The Touchstone of Fortune

  CHAPTER XII

  A PERILOUS EMBASSY

  Four or five days after our visit to Bettina, I met De Grammont atCharing Cross, and he surprised me with an invitation to his housethat night to meet Monsieur l'Abbe du Boise at supper.

  "The king and a dozen other gentlemen will be present," he said, "butthere will be no ladies. Monsieur l'Abbe, being of the church, is not aladies' man, and besides, ladies have sharper eyes than men, and mightsee much that is intended to remain unseen."

  The count's remark seemed to settle the question of the Abbe's identity,and I hastened to Frances with the news. She assured me that she wasready to die of fright, but showed no outward sign of dissolution, andwhen I complimented her on her power of self-control, said:--

  "Fortunately, I am part hypocrite, and can easily act a part."

  "You have a hard one ahead of you," I returned, "and will need all yourstrength before it is played to the end."

  * * * * *

  I was on hand early at De Grammont's supper, but found several gentlemenahead of me, awaiting, with the count in his parlor, the arrival of theking. Soon after I entered the room, De Grammont presented me to theAbbe. I was convinced at once that he was not George Hamilton. His beard,worn a la Richelieu,--a mustache and a tuft on the chin,--was snow white,and his hair, which was thin, hung in long white waves almost to hisshoulders. He walked with a stoop and wore spectacles, the glasses ofwhich were slightly colored. Being an ecclesiastic, though not a priest,he wore no wig; but he was of the Order of the Cordon Bleu, and wore, inaddition to his badge and blue ribbon, a sword beneath his long coat. Itwas the first time I had ever seen an ecclesiastic wearing a sword,though it has since become common in France, where there are many "Abbes"who are neither priests nor in orders.

  The Abbe spoke poor English, therefore the conversation was carried on inFrench, much to the annoyance of some of our guests, who pretended to agreater knowledge of that language than they possessed.

  Soon after my presentation to the Abbe, the king arrived, and we all wentout to the supper table, where the Abbe's chair was on the king's right,with De Grammont on his Majesty's left. After the king had been seated amoment, he rose and asked us to be seated; so we took our places, allsave the king dropping our hats beside us on the floor because of hisMajesty's presence.

  I sat next to De Grammont, almost opposite the Abbe, and had a goodopportunity to observe the French emissary. The king's French wasexcellent, and the dinner conversation was carried on largely between himand the Abbe. All subjects were discussed, but the Abbe adroitly avoidedDunkirk and seemed to prefer talking on religious and philosophicaltopics, in which he took the liberty to disagree with the king in manyrespects, politely though positively.

  I listened attentively, hoping that some tone of the Abbe's voice, a poseor a gesture, might reveal George Hamilton, if it were he, in the mostexcellent disguise I had ever seen. But nothing of the sort occurred, andbefore the dinner was over, I was still more convinced that whoever theAbbe du Boise might be, he was not Hamilton.

  After dinner came the heavy wines, of which the Abbe did not partake, andof which De Grammont and I drank sparingly. All the others, including theking, were gloriously drunk long before the night was over.

  While smoking our pipes, the king, who was eager to get his handson French money, told the Abbe that he hoped to see him, with hiscredentials, at Whitehall on the second morning following at ten o'clock,and the Abbe said he would leave his credentials with my Lord Clarendon,and would be at Whitehall at the hour suggested by the king, for thepurpose of making the French king's offer.

  Most of the guests went home between two men, very late at night, butfortunately I was able to walk home by myself.

  I was both glad and disappointed not to find George in the gown of theAbbe. I was glad because of the risk he would have taken had he come toEngland, yet disappointed in missing what would have been the mostpicturesque, daring personal exploit of English court history. But on thewhole it was better as it was.

  The next morning the king sent for me to come to his closet, and asked ifI knew one Lilly, an astrologer. I answered that I knew little of himpersonally, but had heard much of his wisdom and learning.

  "Yes, yes, but you know where he lives, do you not? On the Strand, adozen houses this side of Temple Bar?" asked the king.

  "I have seen the house often, your Majesty," I replied.

  "Good! Now listen attentively to what I have to say," returned the king,graciously taking my arm and leading me to a window overlooking theriver. "I hear from De Grammont that the Abbe du Boise is a firm believerin the teachings of astrology. I want you to arrange, without letting anyone know that my finger is in the pie, to take Lilly to see the Abbe, orthe Abbe to see Lilly. I'll whisper a word in your ear. The stars willtell our friend, the Abbe, a story to suit our purposes. The French kingand his ambassadors will find their match in me, I warrant you. I havebought Lilly, body and soul--with promises." The king shrugged hisshoulders and whispered: "With promises, you understand, Baron Ned, withpromises. Now give him a chance at the Abbe."

