almost piteous. * If I have 
 made a mistake before, this must be clear 
 now. Oh, don't think of such a thing. It 
 never could be — never, never. I am very 
 sorry if I have pained you ; but — but you 
 don't know anything about me ; and you 
 will soon forget, for we are both far too 
 young — at least I am — to think of such 
 things ; and — and I am very, very sorry.' 
 
 * But do you mean that I am never to
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 179 
 
 think of it again, even as a hope ? ' he said, 
 slowly. 
 
 'Oh, I do mean that — I do! If there 
 has been a mistake, let it be clear now. 
 Can I not be your friend ? ' 
 
 She held out her hand. After a second 
 or so of hesitation, he took it. 
 
 * I know more of you than you suspect,' 
 he said slowly, and with a touch of hope- 
 lessness in his voice. * I could see what 
 you were the first half-hour I had spoken 
 to you. And I know you know your own 
 mind, and that you are sincere. Well, I 
 had hoped for something else ; but even 
 your friendship will be valuable to me — 
 when I have had a little time to forget.' 
 
 ' Oh, thank you, thank you ! ' said Nan, 
 somewhat incoherently. * I know you will 
 be wise. You have your profession to think 
 of; that is of far more importance. I know
 
 180 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 you will be wise, and generous too, and for- 
 give me if the fault has been mine. Now, 
 we will not speak of any such thing again ; 
 let it be as if it had never been. Come.' 
 
 He pressed her hand in silence — it was 
 a token of good-bye. These two did not 
 see each other again for more than three 
 years.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 JINNY. 
 
 One night towards the end of that interval 
 a strange scene occurred in the old manor- 
 house of Kingscourt, Wiltshire. From an 
 early part of the evening it was apparent 
 that somethinof unusual was about to take 
 place. The sleepy old mansion was all 
 astir, a big fire blazed in the fireplace of the 
 hall, and even the long corridor, which was 
 in effect a picture-gallery, and ordinarily 
 looked rather grim with its oak panelling 
 and dusky portraits and trophies of arms, 
 had been so brilliantly lit up that it seemed 
 almost cheerful.
 
 182 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 There was no cheerfulness, however, on 
 the face of the lord of the manor himself; 
 and there was nothing but a keen and 
 anxious sympathy in the regard of his 
 friend the Vicar, who had come to keep 
 him company. The former, Stephen Hol- 
 ford King, was a hale old man of over 
 seventy, with a smoothly-shaven face grown 
 red with exposure to the weather, silvery 
 short -cropped hair, and fine, impressive 
 features. His old college friend, the Rev. 
 Mr. Lynnton, was a smaller man, and 
 somewhat younger, though his pale face 
 had a sad expression, as though he had 
 come through much trouble. He also was 
 clean shaven, which added character to his 
 clear-cut features. His chest was narrow, 
 and he stooped a little. 
 
 * It is kind of you to come early. Vicar,' 
 said the taller man, who seemed much 
 
 \
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 183 
 
 agitated in spite of his outwardly firm de- 
 meanour. ' It will be a terrible ordeal for 
 my poor wife. I wish the evening were 
 over.' 
 
 ' You must face it like a man, friend 
 King,' said the other. * You have acted 
 rightly, great as the pain must be to your- 
 self. It is the young man's last chance, 
 and surely he accepts it or he would not 
 be coming at all. And — she — also.' 
 
 ' If only he hadn't married her — if only 
 he hadn't married her. She might have 
 ruined him in pocket, as she has ruined 
 others before ; but, to come in here ' 
 
 He glanced at the portraits along the 
 walls ; he seemed scarcely to know what 
 he was saying. 
 
 ' You might preach a sermon from 
 what I am suffering now. Vicar. Oh, I 
 deserve it. My pride has been taken
 
 184 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 down at last. But the punishment is 
 hard ' 
 
 * Pardon me, friend King ; but you ex- 
 aggerate surely. Surely a certain measure 
 of family pride is justifiable ; it ought to 
 nerve a man to be worthy of those who 
 have gone before him. Nor have I ever 
 thought that your feeling about your name 
 being a heritage that you had to guard 
 jealously and piously was otherwise than 
 just \ 
 
 ' Five centuries, Vicar — for five centuries 
 the Kings of Kingscourt, whether knights 
 or commoners, have been gentlemen — 
 gentlemen every man of them ; and this is 
 the end ! ' 
 
 ' But even now, old friend, you must not 
 look at the blackest side of things. Alfred 
 may requite you yet by his conduct for 
 the tremendous sacrifice you and Mrs.
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 185 
 
 King are making. He has committed a 
 social crime ; but surely that is better than 
 living in sin ' 
 
 'Vicar, I know you have tried to look 
 only at the cheerful side of things, as far 
 as your cloth will permit, and I trust in 
 God that something may yet come of it ; 
 but if not — if this last appeal to him pro- 
 duces nothinsf more than the others — then 
 there is a final alternative that may help me 
 to save Kingscourt and the family name.' 
 
