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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Lost Door, by Dorothy Quick
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Lost Door
+
+Author: Dorothy Quick
+
+Release Date: June 16, 2010 [EBook #32831]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LOST DOOR ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                             The Lost Door
+
+                            By DOROTHY QUICK
+
+[Transcriber Note: This etext was produced from Weird Tales October
+1936. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
+copyright on this publication was renewed.]
+
+
+[Sidenote: _An alluring but deadly horror out of past centuries menaced
+the life of the young American--a fascinating tale of a strange and eery
+love_]
+
+
+I have often wondered whether I would have urged Wrexler to come with me
+if I had known what Rougemont would do to him. I think--looking
+back--that even if I could have glimpsed the future, I would have acted
+in the same way, and that I would have brought him to Rougemont to
+fulfill his destiny.
+
+As the boat cut its swift way through the waters on its journey to
+France, I had no thought of this. Nor had Wrexler. He was happier than I
+had ever seen him. He had never been abroad before, and the boat was a
+source of wonder and enjoyment to him.
+
+I myself was full of an eager anticipation of happy months to come. It
+hardly seemed possible that only a week had elapsed since I received the
+cable that had made such a change in my fortunes:
+
+     Your father died yesterday. You are sole heir, provided you
+     comply with conditions of his will, the principal one being
+     that you spend six months of each year at Rougemont. If
+     satisfactory, come at once.
+
+It was signed by my father's lawyer.
+
+I had no sorrow over my father's passing, except a deep regret that we
+could not have known the true relationship of father and son. At the
+death of my mother, my father had grown bitter and refused to see the
+innocent cause of her untimely passing. As a baby I had been brought up
+in the lodge of Rougemont, my father's magnificent chateau near Vichy.
+When I reached the age of four, I had been sent away to boarding-school.
+After that, my life had been a succession of schools; first in France,
+the adopted land of my father, then England, and finally St. Paul's in
+America.
+
+In all justice to my parent, I must admit he gave me every advantage
+except the affection I would have cherished. By his own wish, I had
+never seen him in life; nor would I see him in death, for a later cable
+advised me that the funeral was over and his body already at rest in the
+beautiful Gothic mausoleum he had had built in his lifetime, after the
+manner of the ancients.
+
+He had left me everything with only two injunctions, that a certain sum
+of money be set aside to keep the chateau always in its present
+condition and that I should spend at least half my time in it, and my
+children after me--a condition I was only too pleased to accept. All my
+life I had longed for a home.
+
+I cabled at once that I would sail. A return cable brought me the news
+that I had unlimited funds to draw upon. It was then that I urged
+Wrexler to come with me.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Wrexler and I had been friends since the day when two lonely boys had
+been put by chance into the same room at school. We were so utterly
+unlike, it was perhaps the difference between us that held us together
+through the years. At St. Paul's, and later at Princeton, Gordon Wrexler
+had always been at the head of his class, whereas I inevitably tagged
+along at the bottom. The contrast between us was expressed not only in
+the color of our hair and eyes, but also in our dispositions. My
+greatest gift from fate was a sense of humor, and I suppose it was this
+quality of mine that particularly appealed to Wrexler. It seems as
+though I was the only one who could lift him out of the despondency into
+which he often plunged. As the years passed, and his tendency to
+depression intensified, he came to depend more and more upon me, and we
+grew closer together.
+
+Strangely enough, the whiteness of his face and the gloom that exuded
+from him did not detract from his good looks. It only added to them. For
+the translucence of his skin made the thick, black hair that lay close
+to his head all the darker, while at the same time it brought out the
+deep black of his eyes, and the firm cut of his lips.
+
+The night before we landed, we were standing on deck, at the rail,
+looking over the side straining our eyes for the first glimpse of the
+lights of Cherbourg, and Wrexler spoke of himself for the first time
+since we had left New York.
+
+"You know, Jim, for perhaps the only time in my life I feel at peace, as
+though something that I should have done long ago has been at last
+accomplished."
+
+He was so solemn that I laughed a little. He stopped me suddenly: "It's
+true--I've always felt an urge within me, a blinding force pushing me
+toward something that is waiting for me: where, I do not know; what, I
+have no idea. For the first time, it's gone--that nameless urge that I
+knew not how to satisfy, and I feel that the call's being answered."
+
+With the usual inanity of people at a loss for words, I said the first
+thing that came into my mind: "Perhaps Rougemont has been calling you."
+
+"You've no idea what a relief it is," he continued, "not to feel
+constantly pulled with no way of knowing toward what, or how to go about
+answering the summons. I have often thought that I should take my
+life--that that was what was meant----" His voice trailed off.
+
+This time I was not at a loss for words. I started to read him a lecture
+that would have done credit to Martin Luther or John Knox. At the end of
+my harangue Wrexler laughed, a rare thing for him, and put his arm
+through mine.
