The Duke's Motto: A Melodrama Page 25

  XXIV

  THE ROSE-COLORED DOMINO

  All the party bowed respectfully as the king came slowly down the greatwalk, giving his arm to the Princess de Gonzague. Then, anxious to avoidany appearance of intruding upon the privacy of the monarch, they driftedoff in search of fresh amusement.

  Louis addressed the princess, indicating the gayety around him with awave of his arm. "After so long an absence from the world, all this follymust worry you a little."

  The princess looked at him sadly. "The world and I have little more tosay to each other. I come here to-night to meet one who has promised totell me of my husband, of my child."

  "Lagardere?" said the king, gravely.

  And as gravely the princess answered: "Lagardere."

  "At midnight?" asked the king.

  "Yes," said the princess.

  The king looked at his watch. It was half-past eleven. "Will you rest inmy pavilion, princess, until the time comes?"

  Louis conducted the princess into the tent, where he was followed by hisescort. As they did so, Gonzague, coming slowly down the avenue, watchedthem thoughtfully. It was strange, indeed, to see his wife in such aplace and in such company. It was strange to feel that her passivehostility through all these years was now turned suddenly into action.

  "Bah!" he said to himself; "it is my word against that of an adventurerwho has hidden for twenty years."

  Peyrolles, pushing his way through the crowd and peering to right andleft, caught sight of his master and hurriedly joined him. "Well," saidGonzague, "have you found the girl?"

  Peyrolles made a gesture of despair. "We have searched Paris withoutsuccess. Not a sign of her, nor of him."

  Gonzague frowned. "She must be here. If she be the real child, theprincess may recognize her."

  "And all is lost," said Peyrolles, with a groan.

  Gonzague almost smiled. "No. We will charge Lagardere with havingassassinated the father and stolen the child for his own ends. He shallbe hanged out of hand. Dona Flora will seem the commendable error of myover-zealous heart, and as for the new princess--well, even princessesare mortal."

  Peyrolles had always admired his master, but never perhaps so much asnow. "Your Excellency is a man of genius," he said, enthusiastically.

  Gonzague smiled. "Forethought, my good Peyrolles--only forethought. Butit would save trouble if the girl were out of the way."

  Peyrolles bowed. "I will do my best, monseigneur."

  "Good," said Gonzague. "I must wait upon his majesty. And upon theprincess," he added.

  Gonzague, whose intimacy with the king always made him the first to bebidden to any special festivity, entered the tent unchallenged, and waswarmly welcomed by Louis. Peyrolles remained outside, walking up anddown, immersed in distasteful reflections. He had failed to find thegirl; he had failed to get on the traces of Lagardere; he had seennothing of AEsop. The ball, so pleasant to everybody else, seemed to himfull of menace, and he eyed with some disapproval the jolly, noisy folkthat thronged the alleys and shook the night with laughter. Swollen withsour humors, he leaned against a tree, cursing in his heart the folly ofthose swordsmen who had failed to get rid of a cursed enemy. Enveloped,as it were, in bitterness, he failed to notice a not unnoticeable groupthat detached itself from the crowd beyond and came slowly down the alleytowards the Fountain of Diana. The group was composed of a woman in arose-colored domino and mask, accompanied by two tall, masculine figuresmuffled from head to heels in black dominos, and their featurescompletely hidden by bearded black masks. The pink domino and the twinblack dominos seemed to be seeking their way.

  "This," said the bigger of the black dominos, and his voice was thevoice of Cocardasse--"this must be the Fountain of Diana."

  The second of the black dominos pointed to the statue shining in themany-tinted water, and spoke with the voice of Passepoil: "There's somesuch poor heathen body."

  The woman in the rose-pink domino turned to Cocardasse and asked: "IsHenri here?" And her voice was the voice of Gabrielle.

  "I don't see him yet, mademoiselle," Cocardasse answered.

  Gabrielle sighed. "I wish he were come. All this noise and glitterbewilder me." And the trio proceeded slowly to make the tour of thefountain.