  Charles laughed and chuckled in self-gratulation, not the leastsuspecting that he was talking to the wrong man and playing into theFrench king's hand. I bore in mind the fact that the king had boughtLilly with promises, and I determined to buy the good Doctor with readygold.

  "I'll try to carry out your Majesty's commands," I answered, apparentlydoubtful of my ability. "But of course you would not have me insist, ifthe Abbe seems disinclined to consult Lilly."

  "No, no! Odds fish, man, no! But find a way to bring them together,and your reward will come later. I choose, you for this little piece ofbusiness because you are in no way connected with the affair between theFrench king and me, and because I know you are to be trusted."

  I to be trusted! So was Brutus!

  "I shall do my best, your Majesty, and if I fail, I shall notify you atonce," I said, taking my leave.

  I hastened to De Grammont's house, which at that time was over near theMall, and told the count what the king had said.

  "Ah, that is good!" cried De Grammont. "A fool, who knows himself to be afool, is likely to be wary, but one who deems himself wise is the easiestdupe in the world. I'll see Monsieur l'Abbe. Wait."

  De Grammont returned in a few minutes, saying that the Abbe would go withme to see Doctor Lilly, and I suggested that I return for him in threehours.

  I went back to Whitehall, where I found Frances, and told her to be atLilly's house on the Strand within three hours, to meet the French king'sambassador, and to receive the instructions which George's letter hadintimated the Abbe would give. I told her, also, that the Abbe was notthe person we had expected to see.

  The evening before, she was ready to die of fright because we believedthat the Abbe was George Hamilton, and now, since I had found he was not,she was ready to die of disappointment--so she assured me.

  At the appointed time, De Grammont, the Abbe, and I took the count'sbarge and went down to the water stairs nearest Temple Bar, where theAbbe and I left De Grammont and walked up through the crowded streets toLilly's house. Owing to the crowded condition of the street, the Abbe andI found no opportunity to exchange words until we were before Lilly'shouse.

  Lilly was at home, I having sent word of our coming, so when we knocked,the servant opened and directed us to the waiting parlor, saying that theDoctor would soon come down.

  We started upstairs, I in the lead, the Abbe following ten paces behind.When I entered the room, I found Bettina and Frances sitting by thestreet window. They came to me quickly, and Frances explained Bettina'spresence.

  "I did not like to come here alone, so I asked Betty to come with me. Sheis to be trusted."

  "You need not assure me of that," I answered, taking Betty's hand. "Ialready know it. I am glad you--"

  But here I was interrupted by a soft cry from Bettina, and by ahalf-smothered scream from Frances, both of whom deserted me sudd
enlyand ran toward the door I had just entered. Turning, I saw Frances withher arms about the Abbe's neck, and Bettina clasping one of his hands.I thought the two had gone mad, but when Bettina saw my look of surpriseand inquiry, she dropped his hand, came to me, and asked:--

  "Did you want us to pretend that we did not know him? If so, you shouldhave told us."

  "But you don't know him," I declared.

  "Perhaps I don't," she returned, laughing softly and shrugging hershoulders, "but evidently your cousin does. If not, she should take herarms from around his neck."

  "But she is mistaken," I insisted.

  "She seems to be convinced," answered Bettina, with a curious littleglance up to me, half laughing, half inquiring. Evidently she wasdoubtful whether I spoke in jest or in earnest.

  Frances still clung to the Abbe, her head resting on his shoulder, so Istarted toward her, intending to correct her mistake. Bettina, seeing mypurpose, caught me by the arm, saying:--

  "Don't you really know?"

  The Abbe turned his face toward me, and when I caught a glimpse of hiseyes without spectacles, I recognized George Hamilton, and almost chokedmyself in smothering a cry.

  Frances turned to me, asking indignantly, "Why did not you tell me?"

  "Because I did not know," I answered, hardly able to believe the truth.

  But we had important business before us, and I knew that we shouldprepare for it before Lilly came in. So George, Bettina, Frances, andI went to a window at the far end of the room to hold a consultation.

  "Since I did not recognize you, perhaps Lilly will not," I suggested. "Itrust the Doctor, but perhaps we had better leave him under theimpression that you are Monsieur l'Abbe du Boise and give no intimationof the truth."

