The Government-house of R---- was an ancient castle, which for long
years had been the dwelling-place of a princely family, but which in
the ever-changing course of events had become the property of the
state, and now served as the seat of the provincial government and the
residence of its temporary head. The grand, spacious old edifice was
situated on a hill just outside the town, and, in spite of the prosaic
destiny which had overtaken it in these latter days, still preserved
much of its mediaeval aspect.
A most picturesque object was it, with its salient towers and
bay-windows, and its fine commanding site which overlooked all the
country round. The original ramparts and fortifications had, it is
true, long ago disappeared, surrendered to the march of modern
progress, but in their stead a perfect forest of noble trees had sprung
up, clothing the castle-hill, whence a broad and easy road led down to
the town. From the windows of the noble old chateau, which rose, proud
and stately, above the leafy crests, a full view might be had of the
city and the wide valley beneath, all circled in by mountains.
The main body of the building was exclusively assigned to the
Governor's use, the upper part being inhabited by him, while his
bureaux, or "Chancellery," occupied the ground-floor. In the two
side-wings were situated the other public offices and the quarters of
such of the higher functionaries as were domiciled beneath its roof.
Notwithstanding these very practical arrangements, the interior of the
building, no less than the exterior, retained its antique character,
which, indeed, was ineffaceably stamped on every line of its
architecture.
The vaulted chambers with their deep door and window recesses belonged
to the last century; long gloomy galleries and arched corridors met and
crossed in every direction; echoing stone staircases led from one story
to another, and the court and garden of the old stronghold were still
maintained in their primitive condition. The "Castle" as it was briefly
termed in all the neighbouring country, was, and had been from time
immemorial, the pride and ornament of the good city of R----.
The present Governor had now filled the post for a long series of
years. Had it not been a fact well known that he was the son of a
subaltern official who had died early, leaving no fortune, his
middle-class origin would never have been suspected, for the appearance
he made in public and his style of living were as thoroughly
aristocratic as his manners and person.
How it had come to pass that Raven had become the favourite of the then
all-powerful Minister, no one knew. That Minister's penetrating glance
had most probably detected rare ability in the young aspirant for
honours.
Some pretended to know that there were other and secret reasons which
had combined with this: so much is sure, he was suddenly appointed
secretary to his Excellency, and in this new capacity acquired
opportunities of developing his talents which he had not possessed in
his former subordinate position. The secretary was soon promoted to be
his master's friend and confidant, was preferred and put forward on
every occasion, and even admitted into the great man's family circle.
The lower rungs of the official ladder were quickly climbed, and one
day society in the capital was astounded by the news, which at first
seemed to be too wonderful to be believed, that the Minister's elder
daughter was betrothed to the young newly-appointed Councillor. Shortly
afterwards the rank of Baron was conferred on the bridegroom expectant,
and therewith he was fairly launched on his career.
The son-in-law of so influential a man found his way smoothed for him
in every direction, but it was not this alone which bore him aloft with
such dizzy speed. His really splendid abilities seemed only now to have
found, their proper field, and soon displayed themselves in a manner
which made all adventitious aid superfluous. A very few years later,
the "inexplicable" conduct of the Minister who, instead of opposing,
had favoured the _mesalliance_, became sufficiently intelligible. He
had taken his son-in-law's measure; he knew what was to be expected
from the young man's future, and it is certain that his daughter, as
Madame von Raven, played a far more brilliant part than her sister, who
married a nobleman of high lineage, but of utter personal
insignificance.
When the Baron was nominated to the important and responsible post of
R----, he found matters there in a critical condition. The storm of
faction, which some years before had convulsed the whole land, had no
doubt spent itself for the time being, but signs were not wanting that
it was merely repressed, and not completely and finally laid. In
the ---- province especially, a perpetual ferment was kept up, and
great, populous R----, the chief city of that province, stood at the
head of the opposition which arrayed itself against the Government.
