Ronald Morton | Page 8

soon move from her present position. At
length she descended to her boudoir below, where, as usual, her light

and frugal meal was brought to her by her own attendant, Nanny
Clousta.
Her meal, at which Nanny stood ready to help her to anything she
required, being quickly concluded, Miss Wardhill descended to the
large hall on the ground-floor, in the centre of the castle. It was a
handsome room, with an arched ceiling of dark oak, supported by
pillars round the wall. A long table ran down the centre, at one end of
which, on a raised platform or da•s, she took her seat. Several tenants
of the Lunnasting estate came in to make complaints, to beg for the
redress of grievances, to report on the state of the farms, or fisheries, or
kelp-collecting; to all of which the lady listened with the most perfect
attention, making notes in a book placed before her. Two or three were
told to wait till she had seen the factor, that she might hear his reports
before deciding on their claims. She looked round as if the audience
was over; and inquired why Alexander, or Sandy Redland, as he was
called, the factor, did not make his appearance, when an old man,
leaning on a stick, hobbled into the hall.
"I come for justice, my lady. Oh, hear me, hear me!" he exclaimed; as
if before entering the hall he had worked himself up to address her; "I
am just auld Archy Eagleshay, and as ye ken weel, my leddie, my only
son has long gane been awa to sea, and I've been left to struggle on fra
ane year to another, till now that I am grown too weak to toil, and the
factor, Sandy Redland, comes down upon me, and makes awfu' threats
to distrain and turn me out of my sma' holding if I dinna pay; and pay I
canna', that is truth, my leddie. Have mercy, have pity, my leddie. Ye
love justice whatever else ye love."
"Justice might induce me to expel you from your holding, if you cannot
pay your rent, old man," said Miss Wardhill, in a cold severe tone.
"However I will listen to what Sandy Redland, the factor, has to say.
Ha! here he comes. You are late Mr Redland, in your attendance. What
has kept you?"
The man who entered was a tall, thin person, habited in the grey
shepherd's plaid of the north. His features were coarse. He possessed a
sharp nose, high cheek bones, and small and grey unpleasantly

twinkling eyes. He bowed low, and in a voice which was intended to be
soft and insinuating, replied--
"It is no fault o' mine when your orders are na implicitly obeyed, Miss
Wardhill; but circumstances militate against the best intentions, as may
be clear to you oftentimes, I doubt not. I was delayed by having to
make inquiries respecting a strange ship, which anchored, it appears, a
few hours back, in the Sound of Eastling, and which, as I opine, is
within your leddyship's jurisdiction, I deemed it incumbent on me to
ascertain the object of her coming, and the time it might be proposed
for her to stay. As she is a foreigner, it struck me that charge might be
made for harbour and light dues, and the chances are that it would not
be disputed. Ye see, Miss Wardhill, that I have always your honoured
father's interests at heart."
The lady gave a glance towards the factor, which bespoke the most
perfect contempt--too cold and confirmed to cause much change in her
features.
"And what have you learned respecting this stranger ship?" she asked.
"Nathing, my leddie, nathing," answered Sandy, shuddering. "What
could I tell but that she might be a pirate or an enemy in disguise, or
some ill-doer, and that if I, the factor of Lunnasting, was entrapped on
board, I might be retained as a hostage in durance vile, till sic times as
a heavy sum might be collected for my ransom."
A gleam flitted across Miss Wardhill's countenance, as she replied:
"You estimate yourself somewhat highly, factor. Then, in truth, you
know nothing of the ship which has anchored in the Sound?"
"Nathing whatever, my leddie," was the answer. "But I await the return
of Jock Busta's boat which I despatched as soon as I reached Whalsey
this morning from the mainland."
"Bring me the information as soon as you obtain it," said Miss Wardhill.
"In the meantime let me hear what answer you have to make to a
complaint old Archy Eagleshay brings against you."

The factor gave a variety of reasons for his conduct, to which she
listened without replying, and then called up the old man to her end of
the table.
"Go home Archy