CHAPTER XXII
THE TABLETS OF DOM ANTOINE DE MOUCHY
A quick glance around showed me I was alone. Turning back to thewindow I swung the free end of the rope to La Marmotte. She caught it,drew it in, and closed the window over it as far as it would go.Through the slight opening I saw for an instant the glow of the candle.Then the rope tightened, and the light went out. I crept softly to adoor on my right, and standing there listened intently. All wassilence. I tried the door; it opened, and I saw before me De Mouchy'sstudy. His table, littered with papers, was almost in the centre ofthe room. Near the window was a large carved chest. The walls werelined with books, and three or four bookcases, filled with dust-ladenvolumes, projected at right angles from them. In truth, it seemed asif Dom Antoine owned a library that might rival that of the Abbey ofSt. Victor.
I made up my mind to go a step farther than La Marmotte's suggestion,and as the chances of discovery were equal whether I remained in theouter room or here I decided to stay where I was. Between the wall andone of the projecting bookshelves there was space sufficient for a manto stand perfectly concealed, unless anyone chose to come round thebookcase. Here, then, I took up my position, trusting much to luck, asone has to do in a desperate enterprise, and relying on the chance thatDe Mouchy would never suspect that anyone would dare to act as I wasdoing in broad daylight, for it was not much beyond five o'clock in theafternoon.
I had not long to wait. Presently I heard a scratching at a dooropposite to that by which I had entered the room. There was a murmuredword or so, then the door opened, and Dom Antoine de Mouchy stepped in,bearing in his arms an immense black cat. Where the afternoon sunlightshone warmly on the carved chest he placed the beast, stroking its backonce or twice, and then turned, and stood for a moment facing his table.
As he stood there, in the black robes and skull-cap of a doctor of theSorbonne, I took careful stock of him, for it was he who, years past,had doomed me to a frightful death, and who had shared with Simon andDiane de Poitiers the remains of my property. He was past middle life,with a frame yet strong and vigorous. Cruelty and avarice had settheir seals on his broad face. His cheek-bones were high as those of aTartar, and the small and sunken eyes had a restless, savage look inthem--the look of a tiger; and no tiger ever thirsted for blood moreferociously than Dom Antoine de Mouchy, Doctor of the Sorbonne, andPresident of the Chambre Ardente, thirsted for the blood of hisfellow-creatures.
Twice he glanced around him, and then sitting at his table was soonbusily employed in jotting down something on his tablets. After awhile he stopped, and some thought moved him to silent laughter.Leaning back he let his glance travel round the room, and then arrestedit once more on his tablets.
"Ha, ha!" he laughed out loudly this time, "this is a rare dish offried fish! Prick up your ears, Titi!" And reaching out a long arm hestroked the fur of the huge cat that sat crouched on the coffer, anoccasional shiver running through its body. It was old, very old, as Icould see.
At De Mouchy's voice and the touch of his hand the creature roseslowly, turned upon Dom Antoine a pair of green eyes from which thesight had long since fled, and hissed like an angry snake. De Mouchylaughed again as he went on:
"You agree--eh? Well, listen to thenames--Huguenots--Christaudins--Spawn of Geneva--whose bodies shallperish as their souls, and whose goods shall come to therighteous--that is, to me, Titi."
For a moment light seemed to come back to those sightless eyes, andwith a purr, as if it understood, the great cat leaped lightly on tothe table and sat before De Mouchy, whilst the latter put one finger onthe tablets, and spoke again:
"_Mon vieux_! the poor fisherman has netted some fine gold-fish thistime. No little sprats of tailors of the Rue St. Antoine orout-at-heel scholars--but fine, fat, golden carp. The pity of it,Titi, that the great ones of the land will take toll of thishaul--tithe and fee; but there will be something left for you and forme--you understand?"
The cat snarled, as though it had followed every word, and De Mouchywent on, carrying out his terrible humour:
"Good! You cannot speak nor see but you can hear, and so listen!First--the Church first always, Titi--comes Odet de Coligny, Cardinalde Chatillon, Bishop of Beauvais--a traitor--a wolf who has stolen intothe fold of Christ--with a hundred thousand livres a year of income!"He paused, and looked at the cat, with a snarl on his lips as evil asthat on those of his familiar.
"Secondly, the High Nobility--Gaspard de Coligny, High Admiral ofFrance, the tallest poppy in the garden of heresy, Titi.
"Thirdly, the Law--in the person of Maitre Anne du Bourg, an unjustjudge; but you and I will change his judgment seat for a felon's dock,and give him a garment of red flames for his red robes of office."
