CHAPTER XLIII.
Before I could well collect my senses, I was seated beside Laura deVillardin in the carriage of the good old Count de Loris, with heryoung brother Clement looking playfully up in my face, which certainlymust have expressed as much happiness as man could feel. On the otherside appeared Madame de Villardin, with her uncle and herbrother-in-law; and for a time a tumult of joyful feelings engrossedme entirely, as I looked round upon so many that I loved and esteemed,and found them all engaged in promoting my own dearest wishes. Anotherfeeling, however, came to temper and to sadden; and I perceived thatit was strong also in the bosom of every one, as, gazing upon oneanother, each saw a number of beloved objects, but each felt thatthere was one wanting who could never return.
Strange to say, where there was so much to be asked, and so much to betold, our drive passed absolutely in silence; and Madame de Villardin,when she once more entered the dwelling in which she had spent thedays of her young pride and gaiety, drew down her veil and wept. Atthe foot of the staircase we passed Jacques Marlot, who bowed low andreverently; and when we reached the saloon, Madame de Villardin againembraced me, saying, "God's blessing be upon you, my son, for all thatyou have done for me and mine. I will now leave you for a time, andour reverend brother here will give you all the details of many thingsthat I have not spirits either to tell you myself or to hear told byanother. Come with me, Laura, my beloved child; and you, Clement,betake you to your book; for the tale that your uncle is about to tellhad better, in your case, be reserved for after years."
I could well have let my curiosity sleep till I had enjoyed thesociety of my dear Laura for some time longer; but Madame de Villardinseemed to think that the information I was to receive had better begiven at once, and, of course, I did not oppose her.
Left alone with Father Ferdinand and Monsieur de Loris, the goodpriest passed over his own history without explanation, and took uphis story at the period when the bridge had given way beneath Monsieurand Madame de Villardin; and he gave me all the minute particularsof events, which I can here state but generally.
It had, luckily, so happened that a large mass of the woodwork hadfallen at once beneath Madame de Villardin, and thus both broke herfall into the stream, and supported her as a sort of raft after shereached the water. She had called loudly for assistance; but, hurriedrapidly round the point of land just below the bridge, her voice hadnot reached me as I swam, till after I had dragged out Monsieur deVillardin. The single cry which I did hear had, however, caught theears of Jacques Marlot, who was at that moment returning from the farmof the good Ursulines; and, running down to the shore, which was thereless steep, he easily dragged Madame de Villardin, and the wood-workto which she was still clinging, to land. The house which he inhabitedwas close at hand, and thither he himself carried the lady, withoutwaiting for other assistance. Madame de Villardin was quite sensibleof everything around her when she arrived at his dwelling; but she hadbecome deeply impressed with the idea that Monsieur de Villardinintended to destroy her and the child she carried in her bosom, and,acknowledging this apprehension in the terror of the moment, shebesought Jacques Marlot and his wife to conceal her from pursuit. Heon his part having been well accustomed, as libel-printer-general tothe Fronde, to concealments of all kinds, instantly locked the door,in which state I afterwards found it, and took those measures whicheffectually prevented us from discovering the existence of Madame deVillardin, making his wife feign herself ill, to exclude all visitersfrom the house. Father Ferdinand, however, in whom Madame de Villardinhad the fullest confidence, was made acquainted with the facts, underthe strictest promise of secrecy; and, finding that the unhappy ladycould never again look upon her husband without terror, he it was thatadvised her to seek a permanent resting-place in the Ursulineconvent, of which she had been so munificent a benefactor.
