CHAPTER IX
[MOTHER DENISE HAS STRANGE FANCIES IN THE NIGHT]
"A new life now commenced for us--a new and dreadful life. Mr. Almer gave orders that no person was to be admitted to the villa without his express permission. He denied himself to every chance visitor, and from that time until you came, my lady, no friend of the family, except a great banker, and occasionally Master Pierre Lamont, both of whom came upon business, ever entered the gates. The doctor, of course, when he was needed; but no one else.
"Mr. Almer passed most of his time in his study, writing and reading, and pacing to and fro as he used to do in times gone by. He did not make any enquiries about my lady, nor did she about him. She lived in these rooms, and, in my remembrance, did not stir out of them during the day. Master Christian slept in the inner room there, and was free to roam about as he pleased.
"Every morning I took the child to his father, who sometimes would kiss him and send him back to my lady, and sometimes would say:
"'You can leave him with me, Denise, for an hour.'
"Then he would take the child into the study, and lock the door, and nurse and sing to him. I was in the habit of seeing him thus engaged as I walked backwards and forwards in the grounds in front of the study, waiting for his summons to carry master Christian to his mother.
"His was not a happy childhood, for when he began ta speak and think, the estrangement between his parents puzzled him deeply, and made him sad. He was continually asking questions to which he received replies which perplexed him more and more. With childlike, innocent cunning he strove to draw them to each other. When he was with my lady, it was:
"'Mamma, why do you not go and speak to papa? There he is walking in the garden. Come out with me, mamma--come quickly, or papa will be gone.'
"And when he was with his father he would say:
"'Papa, I have a message for you.'
"'Yes, Christian,' my master would say.
"'You are to take hold of my hand, and come with me immediately to mamma. Yes, papa, indeed, immediately! She wants to speak to you.'
"Mr. Almer knew that this was nothing but invention on the child's part.
"What they learnt of each other's health and doings came through Master Christian; it is very hard, my lady, to stop a child's innocent prattle.
"'Papa, I wish to tell you something.'
"'Tell me, Christian.'
"'Mamma has a bad headache--such a bad, bad headache! I have been smoothing her forehead with my hand, but it will not go away for me. You cured my headache last week; come and cure mamma.'
"And at another time:
"'Papa, is not this beautiful?'
"'Yes, Christian, it is very pretty.'
"'Mamma painted it for me. Do you know, papa, she has painted me--yes, my portrait, and has put it in a book. It is exactly like--you could not tell it from me myself. Shall I ask her to give it to you--or will you come and ask for it yourself?'
"With my lady it was the same.
"'Mamma, papa has been writing all day long. I peeped through the window, and he looked so tired--just as you look sometimes. Now, mamma, tell me--do you think papa is happy?'
"'Mamma, see what papa has given me--a musical-box! Only because I said to him I should like a musical-box! Is he not good?'
"And so it went on day after day, week after week, but the child's eager, anxious love brought them no nearer to each other.
"In the dark nights when the weather permitted, my lady walked in the grounds. At first I offered to accompany her, but she refused my company.
"'I will walk alone, Denise.'
"The servants used to say, as the moonlight fell on her white dress:
"'She looks like a white ghost.'
"And at other times:
"'She is like a white shadow moving in the moon's light.'
"Her husband was careful to keep out of her sight when she indulged in these lonely rambles. They would not make the slightest advance to each other.
"I must not forget to tell you what occurred about a month after this estrangement. The duties of my attendance on my lady did not keep me with her during the night unless she was ill, and was likely to require my services. Generally I waited till I saw her abed and asleep. She retired early, and this afforded me an opportunity of looking after the room occupied by my husband and myself.
"I remember that on this night I drew the blind aside after I was undressed, and looked toward my master's study. There were lights in the windows, as usual. I was not surprised, for Mr. Almer frequently sat up the whole night through.
"I went to bed, and soon fell asleep.
"Quite contrary to my usual habit, I woke up while it was dark, and heard the sound of the clock striking the hour. I counted the strokes, from one to twelve. It was midnight.