 'What is that?' his friend said, eagerly. 
 
 ' I will not speak of it now ; we must 
 hope for the best.' 
 
 At this moment there was heard the 
 rumbling of carriage wheels outside, and 
 the old man started. 
 
 ' Come, let us go into the hall,' he said 
 quickly; and then he added, in a lower 
 and agitated voice, ' Vicar, do you think
 
 186 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 my poor wife will — will have to kiss this 
 woman ? That is what she dreads. That 
 is what terrifies her.' 
 
 The pale-faced clergyman seemed em- 
 barrassed, and said hastily, 
 
 * There will be some confusion, no doubt. 
 Come, friend King, pull yourself together. 
 You are welcoming home your son and his 
 newly-married wife, remember.' 
 
 The great bell rang, the servants swarmed 
 into the hall, the door was opened, and out- 
 side, in the darkness, the carriage lamps 
 were visible, shining down on the broad 
 steps. At the same moment a lady came 
 along from the corridor : a tall, elderly 
 woman, with a pale, sweet face, quite white 
 hair done up in old-fashioned little curls, 
 and with eyes of a sad, benign expression. 
 She seemed to be very pleased and cheer- 
 ful ; it was only the Vicar, who shook
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 187 
 
 hands with her, who knew that her whole 
 frame was trembHng. 
 
 ' So you have come to welcome home 
 the bride, Mr. Lynnton,' she said, in a clear 
 voice, so that every one could hear. ' Alfred 
 will be pleased to see you again, after his 
 long absence. They say that being so 
 much abroad has greatly improved him.' 
 
 * It could not well improve his appear- 
 ance, Mrs. King ; he was always a hand- 
 some lad,' said the Vicar — his eyes still 
 turned towards the door. 
 
 This was, indeed, a strikingly handsome 
 man who now came up the steps — taller 
 and more massive than his brother Frank, 
 lighter also in hair and eyes. At this first 
 glance one scarcely noticed that his face 
 was somewhat flushed, and that the light 
 blue eyes had a sort of uncertain nervous 
 throb in them.
 
 188 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 ' My wife, mother.' 
 
 The Vicar stared with astonishment. 
 This pretty, bright-faced Httle thing did 
 not look more than eighteen or nineteen, 
 though in fact she was five-and-twenty ; 
 and in her tight-fitting ulster and plain gray 
 hat, and quiet yellow -gray gloves, she 
 looked the very embodiment of girlish 
 grace, and neatness, and decorum. 
 
 The white-haired woman took this new 
 visitor by both hands. 
 
 ' I am glad you have come, my dear,' 
 said she, without any quaver of the voice, 
 and she kissed her first on one cheek and 
 then on the other. ' But you must be tired 
 with your long journey. Come, I will show 
 you your dressing-room ; they have taken 
 some tea up for you.' 
 
 ' And to-night we dine at seven, my 
 dear,' said the father of the house, address-
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 189 
 
 ing her at the same time, ' for we thought 
 you might be hungry after your journey. 
 So don't take too much time in dressing, 
 my dear ; we are plain folks ; we will see 
 all your finery another night. Higgins, 
 have Mrs. Alfred's boxes taken up at once.' 
 Mrs. Alfred meanwhile stood looking a 
 little puzzled, a little amused, but not at all 
 shy. She seemed to consider it rather a 
 good joke. 
 
 * Go on, Jinny,' her husband said to her 
 lazily ; ' I shan't dress.' 
 
 * That is an old privilege of Alfred's, my 
 dear,' said Mrs. King, leading the new- 
 comer away. * His father, now, hasn't 
 missed dressing for dinner one evening 
 since we were married, except the night 
 the vicarage took fire. But I suppose 
 young men are not so ceremonious now. 
 Here is your room, my dear : Catherine is
 
 190 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 bringing some hot water, and she will open 
 your boxes for you.' 
 
 And the old lady herself went and stirred 
 up the fire, and drew the low easy chair 
 nearer to the little table where the tea- 
 things were, and continued talking in the 
 kindliest way to her new guest until the 
 maid arrived. Mrs. Alfred had said no- 
 thing at all, but she seemed contented and 
 amused. 
 
