Your betrothed! I cried, in a fresh fit of jealousy more violent than the first. You are going to be married?
And why not? she replied, watching me attentively.
I turned pale and clinched my teeth.
In that case,. I said, trying to carry her off in my arms.
In that case, she answered, giving me a little tap on the cheek, I see that you are jealous; but his must be a particular jealousy who at ten oclock yearns for his mistress, only to hand her over at midnight to eight drunken men who will return her to him on the morrow as foul as the mud on the roads.
Ah, you are right! I exclaimed. Go, then; go. I would defend you to the last drop of my blood; but I should be vanquished by numbers, and I should die with the knowledge that you were left to them. How horrible! I shudder to think of it. Come you must go.
Yes! yes, my angel! she cried, kissing me passionately on the cheek.
These caresses, the first a woman had given me since my childhood, recalled, I know not how or why, my mothers last kiss, and, instead of pleasure, caused me profound sadness. I felt my eyes filling with tears. Noticing this, she kissed my tears, repeating the while:
Save me! Save me!
And your marriage? I asked. Oh! listen. Swear that you will not marry before I die. You will not have to wait long; for my uncles administer sound justice and swift, as they say.
You are not going to follow me, then? she asked.
Follow you? No; it is as well to be hanged here for helping you to escape as to be hanged yonder for being a bandit. Here, at least, I avoid a twofold shame: I shall not be accounted an informer, and shall not be hanged in a public place.
I will not leave you here, she cried, though I die myself. Fly with me. You run no risk, believe me. Before God, I declare you are safe. Kill me, if I lie. But let us start quickly. O God! I hear them singing. They are coming this way. Ah, if you will not defend me, kill me at once!
She threw herself into my arms. Love and jealousy were gradually overpowering me. Indeed, I even thought seriously of killing her; and I kept my hand on my hunting-knife as long as I heard any noise or voices near the hall. They were exulting in their victory. I cursed Heaven for not giving it to our foes. I clasped Edmee to my breast, and we remained motionless in each others arms, until a fresh report announced that the fight was beginning again. Then I pressed her passionately to my heart.
You remind me, I said, of a poor little dove which one day flew into my jacket to escape from a kite, and tried to hide itself in my bosom.
And you did not give it up to the kite, did you? asked Edmee.
No, by all the devils! not any more than I shall give you up, you, the prettiest of all the birds in the woods, to these vile night-birds that are threatening you.
But how shall we escape? she cried, terror-stricken by the volleys they were firing.
Easily, I said. Follow me.
I seized a torch, and lifting a trap-door, I made her descend with me to the cellar. Thence we passed into a subterranean passage hollowed out of the rock. This, in bygone days had enabled the garrison, then more numerous, to venture upon an important move in case of an attack; some of the besieged would emerge into the open country on the side opposite the portcullis and fall on the rear of the besiegers, who were thus caught between two fires. But many years had passed since the garrison of Roche-Mauprat was large enough to be divided into two bodies; and besides, during the night it would have been folly to venture beyond the walls. We arrived, therefore, at the exit of the passage without meeting with any obstacle. But at the last moment I was seized with a fit of madness. I threw down my torch, and leaned against the door.
You shall not go out from here, I said to the trembling Edmee, without promising to be mine.
We were in darkness; the noise of the fight no longer reached us. Before any one could surprise us here we had ample time to escape. Everything was in my favour. Edmee was now at the mercy of my caprice. When she saw that the seductions of her beauty could no longer rouse me to ecstasy, she ceased to implore, and drew backward a few steps.
Open the door, she said, and go out first, or I will kill myself. See, I have your hunting-knife. You left it by the side of the trap-door. To return to your uncles you will have to walk through my blood.
Her resolute manner frightened me.
Give me that knife, I said, or, be the consequences what they may, I will take it from you by force.
Do you think I am afraid to die? she said calmly. If this knife had only been in my hand yonder in the chateau, I should not have humbled myself before you.
Confound it! I cried, you have deceived me. Your love is a sham. Begone! I despise you. I will not follow such as you.
At the same time I opened the door.
I would not go without you, she cried; and you you would not have me go without dishonour. Which of us is the more generous?
You are mad, I said. You have lied to me; and you do not know what to do to make a fool of me. However, you shall not go out from here without swearing that your marriage with the lieutenant-general or any other man shall not take place before you have been my mistress.
Your mistress! she said. Are you dreaming? Could you not at least soften the insult by saying your wife?
