Anna-Elizabeth de Ramsay
Anti-perfume
The Story of an Investigation
Dedicated to Alan Rickman in hopes that he will play a leading part in movie “Anti-perfume”.
;
My name is Antoine-Alain R… . My surname is not important. My family, my house – everything remained in the past. My family business… Everything in the past. My daughter, killed by that monster, as well as dozens of other innocent girls, also remained in the past. However, even if they werenot innocent… I must tell what really happened on the square of Gr… instead of the execution that did not take place.
Yes, I heard and read all this rather poetic nonsense about victory of Evil over the souls of the human beings, about power of the intoxicating perfumes over people, and since then has acquired strong antipathy to perfumery, which since that miserable day brings me to a pitifully distressed state. It would have been a different matter, if it were only nosebleed, but when one standing on the firm ground feels himself/herself as if he/she were standing on a deck of a ship floating in an ocean and … let us leave the details for doctors.
I swear that would have killed him.
I was able in mind among hundreds of people that got drunk with his devilish aroma, which forced people to make unreal and dishonorable actions.
Making my way to the scaffold with a bare sword in my hands, to that Evil with a nimbus of scents of innocence, feeling how blood was beating down out of my nose, and stronger and stronger sense of dizziness, I could see not only naked people, who were madly tearing off their clothes turning to debauchery in the middle of the square, but also people dying from suffocation, tearing their throats apart with their nails in order to smell, people, who, like me, were choking with blood running from their noses, saw strong and stout cantinieres vomiting with bile, and terrible convulsions and a face of a child turning blue at the breast of his mother, who was trying to pass by the square as soon as possible, because the scene of execution was not for the eyes of a child …
I am sure that I wounded him, left a mark on him, I saw blood on my sword!.. Before everything got dark…
I cannot tell you how long the nightmares were,interrupted with bright flashes of light and bodies of killed girls with cut off hair, which that monster turned to the sticky spider web that did not allow me to breath.
When I regained conscience, the bright light, that was painfully digging into my brain, turned out to be a soft light of a candle burning nearmy bed, and scents in the room were quite usual, although not very pleasant – scents of vomit and old sweat.
A nurse was sleeping on a bench glowering, the windows were covered with curtains, but a day light was making its way through them.
I put on some clothes trying to fight with dizziness and came out to the yard, and with a blissful sigh sat on the garden bench.
“My Lord!”
An old servant rushed to me awkwardly hiding his hand behind his back.
I raised my hand droopingly.
“Stop it. Let me have some rest in the open air… Do what you have been just doing.”
Soft sunlight making its way through the leaves of the trees and tasty air filled with the scent of newly mown hay brought back my forces and restored peace in my soul.
Other Light in the Kingdom of Heaven is shining for the soul of my Laure, and I believe that her prayer’s requests offered at the Lord’s Altar are satisfied, and for the human beings in their mortal life sometimes soft sunshine making its way through the leaves in the morning of early summer is enough.
I covered myself with a blanket brought by the servant and tried to see what the servant was doing near the bushes, awkwardly trying to shut the view with his back.
Soon I could see it.
Gray dog of random bred, swishing its tail, took food from the man’s hands carefully, however, it couldn’t eat it, it fell on its side twitching epileptically.
I remembered its eyes.
I saw it on the square on that day. It means that the dog could survive.
“Do not hide the meals. Leave the dog here and give it enough food.”
“Sorry, My Lord, why do you need an old and sick dog, you may take a healthy puppy instead,” said the servant doubtfully.
“He got sick where I did. And for God’s sake, air my rooms and change the bed.” In several days I was able to restore the events of that terrible day based on stories of participants and witnesses.
While I was unconscious,Grenouille was able to escape.
It turned out that several persons were able in mind and did not succumb to madness of poisonous scents. Somebody was able to see a glass vial with perfume in hands of that monster, and he was clever enough to pinch his nose and to cover his face with a wet piece of cloth as if he were protecting himself from carbon oxides during fire.
According to the stories of witnesses, I helped to bring the suffocating people to the side streets from the leeward side, although I do not remember it myself.
Many people died on that day, many people died afterwards.
Some people went mad, and for days and nights were wandering near the shops of perfumers and kept smelling and smelling without paying any attention to blood spilling out of their noses, and stole money and belongings of members of their families to buy a vial with perfume.
Ice claws of despair were no longer torturing my soul. I knew what I had to do. And even if I fail to succeed, each step on that road was important. And each step would bring peace to my soul, and would somehow protect the innocent people from monsters, like Grenouille.
The Savor of Roses
It was early summer, bright and fresh, when I was killed. At first, I could feel rich perfume of lilac and scent of hot dough for cakes with the last year jam, then strong and very strange savor of roses, from which my head for some reason started aching, which was very strange, because I liked the smell of roses, and then I was killed. I was fifteen, and on that day I tried on a dress for the first bread and wine.
The dress was on the next table near the basket with dried up cakes.
The girl’s body was on the table. A tidy little cap and quiet style brown twill dress, although new and good quality, gray apron.Sabot were standing near.
“Get her clothes off.”
The voice was low, perhaps, due to the fact that the person, who spoke, was pressing a handkerchief to his face. When he removed the handkerchief, local midwife mother Bridget, who helped people not only to come into the world, but also treated them and dressed the dead, noticed blood on the handkerchief.
Mother Bridget bent the brows, went around in a circle without demonstrating much intention to fulfill the order of the newcomer.
The parish priest made an impatient sigh, and quickly glanced at the corner. He also disliked this order, but he understood that the newcomer was right. Besides, it was the parish priest, who invited this gentleman.
From the back honorable Bridget looked indignant.
“Mother Bridget, please, do it,” said the parish priest dolefully.
Grumbling discontentedly something about dirty old men, who do not know what they really wanted and who could leave, at least the dead, in peace, Bridget started doing what she was asked for.
The parish priest was looking at the corner and could not understand how a person could easily look at all these things. Father Herve glanced at his guest out of the corner of his eye, gave a sigh and a cough, when he saw the thick blond hair dropping out of the hat. Through tears caused by the cough father Herve saw glint in the eyes of his guest and his impatient movement.
The parish priest turned away to the doors and opened them slightly, he tried not to listen to the rash of clothes behind him and short dialogues in a low voice. He felt sick.
“Father Herve, please, come here.”
He came to the table unwillingly.
The girl’s body was naked but covered with her blouse in the area of hips, blond hair were shining greasily.
Old friend of the priest lawyer Colas M… was sitting on a bench and was quickly writing something in small letters. Mother Bridget with her hands resting on her apron was standing near and the priest suddenly understood that he had never seen so grim expression of her face, which anyway wasn’t gentle.
“If it is not too much trouble, father Herve, can you smell something?”
The priest glanced at the person, who talked, then at maitre Colas. The lawyer kept writing, made an energetic nod, then raised his hand.
“If I may, Mr. R…, I would like to read the inspection record.”
And he started reading stopping for while to give his guest an opportunity to illustratethe text with short expressive phrases and gestures.
Signs of sexual abuse, lack of blood and skin particles under nails are witnessing that the victim did not fight back, greasy oil spots on face, hair and body of the dress with a strange odor, where against the background of rose oil one can smell strange related substances that cause suffocation and, finally, the strangest thing …
at that moment mother Bridget came closer, put on her gloves and took a thin metal spatula from the set of medical instruments, with the help of which she opened the mouth of the dead girl…
her tongue is of deep yellow color.
And four signatures under the report.
;
The Four
I guarantee that honored Bridget will keep silence. The parish priest was sure. Nobody could keep a secret as good as Bridget. Even if a request to keep silence was not supported by something like a purse with gold, as was the case now.
The parish priest drank some wine looking at the person, whom he invited, sideways. The latter was a tall man with his hair fastened up back on head, with a curved nose and glaring brown eyes.
Flexible movements of the elastic well trained body disclosed swordcraft. His face turned tired only now revealing fatigue, which has been hiding deep in his eyes.
“Mister R…,”started the priest hesitantly, “why did you need this examination?”
Antoine-Alain remained silent for a moment looking at the light coming from the window through his wine, which he even did not try.
“Father Herve, did you pay attention to the yellow tongue and clean nails of the victim? She did not fight. She was poisoned with something, and did not fight.”
“And this smell from her hair,” added maitre Colas, crewing up his face involuntarily.
“Yes, this is very strange.”
They inadvertently looked at the carefully closed perfumery and pharmaceutical bottles covered by cloth from the sunlight. There were strands of her hair,poured over with something greasy, and particles of cloth of her dress with the scent of rose oil in them.
“Scent of rose oil, but for some reason… disgusting,” stumbled the priest and groaned: “But this is … It cannot be true… that murderer?.. Trainee of a perfumer, I believe so. I thought that he had been executed? There was a dark story there during the execution…”
Hands of Antoine-Alain clasped the armpads with force.
“There was no execution,” he said.
“No execution? But…,” the priest stopped talking.
“I was there.”
Antoine-Alain stood up quickly and came to the window.
“At first they caught an innocent man. During the interrogation he confessed and was executed. He said that he had insulted on the girls.”
“Chevallier R… was the only person, who openly said about the inconsistency between the words of the accused person and the facts, but nobody listened to him. Everybody was happy to stop the panic.”
The priest wanted to ask about the role of R… in that story, but he thought that he had already guessed.
“I will give you letters to the abbot, who is a doctor and knows poisons well.”
Antoine-Alain turned his head. His profile was clearly silhouetted against the sun-drenched window.
“And what about the intoxicating substances? Perhaps, it is not quite poison. She was given something that paralyzed her will… or body.”
“Among other things, this monastery is famous for its pharmaceutical business and cultivation of roses for the purpose of extracting oil,” added the lawyer.
“Excellent.”
;
Monastery
“I do not quite well understand, my son, why do you need all this?”
