My surprise at beholding Suzette in a place where she knew that
nothing but abhorrence and contempt would attend her, made me pause
for a single instant; but she remarked the delay, and exclaimed
loudly, "Why do you delay?--Quick! quick! if you are the man you used
to be--quick! and save them; or you may come too late."
"Save whom?" I demanded, still more astonished. "What do you mean,
Suzette?--you look wild and haggard. What is it brings you here?"
"I am wild!" she answered; "I am haggard! and how can it be
otherwise?--I that have not closed an eye these seven nights, watching
the machinations of two base villains, who, to revenge themselves on
you and yours, would sacrifice me too; and leave me to die of grief
and rage, so that they might enrich themselves with the spoils of
those they hate! But I am babbling. If you love the Duke de
Villardin--if--if, John Hall, you love Laura de Villardin--as I know
you do--for you have been watched under those trees many a day when
you knew not that any one saw you--if you would save her from the
shame of wedding that low slave Gaspard de Belleville----"
"Good God!" I cried, "you told me that you were yourself his wife."
"I did!--I did!" she cried, "and so I am; but they have taken from me
the proofs of my marriage--but mind not that! Hear me--his wife,
indeed, she cannot be--but if you would save her from the shame of
marrying him who has another wife still living--follow them, as
rapidly as you can, to the forest--'tis but six miles. Take the road
to St. Aubin--then choose the third wood track to the right--you will
come to a stream--follow it till you reach the ruins of a water-mill.
If you overtake them not before, you will find them at the little
chapel under the rocks at the back of the mill. But call your men
quickly, and spur as if for life, and you will reach them long ere
that, for the carriage was dragging but slowly through the sandy
ground. Have I directed you clearly?--can you find the place?"
"I know it already!" I replied; "I know it already."
"Quick, quick, then!" she cried; "seek your followers, mount and
begone!"
"I wait for none!" I answered. "You, Jerome, get every servant
in the house on horseback--send one to Rennes for a troop of the
guards--bring the rest up to the forest like lightning! Suzette, for
your soul's peace, lead them direct to the spot--you will find me
there, living or dead--be quick, as you hope for salvation!"
"I _will_ be quick, as I hope for vengeance!" cried Suzette, the deepest
passion of her soul breaking forth. "Get you on first, then--you may
stay them for a time! We will not be long after!--Speed! speed!"
No time did I lose; my gallant horse stood ready at the foot of the
trees not a quarter of a mile distant. The length of the way that he
had come had abated but little of his strength, and the short rest he
had found had, in some degree, refreshed him; so that when once I was
upon his back, he needed neither whip nor spur. My shortest way was
across the river, and dashing quick to the brink, I drew the pistols
from the holsters to keep them from the water, and with a light touch
of the heel made the horse plunge in. The stream, though deep, was
slow, and the beast stemmed it gallantly, strained up the opposite
bank, and reaching the road, bore me on towards the forest. It was no
time to spare his speed, and I urged him on at the full gallop,
looking eagerly towards the dark masses of trees that lay at the edge
of the cultivated track before me, when suddenly the horse recoiled
from some object lying on the road; and I found that though he had
borne me amidst hundreds of dead and dying, yet he had drawn back from
a single body lying across the road. It was that of one of Monsieur de
Villardin's servants, and the attitude in which he lay, as well as the
quantity of blood which stained the ground around him, showed plainly
that the poor fellow was beyond all further care. Forcing the horse to
pass, I galloped on, and soon after entered the wood. Never did I
forget a road that once I had seen, and now, although the tidings of
Suzette had been vague and confused, I advanced direct towards the
scene of my former adventures with the robbers and their good captain,
Hubert.
The wood track which conducted to the small stream was easily found,
and riding on as fast as I could go, I soon reached the river. Here
the first object that presented itself was the carriage of Monsieur de
Villardin overturned in the deep sandy break of the banks that led to
a little ford. The horses, however, had been taken off, and the
carriage was left alone, so that it was evident that the accident must
have happened some time before; but as I was now within a quarter of a
mile of the mill--though it was concealed from my sight by the
windings of the stream--I determined to dismount, and pursue the rest
of the way on foot, knowing that if my single hand could do any
service to my poor Laura or her father, it would be by caution and
surprise. Again fastening my horse to a tree, and placing the pistols
in my girdle, I hastened forward till I caught a sight of the mill;
but although I could distinguish a number of horses standing tied
together round the building, no human being was to be seen. Onward I
went, however, well aware how much a desperate man may do against
many, although he be singlehanded; and I soon heard voices, apparently
at a short distance through the wood, to the right. I had never seen
the chapel of which Suzette had spoken; but taking the voices for my
guide, I crept through the trees as quickly but as silently as
possible, trying to repress the eager haste of my heart, by
remembering the absolute necessity of caution as well as
determination.
