Madame de Cambes had finished her toilet,--a toilet all the more
charming for its simplicity,--and throwing a light cape over her
shoulders, motioned to Pompée to go before her. It was almost dark,
and thinking that she would be less likely to be observed on foot than
in a carriage, she ordered her carriage to await her at one of the
doors of the Carmelite church, near a chapel in which she had obtained
permission for the marriage ceremony to take place. Pompée descended
the stairs and the viscountess followed. This assumption of the duties
of a scout reminded the old soldier of the famous patrol of the night
before the battle of Corbie.
At the foot of the staircase, as the viscountess was about to pass the
door of the salon, where there was a great commotion, she met Madame de
Tourville dragging the Duc de La Rochefoucauld toward the princess's
cabinet, and engaged in an earnest discussion with him on the way.
"One word, madame, I entreat," said she; "what decision has been
reached?"
"My plan is adopted!" cried Madame de Tourville, triumphantly.
"What is your plan, madame? I do not know."
"Reprisals, my dear, reprisals!"
"Pardon me, madame, but I am so unfortunate as not to be familiar as
you are with warlike terms; what do you mean by the word 'reprisals'?"
"Nothing simpler, dear child."
"Pray explain yourself."
"They hanged an officer in the army of Messieurs les Princes, did they
not?"
"Yes; what then?"
"Why, we hunt up an officer of the royal army in Bordeaux, and hang
him."
"Great God!" cried Claire, in dismay; "what do you say, madame?"
"Monsieur le Duc," continued the dowager, apparently not heeding
the viscountess's alarm, "has not the officer who was in command at
Saint-Georges already been arrested?"
"Yes, madame," the duke replied.
"Monsieur de Canolles arrested!" cried Claire.
"Yes, madame," rejoined the duke, coldly, "Monsieur de Canolles is
arrested, or soon will be; the order was given in my presence, and I
saw the men set out to execute it."
"But did they know where he was?" Claire asked with a last ray of hope.
"He was at the house of our host, Monsieur de Lalasne, in the suburbs,
where they say he was having great success at tennis."
Claire uttered a cry. Madame de Tourville turned upon her in amazement,
and the duke glanced at her with an imperceptible smile.
"Monsieur de Canolles arrested!" the viscountess repeated. "In God's
name, what has he done? What connection has he with the horrible
occurrence which saddens us all?"
"What connection has he with it? The very closest, my dear. Is not he a
governor, as Richon was?"
Claire tried to speak, but the words died upon her lips.
She seized the duke's arm and gazing at him in terror, succeeded at
last in uttering these words in a hoarse whisper:--
"Oh! but it's a feint, is it not, Monsieur le Duc? nothing more than a
mere demonstration? We can do nothing--at least so it seems to me--to
one who is a prisoner on parole."
"Richon also, madame, was a prisoner on parole."
"Monsieur le Duc, I implore you--"
"Spare your supplications, madame, for they are useless. I can do
nothing in the matter; it is for the council to decide."
Claire dropped the duke's arm and hurried to Madame de Condé's cabinet,
where she found Lenet striding back and forth, pale and agitated, while
Madame de Condé talked with the Duc de Bouillon.
Madame de Cambes glided to the princess's side, as white and light of
foot as a ghost.
"Oh, madame," said she, "give me one moment, I entreat you!"
"Ah! is it you, little one? I am not at liberty at this moment; but
after the council I am at your service."
"Madame, madame, I must speak to you _before_ the council!"
The princess was about to accede, when a door, opposite that by which
the viscountess had come in, opened, and Monsieur de La Rochefoucauld
appeared.
"Madame," said he, "the council has assembled and is impatiently
awaiting your Highness."
"You see, little one," said Madame de Condé, "that it is impossible for
me to listen to you at this moment; but come with us to the council,
and when it is at an end we will return and talk together."
