The Rising Storm rb-3

by Dennis Wheatley

  At the naming of the city de Roubec started so violently that he unintentionally rowelled his horse. Throwing up its head the mettlesome bay started to stamp its hoofs in a restless dance, and for the next few moments its rider had all he could do to control it.

  Roger had been watching for the effect of his words and now pointed an accusing finger at him, exclaiming: "See, Madame. He has recog­nized me at last, though 'tis small wonder that he took so long to do so after all these years; or that I, after passing him a mile back in the forest this afternoon, took several minutes to identify the ill-favoured coun­tenance of this gaudily clad popinjay, for those of the out-at-elbows rogue who cheated me so long ago."

  "Keep to your story, Monsieur," interjected the Queen.

  Again Roger bowed. "On arriving in Le Havre, Your Majesty, I went to a poor inn on the quays. There, this Chevalier de Roubec scraped acquaintance with me. He accounted for the shoddiness of his attire by telling me that he had had his pocket picked of a considerable sum, and that the landlord of the inn had seized his wardrobe as security for the payment of his reckoning; but that he was the son of a Marquis who had great estates in Languedoc and a position of importance near the person of the King, so he would soon be in funds again. But that is by the way. Suffice it that, being but a boy and entirely lacking in experience of the ways of such rogues, I believed him and thought him my friend."

  "He lies!" broke in de Roubec hotly. He had now quieted his horse, and leaning forward across its neck was glaring down with mingled fear and anger at Roger. "I give Your Majesty my word that 'tis all a tissue of falsehoods. He has mistaken me for some other."

  "Be silent!" Marie Antoinette rebuked the interruption sharply, and signed to Roger to continue.

  Obediently he took up his tale. "I have told you, Madame, that I was by then near out of funds myself, but I had an asset which I counted on to protect me from the pinch of poverty for a year at least. Before I left home a dear friend—one in fact whom I looked on as closer than a sister—knowing my intention, forced upon me a collection of gold trinkets. They were old-fashioned things and she had better jewels; but they were of considerable value and would, I think, have fetched some four hundred louis. This villain took advantage of my trust in him to persuade me to let him help me dispose of them. Then, Madame, he disappeared with the entire collection, leaving me, a boy of fifteen and a half, near destitute in a strange city where I knew not a soul."

  " 'Tis a lie! A vile calumny!" de Roubec broke out again.

  "It is the truth!" snapped Roger. "And I thank God that seeing you again today enabled me to come on the scene in time to prevent Her Majesty from placing her faith in so treacherous a viper. I doubt not that you meant to ride to Paris and sell her letter for the highest price you could get for it from her enemies."

  The Queen paled under her rouge, but her voice was firm as she addressed de Roubec. "Old as the charge is that is brought against you, Monsieur, it still calls for full investigation. If in due course 'tis proven, 'twas a most despicable act to so despoil a child, leaving him a prey to every ill that infests the gutters of our great cities; and for it I promise that you shall see the inside of a prison for longer than you have en­joyed your ill-gotten gains. But His Majesty is the best judge of all such matters and he shall hear the case. I am now about to return to the Chateau. 'Tis my will that you should follow behind my carriage."

  She then turned to Roger, and asked:

  "What is your name, Monsieur?"

  "De Breuc, may it please Your Majesty," he replied with a bow. "Then you, too, Monsieur de Breuc, will follow us back to Fontainebleau. If your story proves false you will have cause to rue it, but if it is true you will not find me ungrateful for the service you have rendered me. In the meantime I charge you to say naught of the encounter to anyone."

  Marie Antoinette had scarcely finished speaking when de Roubec's horse threw up its head with a whinny and began to prance again. Roger guessed immediately that this time the false Chevalier had spurred his mount with deliberate intent, and he sprang forward to catch the bridle. But he was a second too late. De Roubec swung the bay round and let it have its head. In an instant it was thundering away across the turf.

  "Stop!" cried the Queen. "Stop! If you disobey me it will be at your peril !" But de Roubec only waved his left arm in a vague gesture, which might have signified that he had lost control of his animal, and galloped away down one of the rides.

