Mary Imlay Taylor

“ I questioned her eagerly, and was soon assured that the dwarf was none other than the eavesdropper Homyak, and my heart sank as I divined the probable destination of the czarevna’s packet, and pictured her anger and consternation; for of course it would reach the hands of the Czarina Natalia.
While Zénaïde talked to me about the dwarf, Mademoiselle Eudoxie hovered at the door of the apartment like a frightened mother bird trying to guard the young ones from the marauder; and as soon as there was a pause, she recurred to her first exclamation. ”

“ I have always hated the grinning creature, and made a motion to shake him off. ‘How is the boyar?’ he asked eagerly; ‘He will live,’ I retorted curtly. The dwarf laughed. ‘Vladimir Sergheievitch is not as good a swordsman as I thought,’ he said. ‘It was that villain, then?’ I exclaimed too eagerly, for Homyak took alarm, and rambled off into one of his fanciful tales of which one can make nothing. The next day, before I could see my patient, Vladimir Sergheievitch Ramodanofsky appeared at the palace to announce the death of his brother, and was closeted with the czar. ”

“ Distinctly I heard Von Gaden’s name coupled with cries of “traitor” and “poison.”
“They want the physician’s life,” Zénaïde said; “I heard them, before you came, crying for him, saying that he had murdered the Czar Feodor. But come, M. le Vicomte, we have not a moment to lose.”
“Mademoiselle,” I cried in a fever of anxiety, “you cannot go, you must not go! It is dangerous—perhaps certain death—”
She stopped, and turned to look at me; her mantle had fallen back so that I could see plainly the pale, beautiful face, the brilliant light in the blue eyes. ”

“ Where is Mademoiselle Ramodanofsky?”
“Ah, that is just what I cannot tell, and you will kill me!” he wailed so abjectly that I began to believe that he really could not enlighten me. “I only know that the Boyar Vladimir had her taken away from Dr. von Gaden’s house.”
“Taken whither?” I demanded fiercely; “a lie will not save you.”
“I know no more,” he protested wildly; “if you torture me, you can learn no more.”
I looked at him coldly. “Perhaps,” I said, “you can tell me more about the mode in which Vladimir Sergheievitch learned that mademoiselle, his niece, was at Von Gaden’s house at all.” ”

“ I exclaimed, with more impatience than courtesy, “Polotsky is safe enough at my house, watched by Pierrot. They must find us here before long; but meanwhile, Zénaïde! Every minute tells! Fool that I was!”
She was more calm than I. Her previous experience had schooled her, and she looked at me sadly.
“Never trust one of these people,” she said quietly. “Vladimir Sergheievitch never had an honest servant in all the years that I have lived here teaching my poor Zénaïde. They are all thieves and rogues. A rogue never had an honest man to serve him.” ”

“ I remembered it well, and in that far country, in the upper room of a Russian boyar’s house, the perfume of the roses of Provence [Pg 59] seemed to float upon my senses; and I saw again the gray château with its graceful turrets and neat, beautiful garden, with its hedges and its terraces. Childhood passes so swiftly, and never again returns the light heart, the innocent mind! Mademoiselle Eudoxie and I looked long at each other, and my childish affection for the kindly governess awoke in a genuine regard for this faded woman. ”

“ Follow me, Monsieur Philippe; we have no time to lose.”
I protested. I grew hot at the thought of figuring before Zénaïde in petticoats and cloak, like an old woman; but they would not listen to my objections, and finally I reflected that liberty was sweet, even at the cost of a little laughter at my expense, and it was sweeter still to owe it to Zénaïde. So I was smuggled down the stairs into a little anteroom, off Mademoiselle Eudoxie’s quarters, and there left to array myself in a petticoat and hooded mantle. ”

“ She could hardly have placed me in a more awkward predicament; I saw at once that a refusal would be a deadly offense, and I had heard that Sophia’s memory was long. There was no alternative but to meet the exigency with what grace I could summon to my aid.
“It is too much honor,” I said, bowing low, and feeling that it was indeed a greater honor than I desired, “and I am sure that there can be no doubt of my readiness to serve your highness at all times.”
“Alas, M. le Vicomte,” Sophia replied with a heavy sigh, “we scarcely know where to look for true friends now. ”

