The House of the Wolf | Page 4

the highway from Cahors descends from the uplands. She
had been sitting with her face turned that way all the afternoon.
I looked that way too. A solitary horseman was descending the steep
track from the hills.
"Mademoiselle!" cried the Vidame suddenly. We all looked up. His
tone was such that the colour fled from Kit's face. There was something
in his voice she had never heard in any voice before--something that to
a woman was like a blow. "Mademoiselle," he snarled, "is expecting
news from Cahors, from her lover. I have the honour to congratulate M.
de Pavannes on his conquest."
Ah! he had guessed it! As the words fell on the sleepy silence, an insult
in themselves, I sprang to my feet, amazed and angry, yet astounded by
his quickness of sight and wit. He must have recognized the Pavannes
badge at that distance. "M. le Vidame," I said indignantly--Catherine
was white and voiceless--"M. le Vidame--" but there I stopped and
faltered stammering. For behind him I could see Croisette; and

Croisette gave me no sign of encouragement or support.
So we stood face to face for a moment; the boy and the man of the
world, the stripling and the ROUE. Then the Vidame bowed to me in
quite a new fashion. "M. Anne de Caylus desires to answer for M. de
Pavannes?" he asked smoothly; with a mocking smoothness.
I understood what he meant. But something prompted me--Croisette
said afterwards that it was a happy thought, though now I know the
crisis to have been less serious than he fancied to answer, "Nay, not for
M. de Pavannes. Rather for my cousin." And I bowed. "I have the
honour on her behalf to acknowledge your congratulations, M. le
Vidame. It pleases her that our nearest neighbour should also be the
first outside the family to wish her well. You have divined truly in
supposing that she will shortly be united to M. de Pavannes."
I suppose--for I saw the giant's colour change and his lip quiver as I
spoke--that his previous words had been only a guess. For a moment
the devil seemed to be glaring through his eyes; and he looked at Marie
and me as a wild animal at its keepers. Yet he maintained his cynical
politeness in part. "Mademoiselle desires my congratulations?" he said,
slowly, labouring with each word it seemed. "She shall have them on
the happy day. She shall certainly have them then. But these are
troublous times. And Mademoiselle's betrothed is I think a Huguenot,
and has gone to Paris. Paris--well, the air of Paris is not good for
Huguenots, I am told."
I saw Catherine shiver; indeed she was on the point of fainting, I broke
in rudely, my passion getting the better of my fears. "M. de Pavannes
can take care of himself, believe me," I said brusquely.
"Perhaps so," Bezers answered, his voice like the grating of steel on
steel. "But at any rate this will be a memorable day for Mademoiselle.
The day on which she receives her first congratulations--she will
remember it as long as she lives! Oh, yes, I will answer for that, M.
Anne," he said looking brightly at one and another of us, his eyes more
oblique than ever, "Mademoiselle will remember it, I am sure!"

It would be impossible to describe the devilish glance he flung at the
poor sinking girl as he withdrew, the horrid emphasis he threw into
those last words, the covert deadly threat they conveyed to the dullest
ears. That he went then, was small mercy. He had done all the evil he
could do at present. If his desire had been to leave fear behind him, he
had certainly succeeded.
Kit crying softly went into the house; her innocent coquetry more than
sufficiently punished already. And we three looked at one another with
blank faces, It was clear that we had made a dangerous enemy, and an
enemy at our own gates. As the Vidame had said, these were troublous
times when things were done to men--ay, and to women and
children--which we scarce dare to speak of now. "I wish the Vicomte
were here," Croisette said uneasily after we had discussed several
unpleasant contingencies.
"Or even Malines the steward," I suggested.
"He would not be much good," replied Croisette.
"And he is at St. Antonin, and will not be back this week. Father Pierre
too is at Albi."
"You do not think," said Marie, "that he will attack us?"
"Certainly not!" Croisette retorted with contempt. "Even the Vidame
would not dare to do that in time of peace. Besides, he has not half a
score of men here," continued the lad, shrewdly, "and counting old Gil
and ourselves we have as many. And Pavannes always said that