That is what any one of my uncles would say in my place; because they would care only about your dowry. But I I yearn for nothing but your beauty. Swear, then, that you will be mine first; afterwards you shall be free, on my honour. And if my jealousy prove so fierce that it may not be borne, well, since a man may not go from his word, I will blow my brains out.
I swear, said Edmee, to be no mans before being yours.
That is not it. Swear to be mine before being any others.
It is the same thing, she answered. Yes; I swear it.
On the gospel? On the name of Christ? By the salvation of your soul? By the memory of your mother?
On the gospel; in the name of Christ; by the salvation of my soul; by the memory of my mother.
Good.
One moment, she rejoined; I want you to swear that my promise and its fulfilment shall remain a secret; that my father shall never know it, or any person who might tell him.
No one in the world shall hear it from me. Why should I want others to know, provided only that you keep your word?
She made me repeat the formula of an oath. Then we hurried forth into the open, holding each others hands as a sign of mutual trust.
But now our flight became dangerous. Edmee feared the besiegers almost as much as the besieged. We were fortunate enough not to meet any. Still, it was by no means easy to move quickly. The night was so dark that we were continually running against trees, and the ground was so slippery that we were unable to avoid falls. A sudden noise made us start; but, from the rattle of the chain fixed on its foot, I immediately recognised my grandfathers horse, an animal of an extraordinary age, but still strong and spirited. It was the very horse that had brought me to Roche-Mauprat ten years before. At present the only thing that would serve as a bridle was the rope round its neck. I passed this through its mouth, and I threw my jacket over the crupper and helped my companion to mount; I undid the chain, sprang on the animals back, and urging it on desperately, made it set off at a gallop, happen what might. Luckily for us, it knew the paths better than I, and, as if by instinct, followed their windings without knocking against any trees. However, it frequently slipped, and in recovering itself, gave us such jolts that we should have lost our seats a thousand times (equipped as we were) had we not been hanging between life and death. In such a strait desperate ventures are best, and God protects those whom man pursues. We were congratulating ourselves on being out of danger, when all at once the horse struck against a stump, and catching his hoof in a root on the ground, fell down. Before we were up he had made off into the darkness, and I could hear him galloping farther and farther away. As we fell I had caught Edmee in my arms. She was unhurt. My own ankle, however, was sprained so severely that it was impossible for me to move a step. Edmee thought that my leg had been broken. I was inclined to think so myself, so great was the pain; but soon I thought no further either of my agony or my anxiety. Edmees tender solicitude made me forget everything. It was in vain that I urged her to continue her flight without me. I pointed out that she could now escape alone; that we were some distance from the chateau; that day would soon be breaking; that she would be certain to find some house, and that everywhere the people would protect her against the Mauprats.
I will not leave you, she persisted in answering. You have devoted yourself to me; I will show the same devotion to you. We will both escape, or we will die together.
I am not mistaken, I cried; it is a light that I see between the branches. Edmee, there is a house yonder; go and knock at the door. You need not feel anxious about leaving me here; and you will find a guide to take you home.
Whatever happens, she said, I will not leave you; but I will try to find some one to help you.
Yet, no, I said, I will not let you knock at that door alone. That light, in the middle of the night, in a house situated in the heart of the woods, may be a lure.
I dragged myself as far as the door. It felt cold, as if of metal. The walls were covered with ivy.
Who is there? cried some one within, before we had knocked.
We are saved! cried Edmee; it is Patiences voice.
We are lost! I said; he and I are mortal enemies.
Fear nothing, she said; follow me. It was God that led us here.
Yes, it was God that led you here, daughter of Heaven, morning star! said Patience, opening the door; and whoever is with you is welcome too at Gazeau Tower.
We entered under a surbased vault, in the middle of which hung an iron lamp. By the light of this dismal luminary and of a handful of brushwood which was blazing on the hearth we saw, not without surprise, that Gazeau Tower was exceptionally honoured with visitors. On one side the light fell upon the pale and serious face of a man in clerical garb. On the other, a broad-brimmed hat overshadowed a sort of olive-green cone terminating in a scanty beard; and on the wall could be seen the shadow of a nose so distinctly tapered that nothing in the world might compare with it except, perhaps, a long rapier lying across the knees of the personage in question, and a little dogs face which, from its pointed shape, might have been mistaken for that of a gigantic rat. In fact, it seemed as if a mysterious harmony reigned between these three salient points the nose of Don Marcasse, his dogs snout, and the blade of his sword. He got up slowly and raised his hand to his hat. The Jansenist cure did the same. The dog thrust its head forward between its masters legs, and, silent like him, showed its teeth and put back its ears without barking.
