Part 21

But a certain reflection occurred to Léodgard's mind and allayed his exaltation in some degree. In these blissful schemes which the imagination conceives, one almost always forgets the most important point, the foundation upon which all the joys of this world rest.

Valentine, who had seen the cloud pass across the count's brow, instantly exclaimed:

"Ah! you hesitate, I see; what I propose appalls you. You would accept me for your mistress, but you are not willing that your life should be mine, that I should be always with you, that we should part no more; you fear to burden yourself with a new chain! You have for me simply one of those fleeting passions which possession soon allays.--Ah! that is not the way that I love! But if it is so, we should never understand each other. Let us part, monsieur le comte; for I must have as much love as I give; if not, I want nothing!"

And Valentine had already started to go away, but Léodgard detained her, kissing her lovely hands with passion, and said:

"How ill you judge me, madame! you should read my heart better. I have but one thought, one purpose, one desire; and that is to realize at the earliest possible moment this future of blissful delight which you offer me. I regret that there are no obstacles to surmount, no rivals to fight, in order to possess you! You would find that I should not hesitate. The only thing that may delay us is this--that, before leaving France for a considerable time, I must arrange certain matters of business, dispose of certain property. But be assured that I shall do my best to hasten the moment that is to unite us."

"Forgive me, Léodgard, for misjudging you; and since you love me as I love you, since everything is soon to be common between us, allow me, my friend, to ask you to give me your entire confidence. It may be that what you have in mind at this moment is to procure a considerable amount of money, in order to assure our future existence. But do not disturb yourself about that; I have a fortune, and it does not belong to the Marquis de Santoval. Thank heaven! I can take money with me, much money; and when mine is all gone, then it will be your turn to draw upon what belongs to you.--Does that arrangement please you?"

"Dear Valentine,--for you will allow me now to address you so,--I am touched by such proofs of your affection; but, I say again, before leaving Paris I must adjust some important matters. I do not need to tell you that henceforth I can think of naught save hastening forward the day that is to mark the beginning of a new life for us!"

"Let it be as you wish, then, my friend; I too will hasten with all my prayers the arrival of that day. You will know now that I am waiting for you, when the time that you fix for our flight has come. Simply send me word on the preceding day. Beginning to-morrow, Miretta will walk here every day at noon, and you will be certain to find her here. As for myself, my departure will not be impeded in any way. Since your duel, the Marquis de Santoval has not the slightest jealous suspicion, and, although he knows that your wound was not fatal, I am at liberty to go and come as I please, without remark from him. However, as we must not defy chance, I will leave you now, Léodgard, and return to the Hôtel de Santoval; and when I see you again, it will be to part no more."

"What!" said Léodgard, pressing Valentine's hand lovingly; "you are free to do as you please, and, before our final union, you will not come once to pay me a visit at my house in Rue de Bretonvilliers?"

"No, monsieur le comte," replied Valentine, in a gentle but firm tone. "As I told you, I do not choose to be your mistress; I wish to be your wife, and in a foreign land I hope that you will give me that title; for no one will be there to dispute my right to it. Adieu, Léodgard, or, rather, au revoir!"

Signalling to Miretta by coughing loudly, the marchioness joined her maid, and they disappeared among the paths of the Pré-aux-Clercs.

As for Léodgard, he remained a long while on the bench which he had occupied with the marchioness. Absorbed by his thoughts, and sighing profoundly from time to time, he frequently passed his hand across his brow, as if to brush away ghastly memories. At last he rose and walked off in the direction of Rue de Bretonvilliers, saying to himself:

"I must do it! I hoped that I had abandoned that infamous rôle forever; but I have hardly any money--and money I must have; I must have a great deal! Can I think of living constantly at that woman's expense? Shall I confess to her that I have squandered all of the fortune that was left to me? No, no; it is impossible! Fate wills it; and destiny, which has always been favorable to me, will protect me still!"

A few days later, people began to talk once more of the celebrated robber Giovanni, who had reappeared in Paris, and was exhibiting his too famous talent there, as of old. The streets, which had become dangerous once more, were deserted at an early hour. But the lieutenant of police had sworn a mighty oath that he would capture Giovanni this time and would put an end to the reign of terror inaugurated by him. With that end in view, the streets were patrolled by numerous parties of the watch.

