CHAPTER XVII
"And so, Ma'm'selle la Comtesse, it comes to this: you would have mereward hospitality with treachery? You would have me betray my host,my father's friend, and his son, into the hands of Russia?--for thatis what it would come to. No; I thank you for your kindness andcondescension in taking me into your confidence, but I cannot consentto become your accomplice."
Adelaide de Conde had just been listening, in her own sitting-room atOrrel Court, to Sophie's cunningly-worded suggestion that she shouldgo on board the _Nadine_ as her friend and ally, and assist in thecapture of the vessel by certain means which she pointed out, one ofwhich was a liberal use of drugs on the passengers and crew when thecritical moment was drawing near. A few months before she would haveentered with repugnance, but without hesitation, into any scheme whichbade fair to recover what she considered to be an inheritance whichthe fates had robbed her off; but since then she had learnt to loveShafto Hardress as she had never believed she could love any man; andlove had wrought its usual miracle. She hated Chrysie Vandel with thewhole-hearted hatred of her impetuous and masterful Bourbon spirit;she looked upon her as one of her ancestors would have looked upon anusurper or an invader--something to be abolished or suppressed, at anyprice and by any means. Her father, too, she thoroughly hated--notonly through personal antipathy, but as one of those who possessedsomething that should have been hers. To Lord Orrel and Lady Olive shewas practically indifferent; and, so far as they were concerned, shewould have entered even willingly into any scheme which promised totake from them what they had taken from her. For the Franco-Russianalliance she cared little, yet she would infinitely prefer to seeFrance sharing the control of the world with Russia than that itshould be in the hands of an Anglo-American business syndicate.Moreover, was there not that promise made to her father long ago by anexalted personage, that, since Russia would prefer a monarchy to arepublic as a friend and ally, she would not look unfavourably on therestoration of the House of Bourbon in the person of the prince,should circumstances--such, for instance, as a victorious war foughtwith Russia's aid--make such an event possible. Many a time, indeed,she had even been ready to curse this unfortunate love which had comeinto her life to shake her resolution and spoil her purpose. But forthat how easy it would all be, especially with an ally--brilliant,daring, and unscrupulous--like Sophie Valdemar; and yet, how could shehelp to betray the man she loved, even to destroy her rival and gethim for herself? So, after a long pause of thought, she repeatedagain, aloud:
"No, no; I couldn't do it. It would be too base."
"My dear Adelaide," replied Sophie, familiarly, and almostaffectionately, "I hope you will forgive me if I suggest that theattitude you have taken up, dignified and virtuous as I admit it looksat first sight, is really a trifle absurd."
"Really, countess," replied Adelaide, frigidly, "if you are going toforget your manners, I think the conversation may as well end. Youhave sought to tempt me to an act of treachery, and because I refuse,you begin to forget your manners. You seem to have forgotten, also,that you have put it into my power to warn the viscount and hisfriends of the danger you have prepared for them."
This was, of course, a danger which Sophie had foreseen. It was agrave one; but she was accustomed to run risks, and she was ready forthis one.
"My dear Adelaide," she replied, still with the most perfect goodhumour, "please don't get angry with me. We have always been very goodfriends, and I think this is the first time you have called mecountess for years. Don't take the trouble to be formal any more, butjust be sensible and listen. I am not tempting you at all. I am simplytrying to help you against our common enemy, and I am asking you tohelp France and Russia in the great and good work of wresting thecommand of the world from these upstart Anglo-Saxons, and reducingthem once for all to their proper place. You are not a friend to theRepublic; neither am I, nor any of us, for the matter of that. But youare a Frenchwoman, who ought to be Queen of France, and, if all goeswell with us, may be."
"What," exclaimed Adelaide, taken off her guard for a moment, "do youmean that, Sophie? Do you believe that Russia----"
"Would not rather have as an ally a monarchy--the old monarchy ofFrance, ruled over by your most gracious majesty, than a republic,managed by a plebeian pack of stockjobbers and shopkeepers? Do youknow why your lamented father the prince was such a welcome guest atthe court of Petersburg?"
"Ah, then you know----"
"Yes," replied Sophie, taking the venture; "I do know, and I canassure you that your majesty, when the day comes, will find nostronger partisan than I shall be. My father, too, is one of your mostdevoted adherents, though, of course, he can say nothing about it now,and, as you know, there are other personages far more exalted."
"Yes, yes, I know," said Adelaide. "It was almost a promise."
