CHAPTER III
THE BAL MASQUE
"You need not worry at all, Prote. No one will know. It will be quiteeasy. Gonfleur is waiting at the door. You have said yourself thatMademoiselle Marie Josephine should not miss the fun."
A small figure in a white cloak was following the little maid up astairway leading from a side garden door of the Saint Frere house as shespoke.
"Mademoiselle may not be asleep. She often lies awake these nights. Itis indeed a shame that she should not have gone with the others. Butyou, Mademoiselle, will they miss you?"
They were outside the nursery door as Rosanne de Soigne answered. Shelooked up at Prote and spoke indignantly.
"They think that I am asleep in bed with some silly bonbons under mypillow. It is the same with me as with Marie Josephine; they treat me asthough I were a child. To-night I have an idea! You will hear me tellMademoiselle!"
Prote opened the door leading to a small room off the day nursery whichwas Marie Josephine's own apartment. She was not asleep, and as theycame into the room she sat up in bed and said:
"What is it, Prote? What has happened?"
"Nothing has happened, Mademoiselle, except that your friend,Mademoiselle Rosanne de Soigne, has come to see you," Prote replied,lighting a candle as she spoke.
Rosanne came up to the bed and, before Marie Josephine, in herbewilderment, could speak, said eagerly:
"You are to come with me, Marie Josephine. Prote is to dress you atonce. You shall not be left out of the ball. Listen! I know a placewhere we can see it all, watch the dancing, and hear the music! Gonfleuris to bring us gouter when the others are having theirs. It will be thegreatest fun!"
Marie Josephine was so surprised for a moment that she could not speak.
"Hurry, for we must not miss any of it. Prote has your stockings. Lether put them on," urged Rosanne.
Marie Josephine stuck out her foot obediently, and Prote, kneelingbeside her, pulled on the stockings, muttering to herself distressfully:
"This is dreadful. What if Madame la Comtesse should know! May the goodsaints protect me if Madame should find us out!"
When Prote said this, Marie Josephine seemed to wake up to the situationand, leaning over, patted the round knob at the back of the littlemaid's head.
"You are a foolish girl, Prote. Have you not raged to me and to MonsieurLisle because I was not invited? You even spoke to Le Pont. I heard yousay to her, 'They must have been selfish indeed to have so forgotten theLittle Mademoiselle!'"
While Marie Josephine was speaking, Prote was putting on her littlesilken undergarments, fastening the tapes which tied them with nervousfingers. Then she slipped a light silk frock over her head and put ablue cape about her shoulders.
"Come, Mesdemoiselles, I will escort you to Gonfleur. I shall be waitingfor you at the garden door when the clock strikes ten, LittleMademoiselle. You must be in bed and asleep before Madame la Comtesseand the others return," admonished Prote.
They had come out to the upper landing and they stood for a momentlooking down into the great hall below. A man servant in red and whitelivery was passing through the hall. He stooped and extinguished thecandles, until at last only a tall one in a high, golden candlestick ona marble table near the door was left burning.
"We must go down the other way. It would not do for the servants toknow. One cannot be too careful in these bad times," whispered Prote asthey walked down a long hall, lit dimly by flaring candles in bronzesockets.
There was a light patter of steps behind them and turning they saw thatFlambeau was following them. Prote shook her stubby finger at him,whispering in a hissing sort of way that made her voice sound almostlike a whistle in the gusty corridor.
"Ah, the bad dog! You are to go back at once to Mademoiselle's room. Youare not to follow!"
Marie Josephine and Rosanne giggled, and Flambeau came forward slowly,in spite of Prote's upraised hand and threatening looks.
"You know that he will come, as he goes everywhere with us. There is nouse to urge him to go back." Rosanne pulled impatiently at Prote's armas she spoke. The little maid only raised her hands as though indespair, and the four of them started to descend the steep flight ofstairs. The two girls were both laughing softly with excitement, holdingeach other's hands and looking back at Flambeau.
Marie Josephine knew this staircase well, but she said nothing. No onemust know that she had ever been down these stairs before, because theywere a part of grandfather's secret.
An old man was waiting for them at the door leading into the garden. Itwas Gonfleur, the servant who had come with Rosanne. He held a lightedlanthorn in one hand and when he saw Prote and the children, he startedto shuffle slowly along the path ahead of them, holding the lanthorncarefully so that they could see their way.
"We are both fools, you an old one and I a young one, Gonfleur. See thatyou return with Mademoiselle Marie Josephine at ten exactly, or it willbe the worse for you!" Prote called after him in her funny, hissing way.
