At the Villa RoseMason, A. E. W. (Alfred Edward Woodley)
General
At the Villa Rose
Mason, A. E. W. (Alfred Edward Woodley)
Detective and mystery stories; Fiction
That was all she thought about, yes. She left Helene Vauquier out of
her calculations, and she did not foresee the effect of her seances
upon Mme. Dauvray. Celia had no suspicions of Helene Vauquier. She
would have laughed if any one had told her that this respectable and
respectful middle-aged woman, who was so attentive, so neat, so
grateful for any kindness, was really nursing a rancorous hatred
against her. Celia had sprung from Montmartre suddenly; therefore
Helene Vauquier despised her. Celia had taken her place in Mme.
Dauvray's confidence, had deposed her unwittingly, had turned the
confidential friend into a mere servant; therefore Helene Vauquier
hated her. And her hatred reached out beyond the girl, and embraced the
old, superstitious, foolish woman, whom a young and pretty face could
so easily beguile. Helene Vauquier despised them both, hated them both,
and yet must nurse her rancour in silence and futility. Then came the
seances, and at once, to add fuel to her hatred, she found herself
stripped of those gifts and commissions which she had exacted from the
herd of common tricksters who had been wont to make their harvest out
of Mme. Dauvray. Helene Vauquier was avaricious and greedy, like so
many of her class. Her hatred of Celia, her contempt for Mme. Dauvray,
grew into a very delirium. But it was a delirium she had the cunning to
conceal. She lived at white heat, but to all the world she had lost
nothing of her calm.
Celia did not foresee the hatred she was arousing; nor, on the other
hand, did she foresee the overwhelming effect of these spiritualistic
seances on Mme. Dauvray. Celia had never been brought quite close to
the credulous before.
"There had always been the row of footlights," she said. "I was on the
platform; the audience was in the hall; or, if it was at a house, my
father made the arrangements. I only came in at the last moment, played
my part, and went away. It was never brought home to me that some
amongst these people really and truly believed. I did not think about
it. Now, however, when I saw Mme. Dauvray so feverish, so excited, so
firmly convinced that great ladies from the spirit world came and spoke
to her, I became terrified. I had aroused a passion which I had not
suspected. I tried to stop the seances, but I was not allowed. I had
aroused a passion which I could not control. I was afraid that Mme.
Dauvray's whole life--it seems absurd to those who did not know her,
but those who did will understand--yes, her whole life and happiness
would be spoilt if she discovered that what she believed in was all a
trick."
She spoke with a simplicity and a remorse which it was difficult to
disbelieve. M. Fleuriot, the judge, now at last convinced that the
Dreyfus affair was for nothing in the history of this crime, listened
to her with sympathy.
"That is your explanation, mademoiselle," he said gently. "But I must
tell you that we have another."
"Yes, monsieur?" Celia asked.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account