Such an answer, written by the mother of his betrothed, and
not by the girl herself, was scarcely likely to be received with
meekness by one of the Rutherfurds of that ilk. Lord Rutherfurd demanded
an interview with Janet Dalrymple, and absolutely declined to accept any
reply that did not come to him from her own lips. It was a struggle
between a high-spirited, determined man, deeply in love with her that he
strove for, and a woman whose heart was as hard as her brain was keen,
and who did not scruple to use any means, fair or foul, by which to gain
her own ends. The lion and the snake are unequal combatants, and in this
case the lion was worsted indeed. Lady Stair granted the interview, but
took care that not for one moment was her daughter permitted to be alone
with her lover. Lord Rutherfurd had many arguments that he had deemed
unanswerable, but the lady's nimble wits and ready tongue found an
answer for each one.
It must have been a strange scene that took place that day in the old
mansion of Carsecreugh. The girl herself was present, but, had the tales
of Lady Stair's dealings with the Evil One been true, she could not have
substituted for her beautiful, happy daughter any witch-made thing that
looked more lifeless than the poor, white-faced creature that sat with
silent lips and down-cast eyes, terror-ridden, broken-hearted.
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