CHAPTER V
MASTER AND SERVANT
When the young lady and her governess left the booth and wended theirway along the country road, the peasants respectfully made way for themand even Bobichel paused in his tricks. Irene held her little headsidewise as she walked through the crowd, while the governess marchedwith proudly uplifted head.
"Thank God," said Madame Ursula, "there is the carriage."
An elegant equipage came in sight, and a groom led a beautiful racer bythe bridle.
"Step in, Madame Ursula," said Irene, laughing, as she vaulted into thesaddle.
"But you promised me--"
"To be at the castle the same time as you," added the young lady. "And Ishall keep my promise. Forward, Almanser!"
The horse flew along like an arrow, and Madame Ursula, sighing, got intothe carriage, which started off in the same direction.
"Who is the handsome lady?" asked Bobichel.
"The richest heiress in Alsace and Lorraine, Mademoiselle de Salves,"was the answer.
"Ah, she suits me," said the clown.
"Bah, she is as proud as a peacock," growled an old peasant.
"It is all the same to me," said a second peasant; "she is going to bemarried to a gentleman in Paris, and there she fits better."
A heavy mail-coach, which halted at the Golden Sun, interrupted theconversation. Mr. Schwan ran to the door to receive the travellers, andat the same moment the man in the brown overcoat appeared at thethreshold of the door. Hardly had he seen the mail-coach than he hurriedto open the door, and in a cringing voice said:
"Welcome, Monsieur le Marquis; my letter arrived, then, opportunely?"
The occupant of the coach nodded, and leaning on the other's arm, he gotout. It was the Marquis of Fougereuse. He looked like a man prematurelyold, whose bent back and wrinkled features made him look like a man ofseventy, while in reality he was hardly fifty.
In the marquis's company was a servant named Simon, who, in the courseof years, had advanced from the post of valet to that of steward.
"What does the gentleman desire?" asked the host, politely.
"Let the dinner be served in my room," ordered Simon; and, giving themarquis a nod, he strode to the upper story in advance of him.
The door which Simon opened showed an elegantly furnished room accordingto Schwan's ideas, yet the marquis appeared to pay no attention to hissurroundings, for he hardly gazed around, and in a state of exhaustionsank into a chair. Simon stood at the window and looked out, while thehost hurriedly set the table; when this was finished, Simon winked toSchwan and softly said:
"Leave the room now, and do not enter it until I call for you."
"If the gentlemen wish anything--"
"I know, I know," interrupted Simon, impatiently. "Listen to what I say.You would do well to keep silent about the purpose of my master's visithere. In case any one asks you, simply say you know nothing."
"Neither I do," remarked Schwan.
"So much the better, then you do not need to tell a lie; I advise you inyour own interest not to say anything."
The host went away and growled on the stairs:
"Confound big people and their servants. I prefer guests like Girdel andhis troupe."
As soon as the door had closed behind Schwan, Simon approached themarquis.
"We are alone, master," he said timidly.
"Then speak; have you discovered Pierre Labarre's residence?"
"Yes, master."
"But you have not gone to see him yet?"
"No, I kept within your orders."
"You were right. I must daze the old scoundrel through my suddenappearance; I hope to get the secret from him."
"Is everything better now, master?" asked Simon, after a pause.
"Better? What are you thinking of?" exclaimed the marquis, angrily."Every one has conspired against me, and ruin is near at hand."
"But the protection of his majesty--"
"Bah! the protection of the king is useless, if the cabinet hate me.Besides, I have had the misfortune to anger Madame de Foucheres, andsince then everything has gone wrong."
"The king cannot have forgotten what you did for him," said Simon.
"A few weeks ago I was driven to the wall by my creditors, and I went tothe king and stated my case to him. Do you know what his answer was?'Monsieur,' he said, earnestly, 'a Fougereuse should not demean himselfby begging,' and with that he gave me a draft for eighty thousandfrancs! What are eighty thousand francs for a man in my position? A dropof water on a hot stove."
Simon nodded.
