CHAPTER XXXIX.
When Madame de Chazeul entered the bed-room, she found the two maidsbusily engaged in ornamenting a dress, which she had ordered them toprepare against the marriage. It mingled, in a somewhat strangemanner, the colours of mourning and rejoicing; and the two girls weretittering at some observations made by the page, who stood lookingover their work, and who had just said, "Why, if Madam put on that,she will look like an old magpie." The boy's face was perfectly grave,but the maids could not recover a demure look quite so easily; andMadame de Chazeul, who was herself in deep and stern thoughts, gavethem a fierce glance, saying, "What are the fools laughing at? Go bothof you into the ante-room and let one tell the girl Blanchette to cometo me; and you, Philip, run down to the kitchen, and fetch me twobasins of soup. I am hungry," she added in a tone that she intendedhim to remark; "and that poor girl must have some food too."
The boy hastened to obey, and the maid went to call Blanchette: butthe Countess remaining in her own chamber, opened a little bonbonni?rewhich she carried, and shook out a small quantity of a white powderinto a piece of paper, which she folded up carefully, but not indeedcompletely, for one end was left open. This packet she concealedbetween her first and second finger; and then, leaning her head uponher hand, she meditated for a moment or two, turning her own darkschemes in her mind, with some doubts and misgivings as to how sheshould carry the next step she purposed to take, into execution.
"If I carry it to her myself," she thought, "she will doubt something,and will not drink it. I'll send it by the maid Blanchette.--Yet,perhaps, if she knows that it comes from me, the same suspicions mayarise: and I doubt that girl too. She has given me black looks andsaucy answers. No--I had better take it myself: or, stay--I will sendit by the page. He was always fond of her; and a light, thoughtlessboy like that, one can make say what one will. He will suspectnothing, and the girl will not doubt him. Martin I dare not trust, forthe fool thinks his conscience sufficiently burdened already with theimprisonment of the priest. He would not be so easily taken in either,to believe that I had any very tender consideration for the hunger ofHelen de la Tremblade, any more than those two wenches in theante-room. All my people know too much--I must get some new ones; and,if I can breed up this boy in perfect obedience, he may prove usefulhereafter."
As she was going on with these pleasant meditations, the girlBlanchette presented herself and Madame de Chazeul, turning towardsher, asked in a calm and complaisant tone, "How long has Mademoisellede la Tremblade been here, Blanchette?"
"Really, Madam, I do not know," answered the maid; "I was not awarethat she was here at all, till I found her with you and Mademoiselled'Albret."
"Indeed!" exclaimed Madame de Chazeul with an air of surprise; "Ithought you had known all about it."
"Not I, Madam," said Blanchette; "but she can't have been there long,or I could not have helped knowing. I think she must have come lastnight, for I saw the door of the priest's room open just beforesunset, and I looked in. There was nobody there then: and I am surenobody slept in the room the night before; for he was in the chapelall night himself, and the bed was untouched in the morning."
Before Madame de Chazeul could make any further observation, the pageentered the room, bearing the two basins of soup which he had beencommanded to bring; and his mistress ordered him to set them down onthe table before her, and retire. The boy did as she bade him, butremained in the ante-room; and the Marchioness proceeded to talkfarther with Blanchette, changing the subject of her conversation,however, to the approaching wedding, and the preparations for it,which were necessary.
"You will not have much time, Blanchette," she said; "but still, youmust try to make your mistress's wedding dress look as gay aspossible."
"I will do the best I can, Madam," replied Blanchette; "but I doubtvery much whether she will put it on."
"Oh, nonsense," cried Madame de Chazeul. "She knows that Monsieur deLiancourt has sworn that she shall marry the Marquis before noonto-day; and she does not doubt that he will keep his word. She must,therefore, have made up her mind to it by this time; and I dare say weshall hear no more objections."
Blanchette shook her head, saying, "I think you will, Madam, as manyas ever."
"Well, then," exclaimed Madame de Chazeul, "force must be used; that'sall, for my brother will not break his oath for the whims of any girlin Europe. Fetch me that mantle, Blanchette," she continued, "that onewhich hangs by the wall there," and she pointed to a spot at the otherside of the room, where a cloak was hanging from a hook on the wall.The direction was such that Blanchette, in going thither, must turnher back to the table at which the Marchioness was seated. The girlwalked straight across to the spot, seemingly gazing at the crimsonsilk mantle before her, but as she did so, she turned her eyes quietlytowards a small mirror that hung exactly opposite the fire-place. Atfirst it presented nothing to her view, but the wide open hearth, andthe curiously carved dogs, with some large pieces of wood burning uponthem. The next moment, however, her own figure crossing was reflectedfrom the glass, and then was seen, as the angle became greater, theform of Madame de Chazeul, seated at the table with the two basins ofsoup before her and with her right hand raised above one of them. Shewas shaking in the powder which she held wrapt up in the paper betweenher fingers; and Blanchette saw clearly the white substance fall intothe liquid. She took no notice, however; but in order to give theMarchioness full time for what she was about, she affected to havesome difficulty in unfastening the garment she was sent to fetch fromthe peg.