  "I had not hoped that my disguise would deceive you, Baron Ned," saidGeorge, "but since it has, it is just as well that we leave Lilly in thedark if we can."

  "But he will know. The stars will tell him," suggested Bettina, openingher eyes very wide.

  "The stars will tell him what he is paid to hear," I remarked. Thenturning to Frances, I asked, "How is it that you were able to recognizehim?"

  "By his eyes!" exclaimed Frances and Bettina in concert.

  "That gives me a valuable hint," said George, hastily adjusting hiscolored spectacles. "Now, how about it?"

  "I still should know you," answered Frances.

  "Not I!" exclaimed Bettina.

  Presently Lilly came in, and I presented him to Monsieur l'Abbe du Boiseand explained the presence of Frances and Bettina by saying:--

  "A friend of ours in France has asked Mistress Jennings to render whataid she can to Monsieur l'Abbe, and she is here at my request to receivehis commands."

  "It is good!" exclaimed Lilly. "She has the king's ear if any one has,and the ear is very close to the mind. What may I do to serve Monsieurl'Abbe?"

  "If I may see you privately---the baron and me--I shall tell you how youmay serve me," answered the Abbe.

  The Abbe and I excused ourselves to Frances and Bettina, and went withthe Doctor to the room which he called his observatory, where we came tothe point very quickly:--

  "I want to buy Dunkirk for my master for the sum of one hundred thousandpounds," said the Abbe, by way of starting the consultation.

  "But London has already offered that sum," returned Lilly, "and standsready to pay more."

  "In payments," suggested the Abbe.

  "Yes," returned Lilly. "But I see no way of bringing the king to acceptthe sum you offer unless--unless Mistress Jennings can persuade him."

  "She may be able to do so," answered the Abbe, shrugging his shoulders.He spoke very bad English throughout the consultation. "But the stars,too, may be very persuasive with King Charles. To be plain, he willprobably consult you, and if--"

  "I am to see him to-night. That is why your visit was postponed untilto-morrow," interrupted Lilly.

  "That is as I supposed," remarked the Abbe. "Now, if I buy Dunkirk forone hundred thousand pounds, you shall receive two thousand pounds withinten days after signing the treaty, and Baron Clyde will be my surety."

  "Two thousand pounds?" mused Lilly. "That is rather a small sum in sogreat a transaction."

  "I doubt not the purchase may be made without the help of the stars ifyou feel that two thousand pounds is too small a sum to be considered,"returned the Abbe.

  "No, no," said Lilly. "I understand that you wish me to set a figure andwork out the solution of this affair, and if I learn from the stars thatit is to King Charles's interest to accept your offer of one hundredthousand pounds for the city of Dunkirk, I am to receive--"

  "If King Charles accepts!" interrupted the Abbe.

  "Ah, I see! Yes, yes, of course," returned Lilly. "I shall go to workimmediately and set my figure. Of course I do not know what I shalllearn, but I shall be glad to learn from the stars that which will enableme to advise the king according to your wishes. Two thousand pounds aretwo thousand pounds, and the word of a king is but a breath."

  "What will the king give you for setting the figure and working it out?What does he usually pay you in important affairs?" asked the Abbe.

  "Ah--eh--I--I--In truth," returned Lilly, stammering, "the king, who isso liberal with his lady friends, is--what shall I say?--close with me,save in promises. He buys folly at the rate of hundreds of thousands ofpounds a year, while he pays for knowledge with large promises, and nowten shillings and again five. On one occasion I assured him that he wouldnot fail if he attempted to put through a much-cherished plan of carryinga lady to the country against her will. He was much pleased and gave me aguinea, but borrowed it a week afterward, and--and still owes it."

  George turned quickly to me, but, remembering that he was the Abbe duBoise, said nothing. But I caught his meaning and, turning to Lilly,asked:--

  "Do you refer to the occasion of a certain kidnapping in which Hamiltonand I consulted you?"

  "Yes," returned Lilly.

  "And you allowed it to be carried out without telling us?" I askedindignantly.

  "I did not know who the lady was till you came to me for help," heanswered.

  "And you were able to put us on the right track to find her because ofknowledge gained from the stars?" I asked, with a sharp note of sarcasm.

  "No, no," he replied coolly. "Why trouble the stars for information thatmay be had as easily and more definitely elsewhere?"

  "Then why did you not tell us the true source of your knowledge?" I askedwarmly.

  "Because I had neither right nor desire to betray the person mostactively engaged in the affair. To have done so might have cost me mylife. I gave you the information you asked, and you saved the ladythrough my help, without which you would not have known where to turn.You would have been helpless. You paid me ten guineas. Were my servicesworth the fee?"

