MEANS FOR CLASSICAL TRAGEDY
After a moment of silence employed by Milady in observing the
young man who listened to her, Milady continued her recital.
"It was nearly three days since I had eaten or drunk anything. I
suffered frightful torments. At times there passed before me
clouds which pressed my brow, which veiled my eyes; this was
delirium.
"When the evening came I was so weak that every time I fainted I
thanked God, for I thought I was about to die.
"In the midst of one of these swoons I heard the door open.
Terror recalled me to myself.
"He entered the apartment followed by a man in a mask. He was
masked likewise; but I knew his step, I knew his voice, I knew
him by that imposing bearing which hell has bestowed upon his
person for the curse of humanity.
"`Well,` said he to me, `have you made your mind up to take the
oath I requested of you?`
"`You have said Puritans have but one word. Mine you have heard,
and that is to pursue you--on earth to the tribunal of men, in
heaven to the tribunal of God.`
"`You persist, then?`
"`I swear it before the God who hears me. I will take the whole
world as a witness of your crime, and that until I have found an
avenger.`
"`You are a prostitute,` said he, in a voice of thunder, `and you
shall undergo the punishment of prostitutes! Branded in the eyes
of the world you invoke, try to prove to that world that you are
neither guilty nor mad!`
"Then, addressing the man who accompanied him, `Executioner,`
said he, `do your duty.`"
"Oh, his name, his name!" cried Felton. "His name, tell it me!"
"Then in spite of my cries, in spite of my resistance--for I
began to comprehend that there was a question of something worse
than death--the executioner seized me, threw me on the floor,
fastened me with his bonds, and suffocated by sobs, almost
without sense, invoking God, who did not listen to me, I uttered
all at once a frightful cry of pain and shame. A burning fire, a
red-hot iron, the iron of the executioner, was imprinted on my
shoulder."
Felton uttered a groan.
"Here," said Milady, rising with the majesty of a queen, "here,
Felton, behold the new martyrdom invented for a pure young girl,
the victim of the brutality of a villain. Learn to know the
heart of men, and henceforth make yourself less easily the
instrument of their unjust vengeance."
Milady, with a rapid gesture, opened her robe, tore the cambric
that covered her bosom, and red with feigned anger and simulated
shame, showed the young man the ineffaceable impression which
dishonored that beautiful shoulder.
"But," cried Felton, "that is a FLEUR-DE-LIS which I see there."
"And therein consisted the infamy," replied Milady. "The brand
of England!--it would be necessary to prove what tribunal had
imposed it on me, and I could have made a public appeal to all
the tribunals of the kingdom; but the brand of France!--oh, by
that, by THAT I was branded indeed!"
This was too much for Felton.
Pale, motionless, overwhelmed by this frightful revelation,
dazzled by the superhuman beauty of this woman who unveiled
herself before him with an immodesty which appeared to him
sublime, he ended by falling on his knees before her as the early
Christians did before those pure and holy martyrs whom the
persecution of the emperors gave up in the circus to the
sanguinary sensuality of the populace. The brand disappeared;
the beauty alone remained.
"Pardon! Pardon!" cried Felton, "oh, pardon!"
Milady read in his eyes LOVE! LOVE!
"Pardon for what?" asked she.
"Pardon me for having joined with your persecutors."
Milady held out her hand to him.
"So beautiful! so young!" cried Felton, covering that hand with
his kisses.
Milady let one of those looks fall upon him which make a slave of
a king.
Felton was a Puritan; he abandoned the hand of this woman to kiss
her feet.
He no longer loved her; he adored her.
When this crisis was past, when Milady appeared to have resumed
her self-possession, which she had never lost; when Felton had
seen her recover with the veil of chastity those treasures of
love which were only concealed from him to make him desire them
the more ardently, he said, "Ah, now! I have only one thing to
ask of you; that is, the name of your true executioner. For to
me there is but one; the other was an instrument, that was all."
"What, brother!" cried Milady, "must I name him again? Have you
not yet divined who he is?"
"What?" cried Felton, "he--again he--always he? What--the truly
guilty?"
