Yolanda: Maid of Burgundy

by Charles Major

  CHAPTER VI

  DUKE CHARLES THE RASH

  Our caravan travelled with the mournfulness of a funeral procession.Early in the evening Max spoke to Yolanda:--

  "I hear your uncle desires Sir Karl and me to leave you at Metz."

  "Yes," she answered dolefully, hanging her head, "we part at Metz. Ishall see you there before I leave, and then--and then--ah, Sir Max, Iwas wrong and you were right; there is no hope."

  "What of the lady who gave me the ring?" asked Max, in a feeble effortto banter her.

  "She would have made you very happy, Sir Max. Her estates would havecompensated for all losses elsewhere."

  "You know, that is not true, Yolanda," said Max, earnestly.

  "I am not sure, Sir Max," responded the girl, "and do not wish to besure. I will see you at Metz, and there we may part. It is our fate. Wemust not be doleful, Sir Max, we must be--we must be--happy and brave."Her poor little effort to be happy and brave was piteous.

  Castleman soon fell back with Yolanda, and Max rode forward beside me.

  At midnight we offsaddled by a stream in a forest and allowed our horsesand mules to rest until sunrise. Then we took up our journey again, andby forced marches reached Metz one morning an hour before dawn. Wewaited in a drizzling rain till the gates opened, and, after a longparley with the warder, entered the city. We were all nearly exhausted,and our poor mules staggered along the streets hardly able to carrytheir burdens another step. Two had fallen a half-league outside ofMetz; and three others fell with their loads within the city gates.

  Castleman had determined to stop with a merchant friend, and after whatseemed a long journey from the gates we halted at the merchant's house.Our host left us in his parlor while he went to arrange for breakfast.When he had gone Castleman turned to me:--

  "You and Sir Max will, if you please, find good lodging at the GreatTun. My friend will send a man in advance to bespeak your comfort."

  Max and I rose to leave, and Yolanda offered him her hand, saying:--

  "It may be that we are to part here at Metz, but I will send for yousoon and will see you before we leave, and--and--" She could not speakfurther; tears were in her eyes and her voice. It was not so easy afterall to be happy and brave.

  "You will not fail to send for me?" asked Max, clinging to her hand.

  "I will not fail," she answered, looking up timidly and instantlydropping her eyes. "Of that you have better assurance than you willever know."

  Castleman followed us to the street door and handed me a purse of gold.

  "I have expected to part from you here," he said, "and it may be so; butI fear I shall need your services still further. My mules are unfit totravel at present; they may never be fit to use; surely not within afortnight. I must find other sumpter mules, wait for those I have toregain their strength, or leave my goods at Metz. My fortune is investedin these silks, and if I leave them here, I shall never see them again.In case the Duke of Lorraine succeeds in rallying his subjects againstBurgundy, I shall find it difficult to buy sumpter mules on the eve ofwar, and may be compelled to remain in Metz until my own mules are ableto travel. In that event may I depend upon you and Sir Max to escort myniece and my daughter to Peronne without me?"

  I answered promptly, though against my desires:--"You may depend onus."

  At midnight I was aroused by a knock at my door. I arose and admittedCastleman.

  "I will take you at your word, Sir Karl," said the burgher. "I cannotobtain sumpter mules, and I shall be ruined in fortune if I leave mysilks at Metz. I have had word that the Duke of Burgundy leaves Ghentthe day after to-morrow for Peronne. If he leaves late in the day, youmay, by starting at once, reach Peronne Castle ahead of him. His journeywill be shorter than yours by twenty-five leagues, but you will have abetter road. If you travel with all haste, you may be able to takeYolanda, with--with the important papers, to the castle a half-daybefore my lord arrives there. Are you ready to begin the journeyat once?"

  "We are ready," answered Max.

  "I will meet you at the Deutsches Thor Gate within an hour," saidCastleman. "My daughter and my niece will be there. Since you are totravel rapidly I advise a small retinue. Your squires have provedthemselves worthy men, and I feel sure you will be able to protectyour charges."

  "We'll not boast of what we shall do, good Castleman," said Max, "butwe'll do our best."

  "If you reach Peronne after the duke arrives," said Castleman, "I adviseyou not to enter the gates of the city, but to leave Burgundy at onceand with all the speed you can make. If you reach Peronne before theduke, I advise you not to tarry; but if you determine to remain, youwill go to The Mitre--a quiet inn kept by my good friend Marcus Grote. Istrongly advise you not to remain at Peronne; but if you do not see fitto follow my advice, I hope you will remain close at The Mitre until myreturn, which, I trust, will be within three weeks. Danger will attendyou if you do not follow my suggestion. In any case, Sir Max, I hope youwill not visit my house. My words may seem ungracious, but they are foryour good and mine. When I return to Peronne, I shall be happy if youwill honor my poor house; but until my return, untold trouble to manypersons may follow your disregard of what I say."

  Castleman then departed, and we immediately arranged for the journey.