  "Ah, richly," I returned, beginning to see the whole matter of astrologyin a new light.

  "Then why do you complain?" he asked. "A man, naturally, wants to knowwhere his meat comes from, but knowledge, like a diamond, is good foundanywhere."

  "I beg your pardon, Doctor Lilly," I answered, waving my hand as asubstitute for hauling down my colors. "I turn you over to Monsieurl'Abbe once more."

  "I think we understand each other," remarked the Abbe. "You say the kinghas employed you to set a figure, and that you are to take the solutionto him to-night?"

  "Monsieur l'Abbe is correct," returned Lilly.

  "I hope the stars may see fit to advise the king to accept my firstoffer, for it will be the last," said the Abbe. "Possibly the stars mayshow that in case King Charles sells Dunkirk to London even for a muchlarger sum than I shall offer, he may be compelled to spend the money anda great deal more in defending the city."

  "True, true," agreed Lilly.

  "Possibly the stars may indicate that King Louis loves war," continuedthe Abbe. "They may show that if King Charles refuses my master's offer,England may be compelled to give up Dunkirk for nothing, or spend a vastdeal of money and
blood in defending it. If the French king lays siege toDunkirk, the English people will force King Charles to take one of twocourses--defence or abdication. In the latter case he might lose hishead, as his father did before him. Furthermore, if King Charles refusesmy first offer, my master will withdraw, in which case London also willwithdraw. Is it not possible that the stars may tell you all this?"

  "The conditions you suggest are so probable that one hardly need askconfirmation of the stars, and so reasonably to be expected are theevents you predict that, beyond question, stellar revelation will be inaccord with your desires. But the stars will say what they will say, andI shall give King Charles the truth from whatever source it comes," saidLilly, lifting his head in righteousness and posing as the embodiment oftruth.

  "That is all I can ask," returned the Abbe, rising to close theinterview.

  "All exceedingly reasonable--reasonable," answered Lilly, bowing.

  We returned to the parlor, where we found Frances and Bettina awaitingus, not patiently, if I could judge by their looks. I asked Lilly toallow us to occupy the room undisturbed for an hour while the Abbe gavecertain instructions to Frances, but the Doctor did better for us. Hetook us to a room enclosed in glass on the roof of his house, where wecould be by ourselves with the sun and the sky overhead, and all Londonbeneath us.

  To this day I am not sure that Lilly did not know Hamilton, but if hedid, he concealed his knowledge completely, feeling, doubtless, that itwould be a dangerous bit of information to himself and of no benefit toany one else. If George should be discovered by the king, Lilly couldhonestly disclaim knowing him. If affairs turned to our desire, theDoctor could lose nothing by his ignorance whether pretended or real. SoI doubt not he thanked us for the imposture, if he discovered it.

  It is needless to say that Bettina, Frances, George, and I were verypleased to be together once more. We spent a delightful hour in Lilly'sobservatory, where we made our plans for the following day, which willunfold in the order of their occurrence. A great deal of the time we wereall talking at once, but for some strange reason we were all silent whenGeorge said laughingly, though nervously, that the French king had sentword to Frances that we would pay her ten thousand pounds if George'smission proved successful.

  Having anticipated the possible necessity for quick action at the propertime, George had brought with him two copies of a treaty, written inLatin. He brought also plenary authority from the French king, underthe great Seal of France, authorizing Monsieur l'Abbe du Boise to sign,execute, and deliver the treaty on the part of France and to receivein return the treaty to be executed by the English king. He also boreauthority to make and deliver to King Charles a bill of exchange onBackwell, the goldsmith, for the purchase money of Dunkirk. Thus allwould be ready for immediate conclusion the moment King Charles acceptedthe French king's offer.

  That night near the hour of one o'clock, Lilly called by appointment tosee me at De Grammont's house, coming from Whitehall, where he had beencloseted with the king for three or four hours, explaining to his Majestythe message of the stars as read by the light of two thousand pounds.

  "I explained to his Majesty," said Lilly, "that in all my calculationsand observations, Mars intruded with alarming persistency in conjunctionwith King Louis's star. I tried to show him that the recurrences of thisuntoward conjunction were so rapid and constant as to denote war at avery early date if conditions were not affected at once by theintervention of the messenger, Mercury, whose sign fortunatelyaccompanied each unfortuitous conjunction. The king, though pretendingto be learned in the noble art of astrology, asked me to translate mysolution, and I did so, almost in the words of Monsieur l'Abbe thisafternoon."

