CHAPTER XIII -- THE MASTERS OF PARIS
The trap-door closed, the firewood was carried back again, and Guy wentupstairs, where he found that Dame Margaret, Agnes, and Charlie hadalready put on their disguises. Their faces had been slightly darkened;Agnes had coiled her hair up under a cap, while Dame Margaret's would becompletely hidden under the hood. She and Charlie could, have passed verywell even in daylight, but Agnes by no means looked her character. Hermother had darkened the skin at the back of her neck as well as on herface, but the girl's evident discomfort and shyness were so unboylike thatthey would at once be noticed. Guy fetched a short cloak reaching only tohis hips from his room and brought it in to her.
"I think that you will be more comfortable in this," he said.
"Yes, indeed," she exclaimed gratefully, as she put it over her shoulders;"I shall not mind now."
It reached nearly down to her knees, and the high collar concealed theback of her head effectually.
"I did not expect that you would be ready so soon," he said, turning toDame Margaret; "it will not be dark for two hours yet."
"No; but I thought it much better to be prepared to leave at any moment.Mistress Leroux has shown me a door opening from the yard into a verynarrow lane behind. She says that it has not been used for years, but shehas been down herself with the key and has unlocked it, so that we haveonly to let a bar down to open it, and if there should be an attack on thefront of the house we can escape that way."
"It would be best to leave that way in any case," Guy said, "and therebyyou will avoid observation by anyone who may be watching. It is evidentthat the citizens of this quarter are very anxious and alarmed; lookingfrom the window I have seen them standing in groups, or going in and outof each other's houses. They cannot know what is going to take place, butthe closing of the gates by the butchers without any warrant has, ofcourse, shown them that something serious is going to occur."
"You had better disguise yourself at once, Guy."
"I will do so, mistress, but I do not think that there is any fear ofdisturbance until evening; men who are engaged in work, that may some daybring punishment upon those concerned in it, prefer darkness. Besides, atthat time all careful men will be in their houses, and will not dare tocome out whatever sounds they may hear."
Maitre Leroux presently came up.
"I have been out and trying to gather news. There are all sorts of rumoursabroad, but none know aught with certainty. They say that the butchershave stationed guards at the end of all the streets leading to the marketquarter, and they allow none to pass in or out. It is reported thatAquitaine has sent an officer to the butchers to demand under what warrantthey have closed the gates of the city, and to order them to open themforthwith, and to withdraw the men stationed there. It is said that theiranswer was that they had acted for the good of the state, and for thesafety of the king's person, and that they would presently call upon hishighness and explain matters to him. This may be true or merely rumour,but it is generally believed. Everyone is talking of the fight at the gateof St. Denis. Some say that it was forced open by order of the Duke ofBurgundy, while others affirm that Caboche, and that mischievous varletJohn de Troyes, went in great haste to the duke when they received thenews, that he declared to them that he knew nothing whatever of theaffair, and that whatever was done was certainly done without his orders.Most of my men have already left; it were better that they should go offone by one than that they should move off together. 'Tis well that my wifebethought her of that back entrance. It has never been used in my time,for the lane is but three feet wide, and the houses beyond are of no verygood repute. I talked at one time of having it bricked up, and onlyrefrained from doing so from the thought that it might be useful on somesuch occasion as this. Your esquire has not gone out, I suppose, LadyMargaret?"
"No, he is putting on his disguise--at least, he is colouring his hair andface, and so altering himself that he would not be known; but he will notput on his full disguise until later."
Guy soon came out. He was in his ordinary garments, but having put on hisbest suit beneath them he looked broader and bulkier than usual, while hisblackened hair and darkened face had made so great a change in hisappearance that both Agnes and her mother agreed that they would not haveknown him.
"You could certainly go anywhere, Guy, and mix with any crowd, and no onewould have a suspicion that you were the young Englishman for whom thewhole town was searching."
Half an hour before it became dark, Guy went down to the front door.Standing there listening attentively, he presently heard three littleknocks given, as by a hand on the door. He opened it a little, Katarinaslipped in, and he again fastened it and put up the bar.
"I brought the disguises early," she said, "as I thought they might berequired in haste, but my father has learned that it will be eight o'clockbefore the butchers sally out with their forces from the markets."
"All here are ready and prepared to start at a moment's notice, and havearranged to go out by a door behind, that leads into a narrow lane."
