CHAPTER XLIX.
Youth and Fate are always at variance as to times and distances. Youthsays, "one day;" Fate says, "two." Youth says, "fifty miles;" but Fatealmost always makes it a hundred. Edward had more difficulty in gettinga thousand crowns than he had expected; and he did not altogether thinkthat Signor Morini aided him as much as he might have done. Richelieu,who had only made a very short stay in Paris, quitted the capital aboutmid-day, and Edward, as may be supposed, was all impatience to hurryafter him; but Morini, on the contrary, was as cool and composed as ifhe was making an astrological calculation, always remarking that hewould overtake the minister long before he got to Suza. "He nevertravels very fast, you know," said the little Italian; "and, besides, hehas got a whole party of the ladies of the court with him, who alwaysmake a march tedious. They went off at daylight this morning; but youmay count upon them to make the journey at least five days longer thanit ought to be."
"Nevertheless," said Edward, "I wish to proceed as fast as possible; andthe objections of these bankers seem to me to be ridiculous."
"Oh, no; they make no objections," said Morini. "They only want a littletime to consider. They are not all in love. They do not all want to getto Venice. They do business in a business-like way, and have no idea offiring off large sums like cannon-shot."
However, the whole of that day passed without the money being procured;and the second day had seen the sun rise several hours, when at lengthSignor Morini thought fit to whisper two words in the ear of MonsieurPhilippon, the banker, which, as if by magic, brought forth the thousandcrowns about which there had been so much difficulty.
Nevertheless, it was three o'clock in the evening before Edward Langdalecould depart; and then, besides Signor Morini himself and the king'sforager who had been promised, were half a dozen lackeys and pages, anda good deal of baggage,--which did not promise to accelerate thejourney. Once started, however, and with sufficient money in his pocket,Edward resolved to delay for no man, and to be at Suza as soon as thecardinal. He was somewhat mistaken in his calculation, indeed; forRichelieu pursued his way, wherever he could, by water; and, though theprime minister could always command boats, the young English gentlemancould not obtain the same accommodation in a country where the passageof troops and the court had rendered all means of progression scarce. Inevery other respect, the first part of Edward's journey was withoutaccident,--I might almost have said without incident. But it so happenedthat at Montargis, where the young gentleman arrived in the afternoon, alarge party of ladies were setting out on horseback just at the momenthe entered the little town. The number of servants with them, and asmall body of the cardinal's guard, showed that they belonged to thecourt, which could not otherwise have been discovered by their faces, aseach, according to the general custom of that day, wore a little blackvelvet mask, called a _loup_, to guard her complexion when travelling.Signor Morini, however, either divined who each was by her figure, orelse, with Italian carelessness, took his chance of mistakes; for hedashed at once amidst the party, talked first to one and then toanother, and seemed very well received by all. Edward had ridden up byhis side; but, as he knew nobody, he spoke to nobody till one of theladies observed, in a very sweet voice, "You do not seem so sociable asyour companion, sir."
"I could not presume," said Edward, "to address ladies whom I have neverseen before, unless they gave me some encouragement to do so."
"I do not know whether you have seen me," said the lady; "but I haveseen you."
"Pray, where?" asked Edward,--"that I may give that wild bird, Fancy,some notion how to fly."
"I saw you last with the cardinal, at the Hotel de Bourgogne," said thelady, with that sort of timid, trembling accents which are so attractiveon young and beautiful lips,--small drops of honey to young ears andhearts.
"Last?" said Edward. "Had I ever the pleasure of seeing you before thatnight?"
"I did not mean to say that," answered the lady. "But you imply that youdid see me then."
"I saw two or three very beautiful persons," said Edward, "but have nomeans of knowing which of those you are."
"No, nor shall you have any," she replied, bowing her head gracefully,"neither to-day, nor to-morrow, nor the next day; but if you are verygood, and behave yourself very well, I may take off my _loup_ some timebetween this and Michaelmas. But now tell me: where are you riding sofast?--to get yourself killed at Suza?"