“ The Kremlin was virtually in the possession of the Streltsi, and every gate strongly guarded. The scenes of blood did not end with the first day. The czarina’s brother, Peter Naryshkin, had been found in a house across the Moskva and brutally murdered, and they were clamoring for the life of Ivan Naryshkin and Dr. von Gaden. The Departments of Justice and Serfage had been attacked by the mob and rifled of their contents, the papers strewn to the winds, for it pleased the caprice of the soldiers to declare the people free. ”

“ He was the personification of the old-time Russian boyar, the adherent of Precedence, the tyrant of the serf, the aggressive autocrat. He stood there, in the shadow of the cathedral, and viewed the Moscow rabble with the reflection of the patriarch’s triumph on his face. Such men as these would never make the Czarevitch Peter’s cause popular with the masses, never pacify the wounded sensibilities of the Dissenters, or heal the troubles of the Streltsi. The old noble was the picture of combativeness and aggression, and there was, too, a sinister expression in his eyes. ”

“ Every moment that you delay adds an hour to your torture, delays just so long the blessed relief of death, which is too good for you!”
Von Gaden and I said nothing, but stood there, silent witnesses of a scene which suggested to both of us the barbarism of the Tartar. We could not doubt, looking at the Russian’s cold, composed face, that he would torture his victim if he thought that it was necessary to do so, to extract information,—would torture him as readily as he would look at him. Polotsky lay there before him, cringing like a stricken beast. ”

“ The Jew’s thoughtful face was marked with unusual emotion.
“M. de Brousson,” he said in a low voice, pointing his long finger at the Kremlin, “it will avail nothing to advance that ambitious woman. It will avail nothing to set aside the czarina dowager, to crush the Naryshkins, to excite the Streltsi, and appeal to every passion of the rabble. The future ruler of the empire is yonder: a boy now, little considered and set aside, but the ruler born, and every inch a czar. I know the lad, I can read destiny in his eye ”

“ The truth of what she said had already dawned upon me, but I could not help mademoiselle while Zénaïde was in such peril.
“As soon as you are safe,” I said, “I will go and protect Mademoiselle Eudoxie.”
But she was animated by the spirit of her race, and her womanly fears had subsided at the thought of another’s danger.
“I will go now, M. de Brousson,” she exclaimed, her eyes shining with a determined fire. “We can get out; the crowd has been drawn away from yonder gate. We cannot go back. Hear them howl about the palace! What is it that they are shouting now?” ”

“ Von Gaden smiled. “It is a strange history, but I was not wrong in my supposition,” he replied; “Vladimir did nearly murder the boyar, and did compass his ruin.”
“Undoubtedly,” I returned; “but how has he hidden him all these years?”
“It is easy to obliterate a ruined man, M. de Brousson,” replied the boyar himself, for, entering unobserved, he had overheard my question. “My life has been checkered by black misfortunes, and my identity almost destroyed by the villainy of Vladimir.” ”

“ At least, any delay would be better than marriage to-morrow with Viatscheslav!”
She threw back her head with a motion of proud disdain.
“M. de Brousson,” she said slowly, “I will never marry that man!”
Mademoiselle Eudoxie gave way to her grief and sobbed behind her handkerchief.
“She will kill herself!” she moaned; “that is the way she goes on!”
“Mademoiselle,” I said quietly, looking at Zénaïde, “a carriage is waiting in the lane; we have not much time to lose. I pray you get your cloak, and Mademoiselle Eudoxie will accompany us to Dr. von Gaden’s house.” ”

“ I had made the pilgrimage many afternoons without result, but as soon as I turned the corner of the wall that evening, I saw a white handkerchief fluttering on the window sill. Mademoiselle Eudoxie’s signal! For a moment I was taken by surprise, as we always are when we discover anything that we have looked for assiduously but without success day after day; so it was that I was not only astonished but alarmed at the sight of the signal, and was not slow to conjecture the danger which threatened Zénaïde. ”