Several high officials, succeeding each other in rapid order, had
endeavoured in vain to put an end to this state of things; they lacked
either the necessary resolution or the necessary authority, and
confined themselves to half measures, which adjusted temporary
difficulties, but left the deeper discord strong and abiding as ever.
At length Raven was appointed head of the administration, and city and
province soon became aware that a firmer grasp was on the reins. The
new Governor went to work with an energy, and, at the same time, with a
reckless disregard of such persons and interests as stood in his way,
which raised a perfect storm against him. Appeals, protests,
expostulations and complaints flowed in to head-quarters in one
unceasing stream, but the Ministry knew too well the value of their
representative not to lend him full support. Another so placed might
have recoiled before the unbounded unpopularity which his proceedings
brought on him, have given way, vanquished by the difficulties and
vexations inherent to the situation--Raven remained at his post. He was
a man who in every circumstance of life sought, rather than avoided, a
contest, and the innate despotism of his nature here found ample room
for its development. He troubled himself little with considerations as
to whether the measures he judged necessary were strictly within legal
bounds, and met all the accusations freely hurled at him, all the
charges of absolutism and a violent abuse of power, with the one steady
reply: "My orders will be carried out!" In this way he at length
succeeded in reducing the rebellious elements to submission. Both city
and province came to see that it was impossible for them to carry on
the war against this man, who adopted as the rule and regulation of his
conduct, not their rights, but his own might. The times were not
propitious for open resistance. A period of severe reaction had set in,
and any active sedition would certainly have been nipped in the bud; so
the party of opposition submitted, reluctantly, indeed, and with an ill
grace, but still submitted; and the Governor, who had so brilliantly
accomplished his task, was loaded with honours.
Years had passed since then. People had grown accustomed to the
despotic regime under which they lived, and had learned to regard the
Baron with that respect which an energetic, consistent character
compels even from its enemies. Moreover, to him was owing a series of
improvements which his keenest opponents could not see without
satisfaction. This man, whose political action had earned for him
hatred and mortal hostility, became in another sphere the benefactor of
the province committed to his charge. Indefatigable as its
representative when any occasion offered of defending its interests, he
was ever ready to introduce, or to support, such reforms as tended to
promote the public weal. His resolution and strong powers of
initiative, which had worked so banefully in one direction, grew most
beneficent when turned to pacific account. Foremost amongst the
advocates of any scheme likely to favour industrial enterprise, to
befriend the agriculturist, or in any way to enhance the general
prosperity, he attached many interests to himself, and thus in time
rallied partisans almost as numerous as his enemies. His administration
was a model of order, incorruptibility, and strict discipline, and
throughout the province were visible blooming evidences of the many
improvements he had planned with practical, sagacious insight, and
executed with a hand which never wavered in its purpose.
The Governor lived in great style, for he possessed a considerable
fortune independently of his official income. His late father-in-law
had been very rich, and at his death the property had been divided
between his two daughters, Madame von Raven and the Baroness Harder.
The former lady's marriage had been one of those convenient matrimonial
arrangements so common in the upper ranks of society. Raven had been
guided in his choice simply and solely by calculation, but he never
forgot that this union had opened to him his career, and his wife had
at no time cause to complain of neglect or want of consideration on his
part; the affection, which was so signally absent, she did not miss.
Madame von Raven was a person of very moderate intelligence, and could
never have inspired any serious passion. She had accepted the hand of
her father's favourite, hearing it daily predicted that a great future
was in store for him, and this prophecy being fulfilled, she did not
feel that more was to be desired from life. Her husband responded
liberally to all her demands respecting a brilliant establishment and
elegant toilettes, and gave her an enviable position in society, so no
differences arose between them. They lived together on what is supposed
to be a very aristocratic footing, as much apart and as strange one to
the other as possible. This union, a pattern one in the eyes of the
world, but a childless, had been dissolved, about seven years before
the events here recorded, by Madame von Raven's death; and the Baron,
to whom the whole fortune descended by will, had taken to himself no
second wife. The proud man, whose brain was ever busy with his
ambitious plans and projects, had at no time been accessible to the
soft influences of love or to domestic joys; and he would in all
probability never have married, had not marriage been to him a
stepping-stone by which to mount. This motive no longer existing, he
did not think of burdening himself with fresh ties; and, as he was now
approaching his fiftieth year, his decision on the subject was
generally accepted as final.