There can be little doubt, however, that one more person becameaccidentally acquainted with the fate of Madame de Villardin; but shekept the secret far more nobly than might have been anticipated. Thatperson was Suzette, who, after being dismissed from Dumont, lodged atSt. Estienne, in the house of the very woman who attended Madame deVillardin in the premature birth of her son. The woman had been chosenfrom that village as a place in which Madame de Villardin never hadbeen, and her name and station were carefully concealed from her; butstill the whole arrangements had excited her surprise, and from thehints which Suzette had twice let fall in my presence, I could notdoubt that she had gained sufficient information from her hostess, tofeel sure of the existence of her former mistress. Our long absencefrom Dumont had given every opportunity of concluding all thesubsequent arrangements without a chance of discovery. Madame deVillardin broke the last tie by leaving her child in the hands ofJacques Marlot at Juvigny, and retired from the world. The proximityof the convent, however, gave her frequent opportunities of seeingboth her children without being known to them, and she graduallybecame quite reconciled to her situation. The great difficulty was inregard to the education of little Clement; but that was removed by myoffer to take him as my page. The knowledge that he was near hisfather--and still more the tidings which she soon received that herhusband was displaying towards his unknown child all the fondness of aparent--acted as balm to the wounded heart of Madame de Villardin; butstill she could not banish the idea that, if the Duke ever becameacquainted with the child's birth, he would seek its destruction: andnothing that Father Ferdinand could say, to show her his brother'sdeep grief and repentance for what had already occurred, served torelieve her mind in this respect. Nor, indeed, could one wonder thatsuch were her feelings, after all the terrible proofs she had receivedof how far her husband's unjust suspicions might carry him. All thatFather Ferdinand could obtain from her, was a permission to reveal tothe Duke the facts, if ever he should see him on his death-bed; buther apprehensions still made her require that the tidings should notbe given till there was no remaining chance of recovery.
Such is a general outline of the explanations given to me by FatherFerdinand in regard to the preservation of Madame de Villardin; but Iwas still anxious to hear more, and I asked him if Laura herself hadbeen aware of her mother's existence.
"Certainly not," replied he; "she could not even have a suspicion ofit till after that unhappy business of the Count de Laval; and here,my son," he added, "my own conduct requires some explanation. I hadlong seen your growing attachment to our dear Laura, and had spoken toMadame de Villardin upon the subject, consulting her as to thenecessity of informing my brother of the evident result which wouldtake place. From what we both knew of the natural generosity of hisheart, we felt sure that he would not object to an union, which, fromour own regard towards you, we both desired; and it was thereforedetermined to let things take their course. When I found from littleClement the state of deep despondency into which you had fallen, nowtwo years ago, and the rash acts to which that despondency led you, Ibegan to suspect that you had become aware of your own feelingstowards my niece, and looked upon them as hopeless. I thereforedetermined to give you some hope and encouragement, especially as Iknew that Laura was not destined to become that wealthy heiress whichyou might suppose.
"Suddenly, however, my brother told me of his engagements with theCount; and well aware of his rigid adherence to his word, I began tofear that your passion was without hope indeed. After you were gonefrom the ch?teau, and the Count had arrived, poor Laura confided to meher misery; and told me that she would rather at once take the veilthan wed another than yourself. As I knew her father would not himselfeven display a thought of drawing back from his promise, I advised herto see the Count himself, and to tell him the true state of herfeelings; and then--as I had reason to believe that the Count'spassion was more for the heiress than the woman--I told Laura, that agreat probability existed of her father's estates passing to another;and though I desired her to ask no farther, I believe that, from theterms in which I spoke, some suspicion of the truth crossed her mind.I bade her, as a last resource, g
