|
Chapter XLIX
Chapter XLIX
Fatality
In the meantime, milady, drunk with passion, roaring on the deck like
a lioness that has been embarked, had been tempted to throw herself into the
sea that she might regain the coast, for she could not get rid of the idea
that she had been insulted by D`Artagnan, and threatened by Athos, and had
left France without being revenged of both. This idea soon became so
insupportable to her, that at the risk of whatever terrible consequences
might result to herself from it, she implored the captain to put her on
shore; but the captain, eager to escape from his false position, placed
between French and English cruisers, like that bat between the mice and the
birds, was in great haste to gain the coast of England, and positively
refused to obey what he took for a woman`s caprice, promising his passenger,
who had been particularly recommended to him by the cardinal, to land her,
if the sea and the French permitted him, at one of the ports of Brittany,
either at Lorient or Brest; but the wind was contrary, the sea bad, they
laveered, and kept off shore. Nine days after leaving the Charente, pale
with fatigue and vexation, milady saw only the blue coasts of Finisterre
appear.
She calculated that to cross this corner of France and return to the
cardinal, it would take her at least three days; and another day for landing,
and it would make four; add these to the nine others, that would be thirteen
days lost - thirteen days - during which so many important events might pass
in London. She reflected, likewise, that the cardinal would be furious at
her return, and, consequently, would be more disposed to listen to the
complaints made against her than to the accusations she brought against
others.
She allowed the vessel to pass Lorient and Brest without repeating her
request to the captain, who, on his part, took care not to remind her of it.
Milady, therefore, continued her voyage, and on the very day that Planchet
embarked at Portsmouth for France, the messenger of His Eminence entered the
port in triumph.
All the city was agitated by an extraordinary movement - four large
vessels, recently built, had just been launched. Standing on the jetty, his
clothes richly laced with gold, glittering, as was customary with him, with
diamonds and precious stones, his hat ornamented with a white feather which
drooped upon his shoulder, Buckingham was seen surrounded by a staff almost
as brilliant as himself.
It was one of those rare and beautiful days in which England remembers
that there is a sun. The star of day, pale, but nevertheless still splendid,
was declining toward the horizon, empurpling at once the heavens and the sea
with bands of fire, and casting upon the towers and the old houses of the
city a last ray of gold, which made the windows sparkle like the reflection
of a conflagration. Milady, on respiring that sea breeze, so much more
lovely and balsamic as the land is approached, while contemplating all the
power of those preparations she was commissioned to destroy, all the power
of that army which she was to combat alone - she, a woman - with a few bags
of gold, compared herself mentally to Judith, the terrible Jewess, when she
penetrated into the camp of the Assyrians, and beheld the enormous mass of
chariots, horses, men and arms, which a gesture of her hand was to dissipate
like a cloud of smoke.
They entered the road, but as they drew near, in order to cast anchor,
a little cutter, formidably armed, approached the merchant vessel, in
appearance a coast-guard, and dropping its boat into the sea, the latter
directed its course to the ladder. This boat contained an officer, a mate,
and eight rowers - the officer alone got on board, where he was received with
all the deference inspired by the uniform.
The officer conversed a few instants with the captain, gave him several
papers, of which he was the bearer, to read, and, upon the order of the
merchant-captain, the whole crew of the vessel, both passengers and sailors,
were called upon deck.
When this species of summons was made, the officer inquired aloud the
point of the brig`s departure, of its route, of its landings, and to all
these questions the captain replied without difficulty and without
hesitation. Then the officer began to pass in review all the persons, one
after the other, and stopping when he came to milady, surveyed her very
closely, but without addressing a single word to her.
He then went up to the captain, again said a few words to him; and, as
if from that moment the vessel was under his command, he ordered a maneuver
which the crew executed immediately. Then the vessel resumed its course,
still escorted by the little cutter, which sailed side by side with it,
menacing it with the mouths of its six cannon; the boat followed in the wake
of the ship, a speck near the enormous mass.
During the examination of milady by the officer, as may well be
imagined, milady, on her part, was not less scrutinizing in her glances.
But, however great was the power of this woman, with eyes of flame, in
reading the hearts of those whose secrets she wished to divine, she met this
time with a countenance of such impassibility, that no discovery followed her
investigation. The officer who had stopped before her, and studied her with
so much care, might have been about twenty-five or twenty-six years of age;
he was of pale complexion, with clear blue eyes, rather deeply set; his
mouth, fine and well cut, remained motionless in its correct lines; his chin,
strongly marked, denoted that strength of will which, in the ordinary
Britannic type, denotes mostly nothing but obstinacy; a brow a little
receding, as is proper for poets, enthusiasts, and soldiers, was scarcely
shaded by short thin hair, which, like the beard which covered the lower part
of his face, was of a beautiful, deep chestnut color.