A moment after, the voices sounded much nearer, and I caught a glance
through the trees of the head and shoulders of an armed man standing
with his back towards me, and apparently speaking vehemently to some
other persons whom I could not see. Here I was tolerably well
concealed by some low thick bushes, but the taller trees were
unfortunately stripped of their leaves; and although at the distance
of twenty yards farther forward there was another thick patch of
brush-wood, from behind which I could have seen everything that took
place, yet the trunks of the oaks in the intervening space stood bare
and separate. I determined, however, to cross the space at all risks;
and getting as far back as possible, I glided from tree to tree.
The whole eyes and ears of the party I had seen were otherwise
occupied, and at length I found myself behind the bushes I had marked.
I was now within twenty yards of the chapel of which Suzette had
spoken, and from behind the brush-wood I could behold the whole party
I sought assembled in the little open space before it. Placed under a
high rocky bank, from which the chapel was partly excavated, stood
Monsieur de Villardin and the Count de Laval, with their hands tied;
and at the distance of a dozen paces appeared eight or nine
musqueteers--with their arms grounded, indeed, but evidently arrayed
there with no very good intentions towards the prisoners. Within a
yard of Monsieur de Villardin lay upon the ground three or four of his
servants tied hand and foot, and two of them apparently severely
wounded; but a little to the left of these again, so as to be in front
of the chapel--which was open, as such buildings usually are--appeared
a group of still greater interest. Within the chapel itself stood a
priest with an open book in his hand, and before him were placed Laura
de Villardin, dressed in her morning costume, and Hubert, whom I had
already seen in so many capacities, habited in the full and splendid
dress of an officer of the guards of the Prince de Condé. Supporting
Laura, who otherwise would have sunk to the ground, appeared Gaspard
de Belleville; and another armed man behind him again, made up the
whole party.
At the moment I turned to observe them, Hubert was speaking vehemently
to Laura, so that his words were perfectly audible. "Will you, or will
you not, madam?" he exclaimed. "Seek not to gain time--for it is all
in vain. No one can rescue you. And the lives of all those you see
depend upon your word!"
"Let him do his worst, my child!" cried Monsieur de Villardin; "let
him do his worst. It is better for us all to die together than that
you should become the wife of a villanous plunderer--though, indeed,
no such forced marriage would be valid for an hour; and his first step
would be from the altar to the gibbet."
"Your pardon, my lord," cried Hubert, with a smile of triumph, "I use
no force--I use no compulsion towards the young lady herself; though
to be sure, I point out the only means of saving your life. Do not
therefore flatter yourself that were she to consent, and I were to set
you free, the scaffold would become my bridal bed. No, no; I have
taken my measures too well for that; and when I come to claim your
daughter's portion, it shall not be till she has been long my wife,
and the mother of my children; and then we shall see whether you will
hang her husband or not. Madame," he added, in a sterner tone,
"Madame, time wears--I beseech you to spare your father's life. If you
refuse me, his blood be upon your head--your own hand draws the
trigger that slays him--your own voice pronounces the word. Nor will
you then escape me; for you shall be mine by force, if not by good
will. Speak!--shall I order yon men to fire?"
"Oh no, no, no!" cried Laura, clasping her hands in agony; "you will
not be so cruel!"
"Will you then consent instantly to become my wife?" he demanded: but
Laura turned her weeping eyes to the priest, exclaiming, "Oh, good
father, how can you lend yourself to such infamous things as these?"
"How can I help it, lady?" asked the priest: "I am as much under
compulsion as you are."
"Another such word as that, old hypocrite," cried Gaspard de
Belleville, "shall send the compulsion of a pistol ball through your
brain. You came here for gold, not for compulsion, so prepare to do
your office. Come, come, Hubert, you do but dally; give her her
choice, and let her decide boldly. Bid the men present their
firelocks, and then ask her the question. If she say 'Yes,' let them
ground their arms--if she say 'No,' let it be the signal for them to
fire; so her own voice will give the word."
"Ah, surely, surely!" cried Laura, clasping her fair hands, "surely
you will not be so cruel!"
"You will soon see, madame," cried Hubert, turning towards his men.
"You will soon see."
"Be firm, Laura! be firm!" shouted Monsieur de Villardin; "on your
duty, on your honour, yield not a step!"
