CHAPTER XXXVIII
THE TWO SIGNALS
Let us now relate what happened at the Château des Noires-Fontaines
three days after the events we have just described took place
in Paris.
Since the successive departures of Roland, then Madame de Montrevel
and her son, and finally Sir John--Roland to rejoin his general,
Madame de Montrevel to place Edouard in school, and Sir John to
acquaint Roland with his matrimonial plans--Amélie had remained
alone with Charlotte at the Château des Noires-Fontaines. We
say _alone_, because Michel and his son Jacques did not
live in the house, but in the little lodge at the gate where he
added the duties of porter to those of gardener.
It therefore happened that at night all the windows, excepting
those of Amélie, which, as we have said, were on the first floor
overlooking the garden, and that of Charlotte in the attic, were
left in darkness.
Madame de Montrevel had taken the second chambermaid with her.
The two young girls were perhaps rather isolated in their part of
the house, which consisted of a dozen bedrooms on three floors,
especially at a time when so many rumors of robberies on the
highroads reached them. Michel, therefore, proposed to his young
mistress that he sleep in the main building, so as to be near
her in case of need. But she, in a firm voice, assured him that
she felt no fear, and desired no change in the customary routine
of the château.
Michel did not insist, and retired, saying that Mademoiselle
might, in any case, sleep in peace, for he and Jacques would make
the rounds of the house during the night.
Amélie at first seemed anxious about those rounds; but she soon
noticed that Michel and Jacques contented themselves with watching
on the edge of the forest of Seillon, and the frequent appearance
of a jugged hare, or a haunch of venison on the table, proved
to her that Michel kept his word regarding the promised rounds.
She therefore ceased to trouble about Michel's rounds, which
were always on the side of the house opposite to that where she
feared them.
Now, as we have said, three days after the events we have just
related, or, to speak more correctly, during the night following
the third day, those who were accustomed to see no light save in
Amélie's windows on the first floor and Charlotte's on the third,
might have observed with surprise that, from eleven o'clock until
midnight, the four windows on the first floor were illuminated. It
is true that each was lighted by a single wax-candle. They might
also have seen the figure of a young girl through the shades,
staring in the direction of the village of Ceyzeriat.
This young girl was Amélie, pale, breathing with difficulty, and
seeming to watch anxiously for a signal.
At the end of a few minutes she wiped her forehead and drew a
joyous breath. A fire was lighted in the direction she had been
watching. Then she passed from room to room, putting out the
three candles one after the other, leaving only the one which
was burning in her own room. As if the fire awaited this return
signal, it was now extinguished.
Amélie sat down by her window and remained motionless, her eyes
fixed on the garden. The night was dark, without moon or stars,
and yet at the end of a quarter of an hour she saw, or rather
divined, a shadow crossing the lawn and approaching the window.
She placed her single candle in the furthest corner of her room,
and returned to open her window.
He whom she was awaiting was already on the balcony.
As on the first night when we saw him climb it, the young man
put his arm around the girl's waist and drew her into the room.
She made but slight resistance; her hand sought the cord of the
Venetian blind, unfastened it from the hook that held it, and
let it fall with more noise than prudence would have counselled.
Behind the blind, she closed the window; then she fetched the candle
from the corner where she had hidden it. The light illuminated her
face, and the young man gave a cry of alarm, for it was covered
with tears.
"What has happened?" he asked.
"A great misfortune!" replied the young girl.
"Oh, I feared it when I saw the signal by which you recalled me
after receiving me last night. But is it irreparable?"
"Almost," answered Amélie.
"I hope, at least, that it threatens only me."
"It threatens us both."
The young man passed his hand over his brow to wipe away the sweat
that covered it.
"Tell me," said he; "you know I am strong."
"If you have the strength to hear it," said she, "I have none
to tell it." Then, taking a letter from the chimney-piece, she
added: "Read that; that is what I received by the post to-night."
The young man took the letter, opened it, and glanced hastily
at the signature.
"From Madame de Montrevel," said he.
"Yes, with a postscript from Roland."
The young man read:
MY DEAREST DAUGHTER--I hope that the news I announce will give
you as much joy as it has already given our dear Roland and me.
Sir John, whose heart you doubted, claiming that it was only a
mechanical contrivance, manufactured in the workshops at
Vaucanson, admits that such an opinion was a just one until the
day he saw you; but he maintains that since that day he has a
heart, and that that heart adores you.
Did you suspect it, my dear Amélie, from his aristocratic and
polished manners, when your mother's eyes failed to discern this
tenderness.
This morning, while breakfasting with your brother, he formally
asked your hand. Your brother received the offer with joy, but
he made no promises at first. The First Consul, before Roland's
departure for the Vendée, had already spoken of making himself
responsible for your establishment. But since then he has asked to
see Lord Tanlay, and Sir John, though he maintained his national
reserve, was taken into the first Consul's good graces at once, to
such a degree that he received from him, at their first interview,
a mission to his uncle, Lord Grenville. Sir John started for
England immediately.