  With a swift movement the Queen thrust a little silver whistle between her lips and blew a high, piercing blast upon it.

  Roger, meanwhile, had run to his mare and thrown himself into the saddle; but, even as he did so, he knew perfectly well that she had no chance of overtaking de Roubec's powerful bay. Nevertheless, he was just about to set spurs to her when the Queen motioned to him to desist, and said: "Remain here, Monsieur. I have better mounts than yours to send in pursuit of that rogue."

  Her words gave Roger the clue to her use of the whistle. She must, he now guessed, have had an escort following her carriage at a distance. The next moment his guess was confirmed; as he dismounted from his horse, and the footman took it from him, two gentlemen came galloping into the clearing.

  "Messieurs !" the Queen hailed them, pointing in the direction de Roubec had taken: "I pray you pursue and bring back to me the man in a coat of purple satin who has just disappeared down yonder ride."

  As they dashed after the fugitive she turned back to Roger. For the first time since they had met her voice was gracious and she smiled, as she said:

  "Monsieur de Breuc, the flight of him you accused is a sure sign of guilt. In my youth I was a passable horsewoman myself, although my preceptress, Madame de Noailles, would not allow me to ride as much as I wished from the absurd notion that it would make me fat. Yet I know enough of the art to be certain that the rascal incited his mount to bolt and even then could have checked it had he so wished."

  Roger gave her smile for smile and seized upon the personal note. "I have heard it said that Your Majesty nicknamed that old lady Madame L'Etiquette; and that once when you had a fall from a donkey you declared laughingly to your companions that you would not rise from the ground until Madame de Noailles could be brought to demon­strate the correct procedure for assisting a Dauphine of France to her feet."

  Marie Antoinette gave a little laugh, then the smile faded from her lips; but she regarded Roger kindly as she shook her head. "I know not where you heard the story, but in the main 'tis true, Monsieur; and it recalls memories of happier times than these. I was then but the carefree girl-wife of the heir to France, whereas I am now its Queen, with many troubles. By your knowing that man for a rogue today, and acting as you did, it seems that you have saved me from yet another matter for grievous worry. In what way can I reward you ?"

  Taking his three-cornered hat from under his arm Roger swept it almost to the ground; then, drawing himself up, he replied: "This meeting with your gracious Majesty is in itself reward enough, and if I have been of some small service I count that an additional privilege. But if, Madame, your generosity prompts you to honour me further, then 'tis simply done."

  "Tell me your wish, Monsieur."

  "It is to have some further opportunity of distracting Your Majesty's mind for a little from these troubles of which you speak. You listened with sympathy and interest to my tale of being robbed and left near penniless in Le Havre as a boy. Since then I have travelled in England, Holland, Denmark, Sweden and Russia, and in those countries it has been my lot to meet with many adventures both grave and gay. I am of independent means and crave no pension; but if you would grant me the privilege of unobtrusive attendance at your Court, and send for me from time to time when affairs of State weigh heavily upon your mind, I believe that I could dispel your gloom and make you laugh again as I did just now by mentioning the episode of the donkey. And if I could do that I should count myself happy indeed."

  "Oh, please, Madame!" The soft foreign voice came again from in
side the carriage. "I pray you accede to his request. I am agog to know how he fared after he had been robbed of the jewels which were his only fortune."

  The Queen half turned towards her lady-in-waiting as she said: "And so you shall, child." Then she smiled again at Roger, and added: "Monsieur, your request is truly a modest and unselfish one. I grant it willingly.

  As Roger bowed his thanks he felt that he had every reason to congratulate himself, for his quick wits had enabled him to turn his stroke of luck to the best possible advantage. More, it seemed that Fortune had granted him yet another favour in his tale having caught the interest of the still barely glimpsed lady inside the carriage; so that not only had he secured the permission to present himself at Court, but had also secured an unknown ally who would remind the Queen about him, and ensure his being sent for in order to hear more of his story.

