We rode on. I had never been in this direction before. The nature of the countryside had changed. It was hilly and we made our way through rough woodland. Once or twice Armand pulled up sharply. I stopped with him.
He appeared to be listening. There was no sound in the wood but the gentle trickle of a stream somewhere near and the sudden buzz of a bee as it flew past.
Armand nodded, appearing satisfied and prodded his horse.
We came to a small house in the wood. Its stone walls were covered in creeper, and the garden about it was a jungle of overgrown weeds and bushes.
“Is this our destination?” I asked in surprise.
Armand said it was.
“Follow me. Mademoiselle. Well take the horses to the back of the house and tether them there.”
We went round to the back. Whoever lived here could not have tended the garden for more than a year. I looked about for the Comte’s horse, for it must be here since he had chosen it for a rendezvous, but I could see nothing.
It was a gloomy spot and instinctively I shrank from alighting.
“Why,” I asked, ‘did the Comte choose such a place? “
Armand lifted his shoulders as though to say it was not for him to question the Comte’s commands, only to obey them.
He tethered his horse and came to help me alight. I felt a sudden inclination to spur my horse and gallop away from this place. There was something evil about it. Was it because for the last days I had been thinking about the peace of Derringham?
Armand was tying my horse beside his.
“Armand,” I said, “you will come in there with me?”
“But certainly. Mademoiselle.”
It’s such an . unpleasant little place. “
“It is because the overgrown bushes and shrubs make it dark. It is different inside.”
“Whose house is it?”
“It belongs to the Comte Fontaine Delibes, Mademoiselle.”
“How strange that he should own a house here. It is not on his estate.”
“It was a hunting lodge at one time. He has such places all over the country.”
I looked away to the right where a mound of earth rose up from the ground.
“Someone has been digging here recently,” I said.
“I do not know. Mademoiselle. But. look. “
“Oh, it would seem so. Let us go inside.”
“But I want to see this. Look, there’s a hole. It looks-‘ a cold shiver seized me ‘it looks like a grave.”
“Perhaps someone wanted to bury a dog.”
“It is rather big for a dog,” I said.
Armand had taken my arm and drew me to the door. He took a key from his pocket and, opening the door, gave me a gentle push. I was standing in a hall which was dark and a terrible foreboding came to me.
The door shut and I said: “Armand, surely the Comte would not come to a place like this. Where was his horse? If he is already here…”
“It may be that he has not arrived yet.”
I turned to look at him sharply. A subtle change had come over him. I had never taken much notice of Armand before. He had merely been the groom who had come with us from the chateau. Now he looked uneasy . furtive even. Nonsense! I thought quickly. Imagination! He had been in the Comte’s service for many years. It had once been said in Margot’s presence and she had not denied it. He was the Comte’s good servant. It was the atmosphere of this place which was doing something to my imagination. Then that hole outside which had looked like a grave. Someone had been here recently to dig it, I should discover.
Armand had gripped my arm as though he feared I would try to escape.
It was a strange way for a groom to behave.
He pushed me ahead of him. I thought I heard a sound in the house. I looked up. There seemed to be a film of dust everywhere. It looked like a house in which no one lived. Then who had dug the hole in the garden?
I was aware of Armand’s heavy breathing, and suddenly a fearful premonition came to me. I had been brought here to die. The grave in the garden was for me. I had been led into a trap and willingly I had stepped into it. What thoughts can pass through the mind in the space of a few seconds! The Comte had sent one of his servants to bring me here. Why? To kill me? To bury me in that grave in the garden . to leave me there . forgotten. Why? He loved me. He had said so. Did he? How could one know? He had the devil in him, how often had I heard that said of him. He wanted Ursule out of the way and he had killed her. He had wanted to marry Gabrielle who had already given him a son.
Then what of me? I was to be the scapegoat. If I disappeared it would be said that it was I who had put that fatal dose in Ursule’s glass.
Nou-Nou would support that theory. The Comte would be free of suspicion. Oh, nonsense, nonsense! But he had sent for me and I was here in this fearful place where every instinct was telling me that I was staring death in the face.
I turned, looking for escape. Then suddenly a door opened. For a moment my eyes would not look. I do not want to see him. I could not bear that my dream world should come tumbling about my ears. If I was going to die I wanted to die in ignorance, refusing to believe that of which so many people had tried to warn me.
Armand was immediately behind me. I lifted my eyes. Standing in the doorway was a figure . strangely familiar. I just had time to recognize the short neck, the hat with the brim, the dark wig before he sprang forward and seized me. There was a blinding flash and I was lying on the floor. There was an excruciating pain somewhere . I was not sure where . for everything was ebbing away, the evil house, the sinister man who had watched me for so long, my frightening speculation, my own consciousness.
When I opened my eyes I was lying in my old bedroom in the Hotel Delibes. There was cramping pain in my arm, which I realized was bandaged. I tried to struggle up but was immediately giddy and sank back on me pillows.