I do not know how many days Sir John will be absent, but on his
return he is certain to present himself to you as your betrothed.
Lord Tanlay is still young, pleasing in appearance, and immensely
rich; he is highly connected in England, and Roland's friend. I
do not know a man who has more right, I will not say to your love,
but to your profound esteem.
The rest of my news I can tell you in two words. The First Consul
is still most kind to me and to your two brothers, and Madame
Bonaparte has let me know that she only awaits your marriage to
place you near her.
There is talk of leaving the Luxembourg, and removing to the
Tuileries. Do you understand the full meaning of this change of
domicile?
Your mother, who loves you,
CLOTILDE DE MONTREVEL.
Without pausing, the young man turned to Roland's postscript.
It was as follows:
You have read, my dear little sister, what our good mother has
written. This marriage is a suitable one under all aspects. It
is not a thing to be childish about; the First Consul _wishes_
you to become Lady Tanlay; that is to say, he _wills_ it.
I am leaving Paris for a few days. Though you may not see me,
you will hear of me.
I kiss you, ROLAND.
"Well, Charles," asked Amélie, when the young man had finished
reading, "what do you think of that?"
"That it is something we had to expect from day to day, my poor
angel, but it is none the less terrible."
"What is to be done?"
"There are three things we can do."
"Tell me."
"In the first place, resist if you have the strength; it is the
shortest and surest way."
Amélie dropped her head.
"You will never dare, will you?"
"Never."
"And yet you are my wife, Amélie; a priest has blessed our union."
"But they say that marriage before a priest is null before the law."
"Is it not enough for you, the wife of a proscribed man?" asked
Morgan, his voice trembling as he spoke.
Amélie flung herself into his arms.
"But my mother," said she; "our marriage did not have her presence
and blessing."
"Because there were too many risks to run, and we wished to run
them alone."
"But that man--Did you notice that my brother says he _wills_
it?"
"Oh, if you loved me, Amélie, that man would see that he may
change the face of the State, carry war from one end of the world
to the other, make laws, build a throne, but that he cannot force
lips to say yes when the heart says no."
"If I loved you!" said Amélie, in a tone of soft reproach. "It
is midnight, you are here in my room, I weep in your arms--I, the
daughter of General de Montrevel and the sister of Roland--and
you say, 'If you loved me.'"
"I was wrong, I was wrong, my darling Amélie. Yes, I know that
you were brought up in adoration of that man; you cannot understand
that any one should resist him, and whoever does resist him is
a rebel in your eyes."
"Charles, you said there were three things that we could do. What
is the second?"
"Accept apparently the marriage they propose to you, and gain
time, by delaying under various pretexts. The man is not immortal."
"No; but is too young for us to count on his death. The third
way, dear friend?"
"Fly--but that is a last resource, Amélie; there are two objections:
first, your repugnance."
"I am yours, Charles; I will surmount my repugnance."
"And," added the young man, "my engagements."
"Your engagements?"
"My companions are bound to me, Amélie; but I, too, am bound to
them. We also have a man to whom we have sworn obedience. That
man is the future king of France. If you accept your brother's
devotion to Bonaparte, accept ours to Louis XVIII."
Amélie let her face drop into her hands with a sigh.
"Then," said she, "we are lost."
"Why so? On various pretexts, your health above all, you can gain
a year. Before the year is out Bonaparte will probably be forced
to begin another war in Italy. A single defeat will destroy his
prestige; in short, a great many things can happen in a year."
"Did you read Roland's postscript, Charles?"
"Yes; but I didn't see anything in it that was not in your mother's
letter."
"Read the last sentence again." And Amélie placed the letter before
him. He read:
I am leaving Paris for a few days; though you may not see me,
you will hear of me.
"Well?"
"Do you know what that means?"
"No."
"It means that Roland is in pursuit of you."
"What does that matter? He cannot die by the hand of any of us."
"But you, unhappy man, you can die by his!"
"Do you think I should care so very much if he killed me, Amélie?"
"Oh! even in my gloomiest moments I never thought of that."
"So you think your brother is on the hunt for us?"
"I am sure of it."
"What makes you so certain?"
"Because he swore over Sir John's body, when he thought him dead,
to avenge him."
"If he had died," exclaimed the young man, bitterly, "we should
not be where we are, Amélie."
"God saved him, Charles; it was therefore good that he did not die."
"For us?"
"I cannot fathom the ways of the Lord. I tell you, my beloved
Charles, beware of Roland; Roland is close by."
Charles smiled incredulously.
"I tell you that he is not only near here, but he has been seen."
"He has been seen! Where? Who saw him?"
"Who saw him?"
"Yes."
"Charlotte, my maid, the jailer's daughter. She asked permission
to visit her parents yesterday, Sunday; you were coming, so I
told her she could stay till this morning."
"Well?"
