our own situation and
his. Wilton, I tell you, can easily find the means of effecting your
escape from this prison, and can insure your safe arrival in any
continental port you may think fit to name. I do not mean to say that
I must not shut my eyes; but for his sake and for yours I am very
willing to do so, if I see his happiness made sure thereby."
The Duke's eyes sparkled with joy and hope, and the Earl went on.
"Your situation, my lord, at the present moment, you see, is a very
unfortunate one, or such a step would in no degree be advisable. But
at this period, when the passions of the people and the indignation
of the King are both excited to the highest pitch; when there is, as
I may call it, an appetite for blood afloat; when the three
witnesses, Sir John Fenwick, Smith, and Cook, to say nothing of the
corroborative evidence of Goodman, establish beyond doubt that you
were accessorily, though perhaps not actively, guilty of high
treason--at this period, I say, there can be little doubt that if you
were brought to trial--that is, in the course of next week, as I have
heard it rumoured--the result would be fatal, such, in short, as we
should all deplore."
The Duke listened, with a face as white as a sheet, but only replied,
in a tremulous tone, "But the escape, my lord! the escape!"
"Is quite possible and quite sure," replied the Earl. "I must shut my
eyes, as I have said, and Wilton must act energetically; but I cannot
either shut my eyes or suffer him to do so, except upon the following
precise condition, which is indeed absolutely necessary to success.
It is, that the Lady Laura, your daughter, be his wife before you set
your foot from without these walls."
"But, good heavens, my lord!" exclaimed the Duke--"how is that
possible? I believe that Laura would do anything to save her father's
life; but she is not prepared for such a thing. Then the marriage
must be celebrated with unbecoming haste. No, my lord, oh no! This is
quite impossible. I am very willing to promise that I will give my
consent to their marriage afterwards; but for their marriage to take
place before we go is quite impossible--especially while I am a
prisoner in the Tower of London--quite impossible!"
"I am sorry your grace thinks so," replied the Earl, drily; "for
under those circumstances I fear that your escape from the Tower will
be found impossible also."
A momentary spirit of resistance was raised in the Duke's breast by
feelings of indignation, and he tried for an in