A Gentleman of France: Being the Memoirs of Gaston de Bonne Sieur de Marsac

by Stanley John Weyman

  CHAPTER IV. MADEMOISELLE DE LA VIRE.

  My first desperate impulse on discovering the magnitude of my loss wasto ride after the knaves and demand the token at the sword's point. Thecertainty, however, of finding them united, and the difficulty of sayingwhich of the five possessed what I wanted, led me to reject this planas I grew cooler; and since I did not dream, even in this dilemma, ofabandoning the expedition the only alternative seemed to be to act asif I still had the broken coin, and essay what a frank explanation mighteffect when the time came.

  After some wretched, very wretched, moments of debate, I resolved toadopt this course; and, for the present, thinking I might gainsome knowledge of the surroundings while the light lasted, I pushedcautiously forward through the trees and came in less than five minuteswithin sight of a corner of the chateau, which I found to be a modernbuilding of the time of Henry II., raised, like the houses of thattime, for pleasure rather than defence, and decorated with many handsomecasements and tourelles. Despite this, it wore, as I saw it, a grey anddesolate air, due in part to the loneliness of the situation and thelateness of the hour; and in part, I think, to the smallness of thehousehold maintained, for no one was visible on the terrace or at thewindows. The rain dripped from the trees, which on two sides pressed soclosely on the house as almost to darken the rooms, and everything Isaw encouraged me to hope that mademoiselle's wishes would second myentreaties, and incline her to lend a ready ear to my story.

  The appearance of the house, indeed, was a strong inducement to me toproceed, for it was impossible to believe that a young lady, a kinswomanof the gay and vivacious Turenne, and already introduced to thepleasures of the Court, would elect of her own free will to spend thewinter in so dreary a solitude.

  Taking advantage of the last moments of daylight, I rode cautiouslyround the house, and, keeping in the shadow of the trees, had nodifficulty in discovering at the north-east corner the balcony of whichI had been told. It was semi-circular in shape, with a stone balustrade,and hung some fifteen feet above a terraced walk which ran below it, andwas separated from the chase by a low sunk fence.

  I was surprised to observe that, notwithstanding the rain and thecoldness of the evening, the window which gave upon this balcony wasopen. Nor was this all. Luck was in store for me at last. I had notgazed at the window more than a minute, calculating its height and otherparticulars, when, to my great joy, a female figure, closely hooded,stepped out and stood looking up at the sky. I was too far off to beable to discern by that uncertain light whether this was Mademoiselle dela Vire or her woman; but the attitude was so clearly one of dejectionand despondency, that I felt sure it was either one or the other.Determined not to let the opportunity slip, I dismounted hastilyand, leaving the Cid loose, advanced on foot until I stood withinhalf-a-dozen paces of the window.

  At that point the watcher became aware of me. She started back, but didnot withdraw. Still peering down at me, she called softly to some oneinside the chamber, and immediately a second figure, taller and stouter,appeared. I had already doffed my cap, and I now, in a low voice, beggedto know if I had the honour of speaking to Mademoiselle de la Vire. Inthe growing darkness it was impossible to distinguish faces.

  'Hush!' the stouter figure muttered in a tone of warning. 'Speak lower.Who are you, and what do you here?'

  'I am here,' I answered respectfully, 'commissioned by a friend of thelady I have named, to convey her to a place of safety.'

  'Mon dieu!' was the sharp answer. 'Now? It is impossible.'

  'No,' I murmured, 'not now, but to-night. The moon rises at half-pasttwo. My horses need rest and food. At three I will be below this windowwith the means of escape, if mademoiselle choose to use them.'

  I felt that they were staring at me through the dusk, as though theywould read my breast. 'Your name, sir?' the shorter figure murmured atlast, after a pause which was full of suspense and excitement.

  'I do not think my name of much import at present, Mademoiselle,' Ianswered, reluctant to proclaim myself a stranger. 'When--'

  'Your name, your name, sir!' she repeated imperiously, and I heard herlittle heel rap upon the stone floor of the balcony.

