Just then a great cat, which had come from the dark part of the gallery, passed snarling and growling by Madame Von Kleist, who made a loud cry, and sought to hurry to the princess's room. The latter restrained her forcibly, filling the whole room with her loud shouts of laughter, which, by the bye, were harsh and coarse, still more stern than the wind which whistled through the depths of the vast room. The cold made Consuelo tremble; perhaps, too, she was to a degree under the influence of fear. The terrified air of Madame Von Kleist seemed to exhibit a real danger, and the wild gaiety of the princess did not seem to evince any real and sincere security.
"I wonder at the incredulity of your royal highness," said the Baroness Von Kleist, with a voice full of emotion. "Had you as I have done, seen and heard the white lady, on the eve of the death of the late king——"
"Alas!" said Amelia, in a satanic tone, "I am very sure that it does not now come to announce the death of my royal brother, and I am very glad that it has not come for me. The demon knows well enough that to make me happy, one or the other of us must die."
"Ah! madame, do not talk thus, at such a time," said the Baroness Von Kleist, the teeth of whom were so locked that she could scarcely speak. "Now, for heaven's sake, pause and hear! Do you not tremble?"
The princess paused with a decisive air, and the rustling of her silk robe, which was heavy and thick almost as pasteboard, not being sufficient to drown the distant noise, our three heroines, who had nearly reached the stairway, at the bottom of the gallery, heard distinctly the harsh noise of a broom, which sounded on the stone steps, and seemed to approach them step by step, as if a servant was anxiously striving to conclude his work.
The princess paused for a moment, and then said in a resolute tone:
"As there is nothing supernatural in all this, I wish to ascertain whether or not some somnambulist, valet, or crazy page, be not at the bottom of all this mystery. Put down your veil, Porporina, for you must not be seen in my company. You, Von Kleist, can be frightened, if you please. I give you fair notice, that I care nothing about you. Come, my brave Rudolstadt, you have had far more dangerous adventures; follow me if you love me."
Amelia walked boldly towards the stairway, Consuelo followed her, and the princess would not suffer her to take the torch from her. Madame Von Kleist, who feared both to remain alone and to accompany them, hung behind, holding on to Porporina's cloak.
They no longer heard the devil's broom, and the princess reached the stairway, over which she reached her light, to enable her to distinguish the better what was going on below. Whether she was less calm than she wished to seem, or that she saw some terrible object, her hand trembled, and the torch of crimson and crystal fell down the echoing spiral. Madame Von Kleist at once forgot both the princess and the prima donna, and fled away until, in spite of the darkness, she came to her mistress's rooms, where she sought a refuge, while the latter, participating in this strange excitement, went in the same direction with Consuelo, slowly at first, but with a perpetually increasing pace; other steps were heard behind them, and the latter were not Consuelo's, for the opera-singer walked by her side, with not less resolution, though probably with less bravado. The strange steps which every moment drew near to them, sounded amid the darkness like those of an old woman with clogs, and rang on the pavement; while the broom continued to grate harshly on the wall, now to the right and then to the left. This ghost walk seemed very long to Consuelo. If anything can really overcome the courage of truly courageous and pure minds, it is a danger that can he neither comprehended nor understood. She did not boast of an useless audacity, and did not look back once. The princess said, once or twice in the darkness, she looked back, but in vain; no one could either prove or disprove the fact. Consuelo only knew that she had not slackened her pace, that she had not spoken a word to her on the way, and that when she went into her room, she came near shutting the door in her face, so anxious was she to protect herself. Amelia, however, would acknowledge no such weakness, and soon recovered sufficient presence of mind to laugh at Madame Von Kleist, who was almost in convulsions, and reproached her most timidly for her cowardice. The good nature of Consuelo, who sympathised with the patient's distress, induced the princess to become more good-natured. She deigned to observe that Madame Von Kleist was incapable of understanding her, and that she lay on a sofa with her face buried in the pillows. The clock struck three before the poor lady had completely resumed her presence of mind, and even then she displayed her terror by tears. Amelia was weary of her game of "not a princess," and did not seem anxious to undress herself without aid. It may be, too, she was under the influence of some presentiment. She resolved then to keep the baroness with her until day.
"We two will be able to hide the affair, if my brother should hear of it. You, Porporina, will have, however, more difficulty in explaining your presence, and I would not on any account that you should be seen to leave my room. You must, therefore, go alone, and go now, for people get up very early in this palace. Be calm, Von Kleist, and if you can say a word of good sense, tell us how you came hither, and in what corner you left your chasseur, so that Porporina may be enabled to go home."