+
+"All that's gone now. Didn't I tell you that at last in some strange way
+I am at peace?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Rougemont's towers were visible long before we reached the great iron
+gates that had to be swung open to let us pass. For miles the great
+edifice dominated the landscape. The huge building had a soft, reddish
+tinge, from which I supposed it derived its name--Red Mountain. It was a
+fairy-tale palace perched on a mountain top. A great thrill went through
+me as I realized that this beautiful chateau was mine, and as we drove
+through the gates, up the winding road, through my own forest, the pride
+of possession swelled up in me and for the first time I began to
+understand why my father had never put his foot outside the great gates
+and the high wall that enclosed the acres that now belonged to me.
+
+As we drove on, up the winding, narrow road, over the drawbridge that
+spanned the moat, into the courtyard, I understood more and more. Here
+was everything: beauty such as I had never dreamed, forests stocked with
+game, running brooks full of fish, a lake, and farther off, a farm--I
+could glimpse its thatched roofs--to supply our wants. Rougemont was a
+world in itself.
+
+The high carved door was swung open as Wrexler and I got out of the car.
+Monsieur de Carrier, my father's lawyer, advanced to meet us, a friendly
+smile on his Santa Claus countenance. I shook hands, introduced Wrexler
+as "a very good friend who is going to stay with me."
+
+Monsieur Carrier's face fell. Clearly Wrexler's being with me was a
+disappointment. Nevertheless, he greeted him politely, as he ushered us
+in.
+
+That moment Rougemont took me to its heart and won me for its own.
+
+Imagine Amboise, or any of the great French chateaux, suddenly restored
+to itself as it was in the days of the Medici, and you have a small idea
+of Rougemont. For we had stepped out of the present into the past.
+Carrier, Wrexler and I were anachronisms; everything else was in keeping
+with the dead centuries. Even the servants were in doublet and hose of a
+sort of cerulean blue, with great slashes puffed with crimson silk.
+
+I think I gasped. At any rate, Monsieur Carrier saw my astonishment. "It
+is your father's will, my boy. He always kept it so, and wore the
+costume of former days, himself. He greatly admired the first Francis.
+In your rooms you will find costumes prepared for you. For the last six
+months of his life, he was making ready for his son." There was an odd
+sort of pride in Carrier's voice.
+
+I remembered now that my father had written for my measurements. I had
+thought he meant to make me a present, but when time passed and I heard
+nothing, the incident had slipped from my mind. I looked at Wrexler,
+expecting to see some sign of amusement on his face, but he stood
+quietly looking at the tapestry that hung half-way up the grand
+stairway. There was a dreamy, far-away expression in his eyes.
+
+"May I speak before your friend?" Carrier asked.
+
+I nodded. The servants had already disappeared with our luggage. I threw
+myself down on a long, low bench, and Carrier sat opposite me.
+
+"You understood the terms of your father's will, of course," Carrier
+began, "that you must live here six months, but you did not know that
+you must live here, as he did, in the past. If you do not, then
+Rougemont goes to your father's steward, with the same conditions--to be
+kept always as it is; with only a small sum set aside for you."
+
+I said nothing. Driving along the road from Paris, it would have seemed
+fantastic, but here--under the spell of Rougemont--it seemed as though
+anything else would be impossible.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Carrier went on, "You will be Grand Seigneur--Lord of the Manor, in the
+old style. You may have your guests if you like, but they too must
+conform with the rules." Here he glanced at Wrexler, who still stood as
+though he were in a trance. "The other six months you are free to do as
+you please, spend what you like of the money not needed for
+Rougemont--that is, _if you want to go anywhere else_."
+
+Evidently he had finished his speech. At the time I did not recognize
+the significance of his last words. "I am willing to submit to the
+conditions; only"--a sudden thought struck me--"I don't want to lose all
+touch with the outside world. Can I go to Vichy--to get papers and so
+forth? I don't suppose they had papers in Francis First's time."
+
+Monsieur de Carrier smiled. "My dear boy, your father didn't wish to
+make a prisoner of you. You may go to Vichy if you like. But you must
+not be away from Rougemont more than twenty-four consecutive hours
+during the six months you are in residence.
+
+"So far as the papers, etc., are concerned, they will be at the lodge.
+There is also a telephone, and your own clothes will be kept there.
+After tonight, nothing of 1935 must come within these halls, but you are
+free to go to the lodge any time you want to. You can get in touch with
+me also, if you desire further information. De Lacy, the steward, will
+look out for you. He knows your father's ways. Now permit me to
+congratulate you and say _au revoir_, my young friend."
+
+Monsieur de Carrier got up on his stubby fat legs, made a little bow to
+me, another to Wrexler which went unheeded.