  'Gaston de Marsac,' I answered unwillingly.

  They both started, and cried out together. 'Impossible!' the lastspeaker exclaimed, amazement and anger in her tone, 'This is a jest,sir. This--'

  What more she would have said I was left to guess, for at that momenther attendant I had no doubt now which was mademoiselle and whichFanchette--suddenly laid her hand on her mistress's mouth and pointedto the room behind them. A second's suspense, and with a wanting gesturethe two turned and disappeared through the window.

  I lost no time in regaining the shelter of the trees; and concluding,though I was far from satisfied with the interview, that I could donothing more now, but might rather, by loitering in the neighbourhood,awaken suspicion, I remounted and made for the highway and the village,where I found my men in noisy occupation of the inn, a poor place, withunglazed windows, and a fire in the middle of the earthen floor.My first care was to stable the Cid in a shed at the back, where Iprovided for its wants as far as I could with the aid of a half-nakedboy, who seemed to be in hiding there.

  This done, I returned to the front of the house, having pretty well madeup my mind how I would set about the task before me. As I passed one ofthe windows, which was partially closed by a rude curtain made of oldsacks, I stopped to look in. Fresnoy and his four rascals were seatedon blocks of wood round the hearth, talking loudly and fiercely, andruffling it as if the fire and the room were their own. A pedlar,seated on his goods in one corner, was eyeing them with evident fearand suspicion; in another corner two children had taken refuge under adonkey, which some fowls had chosen as a roosting-pole. The innkeeper, asturdy fellow, with a great club in his fist, sat moodily at the foot ofa ladder which led to the loft above, while a slatternly woman, who wasgoing to and fro getting supper, seemed in equal terror of her guestsand her good man.

  Confirmed by what I saw, and assured that the villains were ripe for anymischief, and, if not checked, would speedily be beyond my control, Inoisily flung the door open and entered. Fresnoy looked up with a sneeras I did so, and one of the men laughed. The others became silent; butno one moved or greeted me. Without a moment's hesitation I stepped tothe nearest fellow and, with a sturdy kick, sent his log from under him.'Rise, you rascal, when I enter!' I cried, giving vent to the angerI had long felt. 'And you, too!' and with a second kick I sent hisneighbour's stool flying also, and administered a couple of cuts withmy riding-cane across the man's shoulders. 'Have you no manners, sirrah?Across with you, and leave this side to your betters.'

  The two rose, snarling and feeling for their weapons, and for a momentstood facing me, looking now at me and now askance at Fresnoy. But as hegave no sign, and their comrades only laughed, the men's courage failedthem at the pinch, and with a very poor grace they sneaked over to theother side of the fire and sat there, scowling.

  I seated myself beside their leader. 'This gentleman and I will eathere,' I cried to the man at the foot of the ladder. 'Bid your wife layfor us, and of the best you have; and do you give those knaves theirprovender where the smell of their greasy jackets will not come betweenus and our victuals.'

  The man came forward, glad enough, as I saw, to discover any one inauthority, and very civilly began to draw wine and place a board for us,while his wife filled our platters from the black pot which hung overthe fire. Fresnoy's face meanwhile wore the amused smile of one whocomprehended my motives, but felt sufficiently sure of his positionand influence with his followers to be indifferent to my proceedings.I presently showed him, however, that I had not yet done with him. Ourtable was laid in obedience to my orders at such a distance from themen that they could not overhear our talk, and by-and-by I leant over tohim.

  'M. Fresnoy,' I said, 'you are in danger of forgetting one thing, Ifancy, which it behoves you to remember.'

  'What?' he muttered, scarcely deigni
ng to look up at me.

  'That you have to do with Gaston de Marsac,' I answered quietly. 'Iam making, as I told you this morning, a last attempt to recruitmy fortunes, and I will let no man--no man, do you understand, M.Fresnoy?--thwart me and go harmless.'

  'Who wishes to thwart you?' he asked impudently.