Quiet, Blaireau! said Marcasse to it.
VII
No sooner had the cure recognised Edmee than he started back with an exclamation of surprise. But this was nothing to the stupefaction of Patience when he had examined my features by the light of the burning brand that served him as torch.
The lamb in the company of the wolf! he cried. What has happened, then?
My friend, replied Edmee, putting, to my infinite astonishment, her little white hand into the sorcerers big rough palm, welcome him as you welcome me. I was a prisoner at Roche-Mauprat, and it was he who rescued me.
May the sins of his fathers be forgiven him for this act! said the cure.
Patience took me by the arm, without saying anything, and led me nearer the fire. They seated me on the only chair in the house, and the cure took upon himself the task of attending to my leg, while Edmee gave an account, up to a certain point, of our adventure. Then she asked for information about the hunt and about her father. Patience, however, could give her no news. He had heard the horn in the woods, and the firing at the wolves had disturbed his tranquility several times during the day. But since the storm broke over them the noise of the wind had drowned all other sounds, and he knew nothing of what was taking place in Varenne. Marcasse, meanwhile, had very nimbly climbed a ladder which served as an approach to the upper stories of the house, now that the staircase was broken. His dog followed him with marvellous skill. Soon they came down again, and we learned that a red light could be distinguished on the horizon in the direction of Roche-Mauprat. In spite of the loathing I had for this place and its owners, I could not repress a feeling very much like consternation on hearing that the hereditary manor which bore my own name had apparently been taken and set on fire. It meant disgrace, defeat; and this fire was as a seal of vassalage affixed to my arms by those I called clodhoppers and serfs. I sprang up from my chair, and had I not been held back by the violent pain in my foot, I believe I should have rushed out.
What is the matter? said Edmee, who was by my side at the time.
The matter is, I answered abruptly, that I must return yonder; for it is my duty to get killed rather than let my uncles parley with the rabble.
The rabble! cried Patience, addressing me for the first time since I arrived. Who dares to talk of rabble here? I myself am of the rabble. It is my title, and I shall know how to make it respected.
By Jove! Not by me, I said, pushing away the cure, who had made me sit down again.
And yet it would not be for the first time, replied Patience, with a contemptuous smile.
You remind me, I answered, that we two have some old accounts to settle.
And heedless of the frightful agony caused by my sprain, I rose again, and with a backhander I sent Don Marcasse, who was endeavouring the play the cures part of peacemaker, head over heels into the middle of the ashes. I did not mean him any harm, but my movements were somewhat rough, and the poor man was so frail that to my hand he was but as a weasel would have been to his own. Patience was standing before me with his arms crossed, in the attitude of a stoic philosopher, but the fire was flashing in his eyes. Conscious of his position as my host, he was evidently waiting until I struck the first blow before attempting to crush me. I should not have kept him waiting long, had not Edmee, scorning the danger of interfering with a madman, seized my arm and said, in an authoritative tone:
Sit down again, and be quiet; I command you.
So much boldness and confidence surprised and pleased me at the same time. The rights which she arrogated to herself over me were, in some measure, a sanction of those I claimed to have over her.
You are right, I answered, sitting down.
And I added, with a glance at Patience:
Some other time.
Amen, he answered, shrugging his shoulders.
Marcasse had picked himself up with much composure, and shaking off the ashes with which he was covered, instead of finding fault with me, he tried, after his fashion to lecture Patience. This was in reality by no means easy to do; yet nothing could have been less irritating than that monosyllabic censure throwing out its little note in the thick of a quarrel like an echo in a storm.
At your age, he said to his host; not patient at all. Wholly to blame yes wrong you!
How naughty you are! Edmee said to me, putting her hand on my shoulder; do not begin again, or I shall go away and leave you.
I willingly let myself be scolded by her; nor did I realize that during the last minutes we had exchanged parts. The moment we crossed the threshold of Gazeau Tower she had given evidence of that superiority over me which was really hers. This wild place, too, these strange witnesses, this fierce host, had already furnished a taste of the society into which I had entered, and whose fetters I was soon to feel.
Come, she said, turning to Patience, we do not understand each other here; and, for my part, I am devoured by anxiety about my poor father, who is no doubt searching for me, and wringing his hands at this very moment. My good Patience, do find me some means of rejoining him with this unfortunate boy, whom I dare not leave to your care, since you have not sufficient love for me to be patient and compassionate with him.