The insolence of the creature!--
And
so she walked about the room, talking to herself, to her woman, and
now and then to me; but seeing I could not please her, I thought I
had better be silent. And then it was, Am I not worthy an answer? If
I speak, said I, your ladyship is angry at me, though ever so
respectfully; if I do not, I cannot please: Would your ladyship tell me
but how I shall oblige you, and I would do it with all my heart.
Confess the truth, said she, that thou art an undone creature; hast been
in bed with thy master; and art sorry for it, and for the mischief
thou hast occasioned between him and me; and then I'll pity thee, and
persuade him to pack thee off, with a hundred or two of guineas; and
some honest farmer may take pity of thee, and patch up thy shame, for
the sake of the money; and if nobody will have thee, thou must vow
penitence, and be as humble as I once thought thee.
I was quite sick at heart, at all this passionate extravagance, and to
be hindered from being where was the desire of my soul, and afraid too
of incurring my dear master's displeasure; and, as I sat, I saw it was
no hard matter to get out of the window into the front yard, the parlour
being even with the yard, and so have a fair run for it; and after I had
seen my lady at the other end of the room again, in her walks, having
not pulled down the sash, when I spoke to Mrs. Jewkes, I got upon the
seat, and whipped out in a minute, and ran away as hard as I could
drive, my lady calling after me to return, and her woman at the other
window: But two of her servants appearing at her crying out, and she
bidding them to stop me, I said, Touch me at your peril, fellows!
But their lady's commands would have prevailed on them, had not Mr.
Colbrand, who, it seems, had been kindly ordered, by Mrs. Jewkes, to be
within call, when she saw how I was treated, come up, and put on one of
his deadly fierce looks, the only time, I thought, it ever became him,
and said, He would chine the man, that was his word, who offered to
touch his lady; and so he ran alongside of me; and I heard my lady say,
The creature flies like a bird! And, indeed, Mr. Colbrand, with his huge
strides, could hardly keep pace with me; and I never stopped, till I
got to the chariot; and Robert had got down, seeing me running at a
distance, and held the door in his hand, with the step ready down; and
in I jumped, without touching the step, saying, Drive me, drive me, as
fast as you can, out of my lady's reach! And he mounted; and Colbrand
said, Don't be frightened, madam; nobody shall hurt you.--And shut the
door, and away Robert drove; but I was quite out of breath, and did not
recover it, and my fright, all the way.