+
+I too arose. "It will seem strange, but I'll do my best."
+
+"One other thing," Monsieur de Carrier was all of a sudden very grave.
+"In two weeks' time you will be given a key. It unlocks a casket you
+will find in the library. In it you will find a message from your
+father. Adieu, my boy, I wish you well."
+
+With a click of the heels and a friendly smile, he was gone.
+
+I turned to Wrexler. "What do you think of it?" I asked.
+
+Wrexler did not answer. He still stood gazing up at the stairway. The
+wide, marble steps curved upward. Along the sides, the intricate carving
+was beautiful in its lacy delicateness.
+
+At that moment, however, I was alarmed for my friend. His attitude was
+rigid, and his eyes were glassy. I put my hand on his shoulder.
+"Wrexler!"
+
+My action galvanized him to life. "Another minute and she would have
+reached the last step! Now she is gone."
+
+This was madness! There had been no one there. I said as much.
+
+Wrexler turned and faced me. "But there was," he said eagerly, "the most
+beautiful girl I have ever seen, all done up in some old costume: great,
+wide skirts, little waist, and a high lace collar. She had bronze curls,
+great blue eyes and the loveliest face! I saw her immediately we came
+in. She looked at both of us, but she smiled at me!"
+
+I was in a quandary. Until now I had not given the staircase more than a
+perfunctory glance. For all I knew, she might have been one of the
+servants, peeping to see her new master. To Wrexler, impressionable,
+strange creature that he was, the one glance might have so registered on
+his mind that he kept on seeing her; for certainly she had not been
+there when I looked. It seemed best to make light of the whole matter.
+
+"Anyway, she's gone now. At least I can explain the costume. I take it
+you didn't hear Carrier's announcements?"
+
+Wrexler shook his head. I proceeded to enlighten him.
+
+Instead of teasing me about the strange conditions my father's will had
+imposed upon me, he was enthusiastic about the idea. "It's the one
+period in history that has always interested me! Jim, we're in luck!
+Imagine stepping back into Medici France for six months, shutting out
+the world! Who knows but that Catherine herself may have stayed here, or
+Marguerite de Valois--the Marguerite of Marguerites! Beautiful, but no
+more beautiful than that girl on the stairs. I can hardly wait to see
+her again."
+
+I heartily hoped that he would see her, and that she was not entirely a
+creature of his imagination. If she was real, I too was eager to meet
+her.
+
+Wrexler interrupted my thoughts.
+
+"I feel as though I had come home," he said. "I'm crazy to explore.
+Let's go shed these ugly things and begin to really live. Why, it's been
+this I've been waiting for! It's lucky we're the same size."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Out of his irrelevance, I gathered the trend of his thought. "I wonder
+where we go," I began.
+
+Almost as though he had heard my words, a tall, commanding figure
+stepped into the hall. He was attired richly in damask of a lovely, soft
+blue with the same slashes of crimson that the servant livery had shown,
+but in this case of finer material. He was a handsome man of about
+thirty-four. His beard was pointed and he had a small mustache. His long
+legs were encased in silken hose and he wore a dagger thrust through his
+belt.
+
+"De Lacy, at your service, my lord," he announced as he made a deep bow.
+
+I extended my hand, somewhat at a loss to know how to greet my father's
+steward, who was clearly a man of some importance and who, but for me,
+would be owner of Rougemont.
+
+Instead of shaking hands, he dropped on one knee and kissed my hand--a
+proceeding which embarrassed me very much.
+
+On my motioning him to rise, he did so with a lithe grace: "I suppose
+you want to change your strange clothes, my lord, and see your
+quarters?"
+
+I nodded and introduced Wrexler. De Lacy bowed. "Monsieur Wrexler would
+like to be near you?" Then he added, "We have some twenty or thirty
+suites, my lord."
+
+Wrexler said he would prefer to be close at hand, and together we
+followed de Lacy up the marble stairway into a new world.
+
+Wrexler was at ease immediately in his doublet and hose. The rich,
+embroidered garments seemed to suit him as modern clothes never did. He
+looked handsomer than ever. He also told me that the costume of the
+Medici was becoming to me, and truly when I caught a glimpse of myself
+mirrored in the pond--for the chateau did not possess a large mirror--I
+was not ill pleased with the result. But, by the end of the week, I
+still felt strange in my new attire, whereas Wrexler from the beginning
+wore his as if to the manor born.
+
+But I anticipate. That first night we donned two of the outfits which
+the valet whom de Lacy introduced to me had put out. Our own clothes
+disappeared, and much to my annoyance, with them my cigarettes.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+We ate dinner in state, upon a raised dais at one end of a great hall.
+At either side below us were long, narrow tables filled with people.