"She therefore spent the night with her parents. At eleven o'clock
the captain of the gendarmerie brought in some prisoners. While
they were locking them up, a man, wrapped in a cloak, came in
and asked for the captain. Charlotte thought she recognized the
new-comer's voice. She looked at him attentively; his cloak slipped
from his face, and she saw that it was my brother,"
The young man made a movement.
"Now do you understand, Charles? My brother comes to Bourg,
mysteriously, without letting me know; he asks for the captain
of the gendarmerie, follows him into the prison, speaks only
to him, and disappears. Is that not a threatening outlook for
our love? Tell me, Charles!"
As Amélie spoke, a dark cloud spread slowly over her lover's face.
"Amélie," said he, "when my companions and I bound ourselves
together, we did not deceive ourselves as to the risks we ran."
"But, at least," said Amélie, "you have changed your place of
refuge; you have abandoned the Chartreuse of Seillon?"
"None but our dead are there now."
"Is the grotto of Ceyzeriat perfectly safe?"
"As safe as any refuge can be that has two exit."
"The Chartreuse of Seillon had two exits; yet, as you say, you
left your dead there."
"The dead are safer than the living; they are sure not to die
on the scaffold."
Amélie felt a shudder go through her.
"Charles!" she murmured.
"Listen," said the young man. "God is my witness, and you too, that
I have always put laughter and gayety between your presentiments
and my fears; but to-day the aspect of things has changed; we are
coming face to face with the crisis. Whatever the end brings
us, it is approaching. I do not ask of you, my Amélie, those
selfish, unreasonable things that lovers in danger of death exact
from their mistresses; I do not ask you to bind your heart to
the dead, your love to a corpse--"
"Friend," said the young girl, laying her hand on his arm, "take
care; you are doubting me."
"No; I do you the highest honor in leaving you free to accomplish
the sacrifice to its full extent; but I do not want you to be
bound by an oath; no tie shall fetter you."
"So be it," said Amélie.
"What I ask of you," continued the young man, "and I ask you
to swear it on our love, which has been, alas! so fatal to you,
is this: if I am arrested and disarmed, if I am imprisoned and
condemned to death, I implore you, Amélie, I exact of you, that
in some way you will send me arms, not only for myself, but for
my companions also, so that we may still be masters of our lives."
"But in such a case, Charles, may I not tell all to my brother?
May I not appeal to his tenderness; to the generosity of the
First Consul?"
Before the young girl had finished, her lover seized her violently
by the wrist.
"Amélie," said he, "it is no longer one promise I ask of you,
there are two. Swear to me, in the first place, and above all
else, that you will not solicit my pardon. Swear it, Amélie;
swear it!"
"Do I need to swear, dear?" asked the young girl, bursting into
tears. "I promise it."
"Promise it on the hour when I first said I loved you, on the
hour when you answered that I was loved!"
"On your life, on mine, on the past, on the future, on our smiles,
on our tears."
"I should die in any case, you see, Amélie, even though I had to
beat my brains out against the wall; but I should die dishonored."
"I promise you, Charles."
"Then for my second request, Amélie: if we are taken and condemned,
send me arms--arms or poison, the means of dying, any means. Coming
from you, death would be another joy."
"Far or near, free or a prisoner, living or dead, you are my master,
I am your slave; order and I obey."
"That is all, Amélie; it is simple and clear, you see, no pardon,
and the means of death."
"Simple and clear, but terrible."
"You will do it, will you not?"
"You wish me to?"
"I implore you."
"Order or entreaty, Charles, your will shall be done."
The young man held the girl, who seemed on the verge of fainting,
in his left arm, and approached his mouth to hers. But, just
as their lips were about to touch, an owl's cry was heard, so
close to the window that Amélie started and Charles raised his
head. The cry was repeated a second time, and then a third.
"Ah!" murmured Amélie, "do you hear that bird of ill-omen? We
are doomed, my friend."
But Charles shook his head.
"That is not an owl, Amélie," he said; "it is the call of our
companions. Put out the light."
Amélie blew it out while her lover opened the window.
"Even here," she murmured; "they seek you even here!"
"It is our friend and confidant, the Comte de Jayat; no one else
knows where I am." Then, leaning from the balcony, he asked:
"Is it you, Montbar?"
"Yes; is that you, Morgan?"
"Yes."
A man came from behind a clump of trees.
"News from Paris; not an instant to lose; a matter of life and
death to us all."
"Do you hear, Amélie?"
Taking the young girl in his arms, he pressed her convulsively
to his heart.
"Go," she said, in a faint voice, "go. Did you not hear him say
it was a matter of life and death for all of you?"
"Farewell, my Amélie, my beloved, farewell!"
"Oh! don't say farewell."
"No, no; au revoir!"
"Morgan, Morgan!" cried the voice of the man waiting below in
the garden.
The young man pressed his lips once more to Amélie's; then, rushing
to the window, he sprang over the balcony at a bound and joined
his friend.
Amélie gave a cry, and ran to the balustrade; but all she saw
was two moving shadows entering the deepening shadows of the
fine old trees that adorned the park.
