第42章

Mylooking-glasswasnear。OneglanceatitsatisfiedmethatnowomaninhersensescouldprefertheEnglishmantoMe。Irecoveredmyself-respect。IhastenedtotheEnglishman’sbedside。 ThemomentIappearedhepointedeagerlytowardmyroom。Heoverwhelmedmewithatorrentofwordsinhisownlanguage。Imadeout，fromhisgesturesandhislooks，thathehad，insomeincomprehensiblemanner，discoveredthepresenceofmyguest；and，strangerstill，thathewasscaredbytheideaofapersoninmyroom。IendeavoredtocomposehimonthesystemwhichIhavealreadymentioned——thatistosay，IsworeathiminMYlanguage。 Theresultnotprovingsatisfactory，IownIshookmyfistinhisface，andleftthebedchamber。 Returningtomyfairfriend，Ifoundherwalkingbackwardandforwardinastateofexcitementwonderfultobehold。Shehadnotwaitedformetofillherglass——shehadbegunthegenerousMoselleinmyabsence。Iprevailedonherwithdifficultytoplaceherselfatthetable。Nothingwouldinducehertoeat。“Myappetiteisgone，“shesaid。“Givemewine。“ ThegenerousMoselledeservesitsname——delicateonthepalate，withprodigious“body。“Thestrengthofthisfinewineproducednostupefyingeffectonmyremarkableguest。Itappearedtostrengthenandexhilarateher——nothingmore。Shealwaysspokeinthesamelowtone，andalways，turntheconversationasImight，broughtitbackwiththesamedexteritytothesubjectoftheEnglishmaninthenextroom。Inanyotherwomanthispersistencywouldhaveoffendedme。Mylovelyguestwasirresistible；I answeredherquestionswiththedocilityofachild。Shepossessedalltheamusingeccentricityofhernation。WhenItoldheroftheaccidentwhichconfinedtheEnglishmantohisbed，shesprangtoherfeet。Anextraordinarysmileirradiatedhercountenance。Shesaid，“ShowmethehorsewhobroketheEnglishman’sleg！Imustseethathorse！“Itookhertothestables。Shekissedthehorse—— onmywordofhonor，shekissedthehorse！Thatstruckme。I said。“YouDOknowtheman；andhehaswrongedyouinsomeway。“ No！shewouldnotadmitit，eventhen。“Ikissallbeautifulanimals，“shesaid。“Haven’tIkissedYOU？“Withthatcharmingexplanationofherconduct，sheranbackupthestairs。Ionlyremainedbehindtolockthestabledooragain。WhenIrejoinedher，Imadeastartlingdiscovery。IcaughthercomingoutoftheEnglishman’sroom。 “Iwasjustgoingdownstairsagaintocallyou，“shesaid。“Themaninthereisgettingnoisyoncemore。“ ThemadEnglishman’svoiceassailedourearsonceagain。 “Rigobert！Rigobert！“ HewasafrightfulobjecttolookatwhenIsawhimthistime。Hiseyeswerestaringwildly；theperspirationwaspouringoverhisface。Inapanicofterrorheclaspedhishands；hepointeduptoheaven。Byeverysignandgesturethatamancanmake，heentreatedmenottoleavehimagain。Ireallycouldnothelpsmiling。TheideaofmystayingwithHIM，andleavingmyfairfriendbyherselfinthenextroom！ Iturnedtothedoor。Whenthemadwretchsawmeleavinghimheburstoutintoascreechofdespair——soshrillthatIfeareditmightawakenthesleepingservants。 Mypresenceofmindinemergenciesisproverbialamongthosewhoknowme。Itoreopenthecupboardinwhichhekepthislinen—— seizedahandfulofhishandkerchief’s——gaggedhimwithoneofthem，andsecuredhishandswiththeothers。Therewasnownodangerofhisalarmingtheservants。Aftertyingthelastknot，I lookedup。 ThedoorbetweentheEnglishman’sroomandminewasopen。Myfairfriendwasstandingonthethreshold——watchingHIMashelayhelplessonthebed；watchingMEasItiedthelastknot。 “Whatareyoudoingthere？“Iasked。“Whydidyouopenthedoor？“ Shesteppeduptome，andwhisperedheranswerinmyear，withhereyesallthetimeuponthemanonthebed: “Iheardhimscream。“ “Well？“ “Ithoughtyouhadkilledhim。“ Idrewbackfromherinhorror。