Maurice Leblanc - The Secret of Sarek

The Sarek coast was making a thinner line on the horizon. It disappeared in the mist in which sea and sky were merged.

The three men were silent. All three were thinking of the isle of the dead, laid waste by one man's madness, the isle of the dead where soon some visitor would find the inexplicable traces of the tragedy, the entrances to the tunnels, the cells with their "death-chambers," the hall of the God-Stone, the mortuary crypts, Elfride's body, Conrad's body, the skeletons of the sisters Archignat and, right at the end of the island, near the Fairies' Dolmen,[Pg 355] where the prophecy of the thirty coffins and the four crosses was written for all to read, Vorski's great body, lonely and pitiable, mangled by the ravens and owls.

A villa near Arcachon, in the pretty village of Les Moulleaux, whose pine-trees run down to the shores of the gulf.

Veronique is sitting in the garden. A week's rest and happiness have restored the colour to her comely face and assuaged all evil memories. She is looking with a smile at her son, who, standing a little way off, is listening to and questioning Don Luis Perenna. She also looks at Stephane; and their eyes meet gently.

It is easy to see that the affection in which they both hold the boy is a link which unites them closely and which is strengthened by their secret thoughts and their unuttered feelings. Not once has Stephane recalled the avowals which he made in the cell, under the Black Heath; but Veronique has not forgotten them; and the profound gratitude which she feels for the man who brought up her son is mingled with a special emotion and an agitation of which she unconsciously savours the charm.

That day, Don Luis, who, on the evening when the Crystal Stopper brought them all to the Villa des Moulleaux, had taken the train for Paris, arrived unexpectedly at lunch-time, accompanied by Patrice Belval; and during the hour that they have been sitting in their rocking-chairs in the garden, the boy, his face all pink with excitement, has never ceased to question his rescuer:

"And what did you do next?… But how did[Pg 356] you know?… And what put you on the track of that?"

"My darling," says Veronique, "aren't you afraid of boring Don Luis?"

"No, madame," replies Don Luis, rising, going up to Veronique and speaking in such a way that the boy cannot hear, "no, Francois is not boring me; and in fact I like answering his questions. But I confess that he perplexes me a little and that I am afraid of saying something awkward. Tell me, how much exactly does he know of the whole story?"

"As much as I know myself, except Vorski's name, of course."

"But does he know the part which Vorski played?"

"Yes, but with certain differences. He thinks that Vorski is an escaped prisoner who picked up the legend of Sarek and, in order to get hold of the God-Stone, proceeded to carry out the prophecy touching it. I have kept some of the lines of the prophecy from Francois."

"And the part played by Elfride? Her hatred for you? The threats she made you?"

"Madwoman's talk, I told Francois, of which I myself did not understand the meaning."

Don Luis smiled:

"The explanation is a little arbitrary; and I have a notion that Francois quite well understands that certain parts of the tragedy remain and must remain obscure to him. The great thing, don't you think, is that he should not know that Vorski was his father?"

"He does not know and he never will."

[Pg 357]"And then-and this is what I was coming to-what name will he bear himself?"

"What do you mean?"

"Whose son will he believe himself to be? For you know as well as I do that the legal reality is this, that Francois Vorski died fifteen years ago, drowned in a shipwreck, and his grandfather with him. And Vorski died last year, stabbed by a fellow-prisoner. Neither of them is alive in the eyes of the law. So…"

Veronique nodded her head and smiled:

"So I don't know. The position seems to me, as you say, incapable of explanation. But everything will come out all right."

"Why?"

"Because you're here to do it."

It was his turn to smile:

"I can no longer take credit for the actions which I perform or the steps which I take. Everything is arranging itself a priori. Then why worry?"

"Am I not right to?"

"Yes," he said, gravely. "The woman who has suffered all that you have must not be subjected to the least additional annoyance. And nothing shall happen to her after this, I swear. So what I suggest to you is this: long ago, you married against your father's wish a very distant cousin, who died after leaving you a son, Francois. This son your father, to be revenged upon you, kidnapped and brought to Sarek. At your father's death, the name of d'Hergemont became extinct and there is nothing to recall the events of your marriage."

"But my name remains. Legally, in the official records, I am Veronique d'Hergemont."

[Pg 358]"Your maiden name disappears under your married name."

"You mean under that of Vorski."

"No, because you did not marry that fellow Vorski, but one of your cousins called…"

"Called what?"

"Jean Maroux. Here is a stamped certificate of your marriage to Jean Maroux, a marriage mentioned in your official records, as this other document shows."

Veronique looked at Don Luis in amazement:

"But why? Why that name?"

"Why? So that your son may be neither d'Hergemont, which would have recalled past events, nor Vorski, which would have recalled the name of a traitor. Here is his birth-certificate, as Francois Maroux."

She repeated, all blushing and confused:

"But why did you choose just that name?"

"It seemed easy for Francois. It's the name of Stephane, with whom Francois will go on living for some time. We can say that Stephane was a relation of your husband's; and this will explain the intimacy generally. That is my plan. It presents, believe me, no possible danger. When one is confronted by an inexplicable and painful position like yours, one must needs employ special means and resort to drastic and, I admit, very illegal measures. I did so without scruple, because I have the good fortune to dispose of resources which are not within everybody's reach. Do you approve of what I have done?"

Veronique bent her head:

"Yes," she said, "yes."

[Pg 359]He half-rose from his seat:

"Besides," he added, "if there should be any drawbacks, the future will no doubt take upon itself the burden of removing them. It would be enough, for instance-there is no indiscretion, is there, in alluding to the feelings which Stephane entertains for Francois' mother?-it would be enough if, one day or another, for reasons of common-sense, or reasons of gratitude, Francois' mother were moved to accept the homage of those feelings. How much simpler everything will be if Francois already bears the name of Maroux! How much more easily the past will be abolished, both for the outside world and for Francois, who will no longer be able to pry into the secret of bygone events which there will be nothing to recall to memory. It seemed to me that these were rather weighty arguments. I am glad to see that you share my opinion."

Don Luis bowed to Veronique and, without insisting any further, without appearing to notice her confusion, turned to Francois and explained:

"I'm at your orders now, young man. And, since you don't want to leave anything unexplained, let's go back to the God-Stone and the scoundrel who coveted its possession. Yes, the scoundrel," repeated Don Luis, seeing no reason not to speak of Vorski with absolute frankness, "and the most terrible scoundrel that I have ever met with, because he believed in his mission; in short, a sick-brained man, a lunatic…"

"Well, first of all," Francois observed, "what I don't understand is that you waited all night to capture him, when he and his accomplices were sleeping under the Fairies' Dolmen."