One evening, on returning home after passing two or three hours at a large party, the Marquise de Santoval instantly rang for Miretta, and said to her as soon as they were alone:

"Rejoice, little one; it is your turn to be happy; you will be united to the man you love so dearly--unless, indeed, he allows himself to be caught, for the man is playing a bold game."

"What, madame! can it be that----"

"Yes; Giovanni has reappeared in Paris."

"I had heard so; but I dared not believe it."

"You may be certain of it; for the old contractor Ducantal, who was at Madame de Bérienne's this evening, was waylaid last night and stripped clean by Giovanni. We could not help laughing as we heard the story, for the old contractor was frantic with rage. He had just come from a gambling den, where he had won a considerable sum, and it was all taken from him, as well as his diamonds--and he had some very handsome ones!--What intensified Monsieur Ducantal's wrath was that he had with him two great footmen, who, instead of defending him, fled at the robber's approach. But, no matter--you should advise your lover to abandon the trade; it will end badly for him!"

"Oh! I will implore him once more to do so, madame. This very night I will go out in search of him. What joy! I am going to see him again at last, and I had lost all hope!"

"But be prudent--do not run any risk."

"Oh! I am not afraid; and what do I care for danger, so long as I see Giovanni!--Have you any further need of my services, madame?"

"No, I will do without you; I will call Marie. Go; I give you your liberty."

Miretta was no sooner relieved from duty, than she wrapped herself in her cloak, left the hôtel, and wandered about Paris at random. But to no purpose did she search several different quarters, looking into every corner, stopping at the least noise; she met nobody but men, from whom she fled, and whom, by virtue of her agility, she always succeeded in eluding. At daybreak, completely exhausted, she returned to the Hôtel de Santoval, saying to herself:

"I shall be more fortunate to-morrow, perhaps."

The concierge and the servants thought that their mistress's maid went out of nights to meet her lover. But as they knew that Miretta stood high in the marchioness's affections, they contented themselves with making these reflections in an undertone.

The next night, Miretta went out again, but had no better fortune. She did not lose courage, however, for, during the day, in the servants' quarters, she had heard of a recent night attack of which Giovanni was presumed to be the author, and she said to herself that she must surely fall in with him at last.

The third night, Miretta, having turned her steps in the direction of the Arsenal, had just made an examination of Rue Saint-Paul, and was near Rue Saint-Antoine. Fatigued by the constant walking that she had done for three nights, she was beginning to despair of finding her lover; and glancing dejectedly about in all directions, she tried to interrogate the walls and the darkness, as if to ask them if they had seen Giovanni. Suddenly she thought that she heard outcries; she stopped, listened intently, and distinctly heard a cry of "thief!" The sound came from the direction of Rue des Nonaindières; the night was not dark, and at intervals the moon appeared and made it possible to see a considerable distance. Miretta, her heart throbbing violently, stopped at the corner of Rue Saint-Paul and Rue Saint-Antoine; it seemed to her that she heard someone running, and soon several shots rang out almost simultaneously. She felt her strength giving way, for she did not doubt that the shots were fired at Giovanni; she leaned against a house, in order not to fall; but the footsteps of the person running drew near, and in a moment a man flew past her.

"It is he, it is Giovanni!" said Miretta to herself, for she had recognized her lover's peculiar costume; and she instantly started to run after him, calling, in a voice which she was careful not to make too loud:

"Giovanni! Giovanni! Have no fear--it is I, Miretta, who follows you. Giovanni! in heaven's name, answer me! If you are pursued, tell me what you wish me to do.--Mon Dieu! I see something on the ground--it is blood that is dropping from you as you run! You are wounded! In the name of heaven, answer me!"

