CHAPTER VIII
Be thou a spirit of health, or goblin damn'd, Bring with thee airs from heaven, or blasts from hell, Be thy intents wicked, or charitable,
I will speak to thee. HAMLET
Count de Villefort, at length, received a letter from the advocate atAvignon, encouraging Emily to assert her claim to the estates of thelate Madame Montoni; and, about the same time, a messenger arrived fromMonsieur Quesnel with intelligence, that made an appeal to the law onthis subject unnecessary, since it appeared, that the only person, whocould have opposed her claim, was now no more. A friend of MonsieurQuesnel, who resided at Venice, had sent him an account of the deathof Montoni who had been brought to trial with Orsino, as his supposedaccomplice in the murder of the Venetian nobleman. Orsino was foundguilty, condemned and executed upon the wheel, but, nothing beingdiscovered to criminate Montoni, and his colleagues, on this charge,they were all released, except Montoni, who, being considered by thesenate as a very dangerous person, was, for other reasons, ordered againinto confinement, where, it was said, he had died in a doubtful andmysterious manner, and not without suspicion of having been poisoned.The authority, from which M. Quesnel had received this information,would not allow him to doubt its truth, and he told Emily, that she hadnow only to lay claim to the estates of her late aunt, to secure them,and added, that he would himself assist in the necessary forms of thisbusiness. The term, for which La Vallee had been let being now alsonearly expired, he acquainted her with the circumstance, and advised herto take the road thither, through Tholouse, where he promised to meether, and where it would be proper for her to take possession of theestates of the late Madame Montoni; adding, that he would spare herany difficulties, that might occur on that occasion from the want ofknowledge on the subject, and that he believed it would be necessary forher to be at Tholouse, in about three weeks from the present time.
An increase of fortune seemed to have awakened this sudden kindness inM. Quesnel towards his niece, and it appeared, that he entertained morerespect for the rich heiress, than he had ever felt compassion for thepoor and unfriended orphan.
The pleasure, with which she received this intelligence, was cloudedwhen she considered, that he, for whose sake she had once regrettedthe want of fortune, was no longer worthy of sharing it with her; but,remembering the friendly admonition of the Count, she checked thismelancholy reflection, and endeavoured to feel only gratitude forthe unexpected good, that now attended her; while it formed noinconsiderable part of her satisfaction to know, that La Vallee, hernative home, which was endeared to her by it's having been the residenceof her parents, would soon be restored to her possession. There shemeant to fix her future residence, for, though it could not be comparedwith the chateau at Tholouse, either for extent, or magnificence, itspleasant scenes and the tender remembrances, that haunted them, hadclaims upon her heart, which she was not inclined to sacrifice toostentation. She wrote immediately to thank M. Quesnel for the activeinterest he took in her concerns, and to say, that she would meet him atTholouse at the appointed time.
When Count de Villefort, with Blanche, came to the convent to giveEmily the advice of the advocate, he was informed of the contents ofM. Quesnel's letter, and gave her his sincere congratulations, onthe occasion; but she observed, that, when the first expressionof satisfaction had faded from his countenance, an unusual gravitysucceeded, and she scarcely hesitated to enquire its cause.
'It has no new occasion,' replied the Count; 'I am harassed andperplexed by the confusion, into which my family is thrown by theirfoolish superstition. Idle reports are floating round me, which I canneither admit to be true, or prove to be false; and I am, also, veryanxious about the poor fellow, Ludovico, concerning whom I have not beenable to obtain information. Every part of the chateau and every part ofthe neighbourhood, too, has, I believe, been searched, and I know notwhat further can be done, since I have already offered large rewardsfor the discovery of him. The keys of the north apartment I have notsuffered to be out of my possession, since he disappeared, and I mean towatch in those chambers, myself, this very night.'
Emily, seriously alarmed for the Count, united her entreaties with thoseof the Lady Blanche, to dissuade him from his purpose.
'What should I fear?' said he. 'I have no faith in supernatural combats,and for human opposition I shall be prepared; nay, I will even promisenot to watch alone.'
'But who, dear sir, will have courage enough to watch with you?' saidEmily.
'My son,' replied the Count. 'If I am not carried off in the night,'added he, smiling, 'you shall hear the result of my adventure,tomorrow.'
The Count and Lady Blanche, shortly afterwards, took leave of Emily, andreturned to the chateau, where he informed Henri of his intention, who,not without some secret reluctance, consented to be the partner of hiswatch; and, when the design was mentioned after supper, the Countess wasterrified, and the Baron, and M. Du Pont joined with her in entreating,that he would not tempt his fate, as Ludovico had done. 'We know not,'added the Baron, 'the nature, or the power of an evil spirit; andthat such a spirit haunts those chambers can now, I think, scarcely bedoubted. Beware, my lord, how you provoke its vengeance, since it hasalready given us one terrible example of its malice. I allow it may beprobable, that the spirits of the dead are permitted to return to theearth only on occasions of high import; but the present import may beyour destruction.'
The Count could not forbear smiling; 'Do you think then, Baron,' saidhe, 'that my destruction is of sufficient importance to draw backto earth the soul of the departed? Alas! my good friend, there is nooccasion for such means to accomplish the destruction of any individual.Wherever the mystery rests, I trust I shall, this night, be able todetect it. You know I am not superstitious.'
'I know that you are incredulous,' interrupted the Baron.
'Well, call it what you will, I mean to say, that, though you know I amfree from superstition--if any thing supernatural has appeared, I doubtnot it will appear to me, and if any strange event hangs over my house,or if any extraordinary transaction has formerly been connected with it,I shall probably be made acquainted with it. At all events I will invitediscovery; and, that I may be equal to a mortal attack, which in goodtruth, my friend, is what I most expect, I shall take care to be wellarmed.'
The Count took leave of his family, for the night, with an assumedgaiety, which but ill concealed the anxiety, that depressed his spirits,and retired to the north apartments, accompanied by his son and followedby the Baron, M. Du Pont and some of the domestics, who all bade himgood night at the outer door. In these chambers every thing appearedas when he had last been here; even in the bed-room no alteration wasvisible, where he lighted his own fire, for none of the domestics couldbe prevailed upon to venture thither. After carefully examining thechamber and the oriel, the Count and Henri drew their chairs upon thehearth, set a bottle of wine and a lamp before them, laid their swordsupon the table, and, stirring the wood into a blaze, began to converseon indifferent topics. But Henri was often silent and abstracted, andsometimes threw a glance of mingled awe and curiosity round the gloomyapartment; while the Count gradually ceased to converse, and sat eitherlost in thought, or reading a volume of Tacitus, which he had brought tobeguile the tediousness of the night.