Madame de Chazeul turned round the next moment saying, "Untie thestring, untie the string! How clumsy you are!"
Following her directions, Blanchette easily got down the mantle andreturned with it to the lady's side, who began a long unnecessaryexplanation as to how certain knots of riband were to be placed onMademoiselle d'Albret's dress, and Blanchette took out her scissors tounfasten one of those from the cloak, in order that she might seeexactly how it was done,--affecting, to say the truth, a greaterdegree of stupidity than was natural to her.
"There that will do," said Madame de Chazeul; "you must understand itnow. Oh, I forgot," she added aloud, "I must send something toMademoiselle de la Tremblade. She has had no breakfast, I suppose?Here, Philip!"
The boy did not appear, and Blanchette still continued to fumble atthe bow upon the mantle, without offering to call the page.
There was a good deal of tremor in the Marchioness's manner: she wasagitated: her voice shook when she called; and at length rising, shewent to the door to give her orders to the boy. He was not there,however; and the only person in the room was one of her women seatednear the farther window, whom she directed in quick and eager words tocall the page directly.
The whole of this proceeding occupied not a minute and a half; but themoment that the Marchioness's back was turned, Blanchette withdexterous rapidity, took the mantle between her teeth, and, employingboth hands, changed the relative positions of the two basins of soup,but was busy at the knot again, with a dull face and a heavy unmeaningeye, before Madame de Chazeul turned round. Not the slightest soundhad she made; and it was only a gentle undulation of the liquid in thetwo cups which could have betrayed to any eye that they had beenmoved. That, however, had nearly subsided before the Marchionessreturned to the table, and Blanchette soon received her dismissal,with injunctions to make haste with what she had to do.
Scarcely was the girl gone when the boy Philip entered the room, andMadame de Chazeul asked sharply, "Where have you been, Sir?"
"I went to get some breakfast, Madam," replied the boy, "for I wasvery hungry, having ridden all night."
"There may be other people hungry as well as you are, young glutton,"said the Marchioness; "however, here's a task for you, that I am sureyou will like. Do you know that Mademoiselle Helen is here?"
"No," cried the page with well-feigned astonishment; "is she, indeed?Oh, I am so glad; and I am sure I hope you will forgive her, Madam,for she is so good and so kind."
"Not yet," replied the Marchioness in a significant tone; "but I maysoon. In the mean time, I must not let her, for the world, know that Itake any interest in her; for she is locked into her room, and mustremain there till I think she is punished sufficiently. However, shemust not be without food, so carry her this basin of soup, as if youhad brought it for her yourself, without letting her know that I sentit. She will take it kind of you; but you must not stop a minute withher, and be sure to lock the door and bring me the key again directly.If you were to let her get out, I would have you flayed alive."
"I will take care, that shall not be the case," replied the boy; and,stretching out his hands, either from some suspicion or by accident,he was about to lift the basin farthest from him, when Madame deChazeul thrust back his arm hastily, and laying her finger on theother, exclaimed, "This, I told you, this. Don't you see I have takensome of the other?"
The boy could not perceive that there was any difference in quantitybetween the two; but the quick eagerness with which Madame de Chazeulspoke, would have created doubts in his mind if there had been nonethere before; and he determined at once, to warn Helen againsttouching any food but that which he himself procured for her.
Madame de Chazeul then gave him the key; but she exacted a promisefrom him, that he would lock the door with it, and bring it backwithout suffering Helen to go out. "If she should try to master you,and be too strong for you," said the Marchioness in a low voice, "useyour dagger."
"Oh! Madam," cried the boy with a look of horror.
"I mean, but to frighten her," replied Madame de Chazeul, "and at allevents call out loudly should such be the case. I will place some onewithin hearing."
Carrying the soup in his hand, the page then left the room; and,descending that flight of stairs, he passed through the passage below,and ascended the others towards the priest's room. If Madame deChazeul had reflected upon all the circumstances, she would haveperceived that the boy was not altogether sincere with her; for he hadaffected not to know that Helen was in the ch?teau; and yet, withouther ever telling him in what room the unhappy girl was confined, hewent away towards it directly. But the truth is, that, as usual, thewhole events of the morning had been talked over amongst the servantsin the hall; and he had heard the fact of Helen's appearance, andwhere she was to be found.
