Out of compliment,and to show my gratitude,I attended M.de Rambouillet home to his lodging,and found him as much pleased with himself,and consequently with me,as I was with him.For the time,indeed,I came near to loving him;and,certainly,he was a man of high and patriotic feeling,and of skill and conduct to match.But he lacked that touch of nature and that power of sympathising with others which gave to such men as M.de Rosny and the king,my master,their peculiar charm;though after what I have related of him in the last chapter it does not lie in my mouth to speak ill of him.And,indeed,he was a good man.
When I at last reached my lodging,I found a surprise awaiting me in the shape of a note which had just arrived no one knew how.
If the manner of its delivery was mysterious,however,its contents were brief and sufficiently explicit;for it;ran thus:
'SIR,BY MEETING ME THREE HOURS AFTER NOON IN THE SQUARE BEFORETHE HOUSE OF THE LITTLE SISTERS YOU WILL DO A SERVICE AT ONCE TOYOURSELF AND TO THE UNDERSIGNED,MARIE DE BRUHL.'
That was all,written in a feminine character,yet it was enough to perplex me.Simon,who had manifested the liveliest joy at my escape,would have had me treat it as I had treated the invitation to the Parvis of the Cathedral;ignore it altogether Imean.But I was of a different mind,and this for three reasons,among others:that the request was straightforward,the time early,and the place sufficiently public to be an unlikely theatre for violence,though well fitted for an interview to which the world at large was not invited.Then,too,the square lay little more than a bowshot from my lodging,though on the farther side of the Rue St.Denys.
Besides,I could conceive many grounds which Madame de Bruhl might have for seeing me;of which some touched me nearly.Idisregarded Simon's warnings,therefore,and repaired at the time appointed to the place--a clean,paved square a little off the Rue St.Denys,and entered from the latter by a narrow passage.
It was a spot pleasantly convenient for meditation,but overlooked on one side by the House of the Little Sisters;in which,as I guessed afterwards,madame must have awaited me,for the square when I entered it was empty,yet in a moment,though no one came in from the street,she stood beside me.She wore a mask and long cloak.The beautiful hair and perfect complexion,which had filled me with so much admiration at our first meeting in her house,were hidden,but I saw enough of her figure and carriage to be sure that it was Madame de Bruhl and no other.
She began by addressing me in a tone of bitterness,for which Iwas not altogether unprepared.
'Well,sir,'she exclaimed,her voice trembling with anger,'you are satisfied,I hope,with your work?'
I expected this and had my answer ready.'I am not aware,Madame,'I said,'that I have cause to reproach myself.But,however that may be,I trust you have summoned me for some better purpose than to chide me for another's fault;though it was my voice which brought it to light.'
'Why did you shame me publicly?'she retorted,thrusting her handkerchief to her lips and withdrawing it again with a passionate gesture.
'Madame,'I answered patiently--I was full of pity for her,'consider for a moment the wrong your husband did me and how small and inadequate was the thing I did to him in return.'
'To him!'she ejaculated so fiercely that I started.'It was to me--to me you did it!What had I done that you should expose me to the ridicule of those who know no pity,and the anger of one as merciless?What had I done,sir?'
I shook my head sorrowfully.'So far,madame,'I answered,'Iallow I owe you reparation,and I will make it should it ever be in my power.Nay,I will say more,'I continued,for the tone in which she spoke had wrung my heart.'In one point I strained the case against your husband.To the best of my belief he abducted the lady who was in my charge,not for the love of her,but for political reasons,and as the agent of another.'
She gasped.'What?'she cried.'Say that again!'
As I complied she tore off her mask and gazed into my face with straining eyes and parted lips.I saw then how much she was changed,even in these few days--how pale and worn were her cheeks,how dark the circles round her eyes.'Will you swear to it?'she said at last,speaking with uncontrollable eagerness,while she laid a hand which shook with excitement on my arm.
Will you swear to it,sir?'
'It is true,'I answered steadfastly.I might have added that after the event her husband had so treated mademoiselle as to lead her to fear the worst.But I refrained,feeling that it was no part of my duty to come between husband and wife.
She clasped her hands,and for a moment looked passionately upwards,as though she were giving thanks to Heaven;while the flesh of health and loveliness which I had so much admired returned,and illumined her face in a wonderful manner.She seemed,in truth and for the moment,transformed.Her blue eyes filled with tears,her lips moved;nor have I ever seen anything bear so near a resemblance to those pictures of the Virgin Mary which Romans worship as madame did then.
