Читать книгу The Crimson Sign - H. A. Cody - Страница 14

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In the meantime Madame Louise D'Armours was entertaining her guest in the house. She was pleased at the officer's visit, and at once led him into the room adjoining the kitchen which was reserved for special occasions. And this was one of them, for she well knew that Villieu had come to the Oromocto on important business. Although he smiled pleasantly at the bright welcome he received, this shrewd woman knew from his manner that something of an unusual nature was troubling him. She was in her most fascinating mood now, with no trace of the cold and haughty manner she had presented to Helen Garland.

Having motioned her guest to a comfortable chair, she left the room and returned in a few minutes with a bottle of wine and two small glasses. Villieu's eyes brightened as she placed them upon the table, quickly and deftly uncorked the bottle and poured forth the gleaming wine. Then lifting a glass in her right hand, she held it aloft.

"To your health, Monsieur."

Villieu was on his feet in an instant, with the other glass in his hand.

"And to yours, Madame," he responded. "Health and happiness."

Madame Louise smiled as she drank and placed the glass upon the table.

"Be seated, Monsieur. I suppose we should drink to the health and prosperity of the King and Count Frontenac."

"And to Villebon, Madame."

"Why, Monsieur?" The woman's voice was stern as she asked the question. "Do you wish him health and happiness?"

Villieu glanced quickly and nervously around.

"Be careful, Madame. Walls have ears, remember, and it would not be well should Villebon hear you say that." Again he raised the glass to his lips. "Ah, your wine is excellent, Madame. Choice Burgundy! I have not tasted its equal since I left France." He re-filled the glass and sprang to his feet.

"Health and happiness to Monseigneur Joseph Robineau Sieur de Villebon, Commander of Acadia," he cried.

Madame Louise stared at him in surprise. What did the man mean? She knew his attitude towards Villebon, and why, then, should he drink to his health and happiness? But as Villieu resumed his seat, she detected the mocking expression about the corners of his mouth, and knew that his words belied the feeling of his heart.

Seating herself near the table, she waited for him to explain. Villieu could easily tell from her questioning eyes how great was her curiosity. It was quite agreeable to his nature to keep this woman in suspense. He knew her better than she imagined. And he was also aware that if it suited her purpose she could be as treacherous to him as to Villebon or anyone else. He glanced languidly around the room.

"What a comfortable place you have here, Madame. Everything is so new, fresh and clean."

"It should be, Monsieur. The house has not been long built."

"You are a remarkable woman. To think that in such a short time after the English burnt your house, you should have one like this erected! It is quite unusual."

"Don't you consider a woman capable of accomplishing things as well as a man?" Madame Louise retorted. "What else could I do? With my husband dead, and my children to look after, was I to sit down and lament in the ashes of my former dwelling?"

"You didn't, anyway, Madame, no matter what other women might have done. And your furniture, the chairs, tables and sofa are the best in this country. You live like a princess."

"Perhaps so, even if I do not feel like one. But I like to have my house as comfortable as possible, although it cost much to bring these things from Quebec. I could not have obtained them without the help of influential people there."

"And that was the way, I suppose, you came by such excellent wine, Madame? Pardon me if I fill my glass once more. And may I fill yours? I wish you to drink to the health of another—to the girl who is evidently doomed to be my wife."

"Ah, to Judith la Valliere, Monsieur? With pleasure I shall drink to her health and happiness."

Both rose to their feet, glasses in their hands. Villieu held his high, hesitated, and then in a cold bitter voice cried,

"To the health of the English girl, Mademoiselle Garland, now at the Oromocto."

From Madame Louise's nerveless hand the glass fell and shattered to pieces upon the floor. Villieu smiled as he noted the startling effect of his words.

"I see you are surprised, Madame."

The woman's eyes flashed with anger, and her lips expressed her scorn.

"Surprised, Monsieur! After this I shall not be surprised at anything. So you have given up the fair Judith, one of your own race, for the English girl. You are a traitor! I did not suspect you of such treachery."