The first sound of his step upon the stairs brought out Blanchettefrom the neighbouring room. Her face was as pale as ashes, and herlimbs trembled, but she stopped the boy at the top of the stairs,asking in a whisper, "Which of the two basins is that? The one on theright or the other on the left?"
"The one on the right," replied the boy. "I am taking it toMademoiselle Helen. Do you know anything about it? You look verywhite!"
Blanchette still held his arm, though she murmured, "That is right.Well, however," she continued, as if speaking to herself, "it will bebetter to be quite safe. Tell her not to take the soup, Philip; lether throw it away; and you find means to give her food that you knowis--is--is wholesome."
"How?" demanded the boy. "How is that to be done?"
"Throw a ball of twine into the window from below," replied the girl."Then while they are all at the wedding, you can tie a basket to it,and let her pull it up."
"Thank you, Blanchette," replied the boy with a nod, "I will do so.But hark, I hear steps along the passage below; I must go on."
Blanchette instantly disappeared; and the boy, unlocking the door ofthe priest's room, went in. He found Helen de la Tremblade gazingeagerly towards him from the other side of the room, with a look ofterror in her eyes, like that of the wounded bird when approached bythe retriever. It was changed instantly to joy, however, when she sawthe boy, and she ran forward a few steps to meet him. But then thepoor girl stopped, and shook her head sadly, exclaiming, "Ah, Philip,you should not have come. You do not know to what you expose yourself.That woman will never forgive any one who shows a kindness to poorHelen de la Tremblade."
"I know she will not, Ma'am'selle Helen," answered the page, settingdown the soup upon the table and kissing her hand; "but she sent me tobring you that. But I have much to say to you, and am afraid to staymore than a minute; and I have promised to lock the door too, and takeback the key."
"Oh, let me out, Philip! let me out!" exclaimed Helen clasping herhands.
"I cannot! I cannot! even if I had not given my word," cried the boy.
"If I could but see my uncle for one minute," urged Helen, "it mightsave many from destruction."
"Impossible now, dear lady," replied Philip, "there are her men at thebottom of the stairs. Your uncle too is confined below--so I havegathered from the talk of Martin and the rest; and I pledged my wordalso, when she gave me the key; but I did not pledge my word not tocontrive to free you afterwards. So listen to me, and I will do it."
"Well, speak, speak," said Helen; "what have you to say? I know youare a good kind boy, and wish me well."
"I would give my life to serve you," replied the page. "First, youmust not touch that soup. It is poisoned."
Helen shrunk back in horror, exclaiming, "Oh! wretched woman!"
"Next," continued Philip, "here is my dagger. It may be useful to youin case of need; and besides," he added, significantly, "the locks areall on the inside. The blade of the dagger would soon force them back.But do not try it yet, for you will find people in every corner. Inhalf an hour the marriage contract is to be signed--"
"She will never sign it!" cried Helen vehemently. "She will never,never sign it."
"They will use force," answered the boy; "but at all events they willdrag her to the hall, and to the chapel. If I can, I will come underyour window the moment they are all in the hall. Look out and speak tome; but if I do not come within three minutes after you hear all quietin the next room, you can open the door easily with the dagger, andget out. Your uncle is in the room on the left at the foot of thegreat staircase--the little room with the low door. I am sure he isthere, for I have seen Martin and Ren? go in there twice to-day. But,if I can, I will fetch the key of his room, and--Hark! Was that someone calling?"
"No, no!" cried Helen; "go on, go on Philip."
"And then when I come under the window," continued the boy, "I willbring it with a basket of provisions, and throw you up a ball ofstring, with which you can draw them all up, so keep the window wideopen that I may cast it in."
"Oh good, dear boy!" cried Helen.
"I met your friend, Monsieur Estoc," said the page, "this morning, asI was coming back from Chazeul; and I promised him that I would dowhatever you or father Walter told me, if it cost me my life. So, youthink, dear lady, what I am to do, till you see me under the window,and then tell me quickly, and I will do it, upon my honour."
As he spoke he retreated towards the door; and while opening it, hesaid, pointing to the soup, "Mind you do not touch it! I was to tellyou that I brought it for you myself, out of kindness. They willperhaps want me to do other such deeds; but I cannot, and I will notfor any one!"
The last few words were spoken vehemently, with the door open in hishand; and when he had uttered them, he went out, closed, and lockedit. Then turning round to descend the stairs, he beheld Madame deChazeul standing a few steps down, with one of her men a little behindher. The boy's heart sunk, fearing she might have heard too much; butit had happened otherwise. All that had caught her ear was, "I cannot,and will not for any one;" and as he approached she asked, "What wasit she wanted you to do, Philip?"
