Bayard released her hands and turned away. He could not bear to meet the accusation in her eyes. He walked over to the desk, stared down at it, then turned quickly. “You don’t understand, Fleur. No one does. All my life I’ve done nothing but take the easy way out. I became a weak lowlife, and this is the one chance I have to prove that I have some metal in me.”
“No, it proves you have pride in you!”
“Well, pride is a good thing, isn’t it?”
“No, not the kind you have. The Bible say that God loves humil-ity. I remember a verse my ma mere say over and over to me. It is in the Proverbs, I think. It says, ‘By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.’ And that is what you are giving up because of your pride. Not riches or honor, for there is no honor involved in this. Only pride! So you are giving up your life for a worth-less thing.”
She went to him and put her arms around him. She put her head down on his chest and whispered, “Don’t you see, my Bayard? What does it matter what people say as long as you know you are doing the wise and right thing?”
Bayard stood absolutely still. Finally he gave a short laugh. He put his hands on Fleur’s shoulders and said, “All right. I’ll apologize to the man. It goes against the grain, but I will do it because you say so.”
Fleur’s face lit up. She put her hand on his cheek and said, “That is a fine thing. God will honor you for this. Bayard, you must do it as soon as possible.”
“It will have to be in public. I’ll look him up tomorrow.”
“Come. We must tell your parents and your family. They are so worried about you!”
Bayard slept little that night. He practiced the speech that he planned to make to Compier until it became bitter in his thoughts. His fam-ily had been ecstatic when he told them that he would apologize, as had Colin. Colin had grasped his hand and said, “That’s the mark of true wisdom there, Bayard. You wouldn’t make anyone happy getting yourself killed.”
Bayard waited until midafternoon, and then he stood outside the saloon he had heard from Byron Mayhew that Compier frequented. Taking a deep breath, he muttered, “I’d almost rather be shot than do this.” Nevertheless, he straightened his shoulders and walked in. As soon as he entered the room, men began to mutter. When he started for the table where Jean Paul Compier sat playing poker, a silence ensued.
Compier was aware of him. He put his cards down and turned to face Bayard. He said nothing, and Bayard could not read what was in his eyes. But he had a chore to do, and he said quickly, “I have come to speak with you, sir.”
“Well, speak on.”
The words were like acid in Bayard’s mouth. “I have come to apologize. I behaved in a most ungentlemanly way, and I must ask you to overlook my words.”
Jean Paul’s eyes changed. Something flickered in them, but his voice was harsh. “So you insult me in public, and now you think by a few words you can wipe it out? I refuse your apology. If you are not a coward, I will meet you at the appointed time.”
Bayard knew then that the matter was hopeless. He nodded, say-ing quietly, “Very well, sir.” He turned and left the room and went home. He knew that the news would frighten his family, but he felt fenced in—trapped. “There’s no other way for it.”
Vernay was ecstatic. As Compier started to leave the saloon, he grabbed his arm. He said, “You’ve got him now! I know Seymour. He’ll never permit that boy to fight. He’ll come rushing in to save him, and then you can kill him out of hand.”
Jean Paul Compier struck Vernay’s hand away from his arm. “Never touch me again,” he said. He glared at Vernay until Claude felt a touch of fear. He knew the deadliness of the man. “What’s wrong with you? It’s going just as we planned.”
Compier said bitterly, “You are a dog, and I am worse for what I am doing. Get out of my sight, Vernay!”
Vernay at once backed away. “We have an agreement,” he whispered.
“If you do not leave, you will not be in any condition to know anything about our deal, for I will kill you.”
Compier watched as Vernay’s face turned pale. Then as he turned and strode out of the saloon, Compier thought, I thought I had sunk low, but never as low as this.
Colin went again to the d’Or house and found Bayard in his studio. He was not painting but simply standing beside a window, looking out on the frozen earth. When Colin entered, he said, “It’s a cold night for you to be out.”
