CHAPTER XXVII.
ESPERANCE AND ZULEIKA.
During the whole period of the memorable Revolution Zuleika never oncesaw her brother, though she was burning with a desire to have aninterview with him on the subject that had caused the separation betweenher young Italian lover and herself. Esperance made his home behind thebarricades, from the time the struggle began until the people finallytriumphed; gun in hand, he fought as heroically as the most devotedworkman, fearlessly exposing himself whenever the troops pressed hiscomrades in arms and always in the thick of the fight. Begrimed withdust and powder, his garments torn by bullets and bayonet thrusts, hishat battered and rent, he encouraged the people by word and example,constantly shouting "Vive la Republique," and contending for libertywith the bravery of a lion and a persistency that never flagged. He,however, escaped without a single scratch, returning to the paternalmansion utterly worn out, but altogether unhurt, proud of having donehis duty as a man and a patriot, and of having sustained the gloriouscause for which his father was working heart and soul.
As he was slowly and wearily wending his way homeward, he suddenlyencountered M. Dantes and his friend Lamartine in the Rue Richelieu; hisgun was on his shoulder, and in his tattered attire, with the dust andpowder on his face and hands, he had the exact appearance of aninsurrectionist and a barricader. He touched his hat in military fashionto M. Dantes and his illustrious companion, and was about passing onwhen his father recognized him and, ragged and begrimed as he was, threwhis arms enthusiastically about his neck. M. Lamartine watched theDeputy from Marseilles and could not restrain an expression ofastonishment at his singular behavior. M. Dantes smiled and, takingEsperance by the hand, said:
"M. Lamartine, you will, I know, make every allowance for me when youlearn that this young man, who has been fighting behind the barricadeswith the people, is my son!"
The head of the Provisional Government instantly grew as enthusiastic asM. Dantes himself; he grasped Esperance's free hand and, shaking it withthe utmost cordiality, exclaimed:
"Your son, M. Dantes! Let me congratulate you! Why he is a perfecthero!"
"I have but followed my father's teachings and done what he would havedone had he been my age and unable to serve the great cause of humanfreedom in a more effective way!"
M. Dantes' eyes sparkled with joy and a faint shade of color appearedupon his pale cheeks.
"What is your name, young patriot?" asked M. Lamartine, his excitementand enthusiasm continuing to hold possession of him.
"Esperance," was the reply.
"Esperance--hope--the name is both appropriate and auspicious; with suchheroic young men as you fighting for our cause there is, indeed, hope,and of the brightest and best kind!" cried Lamartine.
"Nay, nay," said M. Dantes, "do not flatter the boy; he has but done hisduty."
"Believe me, I do not flatter him," returned Lamartine; "I have simplytold him the truth; in time he will rival the devotion and achievementsof his noble father!"
"Enough, enough," said the Deputy, modestly; "we deserve only the creditof executing God's will--we are merely instruments in His omnipotenthand!" he added, impressively.
"And such instruments are exactly what we need in the present crisis.God grant us plenty of them!"
The next morning Zuleika encountered Esperance on the stairway; she ledhim into the salon, and, when they were seated, said:
"My brother, I have a question to ask of you."
A shadow crossed the young man's brow, and he quickly asked:
"Is it about the Viscount Massetti?"
"Yes."
"Then I must refuse to answer!"
"But the matter concerns my happiness, nay, my very life itself; thinkof that before you finally refuse to answer my question!"
Esperance hastily and excitedly arose from his chair and stood in frontof his sister.
"Zuleika," said he, in an agitated tone, "beware of that man--beware ofGiovanni Massetti!"
"Beware of Giovanni, Esperance--and why?"
The young man began to pace the salon with short and nervous steps; hishands twitched convulsively, and his face had suddenly assumed thewhiteness of chalk.
"Zuleika, Zuleika," he murmured, "I cannot, I cannot tell you why! Itwould crash you to the very earth and make you blush with shame that youhad ever listened to the seductive tones of that doubly false Italian'svoice!"
"But, Esperance," said Zuleika, "papa certainly knows all aboutGiovanni; if he did not altogether approve of his character and conduct,he would never have consented to admit him as a suitor for my hand!"
"A suitor for your hand, Zuleika! My God! has he then dared----"
"He has done nothing that an upright and honorable man should not do!"interrupted Zuleika, warmly. "He did not even call here until he hadwritten to papa and obtained his full permission to do so."
"Zuleika," said Esperance, approaching his sister and taking her hand,"no doubt Giovanni Massetti has conducted himself in all respectstoward you like a perfect gentleman, but, nevertheless, he is not fit tobe my sister's husband."
"But papa----"
"Has been deceived, as have many others, in regard to the true characterand standing of this so-called Roman nobleman."
"And is he not a nobleman?"
"Once more I must refuse to answer any question in regard to him. I canonly tell you to beware and shun him as you would a venomous serpent."
"Esperance, I love him!"
"Love him!--you love him, Zuleika! Oh! this is, indeed, torture!"
The young man dropped his sister's hand and flung himself upon a divan.He was a prey to the most intense excitement.