Gonfleur made no reply and, holding open the heavy garden door, let histwo charges through and then followed them. They found themselves on thewalk outside, the sultry dampness of an August night all about them. Theroar of the city could be heard in the distance and from the corner camethe sound of rough laughter and harsh voices. They turned away in theopposite direction from the voices and, as it was only a very little wayto the iron door leading to the back entrance to the De Soigne mansion,they found themselves shut away from the street soon again, almostbefore they knew it.
It had been exciting to them both, that little walk through the night.Neither of them had ever been out this way before. Marie Josephine hadnever seen the city after sundown but once, and that was when, becauseof some trouble with their horses, they had been delayed in coming backfrom Pigeon Valley, where they spent their summers, and their coach hadnot entered Paris until evening. That had been the summer before.
When once they were inside the little door leading to the vast backquarters of the great mansion, there was no longer any need ofGonfleur's lanthorn to light them, for all the way up the winding stairswere flaring torches. At the foot of the stairs the old servant bowedand left them. Rosanne called after him.
"You are not to forget to come with the sweets, Gonfleur!"
"I will remember, of a surety, Mademoiselle."
They were so far from the region of the bal masque that only thefaintest sound of music came to them. Rosanne took her friend's hand andthey climbed up the steep stairs side by side. Marie Josephine knewwhere they were going or at least she guessed. It was the place aboveall others where she liked best to play. It was a little square balconyin the wall at the very tiptop of the house and one could reach it bythis back flight of stairs. The two children had discovered it someyears ago and, on the rare occasions when they were left to themselves,they had climbed up to it and looked down into the vastness of the greathall below.
The music of a minuet was being played as the two settled themselves ina corner of the balcony and looked down. The minuet music was verypretty, and the sight upon which they gazed was pretty, too.
"It is like maman's picture of which she is so fond--the picture whereall the people are dancing. It is by Monsieur Watteau. Grandfather toldme so," whispered Marie Josephine.
"There is no need at all for whispering," Rosanne answered in naturaltones. "No one could hear us if we were to shout ever so loud!"
They sat close together because they felt a little cold. Drifts of chillair came in from behind them. It seemed as though even in mid-summerthere was always a breath of dampness at the De Soignes'.
Below them the many-colored throng moved through the dainty measures ofthe dance. The sound of laughter and young voices blended with the sweetstrains of the music. It seemed like fairyland to the two who lookeddown on it.
"We can only guess who they are until they take off their masks, but Ithink that fat one in the red mantle is
my cousin Bertran du Monde,"Rosanne said, leaning far over and peering around the corner, as shetried to follow the figure of a boy in red.
Marie Josephine looked too.
"Yes, that is Bertran. What a fat, funny boy he is! Do you remember howhe teased us the afternoon that he came to tea with us all in ourschoolroom? He is a stupid boy. You do not mind my saying that even ifhe is your cousin, do you?" Marie Josephine laughed mischievously as shespoke.
Rosanne laughed happily.
"No, it is true. He is a stupid, fat boy, and he is often very rude.See, is that not your cousin Hortense, the tall girl dancing with----?"
Marie Josephine interrupted her.
"It's Lisle, Hortense and Lisle. She is almost as tall as he is and sheis only fifteen. She looks so very grown-up. How happy I should be if Icould dance the minuet with Lisle! He always thinks me such a baby!" Lisle] There was a little choke in Marie Josephine'svoice as she said this, and she looked down very wistfully at the fungoing on in the great banquet hall.
"The fruit and bonbons and the eau sucre are in the small room at theright. They will be going in there very soon after dancing forrefreshment. Gonfleur has promised to bring us sweets and he will notforget. He is very good." Rosanne lowered her voice a little thoughthere was really no need. The music had stopped and gay, chatteringgroups walked slowly about or went on, as Rosanne had prophesied, to theroom beyond.
Marie Josephine did not answer. She was deep in thought, her chin wedgedin between the carved wooden spokes of the tiny balcony. How wonderfulto be down there in the midst of all the glitter of lights and jewels,gold lace and flowers, and to have Lisle for her partner, Lisle in hisblue velvet and brilliants!
Rosanne's quick eyes looked here and there. Her one desire was todiscover her friends and cousins among the gay throng below. She agreedwith Marie Josephine that they had found Bertran, but was not so sureabout his sister Cecile.
"Cecile would not let me see her beforehand. She did not come in withthe others when they bade me good night. She knows about the balcony. Itold her I'd be here and she thought it the greatest fun. She said shewould do her best to see me and let me see her. She said she would comeright underneath me if she could and that she would look up. Then Icould tell that it was she. You see I don't know what her costume is atall." As she spoke, Rosanne moved a little so that Flambeau could wedgehimself in next to her.
"Did you tell Cecile that you were coming with Gonfleur to get me?"whispered Marie Josephine. She could not help whispering; it made it allseem more exciting.