Gallant and impressive prior was still smiling welcomingly, but changed mode of address from “Mister Chevalier” to “my son”, and deep in his eyes there appeared some sort of coolness.
“If that poor child left this world so tragically … well, it does not mean that some intoxicating”, prior raised his eyebrows in surprise, “substances had any relation to this fact.”
“Crime,” the low voice became strong, and it was difficult to resist it.
“To this crime,” repeated Antoine-Alain with tightly.
“The intoxicating substances are related to this crime, because her dress and hair were saturated with them.”
“But you even do not know with what substances her dress and hair were saturated,” objected the prior.
“That is exactly the reason of my visit,” responded Antoine-Alain softly and politely.
“Well,” after certain mediation the prior made a decision, “our monastery has always had a good reputation for its hospitality, and I do not see the reasons to say no to you. Still, you did not answer my question, Chevalier. Why are you so much concerned with the case of this poor girl?”
“My daughter,” thought Antoine-Alain, but he did not say anything. The prior did not insist on the answer.
Brother – healer named Jean-Luke, a nimble person with unruly semi-gray hair sticking up around his tonsure had been thoroughly and carefully separating individual hairs from mobs stuck together and was wetting them out in different liquids looking how their color changed.
Antoine-Alain was sitting on a bench by the window and was waiting patiently. Finally,brother Jean-Luke pried himself from the table, gave a yawn and stretched himself warming up his tired back.
“Well, I can tell you only one thing for sure. There is rose oil here and something similar to … “green honey”. However, I am not sure about the last ingredient.”
“What honey?”Asked Antoine-Alain.
“Green. You see, I mean not real honey made by bees…”
“I see. But you told me you were not sure?”
Jean-Luke dropped eyes embarrassedly.
“I know this name only theoretically and very formally. I do not use this substance in healing, and our monasterial order forbids to upgrade one’s knowledge without having a serious reason for this …”
Jean-Luke glanced at the doors askance and stopped talking.
“I understand your concerns. I will try to get a permission of the prior to use local library, if there are tractates about herbs there. Will you agree to be my consultant?”
“Oh, yes, My Lord, but …” Jean-Luke looked at the door again and then into the eyes of R…
Antoine-Alain made a slight nod. Some sort of relief appeared in the eyes of the monk.
“I heard that “green honey” is a substance based on … hemp,” Jean-Luke whispered the last word, “or this is also the name of a mixture, which the Alpine Old Man gave to his Assassins. But I do not know the exact composition and impact upon people… What happened to your face? Is it blood?” The healer interrupted himself. “Let me have a look.”
He gently turned Antoine-Alain towards the window, when Antoine-Alain pressed his handkerchief to his face, and then moved Antoine-Alain outside.
The odor of blossoming roses under the windows of the hospital did not disturb Antoine-Alain, who has just felt headache in a small room filled with bottles and vials, similar to a room of a alchemist, or a shop of a perfumer.
“So, during that execution that did not take place people felt very bad? And also afterwards?
The sunset beams were glittering gaily on the glass painting. Buzzing noise of bees and humble-bees overgrew the birdsong from the forest. There were many bees, because there was a bee yard in the monastery.
“At first, there was a scent of roses, rose oil and… I do not know how to express this… Sense of innocence and purity, a certain assurance that that…” Antoine-Alain shut his teeth, “heartless scum was an innocent baby. As if he had stolen the odor of that girls. And then… many people died, and some people…” Antoine-Alain smiled ironically and showed his handkerchief with blood on it.
After the evening church service some time left for a conversation. According to the abbot’s order, the healer was released from all other obligations except cases requiring immediate medical assistance for the sake of rendering assistance to the guest of the monastery, who had arrived in order to study the medical balms and herbs.
Antoine-Alain did not doubt that the monastery had its own secrets, and that it was not hospitality that made the abbot to instruct the healer to devote all his time to business of the monastery’s guest.
;
Library
Antoine-Alain met here the same things as in his native city: unwillingness of decision-makers to make something and acknowledge existence of maniacs killing people in order to fill in their bottles, as well as scamps stealing life of people to satisfy their short lived desires. Due to this blind wall of indifference one cannot hear cries of poor parents who have to reproach themselves in helplessness and inability to protect till the end of their lives. The same unwillingness to act resulted in execution of a guiltless man, who confessed in crimes, which he did not make, by torture.
Unwillingness of the abbot to give access to the library and works on the black magic and necromania, kept in the locked room and locked box, to the guest was fully melt in the golden shine of generous donations for the benefit of the monastery.
Rosy, chubby-faced and black-haired brother Jerome, whose appearance reminded of pre-holiday work in the kitchen, nevertheless, turned out to be a librarian.
Accompanying the dear guest of the monastery (of course, dear guest. Antoine-Alain tried to express maximum sympathy to the needs of the monastery, because, based on his experience, he knew that the gold shine may open the gates of the most unassailable fortresses) along the dusty corridor, brother Jerome was chugging strenuously while trying to turn the key in the rusted lock.
With a squeak that reminded of a torture chamber, after multiple reproaches with Burgundian accent, the lock opened unwillingly, which suddenly made Antoine-Alain burst into laughing – in the scream and squeak of the rusty metal he heard the same reproaches and curses as those expressed by brother Jerome.
Jean-Luke also heard the expressive complaint of the inanimate iron objects, that wished to be left in peace, and with usual humility of a monk suppressed a smile, however his clear gray eyes suddenly shined and turned out to be surprisingly radiant, and his pale face covered with flecks of sunlight grew young again.
Brother Jerome entered the room and agitated a shower of dust that made all people burst into sneezing.
There was a long plain wooden table near the window with a clay pot with feathers and clean paper on it. Brother Jerome brought ink with him.
The above events were followed by the new battle with a rusty lock and opening of a wax seal on the doors of a case.
Brother Jerome carefully looked at the manuscripts with an ink impress of the monastery’s seal on their tightly fastened pages that made it possible to see absence of pages, if they were torn out by somebody’s barbarian hand.
“Welcome, make yourselves comfortable,” brother Jerome made a bow, “and I, by your permission, will go to fetch a lamp: the window here is narrow and overlooks the shady side”.
Antoine-Alain felt the first slight prick of alarm, when he sat at the plain and clean table, for some reason, without any signs of dust on it.
Turning over the old pages impatiently, sometimes making a break in order to read some old recipes with devilish combinations of herbs, trying to understand the unknown letters decorated by illustrations, they got to the manuscript in a heavy copper-sided binding.
On page borders there was an ink, already discolored, seal of the monastery that clearly demonstrated the integrity of all pages.
In fact, page borders, indeed, were safe, they were neat and orderly bearing a seal, however, starting from the third chapter the middle part of the pages was cut off with a sharp knife that did not leave any piece of parchment in this sort of a casket.
V-type flat water bottlemade of glass with orange oily stains inside occupied one corner leaving free space.
The survived upper border of the page said, “list of ingredients for seductive mix of herbs…”… and that was all, the rest was carefully cut out and brought away by somebody’s relentless hand.
And the form of the glass bottle, that comfortably rested in the cut book, like in a cradle, made it possible to suppose that there was second water bottle inside, larger one, the lateral side of which, probably, aligned with the strangely bent lateral side of the first one.
;
Secret Passage
Brother Jean-Luke was gulping nervously. His first intention was to run to the abbot, however, Antoine-Alain did not let him go.
“You don’t want to cause harm to brother Jerome, do you?”
“Of course, not!”
“This glass bottle has been here for a long time, have a look. The herbal infusion leaked to the book pages through the crack in the glass.
Antoine-Alain ran the contour of the glass bottle on the parchment and poured a drop of the orange infusion into the vial brought by Jean-Luke, then he called the librarian.
The first impression got from brother Jerome turned out to be true, the latter appeared cleaning his shiny lips with his sleeve and chewing something hastily.
“Tell me, brother, do you look into the books stored in this library yourself?”
“No, Your Honor, don’t say that,” said the librarian cheerfully, preparing to start the battle with the iron mechanism of the lock again, “this is not pleasing to God, and besides, His Excellency abbot does not like it. And why should I? The seals are not broken. Besides, nobody comes here. You see all this dust. Father prior comes here two – three times a year to examine and to seal everything, as usual, however, even he does not have time to read these manuscripts, and there is really not reason for that. He is not the Angelic Doctor and not apostle John.
On his way back from the library Antoine-Alain slipped up and based his hand upon the lateral wall of the bookcase in order not to fall down. His hand slipped down, and behind the wooden bookcase instead of the stone plastered wall there was an iron lever lubricated with oil, which turned smoothly under pressure. The light in the lamp sharply deviated aside, began to blink and nearly faded. Brother Jerome, who went further, did not see anything, and pale Antoine-Alain carefully turned the lever back and closed the secret door, then he looked into the eyes of Jean-Luke silently asking him to keep everything in secret, because he was afraid that brother – herbalist would not be able to cope with the shock and would give a incautious exclamation, which would disclose their sudden discovery.
No, brother Jean-Luke took a deep breath several times, squeezed his teeth and gave a silent node to Antoine-Alain, and then he made a sign of the cross.
Antoine-Alain brought his hand to his face and felt the odor of oil. He was trying to wipe his hand thoroughly and listened to the rasp of the lock; he thought that the secret door was very well oiled, and for sure, did not give any creak, unlike the outside lock, the creak and squeak of which alerted about the visitors of the closed archives approximately half an hour in advance, since the moment of the first touch by the key until opening of the rusty lock, which gave enough time to destroy all signs of secret stay in the library and to close the secret door behind one’s back.
Before departure brother Jean-Luke made remedial herbal tea for R… and told him about the nunnery of their Order located several miles eastward with good healers among the nuns, the only thing was that …
At that point brother Jean-Luke stumbled and his face became unhappy.
They were very good healers, and soon brother Jean-Luke would not have enough work, but he found something embarrassing in their mode of treatment and in their language.