It was out of the question to insist. Dazzled and bewildered by the
frightful rapidity with which events were rushing on, the poor woman
began to have the vertigo; she gazed wildly into the faces, and watched
the gestures of all about her, without seeing anything, unable to
understand what was going on, and struggling in vain to shake off the
frightful nightmare that oppressed her.
The princess walked toward the salon. Claire followed her mechanically,
nor did she notice that Lenet had taken in his the ice-cold hand that
hung listlessly at her side like the hand of a corpse.
They entered the council chamber; it was about eight o'clock in the
evening.
It was a vast apartment, naturally dark and gloomy, but made even
darker by heavy hangings. A sort of platform had been erected between
the two doors, and opposite the two windows, through which the last
feeble rays of the dying daylight made their way into the room. Upon
the platform were two arm-chairs; one for Madame de Condé, the other
for the Duc d'Enghien. On either side of these arm-chairs was a row of
_tabourets_ for the ladies who composed her Highness's privy council.
The other judges were to sit upon benches prepared for them. The Duc de
Bouillon stood immediately behind Madame de Condé's chair, and the Duc
de La Rochefoucauld behind that of the young prince.
Lenet stood opposite the clerk; beside him was Claire, dazed and
trembling.
Six officers of the army, six municipal councillors, and six sheriffs
were introduced, and took their seats upon the benches.
Two candelabra, each containing three candles, furnished light for the
deliberations of this improvised tribunal; they were placed upon a
table in front of Madame la Princesse, so that they shed a bright light
upon the principal group, while the other persons present were more
or less in shadow according as they were near to or at a distance from
this feeble centre of light.
The doors were guarded by soldiers of the army of Madame la Princesse,
halberd in hand. The roaring of the crowd could be heard without.
The clerk called the roll of the judges, and each one rose in turn and
answered to his name.
Thereupon the judge advocate opened the business upon which they were
called together; he detailed the capture of Vayres, Monsieur de La
Meilleraie's breach of his word, and the infamous death of Richon.
At that point an officer, who had been stationed at a window for that
express purpose, and had received his orders in advance, threw the
window open, and the voices of the people in the street rolled in in
waves: "Vengeance for Richon! Death to the Mazarinists!" Such was the
name bestowed upon the royalists.
"You hear," said Monsieur de La Rochefoucauld, "what the voice of the
people demands. Two hours hence, either the people will have cast our
authority to the winds and taken the law into their own hands, or
it will be too late for reprisals. Adjudge this matter, therefore,
messieurs, and that without further delay."
The princess rose.
"Why adjudge, I pray to know?" she cried. "What purpose is to be served
by a judgment? You have already heard the judgment pronounced by the
good people of Bordeaux."
"Indeed," said Madame de Tourville, "it would be impossible to conceive
a simpler situation. It's the law of retaliation pure and simple. Such
things as this should be done by inspiration, so to speak, between
provost and provost."
Lenet could listen to no more; from the place where he stood he rushed
into the midst of the circle.
"Oh! not a word more, madame, I beg you," he cried, "for such counsels,
were they to prevail, would be too horrible in their consequences. You
forget that the royal authorities themselves, although they chose to
inflict infamous punishment, nevertheless preserved the forms of law,
and that the punishment, whether just or unjust, was ratified by the
decree of a court-martial. Do you think that you have the right to do a
thing that the king dared not do?"
"Oh! nothing more is needed than for me to express an opinion, to have
Monsieur Lenet maintain the opposite!" exclaimed Madame de Tourville.
"Unfortunately, my opinion this time agrees with her Highness's."
"Unfortunately, indeed," said Lenet.
"Monsieur!" cried the princess.
"Ah! madame," continued Lenet, "preserve appearances at least. Will you
not still be at liberty to condemn?"
"Monsieur Lenet is right," said La Rochefoucauld. "The death of a man
is too serious a matter, especially under such circumstances, for us to
allow the responsibility to rest upon a single head, even though it be
a princely head."
