, and my heart warmed
more and more to him as I saw his strong young feeling blossom out,
I could not help the time dragging most wearisomely. The evenings
were intolerable, and I felt the atmosphere absolutely suffocating
at times. Mistress Routh was so completely Mistress Routh I soon
realised that the Lucy in her was of a truth not only dead but
buried out of my sight forever. Now if I have a failing, it is of
too keen an enjoyment of the present, rather than an indulgence in
unavailing regrets for the past, so that in a little I began to
speculate if the Hugh Maxwell who was the Hugh Maxwell of this
buried Lucy had not vanished also. Certainly I was not the Hugh
Maxwell she knew. She said so herself; she showed only too plainly
I had neither plot nor lot in her present life; and, after all,
the life that is lived is the life that is dead. So I accepted what
I had done my best to refuse, and turned again to the only life
that was open before me--I went to Lady Jane's that very evening.

CHAPTER V

I ASSIST AT AN INTERVIEW WITH A GREAT MAN

I found the household in Essex Street in a state of perturbation
which was soon explained. News had come that Margaret's brother
Archibald had been arrested, as Lady Jane had foreseen, and was
now confined in Fort William. Margaret, though distressed greatly,
was such an ardent Jacobite that I verily believe she would rather
have seen her brother in some danger of losing his head than have
had him out of the business altogether.

She was neither so distressed nor elated, however, that she was
oblivious to my altered appearance, and I could see Lady Jane
herself was well pleased that her Hughie should cut somewhat of a
figure in the eyes of her protegee. She had a natural desire to
justify her affections.

But I simply mark this in passing; the real business in hand was
to devise some means for young Nairn's safety. This was the less
serious inasmuch as he certainly had never been in arms for the
Prince, and had been prudent enough to destroy all evidence of his
secret mission--in fact, his letter informed us that the one man
capable of giving evidence against him was withheld by circumstances
so disgraceful to himself there was no danger of any direct testimony
on this point.

The position could not be more favourable, and it was only a question
of the most judicious plan of succour.

The Vicomte, though desirous of alleviating Margaret's anxiety,
was debarred by h