DEVOTION.
"Yes, sir!" repeated the Gascon, "to-morrow my wife and this miserable
wretch shall go aboard one of my vessels. That is all my vengeance,"
continued he, dwelling on these words with savage irony. "Oh, I know
what I am doing. Yes, by heaven! She and her guilty accomplice, those
two, as if they were really husband and wife, the miserable wretches!
shall embark together. As to the destination of the vessel," said the
chevalier, with a glance of such horrible ferocity that De Chemerant was
struck by it, "as to the fate that awaits these guilty ones, I cannot
tell you, sir; that concerns no one but myself."
Then, taking Angela roughly by the arm, Croustillac exclaimed, "Ah, you
desire a mulatto for a lover, duchess? very well, you shall have him.
And you, scoundrel, you must have a white woman, a duchess? very well
you shall have her. You shall never separate, tender lovers that you
are, never again; but you do not know at what a terrible price you will
be reunited."
"Your highness, what do you intend to do?"
"That is my affair; your responsibility will be at an end; the rest will
take place on neutral ground," returned the Gascon with a smile at once
mysterious and ferocious; "yes, on a desert island; and since this
tender couple love one another, love each other to death, there will be
time for them to prove it--until death."
"I understand you, your highness; I see perfectly; but that will be
terrible," said De Chemerant, who thought that Croustillac intended to
starve his wife and the mulatto.
"Terrible! you have said it, sir. All that I ask of you, and as a
witness of my injury you cannot refuse me, is to give me the necessary
assistance in order to conduct this guilty pair on board one of my
ships. I will, myself, place them with the captain and give him his
orders; orders which, perhaps he would not dare to obey if I did not
give them in person."
Monsieur de Chemerant, in spite of his cunning, was duped by the seeming
rage of Croustillac; he said to him respectfully, "Your highness,
justice is severe, but should not be cruel."
"What do you say, sir?" cried Croustillac proudly, "am I not the sole
judge of the punishment due this guilty pair? Do you refuse me your
assistance when it only requires you to take this man and his accomplice
on board a vessel belonging to me?"
"No, sir, but I would say to your highness that it would be, perhaps,
more generous----"
Angela, seeing that she must no longer remain inactive, threw herself at
the feet of Croustillac, crying, "Have mercy!" while Monmouth seemed to
be wrapped in a deep and sad silence; then, addressing De Chemerant, the
young woman continued, "Oh, sir, you seem to be sensible and good;
intercede for me with my dear lord, that he condemn me to less cruel
pain. I have merited it all, I will suffer all, but that my dear
lord----"
"I forbid your calling me your 'dear lord,' madame," said Croustillac.
"I am no longer your dear lord."
"Ah well, your highness, do not send me on board the vessel of which you
speak."
"And why not, madame?"
"My God! because that the brigantine is the Chameleon, commanded by
Captain Ralph; your highness, this man is cruel; he succeeded the
filibuster Whirlwind in this command."
"And that is just why I have chosen the Chameleon, madame; it is just
because Captain Ralph is the most cruel enemy of your unworthy lover,"
said Croustillac, who understood perfectly Angela's meaning.
"But, your highness, you know very well that this vessel will be
anchored to-morrow morning very near here, almost at the foot of the
cliff in the alligators' cave."
"Yes, madame, I know it."
"Oh, your highness, would you compel me to embark there when nothing in
the world would make me even approach its banks? My God! have you
forgotten the frightful memories that this place is connected with in my
mind?"
"Oh! the cunning creature," thought Croustillac; "she wishes to say,
what I did not know, that there is a vessel of hers called the
Chameleon, whose captain is devoted to her, and who will anchor
to-morrow near here. I have it! This is just her own vessel she had
prepared hastily to furnish her and the duke a means of escape, when she
saw me carried off by Colonel Rutler; one of the negro fishermen was
doubtless sent ahead to deliver her directions."
The Gascon, after some little reflection, said aloud, "Yes, those
memories are terrible to you, I know it, madame."
"Then, your highness, have you the heart----"
"Yes, yes," cried the chevalier, in an explosion of rage, "yes, no pity
for the infamous creature who has so unworthily outraged me! All the
better, my vengeance commences but the sooner. I will show you that you
have no pity to look for from me; you shall see!" He struck a bell.
"What are you going to do, your highness."