“I just heard about what happened at the saloon.” He put his hand on Bayard’s shoulder. “You can’t do this to yourself.”
“I don’t have any option.”
“Yes, you do. It’s not your fight. Vernay is behind all this. He’s out to destroy me, and he’s using you.”
“Talking won’t do any good.”
“I look on you as a friend, Bayard. I might as well tell you that I love your sister, and I’m going to marry her if I can.”
“That is good news, Colin. I’ve watched her. She cares for you very deeply, and she needs a man like you.”
“That’s good to hear from you, but this thing you’re going to do is not wise. Speaking of love, I have the feeling you care for Fleur. She’s going to need all the help she can get, and a dead man can’t help her.”
“I’ve got to do it, Colin. I failed at everything I ever tried. I always gave up when things got tough, but I’m not going to give up on this!”
Colin argued strenuously, but finally, when he left the house that night, he shook his head, saying, “He’s so young and so foolish. Something has to be done!”
Chapter twenty-four
Hearing the knock on her door, Fleur opened it to find a pale Simone. “Colin is here.” Fleur saw Colin standing behind her and said, “Come in, please.”
The two stepped into her room, and Fleur said, “This duel must not happen!”
“We’ve all tried our best to talk to Bayard, but he won’t listen.”
“I know. I have try everything.” Tears came into her eyes, and she said, “I have not known Bayard long, but I know that I care for him. He must not throw his life away!”
Colin threw up his hands in despair. “I have tried everything I can think of. He won’t listen to reason.”
“Well, I have prayed, and I think God has give me an answer.”
“What is it?” Simone cried. “What is it, Fleur?”
“Listen and I will tell you. First thing we must do . . .”
Bayard put on his best suit, even though it seemed foolish as he fin-ished fastening his tie. I’m going to be dead, so what difference does it make what I wear? He looked at himself in the mirror and saw a stranger. You’re a fool, Bayard d’Or. Everyone thinks so. Your stupid pride’s going to get you killed, and then what will this so-called honor matter? He turned quickly away from the mirror and left his room. It was early morning, and the winter darkness lingered. Bayard felt numb, and his mind would not function properly. It was as if he had willed himself not to think but simply to go through with the terrible act.
As he stepped outside the house and headed for the stable, sud-denly a figure appeared. He started, then relaxed. “Fleur, it’s you. You startled me.”
Fleur came closer. She was wearing a heavy, wool coat against the cold, but she wore no gloves on her hands. She reached out, put her hands on his chest, and said, “I have come to beg you not to go.”
“I must do it, Fleur. Please don’t say anything else. I’ve had a hard enough time saying good-bye to my family.”
“I thought you love me.”
“I do love you, but I couldn’t face myself in the mirror if I let Colin risk his life for me.”
“You are throwing everything good away.”
“I can’t help myself.”
“You won’t change your mind?” Fleur said. “Are you sure, Bayard?”
“I must do it.”
Fleur stood very still, then dropped her hands to her sides, and her eyes glittered strangely. “Then I must stop you.”
<
br /> “Fleur, don’t interfere.”
Fleur said, “Ansel!”
Bayard caught a movement, a man coming out of the stable. He was a big man accompanied by another, also large. Instantly Bayard stiffened. “Who are you? What do you want?”
“I am Ansel Guidry, and this is my friend Chapin Billaud.”
Bayard faced them cautiously. “What are you two men doing here? What do you want?”
“What do we want?” Ansel said. “We want you should do as Fleur asks. She is our friend, as was her mere.”
“These are some good friends of mine from the bayou,” Fleur explained.
“We Cajuns have to stick together.” Ansel grinned wolfishly. “The little one, she ask you to do something for her, and she says you will not do it. So, we have come to help her.”
Bayard turned and asked, “What does this mean, Fleur? Did you ask these men to come here?”
Fleur said evenly, “If you will not listen to reason, then I will have to use force. You are not going to that fight!”
“Oh yes, I am!” Bayard said. He shoved his way around the men to get to his horse, but Fleur called out, “Ansel, stop him!”