"Neither did I, Madame. But when Monseigneur Villebon commands, what am I to do? I am helpless."

"Explain, Monsieur, the meaning of your strange words. Villebon commands!"

"He has. But let us be seated, and after I have had another draught of your excellent Burgundy, I shall enlighten you fully."

Filling his glass, he drained it to the last drop.

"Ah, that is stimulating. Wine is good for the nerves, and mine are badly shaken. And Villebon is the cause. He summoned me before him last night and announced his diabolical scheme. He hates Colonel Garland, and now that his daughter is a captive here, he has concocted a suitable revenge upon her father. He dislikes me, too, so he has included me in his plan. He knows that I am betrothed to Judith la Valliere, and he does not approve of our marriage. Villebon is well aware that her father has great ambitions, and if I marry his daughter, I shall be bound to him, and so will naturally abet him in his efforts to become commander of Acadia."

"Ah, I begin to understand now," Madame Louise replied. "Villebon is planning to have revenge upon Colonel Garland, and at the same time to strike at you and la Valliere."

"That is it, Madame. Villebon has ordered me to marry this English girl just as soon as Father Elizee returns. Mon Dieu! was ever any man placed in such a position? What am I to do?"

"Did you agree to marry the English girl, Monsieur?"

"Agree! There was no agreement about it. I was not even asked my opinion, but commanded."

"And didn't you protest? You surely have some right to chose the girl you wish for wife."

"Not in this country, Madame, where one man rules, or tries to rule, and who is actuated by revenge. Love is nothing to him then."

"Do you intend to obey him, Monsieur?"

"What else is there for me to do?"

"But will Father Elizee agree? Will he perform the marriage when he understands the circumstances?"

"I have thought of that, but see little hope. Father Elizee is a good man, who interferes with nothing apart from his office as priest and spiritual adviser. But Villebon is shrewd and may be able to make him think it will be good for the English girl's soul to marry me, and in that way to bring her into the fold. She may be even forced to renounce her own religion before our marriage."

"Would she consent to do that? The English are as determined as we are in religious matters, and this girl, no doubt, is the same. If she is anything like her father it will be difficult to get her consent."

"She will not be asked, Madame. She will be ordered. Father Elizee will attend to that."

"He won't be willing, Monsieur, to do such a thing."

"He may not be willing, but he will have to do what Villebon says, so that will be the end of it. I see no way out of this difficulty."

"Why did you come to me, then, Monsieur?"

"Because you are a clever woman, Madame, and I need to consult some one who has brains. Do not think this is mere flattery, for it is not. It is a sincere tribute to your ability. I believe yet that you can help me out of my trouble."

A smile flitted over Madame Louise's face. These words pleased her vanity. It was a triumph to have this noted officer seeking her assistance.

"Women are of use sometimes, Monsieur," she bantered. "But men are not always willing to follow their advice."

"That is quite true, Madame, and there may be reasons. But women are generally wiser than men in heart-affairs."

"But this has nothing to do with the heart. Love does not enter into it at all. It is a command, and love can never be commanded. Villebon has ordered you to marry against your will. He has not considered your feelings, so why should you consider his? He would use you merely as a pawn to have revenge upon an enemy, and injure you, as well. So would Count Frontenac, and all others in authority. To gain their own ends they would do anything. They have always done so, and what can they expect if we do the same? If anyone, no matter how innocent, stood in their way, they would soon get rid of him."

Villieu started and looked keenly at the woman. The meaning of her words was quite apparent.

"But, Madame, I am not a devil, if others are."

"I did not imply that you are, Monsieur. But you do not always need to be a devil to get rid of one who stands in your way." She had bent her head, and was speaking in a low voice. "This English girl is in your way just now. Through Villebon's diabolical scheme she comes between you and the fair Judith la Valliere. You must get rid of her. She must disappear. You have come to me for advice, and I have given it."

