CHAPTER XIX. SIR JERVIS REDWOOD.
In the meantime, Emily, left by herself, had her own correspondence tooccupy her attention. Besides the letter from Cecilia (directed to thecare of Sir Jervis Redwood), she had received some lines addressed toher by Sir Jervis himself. The two inclosures had been secured in asealed envelope, directed to the cottage.
If Alban Morris had been indeed the person trusted as messenger by SirJervis, the conclusion that followed filled Emily with overpoweringemotions of curiosity and surprise.
Having no longer the motive of serving and protecting her, Alban must,nevertheless, have taken the journey to Northumberland. He must havegained Sir Jervis Redwood's favor and confidence--and he might evenhave been a guest at the baronet's country seat--when Cecilia's letterarrived. What did it mean?
Emily looked back at her experience of her last day at school, andrecalled her consultation with Alban on the subject of Mrs. Rook. Washe still bent on clearing up his suspicions of Sir Jervis's housekeeper?And, with that end in view, had he followed the woman, on her return toher master's place of abode?
Suddenly, almost irritably, Emily snatched up Sir Jervis's letter.Before the doctor had come in, she had glanced at it, and had thrown itaside in her impatience to read what Cecilia had written. In her presentaltered frame of mind, she was inclined to think that Sir Jervis mightbe the more interesting correspondent of the two.
On returning to his letter, she was disappointed at the outset.
In the first place, his handwriting was so abominably bad that she wasobliged to guess at his meaning. In the second place, he never hinted atthe circumstances under which Cecilia's letter had been confided to thegentleman who had left it at her door.
She would once more have treated the baronet's communication withcontempt--but for the discovery that it contained an offer of employmentin London, addressed to herself.
Sir Jervis had necessarily been obliged to engage another secretaryin Emily's absence. But he was still in want of a person to serve hisliterary interests in London. He had reason to believe that discoveriesmade by modern travelers in Central America had been reported from timeto time by the English press; and he wished copies to be taken of anynotices of this sort which might be found, on referring to the filesof newspapers kept in the reading-room of the British Museum. IfEmily considered herself capable of contributing in this way to thecompleteness of his great work on "the ruined cities," she had onlyto apply to his bookseller in London, who would pay her the customaryremuneration and give her every assistance of which she might stand inneed. The bookseller's name and address followed (with nothing legiblebut the two words "Bond Street"), and there was an end of Sir Jervis'sproposal.
Emily laid it aside, deferring her answer until she had read Cecilia'sletter.