  'You,' I answered unmoved, helping myself, as I spoke, from the roll ofblack bread which lay beside me. 'You robbed me this afternoon; I passedit over. You encouraged those men to be insolent; I passed it over.But let me tell you this. If you fail me to-night, on the honour of agentleman, M. Fresnoy, I will run you through as I would spit a lark.'

  'Will you? But two can play at that game,' he cried, rising nimbly fromhis stool. 'Still better six! Don't you think, M. de Marsac, you hadbetter have waited--?'

  'I think you had better hear one word more,' I answered coolly, keepingmy seat, 'before you appeal to your fellows there.'

  'Well,' he said, still standing, 'what is it?'

  'Nay,' I replied, after once more pointing to his stool in vain, 'if youprefer to take my orders standing, well and good.'

  'Your orders?' he shrieked, growing suddenly excited.

  'Yes, my orders!' I retorted, rising as suddenly to my feet and hitchingforward my sword. 'My orders, sir,' I repeated fiercely, 'or, if youdispute my right to command as well as to pay this party, let us decidethe question here and now--you and I, foot to foot, M. Fresnoy.'

  The quarrel flashed up so suddenly, though I had been preparing it allalong, that no one moved. The woman indeed, fell back to her children,but the rest looked on open-mouthed. Had they stirred, or had a moment'shurly-burly heated his blood, I doubt not Fresnoy would have taken upmy challenge, for he did not lack hardihood. But as it was, face to facewith me in the silence, his courage failed him. He paused, glowering atme uncertainly, and did not speak.

  'Well,' I said, 'don't you think that if I pay I ought to give orders,sir?'

  'Who wishes to oppose your orders?' he muttered, drinking off a bumper,and sitting down with an air of impudent bravado, assumed to hide hisdiscomfiture.

  'If you don't, no one else does,' I answered. So that is settled.Landlord, some more wine.'

  He was very sulky with me for a while, fingering his glass in silenceand scowling at the table. He had enough gentility to feel thehumiliation to which he had exposed himself, and a sufficiency of wit tounderstand that that moment's hesitation had cost him the allegiance ofhis fellow-ruffians. I hastened, therefore, to set him at his ease byexplaining my plans for the night, and presently succeeded beyond myhopes; for when he heard who the lady was whom I proposed to carryoff, and that she was lying that evening at the Chateau de Chize, hissurprise swept away the last trace of resentment. He stared at me, as ata maniac.

  'Mon Dieu!' he exclaimed. 'Do you know what you are doing, Sieur?'

  'I think so,' I answered.

  'Do you know to whom the chateau belongs?'

  'To the Vicomte de Turenne.'

  'And that Mademoiselle de la Vire is his relation?'

  'Yes,' I said.

  'Mon Dieu!' he exclaimed again. And he looked at me open-mouthed.

  'What is the matter?' I asked, though I had an uneasy consciousness thatI knew--that I knew very well.

  'Man, he will crush you as I crush this hat!' he answered in greatexcitement. 'As easily. Who do you think will protect you from him in aprivate quarrel of this kind? Navarre? France? our good man? Not oneof them. You had better steal the king's crown jewels--he is weak;or Guise's last plot--he is generous at times, or Navarre's lastsweetheart--he is as easy as an old shoe. You had better have to do withall these together, I tell you, than touch Turenne's ewe-lambs, unlessyour aim be to be broken on the wheel! Mon Dieu, yes!'

  'I am much obliged to you for your advice,' I said stiffly, 'but the dieis cast. My mind is made up. On the other hand, if you are afraid, M.Fresnoy--'

  'I am afraid; very much afraid,' he answered frankly.

  'Still your name need not be brought into the matter,' I replied, 'Iwill take the responsibility. I will let them know my name here at theinn, where, doubtless, inquiries will be made.'

  'To be sure, that is something,' he answered thoughtfully. 'Well, itis an ugly business, but I am in for it. You want me to go with you alittle after two, do you? and the others to be in the saddle at three?Is that it?'