"No," answered Edward: "such is certainly not my object; but I am goingtoward Venice, and wish to reach that city as soon as my horse can carryme."
"Oh, that is a long way off," said the lady. "I think I must keep younear me. You shall be my cavalier along the road. I will find out somecrime you have committed, and put you to all sorts of penances."
"But what if I have committed no crime?" asked the young gentleman.
"Oh, but you have," she said. "You should have known me the moment yousaw me. No mask should be sufficient to hide a lady from a gallant andcourteous cavalier. You ought to be able to see my face through my_loup_, as if it were made of glass."
Edward smiled, but made no reply; but he thought within himself,"Lucette would not have spoken so to a mere stranger. What a differencethere is between her pure, sweet simplicity and the free manners ofthese courtly ladies!"
"You do not answer," continued the lady: "I am afraid we do not ridefast enough for you. Now, what is it makes you so anxious to run forwardto Venice? Now, I warrant it is some of the beautiful black eyes of theCity of the Sea."
"No, indeed, it is not," replied Edward. "I never was in Venice in mylife."
"Well," she continued, "love of some kind, at all events. Nothing butlove could make a man in such a hurry. Now, tell me what kind of love itis."
"Why, the most extraordinary love in the world," answered Edward. "Thelove of a man for his wife,--a love they recognise little in France, notat all in Italy, and so dilute in Turkey that it is not worth having."
"Very marvellous love indeed," replied the lady. "Yet I think if I werea man, and were married, I should love my wife better than you do."
"I defy you," said Edward, laughing.
"Now, I will catechize you," returned the lady. "Do you think of herevery day?"
"Every hour, every moment," said Edward.
"Do you make her your chief object in life?--pray for her, work forher?"
"Every thing else in life," said Edward, "is but valuable to me as ithas reference to her. Ambition becomes splendid when I think it mayelevate her. Money, which is but dross, seems to gain real worth if sheis to share it."
"And do you ever," continued the lady, laughing, "stare at pretty facesacross a theatre and dream for a minute or two as to what might be yourluck if you had not tied yourself to another?"
"No!" replied Edward, boldly. "I sometimes may stare at pretty faces,and think them very beautiful, when I think there is a fancifulresemblance to that which I think most beautiful of all."
The lady was silent for a minute or two; but at length she answered,"Well, I think you are very rude. You must be an Englishman, you are souncivil. You dare me so that I have a great mind to make you in lovewith me, just to punish you. Nay, do not shake your head: I could do itin five minutes. All men are as weak as water,--at least, so I havealways been told; and I could soon bring you to my feet if I chose toemploy a few little simple arts upon you."
"I doubt not your power, dear lady," replied Edward, "upon any heart notpreoccupied like mine; but Helen of Troy, or her bright mistress, Venusherself, could have no effect upon one who loves as I do."
"Well, this is too bad," said the lady. "We shall see. We have a longjourney to take together; and if before it is over I do not make youtell me you love me, my name is not--what it is."
Just at this moment one of the young cavaliers rode up, with the gay anddashing air of his country and his class, and addressed the lady in somecommonplace terms of gallant attention. In an instant she seemed turnedinto ice,--answered a few words politely, but in so cold a tone th
atEdward could not but see at once the dangerous preference she seemed toshow him. The young man appeared to feel it too; and, after staying byher side for about five minutes, he directed his horse to another group,where his society seemed more welcome. The conversation was renewedbetween Edward and his fair companion as soon as the officer was gone,and did not much vary in character from the specimen already given. Itwas late, however, when the party arrived at Chatillon, and the ladiesretired at once to the apartments which had been prepared for them; butat eight o'clock on the following morning none of them had quitted theirchambers, nor did Edward see any preparation among guards or attendantsfor pursuing the journey before a late hour. Calling Pierrot withoutmuch deliberation, the young Englishman ordered his horses to besaddled, and was in the act of mounting, when Morini, whom he had notyet seen that day, appeared at the door, exclaiming, "Hi? Where are yougoing?"
