CHAPTER XIII.
Oh entering the cabinet of the Duke of Mayenne, Madame de Montpensierand her companion found him still engaged in listening to the reportsof several military men. He instantly made a sign, however, for thepurpose of enjoining silence as his sister approached; and turning toSt. Real, he pointed to a seat. "The Marquis de St. Real, I presume?"he said, with an air of plain and unaffected dignity. "Your mourninghabit, sir, reminds me that I should condole with you on the death ofone of the noblest gentlemen that France has ever known. He would not,it is true, take part with those who wished him well; but, even had hedrawn his sword against us, I should have lamented his death as a stargone out that may never be lighted again."
There was a brief pause--for St. Real would not trust his voice with areply--and the Duke, after having dismissed the officers by whom hehad been surrounded, proceeded: "I trust, Monsieur de St. Real, thatyou know enough of him who speaks to you to believe, even without mysaying it, that Charles of Mayenne is utterly incapable of such an actas that by which my safe-conduct was violated in your instance. For myown part, the persons who captured you allege, in their excuse, somedispositions of your troops, which gave cause to suspect aninclination to support our adversary, the young Duke of Longueville;but I--judging your sentiments by my own--absolve you from all suchsuspicion."
"You do me justice, my lord," replied St. Real; "I am incapable oftaking advantage of your pass in order to injure you; and, though inthe first heat of anger at my arrest, I might cast the blame on you, Ihave since learned to judge better, and to know that it was thepurpose of those who detained me to keep you in ignorance of myimprisonment. At least, I conclude so from the fact that, on mydesiring one of the lookers-on, as I was carried through the streets,to bear the tidings to you, the commander, as he seemed, of thereitters threatened to cut the man's ears off if he obeyed. How thenews was at length brought to you I know not, and would willinglyhear."
"'Twas a little misshapen dwarf," replied Mayenne, "whom I rememberwell about the court some years ago, that brought the tidings, andbellowed them forth just as I was mounting my horse to ride out thismorning."
"'Tis one of my own pages, doubtless," replied St. Real. "I fanciedthat the little pigmy could ill bear the fatigues of our long march,and I sent him on hither in a chariot, with another young lad, toprepare a lodging for me while in Paris."
"I knew not, sir Marquis," replied Mayenne, "that you, who affect somuch retirement in the provinces, took such pains to follow the modesof the court. What! you have dwarfs for pages, too, have you? Anddoubtless, in such a household as yours, you equal this Henry ofValois, and have the _tailleur aux nains_, as well as the dwarf'svalet."
A fear crossed the mind of Madame de Montpensier, lest her brothershould be pressing St. Real somewhat too hard for his own interests;and she accordingly joined in the conversation at once. "No, no!" sheexclaimed; "depend upon it, Charles, Monsieur de St. Real has obtainedthis dwarf through some accident. I am a better judge of nature thanyou, Mayenne; and I will answer for it that St. Real is not one to apethe follies of a vicious court, and have his dozen or two of dwarfsand buffoons."
"You are quite right, madam," replied St. Real, who could not but feelpleased to hear himself so boldly defended by such lovely lips. "Thisdwarf was given me, when I needed a page, by my cousin of Aubin, whoprophesied that one day he would serve me at my need--a prophecy whichyou see has been happily fulfilled, by the unexpected service he hasrendered me to-day; and I only trust that his Highness of Mayenne willpunish as severely those who have abused his authority, as I willreward largely the activity of my little page."
Mayenne's brow darkened a little: for, of course, the contrivers ofthe scheme by which St. Real had been brought to Paris he could notpunish; and the executors of that scheme were too necessary to his ownpurposes to admit of any severity being exercised towards them, evenhad a sense of justice not pointed out that they were mere instrumentsin the hands of his sister. He was embarrassed therefore; for he feltthat the mind of the young Marquis of St. Real was too clear and toostraightforward not to detect and appreciate any evasive reply: butMadame de Montpensier came to his aid.