Thesuspicionofmewhichherwordsimpliedwassufficientlydetestableinitself。Buthermannerwhensheutteredthewordswasmorerevoltingstill。ItsopowerfullyaffectedmethatIstartedbackfromthatbeautifulcreatureasImighthaverecoiledfromareptilecrawlingovermyflesh。 BeforeIhadrecoveredmyselfsufficientlytoreply，mynerveswereassailedbyanothershock。Isuddenlyheardmymistress’svoicecallingtomefromthestableyard。 Therewasnotimetothink——therewasonlytimetoact。TheonethingneededwastokeepMrs。Fairbankfromascendingthestairs，anddiscovering——notmyladyguestonly——buttheEnglishmanalso，gaggedandboundonhisbed。Iinstantlyhurriedtotheyard。AsIrandownthestairsIheardthestableclockstrikethequartertotwointhemorning。 Mymistresswaseagerandagitated。Thedoctor(inattendanceonher)wassmilingtohimself，likeamanamusedathisownthoughts。 “IsFrancisawakeorasleep？“Mrs。Fairbankinquired。 “Hehasbeenalittlerestless，madam。Butheisnowquietagain。 Ifheisnotdisturbed“(Iaddedthosewordstopreventherfromascendingthestairs)，“hewillsoonfalloffintoaquietsleep。“ “HasnothinghappenedsinceIwasherelast？“ “Nothing，madam。“ Thedoctorliftedhiseyebrowswithacomicallookofdistress。 “Alas，alas，Mrs。Fairbank！“hesaid。“Nothinghashappened！Thedaysofromanceareover！“ “Itisnottwoo’clockyet，“mymistressanswered，alittleirritably。 Thesmellofthestableswasstrongonthemorningair。Sheputherhandkerchieftohernoseandledthewayoutoftheyardbythenorthentrance——theentrancecommunicatingwiththegardensandthehouse。Iwasorderedtofollowher，alongwiththedoctor。Onceoutofthesmellofthestablesshebegantoquestionmeagain。 Shewasunwillingtobelievethatnothinghadoccurredinherabsence。IinventedthebestanswersIcouldthinkofonthespurofthemoment；andthedoctorstoodbylaughing。Sotheminutespassedtilltheclockstrucktwo。Uponthat，Mrs。FairbankannouncedherintentionofpersonallyvisitingtheEnglishmaninhisroom。Tomygreatrelief，thedoctorinterferedtostopherfromdoingthis。 “YouhaveheardthatFrancisisjustfallingasleep，“hesaid。“Ifyouenterhisroomyoumaydisturbhim。Itisessentialtothesuccessofmyexperimentthatheshouldhaveagoodnight’srest，andthatheshouldownithimself，beforeItellhimthetruth。I mustrequest，madam，thatyouwillnotdisturbtheman。Rigobertwillringthealarmbellifanythinghappens。“ Mymistresswasunwillingtoyield。Forthenextfiveminutes，atleast，therewasawarmdiscussionbetweenthetwo。IntheendMrs。Fairbankwasobligedtogiveway——forthetime。“Inhalfanhour，“shesaid，“Franciswilleitherbesoundasleep，orawakeagain。InhalfanhourIshallcomeback。“Shetookthedoctor’sarm。Theyreturnedtogethertothehouse。 Leftbymyself，withhalfanhourbeforeme，IresolvedtotaketheEnglishwomanbacktothevillage——then，returningtothestables，toremovethegagandthebindingsfromFrancis，andtolethimscreechtohisheart’scontent。WhatwouldhisalarmingthewholeestablishmentmattertoMEafterIhadgotridofthecompromisingpresenceofmyguest？ ReturningtotheyardIheardasoundlikethecreakingofanopendooronitshinges。ThegateofthenorthentranceIhadjustclosedwithmyownhand。Iwentroundtothewestentrance，atthebackofthestables。ItopenedonafieldcrossedbytwofootpathsinMr。Fairbank’sgrounds。Thenearestfootpathledtothevillage。Theotherledtothehighroadandtheriver。 ArrivingatthewestentranceIfoundthedooropen——swingingtoandfroslowlyinthefreshmorningbreeze。Ihadmyselflockedandboltedthatdoorafteradmittingmyfairfriendateleveno’clock。Avaguedreadofsomethingwrongstoleitswayintomymind。Ihurriedbacktothestables。 Ilookedintomyownroom。Itwasempty。