Brother Jean-Luke also asked chevalier R… to hold back from telling Mother Superior or the nuns about the poor girl and also about their discovery in the sealed room in the library …
“What discovery do you mean?”, a little bit arrogant face expressed surprise, and Antoine-Alain said goodbye politely:
“God bless you and your holly monastery.”
Antoine-Alain said goodbye to the abbot in an official manner, and thanked him for his hospitality, then he touched the reins of a beautiful bay, and soon the monastery disappeared behind the trees growing along the road.
;
A “Live” Finding
The road was long and led not directly to the east, but was with curves, from one village to another, so, it deviated to the north.
Antoine-Alain spent night in a village inn and slept almost until midday, afterwards he woke up and went to a church service. Only during the sermon he finally woke up and noticed strange embarrassment and unrest on faces of the church people. He went out of the church and saw somebody’s shadow, that rushed to the bushes, and women who quickly led their children away.
Antoine-Alain came back to the inn and thought about reasonableness of his return to the town, near which the dead girl was found, when he suddenly saw the same shadow, as near the church.
The inn holder was carrying the uneaten food to the back yard, to the piggery, and on his way there threw a piece of bread towards the bushes, showing his fist with fingers put in the form of devil’s horns in order to chase away the evil one, and when he moved further, he spat on the ground angrily.
The door to the street was open, and R… could clearly see the yard, sitting at the table.
At first everything was quiet. Then the bushes made a move, and a thin dirty hand appeared, grasped the bread and disappeared. However, no dirt could hide black and blue and grazes.
“Your Honor wishes something else?”
Antoine-Alain threw coins to the table.
“You wish to receive change?”
“Keep it. Who is there in the bushes?”
Oily smile disappeared from the lips of the inn holder.
“I’d better bring your change, Your Honor”.
R… put more coins on the table and looked quietly how greed was fighting with fear on the face of the inn holder. Golden coin was added to silver and copper ones.
“You know how to tempt, Your Honor. This is not your intention, is it?” The inn holder tried to smile.
“I do not buy people’s souls, if you mean this,” interrupted R… without any smile.
“I will tell you in the evening, Your Honor, when everybody goes home. Nobody should hear this.
Antoine-Alain slowly closed his eyes.
In winter citizens of the village found clothes of a child in the forest. Only clothes, and no signs of a child. There were no wolf tracks as well, only tracks of shoed horses and manure. And a piece of cloth on a tree that came off the dress.
Then somebody attacked children gathering brushwood in the forest, threw a sack on their heads, but heard voices of adults and ran away.
And not long ago people found this … on the edge of the village. They even did not know whether it was a boy or a girl.
Long dirty locks of disheveled hair from all sides, black and blue and grazes on the entire body shining through the holes in remainder of his dress. He was like a wild beast, ran away from everybody, stole food left unattended.
Nobody knew whose child he was. Nobody disappeared in the village surroundings.
People are scared.
Antoine-Alain could not fall asleep and looked at the black square of the window on the first floor of the cheap inn, again and again thinking about everything he had learnt about, however, all the details were shaded by the thin hand withblack and blue and grazes, and the glance of shining mistrustful eyes through the locks of disheveled hair.
“The child cannot be left here.”
First sound idea during all these days.
Antoine-Alain whispered a prayer and suddenly fell asleep… in half an hour he jumped out of bed, like a scalded cat.
He was full of fear, which paralyzed him for some moments. In terror, he thought that it was too late to help the child that something had happened to him, while Antoine-Alain was asleep.
It was a moonlight night.
Antoine-Alain came up to the window, and was peering into the yard for a long time.
Finally, he saw a small shadow hiding somewhere under the barn wall, in the bushes behind the broken barrel.
He was standing by the window for a long time, but small occupant of the hole in the bushes did not make a single move.
Antoine-Alain did not sleep well during the whole night, and in the morning went to the priest and had a long conversation with him.
There lived a young family in the village that brought to the town fair not only the fruits of peasants’ labor, but also wonderful soft toys made of shreds and woolen ropes, and wooden puzzles.
The husband, who had just returned from the field, saw his wife standing on the doorstep with her mouth open from astonishment, rounded eyes looking, by turns, at the money in her hands and at the horseman on a bay, who was leaving the village.
Generous price was paid for the toys.
;
Rain
It was warm and cozy in the small house of the priest, burning woods in the fireplace were giving much warmth, and heavy rain was rattled on the roof.
“Windows of heaven have opened”, M… took a swig of a modern drink from the New World named chocolate.
Father Herve looked at the fireplace. The picture of the burning fire and flames seemed more attractive to him than rain that stood like a solid wall outside.
The notary, on the contrary, was enjoying double heat coming from the fireplace and from the chocolate, and with great pleasure was looking outside the window, where nothing else could be seen except the waterfall rattling on the roof and pouring down along the narrow high small window.
The parish priest dropped a sign.
“I keep thinking about our friend. What made him start this investigation? He said he had been present during the execution… well, the execution that did not take place … Did somebody from his relatives suffered from hands of that maniac?”
“His daughter.”
“Colas met the interrogative look of Herve and added:”
“No, he does not have other children. He is a widow, fortunately. It is good that Mrs. R… did not see this nightmare.”
“Good, indeed. Good …”
Maitre Colas bent the brows, looked outside the window and then quickly stood up and glued his cheek to the window-class.
“My friend, can you hear it? Somebody is galloping.”
“It cannot be true, it is raining so heavily.”
The parish priest came closer, put on his glasses and tried to see the outside world from the window.
With their eyebrows raised, they gazed at each other.
Absolutely wet, without a raincoat, R… jumped out of the saddle embracing a pack covered with a raincoat.
“For God’s sake, father Herve,” said R… with a coarse voice, “I do not know anybody else here … and it is raining so heavily. Please, send somebody to bring this honored woman … the healer”.
Already on the staircase, he turned back:
“My horse.”
“Do not worry, just a moment…”
The altar boy, who was learning catechesis in the kitchen,covered himself with an old goat skin and happily rushed to bring mother Bridget. No more tedium for today. He remembered about arithmetic and Latin grammar textbooks, jumped in a puddle and made a joyful whistle in anticipation of a piece of cake or, maybe, even a coin for his efforts. Besides, the visitor’s horse was so beautiful.
;
Bath
“Stop biting, you, little devil!”
Scream, chink, clatter, noise, splashes of water. The door was opened, and steam from hot water broke away, mother Bridget looked outside, wiping her hands on her apron:
“Please, somebody hold this little beast.”
Father Herve stood up and hesitated for a moment:
“Is it a boy or a girl, my honest lady?”
“I did not have enough time to have a look”, answered Bridget chilly. “How long shall I wait?”
R… stood up quickly:
“I will help you. The picture of a naked girl will not embarrass me”.
Screaming and slashes of water could still be heard. The parish priest and the notary looked at each other, involuntarily humping shoulders from such a noise.
“It was the jar”, whispered the notary.
“It was very vulgar, sorry. Your aunt did not have good taste.”
“I agree. Oops…” The notary looked back. “Did somebody close the shutters in the kitchen?” The parish priest stood up in anxiety, but at the same moment sat down with relief.
“You scared me. Yes, they are closed. Closed with a locking bar. And you think?..”
“Yes, he may try to escape.”
Father Herve and maitre Colas…, notary from Gr… entered the kitchen with the signs of a battle, trying to make their way in between the pieces of the broken jar.
Chevalier R… was sitting on a bench holding the clean and hurriedly dressed child of approximately ten years old with a grasp of a fighter, and was whispering something in his ear. R’s… face could not be seen behind the wet hair sticking up right and left of, apparently, a boy. Or, maybe, a girl?
The parish priest noticed the torn apron and disheveled hair looking from under the cap of honored Bridget, moved sidewise, and a fresh graze on the face of R…, as well as his hand holding thin wrists of the child with the signs of teeth and drops of blood.
“Now medicine.”
Powerful voice of mother Bridget reminded father Herve of the time, when he was a seminary student, and with recklessness of a young man jumped into the river from a bridge for a dare; he did not break anything, but got cold in the icy river and received a very strong fever. For the grief caused to his parents and for his recklessness and self-will, contradicting to the chosen field, rector of the seminary enjoined a severe penance on him forbidding him to visit his parents on holidays during the whole year.
Mother Bridget pulled out a glass bottle with medicine made of herbs out of her bag, that survived miraculously, and with a decisive accurate movement in the bush of long elf-knot hair found and squeezed the child’s nose forcing him to open his mouth, then she poured medicine into his mouth.
“Father Herve, where can we makethe bed for the child?”
“I will help,” maitre Colas hastily hold back the door to let her out.
The parish priest took a chair and sat down leaning forward.
“What is your name, child?”Asked the priest gently.
The child nestled to Antoine-Alain and sat motionless.
“Do you want some biscuits?”
The notary crept into the kitchen and came up to the stove with a pot of milk on it.
Gentlemen thought that they saw how the bush of hair made a move, and a blue eye framed with fair eyelashes appeared through it, like a fearful animal in the grass.
“Take it, do not be afraid, the biscuits are tasty,” whispered Antoine-Alain.
He slowly released one hand of the child, but kept holding the other wrist tightly.
Everybody stood motionless.
The child looked at the biscuits, but did not make a single move.
“He will not take it from somebody’s hands, he is too scared,” R…’s voice still was very quiet and soft.
At first, the parish priest even did not understand that chevalier R… was telling it to him.
“Put the biscuits on the bench.”
Breathlessly, the adults were waiting.
Suddenly, the child’s hand flashed up forward with lightning speed and hastily put a biscuit into his mouth, hiding his face under the adult’s arm.
Bridget brought a blanket and helped to envelope the child.
Shoeless feet hid in the blanket, and Antoine-Alain was carrying something in his arms resembling the formless package in his arms, when he came in.
The parish priest dropped off to sleep, and Colas M… stayed in the living room, sitting near the fireplace shifting the wood and listening what was going on upstairs, in the room, where the child was brought.
