"I have no means of convincing you. Of course, mere assertion is no proof. If you will trust me, well and good; if you will not-good night."
It is very questionable, indeed, if I would have gone had the lady echoed my "good night": but she did not put me to that trial, for she said, "I will trust you-follow me. I will lead you into the house by a way that will enable you to reach my bed-room. Once there, I must leave it to your own ingenuity to frighten my husband; who, I think, will now abandon his attempt upon my life for tonight, but who, if he be not well terrified, may renew it on another occasion."
"Take me where you will," said I; "I will obey your orders and you will find your confidence not at all misplaced."
The lady took me by the hand and led me into the house and through several rooms until she came to one in which she left me for a moment or two, saying, "Be not impatient; I will soon return to you."
The room was profoundly dark; but in the course of a few moments I saw a dim light coming through a crevice of a door leading into some other apartment; but before I could make up my mind whether to go towards it or to stay where I was, it opened and the lady made her appearance.
"This way," she said, "this way."
I sprang after her, and in a moment more found myself in a very handsome room fitted up as a sleeping chamber. The general appointments of the place were really superb; and it was quite evident that some more refined taste than that of the jealous husband-or probably than that of the lady, who may or who may not have given
him cause for such jealousy-had at one time presided over the appointments of that room.
"A handsome chamber," said I.
"Hush!" cried the lady. "Hide yourself in that wardrobe. He will be here shortly. Hide yourself at once; and remember that I leave all to your discretion."
"You may, indeed, safely do so."
"I hope I may."
She pushed me into the wardrobe, and scarcely had the door been closed upon me before the husband entered the room. The tone of his voice was very much subdued as he said, "Madam, you must know as well as I that the appearance in the garden was all a delusion. It was only some man who had chanced to overhear what was going on between us."
"I should be very sorry," said the lady, affecting to shudder, "to think that he was really what he said he was; but you ought to know best."
"I! How should I know?"
"Why, you must be probably aware that jealous people are generally waited upon by something from that place which it is as well not to mention; but as you stooped to the contemplation of actual murder it is not very hard for one to think that the evil spirit himself may have thought proper to appear to you."
"Stuff-stuff!"
"Very well."
"I have no sort of fear of the-the-"
"The what? Why do you hesitate to pronounce his name, if you have no fear of him."
"Because I think it is just as well not to be too familiar with such names, madam, in ordinary discourse. That is the reason, however you may be inclined to attach some other to it. Therefore, I particularly desire that you drop the conversation and come to bed at once. I am willing, if your conduct for the future is what it ought to be, to forget the past."
"You will?"
"Yes; I say I am willing to do so, only you must never again speak to Lord A., or the Major, or, or-in fact, I will give you a list of people you must not speak to on any account."
"But will not that look very awkward in society?"
"Society be hanged, madam. Do you want to drive me mad with your woman's answers!"
The husband by this time had got into bed, and the lady having leisurely disrobed herself and having exhibited to my delighted eyes each single charm of a form as lovely as her face, proceeded to put on a very elegant nightgown trimmed with rich lace, and in the quietest manner in the world slipped into the bed likewise, saying, "Shall I leave the light?"
"Yes, leave it, confound you. What a life you lead me with your dancing and your flirting and your-Hulloa! what's that! Why the light has gone out."
I had found a pair of silk stockings in the wardrobe, nicely knotted together, and I had thrown them with so good an aim at the candle that they at once extinguished it.
"It's very extraordinary," said the lady, "for it was a whole candle as you yourself saw."
"Yes-yes," stammered the husband. "I–I can't at all make it out, my love."
"Don't my love me, sir. By your violence and your threats you have brought the devil on the premises, and now heaven only knows when we shall get rid of him again."
"But, my dear-Good God, you don't really think, or really mean to say that-that-"
"Yes, I do; and shouldn't at all wonder if I was to be smothered with sulphur before the morning. Oh, you have much to answer for, and if the devil-"
"Hush! Good gracious. Hush, don't mention him, I beg of you. If anything more than another will be likely to- the Lord have mercy upon us, did you hear that?"
I had given utterance to a hideous growl from the wardrobe and so ghostly and horrible had I made the sound that even the lady herself could not help giving a slight start of alarm.
"Mercy?" said the husband. "I begin to think he is here, I begin to feel sure. Oh, wife-wife, by your conduct you see you have raised the thingummy."
"I? You mean yourself, by your conduct. Did you not in the garden actually say such things that the enemy of mankind thought proper to make his appearance to us! There it is again!"
I gave another groan more hideous than the first, and the husband was so alarmed that, forgetting all his caution about not mentioning that name which is not usually mentioned to ears polite, he cried, "The devil! the devil! Oh, the devil is here and we are lost-lost-lost! Help!
Help! Murder! The devil is here. He is here, I know. Speak to him, wife, and ask him what he wants."
"What do you want?" said the wife in an affected, trembling voice, "oh, what do you want here?"
"My due," said I.
"And good Mr. D., what may that be?"
"A groundlessly jealous husband. A man who, because his wife is fair and pleasant, must, forsooth, fancy her criminal. Such is the man I want."
"Merciful Providence," said the husband, "that is me."
"It is," said I; "are you prepared?"
"No, I am not. I am quite the reverse of prepared; I don't want to be jealous any more. I am cured-most effectually cured. Say no more to me, I beg. I am not the man I was. I will no more threaten my wife."
"But yet, as a token, it is necessary that I should hold your hand in mine for a moment. One moment will suffice. Your hand will turn perfectly black, so that whenever you look at it the memory of my visit should be with you."
"Oh, no-no-no."
"It must be. I come-I come-I come."
As I took good care to make my advance quite manifest as regarded the side of the bed I was upon, the husband, whose fears had almost worked him into madness, sprang out at the other side and with a yell of horror darted from the room.
"A thousand thanks," said the lady. "I do think you have made an impression upon him, that he will never in this world forget. I owe you very much."
"But he will be back again?"
"Certainly not; I make no doubt but that he will lock himself up in his study for the remainder of the night; and the discomfort he will there experience will be a proper punishment for his conduct towards me."
"I quite agree with you, my dear madam. He will be cold and uncomfortable in the study as a punishment, while I shall be warm and snug in his bed as a reward."
"Sir!"
It was very dark, but I succeeded in stopping her mouth with a kiss, then I whispered, "Do you think I could be insensible to your beauty?
Ah, no; what I have done has been done for the love I bear towards you."