"I was such a good sleeper--seldom waking till the morning, when it was time to get up--that I wondered to myself what it was that awoke me. The striking of the clock? Hardly--for that was no new sound. What, then? Gusts of wind were sweeping round the walls of the villa. 'Ah,' I thought, 'it was the wind that disturbed me;' and I settled myself for sleep again, when suddenly another sound--an unusual one this time--made me jump up in bed. The sound was like that of a heavy object jumping, or falling, from a height within the grounds.
"'Can it be robbers,' I thought, 'who have climbed the gates, and missed their footing?'
"The thought alarmed me, and I woke my husband, and told him what I had heard. He rose, and looked out of the window.
"'Mr. Almer is up and awake,' said he. 'If there were any cause for alarm he would not be sitting quietly in his study, poring over his books. What you heard is the wind. Robbers, indeed! I pity the thief who tries to pass our dogs; he would be torn to pieces. There! let me get to sleep, and don't disturb me again with your foolish fancies; and get to sleep yourself as quick as you can. Now your head is stirring, you'll be imagining all sorts of things.'
"That was all the satisfaction I could get out of him; the next moment he was fast asleep again.
"It was no easy thing for me to follow his example. I lay thinking and thinking for an hour or more. I was glad my husband had mentioned the dogs; in my alarm I had forgotten them. Martin was quite right. Any stranger who attempted to pass them would have been torn to pieces.
"Well, but there was somebody walking on the gravelpaths! I heard soft footsteps crunching the stones, stepping cautiously, as though fearful of disturbing the people in the house. These sounds came to my ears between the gusts of wind, which were growing stronger and stronger.
"I was on the point of rousing my husband again when it occurred to me that it might be my master, who, restless as usual, was walking about the grounds.
"This explanation quieted me, and I was soon asleep. For how long I cannot say, for suddenly I found myself sitting up in bed, wide awake, listening to the wind, which was shaking the house to its foundations. And yet the impression was so strong upon me that it was not the storm that had frightened me, that I went to the window and looked out, expecting to see Heaven only knows what. Nothing was to be seen, and presently I reasoned myself out of my fears, and was not again disturbed during the night.
"In the morning a strange discovery was made. A servant came running to me before I was dressed, with the information that our two dogs were dead. I hurried to the kennel and saw their bodies stretched out, cold and stiff.
"Mr. Almer was very fond of these dogs, and I went to him and told him what had occurred. There was a strange, wild look in his eyes which I attributed to want of sleep. But stranger than this weary, wild expression was the smile on his lips when he heard the news.
"He followed me to the kennel, and stooped down.
"'They are quite dead, Denise,' he said.
"'Yes, sir,' I said, 'but who could have done such a cruel thing?'
"'The dogs have been poisoned,' he said, 'here is the meat that was thrown to them. There is still some white powder upon it.'
"'Poisoned!' I cried. 'The wretches.'
"'Whoever did this deed,' said my master, 'deserved to die. It is as bad as killing a human creature in cold blood.'
"'Are you sure, sir,' I said, 'there has been nothing stolen from the house?'
"'You can go and see, Denise.'
"I made an examination of the rooms. Nothing had been taken from them. I tried the door of my master's study to examine that room also, but it was locked. When I returned my master was still kneeling by the dogs.
"'It does not appear that anything has been taken,' I said, 'but the sounds I heard in the night prove that there have been robbers here.'
"'What sounds did you hear?' asked my master, looking up.
"I told him of my alarm, and of my waking my husband, and of my fancies.
"'Fancies!' he said; 'yes--it could have been nothing but imagination. I have been up the whole night, and had there been an attempt at robbery, I must surely have known it. Were any of the other servants disturbed?"
"'No, sir.'
"I had already questioned them, but they had all slept soundly and had heard nothing. I had been also with my lady for a few moments, but she had not been disturbed during the night by anything but the howling of the wind.
"'Let the matter rest,' said my master; 'it will be best. It is my wish that you do not speak of it. The dogs are dead, and nothing can restore them to life. Evil deeds carry their own punishment with them! The next time you are frightened by fancies in the night, and see a light in my study, you may be satisfied that all is well.'
"So the dogs were buried, and no action was taken to punish their murderers; and in a little while the whole affair was forgotten."