"That is good!" the girl said. "I have been near for the last half-hourand have noticed two or three men hanging about, and by their furtiveglances in the direction of the house I have no doubt that they arewatching it. I had to wait until there happened to be a group of peoplebefore the door, and then slipped in behind them, and got in without, I amsure, their having seen me. I have been uneasy as to how we should leave,for if they saw a party of three or four issuing out together, one of themwould be sure to follow."
They were now upstairs. The fact that Agnes was in the same disguise asherself freed Katarina from the shame-facedness that she would otherwisehave felt at being seen by Dame Margaret in her present attire.
"You are well disguised," the latter said as she entered. "I no longerwonder that you are able to go about as a boy without suspicion; you lookone to the life, while Agnes is so awkward that she would be detected in amoment."
"She has not had the practice that I have had," Katarina said with alaugh; "the awkwardness will soon wear off if she has to dress like thisfor a short time. As for me, I have learnt all a boy's tricks and ways. Ican whistle and shout with any of them, can quarrel, and bluster, be saucyon occasion, and have only once been in trouble."
"How was that, Katarina?"
"A boy who was a bit taller than I ran against me and declared that it wasmy fault, and gave me a cuff on the head. I might have run away, and ofcourse I ought to have done so, but I was angry, for he really hurt me; soI had to do what any boy would have done, and I flew at him so fiercely,and cuffed and scratched and kicked so savagely that at last he turned andran. He had hit me too, but I did not feel it at the time, and nextmorning I was all sorts of colours round the eyes. Father was very angry,but when I asked what else he would have done if he had been cuffed, hecould not tell me. I had a very important message to carry that morningfor him. At first he said I could not go out in that state; but, as I toldhim, I had never looked so much like a boy before."
All were glad when it became dark enough for them to make a start. The menand maids had all been sent away, and none remained save Maitre Leroux andhis wife. They were not in any disguise, but were wrapped up in cloaks,and in the badly-lighted streets could pass unrecognized.
"Do you go out first, Master Aylmer," the silversmith said. "I have nofear of anyone watching behind, for it is not likely that any of them knowof this entrance to my house; still, it is as well to make certain. Whenyou get out of the lane you had best stay there until the others havepassed on, then you can follow them. We will wait for a few minutes afterthey have gone, and lock the door behind us. You have not forgotten whereyou are to find us."
"No, I have the name and house right. Shall I ask for you as MaitreLeroux?"
"I have not thought of that. No, it will be better, perhaps, to ask forPhilip Sampson; it were just as well that none should know my name thereexcept Lepelletiere and his wife."
As arranged Guy went out first; there w
as still light enough for him tomake his way along the narrow lane without falling over piles of dirt andrubbish that at some points almost blocked it. The street into which itopened was also a very narrow one, and no one was about. In a minute DameMargaret, walking with Katarina, and with Agnes close behind, holdingCharlie's hand, passed him.
"It is all quite clear," he said. Keeping some fifteen yards behind hefollowed them until they entered a broader street. There were a good manypeople about here. The nearest way would have been to have crossed theroad and passed by another small street facing that from which they hadcome, but somewhat to his surprise they turned and went along the broaderstreet. He soon acknowledged to himself that this was the wiser course,for there were so many people about that their passage would be unnoticed,while in the narrow lanes some rough fellow might have accosted them.Keeping always in frequented streets they made a long detour before theyreached that in which the count resided, and it was with a feeling ofgreat relief that Guy saw them enter the house. He himself, as arranged,did not approach it for another quarter of an hour, then he went andknocked on the door with his hand, which was at once opened by Katarina.
"All is well," she said; "your lady is in the room where you firstwaited--my father is with her."
As Guy entered the count was just saying: "Yes, it would certainly bebest, madame, that your daughter should continue at present in thatdisguise. In the first place, she will get accustomed to it, and shouldshe have occasion to move again she would be able to do so withoutattracting notice; in the second place, it would be desirable that, evenaccidentally, no one should know that there is a young lady of her agehere. I have no visitors save on business, but possibly either she or yourboy might come out on to the stairs when one is going up or down. It wouldbe unfortunate that he should see them at all, but if it were but a boy hecaught sight of he would not at any rate associate them with your party.These precautions may seem to you absurd, but it is often by littleaccidents that things are discovered when as it seemed everything had beenprovided against."