  I assented, pleased to find him so far acquiescent; and in thisway, talking the details over more than once, we settled our course,arranging to fly by way of Poitiers and Tours. Of course I did not tellhim why I selected Blois as our refuge, nor what was my purpose there;though he pressed me more than once on the point, and grew thoughtfuland somewhat gloomy when I continually evaded it. A little after eightwe retired to the loft to sleep; our men remaining below round the fireand snoring so merrily as almost to shake the crazy old building. Thehost was charged to sit up and call us as soon as the moon rose, but,as it turned out, I might as well have taken this office on myself, forbetween excitement and distrust I slept little, and was wide awake whenI heard his step on the ladder and knew it was time to rise.

  I was up in a moment, and Fresnoy was little behind me; so that, losingno time in talk, we were mounted and on the road, each with a sparehorse at his knee, before the moon was well above the trees. Once in theChase we found it necessary to proceed on foot, but, the distance beingshort, we presently emerged without misadventure and stood opposite tothe chateau, the upper part of which shone cold and white in the moon'srays.

  There was something so solemn in the aspect of the place, the nightbeing fine and the sky without a cloud, that I stood for a minute awedand impressed, the sense of the responsibility I was here to acceptstrong upon me. In that short space of time all the dangers before me,as well the common risks of the road as the vengeance of Turenne and theturbulence of my own men, presented themselves to my mind, and madea last appeal to me to turn back from an enterprise so foolhardy. Theblood in a man's veins runs low and slow at that hour, and mine waschilled by lack of sleep and the wintry air. It needed the remembranceof my solitary condition, of my past spent in straits and failure, ofthe grey hairs which swept my cheek, of the sword which I had long usedhonourably, if with little profit to myself; it needed the thought ofall these things to restore me to courage and myself.

  I judged at a later period that my companion was affected in somewhatthe same way; for, as I stooped to press home the pegs which I hadbrought to tether the horses, he laid his hand on my arm. Glancing up tosee what he wanted, I was struck by the wild look in his face (which themoonlight invested with a peculiar mottled pallor), and particularly inhis eyes, which glittered like a madman's. He tried to speak, but seemedto find a difficulty in doing so; and I had to question him roughlybefore he found his tongue. When he did speak, it was only to implore mein an odd, excited manner to give up the expedition and return.

  'What, now?' I said, surprised. 'Now we are here, Fresnoy?'

  'Ay, give it up!' he cried, shaking me almost fiercely by the arm. 'Giveit up, man! It will end badly, I tell you! In God's name, give it up,and go home before worse comes of it.'

  'Whatever comes of it,' I answered coldly, shaking his grasp from myarm, and wondering much at this sudden fit of cowardice, 'I go on. You,M. Fresnoy, may do as you please!'

  He started and drew back from me; but he did not reply, nor did he speakagain. When I presently went off to fetch a ladder, of the position ofwhich I had made a note during the afternoon, he accompanied me, andfollowed me back in the same dull silence to the walk below the balcony.I had looked more than once and eagerly at mademoiselle's window withoutany light or movement in that quarter rewarding my vigilance; but,undeterred by this, which might mean either that my plot was known,or that Mademoiselle de la Vire distrusted me, I set the ladder softlyagainst the balcony, which was in deep shadow, and paused only to giveFresnoy his last instructions. These were simply to stand on guardat the foot of the ladder and defend it in case of surprise; so that,whatever
happened inside the chateau, my retreat by the window might notbe cut off.

  Then I went cautiously up the ladder, and, with my sheathed sword in myleft hand, stepped over the balustrade. Taking one pace forward, withfingers outstretched, I felt the leaded panes of the window and tappedsoftly.

  As softly the casement gave way, and I followed it. A hand which I couldsee but not feel was laid on mine. All was darkness in the room, andbefore me, but the hand guided me two paces forward, then by a suddenpressure bade me stand. I heard the sound of a curtain being drawnbehind me, and the next moment the cover of a rushlight was removed, anda feeble but sufficient light filled the chamber.

