Meantime Milady, drunk with passion, roaring on the deck like alioness that has been embarked, had been tempted to throw herselfinto the sea that she might regain the coast, for she could notget rid of the thought that she had been insulted by D'Artagnan,threatened by Athos, and that she had quit France without beingrevenged on them. This idea soon became so insupportable to herthat at the risk of whatever terrible consequences might resultto herself from it, she implored the captain to put her on shore;but the captain, eager to escape from his false position-placedbetween French and English cruisers, like the bat between themice and the birds - was in great haste to regain England, andpositively refused to obey what he took for a woman's caprice,promising his passenger, who had been particularly recommended tohim by the cardinal, to land her, if the sea and the Frenchpermitted him, at one of the ports of Brittany, either at Lorientor Brest. But the wind was contrary, the sea bad; they tackedand kept offshore. Nine days after leaving the Charente, palewith fatigue and vexation, Milady saw only the blue coasts ofFinisterre appear.

She calculated that to cross this corner of France and return tothe cardinal it would take her at least three days. Add anotherday for landing, and that would make four. Add these four to thenine others, that would be thirteen days lost - thirteen days,during which so many important events might pass in London. Shereflected likewise that the cardinal would be furious at herreturn, and consequently would be more disposed to listen to thecomplaints brought against her than to the accusations shebrought against others.

She allowed the vessel to pass Lorient and Brest withoutrepeating her request to the captain, who, on his part, took carenot to remind her of it. Milady therefore continued her voyage,and on the very day that Planchet embarked at Portsmouth forFrance, the messenger of his Eminence entered the port intriumph.

All the city was agitated by an extraordinary movement. Fourlarge vessels, recently built, had just been launched. At theend of the jetty, his clothes richly laced with gold, glittering,as was customary with him, with diamonds and precious stones, hishat ornamented with a white feather which drooped upon hisshoulder, Buckingham was seen surrounded by a staff almost asbrilliant as himself.

It was one of those rare and beautiful days in winter whenEngland remembers that there is a sun. The star of day, pale butnevertheless still splendid, was setting in the horizon,glorifying at once the heavens and the sea with bands of fire,and casting upon the towers and the old houses of the city a lastray of gold which made the windows sparkle like the reflection ofa conflagration. Breathing that sea breeze, so much moreinvigorating and balsamic as the land is approached,contemplating all the power of those preparations she wascommissioned to destroy, all the power of that army which she wasto combat alone - she, a woman with a few bags of gold - Miladycompared herself mentally to Judith, the terrible Jewess, whenshe penetrated the camp of the Assyrians and beheld the enormousmass of chariots, horses, men, and arms, which a gesture of herhand was to dissipate like a cloud of smoke.

They entered the roadstead; but as they drew near in order tocast anchor, a little cutter, looking like a coastguardformidably armed, approached the merchant vessel and dropped intothe sea a boat which directed its course to the ladder. Thisboat contained an officer, a mate, and eight rowers. The officeralone went on board, where he was received with all the deferenceinspired by the uniform.

The officer conversed a few instants with the captain, gave himseveral papers, of which he was the bearer, to read, and upon theorder of the merchant captain the whole crew of the vessel, bothpassengers and sailors, were called upon deck.

When this species of summons was made the officer inquired aloudthe point of the brig's departure, its route, its landings; andto all these questions the captain replied without difficulty andwithout hesitation. Then the officer began to pass in review allthe people, one after the other, and stopping when he came toMilady, surveyed her very closely, but without addressing asingle word to her.

He then returned to the captain, said a few words to him, and asif from that moment the vessel was under his command, he ordereda maneuver which the crew executed immediately. Then the vesselresumed its course, still escorted by the little cutter, whichsailed side by side with it, menacing it with the mouths of itssix cannon. The boat followed in the wake of the ship, a specknear the enormous mass.

During the examination of Milady by the officer, as may well beimagined, Milady on her part was not less scrutinizing in herglances. But however great was the power of this woman with eyesof flame in reading the hearts of those whose secrets she wishedto divine, she met this time with a countenance of suchimpassivity that no discovery followed her investigation. Theofficer who had stopped in front of her and studied her with somuch care might have been twenty-five or twenty-six years of age.He was of pale complexion, with clear blue eyes, rather deeplyset; his mouth, fine and well cut, remained motionless in itscorrect lines; his chin, strongly marked, denoted that strengthof will which in the ordinary Britannic type denotes mostlynothing but obstinacy; a brow a little receding, as is proper forpoets, enthusiasts, and soldiers, was scarcely shaded by shortthin hair which, like the beard which covered the lower part ofhis face, was of a beautiful deep chestnut color.