  Max and I, with our squires, were waiting at the Deutsches Thor Gatewhen Castleman arrived with Twonette, Yolanda, and a guide. I knocked atthe door of the lodge to rouse the warder, who, of course, was asleep,and that alert guardian of a drowsy city came grumbling to the wicket.

  "What in the devil's name do you want at this time of night?" hegrowled. "The gates won't open till dawn."

  "Yes, they will," replied Castleman. "I have the burgomaster's order."

  "I open the gates only on an order from the governor of the citadel,"said the warder.

  "I have not that, my good friend," responded Castleman, "but I have ahundred silver marks in my purse."

  "Let me see the burgomaster's order," said the worthy gatekeeper. "I amalways glad to be accommodating."

  Castleman handed over the order and the purse, and the warder pretendedto read the paper in the dark.

  "I'll open the gate to accommodate you and to please the burgomaster,"he said.

  The gates screeched upon their hinges, and every link in the portcullischain groaned as if it wished to alarm the city. When the portcullis wasa-block, Max, myself, and the squires mounted our horses. Yolanda leaneddown from her saddle and, placing her arms about Castleman's neck,kissed him. Twonette followed her example; then our small cavalcadepassed out through the gate, and we entered on our long, hard race withthe Duke of Burgundy.

  At dawn Yolanda called me to her side.

  "Our guide will conduct us to Cinq Voies on the Somme, eight leaguesthis side of Peronne," she said. "There we shall dismiss him. From CinqVoies the road is straight to Peronne down the river. Shall we put ourhorses to the gallop?"

  To her last suggestion I objected:--

  "We have no relays. These horses must carry us to Peronne. In Styria wehave an adage, 'If you would gallop on a long journey, walkyour horse.'"

  "In Styria!" exclaimed Yolanda, laughing. "You told me you were fromItaly."

  "So I am," I replied.

  "Now you say _we_ have an adage in Styria," she returned, amused at mydiscomfiture. "I hope you have not been wandering from the path of truthin your long journey, Sir Karl."

  "No farther than yourself, Fraeulein," I answered.

  A frown came instantly to her face and, after a moment's hesitation, sheretorted:--

  "Ah, but I am a woman; I am privileged to wander a little way from thenarrow road. A man may protect himself with his sword and battle-axe,and need never stray. A woman's defence lies in her wit and her tongue."The frown deepened, and she turned sharply upon me: "But in whatrespect, pray, have I wandered? I have not spoken a word to you whichhas not been the exact truth. If I have left anything untold, it isbecause I do not wish to tell it, in which case, of course, you wouldnot
wish to pry."

  Her audacity amused me, and though I knew I ought to hold my tongue, Icould not resist saying:--

  "I have asked no questions, Fraeulein."

  Yolanda cast a surprised glance toward me and then broke into a merrylaugh.

  "That is to say _I_ have asked too many questions. Good for you, SirKarl! I have had the worst of this encounter. I will ask no morequestions nor give you further cause to wander from the truth. Yourmemory, Sir Karl, is poor. 'To be a good liar, one must have a goodmemory,' as King Louis of France has said."

  "Ask all the questions you wish, Fraeulein," I responded penitently, "Iwill answer with the truth."

  "There is no need to ask questions," she said, giving me a side glancefull of sauciness. "I already know all that I wish to know."

  I could not resist saying:--

  "Perhaps, Fraeulein, I know quite as much about you as you know aboutus."

  "There is little to know about me that is really worth while, but whatlittle there is I sincerely hope you do not know," she replied halfangrily. "If you do know anything which I have left untold, or if, inyour vanity, you think you have discovered some great mystery concerningme, I advise you to keep your supposed knowledge to yourself. The daythat I am made sure you know too much, our friendship ceases, and that,Sir Karl, would give me pain. I hope it would pain you."

  I at once began an orderly though hasty retreat.

  "I do not know to what you refer concerning yourself," I explained. "AllI know about you is that you are Fraeulein Castleman, and a very charmingperson, whom I would have for my friend, if that be possible. I spokebut jestingly. I have often doubted that you are a burgher maiden, butthere my knowledge ceases; and I am willing that it should so remaintill you see fit to enlighten me."

  "There is little knowledge in doubt," said Yolanda, with a nervouslaugh, "though a doubt usually precedes wisdom."

  Although I was looking at my horse's ears, I could see the light of hereyes as she watched me inquiringly. After a long pause she stroked herhorse's mane with her whip, and said, musingly:--

  "A man should seek to know only the languages, philosophy, and otheruseful learning. Useless knowledge has cost many a man his head."

  After a long pause she turned to me with a broad smile:--

  "But it is usually not dangerous so long as it does not lodge in thetongue."

  I replied quickly:--

  "Fraeulein, when my tongue makes a fool of me, I pray God I may lose it."

  "God save all fools by a like fate," she answered.

  I was sure she did not mean to include me in the category of fools.