Zuleika, deeply affected to see him thus, and remembering Giovanni'smysterious behavior, together with his strange and ominous words, whenshe had questioned him in regard to his quarrel with Esperance, felt fora moment shaken and uncertain. She also recollected that, at the time ofthe inexplicable difficulty between the two young men, she had heardrumors to the effect that a youthful member of the Roman aristocracy hadabducted a beautiful peasant girl, in which affair he had been assistedby the notorious brigand Luigi Vampa; the matter, however, had almostimmediately been hushed up and she had learned none of thecircumstances. Could it be possible that Giovanni Massetti was theyouthful aristocrat alluded to by the gossips and scandalmongers of theEternal City--that he was the abductor of the unfortunate peasant girl?She could not entertain such an idea, and yet that abduction, in spiteof all her efforts, would associate itself with her Italian lover in hermind.
She arose from her chair and, going to the divan, seated herself besideEsperance, determined to make a final attempt to draw his secret fromhim. Throwing her arms tenderly about his neck she said, in a coaxingtone:
"If any sound reason exists why I should not love Giovanni Massetti, andyou know it, your plain duty as my brother is to tell me. Will you nottell me, Esperance?"
Instead of replying, the young man buried his face in his hands andfairly sobbed in his anguish. Zuleika was filled with pity for him, and,as she gazed at him, tears came into her eyes; but still bent ondiscovering the nature of the obstacle that had so suddenly loomed upbetween Giovanni and herself, she continued after a pause, in the samecoaxing voice:
"Esperance, I am no longer a child and should not be treated as one.What I ask of you is only reasonable and just. If I stand on the brinkof a gulf I cannot see, it is your duty to inform me not only of mydanger but also of its nature. Am I not right?"
Heaving a deep sigh, Esperance replied:
"Yes, you are right, Zuleika; it is my duty to tell you all--and yet Icannot!"
"At least, tell me why you are compelled to maintain silence on amatter of so much importance."
"Did you question the Viscount?"
"I did."
"And what answer did he return?"
"Like you, he refused to answer."
"Ah! then he has some sense of shame left!"
"Shame?"
"Yes, shame! And
what did you do when he refused to speak?"
"I left him."
"And you will not see him again?"
"Not until he has decided to tell me all."
"Then you will never put eyes upon him more; he dare not tell you!"
"Dare not! And why?"
"Because, did you know the depth of his infamy, you would spurn him fromyou!"
Suddenly a grave suspicion stole into Zuleika's mind and made hertremble from head to foot. Might it not be that Esperance had been asdeeply involved in the mysterious and infamous affair of which hedeclined to speak as Giovanni Massetti himself? The thought was torment,and totally unable to restrain her keen anxiety to be instantly informedupon this topic, Zuleika gasped out:
"Were you not, Esperance, as guilty as your former friend?"
The young man leaped to his feet as if a tarantula had bitten him.
"No, no!" cried he. "I was innocent of all blame in the matter! LuigiVampa----"
He abruptly checked himself and stood staring at his sister, as if indismay at having unguardedly uttered the brigand's name.
But Zuleika said nothing. Giovanni Massetti also had protested hisinnocence, and the young girl knew not what to believe. Luigi Vampa? Sothen he had been a party to this mysterious and terrible business,whatever it was! And again she thought of the abduction of the beautifulpeasant girl. Could that be the fearful secret? Yes, it must be. LuigiVampa had assisted in that abduction, if report could be relied on, andthe chief criminal had been a youthful member of the Roman aristocracy.Oh! it was all plain now. Zuleika shuddered and felt her heart growheavy as lead, while a sharp, killing pang ran through it. Had Esperancebeen misled by Vampa and the Viscount? Had he discovered too late theinfamy of the affair and challenged Massetti on that account? This was,doubtless, the solution of the whole enigma, and yet Zuleika hesitatedto accept it as such. No, no, she could not accept it without furtherand more convincing proof! But how was that proof to be obtained?Neither the Viscount nor her brother would speak; it was evident thattheir lips were sealed; possibly an oath to maintain silence had beenextorted from them under terrible circumstances--an oath they feared tobreak even to clear themselves from a foul suspicion. But Vampa? Hemight, perhaps, be induced to give the key to the mystery. Vampa,however, was far away in Rome and inaccessible. Zuleika made a wildresolve--she would write to the brigand and throw herself upon hisgenerosity; then she decided that the plan was impracticable; her letterwould never reach Vampa--it would be seized by the Roman authorities andmight cause additional trouble by reviving a smothered scandal--and evenshould it reach the brigand, would he answer it? The chances were ahundred to one that he would not. At this instant an inspiration came tothe tortured girl like a flash of lightning. Her father had known Vampain the past, and, perhaps, still possessed some influence over him. Shehad heard the story of Albert de Morcerf's adventure in the catacombs ofSaint Sebastian, and was aware that the brigand chief had released himfrom captivity without ransom at her father's simple solicitation. Wouldnot Vampa answer her questions if M. Dantes could be influenced to writehim and ask them? She had full faith in her father's power to get aletter to the bandit notwithstanding all the vigilance of the Romanauthorities. Yes, she would go to him, tell all her suspicions withoutreserve and beg him to write the letter; it was hardly likely he wouldrefuse; he could not, he must not. Thus resolved, Zuleika looked herbrother full in the face and said, calmly:
"I see I torture you with my questions, Esperance, that for some reasonbest known to yourself you cannot answer them, and that it is uselessto torment you further. But something must be done and that at once. Iam going to my father!"
Esperance caught her wildly by the arm.
"You are mad!" cried he.
"It is you who are mad--you and Giovanni! I tell you, I am going to myfather; if you are innocent, you have nothing to fear from anyrevelation I may make!"
With these words she freed herself from her brother's grasp and quittedthe salon, leaving Esperance standing in the centre of the apartment asif he were rooted to the spot.