He looked up and
beheld Rougemont, who, glancing over his shoulder, fixed his malignant
gaze upon him. Retreat was now impossible. "You thought to delude me," said Rougemont, in a deep whisper, audible
only to Auriol; "but you counted without your host. I am come to claim
my victim." "What is the matter with you, that you tremble so, dear Auriol?" cried
Edith. "Who is this strange person?" But her husband returned no answer. Terror had taken away his power of
utterance. "Your carriage waits for you at the door, madam--all is prepared," said
Rougemont, advancing towards her, and taking her hand. "You are coming, Auriol?" cried Edith, who scarcely knew whether to draw
back or go forward. "Yes--yes," cried Auriol, who fancied he saw a means of escape. "This is
my friend, Mr. Rougemont--go with him." "Mr. Rougemont!" cried Edith. "You told my father he would not be here." "Your husband did not invite me, madam," said Rougemont, with sarcastic
emphasis; "but knowing I should be welcome, I came unasked. But let us
avoid those persons." In another moment they were at the door. The carriage was there with its
four horses, and a man-servant, in travelling attire, stood beside the
steps. Reassured by the sight, Auriol recovered his courage, and
suffered Rougemont to throw a cloak over Edith's shoulders. The next
moment she tripped up the steps of the carriage, and was ensconced
within it. Auriol was about to follow her, when he received a violent
blow on the chest, which stretched him on the pavement. Before he could
regain his feet, Rougemont had sprung into the carriage. The steps were
instantly put up by the man-servant, who mounted the box with the utmost
celerity, while the postillions, plunging spurs into their horses,
dashed off with lightning speed. As the carriage turned the corner of
King Street, Auriol, who had just arisen, beheld, by the light of a
lamp, Rougemont's face at the window of the carriage, charged with an
expression of the most fiendish triumph. "What is the matter?" cried Mr. Talbot, who had approached Auriol, "I
came to bid you good-bye. Why do I find you here alone? Where is the
carriage?--what has become of Edith?" "She is in the power of the Fiend, and I have sold her to him," replied
Auriol gloomily. "What mean you, wretch?" cried Mr. Talbot, in a voice of distraction. "I
heard that Cyprian Rougemont was here. Can it be he that has gone off
with her?" "You have hit the truth," replied Auriol. "He bought her with the money
I gave you. I have sold her and myself to perdition!" "Horror!" exclaimed the old man, falling backwards. "Ay, breathe your last--breathe your last!" cried Auriol wildly. "Would
I could yield up my life, likewise!" And he hurried away, utterly unconscious whither he went. END OF THE INTERMEAN




BOOK THE SECOND

_CYPRIAN ROUGEMONT_




CHAPTER I

THE CELL


Mr. Thorneycroft and his companions had scarcely gained a passage in the
deserted house, which they had entered in the manner described in a
previous chapter, when they were alarmed by the sudden and furious
ringing of a bell overhead. The noise brought them instantly to a halt,
and each man grasped his arms in expectation of an attack, but the peal
ceasing in a few moments, and all continuing quiet, they moved on as
before, and presently reached a large hall with a lofty window over the
door, which, being without shutters, afforded light enough to reveal the
dilapidated condition of the mansion. From this hall four side doors opened, apparently communicating with
different chambers, three of which were cautiously tried by Reeks, but
they proved to be fastened. The fourth, however, yielded to his touch,
and admitted them to a chamber, which seemed to have been recently
occupied, for a lamp was burning within it. The walls were panelled with
dusky oak, and hung at the lower end with tapestry, representing the
Assyrian monarch Ninus, and his captive Zoroaster, King of the
Bactrians. The chief furniture consisted of three large high-backed and
grotesquely-carved arm-chairs, near one of which stood a powerful
electrical machine. Squares and circles were traced upon the floor, and
here and there were scattered cups and balls, and other matters
apparently belonging to a conjuring apparatus. The room might be the retreat of a man of science, or it might be the
repository of a juggler. But whoever its occupant was, and whatsoever
his pursuits, the good things of the world were not altogether neglected
by him, as was proved by a table spread with viands, and furnished with
glasses, together with a couple of taper-necked bottles. While glancing upwards, Mr. Thorneycroft remarked that just above each
chair the ceiling was pierced with a round hole, the meaning of which he
could not at the time comprehend, though after circumstances
sufficiently explained it to him. "A singular room," he observed to Reeks, on concluding his survey. "Did
you expect to find any one here?" "I hardly know," replied the other. "That bell may have given the alarm. But I will soon ascertain the point. Remain here till I return." "You are not going to leave us?" rejoined Mr. Thorneycroft uneasily. "Only for a moment," said Reeks. "Keep quiet, and no harm will befall
you. Whatever you may hear without, do not stir." "What are we likely to hear?" asked Thorneycroft with increasing
trepidation. "That's impossible to say," answered Reeks; "but I warn you not to cry
out unnecessarily, as such an imprudence would endanger our safety." "You are quite sure you don't mean to abandon us?" persisted
Thorneycroft. "Make yourself easy; I have no such intention," rejoined Reeks sternly. "Oh! ve'll take care on you, don't be afeerd, old gent," said Ginger. "Yes, ve'll take care on you," added the Tinker and the Sandman. "You may depend upon them as upon me, sir," said Reeks. "Before we
explore the subterranean apartments, I wish to see whether any one is
up-stairs." "Wot's that you say about subterranean apartments, Mr. Reeks?" interposed Ginger. "Ve ain't a-goin' below, eh?" But without paying any attention to the inquiry, Reeks quitted the room,
and closed the door carefully after him. He next crossed the hall, and
cautiously ascending a staircase at the farther end of it, reached the
landing-place. Beyond it was a gallery, from which several chambers
opened. Advancing a few paces, he listened intently, and hearing a slight sound
in an apartment to the right, he stepped softly towards it, and placing
his eye to the keyhole, beheld a tall man, dressed in black, pacing to
and fro with rapid strides, while three other persons, wrapped in sable
gowns, and disguised with hideous masks, stood silent and motionless at
a little distance from him. In the tall man he recognised Cyprian
Rougemont. Upon a table in the middle of the room was laid a large open
volume, bound in black vellum. Near it stood a lamp, which served to
illumine the scene.