"The truly guilty," said Milady, "is the ravager of England, the
persecutor of true believers, the base ravisher of the honor of
so many women--he who, to satisfy a caprice of his corrupt heart,
is about to make England shed so much blood, who protects the
Protestants today and will betray them tomorrow--"
"Buckingham! It is, then, Buckingham!" cried Felton, in a high
state of excitement.
Milady concealed her face in her hands, as if she could not
endure the shame which this name recalled to her.
"Buckingham, the executioner of this angelic creature!" cried
Felton. "And thou hast not hurled thy thunder at him, my God!
And thou hast left him noble, honored, powerful, for the ruin of
us all!"
"God abandons him who abandons himself," said Milady.
"But he will draw upon his head the punishment reserved for the
damned!" said Felton, with increasing exultation. "He wills that
human vengeance should precede celestial justice."
"Men fear him and spare him."
"I," said Felton, "I do not fear him, nor will I spare him."
The soul of Milady was bathed in an infernal joy.
"But how can Lord de Winter, my protector, my father," asked
Felton, "possibly be mixed up with all this?"
"Listen, Felton," resumed Milady, "for by the side of base and
contemptible men there are often found great and generous
natures. I had an affianced husband, a man whom I loved, and who
loved me--a heart like yours, Felton, a man like you. I went to
him and told him all; he knew me, that man did, and did not doubt
an instant. He was a nobleman, a man equal to Buckingham in
every respect. He said nothing; he only girded on his sword,
wrapped himself in his cloak, and went straight to Buckingham
Palace.
"Yes, yes," said Felton; "I understand how he would act. But
with such men it is not the sword that should be employed; it is
the poniard."
"Buckingham had left England the day before, sent as ambassador
to Spain, to demand the hand of the Infanta for King Charles I,
who was then only Prince of Wales. My affianced husband
returned.
"`Hear me,` said he; `this man has gone, and for the moment has
consequently escaped my vengeance; but let us be united, as we
were to have been, and then leave it to Lord de Winter to
maintain his own honor and that of his wife.`"
"Lord de Winter!" cried Felton.
"Yes," said Milady, "Lord de Winter; and now you can understand
it all, can you not? Buckingham remained nearly a year absent.
A week before his return Lord de Winter died, leaving me his sole
heir. Whence came the blow? God who knows all, knows without
doubt; but as for me, I accuse nobody."
"Oh, what an abyss; what an abyss!" cried Felton.
"Lord de Winter died without revealing anything to his brother.
The terrible secret was to be concealed till it burst, like a
clap of thunder, over the head of the guilty. Your protector had
seen with pain this marriage of his elder brother with a
portionless girl. I was sensible that I could look for no
support from a man disappointed in his hopes of an inheritance.
I went to France, with a determination to remain there for the
rest of my life. But all my fortune is in England.
Communication being closed by the war, I was in want of
everything. I was then obliged to come back again. Six days
ago, I landed at Portsmouth."
"Well?" said Felton.
"Well; Buckingham heard by some means, no doubt, of my return.
He spoke of me to Lord de Winter, already prejudiced against me,
and told him that his sister-in-law was a prostitute, a branded
woman. The noble and pure voice of my husband was no longer here
to defend me. Lord de Winter believed all that was told him with
so much the more ease that it was his interest to believe it. He
caused me to be arrested, had me conducted hither, and placed me
under your guard. You know the rest. The day after tomorrow he
banishes me, he transports me; the day after tomorrow he exiles
me among the infamous. Oh, the train is well laid; the plot is
clever. My honor will not survive it! You see, then, Felton, I
can do nothing but die. Felton, give me that knife!"
And at these words, as if all her strength was exhausted, Milady
sank, weak and languishing, into the arms of the young officer,
who, intoxicated with love, anger, and voluptuous sensations
hitherto unknown, received her with transport, pressed her
against his heart, all trembling at the breath from that charming
mouth, bewildered by the contact with that palpitating bosom.
"No, no," said he. "No, you shall live honored and pure; you
shall live to triumph over your enemies."
Milady put him from her slowly with her hand, while drawing him
nearer with her look; but Felton, in his turn, embraced her more
closely, imploring her like a divinity.