He thought that he could hear clank of dishes and creak of floorboard, then everything became quiet.
M… turned his head.
R… slowly entered the living room holding on the walls. Only now it was clear that he was about to faint with fatigue. He rolled himself up with a waistcoat and sat near the fireplace, then he coughed and closed his face with his hands. He seemed to be shivering.
“You had better ask mother Bridget to give you some medicine,” said the notary quietly, and added, “Mister R…, father Herve and I will render you any assistance you need without any questions, but we hope that you understand that we are dying from curiosity.”
Antoine-Alain could hardly unclench his teeth.
“The process of making a bath for a child reminds me of digging out vegetables from the washed out autumn field. Before I was only an observer. I did not think that one day I would have to participate in something like that. And where is father Herve?”
“He is asleep already, he has to get up early tomorrow. Where is this child from? Tell me, if you can.”
“I do not know what to tell you, I do not know anything myself. I found him in a village located north-eastward on my way back from the monastery. Citizens of that village were very scared – somebody tried to kidnap children. He did not succeed, fortunately.”
“Deogratias,” responded the notary, like an echo, and made a sign of the cross.
Antoine-Alain started coughing again. The notary took the pot with hot chocolate off the fire, poured some chocolate to the cup and gave it to Antoine-Alain.
“Have a drink, it will help you to warm up.”
“Thank you.”
Antoine-Alain rolled himself up with a cover taken off from the armchair and was slowly drinking warm chocolate. Shiver caused by his journey in cold and rainy weather and the suffered events gradually stepped back.
“Maitre Colas, I think that tomorrow you will have to prepare one more report. I found this child. Citizens of the village are scared. The child, apparently, came from the forest, through the fields… Stole food…
He stopped talking, and he bunched his fists in such a way that his knuckles turned white, he was looking at the fire, but did not see it.
“And what about the question that father Herve asked you? Is it a girl?”
Maitre Colas asked it in order to divert thoughts of R…, but he thought that the “live” finding sleeping under the surveillance of honored Bridget and the dead girl, whose body was recently examined, have something in common.
There appeared a mere trace of a smile on the lips of Antoine-Alain.
“A boy.”
“Okay.”
“He cannot speak. He is too scared.”
Maitre Colas stood up and said,
“we have to send reliable people to look for the boy’s relatives.”
“We have to do it in such a way so that the criminal could not get to know about it, as well as about the fact that the boy is here.”
Maitre Colas smiled ironically.
“Of course. Good night, Mr. R…”
“Good night, maitre Colas.”
Antoine-Alain has fallen asleep in the armchair near the waning fire, before the notary left the room.
;
A Toy
The boy was sitting in the corner on the bed, hiding behind the screwed up blanket, and followed movements of Antoine-Alain and mother Bridget attentively.
“Drink your milk, hard-bitten goblin. What is your name?”
In relations with the outside world there were certain improvements. R… was sitting on the bed and was giving the child food in small pieces, he pronounced different names in a low voice; the boy did not react to these names, but he took food without waiting until people go away or turn back.”
Then R… took a wonderful thing out of his pocket. It was the most amazing thing in the world: gray dog with yellow paws and blue ear made of soft pieces of cloth and beige woolen threads with a black nose and eyes made of leather, with a pink put out tongue!
The dog had fat wide paws and a smiling face. It was the best puppy in the world! Besides, it was wearing a bright blue backpack!
Antoine-Alain left milk and biscuits near the open door and together with mother Bridget went to the living room to join father Herve, holding the toy in his hands.
“Look, it is your puppy, your little friend. It will be waiting for you in the corridor.”
Through the semi-open door of the living room one could see the staircase leading upstairs and part of the corridor upstairs. The adults were sitting and talking in a low voice pretending not to look towards the staircase.
The rag puppy was sitting in the middle of the staircase landing, bright sunlight coming from the window illuminated it.
Small shadow stopped dead round the corner. The puppy was so funny and soft, his cheerful snout turned sidewise, the backpack was ridging. It was so interesting to see what was inside. What about coming closer and have a look?
The adults were talking downstairs, nobody watched him.
The boy ran from round the corner, grasp the toy and stopped in tracks with his mouth open.
His blue eyes were shining with delight, and his cheeks turned pink. When he stopped watching, a new miracle was waiting for him: in the backpack there was a small yellow donkey in a lilac hat with a funny long ear sticking out of the hole in the hat.
For several days the boy was hiding in the corner behind the blanket, and was playing with his toys silently.
Bright light from the window is illuminating table in the living room, the adults, sitting at the table, are occupied with something interesting.
Very interesting.
A puzzle.
This was a modern attraction of all classes.
Noble gentlemen in carriages passionately moved blocks with figures in a puzzle made of ivory decorated with silver, whereas a coachman restrained horses and was manoeuvring in narrow streets trying not to ride down an apprentice or a monk, who did not notice anything and was moving figures in a puzzle instead of beads.
Ladies vied not in the beauty of their hand fans, but in complexity and nicety of their puzzles.
Maitre Colas put his finger on his lips asking everybody to be silent, and R… stopped dead feeling a motion behind his back. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see two colored spots – toy donkey and toy dog.
Father Herve, who had been saying something in a low voice, stopped talking, but forced by the impressive glance of chevalier and strong push of the notary’s elbow into his side, continued saying something quite meaningless, which nobody listened, and which father Herve did not listen himself.
Finally, thin hand of the child with already disappearing livid spots took the puzzle put on the edge of the table.
Without paying any attention to anybody, the boy sat on the floor pressing the rag dolls to his breast, and started playing with the puzzle.
In two days the child played with the toys nestling to Antoine-Alain and hiding his face in the pleats of his jacket, if somebody passed by, and moved figures in the puzzle with Antoine-Alain, in turns.
Then they were able to find out that the boy was taken from the monasteryschool by his distant relatives, who told him about death of his parents and who gave him to smell something from a bottle, and from the same bottle they took something to grease his hair, and that the boy was very afraid of that smell. Afterwards the boy could only remember how somebody shouted at him and beat him. However, when he slipped down and overturn a pot with water onto his head, the fear became not so strong, and he ran away.
A servant of R… came back, who had been sent to search parents of the child. He found the family that lost their child two months ago, who died in a monastery school from epidemic, and they even could not visit the grave of their son due to the continuing danger of infection.
The archbishop categorically denied the fact of epidemic in the monastery schools of his episcopate.
;
A School
Parade of children put a remembrance of angels. They had roses in their round cheeks, their hair was arranged in beautiful curls, and they had baskets with petals in their hands.
The Sun on the bleached sky made the road red-hot, hot sand was burning feet through the footwear, Holy Banners covered with dust were floating slowly in the hot boiling mirage.
Antoine-Alain was suffocating from the odor of roses, when the Holy Banners with golden decorations were carried by. His head began to swim. He stepped aside and bent his knees before the Holy Sacraments.
When he was on his knees, he could see faces of children – students of the monastery school – near him.
Hectic flush on unhealthy yellowish faces, unnaturally small apples of their eyes, like spots, uncoordinated movements.
A fluke of wind carried away the heavy odor of the Holy Banners and baldachin over the Holy Sacraments, and Antoine-Alain saw greenish-brown dust, light, like a smoke, blowing around from hair of the heavy velvet.
The same fluke of light summer wind messed up hair of men, who respectfully removed their hats, however, not a single hair made a move in the angel-like curls of children greased with something oily.
One child turned green, and reeled. A nun came up to him quickly, and hastily waved handkerchief in front of his face moistened with drops from a small bottle with perfumery…
…Grenouillerose to the scaffolds and waved handkerchief holding a small bottle with perfumery in his hand, and a strange odor spread all round the square, relaxing, suggesting satisfaction and love…
Antoine-Alain again returned to that nightmare in the square, when people were dying from suffocation, went mad, lost sense of shame, put off their clothes, did not understand that they were debauching, and slowly descended to earth flooded over with their own blood running from their noses…
He couldn’t rise from his knees at once.
Prioress was watching him and the room abstractedly and couldn’t stop watching. The apples of her eyes were floating, and weak and inaccurate unnecessary movements were half-blind.
“Oh, believe me, in our charity school children receive good education, very good. And development, corresponding to their status in the society. Oh, sister Ernestina…”
Her face suddenly changed, it became lost and unconscious.
R… turned around. There was nobody in the room.
“Forgive me, mother prioress,” R… told her quietly, … and stopped talking.
She did not listen to him, anyway.
She raised her eyebrows and leaned forward in an unthinkable pose, she heard something, which nobody else could hear. Then she looked at Antoine-Alain and tried to say something, however at that moment somebody knocked on the door, and a nun came into the room, commandingly and determinately. Antoine-Alain has already seen her during the parade, she was carrying a bottle with perfumery in her pocket.
“Oh, Ernestina,” the prioress stretched herself towards her.
“Mother Superior needs to have some rest,” said sister Ernestina amiably.
Humbly depressed eyes underlined arrogance of her face.
R… bowed politely.
“I will give medicine to her, and we will be able to discuss your business.”
When Antoine-Alain went out of the prioress’s room, he saw orange drops of viscous substance, which sister Ernestine dripped into a wine glass from a large V-shaped bottled bent in a fancy way.
Antoine-Alain could feel the heat coming from the inner pocket of his waistcoat, hiding a copy of the picture capturing small V-shaped bottle from the hiding-place in the cut up book.
Lateral sides of both bottles were cast in the same mould!..
Passion of a hunter made blood run along veins more quickly. With an effort of will, he relinquished hold of his hand squeezing his handkerchief, and with a polite bow greeted the prioress’s assistant.
Antoine-Alain was going next to sister Ernestina and was listening to her story about training of children in the monastery school. Antoine-Alain noticed sapphire in an expensive frame on her finger, and heard silken murmur of her humble dress of a nun.