  His only serious concern now was as to what lies he might be forced to tell if he meant to keep up the pretence of being a Frenchman, as he knew only too well that one lie had a horrid way of leading to another until one found oneself enmeshed in a highly dangerous net of false­hood. Loath as he was to disclose the fact that he was a foreigner, he was beginning to wonder if the game of continuing in his incognito would, in the long run, prove worth the candle.

  After a brief silence the Queen remarked: "My gentlemen seem a long time in bringing back that rogue."

  "He was exceptionally well mounted, Madame." Roger gave a little shrug. "And he had several minutes start. So I fear it might well be an hour before they succeed in riding him down."

  "In that case, since the afternoon is fine, and it is pleasant here, let us sit for a little on the grass."

  As the Queen stepped down on to the ground her footman sprang to life, and running round to the boot got from it some thick rugs which he spread out at the foot of the giant oak. While he was doing so the lady-in-waiting descended from the carriage and, seeing her mistress now remove her mask, followed suit.

  She proved to be a young woman of about twenty-two with lustrous black hair and an olive complexion. Her eyes were a velvety brown, her nose aquiline, her cheeks thin and her chin long. Her arms were well modelled and her hands were small with sensitive, tapering fingers. She was medium tall but on the thin side for her height. So considered on all counts by the standards of the day she would have been con­sidered passably good-looking, but no great beauty. She had, however, one feature which made her face, once seen, unforgettable. To either side of the space above her arched nose dark eyebrows grew to nearly half-an-inch in depth, then gradually turning upward they tapered away to vanishing points at her temples.

  Roger put her down at once as of Latin blood, and thought that he had never before seen hair of such exceptional blackness. But perhaps that was partly to be accounted for by its intense contrast with that of the Queen; for when Marie Antoinette first came to Court her hair had been so like spun gold that, long after her death, silks of an exquisite golden hue were still described as cheveux de la Reine.

  As the olive-skinned young woman removed her mask, the Queen said to Roger: "Monsieur de Breuc, I present you to the Senorita d'Aranda. When the Senorita's father was recalled to Madrid after having represented his country for many years at our Court, he was kind enough to let me retain her among my Ladies for a while. It is not the least of my sorrows that she too will now soon be leaving me."

  "You are indeed unfortunate, Madame, to lose so charming a com­panion," Roger murmured, making a gallant leg in response to the Senorita's grave curtsy. As he did so he wondered if she had inherited the intelligence and temper of her celebrated father. Don Pedro d'Aranda had been a brilliantly successful General and the Prime Minister of his country for seven years before being sent as Ambassador to France, and no one would have denied his great abilities; but he had the reputation of being extremely haughty and violently intolerant.

  While the two younger people were exchanging courtesies, the Queen called out to her coachman in German: "Weber! You had better walk the horses, as we may remain here for some time." Then she seated herself on a cushion that had been placed for her and, as the carriage moved off, motioned to Roger and the Spanish girl to sit down one on either side.

  This was the first opportunity Roger had had to see her at close quarters without her mask, and he thought that apart from some tiny wrinkles round her tender blue eyes and a slight darkening of her golden hair she showed few signs of approaching middle-age. She was, at that time, thirty-three years old and had had four children. It was common knowledge that for the first eight years of her wedded life she had, to her bitter grief, remained childless, because her husband had proved in­capable of consummating the marriage; but her daughter, Madame Royale, was now ten years old; the Dauphin, a child whose sickliness gave her much anxiety, seven; her second son, the little Due de Normandie, a lusty boy of four; and there had been a second daughter, who had died at the age of eleven months. Yet, despite the strain and cares of motherhood, she had retained her beautiful figure. She had exquisite hands and arms; and her oval face, with its delicately arched nose and noble forehead, was so splendidly set on her fine shoulders that no woman could have better looked, as she was, a true daughter of the Caesars.

