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1The Gorgon's Head It was a heavy mass of building, that chateau of Monsieur the Marquis, with a large stone courtyard
2before it, and two stone sweeps of staircase meeting in a stone terrace before the principal door. A stony business
3altogether, with heavy stone balustrades, and stone urns, and stone flowers, and stone faces of men, and stone heads of
4lions, in all directions. As if the Gorgon's head had surveyed it, when it was finished, two centuries ago. Up the broad
5flight of shallow steps, Monsieur the Marquis, flambeau preceded, went from his carriage, sufficiently disturbing the
6darkness to elicit loud remonstrance from an owl in the roof of the great pile of stable building away among the trees.
7All else was so quiet, that the flambeau carried up the steps, and the other flambeau held at the great door, burnt as
8if they were in a close room of state, instead of being in the open night-air. Other sound than the owl's voice there
9was none, save the falling of a fountain into its stone basin; for, it was one of those dark nights that hold their
10breath by the hour together, and then heave a long low sigh, and hold their breath again. The great door clanged behind
11him, and Monsieur the Marquis crossed a hall grim with certain old boar-spears, swords, and knives of the chase; grimmer
12with certain heavy riding-rods and riding-whips, of which many a peasant, gone to his benefactor Death, had felt the
13weight when his lord was angry. Avoiding the larger rooms, which were dark and made fast for the night, Monsieur the
14Marquis, with his flambeau-bearer going on before, went up the staircase to a door in a corridor. This thrown open,
15admitted him to his own private apartment of three rooms: his bed-chamber and two others. High vaulted rooms with cool
16uncarpeted floors, great dogs upon the hearths for the burning of wood in winter time, and all luxuries befitting the
17state of a marquis in a luxurious age and country. The fashion of the last Louis but one, of the line that was never to
18break--the fourteenth Louis--was conspicuous in their rich furniture; but, it was diversified by many objects that were
19illustrations of old pages in the history of France. A supper-table was laid for two, in the third of the rooms; a round
20room, in one of the chateau's four extinguisher-topped towers. A small lofty room, with its window wide open, and the
21wooden jalousie-blinds closed, so that the dark night only showed in slight horizontal lines of black, alternating with
22their broad lines of stone colour. "My nephew," said the Marquis, glancing at the supper preparation; "they said he was
23not arrived." Nor was he; but, he had been expected with Monseigneur. "Ah! It is not probable he will arrive to-night;
24nevertheless, leave the table as it is. I shall be ready in a quarter of an hour." In a quarter of an hour Monseigneur
25was ready, and sat down alone to his sumptuous and choice supper. His chair was opposite to the window, and he had taken
26his soup, and was raising his glass of Bordeaux to his lips, when he put it down. "What is that?" he calmly asked,
27looking with attention at the horizontal lines of black and stone colour. "Monseigneur? That?" "Outside the blinds. Open
28the blinds." It was done. "Well?" "Monseigneur, it is nothing. The trees and the night are all that are here." The
29servant who spoke, had thrown the blinds wide, had looked out into the vacant darkness, and stood with that blank behind
30him, looking round for instructions. "Good," said the imperturbable master. "Close them again." That was done too, and
31the Marquis went on with his supper. He was half way through it, when he again stopped with his glass in his hand,
32hearing the sound of wheels. It came on briskly, and came up to the front of the chateau. "Ask who is arrived." It was
33the nephew of Monseigneur. He had been some few leagues behind Monseigneur, early in the afternoon. He had diminished
34the distance rapidly, but not so rapidly as to come up with Monseigneur on the road. He had heard of Monseigneur, at the
35posting-houses, as being before him. He was to be told (said Monseigneur) that supper awaited him then and there, and
36that he was prayed to come to it. In a little while he came. He had been known in England as Charles Darnay. Monseigneur
37received him in a courtly manner, but they did not shake hands. "You left Paris yesterday, sir?" he said to Monseigneur,
38as he took his seat at table. "Yesterday. And you?" "I come direct." "From London?" "Yes." "You have been a long time
39coming," said the Marquis, with a smile. "On the contrary; I come direct." "Pardon me! I mean, not a long time on the
40journey; a long time intending the journey." "I have been detained by"--the nephew stopped a moment in his
41answer--"various business." "Without doubt," said the polished uncle. So long as a servant was present, no other words
42passed between them. When coffee had been served and they were alone together, the nephew, looking at the uncle and
43meeting the eyes of the face that was like a fine mask, opened a conversation. "I have come back, sir, as you
44anticipate, pursuing the object that took me away. It carried me into great and unexpected peril; but it is a sacred
45object, and if it had carried me to death I hope it would have sustained me." "Not to death," said the uncle; "it is not
46necessary to say, to death." "I doubt, sir," returned the nephew, "whether, if it had carried me to the utmost brink of
47death, you would have cared to stop me there." The deepened marks in the nose, and the lengthening of the fine straight
48lines in the cruel face, looked ominous as to that; the uncle made a graceful gesture of protest, which was so clearly a
49slight form of good breeding that it was not reassuring. "Indeed, sir," pursued the nephew, "for anything I know, you
50may have expressly worked to give a more suspicious appearance to the suspicious circumstances that surrounded me." "No,
51no, no," said the uncle, pleasantly. "But, however that may be," resumed the nephew, glancing at him with deep distrust,
52"I know that your diplomacy would stop me by any means, and would know no scruple as to means." "My friend, I told you
53so," said the uncle, with a fine pulsation in the two marks. "Do me the favour to recall that I told you so, long ago."
54"I recall it." "Thank you," said the Marquis--very sweetly indeed. His tone lingered in the air, almost like the tone of
55a musical instrument. "In effect, sir," pursued the nephew, "I believe it to be at once your bad fortune, and my good
56fortune, that has kept me out of a prison in France here." "I do not quite understand," returned the uncle, sipping his
57coffee. "Dare I ask you to explain?" "I believe that if you were not in disgrace with the Court, and had not been
58overshadowed by that cloud for years past, a letter de cachet would have sent me to some fortress indefinitely." "It is
59possible," said the uncle, with great calmness. "For the honour of the family, I could even resolve to incommode you to
60that extent. Pray excuse me!" "I perceive that, happily for me, the Reception of the day before yesterday was, as usual,
61a cold one," observed the nephew.
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