"To Suza," replied Edward, springing on his horse's back; and, withoutwaiting to hear any remonstrances from the little Italian, he rode offas fast as he could go.
We will not pursue him on his journey, nor even dwell upon the forcingof the pass at Suza. Suffice it to say that Edward arrived, just in timeto volunteer, the night before the attack. Richelieu he did not see,although he heard he was in the camp. But one of the first persons hemet with was the young officer who had gone down with him to theoutposts before Rochelle, and who now gayly marched up with him againstthe entrenchments at Suza. It is well known how they were taken at thefirst rush, with no great resistance on the part of the troops of Savoy.But Edward and his companion both received slight pike-wounds,--one inthe arm and the other in the shoulder,--sufficient to show they had beenin the heat of the battle, but not severe enough to obtain muchcommiseration. The king, as was usual with him, retired to his quartersas soon as the pass was carried, without inquiring the amount of hisloss or taking any notice of the wounded. Not so Richelieu; for as soonas the particulars could be ascertained he caused a list of all who hadsuffered much, or little, to be laid before him.
On the following morning, somewhat to his surprise, Edward received asummons to attend the cardinal, and, when he presented himself, met witha somewhat sharp rebuke for having left Morini and his party.
"They tell me you are wounded," said Richelieu. "It serves you veryright, for having disobeyed my commands."
"It is but a scratch, sir," said Edward. "A rusty nail in an old doorwould inflict a worse; and I was anxious to show that in all cases,except against my own country, I am really desirous of serving yourEminence."
"That is all very well," replied the cardinal. "But I like to be obeyed.You could not tell my views or purposes in the directions which I gave.But, as it is done, it cannot be helped. And now, I suppose, you arelonging to go on to Venice?"
"Most anxiously," replied Edward, "if I understand your Eminencerightly, that you free me from the promise I made to you some two yearsago, and authorize me to claim my bride wherever I may find her."
"That is soon settled," said Richelieu; and, taking up a pen, hewrote:--"Lucette Marie de Mirepoix du Valais is the wife of EdwardLangdale, of Buckley; and these are to summon and require all personswho have or have had any control or custody of the said Lucette to giveher up to the said Edward Langdale, her husband, and, in the king'sname, to warn all persons to refrain from opposing the rights of thesaid Edward Langdale in regard to the said Lucette de Mirepoix, underpretence of relationship, guardianship, or any other cause whatever."
He signed it with his name, and gave it to Edward, saying, "Get itsealed, and then away to Venice as soon as you please. Peace will besigned in three days, if I am not mistaken; and not only peace withSavoy, young gentleman, but with England also,--hard-headed England! Inthe mean time, you can pass freely. My safe-conduct--which of course youhave with you--is as good now, I imagine, in Italy as in France. Onlyone thing more. Let it be understood that you return and join me as soonas you have fulfilled your mission; and bring your bride with you, ifyou find her." He paused, with a smile of much good-humor, and thenadded, "When you come back I may have a little negotiation for you; forthe first steps to the surrender of Rochelle I owe to you."
The political events which followed are well known. The peace of Suzawith Savoy and England, the raising of the siege of Casal, and therelinquishment of Mantua to the house of Nevers, succeeded with theutmost rapidity; and the Cardinal de Richelieu saw every thing that hismind conceived or his hand touched perfectly successful.
In the mean time, Edward Langdale hastened over the Alps, crossed thewhole breadth of Italy, and, taking boat at Mestre, landed in Venice.But he was not so successful as the great man he had just left.Richelieu's safe-conduct obtained for him instant access to all theauthorities of the republic; and, with more frankness than they usuallydisplayed, they informed him at once that the young lady he sought wasno longer in the city. She had been claimed, they said, some monthsbefore, by authority which their laws prevented them from opposing, andhad been carried, they believed, into Savoy. Edward then asked forMadame de la Cour; but he found that she also had left Venice, and hadgone, they believed, to Paris. The only person, they said, who knew anything of Mademoiselle de Mirepoix was an old merchant who had arrivedsome days before and was living at a goldsmith's on the Sclavonian quay.Edward hurried there, and, as he expected, found old Clement Tournon.But the worthy syndic could give him no information, and was in almostas much distress about his Lucette as Edward himself.
