La Dame de Monsoreau (116 page)

" Yes, sire," answered Crillon, shaking his head.

CHAPTER XCVI.

BUSSY'S FRIENDS.

LIKE the friends of the King, the friends of the Due d'Anjou had also slept soundly during the night.

After a hearty supper, during which, however, their master had not honored them with either his advice or presence, for Franqois did not by any means take the same anxious interest in his favorites that Henri took in his minions, they retired to comfortable couches in Antraguet's hotel; they had decided to meet in this mansion on account of its proximity to the field o$ battle.

Eibeirac's squire, a great hunter and a clever armorer, had spent the whole day in cleaning, furbishing, and sharpening their weapons.

He was also ordered to waken the young men at daybreak, an office he was in the habit of discharging for his master on the morning of every festival, hunt, or duel.

Before supper Antraguet had gone to visit a little shopgirl in the Rue Saint-Denis whom he idolized. Ribeirac had written to his mother, and Livarot had made his will.

At the stroke of three, that is to say, at an hour when the King's friends were hardly yet awake, they were all on their feet, fresh and brisk, and already armed.

They had put on red breeches and red stockings, so that their enemies might not see their blood, and that they might not be frightened by it themselves. They wore doublets of gray silk, so that, should they fight entirely dressed, their movements might not be,embarrassed by the folds of a coarser material ; finally, they were shod in shoes without heels, and their pages carried their swords, to save their arms and shoulders from all unnecessary fatigue.

It was glorious weather for love or war or walking; a brilliant sun gilded the gables of the roofs, upon which the dew-drops of the previous night were still sparkling.

An odor at once pungent and delicious, rose from the gardens and was diffused through the streets. The pavement was dry and the air bracing.

Before leaving the house, the young men had sent a messenger to the Due d'Anjou to inquire for Bussy.

The messenger was to find out whether he had left the hotel alone and armed.

He was informed that he had gone out, accompanied by Remy, and that both of them had their swords.

He was also told at the count's hotel that no one was disturbed by his absence. He often absented himself in this way ; but he was known to be so brave, strong, and adroit that, no matter how long he stayed away, his people felt little anxiety on his account.

All these details were repeated to his three friends.

" Oh, I understand," said Antraguet. " You have heard, gentlemen, have you not, that the King has ordered a great stag-hunt in the forest of Compiegne, and that M. de Mon-soreau was to leave Paris yesterday ?"

" Yes," answered the young men.

" Then I know where he is: while the grand huntsman is rousing the stag, he is chasing the grand huntsman's doe. Do not be uneasy, gentlemen, he is nearer to us than you imagine, and will be on the ground before us."

" Yes," said Livarot, " but he is sure to be worried and fatigued after a sleepless night."

Antraguet shrugged his shoulders.

" Bussy fatigued ? " he answered; " nonsense ! Come along, gentlemen, we '11 call for him on our way."

And all started.

It was just at the very moment when Henri was distributing the swords to their enemies; and so they were ten minutes in advance of the latter.

As Antraguet's hotel was near Saint-Eustache, they took the Rue des Lombards, the Rue de la Yerrerie, and, finally, the Rue Saint-Antoine.

All these streets were deserted. The* peasants who came from Montreuil, Yincennes, and Saint-Maur-les-Fosses with their milk and vegetables, and who were dozing on their carts and mules, were the only persons that had the privilege of seeing this group of proud and valiant gentlemen, followed by their three pages and their three squires.

There were now neither bravadoes, nor cries, nor threats ; they knew they must fight to a finish, kill or be killed; they knew that, on both sides, the duel would be furious, deadly, merciless, and such knowledge makes men thoughtful; on that morning the giddiest of the trio was the most pensive.

When they reached the top of the Rue Saint-Catherine, all three turned their eyes in the direction of Monsoreau's little house, with a smile that indicated the existence of the same thought in each of their minds.

" The ground can be easily seen from yonder," said An-traguet, " and I have no doubt poor Diane will look out of her window more than once."

" Hold on," exclaimed Ribeirac, " she is there already, if I be not deceived."

" Why do you think so ? "

" It is open."

