"You have come, you have come, as I knew you would," she excitedly cried, "and the hour of retribution is at hand!"At the words of one who, a few moments before, they had supposed to be dead, an awestruck silence fell; and the count, taking advantage of it, waved his hand, and cried"Yield yourselves prisoners, I command you! The royal guards are without; and the first of you who offers the slightest resistance will die like a dog! Ho, guards I enter, and seize your prisoners!"Quick as thought the room was full of soldiers! but the rest of the order was easier said than obeyed.The robbers, knowing their doom was death, fought with the fury of desperation, and a snort, wild, and terrible conflict ensued.Foremost in the melee was Sir Norman and the count; while Hubert, who had taken possession of the dwarf's sword, fought like a young lion.The shrieks of the women were heart-rending, as they all fled, precipitately, into the blue dining-room; and, crouching in corners, or flying distractedly about - true to their sex - made the air resound with the most lamentable cries.Some five or six, braver than the rest, alone remained; and more than one of these actually mixed in the affray, with a heroism worthy a better cause.Miranda, still sitting erect, and supported in the arms of a kneeling and trembling sylph in white, watched the conflict with terribly-exultant eyes, that blazed brighter and brighter with the lurid fire of vengeful joy st every robber that fell.
"Oh, that I were strong enough to wield a sword!" was her fierce aspiration every instant; "if I could only mix in that battle for five minutes, I could die with a happy heart!"Had she been able to wield a sword for five minutes, according to her wish, she would probably have wielded it from beginning to end of the battle; for it did not last much longer than that.
The robbers fought with fury and ferocity; but they had been taken by surprise, and were overpowered by numbers, and obliged to yield.
The crimson court was indeed crimson now; for the velvet carpeting was dyed a more terrible red, and was slippery with a rain of blood! A score of dead and dying lay groaning on the ground; and the rest, beaten and bloody, gave up their swords and surrendered.
"You should have done this at first!" said the count, coolly wiping his blood-stained weapon, end replacing it in its sheath;"and, by so doing, saved some time and more bloodshed.Where are all the fair ladies, Kingsley, I saw here when we entered first?""They fled like a flock of frightened deer," said Hubert, taking it upon himself to answer,"through yonder archway when the fight commenced.I will go in search of them if you like.""I am rather at a loss what to do with them," said the count, half-laughing."It would be a pity to bring such a cavalcade of pretty women into the city to die of the plague.Can you suggest nothing, Sir Norman?""Nothing, but to leave then here to take care of themselves, or let them go free.""They would be a great addition to the court at Whitehall,"suggested Hubert, in his prettiest tone, "and a thousand times handsomer than half the damsels therein.There, for instance, is one a dozen timer more beautiful than Mistress Stuart herself!"Leaning, in his nonchalant way, on the hilt of his sword, he pointed to Miranda, whose fiercely-joyful eyes were fixed w with a glance that made the three of them shudder, on the bloody floor and the heap of slain.
"Who is that?" asked the count, curiously."Why is she perched up there, and why does she bear such an extraordinary resemblance to Leoline? Do you know anything about her, Kingsley?""I know she is the wife of that unlovely little man, whose howls in yonder passage you can hear, if you listen, and that she was the queen of this midnight court, and is wounded, if not dying, now!""I never saw such fierce eyes before in a female head! One would think she fairly exulted in this wholesale slaughter of her subjects.""So she does; and she hates both her husband and her subjects, with an intensity you cannot conceive.""How very like royalty!" observed Hubert, in parenthesis."If she were a real queen, she could not act more naturally."Sir Norman smiled, and the count glanced at the audacious page, suspiciously; but Hubert's face was touching to witness, in its innocent unconsciousness.Miranda, looking up at the same time, caught the young knight's eye, and made a motion for him to approach.She held out both her hands to him as he came near, with the same look of dreadful delight.
