to see a man fight like that. It was horrible and yet magnificent.
Promise to keep me always from harm as you did last night.”
“Promise to love me always, and I will,” he answered fondly.
“I think that should be easy,” she replied. “And when my dear mother
is recovered from her shock, I am going to make her consent to our
immediate marriage. Something tells me that I shall always be in danger
away from you. So let it be soon, and then no separation.”
“It cannot be too soon for me,” he said.
When Tony and Nicholas returned they had much to tell. That the
Mayor and Chancellor were friendly, there was little to fear from the
coroner, who would hold his inquiry the next day, and also that Doctor
Syn was likely to be called before the Bishop’s Court.
“Suppose they unfrock me, Imogene. Will you still marry me?”
“Oh, if they only would! she answered. “You are too adventurous for
that solemn coat. I’m sure you fight much better than you preach.”
“By gad, I think she’s right,” cried Nicholas.
And Tony echoed, “Yes, by God, I think she is.”
“You all seem bent to make a fuss of me,” said Syn.
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Chapter 7
The Friend of the Family
At the coroner’s inquest, held in the card-room at Iffley, it was
apparent to the conspirators that no hint of suspicion that a trick had
been played upon them had entered the minds of the jury. Indeed, the
coroner himself opened the proceedings by stating that the case was a
straightforward one, and need not detain them long. In the absence of
her mother, who was too ill to attend, Imogene recounted to the court
the details of their cruel abduction from White Friars. She stated that
while her mother was locked in one room, the deceased had attempted to
love her forcibly in the very room in which the court was sitting. She
told them of the letter which the Squire had sent to Doctor Syn, and
which had been the means leading to their rescue. The unexpected
arrival of Captain Nicholas Tappitt, who had known them in Spain, backed
by the presence of Doctor Syn and his friend Mr. Cobtree, had insured
their safety, but not before the Squire had heaped such insults upon her
mother and herself as Doctor Syn, as a man of honour and her betrothed
lover, could not tolerate. The result was the meeting next morning in
Magdalen Fields.
The three young men were then called, and told the same story. They
had agreed that no mention should be made of Sommers or of the s ecret
stairway, but Doctor Syn found himself continually staring at the panel,
half expecting the avenging farmer to appear and tell the truth. But
having accomplished his work of vengeance, Sommers was wise enough to
remain on his side of the river.
After the details of the duel had been given by the seconds, the
pistols and fatal bullet were exhibited, and the two gypsies took their
stands as witnesses. The coroner said that there was no doubt in his
mind that the duel had been carried out with the strictest regularity
between gentlemen in an affair of honour, the jury agreeing that
everything was perfectly regular. As a matter of course they were asked
to view the body in the shuttered bedroom of the deceased, where the
surgeon bewildered their simple minds with the longest medical words at
his disposal, and the most of them were thankful that the stiffened dead
man’s hand was completely covering the actual wound.
A verdict of “Death in an Affair of Honour” was returned, and the
coroner wound up proceedings with a tribute to the young parson’s
courage, and to Captain Tappitt’s impartiality. The Captain’s behavior
had been gentlemanly throughout, and he hoped he would live long to
enjoy his sudden inheritance.
The results of the inquest brought another flood of congratulations
to Doctor Syn from all classes of the town and countryside, to which Syn
replied wistfully that he had yet to face the Bishop of The Diocese on a
charge of violating his cloth.
But the Bishop, neither wishing to fly in the face of public opinion
nor to give the appearance that he was swayed by it, pretended to be
ill, and begged the Chancellor to take over full responsibility and
advise him of the results. The Chancellor pointed out to his Lordship
that although nominally Head of the University, and conveniently
resident in Oxford, the duty of presiding over such a court must fall
upon the Vice-Chancellor, who was responsible for keeping the peace in
the colleges. Fortunately for Doctor Syn, this important official was
also his good friend, so that when two days later the young Doctor took
his stand before an assembly of clergy convened in the Sheldonian
Theater, he felt confident that the court would take no drastic steps
against him.
- 51 -
The Hall was packed, not only with students, but with all the fashion
of the neighbourhood, and although the Vice-Chancellor thundered against
the evil practice of dueling, warning the students that should any of
them take part in such an affair he would be sent down in disgra ce, yet
he owned that in this particular case he felt obliged to deal mercifully
with such a brave young man.
Thus was Doctor Syn acquitted, and that very night a supper was given
in his honour by the students. Both Tony and Nicholas went with him,
and since it was held in an upper room of the old Mitre Inn, which
Doctor Syn was in no mind to check, the jolly students drank themselves
beneath the table. Neither Tony nor Nicholas could out drink Doctor
Syn, and they afterwards confessed that although he drank as much as
any, he was the only one who remained sober. Nicholas swore that such a
grand capacity was wasted in a parson. But Doctor Syn was yet to know
how useful it was to be able to consume more bottles than the next man
and yet come out clear-headed.
In the days that followed, Doctor Syn discovered that an admiration
which he had never quite resisted for Nicholas had developed into a fast
friendship. Possessed now of his uncle’s wealth, the young man began to
enjoy life with zest, and insist ed that his friends should do the same
and share his fortune with him. Nothing could daunt his kindness and
concern, and he would wave aside their continual gratitude with “I am a
friend of the family, I hope?” Imogene especially delighted in his
company, and Doctor Syn was glad of this, since, owing to the mother’s
illness, Imogene was kept somewhat a prisoner in White Friars. Nicholas
was a welcome relief to the girl from the monotony of nursing. It was
delightful to talk of her beloved Spain to someone who knew it well and
could converse in excellent Spanish. He was also a proficient performer
on the guitar, and could sing her favorite love-songs.
Seeing that Imogene loved to speak her native tongue and her it
spoken, Doctor Syn resolved to learn, and in this he was helped as much
by Nicholas as by Imogene herself. On one occasion when Nicholas had
praised him for an improved accent and an ever-growing vocabulary, the
Doctor cautioned him in jest with:
“You must take care, you know, for I shall so on be understanding all
you say to one another.” At which Nicholas laughed and said:
“I have no guilty secret, since I have always told you to your face
how much I am in love with Imogene, and one of the things that makes me