第13章 MADEMOISELLE DE LA VIRE.(1)

My first desperate impulse on discovering the magnitude of my loss was to ride after the knaves and demand the token at the sword's point.The certainty,however,of finding them united,and the difficulty of saying which of the five possessed what Iwanted,led me to reject this plan as I grew cooler;and since Idid not dream,even in this dilemma,of abandoning the expedition the only alternative seemed to be to act as if I still had the broken coin,and essay what a frank explanation might effect when the time came.

After some wretched,very wretched,moments of debate,I resolved to adopt this course;and,for the present,thinking I might gain some knowledge of the surroundings while the light lasted,Ipushed cautiously forward through the trees and came in less than five minutes within sight of a corner of the chateau,which Ifound to be a modern building of the time of Henry II.,raised,like the houses of that time,for pleasure rather than defence,and decorated with many handsome casements and tourelles.

Despite this,it wore,as I saw it,a grey and desolate air,due in part to the loneliness of the situation and the lateness of the hour;and in part,I think,to the smallness of the household maintained,for no one was visible on the terrace or at the windows.The rain dripped from the trees,which on two sides pressed so closely on the house as almost to darken the rooms,and everything I saw encouraged me to hope that mademoiselle's wishes would second my entreaties,and incline her to lend a ready ear to my story.

The appearance of the house,indeed,was a strong inducement to me to proceed,for it was impossible to believe that a young lady,a kinswoman of the gay and vivacious Turenne,and already introduced to the pleasures of the Court,would elect of her own free will to spend the winter in so dreary a solitude.

Taking advantage of the last moments of daylight,I rode cautiously round the house,and,keeping in the shadow of the trees,had no difficulty in discovering at the north-east corner the balcony of which I had been told.It was semi-circular in shape,with a stone balustrade,and hung some fifteen feet above a terraced walk which ran below it,and was separated from the chase by a low sunk fence.

I was surprised to observe that,notwithstanding the rain and the coldness of the evening,the window which gave upon this balcony was open.Nor was this all.Luck was in store for me at last.

I had not gazed at the window more than a minute,calculating its height and other particulars,when,to my great joy,a female figure,closely hooded,stepped out and stood looking up at the sky.I was too far off to be able to discern by that uncertain light whether this was Mademoiselle de la Vire or her woman;but the attitude was so clearly one of dejection and despondency,that I felt sure it was either one or the other.Determined not to let the opportunity slip,I dismounted hastily and,leaving the Cid loose,advanced on foot until I stood within half-a-dozen paces of the window.

At that point the watcher became aware of me.She started back,but did not withdraw.Still peering down at me,she called softly to some one inside the chamber,and immediately a second figure,taller and stouter,appeared.I had already doffed my cap,and I now,in a low voice,begged to know if I had the honour of speaking to Mademoiselle de la Vire.In the growing darkness it was impossible to distinguish faces.

'Hush!'the stouter figure muttered in a tone of warning.'Speak lower.Who are you,and what do you here?'

'I am here,'I answered respectfully,'commissioned by a friend of the lady I have named,to convey her to a place of safety.'

'Mon dieu!'was the sharp answer.'Now?It is impossible.'

'No,'I murmured,'not now,but to-night.The moon rises at half-past two.My horses need rest and food.At three I will be below this window with the means of escape,if mademoiselle choose to use them.'

I felt that they were staring at me through the dusk,as though they would read my breast.'Your name,sir?'the shorter figure murmured at last,after a pause which was full of suspense and excitement.

'I do not think my name of much import at present,Mademoiselle,'

I answered,reluctant to proclaim myself a stranger.'When--'

'Your name,your name,sir!'she repeated imperiously,and Iheard her little heel rap upon the stone floor of the balcony.

'Gaston de Marsac,'I answered unwillingly.

They both started,and cried out together.'Impossible!'the last speaker exclaimed,amazement and anger in her tone,'This is a jest,sir.This--'

What more she would have said I was left to guess,for at that moment her attendant I had no doubt now which was mademoiselle and which Fanchette--suddenly laid her hand on her mistress's mouth and pointed to the room behind them.A second's suspense,and with a wanting gesture the two turned and disappeared through the window.

I lost no time in regaining the shelter of the trees;and concluding,though I was far from satisfied with the interview,that I could do nothing more now,but might rather,by loitering in the neighbourhood,awaken suspicion,I remounted and made for the highway and the village,where I found my men in noisy occupation of the inn,a poor place,with unglazed windows,and a fire in the middle of the earthen floor.My first care wets to stable the Cid in a shed at the back,where I provided for its wants as far as I could with the aid of a half-naked boy,who seemed to be in hiding there.

This done,I returned to the front of the house,having pretty well made up my mind how I would set about the task before me.