Antoine-Alain remembered signs of beating on the body of the ten-year old child, who escaped from the school, and paid special attention to the issues of discipline and punishment for offenses.
Sister Ernestina took the liberty of smiling ironically.
“Do not worry, Mr. R… The discipline in the school is severe, and all children - I repeat - all children are taught to be disciplined and obedient.”
The scene, which he saw in the school yard, passing by, made him ask one more question.
“Do children receive proper education… for example, ethics, behavior skills?
“Yes, of course.”
He smiled ironically.
“I mean that some children are very shy and cannot express their gratitude in a proper manner. I hope you understand me.”
Sister Ernestina looked into his eyes directly.
“I understand you correctly. Our children know how to thank their good-doers. I hope you will have a chance to find a confirmation to this.”
She opened the door in front of him and kept standing with an ironical smile on her face, setting forth her hip in a way inappropriate for a decent nun.
“Come closer to me, Mister, otherwise sister Ernestina will feel aggrieved.”
“And you do not like to aggrieve sister Ernestina, do you?”
Pale face with painted cheeks gives a significant node.
“Oh, yes. She and other sisters teach us so good,” says the child with emotion.
“Do you want me to kiss you, My Lord?”
Antoine-Alain smiled, but his eyes became dark.
“You’d better read a poem or sing a song. Do you know any poem?”
“Of course, yes. I can dance. Sister Nicolette teaches us.”
She stood up and started dancing pronouncing words, the double meaning of which she was supposed not to understand, nevertheless, she did understand, a seven year old vicious child, who seemed to have never been innocent.
“Oh dear...” Pantalets, even decorated with pinky chiffons, were supposed to be washed, at least, from time to time!”
;
Arrest
Plenty of obscene books with frivolous illustrations were a real shock, even for the duke, and the medical panel, a member of which Jean-Luke was, found the prioress and the majority of sisters intoxicated with the herbs of sister Ernestina, absolutely insane. Later, it was found out that sister Ernestina was not a nun.
Ernestina and Nicolette, as well as several other “sisters” that appeared in monastery right after Mother Superior had delegated all powers in the school and the monastery to Ernestina, were wanted in Spain and Switzerland for organization of prayer cells for women studying catechesis, where women took the intoxicating herbs and paid with everything that they could steal from their own homes.
The bishop made exams for students and heard the detailed and convincing explanations of Manichaean doctrine with dogmas of Bible-Christians – little-known cult that came into existence somewhere in the south.
The laboratory, where students were taught not only to cut the corpse of animals and unexpectedly “disappeared” sister Teresa, but also of live rats, kittens and puppies, was the most unpleasant finding for Antoine-Alain, the duke and the guard.
R… could no longer stand this spectacle, came outside and found an old guard in the garden, who felt sick and was standing under the tree.
Maitre Colas was very busy: he was sitting on a chair in the middle of the room, where the search was carried out, and was writing the records.
Antoine-Alain, who was filled with disgust towards all that he had seen, went home.
… Filled with disgust to the surrounding world and to myself, I went home and spent several days in bed throwing knives to the wall, where my imagination painted the profile of Ernestina with her eyelids put down in humility on her arrogant face, as well as a handkerchief moistened with intoxicating aromas in the hand of the perfumer, and a face of a seven year old girl – one of the best students of the school – that was sent by “sister” Ernestina to entertain the visitor, who least of all was guilty, as compared with others, but nevertheless,was bearing the signs of decay and corruption…
Urgent business required my presence and made me interrupt my seclusion.
In several days I came to N…
;
Evening
The daylight covered the roofs of buildings with a golden cover made of remains of mist and slowly moving sparkles of light. The world became divided into two parts – dark night streets filled with lilac and morning roofs in the kingdom of daybreak. Warm air was filled with the scent of lilac, and two quarters farther from the house, where Antoine- Alain lived, the air was filled with a heavy odor of perfumery, oils and extractions – perfumers’ street was there.
Antoine-Alain was standing by the window clenching his hands into hard fists.
The city was beautiful, and even the fragrance odor in the perfumers’ street could not spoil it.
The city was beautiful and never slept.
During the day in the park, during the night in the living rooms – members of the upper class society gathered there. They wished entertainment, were looking for it and received it.
Viols started solemnly and smoothly, viola da gamba accompanied by lute disappeared in the shadows. Viols divided into two voices, then into three, then filled the environment with a quiet twinkle of the streaming water and then suddenly changed the rhythm. Accompanied by the music circle made by the hands of the musicians, dancers came out to the stage, they were spinning in the whirlwind of the multicolored coats.
When coats fell to the ground, the dancers, hardly covered with semitransparent waistclothes, started their story, in which gestures and movements of dancers replaced the words.
The performance was based on stories that were criticized by the Old Testament morality, and even the New Testament Church could burn at the stake devotees of the sin, for which the wrath of God descended up to Sodom and Gomorrah, however, for the modern society visiting of such performances was not considered to be a sin.
The performance was accompanied by the beautiful music.
A man, sitting in a velvet armchair, with unruly gray hair run out of the tail on the back of his head and covering his face, attentive brown eyes and flexible plastic movements of an experienced swordsman, was pressing his handkerchief to his face carelessly.
Half of the spectators were smoking dried leaves brought from the New World. Another scent was mingled with the customary scent of tobacco. That odor changed contours of objects, made then bent or stretch.
This time the handkerchief of Antoine-Alain was also moistened with drops of extraction from the stocks of brother Jean-Luke.
Some people put made up, like women, dancers on their knees and were kissing them.
Antoine-Alain looked at the stage and felt bored.
So far, everything that he could see was just a matter of fashion. Not a single thing in order to make a connection between the recent murder of the girl in the parish of father Herve and this entertaining society.
“Do you feel bored, Mister?” said somebody in a low voice.
“No, the music is magnificent,” said Antoine-Alain sincerely.
“However, the performance is not interesting, isn’t it?”
The action on the stage reached its culmination and ended up with a powerful accord, where one could hear the horns that had been silent so far.
People started to applaud.
The person, whom Antoine-Alain talked to, had a little bitexhausted face and white powdered false hair, he took out a coin from the pocket of his fancy fuchsia waistcoat and threw it to the dancer he liked.
When Antoine-Alain’s sudden interlocutor was going down the stairs to the garden, he repeated his question:
“Did the performance leave you indifferent?”
“You are sharp-sighted, chevalier…”
R… stopped talking and looked at his companion inquiringly.
“Forgive me, I did not tell you my name. De David, Armand de David.”
R… said his name, and they greeted each other officially.
They continued talking about the beauty of nature and skills of the musicians, examining each other at the same time. Their observant eyes conflicted with their frivolous conversation.
Antoine-Alain spent two weeks in N… visiting balls and evening parties of the higher society, performances beyond the limits of generally accepted morality. And today’s evening was the first one that was of interest.
Nervous laughs in conversations about pleasure, and something intoxicating one’s mind, admixing to the herbs brought from the New World.
Antoine-Alain felt as if he was going along the thin and transparent ice.
Armand de David was of medium height, withy, had a large nose on a thin face and brownish green eyes. He was wearing a bright fuchsia waistcoat with silk and golden decorations, had thoroughly powdered face, bright color false hair. In bright light he seemed considerably older, powder couldn’t conceal swollen lids – signs of restless nights devoted to social engagements.
Antoine-Alain knew that that idler from the high society with his shining jewelry was also studying him very seriously, hiding his interest behind the attempt to drive away his boredom with the help of a new acquaintance.
Armand saw a self-assured person that differed from the local society due to lack of rings with precious stones on his fingers. Deep wrinkle on his face near the lips, curved nose. Armand was going next to Antoine-Alain and saw his clear side-face and his amiable smile.
He was wearing an expensive, but not eye-catching waistcoat with black decorations, which made him invisible in the shadows, and stressed paleness of his face without any signs of powder in the light. Disobedient gray hair was not covered with a wig. His brown eyes were expressive, but nevertheless, concealed his thoughts. The events, which he suffered, left a sign on his face, but in a strange manner made him look younger, because they destroyed natural flow of life, where he could peacefully get older, and brought out the inner forces, of which he did not even suspect, and made him spent all his free time, which he had in excess after death of his daughter, for improvement of swordcraft. The above skills once saved his life, when false “sister” Ernestina put a strangler onto his neck during the arrest. The swordcraft made his movements youthfully artful and gracious.
Armand de David was an expert and a devotee of not only women’s but also men’s beauty, and he appreciated gracefulness of movements of his new acquaintance, however one could notice vigilance deep in his eyes. He could not understand this man.
“What brought you to our city, chevalier? A business or just an occasion?”
Mere trace of a smile appeared on face of R….
“I travel a lot. Sometimes on business, but more often looking for …”
Brown eyes firmly and confidently met swampy-green eyes.
Armand was prepared to hear the word “pleasure”, and he thought that he had understood what chevalier R… was, but the latter finished his phrase in a different way:
“… impressions.”
Despite his confident look, Antoine Alain started to panic.
“I shouldn’t obtrude myself, I shouldn’t demonstrate my interest to the hidden entertainments too expressively. And I am sure that there are some hidden entertainments! Double meaning smiles accompanied conversations about pleasures. The word “impressions” was more appropriate. If I start talking about pleasure now, I will only be able to find out the address of a bordel existing under permission of the city authorities. Perhaps, de David is only a libertine from the higher society without any moral norms, and perhaps, he is one of the organizers. Be careful…”
“What can make an impression on you, and what sort of impressions are you looking for, chevalier R…?”
They came out to the street after ceremonial farewell with owner of the house, and were walking along the dark streets asking their servants to take care of the horses.
“Maybe, you mean pleasure or entertainment?”
Okay, it was not Antoine-Alain, who pronounced the word “pleasure”.
