pleaded strongly in her favour; and
the death of Christian was at length only punished by the imposition of
a heavy fine, amounting, we believe, to many thousand pounds; which was
levied, with great difficulty, out of the shattered estates of the young
Earl of Derby.

CHAPTER VIII

My native land, good night!
--BYRON.

Lady Peveril remained in no small anxiety for several hours after her
husband and the Countess had departed from Martindale Castle; more
especially when she learned that Major Bridgenorth, concerning whose
motions she made private inquiry, had taken horse with a party, and was
gone to the westward in the same direction with Sir Geoffrey.

At length her immediate uneasiness in regard to the safety of her
husband and the Countess was removed, by the arrival of Whitaker, with
her husband's commendations, and an account of the scuffle betwixt
himself and Major Bridgenorth.

Lady Peveril shuddered to see how nearly they had approached to renewal
of the scenes of civil discord; and while she was thankful to Heaven for
her husband's immediate preservation, she could not help feeling both
regret and apprehension for the consequences of his quarrel with Major
Bridgenorth. They had now lost an old friend, who had showed himself
such under those circumstances of adversity by which friendship is
most severely tried; and she could not disguise from herself that
Bridgenorth, thus irritated, might be a troublesome, if not a dangerous
enemy. His rights as a creditor, he had hitherto used with gentleness;
but if he should employ rigour, Lady Peveril, whose attention to
domestic economy had made her much better acquainted with her husband's
affairs than he was himself, foresaw considerable inconvenience from the
measures which the law put in his power. She comforted herself with the
recollection, however, that she had still a strong hold on Bridgenorth,
through his paternal affection, and from the fixed opinion which he
had hitherto manifested, that his daughter's health could only flourish
while under her charge. But any expectations of reconciliation which
Lady Peveril might probably have founded on this circumstance, were
frustrated by an incident which took place in the course of the
following morning.

The governante, Mistress Deborah, who has been already mentioned, went
forth, as usual, with the children, to take their morning exercise in