CHAPTER XII
[THE LAST MEETING BETWEEN HUSBAND AND WIFE]
"The morning passed, and my lady made no sign. Master Christian, flitting restlessly in and out and about the room, waited impatiently for his mother's instructions to bring her husband to her. I offered her food, but she could not eat it. On the previous day the doctor, who regularly attended her, had said that his services were required at a great distance from the villa, and that he should not be able to visit my lady on the morrow. She had replied:
"'Do not trouble, doctor; you can do nothing for me.'
"And, indeed, there appeared to be no special necessity for his presence. My lady was not in pain; she looked happy and contented. But she was so quiet, so very, very quiet! Not a word of complaint or suffering, not a moan, not a sigh. Why, therefore, did my heart sink as I gazed at her?
"At length Master Christian was compelled to speak; he could no longer control his impatience.
"'Mamma, do you like the way I have arranged the flowers? The room looks pretty, does it not?'
"'Yes, my child.'
"'I wanted it to look very bright to-day. So did you, did you not, mamma? Papa will be pleased when he comes.'
"'I hope so, my dear.'
"'And I shall tell him that it is not so every day, and that it is done for him. Shall I go for him now?'
"'Presently, my dear. Wait yet a little while.'
"'But, mamma, it was to be to-day, you know, and it is nearly afternoon. Just look at the clock, mamma, it is nearly two---- Ah, but you are tired, and I am worrying you! Now I will sit quite still, and when the clock strikes two, you shall tell me to go for papa. Say yes, or look it, mamma.'
"'Yes, my dear, at two o'clock you shall go. Denise will accompany you, for perhaps, Christian, your papa will think that the message comes from your affectionate heart, and not from me.'
"'That,' said Master Christian,' is because I have tried to bring papa to you before. But I did it out of love, mamma.'
"'I know, my dear, I know. If, when you were a little baby, and could not speak or think of things, I had reflected, it might all have been different. Perhaps I have been to blame.'
"'No, mamma, you shall not say that; I will not let you say that. You can't do anything wrong, and papa can't do anything wrong. Now I shall be quite still, and watch the clock, and I will not say another word till it strikes.'
"He sat, as he had promised, quite still, with his eyes fixed on the clock, and I saw by the motion of his lips that he was counting the seconds. Slowly, oh, so slowly, the hands moved round till they reached the hour, and then the silver chimes were heard. First, the four divisions of the hour, then the hour itself. One, Two. In my ears it was like the chapel bell calling the people to prayer.
"'Now, mamma!' cried Master Christian, starting up.
"She took his pretty face between her hands, and drew it close to hers. She kissed his lips and his forehead, and then her hands fell to her side.
"'May I go now, mamma?'
"He saw in her eyes that she was willing he should bring his father, and he embraced her joyfully, and ran out of the room crying:
"'Come, Denise, come! Papa, papa!'
"He did not wait for me, and when I arrived at the study door, the father and son were standing together, and Master Christian was trying to pull my master along.
"'This little fellow here,' said my master, striving to speak cheerfully, but his lips trembled, and his voice was husky, 'has a strong imagination, and his heart is so full of love that it runs away with his tongue.'
"'It does not, papa, it does not,' cried Master Christian very earnestly. 'And it is not imagination. Mamma wants you to come and love her.'
"My master turned his enquiring eyes to my face.
"'My lady wishes you to come to her, sir,' I said simply.
"I knew that the fewer words I spoke at such a time the better it would be.
"He did not question me. He was satisfied that I spoke the truth.
"His agitation was great, and he walked a few steps from me, holding Master Christian by the hand, and then stood still for quite a minute. Then he stooped and kissed his son, and suffered himself to be led to my lady's room.
"I followed them at a little distance, and remained outside my lady's room, while they entered and closed the door behind them. It was not right that any eyes but theirs should witness so sacred a meeting; but though I denied myself the pleasure of being present, my heart was in my ears. It was proper that I should be within call. In my lady's weak state, my services might be required.
"From where I stood, I heard Master Christian's eager, happy voice:
"'Mamma, mamma--here is papa! He is come at last, mamma! Speak to him, and love him, as I do! Papa, put your arms around mamma's neck, and kiss her.'
"Then all was quiet--so quiet, so quiet! Not a sound, not a breath. Ah, Holy Mother! I can hear the silence now:--I can feel it about me! It was in this very room, and my lady was sitting in the chair in which you are seated.
"Suddenly the silence was broken. My master was calling loudly for me.
"'Denise--Denise! Where are you? Come quickly, for God's sake!'
"Before the words were out of his lips, I was in the room. My master was looking wildly upon his wife and child. The lad, with his arms about his mother, was kissing her passionately, and crying over her.
"'Mamma, mamma! why do you not speak? Here is papa waiting for you. Oh, mamma, say only one word!'
"'Is it true,' my master whispered to me, 'that your lady sent you for me?'
"'It is true, sir,' I replied in a low tone.
"'What, then, is the meaning of this?' he asked, still in the same unnatural whisper. 'I have spoken to her--she will not answer me. She will not even look at me!'
"A sudden fear smote my heart. I stepped softly to my lady's side. I gently unwound Master Christian's arms from his mother's neck. I took her hand in mine, and pressed it. The pressure was not returned. Her fingers, though still warm, were motionless.
