Prince Zaleski | Page 4

I was
pleased, but answered:
'The point is unimportant; and there really is no accounting for the
vagaries of such a man. He wished, I imagine, to give some idea to the
young illiterates of the simple laws of motion and force. But now I
come to a new character in the drama--the chief character of all. One
day a woman presented herself at Orven Hall and demanded to see its
owner. She spoke English with a strong French accent. Though
approaching middle life she was still beautiful, having wild black eyes,
and creamy pale face. Her dress was tawdry, cheap, and loud, showing
signs of wear; her hair was unkempt; her manners were not the manners
of a lady. A certain vehemence, exasperation, unrepose distinguished
all she said and did. The footman refused her admission; Lord Pharanx,
he said, was invisible. She persisted violently, pushed past him, and
had to be forcibly ejected; during all which the voice of the master was

heard roaring from the passage red-eyed remonstrance at the unusual
noise. She went away gesticulating wildly, and vowing vengeance on
Lord Pharanx and all the world. It was afterwards found that she had
taken up her abode in one of the neighbouring hamlets, called Lee.
'This person, who gave the name of Maude Cibras, subsequently called
at the Hall three times in succession, and was each time refused
admittance. It was now, however, thought advisable to inform
Randolph of her visits. He said she might be permitted to see him, if
she returned. This she did on the next day, and had a long interview in
private with him. Her voice was heard raised as if in angry protest by
one Hester Dyett, a servant of the house, while Randolph in low tones
seemed to try to soothe her. The conversation was in French, and no
word could be made out. She passed out at length, tossing her head
jauntily, and smiling a vulgar triumph at the footman who had before
opposed her ingress. She was never known to seek admission to the
house again.
'But her connection with its inmates did not cease. The same Hester
asserts that one night, coming home late through the park, she saw two
persons conversing on a bench beneath the trees, crept behind some
bushes, and discovered that they were the strange woman and Randolph.
The same servant bears evidence to tracking them to other
meeting-places, and to finding in the letter-bag letters addressed to
Maude Cibras in Randolph's hand-writing. One of these was actually
unearthed later on. Indeed, so engrossing did the intercourse become,
that it seems even to have interfered with the outburst of radical zeal in
the new political convert. The _rendezvous_--always held under cover
of darkness, but naked and open to the eye of the watchful
Hester--sometimes clashed with the science lectures, when these latter
would be put off, so that they became gradually fewer, and then almost
ceased.'
'Your narrative becomes unexpectedly interesting,' said Zaleski; 'but
this unearthed letter of Randolph's--what was in it?'
I read as follows:

'"Dear Mdlle. Cibras,--I am exerting my utmost influence for you with
my father. But he shows no signs of coming round as yet. If I could
only induce him to see you! But he is, as you know, a person of
unrelenting will, and meanwhile you must confide in my loyal efforts
on your behalf. At the same time, I admit that the situation is a
precarious one: you are, I am sure, well provided for in the present will
of Lord Pharanx, but he is on the point--within, say, three or four
days--of making another; and exasperated as he is at your appearance in
England, I know there is no chance of your receiving a centime under
the new will. Before then, however, we must hope that something
favourable to you may happen; and in the meantime, let me implore
you not to let your only too just resentment pass beyond the bounds of
reason.
"Sincerely yours,
"RANDOLPH."'
'I like the letter!' cried Zaleski. 'You notice the tone of manly candour.
But the _facts_--were they true? Did the earl make a new will in the
time specified?'
'No,--but that may have been because his death intervened.'
'And in the old will, was Mdlle. Cibras provided for?'
'Yes,--that at least was correct.'
A shadow of pain passed over his face.
'And now,' I went on, 'I come to the closing scene, in which one of
England's foremost men perished by the act of an obscure assassin. The
letter I have read was written to Maude Cibras on the 5th of January.
The next thing that happens is on the 6th, when Lord Pharanx left his
room for another during the whole day, and a skilled mechanic was
introduced into