The Duke's Motto: A Melodrama Page 26

  XXV

  THE GLOVE OF COCARDASSE

  For a little longer the noise and revelry continued, until the momentcame when the king's hospitality, offering supper to his wearied guests,emptied the gardens of many of their frequenters. Inside his tent thesovereign was supping with his friends. By his side sat the Princess deGonzague, who neither ate nor drank, but waited with an aching heart formidnight. At a quarter to twelve Bonnivet entered the tent and advancedtowards the king.

  "Sire," he said, "there is a gentleman here who insists on immediatespeech with you. He says you have appointed this time and place to meethim."

  Louis turned to the Princess de Gonzague, whose pale face had suddenlyflushed. "It is he," he said; and then turned to Bonnivet. "Introduce thegentleman."

  Bonnivet went to the entrance of the tent, and a moment later Lagardereentered. He was wearing his old white coat of the Royal Light-Horse, andhe advanced composedly, with head erect, towards the king.

  "I am here," he said, as he saluted the duke, and all present gazed onhim with curiosity. Only three knew who he was or why he was there.

  Gonzague muttered to himself: "Now for the death-struggle."

  The king looked at his visitor. "Who are you?" he asked.

  And Lagardere answered: "I am Henri de Lagardere."

  At that moment Peyrolles, privileged as his master's henchman, enteredthe tent and made his way to Gonzague's side. "All is well," hewhispered. "We have got the girl, and the papers are upon her."

  The king was addressing Lagardere. "You are here at our pleasure--free tocome, free to go, free to speak."

  Lagardere answered, firmly: "I mean to speak."

  The princess turned to him. "Will you give me back my daughter?"

  Lagardere made her a bow. "In a few moments she will be in your arms."

  At this moment Gonzague rose and interrupted. "Sire," he said, "I cantell you something of this man."

  Lagardere glanced scornfully at Gonzague. "Sire," he said, "I can tellyou something of this man." He advanced towards Gonzague and addressedhim in a low tone: "On that September night I told you that if you didnot come to Lagardere, Lagardere would come to you. You did not come. Iam here." Then he turned to the princess. "Madame, here, as in the moatof Caylus Castle; here, as by the picture in your palace, I am wholly inyour service."

  Gonzague turned to the king with an appealing gesture. "I implore yourmajesty to let no one leave this place. If Monsieur de Lagardere isdesirous of darkness and mystery, I ask only for light and truth."

  The king spoke, decisively: "If the attack has been secret, thejustification shall be public."

  Gonzague addressed Lagardere: "Where is the woman who calls herself thedaughter of Louis de Nevers?"

  The king also questioned: "Why is she not with you?"

  Lagardere answered, composedly: "Mademoiselle de Nevers will be here atmidnight, and will herself present to your Royal Highness the papers thatprove her birth."

  "What papers?" asked the king.

  And Lagardere answered: "The pages torn from the parish register by hermother, and confided to me in the moat of Caylus Castle."

  The princess leaned forward. "What do you say?" she asked, eagerly, andthe king echoed her question.

  Lagardere replied: "The princess gave those papers to me when she placedher child in my arms, believing that I was her husband, Louis deNevers."

  Gonzague questioned, with a sneer: "Why should she think you were herhusband?"

  Lagardere looked him full in the face. "Because, thanks to you, I gavethe signal agreed upon--her husband's motto, 'I am here.'"

  The princess clasped her hands. "My God, sire, it is true."

  "And these papers are in your hands?" the king asked.

  Lagardere answered, quietly: "They are in the hands of Mademoiselle deNevers."

  Gonzague looked triumphantly from Lagardere to the king. "Then why isthis pretended Mademoiselle de Nevers not here?"

  Lagardere replied, composedly: "She is to be here at midnight."

  Gonzague looked at his watch. "It is midnight now--she is not here. Yourmajesty sees the worth of this man's word."

  Louis gazed curiously at Lagardere, whose bearing, in spite of the king'sprejudices as a friend of Gonzague, impressed him as that of an honestman. "Had you not better send for this lady?" he questioned.

  On Lagardere's face now some anxiety was depicted, and he answered,anxiously: "She will be here; she must be here. Ah!"

  In the excitement consequent upon the extraordinary scene that waspassing in the king's presence, the attention of all the guests wasriveted upon their host and upon the amazing altercation between Louis ofGonzague and the unknown adventurer, and the entrance of the tent wasleft unheeded and unguarded. At this moment the curtains were parted,and the figure of Cocardasse appeared for a moment in the opening. AsLagardere saw him, Cocardasse lifted his glove in the air and let it fallto the ground. Then, in a moment, he had vanished before any one hadnoticed the episode.

  Lagardere gave a sharp cry of pain as he turned to the princess. "Madame,your child is not here; your child must be in danger!" he cried.

  The princess clasped her hands as she cried: "My child! My child!"

  Gonzague pointed mockingly at Lagardere. "The impostor is alreadyexposed!" he cried, exultingly.