+Dressed also in keeping with the period, they made a wonderful picture
+and comprised, I supposed, my court or retinue. De Lacy presented me to
+them with a flourish, and they all filed by and kissed my hand, then
+went to their places.
+
+When Wrexler and I were seated, they too sat down. When I began to talk,
+they filled the hall with gay chattering. From a minstrel gallery at the
+other end of the room came soft strains of music.
+
+De Lacy stood behind me pouring my wine. One thing I noticed was that in
+the whole room--and there must have been two hundred people at
+least--there were no older men or women. In fact, de Lacy was the oldest
+of the lot; the others ranged from about sixteen to thirty.
+
+"How did my father get all these people together?" I asked de Lacy.
+
+"Most of them, my lord, were born at Rougemont. Still others were
+adopted and brought here almost as soon as they were born. None of us
+has ever been outside Rougemont gates." De Lacy was quite matter-of-fact
+as he made his statement.
+
+Wrexler was searching the hall with his eyes, as he listened to my
+steward.
+
+"And you?" I looked at de Lacy.
+
+"I, too, my lord, know nothing of your outside world, nor do I want to.
+Why should I, who am happy here? My family live down at the farm, but
+his Highness, your father, became interested in me. He brought me into
+the chateau, had me educated, and looked after me, himself. Eventually
+he made me steward of Rougemont. It is a great honor he conferred upon
+me and I shall do my best to help you, my lord."
+
+Of a sudden I saw what my father's life-work had been: to rear a court
+to people Rougemont. My father had been twenty-five at my mother's
+death. He had died at fifty-eight. He had had thirty-three years to make
+his dream come true.
+
+"Where are the parents of the ones who were born at Rougemont?"
+
+"At their own places, or the farms, my lord. Rougemont has over a
+thousand acres and several manors upon it, where people whom his
+Highness your father advanced over others, live. They all serve their
+ruler in some way, in return for what is given them. Only the people of
+the lodge are in touch with the Outside, which we have been taught to
+look upon with scorn. Here we have everything, and to be taken to the
+chateau itself is the ambition of everyone on the estate."
+
+I saw it all; not, of course, every intricacy of the elaborate system my
+father had evolved, but at least a glimmer of the truth. And I marveled
+at the character of a man who had taken children out of the world to
+make his own world and then had the patience to wait for them to grow
+up; to form his court--the court he planned for me. Yes, in my egotism I
+thought it was for me! Two weeks were to pass before I learned what his
+real reason had been.
+
+Into my reflections, Wrexler broke abruptly, "She is not here. Ask de
+Lacy about her; her beauty haunts me. Already I am in love with her."
+
+I was not surprized. Nothing, I felt, could at this point surprize me,
+so much had happened in the last few hours. If my father had arisen from
+the floor like Hamlet's ghost, I would have greeted him quite casually.
+
+"Is there a young girl here with bronze curls and blue eyes?" I asked
+obediently.
+
+A shadow crossed de Lacy's handsome face. For the first time he
+hesitated. "There is no one here that answers that description. May I
+ask why you----"
+
+"My friend saw her on the stairway."
+
+I caught a murmur from de Lacy's lips, "So soon!" it sounded like, but
+before I could question further, he said aloud, "I have leave to depart
+and join my lady?" And before I could answer, he bowed himself away to
+take a seat at one of the tables below.
+
+Wrexler looked over his wine goblet. "The man lied. I saw recognition of
+the description in his eyes."
+
+"We'll get the truth out of him later," I countered. "Isn't it fine to
+actually eat chicken with your fingers, and not feel you are committing
+a social error!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+We did not get any information out of de Lacy later. To Wrexler's
+insistent questionings he was at first non-committal, and after a bit,
+downright curt. I poured oil on the troubled waters by suggesting that
+as it was late, we would wait until morning to see the library and the
+left wing of the chateau.
+
+With a smile of relief, de Lacy ushered us to our chambers. My retiring
+was a kind of ceremony. It amused me, but I had a nagging little thought
+in the back of my mind that all this etiquette would become boring after
+a while.
+
+As the last man bowed himself out of my room, de Lacy bent low. "My
+lord, there are guards at your door. You have only to call if you
+require anything."
+
+I thanked him once more. Greatly to my embarrassment, he again kissed my
+hand. "Your servant to the death!" he cried, and drew the curtains about
+my high-canopied bed.
+
+I knew that outside the red damask, two huge candles were burning, but
+the curtain shut out their light and I was smothered in darkness. I made
+a mental note that I must arrange somehow for air in my room. The French
+idea of banishing night air did not coincide with my American habits.
+Tonight I was too weary to get up and attend to it. My thoughts were
+racing back and forth among the strange events of the day, but before I
+could focus them into any kind of order, sleep descended upon me.
