The Son of Monte-Cristo

by Jules Lermina

  CHAPTER XV.

  MASTER AND SERVANT.

  When the young girl, followed by Madame Ursula, who was choking withrage, emerged upon the Square, all the peasants lifted their hats.

  "There is the carriage!" said Ursula.

  A lacquey in livery approached, leading a fine English horse. Irenearrested the animal.

  "Do you intend to mount again? I thought," said Madame Ursula, "that youhad promised to return in the carriage with me."

  But Irene was already in her saddle.

  The governess continued:

  "The Comtesse expected--"

  "Never mind that! And now, John, to the Chateau at once," said Irene,galloping off.

  "Who is that lady?" asked Bobichel.

  "Mademoiselle de Salves," a peasant replied, "the wealthiest heiress inthe neighborhood."

  "A handsome girl!" muttered Bobichel.

  "She is too haughty to those beneath her," said some one.

  "She is made of Paris stuff," said another. "She's not calculated forour village."

  A new incident now occurred.

  A post-chaise, drawn by vigorous horses, now dashed into the Square,and drew up before Master Schwann's inn.

  Before the worthy innkeeper could come down the steps to welcome the newarrival, another person had dashed past him. This was the man, who,sheltered by his newspaper, had so closely watched all that was going onaround him.

  "Monsieur le Marquis," he said, presenting his arm to the gentleman inthe post-chaise, "I see my letter reached you in time."

  The new arrival is not unknown to our readers; it was he who, earlier inour tale, was known as the Vicomte de Talizac, and who to-day, by thedeath of the old Marquis, had been invested with all the titles of theFongereues family.

  Ten years had elapsed since we last saw him, and though hardly forty, heseems an old man--his figure is bent and his stern face covered withwrinkles.

  The man who was waiting for him had long been his accomplice; togetherthey had concocted the criminal plan to which Simon fell a victim, andas a reward for his villainy, Cyprien had been made intendant instead ofvalet.

  The Marquis entered the inn and looked around suspiciously, but saw noone but Schwann, who stood hat in hand; he did not advance, as the frownof the Marquis was far from encouraging.

  "Serve dinner in my room," said Cyprien, and he showed the silentMarquis up-stairs.

  When Schwann had laid the table and placed the dinner upon it, Cyprientook him aside.

  "You need not come up again, unless I call you."

  "Very good, sir."

  "And this is not all; please do not gossip about my master. If any onequestions you, make no reply."

  "What could I say?" asked Schwann. "I know nothing!"

  "You might indulge in suppositions, which I advise you to avoid."

  "Zounds!" muttered Schwann, as he descended the stairs, "all these airsdisplease me! I very much prefer my rope dancers to this great lord!"

  Cyprien looked up and down the corridor, and listened at the doors ofthe next rooms, to ascertain that they were empty.

  The Marquis, in the meantime, had thrown his hat and cloak on the bed.

  "We are alone?" he asked impatiently.

  "Yes, sir."

  "Speak, then. Your letter told me that you have found traces of thatmiserable Labarre."

  "Yes, sir, and I trust you will be satisfied with what I have done."

  "Did you see the man?"

  "No, sir. Your instructions were to avoid all contact with him. I know,however, where to lay my hands on him."

  "You have done well. I wish my presence here to be like a thunderclap tohim. And then I expect that in his terror he will make the avowal whichwill be my salvation."

  "May I ask, sir, if your affairs have in any way ameliorated since mydeparture?"

  "Ameliorated!" Fongereues repeated with an angry gesture, "no, quite thecontrary. Ruin is approaching with rapid strides, and in a few months Ishall be lost!"

  "But the favor of His Majesty--"

  Fongereues laughed bitterly. "His Majesty cares little for me. Eversince I was unfortunate enough to displease his fair friend, the tidehas turned."

  "But can nothing be done?"

  Fongereues shrugged his shoulders. "What is the use? I am sick ofmanoeuvering and intriguing. I have told the king that his faithfulemigres should be his best counsellors, and that it was his duty as wellas his interest to rely on me. But it was of no use.

  "They think they have paid us," the Marquis continued, "because theyhave thrown us, as food to the dogs, a few louis of indemnity. As ifFrance were not ours, as if we had no rights over these people who haveassassinated their king and kissed the feet of an adventurer; but theyare afraid, and talk of patience. I told His Majesty, one day, of myembarrassments. 'Sir,' he said to me, 'a Fongereues never begs!' and thenext day I received four thousand louis. Confound the nonsense!"

