Devereux โ Complete by Baron Edward Bulwer Lytton Lytton (best interesting books to read txt) ๐
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The evening closed, as I became aware of the presence of a fellow-traveller. He was, like myself, on horseback. He wore a short, dark gray cloak, a long wig of a raven hue, and a large hat, which, flapping over his face, conspired, with the increasing darkness, to allow me a very imperfect survey of his features. Twice or thrice he had passed me, and always with some salutation, indicative of a desire for further acquaintance; but my mood is not naturally too much inclined to miscellaneous society, and I was at that time peculiarly covetous of my own companionship. I had, therefore, given but a brief answer to the horsemanโs courtesy, and had ridden away from him with a very unceremonious abruptness. At length, when he had come up to me for the fourth time, and for the fourth time had accosted me, my ear caught something in the tones of his voice which did not seem to me wholly unfamiliar. I regarded him with more attention than I had as yet done, and replied to him more civilly and at length. Apparently encouraged by this relaxation from my reserve, the man speedily resumed.
โYour horse, Sir,โ said he, โis a fine animal, but he seems jaded: you have ridden far to-day, Iโll venture to guess.โ
โI have, Sir; but the town where I shall pass the night is not above four miles distant, I believe.โ
โHumโha!โyou sleep at Dโโ-, then?โ said the horseman, inquisitively.
A suspicion came across me; we were then entering a very lonely road, and one notoriously infested with highwaymen. My fellow equestrianโs company might have some sinister meaning in it. I looked to my holsters, and leisurely taking out one of my pistols, saw to its priming, and returned it to its depository. The horseman noted the motion, and he moved his horse rather uneasily, and I thought timidly, to the other side of the road.
โYou travel well armed, Sir,โ said he, after a pause.
โIt is a necessary precaution, Sir,โ answered I, composedly, โin a road one is not familiar with, and with companions one has never had the happiness to meet before.โ
โAhem!โahem!โParbleu, Monsieur le Comte, you allude to me; but I warrant this is not the first time we have met.โ
โHa!โ said I, riding closer to my fellow traveller, โyou know me, then, and we have met before. I thought I recognized your voice, but I cannot remember when or where I last heard it.โ
โOh, Count, I believe it was only by accident that we commenced acquaintanceship, and only by accident, you see, do we now resume it. But I perceive that I intrude on your solitude. Farewell, Count, and a pleasant night at your inn.โ
โNot so fast, Sir,โ said I, laying firm hand on my companionโs shoulder, โI know you now, and I thank Providence that I have found you. Marie Oswald, it is not lightly that I will part with you!โ
โWith all my heart, Sir, with all my heart. But, morbleu! Monsieur le Comte, do take your hand from my shoulder: I am a nervous man, and your pistols are loaded, and perhaps you are choleric and hasty. I assure you I am far from wishing to part with you abruptly, for I have watched you for the last two days in order to enjoy the honour of this interview.โ
โIndeed! your wish will save both of us a world of trouble. I believe you may serve me effectually; if so, you will find me more desirous and more able than ever to show my gratitude.โ
โSir, you are too good,โ quoth Mr. Oswald, with an air far more respectful than he had yet shown me. โLet us make to your inn, and there I shall be most happy to receive your commands.โ So saying, Marie pushed on his horse, and I urged my own to the same expedition.
โBut tell me,โ said I, as we rode on, โwhy you have wished to meet me?โme whom you so cruelly deserted and forsook?โ
โOh, parbleu, spare me there! it was not I who deserted you: I was compelled to fly; death, murder, on one side; safety, money, and a snug place in Italy, as a lay-brother of the Institute on the other! What could I do?โyou were ill in bed, not likely to recover, not able to protect me in my present peril, in a state that in all probability never would require my services for the future. Oh, Monsieur le Comte, it was not desertion,โthat is a cruel word,โit was self-preservation and common prudence.โ
โWell,โ said I, complaisantly, โyou apply words better than I applied them. And how long have you been returned to England?โ
โSome few weeks, Count, not more. I was in London when you arrived; I heard of that event; I immediately repaired to your hotel; you were gone to my Lord Bolingbrokeโs; I followed you thither; you had left Dawley when I arrived there; I learned your route and followed you. Parbleu and morbleu! I find you, and you take me for a highwayman!โ
โPardon my mistake: the clearest-sighted men are subject to commit such errors, and the most innocent to suffer by them. So Montreuil persuaded you to leave England; did he also persuade you to return?โ
โNo: I was charged by the Institute with messages to him and others. But we are near the town, Count, let us defer our conversation till then.โ
We entered Dโโ-, put up our horses, called for an apartment,โto which summons Oswald added another for wine,โand then the virtuous Marie commenced his explanations. I was deeply anxious to ascertain whether Gerald had ever been made acquainted with the fraud by which he had obtained possession of the estates of Devereux; and I found that, from Desmarais, Oswald had learned all that had occurred to Gerald since Marie had left England. From Oswaldโs prolix communication, I ascertained that Gerald was, during the whole of the interval between my uncleโs death and my departure from England, utterly unacquainted with the fraud of the will. He readily believed that my uncle had found good reason for altering his intentions with respect to me; and my law proceedings, and violent conduct towards himself, only excited his indignation, not aroused his suspicions. During this time he lived entirely in the country, indulging the rural hospitality and the rustic sports which he especially affected, and secretly but deeply involved with Montreuil in political intrigues. All this time the Abbe made no further use of him than to borrow whatever sums he required for his purposes. Isoraโs death, and the confused story of the document given me by Oswald, Montreuil had interpreted to Gerald according to the interpretation of the world; namely, he had thrown the suspicion upon Oswald, as a common villain, who had taken advantage of my credulity about the will, introduced himself into the house on that pretence, attempted the robbery of the most valuable articles therein,โwhich, indeed, he had succeeded in abstracting, and who, on my awaking and contesting with him and his accomplice, had, in self-defence, inflicted the wounds which had ended in my delirium and Isoraโs death. This part of my tale Montreuil never contradicted, and Gerald believed it to the present day. The affair of 1715 occurred; the government, aware of Geraldโs practices, had anticipated his design of joining the rebels; he was imprisoned; no act of
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