"Depend upon it," he said, "that horrid Madame de Chevreuse has gotpossession of the dear girl at last; and our only resource will be anappeal to the cardinal. He has eyes everywhere, and will both know whereto find her and how to recover her."
No time was lost. The old man and Edward set off together, directingtheir course by Turin and Suza. But again they were disappointed. Theking, who in time of war forgot all his slothful inactivity and showedthe fire and eagerness of his father, had by this time turned upon theCevennes,--the last refuge of the Protestants in France,--and Richelieuhad followed--or, rather, accompanied--him. With the delay of one day atChambery, to rest the old man, Edward pushed on after the cardinaltoward Nismes, hearing nothing as he went but tales of Louis's exploits.The army of the Duc de Rohan, which had opposed successfully several ofthe best generals of France, had seemed paralyzed by the fierce energyof the king. Town after town had fallen; and Montauban itself, thepeople said, could not hold out three days. Such was the lastintelligence which Edward received just after his entrance into Ners;but at the same time came the news, far more satisfactory to him, thatRichelieu himself was at Alais, but a few miles distant. No horses wereto be procured: his own were tired nearly to foundering; and poorClement Tournon, in his eagerness to keep up with his young companion,had greatly over-tasked his strength. Nothing remained but to pass thenight at Ners, a mere village, where almost every house was occupied bysome of the followers of the court. But though the accommodation was aspoor as it could be, yet Edward saw the next morning that ClementTournon must still remain at Ners. His bodily powers were not equal tocarry him farther without long repose; and Edward set out for Alaisalone, leaving Pierrot to attend upon the old man.
The little town, when the young gentleman entered it, was all alive.Courtiers and soldiers were fluttering about in every direction; and thegay dresses, unspotted and fresh, showing that the court had been somedays there, contrasted sadly with Edward's dusty garments andtravel-soiled apparel. Nevertheless, he rode straight forward, throughwhat is now called the Place de la Marechale, to a house where thenumerous groups, both on foot and horseback, before the door, led him tobelieve the cardinal's quarters were established. There he sprang to theground under the arcade, and, leaving his tired horse, with the perfectcertainty that he would not run away, he was pushing his way through thelittle crowd around, noticed very little by anybody, when the voice ofhis young companion in the attack at Suza met his ear, exclaiming, "Ah,Monsieur de Langdale! Have you heard Montauban has been taken? But donot let me stop you; for hi
s Eminence was asking for you yesterday."
"As you are of his household," said Edward, "will you have the kindnessto tell his Eminence that I am here?--for I know none of these people.They do not know me; and I suspect I am not a very courtier-like figureto seek an audience of the prime minister."
"I will do it directly," said the young officer. "He is very busy, but Iknow he wishes to see you: so follow me up."
Edward mounted the stairs close after his companion, and, entering achamber to which there was no ante-room, as he had expected, foundhimself immediately in the presence of Richelieu, who was seated at atable near the window, while two secretaries were writing at his righthand. The room was half full of people, some of whom were waitingsilently, as if for audience, while others were conversing in lowvoices; and one middle-aged man was speaking to the cardinal, with apaper in his hand, as if making a report. Richelieu raised his eyes asEdward entered, but took no notice, and continued to listen attentivelyto the gentleman who was speaking. As soon as he was done, the cardinalsaid, "Well, be it so. See that it is done;" and wrote a few words on asheet of paper. Another and another succeeded, spoke a few words to theminister, and received their answer; and then Richelieu, rising, said,aloud, "No more audiences this morning." The young Englishman was aboutto retire with the rest, who were slowly going out; but the cardinaladded the next moment, "Monsieur Langdale, I wish to speak to you."