Rosanne shook her head. "No, I didn't dare to do that. She would havebeen worried. Oh, she would have begged me not to go. Why, no one wouldthink of such a thing, Marie Josephine; no one would ever believe I'd goout alone with just a servant at night!"
"It was a splendid thing to do, and I'll not forget it," answered MarieJosephine warmly. Then, with Flambeau's head upon her knee, she satquietly looking down. The music of a gavotte had begun and it was like aripple of laughter. It made Marie Josephine think of Pigeon Valley andher home, Les Vignes.
They had always spent their summers at Les Vignes until this year. MarieJosephine had often heard the governess say: "We must thank God for LesVignes, children. It is a refuge from all trouble." Marie Josephine knewthat there had been fighting in the streets, and that many of theirfriends had left France. Her maman no longer went out to grand soirees.There was sadness and restlessness everywhere.
"But I am happy to-night. Everyone is happy," she thought. She had oftenheard Hortense and Denise anticipating the wonder of their first ball.They would wear the family jewels. It would be the grandest affair!Well, they had three years to wait. This was small in comparison to whatthat gala ball would be! This was just a handful of boys and girls incostumes made up for the moment by governesses and servants. There werebad times in the city. The people had imprisoned the king, Louis XVI,and the queen, Marie Antoinette, in the Tuileries palace.
"Things are always happening, but to-night they are happy things," MarieJosephine said to Rosanne, and by way of answer, her friend saidexcitedly:
"There is Cecile, all in white! She's holding out her silver wand as shedances. See! She's looking up at us and smiling, though she cannot seeus. It is too dark up here, and we are too far away."
"I love Cecile better than any one except maman and Lisle andgrandfather and Dian and you," Marie Josephine answered solemnly.
"Not better than your own sister!" exclaimed Rosanne in shocked tones.
Marie Josephine nodded. "Yes, better than Denise. Cecile is like amaiden in a fairy tale, Denise isn't."
"Listen. Is that not Gonfleur coming up the stairs? He is bringing thegouter," said Rosanne.
The girls peered down through the little door at the back of the balconyand after a moment Gonfleur turned a bend and came toward them.
"How fast he is climbing! I did not know his malady, the rheumatism,would permit him to go so fast!" exclaimed Marie Josephine.
When he came a little nearer Rosanne called softly to him:
"Good Gonfleur, you have come with sweets for us. You do well to hurry!"
The old man puffed for a moment as he reached the top step. Then hepicked up Marie Josephine's cloak from the back of the chair and beganto put it around her.
"You are to come at once, Mademoiselle--at once, if you please, atonce," he muttered as he tied the ribbons at her throat with tremblingfingers.
"What are you doing, Gonfleur? Mademoiselle Saint Frere is not to gohome until we have had the sweets. Where are they? Do not hurry so!"Rosanne put her hand on Gonfleur's arm and shook it. "Do not say that ithas been discovered that she came here to-night," she went on.
Gonfleur shook his head. "There is need of haste. The LittleMademoiselle cannot stay longer. No, she is not found out. It is notthat. Would to the kind God is was only that, Mademoiselle. It is not agood night to be out." Gonfleur stood shaking his head, still tremblingas he answered.
"Not a good night. What can you mean! It is a beautiful night. Do younot see how splendid it is downstairs and how happy we all are?" Rosannefrowned and spoke impatiently, holding on to Marie Josephine's cape."You shall not take her away so soon. She shall have the sweets andfruit before she goes."
"It is not happy outside, Mademoiselle Rosanne," Gonfleur answered. Thenturning to Marie Josephine, he said: "We will go back as we came,Mademoiselle. It is only a step to your portal where Prote will bewaiting, but we must not delay. I entreat you, Mademoiselle, not todelay."
Gonfleur spoke so earnestly and seemed so uneasy that the two girls wereimpressed. There seemed nothing else to do but for Marie Josephine to gowith him at once. The two friends kissed each other on each cheek andthen, her hand in Gonfleur's and with Flambeau at her heels, MarieJosephine went down the long, steep stairs. On the first landing sheturned and looked back at Rosanne, who stood in the dusk of the redvelvet lined balcony looking down at her, her fair hair falling abouther shoulders. Marie Josephine waved her hand and Rosanne waved back.
Gonfleur's lanthorn was already lit, and it stood on an iron ledge bythe door leading from the foot of the stairs to the courtyard of thegreat house. The court was deserted and they crossed it quickly,Gonfleur holding his charge's hand firmly, and not once letting it goexcept for the moment when he unlocked the door leading from the courtto the street. Marie Josephine was indignant with him for hurrying heraway in such a fashion in the midst of the fun and before the sweetswere served. She would have insisted on staying and would have toldGonfleur to wait until it was her pleasure to go, if her own positionhad not been an uncertain one. She had never done anything so daringbefore.