"Your faithful Mirette will come; you shall yourself give her the order
to send to Captain Ralph to prepare everything on board the Chameleon to
set sail at daybreak."
"Ah, your highness, it is barbarous to make me give the order, myself."
"Obey, madame, obey."
Mirette appeared. Angela gave the order in a broken voice.
"I have obeyed you, and now your highness, in pity grant me a last favor
in the name of our past love."
"Oh, yes, by St. George!" cried Croustillac, "past? oh, past,
decidedly."
"Allow me one moment, your highness, the favor of an interview."
"No, no, never!"
"Do not refuse me; do not be so pitiless?"
"Out of my sight, faithless woman!"
"My lord!" said Angela, clasping her hands.
"Your highness," said De Chemerant, "at the moment of quitting madame
forever, do not refuse her this last consolation."
"You also, De Chemerant, you also? and though you have been a
witness?--Ah, well, I consent, madame, but upon one condition."
"You have but to order."
"That your paramour remain during our conversation."
"Really, this is not so bad, I think," said Croustillac to himself; "I
hope the duchess will understand me and at first refuse."
"But, my dear lord," said Angela; "the last interview that you grant me
should be between us alone."
"Marvelous! oh, she comprehends a half word," said Croustillac to
himself; then aloud, "And why, then, should our interview be private?
Have you something you desire to hide from your best beloved--from the
lover of your choice?"
"But if I desire to beg your forgiveness, sir?"
"You can do so before your accomplice. The more you accuse yourself, the
more you depict your conduct as disloyal, infamous, unworthy, the more
you affirm the lowness of your choice. This will be your punishment and
this scoundrel's also."
"But, my lord?"
"That is my ultimatum," replied Croustillac.
"Do you not fear the despair of this man?" said De Chemerant in a low
tone.
"No; traitors are always cowards. Behold this one--what a gloomy,
downcast air. He does not dare as much as lift his eyes to me. In any
case, sir, send, I beg, some men of yours to the gallery outside,
instructed to enter at my first signal." Then, turning with an air of
reconsidering, and desiring to make a master stroke, Croustillac said,
"In fact, if you will be present at this interview, Monsieur De
Chemerant, the punishment of this guilty couple will be complete."
"Oh, sir, in pity do not condemn me to such a depth of shame and
humiliation," cried Angela, in despairing tones. "And you, sir, have the
generosity not to consent to this," she said to De Chemerant.
Monsieur De Chemerant had the delicacy to excuse himself to the Gascon;
he left the room, and left Monmouth, Angela, and the adventurer
together.
The envoy had hardly left the room before Monmouth, after assuring
himself that he could not be overheard, held out his hand cordially to
Croustillac, and said to him, feelingly, "Sir, you are a man of spirit,
courage, and resolution; accept our thanks, and pardon us for having
suspected you even for a moment."
"Yes, yes, pardon our unjust suspicions," said Angela, on her part
taking the Gascon's hand between her own. "We were so disturbed, and
your manner was so furious, so wild!"
"We all had reason, madame;" said the adventurer, "you had reason to be
disturbed, because my return was not very reassuring. I had reason to be
furious, because I supposed the duke to be a bandit. As to my wild
manner, by heavens! it may be said without offense, you will acknowledge
that enough strange things have occurred during the last two days, and I
may be excused for being a little astounded. Fortunately, I recovered my
self-possession when I saw I had been a fool and had risked everything."
"Brave and excellent man," said Monmouth.
"Bravery is in the blood of the Croustillacs, sir; as to being
excellent, I do not know about that; if such be the case, it is not my
fault; it is your wife's work, who has aroused in me the desire to be
better that I really am. Ah, well, prince, time is precious; everything
is in train to raise a county of England in your favor; Louis the XIV.
will support this insurrection. There is offered you the viceroyship of
Ireland and Scotland, and all kinds of other favors."
"Never will I consent to profit by these offers. Civil wars have cost me
too dear," cried Monmouth; "and"--looking at Angela, "I no longer have
ambitions."
"Your highness! reflect well! If your heart counsels remove the bronze
color from your face, and say to De Chemerant that reasons known only to
yourself obliged you to guard your secret until now. You will prove to
him who you are; I will return your duchy to you, and ask your
permission to go and fight at your side in Cornwall, or elsewhere, in
order to serve you, as they say, as a living armor. I am sure this will
please the duchess."
"And we have suspected him," said Angela, looking at her husband.
