Pleading the vintage, the Baron strongly opposed the idea; so Roger said, ‘I saw enough of picking grapes today, so perhaps you would not mind if I drove in with Georgina, to be taken by her round the city. Lisala could come with us or, if she prefers, remain here to keep you company.’
For a long moment von Haugwitz did not reply, while Roger, idling with a toothpick, wondered anxiously if his suspicions had been aroused. Then the Baron suddenly became the genial host again and said, ‘Since you are set on it, we will all go. I will order coaches for eight o’clock.’
That night Georgina came again to Roger. As she scrambled into bed with him, she drew a sharp breath annd sighed, ‘Dear heart, we are undone. Ulrich has outwitted us, and laid a trap in which we may be killed tomorrow.’
‘How so?’ Roger asked quickly.
‘My personal maid, Ilse, who loves me dearly, told me of it when she was seeing me to bed tonight. In spite of the new laws, the peasants hereabouts still look upon themselves as serfs. Ulrich’s word is law to them and they would never dream of questioning his actions. This evening he sent Big Karl to give them their orders. Tomorrow the keepers and foresters are to dress themselves in their oldest rags, so that they will appear to be a band of brigands. At a lonely spot, soon after we take the road for Frankfurt, they are to fire their muskets, pretending to aim at the coach, and so waylay it.’
‘What then? Surely this normally law-abiding people would not go so far as to kill us?’
‘Not deliberately. They are being told that it is only a practical joke, to scare you and Lisala. But when Ilse learned this from her fiancé, Adolf, Ulrich’s valet, she became frightened for me. She looks on you, rightly, as the type of man who, if he thought himself attacked, would fire back. That could result in further shooting. Ilse fears that, during such a scrimmage, I might be hit. So she felt she must warn me, and begged me not to go with you.’
Roger nodded. ‘This is bad. And you are right. Ulrich does not intend that we should come out of this affair alive. I can picture the sort of thing that is likely to happen. He will say to me, “Come, we must drive these villains off”; then, when pretending to aim at one of them, shoot me. As you get out of the coach to come to my aid, one of his men to whom he has paid a heavy bribe, will then pretend to aim at him, and instead shoot you. Afterwards, he will gloss the whole business over as a tragic series of accidents; and, whatever the rest of his people may suspect, none of them will dare air his suspicions except among themselves.’
‘Oh, Roger! What are we to do? We dare not go on this expedition to Frankfurt now. The best way out would be for me to sham illness. For them to stage two fatal accidents in succession would be to court inquiry, and so too great a risk. If I don’t go, they will await another opportunity to murder us together.’
‘That’s so, my love; and for that very reason we must not give them that opportunity. Because next time the odds are against our receiving warning of their plan. Our only chance is to take the offensive and deal with the situation tonight. I wish to God that we could take to horse and make off together within the hour. But as the grooms sleep above the stable, we’d never succeed in securing mounts and saddling up without rousing them. What we must do is to render Ulrich and Lisala hors de combat, then leave without them in the morning. Luckily, I brought with me a powerful drug. Now is the time to use it.’
‘But how could you possibly administer it to them?’
Kissing her, he said, ‘Leave that to me, dearest. Go now and return here in two hours’ time with a dark lantern and a dozen strips of linen suitable to tie their hands and ankles. And … yes, a large carving knife.’
While Georgina was gone, Roger dressed, buckled on his sword, primed his pistols and put the little bottle of drug in his pocket. He had told her not to come back for two hours because, by then, there would be a better chance of Ulrich and Lisala being asleep. But he found the suspense of awaiting her return almost unbearable.
At last the door opened and she came noiselessly in, carrying the things he had asked her to bring. ‘Now,’ he said, ‘we will go first to Lisala’s room. If they are both there, it will be much more difficult to overcome them. You must threaten her with your knife, while I tackle him. And, take this; it is the bottle of drug. I assume that, as here, in both their rooms there is a carafe of water and a glass beside the bed?’
