Without farther words, I hurried back as fast as possible, and forcing my way in amongst the combatants, reached the spot where Monsieur de Villardin had fallen. I found him raising himself upon his arm, and, lifting him up, I gazed upon his face to judge whether the wound he had received were dangerous. He recognised me instantly, and the first words he said were, "My gallant boy! my gallant boy! must I always owe you everything!"
"Laura is safe," I replied; "let me carry you to her." And, raising him in my arms, I bore him round the turn of the road, where I found the Count and several of the unarmed servants endeavouring to recal Laura to herself. Placing Monsieur de Villardin on the bank, our whole cares were now directed towards him, as he was bleeding freely from a wound in his right breast, and every now and then, with a slight cough, his mouth was filled with blood, so that I could not doubt that the shot had passed through his lungs. The external bleeding we soon contrived to stop; and beseeching him not to speak at all, I went back to the scene of conflict to ascertain whether it were yet concluded. I found that it was so, and that the guards were standing round the two prisoners they had taken, conversing with all sorts of hurried exclamations over the events which had just occurred.
"There are a number of wounded men here, gentlemen," I said, "who are in need of immediate assistance. Let us ascertain the state of the field, and we will talk of all the rest afterwards."
"And pray, sir, who are you?" demanded the inferior officer who commanded the party of guards; "you may be one of these marauders also, for aught I know."
"I am the Baron de Juvigny, sir," I replied, "Colonel of his most Christian Majesty's ---- regiment of horse, and bearing the rank of Major-General in the service. You will therefore have the goodness to draw up your men, and assist me in examining into the state of the wounded."
The young officer immediately obeyed; and we found that six of the guards, three of the servants, and nine of the marauders, were either dead or wounded. Only two prisoners, as I have said, were made besides Gaspard de Belleville, who, for his part, stood with his arms tied behind him, glaring sullenly upon the form of Suzette, who was lying weltering in her blood, which not all the efforts of good old Jerome seemed to have the slightest effect in stanching. Many a muttered reproach, too, was her brutal husband pouring upon her head for having betrayed him and his companions; and, as I came up, she replied feebly, "It was your own fault. I could have put up with your cruelty. You might have turned plunderer or marauder without my opposing you; but when you sought to marry another woman, while I was still living, you did that which is not to be forgiven."
"Fool!" cried the brute, in reply, "I sought to marry no other woman. It was your brother!--He whom you have murdered, by bringing that infernal English fiend upon us--he it was who was to have married her. It was his fortune I sought to make, while I avenged myself at once upon the man who has marred mine through life, who has met me and thwarted me at every turn, and upon the old dotard, who has lent his aid to crush me, and to raise yon worm from the dunghill. It was your own mad, wild folly that made you think that I wanted to marry her?"
"Then why did you take from me the proofs of our marriage?" said Suzette. "Why did you leave me at St. Aubin, and not let me know where you were going?"
As such recriminations were not at all likely to do any service to the poor wretch Suzette, I ordered Gaspard de Belleville to be removed to a distance from his wife, and his person to be searched in order to discover, if possible, all the particulars of the unfortunate affair which had just taken place. I then turned to give directions for bringing up litters and other conveyances to carry away the wounded, with as little inconvenience to themselves as possible; but at that moment I was joined by the Count de Laval, who grasped my hand, with greater signs of friendship than I could find it in my heart to return.
"Monsieur de Juvigny," he said, "you will be glad to hear that Monsieur de Villardin seems better, and that the bleeding internally as well as externally seems entirely to have ceased. Mademoiselle de Villardin also has recovered, and wishes to see you. Let me beg you to accompany me."