When they entered the port, it was already night. The fogincreased the darkness, and formed round the sternlights andlanterns of the jetty a circle like that which surrounds the moonwhen the weather threatens to become rainy. The air theybreathed was heavy, damp, and cold.

Milady, that woman so courageous and firm, shivered in spite ofherself.

The officer desired to have Milady's packages pointed out to him,and ordered them to be placed in the boat. When this operationwas complete, he invited her to descend by offering her his hand.

Milady looked at this man, and hesitated. "Who are you, sir,"asked she, "who has the kindness to trouble yourself soparticularly on my account?"

"You may perceive, madame, by my uniform, that I am an officer inthe English navy," replied the young man.

"But is it the custom for the officers in the English navy toplace themselves at the service of their female compatriots whenthey land in a port of Great Britain, and carry their gallantryso far as to conduct them ashore?"

"Yes, madame, it is the custom, not from gallantry but prudence,that in time of war foreigners should be conducted to particularhotels, in order that they may remain under the eye of thegovernment until full information can be obtained about them."

These words were pronounced with the most exact politeness andthe most perfect calmness. Nevertheless, they had not the powerof convincing Milady.

"But I am not a foreigner, sir," said she, with an accent as pureas ever was heard between Portsmouth and Manchester; "my name isLady Clarik, and this measure - "

"This measure is general, madame; and you will seek in vain toevade it."

"I will follow you, then, sir."

Accepting the hand of the officer, she began the descent of theladder, at the foot of which the boat waited. The officerfollowed her. A large cloak was spread at the stern; the officerrequested her to sit down upon this cloak, and placed himselfbeside her.

"Row!" said he to the sailors.

The eight oars fell at once into the sea, making but a singlesound, giving but a single stroke, and the boat seemed to flyover the surface of the water.

In five minutes they gained the land.

The officer leaped to the pier, and offered his hand to Milady.A carriage was in waiting.

"Is this carriage for us?" asked Milady.

"Yes, madame," replied the officer.

"The hotel, then, is far away?"

"At the other end of the town."

"Very well," said Milady; and she resolutely entered thecarriage.

The officer saw that the baggage was fastened carefully behindthe carriage; and this operation ended, he took his place besideMilady, and shut the door.

Immediately, without any order being given or his place ofdestination indicated, the coachman set off at a rapid pace, andplunged into the streets of the city.

So strange a reception naturally gave Milady ample matter forreflection; so seeing that the young officer did not seem at alldisposed for conversation, she reclined in her corner of thecarriage, and one after the other passed in review all thesurmises which presented themselves to her mind.

At the end of a quarter of an hour, however, surprised at thelength of the journey, she leaned forward toward the door to seewhither she was being conducted. Houses were no longer to beseen; trees appeared in the darkness like great black phantomschasing one another. Milady shuddered.

"But we are no longer in the city, sir," said she.

The young officer preserved silence.

"I beg you to understand, sir, I will go no farther unless youtell me whither you are taking me."

This threat brought no reply.

"Oh, this is too much," cried Milady. "Help! help!"

No voice replied to hers; the carriage continued to roll on withrapidity; the officer seemed a statue.

Milady looked at the officer with one of those terribleexpressions peculiar to her countenance, and which so rarelyfailed of their effect; anger made her eyes flash in thedarkness.

The young man remained immovable.

Milady tried to open the door in order to throw herself out.

"Take care, madame," said the young man, coolly, "you will killyourself in jumping."

Milady reseated herself, foaming. The officer leaned forward,looked at her in his turn, and appeared surprised to see thatface, just before so beautiful, distorted with passion and almosthideous. The artful creature at once comprehended that she wasinjuring herself by allowing him thus to read her soul; shecollected her features, and in a complaining voice said: "In thename of heaven, sir, tell me if it is to you, if it is to yourgovernment, if it is to an enemy I am to attribute the violencethat is done me?"

"No violence will be offered to you, madame, and what happens toyou is the result of a very simple measure which we are obligedto adopt with all who land in England."

"Then you don't know me, sir?"

"It is the first time I have had the honor of seeing you."