Taking the bottle, she nodded, and led the way out into the corridor. Sufficient moonlight was coming through the diamond-paned windows for them to see their way. Very quietly they walked side by side, along several passages, up a flight of stairs and into another wing of the Castle, where Lisala’s room was situated. At her door they paused for a moment to still their breathing. Roger took a firm grip of the door handle, turned it slowly, then pushed gently with his knee until the door opened just sufficiently for him to see that it was dark inside.
Gently releasing the door handle, he took the dark lantern from Georgina with his left hand, and moved its slide back half an inch, so that it threw a narrow beam of light. Directing the beam towards the floor, he gave the door a harder push and tiptoed into the room. No sound came in response to his movements. For a moment he thought the room must be unoccupied, and Lisala with the Baron. Then, as he raised the lantern and swept its beam across the room, he saw that Lisala was in bed, sound asleep. Over his shoulder he whispered to Georgina:
‘Wake her gently, then hold the knife to her throat.’
Stepping aside so that Georgina could pass him, Roger glided to the foot of the bed, fully unmasked the dark lantern, then drew a loaded pistol from his sash. By then Georgina had her hand on Lisala’s shoulder, and was giving it a slight shake. As Lisala roused, Roger shone the beam full in her face and, raising his pistol, held her covered. In a sharp voice, he said:
‘One murmur, Madame, and I will shoot you through the head. Sit up and do as you are told.’
Muzzy with sleep, Lisala struggled into a sitting position, while Georgina held the knife to her throat. Roger then said to Georgina, ‘You can now lay your knife aside. If she utters a sound, I will shoot her. Pour into her bedside glass a quarter of the drug, add water and hold the glass to her lips.’
As Georgina poured the drug, Lisala gasped, ‘No! You mean to poison me. I won’t drink it! I won’t!’
‘You will,’ Roger snarled. ‘And I vow to you that it is not poison, only a sleeping draught. Either you drink it, or a bullet will come smashing between your eyes; so that, beautiful as you have been in life, you will look horrible when dead.’
Her great eyes distended with terror, Lisala swallowed the potion in little, choking gulps. As Georgina withdrew the empty glass, Roger said to her, ‘Now take one of your strips of linen. Force it between her teeth, then tie it tightly behind her head.’
When Lisala had been gagged, Roger put up his pistol, took from Georgina two more strips of linen, tied one to each of Lisala’s wrists and the other ends to the headposts of the canopied bed. She could now neither cry out nor escape.
With a sigh of satisfaction, Roger murmured to Georgina, ‘Well, we have dealt satisfactorily with one of them. I pray God we may prove as fortunate with the other.’
Together they left the room and made their way stealthily down the corridor to its far end. Outside von Haugwitz’s room they paused again, then Roger went through the same procedure of easing the door open a little until they could see that the room was in darkness. A moment later, like two ghosts, they slipped inside. The narrow beam from Roger’s nearly-closed lantern was directed on to the floor. Taking two steps forward, he raised the lantern and swept it round until the beam fell upon the bed. The Baron was lying there, apparently asleep. But immediately the light passed over his face he suddenly sat up and cried:
‘Who’s that?’
‘De Breuc,’ Roger replied instantly, again pulling out his pistol. ‘I have you covered. Raise your voice and you are a dead man.’
‘What the devil is the meaning of this?’ von Haug
witz demanded.
‘That your wife and I know your intentions towards us, so we mean to steal a march on you and are come to bid you good-bye.’ As he spoke, Roger unmasked the lantern fully, so that the Baron could see the pistol.
Von Haugwitz gave a gasp. ‘What! You … you mean to murder me?’
‘No; only put you into a sound sleep, so that you cannot rouse your varlets to prevent our leaving.’ Keeping his eyes fixed on the Baron, Roger went on, ‘Georgina, prepare the potion. The same proportions as before; then give it to him. But have a care that he does not seize you. Should he attempt to, stick your knife in his eye.’
Roger knew that, in spite of the threat, to get von Haugwitz to swallow the drug was going to be a very tricky business. If he chanced a stab and pulled Georgina over him, she would become a shield that would protect him from a bullet. In order to have a hand free, he set the dark lantern down on an occasional table, so that its light continued to shine on the Baron. Transferring the pistol from his right hand to his left, he advanced to within two feet of the side of the bed.
