Читать книгу Cardillac - Robert Barr - Страница 7
ОглавлениеAN INVITATION AT MIDNIGHT
"I am the Duke de Montreuil," sternly announced the standing man. "I can be arrested only on a warrant signed by His Majesty the King, and if such an instrument were extant, which I refuse to believe, it would not be placed in the hands of a sergeant of police for execution."
The sergeant knew enough of the law to be aware that the duke spoke the truth. His net had enclosed a bigger fish than he had expected. The Duke of Montreuil's face and form were quite familiar to any denizen of Paris, and only a stranger like Cardillac, who came from a remote corner of France, could have been ignorant of the nobleman's identity when confronting him. The sergeant now recognised the duke, and he spoke with a cringing deference in marked contrast with his proclamation of arrest.
"My lord duke, what you say concerning your privilege is true; nevertheless, the incident that has occurred here is in direct contravention of the very precise edict of the King himself, and therefore amounts to high treason, which crime dissolves all privilege, save only that pertaining to the royal family itself. Who killed this man?"
"Officer, although you argue like an advocate, you jump at a hasty conclusion. The youth, so far as I am able to judge on brief and badly illuminated examination, is not dead, or even grievously wounded. There appears to be a scratch on the throat, and a sword wound through the arm. I judge him to have fainted from loss of blood, and what we need here is a surgeon, and not a sergeant. You are ill advised in assuming a duel. The truth is your streets are badly protected, and doubtless this unfortunate young man has been set upon by footpads; probably robbed. I think that all who know me in Paris, these many years, need not be told that, if I fought a duel, 'twould be in some more secluded spot, and during a properly lighted hour of the twenty-four. The accusation at which you hint, officer, is absurd, so far as it impinges upon me."
The officer presented a picture of bewilderment, His lordship had spoken with a quiet indifference that was singularly effective; yet there lay the man, wounded or dead, and the instructions which the officer had received from the Dictator's headquarters had informed him that he would come upon just such a scene at almost precisely the moment he arrived, in one or other of four lanes leading from the Dictator's house.
He had been told that he would see, entering these lanes, one man followed by another. He was not to interfere, even if he heard the sound of conflict, until the affray was over. Then he was to arrest the survivor, or both, if neither were killed, and was to collect evidence as to whether what had happened was a duel or an assassination. Apparently his superiors were in doubt as to the intentions of the two men under surveillance, and here, to his astonishment, he found that one of them was a noble of France, who but a few months before had been more powerful than any other, saving only the Queen Mother and her favourite, Concini. He was shrewd enough to know, also, that to-morrow this man might be in power again. Events followed one another rapidly in France.
"My lord duke, you entered this lane a few minutes ago, and the man lying there was pursuing you."
"If he pursued me, I am not aware of it. I was proceeding peaceably home after a private conference with Charles d'Albert de Luynes, in his own house, at his own invitation."
"But, my lord, since you entered this lane no one has emerged from it at either end. How, then, came this man wounded?"
The duke shrugged his shoulders.
"Really, sergeant, I have not the honour to belong to the detective force of the police. If you wish to find the culprit, I would suggest that you search the houses on either side. They are numerous enough and sinister enough to harbour a thousand criminals. A cut-throat thief of this locality does not need to emerge from either end of the lane. I make the further suggestion that, instead of standing talking foolishly there, you should get help for this man. He may, indeed, be dying on your hands, and, by the way, do you propose to attempt my arrest?"
"No, my lord duke, but I must take the victim into custody, and report the fact that I found your lordship with him."
Cardillac opened his eyes, and with an effort reached a sitting posture. The duke once more pulled forth the flask of brandy, eager to stop the young man's mouth until he could give him some hint of the critical situation.
"Here, my poor fellow, drink this. You have been set on and wounded, I take it, by some footpads. Have they robbed you?"
"My pockets are empty," said Cardillac, promptly feeling with his right hand in one, while the duke held the flask to his lips.
"You see," said the nobleman, "what happened is exactly as I surmised. This unhappy youth has been maltreated and robbed, and, for all I know, he may be a friend of Monsieur de Luynes himself."
Cardillac, assisted to his feet by the duke and the sergeant, wincing when the latter caught too roughly his wounded arm, looked about him at the silent assembly of men.
"You seem to have arrived, officer, with plenty of assistance, but I wish you had been fewer in number and more prompt in appearing."