  I comprehended that the drawing of that curtain over the window had cutoff my retreat as effectually as if a door had been closed behind me.But distrust and suspicion gave way the next moment to the naturalembarrassment of the man who finds himself in a false position and knowshe can escape from it only by an awkward explanation.

  The room in which I found myself was long, narrow, and low in theceiling; and being hung with some dark stuff which swallowed up thelight, terminated funereally at the farther end in the still deepergloom of an alcove. Two or three huge chests, one bearing the remnantsof a meal, stood against the walls. The middle of the floor was coveredwith a strip of coarse matting, on which a small table, a chair andfoot-rest, and a couple of stools had place, with some smaller articleswhich lay scattered round a pair of half-filled saddle-bags. Theslighter and smaller of the two figures I had seen stood beside thetable, wearing a mask and riding cloak; and by her silent manner ofgazing at me, as well as by a cold, disdainful bearing, which neitherher mask nor cloak could hide, did more to chill and discomfit me thaneven my own knowledge that I had lost the pass-key which should haveadmitted me to her confidence.

  The stouter figure of the afternoon turned out to be a red-cheeked,sturdy woman of thirty, with bright black eyes and a manner which lostnothing of its fierce impatience when she came a little later to addressme. All my ideas of Fanchette were upset by the appearance of thiswoman, who, rustic in her speech and ways, seemed more like a duenna,than the waiting-maid of a court beauty, and better fitted to guard awayward damsel than to aid her in such an escapade as we had in hand.

  She stood slightly behind her mistress, her coarse red hand resting onthe back of the chair from which mademoiselle had apparently risen on myentrance. For a few seconds, which seemed minutes to me, we stood gazingat one another in silence, mademoiselle acknowledging my bow by a slightmovement of the head. Then, seeing that they waited for me to speak, Idid so.

  'Mademoiselle de la Vire?' I murmured doubtfully.

  She bent her head again; that was all.

  I strove to speak with confidence. 'You will pardon me, mademoiselle,'I said, 'if I seem to be abrupt, but time is everything. The horses arestanding within a hundred yards of the house, and all the preparationsfor your flight are made. If we leave now, we can do so withoutopposition. The delay even of an hour may lead to discovery.'

  For answer she laughed behind her mask-laughed coldly and ironically.'You go too fast, sir,' she said, her low clear voice matching the laughand rousing a feeling almost of anger in my heart. 'I do not know you;or, rather, I know nothing of you which should entitle you to interferein my affairs. You are too quick to presume, sir. You say you come froma friend. From whom?'

  'From one whom I am proud to call by that title,' I answered with whatpatience I might.

  'His name!'

  I answered firmly that I could not give it. And I eyed her steadily as Idid so.

  This for the moment seemed to baffle and confuse her, but after a pauseshe continued: 'Where do you propose to take me, sir?'

  'To Blois; to the lodging of a friend of my friend.'

  'You speak bravely,' she replied with a faint sneer. 'You have made somegreat friends lately it seems! But you bring me some letter, no doubt;at least some sign, some token, some warranty, that you are the personyou pretend to be, M. de Marsac?'

  'The truth is, Mademoiselle,' I stammered, 'I must explain. I shouldtell you--'

  'Nay, sir,' she cried impetuously, 'there is no need of telling. If youhave what I say, show it me! It is you who lose time. Let us have nomore words!'

  I had used very few words, and, God knows, was not in the mind to usemany; but, being in the wrong, I had no answer to make except the truth,and that humbly. 'I had such a token as you mention, mademoiselle,' Isaid, 'no farther back than this afternoon, in the shape of half a goldcoin, entrusted to me by my friend. But, to my shame I say it, it wasstolen from me a few hours back.'

  'Stolen from you!' she exclaimed.

  'Yes, mademoiselle; and for that reason I cannot show it,' I answered.