On the morning succeeding the arrival of Baroness Harder and her
daughter, the former lady was sitting with her brother-in-law in the
boudoir which formed part of her suite of rooms. The Baroness still
showed traces of beauty, which, however, had years ago bloomed and
faded. In the evening, perhaps, by the tempered lustre of wax-lights,
the numberless arts of the toilette might have produced a delusive
effect; but now, in the broad glare of day, the truth revealed itself
mercilessly to the eyes of the Governor as he sat opposite her.
"I cannot spare you these details, Matilda," he said; "though I quite
understand how painful they must be to you. The matter must be
discussed between us once, at least. By your wish I undertook the
settlement of the Baron's affairs, so far as it was possible for me to
settle them at this distance. They proved to be in a state of absolute
chaos, and, even with the help afforded me by your solicitor, I had the
greatest difficulty in mastering their complications, I have at length
succeeded, and the result of my labours I communicated to you in
Switzerland."
The Baroness pressed her handkerchief to her eyes.
"A comfortless result!" she said.
"But one not unexpected. There was, I regret to say, no possibility of
rescuing for you even a slender portion of your fortune. I advised you
to go abroad, because it would have been too mortifying to you to
witness the sale of your town-house and the breaking-up of your
establishment in the capital. In your absence, what was really an act
of necessity took the colour of a voluntary withdrawal from society,
and I have been careful that the true state of the case should not
transpire among your old intimate friends and associates. Happen what
may now, the honour of the name you and Gabrielle bear is safe. You
need fear no attack on it from any of the creditors."
"I know that you have made great personal sacrifices," said Madame von
Harder. "My solicitor wrote me all the details. Arno, I thank you."
With a touch of real feeling she held out her hand to him as she spoke,
but he waved it back so coldly that any warmer impulse in her was at
once checked.
"I owed it to my father-in-law's memory to act as I have acted," he
replied. "His daughter and grandchild must always have a claim upon me,
and their name must, at any cost, be kept free from reproach. It was
these considerations which induced me to make the sacrifices, and no
sentimental feelings of any sort. Sentiment, indeed, could have no
ground for existence here, for, as you are aware, there was little
friendship between the Baron and myself."
"I always deeply deplored the estrangement," said the Baroness,
fervently. "Of later years my husband sought in vain to bring about a
better understanding. It was you who persistently avoided any friendly
intercourse. Could he give you a higher proof of his esteem, of his
confidence, than to entrust to you that which he held most dear? On his
death-bed he named you Gabrielle's guardian."
"That is to say, having ruined himself, he made over all responsibility
touching the future of his wife and child to me, whose constant enemy
he had been through life. I perfectly understand the value I ought to
set on that proof of his confidence."
The Baroness had recourse to her handkerchief again.
"Arno, you do not know how cruel your words are. Have you no pity, no
consideration for a heart-broken widow?"
Raven made no reply, but his eyes travelled slowly over the lady's
elegant grey silk dress. She had promptly laid aside her mourning at
the expiration of the year's widowhood, knowing that black was
unbecoming to her. The unmistakable irony she now detected in her
brother-in-law's glance called up to her cheeks a slight flush of
anger, or of confusion, as she went on:
"I am only just beginning to hold up my head a little. If you knew what
cares, what humiliations, preceded that last terrible catastrophe, what
losses unexpectedly befell us on all sides! Oh, it was too horrible!"