"Oh, death, death!" said she, lowering her voice and her eyelids,
"oh, death, rather than shame! Felton, my brother, my friend, I
conjure you!"
"No," cried Felton, "no; you shall live and you shall be
avenged."
"Felton, I bring misfortune to all who surround me! Felton,
abandon me! Felton, let me die!"
"Well, then, we will live and die together!" cried he, pressing
his lips to those of the prisoner.
Several strokes resounded on the door; this time Milady really
pushed him away from her.
"Hark," said she, "we have been overheard! Someone is coming!
All is over! We are lost!"
"No," said Felton; it is only the sentinel warning me that they
are about to change the guard."
"Then run to the door, and open it yourself."
Felton obeyed; this woman was now his whole thought, his whole
soul.
He found himself face to face with a sergeant commanding a watch-
patrol.
"Well, what is the matter?" asked the young lieutenant.
"You told me to open the door if I heard anyone cry out," said
the soldier; "but you forgot to leave me the key. I heard you
cry out, without understanding what you said. I tried to open
the door, but it was locked inside; then I called the sergeant."
"And here I am," said the sergeant.
Felton, quite bewildered, almost mad, stood speechless.
Milady plainly perceived that it was now her turn to take part in
the scene. She ran to the table, and seizing the knife which
Felton had laid down, exclaimed, "And by what right will you
prevent me from dying?"
"Great God!" exclaimed Felton, on seeing the knife glitter in her
hand.
At that moment a burst of ironical laughter resounded through the
corridor. The baron, attracted by the noise, in his chamber
gown, his sword under his arm, stood in the doorway.
"Ah," said he, "here we are, at the last act of the tragedy. You
see, Felton, the drama has gone through all the phases I named;
but be easy, no blood will flow."
Milady perceived that all was lost unless she gave Felton an
immediate and terrible proof of her courage.
"You are mistaken, my Lord, blood will flow; and may that blood
fall back on those who cause it to flow!"
Felton uttered a cry, and rushed toward her. He was too late;
Milady had stabbed herself.
But the knife had fortunately, we ought to say skillfully, come
in contact with the steel busk, which at that period, like a
cuirass, defended the chests of women. It had glided down it,
tearing the robe, and had penetrated slantingly between the flesh
and the ribs. Milady`s robe was not the less stained with blood
in a second.
Milady fell down, and seemed to be in a swoon.
Felton snatched away the knife.
"See, my Lord," said he, in a deep, gloomy tone, "here is a woman
who was under my guard, and who has killed herself!"
"Be at ease, Felton," said Lord de Winter. "She is not dead;
demons do not die so easily. Be tranquil, and go wait for me in
my chamber."
"But, my Lord--"
"Go, sir, I command you!"
At this injunction from his superior, Felton obeyed; but in going
out, he put the knife into his bosom.
As to Lord de Winter, he contented himself with calling the woman
who waited on Milady, and when she was come, he recommended the
prisoner, who was still fainting, to her care, and left them
alone.
Meanwhile, all things considered and notwithstanding his
suspicions, as the wound might be serious, he immediately sent
off a mounted man to find a physician.
ESCAPE
As Lord de Winter had thought, Milady`s wound was not dangerous.
So soon as she was left alone with the woman whom the baron had
summoned to her assistance she opened her eyes.
It was, however, necessary to affect weakness and pain--not a
very difficult task for so finished an actress as Milady. Thus
the poor woman was completely the dupe of the prisoner, whom,
notwithstanding her hints, she persisted in watching all night.
But the presence of this woman did not prevent Milady from
thinking.
There was no longer a doubt that Felton was convinced; Felton was
hers. If an angel appeared to that young man as an accuser of
Milady, he would take him, in the mental disposition in which he
now found himself, for a messenger sent by the devil.
Milady smiled at this thought, for Felton was now her only hope--
her only means of safety.
But Lord de Winter might suspect him; Felton himself might now be
watched!
Toward four o`clock in the morning the doctor arrived; but since
the time Milady stabbed herself, however short, the wound had
closed. The doctor could therefore measure neither the direction
nor the depth of it; he only satisfied himself by Milady`s pulse
that the case was not serious.