 At seven o clockevery one had assembled 
 in the drawing-room except Mrs. Alfred. 
 The Vicar's wife had arrived : she was a 
 stout, anxious-eyed little woman, who was 
 obviously alarmed, and talked much to 
 assure those around her that she was quite 
 at ease. Mr. Alfred himself was lazy, 
 good-natured, indifferent — he had drunk 
 two or three glasses of sherry meanwhile 
 to pass the time.
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 191 
 
 Punctually at seven Mrs. Alfred ap- 
 peared. She looked more prim and nice 
 and neat than ever in this black silk dress 
 with old lace on the open square in front 
 and on the cuffs of the tight sleeves. 
 
 * Mrs. Lynnton — my daughter Jinny,' 
 said the old white-haired lady, introducing 
 the new-comer to the Vicar's wife. 
 
 Dinner was announced, and the big 
 folding doors thrown open. 
 
 * My dear,' said Mr. King to his wife, 
 ' I must take in Mrs. Alfred. It is a wel- 
 come home, you know. Alfred, you take 
 in Mrs. Lynnton. Come along, child.' 
 
 And he gave her his arm with great 
 ceremony, and led her into the long, old- 
 fashioned dining-room, which was a blaze 
 of candles, and gave her the seat at his 
 right hand, and immediately called for a 
 fire-screen lest the fire should be too much.
 
 192 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 ' Or will you sit the other side, my 
 dear ?' said he. 
 
 * Oh no, sir,' she said, very prettily, out 
 of compliment to his age. ' Oh no, sir, I 
 am best pleased to sit where you wish me 
 to sit.' 
 
 For by this time the amused look had 
 gone out of her face, and she seemed to 
 have grown sensible of the great kindness 
 these people were trying to show her. 
 
 Dinner went on, and the conversation 
 rested mainly between Mr. Alfred, who 
 was asking questions about the people in 
 the neighbourhood, and the Vicar, who 
 answered him. But when anything amus- 
 ing was said, it was addressed to Mrs. 
 Alfred, or else they looked to see whether 
 she was pleased ; and she received a great 
 deal of attention from the old gentleman 
 next her, and had many kind things said
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 193 
 
 to her by his wife. But Mrs. Alfred's 
 face grew more and more strange. She 
 seemed depressed and troubled — timid at 
 the same time and self-conscious ; once or 
 twice her lips were tremulous. And then 
 all at once she rose, and quickly went to 
 where Mrs. King sat, and threw herself 
 on her knees, and clasped the old lady's 
 knees, and burst into a wild fit of sobbing 
 and crying. The old lady turned very 
 pale, and put her hand on the younger 
 woman's head gently. The servants pre- 
 tended to see nothing. Mr. Alfred flushed 
 angrily, and said — 
 
 'Jinny, don't make a fool of yourself. 
 Go back to your seat.' 
 
 Then the elder woman raised her, with 
 a tenderness and compassion not altogether 
 assumed, and led her back, saying — 
 
 'You are tired, my dear. I thought 
 
 VOL. I. o
 
 194 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 you looked tired, my dear. We will let 
 you go soon to bed to-night.' 
 
 Then everybody talked at once, and the 
 little incident seemed easily forgotten. 
 Moreover, as the evening progressed, old 
 Stephen King convinced himself that he 
 had done what was best for the bygone 
 Kings of Kingscourt and any Kings of 
 Kingscourt there might be. He would 
 pay off his son's debts once more. These 
 two would be content to remain for years 
 in the country, till bygones should be by- 
 gones elsewhere ; and even in the country 
 the neighbours might pretend to a con- 
 venient ignorance. The Vicar would help 
 him. 
 
 The Vicar and his wife left about ten ; 
 Mr. and Mrs. Alfred retired early ; the 
 various agitations that had shaken the old 
 silver-haired dame gave place to a quies-
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 195 
 
 cence that was In a measure hopeful. Then 
 sleep overtook the old manor-house, and 
 the silence of the night. 
 
 About midnight there was a loud crash 
 in the dining-room. Certain of the ser- 
 vants slept on the ground-floor for safety's 
 sake ; and the first one — indeed, the only 
 one — to be thoroughly aroused by this 
 sudden noise was the butler, a young man 
 who had inherited the position from his 
 father. He jumped up, hastily donned 
 some clothes, and carried a light along to 
 the room, wisely thinking that if it was 
 only a picture that had fallen he need not 
 alarm the whole household. At the same 
 time he went cautiously, for he did not 
 wish to be seized by the throat unawares. 
 
