Lady Ardagh,however,did not suffer from this change further than in being secluded from general society;for Sir Robert's wealth,and the hospitality which he had established in the family mansion,commanded that of such of his lady's friends and relatives as had leisure or inclination to visit the castle;and as their style of living was very handsome,and its internal resources of amusement considerable,few invitations from Sir Robert or his lady were neglected.
Many years passed quietly away,during which Sir Robert's and Lady Ardagh's hopes of issue were several times disappointed.In the lapse of all this time there occurred but one event worth recording.Sir Robert had brought with him from abroad a valet,who sometimes professed himself to be French,at others Italian,and at others again German.He spoke all these languages with equal fluency,and seemed to take a kind of pleasure in puzzling the sagacity and balking the curiosity of such of the visitors at the castle as at any time happened to enter into conversation with him,or who,struck by his singularities,became inquisitive respecting his country and origin.Sir Robert called him by the French name,JACQUE,and among the lower orders he was familiarly known by the title of 'Jack,the devil,'an appellation which originated in a supposed malignity of disposition and a real reluctance to mix in the society of those who were believed to be his equals.This morose reserve,coupled with the mystery which enveloped all about him,rendered him an object of suspicion and inquiry to his fellow-servants,amongst whom it was whispered that this man in secret governed the actions of Sir Robert with a despotic dictation,and that,as if to indemnify himself for his public and apparent servitude and self-denial,he in private exacted a degree of respectful homage from his so-called master,totally inconsistent with the relation generally supposed to exist between them.
This man's personal appearance was,to say the least of it,extremely odd;he was low in stature;and this defect was enhanced by a distortion of the spine,so considerable as almost to amount to a hunch;his features,too,had all that sharpness and sickliness of hue which generally accompany deformity;he wore his hair,which was black as soot,in heavy neglected ringlets about his shoulders,and always without powder--a peculiarity in those days.There was something unpleasant,too,in the circumstance that he never raised his eyes to meet those of another;this fact was often cited as a proof of his being something not quite right,and said to result not from the timidity which is supposed in most cases to induce this habit,but from a consciousness that his eye possessed a power which,if exhibited,would betray a supernatural origin.Once,and once only,had he violated this sinister observance:it was on the occasion of Sir Robert's hopes having been most bitterly disappointed;his lady,after a severe and dangerous confinement,gave birth to a dead child.Immediately after the intelligence had been made known,a servant,having upon some business passed outside the gate of the castle-yard,was met by Jacque,who,contrary to his wont,accosted him,observing,'So,after all the pother,the son and heir is still-born.'This remark was accompanied by a chuckling laugh,the only approach to merriment which he was ever known to exhibit.
The servant,who was really disappointed,having hoped for holiday times,feasting and debauchery with impunity during the rejoicings which would have accompanied a christening,turned tartly upon the little valet,telling him that he should let Sir Robert know how he had received the tidings which should have filled any faithful servant with sorrow;and having once broken the ice,he was proceeding with increasing fluency,when his harangue was cut short and his temerity punished,by the little man raising his head and treating him to a scowl so fearful,half-demoniac,half-insane,that it haunted his imagination in nightmares and nervous tremors for months after.
To this man Lady Ardagh had,at first sight,conceived an antipathy amounting to horror,a mixture of loathing and dread so very powerful that she had made it a particular and urgent request to Sir Robert,that he would dismiss him,offering herself,from that property which Sir Robert had by the marriage settlements left at her own disposal,to provide handsomely for him,provided only she might be relieved from the continual anxiety and discomfort which the fear of encountering him induced.
Sir Robert,however,would not hear of it;the request seemed at first to agitate and distress him;but when still urged in defiance of his peremptory refusal,he burst into a violent fit of fury;he spoke darkly of great sacrifices which he had made,and threatened that if the request were at any time renewed he would leave both her and the country for ever.This was,however,a solitary instance of violence;his general conduct towards Lady Ardagh,though at no time uxorious,was certainly kind and respectful,and he was more than repaid in the fervent attachment which she bore him in return.
Some short time after this strange interview between Sir Robert and Lady Ardagh;one night after the family had retired to bed,and when everything had been quiet for some time,the bell of Sir Robert's dressing-room rang suddenly and violently;the ringing was repeated again and again at still shorter intervals,and with increasing violence,as if the person who pulled the bell was agitated by the presence of some terrifying and imminent danger.A servant named Donovan was the first to answer it;he threw on his clothes,and hurried to the room.