CHAPTER XIV
Call up him, that left half told The story of Cambuscan bold. MILTON
On the following morning, as Emily sat in the parlour adjoining thelibrary, reflecting on the scene of the preceding night, Annette rushedwildly into the room, and, without speaking, sunk breathless into achair. It was some time before she could answer the anxious enquiries ofEmily, as to the occasion of her emotion, but, at length, she exclaimed,'I have seen his ghost, madam, I have seen his ghost!'
'Who do you mean?' said Emily, with extreme impatience.
'It came in from the hall, madam,' continued Annette, 'as I was crossingto the parlour.'
'Who are you speaking of?' repeated Emily, 'Who came in from the hall?
'It was dressed just as I have seen him, often and often,' addedAnnette. 'Ah! who could have thought--'
Emily's patience was now exhausted, and she was reprimanding her forsuch idle fancies, when a servant entered the room, and informed her,that a stranger without begged leave to speak with her.
It immediately occurred to Emily, that this stranger was Valancourt, andshe told the servant to inform him, that she was engaged, and could notsee any person.
The servant, having delivered his message, returned with one from thestranger, urging the first request, and saying, that he had something ofconsequence to communicate; while Annette, who had hitherto satsilent and amazed, now started up, and crying, 'It is Ludovico!--it isLudovico!' ran out of the room. Emily bade the servant follow her, and,if it really was Ludovico, to shew him into the parlour.
In a few minutes, Ludovico appeared, accompanied by Annette, who, asjoy rendered her forgetful of all rules of decorum towards her mistress,would not suffer any person to be heard, for some time, but herself.Emily expressed surprise and satisfaction, on seeing Ludovico in safety,and the first emotions increased, when he delivered letters fromCount De Villefort and the Lady Blanche, informing her of their lateadventure, and of their present situation at an inn among the Pyrenees,where they had been detained by the illness of Mons. St. Foix, and theindisposition of Blanche, who added, that the Baron St. Foix was justarrived to attend his son to his chateau, where he would remain till theperfect recovery of his wounds, and then return to Languedoc, but thather father and herself purposed to be at La Vallee, on the followingday. She added, that Emily's presence would be expected at theapproaching nuptials, and begged she would be prepared to proceed, ina few days to Chateau-le-Blanc. For an account of Ludovico's adventure,she referred her to himself; and Emily, though much interested,concerning the means, by which he had disappeared from the northapartments, had the forbearance to suspend the gratification of hercuriosity, till he had taken some refreshment, and had conversed withAnnette, whose joy, on seeing him in safety, could not have been moreextravagant, had he arisen from the grave.
Meanwhile, Emily perused again the letters of her friends, whoseexpressions of esteem and kindness were very necessary consolationsto her heart, awakened as it was by the late interview to emotions ofkeener sorrow and regret.
The invitation to Chateau-le-Blanc was pressed with so much kindness bythe Count and his daughter, who strengthened it by a message from theCountess, and the occasion of it was so important to her friend, thatEmily could not refuse to accept it, nor, though she wished to remainin the quiet shades of her native home, could she avoid perceiving theimpropriety of remaining there alone, since Valancourt was again in theneighbourhood. Sometimes, too, she thought, that change of scenery andthe society of her friends might contribute, more than retirement, torestore her to tranquillity.
When Ludovico again appeared, she desired him to give a detail of hisadventure in the north apartments, and to tell by what means he became acompanion of the banditti, with whom the Count had found him.
He immediately obeyed, while Annette, who had not yet had leisure toask him many questions, on the subject, prepared to listen, with acountenance of extreme curiosity, venturing to remind her lady of herincredulity, concerning spirits, in the castle of Udolpho, and ofher own sagacity in believing in them; while Emily, blushing at theconsciousness of her late credulity, observed, that, if Ludovico'sadventure could justify Annette's superstition, he had probably not beenhere to relate it.
Ludovico smiled at Annette, and bowed to Emily, and then began asfollows:
'You may remember, madam, that, on the night, when I sat up in the northchamber, my lord, the Count, and Mons. Henri accompanied me thither, andthat, while they remained there, nothing happened to excite any alarm.When they were gone I made a fire in the bed-room, and, not beinginclined to sleep, I sat down on the hearth with a book I had broughtwith me to divert my mind. I confess I did sometimes look round thechamber, with something like apprehension--'
'O very like it, I dare say,' interrupted Annette, 'and I dare say too,if the truth was known, you shook from head to foot.'