 He found the dining-room door open, 
 and something, in the dark inside, lying 
 prone on the floor. He pushed forward
 
 196 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 his candle, and to his horror found it was 
 Mrs. Alfred, who was slowly raising her- 
 self by both hands. 
 
 * Oh, ma'am, what has happened ?' he 
 cried. 
 
 * Be quiet. Where's the brandy ?' she 
 said, angrily ; and then she put her hand 
 to the side of her forehead. * I've struck 
 my head against something.' 
 
 This young man was a miracle of dis- 
 cretion, but he was startled. She did not 
 talk incoherently, and yet she could not 
 rise. 
 
 ' Is it Mr. Alfred, ma'am } Shall I take 
 him some brandy ? I hope he isn't ill, 
 ma'am ?' he said in a breath. 
 
 ' Mr. Alfred, you fool ! He's been dead 
 drunk in bed for more than an hour. 
 Where's the brandy ? Why don't you 
 leave the spirit-stand out, you miserly thief?'
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 197 
 
 Then he saw how matters stood ; and 
 though he was frightened a little, he was 
 prudent. He went and got some brandy 
 and water in a tumbler ; he coaxed her to 
 go upstairs ; he assisted her up ; and then, 
 having put her quietly into her room, he 
 returned downstairs, and locked the dining- 
 room door, putting the key in his pocket. 
 
 This incident the young butler kept 
 discreetly to himself; he was not going 
 to imperil his situation by telling such a 
 story about his future master and mistress. 
 All the same, the old father and mother 
 began to grow very uneasy. Mrs. Alfred 
 was too unwell to appear next day, nor 
 would she see any one. She wanted 
 brandy, however, to keep her system up. 
 The following day the same legend was 
 repeated. On the evening of that day 
 Alfred King sought out his father in the
 
 198 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 study, and said he wanted to speak to 
 him. 
 
 'Look here, father, it's no use. I'll tell 
 the truth. I came down here to humbug 
 you, and get some more money out of you. 
 But what's the good? — if Jinny had the 
 wealth of the Rothschilds she'd run through 
 it in a fortnight ; and then her first trick 
 would be to cut me. Oh, I know her ; 
 she's not a bad sort ; but she's been 
 brought up to be what she is, and she 
 doesn't mean anything shabby, anything 
 more than a cat thinks itself cruel when it 
 plays with a mouse. Well, no matter.' 
 
 He rang the bell, ordered some brandy 
 and soda, and continued : 
 
 ' Now, I've got some pride in the old 
 place, too, father : I don't want to see 
 Jinny send Kingscourt spinning the mo- 
 ment you die. Well, this is what I pro-
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 199 
 
 pose. I'm no good. I'm played out. 
 I've had my turn. Well, now, if you'll 
 clear off my debts this time, and start me 
 free with ^5000 — giving it in trust to 
 somebody — so that I can have my ;!^200 
 or ^250 a year — then I'll consent to 
 quash the entail ; you bring home Frank, 
 and give him Kingscourt. That's better 
 than being a sailor, and he'll look after the 
 old place.' 
 
 The old man regarded him calmly, but 
 also with a strange, wistful, sad look. 
 
 ' I had thought of it. But is there no 
 other way, Alfred ?' 
 
 'No. I'm broke. I'm done. If you 
 want to save Kingscourt, that's the only 
 way.' 
 
 'And you ?' 
 
 ' I've had my turn ; I can't complain. 
 Sooner or later Jinny'll bolt. Then I'll go
 
 200 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 to the States and try my hand at some- 
 thing.' 
 
 * Do you know they've just made Frank 
 commander ?' 
 
 * He'll be glad to leave the navy, all the 
 same. Fellows can't marry while they're 
 in the navy.' 
 
 * What are your debts now, Alfred ?' 
 Here the brandy and soda was brought 
 
 in, which gave him time to think. 
 
 ' I don't know exactly. Two brutes 
 have got hold of me. I should fancy they 
 could all be choked off with ^8000 — say 
 ^9000.' 
 
 * £\\,ooo — it will be a heavy charge on 
 the estate.' 
 
 'But I shall be off it. What's more, 
 father, if Frank comes home, and gets 
 married, and plays the good boy and all 
 that kind of thing, don't let him get it into
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 201 
 
 his head that I am jealous of him, or that 
 he has supplanted me. Frank is a fine 
 chap. Tell him it was my proposal ; and 
 I hope he'll be a better son to you than I 
 have been. Well, is it a bargain, father ?' 
 
 The old man thought for some time, 
 and at length said, 
 
 ' Yes.' 
 
