CHAPTER VIII.
The old syndic did not seem to know much more of his visitor than EdwardLangdale; but he called him Master Jean Baptiste, and asked him whatnews from Niort.
"Nothing very good, monsieur," answered the stranger: "half a leaguemore of the Papist lines is finished, and it is hard to get through. Itwas all done so quick and so quietly, no one knew any thing of it tillthe day before yesterday, when some troops and a large supply of flourwere sent down to Ferriac."
"And where is the king himself?" demanded Clement Tournon, somewhatanxiously.
"He is still at Nantes," replied the visitor. "But I want some talk withyou, Mr. Syndic, when I can have it alone; and it must be to-night,too, for I have to go on by to-morrow at daybreak, if I can get a boat."
The old man at once raised a candlestick from the table and led thestranger into another room, while Lucette and Edward remained together.
Now, the most natural thing in the world for a young lad between sixteenand seventeen, and a young girl a year or two younger, when so thrownupon their own resources, would have been to make love, or, at least, tofall into it; and there was also a strong incentive in the gratitudeEdward felt for all Lucette's kind nursing and all the interest whichLucette had taken in his illness and recovery. But the truth must betold. They did not make love in any of the many ways in which thatarticle is prepared in any of the kingdoms of the earth. Moreover, theydid not fall in love in the least. I am sorry for it; for of all thesweet and charming things which this world produces, that which isscornfully called calf's love is the sweetest and most charming. If ithas really any thing to do with a calf at all, it is the sweetbread. Oh,that early love! that early love! how pure, and tender, and soft, andtimid, and bright, and fragrant, it is! It is the opening of therose-bud of life, which may in after-times display warmer colors, giveforth more intense odor, but loses in delicacy and grace with everypetal that unfolds. But, as I have said, the truth must be told. Theyneither talked of love nor thought of love, although Lucette was verybeautiful and believed Edward Langdale to be very handsome. She merelymade him describe to her the scenes in which his youth had been spent.She talked to him of his mother, too; and he told her how sweetly thatmother had sung, and said to her that Lady Langdale's voice was verylike her own; and then he besought her to sing to him again; and shesang to please him; and they fell into thought, and spoke of a thousandthings more, in which the reader would take no manner of interest, butwhich interested them so much that, when Clement Tournon returned, theyfancied he had been gone but a few minutes; and he had been absent anhour and a half.
His visitor did not come back with him, for he had taken some supperand retired to rest; but the good old syndic's brow was gloomy, and thenews he had received, whatever it was, did not seem to have been veryfavorable.
"To bed, to bed, Lucette!" said the old man: "we must not keep MasterNed up late o' night. He will soon have to go travelling again; and hemust gather strength."
Lucette did not receive the intelligence that Ned must soon depart verysadly, though she would have very well liked him to stay. She laughedand kissed the old man, and ran away; but the syndic silently took holdof the youth's hand and prevented him from retiring till the bright girlwas gone. "Stay a minute," he said, at length. "I have something tospeak to you about. How do you feel your strength and health to-night?"
"Oh, much improved," replied Master Ned. "I shall be as strong as everin a couple of days."
"That is well! that is well!" said Clement Tournon. "And whither do youturn your steps when you leave Rochelle?"
"I have to traverse the whole of France, and even to approach close toParis," answered Master Ned; "for the end of my journey, as far as I yetknow, is to be at Dammartin. First, however, I must go to Mauze, where,I hear, the Duc de Rohan and Monsieur de Soubise are to be found. I haveletters for each."
The reply seemed to puzzle the old man a little, for he shook his head,saying, "It will not do."
"Have they left Mauze?" asked Edward. "This illness has been veryunfortunate."
"If you do not find them there, you will hear of them," answered thesyndic. "What I mean is, you cannot get straight to Mauze. Things havechanged since you arrived, my son. The Papist troops are between us andMauze; and you will have to make a long deviation from your way and comeupon the castle from the north."
"So be it!" said Master Ned. "If we can but have a fair wind, we can getto Marans, and, running up the Sevres, reach Mauze from the north. It isnot much longer, if I recollect right. I would embark to-morrowmorning, but I have still some preparations to make."
"You seem to know the country well, my son," said the old man, "and yourscheme is a good one. But what preparations can you have to make?--not,indeed, that I would have you go too soon, lest your health shouldsuffer. I should think as soon as you feel strong enough you will be allready."
"Not quite, Monsieur Tournon," answered the lad. "I must follow myorders, and those I have are very reasonable commands. I have, as I justsaid, to cross three-quarters of France, which I could not do as anEnglishman, since these last troubles, without a safe-conduct. One hasbeen procured for me, however, from young Sir Peter Apsley, who obtainedit in order to go to Geneva to study. He has changed his mind since, andI am to represent him; but, as there are mentioned in the paper a pageand two servants, I must engage such followers of the most trustycharacter I can find. I have already got Pierrot la Grange, who is anadept at masquerading, and I did think of bribing Jargeau to accompanyme; but I had some suspicions of him before I landed, and soon foundthat he is treacherous. I must therefore look for a man and a boy hereto-morrow; and you must help me, my good father, for it is of muchconsequence that they should be trusty."
"They will soon be found," answered the syndic; "but I fear me you willbe soon discovered, my son. This cardinal has eyes in every quarter, andalmost, I might say, in every house. As to the page, I may have to thinka little," and then he added, musingly: "Did pages wear long tunics, asin my young days, Lucette might do; but I doubt whether she would put onboys' clothes as they are worn now."
"Lucette!" exclaimed Edward Langdale, in a tone of unfeignedastonishment. "That would never do. She could not ride half throughFrance at the pace I should have to go; and besides----But tell me, inthe name of Heaven, could you part with her so easily and on such ajourney?"