  This conversation revealed to me two facts: first, I learned that bysome means--possibly the ring Max wore--this girl, Yolanda, whoever shemight be, knew Max. Second, I discovered in myself a dangerouspropensity to talk, and of all sure roads to ruin the tongue is thesurest. A man's vanity prompts him to be witty; hatred prompts him tocut his enemy, and his love of truth often prompts him to speak it atthe wrong time. These three motives combined often prompt him to losehis head. Max and I were on dangerous ground, and one untimely errormight make it perilous.

  We travelled rapidly, and near midnight of the second day out of Metz wereached Cinq Voies on the Somme. The village, consisting of a large inn,a church, a priest's house, and a farrier's shop, is situate at themeeting of five roads, from which the hamlet takes its name. One roadled down from Cambrai and Ghent in the north, one from Liege in thenortheast, and the one over which we had travelled from Metz came out ofthe southeast. Two roads led westward to Peronne. One followed the rightbank of the Somme, passed Peronne, and thence on to Amiens. Another roadfollowed the left bank of the Somme, touched Peronne, and thence ransouthwesterly to Paris.

  When we reached Cinq Voies on the Somme--within eight leagues ofPeronne--we halted for supper, very tired and weary. While supper waspreparing, we held a consultation, and determined to rest there for thenight. I advised against this course, believing that the duke would passthat way on his road from Ghent to Peronne. But Yolanda's sweet facewas pinched by weariness, and Twonette was sound asleep. Our horses, Ifeared, might fail, and leave us hopelessly in the lurch. Therefore, Igave the command to offsaddle, and we halted at the inn for the night.

  Our host told me his house was full of guests who had arrived two hoursbefore, but he found a room for Yolanda and Twonette, and told Max andme to sleep, if we could, on the tap-room floor. After an hour on thehard boards I went to the stable, and, rousing a groom, gave him asilver crown for the privilege of sleeping on a wisp of hay. I fellasleep at once and must have slept like the dead, for the dawn wasbreaking when one of our squires wakened me. I could not believe that Ihad been sleeping five minutes, but the dim morning light startled me,and I ordered the horses saddled.

  I hastened to the inn and wakened Max, to whose well-covered bones aboard was as soft as a feather bed. While I was speaking to him, I hearda noise in an adjoining room and saw the door opening. Max and I barelyescaped through an open arch when a commanding figure clad in lightarmor entered the tap-room.

  I had not seen Charles of Burgundy since he was a boy--he was then Countof Charolois--but I at once knew with terrifying certainty that I lookedon the most dreaded man in Europe. He had changed greatly since I lasthad seen him. He was then beardless; now he wore a beard that reachedalmost to his belt, and I should not have recognized in him the youngCount of Charolois. There was, however, no doubt in my mind concerninghis identity.

  Even had I failed to see the angry scar on his neck, of which I hadoften heard, or had I failed to note the lack of upper teeth (a factknown to all Europe) which gave his face an expression of savagery, Ishould have recognized him by his mien. There was not another man likehim in all the world, and I trust there never will be. His face wore anexpression of ferocity that was almost brutal. The passions of anger,arrogance, and hatred were marked on every feature; but over all therewas the stamp of an almost superhuman strength, the impress of an ironwill, the expression of an exhaustless energy, and the majesty of asatanic bravery. If Yolanda was the daughter of this terrible man, andif he should discover that I had her hidden in the room above his head,I should never eat another breakfast. Truly, Max and I were onperilous ground.

  Max remained in concealment, and I climbed the stairs, two steps at atime, to Yolanda's room. I gently knocked, and received asleepy response.

  "Rise at once," I whispered. "I must speak to you instantly."

  "Enter--we are already dressed," answered Yolanda.

  When I entered she had risen from the bed and was rubbing her eyes.

  "We were so tired we slept in our garments. Don't we show it?" saidYolanda.

  Her hands were above her head, vainly endeavoring to arrange her hair,which had fallen in a great tumble of dark curls over her shoulder. Resthad flushed her cheeks, and her lips and her eyes were moist with thedew of sleep. Though my business was urgent I could not resistexclaiming:--

  "Ah, Fraeulein, you surely are beautiful."

  "I thank you, Sir Karl," she answered, flashing a smile upon me. "Youmay kiss my hand."

  She offered me her hand and asked:--

  "But what is your news?"

  While she spoke I heard voices and the tramping of hoofs beneath thewindow in front of the inn, and turned to look. I quickly drew away fromthe window and beckoned Yolanda:--

  "Come here, Fraeulein."

  She came to my side, and as she looked out upon the road two men emergedfrom the inn door. One of them was the Duke of Burgundy. She clutched myarm and whispered excitedly:--

  "Watch them, Sir Karl! Note the road they take! If they go by the right,we shall take the left. We _must_ reach Peronne Castle before the duke.Death itself hangs upon the issue, Sir Karl."

  I watched till the duke and all his people had left the inn; then Ifollowed till I saw them take the road leading down the right bank ofthe Somme. When I returned to the inn, I paid the score, and gave eachmember of our little party a _boule_ o
f bread to be eaten as we rode;and within five minutes after the duke's departure we were fording theSomme to take the left bank for Peronne.