The cries of Maschero still continuing to resound through the edifice, producing a melancholy and dreadful effect, Enrico found it necessary to silence him, by asserting that, since his criminal intentions were discovered, his only hopes of obtaining that mercy he had so little reason to expect, rested upon the compassion of his judges, and the purity of his future conduct.
This had the desired effect, and Enrico, being anxious to hear the important incidents which were shortly to be unfolded by the Conte della Croisse, again seated himself upon the stone by his side, and besought him to proceed.
"As it is necessary," replied the venerable guest, "that we should remove from this place as speedily as possible, I shall relate all briefly. You are, doubtless, informed that your birth is supposed by all, even by your mother, who is, notwithstanding, Virtue herself, to have been illegitimate." Enrico shuddered, and looked surprised.
"You are, I say," added the Conte, "universally considered as the illegal offspring of the Marchese de Montferrat."
"Impossible!" returned Enrico impetuously. "Who dares to asperse the character of my mother?"
"None, none," replied the Conte, "can cast a shade upon her spotless reputation: I would myself defend her with my life from the shafts of calumny and malice; grant me but patience, and you shall hear the whole. The Marchese de Montferrat is your father; you are his lawful child, and consequently the next heir to his title and possessions.
"Great Heaven, is it possible!" cried Enrico, lifting up hands and eyes in astonishment; "and is this mystery but just unravelled?"
"The death of a wretch," returned the Conte, "who has been long initiated in all the arts of cunning, and who has long secretly sought my destruction, could only have unravelled it. The monster to whom I allude, is the Marchese's steward; you are assuredly acquainted with his character?"
"Is Paoli then dead?" interrupted Enrico.
"The same," replied Della Croisse. "That death, he so long meditated against me, he received at my hands: I met with him by accident, or rather by the direction of an interposing Providence; for to attribute such events to blind chance is impious. He attacked me; I was fortunately armed, and being aware of his infamous design, before he could disengage the stiletto from his cloak, plunged mine into his heart. He groaned, and fell; but his breathing convinced me he was still alive. Little as he merited compassion, I found my breast was not steeled against its influence; and ordering my servants, who were not far behind, to convey the assassin to an inn, I followed him, and sent for assistance. The wound was pronounced mortal; but the effect was not instantaneous, as it allowed time for the confession of his crimes. He informed me that Madame Chamont was placed in a convent, whither she was to have remained for life; in which seclusion more than ordinary restrictions were exercised over her. That, by the express orders of the Marchese, she was not permitted to write from the cloister; and the more effectually to prevent the circulation of letters between her and her son, she was taught to believe that he had been killed in an engagement, and that Laurette, her adopted daughter, was already united to a young Nobleman, selected for her by her guardian.
"He then informed me," resumed the Conte, "that this fair young creaturewas the daughter of the Conte Della Caro, whose father was murdered in a wood by a wretch hired for the purpose by order of the Marchese de Montferrat, who, if he died childless, was the next heir to his estates; but as the Contessa brought forth an infant soon afterwards, it was necessary that this also should be removed. Some qualms of conscience seizing upon the Marchese at this time, prevented him from sacrificing the child; but as to secrete it was indispensably requisite, he found means of doing this so efficaciously, that no one suspected his design, every body supposing that the infant expired with its mother, who lived only to give it birth. Some peculiar circumstances had, he added, induced the Marchese to believe the mysteries respecting her origin had been unfolded to Laurette; but who the person was who had obtained and conveyed this intelligence could not be ascertained, as no one, he had imagined, had gained any certain information upon the subject. This, together with her beauty and inimitable accomplishments, instigated him to offer her his hand, as a means of securing the secret to themselves; but, contrary to his expectation, this was resolutely refused, and finding from another conversation with her, and the discovery of a picture, bearing the resemblance of her mother, the Contessa della Caro, that she had been previously made acquainted with the secret of her birth, he had at last determined upon her death.
"He then declared to me," continued the Conte, "whither she was conveyed; at the same time giving me so minute a description of the assassin employed, as to render a mistake impossible. Not expecting, therefore, to meet any other being than the forlorn and guilty wretch I was in search of, you may easily conceive my astonishment when I beheld you, apparently an inhabitant of the ruin, at the time of my arrival."—Here the Conte remained silent, and Enrico, after acknowledging his gratitude for the active part he had taken, and expressing his surprise at the interesting events that had been recounted, demanded in what convent Madame Chamont was now resident, and how the legality of her marriage with the Marchese de Montferrat was to be proved, since the person, by whom the confession had been made, was removed by death.
"The convent in which your mother is placed is not far from this place," returned the Conte; "she is in a society of reformed Benedictine Nuns, of the congregation of Mount Calvary, and has probably before this time entered into her novitiate state. As to the priest who officiated at the marriage, being already acquainted with his name and place of abode, there will be no difficulty in securing him as an evidence, who will bring undeniable proofs of the truth of the assertion.
