Vayenne.
by Percy Brebner.
CHAPTER I
THE TRAVELLER ARRIVES
A long, straight road, no hedge or ditch separating it from the fields on either side, but at intervals of fifty yards or so trees in pairs; tall, thin trees, but heavy-headed and with foliage spread out fussily near the ground, all bent forward in one direction, and looking for all the world like ancient dames with their petticoats held out of the mud as they struggled wearily homeward against a strong wind. In its season this road could be muddy, as many a traveller knew, the fierce storms which raged across the low country making it almost impa.s.sable for days together in winter-time. To-day the ancient diligence which traversed it at an even, jog-trot pace only left a long cloud of dust in its wake; and the driver, an old man who had driven along this road at regular intervals for more years than he could count, who possibly knew the exact number of trees which lined it, sat hunched upon his seat and had nothing to do. Perhaps he slept, for the horses knew the way well enough to have performed the journey without him. Earlier in the day there had been half a dozen pa.s.sengers, but of these only one remained, and he had found the driver so taciturn, and his patois so difficult to understand when he did speak, that he had given up all attempt at conversation. He was weary of the long journey, and dozed whenever the jolting of the somewhat crazy vehicle would allow him to do so.
For two days he had waited in the little frontier town, for the diligence only performed this journey twice in the week, and he had been travelling since early morning. At the last moment, indeed, he had hesitated whether he should take the journey at all. It was an absurd fancy that had brought him to this Duchy of Montvilliers, a wonder and speculation which had lain latent in him since childhood.
As a boy a few chance words, and an elderly woman"s earnest looking into his face, had stirred his imagination. Since then the work of life had come to fire him with other ambitions, some partially realized, perhaps, some found to be unworthy of pursuit; and then, suddenly as it were, almost as though some compelling voice had spoken to his inner consciousness, the old wonder and speculation had sprung again into life, and at last he was nearing the end of a journey which as a lad he had promised himself one day to take.
The sun was fast sinking westward when the jolting of the vehicle again woke the traveller, and he saw that the aspect of the land had changed. The monotonous pairs of trees had gone, and the diligence Was ascending a stiff incline between two swelling downs, part of a long line of hills which had risen mistily in the distance before them all day. It was a long climb and the horses stopped at intervals to rest without any suggestion from the driver; on their own initiative they went on again, and finally paused on the summit before beginning the long descent on the other side.
"Vayenne?" asked the traveller, suddenly leaning toward the driver and pointing down into the valley. The man looked at him with sleepy eyes and nodded. It seemed a foolish question to him. What place could it be but Vayenne?
It lay in the gathering twilight like the city of a dream, indefinite, unreal, mystical. The hills overshadowed it, keeping silent watch; and spanned by a stone bridge, a river, dotted with green islands like emeralds upon its bosom, swept around its southern and western sides, holding it in its arms. Over all was the diaphanous haze of evening and silence, save for the thin music of bell and chime from belfry or clock tower, joyous little cadences which rose and fell at short intervals. Indistinctly the eye could trace the direction of some of the wider streets, and toward the northern side, dominating the city from rising ground, five gaunt, weather-beaten towers, with ma.s.sive walls and battlements between, frowned over all below. There was menace in this castle, power, and perchance cruelty. It spoke of despotic government, of might as right, of stern repression, of feudal laws and the crushing of all liberty; and yet close to it, the crowning glory of a glorious church, a great spire pierced upward through the haze, telling of other things and a time to come.
They were complex thoughts which filled the mind of the traveller as the diligence swung rapidly down toward the town. To him, indeed, Vayenne was a dream city, an unknown city; yet somehow it had always seemed a part of himself. In an indefinite way he had always known that some day he would come to it, would have a part in its life, be of it; and now, as every moment brought him nearer to it, he forgot that he was a casual traveller merely, that only a few hours ago he had hesitated whether he should come at all. He was obliged to come.
He was only fulfilling his destiny.
Lights began to blink in the houses as they crossed the old stone bridge and pa.s.sed under a ma.s.sive gateway on the city side of it.
Lights swung at street corners as the lumbering vehicle pa.s.sed over the cobblestones with much rattle and noise upward toward the castle.
Even the driver roused a little from his lethargy, and cracked his whip. They had proceeded some distance when he suddenly drew to the side of the street, and the horses came to a standstill. They were evidently used to such pauses; for in these narrow thoroughfares traffic was difficult, and the diligence made no pretence of keeping time. There was the sound of horses" hoofs behind, and in a few moments a woman, followed by half a dozen hors.e.m.e.n, rode by. She checked her pace as she pa.s.sed, and turned to look at the traveller, while the driver slowly raised his whip in salute. The light from a lamp swinging from a bracket on the wall fell upon her, and the traveller saw that she was young, two or three and twenty, her figure slight and supple. Her dark gray habit may have made her look smaller than she really was, and the mare, which she sat like an accomplished horsewoman, was a big and powerful animal, almost too much, it seemed, for those little gloved hands which held the reins to manage. Yet there was strength in those little hands. There was a suggestion of strength about her altogether, strength of will and purpose. It shone out of a pair of dark gray eyes set under gracefully curved brows and veiled with long lashes. The firm little mouth showed it, and there was just enough suspicion of squareness about the chin to emphasize it. She had nut-brown hair, a curl of which fell upon her forehead from underneath a gray astrakhan cap, and the little head was poised proudly on her shoulders. No ordinary woman this, not one to be easily swayed by love or any other pa.s.sion, a woman to rule rather than be ruled.
"Who is that?" asked the traveller, leaning toward the driver as the cavalcade pa.s.sed on.
"A beautiful woman," was the slow answer.
"But her name?"
The driver cracked his whip and the diligence began to rattle over the cobbles again.