Thus saying, he passed into a room beyond, and Edward followed, leavingnone but the secretaries in that which they had just quitted. It was abed-chamber they now entered, (for, when campaigning, prime ministers,as well as others, must put up with such accommodation as they can get,)and Richelieu neither seated himself nor asked his companion to beseated.
"You have come at an important moment," said the cardinal, abruptly,"and I almost feared you would not be here in time. Are you willing toundertake a mission for me to Monsieur le Duc de Rohan, some forty mileshence?"
"Certainly, your Eminence," replied Edward. "But I must make threeconditions, though to you. They are very slight ones."
"Ha!" said Richelieu, his brow somewhat darkening. "I am not accustomedto conditions. But let me hear what they are. You are an original, likemost of your countrymen. Perhaps I shall be able to grant them."
"Simply these three, my lord cardinal:--That while I am gone you shallcause search to be made for my young wife, who is not in Venice, hasbeen brought to France, and is beyond doubt, I think, in the hands ofMadame de Chevreuse."
"Granted," said Richelieu. "The next."
"That you shall send over a physician to good old Clement Tournon, whomI have left ill at Ners."
"Ah!" said Richelieu. "Is he at Ners? That is most lucky. That manMorini said truly. Fortune goes with you. He may help me to raise themoney, so that there may be no delay; for you must know, MasterLangdale, that even kings and prime ministers, when they carry onexpensive wars, sometimes come to the end of their finances at the verymoment when large sums are most necessary. Clement Tournon: he isconnected with all the goldsmiths of Nismes, is he not?"
"I heard him say on the journey that he had a number of friends there,and also in Avignon," replied Edward.
"It will do," said Richelieu. "Your second condition is granted. What isthe third?"
"That your Eminence lends me a fresh horse, for my own is knocked up. Icould wish also that I had some servant with me,--some one who knows theway."
"The horse you shall have," said Richelieu; "but as for the servant," hecontinued, thoughtfully, "I think you must go alone. I do not wish tosend any Frenchman to that camp. Nay, more: nobody must know where youare going. Look at this map. This is the road." And he pointed with hisfinger to a map of the Cevennes. "First you go there,--to St.Martin,--then on to Mas Dieu. There you must inquire where the duke isencamped. I think it is somewhere near St. Andeal; but you will soonlearn."
He ceased, and fell into a fit of thought; and, after waiting two orthree minutes, Edward inquired, "And what am I to say to him? or willyour Eminence write?"
"No, I will negotiate no more," answered Richelieu. "Say to him I havereceived his message; and I answer, 'One hundred thousand crowns inmoney, in four days, on the conditions expressed before;' and I wish hisanswer, Yes or No, before mid-day to-morrow."
"One horse will not carry me there and back--if it be forty miles--inthat time over those mountains," said Edward.
"Pshaw! Kill the horse and buy another!" exclaimed Richelieu. "It isworth ten horses for me to have the news to-morrow. Stay; you must havesome credence."
Thus saying, he went into the other room again, was absent a fewminutes, and returned with a small packet and a sheet of paper. Bothwere addressed to the Duc de Rohan, and on the latter was written, "Hearand believe the bearer, Edward Langdale, to you already known;" and thenfollowed the great scrawl of "Richelieu." The packet was sealed; but, asthe cardinal gave it to his young friend, he said, "That contains theterms which he must sign and return by your hand. Go down and getyourself some breakfast in the eating-hall while the horse is gettingready. You will find good wine here. But remember: silence!"
Edward went down, and soon procured refreshment; but, ere he had eatenmore than a few mouthfuls or drank more than one draught of wine, one ofthe secretaries whom he had seen above came in, with a very reverentialbow, saying, "His Eminence desires me to ask if Monsieur de Langdalerequires any money for his journey."
"No," replied Edward: "I have enough."
The horse was announced as ready the moment after, and Edward, springingon his back, set out before the secretary lost sight of him.
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