The Chevalier De Maison Rouge (45 page)

you, Capet. It may be useful to her,"

The young prisoner started at the idea of being useful

to his mother

" She loves me as a mother loves her son, monsieur,"

said ho ; " there are not two ways for mothers to love their sons, or sons to love their mothers."

" And I, little serpent, declare that yon have told me your mother "

"You have dreamed that," interrupted Louis, quietly ;

" you must often have the nightmare, Simon, "

"Louis. Louis/' growled Simon, grinding his teeth.

" Yes, again, Louis. There in no way of beating Louis, since he chastises the wicked ; there is no way to denounce him for what ho did in arresting your arm, as it was done

before General Henriot and Fonquier Tinville, who ap-

proved it, and they are not lukewarm in the cause. There

is, then, no way to bring him to the guillotine^ as you did poor Ileloise Tison. It is very grievous, very vexatious,

very enraging ; still it is so, my poor Simon."

" Too late ! too late ! " replied the shoemaker, with his mocking laugh.

"Yes, dear friends/' said Louis; "I hope, with the help of the Supremo Being Ah ! you expected I was

going to say with the help of God, but I hope, with the

assistance of the Supreme Being and my sword, to dis-

embowel you first ; but more aside, Simon, you prevent

me from seeing."

" Brigand !"

" Be silent ; you prevent me from hearing."

THE CHEVALIER DE MAI8ON ROUGE. 301

And Louis silenced him with a threatening look

Simon clinched his black hands and shook his fists ; but,

as Louis had told him, he was obliged to keep within

bounds.

" Now he has begun to speak/' said Henriot ; "he will continue, no doubt. Go on, Fouquier."

" Will you reply now ?" demanded Fouquier.

The child returned to his former silence.

" You see, citizen, you see/' said Simon, " the obstinacy of this child is strange," troubled in spite of himself at this royal firmness.

" He is badly advised/' said Louis.

" By whom ?" demanded Henriot.

" By his patron."

" Do you accuse me ? " cried Simon, " do you denounce me ? Ah ! that is curious "

11 Take it coolly/' said Fouquier. Then, turning to-

ward the child, who, as we have said, remained perfectly

insensible. " My child/' said he, " reply to the National Commission ; do not aggravate your situation by refusing

us any useful information. You have spoken to the

Citizen Simou about your mother, how you caress her and

love her, how she caresses and loves you ?"

Louis threw a glance around the assembly, which

gleamed with hatred when it rested on Simon, but he did

not reply.

" Do you feel yourself unhappy ? " demanded the accuser, " are you uncomfortably lodged, and badly fed, and unkindly treated ? Would you wish more liberty, better

food, another prison, another guardian ? Would you

like a horse to ride upon, and some companions of your

own age ? "

Louis still maintained the profound silence he had only

once broken to defend his mother. The commission was

utterly confounded at so much firmness and intelligence

evinced by a child.

"These kings," said Henriot, in alow voice, "what a race ! They are like tigers, and all the young ones inherit their wickedness."

302 THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE.

" How are we to write the proces-verbal ? " asked the register much embarrassed.

"As there is no charge, Simon, there is nothing to

write," said Louis ; "that will settle your affairs exactly."

Simon again shook his fist at his implacable enemy.

Louis began to laugh.

" You will not laugh like that the day you will sneeze in the sack," said Simon, drunk with fury.

te I do not know whether 1 shall precede or follow you

in the little ceremony you menace me with," said Louis ;

" but this I do know, that many will laugh when your

turn comes. Gods ! I have spoken in the plural, gods !

you will not be ugly then, Simon ; you will be hideous."

And Louis retired behind the commission, with a fresh

burst of laughter. The commission, having nothing more

to attend to, withdrew, when the poor child, released from

his tormentors, threw himself upon his bed and began to

sing a melancholy song which had been a great favorite

of his deceased father.

CHAPTER XXXIX.

THE BOUQUET OF VIOLETS.

As it might be foreseen, the felicity of Geneveive and

Maurice was not of long continuance. In the tempest

which unchains the wind and hurls the thunderbolt, the

nest of the dove is shaken in the tree where it had retired for shelter. Genevieve passed from one terror to another.

She no longer feared for Maison Rouge, she now trembled

for Maurice. She knew her husband sufficiently well to

feel convinced, the moment of his disappearance, lie was

saved, but, sure of his safety, she thought now of her own.

She dared not confine her griefs to the man, the least

timid, at this epoch when no one was devoid of fear, but

it was plainly evinced by her red eyes and pallid cheeks.

One day Maurice softly entered, so quietly, indeed, that

Geiievieve, buried in a profound reverie, did not notice

THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE. 303

his entrance. He stopped npon the threshold and saw

Genevieve sitting immovable, her eyes fixed on vacancy,

her hands lying listlessly on her knees, her head hanging

pensively upon her bosom. He gazed at her for a moment,

with an expression of sadness, for all that was passing in

the young girl's heart was suddenly revealed, as if he had

read even to her latest thought. He stepped up to her.

" You have ceased to care for France, Genevieve ; con-

fess it is so. You fly from the air you breathe, and not

without the greatest reluctance will you even approach the

window. "

" Alas ! " said Genevie" ve, I know I cannot conceal my thoughts from you, Maurice ; you have divined rightly."

"It is, nevertheless, a fine country," said the young man ; " life is here important, and well occupied now.

This bustling activity of the tribune, the clubs, the con-

spiracies, etc., renders sweeter the hours spent by our own fireside. One loves it the more ardently, may be from

the fear of not being able to love it on the morrow, for on the morrow one may have ceased to exist."

Genevieve shook her head.

" An ungrateful country to serve," said she.