“ I cannot bear to see her so broken down.”
“Alas, Zénaïde!” I replied gravely, “any news may be evil for her. They have never ceased to search for poor Von Gaden, and I have really little hope of his escape. It seems a miracle that he has avoided them so long.”
“The wretches!” she exclaimed, the color mounting in her cheeks. “If I were czarina of all the Russias—” she paused, seeing a smile in my eyes.
“My love,” I said smiling, “what would become of me? I felt abashed when I told the Boyar Ramodanofsky that I loved his daughter, and he has not replied to me yet. ”

“ I replied, “if I had not feared that he would raise an outcry, and so make your escape impossible.”
“He would have done so; he is a great coward,” said Zénaïde, quietly. “Besides,” she added to mademoiselle, “you would not have M. le Vicomte’s sword stained with the blood of such a toad.”
“Dead men tell no tales,” mademoiselle muttered to herself, “and I have always dreaded that man; he has an eye like a cat’s.”
“He is undoubtedly an accomplished villain, for my uncle reposes great confidence in him,” remarked Zénaïde, with a bitter little laugh. ”

“ She kissed me of her own accord and then stepped back. “Be quick, Philippe!” she cried.
The footsteps were near at hand. Even in my agony, I listened; there was but one man. If she must die, her life should cost them dear. I made a sign to her, and kept my eyes upon the door; my pistol was ready cocked. The first rioter who crossed that threshold would be a dead man. At that instant I heard a voice, a familiar voice:—
“M. de Brousson! M. le Vicomte!” it called almost at the door; and in a moment Pierrot stood before us,—Pierrot, covered with dust and blood, but stolidly respectful still. ”

“ POLOTSKY. For a few moments I stood regarding the wretch in silence. He was a picture of abject and villainous misery; knowing that he was in the hands of his most determined enemies, he fancied a fate as hideous as his own crimes. A man who has been hard and brutal to others is, in his hour of reckoning, the most abject coward on earth. Pierrot had fastened him securely in his chair, and he lay there writhing in his bonds, his face livid, and the cold sweat standing in beads on his brow. ”

“ I exclaimed impatiently. “Is it better to perish of hunger? Moreover, it must be our friends; they have been long in coming, too. Think of Zénaïde, mademoiselle, and help me to rouse them.”
Thus adjured, she went to the window, and I heard her calling for help in her thin French voice, in the intervals of the noise that I made in beating recklessly upon the door. I kept it up until I was worn out, and pausing for breath, heard steps in the hall; and in another moment the bars were removed from the outside, and the door opened, to reveal Pierrot and Von Gaden. ”

“ You must save Zénaïde if you can, and do not despise my help; I may find more means of assistance than you dream of. Where there is a will, there is a way! Therefore, be sure to inform me if any danger threatens Mademoiselle Ramodanofsky.”
I saw at once that I had impressed her; Mademoiselle Eudoxie was naturally one of those women who cling to any man as a better protector than their own wits, and she evidently had an exaggerated conception of my importance. ”

“ I was growing impatient, and made a movement to leave them; but Von Gaden laid his hand on my arm.
“A moment, M. de Brousson,” he said; and then he took the dwarf aside, and speaking to him sternly and briefly, despatched him in the direction of the palace. When he rejoined me I saw that the gloom on his face had deepened rather than disappeared.
“If you can walk home with me, M. le Vicomte,” he said gravely, “I would gladly talk a little with you. These are uncertain times, and a man must needs keep his house in order and his affairs ready, lest he be unexpectedly taken away. ”

“ I did not pause to hear more, but rushed down the stairs just as a thundering blow fell on the door, summoning us to surrender. Pierrot and the other man were in the hall, taken by surprise.
“Quick!” I cried, “the back door! Pierrot, watch here and defend the way, and you,” I said to the other, “must get out in the alley and run to the Kremlin. Tell the Czarevna Sophia that these hounds will murder the Boyar Feodor Sergheievitch Ramodanofsky and the Vicomte de Brousson.” ”

“ Vladimir smiled, measuring me with a glance which was peculiarly exasperating.
“I am entirely unprepared for your visit, M. de Brousson,” he said calmly; “singularly so, in fact, since the person from whom you say you come has been dead fifteen years. It is the first time that I have ever received an envoy from a ghost, and I find it, M. le Vicomte, rather amusing.”
“This is idle, M. Ramodanofsky,” I exclaimed impatiently; “you have more reason than any one to know that the boyar is not dead. ”