"
"As far as I am concerned, O'Brien, nothing would give me greater
pleasure; but God knows to what wretchedness and want may have compelled
her."
"Shame on you, Peter, to think so of your sister. I pledge my honour for
her. Poor, miserable, and unhappy she may be--but no--no, Peter. You
don't know--you don't love her as I do, if you can allow such thoughts
to enter your mind."
This conversation took place at the window: we then turned round to
General O'Brien and Celeste.
"Captain O'Brien," said the general.
"Sir Terence O'Brien, if you please, general. His Majesty has given me a
handle to my name."
"I congratulate you, Sir Terence," said the general, shaking him by the
hand: "what I was about to say is, that I hope you will take up your
quarters at this hotel, and we will all live together. I trust that we
shall soon find Ellen: in the meanwhile we have no time to lose, in our
exposure of Lord Privilege. Is the woman in town?"
"Yes, and under lock and key; but the devil a fear of her. Millions
would not bribe her to wrong him who risked his life for her husband.
She's Irish, general, to the back bone. Nevertheless, Peter, we must go
to our solicitor, to give the intelligence, that he may take the
necessary steps."
For three weeks, O'Brien was diligent in his search for Ellen, employing
every description of emissary without success. In the meanwhile, the
general and I were prosecuting our cause against Lord Privilege. One
morning, Lord Belmore called upon us, and asked the general if we would
accompany him to the theatre, to see two celebrated pieces performed.
Pages:
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689