“Impressions, like entertainments, may be of different sort. I think you will agree that a pedigreed race horse may attract your attention strongly than a good looking woman, and game of the sun light in a wine glass at sunset may be as beautiful as shine of precious stones.
Armand burst into laughing and waved his hand in lacy wristbands:
“You are very strict with women, my dear chevalier.”
The moon light was softly shining on ruby crystals and sapphires in his rings and mirrored in the still water of the channel along which they were walking.
“As for precious stones, a person, who never had them, will never agree with me, however, a person, who has already changed his precious stones to wine, will agree with me…” Antoine-Alain smiled.
Strong scent of cheap home-brew and offer to buy “real pearl brooch” made by a strange person of indefinite sex dressed in women’s and men’s clothes rags, was a brilliant illustration to their conversation and made them both burst into laughing.
When they crossed St. Christopher’s Bridge they said goodbye to each other and agreed to visit a performance of the theatre owned by duke D… When Antoine-Alain was turning a corner, he saw a silhouette of a woman in a dark coat that rushed to Armand. She seemed to ask him about something and touched his clothes, then she took something out of her pocket and put it into Armand’s hand. Armand turned to the light, and a brilliant sparkle shined in his hand. Antoine-Alain was going further, but he could see Armand taking something out of his pocket and giving it to the woman. In the hush of night one could hear dull hysterical weeping above the mirror-like surface of the river.
;
Morning
From the church next to the house one could hear a strong voice of a woman singing accompanied by organ. Antoine-Alain closed his eyes and dozed hearing the sound of old hymns.
“Veni Creator Spiritusmentestuorumvisita”…
Shadows of the leaves are trembling on the wall. The sun beams are shining on the drops of dew.
Adorote devote… Sanctus… An unknown melody.
…qui tollis peccata muni Miserere nobis… dona nobis pacem …
Dona nobispacem.
Give us peace on earth, God.
Shining of the sword held by a tall man is reflecting in the mirror, there is a shadow on the wall – clear profile with firmly bunch lips and a curved nose. Blown wavy gray hair falls down onto the face, he puts it aside impatiently.
Third-level defense.Battement with transfer.Attack.Fourth-level attack in the fourth sector.Doubled transfer.Attack to the fourth sector and half-counter defense.
Kirie eleison. Christe eleison, Kirie…
Fussy morning bird song outside, drumming noise of the dairyman’s truck.
“Here you are, easy-rider! This chunk attracts you, like nectar attracts bees.”
The wife solemnly meets his unfaithful husband.
Parry using first-level defense…
Somebody slipped on the staircase and fell down the stairs making much noise. The sun beams are travelling around the room in the hotel, along the dingy wallpaper, black waistcoat.
“You, God, made me, and you know,
You know when I go to bed and when I wake up…”
Sector number four, a sword prod and parry before defense… Razor in front of the mirror, creased towel, shine of metal in the hand… Sector number two with transfer. In response to parry with defense number eight – defense number three.
Flexible agile man stops his exercises and comes closer to the window to take some breath. His attentive brown eyes become cloudy for a while, some drops of blood from his nose fall onto his shirt.
… Ite, missa est. Deo gratias.
Soft morning breeze touches gray hair of a man standing by the window, blows off petals, brings raven’s notes and baying of dogs from afar.
Sancta Maria, ora pro nobispeccatoribus…
The sword is shining in the sun. No personal belongings in the room, even medallion with the portraits of the dearest and beloved persons was left at home, even the cross worn next to the skin – the chain was torn by prehensile fingers of sister Ernestina, and he did not have enough time to take it to the repair shop.
Nuncet in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.
Antoine-Alain threw the sword to his bed carelessly, and went out of the room. Wavy gray hair fell down onto his shoulders, they seemed almost white on the black waistcoat, the sun light was mirrored in the polished wooden walking-stick held by strong hands.
;
Night
They were approaching the bridge, when it became clear that somebody was walking behind them. They could already see the lights on St. Paul Square, where there were many people walking at night, but people following them started moving faster, and the brick walls of buildingsstanding along the embankment resounded the tramp of the running people.
The companions looked at one another and understood that they did not have enough time.
Armand unfolded the raincoat, which covered him despite the summer heat, and let out his sword, which he took with him today.
Antoine-Alain was without a sword, he only had a walking stick and a leather jerkin instead of the velvet waistcoat, strong enough to withstand a glancing blow. He kept walking with the same pace, only his fingers braced the walking stick in a different way. His companion seemed to be nervous.
Their chasers reached them near St. Christopher’s Bridge closing their way to the father shore to St. Paul Square.
The moon light was mirroring in the still water and gave a chance to see the chasers at the last moment. Their faces were covered.
Next moment swords of the chasers were shining not far from Antoine-Alain’s throat. Antoine-Alain suddenly stretched his hand and beat back the sword with his walking stick, then he hit the second one in his stomach with an accurate lunge. Armand de David threw his raincoat onto the sword of a man who approached him from the left side, and hit him with his leg using his advantage of standing on stairs of the bridge. The first attacker was trying to liberate himself from the raincoat, meanwhile, Armand heard a crash and a suppressed yowl on his left side, which suddenly stopped – chevalier R… dislocated and broke the wrist of his enemy and seized his sword missing two blows made in the area of his forearm. The leather jerkin smoothed the blows.
Now three robbers were fighting with two gentlemen.
The fourth one, pressing his broken arm to his breast, was trying to escape on his knees, and unluckily found himself on the way of Armand, who fell down and received a kick on his head, while he was falling down.
Antoine-Alain stepped aside and bumped against the stone pedestal on the embankment, but now the nearest enemy was fenced him from others, and R… tried to use this advantage.
The robber bent over Armand, took his purse and hid it in his bosom listening what was going on. Then he suddenly rushed to Antoine-Alain and attracted his attention by giving a shout:
“It is time to go away, hurry up!”
He was a skilled fencer, averted attention of Antoine-Alain and gave others a chance to escape, while carrying his companion with a broken arm.
Armand was trying to stand up, when enemy of Antoine-Alain, who did not make a single mistake and demonstrated skillful defense, stepped back and ran with a sword in his hand.
Antoine-Alain decided not to chase him, he came to Armand and gave him his hand helping him to stand up.
Then they sat on the bridge stairs.
“Forgive me,” said de David with an embarrassed smile, “I was stun with that kick on my head, you had to fight with all enemies, my dear chevalier…”
“They needed our purses, not our lives.”
With the help of his leg Armand moved the fallen down walking stick of R… closer, he took it in his hands and turned it to the moon light. Then he raised his eyebrows surprisingly.
“It is not possible to unscrew it, is it? And I thought that there was a sword inside.”
“Oh, no. It is just a walking stick.”
Antoine-Alain did not have to worry about even more thorough examination.
The sword could be moved out of the walking stick quickly enough, however, one had to know the secret mechanism.
;
A Walk in the Park
The balls and evenings in N… became more and more frivolous, however, since that evening, when Antoine-Alain met Armand de David, he has never met any signs of use of the intoxicating herbs.
The duke said that his people saw the intoxicated girls in N…, that girls found themselves in a miserable situation, however, they could not remember anything.
Entertainments of the higher society looked quite usual, many things were on the edge of generally accepted morality, or even outside the framework of such morality. It turned out that one of the duke’s servants disappeared mysteriously, and second one, who was a messenger, was slaughtered in a fight of drunk men. The duke said that those people were quite experienced, did not take too much alcohol and knew how to protect themselves, they would have never drunk from a bottle of an unknown person. And even without any arms, they could withstand serious enemies.
Chevalier de David regularly met Antoine-Alain at the parties of the higher society, he behaved quite usual. He gambled a little, did not borrow money, danced with ladies, kissed the boys – dancers without getting into more serious intimate relationship, however, he did not demonstrate any addiction to something. He was a moderate gambler, a courteous partner with ladies, an expert in the men’s beauty, however, he did not have permanent love affairs, or even any occasional love affairs.
In the mornings he was riding a horse in the park, however, had an appearance of a person, who did not sleep the whole night.
He also had very attentive eyes. He seemed to be studying Antoine-Alain trying to understand whether he was reliable enough.
Nobody tried to conceal his/her relationship in the higher society, at least, within the framework of generally accepted morality.
During the morning ride in the park Armand looked very sick and tired, however, satisfied. There were roses on his cheek intermingled with unhealthy yellow color, his mood was changing quickly.
When they turned their horses to go back home, they heard something going on behind the fence.
“They killed her! They killed her!”
“Look, she has a yellow tongue!”
Armand hastily spurred his horse, his face turned malicious and satisfied at the same time. While people were running to the park fence and were trying to recover the fainted ladies, Antoine-Alain observed Armand, which the latter even did not notice.
The body of the killed girl was covered with livid spots and bites.
Antoine-Alain made a quick glance on her, whereas concentrating all his attention on Armand. At some point of time he thought he could see how de David made a sign to somebody in the crowd of people, however, de David turned back at once and remembered about his companion. Now Antoine-Alain was observed.
He turned back following gardeners under the guidance of which the guard was carrying away the body. The rags nearly covered her.
“What do you think about all these things?” asked Armand nervously, when they went away from the park.
“A charming girl,” said Antoine-Alain with indifference.
“Did you like her?”
De David demonstrated a strong interest.
Antoine-Alain smiled.
“Is it a joke, chevalier? If she were alive, she could have made an impression, but…”
“Do you like very young girls?”
“In my age all young girls seem beautiful.”
“But it seems to me that you did not become too sad seeing her death?”
Now Armand de David was watching Antoine-Alain very attentively.
“Oh, yes. Even when I was a boy, my mother reproached me for lack of compassion and sympathy.”
And he smiled, although there was not a single sign of smile in his eyes, only severe expression of a hunter.
He knew he had won this competition. And despite the opinion of some writers, he did not have any intention to bent his knees before the spirit of his late mother asking her forgiveness for this lie.