Meanwhile, Georgina had laid aside her knife and, keeping well away from her husband, secured his bedside glass and water carafe. When she had mixed the potion, she picked up her knife again and held the glass out to him.
Shaking his head, he refused to take it.
Roger said, ‘Either you drink, or I’ll shoot you through the heart.’
‘No,’ he rasped. ‘No! I’ll vow ’tis poison in that glass. So I’ll not drink, and you’ll not shoot me. The noise of the shot would rouse the house. You’d never get away then; and my people would tear you both to pieces.’
‘Maybe they would,’ Roger replied. ‘But you would be dead, so derive no benefit from it. Georgina, hold your knife ready and put the glass to his lips.’
Although conscious of the risk she was running, Georgina did not hesitate to do as she was bade. Roger, too, realised the risk; but it had to be taken. With her knife in her left hand and she glass in her right, Georgina bent over her husband to administer the drug.
Suddenly he struck out with both arms simultaneously. His right sent Georgina reeling back. With his left, he dashed the glass from her hand, so that it rolled across the floor, spilling its contents on the carpet. Flinging himself sideways, he wrenched open a drawer in his bedside table. In it there lay a pistol.
But Roger was too quick for him. Before he could grab it, Roger’s right fist caught him a terrific blow on the side of his stomach, just below his ribs. He gasped, and rolled over on his back. Roger’s fist came down again, this time full on his solar plexus, driving the breath out of his body. Next moment Roger had sprung upon him and was holding him down. But he needed little holding. His limbs had gone limp, his eyes were bulging from his head, and he was making horrible retching sounds.
‘Quick, Georgina,’ Roger cried. ‘pour another measure of the potion, and bring it to me.’
Picking up the glass, she tipped half what remained of the drug into it, added water and brought it to Roger.
By then von Haugwitz’s breath was coming back in choking sobs, but he still had not the strength to struggle. Instead of taking the glass from Georgina, Roger said to her, ‘Pinch his nose tight with one hand, and pour the stuff down his throat with the other. But slowly, a little at a time, or he will sick it up.’
Georgina took her time. Her husband, pinned down by Roger, lay glaring helplessly at her, while the potion trickled down his throat. When the last drop was gone, Roger said, ‘Now gag him. Then tie a strip of linen to each of his wrists, and their other ends to the bedposts, just as we did with Lisala.’
Five minutes later, they had von Haugwitz firmly secured, and left him. Enormously elated by the success of their desperate undertaking, hand in hand, but still a little breathless, they made their way in silence back to Roger’s room. When they reached it, Georgina asked in a husky voice:
‘What do we do now?’
Seating himself on the side of the bed, he drew her down beside him. ‘We have to wait until the drug has had time to take effect. We’ll then be faced with our worst problem. Where to hide them, so that in the morning the servants will believe that they both got up early and went out.’
‘Why not in the wine press where we hid Charles?’ Georgina suggested at once. ‘No-one is ever in the Weinstube during the early part of the day. Pressing does not start until late in the afternoon.’
‘Bless you!’ Roger exclaimed. ‘It will be no easy business to get them down there. But we’ll manage somehow.’
Half an hour later they went to Lisala’s room. She was in a deep sleep, and when shaken violently showed no reaction. Having removed her gag, freed her wrists and pocketed the strips of linen, Roger proceeded to remove her nightdress, as he said, ‘We must leave this here, so that the maid will find it and assume that she got up early and dressed herself.’
For a moment he gazed down on the superbly beautiful body from which, many months ago, he had derived such delirious pleasure; but it meant no more to him now than a hunk of dead meat. Hoisting Lisala’s naked body over his shoulder, he made towards the door. Georgina preceded him, carrying the dark lantern. They moved cautiously through long passages and down winding flights of stairs, fearful that von Haugwitz might have posted a night watchman to make sure that no-one left the Castle without his permission. But, apparently, he had relied on nobody being able to secure horses without rousing his grooms, and that anyone who made off clandestinely on foot could be pursued and brought back within a few hours. Twenty minutes proved enough for Roger to get Lisala to the Weinstube and lower her gently into the wine press.