'Not quite so bad as that,' replied Ludovico, smiling, 'but severaltimes, as the wind whistled round the castle, and shook the oldcasements, I did fancy I heard odd noises, and, once or twice, I got upand looked about me; but nothing was to be seen, except the grim figuresin the tapestry, which seemed to frown upon me, as I looked at them.I had sat thus for above an hour,' continued Ludovico, 'when again Ithought I heard a noise, and glanced my eyes round the room, to discoverwhat it came from, but, not perceiving any thing, I began to readagain, and, when I had finished the story I was upon, I felt drowsy, anddropped asleep. But presently I was awakened by the noise I had heardbefore, and it seemed to come from that part of the chamber, where thebed stood; and then, whether it was the story I had been reading thataffected my spirits, or the strange reports, that had been spread ofthese apartments, I don't know, but, when I looked towards the bedagain, I fancied I saw a man's face within the dusky curtains.'
At the mention of this, Emily trembled, and looked anxiously,remembering the spectacle she had herself witnessed there with Dorothee.
'I confess, madam, my heart did fail me, at that instant,' continuedLudovico, 'but a return of the noise drew my attention from the bed, andI then distinctly heard a sound, like that of a key, turning in a lock,but what surprised me more was, that I saw no door where the soundseemed to come from. In the next moment, however, the arras near thebed was slowly lifted, and a person appeared behind it, entering froma small door in the wall. He stood for a moment as if half retreating,with his head bending under the arras which concealed the upper part ofhis face except his eyes scowling beneath the tapestry as he held it;and then, while he raised it higher, I saw the face of another manbehind, looking over his shoulder. I know not how it was, but, thoughmy sword was upon the table before me, I had not the power just then toseize it, but sat quite still, watching them, with my eyes half shut asif I was asleep. I suppose they thought me so, and were debating whatthey should do, for I heard them whisper, and they stood in the sameposture for the value of a minute, and then, I thought I perceived otherfaces in the duskiness beyond the door, and heard louder whispers.'
'This door surprises me,' said Emily, 'because I understood, thatthe Count had caused the arras to be lifted, and the walls examined,suspecting, that they might have concealed a passage through which youhad departed.'
'It does not appear so extraordinary to me, madam,' replied Ludovico,'that this door should escape notice, because it was formed in a narrowcompartment, which appeared to be part of the outward wall, and, if theCount had not passed over it, he might have thought it was useless tosearch for a door where it seemed as if no passage could communicatewith one; but the truth was, that the passage was formed within thewall itself.--But, to return to the men, whom I saw obscurely beyond thedoor, and who did not suffer me to remain long in suspense, concerningtheir design. They all rushed into the room, and surrounded me, thoughnot before I had snatched up my sword to defend myself. But what couldone man do against four? They soon disarmed me, and, having fastened myarms, and gagged my mouth, forced me through the private door, leavingmy sword upon the table, to a
ssist, as they said, those who should comein the morning to look for me, in fighting against the ghosts. They thenled me through many narrow passages, cut, as I fancied, in the walls,for I had never seen them before, and down several flights of steps,till we came to the vaults underneath the castle; and then openinga stone door, which I should have taken for the wall itself, we wentthrough a long passage, and down other steps cut in the solid rock, whenanother door delivered us into a cave. After turning and twining about,for some time, we reached the mouth of it, and I found myself on thesea-beach at the foot of the cliffs, with the chateau above. A boat wasin waiting, into which the ruffians got, forcing me along with them,and we soon reached a small vessel, that was at anchor, where other menappeared, when setting me aboard, two of the fellows who had seized me,followed, and the other two rowed back to the shore, while we set sail.I soon found out what all this meant, and what was the business of thesemen at the chateau. We landed in Rousillon, and, after lingeringseveral days about the shore, some of their comrades came down from themountains, and carried me with them to the fort, where I remained tillmy Lord so unexpectedly arrived, for they had taken good care to preventmy running away, having blindfolded me, during the journey, and, if theyhad not done this, I think I never could have found my road to any town,through the wild country we traversed. After I reached the fort I waswatched like a prisoner, and never suffered to go out, without two orthree companions, and I became so weary of life, that I often wished toget rid of it.'
'Well, but they let you talk,' said Annette, 'they did not gagg youafter they got you away from the chateau, so I don't see what reasonthere was to be so very weary of living; to say nothing about the chanceyou had of seeing me again.'
Ludovico smiled, and Emily also, who enquired what was the motive ofthese men for carrying him off.
'I soon found out, madam,' resumed Ludovico, 'that they were pirates,who had, during many years, secreted their spoil in the vaults of thecastle, which, being so near the sea, suited their purpose well. Toprevent detection they had tried to have it believed, that the chateauwas haunted, and, having discovered the private way to the northapartments, which had been shut up ever since the death of the ladymarchioness, they easily succeeded. The housekeeper and her husband, whowere the only persons, that had inhabited the castle, for some years,were so terrified by the strange noises they heard in the nights, thatthey would live there no longer; a report soon went abroad, that itwas haunted, and the whole country believed this the more readily, Isuppose, because it had been said, that the lady marchioness had diedin a strange way, and because my lord never would return to the placeafterwards.'