" True. But why is that ladder hanging from the balcony when the building has doors ? "

" I fact, it ? s queer," said Antraguet.

All three approached the house with an inward presentiment that they were drawing near to some important discovery.

" And we are not the only people to be astonished," said Livarot. " Look at yon peasants who stand up in their wagons as they pass to peer into the house."

The young men were now under the balcony.

A market-gardener was there before them and seemed to be examining the ground at his feet.

" Ho, there ! Seigneur de Monsoreau," cried Antraguet, " do you intend to come and witness the fight ? You had better make haste, for we wish to be the first on the ground."

They waited in vain for an answer.

" There is no reply," said Ribeirac ; " but what the devil is the meaning of that ladder ? "

" I say, you fellow," said Livarot to the market-gardener, " was it you that threw up that ladder there ? "

" God forbid, gentlemen ! " he answered.

" And why so ? " inquired Antraguet.

" Look up."

The three young men raised their heads.

" Blood ! " cried Ribeirac.

" Faith, yes, blood," said the villager, " and very black blood, too."

" The door has been forced," said Antraguet's page at the same moment.

Antraguet glanced at the door and window, and, seizing the ladder, was on the balcony in an instant.

He looked into the chamber.

" What has happened ? " asked the others, who saw him stagger and turn pale.

A terrible cry was his only answer.

Livarot had climbed up behind him.

" Dead bodies ! death, death everywhere !" he shouted.

And both entered the room.

Kibeirac remained below, fearing a surprise.

During this time the cries of the market-gardener arrested the footsteps of all who were going by.

The chamber bore in all parts the traces of the terrible struggle that had occurred on the night before. Stains or rather streams of blood were on the floor. The hangings had been hacked by swords and riddled by bullets. The furniture, shattered and soiled with-blood, was strewn over the apart-ment, intermingled with fragments of flesh and clothing.

" Oh ! Eemy ! poor Remy ! " said Antraguet, suddenly.

" Dead ? " asked Livarot.

" Already cold."

" Why, a regiment of reiters must have passed through this room ! " exclaimed Livarot.

Then Livarot saw that the door of the corridor was open. Spots of blood showed that on this side also there had been a struggle ; he followed the hideous traces before him and came to the staircase.

The courtyard was empty and solitary.

Meanwhile, Antraguet, instead of following him, went to the next room; there was blood everywhere, and this blood reached as far as the window. He leaned out and gazed with terrified eyes into the little garden.

The spikes of the iron trellis still held fast the livid and rigid body of the unfortunate Bussy.

At this sight it was not a cry, but a roar, that escaped from the breast of Antraguet.

Livarot ran up.

" Look," said Antraguet, " Bussy dead !"

" Bussy assassinated and flung from the window ! Come in, Ribeirac, come in ! "

During this time, Livarot started for the court-yard, and, meeting Ribeirac at the bottom of the stairs, took him with him.

A little door led from the courtyard to the garden, and they passed through,

" It is indeed he ! " cried Livarot.

" And his wrist is hacked," said Ribeirac.

" And he has two bullets in his chest."

" He has been stabbed by daggers in every part of his body."

" Ah ! poor Bussy ! " howled Antraguet; " vengeance ! vengeance ! "

Turning round, Livarot's foot came in contact with another corpse.

" Monsoreau ! " he exclaimed.

" What! Monsoreau, too ? "

" Yes, with as many holes in him as in a sieve, and with his head shattered by the pavement."

" Why, all our friends have been murdered last night!"

" And his wife, his wife," cried Antraguet; " Diane, Madame Diane !"

But there was no answer, except an exclamation of horror now and then from the people who began to .swarm around the house.

This was the moment when the King and Chicot had reached the top of the Rue Sainte-Catherine and turned away to avoid the crowd.

" Bussy ! poor Bussy ! " cried Ribeirac, in despair.

" Yes," said Antraguet, " they were determined to get rid of the most terrible enemy they had amongst us."

" Oh! what dastards and caitiffs ! " cried the two other young men."

" Let us go and complain to the duke," cried one of them.

" No," said Antraguet, " the work of vengeance is for ourselves alone; otherwise, my friend, we should be but poorly avenged ; wait for me."