When they entered the port, it was already night. The fog increased the
darkness, and formed round the stern lights and the lanterns of the jetty a
circle like that which surrounds the moon when the weather threatens to
become rainy. The air they breathed was heavy, humid, and cold.
Milady, that woman so courageous and firm, shivered in spite of herself.
The officer desired to have milady`s packages pointed out to him, and
ordered them to be placed in the boat: when this operation was completed, he
invited her to descend by offering her his hand.
Milady looked at this man, and hesitated.
"Who are you sir," asked she, "who have the kindness to occupy yourself
so particularly on my account?"
"You may perceive, madame, by my uniform, that I am an officer in the
English navy," replied the young man.
"But is it the custom for the officers in the English navy to place
themselves at the service of their female compatriots, when they land in a
port of Great Britain, and carry their gallantry so far as to conduct them
ashore?"
"Yes, milady, it is the custom, not from gallantry but prudence, that
in time of war, foreigners are conducted to particular hotels, in order that
they may remain under the surveillance of the government, until perfect
information be obtained relative to them."
These words were pronounced with the most exact politeness, and the most
perfect calmness. Nevertheless, they had not the power of convincing milady.
"But I am not a foreigner, sir," said she, with an accent as pure as
ever was heard between Portsmouth and Manchester; "my name is Lady Clarik,
and this measure - "
"This measure is general, madame; and you will endeavor in vain to evade
it."
"I will follow you, then, sir."
And accepting the hand of the officer, she commenced the descent of the
ladder, at the foot of which the boat waited. The officer followed her. A
large cloak was spread at the stern; the officer requested her to sit down
upon this cloak, and placed himself beside her.
"Row on!" said he, to the sailors.
The eight oars fell at once into the sea, making but one single sound,
giving one single stroke, and the boat seemed to fly over the surface of the
waters.
At the expiration of five minutes they gained the land.
The officer sprang out of the boat, and offered his hand to milady. A
carriage was in waiting.
"Is this carriage for us?" asked milady.
"Yes, madame," replied the officer.
"The hotel, then, is at some distance?"
"At the other end of the town."
"Very well," said milady; and she got resolutely into the carriage. The
officer saw that the baggage was fastened carefully behind the carriage; and
this operation being performed, he took his place beside milady, and shut the
door.
Immediately, without any order being given, or his place of destination
indicated, the coachman set off at a rapid pace, and plunged into the streets
of the town.
So strange a reception naturally gave milady ample matter for
reflection; so, seeing that the young officer did not seem at all disposed
for conversation, she reclined in her corner of the carriage; and, one after
the other, passed in review all the suppositions which presented themselves
to her mind.
At the end of a quarter of an hour, however, surprised at the length of
the journey, she leaned forward toward the window to see whither she was
being conducted. Houses were no longer to be seen; trees appeared in the
darkness like great black phantoms running after one another.
Milady shuddered with apprehension.
"But we are no longer in the town, sir," said she.
The young officer preserved profound silence.
"I beg you to understand, sir, I will go no further, unless you tell me
whither you are taking me."
This threat obtained no reply.
"Oh; but this is outrageous!" cried milady. "Help! help! help!"
No voice replied to hers; the carriage continued to roll on with
rapidity; the officer appeared a statue.
Milady looked at the officer with one of those terrible expressions
peculiar to her countenance, and which so rarely failed of their effect;
anger made her eyes flash in the darkness.
The young man remained impassible.
Milady endeavored to open the door, in order to throw herself out.
"Take care, madame," said the young man coldly, "you will kill yourself
if you attempt to jump out."
Milady reseated herself, foaming with rage; the officer leaned forward,
looked at her in his turn, and appeared surprised to see that face, but just
before so beautiful, distorted with passion and become almost hideous. The
artful creature at once comprehended that she was injuring herself by
allowing him thus to read her soul; she collected her features, and in a
complaining voice said:
"In the name of heaven, sir! tell me if it is to you, if it is to your
government, if it is to an enemy I am to attribute the violence that is done
me?"
"No violence will be offered to you, madame, and what happens to you is
the result of a very simple measure which we are obliged to adopt with all
who land in England."