 * Well, then, there's another thing. 
 Jinny's stumbled against something and 
 got a black eye. Let's get her out of 
 the house without the servants seeing 
 her — this evening, after dusk. And I'll 
 meet you any day you like at Shaen and 
 Maskell's.' 
 
 This, then, was how it came about 
 that Commander Francis Holford King, 
 R.N., was summoned home from the West 
 Indies, where he had been with his ship, 
 the Hellespont. He was grave for his
 
 202 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 years ; and he was more manly in figure, 
 somehow, and certainly browner of face, 
 than when we last saw him at Bellagio, on 
 Lake Como ; but as he sailed past the 
 Eddystone Light and entered the smooth 
 waters of Plymouth Sound, there was 
 something within him that told him his 
 heart had not quite forgotten all its old 
 memories.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 TRANSFORMATION, 
 
 Captain Frank was everything and did 
 everything that his parents could have 
 hoped for, except in one direction : he 
 would have nothing said about marriage. 
 He came home without a murmur; he never 
 uttered a word of regret about his giving 
 up a profession that he had fair hopes of 
 advancement in ; he adopted his new set 
 of duties with cheerfulness, and entered 
 with zest into the festivities of the season. 
 For the leaf was beginning to fall, and all 
 the people about were preparing to shoot
 
 204 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 the covers, so that parties had to be made 
 up and invitations issued, and there soon 
 came to be a general stir throughout the 
 countryside. Captain Frank, though he 
 was not much of a shot, took his share in 
 all these things ; but he held aloof from 
 womankind, and would not have his mar- 
 riage even spoken of by his most intimate 
 relatives. 
 
 What was the man made of that he 
 could resist a scene like this ? Imagine 
 an open glade in a beautiful Wiltshire 
 wood on the morning after a slight fall 
 of snow. The skies are blue, and the 
 world is full of clear sunlight ; the hollies 
 are intensely green over the white of the 
 snow ; here and there on the bare branches 
 are a few red leaves. Also on the snow 
 itself there is a stain of brownish red in 
 some places, where the light air of the
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 205 
 
 morning has shaken down withered needles 
 from a tall pine-tree. Then there is a dis- 
 tant, sharp flutter ; the noise increases ; 
 suddenly a beautiful thing — a meteor of 
 bronze and crimson — comes whirring along 
 at a tremendous pace ; Captain Frank 
 blazes away with one barrel and misses ; 
 before he knows where he is the pheasant 
 seems a couple of miles off in the silver 
 and blue of the sky, and he does not care 
 to send the second barrel on a roving 
 commission. He puts his gun over his 
 shoulder, and returns to his pensive con- 
 templation of the glittering green hollies, 
 and the white snow, and the maze of bare 
 branches going up into the blue. 
 
 But a new figure appears in the midst 
 of this English -looking scene. A very 
 pretty young lady comes along smiling — 
 her pink cheeks looking all the pinker.
 
 206 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 and her blue eyes all the bluer, because 
 of the white snow and also the white fur 
 round her neck. This is pretty Mary 
 Coventry, who is staying at present at 
 Kingscourt. She has the brightest of 
 smiles, and the whitest of teeth. 
 
 * Cousin Frank,' she says, ' where do 
 you gentlemen lunch to-day ?' 
 
 ' Look here,' he answers, ' you've come 
 right up the line between the guns and the 
 beaters.' 
 
 ' Oh, that's all right,' she says, gaily. 
 ' I know your father doesn't allow shoot- 
 ing at ground game into cover.' 
 
 ' Lunch is to be up at the Hill Farm.' 
 
 ' Oh, that's the very thing. 1 want a 
 long walk. And I will help Higgins to 
 have everything ready for you.' 
 
 ' It will be very rough and tumble. You 
 had much better go back home to lunch.'
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 207 
 
 ' But I have come for the very purpose ! 
 I have brought sugar and cinnamon to 
 mull the claret for you. You will find it 
 scalding hot when you come.' 
 
 A hare ran by some dozen yards off: 
 he did not fire. 
 
 * I see I am in your way. Good-bye 
 for the present.' 
 
 ' Good-bye. I f you do mean to go up 
 to the Hill Farm, you had better keep to 
 the road. Or else,' he added, laughing, 'Mr. 
 Ferrers will have something to say to you.' 
 
 'Well,' said pretty Mary Coventry to 
 herself, as she passed on and into the 
 road, 'he did not even thank me for all 
 my trouble. And I always thought sailors 
 were supposed to be nice. But perhaps 
 he is lamenting some blackamoor sweet- 
 heart in Patagonia, and won't take any 
 notice of anybody.'
 