The old syndic smiled faintly, saying, "I could and must part with herwhenever it is for her good, my son; but I did not propose she should gowith you farther than Mauze, where you would have to find another page.There she must go before Saturday, as I will explain. Listen; for it isfit you should know all that is going on here, that you may tell it tothose whom you are about to see. I will make it all clear to you, andthen I will go and consult my pillow till to-morrow morning. The kingand the cardinal are determined to crush out Rochelle. We have stood asiege here before, and may perhaps do so now,--though I do not think it,for Richelieu is not following the rash measures of those who wentbefore him. He has been hovering over this devoted city like an eagleover a hare half hidden in the brushwood, and now he is ready to swoop.They say that he and King Louis have been stayed at Nantes by sometroubles in the court; but nothing is neglected: day by day the troopsare gathering round, and we are now wellnigh hemmed in by land. The seais still open to us; but I have learned from a sure hand this night thatthe cardinal has gathered together a navy of small armed vessels in allthe neighboring ports,--Rochefort, Marennes, Royan, Bourgneuf,Painboeuf, and others. They will soon be off our harbor,--on Mondaynext, they say; and though, thank Heaven, we have ships and good ones,yet in point of numbers we are nothing. The foolish men of what theycall the French party refused, as you know, to give entrance to the Earlof Denbigh's fleet, which would have kept the sea open to us and insuredus against blockade forever. But, as things stand now, I cannot expose agirl like Lucette to the horrors of a siege with probably no escape.Indeed, every useless mouth we can remove from Rochelle the better forus; and, besides, tho
se who have a right have required me to send herout of the city without loss of time."
"Had you not better go with her yourself?" asked Master Ned.
"I will not run away from my post," answered the syndic. "I once couldhave struck a good blow in defence of my native city; and, though thatis past, I can still aid her with counsel. Besides, where could I go?Nowhere but to England. I may send what gold I have got to that country,if I can find means; but my fate is with Rochelle, and Lucette's mustlie far away. God help us! we are at a dangerous pass, my son; and thehunter's toils are tighter round us than some of our senseless citizenswill believe. As to Jargeau, you cannot trust him. Of Pierrot I havedoubts,--not of his honesty, for he is truthful and sturdy when he issober, nor of his ability, for he is a thing we often see in thisstrange world, _a clever fool_,--shrewd enough in every thing thatimports but little, but weak as water in matters on which his ownfortunes and his soul's salvation rest. I doubt his power to abstainfrom a vice which has ruled him for ten long years. True, he has beensober ever since he has been here, and he promises sturdily; but, alas!my son, I have seen so many a drunkard fall away from all goodresolutions with the first moment of a strong temptation that I wish youhad a better follower."
"I will keep him sober," answered Master Ned, boldly. "He knows I am notto be trifled with. I think he has every inclination to reform but onlywants the strength of mind. I will give him the strength. Many a man isfeeble in some point till he has support, just as a pea trails upon theground till we plant a strong pole by it. I will be his pea-stick,Monsieur Tournon. But as to another man and the page. If MademoiselleLucette only goes to Mauze, and you will trust her with me, I will seeher safe there if I get there myself, upon my honor; but I know not whyshe should have to change her dress, for the distance is so small fromMaran's that----"
"You may be stopped and have to show your safe-conduct," answered thesyndic. "You know not how rapidly this cardinal is drawing the netaround us. But surely we can equip her so that she shall remainconcealed and yet not shock her modesty."
"Oh, yes," replied Master Ned: "'tis still the mode with us to wear aloose, long, hanging coat over the justaucorps in cool weather; and thisis cool enough. I have one in my bags, and they are so freely fittedthat it matters not whether it be somewhat large or not. But what I fearis her long, beautiful, amber hair. No boy's head ever bore such aprofusion,--though it is the custom now to wear it very long behind."
"We must have it cut," said the syndic, with as little reverence forlove-locks as any Puritanical preacher of the coming epoch: "a woman maywell yield her hair to save her liberty and her religion,--nay, perhapsher life. But we will talk more to-morrow, my son, and we had betterboth seek rest now and rise by dawn to-morrow."
The results of this conversation may easily be divined by the reader,whose business it is, in a novel as well as in a tragedy, to supply fromhis own wit or imagination all the little facts and circumstances whichit may please an author to omit. Yes, dear reader, always recollect thatyou have your responsibilities as well as your privileges, your dutiesas well as your powers, and then if you and I do not understand eachother it is not your fault.
The following evening, about seven o'clock, there assembled in thelittle saloon, the syndic, Edward Langdale, a strong, supple-lookingman, of whom more hereafter, Pierrot la Grange, and a beautiful boy,apparently some two years younger, and much shorter, than Master Ned. Heentered the last, dressed in one of the broad-brimmed hats of the day, ahandsome doublet, and a loose black velvet coat with hanging sleeves. Itdescended nearly to the knees, and almost met a pair of largeriding-boots, which, together with the hat and feather, and a smallgold-hilted dagger on the left hip, gave the wearer a sort of cavalierlook which accorded well with the character assumed,--yes, assumed; fora warm mantling blush that spread over Lucette's fair face, and the shyimpulse with which she threw herself into the old man's arms, would havebetrayed her sex to any one who was not in the secret. Every thing,however, was now hurry, for a good-sized fishing-boat had been engagedfor a somewhat earlier hour; and, with a few words of admonition toLucette from the syndic, and some directions to the men, the whole partyset out for the port. Marton gave them egress, kissing Lucette tenderlyas she passed the door; and in ten minutes Clement Tournon held theyoung girl in his arms by the side of the boat, taking one last embrace.He wept not, it is true; but he heaved a heavy sigh. Edward Langdalelifted her into the little bark, and, as the boat pushed off, he feltthat tears had fallen upon his bosom.