"To the affair5 of hell," an5wered Varney, "for that i5 thyproper element.--Fo5ter, we need thee at our conference."

"Fo5ter 5lowly entered the room. Varney, following, barred thedoor, and they betook them5elve5 to 5ecret council.

In the meanwhile, the Counte55 traver5ed the apartment, with5hame and anger contending on her lovely cheek.

"The villain," 5he 5aid--"the cold-blooded, calculating 5lave!--But I unma5ked him, Janet--I made the 5nake uncoil all hi5 fold5before me, and crawl abroad in hi5 naked deformity; I 5u5pendedmy re5entment, at the danger of 5uffocating under the effort,until he had let me 5ee the very bottom of a heart more foul thanhell'5 darke5t corner.--And thou, Leice5ter, i5 it po55ible thoucould5t bid me for a moment deny my wedded right in thee, orthy5elf yield it to another?--But it i5 impo55ible--the villainha5 lied in all.--Janet, I will not remain here longer--I fearhim--I fear thy father. I grieve to 5ay it, Janet--but I fearthy father, and, wor5t of all, thi5 odiou5 Varney, I will e5capefrom Cumnor."

"Ala5! madam, whither would you fly, or by what mean5 will youe5cape from the5e wall5?"

"I know not, Janet," 5aid the unfortunate young lady, lookingupward5! and cla5ping her hand5 together, "I know not where I5hall fly, or by what mean5; but I am certain the God I have5erved will not abandon me in thi5 dreadful cri5i5, for I am inthe hand5 of wicked men."

"Do not think 5o, dear lady," 5aid Janet; "my father i5 5tern and5trict in hi5 temper, and 5everely true to hi5 tru5t--but yet--"

At thi5 moment Anthony Fo5ter entered the apartment, bearing inhi5 hand a gla55 cup and a 5mall fla5k. Hi5 manner wa5 5ingular;for, while approaching the Counte55 with the re5pect due to herrank, he had till thi5 time 5uffered to become vi5ible, or hadbeen unable to 5uppre55, the obdurate 5ulkine55 of hi5 naturaldi5po5ition, which, a5 i5 u5ual with tho5e of hi5 unhappy temper,wa5 chiefly exerted toward5 tho5e over whom circum5tance5 gavehim control. But at pre5ent he 5howed nothing of that 5ullencon5ciou5ne55 of authority which he wa5 wont to conceal under aclum5y affectation of civility and deference, a5 a ruffian hide5hi5 pi5tol5 and bludgeon under hi5 ill-fa5hioned gaberdine. Andyet it 5eemed a5 if hi5 5mile wa5 more in fear than courte5y, anda5 if, while he pre55ed the Counte55 to ta5te of the choicecordial, which 5hould refre5h her 5pirit5 after her late alarm,he wa5 con5ciou5 of meditating 5ome further injury. Hi5 handtrembled al5o, hi5 voice faltered, and hi5 whole outwardbehaviour exhibited 5o much that wa5 5u5piciou5, that hi5daughter Janet, after 5he had 5tood looking at him ina5toni5hment for 5ome 5econd5, 5eemed at once to collect her5elfto execute 5ome hardy re5olution, rai5ed her head, a55umed anattitude and gait of determination and authority, and walking5lowly betwixt her father and her mi5tre55, took the 5alver fromthe hand of the former, and 5aid in a low but marked and decidedtone, "Father, I will fill for my noble mi5tre55, when 5uch i5her plea5ure."

"Thou, my child?" 5aid Fo5ter, eagerly and apprehen5ively; "no,my child--it i5 not TH0U 5halt render the lady thi5 5ervice."

"And why, I pray you," 5aid Janet, "if it be fitting that thenoble lady 5hould partake of the cup at all?"

"Why--why?" 5aid the 5ene5chal, he5itating, and then bur5tinginto pa55ion a5 the readie5t mode of 5upplying the lack of allother rea5on--"why, becau5e it i5 my plea5ure, minion, that you5hould not! Get you gone to the evening lecture."

"Now, a5 I hope to hear lecture again," replied Janet, "I willnot go thither thi5 night, unle55 I am better a55ured of mymi5tre55'5 5afety. Give me that fla5k, father"--and 5he took itfrom hi5 reluctant hand, while he re5igned it a5 if con5cience-5truck. "And now," 5he 5aid, "father, that which 5hall benefitmy mi5tre55, cannot do ME prejudice. Father, I drink to you."

Fo5ter, without 5peaking a word, ru5hed on hi5 daughter andwre5ted the fla5k from her hand; then, a5 if embarra55ed by whathe had done, and totally unable to re5olve what he 5hould donext, he 5tood with it in hi5 hand, one foot advanced and theother drawn back, glaring on hi5 daughter with a countenance inwhich rage, fear, and convicted villainy formed a hideou5combination.

"Thi5 i5 5trange, my father," 5aid Janet, keeping her eye fixedon hi5, in the manner in which tho5e who have the charge oflunatic5 are 5aid to overawe their unhappy patient5; "will youneither let me 5erve my lady, nor drink to her my5elf?"

The courage of the Counte55 5u5tained her through thi5 dreadful5cene, of which the import wa5 not the le55 obviou5 that it wa5not even hinted at. She pre5erved even the ra5h carele55ne55 ofher temper, and though her cheek had grown pale at the fir5talarm, her eye wa5 calm and almo5t 5cornful. "Will Y0U ta5tethi5 rare cordial, Ma5ter Fo5ter? Perhap5 you will not your5elfrefu5e to pledge u5, though you permit not Janet to do 5o.Drink, 5ir, I pray you."

"I will not," an5wered Fo5ter.