Part 55 (2/2)
”No; fortunately Victor got wind of the affair, and warned me not to return. I was present, however, at the trial. The police had unfortunately discovered that the property was the proceeds of several extensive burglaries, and the court sentenced him to ten years'
transportation. The first few months he spent in performing hard labour at Brest, and at the end of that period I received a letter from him.
It was long and earnest, reminding me of how he was suffering for my sake, and declaring his pa.s.sionate love. To this I replied, and, after the lapse of a few weeks I received another, urging me to marry him. He said that he was sailing for New Caledonia that day, therefore if I consented I should be compelled to follow him out there. To meet this contingency he gave me the address of a bank, where I was to call and obtain money for my journey; and, further, he stated that in the event of my consenting to become his wife, he had given orders that three thousand francs were to be paid annually to me until his liberation.
Naturally, such a proposal caused me grave doubts, especially as I had discovered a few days previous to his arrest a fresh and most striking proof of his love for this vile woman who stands now before you.”
”Did you marry him after all?” inquired the artist impatiently, for he had been in ignorance of all this.
”Yes, Valerie and Victor, having suspicions that the police had scented them, fled from Paris: consequently I was without means. Although I was fond of Glanville, and admired his courage in s.h.i.+elding me, yet I did not love him so well as another man I had lately met. However, finding myself almost dest.i.tute, I drew the money from the bank, and sailed for `La Nouvelle' where, after a few weeks' residence, the Governor gave us permission to marry. The ceremony was duly performed, and I have here the lines which prove it,” she added, exhibiting a small strip of paper which she had taken from her pocket.
”Your honey noon was scarcely pleasant, I should think,” observed Hugh sympathetically.
”Its brevity did not allow either of us to become bored,” she said. ”I parted from him at the chapel door, and I have not seen him since.”
”Not seen him!” repeated Egerton. ”Why, has he not yet obtained his freedom?”
”Yes; he escaped before he had been there two years. However, we never met.”
”But why did you marry him?” the artist asked. ”A convict was hardly a desirable husband.”
”Ah! you wonder. Well, there were several reasons,” she said.
”Firstly, I was afraid lest he should expose me with regard to a certain incident which occurred at Pa.s.sy, in which Berard and I were implicated.
We were on a midnight expedition, and a policeman who proved troublesome received an ugly dig with a knife; therefore I was confident that if this were divulged I should be arrested and sentenced as one of Victor's accessories. Then, again, I had been told by an Englishman who knew him that Glanville had an ample income, and this was confirmed by his offer to provide me with money until his release. Besides, he, on the other hand, was anxious to marry me in order to secure my silence, because he knew I had discovered a secret of his which, if not preserved, might bring dire consequences. It may have been for the best that we parted so quickly, for as soon as the marriage ceremony was performed I regretted the rash step, inasmuch as the recollection of my discovery regarding his alliance with this woman came back to me in all its hideous reality.”
”What alliance?” inquired Valerie, whose firm, set face was as colourless as the dress she wore.
”It is well you should feign ignorance,” Gabrielle replied angrily.
Then, turning to the two men, she said: ”In order that you shall understand matters aright, I shall be compelled to describe the scene.
It took place in a suite of rooms in the Boulevard Haussmann tenanted by an English dealer in gems named Nicholson.”
”What do you know of him?” cried Valerie in a husky voice.
”Have patience and you shall hear,” she answered with a sarcastic smile.
Again addressing her companions, she continued her narrative, saying: ”While this woman was living with Victor, she had enchanted Egerton and Glanville. Both, unaware of one another's feelings, were ecstatic over her face and figure; both wors.h.i.+pped her, and both were prepared to do anything to secure her favour.”
”That is true,” admitted the artist moodily. ”I was a brainless fool.
Yet I did not know until now that Glanville had also been smitten by her fatal beauty.”
”He had, nevertheless, as you will see. This woman--who afterwards a.s.sumed the name of Dedieu--with her usual crafty far-sightedness saw that it was possible to turn the mad impetuosity of you and your fellow-student to her advantage, and did not fail to embrace the opportunity. The scheme she concocted was indeed a fiendish one, which she carried out unaided, and the secret would have been safe even now had I not been the witness of her crime.”
”You--you saw me?” shrieked Valerie in dismay. ”You lie! You saw nothing.”
”Her crime! What was it? Tell us quickly,” urged Hugh.
”The facts are almost incredible, but they are simply as follows: Nicholson was her lover, and the safe in his room contained a quant.i.ty of cut and uncut gems. She devised an ingenious plan by which she could get rid of her lover, obtain the stones, and throw the guilt upon the two men who were infatuated with her.”
”Bah! don't believe her!--she's telling you a pretty romance!” declared Valerie, striving to appear unconcerned.
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