She walked away slowly, holding herself erect under the threat of the revolver.
"Don't kill her, mother, will you?" whispered Francois, suspecting the contest in his mother's mind.
Veronique seemed to wake from a dream:
"No, no," she replied, "don't be afraid… And yet perhaps I ought to…"
"Oh, please let her be, mother, and let us go away."
She lifted him in her arms, even before the woman was out of sight, pressed him to her and carried him to the cell as though he weighed no more than a little child.
"Mother, mother," he said.
"Yes, darling, your own mother; and no one shall take you from me again, that I swear to you."
Without troubling about the wounds inflicted by the stone she slipped, this time almost at the first attempt, through the gap made by Francois, drew him after her and then, but not before, released him from his bonds.
"There is no danger here," she said, "at least for the moment, because they can hardly get at us except by the cell and I shall be able to defend the entrance."
Mother and son exchanged the fondest of embraces. There was now no barrier to part their[Pg 187] lips and their arms. They could see each other, could gaze into each other's eyes.
"How handsome you are, my darling!" said Veronique.
She saw no resemblance between him and the boy murderer and was astonished that Honorine could have taken one for the other. And she felt as if she would never weary of admiring the breeding, the frankness and the sweetness which she read in his face.
"And you, mother," he said, "do you think that I ever pictured a mother as beautiful as you? No, not even in my dreams, when you seemed as lovely as a fairy. And yet Stephane often used to tell me…"
She interrupted him:
"We must hurry, dearest, and take refuge from their pursuit. We must go."
"Yes," he said, "and above all we must leave Sarek. I have invented a plan of escape which is bound to succeed. But, first of all, Stephane: what has become of him? I heard the sound of which I spoke to you underneath my cell and I fear…"
She dragged him along by the hand, without answering his question:
"I have many things to tell you, darling, painful things which I must no longer keep from you. But presently will do… For the moment we must take refuge in the Priory. That woman will go in search of help and come after us."
"But she was not alone, mother, when she entered my cell suddenly and caught me in the act of digging at the wall. There was some one with her."
[Pg 188]"A boy, wasn't it? A boy of your own size?"
"I could hardly see. He and the woman fell upon me, bound me and carried me into the passage. Then the woman left me for a moment and he went back to the cell. He therefore knows about this tunnel by now and about the exit in the Priory grounds."
"Yes, I know. But we shall easily get the better of him; and we'll block up the exit."
"But there remains the bridge which joins the two islands," Francois objected.
"No," she said, "I burnt it down and the Priory is absolutely cut off."
They were walking very quickly, Veronique pressing her pace, Francois a little anxious at the words spoken by his mother.
"Yes, yes," he said, "I see that there is a good deal which I don't know and which you have kept from me, mother, in order not to frighten me. For instance, when you burnt down the bridge… It was with the petrol set aside for the purpose, wasn't it, and as arranged with Maguennoc in case of danger? So you were threatened too; and the first attack was made on you, mother?… And then there was something that woman said with such a hateful look on her face!… And then… and then, above all, what has become of Stephane? They were whispering about him just now in my cell… All this worries me… Then again I don't see the ladder which you brought…"
"Please, dearest, don't let us wait a moment. The woman will have found assistance…"
The boy stopped short:
[Pg 189]"Mother."
"What? Do you hear anything?"
"Some one walking."
"Are you sure?"
"Some one coming this way."
"Oh," she said, in a hollow voice, "it's the murderer coming back from the Priory!"
She felt her revolver and prepared herself for anything that might happen. But suddenly she pushed Francois towards a dark corner on her left, formed by the entry to one of those tunnels, probably blocked, which she had noticed when she came.
"Get in there," she said. "We shall be all right here: he will not see us."
The sound approached.
"Stand well back," she said, "and don't stir."
The boy whispered:
"What's that in your hand? A revolver? Mother, you're not going to fire?"
"I ought to, I ought to," said Veronique. "He's such a monster!… It's as with his mother… I ought to have… we shall perhaps regret it." And she added, almost unconsciously, "He killed your grandfather."
"Oh, mother, mother!"
She supported him, to prevent his falling, and amid the silence she heard the boy sobbing on her breast and stammering:
"Never mind… don't fire, mother…"
"Here he comes, darling, here he comes; look at him."
The other passed. He was walking slowly, a little bent, listening for the least sound. He appeared to Veronique to be the exact same size as[Pg 190] her son; and this time, when she looked at him with more attention, she was not so much surprised that Honorine and M. d'Hergemont had been taken in, for there were really some points of resemblance, which would have been accentuated by the fact that he was wearing the red cap stolen from Francois.
He walked on.
"Do you know him?" asked Veronique.
"No, mother."
"Are you sure that you never saw him?"
"Sure."
"And it was he who fell upon you, with the woman, in your cell?"
"I haven't a doubt of it, mother. He even hit me in the face, for no reason, with absolute hatred."
"Oh," she said, "this is all incomprehensible! When shall we escape this awful nightmare?"
"Quick, mother, the road's clear. Let's make the most of it."
On returning to the light, she saw that he was very pale and felt his hand in hers like a lump of ice. Nevertheless he looked up at her with a smile of happiness.
They set out again; and soon, after passing the strip of cliff that joined the two islands and climbing the staircases, they emerged in the open air, to the right of Maguennoc's garden. The daylight was beginning to wane.
"We are saved," said Veronique.
"Yes," replied the boy, "but only on condition that they cannot reach us by the same road. We shall have to bar it, therefore."
"How?"
[Pg 191]"Wait for me here; I'll go and fetch some tools at the Priory."
"Oh, don't let us leave each other, Francois!"
"You can come with me, mother."
"And suppose the enemy arrives in the meantime? No, we must defend this outlet."
"Then help me, mother."
A rapid inspection showed them that one of the two stones which formed a roof above the entrance was not very firmly rooted in its place. They found no difficulty in first shifting and then clearing it. The stone fell across the staircase and was at once covered by an avalanche of earth and pebbles which made the passage, if not impracticable, at least very hard to manage.
"All the more so," said Francois, "as we shall stay here until we are able to carry out my plan. And be easy, mother; it's a sound scheme and we have nearly managed it."
For that matter, they recognized above all, that rest was essential. They were both of them worn out.
"Lie down, mother… look, just here: there's a bed of moss under this overhanging rock which makes a regular nest. You'll be as cosy as a queen there and sheltered from the cold."
"Oh, my darling, my darling!" murmured Veronique, overcome with happiness.