"Nay, nay, Monsieur de St. Real," she said, half playfully, halfsadly, "let us not talk of punishments to-day. The miseries and thepangs which are inflicted by either party on the other are sufficient,Heaven knows, without requiring us to be very severe upon our own. Butyou talked," she added, changing the subject abruptly, "of your pageseeking you a lodging in Paris. Now, this is the Hotel de Guise; andI, as a daughter of that house, will take upon me to bid you make ityour dwelling while you stay; though my brother, here present, mighthave had the courtesy to do so before now."
"Nay, Catherine," answered Mayenne, "I wished to put no restraint uponMonsieur de St. Real. He came to the capital to act and to judge forhimself; to examine our cause, to mark the demeanour of those whosupport it; and, though anxious--most anxious--to have so noble a namejoined to all those who already uphold the Catholic faith against theapostate and excommunicated tyrant who would destroy it, yet on noaccount would I bias for a moment the judgment of our noble friend,which, indeed, he might think I wished to do if I pressed him to dwellhere."
There was a dignified simplicity in the demeanour of the Duke ofMayenne which pleased St. Real much; but still he wished in no degreeto commit himself with the League, till he had ascertained that therewas some strong and imperative cause for quitting the path whichloyalty and his allegiance pointed out for him to follow. "I thankyou, my lord, for your consideration," he replied; "but it was mypurpose, after this interview, and having obtained one boon at yourhands, to take my leave for the time, in order to proceed to St.Cloud, as I at first intended."
A cloud came over the brow of the Duke; but Madame de Montpensieragain interfered. "Monsieur de St. Real," she said, laughing, withsomething of a double meaning, "you are strongly inclined to spoil allmy best plans in your favour; but I do not intend to let you do so.Positively, for this day at least, you shall make your habitation inthe Hotel de Guise. The morning you shall spend as you please--see allour faults and failings, and spy out the nakedness of the land. Atnight you sup with me, to which supper I also bid my lord Duke, here;and I will take care, that in the course of the evening, you shallhave an opportunity of urging your cousin's suit upon the ear ofMademoiselle de Menancourt, as long and as privately as you please."
Mayenne cast an inquiring glance upon his sister; but she onlyreplied, "Ay, Charles, even so: your fair ward, Eugenie de Menancourt,with whom Monsieur de St. Real desires to speak in favour of the Countd'Aubin. However, to this plan I will have no objections, my lordMarquis; so, on your gallantry, I call you to obey without murmuring,remembering that, as it is impossible for a young, gay, handsomecavalier like yourself to have a private interview with a beautifulgirl like Eugenie de Menancourt at her own dwelling without notoriousscandal, this is your only chance. No reply!" she added, with an airof playful imperiousness; "no reply! but obedience! Herbert!" shecontinued, raising her voice loud enough to be heard in the ante-room,"command the _ma?tre d'h?tel_ to conduct this gentleman to such asuite of rooms as may be sufficient for himself and his attendants,and suited to his high quality."
It would have needed a heart very stern and stoical to disobeycommands so pleasantly given, and coupled with such temptations. St.Real, therefore, signified his assent, and, following the officer whohad come to Madame de Montpensier's call, was conducted to anapartment in the Hotel de Guise, where he was soon joined by his ownattendants, bearing the various articles of baggage which he hadbrought with him on quitting his little camp near Senlis, and which,to their singular honour be it spoken, the reitters had left with novery important abstractions, though plunder was no uncommon part oftheir military avocations.
Madame de Montpensier, although she had in reality neither boon norquestion to demand of her brother, lingered for a moment after St.Real was gone, looking archly in the grave face of the Duke ofMayenne. "Well, Char
les," she exclaimed, "do you not thank me for myassistance? have I not got you nicely out of a scrape?"
"After having wildly got me into one," replied the Duke. "But tell me,Kate, what is this business about Mademoiselle de Menancourt? I willnot suffer you to trouble the course of events there."
"Nor do I purpose to do so," replied Madame de Montpensier; "but I seefarther than you do, Charles, and, at all events, for this day willhave my own way. So, you look to your plans, and I will look to mine,and may come to help you again when you get into difficulty." Thusspeaking, and without waiting for any farther questions, she turnedaway, leaving the Duke to pursue the military arrangements in which hehad been previously occupied.