Watts, her neighbor, had
a nephew at present lodging with her, a steady man, recently made one
of the grooms in the King's Mews, and as this was the customary hour
of his return from the stables, she was sure he would be glad to do
the service." While the count was sealing his letter, Mrs Robson had
executed her commission, and reentered with young Watts. He
respectfully received his instructions from Thaddeus, and withdrew to
perform the duty.
Nanny had also appeared, and welcomed her grandmother's beloved
lodger with all those artless and animated expressions of joy which
are inseparable from a good and unsophisticated heart.
The distance between the royal precincts of St. James's and the
unostentatious environs of St. Martin's church being very short, in
less than half an hour the count's messenger returned with the
wished-for reply. It was with pain that he opened it, for he saw, by
the state of the paper, that it had been blotted with tears. He
hurriedly took out the re-enclosed bills, with a flushed cheek, and
read as follows:--
"I cannot be mistaken in recognizing the proud and high-minded
Constantine in the lines I hold in my hand. Could anything have
imparted to me more comfort than your generous belief that there is
indeed some virtue left in my wretched and repentant heart, it would
have arisen from the consciousness of having been the happy person
who succored you in your distress.
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