Iwenttotheharnessroom。Notasignofthewomanwasthere。Ireturnedtomyroom，andapproachedthedooroftheEnglishman’sbedchamber。Wasitpossiblethatshehadremainedthereduringmyabsence？Anunaccountablereluctancetoopenthedoormademehesitate，withmyhandonthelock。Ilistened。Therewasnotasoundinside。I calledsoftly。Therewasnoanswer。Idrewbackastep，stillhesitating。Inoticedsomethingdarkmovingslowlyinthecrevicebetweenthebottomofthedoorandtheboardedfloor。Snatchingupthecandlefromthetable，Ihelditlow，andlooked。Thedark，slowlymovingobjectwasastreamofblood！ Thathorridsightrousedme。Iopenedthedoor。TheEnglishmanlayonhisbed——aloneintheroom。Hewasstabbedintwoplaces—— inthethroatandintheheart。Theweaponwasleftinthesecondwound。ItwasaknifeofEnglishmanufacture，withahandleofbuckhornasgoodasnew。 Iinstantlygavethealarm。Witnessescanspeaktowhatfollowed。 ItismonstroustosupposethatIamguiltyofthemurder。IadmitthatIamcapableofcommittingfollies:butIshrinkfromthebareideaofacrime。Besides，Ihadnomotiveforkillingtheman。 Thewomanmurderedhiminmyabsence。ThewomanescapedbythewestentrancewhileIwastalkingtomymistress。Ihavenomoretosay。IsweartoyouwhatIhaveherewrittenisatruestatementofallthathappenedonthemorningofthefirstofMarch。 Accept，sir，theassuranceofmysentimentsofprofoundgratitudeandrespect。 JOSEPHRIGOBERT。 LASTLINES——ADDEDBYPERCYFAIRBANK TriedforthemurderofFrancisRaven，JosephRigobertwasfoundNotGuilty；thepapersoftheassassinatedmanpresentedampleevidenceofthedeadlyanimosityfelttowardhimbyhiswife。 Theinvestigationspursuedonthemorningwhenthecrimewascommittedshowedthatthemurderess，afterleavingthestable，hadtakenthefootpathwhichledtotheriver。Theriverwasdragged—— withoutresult。Itremainsdoubtfultothisdaywhethershediedbydrowningornot。Theonethingcertainis——thatAliciaWarlockwasneverseenagain。 So——beginninginmystery，endinginmystery——theDreamWomanpassesfromyourview。Ghost；demon；orlivinghumancreature——sayforyourselveswhichsheis。Or，knowingwhatunfathomedwondersarearoundyou，whatunfathomedwondersareINyou，letthewisewordsofthegreatestofallpoetsbeexplanationenough: “WearesuchstuffAsdreamsaremadeof，andourlittlelifeIsroundedwithasleep。“ AnonymousTheLostDuchessI “Hastheduchessreturned？“ “No，yourgrace。“ Knowlescamefartherintotheroom。Hehadaletteronasalver。 Whenthedukehadtakenit，Knowlesstilllingered。Thedukeglancedathim。 “Isananswerrequired？“ “No，yourgrace。“StillKnowleslingered。“Somethingalittlesingularhashappened。Thecarriagehasreturnedwithouttheduchess，andthemensaythattheythoughthergracewasinit。“ “Whatdoyoumean？“ “Ihardlyunderstandmyself，yourgrace。PerhapsyouwouldliketoseeBarnes。“ Barneswasthecoachman。 “Sendhimup。“WhenKnowleshadgone，andhewasalone，hisgraceshowedsignsofbeingslightlyannoyed。Helookedathiswatch。 “Itoldhershe’dbetterbeinbyfour。Shesaysthatshe’snotfeelingwell，andyetonewouldthinkthatshewasnotawareofthefatigueentailedinhavingtheprincecometodinner，andamobofpeopletofollow。Iparticularlywishedhertoliedownforacoupleofhours。“ KnowlesusheredinnotonlyBarnes，thecoachman，butMoysey，thefootman，too。Boththesepersonsseemedtobeillatease。Thedukeglancedatthemsharply。Inhisvoicetherewasasuggestionofimpatience。 “Whatisthematter？“ Barnesexplainedasbesthecould。 “Ifyouplease，yourgrace，wewaitedfortheduchessoutsideCaneandWilson’s，thedrapers。Theduchesscameout，gotintothecarriage，andMoyseyshutthedoor，andhergracesaid，’Home！’andyetwhenwegothomeshewasn’tthere。“