“Lie still,” said a voice.
“It is better so.”
I did not know the voice but it was soothing.
There was a parched feeling in my throat and almost immediately a cup was put to my lips. I drank something that was sweet and soothing.
That’s better,” said the voice.
“Now lie quietly. It might be painful if you move.”
“What happened to me?” I asked.
“Try to sleep,” was the answer; and so listless did I feel that I obeyed.
When I awoke I saw a woman at my bedside.
“Do you feel better?” It was the same voice as before.
“Yes, thanks. How did I get here? “
“The Comte will explain. He said he was to be called when you awoke.”
“He is here, then?” I felt suddenly joyous.
He was at my bedside. He took my free hand and kissed it. Thank God I set Perigot to watch over you. He did a good job. “
“What was it all about?”
“You came near to death, my darling. That villain would have killed you … and we should never have known what happened. He would have shot you through the heart or the head, which was what he planned to do, and then buried you in that godforsaken place. Why did you go?”
“With Armand, you mean? Why shouldn’t I, when he said he was taking me to you?”
oh my God, I wish I could get my hands on him. But I will, I promise you. “
“But Armand has been in your service for,..”
“In Etienne’s service, I believe. To think that a son of mine . What people will do for lands, title, money . If I never have a son at all he’ll get nothing now. “
“Do you mean that Armand took me there to kill me on Etienne’s orders? ”
“It could only be so. Armand has disappeared. When he realized that someone was in the house to foil his attempt he made off with all speed.”
“And this Perigot?”
A good man. He has been watchful of you. “
A nan with a short neck and a dark wig? “
“I don’t know about his wi
g, but I suppose, now you mention it, he has a short neck.”
“So you sent him to guard me?”
“Naturally I sent someone to guard you. I didn’t like what had happened on that day when you were fired at in the lane. Perigot did his work well. He followed Armand to the house, saw him dig the grave and guessed what was happening. When he saw you leave from Grasseville with him he made sure he was at the house waiting for you when you arrived. Armand was ready to kill you and would have done so if Perigot had not been ready. So the bullet entered your arm instead of your body. Perigot is upset because he did not overpower Armand before the shot was fired, but he was waiting in the house and could only do what he did. If ever we get back to normal, Perigot shall have lands and wealth for what he has done for me.”
“Armand!” I murmured.
“Why Armand?”
“He must work for Etienne. He was always Etienne’s groom. They were more than master and servant. It was Etienne maybe with his mother’s connivance, and this I shall discover -who arranged for your little adventure in the lane, I am sure. At least that put me on the alert. I was determined to take every precaution. I knew that if I could trust anyone I could trust Perigot. I am going to send for him so that you can thank him personally for saving your life.”
He came into the room. He looked different without his tall hat and wig, much younger and the short neck was less noticeable.
He bowed and I said: Thank you for saving my life. “
“Mademoiselle,” he replied, “I regret I did not save you completely. I fear that you became aware of me, which showed that I did not make myself unobtrusive enough.”
“I couldn’t help but be aware of you when you were always there. And how could you have looked after me so expertly if you had not been?”
The Comte said: “We are both grateful to you, Perigot Your service to us will not be forgotten.”
“It is my duty and pleasure to serve you. Monsieur Ie Comte,” he said.
“I trust it will be so for very many years.”
The Comte was deeply moved and I felt all my fears dropping from me. I wondered why I had ever doubted him but of course that was the effect his presence always had on me.
When Perigot had gone toe Comte sat by my bed and we talked. He said what had happened was clear. Etienne had always hoped to be legitimized and made heir to the estate and title. And so he would have been if there had been no legitimate son.
“Of course,” he said, ‘they know of my feelings for you and he began to be afraid. He guessed rightly that I intend to marry you and if you and I had a son-which we fully intend to do, do we not? his hopes would be completely blighted. Therefore you presented the threat. It’s clear, isn’t it? “
Where is Etienne? “
“He was at the chateau looking after estate duties. Armand will have gone to him to tell him of the failure of their plan. I doubt he is at the chateau now, for he will know that I am fully aware of what he has done. He will never dare show his face to me again. It is the end for Etienne. And now there is only one thing to be done. You and I shall marry without delay.”
I cried out in protest. I thought of my conversations with Joel.
Though I had not promised to marry him I had not completely refused him. How could I go straight to another man and marry him? Besides, when I thought of marriage, fears and doubts raised their heads once more. The Comte was horrified at Etienne’s attempt to murder me, but what of the death of Ursule? Had she not died because she stood in the way of what he wanted, just as I had seemed to stand in Etienne’s way?
“Why not?” he demanded fiercely.
“I am not ready,” I replied.
“What nonsense is this?”
“Not nonsense, sound good sense. I have to be sure.”
“Sure? You mean you are not sure?”
“I think I am, but there is much to consider. There must be in such a serious undertaking as marriage.”
“My dearest Minelle, there is only one thing to consider in marriage and that is whether two people love each other. I love you. Have you any doubts of that?”
