The Nest of the Sparrowhawk

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The Nest of the Sparrowhawk

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Title: The Nest of the Sparrowhawk
Author: Baroness Orczy
Release Date: April 27, 2004 [EBook #12175]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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THE NEST OF THE SPARROWHAWK
A ROMANCE OF THE XVIIth CENTURY BY THE BARONESS
ORCZY

_November, 1909_

CONTENTS

PART I
CHAPTER
I. THE HOUSE OF A KENTISH SQUIRE II. ON A JULY
AFTERNOON III. THE EXILE IV. GRINDING POVERTY V. THE
LEGAL ASPECT VI. UNDER THE SHADOW OF THE ELMS VII.
THE STRANGER WITHIN THE GATES VIII. PRINCE AMÉDÉ
D'ORLÉANS IX. SECRET SERVICE X. AVOWED ENMITY XI.
SURRENDER XII. A WOMAN'S HEART XIII. AN IDEA

PART II XIV. THE HOUSE IN LONDON
XV. A GAME OF PRIMERO XVI. A CONFLICT XVII. RUS IN
URBE XVIII. THE TRAP XIX. DISGRACE XX. MY LORD
PROTECTOR'S PATROL

PART III XXI. IN THE MEANWHILE
XXII. BREAKING THE NEWS XXIII. THE ABSENT FRIEND
XXIV. NOVEMBER THE 2D XXV. AN INTERLUDE XXVI. THE
OUTCAST XXVII. LADY SUE'S FORTUNE XXVIII. HUSBAND
AND WIFE XXIX. GOOD-BYE XXX. ALL BECAUSE OF THE
TINDER-BOX XXXI. THE ASSIGNATION XXXII. THE PATH
NEAR THE CLIFFS

PART IV XXXIII. THE DAY AFTER
XXXIV. AFTERWARDS XXXV. THE SMITH'S FORGE XXXVI.
THE GIRL-WIFE XXXVII. THE OLD WOMAN XXXVIII. THE
VOICE OF THE DEAD XXXIX. THE HOME-COMING OF ADAM
LAMBERT XL. EDITHA'S RETURN XLI. THEIR NAME XLII.
THE RETURN XLIII. THE SANDS OF EPPLE XLIV. THE
EPILOGUE


PART I

The Nest of the Sparrowhawk

CHAPTER I
THE HOUSE OF A KENTISH SQUIRE
Master Hymn-of-Praise Busy folded his hands before him ere he spoke:
"Nay! but I tell thee, woman, that the Lord hath no love for such
frivolities! and alack! but 'tis a sign of the times that an English Squire
should favor such evil ways."
"Evil ways? The Lord love you, Master Hymn-of-Praise, and pray do
you call half an hour at the skittle alley 'evil ways'?"
"Aye, evil it is to indulge our sinful bodies in such recreation as doth
not tend to the glorification of the Lord and the sanctification of our

immortal souls."
He who sermonized thus unctuously and with eyes fixed with stern
disapproval on the buxom wench before him, was a man who had
passed the meridian of life not altogether--it may be surmised--without
having indulged in some recreations which had not always the
sanctification of his own immortal soul for their primary object. The
bulk of his figure testified that he was not averse to good cheer, and
there was a certain hidden twinkle underlying the severe expression of
his eyes as they rested on the pretty face and round figure of Mistress
Charity that did not necessarily tend to the glorification of the Lord.
Apparently, however, the admonitions of Master Hymn-of-Praise made
but a scanty impression on the young girl's mind, for she regarded him
with a mixture of amusement and contempt as she shrugged her plump
shoulders and said with sudden irrelevance:
"Have you had your dinner yet, Master Busy?"
"'Tis sinful to address a single Christian person as if he or she were
several," retorted the man sharply. "But I'll tell thee in confidence,
mistress, that I have not partaken of a single drop more comforting than
cold water the whole of to-day. Mistress de Chavasse mixed the
sack-posset with her own hands this morning, and locked it in the cellar,
of which she hath rigorously held the key. Ten minutes ago when she
placed the bowl on this table, she called my attention to the fact that the
delectable beverage came to within three inches of the brim. Meseems I
shall have to seek for a less suspicious, more Christian-spirited
household, whereon to bestow in the near future my faithful services."
Hardly had Master Hymn-of-Praise finished speaking when he turned
very sharply round and looked with renewed sternness--wholly
untempered by a twinkle this time--in the direction whence he thought
a suppressed giggle had just come to his ears. But what he saw must
surely have completely reassured him; there was no suggestion of
unseemly ribaldry about the young lad who had been busy laying out
the table with spoons and mugs, and was at this moment
vigorously--somewhat ostentatiously, perhaps--polishing a carved oak

chair, bending to his task in a manner which