"Who are you, sir?" demanded the sergeant.
Cardillac was quick-witted enough in ordinary circumstances, although he had shown heretofore but little of that quality. He noted, nevertheless, the duke's emphasis on the suggestion that he was a friend of Luynes, and now knew enough of the character of the Dictator to realise that he must proceed with extreme caution if he was to circumvent him.
"I am called Victor de Cardillac, from Gascony; a stranger here in Paris, whither I have come on the personal invitation of my friend, Charles d'Albert de Luynes."
"The deuce you say!" gasped the astonished officer, who found himself becoming more and more involved with those whom he feared it was safer to leave alone. "If, as you state, you are a friend of the chief minister, I hope you will accompany me to his presence, and testify, perhaps, that I have treated you with courtesy."
"I'm willing to do that," agreed Cardillac, but the duke interposed.
"Nonsense, sergeant, nonsense! This young man is in no condition to meet anyone but a doctor, and Monsieur de Luynes will not thank you for disturbing him at this hour of night merely to convince him that you are an egregious blunderer. Doubtless the duel you are looking for has been taking place while you have been wasting time here. My word should have been sufficient, I think."
"Pardon me, my lord duke, but you said yourself that you knew nothing of this young man."
"Neither I do. I never met him before in my life, but I know the family of Cardillac in Gascony to be one of ancient and honourable rank, and if the word of a scion of that house is sufficient for me, it ought to be accepted by you; if it is not, you must be prepared to take the consequences when you meet my friend Charles d'Albert de Luynes, with whom, as I have told you, I spent the evening."
"My instructions were very definite, my lord duke, and I confess myself in a quandary. The family of Cardillac may be of the best, as you say, but as you are not personally acquainted with this young man, you cannot vouch that he bears any relationship to it."
"If I have not been robbed of my papers as well as my purse," said Cardillac mildly, "I can soon resolve your doubt. Kindly search inside my doublet. My arm seems stiff and unwieldy. You will find there documents that prove my identity, and also the letter of invitation from Monsieur de Luynes himself. I hope you know his handwriting."
The sergeant, with many apologies that the search was not a legal one, but carried out in fulfilment of Cardillac's own desire, came upon the papers, and read the letter of Luynes, which had been written on the official stationery of the King's palace.
Dear Monsieur de Cardillac:
Paris, by all means. It is a delightful city, where young men enjoy themselves, and become rich. I long to embrace the founder of my fortune.
Luynes.
Cardillac laughed as the sergeant read this letter.
"My experiences of to-night," he said, "do not bear out the statement of your master. I have found Paris anything but a delightful city, and so far from becoming rich, I stand at this moment penniless."
The sergeant was now profound and profuse in his apologies both to the duke and to the young stranger.
"I deeply regret what has happened," he said, "and shall make no attempt to detain you a moment longer. I hope my lord duke, and you, Monsieur de Cardillac, will testify that I have endeavoured to carry out my disagreeable duty as courteously as possible, and did not persist after I was satisfied of this young man's identity. I shall now withdraw my men, and you may proceed on your way unmolested. I sincerely regret having interrupted your progress, my lord duke."
"You may dismiss your men if you like, sergeant, but you yourself must accompany me to my house. Take with you whatever body-guard you deem sufficient to see us home in safety. I shall write a letter to Monsieur de Luynes, which will be entrusted to your care, sergeant. In that letter I shall explain that you have done your duty with vigilance, and you will find that no complaint has been lodged by me. In this I am sure Monsieur de Cardillac will join me."
The young man bowed an affirmative.
"The inconvenience to me has been trivial, but Monsieur de Cardillac's wound is a serious matter which deserves the attention of the authorities. As I said a short time since, I am certain a man so busy as Monsieur de Luynes will not thank you for arousing him at this hour of the night, so you may present my letter not later than an hour before audience time to-morrow. You may tell Monsieur de Luynes, or perhaps I had better state it in the letter, that Monsieur de Cardillac and myself will—if, indeed, Monsieur is able to be abroad—call upon him at the same hour to-morrow night as I have visited him this evening, and I trust that by that time, sergeant, you will have some satisfactory explanation to offer for the cruel attack which has been made upon Monsieur de Cardillac."
At this the officer bowed low. He selected four men from the ranks of his company, and dismissed the rest under charge of a subordinate. Thus escorted, the duke and Cardillac reached the palace of the former at a quarter before midnight.