A faint sarcastic smile flickered about the Baron's lips. He knew right
well that the husband's losses had overtaken him at the gaming-table,
and that the wife's one care and anxiety had been to eclipse all the
other ladies of the capital by the superior richness of her toilettes
and the handsome appointments of her equipages. At her father's death
the Baroness had inherited the property conjointly with her sister. Her
share had been squandered to the last penny, while Madame von Raven's
fortune remained intact in her husband's hands.
"Enough!" he said, waiving the topic. "Let us say no more on this
disagreeable subject. I have offered you a home under my roof, and I am
glad that you have accepted the proposal. Since my wife's death, I have
been in some degree dependent on strangers, who preside well enough
over the establishment, but who cannot in all things fill the place of
the mistress of the house. You, Matilda, know how to entertain, and
like receptions, fetes, dinners, and the like--now it is precisely in
regard to these matters that I have felt a want. Our interests
coincide, you see, and I have no doubt we shall be mutually satisfied
with each other."
He spoke in his usual cool and measured tone. Evidently Baron von Raven
was not disposed to glory in the role of benefactor and deliverer,
though to these relatives of his he had really acted as both. He
treated the matter altogether from a business point of view.
"I will do all in my power to meet your wishes," declared Madame von
Harder, following her brother-in-law's example as he rose and went up
to the window.
He addressed a few further indifferent questions to her, asking whether
the arrangement of the rooms was to her taste, whether she received
proper attendance and had all she required, but he hardly listened to
the torrent of words with which the lady assured him that everything
was charming--delightful!
His attention was fixed on a very different object.
Just under the window of that boudoir was a little garden attached to
the door-keeper's lodge. In this garden Miss Gabrielle was walking, or
rather racing round and round after the door-keeper's two children, for
the walk had resolved itself into a wild chase at last. When the young
lady that morning undertook a short excursion "to see what the place
was like," as she expressed it to her mother, the place itself had but
little part in the interest she manifested. She knew that George
Winterfeld came daily to the Government-house, and it must be her task,
therefore, to arrange some plan for those frequent meetings which
George had declared to be impossible, or, at best, exceedingly
difficult.
Miss Gabrielle did not adopt this view of the case, and her
reconnaissance was now directed to one end and aim, namely, to discover
precisely where the Baron's bureaux, in which the young official was
employed, were situated. On her way, however, she fell in with the
lodge-keeper's small seven-year-old boy and his little sister, and
quickly made friends with both. The bright, lively children returned
the young lady's advances with confiding alacrity, and these new
acquaintances soon drove all thoughts of her exploring expedition, and
alas! of him for whose sake it had been undertaken, entirely into the
background.
She allowed the little ones to lead her into the small garden which was
attached to the lodge, and was entirely distinct from the Castle-garden
proper. She admired with them the shrubs and flower-beds, and the three
rapidly advanced in intimacy. In less than a quarter of an hour a game
was set on foot, accompanied by all the requisite noise, to which Miss
Gabrielle contributed fully as much as her young playmates. She bounded
after them over the beds, stimulating them to fresh efforts, and
provoking them to ever-renewed gaiety.
Unbecoming as this no doubt was in a young lady of seventeen, and in
the Governor's niece, to an unprejudiced beholder the spectacle was
none the less charming. Every movement of the young girl's supple form
was marked by unconscious, natural grace. The slight figure, in its
white morning-dress, flitted like a sunbeam between the dusky trees.
Some of her luxuriant blond tresses had grown loose in the course of
her wild sport, and now fell over her shoulders in rich abundance,
while her merry laughter and the children's happy shouts were borne up
to the Castle windows.
The Baroness, looking down from her point of observation, was struck
with horror at her daughter's indecorous conduct especially when she
became aware that Raven was intently following the scene below. What
must that haughty man, that severe stickler for etiquette, think
of the education of a young lady who could comport herself in this
free-and-easy manner before his eyes? The Baroness, apprehending some
of those stinging, sarcastic comments in which her brother-in-law was
wont to indulge, sought, as much as in her lay, to mitigate the ill
impression.