The moment was now come--I could wait for aid no longer; and I trusted
that, previous to my own death, which seemed inevitable, I should be
able to give the villains sufficient occupation to enable Jerome and
the rest to come up in time to save Laura and her father. Hubert
turned towards his men; and I could see by the knitting of his brows,
and the setting of his teeth, that his determination was taken. What
Laura's final reply might be, of course I could not tell. I thought
that, sooner than see her father's blood spilt before her eyes, she
would say "Yes," at any risk. But I dared not trust to circumstances,
and as the chief of the robbers was giving his orders to his men,
and while Monsieur de Villardin was exhorting his daughter to die
herself and see them all die sooner than yield to the degradation
proposed, I drew a pistol from my belt, and gliding from behind
the brushwood, was standing at Hubert's side ere any one noticed
me but Laura herself.
An exclamation of surprise, not unmingled with joy, broke from her
lips; and the villain, startled by the sound, turned full round upon
me. I paused not--I uttered not a word--but levelling the pistol at
his head, pulled the trigger. The sharp, ringing report satisfied me
that nothing had gone wrong, and scarcely pausing to see the dead man
fall, I threw away the discharged weapon, caught the other from my
belt, and, with one spring forward, seized Gaspard de Belleville by
the collar and put the pistol to his ear. Thinking that his death
would be immediate, he crouched down in terror; but I had other views,
and seeing all the musqueteers presenting their weapons towards me, I
exclaimed aloud, as if I had been giving the command to my own troop,
"Ground your arms!"
The effect was electric. Every musquet was grounded at once, and at
the same moment the jingling sound of bridles and stirrups coming up
at the full gallop struck my ear, and was certainly the gladdest sound
I had heard for many a long day.
The robbers caught it too, and easily divining what it meant, I could
see them waver with the uncertainty of surprise. The man, however, who
stood behind Gaspard de Belleville, set the example of flight, and
plunged into the brush-wood which had served me as a place of
concealment. The others paused a moment, but the sounds of approaching
horsemen becoming louder and louder, determined them to fly, and
passing round on the other side of the chapel, they were for a moment
lost to my sight. One of them, indeed, before he went, twice raised
his musquet to his shoulder and took aim at me, as I stood grasping
the collar of Gaspard de Belleville; but each time he again withdrew
his piece, and then ran after the rest as fast as he could go. Anxious
to liberate Monsieur de Villardin and his servants, and yet not able
to effect it myself, I besought Laura, and commanded the priest, to
untie their hands, and both immediately turned to do so.
Ere she had taken a step, Laura, overcome by a variety of mingled
emotions which may well be conceived, fainted away, and fell across
the step of the chapel. The priest, however, ran forward and slipped
the knot from the hands of Monsieur de Villardin; but just as he had
done so, and while he was proceeding to execute the same good office
in favour of the rest, the marauders, who had been met, in their
attempt to escape, by a party of the guards, were driven back into the
open space before the chapel, while a large body of Monsieur de
Villardin's servants, guided by Suzette, came round by the path which
I had followed. The guards from Rennes appeared on the other side at
nearly the same moment, and finding themselves hemmed in, the robbers,
who were most of them old soldiers, stood to their arms, and showed
their determination to sell their lives dearly. Facing about at the
chapel, they received the guards, who pursued them closely, with a
steady fire. A number of the horses went over, all became hurry and
confusion; and, fearful that the marauders would be driven back over
my poor Laura, I thrust Gaspard de Belleville into the hands of some
of the servants, and ordering him to be tied tightly, hand and foot,
rushed forward to extricate her.
The guards had, by this time, betaken themselves to their fire-arms,
with very little discrimination between friends and enemies; shots
were flying in every direction: and, through the smoke which now
gathered quickly round us, I saw Suzette, who had guided the servants,
fall at the feet of her dastardly husband. Monsieur de Villardin, as
soon as he found himself at liberty, had snatched the sword of Hubert
from its sheath, and, like myself, was rushing on towards the spot
where Laura lay. But at that moment, the marauders gave the guards
another volley; and while a ball grazed my cheek and struck off my
hat, Monsieur de Villardin fell with his face to the ground. Waving
the guards and servants up to close with our adversaries, I cut down
one of the men who was again charging his musquet; the soldiers rushed
on, and the little phalanx of marauders was broken, but not conquered,
for each individual fought to the last with desperate courage.