"As to the murder committed on the body of the Conte della Caro," resumed the Conte, "it must, if possible, be consigned to oblivion, the offender being not only the husband of Madame Chamont, but your father; and as the fair orphan may easily assert the justice of her claim, without making so dreadful a disclosure, through the evidence of the woman who acted in the capacity of nurse, the wife of Paoli, whose testimony will be sufficient to vindicate the proceeding, and who will be ready to appear in case of necessity."
Enrico shuddered at the idea of the Marchese de Montferrat, who, he was now convinced was his father, being brought to justice, and inquired eagerly if it could not be prevented.
"Easily," replied Della Croisse, "if the offender will criminate himself in a private confession, and restore Laurette to her rights, by bestowing her upon you, and by investing you in his possessions, at least the principal part of his property, on your nuptials, and in the rest on his decease. But from what I was enabled to gather from the last words of Pauli," continued the Conte, "the Marchese does not consider your mother as his lawful wife; the steward having expressly received orders from him to procure a person under the assumed habit of an ecclesiastic to solemnize the marriage, instead of which, from some secret motive, he applied to a secular priest, probably from this consideration, that should the Marchese be induced to deny him pecuniary assistance, he might, by disclosing the affair to him after his union with the lady whom he afterwards married, procure large sums by keeping the important secret. But this never happening in the course of his stewardship, the Marchese, he confessed, was yet ignorant of the truth; but the priest being yet alive, to whom I might instantly apply, the fact would easily be proved. The unfortunate wretch also acknowledged," resumed the Conte, "that he had artfully instigated the Marchese to the murder of Laurette for some time before the measure was adopted, fearing lest he should succeed in gaining her affections, and by another connexion involve him in new difficulties, as he had, he declared, suffered continual fear and apprehension during the lifetime of the reputed Marchesa, lest the former marriage, through the confession of the priest who united them, should be publicly attested. The person, he likewise informed me, who was employed to assassinate Laurette, was his brother, a native of Italy, who had consented to execute the bloody business, a
ccording to his engagement, in consideration of a splendid reward. That it was their intention to have murdered her, as she slept, on the night of their arrival at the wood, but that grief and terror had prevented her from yielding to repose; and being each unwilling to undertake the task allotted to them, during his continuance with Maschero, they had mutually agreed to leave her to perish by famine, having previously determined in what manner the body was to be disposed of, which was to be entombed in an obscure part of the forest. The wretch, who was necessary to the crime, whom he had acknowledged for his brother, he commended to my mercy; and having particularly directed me to this place, soon afterwards expired in inexpressible agony and horror."
Enrico, who had listened with increasing amazement, now arose from his seat, and stood for some time transfixed in astonishment. The scenes of complicated guilt and depravity, which had been thus wonderfully unfolded, quite overpowered him; and when he connected the tender name of father with these enormities, the blood crept cold through his veins, and a chilling sensation disordered his whole frame. But as soon as his thoughts glanced upon Laurette and his mother, dwelling upon the rapture the latter would experience on seeing him, tears of affection and tenderness fell fast from his eyes; and requesting that the Conte would liberate Maschero, and deal with him as he thought proper, being in haste to depart, he flew again to Laurette, who had been long impatiently awaiting his return.
Lost in doubt and perplexity, her spirits were now nearly exhausted; and unable to form any conjecture concerning the person below, from what she had heard, besought him to acquaint her who he was, and what was his business. Unwilling that she should suffer even a transient suspense, Enrico, after some little preparation, informed her all that he deemed necessary for her to know, concealing every thing for the present which could excite uneasiness, and even disclosing the joyful part of the intelligence with the utmost circumspection. But when she was convinced that her dear-lamented friend was in safety, and that there was a probability of her soon being with her, joy could no longer be restrained, and tears of tenderness and affection flowed fast upon her cheek.
Fearing the effect of these indulged transports upon so delicate a frame, Enrico endeavoured to calm them by an assurance, that nothing should prevail upon him to remove her immediately, but a promise on her part to become more tranquil.
Whilst Enrico remained in the prison with Laurette, Maschero was released from his confinement by the Conte della Croisse, on his solemnly declaring that he would never again participate in a crime of such magnitude. The punishment for capital offences by the German laws, being so much worse than death itself, was held in utter abhorrence by his lenient accuser, the wretch who has committed them being doomed to wear that external brand of infamy which precludes, through a miserable existence, the possibility of a return to virtue; that probably, had he been instigated by no primary consideration, he might have been tempted to have declined a prosecution without reflecting that by this clemency he would be espousing the cause of vice, and violating the laws of justice.
Enrico had hitherto mentioned nothing to the Conte of the strange discovery made in the old chamber previous to his arrival; and having now every reason to believe that the Marchese, his father, was materially concerned in the murder, evidently committed either in or near that place, determined to avoid it. The bloody clothes found in the chest were once, he imagined, the property of the Conte della Caro, who was said to have been massacred in a wood, and whose body was either buried or concealed in some part of the ruin. But Anselmo, not being aware of his master's intention, and being anxious to disclose to the stranger all the wonders of the place, conducted Della Croisse, in his absence, through the trap-door leading to the apartment, and displayed to him the object of their mutual surprise.
