CHAPTER XXVI
AN ECLAIRCISSEMENT
The hint which the Chieftain had thrown out respecting Flora wasnot unpremeditated. He had observed with great satisfaction thegrowing attachment of Waverley to his sister, nor did he see anybar to their union, excepting the situation which Waverley'sfather held in the ministry, and Edward's own commission in thearmy of George II. These obstacles were now removed, and in amanner which apparently paved the way for the son's becomingreconciled to another allegiance. In every other respect the matchwould be most eligible. The safety, happiness, and honourableprovision of his sister, whom he dearly loved, appeared to beensured by the proposed union; and his heart swelled when heconsidered how his own interest would be exalted in the eyes ofthe ex-monarch to whom he had dedicated his service, by analliance with one of those ancient, powerful, and wealthy Englishfamilies of the steady cavalier faith, to awaken whose decayedattachment to the Stuart family was now a matter of such vitalimportance to the Stuart cause. Nor could Fergus perceive anyobstacle to such a scheme. Waverley's attachment was evident; andas his person was handsome, and his taste apparently coincidedwith her own, he anticipated no opposition on the part of Flora.Indeed, between his ideas of patriarchal power and those which hehad acquired in France respecting the disposal of females inmarriage, any opposition from his sister, dear as she was to him,would have been the last obstacle on which he would havecalculated, even had the union been less eligible.
Influenced by these feelings, the Chief now led Waverley in questof Miss Mac-Ivor, not without the hope that the present agitationof his guest's spirits might give him courage to cut short whatFergus termed the romance of the courtship. They found Flora, withher faithful attendants, Una and Cathleen, busied in preparingwhat appeared to Waverley to be white bridal favours. Disguisingas well as he could the agitation of his mind, Waverley asked forwhat joyful occasion Miss Mac-Ivor made such ample preparation.
'It is for Fergus's bridal,' she said, smiling.
'Indeed!' said Edward; 'he has kept his secret well. I hope hewill allow me to be his bride's-man.'
'That is a man's office, but not yours, as Beatrice says,'retorted Flora.
'And who is the fair lady, may I be permitted to ask, Miss Mac-Ivor?'
'Did not I tell you long since that Fergus wooed no bride butHonour?' answered Flora.
'And am I then incapable of being his assistant and counsellor inthe pursuit of honour?' said our hero, colouring deeply. 'Do Irank so low in your opinion?'
'Far from it, Captain Waverley. I would to God you were of ourdetermination! and made use of the expression which displeasedyou, solely
Because you are not of our quality, But stand against us as an enemy.'
'That time is past, sister,' said Fergus; 'and you may wishEdward Waverley (no longer captain) joy of being freed from theslavery to an usurper, implied in that sable and ill-omenedemblem.'
'Yes,' said Waverley, undoing the cockade from his hat, 'it haspleased the king who bestowed this badge upon me to resume it in amanner which leaves me little reason to regret his service.'
'Thank God for that!' cried the enthusiast; 'and O that they maybe blind enough to treat every man of honour who serves them withthe same indignity, that I may have less to sigh for when thestruggle approaches!'
'And now, sister,' said the Chieftain, 'replace his cockade withone of a more lively colour. I think it was the fashion of theladies of yore to arm and send forth their knights to highachievement.'
'Not,' replied the lady, 'till the knight adventurer had wellweighed the justice and the danger of the cause, Fergus. Mr.Waverley is just now too much agitated by feelings of recentemotion for me to press upon him a resolution of consequence.'
Waverley felt half alarmed at the thought of adopting the badge ofwhat was by the majority of the kingdom esteemed rebellion, yet hecould not disguise his chagrin at the coldness with which Floraparried her brother's hint. 'Miss Mac-Ivor, I perceive, thinks theknight unworthy of her encouragement and favour,' said he,somewhat bitterly.
'Not so, Mr. Waverley,' she replied, with great sweetness. 'Whyshould I refuse my brother's valued friend a boon which I amdistributing to his whole clan? Most willingly would I enlistevery man of honour in the cause to which my brother has devotedhimself. But Fergus has taken his measures with his eyes open. Hislife has been devoted to this cause from his cradle; with him itscall is sacred, were it even a summons to the tomb. But how can Iwish you, Mr. Waverley, so new to the world, so far from everyfriend who might advise and ought to influence you,--in a moment,too, of sudden pique and indignation,--how can I wish you toplunge yourself at once into so desperate an enterprise?'