"I shall not mind," Agnes said. "When I first went out it seemed dreadful,but when I found that nobody noticed me I began to be accustomed to it,and as your daughter is dressed as a boy too I shall not mind it."
"I shall not like being dressed as a girl," Charlie said sturdily.
The count smiled. "Well, we will see what we can do in your case; anyhow,you must keep on that dress--for a day or two. And now, Guy, aboutyourself. I have arranged for you to lodge with a man who gets news forme; it is in the butchers' quarter, which is the last place where anyonewould think of looking for you. Besides, there you will see all that isgoing on. I have two other disguises in addition to that I sent you; oneis that of a young butcher, another is that of one of the lads who live inmisery, who sleep at the market where they can earn a few sous by doingodd jobs, and beg or steal when they can do nothing else. I hear that youhave also arranged for a shelter in the quarter between the walls; thattoo may be very useful, and it will be well for you to go thither to-morrow and arrange so that you can have a place to go to when you choose;it will doubtless be much more pleasant for you there than in the marketquarter. Lastly, I have got you a white hood, which may be most useful ofall." Guy looked surprised. "Henceforth," the count went on, "white is tobe the butchers' colour. All who march this evening are to be so clad, andas soon as it is known to-morrow, you will find three-fourths of thepeople wearing it, for not to do so will be taken as a sign of hostilityto their faction. They will have started by this time, and if it pleasesyou to put on the butcher's dress and the white hood over it you canmingle in safety with them and see all that is done; then when they returnto their quarter, you can go with them. The house to which you are to gois the third on the left-hand side of the Rue des Couteaux. My man lodgesat the top of the house, the room to the left when you mount the stair--his name is Simon Bouclier. The lane is at the back of the butchers'market. The man has no idea who you are. I have simply told him that Iwill send a young man to help gather news for me of what is going on, thatyou would work separately, but that he was to do all in his power to aidyou, and that at any time if he wanted to send a message to me and couldnot himself come, he was to intrust it to you, and similarly he was tobring any message that you might want to send to the spot where he meetsmy messenger. The man works for one of the Thiberts. He does not know whoI am, but I think he believes me to be an agent of Burgundy's, and that Icollect the information so that he may be privately informed of what isdoing. I have encouraged that idea, because it is more likely to keep himtruthful to me, since he would think that were he to play me false theduke would see that some harm or other befell him. Therefore, it is aswell that you should drop a word as if by accident that will confirm thatnotion, and will lead him to believe that you too are working under theorders of the duke. This will lull any suspicion that he might feel onseeing, as he must do, that you live in a position far higher than wouldappear from your garb. And now, if you would see to-night's doings, youhad best put on that disguise and the white hood, and be off withoutdelay; you will find the things in the room above."
In a few minutes Guy was ready to start. He could not help looking withdisfavour at the greasy and stained garments, and he put them on with anexpression of strong disgust. The two suits that he had taken off he madeup into a bundle, placed the disguise he had brought with him with them,putting up separately that of which the count had spoken, and which was soragged and dirty that he inwardly hoped he might never be obliged toassume it; then he went downstairs again. He had strapped round his waista heavy sword placed beside the clothes, and carried in his hand a shortpike. Dame Margaret smiled when he entered, and Katarina laughed aloud atthe expression of his face.
"Truly, Guy," the former said, "you might go anywhere in that garb withouta soul suspecting you. This journey with me is leading you into strangedisguises and adventures, which will give you much matter for talk when weare safely back at Summerley."
"I have left my other disguises above," he said to the count. "The decentone of an apprentice I have placed with my own clothes, and will take themwith me to any lodging that I may get among the carpenters, but thatbeggar suit I will take to Simon Bouclier's the next time I come. Isuppose you would not wish me to come here during the day."
"No, unless it is very important; and to that end I think you had bettercarry the apprentice's disguise also to your lodging in the market. Youwould not gain favour among the carpenters were you to go among them inthe dress you now wear, and your calling upon me here in your apprentice'sdress would excite no attention; therefore, if you have need to come hereduring the day, you had best come as an apprentice."
Guy now went down into the street through which the butchers' force wouldpass. In a short time he heard a deep dull sound, and soon they camealong, a host of armed men.