  But if Peyrolles, propped against his tree, was too preoccupied to noticethe not unnoticeable group, light-hearted Chavernay was more alert.Drifting, as every one drifted that night, again and again, towards theFountain of Diana as the centre of festivity, he turned to Navailles andpointed to Gabrielle. "Who is that mask in the rose-colored domino? Sheseems to seek some one."

  Navailles laughed. "She goes about with two giants like some princess ina fairy tale."

  Noce was prepared with an explanation. "It is Mademoiselle de Clermont,who is looking for me."

  Taranne pooh-poohed him. "Nonsense. It is Madame de Tessy, who is lookingfor me."

  "It might be Mademoiselle Nivelle, looking for me," Oriol suggested,fatuously.

  Choisy, Gironne, Albret, Montaubert--each in turn offered a possible namefor the unknown.

  Chavernay would have none of their suggestions. "No, no. That is not anyone we know. She is neither court lady nor a play actress; she is somegoddess in disguise, and I am going to reveal divinity."

  Then he tripped daintily forward and intercepted Gabrielle and hercompanions as they accomplished their first tour of the pond. "Fairlady," said Chavernay, with a graceful bow, "are you looking for someone?"

  The large arm of Cocardasse was interposed between Chavernay andGabrielle, and the large voice of Cocardasse counselled Chavernay: "Standaside, little man."

  Quite indifferent to the counsels of the mighty mask, Chavernaypersisted: "Fair lady, dismiss this monster and accept my arm."

  This time it was Passepoil's turn to intervene. "Out of the way!" hecommanded, and gave Chavernay a little push.

  Instantly Chavernay's hot blood was in a flame, and he clapped his handto his sword. "How dare you, fellow--" he began.

  But now Gabrielle, greatly alarmed at the prospect of a brawl in such aplace, and perfectly recognizing the marquis, removed her mask from herface for a moment while she spoke: "Monsieur de Chavernay, you will letme pass."

  It was only for a moment, but it was long enough to give Chavernay timeto recognize her, and he fell back with a respectful salutation. It waslong enough, also, for Peyrolles, leaning against his tree and at lastroused from saddened thoughts to contemplation of the outer world, to geta glimpse of the girl's face and to recognize its extraordinaryresemblance to the dead duke. He gave a start of surprise. Was fortuneplaying into his hands, after all?

  Chavernay bowed. "Your pardon, lady; your path is free," he said, andstood aside while Gabrielle moved slowly forward with her escort on asecond tour of the fountain. Navailles and the others had seen, indeed,the lady unmask, but were not near enough to descry her features.

  "Well," said Navailles, eagerly, to Chavernay--"well, who was the lady?"

  Chavernay answered, coolly: "I do not know."

  At this moment the lean form and yellow face of Monsieur de Peyrollesintruded itself into the group of Gonzague's friends.

  "Monsieur de Chavernay," he said, "my illustrious master is looking foryou. He is with his majesty."

  "I will join him," Chavernay answered, readily. He was, like his kinsman,a privileged person with the sovereign, and he, too, was permitted toenter the tent unchallenged. He entered it with a graver demeanor than hehad worn that evening, for he was strangely perplexed by the presence atthe king's ball this night of the girl whom he had seen at the countryInn. As soon as Chavernay had disappeared, Peyrolles, hurriedlybeckoning, gathered about him Navailles, Noce, and the others, andaddressed them in an eager whisper:

  "Gentlemen, you are all devoted to the interests of the Prince deGonzague?"

  Noce spoke for himself and his comrades: "We are."

  Peyrolles went on: "Then, as you value his friendship, secure the personof that girl whom Monsieur de Chavernay spoke to just
now."

  "Why?" Navailles questioned.

  Peyrolles answered him, sharply: "Don't ask; act. To please our master itshould be done at once."

  "How is it to be done?" asked Taranne.

  Peyrolles looked about him. "Is there no other woman here who wears arose-colored domino?"

  Navailles pointed to a group in an adjacent arbor. "Cidalise, yonder, iswearing a rose-colored domino. She will do anything for me."

  "Bring her," Peyrolles said, in a tone of command which he sometimesassumed when he was on his master's business, and which no one of hismaster's friends ever took it upon himself to resent. Navailles wenttowards the arbor and came back with Cidalise upon his arm. Cidalise wasa pretty, young actress, wearing just such a pink domino as that worn byGabrielle.

