CHAPTER VII.
No satisfactory result attended the inquiries made at Munich save indeed
this certainty,--the certificates attesting the decease of some person
calling herself Louise Duval had not been forged. They were indubitably
genuine. A lady bearing that name had arrived at one of the principal
hotels late in the evening, and had there taken handsome rooms. She was
attended by no servant, but accompanied by a gentleman, who, however,
left the hotel as soon as he had seen her lodged to her satisfaction.
The books of the hotel still retained the entry of her name,--Madame
Duval, _Francaise rentiere_. On comparing the handwriting of this entry
with the letter from Richard King's first wife, Graham found it to
differ; but then it was not certain, though probable, that the entry had
been written by the alleged Madame Duval herself. She was visited the
next day by the same gentleman who had accompanied her on arriving. He
dined and spent the evening with her. But no one at the hotel could
remember what was the gentleman's name, nor even if he were announced by
any name. He never called again. Two days afterwards, Madame Duval was
taken ill; a doctor was sent for, and attended her till her death. This
doctor was easily found. He remembered the case perfectly,--congestion
of the lungs, apparently caused by cold caught on her journey. Fatal
symptoms rapidly manifested themselves, and she died on the third day
from the seizure. She was a young and handsome woman. He had asked her
during her short illness if he should not write to her friends; if there
were no one she would wish to be sent for. She replied that there was
only one friend, to whom she had already written, and who would arrive in
a day or two; and on inquiring, it appeared that she had written such a
letter, and taken it herself to the post on the morning of the day she
was taken ill.
She had in her purse not a large sum, but money enough to cover all her
expenses, including those of her funeral, which, according to the law in
force at the place, followed very quickly on her decease. The arrival of
the friend to whom she had written being expected, her effects were, in
the meanwhile, sealed up. The day after her death a letter arrived for
her, which was opened. It was evidently written by a man, and apparently
by a lover. It expressed an impassioned regret that the writer was
unavoidably prevented returning to Munich so soon as he had hoped, but
trusted to see his dear _bouton de rose_ in the course of the following
week; it was only signed Achille, and gave no address. Two or three days
after, a lady, also young and handsome, arrived at the hotel, and
inquired for Madame Duval. She was greatly shocked at hearing of her
decease. When sufficiently recovered to bear being questioned as to
Madame Duval's relations and position, she appeared confused; said, after
much pressing, that she was no relation to the deceased; that she
believed Madame Duval had no relations with whom she was on friendly
terms,--at least she had never heard her speak of any; and that her own
acquaintance with the deceased, though cordial, was very recent. She
could or would not give any clew to the writer of the letter signed
Achille, and she herself quitted Munich that evening, leaving the
impression that Madame Duval had been one of those ladies who, in
adopting a course of life at variance with conventional regulations,
are repudiated by their relations, and probably drop even their rightful
names.
Achille never appeared; but a few days after, a lawyer at Munich received
a letter from another at Vienna, requesting, in compliance with a
client's instructions, the formal certificates of Louise Duval's death.
These were sent as directed, and nothing more about the ill-fated woman
was heard of. After the expiration of the time required by law, the
seals were removed from the effects, which consisted of two _malles_ and
a dressing-case. But they only contained the articles appertaining to a
lady's wardrobe or toilet,--no letters, not even another note from
Achille,--no clew, in short, to the family or antecedents of the
deceased. What then had become of these effects, no one at the hotel
could give a clear or satisfactory account. It was said by the mistress
of the hotel, rather sullenly, that they had, she supposed, been sold by
her predecessor, and by order of the authorities, for the benefit of the
poor.
If the lady who had represented herself as Louise Duval's acquaintance
had given her own name, which doubtless she did, no one recollected it.
It was not entered in the books of the hotel, for she had not lodged
there; nor did it appear that she had allowed time for formal examination
by the civil authorities. In fact, it was clear that poor Louise Duval
had been considered as an adventuress by the hotel-keeper and the medical
attendant at Munich; and her death had excited so little interest, that
it was strange that even so many particulars respecting it could be
gleaned.
After a prolonged but fruitless stay at Munich, Graham and M. Renard
repaired to Vienna; there, at least, Madame Marigny had given an address,
and there she might be heard of.
At Vienna, however, no research availed to discover a trace of any such
person; and in despair Graham returned to England in the January of 1870,
and left the further prosecution of his inquiries to M. Renard, who,
though obliged to transfer himself to Paris for a time, promised that he
would leave no stone unturned for the discovery of Madame Marigny; and
Graham trusted to that assurance when M. Renard, rejecting half of the
large gratuity offered him, added, "Je suis Francais; this with me has
ceased to be an affair of money; it has become an affair that involves my
_amour propre_."