In the morning Milady, under the pretext that she had not slept
well in the night and wanted rest, sent away the woman who
attended her.
She had one hope, which was that Felton would appear at the
breakfast hour; but Felton did not come.
Were her fears realized? Was Felton, suspected by the baron,
about to fail her at the decisive moment? She had only one day
left. Lord de Winter had announced her embarkation for the
twenty-third, and it was now the morning of the twenty-second.
Nevertheless she still waited patiently till the hour for dinner.
Although she had eaten nothing in the morning, the dinner was
brought in at its usual time. Milady then perceived, with
terror, that the uniform of the soldiers who guarded her was
changed.
Then she ventured to ask what had become of Felton.
She was told that he had left the castle an hour before on
horseback. She inquired if the baron was still at the castle.
The soldier replied that he was, and that he had given orders to
be informed if the prisoner wished to speak to him.
Milady replied that she was too weak at present, and that her
only desire was to be left alone.
The soldier went out, leaving the dinner served.
Felton was sent away. The marines were removed. Felton was then
mistrusted.
This was the last blow to the prisoner.
Left alone, she arose. The bed, which she had kept from prudence
and that they might believe her seriously wounded, burned her
like a bed of fire. She cast a glance at the door; the baron had
had a plank nailed over the grating. He no doubt feared that by
this opening she might still by some diabolical means corrupt her
guards.
Milady smiled with joy. She was free now to give way to her
transports without being observed. She traversed her chamber
with the excitement of a furious maniac or of a tigress shut up
in an iron cage. CERTES, if the knife had been left in her
power, she would now have thought, not of killing herself, but of
killing the baron.
At six o`clock Lord de Winter came in. He was armed at all
points. This man, in whom Milady till that time had only seen a
very simple gentleman, had become an admirable jailer. He
appeared to foresee all, to divine all, to anticipate all.
A single look at Milady apprised him of all that was passing in
her mind.
"Ay,!" said he, "I see; but you shall not kill me today. You
have no longer a weapon; and besides, I am on my guard. You had
begun to pervert my poor Felton. He was yielding to your
infernal influence; but I will save him. He will never see you
again; all is over. Get your clothes together. Tomorrow you
will go. I had fixed the embarkation for the twenty-fourth; but
I have reflected that the more promptly the affair takes place
the more sure it will be. Tomorrow, by twelve o`clock, I shall
have the order for your exile, signed, BUCKINGHAM. If you
speak a single word to anyone before going aboard ship, my
sergeant will blow your brains out. He has orders to do so. If
when on the ship you speak a single word to anyone before the
captain permits you, the captain will have you thrown into the
sea. That is agreed upon.
"AU REVOIR; then; that is all I have to say today. Tomorrow I
will see you again, to take my leave." With these words the
baron went out. Milady had listened to all this menacing tirade
with a smile of disdain on her lips, but rage in her heart.
Supper was served. Milady felt that she stood in need of all her
strength. She did not know what might take place during this
night which approached so menacingly--for large masses of cloud
rolled over the face of the sky, and distant lightning announced
a storm.
The storm broke about ten o`clock. Milady felt a consolation in
seeing nature partake of the disorder of her heart. The thunder
growled in the air like the passion and anger in her thoughts.
It appeared to her that the blast as it swept along disheveled
her brow, as it bowed the branches of the trees and bore away
their leaves. She howled as the hurricane howled; and her voice
was lost in the great voice of nature, which also seemed to groan
with despair.
All at once she heard a tap at her window, and by the help of a
flash of lightning she saw the face of a man appear behind the
bars.
She ran to the window and opened it.
"Felton!" cried she. "I am saved."
"Yes," said Felton; "but silence, silence! I must have time to
file through these bars. Only take care that I am not seen
through the wicket."
"Oh, it is a proof that the Lord is on our side, Felton," replied
Milady. "They have closed up the grating with a board."
"That is well; God has made them senseless," said Felton.
"But what must I do?" asked Milady.
"Nothing, nothing, only shut the window. Go to bed, or at least
lie down in your clothes. As soon as I have done I will knock on
one of the panes of glass. But will you be able to follow me?"