Gonfleur shut the door quickly behind them and they turned to the left,crossed the street, and found themselves at the side portal of the SaintFrere house before they knew it. As they stood for a moment in front ofthe door while Gonfleur fumbled with the lock in his near-sighted way,the loud clatter of horses' hoofs rang out sharply in the confused nightair. Marie Josephine looke
d back over her shoulder as they turned intothe garden. She saw a squad of mounted soldiers rush by at full speedand disappear in a flash down a side street to the right.
Gonfleur muttered to himself as he pushed her gently along the gardenpath. Prote was waiting at the door and Marie Josephine was glad to seeher. Prote took her hand and squeezed it and Marie Josephine squeezedback.
"Put Mademoiselle to bed at once. There is rough work to-night. Hearthat!" They stood still and listened. There was a dull, heavy boomingsound. Prote raised her hands.
"Cannon; and it's the Tuileries. Neville told me a half hour ago thatthere were wild doings to-night. I'll take care of Mademoiselle, neverfear. Now get you home, Gonfleur. The others will be coming when theyknow there's trouble." As she spoke Prote shut the door and bolted it.Then she and Marie Josephine and Flambeau climbed the stairs as quicklyas they could.
Prote's fingers flew in undressing Marie Josephine and very soon she wastucked in her big bed. She lay awake a little while thinking of themusic and the dancing and how lovely Rosanne's cousin Cecile had lookedin her white and silver frock and with her hair powdered.
"She seemed really grown-up, not pretending like Hortense and Denise,yet she is only fifteen. I saw the party anyway. What would Lisle andthe girls say if they knew! I am nearly thirteen and they treat me likea baby. I am not a baby. I think more than Denise and I read many booksthat she does not know about at all, and I know about things too,battles and poems and old, old days that grandfather told me about. I'mnot young at all, really I----" She was asleep!
When she awoke it was still dark. Flambeau's cold nose was touching herarm and Lisle was sitting on the edge of her bed. In her astonishmentshe sat up and stared at him. He had thrown back the blue velvet,ermine-trimmed mantle that he had worn at the ball, and had unsheathedhis jeweled sword. It glowed like a live thing on the whiteness of thesatin counterpane. In the light from a flaring socket just outside theopen door, his white face, fair hair, and the gleaming crystals on hiscostume shone in the summer darkness.
Marie Josephine touched his arm. "Lisle, why are you here?" she asked."Isn't it the middle of the night?" She shook the curls from her eyes,shivering a little in the midnight cold.
"I was just sitting here. I'm sorry you woke up, but now that you areawake I will tell you something. You are to leave for Pigeon Valley atsix in the morning, you and Hortense and Denise, and of course Madame lePont and Prote," Lisle said.
"And Flambeau?"
Lisle shrugged his shoulders. "The dog goes everywhere with you. Bertrandu Monde is going too, and his servant. They will ride by the coach.Bertran will be staying at Les Vignes with you."
"Bertran du Monde! But he is not your great friend. You will not wanthim as a companion. Why does he go?" Marie Josephine was bewildered andnot yet quite awake. It all seemed like a dream to her.
"I am not going with you."
What was it Lisle was saying? His sister grabbed his arm and shook it.
"Don't tease me. You always go to Les Vignes," she said, but she feltthat he meant what he had said and knew in her heart that he was notteasing.
"I am telling you the truth. You are going at six just as I have said. Arider has gone ahead to-night to prepare the servants at Les Vignes. Youare to be quiet and obedient and are not to sulk." Lisle spoke sternlybut he did not frighten his sister at all. She put her arm about hisshoulders and laid her face close to his. He did not return her caress,but sat looking straight in front of him. Marie Josephine sat backagainst her pillows, winking her eyes rapidly to keep the tears back.When she had put her cheek close to her brother's she had felt somethingwet. It had been a tear. She must never let him know. He would neverforgive her if he found it out.
"When are you coming?" she asked a little timidly.
"I don't know. I shall not leave maman."
"You mean because of all the noise and shooting and trouble and keepingthe king and queen in prison," asked Marie Josephine.
Lisle nodded. "Maman will not go. She says it would be disloyal. She isright. If it is disloyal for her, it is disloyal for me. But we willtalk no more to-night. Then there is Great-aunt Hortense--we cannotleave her. You are to get up at once when Prote calls you, take yourpetit dejeuner, and then say good-by to maman. You are to shed no tears.Now lie down and go to sleep. I will tuck you up!"
Marie Josephine lay down, shutting her eyes obediently, though the tearsforced themselves from under her lashes.
Lisle leaned over and kissed her.
"Always remember that you are a Saint Frere, Marie Josephine," he said.