Читать книгу Cardillac - Robert Barr - Страница 9

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The palace of the Duke de Montreuil proved to be one of those massive buildings, half fortress, half residence, without any claims to the architectural beauty the fourteenth century gave to certain quarters of Paris. It was built round a spacious courtyard, the arched entrance to which was protected by ponderous, well-nigh impregnable gates. Although the duke was deprived of his political power, he nevertheless relinquished nothing of that state which had surrounded him as a minister and great noble of the realm.

Late as was the hour, the number of retainers afoot surpassed that of Luynes himself even during his hours of public reception. As the master, with his following, approached and was recognised, it seemed to the sensitive Cardillac that a subtle sense of relief electrified those who were awaiting his return. The period, quiet as it appeared on the surface, possessed, nevertheless, the ominous tranquillity of a storm-cloud which, on a calm and sultry day, gradually overspreads the sky. No man knew when the lightning would flash forth, or whom it would strike when it descended.

As the party entered the courtyard, the great gates behind it clanged menacingly shut, and even the sergeant glanced apprehensively over his shoulder as he heard the sound which echoed from the four strong walls around him. The duke led Cardillac and the officer into a large, well-lighted room on the ground floor, plainly furnished in a manner that gave it the aspect of a business office. The four men of the sergeant's guard remained outside.

Once within the courtyard, with closed gates, a curt command from his lordship sent the servants scurrying to arouse the physician. Meanwhile the sergeant, himself no unskilled practitioner, for in his calling a rough-and-ready knowledge of surgery was necessary, helped Cardillac off with his outer clothing, and deftly scissored the arm of the shirt at the shoulder, gently tearing away the linen, and thus, in spite of his care, causing the wound to bleed afresh.

Cardillac sat impassive in his chair, his wan countenance giving no indication of the pain he suffered. It was typical of the times that when the ancient doctor bustled in, evidently newly awakened from sleep, he carried with him all the appliances for attending to a wound made by either gun-shot or sword. The washing and the salving of the wound proceeded, and the silence was broken only by the scratching of a quill pen which the duke, seated at his writing-table, was using. At last the wound was bandaged, the outer clothing replaced, and the arm hung in a sling. The physician drew a deep breath of satisfaction. The duke looked up from his writing.

"Well?" he ejaculated.

"As beautiful a cut as any man could desire to see; clean and true," said the enthusiastic doctor, wiping his hands on a towel that his assistant presented to him. "Indeed, it might have been accomplished by your own sword, for it is the exact size."

The duke frowned, but kept silence.

"The young man appears to be rather insufficiently nourished, but with proper food, and no wine, he will be fit as a farmer in a few days. The blade did not touch the bone."

"Thank you; good-night," said his lordship, in a tone of dismissal, and the loquacious doctor, with his assistant and paraphernalia, vanished.

Montreuil, with knitted brows, carefully perused what he had written. The letter ran:

My Lord Duke:

In addressing you thus, I have reason to believe that I anticipate by a short time only the honour His Majesty designs to bestow upon you; therefore, being the first to recognise you as one of us, I venture to offer some counsel which, though unasked, may not be unwelcome. When you become a member of the nobility, you may find it desirable, both for your comfort and your safety, that the class to which you will then belong believes you to be a peer of the realm in spirit as well as in name.

It will ultimately prove disastrous if throughout our ranks there filters a suspicion that a man of title, no matter how highly placed, goes about in danger of an assassin's knife. To-night I visited you at your own request, and, also at your own request, I came unattended, entering your dwelling surreptitiously, leaving in the same manner, assured of secrecy and safe conduct. I have since learned that I was followed from your very door by an armed person whom I believe to be an expert swordsman, but, luckily, before I spoke to him he had received a wound in the arm, and was partially disabled. This wound was given by some individual whom the young man did not recognise, and who doubtless escaped undetected to his own home, wherever that may be, for your sergeant could give me no idea regarding the culprit's identity.

I confess at once that when I learned Cardillac, the wounded man, had followed me from your palace, I suspected that you had set him on my track, and in this I admit I did you an injustice, for he tells me it is you, and not myself, against whom he harbours feelings of injury, and it was you he expected to attack, being misled by one of your minions named Tresor into the belief that you, following the example of the caliph in the Oriental tale, roamed the city at night in disguise.

As I have myself conducted large affairs of state, I know by experience the inconvenience often caused by the injudicious zeal of an underling, and while personally I acquit you of all knowledge of this mysterious affair, I, nevertheless, venture to point out to you that such knowledge filters abroad often before the person who, like yourself, has the most at stake receives the faintest inkling of it.

I have myself to-night been able to do you a good turn in preventing publicity of an incident which, once it became known, with various exaggerations, might have produced unpleasant results. Luckily the police sergeant, by whom I forward this letter, to be given privately into your own hand, proved to be a man of discretion. I have imposed strict silence upon him, which command you will doubtless emphasise when you see him. One odd feature of the affair is that Cardillac, while professing the utmost enmity to yourself, nevertheless carried upon his person a most cordial and intimate letter from you. This letter I, knowing your handwriting, believe to be a forgery, in spite of the fact that it is written on palace paper.

I shall keep this young man under my own eye until such time as I receive instructions from you regarding his disposal.

My physician has been dressing his wounds, one in the arm, one in the neck, while I write, and at this moment reports them as being most serious. The young man is therefore safe, and cannot attempt to escape for several days at least.

