Of Cecil Falconer's mood of mind and views of the whole situation at this time, we can be best informed by a letter which he despatched to his friend and chum, Leslie Fotheringhame, on the day subsequent to the little riding expedition:
'Eaglescraig, Cunninghame.
'MY DEAR LESLIE,
'Hannibal has found his Capua! After our limited cuisine at Dumbarton, it seems to me that—so far as luxury is concerned—daily Lucullus dines with Apicius; by which preamble you will think, old fellow, that I have gone out of my mind, or betaken me to cramming again, as we did at Sandhurst. I am freely quartered in a magnificent house, with delightful society, and an old host, the general, who is hospitality's own self, and possesses a well-filled stable and a rare cellar—not that I care for it much—but any way, in its binns are some curious old Madeira that has been thrice round the Cape, white and red Constantia, Tokay with tints of gold, Chateau-Yquem, and Malmsey in which maudlin Clarence might have been drowned.
'We have had some excellent cover shooting, and, though the birds were a little wild, a good many brace fell to my bag. Nothing is stiff or formal here, though the old gentleman has some stately, eccentric, and rather extravagant notions about family, pedigree, blood, and all that sort of thing, and laments much the loss of a son who was once one of "Ours." There are two charming girls here, and after one's bachelor and barrack experiences, it is delightful to meet them each day at breakfast, with their fresh morning costumes and complexions; and charming, too, is the morning-room—quite like that described in "Coningsby": "Such a profusion of flowers; such a multitude of books; such a prodigality of writing materials; so many easychairs too, of so many shapes, each in itself a comfortable home; yet nothing crowded." And then the girls! Don't you envy me, old fellow! But I have no doubt they will have you over here when I—alas!—leave, for the old double Dun in the Clyde.
'There is one blot in my picture—a member of the family circle, named Hew Caddish Montgomerie, to whom I am obliged to do the civil, the general's heir—whom I simply detest and view in the light of a noxious reptile, why or how I cannot precisely say; but we have our likings and dislikings in this world, our attractions and repulsions, and certes, this fellow repels me!
'He is jowly in face, with full, red lips, heavy, stealthy, and shifty eyes, set close to his nose, and he inherits rather reddish hair and freckles from the family who gave him his middle name, which, curiously enough, is Caddish; and in spite, jealousy, or by a blunder, he nearly potted me one day in the covers!
'I think he already views me as a species of rival; he is a sort of cousin of Miss Montgomerie (would that I were so! but I am only one of those poor devils who exist in the world on sufferance), and whether they are engaged or not I cannot tell. He has half led me to infer as much, and assumes a disgusting air of proprietary and so forth, which certainly is not endorsed by Miss Montgomerie.'
(Falconer had written 'by Mary,' but had dashed through the Christian name, which had escaped his pen, and Fotheringhame remarked this.)
'Anyhow, I was cognisant of a rather tender scene between them in the avenue on the day I arrived here. He is deuced sharp at cards, and I have already lost to him much more than I can afford to lose.
'The general is an enthusiast on all that pertains to the regiment, and quite a detachment of it, in the shape of old pensioners, is quartered on his property. His Indian anecdotes are a little prosy, as he lugs them in on every conceivable occasion; but he is such a dear old fellow, that one can't help listening to his yarns about curry and rice; and a curious one he told me, last night, may interest you, as it referred to his son and a detachment of "Ours."
'When they were in Central India, Piers Montgomerie, with forty Cameronians and some natives, invested a fort named the Ghurry of Kittoor, a square edifice with towers at the corners, armed with heavy gingals and a few small cannon. The Potail commanding it was a resolute fellow, believing himself shot-proof, by an amulet he wore, and he was custodian of a great amount of treasure in gold mohurs, of which Piers had orders to deprive him. The fort was stormed, the Potail slain, and the treasure-chest was found, but totally empty—verifying the last words of the Potail, who, when dying, swore upon the Koran that there was not even an anna in the place, and that all the slaughter had been for nothing.
'Before the gate of the Ghurry there grew a tree of vast size and age, which Captain Montgomerie ordered his men to cut down for fuel. The soldier who hewed down the first branch brought away with it a literal shower of gold—gold that flashed in the sunshine and studded all the green sward like yellow buttercups; and there, sure enough, in the hollow trunk of the tree, was found treasure to the value of fifty thousand golden mohurs, to the bewilderment and joy of the Cameronians, who had been on such short rations for some time past, that they were ready to share the repast of Count Ugolino.
'I listen patiently to such yarns, because I am anxious to remain in his good graces; would that I could also be in those of his ward and niece!
'I believe, Leslie, that you are nearer to my heart than any other friend I ever had, so I don't mind owning to you that I am in for it—about to fall in love! I have always been at the same old game, you will say; but this time I fear that I am in terrible earnest, and have met my fate! But the deuce is, that she is a great heiress, while I have only my pay, or little more, and dare not lift my eyes so high; besides, what would be the use, as I strongly suspect that, with the general's wish and consent, she is the fiancée of his heir—the most unamiable, yet enviable, Cousin Hew!
'She is more than handsome—she is downright beautiful! Somewhat of a brunette, only a very pale and colourless one, with a small straight nose, dark hazel eyes, and dark brown hair, and her mouth is the sweetest in expression I ever saw; but I think I see you laughing at all this, you unbelieving villain!
'Even now, as I write in the library, she makes a delicious picture, with her beautiful slender throat and shapely head, as she stands in an oriel, whispering to a canary which flutters its golden wings against the bars of its cage, and takes from her rosy lips a crumb of sugar in its bill.
'She is frank and open-hearted, and somehow seems to sympathise with all my thoughts and fancies, and we have already gone some length in a mixture of confidential jest and earnest, which, though it may only amuse her, is perilous work to me. She is, perhaps, a little proud of her beauty; but what pretty girl is not? She seems a creature that draws brightness from all around her, while dispensing it in return, and to have been made only to be petted, admired, and caressed.
'You will think that I am hit hard. Well, old fellow, I grant to you that I am, and already a remoteness seems to have come over my past—our old barrack-room life at Dumbarton and elsewhere.
'To be hourly in the society of such a girl—to have her daily to walk, to ride, to sing with—is sure to have but one end. Her voice, by the way, is a clear and thrilling soprano—her touch upon the keys is full of tenderness; but a distrust of myself besets me sorely, and leaves unspoken the words that—despite the existence of Cousin Hew—hover on my lips.
'Why? you will ask.
'Because it is difficult for a man that is poor, and has not even high family to recommend him, to be deemed other than a fortune-hunter, when he aspires to an undoubted heiress; but I shall tell you all about this when I rejoin, and Fate has dropped its pall between her and me.
'I have lost at écarté to Hew Montgomerie, and have given him my I.O.U. for a hundred and eighty pounds. Please lend me the money, like a dear old fellow, and I shall square it up somehow, ere we go back to head-quarters, as we are sure to do when the spring drills commence, as I loathe to be in this fellow's debt, and the sum is rather a crusher to me.
'I hope all is right with our detachment, and that you grant no passes for more than twenty-four hours, and look sharp after our fellows. I must close now, as we are about to have a spin through the country, as far as Kilwinning, to see the company of archers practise, for old Sir Piers has more than once been captain of the popinjay in June, and a winner of the silver arrow.'
He had closed and despatched his letter ere he remembered that he had omitted all mention, even by name, of Annabelle Erroll.