  'You cannot show it? And you dare to come to me without it!' she cried,speaking with a vehemence which fairly startled me, prepared as I wasfor reproaches. You come to me! You!' she continued. And with that,scarcely stopping to take breath, she loaded me with abuse; calling meimpertinent, a meddler, and a hundred other things, which I now blushto recall, and displaying in all a passion which even in her attendantwould have surprised me, but in one so slight and seemingly delicate,overwhelmed and confounded me. In fault as I was, I could not understandthe peculiar bitterness she displayed, or the contemptuous force of herlanguage, and I stared at her in silent wonder until, of her own accord,she supplied the key to her feelings. In a fresh outburst of rage shesnatched off her mask, and to my astonishment I saw before me theyoung maid of honour whom I had encountered in the King of Navarre'santechamber, and whom I had been so unfortunate as to expose to theraillery of Mathurine.

  'Who has paid you, sir,' she continued, clenching her small hands andspeaking with tears of anger in her eyes, 'to make me the laughing-stockof the Court? It was bad enough when I thought you the proper agent ofthose to whom I have a right to look for aid! It was bad enough whenI thought myself forced, through their inconsiderate choice, todecide between an odious imprisonment and the ridicule to which yourintervention must expose me! But that you should have dared, of your ownnotion, to follow me, you, the butt of the Court--'

  'Mademoiselle!' I cried.

  'A needy, out-at-elbows adventurer!' she persisted, triumphing in hercruelty. 'It exceeds all bearing! It is not to be suffered! It--'

  'Nay, mademoiselle; you SHALL hear me!' I cried, with a sternness whichat last stopped her. 'Granted I am poor, I am still a gentleman; yes,mademoiselle,' I continued, firmly, 'a gentleman, and the last of afamily which has spoken with yours on equal terms. And I claim to beheard. I swear that when I came here to-night I believed you to be aperfect stranger! I was unaware that I had ever seen you, unaware that Ihad ever met you before.'

  'Then why did you come?' she said viciously.

  'I was engaged to come by those whom you have mentioned, and there,and there only am I in fault. They entrusted to me a token which I havelost. For that I crave your pardon.'

  'You have need to,' she answered bitterly, yet with a changedcountenance, or I was mistaken, 'if your story be true, sir.'

  'Ay, that you have!' the woman beside her echoed.

  'Hoity toity, indeed! Here is a fuss about nothing. You call yourself agentleman, and wear such a doublet as--'

  'Peace, Fanchette,' mademoiselle said imperiously. And then for a momentshe stood silent, eyeing me intently, her lips trembling with excitementand two red spots burning in her cheeks. It was clear from her dressand other things that she had made up her mind to fly had the token beenforthcoming; and seeing this, and knowing how unwilling a young girlis to forgo her own way, I still had some hopes that she might notpersevere in her distrust and refusal. And so it turned out.

  Her manner had changed to one of quiet scorn when she next spoke. 'Youdefend yourself skilfully, sir,' she said, drumming with her fingers onthe table and eyeing me steadfastly. 'But can you give me any reason forthe person you name making choice of such a messenger?'

  'Yes,' I answered, boldly. 'That he may not be suspected of conn
iving atyour escape.'

  'Oh!' she cried, with a spark of her former passion. 'Then it is to beput about that Mademoiselle de la Vire had fled from Chize with M. deMarsac, is it? I thought that!'

  'Through the assistance of M. de Marsac,' I retorted, correcting hercoldly. 'It is for you, mademoiselle,' I continued, 'to weigh thatdisadvantage against the unpleasantness of remaining here. It onlyremains for me to ask you to decide quickly. Time presses, and I havestayed here too long already.'

  The words had barely passed my lips when they received unwelcomeconfirmation in the shape of a distant sound--the noisy closing of adoor, which, clanging through the house at such an hour--I judged it tobe after three o'clock--could scarcely mean anything but mischief.This noise was followed immediately, even while we stood listening withraised fingers, by other sounds--a muffled cry, and the tramp of heavyfootsteps in a distant passage. Mademoiselle looked at me, and I at herwoman. 'The door!' I muttered. 'Is it locked?'