He fell in unnoticed near the head of the column. Soon after he had joinedthem they halted, and three or four knights came up and entered intoconversation with their leaders. Guy recognized among them Sir Robert deMailly, Sir Charles de Lens, and several others of the household of theDuke of Burgundy. These talked for some time with the Sieur deJacqueville, Governor of Paris, who had joined the butchers' faction andwas now riding at the head of the column, whereupon the force went nofarther, but turned and retraced its steps. Guy wondered greatly where thebutchers could be going, but soon found that they were making for theBastille. After much parley between De Jacqueville and the governor, thelatter consented, on the order of the Duke of Burgundy's friends, to handover to them Sir Peter des Essars and his brother Sir Anthony, who wereboth supporters of the Orleanists and had come to Paris secretly, and hadby the orders of the Duke of Aquitaine been admitted as guests to theBastille.
These were marched back to the Louvre, the gates of which were opened bythe orders of Burgundy's friends, and the two knights were thrown into theprison of the palace. On the way back the houses of a very richupholsterer and of a cannon-founder of great repute,
both of whom hadwithstood the butchers, were broken into and their owners both murdered.After this the mob marched to the house of Maitre Leroux. No reply beinggiven to their summons to open, an attack was made upon the door. Whilethey were engaged in doing this, screens of wattles covered with two orthree thicknesses of hides were placed so as to shelter the assailantsfrom the arrows that had proved so deadly on the occasion of their lastattack. It was thus evident that the outrage was a planned one. Guy lookedon with some amusement until the door gave way under the action of somevery heavy sledge-hammers wielded by a party of brawny smiths; the momentit did so the crowd made a tremendous rush.
So great was the pressure that many were thrown down and trampled to deathin the doorway. It was not long before several of the windows were thrownopen and voices shouted down that the house was deserted. A yell of furyburst from the crowd below, but the pressure at the door was even greaterthan before. The loss incurred during the first attack had caused all butthe bravest and most determined to hang back somewhat; now, however, thatit seemed that the silversmith's stores could be ransacked without danger,all were anxious to have a hand in it. Presently one of the leadersappeared at a casement on the first floor and waved his arms for silence.The roar of voices ceased and the man cried:
"Citizens, 'tis of no use to press forward into the house, not only hasthe traitor and those with him fled from the just vengeance of the people,but he has taken away with him the whole of his silverware."
A yell of disappointment and rage rose, then as it ceased for a moment avoice shouted out:
"They are trying to cheat us, my friends; those who got in first havedivided up the spoil and wish us to have no share in it."
This caused a fresh outburst of commotion. At a signal from the leaderabove a number of well-armed men, who were evidently a sort of body-guard,pressed forward to the door and drove back the crowd with blows from thestaves of their pikes. Presently those who had entered began to pour out,and in a quarter of an hour the house was cleared. As soon as it was sothe windows were lit up by a lurid light which showed that it had beenfired on each floor, and the flames very soon burst out through thecasements. Satisfied with having done this the butchers returned to theirquarter, and Guy mounted to the chamber of Simon Bouclier. The man hadevidently just returned, as he too wore a white hood. He had been carryinga torch in the procession, and this was stuck into a ring on the wall.
"WELL, COMRADE," SAID SIMON, "I SUPPOSE YOU ARE THE MAN IWAS TOLD WOULD COME TO-NIGHT?"]
"Well, comrade," he said as Guy entered, "I suppose you are the man I wastold would come here to-night."
"I am so," Guy said. "I should have been here before, but I joined theprocession, as I guessed that you would be there also."
"Yes," the man said; "though I should not have gone had I not thought thatmore would come of it. What have we done? Captured two knights and killedtwo bourgeois! Pooh, it did not need five thousand men for that."
"No, but it was just as important as if we had killed a hundred."
"How so?" the other asked.
"Because it has shown the Armagnacs that Paris and Burgundy are as unitedas ever, and that they will stand no intrigues by the court party."
"That is true. We are all sound here; there were but five thousand out to-night, because that was enough for the work, but there will be four timesas many next time we go to the Louvre. To-morrow morning, you know, we aregoing to pay a visit to the Duke of Aquitaine at his hotel, to teach thatyoung man that he has to do as we and Burgundy order him, or that it willbe worse for him."