  Lagardere turned towards him, fiercely. "Liar! assassin!" he cried, andadvanced towards Gonzague, but was stopped by Bonnivet.

  The king looked at him sternly. "Sir, you have made charges you could notprove, promises you could not keep. You shall answer for this before yourjudges."

  Bonnivet made as if to arrest Lagardere, but Lagardere held up his hand."Stop!" he cried; "let no man dare to touch me. I have here yourmajesty's safe-conduct, signed and sealed--'free to come, free togo'--that was your promise, sire."

  Gonzague protested. "A promise won by a trick does not count."

  The king shook his head. "I have given my word. The man has forty-eighthours to cross the frontier."

  Lagardere bowed to the king. "I thank you, sire. You are a true andhonorable gentleman. But, sire, I give you back your word." As he spokehe tore the safe-conduct in two and flung it at his feet. "I ask butfour-and-twenty hours to unmask the villain who now triumphs over truthand justice, and to give back a daughter to her mother. Nevers shall beavenged! Make way for me!"

  As he spoke he turned upon his heel and passed rapidly from the king'spresence, the amazed and bewildered guests giving ground before him as hepassed. Instantly Gonzague turned and whispered to Peyrolles: "He mustnot leave this place alive."

  And Peyrolles answered, confidently: "He shall not. Every gate is guardedby my spies."

  The king rose gravely and addressed the assembly. "Let us disperse,friends. What we have seen and heard leaves us in little mood formerrymaking." Then he gave his hand to the now weeping princess, and,followed by his immediate escort, quitted the tent. It was soon deserted;it was soon empty. The king departed in the direction of his palace. Newsthat the ball was ended spread rapidly, and in a short while the gardensthat had been so thronged and brilliant became deserted and desolate. Thedeparting guests found that every exit was guarded by soldiers, and thattheir faces were carefully scanned before they were suffered to leave theprecincts of the Palais Royal.

  Gonzague remained alone in the solitude by the Fountain of Diana, waitingfor Peyrolles, who presently joined him.

  "Well?" Gonzague asked, anxiously.

  Peyrolles looked disappointed. "He has not left by any of the gates. Hemust be hiding in the gardens."

  Gonzague commanded, sharply: "Bid your men seek till they find, and killwhen they find."

  Peyrolles bowed. "Yes, your excellency," he said, and disappeared downone of the silent alleys. As he departed, the hunchback emerged from theshadow of a tree and approached Gonzague noiselessly. Gonzague started alittle as he suddenly became aware of the hunchback's presence.

  The hunchback bowed. "Is your highness content with th
e night's work?"

  "So far, yes," Gonzague replied. "We have got the girl and got the paperssafe in my palace."

  "Ah! And Lagardere?" the hunchback asked.

  Gonzague answered: "Peyrolles is looking for him, with six of the bestswords in Paris."

  AEsop spoke, contemptuously: "Peyrolles is a bungler. Leave it to me. Iwill find Lagardere for you and deal with him as he deserves before anhour has passed."

  Gonzague caught at his words eagerly. "You promise?"

  AEsop answered, proudly: "On the word of a hunchback. Before two o'clock Iwill bring you the news you wish for."

  Gonzague gave a cry of triumph. "Then ask and have your own reward." Thenhe turned and hurriedly left the gardens, his breast swelled withexultation. When he was out of sight, the hunchback whistled softly, andCocardasse and Passepoil came out of the shadow of the trees. The lightswere now rapidly dying out, and the gardens lay in darkness checkered bythe moonlight.

  Lagardere turned to his friends. "She is in Gonzague's palace. We mustrescue her at once."

  Passepoil appealed to him, pathetically: "Can you ever forgive us?"

  "Yes," Lagardere answered--"yes, on one condition. There is a snake inthis garden. Kill him for me."

  Cocardasse gave a grin of appreciation. "Peyrolles it is."

  Even as he spoke there was a tramp of feet and a flare of light in a sidealley, and Peyrolles came towards them followed by half a dozen men, eachof whom carried a torch in his left hand and a naked sword in his right.Peyrolles came towards the hunchback.

  "Well, AEsop, we cannot find him anywhere."

  "That," the hunchback answered, coldly, "is because you don't know whereto look."

  Peyrolles turned to his followers. "Seek in all directions," he said, andthe men with the swords and torches dispersed in twos down the adjacentalleys.

  The hunchback laid his hand on Peyrolles's shoulder. "I know where tofind him."

  Peyrolles turned in astonishment. "You do?"

  "I am here!" the hunchback said, sternly. He drew himself up erect andmenacing, and flung back the long hair from his face. Peyrolles gave agasp of horror as he recognized the man whom he had seen such a shortwhile before in the presence of the king.

  "Lagardere!" he cried, and was about to scream for help when Cocardassegrasped him by the throat. There was a short struggle, and thenCocardasse flung the dead body of Peyrolles at the feet of Lagardere.

  Lagardere bent over him and spoke his epitaph: "The last of the lackeys.Now for the master."