"Gabrielle is wonderfully childish still at times," she lamented. "It
is impossible to make her understand that such babyish ways are highly
unsuitable in a young lady of her age. I almost dread her first
appearance in society--which had to be postponed a year in consequence
of her father's death. She is quite capable of behaving in that wild,
reckless way in a drawing-room."
"Let the child be natural while she may," said the Baron, his eyes
still fixed on the group below. "She will learn soon enough to be a
lady of fashion. It would really be a pity to check her now; the girl
is a very sunbeam incarnate."
The Baroness pricked up her ears. It was the first time she had ever
heard a speech at all genial from her brother-in-law's lips, or seen in
his eyes any expression other than that of icy reserve. He visibly took
pleasure in Gabrielle's high spirits, and the wise woman resolved to
seize the propitious moment, in order to clear up a point which lay
very near her heart.
"Poor child, poor child!" she sighed, with well-simulated emotion.
"Dancing on so merrily through life, and little dreaming of the
serious, perhaps sorrowful, future in store for her! A well-born,
portionless girl! It is a bitter lot, and doubly bitter for one who,
like Gabrielle, has been brought up with great expectations. She will
find this out soon enough!"
The man[oe]vre succeeded beyond all anticipation. Raven, whom in
general nothing would move, seemed for once to be in pliable mood, for
he turned round and said, in a quick, decided manner:
"What do you mean by a 'sorrowful future,' Matilda? You know that I
have neither children nor relatives of my own. Gabrielle will be my
heiress, and therefore there can be no question of poverty for her."
A gleam of triumph shone in the Baroness's eyes, as she thus obtained
the assurance she had long so ardently desired.
"You have never declared your intentions," she remarked, concealing her
satisfaction with an effort: "and I, naturally, could not touch on such
a subject. Indeed, the whole matter was so foreign to my thoughts----"
"Has it really never occurred to you to speculate on the chances of my
death, or on the will I might leave?" interrupted the Baron, giving
full play now to the sarcasm he had hitherto partially restrained.
"My dear Arno, how can you imagine such a thing?" cried the lady,
deeply wounded.
He paid no heed to this little outburst of indignation, but went on
quietly:
"I trust that you have not spoken to Gabrielle on the subject"--he
little knew that it had been almost a daily topic--"I do not wish that
she should be taught to think of herself as an heiress; still less do I
wish that this girl of seventeen should make my will and my fortune the
objects of her calculations, as it is, of course, quite natural others
should do."
The Baroness drew a deep sigh.
"I meet with nothing but misconception from you. You even cast
suspicion on the promptings of a mother's love, and misjudge her who,
without fear or care for herself, trembles for the future of an only
child!"
"Not at all," said Raven, impatiently; he was evidently weary of the
conversation. "You hear, I consider such anxiety natural, and therefore
I repeat the assurance I have just given you. My property having come
to me from my father-in-law, I intend that it shall one day descend to
his grandchild. Should Gabrielle, as is probable, marry during my
life-time, I shall provide for her dowry; at my death she will be, as I
have said, my _sole_ heiress."
The emphasis he laid on the word proved to the Baroness that for
herself she had nothing to expect. Her daughter's future being assured,
however, she might look on her own as secure also, and thus her double
object was attained. The hardly-veiled contempt with which Raven
treated her, and which Gabrielle's fine instinct had detected in the
manner of his first welcome, was by Madame von Harder either unfelt
or unheeded. She had in her secret heart no more love for her
brother-in-law than he for her; and in returning sweet words and
gracious looks for his brusque curtness and indifference, she was
merely deferring to a stern necessity; but the perspective of taking
her place at the head of so brilliant an establishment, of shining in
R---- as the Governor's near relative, and, in this quality, of taking
precedence everywhere, soothed, and in a great measure reconciled her
to this necessity.