  Cyprien could not refrain from a smile. Four thousand louis did not seemto him a trifle, nor nonsense.

  "But His Majesty is interested in your son."

  "My son! These Puritans have much to say about my son. He gambles and hedoes other shocking things. One would think, to hear them talk, thatthey were themselves paragons of virtue. As soon as the Vicomte marriesand settles down--by the way, what about Mademoiselle de Salves?"

  "I only arrived last night, and have simply learned that their chateauis not more than two leagues away, and that they must soon leave it toreturn to Paris."

  "Four millions!" cried the Marquis. "And to think that this fortune mayescape us!"

  "The marriage is not yet decided, then?"

  "Not precisely; and the smallest incident may ruin my plans. ThisLabarre must be made to speak, even if violence be necessary."

  "He is an incorruptible old fellow, and these honest people aresometimes very hard to deal with."

  The Marquis looked at him intently for a minute or two in silence, andthen, with an indescribable smile, said:

  "I think we can manage him, nevertheless!"

  Cyprien smiled.

  "You know, beside," continued the Marquis, "that I am not ungrateful.Let this Labarre surrender this secret and my son become the husband ofyoung Irene de Salves, and my position becomes stronger than ever. Andyou may be certain that I shall not forget you!"

  "I hope, sir, that it may be soon in my power to render you a mostimportant service."

  "What may that be?"

  "You are aware, I presume, that I take great interest in thepreservation of the present _regime_?"

  "I was not aware of that," the Marquis said, with a slight elevation ofthe eyebrows. It seemed to him that the opinions of Monsieur Cyprienwere of little importance, and that the government was not likely tobenefit by his sympathy and protection.

  "The fact is, sir, your future and that of the monarchy are too nearlyallied for me to separate the two questions."

  "You are right."

  "And, in addition, I hold relations with persons who condescend torecognize in me a certain ability in the management of confidentialmatters."

  "Pshaw! Who are these persons!"

  "I will give you the name of one, sir--Monsieur Franchet."

  And Cyprien stole a glance at his master, who started in spite of allhis self-control. This Franchet was at the climax of his celebrity, andexercised the mysterious function of Director-General of the Police. Heowed his elevation solely to the Society of Jesus. This occult power,whose ramifications extended all over France, was mysterious andtremendous in its workings. No one could expect any favor if he did notfirst render this society most abject homage.

  Cyprien now became invested with immense importance in the eyes of theMarquis. He was now not only an accomplice, but a protector, who mightbecome a formidable adversary.

  A brief silence followed this revelation, and then the Marquis badeCyprien go on with what he was saying.

  "I was saying, sir, that I have employed all the resources of my wea
kmind in the defence of the sacred interests of the society, and that Ihad the power to replace you in the position which your imprudence hasforfeited!"

  The lacquey was becoming insolent.

  "And how will you perform this miracle?" asked the Marquis.

  "By including you in the great plan which will prove our zeal for themonarchy."

  The Marquis frowned. He was not pleased at the association!

  Cyprien dropped his voice.

  "A vast conspiracy," he said, "is forming to overthrow the king!"

  The Marquis started.

  "Not so--the monarchy is strong."

  "There is no chariot so strong that it is not at the mercy of a grain ofsand. I assure you, sir, that the danger is real. A Republicanparty----"

  Fongereues shrugged his shoulders.

  "A _Republican_ party," repeated Cyprien, emphasizing the word, "iscovering the country with its net. In a few months--in a few weeks,perhaps--a movement will burst out simultaneously all over France, andit may come to pass that the throne will fall quicker than we think.Royalty is unpopular in these days. Strength is the only sustainingforce. And is the throne strong enough to resist a general uprising? Idoubt it. And I, poor servant that I am, can arrest this movement, evennow! I can betray the chiefs of this association. But I am aninsignificant person. No matter how great the services may be that Irender, a bone or two will be thrown to me to gnaw, and that will bedeemed sufficient. But let the Marquis de Fongereues, peer of France,denounce at the Tuileries the formidable association that threatens thethrone and the altar--let him present himself in the cabinet of the kingwith his hands full of proofs--let him show the documents and the listsof the conspirators, and the Marquis de Fongereues will become master ofFrance. He may exact any recompense he pleases for saving the throne andthe altar!"

