Jane Seton; or, The King's Advocate: A Scottish Historical Romance
"The window!" they repeated, and became speechless for a moment, as
they thought of the precipice, and the water at its foot.
"Faith, very few, I believe, would have dared what Sabrino and I have
dared and done--but it was for thee, mother, and thee, my life, my
love, my dear Sybil!" said Ashkirk, kissing her olive cheek.
"My brave Archibald, did the power of sorcery or of Providence bring
thee to this prison island?"
"Neither, lady mother, but a smart boat, which, in another hour,
shall convey you hence, with a fair breeze and a flowing sail."
"But how?"
"I know not yet, for we have to leave this tower, and baffle the old
bear, its governor, the Laird of Barncleugh."
"My son, here have we dwelt for more than two weary weeks, and never
a letter nor message hath come from thee or Roland Vipont."
"Vipont is on the king's service in Douglasdale, and for fourteen
days I have been a prisoner in the house of Redhall; for the other
two I have been vagabondizing."
"And Jane," said Sybil, "your sister Jane?"
"Is safe, I trust; but whether with Marion Logan, at Restalrig, or
with my old friend Josina, the fair prioress of St. Catherine, I
cannot for the life of me say. Now, pretty rogue, at what art thou
laughing?"
"At thy figure, lord earl; 'tis like the satyrs on some old tapestry;
thou art quite a wild man."
"True, cousin; I am scarcely fitted for appearance at Falkland or
Holyrood, or in the Hall of the Three Estates, unless it were, as it
may too soon be, at the bar. But ah, Sybil, my dear Sybil, what
pleasure the sound of your voice gives me! 'tis like the dream of----
Hark! what an uproar! the burning whins have alarmed old Barncleugh
and all his fellows. Come now, Sabrino, my man of the earrings, a
truce to these mad capers--dost thou hear me?"
Sabrino stopped a fandango which he was performing on his head and
hands, and pricked up his enormous ears.
"Quick with our rope ladder, for thou, my mother, and Sybil too, must
descend from this window on the dark side of the tower; it is not
more than fifteen feet from the ground, I think."
"But the barbican gate?" said Sybil.
"I will unlock it with the point of my sword," replied the fiery
earl, as a savage gleam shot from his eyes.
"Nay, nay," said the countess, crossing her hands, and standing very
erect, "I cannot think of flying thus; the king has placed me here,
and the king must release me."
"What frenzy is this? Besotted by his French marriage, the king hath
become a fool. Quick, Lady Ashkirk, we have not a moment to lose.
Hark! the whole tower is silent now, for its inmates are away down in
the valley, seeking the source of that sudden fire. Oh, if the
knaves should discover my boat! Quick!--are you a coward, my
mother--the widow of my father?"
"A coward never came of the line of Kilspindie, and a coward had
never slept in your father's bosom, Lord Archibald," replied the tall
matron, proudly, and with asperity, as her eyes filled with tears.
"Thou knowest not, my son, how life sometimes rises in value with the
unfortunate; but it is neither the love of life nor the fear of death
that restrain me now, but a shame to fly, like a thief in the night,
from the wardship of either king or clown."
"Now, by the faith of Seton! these are pleasant remarks to me, who
have been skulking like a thief and a vagabond too, for the last few
years--a creditable occupation for an earl! If thou stayest, here
will I stay too," said Ashkirk, and seating himself, he folded his
arms; "if Barncleugh find me, thou knowest my doom, for I shall die
the death of an outlaw and traitor. By my soul! 'tis outrageous,
this!"
"Thou art right," replied the old lady, trembling with sudden alarm;
"I thought not of that. Quick, then! Old as I am, thou shalt see
that now, as in the days of James IV., of gude memorie, I am a true
daughter of old Archibald Greysteel."
"We have lost ten good minutes already," replied the earl, lowering
his rope ladder from the small window, which, luckily, was ungrated,
being within the barbican. Fortunately a gusty wind had risen, and
the moon, which was partially obscured by passing clouds, having
verged far to the south-east, threw the sombre shadow of the tower
over that part of the court into which the fugitives were about to
descend. The little castle was almost deserted, the iron gate of the
barbican stood wide open, and the barking of dogs and hallooing of
men ascended from below, where Barncleugh, with ten or fifteen of his
followers, searched the valley for the source of that nocturnal fire
which, on this occasion, had become so palpable, and caused such
alarm.
"I will descend first, and hold steady the foot of the ladder; and do
thou, Sabrino, my gallant imp, hold fast its top," said the earl, as,
with his drawn sword in his teeth, he slid in a moment to the ground;
"come, dearest Sybil, do thou set my mother an example."
With Sabrino's assistance, the young lady got out upon the ladder,
which she clutched with a death-grasp, while the wind expanded her
dress, and blew all her long black hair about her face.
"Oh, cousin Ashkirk!" she exclaimed, in great terror.
"Oh, cousin Sybil!" replied the earl, jestingly, in the same tone, to
reassure her; "I will swear that thou hast the handsomest ankles and
the handsomest leg in all the Lothians."
This intimation made her come down very quickly, and the earl
received her in his arms with joy.
"Now, my lady mother, quick, bestir thee," said he, in a low voice.
But terror seized him when a cry from his mother replied, and the
explosion of a petronel followed; then Sabrino sprang from the
chamber, and descended the ladder with the rapidity of light, and
with his poniard in his hand.
There was blood on its blade!
