Something softened in the prisoner's strained face. For the first time, he smiled at her with a hint of his old mischievous gaiety.
'How do you think you can help me elude the firing squad? Have you brought me a pair of wings?'
"No. You will walk out of here on your two feet, and the guards will salute you.'
Swiftly, she outlined her plan, which was of the simplest. The cardinal was to put on her cloak, drawing the hood down as far as possible and keeping his head bent, like a person in great grief. The handkerchief which had been displayed so prominently on Marianne's arrival would again be in evidence. And then when the guard came back, as he would do any minute, to tell her that the half-hour was up—But here the cardinal interrupted her indignantly.
'You mean to stay here in my place? And you believed that I would agree to it?'
'Why not? I am in no danger from a firing squad. To be sure, the Emperor won't be very pleased with me – but that does not matter very much now. We are a long way from Paris and, well, we French must hang together to some extent.'
'This is ridiculous! It can never work.'
'Why not? We are very much of a height, when I am wearing low heels. You are no fatter than I am and it is so dark in here that underneath the cloak no one will tell the difference between your black soutane and my dark dress. Godfather, I beg you, do as I say! Change clothes with me and go! You have still so much to do.'
'To do? But I have told you—'
'If I have understood you rightly, what you have to do is to repair a great injustice. You have to succour misfortune. And there is none but you to do it. That is what state secrets are for! They give life – or they take it! Go! They will be here in a moment. I swear to you that I am in no danger. Surely you know that for yourself. Believe me. Do as I tell you – or else – or else I will stay here with you and proclaim myself your accomplice!'
'No one would believe you,' he told her, laughing. 'You forget that you saved him—'
'Oh, do stop quibbling! Your life is at stake and you know that there is none dearer in the world to me.'
She had her cloak off already and with a quick movement she threw it round her godfather's shoulders, covering him completely. She was reaching up to pull the hood down over his eyes when he stopped her and caught her in his arms, kissing her very tenderly. She felt the tears wet on his cheeks.
'God bless you, my child! This day you have saved both my life and my soul. Take care of yourself. We shall meet again, for I will find you – even in America.'
She helped him hide his face under the hood of the cloak, then gave him the handkerchief and showed him how to hold it up before him. Indeed, the smoke was already beginning to thicken inside the cell and some such protection was becoming almost essential.
'Above all, remember to disguise your voice if anyone should speak to you. They did not hear mine. And pretend to be dreadfully upset. That will make a good impression. Oh—' Suddenly, she had remembered the precious trust she carried in the little wash leather bag close to her breast. 'Would you like me to give you back the diamond?'
'No. Keep it. And do exactly as I told you. It belongs to the one of whom I spoke. In four months' time, a man will come to the rue de Lille and ask you for it. You have not forgotten?'
She shook her head, then pushed him gently towards the door, on the far side of which the heavy, nailed boots of the guard could already be heard climbing the stairs.
'Take care!' she whispered again, then ran to throw herself down on the heap of straw which had been strewn for a bed in the darkest corner of the cell. She burrowed down in it as far as she could, hiding her head in it and in her folded arms, like someone in the depths of despair. There, with her heart thudding anxiously, she waited.
There was the clang of bolts being shot back. The door creaked. Then came the rough voice of the grenadier.
'Sorry, m'lady – time's up.'
He was answered by a high-pitched sob which did credit to the cardinal's dramatic talents. Then the door shut again and the footsteps died away. Even then, Marianne dared not move. Her whole being was strained, listening while she counted the interminable seconds in time to the laboured beating of her heart. At every moment she expected to hear an angry shout, sounds of a struggle, of voices calling for the guard. In her mind's eye, she followed the progress of the prisoner and his guide. Down the stairs to the first landing, the second flight and then the guardroom – and the door itself.
She breathed more easily when she heard the heavy boom as it swung to, echoing up from below. Gauthier de Chazay was outside now, but he still had to reach one of the three gates of the Kremlin unrecognized. Fortunately, to judge by the increasing gloom inside the prison, it must be even darker than before outside. It was as well the cell itself was spacious and high-ceilinged or there would have been a real risk of death by suffocation.
Marianne got up at last and paced a few steps up and down her prison. A puff of acrid smoke caught her throat and made her cough. At that she tore a piece out of her petticoat and, dipping it in the traditional pitcher of water which stood in a corner of the cell, applied it to her burning face. Her heart had been beating so wildly that she felt quite feverish but she forced herself to think calmly.
It would not be long before they came for the prisoner. What would happen then? They would scarcely do her any actual injury, being a woman, but she would be taken before the Emperor without delay and, for all her courage, she could not help shivering a little at the thought of what lay before her. It was certainly not going to be pleasant. But a man's life, Gauthier de Chazay's above all, was surely worth a little unpleasantness, even if it were to end in prison. It was as well that Jolival had made few difficulties when she disclosed her intention to him. He had even agreed to do as she asked him.
"You had better be out of the way of the Emperor's wrath,' she had told him. 'Gracchus can arrange to get you out of the Kremlin. You might go back to the Rostopchin Palace – unless the fire spreads so much that you are obliged to quit Moscow. In that case, let us agree to foregather at the first posting house on the road to Paris.'
With her mind at rest on that score she had paid scant attention to Gracchus's disapproving sniffs, merely remarking that if people could not obey her orders, they had no business in her service. Then, with the matter of her companions satisfactorily dealt with, she had been free to concentrate on the plan of escape which now seemed in a fair way to success.
The hardest part was going to be the waiting, how to get through the time that must elapse before the escape was discovered. She calculated that the time must be about midday so that, unless the Emperor should decide to evacuate the Kremlin, it might be six or seven hours before anyone entered the cell. Six or seven hours! Six or seven times eternity!
A lump settled in Marianne's throat and she felt herself a prey to the panic of a small girl locked in a dark cupboard. She wanted desperately to get it over and yet she knew that the longer she was left to endure her torment, the greater the cardinal's chances of escape. She must be patient and, if she could, keep calm.
Remembering suddenly that she had eaten nothing since the previous night, she went to the niche in the wall where stood the pitcher of water and a crust of bread. But it was her will more than her appetite that forced down a little of the dark, rock-hard bread. She knew that she must keep up her strength, yet she was not conscious of the slightest hunger. On the other hand, the smoke that was creeping into the room rasped her throat and she swallowed half the contents of the pitcher at a draught.
The heat was becoming uncomfortable and when she approached the narrow slit which did duty as a window she was horrified to see nothing but a mass of flame. The whole southern part of the city must have been on fire. The Kremlin itself might be entirely surrounded. The fire was reflected in the river so that even that seemed to be on fire.