It was with difficulty that I carried Laura out of the mêlée,
terrified every moment that some random shot might strike her as I
bore her in my arms. The Count de Laval was, by this time, unbound,
and rushing up to the affray; but, as he was unarmed, I gave Laura
over to his care, though I could scarcely even now master my
repugnance to see him render her the slightest assistance. Whether he
remembered me or not, I cannot tell, but he exclaimed, as he saw me
turning back towards the strife that was going on, "Nay, nay, sir,
you have had enough for one day; you take care of the lady; let me
have my share."
"You are unarmed, sir, you are unarmed," I replied, "and only risking
your life for no purpose. Carry her behind the turn of the rock, and
guard her there from danger, for God's sake!"
Without farther words, I hurried back as fast as possible, and forcing
my way in amongst the combatants, reached the spot where Monsieur de
Villardin had fallen. I found him raising himself upon his arm, and,
lifting him up, I gazed upon his face to judge whether the wound he
had received were dangerous. He recognised me instantly, and the first
words he said were, "My gallant boy! my gallant boy! must I always owe
you everything!"
"Laura is safe," I replied; "let me carry you to her." And, raising
him in my arms, I bore him round the turn of the road, where I found
the Count and several of the unarmed servants endeavouring to recal
Laura to herself. Placing Monsieur de Villardin on the bank, our whole
cares were now directed towards him, as he was bleeding freely from a
wound in his right breast, and every now and then, with a slight
cough, his mouth was filled with blood, so that I could not doubt that
the shot had passed through his lungs. The external bleeding we soon
contrived to stop; and beseeching him not to speak at all, I went back
to the scene of conflict to ascertain whether it were yet concluded. I
found that it was so, and that the guards were standing round the two
prisoners they had taken, conversing with all sorts of hurried
exclamations over the events which had just occurred.
"There are a number of wounded men here, gentlemen," I said, "who are
in need of immediate assistance. Let us ascertain the state of the
field, and we will talk of all the rest afterwards."
"And pray, sir, who are you?" demanded the inferior officer who
commanded the party of guards; "you may be one of these marauders
also, for aught I know."
"I am the Baron de Juvigny, sir," I replied, "Colonel of his most
Christian Majesty's ---- regiment of horse, and bearing the rank of
Major-General in the service. You will therefore have the goodness
to draw up your men, and assist me in examining into the state of
the wounded."
The young officer immediately obeyed; and we found that six of the
guards, three of the servants, and nine of the marauders, were either
dead or wounded. Only two prisoners, as I have said, were made besides
Gaspard de Belleville, who, for his part, stood with his arms tied
behind him, glaring sullenly upon the form of Suzette, who was lying
weltering in her blood, which not all the efforts of good old Jerome
seemed to have the slightest effect in stanching. Many a muttered
reproach, too, was her brutal husband pouring upon her head for having
betrayed him and his companions; and, as I came up, she replied
feebly, "It was your own fault. I could have put up with your cruelty.
You might have turned plunderer or marauder without my opposing you;
but when you sought to marry another woman, while I was still living,
you did that which is not to be forgiven."
"Fool!" cried the brute, in reply, "I sought to marry no other woman.
It was your brother!--He whom you have murdered, by bringing that
infernal English fiend upon us--he it was who was to have married her.
It was his fortune I sought to make, while I avenged myself at once
upon the man who has marred mine through life, who has met me and
thwarted me at every turn, and upon the old dotard, who has lent his
aid to crush me, and to raise yon worm from the dunghill. It was your
own mad, wild folly that made you think that I wanted to marry her?"
"Then why did you take from me the proofs of our marriage?" said
Suzette. "Why did you leave me at St. Aubin, and not let me know where
you were going?"
As such recriminations were not at all likely to do any service to the
poor wretch Suzette, I ordered Gaspard de Belleville to be removed to
a distance from his wife, and his person to be searched in order to
discover, if possible, all the particulars of the unfortunate affair
which had just taken place. I then turned to give directions for
bringing up litters and other conveyances to carry away the wounded,
with as little inconvenience to themselves as possible; but at that
moment I was joined by the Count de Laval, who grasped my hand, with
greater signs of friendship than I could find it in my heart to
return.
"Monsieur de Juvigny," he said, "you will be glad to hear that
Monsieur de Villardin seems better, and that the bleeding internally
as well as externally seems entirely to have ceased. Mademoiselle de
Villardin also has recovered, and wishes to see you. Let me beg you to
accompany me."
"I follow you, sir," I replied: and, still holding my hand in his,
with a smile upon his lip that I neither liked nor understood, he led
me back to the spot where I had left Laura and Monsieur de Villardin.
