The Man-at-Arms; or, Henry De Cerons. Volumes I and II

by G. P. R. James

CHAPTER X.

It was evident, from the manner in which La Tour and the old lady, whom we called Dame Marguelette, received me, that they had been already made acquainted with the fact of my being there; and, therefore, there was no degree of astonishment whatever in their countenances, though much joy. I thought they would have devoured me; but when the first expressions of gladness and satisfaction were over, I remarked a great change in the appearance of the good old pastor. The few months that I had been absent seemed to have worn and broken him more than several years had done at a preceding period; and there were also lines of much care and thought about his brow and eyes, together with a melancholy expression round his mouth, which was very painful to me to behold. Nor was my good old friend Dame Marguelette as well-looking or as hale as when I left her. Such were my impressions; but they, on the other hand, could hardly find words to express how much improved I appeared to them in personal appearance since I had quitted the chateau.

After a few minutes given to mutual gratulations, my next question, of course, was, where was the baron, and what brought them there.

"Alas! my son," replied La Tour, "where the baron is I cannot well tell you; but I much fear that he is in the hands of the enemy. I trust not with his own consent; but I fully believe with the consent and by the arrangement of the woman whom he has so madly made his wife. But I have a long story to tell you, Henry, which will explain the whole; and I had better tell it you at once. Alas! you little know what a change has taken place since you were at Blancford."

He then went on to tell me all that had occurred, drawing a sad picture of a wretched and miserable family. The baroness he depicted as harsh, haughty, and unprincipled--capricious to such a degree that there was no calculating upon any determination for a whole day, and only checkering the most idle and licentious levity with occasional fits of violent passion or long hours of gloomy sullenness. The baron, on his part, evidently both contemned and despised her; and yet, as we so frequently see, the woman who had acquired a tie upon him by his passions and his vices, ruled him like a slave by his weaknesses, even after his passions had been sated. The conduct of both to the children of the late baroness was anything, La Tour said, but what it should be, though towards Louise, the old man added, her father displayed strong affection, and sought her society when he seemed to fly from that of any one else. As to the religion of the baroness, the Protestant minister declared his solemn belief that she had none; but if ever she had a leaning either way, it was towards papistry. He feared very much too, he added, he feared very much that the baron himself was wavering in his faith. "And that fear," he added, "has induced me to cast every other consideration behind me, and to remain with the poor children, still to guard their minds from perversion as far as possible."

The time since my departure thus passed, he said, in the most comfortless state of discontent on all parts, until at length the baron had declared, that if he could not obtain a safe conduct to reside unmolested in Paris with his whole household, he would take arms and join the Protestant forces.

It was the policy of the court of France at that time, by every sort of bribe, by every promise of immunity and inducement that could be held out, to prevent the lukewarm Protestants from joining the more zealous ones in arms. The words of the baron were speedily noised abroad; and with no greater space of time than was necessary for a courier to travel post-haste from Bordeaux to Paris and from Paris to Bordeaux, a safe conduct for the baron, and every one whose name he chose to insert in it, arrived at the Chateau de Blancford, with the sole condition annexed, that he should present himself at the court as speedily as possible, where every sort of honour and distinction, the document said, awaited him.

"His resolution was taken in a moment," continued La Tour; "and he proposed to me, ungraciously enough indeed, that my name should be put into the list. For the children's sake, and especially for dear Louise's sake, I suffered it to be done: and we advanced by slow journeys altogether till yesterday morning, when the baroness declared that, by pushing forward to Chatelherault, and thence to Leselle, they would put the Vienne and the Creux between them and the contending armies, and thus pass on to Paris without interruption. All the heavy baggage, and several of the servants and retainers, together with the old men and women, such as myself and Dame Marguelette, were to follow more slowly; but I yesterday heard the baroness speaking with one of the guides who had been hired to conduct their party not long before they went, in such a manner as to convince me that she at least would not be ill pleased to fall into the hands of the Catholic army. They went on; and though they promised to send back a messenger to tell us when they had safely passed the Vienne, none has ever come near us; and this morning we fell in with the baggage of our own army, and came on with it, thinking that we should be in greater security."

"But where is Louise?" I cried immediately. "Have they taken her on with them?"

"Alas! yes, my son," replied the pastor. "All the young people have gone on; and I do not believe that the baroness will at all grieve that they should be separated from those who have hitherto had the charge and direction of their youth."