"To let her out," replied the boy readily.
Madame de Chazeul put her hand approvingly upon his shoulder, saying,"You are a good lad--an excellent lad! That is the way I love to beserved; and if you behave so, you shall have more advancement than youthink of. There's a gold crown for you, Philip.--Did she take thesoup?"
"No," answered the page; "and I do not think she will till she is veryhungry; for she seemed afraid of something."
"Then she shall be hungry enough," muttered Madame de Chazeul. "Butcome, Philip, give me the key."
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bsp; The boy delivered it unwillingly, and his mistress proceeded, "Nowrun, wash your face and hands, and put on your gay satin pourpoint asquick as may be; for the marriage is to take place in ten minutes, andI shall want all my people with me in the hall."
Philip thought to himself, "I will contrive to slip away, however,"and proceeded to his own chamber, while Madame de Chazeul retired toput the key by, and then sought her brother the Count, to speak withhim once more before the last trial of his resolution with Rosed'Albret.
The Count was in a different frame of mind, however, from that inwhich his sister expected to find him. He had employed the time duringher absence in working himself up to the necessary pitch ofdetermination, and had, as is not uncommon, gone even beyond thepoint. He talked loud and high of the privileges and power ofguardians, and spoke angrily of those who ventured to oppose them.
"I have always understood, Jacqueline," he said, in a sharp tone, asif the Marchioness herself had been one of those who sought to preventhim from exercising his proper authority, "I have always understood,that a guardian stands exactly in the position of a parent; and whoever heard of a daughter daring to object to the man whom her fatherhas chosen for her?"
"Never that I have heard of," replied Madame de Chazeul; "nor of award objecting either, when her guardian has provided for her asuitable alliance."
"Never! never!" cried the Count vehemently. "I have suffered myself tobe set at nought by this girl too long, Jacqueline; and I will do itno longer. Even if I had not sworn as I have. I would not suffer thisto go on another hour. The notary has arrived, and the contract isdrawn up correctly, except the names.--I will go to her at once.--Ihave seen Chazeul, too, and spoken to him seriously on his conduct."
"What did he say?" demanded the Marchioness, with an eager look. "Hewas penitent, I am sure."
"Yes," replied the Count. "I have nothing to find fault with in hisdemeanour. He expressed his sorrow for what he had done, assured methat he had never considered it in the light of an insult to me, andthat he had no bad intentions at all; but merely wished to speak toRose in private for a short time, to persuade her to yield calmly toall our wishes this day, as he had every reason to believe, that herinclinations were really not opposed to him, and he knew that, if shedid attempt to resist, it would give me pain."
"Persuasions are all in vain, my dear brother," said Madame deChazeul; "when a woman's vanity is engaged in a particular course, youmay argue till you expire without moving her. Firmness is the onlything under such circumstances, and she will at her heart feel obligedto you for forcing her to that, which she does not choose to admitthat she wishes. If I were you, I would neither attempt to use anysolicitations, nor listen to any replies, but assume at once the toneof authority. Tell her that she must submit, and that you will notsuffer her to say one word, in regard to your right of disposing ofher hand as you think fit."
"Such is the course I intend to pursue," answered Monsieur deLiancourt. "She has offended me enough by resisting my commands; and,indeed, I do not propose to suffer anything further to be said uponthe subject. If she will not sign, I will put the pen in her hand, andguide it by force over the paper. If she says 'no' at the altar, Iwill say 'yes' for her. I will not be thwarted and conquered by theobstinacy of my own ward, in my own ch?teau."
"Well then, go to her, Anthony," cried the Marchioness, who knew wellthat, as long as this mood lasted, all was secure, and that anyopposition on the part of Rose would but drive him to violence, thoughshe had seen such fits in full force in the morning, and pass awaybefore nightfall. "I will wait for you in the hall," she added, "andwe will have as many of the people gathered together as possible, tooverawe her by the crowd."
"Few or many, it will be the same to me," replied the Count; "but yet,the more the better; for I am quite firm and resolute, and am surethat I have every right to do as I am doing. Therefore there cannot betoo many witnesses, and I care not who they may be. They shall see meact the part that becomes me, without the slightest wavering orhesitation, for there is nothing so contemptible as a man whosuffers himself to be influenced by a little resistance to hisauthority.--Now, Jacqueline, let us proceed, for the sooner it isdone, the less painful will it be:" and thus saying he led theMarchioness from the room.
She was now satisfied; for a few hours she could calculate upon herbrother's firmness; all those whom she feared were in her power; andthe moment of her triumph seemed at hand.