Alexei Tolstoy - Cagliostro

"Oh for shame, for shame!" said Cagliostro as he approached Alexei. "I toiled in the sweat of my brow for you, and you turn your nose away from her!"

"You fickle lover," shrieked Praskovia Pavlovna. "I'll have you chained to the wall in the basement!"

"No, madam, chaining him to the wall won't do," objected Cagliostro. "As for you, sir, don't be so mulish, it's time to go home-the lady wants to sleep, and going to bed all by herself will distress her."

The inertia he felt before took hold of him again, he sighed and shuffled homewards, pulled along by Praskovia Pavlovna, hanging on his arm. They were almost at the door into the library when he turned round and saw a woman's shadow on the curtain of the guest wing. He tried to break free of Praskovia's clutch and shouted "Maria!" but he was gripped from behind by Margadon who pushed him into the room and locked the door behind him.

Alexei had given that shout because the scales seemed to fall from his eyes and he understood in what lay his salvation. Left tete-a-tete with Praskovia Pavlovna, he lit his pipe, sat down on a rung of the step-ladder and pretended to be listening. She threatened to keep him chained to the wall till he rotted, she screamed that the whole household was against her, that in the morning she would throw out Fedosia Ivanovna's junk, tear out Fimka's hair with her own hands, have all the servants flogged, and establish her own rule in the house…

Alexei waited for the screaming to tire her, but her anger showed no signs of abating. He listened but did not hear her-his heart was hammering so. He decided to take action. He knocked out his pipe, stood up and took a stretch.

"Those are all small things," he said, yawning. "Let's go to bed."

Praskovia Pavlovna immediately broke off her stream of words and her parched lips parted in a smile of happy surprise. Alexei took the candelabrum with lighted candles from the table and drew back the curtain screening the alcove, inviting Praskovia Pavlovna to go in first. The moment she had gone in, he held the candelabrum close to the curtain and the crimson velvet caught fire at once.

"Fire!" Alexei shouted in a voice that did not sound like his own, threw down the candelabrum and started running along the gallery leading to the guest wing.

Only once he paused and, turning round, saw Praskovia Pavlovna pulling down the blazing curtain with her skinny hands, emitting frightened cries as she did so. When he heard voices and the thudding of feet at the far end of the gallery, he darted to the nearest window and flattened himself against the wall of the deep niche. Margadon, his robe streaming behind him, and Cagliostro wearing a night cap, a long patterned nightgown and no trousers, ran past him with frightened cries. They disappeared

behind the turning in the gallery whence thick smoke came pouring out. And then Alexei dashed to the guest wing, and saw Maria standing in the door opening into the garden. She was fully dressed and had a white shawl draped on her shoulders. Alexei jumped out into the garden from the window in the gallery and ran to her.

"Maria, just say the word," he said, folding his hands on his chest. "Wait… If it's no, then it's all up with me… If it's yes, I live, I shall live forever… Tell me-do you love me?"

With a small cry, she raised her arms, put them round Alexei's neck, and throwing back her head, looking into his eyes through her tears, said: "I love you."

And when she had spoken these words, he came out of the spell, his heart thawed out, the blood ran hotly and noisily in his veins, joyfully he drew in a breath of the scented night's air and of Maria's fragrant young body, cupped her weeping face in his hands and kissed her on the eyes.

"Maria, run down this walk to the pond and wait for me in the folly. When you have crossed the little bridge don't forget to give the chain a tug, and it will be raised… You will be perfectly safe there."

She nodded to say that she understood, picked up her skirts and started briskly down the path, turning round once to smile at him happily before she vanished in the thick darkness of the trees.

Alexei drew his sword then and rushed back into the house.

He knocked Fimka off her feet, resolutely pushed away Fedosia Ivanovna who tried to hold on to his arm, elbowed his way through the crowd of frightened servants, and flew into the library. The room was full of smoke. The five candles in the twin candelabrum with their smoking little tongues of flame barely illumined the books scattered all over the floor from the bookcase which had toppled over, Margadon who was stamping the smouldering carpet, and Cagliostro crouching beside an armchair in which sat a cringing creature whose body with protruding dark ribs was barely covered with the tatters of her burnt gown. On seeing Alexei, the creature hissed, leapt to its feet and rushed towards him. He uttered a shout, thrust his sword forward and the creature, with a wail of despair and fury, sprang back from the menacing blade, ran to the back of the room and disappeared behind the book-cases.

Cagliostro, now barricaded by the armchair, was making some signs to Margadon, who stopped stamping the carpet and began to steal up to Alexei pulling his dagger out from behind his belt. Alexei, however, forestalling the man's leap, himself made a lunge with the sword in his outstretched arm, and it pierced Margadon's shoulder, buried in his flesh to half its length. Margadon gave a grunt, gasped for air with his open mouth, and' fell on his back. And then Cagliostro threw the armchair at Alexei, and whirled about the room with a nimbleness amazing for his age and his girth, ducking behind various objects and throwing them. Alexei ran about the room after him, trying to hit him with his sword, but Cagliostro managed to slip out into the gallery, from there he jumped out into the garden from the very first open window he came to, and kicking up his bare legs in large leaps made for the ponds.

Alexei only caught up with him at the little bridge leading to the folly where Maria's white gown made a pale blur between the columns. With a growl Cagliostro started up the bridge, but coming to the edge, with the other half raised, he flung up his arms and with a heavy splash fell into the water. Maria's faint cry was heard. Moonlit ripples appeared on the water, and a frightened bird flew low over the grass with a lingering whistling call. All was still once more: not a sound was heard either on the pond or in the dark thickets.

Alexei stepped on to the bridge and peered down. Suddenly he saw a pair of eyes at the very pile supporting the structure, and these eyes slowly winked. Now he made out Cagliostro's upraised face, bristly skull and ugly ears.

"That pile is slippery and you won't be able to climb out anyway," he said to Cagliostro. "And I'm warning you, if you start anything again I'll stab you with my sword. You're a scoundrel. So better sit there quietly, you'll be pulled out just now." Cupping his hands round his mouth he shouted: "Hey, come here someone, here!" Very soon voices were heard in the distance, and people came running-youngsters, servant men and wenches, some armed with pitchforks, some with scythes, and some simply with clubs. All of them had been roused from their beds and were tousled from sleep.

Alexei ordered the men to fetch ropes, tie up Cagliostro and pull him out of the water. Three hefty men went down into the water, first taking off their pants and crossing themselves. A tussle started under the bridge between the piles.

"Master, he's scratching, damn him," one of he rescuers called out.

"Grab him by the jowls and pull him out," men shouted from the bridge.

Finally, Cagliostro was tied up with ropes and hauled out. The fight had gone out of him and, with drooping head, teeth chattering from the cold, and wet shirt sticking to his body, he tramped towards the house in the crowd of servants.