Ansel whirled quickly for a big man and grabbed Bayard’s left arm. The other man took his right. “Take your hands off of me!” Bayard cried. He struggled but was powerless as a child in their hands.
“Don’t hurt him, Ansel!”
“No, chéri, we treat him like a baby.”
“Bring him into the stable.”
Bayard tried to escape the men’s grasp, but it was useless. As soon as they were inside, Fleur said, “Tie him up, Chapin.”
Chapin produced a short length of rope. “We tie you here, I think, Monsieur. Be content.”
Bayard protested, “Fleur, you can’t do this to me!” He lifted his voice and called, “Robert, where are you?”
“Robert has gone home. There is no one here but us. Tie him to that pillar,” Fleur said quietly.
The two men backed Bayard to one of the posts that held up the roof, put his hands behind it, and tied him firmly. “I am sorry to have to do this, Monsieur, but sometimes a man, he won’t listen to reason.”
Bayard stared at Fleur’s friends. They had no animosity in them. The one called Ansel asked, “Can we do anything else for you, chéri?”
“No, thank you, Ansel, and you, too, Chapin.”
“We go now.” Ansel Guidry smiled then at Bayard and said, “Do not be angry, Monsieur. This is the wise thing. We must help the little one. She has lost her mere, who was our good friend. She can’t lose anyone else. If you ever need us, Fleur, you come at any time.”
“Thank you,” Fleur said again. She watched as the two men left and then stood in front of Bayard, who stared at her in disbelief. “It’s going to be a long wait,” she said. She got a blanket and put it behind his feet. “Let yourself down. You will be more comfortable.”
Bayard exclaimed, “Turn me loose, Fleur! This is crazy!”
“No, it is not.” She put her hands on his face, pulled his head down, and kissed him. “You can beat me when this is over,” she said with a smile.
“This won’t do any good. I’ll find Compier as soon as you turn me loose.”
“No, you will not. Colin has gone to fight him, and God will give him the victory over that man.”
Bayard struggled, pulling against the ropes, but an expert had tied them. “I can’t let Colin fight my battles for me.”
“It is not Colin. I have prayed, and I think this is what God wants. Please do not hate me, Bayard, because I do this.” She put her arms around him and lay her head on his chest. He smelled the fra-grance of her hair, and her voice was so soft he could barely hear it. “One day after we are married, I may get very sick or have trouble, and I know you will take care of me. And now I must take care of you.” She lifted her head and put her hands on his cheeks. “Now sit down.” She pulled at him until finally he sat down. She got another blanket, pulled it around the two of them, and said, “Now, my English must be ver’ good to be your wife. You teach me how to talk like a lady, Bayard.”
Suddenly Bayard laughed. He could not help himself. “At a time like this, you want me to give you a grammar lesson?”
“Ah, but yes. I must live in your world. When this is all over, I will take you to my house. I will teach you how to catch a ’gator without having him bite your face off. Now, teach me how to talk.”
Compier stood straight in the fast-fading light. A crowd had gathered, as he had known it would, when word spread that Colin would fight him after all. George Ahern, the mayor of New Orleans, stood before him. “Compier, I must speak with you.”
“Certainement, Mr. Mayor.”
“You see those two men over there?”
Compier looked to see two large men wearing bulky coats. “My vision is good,” he said.
“They are officers of the law. If you kill Lord Beaufort, you will be arrested and charged with murder. Do you understand?”
Compier looked at Claude Vernay, who had heard the mayor’s words. “With murder? But it is a duel!”
“Dueling is illegal,” Ahern said. “We are fools in this city for per-mitting it to continue. It shouldn’t have gone this far. Go ahead and have your duel. I think you’re expert enough simply to pink the young man in the arm, but if you kill him, you will hang for it. You have my word on that, Compier!”
