"You have not had a moment"s peace since this unhappy man has been in the house," said Salome, compa.s.sionately.
"No," smiled the lady. "Of course not, but it cannot be helped. We must bear one another"s burdens."
The loud ringing of the dinner-bell arrested the conversation.
"Come, we will go down," said the abbess, rising.
They descended to the refectory.
The long hall, that had been the scene of so much horror and confusion in the morning, was now restored to its normal condition.
The plain, frugal, midday meal of the abbess and the elder nuns was arranged with pure cleanliness upon the table, where, but a few hours before, the body of the wounded man had lain. But the awful event of the morning had taken a deep effect upon the quiet and sensitive sisterhood.
They sat down at the table, but scarcely touched the food.
When the form of dining--for it was little more than a form that day--was over, the abbess and her nuns arose, and separated about their several vocations.
Later on, the abbess sent a message to the Old Men"s Home, inquiring after the wounded man.
She received an answer to the effect that the patient had waked up, and had been told of the telegram from the Duke of Hereward, and the expected arrival of his grace at five o"clock.
The news had satisfied the suffering man, who had been calmer ever since its reception. He had also been told of the arrival of his wife, but he had declined to see her, or _any_ one, until he should have seen the Duke of Hereward. He was saving up all his little strength for his interview with the duke.
As the hours of the afternoon crept slowly away, the impatience of the young wife, Salome, arose to fever heat. She could not rest in any one room, but roamed about the convent, and through all its departments and offices, until, at length, she was met in the main corridor by the abbess, who gravely took her hand, drew it within her arm, and led her along, saying:
"Come into my parlor, child. The Duke of Hereward has arrived."
CHAPTER XLVII.
THE END OF A LOST LIFE.
The Duke of Hereward knew nothing of his wife"s presence in the Convent of St. Rosalie.
On his arrival, soon after five o"clock, he was met by the portress, who ushered him into the receiving parlor and sent to warn the abbess of his presence.
The abbess dispatched a message to the surgeon in attendance upon John Scott, and then sought out the young d.u.c.h.ess to inform her of her husband"s arrival.
Meantime Dr. Dubourg hurried down to the receiving-parlor to see the Duke of Hereward. They were strangers to each other, so the portress introduced them.
"I hope your patient is better, Monsieur le Docteur," said the duke, when the first salutations were over.
"No, I regret to say. There is, indeed, no hope. The poor man has been sinking since morning. He is most anxious to see your grace, before he dies, and that very anxiety, I think, has kept him up," gravely replied the physician.
"I am sorry to hear that. Is he in condition to see me now? Will not the interview tend to excite him and shorten his life?" anxiously inquired the duke.
"It may do so; but, on the other hand, his failure to see you might prove fatal to him sooner than his wound would. The fact is, sir, the man is doomed; his hours are numbered, and he knows it. He is eager to see you; he seems to have something weighing upon his mind, which he wishes to confide to you. He has been saving his little strength for an interview with you. He has refused to speak to any one, lest he should waste his forces and be too weak to talk to you."
"I will go to him, then, at once," said the duke.
"Do so, your grace, and I will attend you," said the doctor with a bow.
The duke arose and followed the doctor through the long corridors and narrow pa.s.sages leading from the Nunnery to the Old Men"s Home.
On their way thither, the duke inquired how the patient had received that fatal wound, of which his grace had only heard a vague report from sc.r.a.ps of conversation among the officials at the L"Ange Railway Depot.
The doctor gave him a brief account of the arrest and the suicide.
The duke made no comment, but fell into deep, sorrowful thought, until they reached the door of the room in which John Scott lay mortally wounded.
The doctor opened the door and pa.s.sed in with the duke.
It was a good-sized, square room, in which had once been placed four cots to accommodate four old men. Now, however, all the cots had been removed except the one on which the wounded man lay, and that had been drawn into the middle of the chamber, so as to give the patient a free circulation of fresh air, and to allow the approach of surgeon and attendants on every side. The walls were white-washed, the floor sanded, the windows shaded with blue paper hangings, and the cot-bed covered with a clean, blue-checked spread. Four cane chairs and a small deal table completed the furniture.
Everything was plain, clean and comfortable.
The doctor, with a deprecating gesture, signed to the duke to wait a moment, and went up to the side of the bed, and finding his patient awake, whispered:
"Monsieur, the friend you expected has arrived."
"You mean--the Duke of Hereward?" faintly inquired Scott.
"Yes, monsieur."
"Give me then--some cordial--to keep up my strength--for fifteen minutes longer," sighed the dying man at intervals.
The doctor signed to Sister Francoise, who sat by the bedside, to go and bring what was required.
The old nun went to the deal table and brought a small bottle of cognac brandy and a slender wine gla.s.s.
The doctor filled the gla.s.s, lifted the head of the patient, and placed the stimulant to his lips.
Scott swallowed the brandy, drew a deep breath as he sank back upon the pillow and said:
"Now, bring the duke to my bed side, and let everyone go and leave us together."
The doctor signed for the duke to approach, and silently presented him to the patient.
Then he beckoned Sister Francoise to follow him, and they left the room, closing the door behind them.
"I am sorry to see you suffering, my brother," said the duke, kindly, as he bent over the dying man.
"Ah! you call me your brother! You acknowledge me then?" said Scott, half in earnest, half in mockery.
"Most certainly I do acknowledge you, and most sincerely do I deplore your misfortunes," answered the duke.
"Yet I have been a great sinner. I feel that now, as I lie upon my death-bed," muttered Scott, in a low tone.