diana de laurebourg was a strange compound; under an appearance of the most artless simplicity she concealed an iron will, and had hidden from every one of her family, and even from her most intimate friends, her firm resolve to become the duchess of champdoce. all her rambles in the neighborhood had turned out of no avail; and as the weather was now very uncertain, it seemed as if her long strolls in the country roads and fields would soon come to an end. “the day must eventually come,” murmured she, “when this invisible prince must make his appearance.” and at last the long-expected day arrived.
it was in the middle of the month of november, and the weather was exceedingly soft and balmy for the time of year. the sky was blue, the few remaining leaves rustled on the trees, and an occasional bird whistled in the hedgerows. diana de laurebourg was walking slowly along the path leading to mussidan, when all at once she heard a rustling of branches. she turned round sharply, and all the blood in her body seemed to rush suddenly to her heart, for through an opening in the hedge she caught sight of the man who for the past two months had occupied all her waking thoughts. norbert was waiting for something with all the eagerness of a sportsman, his finger on the trigger of his gun.
here was the opportunity for which she had waited so long, and with such ill-concealed impatience; and yet she could derive no advantage from it, for what would happen? simply this: norbert would bow to her, and she would reply with a slight inclination of her head, and perhaps two months might pass away before she met him again. just as she was about to take some bold and decisive step she saw norbert raise his gun and point it in her direction. she endeavored to call out to him, but her voice failed her, and in another moment the report rang out, and she felt a sharp pang, like the touch of a red-hot iron upon her ankle. with a wild shriek she threw up her arms and fell upon the pathway. she did not lose her senses, for she heard a cry in response to her own, and the crashing of something forcing its way through the hedge. then she felt a hot breath upon her face, and then something cold and wet touched her cheek. she opened her eyes languidly, and saw bruno licking her face and hands.
at the same moment norbert dashed through the hedge and stood before her. at once she realized the advantage of her position and closed her eyes once more. norbert, as he hung over the seemingly unconscious form of this fair young creature, felt that his senses were deserting him, for he greatly feared that he had killed mademoiselle de laurebourg. his first impulse was to fly precipitately, and his second to give what aid he could to his victim. he knelt down by her, and, to his infinite relief, found that life was not extinct. he raised her beautiful head.
“speak to me, mademoiselle, i entreat you,” cried he.
all this time diana was returning thanks to kind providence for the fulfillment of her wishes. after a time she made a slight move, and norbert uttered an exclamation of joy. then, opening her beautiful eyes, she gazed upon the young man with the air of a person just awaking from a dream.
“it is i,” faltered the distracted young man. “norbert de champdoce. but forgive me, and tell me if you are in pain?”
pity came over the wounded girl. she gently drew herself away from the arm that encircled her, and said softly,—
“it is i who ought to apologize for my foolish weakness; for i am really more frightened than hurt.”
norbert felt that heaven had opened before his very eyes. “let me go for help,” exclaimed he.
“no, no; it was a mere scratch.” and, raising her skirt, she displayed a foot that might have turned a steadier head than norbert’s. “see,” said she, “it is there that i am in pain.”
and she pointed to a spot of blood upon the delicate white stocking. at the sight of this the young man’s terror increased, and he started to his feet.
“let me run to the chateau,” said he, “and in less than an hour—”
“do nothing of the kind,” interrupted the girl; “it is a mere nothing. look, i can move my foot with ease.”
“but let me entreat you—”
“hush! we shall soon see what it is that has happened.” and she inspected what she laughingly termed his terrible wound.
it was, as she had supposed, a mere nothing. one pellet had grazed the skin, another had lodged in the flesh, but it was quite on the surface.
“a surgeon must see to this,” said norbert.
“no, no.” and with the point of a penknife she pulled out the little leaden shot. the young man remained still, holding his breath, as a child does when he is putting the topmost story on a house of cards. he had never heard so soft a voice, never gazed on so perfectly lovely a face. in the meantime diana had torn up her handkerchief and bandaged the wound. “now that is over,” exclaimed she, with a light laugh, as she extended her slender fingers to norbert, so that he might assist her to rise.
as soon as she was on her feet, she took a few steps with the prettiest limp imaginable.
“are you in pain?” said he anxiously.
“no, i am not indeed; and by this evening i shall have forgotten all about it. but confess, marquis,” she added, with a coquettish laugh, “that this is a droll way of making an acquaintance.”
norbert started at the word marquis, for no one but daumon had ever addressed him thus.
“she does not despise me,” thought he.
“this little incident will be a lesson to me,” continued she. “mamma always has told me to keep to the highroad; but i preferred the by-paths because of the lovely scenery.”
norbert, for the first time in his life, realized that the view was a beautiful one.
“i am this way nearly every day,” pursued diana, “though i am very wicked to disobey my mother. i go to see poor la berven. she is dying of consumption, poor thing, and i take her a little soup and wine every now and then.”
she spoke like a real sister of mercy, and, in norbert’s opinion, wings only were lacking to transform her into a perfect angel.
“the poor woman has three children, and their father does nothing for them, for he drinks what he earns,” the young girl went on.
berven was one of the identical men to whom norbert had given his promissory note for four thousand francs, for he was one of the two men who had intrusted daumon with their savings for investment; but the young man was not in a condition to notice this. diana had meantime slung her basket on her arm.
“before i leave you to-day,” said she, “i should so much like to ask a favor of you.”
“a favor of me, mademoiselle?”
“yes; oblige me by saying nothing of what has occurred to-day to any one; for should it come to my parents’ ears, they would undoubtedly deprive me of the little liberty that they now grant me.”
“mademoiselle,” answered norbert, “be sure that i will never mention the terrible accident that my awkwardness has caused.”
“thank you, marquis,” answered the girl, with a half-mocking courtesy. “another time let me advise you, before you shoot, to look that no one is behind a hedge.”
with these words she tripped away, without her tiny feet showing any signs of lameness. she had read norbert’s heart like the pages of a book, and felt that there was every chance of her winning the game. “i am sure of it now,” said she; “i shall be the duchess of champdoce.” how grateful she felt for that untimely shot! and she felt sure that norbert had understood what she meant when she had said that she went along that path. she felt certain that the young man had not lost one word. she believed that the only opposition would come from his father. as she looked round for a moment, she saw norbert standing fixed and motionless as the trees around him.
after diana had departed, the unhappy lad felt as if she had taken half his life with her. was it all a dream? he knelt down, and, after a slight search, discovered the little pellet, the cause of all the mischief; and, taking it up carefully, returned home. to his extreme surprise, he found the main gateway wide open, and from a window he heard his father’s voice calling out in kindly accents,—
“come up quickly, my boy, for our guest has arrived.”