 208 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 It was about a week after this that 
 Captain Frank, having run up to town, 
 met a young gentleman in Piccadilly whom 
 he seemed to recognise. He looked again 
 — yes, it could be no other than Tom 
 Beresford. But it was Tom Beresford 
 transformed. Mr. Tom was now of age ; 
 he had his club, which he much fre- 
 quented ; he had assumed the air and 
 manner of a man about town. That is 
 to say, although he was clever enough 
 and had a sufficient touch of humour, he 
 cultivated a languid stare, and was chary 
 of speech ; and although he was a well- 
 built young fellow, he walked with his 
 elbows out and his knees in, as if the 
 tisfhtness of his trousers and his boots 
 made it nigh impossible for him to walk 
 at all. Moreover, his dress was more 
 rigidly correct than ever ; and of course
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 209 
 
 he carried the inevitable cane — inevitable 
 as the walking-stick of the Athenian. 
 
 Frank King went up to him eagerly. 
 
 ' Hallo, Beresford, how are you ?' 
 
 * How are you ?' was the answer, as a 
 slight boyish blush somewhat interfered 
 with the dignity of Mr. Tom. ' How are 
 you ? I heard you were at home again. 
 I heard of you through the Strathernes.' 
 
 ' And I heard of you in the same way/ 
 said Captain King, who seemed greatly 
 pleased to meet an old friend. * I'll turn 
 and walk with you. I've nothing particu- 
 lar to do.' 
 
 'Will you come and lunch with me?' 
 said Mr. Tom (he had recovered himself 
 after the inadvertent blush). ' We can 
 walk along to the club.' 
 
 'Yes, I will,' said Frank King, heartily. 
 ' Which is your club ?' 
 
 VOL. I. p
 
 210 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 * The Waterloo. They call it that be- 
 cause it isn't in Waterloo Place. It's in 
 Regent Street.' 
 
 'All right,' said the other; but instantly 
 he began to pursue his inquiries. 'Yes, 
 I heard of you and your family from the 
 Strathernes. There have been great 
 changes since I left England. Your eld- 
 est sister is married, is she not ?' 
 
 * You mean Moll : yes. They live in 
 town — a small house back there in May- 
 fair. He used to be a richer man,' ob- 
 served Mr. Tom, contemplatively, 'before 
 he took silk.' 
 
 * But they are going to make him a 
 judge, I hear.' 
 
 ' Faith, then, I hope he'll never have to 
 try me,' said Mr. Tom, with an air of con- 
 viction. ' He and I never could hit it off. 
 I hate pompous people, and people who
 
 THE BE A UTIFUL WRETCH. • 211 
 
 give themselves airs. Now, I took a lik- 
 ing to you the first five minutes I saw you.' 
 
 Captain King was dutifully grateful for 
 this condescension. He said he also hated 
 pompous people — he couldn't bear them. 
 And then he asked about Tom's sister 
 Edith. 
 
 'She's engaged to be married, isn't 
 she ?' 
 
 'It's my belief,' said Mr. Tom, with a 
 smile, * that she has engaged herself to 
 both of them, just to make sure ; and that 
 she can't make up her mind which to send 
 off. I don't wonder at her pulling a wry 
 mouth about having to marry a soda-water 
 manufacturer ; but Soda-water isn't half a 
 bad sort of fellow, and he is fearfully rich. 
 You see he is particularly beaming just 
 now, for there have been two or three 
 blazing hot summers running, and the
 
 212 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 demand must have been tremendous. 
 Then young Thynne, he's no end of a 
 swell, no doubt ; but you may be cousin 
 to all kinds of earls and dukes without 
 their giving you anything. I should fancy 
 his father lets him have two or three 
 hundred a year. I should like to see the 
 Sentimental get along with that ! You 
 can't live on a fellow's ancestry. I think 
 she should take Soda-water, even if he 
 hasn't got anything like a father to speak 
 of. And even if he hasn't got a father — 
 this was what Nan said — he might be 
 equally '^ sans pere et sans reprocher ' 
 
 ' It was your sister Anne said that, was 
 it ?' remarked Frank King, quickly. 
 
 ' That was in her saucy days,' said Mr. 
 Tom, sadly. ' It's quite different now. 
 Now she's on the pious lay.' 
 
 'The what ?' said Frank King. It was
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 213 
 
 clear that, however Mr. Tom had altered 
 he had not chosen to improve his manner 
 of speech. 
 
 * Oh, High Church and reredoses,' said 
 the irreverent youth. ' Silver embroi- 
 deries, don't you know, and visiting the 
 poor, and catching all sorts of confounded 
 infection. And then I suppose she'll end 
 by marrying that curate that's always about 
 the house. What a shame it is ! She used 
 to be such a brick. And to go and marry 
 a curate.' 
 