A servant of Barncleugh had rushed in, and, surprising them, had
fired his petronel at the negro, who, springing at him like a
tiger-cat, inflicted a deadly wound with his poniard.
"Away, Sybil! come away! We have not a moment now to lose!" said the
earl.
"But your mother, your poor mother!" she urged.
"Her own folly has done it all; those ten minutes had freed her; but
she must be left for the present;" and, almost dragging Sybil, he led
her out of the barbican and down the valley, keeping carefully on its
shadowy side, which, fortunately, lay towards the beach.
CHAPTER XLI.
A HAMILTON! A HAMILTON!
"Oh, stay at home, my only son,
Oh, stay at home with me!
For secretly I am forewarned
Of ills awaiting thee!
Last night I heard the deid bell sound,
When all were fast asleep;
And aye it rung, and aye it sung,
Till all my flesh did creep."
THE ETTRICK SHEPHERD.
Unobserved, they reached the verge of the beach, and were about to
descend, when Sabrino suddenly grasped the arm of the earl.
He turned.
The negro had his poniard in his right hand, and placed a finger of
his left on his lips, in token of silence; there was a savage gleam
in his shining eyes.
"Well, Sabrino, what dost thou see now?"
Sabrino pointed, and, a few yards below, the earl saw a man, having
in his hand a drawn sword, which glittered in the moonlight. That he
was a gentleman was evident by his dress--a plum-coloured doublet,
orange hose, a blue velvet mantle, and waving feather. He was
ascending straight from the little creek, where the boat was moored
to a fragment of rock, and had, beyond a doubt, discovered it.
"My lord!" said Sybil, breathlessly; "'tis Sir James of Barncleugh
himself."
"Oho! I have not met this worthy laird since we broke the pikemen of
Arran at Linlithgow brig. He owes me more than one sword cut; and I
do not like debtors of that kind."
"Oh! if possible, avoid him."
"My dear Sybil!----"
"Death will come of it!"
"A little prick with a poniard will do him no harm."
"But while you fight, his people will come upon us. Now, dear
Archibald, pray----"
"I am not in the sweetest of tempers just now: and--soho! thou
Hamilton! clear the pathway, or I will trounce thee soundly."
"Who are _you_?" asked Sir James, standing on his guard, right in the
centre of the path that led to the boat; "and what seek you here,
sirrah?--stand and answer."
"I sought Sybil Douglas, Sir James."
"What do I hear--the Earl of Ashkirk! Now, by the soul of Arran!
thou leavest not this island but in a coffin. Pardon me, my young
lady of Kilspindie," said the old governor, courteously raising his
blue velvet bonnet to Sybil; "pardon me, but this rash gallant must
pay the penalty of coming uninvited here. Hallo! _a Hamilton! a
Hamilton!_"
"Dishonour dog your heels, base Barncleugh! and may that accursed
slogan never be heard but in shame and defeat!" exclaimed the earl,
infuriated to find him thus crying aloud to summon his men, who were
scattered over the island, and many of whom were visible in the
moonlight, and not far off. "To the boat, Sybil, and leave me to
deal with this rough tilter! To the boat; see to it, Sabrino. Sir
James Hamilton, I have fought fifteen times, and three of my
adversaries are dead; thou shalt make the sixteenth combatant I have
encountered, and the fourth I shall have slain; and, as God be my
judge, unwillingly. Come on!"
Both drew their daggers, and stood with their swords on guard.
In the sixteenth century, fencing in Scotland was very different from
what it is to-day--a pastime for boys. It was then the indispensable
accomplishment of the soldier and gentleman, for every gentleman was
then a soldier. Long, straight, and heavy, the swords were
double-edged; consequently, there were as many cuts as thrusts; and
being furnished with long arm-pit daggers, the left hands of the
duellists alternately acted offensively and defensively, and very
often gave the finishing blow, when the sword of one adversary had
beaten down the other's guard, and the combatants came to closer
quarters.
Alarmed lest the voice of Barncleugh should have reached his people,
excited by the imminent danger of his position, and by the
instinctive feudal hatred of Sir James Hamilton, the earl attacked
him with the utmost fury, assailing him with point and edge; and
warily the older swordsman received him, warding the cuts with his
rapier, and parrying the thrusts with his poniard. The steel rang
and flashed like blue fire in the bright moonlight; and a shower of
red sparks flew from either weapon as their keen edges met, and made
the arm of each combatant tingle up to the shoulder blade.
Somewhat older fashioned, and more stiff than the earl, the knight of
Barncleugh was unable, like the former, to lengthen and shorten
himself--one moment to spring agilely to the right, and the next to
make a furious assault on the left; or, in avoiding a breast-high
thrust, to lie so far back that his dagger-hand rested on the turf.
Firm and erect, the old laird stood like a tower; and the whole of
his skill (which was not little) lay in his sharp and unerring eye,
his strong but pliant wrist.
Meanwhile, Sabrino had placed Sybil in the boat, and standing in the
water, which came up to his armpits, held the bow to the edge of the
rock, that the earl might readily leap on board.
The result of a combat between two such well-matched swordsmen was a
number of mutually inflicted cuts and scratches, which exasperated
them both. But their animosity had different incentives--Barncleugh
fought for honour alone: but the earl fought for his honour, life,
liberty, and possession of Sybil Douglas; a cry from whom, together
with a distant "Hallo" informed him that the conflict was observed by
several of Barncleugh's soldiers, who were hurrying down the steep
pathway that led to the creek. This made the earl fall on with such