I have the honour to be, my lord duke, with many compliments,

Your well-wisher, Montreuil.

The lengthy communication his lordship folded, and closed with his own seal. This done, he rose wearily to his feet, stretched out his arms, and yawned like a man tired of the day's exertions, with the air of one relaxed, knowing himself to be in the presence of his inferiors, and careless of their opinions concerning his manners.

The sergeant of police had been standing in a rigid, semi-military fashion since the doctor had left the room. Cardillac sat in a chair, his shapely legs stretched out, and his feet crossed, leaning back with eyes half closed, eyes which nevertheless had been fastened all the while on the duke, taking a quiet inventory of him, estimating the manner of man he was.

Apparently Cardillac was half asleep, and in this condition the duke judged him to be, although, as a matter of fact, he was never more alert in his life, kept on tension by his unceasing hunger and the equally unceasing sting of his wound. The duke addressed and questioned the officer in a spirit of languor and indifference, but the acute Cardillac saw, what the sergeant did not, that his lordship gathered a good deal of important information before the apparently careless colloquy was ended.

"I am sorry to have kept you waiting, sergeant, at this late hour, when perhaps your superior in office is impatient for your report at police headquarters."

"Not so, my lord duke. In this case I am acting under instructions issued direct from the palace of Luynes, thus independent of my chief, and, indeed, under orders to report nothing to him of to-night's proceedings."

"Ah, in that case, sergeant, my anxiety departs. The palace of Luynes, like my own, is undoubtedly closed for the night. Would you give your men outside liberty to drink a flagon or two of wine before you depart? Meanwhile I shall order for yourself a vintage I think will please you."

As he said this he struck a bell, which being immediately answered, he gave his commands for a quantity of stout burgundy to be supplied to those outside, and some champagne of the year 1600 for the business room. As the sergeant returned, and the wine came in, the duke addressed Cardillac.

"In one respect, sir, I think I may contravene the orders of my excellent physician. I am quite sure that a measure of this delectable champagne will not injure you."

"Indeed, my lord," said Cardillac cheerfully, "I was about to make a similar suggestion. The advice of the physician was good so far as musket-shot wounds are concerned, for a large bullet, powder begrimed, may leave a jagged tunnel in a man's flesh that threatens inflammation; but a clean sword-thrust is a different matter, and of no importance at all, unless it touches a vital spot. I drink to your good health, my lord, and to the furtherance of your projects, whatever they may be."

The solemn nobleman bowed in response to this toast, but he himself, neither then nor later, tasted a drop of the beverage he had so highly commended. The sergeant smacked his lips in enthusiastic approval of the champagne, the like of which he had probably never enjoyed before.

The duke paced slowly up and down the room, his hands clasped behind his back, his head bowed. The sealed and addressed letter he had written still lay on his table. At last he spoke with the air of one who has nothing particular to say, but wishes to make conversation.

"I suppose Monsieur de Luynes will not be expecting you to return to the palace to-night?"

"Oh, I have never seen Monsieur de Luynes."

"Really? I understood you to say you received your instructions from him?"

"No, my lord; I said from the palace."

"Ah, I see! Then you shall not disappoint Monsieur de Luynes by neglecting to report there to-night?"

"I suppose not, my lord, though my commands may have come from him."

"True, true, I had not thought of that. Another flagon, sergeant: it is as mild as new milk. The champagne is mellowed by the flight of seventeen years. No, now that you mention it, the order may have come from Luynes; although it seems to me unlikely that he, with the affairs of the whole empire upon his mind, should trouble himself about a pair of brawlers in a Paris lane."

"That is very probable, my lord, and it is almost certain that monsieur knows no more of to-night's proceedings than yourself, Monsieur le Duc."

The duke nodded, and seemed to admire the perspicuity of the sergeant, who thrust out his manly chest at finding himself thus in confidential agreement and discussion with one of the mightiest nobles in the land.

The good man felt that he had underestimated himself heretofore, and the champagne, besides having the virtues of new milk, produced a cheering, encouraging effect, and was all in all a most delectable fluid.

"I know the entourage of Monsieur de Luynes reasonably well," continued the duke. "In selecting you for the mission, sergeant, they would naturally pick out the best and most discreet man. You are a keen judge of character, I take it. You mix with all, from the highest to the lowest, and form opinions, even if you keep them hidden in your own breast."

The sergeant smiled craftily, and now took the liberty of winking at his lordship, as who would say that each of them knew a thing or two of this world.

"Did the individual who instructed you appear to be a person of importance in the King's household?"

"Not of great importance, my lord. He was too polite to be of much account. His name is Monsieur Tresor, but I am ignorant of his position in the household of monsieur."

"Ah, old Tresor!" replied the duke. "A very oily ancient. He was the menial who saw me to the door to-night."

"I enjoyed a long conversation with him this afternoon," interjected Cardillac. "In the daytime he is merely a guard in Luynes's ante-chamber, a person of no importance whatever, I should say."

The duke cast upon Cardillac a swift but sharp glance of appreciation. He saw that the young man was following keenly the trend of the enquiry, which the sergeant was not.

"I think," said the latter sagely, "that there is no need of going to the palace to-night."

"I quite agree with you," replied the duke. "Still, if I knew exactly what your instructions were, I should be the better able to offer advice."

"Oh, my instructions were precise enough," and here the sergeant related them, in much the same language as he had used in the lane.