He was more at home in
a stealthy approach under the cover of night, and a swift plunge of his
sword before the enemy could turn and defend himself.
With Dorrimore it was different. To do him justice, fop as he was, he
did not want for courage, and, moreover, he was a good swordsman. So
when Rofflash made out that he could bring Vane to Spring Gardens,
where Dorrimore could easily find an excuse for provoking his rival to a
duel, the Templar eagerly approved the idea.
It was to carry out this plan practically that Rofflash, after quitting
his patron in St. James's Park, made his way to Moorfields. Though he
knew that Sally had extracted a promise from Vane to meet her in Spring
Gardens, he was by no means certain that Vane would keep his word. But
Rofflash was never without resources, and he thought he could devise a
plan to bring the meeting about. His scheme proved easier to execute
than he expected. Vane unconsciously played into his hands.
After his bitter disappointment through not meeting Lavinia at
Rosamond's Pond, Vane walked back to his Grub Street lodgings plunged in
fits of melancholy, alternated with moralisings on the faithlessness of
women. He did not believe Lavinia had kept the appointment. As for Sally
Salisbury, well, it was unfortunate that he should run across her at a
wrong moment, but he never imagined that the meeting with her was one of
design and not of accident.
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