The Midnight Queen [91]
And surely you will not be so pitilessly cruel
as to draw back, now?"
"No, I have promised, and I shall perform; and let the
consequences be what they may, they will rest upon your own head.
You have been warned, and you still insist."
"I still insist!"
Then let us move farther over here into the shadow of the houses;
this moonlight is so dreadfully bright!"
They moved on into the deep shadow, and there was a pulse
throbbing in Ormiston's head and heart like the beating of a
muffed drum. They paused and faced each other silently.
"Quick, madame!" cried Ormiston, hoarsely, his whole face flushed
wildly.
His strange companion lifted her hand as if to remove the mask,
and he saw that it shook like an aspen. She made one motion as
though about to lift it, and then recoiled, as if from herself,
in a sort of horror.
"My God! What is this man urging me to do? How can I ever
fulfill that fatal promise?"
"Madame, you torture me!" said Ormiston, whose face showed what
he felt. "You must keep your promise; so do not drive me wild
waiting. Let me - "
He took a step toward her, as if to lift the mask himself, but
she held out both arms to keep him off.
"No, no, no! Come not near me, Malcolm Ormiston! Fated man,
since you will rush on your doom, Look! and let the sight blast
you, if it will!"
She unfastened her mask, raised it, and with it the profusion of
long, sweeping black hair.
Ormiston did look - in much the same way, perhaps, that Zulinka
looked at the Veiled Prophet. The next moment there was a
terrible cry, and he fell headlong with a crash, as if a bullet
had whined through his hart.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE INTERVIEW.
I am not aware whether fainting was as much the fashion among the
fair sex, in the days (or rather the nights) of which I have the
honor to hold forth, as at the present time; but I am inclined to
think not, from the simple fact that Leoline, though like John
Bunyan, "grievously troubled and tossed about in her mind," did
nothing of the kind. For the first few moments, she was
altogether too stunned by the suddenness of the shock to cry out
or make the least resistance, and was conscious of nothing but of
being rapidly borne along in somebody's arms. When this hazy
view of things passed away, her new sensation was, the intensely
uncomfortable one of being on the verge of suffocation. She made
one frantic but futile effort to free herself and scream for
help, but the strong arms held her with most loving tightness,
and her cry was drowned in the hot atmosphere within the shawl,
and never passed beyond it. Most assuredly Leoline would have
been smothered then and there, had their journey been much
longer; but, fortunately for her, it was only the few yards
between her house and the river. She knew she was then carried
down some steps, and she heard the dip of the oars in the water,
and then her bearer paused, and went through a short dialogue
with somebody else - with Count L'Estrange, she rather felt than
knew, for nothing was audible but a low murmur. The only word
she could make out was a low, emphatic "Remember!" in the count's
voice, and then she knew she was in a boat, and that it was
shoved off, and moving down the rapid river. The feeling of heat
and suffocation was dreadful and as her abductor placed her on
some cushions, she made another desperate but feeble effort to
free herself from the smothering shawl, but a hand was laid
lightly on hers, and a voice interposed.
"Lady, it is quite useless for you to struggle, as you are
irrevocably in my power, but if you will promise faithfully not
to make any outcry, and will submit to be blindfolded, I shall
remove this oppressive muffling from your head. Tell me if you
will promise."
He had partly raised the shawl, and a gush of free air came
revivingly in, and
as to draw back, now?"
"No, I have promised, and I shall perform; and let the
consequences be what they may, they will rest upon your own head.
You have been warned, and you still insist."
"I still insist!"
Then let us move farther over here into the shadow of the houses;
this moonlight is so dreadfully bright!"
They moved on into the deep shadow, and there was a pulse
throbbing in Ormiston's head and heart like the beating of a
muffed drum. They paused and faced each other silently.
"Quick, madame!" cried Ormiston, hoarsely, his whole face flushed
wildly.
His strange companion lifted her hand as if to remove the mask,
and he saw that it shook like an aspen. She made one motion as
though about to lift it, and then recoiled, as if from herself,
in a sort of horror.
"My God! What is this man urging me to do? How can I ever
fulfill that fatal promise?"
"Madame, you torture me!" said Ormiston, whose face showed what
he felt. "You must keep your promise; so do not drive me wild
waiting. Let me - "
He took a step toward her, as if to lift the mask himself, but
she held out both arms to keep him off.
"No, no, no! Come not near me, Malcolm Ormiston! Fated man,
since you will rush on your doom, Look! and let the sight blast
you, if it will!"
She unfastened her mask, raised it, and with it the profusion of
long, sweeping black hair.
Ormiston did look - in much the same way, perhaps, that Zulinka
looked at the Veiled Prophet. The next moment there was a
terrible cry, and he fell headlong with a crash, as if a bullet
had whined through his hart.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE INTERVIEW.
I am not aware whether fainting was as much the fashion among the
fair sex, in the days (or rather the nights) of which I have the
honor to hold forth, as at the present time; but I am inclined to
think not, from the simple fact that Leoline, though like John
Bunyan, "grievously troubled and tossed about in her mind," did
nothing of the kind. For the first few moments, she was
altogether too stunned by the suddenness of the shock to cry out
or make the least resistance, and was conscious of nothing but of
being rapidly borne along in somebody's arms. When this hazy
view of things passed away, her new sensation was, the intensely
uncomfortable one of being on the verge of suffocation. She made
one frantic but futile effort to free herself and scream for
help, but the strong arms held her with most loving tightness,
and her cry was drowned in the hot atmosphere within the shawl,
and never passed beyond it. Most assuredly Leoline would have
been smothered then and there, had their journey been much
longer; but, fortunately for her, it was only the few yards
between her house and the river. She knew she was then carried
down some steps, and she heard the dip of the oars in the water,
and then her bearer paused, and went through a short dialogue
with somebody else - with Count L'Estrange, she rather felt than
knew, for nothing was audible but a low murmur. The only word
she could make out was a low, emphatic "Remember!" in the count's
voice, and then she knew she was in a boat, and that it was
shoved off, and moving down the rapid river. The feeling of heat
and suffocation was dreadful and as her abductor placed her on
some cushions, she made another desperate but feeble effort to
free herself from the smothering shawl, but a hand was laid
lightly on hers, and a voice interposed.
"Lady, it is quite useless for you to struggle, as you are
irrevocably in my power, but if you will promise faithfully not
to make any outcry, and will submit to be blindfolded, I shall
remove this oppressive muffling from your head. Tell me if you
will promise."
He had partly raised the shawl, and a gush of free air came
revivingly in, and