The cat mewed as De Mouchy went on: "There are many more, my friend,and one in special, against whom we dare not move as yet, for he bearsthe lilies of France on his shield. But let us on to the sweets, forwe have dined well, and need a toothsome morsel. If you could see,_mon vieux_, and had set eyes on her, I should have my doubts of youalso, for she is as the fairy light that draws the unwary into the Pitof Death. Can you guess? No! Then I will tell you. What think youof the Demoiselle de Paradis? Yes! Hiss, hiss! _Sus, sus_! On tothe heretics, _mon brave_!"
And as the cat rose on its tottering limbs, arched its back, andsnarled, the man leaned back snarling also, for the blood madness wason him, and he was alone, and had let himself go utterly.
At this moment this strange scene was interrupted by a sharp, imperiousknock at the door, and as De Mouchy, with a start, swung round hischair and rose to his feet the door was pushed open without furtherceremony, and he saw before him the beautiful but pitiless face ofDiane de Poitiers, and behind her stood Simon of Orrain.
As De Mouchy stepped forward to meet his visitors with a cringing air,the cat, less of a hypocrite than its master, retreated to the far endof the table, and began to hiss like a boiling kettle.
"I did not expect you yet, madame," began De Mouchy; but Diane dePoitiers broke in upon his speech:
"It does not matter; let us to business. But away with that hideouscat first!" And she pointed with her fan at Titi, who stood glaring ather with his sightless eyes.
"He is a good adviser, madame," grinned De Mouchy; but she stamped herfoot.
"It looks like a devil. Away with it! else I shall ask Orrain to flingit through the window."
Simon smiled grimly, and stretched out a long, thin arm; but with asullen look on his face De Mouchy lifted his pet in his arms, and,opening the door of the adjoining room, thrust it therein, shutting thedoor upon it. It was, indeed, a lucky change of plan I had made. HadI been behind that door discovery was certain.
The Duchess had seated herself in De Mouchy's chair, and coolly liftingup the tablets ran her eyes over them. Simon flung himself upon thecoffer, his sword between his knees, and began gnawing at his longmoustache, whilst De Mouchy stood between the two, his deep-set eyesshifting from one to the other.
Suddenly Diane's red lips curved into a smile.
"_Eh bien_, De Mouchy! But you are building fine castles in Spainhere! See this, Orrain; he thinks to net Chatillon, the Admiral, andthe First Prince of the Blood!" And she broke into merry laughter.
"And why not, madame?" scowled De Mouchy.
Diane de Poitiers checked her laugh. "For the simple reason that thehouse of Chatillon has become wise over D'Andelot's affair, and willnot set foot in Paris. As for Vendome, he must be dealt withdifferently." And her dark eyes flashed ominously.
"Put the tablets aside for the present," Simon cut in, "and let us notargue. We each form an angle of a triangle, and the triangle will benothing at all if one of the angles is taken away. Let us discussmeasures; we will take the names after. How did my proposal go at thecouncil to-day?"
"Approved," said De Mouchy. "And the Chambre Ardente can act wheneverthe said court thinks fit."
"That is, when you, as president, think fit?"
br /> "Precisely, Monsieur le Vidame."
"This, however, is not enough," Simon went on. "Another littlesuggestion of mine, the suspension of the edicts, made, possibly, bymadame's merciful intercession with the King, has borne good fruit, andParis is full of heretics. But I presume that it is neither theirbodies nor their souls that we desire." And he looked at his twocompanions.
De Mouchy preserved a scowling silence, but with a flush on her facethe Duchess said:
"I do not follow you, monsieur. We are good Christians, and we workfor Holy Church."
Simon leaned back, his knee between his clasped hands, and laughed abitter, mocking laugh.
"Eternal Blue! For Holy Church! Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho! Madame,those sweet lips of yours drop pearls of wisdom." And he rocked to andfro.
Deeper grew the crimson on the Duchess' cheek, and she opened and shuther fan with an angry snap. She tried to say something; but her wordsdied away in a stammer, and her eyes drooped before Simon's cold andmocking look.
"Come," said he, the master-vampire, "let us leave this talk of HolyChurch for the salons and the council. We three know what we want, andto get it we need a grant from the King, giving in equal shares all theproperties and goods of condemned heretics in Paris, which by law areescheat to the Crown, to madame here, the crescent moon of France; toyou, most righteous judge; and to me, Simon, Vidame d'Orrain. Thisdone, we can begin to play."
"Excellent!" And De Mouchy rubbed his hands together. "I will light afire on every square and on the parvis of every church in Paris, andthe smell of the burning will be as incense to the holy saints."
Diane, however, remained silent, her face still flushed, and arebellious light in her sullen eyes, which refused to meet Simon'slook; and after a moment he went on:
"To obtain this, madame, we look to you. After last night I feel surehis Majesty can refuse you nothing."