ive a hint of such a result to theCount himself, if her other representations did not move him; and thento refer him to me. She did not rest satisfied with the first,however; but after having told him plainly that she could not lovehim, as she loved another, she used her last resource also; althoughshe acknowledges that he seemed much moved by her firstrepresentation. I am sorry that she did so, for now it is not verypossible to tell by what motives the Count was actuated; and I wouldfain have given him an opportunity of doing honour to his own heart.However, he spoke with me afterwards; and, knowing him to be a manupon whose promised secrecy I could fully rely, I told him boldly thatthere was not only a chance, but a certainty--as far as earthly thingsever can be certain--of the estates of Monsieur de Villardin passingaway from Laura. He asked an explanation; and, seeing that it mightsave our dear girl from misery, I told him that, if I could obtainpermission, I would satisfy him of the fact. He agreed to wait fourdays for my communication, promising that, if I proved my statement,he would voluntarily withdraw his claim. In consequence of thisarrangement, T immediately wrote to Madame de Villardin; and showingher that her child's happiness was at stake, demanded her leave tomake the Count acquainted with so much of her story as was necessaryto prove to him that Laura would never possess the estates which heexpected to receive with her. She immediately consented, and theresult you know. As a matter of course, all the facts of Madame deVillardin's history were communicated by myself and Monsieur de Loristo the King some time ago; and as her presence was necessary toestablish the rights of her son to his father's honours and estates,his Majesty gave the necessary commands for removing all impedimentswhich conventual rules might oppose to her visiting the Court. Boththe young King himself and his mother took the greatest interest inthe fate of all concerned; and as, by your letters, we receivedintelligence of your situation, and your restoration to health, hisMajesty declared that as soon as your exchange could be effected, hewould only subject you to one more trial ere he gave you your fairbride. All opposition on the part of his Eminence of Mazarine waswithdrawn, as soon as he found that two-thirds of Laura's estateswere diverted to her brother; and yesterday morning, early, a summonsto attend the King and Queen gave us also the joyful news of yourreturn. The parts that we were all to play were laid down by the Kinghimself; and our poor cousin, who had come up some months ago to claimthe guardianship of the young heiress, was brought in also, still inperfect ignorance of all the facts. I now need tell you no more; andif a light step I heard but now be a true signal, I think you willfind some one in that next boudoir, who, though scarcely more happy tosee you than myself, is a fitter companion for a young soldier than anold priest can be."
As I, too, heard Laura's step, I asked no more questions at that time;but, joining her that I loved, spent an hour or two of ashappiness as ever fell to the share of mortal man. But a short spacenow intervened ere we were united for ever; and although all that wehad gone through rendered me constantly apprehensive of some newdisappointment until Laura was at length clasped to my heart, my ownbeloved wife, yet, since our fate has been placed beyond all fartherdoubt, I am inclined to believe that the dangers, and thedifficulties, and even the sorrows, of our early years, contributegreatly to our present happiness.
We have a store of thoughts and remembrances in the past, which formsfor us a world separated from the rest of the world: many thingsendured for the sake of each other, mingle, I may say, a feeling ofmutual gratitude with mutual affection: the deep impression ofextraordinary events keeps the first fresh feelings of the passionthat was born amongst them in all its original fire, although yearshave passed since our fate was united. Even t s memory of the beloveddead forms an tie between our hearts which can never beweakened; and when I look into my Laura's eyes, I see the same lovebeaming in them as my wife, which lighted them in infancy andgirlhood, only augmented with a thousand sweeter and brighter beams,by every stage through which our affection has passed.
My tale is now concluded up to this hour; and so contented am I withmy present state, that I trust to have nothing more which could proveof interest to any one to add to these pages, till time lays me in thegrave. Almost all whom I have mentioned are still living; and thoughMadame de Villardin has again sought the quiet seclusion of thecloister, we frequently enjoy her society as far as her situation willpermit. Father Ferdinand has often promised to give me a sketch of hisearly history; but it would seem that there are in it points sopainful, as even to have defied the softening power of time, and toremain too acute to bear recapitulation. Clement de Villardin hasbecome the gallant soldier, whose name is known to every one both inEngland and France; and I have laid by the sword which so early cameinto my hands, hoping that fate has exhausted her store, and that nomore changes, either of station or of character, may yet be reservedfor JOHN MARSTON HALL.
THE END.
T. C. Savill, Printer, 4, Chandos-street, Covet-garden.
The Little Ball O' Fire; or, the Life and Adventures of John Marston Hall Page 43