  Roger had seen her in the past only from a distance, but even so he had been struck by her resemblance to his lovely Athenais, and now, at close quarters, he thought her far more beautiful than her dark-browed young companion. But he was not left in silent contemplation of their respective attractions for long, as the Queen said to him:

  "Monsieur; the Senorita d'Aranda is, I know, positively dying to hear what befell you after you were robbed of your jewels in Le Havre, and I too have a great love for listening to such stories; pray continue your adventures."

  So, much sooner than he had expected, Roger found himself launched in his self-sought role of troubadour; and, as his blessings included ample self-confidence, coupled with the ability to express himself easily, the task presented no difficulties. Fortunately, too, he had abundant material in the months that he had spent with old Dr. Aristotle Fenelon peddling quack medicines, so he was not called on to invent any particulars that he might have later regretted, and for over half an hour he kept the Queen and her lady pleasantly amused.

  From their comments and laughter he had good reason to suppose that they would have been quite content to listen to him much longer; but at the end of that time the sound of approaching hoof-beats inter­rupted his discourse, bringing them all to their feet, and next moment the Queen's two gentlemen cantered into the clearing.

  "I feared as much," murmured Roger. "That fine bay de Roubec was riding enabled him to get clean away." But, even as he spoke, he had good cause to forget the pseudo-Chevalier in swift concern for a new development which threatened to jeopardize the favour he had so skilfully acquired with the Queen. As the two richly clad riders pulled up their foam-flecked mounts he recognized them both as friends of the Marquis de Rochambeau.

  One was the handsome Due de Coigny, whose name malignant slander had coupled with that of the Queen on the birth of her first child, and the other was the Comte de Vaudreuil, whom the scurrilous pamphlets of the day had also accused her of having taken for her lover.

  Roger did not believe a word of such stories, as everyone at all well informed knew that, at the time of the Queen's first pregnancy, the one had been the lover of the Princess de Guemenee and the other of the Duchess de Polignac, and that Marie Antoinette herself was a model of wifely fidelity. The two noblemen were, however, her old and cherished friends, and were so devoted to her that when two years earlier the King had abolished the Due's post as First Equerry and the Comte's as Grand Falconer, on grounds of economy, both had remained on at Court for the pleasure of serving her.

  Seeing that she had gone out that afternoon to despatch a letter at a secret rendezvous, it was not the least surprising that she should have chosen two such trusted friends to act as her escort; but their arrival on the scene brought
Roger face to face with a situation which he had hoped would not arise until he had had a chance to secure a firm footing at Fontainebleau.

  "Alas, Madame," cried de Coigny, on pulling up. "We lost our man some two miles distant heading in the direction of Courances."

  "We kept him in sight that far," added de Vaudreuil, "but had gained little on him. I fear he used his lead to double back on reaching a point where several rides converge. After casting about for quite a while and finding no trace of him, we thought it best to return and confess our discomfiture to Your Majesty."

  " 'Tis a pity," the Queen shrugged, "but of no vital import. And as we can give a good description of the fellow, the police may yet lay him by the heels for us. I thank you, gentlemen, for your exertions."

  Turning to Roger, she said: "Monsieur, 'tis my wish that Monsieur le Due de Coigny and Monsieur le Comte de Vaudreuil should number you among their acquaintances." Then to them she added: "My friends, this gentleman has today rendered me a considerable service. His name is de Breuc, and I recommend him to you."

  The three men exchanged polite bows. Then de Vaudreuil said with a little frown: "De Breuc? Your name is familiar to me, Monsieur, but I cannot recall where I have heard it before."

  "I remember not only this gentleman's name, but also his face," put in de Coigny. "Surely, Monsieur, we have met upon some previous occasion?"

  Roger saw that there was nothing for it but to take the plunge, so he bowed again, and said: "Messieurs. In any other circumstances I would not have had the forwardness to claim the honour of your previous acquaintance. But in the past both of you have spoken to me with some kindness on numerous occasions. I was for some time confidential secretary to Monsieur de Rochambeau."

  "Mort Dieu!" exclaimed de Vaudreuil, so far forgetting himself as to swear in front of the Queen. "I know you now! You are that young devil of an Englishman."

  "Monsieur!" cried the Queen in sharp reprimand.