"But it is terrible advice, Madame. I am no saint, but I could not do any bodily harm to that English girl. If I were not betrothed to Judith, nothing would give me greater pleasure than to marry such a girl, even though she is not of my own race. Sacre bleu, how beautiful she is! And what courage is hers! You should have seen how she bore herself after she was captured. She did not weep and lament, but stood calmly erect before us all. And her eyes! I shall never forget the way she looked at her captors. No, no, I wish no harm to a girl like that."

As Madame Louise listened to these glowing words, a cold, cruel expression came into her eyes. She could not bear to hear such a rhapsody about another of her own sex, especially the English girl to whom she had taken such a strong dislike.

"I fear it would not be pleasing to the fair Judith, Monsieur, should she ever know of your unbounded admiration of this English girl.

"You think so, Madame? It is quite evident, then, that you do not know Judith la Valliere. She is different from what you imagine. To praise another of her sex causes no jealousy to such a noble nature as hers. On several occasions I have told her about you, and what a beautiful woman you are, and I wish you could have seen the light of pleasure in her eyes. And it will be the same, I am certain, when I tell her about Mademoiselle Garland."

Madame Louise's face flushed at this rebuke, and she bowed slightly. She was visibly annoyed.

"I hope to meet her some day, Monsieur. And I can well comprehend why you are so loyal to her, notwithstanding the charms of the English captive girl."

"I hope you will, Madame, and I am sure you will like her. If we could only get Mademoiselle Garland to the Chignecto she would be safe there. Sieur de la Valliere would look well after her, and return her to her father, for he has no love for Villebon."

"Why not send her there, Monsieur?" Madame Louise eagerly asked. "That would solve your difficulty."

"It would, indeed, but how is it to be accomplished? If that girl were allowed to escape while she is here, Villebon would blame you, and, Mon Dieu! he can be cruel."

"I know that only too well, Monsieur. But suppose she escaped without our knowledge, carried away, stolen in the night, for instance. Have you thought of the League of the Crimson Sign?"

Villieu started, and looked intently at the woman.

"No, I never thought of them, Madame. But how could we get word to them?"

Madame Louise looked cautiously around, and when she spoke her voice was merely a whisper.

"They are never far away. They are always nearer than you think, especially at the Jemseg. My sister and her husband are in close touch with Pete King. And, besides, there is that short portage to the Washademoak. It would be quite easy for the girl to go that way."

"But how could she go? She could never find her way alone?"

"Certainly not. But Pete King and his men would look after her."

"And suppose they should come too late?"

"We shall have to depend, then, upon that young English boy to take her. He knows the way, and he has been already speaking to the girl about that very route. He tells me everything he and the girl talk about."

"Yes, that might be done, Madame. But what would become of the two if they did not reach the Washademoak, or if the men of the Crimson Sign did not meet them there?"

"I am not worrying about that, Monsieur. It is not likely they would ever come back, so you would be free from your difficult situation."

Villieu's face darkened, and a feeling of disgust for this woman came into his heart. He understood quite well now that she was jealous of the English girl, and would be willing, if necessary, to sacrifice two innocent ones to satisfy her passion. And she would be as ready to turn against him. He had always known that she was a dangerous woman, and he had hesitated before confiding to her his trouble. But he never realised the depth of her baseness until now, and longed to have nothing more to do with her. At present, however, he needed her, so it was advisable to conceal his feeling of repulsion.

"I trust, Madame, that we shall not be forced to carry out your last suggestion. I have confidence in Pete King and his men. When they learn that the English girl is here, they will rescue her, most likely, without any assistance on our part."

"It must not be from here, Monsieur," the woman hastily replied. "I shall send the girl with young English to the Jemseg. My sister will know what to do, for I shall write to her and explain matters."

"And let Madame Marguerite bear Villebon's wrath?" Villieu sternly retorted.

"There will be no danger to her, Monsieur. It will be much easier for the girl to be rescued from there than from here. The portage begins at the Jemseg, remember."

"Very well," and Villieu sighed. "I shall leave it to you, Madame. When can you send the girl away?"

"At once. It will take but a short time to get her ready."