"Help us, and you shall find that it was a promise," half guessingwhat the promise was. Then, pushing her advantage, she continued:"And, after all, you know, my dear Adelaide, is it not a littleinconsistent for you to talk of treason or betrayal. Do you reallythink that you would now be a guest in Lord Orrel's house any morethan I should if he knew of your connection with a certain ex-captainof Uhlans, or of that visit you paid with him to General Ducros?Really, you will forgive me if I say that your suggestion as towarning the viscount about my little scheme is a trifle illogical,even if you wished to betray us, which I don't suppose you wouldseriously dream of. How could you do it without betraying yourself?You would have to accuse me and papa, and, through us, Russia, of anact of contemplated piracy. We should be compelled, in self-defence,to prove that you know just as much of the true nature of the StorageWorks as we do, and that you and your ex-captain are the real authorsof the French expedition--in short, that you are every whit as bitteran enemy of the Trust, and all concerned in it, as we are. I fullyadmit that you will spoil our scheme for the time being; but, insteadof being a guest of the _Nadine_, the guest of the man you love, withthe power in your hand of abolishing the woman who will certainlymarry him, if you don't, you would suffer the indignity of beingordered out of his house as a spy and a traitress."
The logic was as exact as it was pitiless, and Adelaide de Conde sawthat Sophie Valdemar was, for the time being at least, mistress of thesituation. She had come to Orrel Court as a guest, with the fullintention of playing a double part. She had played it until one dayshe had chanced to overhear a few half-tender, half-chaffing wordspass between Chrysie Vandel and Hardress. Then she had awakened to thefull certainty of what, in her inmost soul, she had longsuspected--that she loved this man with all the strength of a strongand imperious nature; and since then she had been living in constantdread that he should by some means come to know her as she was.
Now the crisis had come. Sophie Valdemar had woven toils round herfrom which there was no escape; she must play the double part she hadchosen to the end. It was the only possible chance of gratifying atonce her love and her hate, and of perhaps attaining the object of herambitions after all. She moved slowly once or twice across the room,with her hands clasped behind her back. Sophie waited and watched herwith a half-smile on her lips and a gleam of triumph in her eyes. Sheknew that she had won, for she could read every thought that waspassing in Adelaide de Conde's soul. Then Adelaide stopped in themiddle of the room and faced her, with her head slightly thrown back,and said slowly:
"Yes, Sophie; I see, after all, that you are right. I should be nomore a traitor on board the yacht than I have been here, and oneshould help one's friends and allies rather than one's enemies. Itwill, of course, be an enormous advantage to our cause if this yachtcan be seized. No doubt, too, there will be ciphers on board, whichwill enable us to communicate with the works, and if there are, thatwill be an immense gain to us. It shall be part of my business to findthat out. Yes; I will go, and I will help you as far as I can; butthere is one compact, Sophie, that you must make with me."
"My dear Adelaide," replied Sophie, warmly, and coming forward withboth hands outstretched, "after what yo
u have said I will make anycompact you please that does not injure the cause of Holy Russia. Sheis the only God, and her service is the only religion I have, and if Imake the compact, I swear to you by Holy Russia that I will keep it.What is it?"
"Then you must swear to me," said Adelaide, taking her hand, "that,whatever happens, whether we succeed or fail, no evil shall come tothe viscount or his father and sister, either in person or property.If we get possession of the works, and the alliance conquers Englandand America after it has disposed of Germany, they shall be consideredand treated as friends, not enemies; for you must remember that untilI reign as queen in Paris I propose to reign as mistress at OrrelCourt. As for the American woman and her father, and all the rest ofthem, the sooner you get them out of the way the better pleased Ishall be."
"My dear Adelaide," replied Sophie, "you looked adorable as you saidthose last words. Yes; of course, it shall be so; not a hair of theirheads, not a centime of their property shall be touched. They shall beyours, and, as yours, sacred against all ills. That I swear andpromise you in the name of Holy Russia."
"Then," replied Adelaide, looking straight into her eyes, nowbrilliant with the light of triumph, "I am with you to the end,whether it be good or bad, success or failure, life or death."
"And for Holy Russia and the old regime of France!" added Sophie,almost solemnly. "And now, suppose we go and join these good people onthe lawn?"
As they went out, arm-in-arm, laughing and chatting as though theyhadn't a care on their minds, no one would have dreamt that these twobeautiful women had been a moment before plotting the ruin, not onlyof those whose hospitality they were enjoying, but of their countryand people as well; but as Miss Chrysie saw them, her pretty browscame together for an instant, she turned aside, and said to her fatherin a low tone:
"That Frenchwoman and the Russian girl have been together ever sincebreakfast--hatching some mischief, I'll bet. I don't like it,poppa--any more than I like the Frenchwoman coming across on theyacht. She's coming for no good, I'm sure; but the viscount's about asblind as a wall-eyed mule where that woman's concerned. Anyhow, I'llwatch her pretty closely; she can bet all her titles and ancientlineage on that."
"That's right, Chrysie; and I reckon I sha'n't be sleeping much whileshe's around," replied her father.