+
+I had a strange dream. In it, the most beautiful woman I had ever seen
+came and parted the red damask curtains. Framed against the dark oak
+panels of my room, she stood looking down upon me. Her hair was red
+gold, and her eyes had all the sapphire tints of the world stored in
+their depths. Her pale, white face was oval in shape and balanced
+perfectly upon a slender neck. Her lips were sweetly curved and her nose
+delicately shaped. As she bent over me, I could see the rounded curve of
+her bosom. One slim hand reached out and touched my cheek. It was like
+the touch of a falling rose petal.
+
+In my dream I lay asleep, yet I was conscious of this lovely creature. I
+watched her through closed eyelids, and held my breath, hoping she would
+kiss me. It seemed as though I had never desired anything so much.
+
+A half-smile hovered on her lips, but her eyes told me nothing. She
+leaned lower. A faint perfume pervaded my senses, and then I felt her
+lips upon my forehead. A great cold swept over me at her touch--swept me
+down, down into blackness, and I knew no more.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When I awoke, the sun was pouring through the opened curtains. I reached
+for a cigarette--my first conscious thought upon awakening--and not
+finding my case under the pillow, suddenly realized my new surroundings.
+At the same time, I remembered my dream. "Wrexler and his talk of a
+red-haired beauty is responsible for that," I thought as I clapped my
+hands.
+
+De Lacy came in so quickly I knew he must have been waiting outside the
+door. He started when he saw the curtain of my bed had been opened. "Did
+you not pull them?" I asked.
+
+He shook his head. I said no more, and the ceremony of my arising began.
+
+When I had bathed in a great sunken tub--fortunately Diana de Poictiers
+had had her daily bath in the far-off time--I sought Wrexler.
+
+Together we breakfasted, and then I announced to de Lacy that we wished
+to inspect the rest of the chateau. He led us to the left wing, and took
+us through suite after suite. Beautifully furnished, the chateau was a
+veritable treasure house. An antiquarian would have gone mad with
+delight.
+
+I noticed that de Lacy had avoided two heavily built doors opposite the
+ballroom. When we had returned from our tour, I stopped before them.
+"And here?" I asked.
+
+"The picture gallery, my lord," he responded unwillingly, and swung the
+doors open. There was an unhappy expression on his face.
+
+The room was long and narrow, and the walls except for the windows were
+lined with portraits. We walked slowly down the length of the room,
+looking at the portraits of a dead and gone race.
+
+"The former owners of the chateau?" I asked. De Lacy nodded.
+
+Suddenly I looked at the part of the room facing the door which he had
+entered. At first we had been too far away to distinguish anything about
+it except that there was only one large painting hanging in the center.
+Now that I was nearer, I could see the painting, and I caught my breath
+in astonishment; for there was the portrait of the lady of my dream,
+smiling down on me.
+
+Wrexler caught my arm, "That's the girl--the one I saw on the stairs."
+
+"That is the portrait of Helene, Mademoiselle d'Harcourt, daughter of
+the Lord of Harcourt, who owned this chateau," de Lacy's voice broke in.
+
+Wrexler and I exclaimed simultaneously, "But I----" and "She is----"
+
+De Lacy looked at us strangely. "It is from her that the chateau got its
+new name Rougemont--_Red Mountain_. Before that, it was called Hotel
+d'Harcourt. Mademoiselle Helene was very beautiful, as you can see,
+_Messieurs_, and she had many suitors. At last, from among them, she
+chose an English lord. One of the discarded lovers, Black George--_le
+Georges Noir_--vowed that she should not belong to the Englishman, or
+ever leave Rougemont.
+
+"She laughed, Mademoiselle Helene, and her father, the Lord d'Harcourt,
+laughed too, for he had many men at arms and was rich and powerful.
+Black George did not laugh, he only set his lips grimly. The wedding day
+came and the beautiful Helene married the English lord in the great
+hall, but just as he took her in his arms for the nuptial kiss, there
+arose a great noise outside. It was Black George attacking the chateau.
+
+"The English lord, with Helene's kiss warm upon his lips, went forth to
+battle. There was a fight such as these peaceful lands had never seen,
+and the mountain ran red with blood. Black George was the victor. He
+slew the Englishman, he slew the Lord of Harcourt, and his men hacked to
+pieces the defenders of the chateau.
+
+"Black George, followed by his men, their swords red with blood, came
+into the great hall where Helene d'Harcourt sat on the throne, her face
+whiter than her wedding dress. Black George flung her lover's body at
+her feet, and the women of the household who were crouched about the
+throne cried aloud with terror. The fair Helene did not cry, nor did she
+moan; she only looked straight at Black George, and there was that in
+her gaze that silenced everyone in the great hall; even Black George
+stepped back a pace.
