Theresa Marchmont | Page 2

since the death of
the first Lady Greville about ten years before. She had been from her

infancy attached to the family service, and having married a retainer of
the house, had been nurse to Lord Greville, whom she still regarded
with something of a maternal affection. Her husband had died the
preceding year; equally lamented by the master whom he served, and
the domestics whom he ruled; and his wife was now daily declining,
and threatening to follow her aged partner to the grave. It was imagined
by the other members of the establishment, that the old lady had written
to her master, with whom she frequently corresponded, to entreat a
personal interview, in order that she might resign her "steward-ship"
into his hands before her final release from all earthly cares and
anxieties; and in consideration of the length and importance of her
services, none were surprised at the readiness with which her request
was granted.
Lord Greville had never visited the North since the death of his first
wife, a young and beautiful woman whom he had tenderly loved, and
who died and was interred at Greville Cross. She left no children, and
the heir, a fine boy in the full bloom of childhood and beauty, who now
accompanied Lord Greville, was the sole offspring of his second
marriage.
Helen, the present Lady Greville, was by birth a Percy; and although
her predecessor had been celebrated at the Court of Charles, as one of
the most distinguished beauties of her time, there were many who
considered her eclipsed by the lovely and gentle being who now filled
her place. She was considerably younger than her husband; but her
attachment to him, and to her child, as well as her naturally domestic
disposition, prevented the ill effects often resulting from disparity of
years. Lord Greville, whose parents were zealous supporters of the
royal cause, had himself shared the banishment of the second Charles;
had fought by his side in his hour of peril, and shared the revelries of
his court in his after days of prosperity. At an age when the judgement
is rarely matured, unless by an untimely encounter with the dangers and
adversities of the world, such as those disastrous times too often
afforded, he had been employed with signal success in several foreign
missions; and it was universally known that the monarch was ever
prompt publicly to acknowledge the benefit he had on many occasions

derived from the prudent counsels of his adherent, as well as from his
valour in the field.
But notwithstanding the bond of union subsisting between them, from
the period of his first marriage, which had taken place under the Royal
auspices, Greville had retired to Silsea Castle; and resisting equally the
invitations of his condescending master, and the entreaties of his
former gay companions, he had never again joined the amusements of
the court. Whether this retirement originated in some disgust
occasioned by the licentious habits and insolent companions of Charles,
whose present mode of life was peculiarly unfitted to the purer taste,
and intellectual character of Lord Greville; or, whether it arose solely
from his natural distaste for the parasitical existence of a courtier, was
uncertain; but it was undeniable that he had faithfully followed the
fortunes of the expatriate king, and even supplied his necessities from
his own resources; and had only withdrawn his services when they
were no longer required.
After the death of Lady Greville, his secluded habits seemed more than
ever confirmed; but when he again became possessed of a bride, whose
youth, beauty, and rank in society, appeared to demand an introduction
to those pleasures which her age had hitherto prevented her from
sharing; it was a matter of no small mortification to Lord and Lady
Percy, to perceive that their son-in-law evinced no disposition to profit
by the Royal favour, or to relinquish the solitude of Silsea, for the
splendours of the Capital. But Helen shared not in their regrets. She had
been educated in retirement; she knew but by report the licentious, but
seductive gaieties of the Court of Charles, and she had not the slightest
wish to increase her knowledge of such dangerous pleasures. Content
with loving, and being beloved by a husband whom she regarded with
profound veneration, her happiness was not disturbed by a restless
search after new enjoyments; and her delighted parents soon forgot
their disappointment in witnessing the contentment of their child.
For some years succeeding her marriage, they perceived no change in
the state of her feelings, but at length the anxiety of parental love led
them to form surmises, which renewed their former disapprobation of

the conduct of Greville. During their frequent visits to Silsea, they
observed that his love of study and retirement had deepened almost to