The Conte examined the sword, helmet, and garments severally, without being able to ascertain the unfortunate possessor; but he no sooner discovered the cross of the military order of knighthood, than he was convinced that they originally belonged to the Conte della Caro, who, he recollected, from Paoli's confession, was declared to have been assassinated in a wood or forest. Deeming it imprudent, however, to give Anselmo admission into the secret, he ascended the steps, observing that the person, to whom those bloody garments had belonged, was probably murdered by banditti, who, after having interred the body in some adjacent place, had secured the clothes of the deceased to prevent detection.
Anselmo appeared not perfectly satisfied with the conclusion, but made no reply; and Della Croisse having returned again into the hall, desired he would inform his master that the carriage had been waiting for a considerable time at the skirts of the wood; and since all preliminaries were adjusted, he was in readiness to depart.
Enrico, attended by the beautiful Laurette, soon entered the room; and as she leaned gently upon his arm for support, there was something so lovely, so interesting, in her appearance, that as Della Croisse continued to gaze upon her with a mixture of pity and admiration, his eyes were suddenly filled with tears; and scarcely could he subdue his feelings sufficiently to answer the meek effusions of her gratitude, which she bestowed upon him.
The party now quitted the ruin, and the armed men, who had attended the Conte for the purpose of securing the assassin, were discharged without executing their design. Enrico remembering the ducats he had mentioned to Maschero as the price of their admission, on a promise, solemnly delivered before them all, that he would quit his present residence immediately, and endeavour to become an useful member of society, did not withhold them. Laurette being supported, or rather carried through the wood, was placed in the carriage with the Conte and Enrico; the horses were consigned to the care of Anselmo, and the whole party, thus relieved from fear and anxiety, commenced their journey.
They travelled leisurely through the day, frequently stopping for refreshment, as Laurette's weak state required the most strict care and attention. In the evening they arrived at a small inn on the road, not more than two leagues from the convent, where they were enabled to procure a suitable person to attend upon Laurette, and comfortable accommodations for the night.—During their continuance in this place, Della Croisse acquainted Enrico with the melancholy incidents of his past life. He also related the manner of his having met with Madame Chamont at an inn, as she was travelling from the hills of Mount Jura into Germany; expatiated with gratitude upon her amiable conduct towards him and his daughter; the still greater obligations she had conferred on him afterwards by saving him from a miserable death; which little recital he concluded with a relation of that part of her story which was immediately connected with his own.
Enrico listened to all with a painful concern, and thought every moment an age till he could throw himself at the feet of that beloved parent, from whom he had been so long, so strangely separated.
CHAPTER VI
Bring the rath primrose that forsaken dies.
The tufted crow-toe and pale jessamine.
The white pink, and the pancy freaked with jet.
The glowing violet.
The musk-rose, and the well-attir'd woodbine.
With cowslips wan that hang the pensive head.
And every flower that sad embroidery wears.
-MILTON
Rest and nourishment had so happy an effect upon Laurette, that she was enabled to prosecute her journey on the ensuing morning without much apparent fatigue. The vehicle which had conveyed them thither, was stationed at an early hour near the door of the inn, and our travellers felt their hearts bound with new sensations of pleasure when they entered it.
As soon as they were seated, Enrico besought Laurette to acquaint them with all that had happened to her previous to her quitting the castle; and also by what chance the letter which he had written to her, remained unanswered.
The epistle he alluded to, she assured him, was never received; and as letters very rarely miscarried, they were both internally convinced that it had been intercepted. She then proceeded to inform him
of the strange events which had taken place during his absence; what she had suffered from the unremitting assiduities of the Marchese, his cruelty, his threats, when she repeated her resolution of rejecting him; the conference overheard in the pavilion, and the unaccountable manner in which she had been forced from the chamber.
Enrico listened with the most earnest attention as she continued her little affecting narrative, which was frequently interrupted by her auditors with exclamations of surprise and horror, particularly in that part of it which treated of the conversation supported between the Marchese and Paoli in the room of state.
When the steward had conveyed her, she added, about a league from the mansion, he endeavoured to dissipate her fears by an assurance of protection, solemnly declaring that the Marchese had no intention of sacrificing her life; but had determined to place her in a convent till he could think of some other method of disposing of her more congenial to his inclinations.—This, she acknowledged, had the desired effect, as she now imagined that a new plan had been adopted, less terrible than her former surmises had suggested, and the circumstance of being confined for life in a cloister, since she now believed herself separated for ever from her earliest and tenderest connexions, produced reflections unattended with regret: but her late sufferings occasioned such languor and indisposition, that they were obliged to alight at a small inn upon the road. A fever was the consequence of these repeated alarms, which confined her for some days to the place, during which time she was attended only by a woman of a very unpromising aspect; a surgeon, resident in an adjacent village, and Paoli, who expressing the utmost impatience for her recovery, seldom quitted the room.
The Complete Northanger Horrid Novel Collection (9 Books of Gothic Romance and Horror) Page 367
