The guard captain would have been equally at home in a pirate crew or at a land massacre. Enormous black brows and heavy moustache accentuated his ferocity, the particolored Revolutionary garb and in particular the red-and-white striped pantaloons gave him a bizarre appearance like a pirate chief.
The detail were armed with muskets and bayonets. They clattered up the stairs and burst into Henriette’s room.
The lovers seemed dazed rather than affrighted. They clasped each other again. With a little warning gesture Henriette bade Maurice say nothing when the captain addressed him as de Vaudrey.
The villain laid a heavy hand on his victim while two of the soldiers seized and pinioned his arms. “You are under arrest as a returned emigre!” the head pirate said.
Then he turned his attention to Henriette who made futile little efforts like a tiny mother wren.
“You are also under arrest, Citizeness,” 148 said the captain harshly, “for the crime of sheltering a returned aristocrat.”
“She cannot be blamed,” interrupted de Vaudrey. “I entered this place, uninvited.”
“Silence!” roared the Captain. “Your plea, if any, must be made to the Revolutionary Tribunal.”