 * I heard of that, too,' said Captain 
 Frank, with a bit of a sigh. It was indeed 
 among the first things he had heard after 
 returninof to Eno^land. 
 
 By this time they had reached Mr. 
 Tom's club, which was pleasantly situated 
 at a corner of the great thoroughfare, so 
 that it had from its coffee-room windows
 
 214 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 a. spacious view, and was altogether a light 
 and cheerful sort of place. 
 
 * But you don't ask about the Baby,' 
 said Mr. Tom, as he was entering his 
 friend's name in the strangers' book — the 
 Waterloo being a hospitable little club 
 that allowed visitors to come in at any 
 hour. 'And the Baby is in a hole.' 
 
 ' Well, it must be a sad thing for a baby 
 to be in a hole ; but I don't quite under- 
 stand,' said Captain King. 
 
 ' Don't you remember the Baby. The 
 youngest ? Madge ?' 
 
 ' Oh. Well, I only saw her once, I 
 think. What is the matter with her ?' 
 
 * First pick out what you want for lunch, 
 and then I'll tell you.' 
 
 This was easily done ; and the two 
 friends sat down at a small window-table, 
 which enabled them to glance out at the
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 215 
 
 passing crowd, and even as far as the 
 Duke of York's column and the tops of 
 the trees in St. James's Park. 
 
 ' You see my sisters have all been wards 
 in Chancery. I was also,' said Mr. Tom, 
 with a slight blush ; for he was no more 
 than six months escaped from tutelage. 
 ' I suppose the executors funked something 
 about my father's will ; at all events, they 
 flung the whole thing in. Well, no great 
 harm has come of it ; not so much cost or 
 worry as you would expect. Only the 
 girls have had bad times of it about their 
 
 sweethearts. I mean the Baby ' 
 
 * The Baby ! How old is she V 
 ' Eighteen ; and uncommonly good-look- 
 ing, I think. Have some sherry. Well, 
 the Baby made the acquaintance at some- 
 body's house of a young fellow — son of a 
 barrister — not a farthing but what he picks
 
 216 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 up at pool. I don't think she meant any- 
 thing — I don't a bit. There's a lot of that 
 kind of nonsense goes on down there : 
 Nan is the only one who has kept clear 
 out of it. Well, the guardians didn't see 
 it ; and they went to the Court, and they 
 got the Vice-Chancellor to issue an order 
 forbidding young Hanbury from having 
 any sort of communication with Madge. 
 Now, you know, if you play any games 
 with an order of that sort hanging over 
 you, it's the very devil. It is. Won't 
 you have some pickles ?' 
 
 'And how is Miss Madge affected by 
 the order ?' asked Captain King. 
 
 ' Oh,' said this garrulous youth, who 
 had entirely forgotten his cultivated, reti- 
 cent manner in meeting this old friend, 
 ' she pretends to be greatly hurt, and 
 thinks it cruel and heart-breaking and
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 217 
 
 all the rest of it ; but that's only her fun, 
 don't you know ? She's precious glad to 
 get out of it, that's my belief; and nobody 
 knew better than herself he wouldn't do 
 at all. Finished ? Come and have a game 
 of billiards then.' 
 
 They went upstairs to a long, low- 
 roofed apartment, in which were two 
 tables. They lit cigars, chose their cues, 
 and fell to work. Frank King had not 
 played half-a-dozen strokes when Mr. Tom 
 said, generously — 
 
 ' I will put you on thirty points.' 
 They played five minutes longer. 
 
 * Look here, I will give you another 
 thirty.' 
 
 * Sixty in a hundred ? ' said King, laugh- 
 ing. * Well, that is rather a confession of 
 bad play.* 
 
 ' Oh, as for that,' said Mr. Tom, ' I
 
 218 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 don't see that a naval officer should be 
 ashamed of playing badly at billiards. He 
 should be proud of it. I shan't glory in it 
 if I beat you.' 
 
 Mr. Tom was really very friendly. 
 After a couple of games or so he said — 
 
 * Look here, it's nearly four o'clock. I 
 am going down to Brighton by the 4.30. 
 Will you come down and see my mother 
 and the girls ? I am afraid we can't put 
 you up ; but you can get a bed-room at 
 the Norfolk or Prince's ; and we dine at 
 eight.' 
 
