‘Do not cry,’ said Mrs. Lee, taking my arm. ‘I fully agree with the captain. Only think how it would be if, instead of being single, you were a mother cruelly and strangely taken away from your children.’
At this point, Sir Frederick Thompson, who had been intently surveying us from the other side of the deck, approached. He bowed, and lifted a little white wideawake.
‘I beg pardon for intruding,’ said he, ‘but I should like to ask this lady a question.’
‘If it refers to anything that is past, Sir Frederick,’ exclaimed Captain Ladmore, ‘I fear she will not be able to satisfy your curiosity.’
‘There’s no curiosity,’ said Sir Frederick; ‘it’s merely this: when I was sheriff, Lady Thompson and me, for my poor wife was then living, were invited to the ’ouse of Lord ----,’ and he named a certain nobleman; ‘and I remember that at supper I sat next to his lordship’s sister-in-law, Lady Loocy Calthorpe, whose father was the third Earl ----,’ and here he pronounced the name of another nobleman. ‘What I wanted to say is that this lady is the very himage of Lady Loocy, excepting that Lady Loocy ’adn’t white ’air. Now, mam,’ said he, addressing me; ‘of course you’re not Lady Loocy; but you might be a relative, for Lady Loocy had several sisters and a great number of cousins.’
‘How long ago is it since you sat beside Lady Lucy Calthorpe at supper, Sir Frederick?’ asked the captain.
‘Why, getting on for two years and an ’arf.’
‘And you remember her distinctly enough to enable you to find a likeness to her in this lady?’
‘God bless you, captain, yes. If it wasn’t for the white ’air, I should say that this lady was Lady Loocy herself.’
‘Is Calthorpe the family name of the Earl of ----?’ said Mrs. Lee.
‘Certainly, it is,’ answered Sir Frederick; ‘you’ll find it in the Peerage.’
‘The lady’s initials are A. C.,’ said the captain.
Sir Frederick struck the palm of his hand with his clenched fist, and his little eyes shone triumphantly as he said: ‘I’d like to make a bet, captain, that you’ve had the honour of preserving the life of a Calthorpe. Such a likeness as I see is only to be found in families.’
‘The accident of the lady being on board the French brig is accounted for,’ said the captain, eyeing me thoughtfully and earnestly; ‘she was rescued out of an open boat. But where did that boat come from?’