Fergus, who did not understand these delicacies, strode throughthe apartment biting his lip, and then, with a constrained smile,said, 'Well, sister, I leave you to act your new character ofmediator between the Elector of Hanover and the subjects of yourlawful sovereign and benefactor,' and left the room.
There was a painful pause, which was at length broken by Miss Mac-Ivor. 'My brother is unjust,' she said, 'because he can bear nointerruption that seems to thwart his loyal zeal.'
'And do you not share his ardour?' asked Waverley,
'Do I not?' answered Flora. 'God knows mine exceeds his, if thatbe possible. But I am not, like him, rapt by the bustle ofmilitary preparation, and the infinite detail necessary to thepresent undertaking, beyond consideration of the grand principlesof justice and truth, on which our enterprise is grounded; andthese, I am certain, can only be furthered by measures inthemselves true and just. To operate upon your present feelings,my dear Mr. Waverley, to induce you to an irretrievable step, ofwhich you have not considered either the justice or the danger,is, in my poor judgment, neither the one nor the other.'
'Incomparable Flora!' said Edward, taking her hand, 'how much do Ineed such a monitor!'
'A better one by far,' said Flora, gently withdrawing her hand,'Mr. Waverley will always find in his own bosom, when he will giveits small still voice leisure to be heard.'
'No, Miss Mac-Ivor, I dare not hope it; a thousand circumstancesof fatal self-indulgence have made me the creature rather ofimagination than reason. Durst I but hope--could I but think--thatyou would deign to be to me that affectionate, that condescendingfriend, who would strengthen me to redeem my errors, my futurelife--'
'Hush, my dear sir! now you carry your joy at escaping the handsof a Jacobite recruiting officer to an unparalleled excess ofgratitude.'
'Nay, dear Flora, trifle with me no longer; you cannot mistake themeaning of those feelings which I have almost involuntarilyexpressed; and since I have broken the barrier of silence, let meprofit by my audacity. Or may I, with your permission, mention toyour brother--'
'Not for the world, Mr. Waverley!'
'What am I to understand?' said Edward. 'Is there any fatal bar--has any prepossession--'
'None, sir,' answered Flora. 'I owe it to myself to say that Inever yet saw the person on whom I thought with reference to thepresent subject.'
'The shortness of our acquaintance, perhaps--If Miss Mac-Ivor willdeign to give me time--'
'I have not even that excuse. Captain Waverley's character is soopen--is, in short, of that nature that it cannot be misconstrued,either in its strength or its weakness.'
'And for that weakness you despise me?' said Edward.
'Forgive me, Mr. Waverley--and remember it is but within this halfhour that there existed between us a barrier of a nature to meinsurmountable, since I never could think of an officer in theservice of the Elector of Hanover in any other light than as acasual acquaintance. Permit me then to arrange my ideas upon sounexpected a topic, and in less than an hour I will be ready togive you such reasons for the resolution I shall express as may besatisfactory at least, if not pleasing to you.' So saying Florawithdrew, leaving Waverley to meditate upon the manner in whichshe had received his addresses.
Ere he could make up his mind whether to believe his suit had beenacceptable or no,
Fergus re-entered the apartment. 'What, a lamort, Waverley?' he cried. 'Come down with me to the court, andyou shall see a sight worth all the tirades of your romances. Anhundred firelocks, my friend, and as many broadswords, justarrived from good friends; and two or three hundred stout fellowsalmost fighting which shall first possess them. But let me look atyou closer. Why, a true Highlander would say you had been blightedby an evil eye. Or can it be this silly girl that has thus blankedyour spirit. Never mind her, dear Edward; the wisest of her sexare fools in what regards the business of life.'
'Indeed, my good friend,' answered Waverley, 'all that I cancharge against your sister is, that she is too sensible, tooreasonable.'
'If that be all, I ensure you for a louis-d'or against the moodlasting four-and-twenty hours. No woman was ever steadily sensiblefor that period; and I will engage, if that will please you, Florashall be as unreasonable to-morrow as any of her sex. You mustlearn, my dear Edward, to consider women en mousquetaire.' Sosaying, he seized Waverley's arm and dragged him off to review hismilitary preparations.