Ferdinand bowed, but was so perplexed that he could not say a word.

'I hope, my dear Armine,' said his lordship, advancing rather slowly, putting his arm within that of Ferdinand, and then walking up and down the room together, 'I hope you will act at this moment towards me as I would towards you, were our respective situations changed.'

Ferdinand bowed, but said nothing.

'Money, you know, my good fellow,' continued Lord Montfort, 'is a disagreeable thing to talk about; but there are circ.u.mstances which should deprive such conversation between us of any awkwardness which otherwise might arise.'

'I am not aware of them, my lord,' said Ferdinand, 'though your good feelings command my grat.i.tude.'

'I think, upon reflection, we shall find that there are some,' said Lord Montfort. 'For the moment I will only hope that you will esteem those good feelings, and which, on my part, I am anxious should ripen into sincere and intimate friendship, as sufficient authority for my placing your affairs in general in that state that they may in future never deprive your family and friends of society necessary to their happiness.'

'My lord, I am sure that adversity has a.s.sumed a graceful hue with me, for it has confirmed my most amiable views of human nature. I shall not attempt to express what I feel towards your lordship for this generous goodness, but I will say I am profoundly impressed with it; not the less, because I cannot avail myself in the slightest degree of your offer.'

'You are too much a man of the world, I am sure, my dear Armine, to be offended by my frankness. I shall, therefore, speak without fear of misconception. It does appear to me that the offer which I have made you is worthy of a little more consideration. You see, my dear friend, that you have placed yourself in such a situation that however you may act the result cannot be one completely satisfactory. The course you should pursue, therefore, as, indeed, all conduct in this world should be, is a matter of nice calculation. Have you well considered the consequences of your rushing upon ruin? In the first place, your family will receive a blow from which even future prosperity may not recover them. Your family estate, already in a delicate position, may be irrecoverably lost; the worldly consequences of such a vicissitude are very considerable; whatever career you pursue, so long as you visibly possess Armine, you rank always among the aristocracy of the land, and a family that maintains such a position, however decayed, will ultimately recover. I hardly know an exception to this rule. I do not think, of all men, that you are most calculated to afford one.'

'What you say has long pressed itself upon us,' said Captain Armine.

'Then, again,' resumed Lord Montfort, 'the feelings and even interests of your friends are to be considered. Poor Glas...o...b..ry! I love that old man myself. The fall of Armine might break his heart; he would not like to leave his tower. You see, I know your place.'

'Poor Glas...o...b..ry!' said Ferdinand.

'But above all,' continued Lord Montfort, 'the happiness, nay, the very health and life of your parents, from whom all is now concealed, would perhaps be the last and costliest sacrifices of your rashness.'

Ferdinand threw himself on the sofa and covered his face.

'Yet all this misery, all these misfortunes, may be avoided, and you yourself become a calm and happy man, by--for I wish not to understate your view of the subject, Armine--putting yourself under a pecuniary obligation to me. A circ.u.mstance to be avoided in the common course of life, no doubt; but is it better to owe me a favour and save your family estate, preserve your position, maintain your friend, and prevent the misery, and probable death, of your parents, or be able to pa.s.s me in the street, in haughty silence if you please, with the consciousness that the luxury of your pride has been satisfied at the cost of every circ.u.mstance which makes existence desirable?'

'You put the case strongly,' said Ferdinand; 'but no reasoning can ever persuade me that I am justified in borrowing 3,000L., which I can never repay.'

'Accept it, then.'

''Tis the same thing,' said Ferdinand.

'I think not,' said Lord Montfort; 'but why do you say never?'

'Because it is utterly impossible that I ever can.'

'How do you know you may not marry a woman of large fortune?' said Lord Montfort. 'Now you seem to me exactly the sort of man who would marry an heiress.'

'You are thinking of my cousin,' said Ferdinand. 'I thought that you had discovered, or that you might have learnt, that there was no real intention of our union.'

'No, I was not thinking of your cousin,' said Lord Montfort; 'though, to tell you the truth, I was once in hopes that you would marry her.