Leaning toward the princess then, so that her immediate neighbors alone
could hear, he added:--
"Madame, take the opinion of all, and then retain only those of whom
you are sure, to take part in the trial. In that way we shall have no
cause for fear that our vengeance will escape us."
"One moment, one moment," interposed Monsieur de Bouillon, leaning upon
his cane, and raising his gouty leg. "You have spoken of taking the
responsibility off the princess's shoulders. I have no desire to shirk
it, but I would be glad to have others share it with me. I ask nothing
better than to continue in rebellion, but in company with Madame la
Princesse on the one hand and the people on the other. Damnation! I
don't choose to be isolated. I lost my sovereignty of Sedan through a
pleasantry of this sort. At that time I had a city and a head. Cardinal
de Richelieu took my city; to-day I have nothing left but a head, and
I'm not anxious that Cardinal Mazarin should take that. I therefore
demand that the notables of Bordeaux take part in the proceedings."
"Such signatures beside ours!" murmured the princess; "go to!"
"The mortise holds the timber in place, madame," rejoined Bouillon,
whom the conspiracy of Cinq-Mars had rendered prudent for the rest of
his life.
"Is that your opinion, messieurs?"
"Yes," said the Duc de La Rochefoucauld.
"And you, Lenet?"
"Fortunately, madame," replied Lenet, "I am neither prince nor duke,
nor municipal official, nor sheriff. I am entitled to hold aloof,
therefore, and I will do so."
Thereupon the princess rose, and called upon the assemblage to reply in
energetic and unmistakable fashion to the royal challenge. Hardly had
she finished what she had to say when the window was thrown open again,
and again the voices of the people without invaded the hall, crying:--
"Vive Madame la Princesse! Vengeance for Richon! Death to the
Épernonists and Mazarinists!"
Madame de Cambes seized Lenet's arm.
"Monsieur Lenet," said she, "I am dying!"
"Madame la Vicomtesse de Cambes," he replied, "request her Highness's
permission to retire."
"No, no," said Claire, "I want--"
"Your place is not here, madame," Lenet interrupted. "You can do
nothing for him; I will keep you informed of whatever takes place, and
together we will try to save him."
"The viscountess may retire," said the princess. "Those ladies who do
not care to be present at this function are at liberty to follow her."
Not a woman stirred; one of the never-ending aspirations of that half
of the human race whose destiny it is to fascinate is to usurp the
rights of the half destined to command. These ladies saw an opportunity
to play the part of men for a moment, and proposed to make the most of
it.
Madame de Cambes left the room, supported by Lenet. On the stairs she
met Pompée whom she had sent in quest of news.
"Well?" said she inquiringly.
"He is arrested!"
"Monsieur Lenet," said Claire, "I have no confidence or hope save in
you and God!" and she rushed despairingly into her own room.
"What questions shall I put to him who is about to appear before us?"
Madame la Princess asked, as Lenet resumed his place beside the clerk,
"and to whose lot shall it fall to die?"
"It's a very simple matter, madame," replied the duke. "We have some
three hundred prisoners, ten or twelve of whom are officers. Let us
question them simply as to their names and their rank in the royal
army, and the first one who turns out to be the governor of a fortress,
as Richon was, we will consider to be the one to whom the lot has
fallen."
"It is useless to waste our time questioning ten or twelve different
officers, messieurs," said the princess, "you have the list, Monsieur
le Greffier: just glance over it, and read the names of those who hold
equal rank to Richon's."
"There are but two, madame," said the clerk; "the governor of Île
Saint-Georges, and the governor of Braune."
"We have two of them, it is true!" cried the princess; "fate is kind to
us, you see. Are they under arrest, Labussière?"
"Certainly, madame," the captain of the guards replied, "and both are
in the fortress awaiting the order to appear."
"Let them be brought hither," said Madame de Condé.
"Which one shall we bring?" asked Labussière.
"Bring them both: but we will begin with the first in date, Monsieur le
Gouverneur de Saint-Georges."