"So I understand," Guy said carelessly. "As long as all hold together inthis quarter everything will go right. My duty principally is to find outif there are any signs of wavering; there are no signs, of course, amongthe butchers, but some of the others are thought to be but half-hearted."
"The butchers and skinners are all right, never fear," the man said; "andif there are others in the quarter who may not be quite so hot in thematter as we are, they know better than to open their mouths. Of course,in the other quarters there may be a strong party who would thwart us; thesmiths and the carpenters and masons are ever jealous of us of themarkets, but they have no leaders, and hold not together as we do.Besides, they know that we have Burgundy with us, so whatever they thinkthey are not likely to say much, for if it came to a battle we could sweepthem out of the city."
"Yes, yes, I know that there is no fear of that, the great thing is tomake sure that some of those who seem to be hottest in the matter, are nottaking money from the other party; there are one or two I am specially toobserve."
"I understand you, comrade. I myself have never had much confidence inJohn de Troyes nor his medical students. He is good at talking, no onewill deny that; but for myself I would rather that we kept among ourselvesand had nothing to do with such cattle, who have no interest in theprivileges of the guilds, and who take part with us no one knows why. ButI am sleepy; that bundle of fresh rushes in the corner is yours, I gotthem in the hay-market to-day when I heard that you were coming. You cankeep beside me to-morrow morning and I will get you a good place in theranks. From whence shall I say that you come, as many will ask thequestion, seeing that your face is strange?"
"You can say I am from Nancy."
"Yes, that will be good enough; that is the right quarter of France for aman to have come from just at present."
Guy was thoroughly fatigued with the long excitement of the day. At elevenin the morning everything had been going on as usual, now Dame Margaretand the two children were in hiding, her four men-at-arms fugitives, andParis was virtually in a state of insurrection against the royalauthority, stirred up thereto by the Duke of Burgundy, who had thus openlyleagued himself with the scum of Paris. That what he had seen that eveningwas but the beginning of a series of crimes, Guy could not doubt; andalthough this man had expressed his confidence in the power of the market-men to sweep the craftsmen out of Paris, he felt sure from what he hadheard, that this could not be done until a fierce and doubtful battle hadbeen fought in the streets. At eight next morning he went out with hiscompanion.
"It is well not to go into a place where we shall meet many till your faceis better known," the latter said; and he led the way to a small_trattoir_ a quarter of a mile away. Here they sat down and breakfasted,then they returned to the market where the White Hoods were mustering.Simon, who was evidently well known to most of the butchers, took hisplace near the head of the column, and at nine o'clock it got into motion.When it issued from its own quarters it was evident that its approachexcited general apprehension. The streets were deserted as it passedalong. None of the casements were opened, and although the traders darednot put up their shutters, none of them appeared at the doors, wheretheir apprentices and workmen gathered to look at the procession. Passingalong steadily and in good order, and headed as before by the knights ofthe Duke of Burgundy's household, they drew up before the palace of theDuke of Aquitaine. Caboche, John de Troyes, and one of the butchersentered the house. The guards having no orders, and seeing how strong wasthe force that was at their back, did not venture to oppose theirentrance, and they pushed on into the private apartments of the duke andinformed him that they, on behalf of the good town of Paris and for thewelfare of his father and himself, required the delivery to them ofcertain traitors now in the hotel.
The duke, furious at their insolence, told them that such affairs were nottheir business, and that there were no traitors in the hotel. In themeantime many of the White Hoods had followed their leaders, Simon and Guyentering with them. They scattered through the apartments and seized theduke's chancellor, the Duke of Bar, a cousin of the king, and twelve otherknights and gentlemen, some of whom were in the apartment of the Duke ofAquitaine himself. While this was going on the Dukes of Burgundy andLorraine arrived, and Aquitaine, turning to the former angrily, said:
"Father-in-law, this insurrection has been caused by your advice; those ofyour household are the leaders of it; you shall some day repe
nt of this.The state shall not be always governed according to your will andpleasure."