+
+"Then Helene d'Harcourt rose and went down to her love, the English lord
+who for a brief moment had been her husband. She knelt beside him and
+kissed his cold lips; then she took her wedding veil and laid it over
+his body.
+
+"All the while there was silence in the great hall, while men and women
+watched the slim girl say farewell to the man she loved. They watched
+almost as though they were under a spell. But as the veil fell into
+place, Black George laughed a long laugh that rang through the room;
+then he turned to his followers, and cried loudly, 'The women are
+yours--take them as you will, all but that one who belongs to me.' He
+gestured toward Helene and laughed again.
+
+"Helene d'Harcourt stood erect and pointed her slender hand at Black
+George. 'Wait,' she cried, and there was a quality in her voice that
+made her listeners tremble. 'I shall belong to no one until my lover
+comes for me, and till he comes, wo to you, Black George, who are well
+named! Wo to you and to all men, for I curse you with a mighty curse,
+the curse of a broken heart. And I curse all men for their black and
+bitter deeds. Year after year, century after century, I will take my
+vengeance for the wrongs I have suffered, and no man shall be free until
+my lover comes again and we find bliss together.'
+
+"And while the eyes of the whole hall were riveted upon her, she plunged
+the dagger she had taken from her lover's belt into her heart. For a
+second she stood swaying; then she crumpled and fell beside the English
+lord.
+
+"Black George caught her and held her in his arms. 'My curse upon you,
+Black George!' she cried.
+
+[Illustration: "My curse upon you, Black George," she cried.]
+
+"Black George could also curse--'Never shall you leave Rougemont to find
+your lover, and never shall he come, until----' and then his voice died
+away as her head fell backward over his arm. The fair Helene was beyond
+his reach.
+
+"For a minute more the people in the great hall were paralyzed by the
+force of the terrible words that they had heard, but with the girl's
+death they were released from the spell and a fury swept over the men.
+They rushed upon the women and dragged them forth. Black George took
+Helene's body and carried it away, but where he buried her no one knew,
+nor could any discover; for the next day he was found in the great hall
+raving mad, and the people said that Helene's curse was a potent one,
+that already it had wreaked vengeance on the one who had wronged her
+most.
+
+"From that day, the chateau was called Rougemont. The d'Harcourts were
+all dead and the place fell into other hands. Then there grew up the
+rumor that the chateau was haunted, that the fair Helene roamed through
+its halls, cut off from her lover, and doomed to stay within these walls
+by Black George's curse."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+De Lacy silent, Wrexler and I looked at the portrait. My own feelings
+were in a turmoil. It had been a ghost's lips that had touched me last
+night; yet surely no ghosts could have been so beautiful or seemed so
+real.
+
+Wrexler turned to me, "It would be the curse that has always been upon
+me that when I fell in love it would be with a ghost!" His eyes were
+vivid, shining brightly in his pale face. "I knew when I saw her on the
+stairway that I loved her."
+
+"There is a rumor," said de Lacy, "that the man who sees the fair Helene
+will meet with some misadventure, unless she gives him a kiss. Then he
+is protected from her wrath."
+
+I started. Wrexler smiled. "She kissed me with her eyes. I am not
+afraid."
+
+"The fair Helene makes men suffer to make up for the wrong Black George
+did her. For years she has not been seen at Rougemont. Last night when
+you described her, I was afraid. My lord," de Lacy turned to me, "send
+your friend away. If she only looked at him and smiled, there is a grave
+and deadly danger for him, more deadly because it may be unexplainable.
+Men upon whom the fair Helene has smiled have met strange deaths."
+
+As Wrexler looked up at the portrait, an inward light illumined his
+countenance. "I am not afraid," he repeated.
+
+"There are many deaths. There is the death of the spirit as well as that
+of the body. I beg you to go while there is time, friend of my lord."
+There was real feeling in de Lacy's voice.
+
+I too felt afraid for Wrexler. The strange, unworldly feeling he had
+always had, the pulling toward something he knew not what, made me
+doubly fearful. Had the fair Helene been calling him all this time,
+across the world? For myself I had no fear. She had kissed me, and
+besides, even death at her hands would have been preferable to never
+seeing her again. In these last few minutes I had realized that I too
+was in love with Helene, that I could hardly wait for the night, in
+hopes that she might visit me again.
+
+Resolutely I put my own feelings in the background, for at the moment
+Wrexler was of paramount importance. If there was anything in de Lacy's
+story--and from my own experience I was sure there was--Wrexler was in
+danger. I turned to him. "If anything happened to you, I could never
+forgive myself. Perhaps you'd better go. I could arrange a trip for you,
+and later--meet you."
+
+Somehow de Lacy seemed one of us. I had no hesitancy in speaking before
+him. He seemed a part of my new life. With the strange suddenness that
+comes on rare occasions, we were already friends.