 Frank King hesitated for a minute or 
 two. Ever since he had come to England 
 he had had a strange wish to see Nan 
 Beresford, even though he had heard she 
 was going to be married. He wished to 
 see whether she had turned out to be what 
 he had predicted to himself; whether she
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 219 
 
 retained those peculiar distinctions of 
 character and expression and manner that 
 had so attracted him ; somehow he thought 
 he would like just to shake hands with her 
 for a moment, and see once before him 
 those clear, blue-gray, shy, humorous eyes. 
 But this proposal was too sudden. His 
 heart jumped with a quick dismay. He 
 was not prepared. 
 
 Nevertheless, Tom Beresford insisted. 
 Was Captain King staying at a hotel } 
 No ; he had got a bed-room in Cleveland 
 Row. That was the very thing ; they 
 could stop the hansom there on their 
 way to Victoria Station. The girls would 
 be glad to see him. They had always 
 been watching his whereabouts abroad, in 
 the Admiralty appointments in the news- 
 papers. 
 
 At last, with some little unexpressed
 
 220 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 dread, Frank King consented ; and together 
 they made their way to Victoria Station. 
 
 * You know,' said Mr. Tom, apologeti- 
 cally, in the Pullman, * I've been talking 
 a lot about my sisters ; but I tell you 
 honestly I don't see any girls to beat them 
 anywhere. I don't. The Sentimental is 
 rather stupid, perhaps ; but then she scores 
 by her music. Nan's the one for my 
 money, though. She isn't the prettiest ; 
 but set her down at any dinner table, and 
 you can lay odds on her against the field. 
 I believe there are a dozen old gentlemen 
 who have got her name in their will — not 
 that she cares for worldly things any more 
 — it is all sanctity now. I wish to good- 
 ness somebody would ' 
 
 But Mr. Tom had a little discretion. 
 He said no more. 
 
 * I suppose they are all very much
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 221 
 
 changed in appearance,' Frank King said, 
 thoughtfully. * I shouldn't be surprised if 
 I scarcely recognised them.' 
 
 ' Oh, yes, they are. And I will confess 
 that Nan has improved in one way. She 
 isn't as cheeky as she used to be ; she's 
 awfully good-natured — she'd do anything 
 for you. When I get into trouble, I know 
 Nan will be my sheet-anchor.' 
 
 ' Then I hope the cable will hold,' said 
 Frank King. 
 
 They reached Brighton. Tom Beres- 
 ford found his companion strangely silent 
 and preoccupied. The fact was that 
 Captain Frank was very unusually agitated. 
 He hoped she might not be alone. Then 
 he strove to convince himself that she 
 must be quite altered now. She must be 
 quite different from the young girl who 
 walked up the Splugen pass with him.
 
 222 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 Then she was scarcely over seventeen ; 
 now she was over twenty. He would see 
 some one he might fail to recognise ; not 
 the Nan of former days ; uot the Nan that 
 had lonof ag^o enchained him with her frank 
 odd ways, and her true eyes. 
 
 They drove first to a hotel, and secured 
 a bed; then they went to Brunswick 
 Terrace. When they went upstairs to the 
 drawing-room, they found it empty. 
 
 ' They can't be all out,' said Mr. Tom ; 
 * I'll go and find them.' 
 
 He left ; and Captain Frank began to 
 try to quiet down this uncalled-for pertur- 
 bation. Why should he fear to see her ? 
 The past was over. Never was any decision 
 given more irrevocably ; even if there had 
 been any question as to an open future, that 
 had been disposed of by the news that had 
 met him on his return to England. It ought
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 223 
 
 only to be a pleasure to him to see her. 
 He thought she would welcome him in a 
 kind way ; and he would show her that he 
 quite accepted circumstances as they were. 
 Only — and this he kept repeating to him- 
 self — he must expect to be disillusionised. 
 Nan would no longer be that former Nan. 
 Some of the freshness and the young won- 
 der would be gone ; she would be eligible 
 as a friend ; that, on the whole, was better. 
 Well, the door opened, and he turned 
 quickly, and then his heart jumped. No ; 
 she had not changed at all, he said to him- 
 self, as she advanced towards him with a 
 smile and a frankly extended hand. The 
 same pleasant eyes, the same graceful, lithe 
 figure, the same soft voice, as she said — 
 * Oh, how do you do. Captain King? ' 
 And yet he was bewildered. There was 
 something strange.
 
 224 THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. 
 
 * I — I am very glad to see you again, 
 Miss Anne,' he stammered. 
 
 She looked at him for a moment, puzzled, 
 and then she said, with a quiet smile, — 
 
 ' Oh, but I'm not Nan. I see you have 
 forgotten me. I'm Madge.' 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
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