However, in spite of his indignation and remonstrance, the twelvegentlemen were carried away and confined in different prisons; andpresently discovering the king's secretary, they killed him and threw thebody into the river. They compelled the Duke of Aquitaine himself to leavehis palace, and with the king, his father, to take up his abode in theHotel de St. Pol. Placing a strong guard round it, so as to prevent themfrom leaving Paris, the mob then compelled all the nobles and even theprelates, they met, to put on white hoods, and their leaders sent offletters to the chief towns in France to inform them that what they haddone was for the welfare of the king and kingdom, and requiring them togive aid should there be any necessity for it; they then published anedict in the name of the king ordering that it should be proclaimed inevery bailiwick that no person, under penalty of death and confiscation ofgoods, should obey any summons from their superior lord to take up arms orto trouble the kingdom. The mad king was made to sign this after the Dukesof Aquitaine, Berri, and Lorraine, and other nobles of the council had puttheir names to it.
At nine o'clock that evening Guy went to the square before Notre Dame.Here many groups of people were talking over the events of the day. Guyhad, as soon as he left the market quarter, taken off his white hood, andbefore starting he put on his dress as an apprentice. There was no doubtthat the opinion of the great majority of those in the square was hostileto the authors of the events of the day, and that the consternation amongthe citizens was very great. After thus forcing the great nobles to obeytheir will and outraging the palace of the Duke of Aquitaine, there was nosaying to what length they would go, and fears were expressed that erelong they might sack the whole of the better quarters of Paris.
It was so evident, however, that they had the support of the Duke ofBurgundy that no one saw any way out of their trouble, and that nothingbut the arrival of a powerful army of Orleanists could relieve them fromtheir peril. As Guy had no real expectation of seeing any of hisfollowers,--although the gates had been opened that afternoon after theseizure of the knights,--he attended more to the conversations going onabout him than to the matter on which he had come. Presently, however, hesaw a rough-looking fellow watching him attentively. He walked close tohim, but not recognizing him would have passed on, had not the man taken astep forward and said in a low voice:
"Villeroy!"
"Is it you, Robert? In faith I did not recognize you in that attire."
"And I was not sure that it was you, Master Guy; I should certainly nothave known you by your face. Your figure and walk, when a short distanceaway, attracted my attention, and knowing your disguise was that of anapprentice I made sure it was you. Then as you came closer I doubted, andthough I ventured upon saying the name of our lord, I scarce thought thatyou would reply."
"Where are the others, Robert?"
"They are walking about separately seeking for you. We are to meet on thesteps of the cathedral at half-past nine."
"What has become of Tom?"
The man laughed. "If you will come along this way, master, you will see."They went to a quiet corner of the square. As they approached it theyheard angry voices, and standing under a lamp Guy saw a tall man of wildand unkempt appearance, with black hair and a begrimed face, and a basketof vegetables strapped to his shoulders, threatening angrily with a staffthree or four gamins who were making fun of him. He spoke in a wild,incoherent way, and seemed to be half-witted.
"What are you worrying this poor fellow for?" Robert said angrily to theboys. "If you do not be off, and that quickly, I will lay my cudgel aboutyour shoulders."
This threat was much more efficacious than those of the half-witted manhad been, and the boys at once took to their heels. The tall man shuffledtowards the new-comers.
"Is it really you, Tom?" Guy said in a low tone.
"It is me, sure enough, Master Guy. I should not know myself, and am notsurprised that you do not know me; in faith, my back aches with walkingwith a stoop, and my legs with shuffling along as if I had scarce the useof them, instead of stepping out manfully. Is all well? We have heard ofstrange doings--that the butchers have, with the countenance of Burgundy,bearded the Duke of Aquitaine, and even carried off some of his friendsfrom before his face; also that the houses of three of those who hadwithstood them had been burned, among them that of Maitre Leroux; alsothat two traders had been killed, though which two they were we have notbeen able to learn."
"All is well, Tom; our lady and her children were safely bestowed, as wasalso the silversmith and his wife."
"I am right glad of that; they were a worthy couple. And so his house isburned and sacked?"
"Burned, but not sacked, Tom; for he had, before they came, stowed away ina hiding-place where they could not be found all those chests of his, andnot a single piece of silver fell into the hands of the butchers."
"That was well done," the archer said, rubbing his hands. "I should liketo have seen the dogs' faces when they burst in and found nothing. And mybow, Master Guy?"
"I fear that the flames will not have spared it. I went past the house to-day, and naught but the bare walls are standing."
At this moment the bell of the cathedral struck the half-hour, and RobertPicard said: "Will you stay here, Master Guy? I must go and meet theothers, and forthwith bring them to you here."