"Oh, yes!"
"Your wound?"
"Gives me pain, but will not prevent my walking."
"Be ready, then, at the first signal."
Milady shut the window, extinguished the lamp, and went, as
Felton had desired her, to lie down on the bed. Amid the moaning
of the storm she heard the grinding of the file upon the bars,
and by the light of every flash she perceived the shadow of
Felton through the panes.
She passed an hour without breathing, panting, with a cold sweat
upon her brow, and her heart oppressed by frightful agony at
every movement she heard in the corridor.
There are hours which last a year.
At the expiration of an hour, Felton tapped again.
Milady sprang out of bed and opened the window. Two bars removed
formed an opening for a man to pass through.
"Are you ready?" asked Felton.
"Yes. Must I take anything with me?"
"Money, if you have any."
"Yes; fortunately they have left me all I had."
"So much the better, for I have expended all mine in chartering a
vessel."
"Here!" said Milady, placing a bag full of louis in Felton`s
hands.
Felton took the bag and threw it to the foot of the wall.
"Now," said he, "will you come?"
"I am ready."
Milady mounted upon a chair and passed the upper part of her body
through the window. She saw the young officer suspended over the
abyss by a ladder of ropes. For the first time an emotion of
terror reminded her that she was a woman.
The dark space frightened her.
"I expected this," said Felton.
"It`s nothing, it`s nothing!" said Milady. "I will descend with
my eyes shut."
"Have you confidence in me?" said Felton.
"You ask that?"
"Put your two hands together. Cross them; that`s right!"
Felton tied her two wrists together with his handkerchief, and
then with a cord over the handkerchief.
"What are you doing?" asked Milady, with surprise.
"Pass your arms around my neck, and fear nothing."
"But I shall make you lose your balance, and we shall both be
dashed to pieces."
"Don`t be afraid. I am a sailor."
Not a second was to be lost. Milady passed her two arms round
Felton`s neck, and let herself slip out of the window. Felton
began to descend the ladder slowly, step by step. Despite the
weight of two bodies, the blast of the hurricane shook them in
the air.
All at once Felton stopped.
"What is the matter?" asked Milady.
"Silence," said Felton, "I hear footsteps."
"We are discovered!"
There was a silence of several seconds.
"No," said Felton, "it is nothing."
"But what, then, is the noise?"
"That of the patrol going their rounds."
"Where is their road?"
"Just under us."
"They will discover us!"
"No, if it does not lighten."
"But they will run against the bottom of the ladder."
"Fortunately it is too short by six feet."
"Here they are! My God!"
"Silence!"
Both remained suspended, motionless and breathless, within twenty
paces of the ground, while the patrol passed beneath them
laughing and talking. This was a terrible moment for the
fugitives.
The patrol passed. The noise of their retreating footsteps and
the murmur of their voices soon died away.
"Now," said Felton, "we are safe."
Milady breathed a deep sigh and fainted.
Felton continued to descend. Near the bottom of the ladder, when
he found no more support for his feet, he clung with his hands;
at length, arrived at the last step, he let himself hang by the
strength of his wrists, and touched the ground. He stooped down,
picked up the bag of money, and placed it between his teeth.
Then he took Milady in his arms, and set off briskly in the
direction opposite to that which the patrol had taken. He soon
left the pathway of the patrol, descended across the rocks, and
when arrived on the edge of the sea, whistled.
A similar signal replied to him; and five minutes after, a boat
appeared, rowed by four men.
The boat approached as near as it could to the shore; but there
was not depth enough of water for it to touch land. Felton
walked into the sea up to his middle, being unwilling to trust
his precious burden to anybody.
Fortunately the storm began to subside, but still the sea was
disturbed. The little boat bounded over the waves like a nut-
shell.
"To the sloop," said Felton, "and row quickly."
The four men bent to their oars, but the sea was too high to let
them get much hold of it.
However, they left the castle behind; that was the principal
thing. The night was extremely dark. It was almost impossible
to see the shore from the boat; they would therefore be less
likely to see the boat from the shore.
