Her father concluded, addressing Sir Frederick and the other gentlemen,
who stood around in astonishment, "And now, my friends, you see the most
unhappy father in Scotland. Lend me your assistance, gentlemen--give me
your advice, Mr. Ratcliffe. I am incapable of acting, or thinking, under
the unexpected violence of such a blow."
"Let us take our horses, call our attendants, and scour the country in
pursuit of the villains," said Sir Frederick.
"Is there no one whom you can suspect," said Ratcliffe, gravely, "of
having some motive for this strange crime? These are not the days of
romance, when ladies are carried off merely for their beauty."
"I fear," said Mr. Vere, "I can too well account for this strange
incident. Read this letter, which Miss Lucy Ilderton thought fit to
address from my house of Ellieslaw to young Mr. Earnscliff; whom, of all
men, I have a hereditary right to call my enemy. You see she writes
to him as the confidant of a passion which he has the assurance to
entertain for my daughter; tells him she serves his cause with her
friend very ardently, but that he has a friend in the garrison who
serves him yet more effectually.
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