The man whom Miretta was trying so hard to overtake was in fact wounded; a bullet had struck his shoulder; he continued to fly, however; but, as he was entering Place Royale, the pain compelled him to stop a moment. This enabled Miretta to overtake him. At the girl's approach, he tried to resume his flight, but she clung to his clothes, saying:

"Giovanni! Giovanni! pray speak to me! tell me---- Mon Dieu! mon Dieu! this figure--this man is not he!--Oh! you will try in vain to escape me; I will find out who you are; for, if you are not Giovanni, as you wear his costume, it must be that you have killed him!--No, I will not let you go; kill me, if you choose, but I will know who you are!"

As she spoke, Miretta succeeded in seizing the false beard of the man before her; she tore it off, and by the same movement caused the enormous cap that concealed his eyes to fall. At that instant the moon appeared and shone full upon the two, and Miretta was able to examine at her leisure the face of Léodgard.

On recognizing the count, the girl stood a moment as if turned to stone; then a cry escaped from her lips, and she recoiled from him in horror, muttering:

"Ah! that was the reason why I felt a secret terror in that man's presence!"

Taking advantage of Miretta's surprise and stupefaction, Léodgard hastily resumed his flight, running at random. But the blood that he lost in large quantities, and the pain that he felt, caused his strength to fail; he realized that it would soon be impossible for him to stand erect, and he fancied that he heard in the distance the footsteps of soldiers pursuing him. Thereupon, as he tried to recognize his surroundings, to see where he was, he found that he had halted directly in front of the gateway of the ancient mansion of his ancestors. Seizing the knocker, he struck several violent blows. The heavy gate swung open at last; Léodgard passed through and made haste to secure it behind him. Then his strength failed him, and he fell at full length on the pavement of the courtyard.

At that moment the soldiers of the watch entered the square, looking in all directions for Giovanni.

LIV

AN ACCUSATION

The soldiers who were pursuing the robber had passed Miretta; but when the officer in command saw the girl standing there alone, her whole aspect indicating intense excitement and terror, he stopped and said to her:

"Girl, did you see a man pass, running at full speed--a man enveloped in a broad olive-green cloak, with a great hairy cap on his head?"

"Officer," said one of the soldiers, "here is a cap on the ground; isn't it the brigand's?"

"Mordieu, yes! it is, indeed; exactly as it is detailed in the description of him--in that case, girl, the robber must have stopped on this spot.--Yes, there is blood here, too; that means that we have wounded him.--Come, sacrebleu! answer, my beauty! You look frightened to death; is it because the miserable Giovanni attacked you and robbed you too?"

"Giovanni!" faltered Miretta, shaking her head sadly. "Oh! it is not he! Alas! it is not Giovanni now! I was perfectly sure that he had been murdered!"

"What does she say?--what is this fable you are telling us, girl? did you see the robber pass--_yes_ or _no_?"

"Yes, I did see him pass; but he is not Giovanni! He wears his clothes, he stole them, doubtless, but I tore off his false beard, and his cap fell at the same time, and I recognized him."

"You recognized----"

After hesitating a moment, Miretta cried at last:

"Ah! why should I have any pity on the man who killed him whom I loved?--No, it is my duty to unmask the infamous villain--to bring upon him the punishment he deserves!"

"Well, girl, will you answer or not? Whom did you recognize?"

"I recognized, in the man you are pursuing, Comte Léodgard de Marvejols!"

"The Comte de Marvejols!" exclaimed the officer, turning to his soldiers; "one of the greatest nobles at court!--Nonsense! the girl is mad!"

"Yes, yes! she doesn't know what she says."

"The fright has disturbed her reason!"

"Ha! ha! that's a likely story! The famous Giovanni is the Comte de Marvejols!--Let us listen no longer to this girl, but continue our search. Let us follow the marks of blood; attention, you fellows! they may guide us to the place where we shall find our robber. And let us take away this cap and false beard, too."

The soldiers went their way. Thereupon Miretta cast a vague, wandering look about her, then hid her face in her hands and wept bitterly, crying:

"O Giovanni! Giovanni! you were very wicked, I know; but I forgave you; and I am sure that by my entreaties I could have persuaded you to abandon your career of crime! I would have brought you back to worthier sentiments. And by prayer and repentance, perhaps you might have obtained God's forgiveness!--But you have been murdered, before you had time to appease the Divine wrath!--Oh! I will avenge you; yes, I will avenge you!"

