Plot Summary
On his deathbed, Baron Lavenham arranges a marriage between his great-nephew, Sir Tristram Shield, and his young French granddaughter, Eustacie de Vauban. His grandson and heir, Ludovic, is on the run on the Continent, after allegedly murdering a man in a dispute over a valuable heirloom, the talisman ring. The romantic Eustacie, appalled by her betrothed's phlegmatic character, runs away and soon encounters a smuggler, who turns out to be her cousin Ludovic. The two take refuge at a local inn, after Ludovic is injured escaping from Excisemen. There they encounter an older lady, Miss Sarah Thane, who vows to help them.
After finding her bandboxes and meeting the Excisemen following the smugglers on the blood trail from Ludovic's injury, Tristram decides to follow them under the impression that Eustacie encountered trouble from the smugglers. At the hotel, against Sarah Thane's efforts he conducts the excisemen towards Eustacie and Ludovic. Tristram recognizes him, but leads the others to believe that he is one of Lord Sylvester's bastards, much to the former's crossness, to account for the resemblance. When they leave he examines Ludovic's hands and pronounces innocence as the ring is not on them. Together with Sarah Thane, now a loyal accomplice and Eustacie's self-appointed chaperon, they conclude that the murderer is no other than Basil and hatch a plan to break into his home at the Dower House.
On the course of the next days Tristram spreads the word that Eustacie ran to meet Sarah Thane whom she knew from Paris to smooth over the ripples of her escape. It is concluded that Eustacie will stay with Sarah, to protect Ludovic, and thus Basil pays her a visit there. During the discussion Eustacie pretends that for architectural reasons Sarah would very much like to visit the Dower House and Basil invites them both there. They go and after a while they are joined by Tristram whom Basil "sends" to show Miss Thane the house around when Eustacie requests that they talk in private. They leave without finding the ring but the butler, having seem them knock on the panels in the house, shares that to Basil who understands at once that they know. Recollecting that his butler has spoken to the Excisemen he asks for the appearance of the "bastard" and realizing who it is calls in the Bow Street Runners.
The residents of the Red Lion inn get rid of them after making them believe that Sarah is Ludovic dressed in women's clothes and professing indulgence on their blunder. Basil then lays a trap announcing that he is going to London. Hearing this, Ludovic tries, against all advice to break into the house and escapes later with the help of Tristram, summoned by Miss Thane. Basil next tries to break into the inn and kill Ludovic but is stopped by sir Hugh, and in the struggle, he loses a quizzing glass. The next morning Sir Tristram realizes that the quizzing glass is rather disproportionate and after several tries he finds the ring in the shaft. The next morning he calls the Bow Street Runners and lays a trap for Basil who, while trying to escape, punches Miss Thane on the temple. She wakes up with Tristram is nursing her, and is rather annoyed when he proposes to her in her state, tough she confesses later on "I have been meaning to marry you these ten days and more!”.
Read more about this topic: The Talisman Ring
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