"Are you joking?" said she. "Why do you not send yourself?""It is impossible for me to do so; and if you have any kindness of heart, you do as I ask you; and I want you also to promise me not to say a word of this to any one."Excited as she was by this mystery, Madame de Bois Arden did not ask another question.
"I will do exactly what you want," replied she, "and respect your secret. I would go at once, were it not that Bois Arden will never sit down to dinner without me; but the moment we have finished I will go.""Thanks, a thousand times; and now I will go home and wait for news from you.""Not at all,--you will remain here to dinner.""I must,--I have a friend waiting for me."
"Do as you please, then," returned the Viscountess, laughing. "I will send round a note this evening."De Breulh pressed her hand, and hurried down, and was met by Andre at the door, for he had been unable to sit still in the carriage.
"Keep up your courage. Madame de Bois Arden had not heard of Mademoiselle Sabine's illness, and this looks as if it was not a very serious matter. We shall have the real facts in three hours.""Three hours!" groaned Andre, "what a lapse of time!""It is rather long, I admit; but we will talk of her while we wait, for you must stay and dine with me."Andre yielded, for he had no longer the energy to contest anything.
The dinner was exquisite, but the two men were not in a condition of mind to enjoy it, and scarcely consumed anything. Vainly did they endeavor to speak on indifferent subjects, and when the coffee had been served in the library, they relapsed into utter silence. As the clock struck ten, however, a knock was heard at the door, then whisperings, and the rustle of female attire, and lastly Madame de Bois Arden burst upon them like a tornado.
"Here I am," cried she.
It was certainly rather a hazardous step to pay such a late visit to a bachelor's house, but then the Viscountess de Bois Arden did exactly as she pleased.
"I have come here, Gontran," exclaimed she, with extreme vehemence, "to tell you that I think your conduct is abominable and ungentlemanly.""Clotilde!"
"Hold your tongue! you are a wretch! Ah! now I can see why you did not wish to write and inquire about poor Sabine. You well knew the effect that your message would have on her."M. de Breulh smiled as he turned to Andre and said,--"You see that I was right in what I told you."This remark for the first time attracted Madame de Bois Arden's attention to the fact that a stranger was present, and she trembled lest she had committed some grave indiscretion.
"Gracious heavens!" exclaimed she, with a start, "why, I thought that we were alone!""This gentleman has all my confidence," replied M. de Breulh seriously; and as he spoke he laid his hand upon Andre's shoulder.
"Permit me to introduce M. Andre to you, my dear Clotilde; he may not be known to-day, but in a short time his reputation will be European."Andre bowed, but for once in her life the Viscountess felt embarrassed, for she was surprised at the extremely shabby attire of this confidential friend, and then there seemed something wanting to the name.
"Then," resumed De Breulh, "Mademoiselle de Mussidan is really ill, and our information is correct.""She is."
"Did you see her?"
"I did, Gontran; and had you seen her, your heart would have been filled with pity, and you would have repented your conduct toward her.
The poor girl did not even know me. She lay in her bed, whiter than the very sheets, cold and inanimate as a figure of marble. Her large black eyes were staring wildly, and the only sign of life she exhibited was when the great tears coursed down her cheeks."Andre had determined to restrain every token of emotion in the presence of the Viscountess, but her recital was too much for him.
"Ah!" said he, "she will die; I know it."
There was such intense anguish in his tone that even the practised woman of the world was softened.
"I assure you, sir," said she, "that you go too far; there is no present danger; the doctors say it is catalepsy, which often attacks persons of a nervous temperament upon the receipt of a sudden mental shock.""But what shock has she received?" asked Andre.
"No one told me," answered she after a short pause, "that Sabine's illness was caused by the breaking off of her engagement; but, of course, I supposed that it was.""That was not the reason, Clotilde; but you have told us nothing;pray, go on," interposed De Breulh.
The extreme calmness of her cousin, and a glance which she observed passing between him and Andre, enlightened the Viscountess somewhat.
"I asked as much as I dared," she replied, "but I could only get the vaguest answers. Sabine looked as if she were dead, and her father and mother hovered around her couch like two spectres. Had they slain her with their own hands, they could not have looked more guilty; their faces frightened me.""Tell me precisely what answers were given to your questions," broke in he impatiently.
"Sabine had seemed so agitated all day, that her mother asked her if she was suffering any pain.""We know that already."
"Indeed!" replied the Viscountess, with a look of surprise. "It seems, cousin, that you saw Sabine that afternoon, but what became of her afterward no one appears to know; but there is positive proof that she did not leave the house, and received no letters. At all events, it was more than an hour after her maid saw her enter her own room.
Sabine said a few unintelligible words to the girl, who, seeing the pallor upon her mistress's face, ran up to her. Just as she did so, Sabine uttered a wild shriek, and fell to the ground. She was raised up and laid upon the bed, but since then she has neither moved nor spoken.""That is not all," said De Breulh, who had watched his cousin keenly.
The Viscountess started, and avoided meeting her cousin's eye.
"I do not understand," she faltered. "Why do you look at me like that?"De Breulh, who had been pacing up and down the room, suddenly halted in front of the Viscountess.
