“You were with my father at the last,” he said in a low voice; “did he think of me at that hour, was there any message?”
“He spoke many times of his little boy,” Père Antoine answered gently, “and at the last, when we walked hand in hand toward the scaffold, he sent you his blessing and bade me bring you up a Christian and a brave man, as your sainted mother would have wished. After that we said a prayer together, and he ascended the scaffold, repeating the hundred and twenty-ninth psalm:
“‘Du fond de l’abîme, Seigneur, je pousse des cris vers vous; Seigneur, écoutez ma voix. Que vos oreilles soient attentives à la voix de ma prière. Si vous tenez un compte exact des iniquités, Ô mon Dieu, qui pourra, Seigneur, subsister devant vous?
“‘Mais vous êtes plein de miséricorde; et j’espère en vous, Seigneur, à cause de votre loi. Mon âme attend l’effet de vos promesses, mon âme a mis toute sa confiance dans le Seigneur.’”
There was a pause, and then Père Antoine added: “He was a handsome man always, but on that morning I thought that his face wore more than earthly beauty; he died with perfect fortitude and at peace with God and man. The example of his life, clean and courageous, is before you, Jehan de Calvisson, and, please God, you shall follow it.”
CHAPTER XIII
THE CARDINAL’S INSTRUCTIONS
IN the morning, Péron waited upon the cardinal for his instructions, and they were not only unexpected but also unwelcome. Richelieu was alone when he summoned his musketeer, and was walking up and down the salon; his red robe and cape were edged with fur, and on his breast he wore the broad ribbon and star of the order of Saint Esprit. His face was very pale, but his eyes burned with the fire of his restless spirit; he was in the mood to pursue a purpose with relentless energy. His orders to Péron were distinct and brief.
“You will get three or four stout knaves,” he said; “I do not wish my men employed, and you will not wear your uniform. There is a sufficient sum on the table to pay the hire of half a dozen men-at-arms, if they be needed. Take them, go to the Hôtel de Nançay, and give Mademoiselle de Nançay this letter. When she has read it, she will probably go of her own free will; if not, you will take her, and any female attendant she may select, and ride to Poissy. I do not wish you to reach there before nightfall. Once there you will readily find a house that stands not two hundred yards from the Golden Pigeon; ’tis a tall house, and over the door is the statue of the Virgin. The house is commonly called the Image de Notre Dame. Here you will take mademoiselle and her woman, but you will not permit them to go to either door or window. In the upper story you will find a party of my men. Before ten o’clock there will come to the door a company of not less than a dozen men, who will use a password, ‘Dieu et le roi;’ admit them and detain all as prisoners. There will be a fight, therefore take the precaution to put the women out of danger before they come. The mission has its perils, but I believe that you would prefer it to a more easy one.”
Richelieu paused and looked keenly at the young man, whose face had flushed and paled alternately during the cardinal’s long speech.
“Monsignor,” he said, with hesitation, “I love an enterprise which is perilous and honorable, but I fear I cannot induce Mademoiselle de Nançay to go with me.”