+
+Wrexler looked at me, then back at the portrait. Helene d'Harcourt, her
+red hair gleaming, smiled down upon us. Before he spoke, I knew what he
+would say, because in his place I would have said the same, "Unless you
+kick me out, I want to stay."
+
+I put my hand on Wrexler's shoulder. "So be it. Come along, let's see
+the library, then we'll know all of Rougemont. We've seen everything
+else."
+
+Wrenching his eyes away from the portrait, Wrexler followed us.
+
+The library was beautiful, with paneled walls that had rows and rows of
+books sunk in their depths. There was a long, oaken table, and on the
+center of it stood a carved, gilded box, the casket which held my
+father's letter. I wished then that I could read it at once. I wish now
+that I could have, but perhaps it is better that I did not; at least
+things moved as the fates ordained, and the responsibility for what
+occurred was not mine.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The next three days were quiet, happy ones. Nothing occurred. I had no
+ghostly visitant and Wrexler saw nothing of Helene. Under de Lacy's
+expert guidance, we rode over the estate, hunted with falcons, a
+pleasing sport which we both took to our hearts; mingled with my court,
+found the people charming and highly cultivated. We took lessons in the
+old dances, visited the manor houses. It was all very gay and amusing,
+and I had no longing for the outside world. I did not even go down to
+the lodge for news.
+
+There were many details of the estate management that I had to go into
+with de Lacy. We spent several hours each morning going over the affairs
+of Rougemont. It was virtually a small kingdom, and everything was
+referred to me.
+
+Necessarily, the time I spent with de Lacy on such matters, Wrexler was
+alone. He had changed a great deal since we had come to Rougemont. He
+had come alive, and he threw himself into everything with a curious
+intensity. He was like a person who has been very ill, who suddenly
+finding himself better and fearing it is only temporary, clutches life
+with both hands. He devoted long hours to reading the records of the
+d'Harcourts, until he knew the family history as well as his own.
+
+I did not mention Helene, although there was seldom a moment when she
+was out of my thoughts. I found myself watching for her day and night,
+and I caught the same tension in Wrexler's eyes as he searched the
+shadows.
+
+The third night she came again, not to me, but to Wrexler; and although
+he was my friend, I almost hated him because he had seen her and I had
+not. He told me next morning as we walked along the lake shore.
+
+"Jim," he said suddenly, "I saw her last night. She came to my room. She
+drew aside the curtains of the bed, and leaned over me. I can't describe
+my sensations. It was almost as though life were suspended in
+space--like a bridge over a timeless sea."
+
+I had nothing to say. I knew so well how he felt.
+
+"She leaned closer and closer to me," Wrexler went on; "then she smiled,
+and before I could find my breath to speak, she was gone. This is the
+second time she has smiled at me. I felt a nameless fear, as though
+there was a threatening quality in those red lips. She looked at me as
+though I might have been Black George himself."
+
+In that moment, all my envy was swept away by anxiety for my friend.
+Indeed, I wished she had kissed him, for then he would have been safe. I
+started to speak, to beg Wrexler to leave Rougemont, but before the
+words could leave my mouth, I saw her. She was standing in the path some
+distance away, directly in line with my eyes, and she was shaking her
+head impressively.
+
+I knew instantly what she meant. I was not to send Wrexler away. He
+could not see her, because at the moment he was facing me, his hand on
+my arm. His fingers touching me were not quite steady. It brought me
+back to reality. "Wrexler," I cried, "you--could leave Rougemont."
+
+Her eyes clouded with anger. She looked at me reproachfully,
+commandingly. As though I were dreaming, I heard my own voice, "I don't
+want you to go, I would be lonely without you. Perhaps there is no
+danger."
+
+Wrexler looked at me curiously. "There is risk, I know that, but I do
+not care, I am like a man who has eaten a strange and terrible drug, who
+knows the danger, but can not resist it. I will stay."
+
+Beyond him Helene smiled a satisfied smile, as she looked at Wrexler's
+broad back. It made me feel afraid. Then suddenly her gaze swept to me,
+and the smile changed into a languorous one that promised all things. My
+heart beat faster, and I forgot my fear.
+
+Wrexler moved restlessly, turning so that we were side by side. Even in
+that second Helene had vanished--how, I do not know. One minute she was
+there, the next she was not.
+
+We walked along slowly. Finally Wrexler spoke. "No matter what happens,
+and I mean that widely, my friend, you are not to regret. For a little
+time I have been happy. I have come alive. I have loved, even though the
+woman that I love is a wraith. I have felt a sensation I thought never
+to feel. If I could hold her in my arms and press my lips to hers, I
+would count the world well lost."
+
+I could say nothing, because--God pity me!--I knew just how he felt.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The days slipped away quickly. I did not see Helene again, but Wrexler
+did. Almost every day he met her in the rose garden, where they spent
+long hours.