"'What is it, Denise?' my master asked hoarsely. 'The truth--the truth!'
"He read the answer in my eyes. We were gazing on the face of a dead woman!
"Yes, she was dead, and no word had been exchanged between them--no look of affection--no token of forgiveness. How truly, how prophetically, had she spoken to her husband in their last interview on this spot, eight years before! 'After this night I will never open my lips to you, nor, willingly, will I ever again listen to your voice!'
"From that hour to this he had never heard the sound of her voice, and now that, after their long agony--for there is no doubt that his sufferings were as great as hers--she had summoned him to her, she was dead! Ah, if she had only lived to say:
"'Mine was the fault; it was not only I who was betrayed; let there be peace and forgiveness between us!'
"Did she know, when she called him to her, that he would look upon her dead face? Could she so measure her moments upon earth as to be certain that her heart would cease to beat as he entered the room at her bidding? No, it could not have been, for this premeditation would have proclaimed her capable of vindictive passion. She was full of tender feeling and sweet compassion, and the influence of her child must have softened her heart towards the man who had loved and married her, and had done her no wrong.
"That she knew she was dying was certain, and she was willing--nay more than willing, wishful to forgive and to ask forgiveness as she stood upon the brink of another world. The sight of his worn and wasted face may have shocked her and caused her sudden death. But it remained a mystery whether she had seen him--whether her spirit had not taken flight before her husband presented himself to her. It was a question none could answer.
"I am aware that there are people who would say that my lady deliberately designed this last bitter blow to her husband. My master did not think so. When the first shock of his grief was spent, his face expressed nothing but sorrow and compassion. He kissed her once--on her forehead, not on her lips--and after her eyes were closed and she lay, white and beautiful, upon her bed, he sat by her side the whole of the day and night--for a great part of the time with Master Christian in his arms.
"There were those in the villa who declared that on the night of her death the white shadow of my lady was seen gliding about the grounds, and from that day the place was supposed to be haunted. For my own part I knew that these were foolish fancies, but you cannot reason people out of them.
"The next day my master made preparations for the funeral. His strange manner of conducting it strengthened the superstition. He would not have any of his old friends at the funeral, although many wrote to him. Only himself and Master Christian and the servants followed my lady to her grave. He would not allow any black crape to be worn, and all the female servants of the house were dressed in white.
"It caused a great deal of talk, a good many people saying that it was a sinful proceeding on the part of my master, and that it was a sign of joy at his wife's death. They must have been blind to the grief in his face--so plainly written there that the tears came to my eyes as I looked at it--when they uttered this slander. And yet, if the truth were told, if it were deeply searched for among the ashes in his heart, it is not unlikely that my master was sorrowfully grateful that his wife's martyrdom was at an end. For her sake, not for his own, did he experience this sad feeling of gratitude. It was entirely in accordance with his stern sense of justice--in the exercise of which he was least likely to spare himself of all people in the world--that, while he was bowed down to the earth in grief, he should be glad that his wife was dead.
"All kinds of rumours were afloat concerning the house and the family. The gossips declared that on certain nights the grounds were filled with white shadows, mournfully following each other in a long funeral train. That is how the villa grew to be called The House of Shadows.
"It was like a tomb. Not a person was permitted to pass the gates. Not a servant could be prevailed upon to stop. All of them left, with the exception of Martin and myself, and my daughter, Dionetta's mother. Dionetta was not born at the time. We were glad to take Fritz the Fool into the place, to run of errands and do odd jobs. He was a young lad then, an orphan, and has been hanging about ever since. But for all the good he is, he might as well be at the other end of the world.
"The rumours spread into distant quarters, and one day a priest, who had travelled scores of miles for the purpose of seeing my master, presented himself at the gates, which were always kept locked by my master's orders. I asked the priest what he wanted, and he said he must speak to Mr. Almer. I told him that no person was admitted, and that my master would see none, but he insisted that I should give his errand. I did so, and my master accompanied me to the gates.
"'You have received your answer from my servant,' said my master. 'Why do you persist in your attempts to force yourself upon me?'
"'My errand is a solemn one,' said the priest; 'I am bidden by Heaven to come to you.'
"My master smiled scornfully. 'What deeds in my life,' he said, 'I shall be called upon to answer for before a divine tribunal, concern me, and me only. Were you an officer of justice you should be admitted; but you are a priest, and I do not need you. I am my own priest. Begone.'
"He was importunate, and was not so easily got rid of. Day after day, for two weeks, he made his appearance at the gates, but he could not obtain admittance, and at length he was compelled to forego his mission, whatever it might have been, and to leave without having any further speech with my master.
"Soon after he left, my master took Master Christian to school, at a great distance from the village, and returning alone, resumed his solitary habits.
"How well do I remember the evening on which he desired me not to disturb him on any account whatever, and to come to his study at four o'clock on the afternoon of the following day. At that hour, I knocked at the door, and received no answer. I knocked several times, and, becoming alarmed, tried the handle of the door. It was unlocked, and I stepped into the study, and said:
"'It is I, sir, Denise; you bade me come at this hour.'
"I spoke to deaf ears. On the floor lay my master stone dead!
"He had not killed himself; he died a natural death, and must have been forewarned that his moments on earth were numbered.
"That is all I have to tell, my lady."