"Some day she may be d.u.c.h.ess," he said, as though he was following his own train of thought rather than answering his companion"s question.
There was no time to tempt him into being more explicit, for the horses turned a corner sharply, and with a shake of their harness stopped before a long, low building, on which the traveller could just decipher the words, Hotel de la Croix Verte. It was an old house, redolent of the past, the lights within shining but faintly through the small windows. Its upper story projected over the narrow footway, and its lower walls bulged outward, as though they had grown tired of the load they had had to bear so long. Its age seemed to have infected its inhabitants, too, for some moments elapsed before the door opened, and a man came out leisurely to receive the parcels which the diligence had brought. That it had brought a traveller also did not excite him, nor was he in any hurry to welcome him. Perhaps the traveller was half dreaming, for he almost started when the man turned and spoke to him.
"Yes; it"s a long journey," he answered, "and I am ready to do justice to the best you have."
He followed the landlord along a narrow pa.s.sage and up a twisting staircase.
"The best room," said the landlord as he opened a door and lit a candle. "There"s no one else staying in the house. Strangers do not come much to Vayenne."
"No?" said the traveller interrogatively.
"No," returned the landlord. "It"s not an easy journey, and, besides, what can strangers want in Vayenne? By your accent you"ll be----"
"Well, to what extent does my accent betray me?" asked the traveller, with a smile.
"English or German," was the answer.
"Englishman," said the traveller--"Roger Herrick by name, a casual visitor who may be interested enough to stay in Vayenne some time."
The landlord nodded, as though he were not surprised at anything an Englishman might do, and went out promising an excellent dinner forthwith.
"So I am in Vayenne at last!" Herrick exclaimed as he glanced around the old room, pleased with its panelled walls and low, beamed ceiling.
"In Vayenne! I hardly thought when the time came that the fact would impress me so much."
He went to the window, opened it, and looked out. Like shadows in the darkness he could dimly discern the towers of the castle above the roofs opposite, and the slender spire with its top lost in the night.
The chimes made little bursts of ecstatic music like the voices and laughter of spirits in the air. Somewhere there was the low rumble of a cart over the cobbles, but the street below him was empty. The diligence had gone; no pedestrian was on the narrow footway. It almost seemed as though he were deserted, left here for all time; that, however anxious he might be to leave Vayenne, he would not be able to do so. The city of his dreams had him fast, and already the first of her surprises was preparing for him. Could he have looked but for an instant into the near future, he might possibly have gone to dinner with less appet.i.te than he did.
The long, low room had its windows toward the street, and was broken up by part.i.tions. A waiter pointed to one of these separate retreats as Herrick entered, and he saw that his table was laid there. On the other side of the part.i.tion four men were sitting, a bottle of wine and gla.s.ses on the table between them. Herrick casually noticed that one was in uniform and that another wore the ca.s.sock of a priest, but took no further interest in them, and he had come into the room so quietly that they did not look up at his entrance, and were perhaps unconscious that any one was dining on the other side of the part.i.tion.
The landlord had been true to his word, and had provided an excellent dinner. It was good wine, too, that was set upon the table, and Herrick began to discover how hungry he really was. For a long time his attention was confined to the business in hand, and then he suddenly became conscious of the conversation on the other side of the part.i.tion. It seemed to have taken a more serious turn, the voices were dropped a little, and it was this fact, no doubt, which made Herrick listen unconsciously.
"Such men as he is die hard," said one man. "The old Duke may hold death at arm"s length for years yet."
"Not so, my son. I know something of his disease, and naught but a miracle can help him. A few weeks perhaps, and then----"
It was evidently the priest who spoke. His voice was soft and persuasive, and Herrick thought that some suggestive gesture, explaining what must ensue, had probably finished the sentence.
There was silence for a few moments, and then the ring of a gla.s.s as it was placed on the table.
"When the reins fall from a strong hand there is always trouble," said another man.
"And opportunity, don"t forget that," said the priest. "You have your ambitions; have we not talked of them before this? They are within a few short weeks of realization, if you will be guided by me."
"Ay, or I am within measurable distance of losing my head, if things go awry," was the answer. "There are always two sides to such a scheme as this."
"I hadn"t thought to find a coward in Gaspard Lemasle," said the priest.
There was a sudden movement and quick shuffle of feet, then a laugh, the laugh of a strong man, deep-chested and resonant.
"Bah! I forgot. One cannot fight with a ca.s.sock. See here, Father Bertrand, granted I have ambitions, where it not better to stand by the stronger side? Count Felix is strong, even as his uncle. The old Duke looks upon him as his successor. Strong hands are ready to catch the reins as they fall. In the face of such a man will Vayenne shout for a pale-faced scholar it has little knowledge of, think you?"
"And what reward is Gaspard Lemasle to win from Count Felix?" asked the priest. "Is Gaspard Lemasle"s support necessary to him? Rewards come only to those who struggle for them. For you they lie in the hands of that pale scholar at Pa.s.sey. There will be many to shout for him, and, with a determined leader to fight for him, I can see enthusiastic crowds in the streets of Vayenne."
"Father Bertrand speaks nothing but the truth," said another man, and it seemed certain that only Lemasle"s consent was wanting to complete a scheme which had long occupied the priest"s attention.
"Maybe," Lemasle returned, "I care not overmuch which way it goes."
"And you have forgotten Mademoiselle de Liancourt," said the priest.
"A second time your ca.s.sock protects you, father," laughed the other.
"It were a sin, indeed, to forget her. Pa.s.s the bottle, and let us have br.i.m.m.i.n.g gla.s.ses to drink her health. Christine de Liancourt, the most beautiful woman in Montvilliers."
"In the world," corrected the priest quietly. "She is heart and soul for this pale scholar, and she has mentioned Gaspard Lemasle to me."