A few minutes later Raven traversed the ante-room, which had the same
aspect as the adjoining boudoir, and, stopping a moment at the window,
cast one more glance below.
"Sad that the child should have fallen to such parents, and have had
such a bringing-up!" he muttered. "How long will it be before Gabrielle
becomes a coquette like her mother, caring for nothing but dress,
intrigues, and society gossip? The pity of it!"
As has already been said, the Governor's official quarters, whither he
now repaired, were situated on the basement floor of the Castle. He
transacted much of his business in his own private study, but would
frequently visit the bureaux of the various departments. The clerks
therein employed were never safe from a sudden and unforeseen descent
of the master, whose keen eyes descried the smallest irregularity. The
official who was so unlucky as to be surprised in any breach of the
regulations never escaped without a sharp reprimand from "the chief,"
who, so far as possible, directed everything in person, and introduced
into his bureaux the same iron discipline which marked his general
administration.
The business of the day had begun long before, and the clerks were all
in their places when the Baron entered, and slightly bowing, walked
through the offices. Some of the sections he merely passed through with
one brief inquisitorial glance around; in others he stopped, put a
question, made a remark, in several cases asking to look at a document.
His manner to his subordinates was cool and deliberate, but polite, and
the young men's faces showed in what awe they stood of the Governor's
frown.
As the latter entered the last room of the series, an elderly
gentleman, who was at work there alone, rose respectfully from his
desk.
Tall and meagre of person, with a face deeply lined, and a stiff,
unbending carriage, this individual bore himself with the grave dignity
of a judge. His grey hair was carefully brushed, not a wrinkle nor
speck of dust was visible on his black suit of clothes, while a broad
white neckcloth of portentous dimensions gave to its wearer a certain
peculiar solemnity of aspect.
"Good-morning, Councillor," said the Baron, with more cordiality than
his manner usually showed, signing to the other to follow him into a
smaller side-office, where he generally received his officials in
single audience. "I am glad to see you back again. I missed you greatly
during the few days you were absent."
Court-councillor Moser, chief clerk and head of the bureaucratic staff,
received this testimony to his indispensability with visible
satisfaction.
"I hastened my return as much as possible," he replied. "Your
Excellency is aware that I only applied for leave in order to fetch my
daughter from the convent in which she has been educated. I had the
honour of presenting her to your Excellency yesterday, when we met in
the gallery."
"It seems to me you have left the young lady rather too long under
spiritual guidance," remarked Raven; "she almost gives one the
impression of a nun herself. I am afraid this convent education has
completely spoiled her."
The chief-clerk raised his eyebrows, and stared at his superior in
dismayed astonishment.
"How does your Excellency mean?"
"I mean spoiled her for worldly purposes," the Baron corrected himself,
a hardly perceptible smile hovering about his lips as he noticed the
consternation depicted in the other's face.
"Ah! yes, indeed, there your Excellency is right"--the chief-clerk
never neglected an opportunity of giving the Governor his title, even
though he had to repeat it three times in a single sentence--"but my
Agnes's mind was never given to the things of this world, and she will
shortly renounce them altogether. She has resolved on taking the veil."
The Baron had taken up some papers, and stood glancing over their
contents as he quietly pursued his conversation with the old gentleman,
the only official whom he admitted to anything like familiar terms.
"Well, that is hardly surprising," he observed. "When a young girl is
left in a convent from the age of fourteen to that of seventeen, one
must be prepared for some such resolve. Does it meet with your
approval?"
"It is hard for me to give up, once and for ever, my only child," said
the Councillor, solemnly. "Far be it from me, however, to place
hindrances in the way of so holy a vocation. I have given my consent.
My daughter is to spend some months at home, to see something of the
world before she enters on her novitiate in the convent where she has
hitherto been at school. The Reverend Mother wishes to avoid even the
slightest appearance of constraint."
"The Reverend Mother is, no doubt, pretty sure of her pupil," observed
the Baron, with a touch of irony which happily escaped his hearer.