The Duke was seated on the bank, pale, but apparently not so much
injured as I had imagined. Laura, leaning beside him, held one of his
hands in hers, and gazed anxiously on his face. She, too, was very
pale; but, as I came forward, with the Count still holding my hand, a
bright blush spread itself over all her countenance.
"Mademoiselle de Villardin," said the Count, "here is your young
friend come in person to show you that he is unhurt; and let us
altogether offer him our thanks for the important service that he has
rendered us----" He paused a single instant, and then added,
"Monsieur de Villardin, believing it to be impossible that any young
lady can have been brought up from infancy with so worthy a gentleman,
without having felt for him affections that ought not to be
disappointed, and being myself the last man to take advantage of
accidental circumstances to seek my own happiness at the expense of
others, allow me to propose that all engagements between you and me
should be considered as henceforth null and void; and, if you will
follow my counsel, you will join these two hands for ever with your
blessing:" and, as he spoke, he placed that of Laura in mine.
Monsieur de Villardin did not venture to reply; but, while Laura, with
a burning cheek and glittering eyes, gazed earnestly upon his face, he
laid his hand upon ours, as they were clasped together, with a gentle
pressure which was quite confirmation enough. Laura spoke not, and my
heart was too full to permit the use of words. The silence became
embarrassing to all parties; and the very intense happiness that
thrilled through my heart showed me, for the first time in life, that
joy can reach such a height as to be, in some degree, even painful.
We were relieved by the approach of the young officer who had
commanded the guards, and who now came to report that, as soon as the
litters arrived, everything was prepared for our return to the Prés
Vallée. He would have the honour of escorting us thither, he said;
and, in the meantime, he gave into my hands the only paper which had
been found upon Gaspard de Belleville. It proved to be a written
agreement between that scoundrel and a person calling himself Hubert
Hubert, by which the worthy captain stipulated that, when, by the
means and with the assistance of Gaspard de Belleville, he should have
obtained possession of the person of Mademoiselle de Villardin, and
married her, he would make over to the said Gaspard one-half of
whatever portion or dowry he might force Monsieur de Villardin, at any
after period, to bestow upon his daughter. It was also expressly
stipulated, that Hubert was to carry his bride to the Colonies, for
the space of one year; and that he was likewise to provide a passage
for Gaspard de Belleville and his wife; with various other articles of
the same kind, all showing that the villains had calculated upon
Monsieur de Villardin's making up his mind, at the end of a certain
period, to recognise the marriage, however informal in law, and to
receive the daring villain who had accomplished it, as his
son-in-law.
A number of letters and papers, however, which were found upon the
body of Hubert, clearly proved that the scheme had not been laid by
him, but had been suggested by Gaspard de Belleville; and it was very
evident, from every circumstance connected with the whole affair, that
the desire of vengeance, both upon myself and upon Monsieur de
Villardin, had taken fully as much part as rapacity in the whole
design. That Gaspard de Belleville and his ruffian brother-in-law
had been lingering about in the neighbourhood of the Prés Vallée for
many weeks was clear, both from the circumstances which I had observed
on the night before my departure for Dumont, and from the fact of
Suzette having informed me that I and Laura had been watched for many
a day, in our morning meetings at the grave of Monsieur de Mesnil; and
thus it was, in all probability, that Gaspard de Belleville had
learned the means by which he could most bitterly wring my heart, as
well as that of Monsieur de Villardin. The villains had been caught in
their own scheme, it is true; but a sad number of innocent persons had
suffered as well as themselves.
To me, on the contrary,--as soon as I began to entertain hopes that
the wound of Monsieur de Villardin would not prove of a serious
nature,--the whole seemed to promise unequalled joy: and, as I sat
upon the bank beside Laura, speaking, every now and then, a few words
of hope and affection to her; and conversing more frequently with the
Count, who now took upon himself the arrangements of all our
after-proceedings, I fondly fancied that every difficulty was overcome,
that every danger was averted, and that the whole current of my days
was thenceforth to flow on in peace and happiness.
Whoever entertains such a dream will have to drink the bitter cup of
disappointment; but still the vision, though it last but for an hour,
is the brightest thing that imagination, amongst all its pageants, can
conjure up. In this state passed nearly an hour and a half: but, at
the end of that time, the tidings having been spread by Jerome's first
messenger to Rennes, and the rumour having found its way--by all the
thousand invisible channels which convey reports about the world--to
half a dozen different places in the neighbourhood of the forest,
litters, and carts, and horsemen, and pedestrians, began to arrive;
and, placing our wounded in various conveyances, we commenced our
march in long and slow procession once more towards the Prés Vallée.