'But why,' said Emily, 'were not these pirates contented with thecave--why did they think it necessary to deposit their spoil in thecastle?'
'The cave, madam,' replied Ludovico, 'was open to any body, and theirtreasures would not long have remained undiscovered there, but in thevaults they were secure so long as the report prevailed of their beinghaunted. Thus then, it appears, that they brought at midnight, thespoil they took on the seas, and kept it till they had opportunities ofdisposing of it to advantage. The pirates were connected with Spanishsmugglers and banditti, who live among the wilds of the Pyrenees, andcarry on various kinds of traffic, such as nobody would think of; andwith this desperate horde of banditti I remained, till my lord arrived.I shall never forget what I felt, when I first discovered him--I almostgave him up for lost! but I knew, that, if I shewed myself, the bandittiwould discover who he was, and probably murder us all, to prevent theirsecret in the chateau being detected. I, therefore, kept out of mylord's sight, but had a strict watch upon the ruffians, and determined,if they offered him or his family violence, to discover myself, andfight for our lives. Soon after, I overheard some of them laying a mostdiabolical plan for the murder and plunder of the whole party, when Icontrived to speak to some of my lord's attendants, telling them whatwas going forward, and we consulted what was best to be done; meanwhilemy lord, alarmed at the absence of the Lady Blanche, demanded her, andthe ruffians having given some unsatisfactory answer, my lord and Mons.St. Foix became furious, so then we thought it a good time to discoverthe plot, and rushing into the chamber, I called out, "Treachery! mylord count, defend yourself!" His lordship and the chevalier drew theirswords directly, and a hard battle we had, but we conquered at last, as,madam, you are already informed of by my Lord Count.'
'This is an extraordinary adventure,' said Emily, 'and much praiseis due, Ludovico, to your prudence and intrepidity. There are somecircumstances, however, concerning the north apartments, which stillperplex me; but, perhaps, you may be able to explain them. Did you everhear the banditti relate any thing extraordinary of these rooms?'
'No, madam,' replied Ludovico, 'I never heard them speak about therooms, except to laugh at the credulity of the old housekeeper, whoonce was very near catching one of the pirates; it was since the Countarrived at the chateau, he said, and he laughed heartily as he relatedthe trick he had played off.'
A blush overspread Emily's cheek, and she impatiently desired Ludovicoto explain himself.
'Why, my lady,' said he, 'as this fellow was, one night in the bed-room,he heard somebody approaching through the next apartment, and not havingtime to lift up the arras, and unfasten the door, he hid himself inthe bed just by. There he lay for some time in as great a fright, Isuppose--'
'As you was in,' interrupted Annette, 'when you sat up so boldly towatch by yourself.'
'Aye,' said Ludovico, 'in as great a fright as he ever made any bodyelse suffer; and presently the housekeeper and some other person came upto the bed, when he, thinking they were going to examine it, bethoughthim, that his only chance of escaping detection, was by terrifying them;so he lifted up the counterpane, but that did not do, till he raised hisface above it, and then they both set off, he said, as if they had seenthe devil, and he got out of the rooms undiscovered.'
Emily could not forbear smiling at this explanation of the deception,which had given her so much superstitious terror, and was surprised,that she could have suffered herself to be thus alarmed, till sheconsidered, that, when the mind has once begun to yield to the weaknessof superstition, trifles impress it with the force of conviction. Still,however, she remembered with awe the mysterious music, which had beenheard, at midnight, near Chateau-le-Blanc, and she asked Ludovico if hecould give any explanation of it; but he could not.
'I only know, madam,' he added, 'that it did not belong to the pirates,for I have heard them laugh about it, and say, they believed the devilwas in league with them there.'
'Yes, I will answer for it he was,' said Annette, her countenancebrightening, 'I was sure all along, that he or his spirits had somethingto do with the north apartments, and now you see, madam, I am right atlast.'
'It cannot be denied, that his spirits were very busy in that part ofthe chateau,' replied Emily, smiling. 'But I am surprised, Ludovico,that these pirates should persevere in their schemes, after the arrivalof the Count; what could they expect but certain detection?'