"But the vicomte," he observed; "his majesty showers favors upon him--"
"I am much obliged for the favors! Yes, my son is spoken of, but in whata way! The vicomte gambles, the vicomte is always in a scrape, thevicomte is the hero of the worst adventures--and kind friends never failto tell me all about it! I hope his marriage will put a stop to all thisbusiness. Have you heard anything further of the De Salves ladies?"
"Not much, but enough. The estate of the young heiress is the largestfor miles about, and she herself is a beauty of the first class."
"So much the better. Think of it, four millions! Oh, if this should belost to us!"
"That will hardly be the case, Monsieur le Marquis; the marriage hasbeen decided upon."
"Certainly, certainly, but then--if the old countess should find outabout our pecuniary embarrassments all would be lost. But no, I will notdespair; Pierre Labarre must talk, and then--"
"Suppose he won't? Old people are sometimes obstinate."
"Have no fear, Simon, my methods have subdued many wills."
"Yes, yes, you are right, sir," laughed Simon.
"I can rely on you, then?"
"Perfectly so, sir. If it were necessary I would pick it up with tenPierres!"
"You will find me grateful," said the marquis. "If Pierre Labarre givesthe fortune to the Fougereuse and the vicomte becomes the husband of thecountess, we will be saved."
"I know that you have brilliant prospects, my lord," replied Simon, "andI hope to win your confidence. The last few weeks I had an opportunityto do a favor to the family of my honored master."
"Really? You arouse my curiosity."
"My lord, Monsieur Franchet honored me with his confidence."
The marquis looked in amazement at his steward; Franchet was thesuperintendent of police. Recommended by the Duke of Montmorency, he wasan especial favorite of the Society of Jesus. The Jesuits had spun theirnets over the whole of France, and the secret orders emanated from theRue de Vaugirard. Franchet had the reins of the police department in hishands, and used his power for the furtherance of the Jesuits' plans. Theamazement which seized the marquis when he heard that his steward wasthe confidant of Franchet, was only natural; that Simon would make agood spy, Fougereuse knew very well.
"Go on," he softly said, when Simon paused.
"Thanks to the superintendent's confidence in me," said Simon, "I amable to secure a much more influential position at court for Monsieur leMarquis than he has at present."
"And how are you going to perform the miracle?" asked the marquis,sceptically.
"By allowing Monsieur le Marquis to take part in my projects for thegood of the monarchy."
"Speak more clearly," ordered the marquis, briefly.
"Directly."
Simon went close to his master, and whispered:
"There exists a dangerous conspiracy against the state. People wish tooverturn the government and depose the king."
"Folly! that has been often desired."
"But this time it is serious. A republican society--"
"Do not speak to me about republicans!" exclaimed Fougereuse, angrily.
"Let me finish, Monsieur le Marquis. My news is authentic. The attemptwill perhaps be made in a few weeks, and then it will be a question of_sauve qui peut_! Through a wonderful chain of circumstances the plansof the secret society came into my hands. I could go to the king now andname him all the con
spirators who threaten his life, but what would bemy reward? With a servant little ado is made. His information is taken,its truth secretly looked into and he is given a small sum of money witha letter saying that he must have been deceived. If the Marquis ofFougereuse, on the other hand, should come, he is immediately master ofthe situation. The matter is investigated, the king calls him hissavior, and his fortune is made."
The marquis sprung up in excitement.
"And you are in a position to give me the plans of this society? Youknow who the conspirators are?" he exclaimed, with sparkling eyes.
"Yes, my lord."
"You would allow me to reap the profit of your discovery?"
"Yes, my lord; I am in the first place a faithful servant."
"Simon, let us stop this talk with turned down cards. What do you wishin return?"
"Nothing, my lord; I depend upon your generosity."
"You shall not have cause to regret it," said the marquis, drawing adeep breath. "Should I succeed in securing an influential position atcourt, you shall be the first to profit by it."
"Thanks, my lord. I know I can count on your word. To come back toPierre Labarre, I think we should hunt him up as soon as possible."
"I am ready; where does he live?"
