had
instantly withdrawn from all association with them, he did not doubt
that no serious danger could exist in his case, and therefore thought
it unnecessary to agitate his mind, by suggesting the doubt which had
suddenly come into his own.
He knew, indeed, that any alarm which the Duke might feel, would but
make Laura's father lean more entirely day by day upon him, who, with
the exception of the conspirators themselves, was the only person who
possessed the dangerous secret which caused him so much agitation.
But Wilton was not a man to consider his own interests in any such
matter, and he determined, after a moment's consideration, to say
nothing of the doubts which had just arisen. A pause had ensued,
however, for the Duke, busied with his own feelings, had suffered his
thoughts to run back into the past; and, as is the case with every
human being whose mind dwells upon the acts that are irrevocable, he
found matter for sorrow and regret. After about five minutes'
silence, during which they both continued to gaze thoughtfully into
the fire, the Duke returned to the matter before them by saying--
"I wish to heavens, my dear young friend, I had taken your advice,
and not gone to this meeting at all; or that you had given me a
fuller intimation of what was intended."
"I could not, indeed, my lord," replied Wilton, "for I had no fuller
knowledge myself; I only conveyed to you a message I had received."
The Duke shook his head doubtingly. "Oh! Wilton, Wilton!" he said,
"you are training for a statesman! You have much better information
of all these things than you will suffer to appear. Did you not warn
me of this before any one else knew anything of it? Did you not in a
very short time find out where Laura was when nobody else could?"
It was in vain that Wilton denied any superior knowledge. The Duke
had so completely made up his mind that his young friend had been in
possession of all the secret information obtained by the ministers,
and, indeed, of more and earlier information than they had possessed,
that nothing would remove the impression from his mind; and when he
at length rose, finding that Wilton would drink no more wine, he
said--
"Well, Wilton, remember, I depend entirely upon you, with the fullest
and most implicit confidence. No one possesses my secret but you, and
one or two of these men, who will have enough to do in thinking of
themselves without implicating others, I trust. Most of those who
were present--for the meeting was very la