'I have reason to believe, madam,' replied Ludovico, 'that it was theirintention to persevere no longer than was necessary for the removal ofthe stores, which were deposited in the vaults; and it appeared, thatthey had been employed in doing so from within a short period after theCount's arrival; but, as they had only a few hours in the night forthis business, and were carrying on other schemes at the same time, thevaults were not above half emptied, when they took me away. They gloriedexceedingly in this opportunity of confirming the superstitious reports,that had been spread of the north chambers, were careful to leave everything there as they had found it, the better to promote the deception,and frequently, in their jocose moods, would laugh at the consternation,which they believed the inhabitants of the castle had suffered uponmy disappearing, and it was to prevent the possibility of my betrayingtheir secret, that they had removed me to such a distance. From thatperiod they considered the chateau as nearly their own; but I found fromthe discourse of their
comrades, that, though they were cautious, atfirst, in shewing their power there, they had once very nearly betrayedthemselves. Going, one night, as was their custom, to the north chambersto repeat the noises, that had occasioned such alarm among the servants,they heard, as they were about to unfasten the secret door, voices inthe bed-room. My lord has since told me, that himself and M. Henriwere then in the apartment, and they heard very extraordinary sounds oflamentation, which it seems were made by these fellows, with their usualdesign of spreading terror; and my lord has owned, he then felt somewhatmore, than surprise; but, as it was necessary to the peace of hisfamily, that no notice should be taken, he was silent on the subject,and enjoined silence to his son.'
Emily, recollecting the change, that had appeared in the spirits ofthe Count, after the night, when he had watched in the north room, nowperceived the cause of it; and, having made some further enquiries uponthis strange affair, she dismissed Ludovico, and went to give orders forthe accommodation of her friends, on the following day.
In the evening, Theresa, lame as she was, came to deliver the ring, withwhich Valancourt had entrusted her, and, when she presented it, Emilywas much affected, for she remembered to have seen him wear it oftenin happier days. She was, however, much displeased, that Theresa hadreceived it, and positively refused to accept it herself, though tohave done so would have afforded her a melancholy pleasure. Theresaentreated, expostulated, and then described the distress of Valancourt,when he had given the ring, and repeated the message, with which he hadcommissioned her to deliver it; and Emily could not conceal the extremesorrow this recital occasioned her, but wept, and remained lost inthought.
'Alas! my dear young lady!' said Theresa, 'why should all this be? Ihave known you from your infancy, and it may well be supposed I loveyou, as if you was my own, and wish as much to see you happy. M.Valancourt, to be sure, I have not known so long, but then I have reasonto love him, as though he was my own son. I know how well you love oneanother, or why all this weeping and wailing?' Emily waved her hand forTheresa to be silent, who, disregarding the signal, continued, 'Andhow much you are alike in your tempers and ways, and, that, if you weremarried, you would be the happiest couple in the whole province--thenwhat is there to prevent your marrying? Dear dear! to see how somepeople fling away their happiness, and then cry and lament about it,just as if it was not their own doing, and as if there was more pleasurein wailing and weeping, than in being at peace. Learning, to be sure,is a fine thing, but, if it teaches folks no better than that, why I hadrather be without it; if it would teach them to be happier, I would saysomething to it, then it would be learning and wisdom too.'
Age and long services had given Theresa a privilege to talk, butEmily now endeavoured to check her loquacity, and, though she feltthe justness of some of her remarks, did not choose to explain thecircumstances, that had determined her conduct towards Valancourt. She,therefore, only told Theresa, that it would much displease her to hearthe subject renewed; that she had reasons for her conduct, which she didnot think it proper to mention, and that the ring must be returned, withan assurance, that she could not accept it with propriety; and, atthe same time, she forbade Theresa to repeat any future messagefrom Valancourt, as she valued her esteem and kindness. Theresa wasafflicted, and made another attempt, though feeble, to interest herfor Valancourt, but the unusual displeasure, expressed in Emily'scountenance, soon obliged her to desist, and she departed in wonder andlamentation.
To relieve her mind, in some degree, from the painful recollections,that intruded upon it, Emily busied herself in preparations for thejourney into Languedoc, and, while Annette, who assisted her, spoke withjoy and affection of the safe return of Ludovico, she was consideringhow she might best promote their happiness, and determined, if itappeared, that his affection was as unchanged as that of the simple andhonest Annette, to give her a marriage portion, and settle them on somepart of her estate. These considerations led her to the remembrance ofher father's paternal domain, which his affairs had formerly compelledhim to dispose of to M. Quesnel, and which she frequently wished toregain, because St. Aubert had lamented, that the chief lands of hisancestors had passed into another family, and because they had been hisbirth-place and the haunt of his early years. To the estate at Tholouseshe had no peculiar attachment, and it was her wish to dispose of this,that she might purchase her paternal domains, if M. Quesnel could beprevailed on to part with them, which, as he talked much of living inItaly, did not appear very improbable.