Somewhat tranquillized by the tears she had shed, Miretta returned to the Hôtel de Santoval, which she reached just at daybreak. She did not try to sleep, for she knew that it would be useless; but she waited anxiously for the time when her mistress could receive her.

The marchioness rang at last, and Miretta answered the bell.

The instant that her eyes fell on the maid's face, Valentine, struck by her pallor and the sinister expression of her eyes, cried:

"Mon Dieu! what has happened to you, Miretta? I read some terrible disaster on your features! You have seen Giovanni--he is arrested--wounded, perhaps?--Pray answer; one would say that you were afraid to speak."

"In truth, madame, what I have to tell you is so horrible---- But you must know it, none the less--you must know, as he really is, the monster to whom you have given your love."

"What! what do you mean? My love!--I do not understand you, Miretta; I am talking of your Giovanni.--what has Léodgard in common with your love affairs?"

"You shall know, madame. Last night, I went out in the hope of at last meeting him whom I have sought in vain for more than three years!--Despite all that I had heard within a few days of new robberies committed by Giovanni, my heart, still depressed, did not throb with that soothing hope which one feels when one is destined to see one's love again!--Ah! there are presentiments that do not mislead us!--Well! as I was standing at the end of Rue Saint-Paul, I heard cries, followed by shots; then a man passed me, flying for his life. I recognized Giovanni's cap and cloak, and I ran after him, supposing him to be my lover; I called to him, I implored him to answer me, to listen to me; I could not obtain a single word. But the fugitive was wounded, he was losing blood; and as he entered Place Royale he slackened his pace, so that I was able at last to overtake him."

"Well! it was Giovanni----"

"For the first moment or two I still thought so, madame; but, surprised by his persistence in trying to continue his flight without answering me, I examined him closely; he was taller than Giovanni, his head was set differently on his shoulders; in short, my heart had already told me--no, it was not Giovanni! The man tried to escape; I clung to his cloak, and he sought in vain to release himself, to shake me off.--Ah! I was very strong then!--I succeeded in pulling off his false beard and his cap--the moon lighted us perfectly--and in the man who had assumed Giovanni's costume and headgear I recognized Comte Léodgard de Marvejols!"

"Léodgard! Léodgard!" cried Valentine, fastening her eyes upon the girl's, to satisfy herself that she had not gone mad. "Oh! Miretta! what are you saying? Why, you were mistaken--you were misled by an error of your eyesight, by some resemblance perhaps--but that Comte Léodgard should have assumed the disguise of Giovanni--consider, pray, that it is utterly impossible!--With what object would he do it?"

"Why--to do what Giovanni used to do, I presume."

"Oh! Miretta, what you say is shocking! Why, it is utterly devoid of sense, and I blush to think that I have listened to you!"

"I suspected that madame would not choose to believe me; but before long, I trust, the truth will be made known, and madame will be forced to recognize that I am not the dupe of a mere illusion!"

"What! what do you mean? Can it be that you have already had the audacity to spread this hateful falsehood?"

"I have told no falsehood, madame! But when that man, when Comte Léodgard--who recognized me perfectly--had disappeared--and I did not think to look after him, I was so overwhelmed--some soldiers arrived, looking for the robber, whom they believed to be Giovanni; but I undeceived them; I told them who the man was whom they were pursuing and whom they had wounded."

"You accused Léodgard?"

"Once more, madame; I told the truth."

"You are mad, Miretta; for if you reflect an instant, you will understand that you must be mistaken. To make such charges against a man whom I love---- Oh! it is abominable! I ought to drive you from my presence!"

"The soldiers said as you do, madame, that I was mad; but what does it matter to me now what anyone thinks of my words? I know, myself, that I spoke the truth! You bid me reflect, madame! Ah! if I could still doubt what I saw last night, by recalling my memories of the past I should find additional proofs of what I assert.--In heaven's name, madame, allow me to speak; you will still have the right to dismiss me afterward.--I do not know whether you remember a murder that was committed about three years and a half ago--a handsome young man was found in the Fossés-Jaunes, near the Pont-aux-Choux;--the story was told us by that little solicitor's clerk, Bahuchet."