" Why so ? "

" Yes, you who have labored so much for the cause of

liberty, are you not to-day more than half suspected ? "

" But you, dear Genevieve," said Maurice, with a look of tenderness, "you a sworn enemy to this liberty, you who have done so much against it, you yet sleep peaceable

and inviolate beneath the roof of a Republican, and there,

you see, is my recompense."

"Yes," said Genevieve, "but that cannot last long, that which is wrong cannot endure."

" What do you mean ?"

" I mean to say that I, that is to say, an aristocrat, that I who dream quietly of the defeat of your party, and the

ruin of our plans ; I who conspire, even in your house,

the return of the ancient regime ; I who, recognized, you

would, condemn to death and dishonor, pursuant to your

opinions, at least ; I, Maurice, will not remain here as the 304 THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE.

evil genius of your house, I will not drag you to the scaf-

fold."

" And where would you go, Genevieve ?"

" Where shall I go, Maurice ? One day, when you are

out, I shall go and denounce myself, without saying where

I come from."

" Oh ! " cried the young man, wounded to the heart's core, " already ungrateful."

" No," cried the young woman, throwing her arms

round Maurice's neck, "it is love, and the most devoted love, I swear. I did not wish my brother should be taken

and slaughtered as a rebel ; I do not wish my lover to be

arrested and guillotined as a traitor."

"And you will do this, Genevi&ve ?"

tl As truly as there is a God in heaven/' replied the

young woman ; "besides, I not only experience fear, but remorse ; " and she bowed her head as if it were a burdeu too heavy to be borne.

" Oh, Genevieve ! " said Maurice.

" You will understand all that I say, all that I feel, Maurice, for you experience this remorse. You know I

gave myself to you while I belonged to another, and you

have taken rne without my possessing the right to dispose

of myself."

" Enough," said Maurice,

We will quit France."

Genevieve clasped her hands, and regarded her lover

with enthusiastic admiration.

" You will not deceive me, Maurice ?" murmured she.

"Have I ever deceived you? "said Maurice, " and is this the time ? I am dishonoring myself for you."

Genevieve approached her lips to Maurice's, and re-

mained hanging on the neck of her lover.

"Yes, you are right," said Geiievieve ; "it is I who THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE. 305

deceive myself. What I feel is not remorse, perhaps it is

a degradation to my love ; but you will comprehend, at

least, I love you far too much to feel any other emotion

than the all-engrossing one, the fear of losing you. Let

us go far away, Maurice ; let us go far away, where no

one can reach us."

"Oh, thanks !" said Maurice, transported with joy.

" But how can we flee ? " said Genevieve, trembling at the thought. " It is not so easy to escape nowadays from the poniard of the assassins of the 3d of September, or the hatchet of the hangman of the 21st of January/'

" Genevieve," said Maurice, " God will protect us.

Listen to me. A good action which I endeavored to per-

form, apropos to this 2d of September, which you have

just named, is now about to receive its reward. I wished

to save a poor priest who had studied with me. I went to

Danton, and at his request the Commune of Public Safety

signed a passport for the unfortunate man and his sister.

This passport Danton forwarded to me, but the unhappy

man, instead of seeking it at my house, as I had recom-

mended him to do, was shut up by the Carmelites, and

there he died."

" And the passport ? " said Genevieve.

" I have it now. It is worth a million. It is worth

more than that, Genevidve ; it comprises both life and

happiness."

" Oh, God be praised ! " cried the young woman.

" Now, my property, as you are aware, consists of an

estate, managed by an old servant of the family, a stanch

patriot, and strictly loyal, in whom we may confide. He

will send a remittance whenever I wish. On arriving at

Boulogne we will go to his house."

Where does he reside, then ?"

At Abbeville."

* When shall we go, Maurice ? "

Within an hour."

No one need know of our departure."

No one will know it. T will run to Louis ; he has a

cabriolet and no horse, while 1 have a horse and no car-

806 THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE.

riage. We will set out immediately on my return. You

remain here, Genevieve, and prepare everything for our

departure. We want but little luggage ; we can purchase

all that we require in England. I shall give Scevola some

commission that will remove him out of the way. Louis

will explain our departure to him this evening. By that

time we shall be far away."

" But if we should be stopped upon the road ?"

"Have we not our passports ? We shall go to Hubert's

house ; that is the steward's name. Hubert forms part of

the municipality of Abbeville ; from Abbeville to Boulogne

he will accompany us as safeguard. At Boulogne we will

purchase and freight a vessel. I could, besides, proceed

to the committee and make them give me a mission to

Abbeville. But no, not by fraud, Genevieve. Is it not

better to risk our lives to save and secure our happiness ? "

"Yes, yes, mon ami; and we shall succeed. But how

you are perfumed this morning," said the young woman,

concealing her face on Maurice's breast.

"True; I purchased a bunch of violets for you this

morning, passing before the Palace d'Egalite ; but, on

my return, finding you so sad, I thought of nothing but

inquiring the cause of your distress."

" Oh, give it to me ; I will return it,"

Genevieve inhaled the odor of the bouquet with intense

delight, when suddenly her eyes suffused with tears.

"What is it?" said Maurice.

" Poor Ileloise ! " murmured Genevieve.

"Ali, yes!" said Maurice, with a sigh ; "but let us think of ourselves, and leave the dead, wherever they may

be, to rest in the grave dug by their devotion. Adieu ! I

am going."

" Return quickly. "

"In less than half an hour I shall be here again."

" But if Louis is not at home ? "

"What docs it matter? his servant knows me. And

even in his absence I can take what 1 please, as he would

do here in mine."

"Very well."

THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE. 307

"Now, my Genevie've, prepare everything; but, as I