The Vow

The Vow by Paul Trent (1910)

In Paul Trent's The Vow, the millionaire financier John Gaunt, whose fortune rests on the "red rubber" of the Congo, marries the impoverished Lady Mildred Blythe, whose brother Geoffrey, the Earl of Lynton, is on the verge of bankruptcy. Gaunt loves her passionately, but she has accepted him for his money and keeps him at a distance. A year later, while Gaunt is at work in the City, he refuses a further loan to his old friend Braithwaite, joins the German-Jewish financier Weiss in a profitable Amanti Mine share swindle based on a forged cable, and gives a generous check to the East End clergyman Edward Drake. He is then called home because Lady Mildred is dying after the birth of their son. When the specialist Sir Felix Hellier says nothing more can be done, Gaunt kneels and vows to God that, if she lives, every action of his life will follow the teaching of Christ, he will try to right his wrongs, and he will take the advice of the best Christian he knows. Her breathing eases at once, and she recovers. Sir Felix admits he cannot explain it, and Gaunt becomes convinced that his prayer was answered. Gaunt sends for Drake and asks him to be his conscience as private chaplain. Drake accepts, refuses a salary, and moves into Gaunt's Park Lane house. There he meets Lady Mildred and her younger sister, Lady Ethel Blythe, who teases and charms him. Gaunt's first test is the Amanti affair. He refuses Weiss his share and sends the profits to the King's Hospital Fund, and he offers to sell the shares back to the original sellers at the price they sold for. Gaunt then tells Drake the truth about the Congo atrocities, including a woman flogged to death with the chicotte, and Drake resolves to find a way to help the natives. Gaunt attends a protest meeting chaired by the Archbishop of Canterbury and speaks in public. He admits his own part in the system and says the Belgian rulers will yield only to force. He pledges his fortune to the cause and declares himself an enemy of the Congo governors. Lady Mildred, who came with her sister, leaves in horror. Next morning she tells him she has discovered that she loves him, but she says there is blood on his hands and asks him to give her time. When she goes on to say that she loathes his past, he confesses that he is not sure he has repented. Gaunt begins to plan a bolder scheme: leasing a warship from a South American republic to blockade the mouth of the Congo. Drake's brother, Captain Lindsay Drake of the West African Frontier Force, comes to stay and joins the plan. The Belgian Baron de Croiseuil, once a Congo official and Gaunt's old associate, arrives in London to silence him. He threatens to expose a dossier on Gaunt's past, including the shooting of a man named Marillier, and to ruin him through the press and through Weiss. He also hints that he will tell Lady Mildred about a native woman. Gaunt defies him. The Baron works with the journalist Charles Sherren, who plants a hostile attack on Gaunt in the Daily Comet. He also approaches Lady Mildred, who has him shown out, and he questions Lady Ethel in the park, learning that the Gaunts are on bad terms. Drake explains the Marillier story to Gaunt, who killed Marillier in self-defence after beating him for flogging a young girl. Gaunt fears his wife will believe the rumor that he took Marillier's native wife. Lady Mildred offers him her love if he will take her away on the yacht and drop the Congo campaign, and he refuses, citing his bond. In despair he nearly gives up the vow, but Drake's prayer restores his resolve. Meanwhile Edward Drake realizes he loves Lady Ethel, while his brother Lindsay is openly smitten with her. Gaunt floods the newspapers with advertisements paid for with his money and plans a large meeting at the Albert Hall. The Baron meets Weiss, who gives him a letter proving Gaunt knew the Amanti cable was forged, and arranges to find the forger Davis.

By Paul Trent · First published 1910 · Genre: Romance, Historical fiction, Social novel · 43 chapters · 100,969 words

First lines

It was a dull November day, and the flickering light from the log fire lighted up one side of John Gaunt's face -- a strong face, with great possibilities in it for good or evil. The eyes were keen and steady; the nose commanding, while the lips were rather full, and would have denoted a nature that might run riot had it not been for the firmly moulded chin.

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Victorian England · Edwardian era · Congo Free State · Red rubber · Congo atrocities · Financier · Millionaire · Wealth and power · Marriage of convenience · Redemption · Religious conversion · Bargain with God

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