Returning upstairs, they went to Ulrich’s room. He, too, was in a deep slumber, snoring loudly. With him they followed the same procedure; but he was a heavy man and to get him down proved much more difficult. Several times Roger had to rest. At others, Georgina took her husband’s feet while Roger supported his head and shoulders. But, at length, they carried him into the Weinstube, hoisted his naked body up and let it fall into the press beside that of Lisala.
Spent by their exertions, Roger and Georgina went to the dining room and fortified themselves with glasses of Muscatel wine. By then it was three o’clock in the morning. After they had rested a while, Roger said:
‘It was arranged that we should start for Frankfurt at eight o’clock in the morning. You will have your breakfast brought to you in bed as usual. I shall have mine downstairs. We must be ready to set off promptly. The drug should keep them asleep until at least midday. That will give us four hours’ start. But, with luck, they will sleep on well into the afternoon, which will give us longer before Ulrich can send his men in pursuit of us.’
Georgina laughed. ‘Whenever they wake, it is going to be mightily embarrassing for them to find themselves naked, and have to make their way back to their rooms in the nude. At least one of the servants is certain to see them. But it would be even more amusing if they are still in the press when the vintagers arrive to start pressing. They would then become the laughing stock of the country for miles round.’
Roger laughed too, then yawned. ‘I’m desperate sleepy. Let us snatch two or three hours’ rest before we play the final act and make our bid for freedom.’ Lovingly they kissed; then, again hand in hand, went upstairs to their rooms.
At seven, the footman who was looking after Roger woke him from a deep sleep. At seven-thirty he went down to breakfast. As usual, Big Karl stood near the door of the dining room, superintending the service. Roger had never suffered from nerves, and said to him quite casually:
‘The Herr Baron came to my room a while ago. He has decided not, after all, to go in to Frankfurt, and has already gone out to supervise the vintaging. The Gnädigefrau Baronin will come with me, to show me the city. But my wife intends to remain behind, and keep the Herr Baron company.’
Big Karl bowed stiffly and accepted this information with a stolid face. Servants in great houses miss little of what goes on among their
betters. Karl and his underlings, male and female, knew well enough that their master was sleeping with Roger’s wife, and that Roger was sleeping with their mistress, Roger had, in fact, counted on it that they would put their own interpretation on the wish of von Haugwitz and himself to spend a day alone with each other’s wives, and so not suspect that he intended to make off for good with Georgina.
Shortly before eight o’clock, Georgina appeared. Ilse was behind her, carrying two heavy valises. For a moment Roger feared that the sight of them might arouse suspicion that she was about to run away with him. But she promptly stilled his fears by saying, loudly enough for Big Karl to hear, ‘These are the things that Ulrich wished to have valued by the silversmith in Frankfurt.’
A coach stood ready at the door. It was, as Roger had expected, one of the Baron’s, which meant that he would have to leave his own behind; but that could not be helped. A groom stood nearby with Roger’s charger. As Georgina got into the coach, she gave Ilse a long, grateful look. Roger mounted and they set off down the curving mountain road.
When they reached the main road which ran alongside the broad river, the coachman reined his horses to the left, in the direction of Mayence and Frankfurt. Relieved that they had succeeded in getting away from the Castle without a hitch, Roger had allowed his thoughts to wander. They had traversed a good half-mile when, with a sudden, awful shock, it struck him that von Haugwitz’s arrangements for the coach to be held up must still stand.
The Baron’s men would obey his order to fire from their ambush in the direction of the coach; and, when it was brought to a halt, surround it. But what then? They would expect him to be with it, to give them further orders and call off the joke. If he was not, what course would they adopt? The most probable answer seemed that they would feel called on to continue to play their role as bandits, capture the occupants of the coach, carry them off to some nearby hiding place, and send to the Castle for instructions.
Evil in a Mask Page 53