Page 46 - A Jacobite Exile

"Sir Marmaduke unbuckled his sword, and laid it by. He was quieter than I
thought he could be, in such a strait, for he has always been by nature, as

you know, choleric.

"'I am ready, gentlemen,' he said.

"Peters whispered in Cockshaw's ear.

"'Ah yes,' the other said, 'I had well-nigh forgotten,' and he turned to me.

'Where is Master Charles Carstairs?'

"'He is not in the house,' I said. 'He rode away this morning, and did not tell

me where he was going.'

"'When do you expect him back?'

"'I do not expect him at all,' I said. 'When Master Charles rides out to visit

his friends, he sometimes stays away for a day or two.'

"'Is it supposed,' Sir Marmaduke asked coldly, 'that my son is also mixed up
in this precious scheme?'

"'It is sworn that he was privy to it,' John Cockshaw said, 'and is, therefore,
included in the orders for arrest.'

"Sir Marmaduke did not speak, but he shut his lips tight, and his hand went
to where the hilt of his sword would have been. Two of the constables went

out and questioned the grooms, and found that you had, as I said, ridden
off. When they came back, there was some talk between the magistrates,

and then, as I said, four constables and some soldiers were left in the house.
Sir Marmaduke's horse was brought round, and he rode away, with the
magistrates and the other soldiers."

"I am quite sure, Banks, that my father could have known nothing of those

letters, or of any plot against William's life. I have heard him speak so often
of the assassination plot, and how disgraceful it was, and how, apart from