"Well, if it is the young lady's own desire, there is nothing to be
said against it; but I am sorry for you, who hoped to find in your
daughter a support for your old age, and who must now resign her to the
nuns."
"To Heaven," emended the old gentleman, with a pious upward glance; "to
Heaven, before whose claims even a father's rights must necessarily
give place."
"Of course, of course--and now to business. Is there anything of
importance on hand?"
"The advices received from the Superintendent of Police----"
"Yes, yes, I know. They are making a great disturbance in the town
about these new measures. They will have to submit to them. Anything
else?"
"There is the full and detailed report to the Ministry which has
already been discussed. Whom does your Excellency appoint to draw it
up?"
Raven considered a moment.
"Assessor Winterfeld."
"Assessor Winterfeld!" repeated the other, slowly, and with
dissatisfaction in his tone.
"Yes; I should like to give him an opportunity of distinguishing
himself, or, at least, to bring him into notice. In spite of his youth,
he is one of the cleverest, most able men we have."
"But not sound, your Excellency, very far indeed from sound. He has a
decided liberal tendency; he leans to the opposition----"
"All the younger men do that," interrupted the Baron. "They are all
red-hot reformers, eager to set the world to rights, and they consider
it a proof of character to do a little in the way of opposition to the
Government of their country. These ideas tone down in the course of
time. Promotion generally works a cure in such cases, and I dare say
Assessor Winterfeld's will be no exception to the rule."
The chief-clerk shook his head doubtfully.
"So far as regards his abilities and many personal advantages, I fully
concur in the flattering opinion your Excellency has formed of him; but
certain things have come to my knowledge concerning the Assessor,
certain things which, I fear, indicate flagrant disloyalty on his part.
It is, I regret to say, established beyond all doubt that, on the
occasion of his last leave of absence, he formed in Switzerland the
most suspicious connections, and consorted with all kinds of Socialists
and dangerous revolutionary characters."
"That I do not believe," said the Baron, decidedly. "Winterfeld is not
the man to hazard his future in so reckless and objectless a manner.
His is not one of those flighty romantic natures which are easily
assailable by such temptations. The story has another version,
probably. I will inquire into it. As regards the report, I abide by my
decision. May I ask you to send the Assessor to me?"
The Councillor went, and a few minutes later George Winterfeld entered
the room. The young man knew that, in being chosen for the task now
before him, an honour was conferred on him above all his colleagues,
but the distinction seemed rather to weigh upon than to elate him. He
received his chief's instructions with quiet attention, grasped the
short, comprehensive directions fully, caught with apt intelligence the
several hints which the Governor thought well to give him, and proved
by a few pithy remarks that he had made himself thoroughly conversant
with the subject before him. Raven had too often to fight against the
dull-witted incapacity of his subordinates not to feel satisfaction at
being thus met half-way, some words now sufficing to convey his
meaning, whereas he was frequently obliged to stoop to long and
wearisome explanations. He was visibly well-pleased. The business in
hand was despatched in a comparatively short space of time, and George,
having noted down some memoranda of his instructions, only waited for
the signal of dismissal.
"One thing more!" said the Baron, in no way changing the quiet,
business-like tone he had used throughout the interview. "You spent
some time in Switzerland, I believe, during your late leave of
absence."
"Yes, your Excellency."
"I am told you there sought out associates, or, at all events, formed
certain connections, unsuitable to a man holding your official
position. What is the truth of the matter?"
The Baron's eyes rested on the young clerk with that keen searching
gaze so dreaded by those under his command. Winterfeld, however, showed
neither dismay nor embarrassment.
"I sought out an old college friend in Z----," he replied, calmly; "and
at his warm instance stayed some weeks at his father's house, the
latter being, it is true, a political refugee."
Raven frowned.
"That was an act of imprudence I should not have expected from you. You
should have reflected that such a visit would naturally excite remark
and arouse suspicion."
