Mortlake: a Legend of Merton

Mortlake: a Legend of Merton by James Maidment

Tom Vallance, the indulged but idle son of Mrs Vallance, is caught with a gun on the grounds of Merton by the irritable Sir Thomas Bruce Vavasour. Sir Thomas confiscates the gun and humiliates Tom, calling him a poacher and threatening him with ruin. Stung by the insult, Tom declares that Sir Thomas will bitterly rue the day and that his next visit to the grounds will bring no good. Weeks later, Sir Thomas is found stabbed to death in his dining-room. Tom is discovered beside the body holding the bloody knife and is arrested for murder. His earlier threat, repeated by the servants, makes the evidence appear overwhelming. Tom admits entering the grounds to steal Sir Thomas’s prized peaches in revenge, but insists that he found the baronet already dead, picked up the knife in horror, and was immediately seized. He is committed for trial, while his mother alone fully believes him innocent. In prison, Tom regrets his wasted life and resolves to reform if saved. A stranger calling himself Mortlake visits him as an adviser, believes his account, but fears conviction. Mortlake proposes escape, supplying aquafortis, a file, and a silken ladder. Tom secretly corrodes and removes his window grating, descends at midnight, and follows Mortlake into hiding. Disguised in female clothes, he travels first as Mortlake’s supposed companion and then, after further concealment, reaches London. Mortlake tells Tom that he must abandon his name and leave Britain for Antigua, where he will become Thomas Mortlake and work in the mercantile house of Mortlake, Tresham, & Co. Tom writes cautiously to his mother, who receives money and later moves to a rent-free cottage on the Vavasour estate in England. Mortlake sends Tom away on the brig Tresham, accompanied at his departure by a mysterious lady who shares Mortlake’s concern for him. In Antigua, Tom proves diligent, able, and modest. He rises from clerk to head clerk, devotes himself to study, and sends the fruits of his work to his mother. Her death grieves him deeply, though he learns that Mortlake’s lady friend cared for her at the last. After ten years, Mr Tresham admits him as a partner at his patron’s request. After twenty years abroad, prosperous and respected, Thomas Mortlake returns to England. He is received by his patron, Tresham, and the family at Vavasour. He discovers that his protector is Lord Mortlake, that the mysterious lady is Lady Mortlake, and that their daughter is Emily. Lord Mortlake then reveals that he is Edward Vavasour, nephew and heir of Sir Thomas. Edward’s vindictive mother, angered by Sir Thomas and by Edward’s marriage against her wishes, left Sir Thomas a letter falsely alleging that Edward was not his brother’s son. The accusation drove Sir Thomas into a frenzy when Edward unexpectedly visited him at Merton. During their confrontation, Sir Thomas seized a knife and attacked Edward. Edward avoided the blow, but Sir Thomas slipped and fell upon the knife, which pierced his heart. Fearing that he would be accused as the heir who had quarrelled with the dead man, Edward fled. Soon afterward he learned that Tom had been arrested in his place. Determined that an innocent youth should not die for an accident, Edward and Lady Mortlake arranged Tom’s escape, concealed him under the Mortlake name, and established him in Antigua. Edward later succeeded to the Vavasour estates and became Lord Mortlake, while securing Tom’s mother’s comfort. Lord Mortlake gives Tom permission to reveal everything if he wishes to restore the name of Tom Vallance. Tom refuses, declaring that the idle and disgraced Vallance has been replaced by the honest, prosperous Thomas Mortlake through his benefactor’s kindness and his own reform. He marries Emily, Lord Mortlake’s eldest daughter, and enjoys wealth, family affection, friendship, and honour.

By James Maidment · First published 1824 · Genre: Crime Mystery, Sensation Fiction, Moral Tale · 12,261 words

First lines

"Pray, sir, will you condescend to inform me by what title you presume to set your foot on my grounds? Have I not already warned you; and if I use you now severely, the blame must rest with yourself."

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Tags

Scottish Gothic romance · nineteenth-century fiction · Roxburghshire, Scotland · England and London · Antigua · country estate · baronet and landed gentry · poaching accusation · wrongful murder charge · circumstantial evidence · prison escape · disguise in women's clothing

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Mortlake: a Legend of Merton is listed on Textopian as a short story by James Maidment, dated 1824 CE.

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