However, that I well know is entirely out of the question, for I believe Miss Grandison will marry someone else.'

'Indeed!' exclaimed Ferdinand, a little agitated. 'Well! may she be happy! I love Kate from the bottom of my heart. But who is the fortunate fellow?'

''Tis a lady's secret,' said Lord Montfort. 'But let us return to our argument. To be brief: either, my dear Armine, you must be convinced by my reasoning, or I must remain here a prisoner like yourself; for, to tell you the truth, there is a fair lady before whom I cannot present myself except in your company.'

Ferdinand changed countenance. There wanted but this to confirm his resolution, which had scarcely wavered. To owe his release to Henrietta's influence with Lord Montfort was too degrading.

'My lord,' he said, 'you have touched upon a string that I had hoped might have been spared me. This conversation must, indeed, cease. My mouth is sealed from giving you the reasons, which nevertheless render it imperative on me to decline your generous offer.'

'Well, then,' said Lord Montfort, 'I must see if another can be more successful,' and he held forth a note to the astounded Ferdinand, in Henrietta's writing. It dropped from Ferdinand's hand as he took it.

Lord Montfort picked it up, gave it him again, and walked to the other end of the room. It was with extreme difficulty that Ferdinand prevailed on himself to break the seal. The note was short; the hand that traced the letters must have trembled. Thus it ran:--

'Dearest Ferdinand,--Do everything that Digby wishes. He is our best friend. Digby is going to marry Katherine; are you happy? Henrietta.'

Lord Montfort looked round; Ferdinand Armine was lying senseless on the sofa.

Our friend was not of a swooning mood, but we think the circ.u.mstances may excuse the weakness.

As for Lord Montfort, he rang the bell for the little waiter, who, the moment he saw what had occurred, hurried away and rushed up stairs again with cold water, a bottle of brandy, and a blazing sheet of brown paper, which he declared was an infallible specific. By some means or other Ferdinand was in time recovered, and the little waiter was fairly expelled.

'My dear friend,' said Ferdinand, in a faint voice; 'I am the happiest man that ever lived; I hope you will be, I am sure you will be; Katherine is an angel. But I cannot speak. It is so strange.'

'My dear fellow, you really must take a gla.s.s of brandy,' said Lord Montfort. 'It is strange, certainly. But we are all happy.'

'I hardly know where I am,' said Ferdinand, after a few minutes. 'Am I really alive?'

'Let us think how we are to get out of this place. I suppose they will take my cheque. If not, I must be off.'

'Oh, do not go,' said Ferdinand. 'If you go I shall not believe it is true. My dear Montfort, is it really true?'

'You see, my dear Armine,' said Lord Montfort, smiling, 'it was fated that I should marry a lady you rejected. And to tell you the truth, the reason why I did not get to you yesterday, as I ought to have done, was an unexpected conversation I had with Miss Grandison. I really think this arrest was a most fortunate incident. It brought affairs to a crisis. We should have gone on playing at cross purposes for ever.'

Here the little waiter entered again with a note and a packet.

'The same messenger brought them?' asked Ferdinand.

'No, sir; the Count's servant brought the note, and waits for an answer; the packet came by another person.'

Ferdinand opened the note and read as follows:--

'Berkeley-square, half-past 7, morning.

'Mon Ami,--Best joke in the world! I broke Crocky's bank three times.

Of course; I told you so. I win 15,000L. Directly I am awake I will send you the three thousand, and I will lend you the rest till your marriage.

It will not be very long. I write this before I go to bed, that you may have it early. Adieu, _cher ami_.

'_Votre affectionne_,

'De Mirabel.

'My arrest was certainly the luckiest incident in the world,' said Ferdinand, handing the note to Lord Montfort. 'Mirabel dined here yesterday, and went and played on purpose to save me. I treated it as a joke. But what is this?' Ferdinand opened the packet. The handwriting was unknown to him. Ten bank notes of 300L. each fell to the ground.

'Do I live in fairyland?' he exclaimed. 'Now who can this be? It cannot be you; it cannot be Mirabel. It is wondrous strange.'