"It was a friendly visit, nothing more. I can give my word that it had
not the remotest reference to politics. This is simply and solely a
private affair."
"No matter, you should take your position into consideration. A
friendship with the son of a man politically compromised might be
passed over as harmless, though it would hardly go to further your
advancement; but intimacy with his father and a prolonged sojourn at
his house should distinctly have been avoided. What is this gentleman's
name?"
"Doctor Rudolph Brunnow." The words came in clear, steady tones from
George's lips, and now it was his turn to watch his interlocutor
narrowly. He saw a spasmodic contraction of the muscles--saw a
swift, sudden pallor overspread the stern features, while the lips
were tightly pressed together; but all this came and went with
lightning-speed. In the next instant the man's habitual self-control
prevailed. Accustomed at all times to show an impassive, impenetrable
front to those about him, he at once regained his usual perfect
composure.
"Ah; indeed; Rudolph Brunnow!" he repeated slowly.
"I do not know whether the name is familiar to your Excellency," George
hazarded, but quickly repented of his hasty speech. The Baron's eyes
met his, or rather, as Gabrielle expressed it, they bored him through
and through, seeking to read the secrets of his inmost heart. There was
a dark menace in that searching gaze that warned the young man to go no
step further. He felt as though he were standing on the verge of an
abyss.
"You are an intimate friend of Dr. Brunnow's son," Raven began again,
after the pause of a second; "and therefore, in all probability,
intimate with the father also."
"I only made the Doctor's acquaintance this summer, and though his
views are occasionally warped by a certain harshness and bitterness, I
found him an honourable and upright man, for whom I must entertain the
greatest esteem."
"You would do wisely not to express your sentiments so openly," said
the Baron, with frigid displeasure. "You are the servant of a State
which has passed judgment on a certain class of political offenders,
and still inexorably condemns them. You ought not to, and must not,
consort familiarly with those who publicly proclaim themselves its
enemies. Your position imposes on you duties before which all mere
emotional feelings of friendship must give way. Remember that, Mr.
Winterfeld."
George was silent. He understood that behind the icy calm of this
address there lay a threat; understood, too, that the threat was
levelled not at the official, but at the man who had been initiated
into the secrets of a past which Raven had probably believed long
buried and forgotten, and which now started up, phantom-like, before
his eyes. Painful as it might be, the remembrance had not power to move
the Baron for more than an instant. As he rose from his chair, and
slightly waved his hand in token of dismissal, the old unapproachable
haughtiness marked his bearing.
"You are warned now. That which has passed shall be overlooked,
considered as a hasty error. That which you may do in future will be
done at your own risk and peril."
George bowed in silence, and left the room. He felt now, as he had
often felt before, that Dr. Brunnow had been right in warning him
against the almost magic influence exercised by Raven over all who came
in contact with him.
The young man, after the weighty disclosures which had been made to
him, had felt he was entitled to look down from a lofty height on the
traitor and the renegade; but the power to do so had gone from him as
he re-entered the charmed circle surrounding that master-mind. Disdain
could not hold its own before those eyes which so imperatively demanded
obedience and compelled respect; it glanced off scathless from the man
who carried his guilty head with so high and proud a mien, as though he
recognised no judge over him or his actions.
Little as George allowed himself to be affected by the exalted position
and imperious bearing of his superior, just as little could he escape
the spell of that chief's intellectual ascendency. And yet he knew that
sooner or later a struggle must come between himself and the Baron, who
held in his hands Gabrielle's future, and, consequently, all his own
chances of happiness. The secret could not be kept for ever--and what
would happen when it should be known?
The image of his love rose up before the young man's eyes--of his love,
of whom as yet he had caught no glimpse, though she had arrived the
evening before, and at that moment the same roof covered them--and by
its side appeared the iron inflexible countenance of him he had just
left. Now, for the first time, he divined how severe would be the
struggle by which he must hope to conquer all that he held dear in
life.