Volume II Part 111 (1/2)
”With me. Judge what a companion! during twelve hours, side by side with the man I despise and hate the most in the world! I would as soon travel with a serpent; my antipathy--”
”And where is Polidori now?”
”In the house of the Allee des Veuves, under good, sure guard.”
”Did he make no resistance to following you?”
”None. I left him the choice of being arrested on the spot by the French authorities, or being my prisoner in the Allee des Veuves. He did not hesitate.”
”You were right; it is better to have him thus in our own hands. You are a man of gold, my friend; but relate to me your journey; I am impatient to know how this unworthy woman and her depraved accomplice have been unmasked.”
”Nothing could be plainer. I had only to follow your instructions to the letter to terrify and crush these wretches. In this case, your highness has saved, as usual, people of worth, and punished the wicked; n.o.ble Providence that you are!”
”Sir Walter, Sir Walter, do you remember the flatteries of Baron de Graun?” said Rudolph, smiling.
”Well, let it pa.s.s. I will commence then; or, rather, you will first please to read this letter, from Madame d'Harville, which will inform you of all that occurred previous to my arrival.”
”A letter? give it to me quickly.”
Murphy, handing Rudolph the letter, added, ”As it was agreed upon, instead of accompanying the lady to her father's I alighted at an inn, a short distance from the chateau, where I was to stay until her ladys.h.i.+p sent for me.”
Rudolph read what follows, with tender and impatient solicitude:
”YOUR HIGHNESS,--To all I owe you already, I add the life of my father!
”I shall let facts speak for themselves; they will tell you better than I can, what new treasures of grat.i.tude toward you I have collected in my heart.
”Comprehending all the importance of the counsels which you gave me through Sir Walter Murphy, who rejoined me on the road to Normandy, just as I left Paris, I arrived in all haste at the Chateau des Aubiers.
”I do not know why, but the features of the servants who received me appeared sinister; I did not see among them any of the old servitors of our house; no one knew me; I was obliged to announce myself. I learned that, some days before, my father was quite ill, and my stepmother had just returned from Paris with a physician. No more doubt--it was Dr. Polidori!
”Wis.h.i.+ng to be conducted at once to my father, I asked where an old valet was, to whom he was much attached. This man had left the chateau some time before; this information was given me by a butler, who had conducted me to my apartments, saying 'that he would go and inform my step-mother of my arrival.'
”Was it an illusion or prejudice? it seemed to me that my arrival was disagreeable even to the servants. Everything in the chateau seemed mournful and sad. In the disposition of mind in which I found myself, one seeks to draw conclusions from the merest trifles. I remarked everywhere traces of disorder, of negligence, as if it had been thought useless to take care of a dwelling so soon to be abandoned.
”My anxiety increased each moment. After having settled my daughter and her governess in my apartment, I was about to go to my father when my step-mother entered. Notwithstanding her duplicity and the command which she ordinarily has over herself, she appeared uneasy at my arrival.
”M. d'Orbigny did not expect your visit, madame,” said she to me. ”He is so ill, that such a surprise might be fatal. I think it, then, suitable to leave him in ignorance of your presence; he cannot, in any way--” I did not allow her to finish.
”A great misfortune has happened, madame,” said I; 'M. d'Harville is dead! victim of a fatal imprudence! After such a deplorable event, I cannot remain in Paris, and I have come to pa.s.s at my father's my mourning.”
”You are a widow! Oh! what overpowering good fortune!' cried my step-mother, in a rage. From what you know of the unhappy marriage, which this woman schemed for me, your highness will comprehend the atrocity of her exclamation.
”It is because I feared that you would be also as overpoweringly fortunate as I am, madame, that I came here,” said I, perhaps imprudently; ”I wish to see my father.”
”Your unexpected appearance may do your father much harm,” cried she, placing herself before me, to bar the pa.s.sage. 'I will not allow you to enter his chamber until I have informed him of your return, with all the precautions his situation requires.'
”I was in a state of cruel perplexity. A sudden surprise might, indeed, prove dangerous to my father; but this woman, ordinarily so cold, so much the mistress of herself, seemed so alarmed at my presence; I had so many reasons to doubt the sincerity of her solicitude for the health of him whom she had married from cupidity; finally, the presence of Dr. Polidori, my mother's murderer, caused a terror so great that, believing the life of my father to be threatened, I did not hesitate between the hope of saving him and the fear of causing him any serious emotions.
”'I will see my father at once,' said I to my stepmother.
”And although she caught me by the arms, I pa.s.sed out.