There's very few things a man can't
do, if he only tries hard enough; and I mean to be revenged upon my
Lady Eversleigh!" He paused for a few moments, standing close against
the wall of the castle, sheltered by its black shadow, and looking down
upon the broad domain beneath.
"And this is all hers, is it P--lands and houses; horses and carriages;
powdered footmen to fetch and carry for her; jewels to wear; plates and
dishes of solid gold to eat her dinner off, if she likes! All hers! And
she refuses me a few hundred pounds, and defies me, does she? We'll see
whether that's a safe game. I've sworn to have my revenge, and I'll
have it," he muttered, shaking his brawny fist, as if some phantom
figure were standing before him in the wintry moonlight. "I can afford
to wait; I wouldn't mind waiting years to get it; but I'll have it, if
I grow old and gray while I'm watching and plotting for it. I'll be
patient as Time, but I'll have it. She has refused me a few hundreds,
has she? I'll see her there, on the ground at my feet, grovelling like
a beaten dog, offering me half her fortune--all her fortune--her very
life itself! I'll humble her proud spirit! I'll bring her grandeur down
to the the dust. She won't own me for a father, won't she! Why, if I
choose, she shall tramp barefoot through the mud after me, singing
street-ballads in every town in England, and going round with my
battered old hat to beg for halfpence afterwards.
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