  Navailles formally presented her to Peyrolles. "Monsieur Peyrolles, thisis the divine Cidalise. What do you want of her?"

  Peyrolles unceremoniously took the actress by the wrist, and pointed towhere Gabrielle and her escort were wandering.

  "You see that girl in rose-color, escorted by two giants? Your friendswill gather about them and begin to hustle the giants. In the confusionyou will slip between the pair, who will then be left to march off,believing that you are their charge, who will, however, be in the care ofthese gentlemen. Do you understand?"

  Cidalise nodded. "Perfectly. And if I do this?"

  "You may rely upon the generosity of the Prince of Gonzague," Peyrollesanswered. If he said little, he looked much, and Cidalise understood himas she accepted.

  "It will be rare sport. Come, gentlemen."

  By this time Gabrielle and her companions, having completed their secondcircumnavigation of the pond, were going slowly across the open spaceagain. The crowd was very great about them, the noise and laughter madeeverything confused. Gonzague's friends took advantage of the crowd andthe confusion. They huddled around Gabrielle and her escort, laughing andchattering volubly. They hustled Cocardasse, they hustled Passepoil,treading on their toes and tweaking their elbows, much to the indignationof the Gascon and the Norman, each of whom tried angrily and unavailinglyto get hold of one of his nimble tormentors. In the jostling andconfusion, Cidalise slipped neatly between the two bravos, suddenlyabandoned by their plaguers; while Gabrielle, surrounded by the dexterousgentlemen, was, against her will but very steadily, edged towards a sidealley. Cocardasse and Passepoil, drawing deep breaths such as Io may havedrawn when freed from her gadfly, looked down and saw, as they believed,Gabrielle standing between them. The seeming Gabrielle moved on, on athird journey round the Pond of Diana, and her escort accompanied her,confident that all was well.

  In the mean time, Gabrielle was appealing to the gentlemen who surroundedher. "Gentlemen, stand aside!" she said, in a tone partly of entreaty,partly of command.

  At that moment Peyrolles came to her side and saluted her respectfully."Do not be alarmed. We come from him."

  Gabrielle stared in amazement at the unfamiliar face.

  Peyrolles bent to her ear and whispered: "From Lagardere."

  Gabrielle gave a cry. "Ah! Where is he?"

  Peyrolles pointed to the far end of the alley in which they werestanding. It was a dimmer alley than the others, for, in obedience to asuggestion of Peyrolles, Oriol had been busily engaged in putting out thelights. "At the end of this alley. He is waiting for you."

  He offered her his arm as he spoke, and Gabrielle, believing indeed thatLagardere had sent for her, accepted his guidance down the alley, and soshe disappeared from the noise and mirth and light and color of theroyal ball.

  As the domino in pink and the dominos in black completed their third turnround the Fountain of Diana, the domino in pink plucked off her mask,and, looking up at her accompanying giants, showed to them, amazed, thepretty, impudent, unfamiliar face of Cidalise. "May I ask, gentlemen, whyyou follow me?" she said, merrily.

  At the sight of her face, at the sound of her voice, at her question,Cocardasse and Passepoil reeled as if they had been struck. Cidalise wenton: "I have many friends here, and no need for your company." Then shelaughed and ran away out of sight in a moment in the shifting crowd,leaving Cocardasse and Passepoil staring at each other in staggeredamazement.

  "The devil!" said Cocardasse.

  "That's what I'm thinking," said Passepoil.

  Cocardasse groaned. "What will Lagardere say?"

  "Well, we did our best," Passepoil sighed.

  Cocardasse groaned again. "What's the good, if we didn't do what hewanted?"

  "Where shall we find him?" asked Passepoil.

  Cocardasse consulted the watch which he owed to the bounty of the Princede Gonzague. "He will be here at midnight. It is nearly that now. Come,man, come." And the baffled, bewildered, angry pair plunged despairinglyinto the thickness of the crowd about them, hoping against hope to findtheir lost charge for the moment when Lagardere was to make hisappearance.