  The Marquis rose hastily. His eyes flashed.

  "And you say that this formidable secret is yours Cyprien?"

  "I hold the threads of the plot in my hand!"

  "And yet, you are ready to abandon the benefits which would assuredly beyours should you decide to make the revelation?"

  "I am, first of all, your servant, sir!"

  "Throw your cards on the table, Cyprien! What do you want me to do inexchange for this great service?"

  "I impose no condition. I have faith in the generosity of my master."

  "And you are right!" the Marquis replied. "If I succeed, I will make yourich, and place you so high on the social ladder that the greatest namesin France will bow before you!"

  "Thank you, honored sir. When the hour arrives, I will remind you ofyour words. But now we must think of Pierre Labarre. Time presses!"

  "I am ready. Where are we to find him?"

  "Two leagues from here, near the little town of Vagney."

  "It is now three o'clock," said the Marquis. "We can surely return hereto-night. You had best order the horses at once."

  When the Marquis was alone, he bowed his face in his hands.

  "If I could believe him!" he murmured. "But I am afraid!"

  A few brief words of explanation are here necessary. The Fongereuesfamily re-entered France with the allied armies, and immediatelyobtained the favor of the king. The old Marquis was elevated to thepeerage, and Magdalena felt that her ambitious projects were on the eveof fulfilment. The Vicomte de Talizac easily obtained proof of the deathof Simon Fougere; his wife and children had disappeared, and probablyperished. The Vicomte, therefore, did not hesitate to claim as sole heirthe estate on the death of the Marquis in 1817. But this estate, thoughconsiderable, was far less important than he and Magdalena had hoped.The Vicomte was deeply in debt, and his creditors became impatient. Ifhe and the Vicomtesse had not been madly extravagant, all the more sofrom the restrictions they had so long endured, their revenues wouldhave been more than sufficient. But these two persons, who had notrecoiled from a terrible crime to ensure their undisputed possession ofthe Fongereues fortune, were now carried away by a wild thirst forexcitement and gayety. The hotel they occupied became the scene ofperpetual fetes and the rendezvous of the aristocracy.

  Magdalena's son, who now bore the title of the Vicomte de Talizac,brought up amid this mad prodigality, developed early the faults of hisnature, which were increased by the foolish indulgence of his mother.

  His father read his character at a glance, and cautioned Magdalena, whoat the first syllable he uttered silenced him in the most peremptorymanner.

  "Do you think," said Magdalena, "that my son is to conduct himself as ifhe were to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow? I am happy to saythat he knows nothing of your petty economies."

  As her husband protested, she lowered her voice and looked him full inthe face. "Do you think," she said, "that it was to make a beggar of myson, that I told you to kill the other?"

  The two guilty creatures gazed at each other; the Marquis was the firstto turn his uneasy eyes away. From this moment the struggle began, andthe Marquis led a most terrible life.

  Before long the alliance with Mademoiselle de Salves was projected. Thismarriage was to the Marquis de Fongereues the last plank between himselfand destruction. Unless this plan was carried to a happy termination, hewas ruined. Already there were rumors floating about the court of spotson the hitherto untarnished shield of the Marquis de Fongereues. Peoplewere beginning to desert the hotel as rats fly from a falling house. Thehaughty manners of the Marquis and of Magdalena had conciliated no one.The insolence of Talizac had become proverbial; he had fought severalduels from which he had come off unharmed. The approaching fall of thisdetested family was hailed with delight. It is therefore easy tounderstand why the Marquis was so eager to find Pierre Labarre.

  He was interrupted in his reflections by Cyprien, who now returned withthe innkeeper.

  "I am sorry, sir," said the latter, "to be the bearer of annoyances. Youknow that we at this season are liable to inundations, and we have justlearned that the torrent that crosses the road at Vagney is risingrapidly, and makes it dangerous to travel."

  "But is there no other road?"

  "None which is not equally flooded. Every where the danger would be justas great."

  "I am willing to pay any price to get on this afternoon."

  The innkeeper did everything to place obstacles in the path of theMarquis, who, however, insisted on going.

  "Well!" said Schwann, to himself, "I shall not be easy until theyreturn, for I fear that the inundation has only just begun."