"He must forgive us," said the duke. "Men like him are so rare that it
is not unnatural to doubt them when one encounters them."
"Hold on, my lord, you embarrass me. Let us speak of other matters. Do
you, or do you not, accept the viceroyship? After that, do not think I
shall press you to speak in order to relieve me from your role; it
pleases me, it amuses me. I have become quite accustomed to it.
Nevertheless, it will be somewhat unpleasant to no longer hear myself
addressed as 'my lord duke,' to say nothing of my laughing in my sleeve
when I think of all the absurdities which I have made that good De
Chemerant, with his important air, swallow. If I persist, your highness,
in praying that you resume your rank, as it seems they are terribly in
need of you in England in order to secure the happiness of the people in
general and that of Cornwall in particular; you must know that better
than I do----"
"Ah! I know only too well the vain pretexts that one offers to
ambition."
"But, your highness, all appears to be perfectly prepared. The frigate
which has brought the good De Chemerant is filled with arms and
ammunition; there is in it enough to arm and revolutionize all the
Cornishmen in the world; moreover, you can count on a dozen of your
partisans."
"Of my partisans! and where, then?" cried Monmouth.
"On board Chemerant's frigate. These brave men are waiting for me, that
is to say, waiting for you, your highness, with great impatience. There
is above all a madman named Mortimer, whom De Chemerant had the
greatest difficulty in the world to keep on board, so much was he
possessed with the desire to embrace me--I would say embrace you, for I
confound us all the time."
Angela, seeing the troubled manner of her husband, said to him, "My God!
what ails you?"
"I can no longer hesitate," replied Monmouth, "I must tell De Chemerant
the whole truth."
"Heavens, James! what are you saying?"
"You wish to be viceroy, your highness?" interposed Croustillac.
"No, sir, I desire to prevent your ruining yourself on my account. My
gratitude will be no less lasting for the service that you wished to do
me."
"How, your highness? Is it not, then, to become viceroy that you would
dispossess me of my principality?"
"My partisans are on board the frigate; if I should accept your generous
offer, sir, to-morrow you would be known--lost."
"But, your highness----"
"Except for this circumstance which, I repeat, would cause your
discovery in a moment, I would, perhaps, have excepted your generous
devotion, the mistake of De Chemerant might have continued for a few
days, and I could have put you beyond the reach of his resentment; but
to accept your offer, sir, knowing the presence of my friends on board
the frigate, would be to expose you to certain danger. I can never
consent to do that."
"Your highness forgets that it means perpetual imprisonment for you if
you do not place yourself at the head of this movement?"
"It is because it means for me the escape from a danger that I do not
choose to sacrifice you, sir. When I learned that you were taken
prisoner by Rutler I was going to rush to your assistance in order to
release you."
"My God, James! think of the prison! of eternal confinement! but it is
not possible! and what will become of me, if I should be forbidden to
accompany you? No, no! you will not reject the sacrifice which this
generous man offers to make!"
"Angela!" said the duke, in a tone of reproach; "Angela! and this
generous man, shall we abandon him shamefully when he is devoted to
us--to escape imprisonment, shall we condemn him to an eternal
captivity?"
"Him?"
"Doubtless! is he not the possessor of a state secret? Will not De
Chemerant be furious at seeing himself tricked. I tell you, he cannot
escape prison when the trick shall be discovered."
"Confound it! my duke, attend to your own affairs!" cried Croustillac,
"and do not take the bread out of my mouth, as they say. Prisoner of
state! that disgusts you, but do you not know that that would be an
assured retreat for me, a refuge for my old days? To be frank, the life
of an adventurer palls upon me; there must be an end to it. I would have
something more sure; judge, then, if that would not suit me? Prisoner of
state! can I not secure that? I beg of you not to take from me the last
resource of my old age; do not destroy my future."
"Listen to me, you brave and worthy man," responded Monmouth,
affectionately pressing his hand. "I am not deceived by your ingenious
pretenses."
"Your highness, I swear----"
"Listen, I beg of you; when you have heard me you will no longer be
surprised at my refusal. You will see that I cannot accept your generous
offer without being doubly culpable. You will understand the sad
memories, not to say remorse, that your devoted offer and the present
chain of circumstances awake in me. And you, Angela, my dearly beloved,
you shall at last learn a secret that until this present moment I have
hidden from you; it needed circumstances as grave as these in which I am
now placed to force me to make this sad revelation."