Compier stared into the mayor’s face. Ahern was not a tall man. He was chunky and short, but there was a fierce light in his brown eyes. Compier was certain that Ahern meant exactly what he said. He had no time to think further, for suddenly Colin Seymour stood before him.
Colin said, “Compier, I know that your fight is with me, not with my friend Bayard d’Or. I refused your challenge once, but I will take it now.”
Compier suddenly felt a flash of admiration. He well understood that Colin Seymour was not a fool. “You must know, sir, that you have no chance with me.”
“That may be true, but it is something I must do. I can’t permit those remarks about my father to go unchallenged.” Colin added, “I don’t understand you, sir.”
“Why is that?” Compier asked.
“I have heard from my friend and teacher, François Morell, that you were two things: the best swordsman in Europe, and a man of honor. I can believe the first, sir, but not the second.” Colin looked inquisitively at Compier. “And any man who makes himself the tool of another has sold his honor, and I’m convinced that’s what you have done.”
The crowd waited to hear Compier’s reply.
Compier suddenly smiled, and he stood straighter. “I have changed my mind about the weapon. We will use pistols.”
“They are not really your weapon,” Colin said. “They’re mine.”
Compier looked at Claude Vernay, and their gazes locked until Vernay had to drop his eyes. “I will have my honor back,” he said. “Are you ready?”
“Yes,” Colin said.
The two put themselves into position, and as Colin walked the ten paces, he was thinking, This may be my last moment on earth. At the count of ten, he turned quickly. He saw that Compier had already whirled but then was shocked when Compier lifted his pistol and fired it into the air.
“You may take your revenge now, my lord,” Compier said in a strong, clear voice.
Colin stared at the man. He pointed his pistol in the air and fired it, then moved forward at once. “It’s all over then, Compier?”
“No, it is not. I have two things to say.” The spectators, who had watched the drama with fervent interest, moved forward so they would not miss a word. “The first thing I say is that I lied when I spoke of your father. He was a man of honor. Everything I said about him was a lie, and I ask your pardon.”
“I think I can guess why you said such a thing,” Colin said.
“Indeed, I think you can.” Compier turned and glared at Vernay. “The second thing I say is that Claude Vernay is a cowardly dog! He hired me to pic
k a quarrel with Lord Beaufort. I regret I ever agreed to do such a thing, and I hereby renounce him. You are a liar, a cow-ard, and a cheat, Vernay! I hope you take exception. We can settle the matter right now. The weapons are here.”
Claude Vernay glanced around wildly and saw that every man’s face was set against him. He suddenly wheeled, shoved his way out of the crowd, and broke into a run.
“That man’s finished in New Orleans,” Ahern said with grim satis-faction. “If he doesn’t leave, I’ll have him run out.” He walked away, leaving the two men together.
“Why did you do this, Monsieur Compier?” Colin asked quietly.
Compier looked at the ground. “Why does a man do that which he knows to be wrong? I’m getting older, and I wasted my life. I wanted one thing: to start an academy for young men to learn the sword. Vernay promised to furnish the money.” He lifted his eyes and said, “I almost sold my soul, and I ask your pardon again.”
Colin put out his hand. When Compier shook it, Colin said, “I like to see a man who can change. Come and visit me this week. We will see what can be done.”
Compier gasped, “You mean it, my lord?”
“Try me.”
Compier bit his lip. He cleared his throat and whispered, “Yes, I will come.”
Simone was waiting, and when Colin rode up, she grabbed up her coat and ran outside. She saw Colin dismounting. She flew to him and cried, “Colin, you’re safe!”
“I think God was with me.”
“What happened?” she asked. She held onto him. “You’re not harmed.”
“It went off much better than I thought.” He told her quickly what had happened and then asked, “Where’s Bayard?”
“He is in the stable. He’s probably frozen stiff. Fleur’s friends tied him up a couple of hours ago.”
“Well, we can go turn him loose now.”
They walked around the side of the house. As soon as they entered the stable, Fleur jumped to her feet. “You’re safe!” she cried. “I knew God would help us!”
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