"At Vagney, about three hours distant."
"It is now three o'clock," said the marquis, pulling out his watch. "Ifwe start now, we will be able to return to-night."
"Then I shall order horses at once!"
Simon went away, and the marquis remained behind thinking. No matterwhere he looked, the past, present and future were alike blue to him.
The old marquis had died in 1817, and the vicomte had immediately setabout to have the death of his brother, which had taken place atLeigoutte in 1814, confirmed. Both the wife and the children of JulesFougere had disappeared since that catastrophe, and so the Vicomte ofTalizac, now Marquis of Fougereuse, claimed possession of his father'sestate.
But, strange to say, the legacy was far less than the vicomte andMadeleine had expected, and, as they both had contracted big debts onthe strength of it, nothing was left to them but to sell a portion ofthe grounds.
Had the marquis and his wife not lived so extravagantly they would nothave tumbled from one difficulty into the other, but the desire to cut afigure in the Faubourg St. Germain consumed vast sums, and what theparents left over, the son gambled away and dissipated.
Petted and spoiled by his mother, the Vicomte de Talizac was a fastyouth before he had attained his fifteenth year. No greater pleasurecould be given his mother than to tell her, that her son was the leaderof the _jeunesse doree_. He understood how to let the money fly, andwhen the marquis, alarmed at his son's extravagance, reproached hiswife, the latter cut him short by saying:
"Once for all, Jean, my son was not made to save; he is the heir of theFougereuse, and must keep up his position."
"But in this way we shall soon be beggars," complained the marquis.
"Is that my fault?" asked Madame Madeleine, sharply. "What good is itthat you--put your brother out of the way? His portion of the fortune iskept from you, and if you do not force Pierre Labarre to speak you willhave to go without it."
"Then you think Pierre Labarre knows where the major part of my father'sfortune is?" asked the marquis.
"Certainly. He and no one else has it in safe keeping, and if you do nothurry up, the old man might die, and we can look on."
The marquis sighed. This was not the first time Madeleine provoked himagainst Pierre Labarre, but the old man had disappeared since the deathof his master, and it required a long time before Simon, the worthyassistant of the marquis, found out his residence.
In the meantime the position of the Fougereuses was getting worse andworse. At court murmurs were heard about swindling speculations withwhich the marquis's name was connected, and the vicomte did his best todrag the proud old name in the dust. A rescue was at hand, in a marriageof the vicomte with the young Countess of Salves, but this rescue restedon a weak footing, as a new escapade of "The Talizac Buckle," as theheir of the Fougereuse was mockingly called, might destroy the plannedunion.
Talizac was the hero of all the scandals of Paris; he sought and foundhis companions in very peculiar regions, and several duels he had foughthad made his name, if not celebrated, at least disreputable.
This was the position of the marquis's affairs when Simon found PierreLabarre; the marquis was determined not to return to Paris without firsthaving settled the affair, and as Simon now returned to the room withthe host, his master exclaimed:
"Are the horses ready?"
"No, my lord; the Cure has overflowed in consequence of the heavyrains, and the road from here to Vagney is impassable."
"Can we not reach Vagney by any other way?"
"No, my lord."
"Bah! the peasants exaggerate the danger so as to get increased pricesfor their services. Have you tried to get horses?"
"Yes, my lord; but unfortunately no one in the village except the hostowns any."
"Then buy the host's horses."
"He refuses to give me the animals. An acrobat who came here thismorning, and who owns two horses, refused to sell them to me."
"That looks almost like a conspiracy!" exclaimed the marquis.
"I think so too, and if I am permitted an advice--"
"Speak freely; what do you mean?"
"That the best thing we can do is to start at once on foot. If we hurry,we can reach Vagney this evening, and the rest will take care ofitself."
"You are right," replied the marquis; "let us go."
Schwan was frightened when he heard of their intention, but the marquisremained determined, and the two were soon on the road.
"If no accident happens," growled the host to himself, "the Cure is atreacherous sheet of water; I wish they were already back again."
The Son of Monte-Cristo, Volume II Page 5