"
"We feel how deeply indebted we are, for our good fortune, to your
kindness, your grace," Charlie said. "We know that, but for you,
months might have elapsed, even years, before we could have
obtained such a result, even after we had the confession of
Nicholson in our hands."
"I am glad, in every way, to have been able to bring this about,"
the duke said. "In the first place, because I have been able to
right a villainous piece of injustice; in the second, because those
injured were loyal gentlemen, with no fault save their steadfast
adherence to the cause of the Stuarts; and lastly, because one of
these gentlemen was my own good friend, Mat Jervoise, of whose
company I have so many pleasant recollections.
"I hope that, as soon as you have informed your fathers that their
names are cleared, and their property restored, you will think of
what I said, and will decide to quit the service of Sweden, and
enter that of your queen.
"An officer fighting for a foreign monarch is, after all, but a
soldier of fortune, however valiantly he fights. He is fighting for
a cause that is not his own, and, though he may win rewards and
honours, he has not the satisfaction that all must feel who have
risked their lives, not for gold, but in the service of their
country.
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