;
Saint Thomas Estate
Well-attended park, greenhouse with exotic flowers, remains of the left wing of the castle and completely reconstructed right wing. And a spicy aroma spreading across the whole yard and the house.The road to the estate of countess de Saint Thomas, close relative of Armand, according to his words, turned out to be difficult. Saint Thomas Estate was not far from N…, however, two unsteady, almost ruined bridges, and a narrow road through the misty swamp in a dark wet forest made the way there tiresome and boring. It was only possible to cross the swamp with the help of a guide.
When they came closer to the edge of the swamp, they heard a shout in the middle of the forest. Antoine-Alain gave a start involuntarily and stopped his horse. De David turned back and came closer to Antoine-Alain.
“Do not worry, my friend. I do not think that something bad has happened. A goat or a pig could run away to the forest and find itself in the swamp.
They turned the corner, and Antoine-Alain made a quick glance towards the swamp. He could still see the circles radiating in the swamp, and bubbles coming up from the heart of the swamp.
“Oh, I told you, my dear friend. Poor animal has drowned.”
“Yes, I can see”.
However, he also noticed something, of which he did not tell Armand.
He saw footprints of man’s shoes, broken bushes and a piece of embroidered cloth. Antoine-Alain has already seen such embroidery on aprons of peasants.
Countess de Saint Thomas, an old thin lady with nervous movements met her guests on the stairs on the upper step. According to the etiquette of that time it meant a very courteous welcome procedure.
Antoine-Alain noticed how wrinkled thin hands of the countess, resembling bird arms, in very big lacy turn-ups squeezed the sleeves of Armand, and her voice became squeaky.
“Armand, oh, Armand, did you bring it? Did you bring it? I am waiting!”
“Chevalier R… heard a conversation in a low voice, and then Armand represented his new friend. Antoine-Alain made a deep bow and said usual polite greeting words, however his squint eyes could see the floating glance of the countess, dark circles around her colorless eyes, trembling hands.
They were drinking chocolate and talked to each other, countess de Saint Thomas from time to time stopped talking and forgot what she had been just talking about, and sometimes her eyes became vivid and she suddenly smiled, as if invisible people were entering the living room. She became very tired by the end of the conversation, but suddenly became joyful, when Armand entered the living room.
Armand came closer to the countess and asked her gently:
“How do you feel, my dear aunt?”
Antoine-Alain said that he was very tired and left the living room.
When Antoine-Alain was leaving the living room, he saw how chevalier de David helped the old lady to get up, and several times said “yes” to her nervous questions.
“And now you have to have some rest, to sleep, my dear aunt, we will leave all the rest for tomorrow. We will think about it tomorrow.”
Antoine-Alain has already seen such a behavior, and not very long ago.
The prioress of the recently closed monastery also forgot what she had just been talking about, whereas she met very emotionally something that did not exist in reality and that only she could see.
At night R… heard a noise in the yard, he came to the window closed with a curtain, saw servants that unloaded the carriages.
“There is another road here, wider and more comfortable. A carriage cannot go by the small road, which we travelled along.”
At dawn Antoine-Alain heard a terrible cream somewhere far away, which suddenly stopped, and Antoine-Alain was not sure whether it had been just a nightmare.
;
Perfume Ball
Guests, guests, many guests, in pairs, husbands with wives of other men, wives with husbands of other women, and no scenes of jealousy. Candles are lit everywhere, many candles. Colorful smoke is curling above candles, multicolored, originated not from candle wax, it smells good. It is so balmy, it is not possible to take a deep breath, and all windows are shut, there is no way out. The odor is everywhere, aroma, like odor in the garden of roses, and once you inhale it, you start seeing double objects. The aroma of multicolored smoke that does not come from candles.
And together with dishes there are bottles with perfumery on the tables. Guests come to them, pour some perfumery onto their hair and clothes, their handkerchiefs and turn-ups. Their voices become louder and louder, and their conversation becomes less and less coherent. There are many comfortable sofas standing along the wall, and couples sit down on them finding a cozy place without any sense of shame or uneasiness.
The countess has a bright smile, she smells perfumery and holds the bottle in her thin hand, she cannot leave it…
The handkerchief moistened with the balm of brother Jean-Luke was very helpful here. And chevalier R… had his own mask. There were different masks on the tables near the entrance to the hall, and servants offered them to ladies and gentlemen.
“If the intoxicating substances were added to candle wax, masks can also be moistened with perfumery. Yes, it seems very much like this…” thought Antoine-Alain watching the ball.
In order to be like other guests Antoine-Alain started dancing with a lady, who already did not understand anything. While dancing, she went out of the hall, and Antoine-Alain stopped her and put her on the sofa, because her legs could not serve her any more.
Antoine-Alain went till the end of the corridor and turned round the corner, opened the window and started swallowing chilly air coming from the forest.
At first, he did not understand what he heard. The sounds were absolutely out of place, and Antoine-Alain thought that it was just a hallucination, consequences of smelling the aromas coming from candles.
A child – an infant – was crying somewhere not far from that place.
Torture Chamber
Things that happened next still appear in my nightmares. I must tell you what the intoxicating perfumery makes with people, I must, but I cannot do it.
After the ball and a good portion of the intoxicating perfumery countess de Saint Thomas turned out to be a very polite, sweet and witty hostess.
The guests were leaving the ball on their knees and did not understand that they were naked. At midnight everybody became very excited expecting a new portion of herbs. And the same thing happened every day during several days.
Saying goodbye to chevalier de David, many ladies were hiding small bottles with perfumery received from his hands, and their precious rings and ear-rings lost their stones.
After saying goodbye to the guests, Armand, who became very joyful, came back to Antoine-Alain.
“Dear chevalier R…, I asked you to stay, and you will not be disappointed. I swear that you will have strong impressions.”
Antoine-Alain smiled politely:
“I wish I could be not just a spectator, but also a participant. Well, even usual dances may seem absolutely new with such an exquisite … d;cor.
With the help of his handkerchief, that he elegantly brought to his face, he demonstrated his words.
Armand turned back and answered a little bit absent-minded:
“I am glad you liked it.”
I do not have enough courage to tell you what happened next, and I think I will not be able to do it in future. I can only tell you that countess de Saint Thomas, of course, was insane and addicted to perfumery with the intoxicating ingredients. She delighted in brutal treatment with the young girls.
I did everything I could, and only God can be my judge, I regret that not all participants of that brutality lived long enough to appear before the court. When we were running down the stairs, the girl suddenly stopped and started snatching the walls and bookcases trying … to stay?..
“Why, my dear child, why? Let us run away from here, before somebody suddenly notices it! Let’s run!”
I pulled her by her hand, but she seized the door case and looked at me beggarly.I received answer to my question, when from somewhere under the floor I could hear cry of a baby.
I put dagger to the throat of a servant, which was a very good argument that convinced him to show us the short road. Of course, I bound his hands.
The duke’s people were waiting for me in N… They did all the rest.
;
He and She
Fortunately, I have a small house in a quiet village hidden from curious eyes. I brought the rescued girl with the baby to that house. Honored Bridget agreed to help me in the beginning.
I did not enter her room during first two weeks. I could only hear continuous cry of the baby and the girl striding about upstairs above my bedroom.
Little by little, the cry discontinued, however, I could still hear her monotonous strides. The girl was carrying the baby in her arms and lulled him. I went upstairs and heard her singing cradle songs in a low voice, however, she stopped immediately, when she heard my incautious movements.
More time passed, and finally, I heard lovely babbling of the child. The child was in good spirit and was actively trying to explore the surrounding world.
I waited until mother Bridget had left the room, held back the door for her and caught a scared glance of the girl. I turned back, but did not close the door, then I knocked on the door politely. I waited for some time, did not receive any answer, and came in. I saw how the girl stood up holding the baby, and stopped.
“May I come in?”
The girl whispered hastily:
“It is your house.”
“Do not be afraid, I…” suddenly my voice became hoarse, and I continued: “I will not do you any harm. Mademoiselle, sorry, madam, maybe, you will do me proud and will have dinner with me?”
“As you wish, My Lord.”
“My name is Antoine-Alain.”
A baby in her arms decided to remind about itself and started nuzzling her neck, with his little mouth widely open, he did not look happy enough.
She looked at me frightenedly and turned around hesitantly. I helped her to come to the armchair and covered them both with a scarf feeling how she trembled, then I gave a toy to her – a lovely horse made of pieces of cloth with a woolen crest.
“Take it, do not be afraid. Do you have a girl or a boy?”
I rather guessed than heard her answer:
“A … boy.”
I turned to the fireplace and put more wood into it hearing how the baby was smacking his lips drinking mother’s milk. The baby was sniffing quietly knitting his thin light brows in a funny manner. We left the door to the room semi-open.
She resembled a small fluffy wild animal, like a marten or a sable.
Now it is difficult for me to believe that this thin scared girl with bandaged hands saved my life, while I was saving hers. Yes, during that nightmare in Saint Thomas, when the house turned into the torture chamber, not limited by the law, not all that monsters in guises of human beings were intoxicated by the devilish poison, some of them could fight, and that poison made them insensible to pain. While I was fighting with three of them, I heard a whack behind me, and when I turned around, I saw the countess, who fell down with a knife in her hand, and the poor girl holding fire tongs in her hand. However, at that moment the girl was happy.
At that moment I could not see anything except her naked body and what that monsters had done to her. Now I saw her fair fluffy hair put in a knot with stray strands covering her watchful gray eyes that followed me, like a little animal looking from the woods.
I had to find out whether she had a family and bring her home, if possible.
I tried to find the reasons in view of which she could not have relatives or her own home, when I suddenly realized that such kind of thoughts were explained by my selfish wish to leave them both in my house, to see her every day, to talk to her, to look how the baby was growing up, try to drive away alert from her eyes…
She was keeping her head down and hid her face behind her thick hair. I continued watching her insistently.
I stood up and came closer to the fireplace.
