One in a Thousand; or, The Days of Henri Quatre

by G. P. R. James

At the same time the old man advanced, crying, in a lamentable tone, "Ah! young gentlemen, young gentlemen! how could you play such a trick? There's my Lord the Marquis been storming like mad, and your lady-mother crying her eyes out, ever since you left the chateau. We thought you must have fallen into the hands of the Huguenots, and there has been nothing but fear and anxiety through the whole household. You, Monsieur Leonard, your father said he could understand your running away, for you are always in mischief, but how you could persuade Monsieur l'Abbé here to accompany you, he could not understand!"

"I am sure if my father be in such a rage," replied Beatrice, in the tone of a spoilt boy, caught in some trick more outrageous than ordinary, "I am sure if my father be in such a rage, I shall not go back till he is cool again; and so you may go and tell him, good Master Joachim!"

"Oh, let us go! let us go!" said Eugenie in a low tone; and now comprehending her companion's scheme, but anxious to bring the scene to an end as speedily as possible, "Oh, let us go! it is useless to delay."

"That is right! Monsieur l'Abbé, that is right!" cried the old man; "but you need be under no fear of your father either, Master Leonard, for good Father Philip has made him promise that nothing shall be said if you do but come home quietly. There is the carriage, as you see, standing ready, with Jean the lackey, and nothing shall be said I promise you; but if you will not go peaceably, of your own will, I must make you go whether you will or not, and these good gentlemen of the guard will help me."

"Ay, that we will," cried the lanceprisade. "Two young truants! If ye were not two such pretty boys, I should feel tempted to make your backs so well acquainted with the staff of my halbert, that you would jump into the carriage fast enough, I will answer for it!"

"We will not give thee the trouble, most redoubtable hero," answered Beatrice, in a mocking tone. "But, as we must go, there is a crown for you and your pot companions to drink to the health of the Duc du Petit Chatelet and the Abbé des Ponts et Chaussees."

The man laughed and took the money; and Beatrice, with the same gay and swaggering air, marched forward through the gate, followed by Eugenie; while the old man came after; the lanceprisade of the guard taking care to whisper in his ear, with a knowing look ere he went, "You had better look sharp to them, or that young chap will give you the slip yet; he is as full of mischief as a loaded cannon."

"Ay! ay! I will look to them," said the old man, with a solemn shake of the head; "I will look to them, sir Lanceprisade, and many thanks for your kind help and assistance in taking them."

Thus saying, he followed Beatrice to the side of the carriage or rather chaise-roulante, and having assisted her and Eugenie in, took his seat in one of the boots. The lackey, who had waited with the carriage, now closed the leathern curtain, which served the purpose of a door, and then springing up beside the driver, who sat ready in his seat, gave the signal for putting the whole in motion. The short whip cracked, the two strong horses darted forward, and, after drawing to its full extension the complication of ropes, leather straps, and iron rings, which formed the harness, started the heavy carriage from the spot where it rested in the full force of its vis inertiæ; and in a moment, Eugenie, with a heart palpitating with joy, felt herself rolling away from the gates of Paris, over roads which were rough, indeed, with the recent passage of waggons and artillery, but every step of which seemed to her hopes to conduct to safety and to peace.

For her part, Beatrice cast herself back in the carriage; her lightness, her gaiety, her air of daring passed away; and for some minutes she remained with her hands clasped over her eyes, as if exhausted with all the exertion she had made. When she looked up, she was still grave, and there was a languor about her which spoke plainly that all the ease, and the courage, and the unconcernedness which she had displayed through the difficult scenes just passed, had been, in fact, the triumph of a ready and determined mind over the weakness of a frame as delicate as that of the most timid of her sex.