In a second he descended and joined Livarot and Rebeirac.

" Look, my friends," said he, " at the noble face of the bravest of men, behold the still ruddy drops of his blood; he has set us an example ; he never charged others with the task of avenging his wrongs. Bussy ! Bussy ! we will act like thee, and be assured we will avenge thee."

Then he uncovered, pressed his lips to Bussy's lips, and drawing his sword bathed it in Bussy's blood.

" Bussy," said he, " I swear on thy dead body that this blood shall be laved in the blood of thy enemies ! "

" Bussy," said the others, " we swear to kill them or die ! "

" Gentlemen/' said Antraguet, sheathing his sword, " no mercy, no quarter ; do you agree ? "

" No mercy, no quarter," they repeated.

" But," said Livarot, " we shall now be only three against four."

" Yes, but we have not committed murder," said Antraguet, " and God will strengthen the innocent. Adieu, Bussy !"

" Adieu, Bussy," repeated his companions.

And they passed out from that accursed house, pale and horror-stricken.

They had there found, along with the image of death, the desperation that multiplies the strength of man a hundred fold ; they had there been inspired with that generous indignation which renders a human being superior to his mortal essence.

The crowd had become so large during the past quarter of an hour that they had some difficulty in forcing their way through it.

On arriving at the ground, they saw that their antagonists were waiting for them, some sitting on stones, others in picturesque attitudes on the wooden barriers.

Then they ran forward, ashamed of being the last to reach the paddock.

The four minions had with them four squires.

Their four swords, lying on the ground, seemed to be, like themselves, waiting and resting.

" Gentlemen," said Quelus, rising and bowing with a sort of stately arrogance, " we have had the honor of waiting for you."

" Excuse us, gentlemen," answered Antraguet; " we should have been here before you had we not been delayed by one of our companions."

" M. de Bussy ? " inquired D'Epernon ; «in fact, I do not see him. Apparently he is not much in a hurry this morning."

"Well, as we have waited until now," said Schomberg, " we can easily wait a little longer."

" M. de Bussy will not come," answered Antraguet^

Profound amazement was painted on every face. D'Epernoirs alone expressed a different feeling.

" He will not come ? " said he ; " oho ! the bravest of the brave is afraid, then, is he ? "

" No, that cannot be the reason," returned Quelus.

" You are right, uonsieur," said Livarot,

" But why will he not come ? " asked Maugiron.

" Because he is dead," answered Antraguet.

" Dead ! " cried the minions.

D'Epernon did not speak, but turned slightly pale.

" And dead because assassinated!" replied Antraguet. "You are not aware of it, gentlemen?"

" No," said Quelus, " and why should we be ? "

" Besides, are you quite sure ? " asked D'Epernon.

Antraguet drew his rapier.

" As sure," said he, " as that the blood upon my sword is his blood."

" Assassinated ! " cried all the King's friends except D'Epernon. " M. de Bussy assassinated ! "

D'Epernon still shook his head, with an air of doubt.

" This blood cries aloud for vengeance," said Ribeirac; " do you not hear it, gentlemen ? "

" Oh, I see ! " returned Schomberg, " your grief covers a certain insinuation, apparently/"

" Suppose it does ? "

" What does all this mean ? " cried Quelus.

"* Search for him to whom the crime is profitable? the legislator says," murmured Livarot.

"Come, gentlemen, explain what you mean clearly and frankly," cried Maugiron, hi a voice of thunder.

" That is just what we are here for, gentlemen," said Ribeirac, "and we have now more cause for cutting your throats than ever."

" Then to it quick! draw your swords," said D'Epernon, unsheathing his; " to it at once."

" Oh ! what a hurry you are in, Mister Gascon ! " said Livarot. " You did n't crow quite so loud when we were four against four."

" Is it our fault if you are now only three ? " answered D'Epernon.

" Yes, it is your fault," cried Antraguet. " He is dead, because you would rather have him lying in the tomb than standing here before you ; he is dead, with his hand mangled, in order that that hand might no longer hold a sword; he is dead, because you were determined at any price, that those eyes should be sightless whose lightning would have blinded the whole four of you. Do you understand ? Do I make my meaning clear ? "