"And on your honor, you have no cause of hatred against me?"

"None, I swear to you."

There was so much serenity, coolness, mildness even, in the voiceof the young man, that Milady felt reassured.

At length after a journey of nearly an hour, the carriage stoppedbefore an iron gate, which closed an avenue leading to a castlesevere in form, massive, and isolated. Then, as the wheelsrolled over a fine gravel, Milady could hear a vast roaring,which she at once recognized as the noise of the sea dashingagainst some steep cliff.

The carriage passed under two arched gateways, and at lengthstopped in a court large, dark, and square. Almost immediatelythe door of the carriage was opened, the young man sprang lightlyout and presented his hand to Milady, who leaned upon it, and inher turn alighted with tolerable calmness.

"Still, then, I am a prisoner," said Milady, looking around her,and bringing back her eyes with a most gracious smile to theyoung officer; "but I feel assured it will not be for long,"added she. "My own conscience and your politeness, sir, are theguarantees of that."

However flattering this compliment, the officer made no reply;but drawing from his belt a little silver whistle, such asboatswains use in ships of war, he whistled three times, withthree different modulations. Immediately several men appeared,who unharnessed the smoking horses, and put the carriage into acoach house.

Then the officer, with the same calm politeness, invited hisprisoner to enter the house. She, with a still-smilingcountenance, took his arm, and passed with him under a low archeddoor, which by a vaulted passage, lighted only at the fartherend, led to a stone staircase around an angle of stone. Theythen came to a massive door, which after the introduction intothe lock of a key which the young man carried with him, turnedheavily upon its hinges, and disclosed the chamber destined forMilady.

With a single glance the prisoner took in the apartment in itsminutest details. It was a chamber whose furniture was at onceappropriate for a prisoner or a free man; and yet bars at thewindows and outside bolts at the door decided the question infavor of the prison.

In an instant all the strength of mind of this creature, thoughdrawn from the most vigorous sources, abandoned her; she sankinto a large easy chair, with her arms crossed, her head lowered,and expecting every instant to see a judge enter to interrogateher.

But no one entered except two or three marines, who brought hertrunks and packages, deposited them in a corner, and retiredwithout speaking.

The officer superintended all these details with the samecalmness Milady had constantly seen in him, never pronouncing aword himself, and making himself obeyed by a gesture of his handor a sound of his whistle.

It might have been said that between this man and his inferiorsspoken language did not exist, or had become useless.

At length Milady could hold out no longer; she broke the silence."In the name of heaven, sir," cried she, "what means all that ispassing? Put an end to my doubts; I have courage enough for anydanger I can foresee, for every misfortune which I understand.Where am I, and why am I here? If I am free, why these bars andthese doors? If I am a prisoner, what crime have I committed?"

"You are here in the apartment destined for you, madame. Ireceived orders to go and take charge of you on the sea, and toconduct you to this castle. This order I believe I haveaccomplished with all the exactness of a soldier, but also withthe courtesy of a gentleman. There terminates, at least to thepresent moment, the duty I had to fulfill toward you; the restconcerns another person."

"And who is that other person?" asked Milady, warmly. "Can younot tell me his name?"

At the moment a great jingling of spurs was heard on the stairs.Some voices passed and faded away, and the sound of a singlefootstep approached the door.

"That person is here, madame," said the officer, leaving theentrance open, and drawing himself up in an attitude of respect.

At the same time the door opened; a man appeared on thethreshold. He was without a hat, carried a sword, and flourisheda handkerchief in his hand.

Milady thought she recognized this shadow in the gloom; shesupported herself with one hand upon the arm of the chair, andadvanced her head as if to meet a certainty.

The stranger advanced slowly, and as he advanced, after enteringinto the circle of light projected by the lamp, Miladyinvoluntarily drew back.

Then when she had no longer any doubt, she cried, in a state ofstupor, "What, my brother, is it you?"

"Yes, fair lady!" replied Lord de Winter, making a bow, halfcourteous, half ironical; "it is I, myself."

"But this castle, then?"

"Is mine."

"This chamber?"

"Is yours."

"I am, then, your prisoner?"

"Nearly so."

"But this is a frightful abuse of power!"

"No high-sounding words! Let us sit down and chat quietly, asbrother and sister ought to do."

Then, turning toward the door, and seeing that the young officerwas waiting for his last orders, he said. "All is well, I thankyou; now leave us alone, Mr. Felton."