  "Thank you," remarked George.

  "No, no, do not thank me," said Lilly, disclaiming all credit. "WhatMonsieur said was so reasonable and fitted so aptly to the probableconditions of the future, read in the terrestrial light of the present,sound reason, that it was hardly necessary to ask the stars. But incompliance with the king's request, I set my figure and found, as usual,that the revelations of the stars coincided with the dictates of reason.It is true the stars sometimes forecast events which seem almostimpossible in view of present conditions, but the questioner of theheavens who does not use his reason to help his interpretation of thestars is, to say the least, far from wise."

  "Yes," interrupted the Abbe. "But come to the point! What did the kingsay?"

  "He did not entirely accept the message of the stars," returned Lilly."He does not seem to object to war. He says there is no time when it isas easy to raise money from the people as in times of war. I suggestedthat money in the nation's treasury was not in the privy purse, where theking most wants it. But he said it was only a short journey from thetreasury to the privy purse, and--well, I agreed with him. If you want toconvert a vain, stubborn fool to your way of thinking, don't let him knowwhat your way is."

  "So the stars have failed?" asked the Abbe.

  "No," returned Lilly, "they have put the king to thinking, but more, theyhave sowed the seeds of fear, a plant which grows rapidly in a coward'sheart by night."

  "But not rapidly enough to suit our purposes, I fear," returned the Abbe.

  "Yes," insisted Lilly. "If the king's inclination can be changed, fearwill sweep aside all other considerations in a moment, and he will acceptthe one hundred thousand pounds which you will offer to-morrow morning.But in case the king does conclude to accept the French king's offer, theiron will at once take on a white heat, and--well, iron remains at whiteheat only a short time. You must be ready to act quickly when the propermoment comes, or London will spring between you and the king."

  "I shall be ready," returned the Abbe. "The king shall be inclined to ourproposition before another day is past."

  "Shall I tell you what the stars predict concerning the signing of thetreaty?" asked Lilly.

  "Yes, yes," I answered eagerly.

  "I have found Venus in conjunction with--" began Lilly.

  "Oh, damn the stars!" cried the Abbe, most uncanonically. "Tell me whatyou think about it!"

  "The stars tell me that the treaty will be signed to-morrow night--thatis, to-night, this being the early morning," answered the Doctor,persistently maintaining his attitude of stellar interpreter.

  "Very well. Good night, Doctor," said the Abbe. "And may the shadow ofyour discretion never grow less."

  A moment later I conducted Lilly to the door, and when I returned to DeGrammont, who had not spoken a word during the entire interview, heshrugged his shoulders and said:--

  "Sacrament! What a wise man a fool may be! It is to admire!"

  "I doubt if any man is beneficially wise unless he be in part a fool,"said the Abbe, and I closed the symposium by remarking:--

  "Folly tinctures wisdom with common sense, illumines it with imagination,and gives it everyday usefulness. But best of all, it helps a man tounderstand the motives of other fools who constitute the bulk ofmankind."

  "Ah, baron," said De Grammont, yawning. "It is all doubtless true. Whowould have expected to find so much cynical wisdom in an Englishman? Butlet us to bed!"

  Hamilton and I were up by five o'clock the next morning, in consultation.He was for dropping the matter in so far as it involved Frances, but Iinsisted that while it was a disagreeable task for her, she was wise witha woman's wisdom, calm with a woman's calmness, and bold with a woman'sboldness, which knows no equal when the motive springs from the heartrather than the head.

  We discussed the matter in all its phases, and then I went to the palaceto see Frances. When she arose, I was waiting to tell her that the Abbewould see the king at ten o'clock and to ask her to wait in the anteroomof the duchess's parlor. If Charles accepted the French king's offer, Ishould pass by her wearing my hat, and she would know that her help wouldnot be needed. If the king refused, I should carry my hat in my hand, andshe could take her own course with Charles.

  "Do you fear?" I asked, being myself very much afraid, for we weredealing with an absolute
monarch, devoid of conscience, devoid of cautionsave when prompted by cowardice, but plenteously imbued with venom in hisheart and all things evil in his soul.

  "I fear?" cried Frances, tossing her head defiantly.

  I thought surely no woman ever was as beautiful as this one, in whoseheart there was no fear, no doubt of self, no faltering in the face ofdanger. I asked her to tell me of her plans, and she answered:--

  "I have no plan save to see the king. Then the plans will come ofthemselves."