His words stung her into speech. "It is absurd," she burst out, "equalshares! Monsieur, am I to be sucked dry by your exactions? Never! IfI get the grant it will be for myself, and you and De Mouchy will bepaid as heretofore. So much and no more; and if you like it not thereare others who will do my bidding." She rose from her seat inmagnificent anger, an evil, beautiful thing, and De Mouchy shrank fromher look. Not so Simon. With an angry growl he reached forward andcaught her wrist.
"Have you forgotten what there is between us?" he asked. She made noanswer, and strove to free herself silently; but Simon's grip was firm,and there was a terrible meaning in his glance as he forced her backinto her seat. "Have you forgotten?" he asked again, "or shall I callit from the house-tops to remind you? Fool! Do you not know there area hundred as fair as you ready to supplant you? One whisper of thepast, one whisper of the present--ay, the present--I have but tobreathe De Ganache's name."
"Enough!" she gasped, and Simon loosed his hold, and she sat for amoment, her face buried in her hands.
"Come, Diane," and Simon changed his tone, "you have too many enemiesat your gate to quarrel with old friends. We need you and you need us."
She put her hands down, her face now as white as marble, all the cruellines of her features accentuated, and her eyes were those of a cowedtigress. Never will I forget the scene. In this wicked woman's heartthere was not a regret, not a thought of the innocent blood she wasplanning to shed. It was defeated avarice, pride wounded to the quick,that struggled in her look, and made her, all beautiful as she was, forthe moment hideous.
"Get her some wine," said Simon shortly to De Mouchy--"and get ityourself."
De Mouchy rose and left the room, and the two were alone together.
"Listen, Diane!" said Simon. "You stand on the edge of a precipice.It is said that the King has spoken of nothing this morning but thebeauty of Mademoiselle de Paradis."
She gasped; and he went on:
"I see you understand. Well, unless you agree to my terms mademoiselleis secure from harm; and I think you will find Anet a dull retreat."
There was a little snapping sound, and she had broken her fan, andflung it from her on to the table. At this moment De Mouchy returned,bringing with him some wine and glasses. One he filled and handed toDiane, who drank it without a word, and then sat staring in front ofher.
"I think," said Simon, "that madame now agrees to our proposal. Is itnot so?'
"Yes," she said in a low voice, "I agree," but her eyes were kept downto hide their expression.
"That, then, is settled. And remember, madame, that we cannot takeaction until we have the King's grant in writing. De Mouchy here willsee that it is properly registered in the Chambre--and remember it mustbe within a week, or----" And he bent forward and whispered somethingin her ear.
"It shall be as you desire, Monsieur le Vidame."
"In that case," said Simon, filling himself a glass, "I drink to thehealth of the Great Enterprise. To the unending radiance of thecrescent moon, to your new estate of Chateaux Vieux de Mouchy, and toSimon, _Duc_ d'Orrain!"
With this he drank, and set the glass back on the table with a littleclick.
There was a silence, and then Diane rose.
"There is nothing further to discuss, I think?" she said.
"No," replied Simon; "except that Dom Antoine here would like toregister a certain grant within a week."
She made no answer; but, preceded by De Mouchy and followed by Simon,moved to the door, and all three left the room together. The stars hadbeen with me, and two minutes later I stood beside La Marmotte.
"Well?" she asked.
"There is no time to talk. If we could but get back that rope it wouldremove all suspicion."
She hesitated, and then: "Perhaps with your sword."
"Excellent!" And, drawing my sword, which I had slung on once more, Ileaned forth from the window, and found that the point easily reachedthe hook. It needed but a turn of the wrist to free the rope, which, amoment after, was drawn in safely.
"And now," I said, "let us be off. If you are wise you will never setfoot here again."
She laughed sadly, and we went out together into the lonely Passage ofPity. It was growing dark now, and threading our way through thelabyrinth of streets we reached the river face. Here La Marmottestopped, and abruptly wished me farewell; but I stayed her, thankingher from my heart for her good deed, and ventured, with the utmostdiffidence, to say that if she were in need of a friend she could counton me. She understood.
"Nay, monsieur," she said, "for me there is but one way, and that is tofollow the light that has come to me. We will never meet again; and,perhaps, what I have done to-day may be some recompense for the past.Farewell!"
Thus we parted; and from that day I never saw or heard of her again. Imay mention that when things changed with me I made every effort todiscover her, but without avail; and, when, some time after, TorquatoTrotto paid the penalty of his crimes, he asserted, even under therack, that he knew nothing of her, and that she had fled from him.This I believe to be truth, and can only hope that the poor,storm-tossed life found a haven of refuge at last.