"And then Jean rubbed his hand over his chin, and looking at me very curiously, said sternly,--" 'So you have come from the Counsellor, have you? Ah, I see it all, and so shall he one of these days.' "At these words Daumon felt his knees give way under him; but all further questioning was stopped by the appearance of M.de Puymandour on his way to Champdoce.He therefore dismissed Francoise, and awaited the return of this gentleman, from whom he hoped to gain the fullest information regarding the Duke's malady.The intelligence which he received calmed him a little, and repenting of his treatment of Diana, he went and hung about the gates of the Chateau de Laurebourg, until he was lucky enough to catch sight of the girl in the garden, for her anxiety would not permit her to remain in the house.He beckoned to her, and then said,--"M.Norbert did not make the dose strong enough.The Duke is as strong as a horse; but it is all right, for should he live, he will be an idiot, and so our end is as much gained as if he had died.""But why does not Norbert write to me?" asked Diana seriously.
"Why, because he has some faint glimmerings of common sense.How do you know that he may not have half a dozen spies about him? You must wait."Diana and the Counsellor waited for a week, but Norbert made no sign.
Diana suffered agonies, and the days seemed to pass with leaden feet.
Sunday came at last.The Marchioness de Laurebourg had attended early Mass, and had given orders that her daughter should go to high Mass under the escort of her maid.Diana was highly pleased with this arrangement, for she hoped to have a chance of seeing Norbert, but she was disappointed.The Mass had commenced when she entered, but the spot occupied by the Duke and his son was vacant.She followed the service in a purely mechanical manner, and at last noticed that the priest had taken his place in the pulpit.
This was generally an exciting moment for the inhabitants of Bevron, for it was immediately before the sermon that the banns of marriage were published.The priest gazed blandly down upon the expectant crowd, coughed slightly, used his handkerchief, and finally took from his breviary a sheet of paper.
"I have," said he, "to publish the banns of marriage between----" here he made a little pause, and all the congregation were on the tenterhooks of expectation; "between," he continued, "Monsieur Louis Norbert, Marquis de Champdoce, a minor, and only legitimate son of Guillaume Caesar, Duke de Champdoce, and of his wife Isabella de Barnaville, now deceased, but who both formerly resided in this parish, and Desiree Anne Marie Palouzet, minor, and legitimate daughter of Rene Augustus Palouzet, Count de Puymandour, and of Zoe Staplet, his wife, but now deceased, also residents of this parish."This was the thunderbolt launched from the pulpit, which seemed to crush Diana into the earth, and her heart almost ceased to beat.
"Let any one," continued the priest, "who knows of any impediment to this marriage, take warning that he or she must acquaint us with it, under the penalty of excommunication.At the same time let him be warned under the same penalty to bring forward nothing in malice or without some foundation."An impediment! What irony lay veiled beneath that word.Mademoiselle de Laurebourg knew of more than one.A wild desire filled her heart to start from her seat and cry out,--"It is impossible for this marriage to take place, for that Norbert was her affianced husband in the sight of Heaven, and that he was bound to her by the strongest of all links, that of crime."But by a gigantic effort she controlled herself, and remained motionless, pallid as a spectre, but with a forced smile on her lips, and with unparalleled audacity made a little sign to one of her female friends, which plainly meant, "This is, indeed, something unexpected."All her mind was concentrated to preserve a calm and unmoved aspect.
The singing of the choir seemed to die away, the strong odor of the incense almost overpowered her, and she felt that unless the service soon came to an end, she must fall insensible from her chair.At last the priest turned again to the congregation and droned out the /Ita missa est/, and all was over.Diana grasped the arm of her maid and forced her away, without saying a word.As she reached home, a servant ran up to her with a face upon which agitation was strongly painted.