A black point floated on the sea. That was the sloop. While the
boat was advancing with all the speed its four rowers could give
it, Felton untied the cord and then the handkerchief which bound
Milady`s hands together. When her hands were loosed he took some
sea water and sprinkled it over her face.
Milady breathed a sigh, and opened her eyes.
"Where am I?" said she.
"Saved!" replied the young officer.
"Oh, saved, saved!" cried she. "Yes, there is the sky; here is
the sea! The air I breathe is the air of liberty! Ah, thanks,
Felton, thanks!"
The young man pressed her to his heart.
"But what is the matter with my hands!" asked Milady; "it seems
as if my wrists had been crushed in a vice."
Milady held out her arms; her wrists were bruised.
"Alas!" said Felton, looking at those beautiful hands, and
shaking his head sorrowfully.
"Oh, it`s nothing, nothing!" cried Milady. "I remember now."
Milady looked around her, as if in search of something.
"It is there," said Felton, touching the bag of money with his
foot.
They drew near to the sloop. A sailor on watch hailed the boat;
the boat replied.
"What vessel is that?" asked Milady.
"The one I have hired for you."
"Where will it take me?"
"Where you please, after you have put me on shore at Portsmouth."
"What are you going to do at Portsmouth?" asked Milady.
"Accomplish the orders of Lord de Winter," said Felton, with a
gloomy smile.
"What orders?" asked Milady.
"You do not understand?" asked Felton.
"No; explain yourself, I beg."
"As he mistrusted me, he determined to guard you himself, and
sent me in his place to get Buckingham to sign the order for your
transportation."
"But if he mistrusted you, how could he confide such an order to
you?"
"How could I know what I was the bearer of?"
"That`s true! And you are going to Portsmouth?"
"I have no time to lose. Tomorrow is the twenty-third, and
Buckingham sets sail tomorrow with his fleet."
"He sets sail tomorrow! Where for?"
"For La Rochelle."
"He need not sail!" cried Milady, forgetting her usual presence
of mind.
"Be satisfied," replied Felton; "he will not sail."
Milady started with joy. She could read to the depths of the
heart of this young man; the death of Buckingham was written
there at full length.
"Felton," cried she, "you are as great as Judas Maccabeus! If
you die, I will die with you; that is all I can say to you."
"Silence!" cried Felton; "we are here."
In fact, they touched the sloop.
Felton mounted the ladder first, and gave his hand to Milady,
while the sailors supported her, for the sea was still much
agitated.
An instant after they were on the deck.
"Captain," said Felton, "this is person of whom I spoke to you,
and whom you must convey safe and sound to France."
"For a thousand pistoles," said the captain.
"I have paid you five hundred of them."
"That`s correct," said the captain.
"And here are the other five hundred," replied Milady, placing
her hand upon the bag of gold.
"No," said the captain, "I make but one bargain; and I have
agreed with this young man that the other five hundred shall not
be due to me till we arrive at Boulogne."
"And shall we arrive there?"
"Safe and sound, as true as my name`s Jack Butler."
"Well," said Milady, "if you keep your word, instead of five
hundred, I will give you a thousand pistoles."
"Hurrah for you, then, my beautiful lady," cried the captain;
"and may God often send me such passengers as your Ladyship!"
"Meanwhile," said Felton, "convey me to the little bay of--; you
know it was agreed you should put in there."
The captain replied by ordering the necessary maneuvers, and
toward seven o`clock in the morning the little vessel cast anchor
in the bay that had been named.
During this passage, Felton related everything to Milady--how,
instead of going to London, he had chartered the little vessel;
how he had returned; how he had scaled the wall by fastening
cramps in the interstices of the stones, as he ascended, to give
him foothold; and how, when he had reached the bars, he fastened
his ladder. Milady knew the rest.
On her side, Milady tried to encourage Felton in his project; but
at the first words which issued from her mouth, she plainly saw
that the young fanatic stood more in need of being moderated than
urged.
It was agreed that Milady should wait for Felton till ten
o`clock; if he did not return by ten o`clock she was to sail.
In that case, and supposing he was at liberty, he was to rejoin
her in France, at the convent of the Carmelites at Bethune.
Date: 2015-01-29; view: 699
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