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Page 30
There was a long and painful silence, only broken at last by these words
in a low voice:--
"Let God's will be done!"
And with downcast eyes she withdrew.
The day after this scene, about eight in the morning, I was pacing up and
down in Hugh Lupus's tower, thinking of the count's illness, of which I
could not foretell the issue--and I was thinking too of my patients at
Fribourg, whom I might lose by too prolonged an absence--when three
discreet taps upon my door turned my thoughts into another channel.
"Come in!"
The door opened, and Marie Lagoutte stood within, dropping me a low
curtsey.
This old dame's visit put me out, and I was going to beg her to postpone
her visit, when something mysterious in her countenance caught my
attention. She had thrown over her shoulders a red-and-green shawl;
she was biting her lips, with her head down, and as soon as she had
closed the door she opened it again, and peeped out, to make sure that
no one had followed her.
"What does she want with me?" I thought; "what is the meaning of all
these precautions?"
And I was quite puzzled.
"Monsieur le Docteur," said the worthy lady, advancing towards me, "I beg
your pardon for disturbing you so early in the morning, but I have a very
serious thing to tell you."
"Pray tell me all about it, then."
"It is the count."
"Indeed!"
"Yes, sir; you know that I sat up with him last night."
"I know. Pray sit down."
She sat before me in a great arm-chair, and I could not help noticing the
energetic character of her head, which on the evening of my arrival at
the castle had only seemed to me grotesque.
"Doctor," she resumed after a short pause and with her dark eyes upon me,
"you know I am not timid or easily frightened. I have seen so many
dreadful things in the course of my life that I am astonished at nothing
now. When you have seen Marengo, Austerlitz, and Moscow, there is nothing
left that can put you out."
"I am sure of that, ma'am."
"I don't want to boast; that is not my reason for telling you this; but
it is to show you that I am not an escaped lunatic, and that you may
believe me when I tell you what I say I have seen."
This was becoming interesting.
"Well," the good woman resumed, "last night, between nine and ten, just
as I was going to bed, Offenloch came in and said to me, 'Marie, you will
have to sit up with the count to-night.' At first I felt surprised.
'What! is not mademoiselle going to sit up?' 'No, mademoiselle is poorly,
and you will have to take her place.' Poor girl, she is ill; I knew that
would be the end of it, I told her so a hundred times; but it is always
so. Young people won't believe those who are older; and then, it is her
Father. So I took my knitting, said good night to Tobias, and went into
monseigneur's room. Sperver was there waiting for me, and went to bed; so
there I was, all alone."
Here the good woman stopped a moment, indulged in a pinch of snuff, and
tried to arrange her thoughts. I listened with eager attention for what
was coming.
"About half-past ten," she went on, "I was sitting near the bed, and from
time to time drew the curtain to see what the count was doing; he made no
movement; he was sleeping as quietly as a child. It was all right until
eleven o'clock, then I began to feel tired. An old woman, sir, cannot
help herself--she must drop off to sleep in spite of everything. I did
not think anything was going to happen, and I said to myself, 'He is sure
to sleep till daylight.' About twelve the wind went down; the big windows
had been rattling, but now they were quiet. I got up to see if anything
was stirring outside. It was all as black as ink; so I came back to my
arm-chair. I took another look at the patient; I saw that he had not
stirred an inch, and I took up my knitting; but in a few minutes more I
began nodding, nodding, and I dropped right off to sleep. I could not
help it, the arm-chair was so soft and the room was so warm, who could
have helped it? I had been asleep an hour, I suppose, when a sharp
current of wind woke me up. I opened my eyes, and what do you think I
saw? The tall middle window was wide open, the curtains were drawn, and
there in the opening stood the count in his white night-dress, right on
the window-sill."
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