"Yes, I remember very well."

"From that time, madame, I ceased to see Giovanni; it was he, I cannot doubt, who was murdered, and robbed of his weapons and of the costume he wore at night.--Oh! I remember so well now--the description of that young man corresponded exactly with that of Giovanni."

"Assume that it be true--what connection has Léodgard----"

"I beg pardon, madame, but in the servants' quarters the servants of your visitors talk with your own people; and as madame deigned sometimes to talk to me of Comte Léodgard, I paid more attention when others spoke of him; and about that time I often heard it said: 'Oh! Comte Léodgard is an excellent master now! it is not as it used to be when he had not the means to pay his esquire; he must have discovered a gold mine lately, for he has paid all his debts, he has hired a beautiful house in Rue de Bretonvilliers, and he gives superb parties there; in short, it seems that he flings money about with both hands, and he's an excellent master!'--That is what I heard said more than once, madame, about the time when I ceased to see my poor Giovanni!"

Valentine had turned pale, and her brow was covered with a dark cloud; she rose, however, and paced the floor excitedly, muttering from time to time:

"No! no! not if I should hear it a hundred times! Mere conjectures--antechamber gossip, servants' tittle-tattle--what does it all prove? To dare to say that he, Léodgard--so noble and so handsome!--Oh! it is frightful! it is an outrage!"

Then, seized with a sudden idea, she asked abruptly:

"This man who was pursued last night, and whom you claim to have recognized--he was wounded, you say?"

"Yes, madame, and severely wounded, for he lost much blood."

"Where was he wounded?"

"In the shoulder, so far as I could judge--for he put his hand there several times. I think that I divine madame's thought; if it is her wish, I will go to inquire----"

"No, I do not wish you to go out; I will go myself to inquire.--You hear me, Miretta? I forbid you to leave the house before my return."

"I will obey you, madame."

Valentine hastily donned an ample cloak, and a great veil which almost concealed her features; then she betook herself at headlong speed, taking care to avoid the most frequented streets, to Rue de Bretonvilliers, inquired for Léodgard's hotel, and knocked at the gate.

"Is Monsieur le Comte de Marvejols within?"

"No, madame," replied the concierge, who was so impressed by the beauty and the noble air of the lady who questioned him, that he accompanied his reply with a low reverence.

"What! has monsieur le comte gone out so early?" asked Valentine, with a searching glance into the courtyard.

"I have not seen monsieur le comte since last evening, madame; when he goes out, I do not always know it!"

"In that case, how can you be certain that he is not within?"

"Because, madame, there has already been someone here to speak with monseigneur this morning."

"Already! Who, pray?"

"Officers--king's troops! I am not quite sure who they were. However, they were evidently very anxious to see monsieur le comte, for they came in and searched all the wings,--those gentry are very unceremonious,--and when they went away they said: 'He doesn't seem to have slept at home.'"

The marchioness listened to these details with the most intense agitation; then she thanked the concierge and returned swiftly to her own house, unable as yet to believe what Miretta had told her, but none the less a prey to the most acute suffering.

Miretta awaited her mistress in her apartment, and questioned her with her eyes. Valentine threw herself into a chair without uttering a word; but the pallor of her cheeks and the distortion of her features betrayed her suffering; and Miretta, deeply moved by her grief, dared not ask her a question. The two women had been in this position for some time when the Marquis de Santoval entered the room.

Monsieur de Santoval's face wore a more amiable expression than usual; he was almost laughing as he entered his wife's apartment.

"Palsambleu! madame la marquise," he cried, "I must tell you some strange news--a report that is in circulation this morning concerning our dear friend Comte Léodgard de Marvejols. I thought it would amuse you, and that is why I have come to tell you about it."

"What is it, pray, monsieur le marquis?"

"Oh! I must begin by telling you that it is utterly absurd, and that I do not believe a word of it. However, Birague, who has just told me the story, acted almost as if he believed it."

"I am waiting for you to explain yourself, monsieur; but perhaps Miretta's presence embarrasses you?"