“It may well be that we do not mean the same thing by love. I know you want to be with me, make love with me … but I am not sure that is being in love.”
What is, then? “
“Sharing a lifetime together, mutual respect, understanding. That is important, not the excitement of the moment. Desire, by its very nature, is transient. Before I married I should want to be sure that the man I married was the right father for the children I should have, that he was a man who would share my moral code, a man I could look up to and whom I could trust to be a good father to my children.”
“You set a high standard,” he said.
“I believe the schoolmistress cannot resist setting her suitors an examination.” “It may be so. And perhaps the schoolmistress is not the right wife for a man with a roving eye and a love of adventure.”
“My opinion is that she is just the right wife for him. Let us have an end to this nonsense. I will get a priest to marry us within a few days.”
“I must have time,” I insisted.
“You disappoint me, Minelle. I thought you were adventurous too.”
“You see, I am right. I disappoint you already.”
“I would rather be disappointed by you than pleased by any other woman.”
“That is ridiculous.”
“Is that the way to talk to your lord and master?”
“I can see that my proud spirit would never succumb. Oh, how wise I am to consider these things before rushing headlong into a marriage which could be disastrous.”
“It would be exciting disaster.
“I would give up the excitement to avoid the disaster.”
“You enchant me … you always do.”
“I can’t think why, when I never agree with you.”
“Too many people have agreed with me … or pretended to. It becomes monotonous.”
I prophesy that disagreement would become equally monotonous and less pleasing to you. “
Try me. Please, Minelle, try me. Listen, my love. Perhaps even now it is too late. The faubourgs are preparing to rise. They are coming against us. Let us enjoy life while we can. “
“Whoever comes against you, I must have time,” I insisted.
He sat by my bed for a long time. We did not speak much but he was silently pleading, I knew. I wavered. So much I wanted to say: “Yes, let us many. Let us have a little happiness together,” but I could not forget walking with Joel, talking with Joel, and perhaps most of all the memory of my mother.
I said suddenly: “Was a message sent to Grasseville to tell them where I was?”
He said that had been taken care of.
“Thank you. They would have been anxious.”
I closed my eyes, feigning sleep. I wanted to think, but of course my thoughts led me nowhere but back to the perpetual question.
It was the fourteenth day of July a date in France no one will ever forget. My arm was still bandaged but I was otherwise quite well and it was merely a matter of waiting for the wound to heal.
During the previous day there had been a hush over the city. The weather was hot and sultry and I had the impression that a great beast was crouching, ready to spring.
My own state of mind was tense. In a short time two attempts had been made on my life. One cannot pass through such ordeals unscathed.
I wanted to get away and be alone for a while. In such a mood I put on a light cloak and went out As I passed through the narrow streets I was aware that furtive glances came my way. Members of the King’s guards walked about uneasily.
In the distance I could hear the sound of singing.
Someone caught my arm.
“Minelle, are you mad?”
It was the Comte. He was soberly dressed in a brown cloak and a tall hat with a brim such as that which had been worn by Perigot. People now took the precaution of never being conspicuously well
dressed in the streets.
“You should never have come out. I have been looking for you. I understood you had come in this direction of the Pont Neuf by the Quai de L’Horloge. We must go back at once.”
He drew me close to the wall as a party of young men-possibly students came running past. Their words made me shiver: “A bos les aristocrates. A la lanterne.”
We walked swiftly past. I was trembling, not for myself but for him. I knew that however homespun his garments he could never disguise his origins and none would mistake him long for anything but the man he was.
“We will go back at once,” he said.
Before we reached the Faubourg Saint-Honore, pandemonium had broken forth and the whole of Paris seemed to have gone mad. There was shouting and screaming in the streets. People were rushing backwards and forwards, joining mobs, chanting, shouting: “A la Bastille.”
“They are going to the prison,” said the Comte.
“My God, it has begun.”
We reached the Faubourg Saint-Honore in safety.
“You must leave Paris without delay,” he said.
“It will be unsafe to stay here. Change your clothes as quickly as you can and come down to the stables.”
I obeyed him. He was waiting impatiently for me there. He had given orders that those who could should leave the house, but not in a body, gradually. It must not be noticed that they were leaving.
He and I rode south in the direction of the chateau. It was night when we arrived.
As we stood in the hall he turned to me sadly and said:
“You left it too late, you see. The revolution has begun. You must leave for England at once. For God’s sake do not speak French, for you do it so well that the uneducated might mistake you for a Frenchwoman and you carry yourself in such a way that they would regard you as an enemy of the people.”
“What of you? You will escape to England?”
He shook his head.
“This is but the beginning. Who knows, there may yet be time to save the cnmibling regime. It is not for me to leave the sinking snip, Minelle. There is work for me here. I shall return to Paris. I shall go to see the King and his ministers. It may be that all is not lost. But you must go at once. That is my first concern.”
The Devil on Horseback Page 33