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Home alas! it was never meant for my home, or poor Fleta's and that I felt. It was our sojourn for a time, and no more. We had been more than a year exercising our talents in this lucrative manner, when one day, as I was sitting at the entrance to the tent, with a book in my hand, out of which Fleta was reading to me, a gipsy not belonging to our gang made his appearance.
A flood of tears poured forth on Fleta's neck relieved her, and we then left them together; old Masterton observing, as we took our seats in the back parlour, "By G , Japhet, you deserve to find your own father!" In about an hour Lady de Clare requested to see us. Fleta rushed into my arms and sobbed, while her mother apologised to Mr Masterton for the delay and excusable neglect towards him.
"There is another promise I must exact from you, Japhet, which is, that to a direction which I will give you, every six months you will enclose an address where you may be heard of, and also intelligence as to Fleta's welfare and health." "To that I give my cheerful promise; but, Melchior, you appear to have taken, all at once, a strange interest in this little girl."
All was now ready; but Timothy did not, as yet, assume his new clothes. It would have appeared strange that one who sat at my table should afterwards put on my livery; and as, in a small town there is always plenty of scandal, for Fleta's sake, if for no other reason, it was deferred until our arrival in London.
Although satisfied in my own mind that I had discovered Fleta's parentage, and anxious to impart the joyful intelligence, I resolved not to see her until everything should be satisfactorily arranged. The residence of the dowager Lady de Clare was soon discovered by Mr Masterton; it was at Richmond, and thither he and I proceeded.
A flood of tears poured forth on Fleta's neck relieved her, and we then left them together; old Masterton observing, as we took our seats in the back parlour, "By Gad, Japhet, you deserve to find your own father!" In about an hour Lady de Clare requested to see us. Fleta rushed into my arms and sobbed, while her mother apologised to Mr Masterton for the delay and excusable neglect towards him.
"There is another promise I must exact from you, Japhet, which is, that to a direction which I will give you, every six months you will inclose an address where you may be heard of, and also intelligence as to Fleta's welfare and health." "To that I gave my cheerful promise: but, Melchior, you appear to have taken, all at once, a strange interest in this little girl."
"What have I to do?" replied I to myself; "to find out if Melchior and Sir Henry de Clare be not one and the same person. And what then? What then? why then I may find out something relative to Fleta's parentage.
He was a riddle of inconsistency it was certain; professionally he would cheat anybody, and disregard all truth and honesty; but, in his private character, he was scrupulously honest, and, with the exception of the assertion relative to Fleta's birth and parentage, he had never told me a lie, that I could discover.
On the third day I took my leave, and requesting the pony chaise of Lady de Clare, to take me over to , that I might catch the first coach that went westward, for I did not care which. I put into Fleta's hands the packet which I had written, containing all that had passed, and I bid her farewell.
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