  'And bolted!' Fanchette answered; 'and a great chest set against it. Letthem ramp; they will do no harm for a bit.'

  'Then you have still time, mademoiselle,' I whispered, retreating a stepand laying my hand on the curtain before the window. Perhaps I affectedgreater coolness than I felt. 'It is not too late. If you choose toremain, well and good. I cannot help it. If, on the other hand, youdecide to trust yourself to me, I swear, on the honour of a gentleman,to be worthy of the trust--to serve you truly and protect you to thelast! I can say no more.'

  She trembled, looking from me to the door, on which some one had justbegun to knock loudly. That seemed to decide her. Her lips apart, hereyes full of excitement, she turned hastily to Fanchette.

  'Ay, go if you like,' the woman answered doggedly, reading the meaningof her look. 'There cannot be a greater villain than the one we knowof. But once started, heaven help us, for if he overtakes us we'll paydearly for it!'

  The girl did not speak herself, but it was enough. The noise at the doorincreased each second, and began to be mingled with angry appeals toFanchette to open, and with threats in case she delayed. I cut thematter short by snatching up one of the saddle-bags--the other we leftbehind--and flung back the curtain which covered the window. At the sametime the woman dashed out the light--a timely precaution--and throwingopen the casement I stepped on to the balcony, the others following meclosely.

  The moon had risen high, and flooding with light the small open spaceabout the house enabled me to see clearly all round the foot of theladder, to my surprise Fresnoy was not at his post, nor was he to beseen anywhere; but as, at the moment I observed this, an outcry away tomy left, at the rear of the chateau, came to my ears, and announcedthat the danger was no longer confined to the interior of the house,I concluded that he had gone that way to intercept the attack. Withoutmore, therefore, I began to descend as quickly as I could, my swordunder one arm and the bag under the other.

  I was half-way down, and mademoiselle was already stepping on to theladder to follow, when I heard footsteps below, and saw him run up, hissword in his hand.

  'Quick, Fresnoy!' I cried. 'To the horses and unfasten them! quick!'

  I slid down the rest of the way, thinking he had gone to do my bidding.But my feet were scarcely on the ground when a tremendous blow in theside sent me staggering three paces from the ladder. The attack wasso sudden, so unexpected, that but for the sight of Fresnoy's scowlingface, wild with rage, at my shoulder, and the sound of his fiercebreathing as he strove to release his sword, which had passed through mysaddle-bag, I might never have known who struck the blow, or how narrowhad been my escape.

  Fortunately the knowledge did come to me in time, and before he freedhis blade; and it nerved my hand. To draw my-blade at such closequarters was impossible, but, dropping the bag which had saved my life,I dashed my hilt twice in his face with such violence that he fellbackwards and lay on the turf, a dark stain growing and spreading on hisupturned face.

  It was scarcely done before the women reached the foot of the ladder andstood beside me. 'Quick!' I cried to them, 'or they will be upon us.'Seizing mademoiselle's hand, just as half-a-dozen men came running roundthe corner of the house, I jumped with her down the haha, and, urgingher to her utmost speed, dashed across the open ground which lay betweenus and the belt of trees. Once in the shelter of the latter, where ourmovements were hidden from view, I had still to free the horses andmount mademoiselle and her woman, and this in haste. But my companions'admirable coolness and presence of mind, and the objection which ourpursuers, who did not know our numbers, felt to leaving the open ground,enabled us to do all with, comparative ease. I sprang on the Cid (it hasalways been my habit to teach my horse to stand for me, nor do I knowany accomplishment more serviceable at a pinch), and giving Fresnoy'sgrey a cut over the flanks which despatched it ahead, led the way downthe ride by which I had gained the chateau in the afternoon. I knewit to be level and clear of trees, and the fact that we chose it mightthrow our pursuers off the track for a time, by leading them to think wehad taken the south road instead of that through the village.