"Then you don`t know me, sir?"
"It is the first time I have had the honor of seeing you."
"And, upon your honor, you have no cause of hatred against me?"
"None, I swear to you."
There was so much serenity, coolness, mildness even, in the voice of the
young man, that milady felt reassured.
At length, after a journey of near an hour, the carriage stopped before
an iron gate, which enclosed an avenue leading to a chateau, severe in form,
massive and isolated. Then, as the wheels rolled over a fine gravel, milady
could hear a vast roaring; which she at once recognized as the noise of the
sea, dashing against some steep coast.
The carriage passed under two arched gateways, and at length stopped in
a large, dark, square court; almost immediately, the door of the carriage was
opened, the young man sprang lightly out and presented his hand to milady,
who leaned upon it, and in her turn alighted with tolerable calmness.
"Still, then, I am a prisoner," said milady, looking around her, and
bringing back her eyes with a most gracious smile to the young officer; "but
I feel assured it will not be for long," added she; "my own conscience and
your politeness, sir, are the guarantees of that."
However flattering this compliment was, the officer made no reply; but
drawing from his belt a little silver whistle, such as boatswains use in
ships of war, he whistled three times, with three different modulations:
immediately several men appeared, who unharnessed the smoking horses, and put
the carriage into a coach-house.
The officer then, with the same calm politeness, invited the lady to
enter the house. She, with a still smiling countenance, took his arm, and
passed with him under a low arched door, which, by a vaulted passage, lighted
only at the farther end, led to a stone staircase, turning round an angle of
stone: they then came to a massive door, which, after the introduction of a
key into the lock, by the young officer, turned heavily upon its hinges, and
disclosed the chamber destined for milady.
With a single glance the prisoner took in the apartment in its minutest
details. It was a chamber whose furniture was at once proper for a prisoner
or a free man; and yet, bars at the windows and outside bolts at the door
decided the question in favor of the prison.
In an instant all the strength of mind of this creature, though drawn
from the most vigorous sources, abandoned her; she sank into a large chair,
with her arms crossed, her head hanging down, and expecting every instant to
see a judge enter to interrogate her.
But no one entered except two marines, who brought in her trunks and
packages, deposited them in a corner of the room, and retired without
speaking.
The officer presided over all these details with the same calmness
milady had observed in him, never pronouncing a word, and making himself
obeyed by a gesture of his hand or a sound of his whistle.
It might have been said that between this man and his inferiors spoken
language did not exist, or had become useless.
At length milady could hold out no longer; she broke the silence:
"In the name of heaven, sir!" cried she, "what does all this that is
passing mean? Put an end to my doubts; I have courage enough for any danger
I can forsee, for every misfortune which I can comprehend. Where am I, and
why am I here? if I am free, why these bars and these doors? If I am a
prisoner, what crime have I committed?"
"You are here in the apartment destined for you, madame. I received
orders to go and take charge of you at sea, and to conduct you to this
chateau; this order I believe I have accomplished, with all the exactness of
a soldier, but also with the courtesy of a gentleman. There terminates, at
least to the present moment, the duty I had to fulfill toward you, the rest
concerns another person."
"And who is that other person?" asked milady warmly; "can you not tell
me his name?"
At the moment a great jingling of spurs was heard upon the stairs; some
voices passed, and faded away, and the sound of one footstep approached the
door.
"That person is here, madam," said the officer, leaving the entrance
open, and drawing himself up in an attitude of respect.
At the same time the door opened; a man appeared in the opening. He was
without a hat, wore a sword, and carried a handkerchief in his hand.
Milady thought she recognized this shadow in the shade; she supported
herself with one hand upon the arm of the chair, and advanced her head as if
to meet a certainty.
The stranger advanced slowly, and as he advanced, after entering into
the circle of light projected by the lamp, milady involuntarily drew back.
Then, when she had no longer any doubt:
"What! my brother," cried she, in a state of stupor, "is it you?"
"Yes, fair lady!" replied Lord de Winter, making a bow, half courteous,
half ironical: "it is I, myself."
"But this Chateau, then?"
"Is mine."
"This chamber?"
"Is yours."
"I am your prisoner, then?"
"Nearly so."
"But this is a frightful abuse of power!"
"No high-sounding words! let us sit down and chat quietly, as brother
and sister ought to do."
Then, turning toward the door, and seeing that the young officer was
waiting for his last orders:
"That is all quite well," said he, "I thank you; now leave us alone,
Master Felton."
|