“Try not to be scared of me,” I heard my own voice as if it was coming from afar, “what is your name, my baby?”
The fire in the fireplace was burning cheerfully. I was watching a bundle of red and orange flames, when suddenly I felt unrest, because it was very quiet in the room. I turned short and saw her confused eyes and trembling lips that tried to whisper something.
“What happened to you?”
Tears appeared on her eyelashes.
“I do not remember… I do not remember my name!..”
;
He, She and the Child
The fact that she had a name, a name, which she could not remember, startled her out of her apathy. Only the child helped her to remain able in mind.
“Calm down, girl, calm down. Is it okay now?”
I gave her a shake, then embraced her, feeling how her heart was trembling, like a bird caught in a drag-net.
I was able to stop the hysterics at the very beginning, but I was holding her in my arms for a long time.
“Hush, hush, do not be afraid, it is all over,” I let her out slowly and was looking into her eyes, “have a drink.”
Chinese drink made of dried tea leaves gave much warm. I gave her a cup and was holding her hands in mine, while she was drinking.
“Please, eat something, you need to feed the baby.”
I was sitting by the fireplace for a long time looking onto the flames to give her time to calm down.
“What do I have to do, My Lord? Should I?..”
She was squeezing her unlaced dress on her breast. Warm light of the candle and flames in the fireplace painted her naked shoulders into soft pearl color.
Antoine-Alain slowly came up to her and slowly fastened laces on her dress.
“It is rather cold here, you may catch a cold. You should not do this. Nobody will make you do it.”
He slowly put a scarf on her shoulders and suddenly stopped talking, when milk squirted out over his face.
“And nobody made me do it” whispered the girl and sat on the floor, “they liked to hurt me… the countess and Armand…”
Antoine-Alain could hardly support her. Her fluffy unfastened hair fell onto his hand. Milk was spreading on her breast. He heard how the baby made a movementin the adjacent room.
“Have patience, baby. Milk for you is ready, you will be able to eat it now.”
Antoine-Alain put her on the bed and looked around. Water… Where water is? The baby was already awaken and was going to start crying.
“Just a second, baby, be patient.”
He put a wet towel on her forehead, and took the baby in his arms.
Of course, the baby was wet.
He did not know how to change the baby quite well, however, managed to cope with this task. The baby did not burst into crying, and now was only turning his head looking for milk.
He put the baby next to his mother and now tried to unlace her dress, but for some reason he couldn’t. The baby was persistently touching his mother’s dress and once firmly clenched Antoine-Alain’s finger with his little gums.
It was not an easy task. At first, to fasten the dress, then to unlace it, trying not to let the baby burst into crying.
Antoine-Alain became angry with himself for his trembling hands, laid her chest bare and moved … no, the baby has already moved closer and started eating with his eyes closed.
She startled and her hands made an abrupt movement. He carefully put a wet towel onto her face. She shivered and embraced the baby. Antoine-Alain covered them with a blanket and remained on the bed looking on the burning down candles, and he even did not notice how he fell asleep. The girl shivered, when she was asleep, however, she became quiet again, when he put his hand on her forehead.
;
End of Search
It was the first night, when he did not have nightmares. When Antoine-Alain understood that he was laying with his face nestled in the messed up curls, was inhaling her apple odor and embraced her over the blanket, he thought that it was time to go away. The child was already awake and held a toy horse in his hand.
When the child saw Antoine-Alain, he babbled something joyfully.
“No, my baby, we will not awake your mother.”
Antoine-Alain was holding the baby in his arms trying to set fire in the fireplace. Sleepy maidservant came in, and when she saw her master, she groaned, but Antoine-Alain stopped her mouth with his hand.
“My Lord, how did you manage to change a napkin?”
“Take baby linen away and bring him grated apple, Bridget said he could eat it already.”
Autumn came.
The baby started grabbling actively causing much trouble to everybody, and he could eat not only his mother’s milk. A bright green frog and a funny gray cat in a red jacket and bright blue pants with an embroidered mousejoined the toy horse, and one day chevalier R… saw the young mother drawing letters and words for the baby. On the same day he brought A-B-C book for them, and showed her a small library in the house. For the first time he saw a tremulous joy in her eyes.
A messenger came with a letter.
Chevalier R… had to go away urgently. Two tasks remained unsettled. Search of relatives of the girl did not give any results. And the monster was wandering around the world killing girls – student of the perfumer, who escaped execution.
R… came to Paris.
After fresh air of the province gardens Paris knocked him down with a stink of decaying waste, different voices of people in the marketplace, mix of perfumes and smell of alcohol from the street girls.
R… was trying to dry blood dropping from his nose and was fighting with a wish to start vomiting in the middle of the street; he was wandering along muggy quarters and asked questions. Several times he had to fight back persistent offers to present his purse, once he could hardly escape from embraces of a “beauty” with puffy eyes, who seemed to be older than he and who promised to give him her virginity for a bottle of wine.
Finally, his search led him to the place of death of Grenouille, to the place, where Grenouille wanted to examine the power of his devilish aromas on the crowd of people that drank too much absinthe that caused hallucination.
He was standing and thinking about his daughter, about his hate and about the fact that he had touched Grenouille with his sword. Eyewitnesses of his death said that they saw a long mark on his face – trace from stroke of the sword.
He had been waiting for this moment for so long. It was not he, who killed that monster.
“Thank you, My Lord, that you did not allow me to kill.” Whispered Antoine-Alain.
In his native Gr… he received a letter from maitre Colas with a request to visit him and their common friend, with whom they did puzzles, drinking chocolate.
When Antoine-Alain came to father Herve, he met the notary at his place, who gave him documents: certificate of baptism and wedding, copy of entry about chrismation.
When Antoine-Alain read all that documents, he became deeply absorbed in his thoughts.
“It can be anyone else. Is there a single portrait?”
Maitre Colas smiled.
“I am a lawyer, so, I thought about it. Here is the list with the marks.”
“Can I take it with me?”
“Of course, these are copies.”
I came to the village and ran into the house and did not hear a familiar babble of the baby.
“Probably, the child was sleeping,” I tried to calm down, however, there was nobody in the house, and the furniture was broken. I ran upstairs and saw the open door of her room and torn out page from A-B-C book. And empty cradle…
“Renee! Where is Renee?”
The wind threw a tree branch onto the window.
;
Empty House
I do not know how long I was sitting on the floor with my face closed with my hands, I could not understand anything, did not feel anything.
The floorboard started creaking under somebody’s feet.
“Who is it?”
Candle light fell onto my face.
“Master?”
There were notes of distrust in the voice of the gardener.
“Master!”
I asked him with a dull colorless voice:
“Where is everybody?”
“My Lord, you cannot even imagine what happened here…”
“Where is the baby? And… where is…”
I couldn’t say a single word, I was suffocating.
“They are not here. They were taken away…”
When I could think again, I found out that I was squeezing the collar of the old gardener, kicked to the wall, and that a hot wax from the candle in his trembling hand was falling onto my hand.
From complicated and confused explanations of the old man I could understand that at first several serious gentlemen came, broke into the house and took the young madam with the child and servants away, and they told all men in the house to go away and not come too close to the house, and then other people broke into the house, they ruined and broke everything here, and then a big fight took place, everything was ruined…
“Who were those people, those serious people with arms? Who were they? Where from? Are they alive?”
“You have blood on your hose, My Lord…”
“It does not matter. Who were those people?”
The old man kept groaning, and finally he could say something meaningful.
I slowly drove down to the floor.
My Renee… the baby…
Monsignor, the duke, met me on the terrace steps of his palace and asked to get down to business, but he was listening to me inattentively.
“And that lady, whom you saved from the house of sellers of the intoxicating herbs? Were you able to find out who she was?”
I gave him copies of documents given by maitre Colas M… without saying a single word.
“So, what are you going to do?”
“To find her family. To return… to return them to her husband…”
My own voice betrayed me.
“You are saying that that lady with a baby – what was her name?..”
“Renee.”
“Renee disappeared.” The duke offered to go to the garden. “You know, my dear chevalier, those people,” the duke’s face had a squeamish expression, “producers of the intoxicating perfume, used it in order to control people, to make them obedient weapons of their sect. Even if you had stayed with Renee, you couldn’t not protect her. Do not blame yourself.”
“Laura… Then Renee, then the baby …”
The duke stopped and looked into my eyes with a strange expression.
“Did you want to return her to her husband? And if you knew that there was nobody, to whom you could return her? Yes, he is dead, and she does not have the reasons to regret about his death, he died of drink.”
“Besides, my dear friend, the duchess wanted to see you very much.”
I kissed her hand and automatically said polite greeting words, when I heard that the duchess wanted to show me somebody, and saw a small boy with fluffy hair sticking out of his hat and with two toys in his hands – a horse made of pieces of cloth and a bright green frog. His pants were stained with earth, and a bright autumn leave got stuck to his cheek.
“Our sweet Andre has already got to his feet and can run fast”, said the duchess. “You know him, do you?”
The child recognized me and ran towards me joyfully. I went down to my knees and took him into my arms and saw her eyes.
“Renee…”
;
Last Chapter
I was ready to return her to her husband, was ready to adopt her and to take care of her and the child, as of my own children, but Renee agreed to marry me. On the portrait my daughter is depicted very serious, but today I saw that she was smiling with joy. And the same smile was on her face, when we left that place and moved far away from Grasse and all this perfume story.
December 20, 2010 – January 14, 2011. Ramsay. Saint Petersburg,Ingermanlandú
Àíòèïàðôþìåð. Èñòîðèÿ îäíîãî ðàññëåäîâàíèÿ
© Copyright: Àííà-Ýëèçàáåò Äå Ðàìçàé, 2014
Ñâèäåòåëüñòâî î ïóáëèêàöèè ¹214071000879
Ñâèäåòåëüñòâî î ïóáëèêàöèè ¹214071000879
Ðåöåíçèè