+
+He told me that she was always elusive, but at the same time promising
+that some day she would be kinder. He said her voice was like golden
+honey and that without her he could not face life.
+
+Once I saw them myself, as I came from an interview with de Lacy. As I
+approached the rose garden through an opening in the arches, I saw them
+sitting side by side on the marble bench, and of the two, Helene looked
+the more earthly. For Wrexler had grown paler and more ethereal every
+day. His eyes were luminous as he looked at her adoringly.
+
+She saw me first, and her lips curved sweetly. She rose in a leisurely
+fashion, turned her back to me and dropped a low curtsy to Wrexler; then
+while I still watched, she extended one slender hand to him. He bent
+over it, his lips touched its soft whiteness. A little laugh like the
+tinkle of silver bells swept through the garden; then she was gone.
+
+Wrexler stood like a man in a trance. I came quickly forward. "You are
+playing with fire!" I cried.
+
+Wrexler roused. "You saw?"
+
+I nodded.
+
+"Have you ever seen anything more beautiful, more lovely?"
+
+I shook my head.
+
+"I'm not afraid any more. She has promised me----"
+
+But what Helene had promised I was not to know, for Wrexler's mouth shut
+with a snap. When I pressed him, he shook his head. Finally he said,
+carefully choosing his words with a reluctance that was strange to him:
+
+"To me is to be granted something beyond the knowledge of mortal man. I
+can tell you no more, but some day you will know." There was an
+expression on his face that transcended earth.
+
+The next night I spoke to de Lacy and told him my fears. Wrexler was
+spending more and more time in the rose garden. I hardly saw him, and he
+would not discuss anything with me. Even at the stately, elegantly
+served meals, he barely spoke. He always seemed to be listening,
+waiting.
+
+De Lacy shared my fears, but he suggested nothing to help. "He has been
+marked, my lord," he said gravely. "We can only pray. But even in
+prayers there is no refuge, for Helene is beyond such things."
+
+"Surely----" I began to remonstrate.
+
+"The power of evil is as strong as the power of good, or at least there
+is little between them. Helene herself is bound fast by hate of Black
+George."
+
+Curses live, I knew that--witness the lasting quality of the curses and
+spells of the Egyptian priests. But Helene was not evil. I said as much.
+
+De Lacy shook his head. "She is cut off from her lover. She does not
+feel kindly toward men. Remember she promised vengeance century after
+century, that day in the great hall."
+
+That night in the silence of my chamber I called her name. "Helene!
+Helene!" I flung my agonized summons into the night, but there was no
+answer.
+
+I went over in my mind the tales de Lacy had told me of the havoc she
+had caused; how one man had cast himself down from the highest turret,
+crying her name; how another had been found dead in the rose garden,
+horror frozen on his face. There were still others who had looked upon
+her, and death or madness came as the result.
+
+The more I thought of these tales of terror, the more I feared for
+Wrexler. At last I could stand no more. I thrust my arms into the rich
+velvet robe that had taken the place of my bath gown, and went to
+Wrexler's room. The guards stood back to let me pass.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+I did not mean to wake him, but some inner foreboding made me feel I
+must know that he was safe.
+
+As I drew aside the curtains of his bed, I could not entirely stifle the
+cry that came to my lips, for the bed was empty. But upon the pillow lay
+a small, white rose. It was the kind they use in funeral wreaths in
+France. My heart almost stopped beating.
+
+The rose garden!--or perhaps the library. A more normal thought struck
+me. Wrexler might have wanted to read. I rushed into the hall, to find
+de Lacy waiting for me, summoned by the guards. He held a silver
+candle-stick in which a tall, white candle burned.
+
+"The library!" I gasped. That was nearest, we should try it first. De
+Lacy knew my meaning. He had instantly grasped the situation and his
+face was white and tense.
+
+Together we descended the curving stairway. Together we reached the
+library. Then, motioning de Lacy behind me, I swung open the door.
+
+The room was brightly illuminated, although not one of the candles had
+been lit. In the middle of it stood Wrexler, with Helene in his arms.
+Their lips were close-locked.
+
+It was a picture that an artist would have delighted to paint: the
+stiff, crimson skirts of Helene d'Harcourt's gown stood wide on either
+side, and Wrexler's blue doublet and hose against them was in bold
+relief. His long over-sleeves edged with fur hung gracefully.
+
+I could not speak. This mating of man with ghost was almost more than my
+poor mortal brain could bear, yet with every atom of my being I wished
+that I could have been in Wrexler's place. I remembered the one chaste
+kiss I had had from her, and I almost fainted at the thought of
+possessing those lips for my own, as Wrexler was doing. Strangely
+enough, mingling with this emotion was another--a feeling of fear and
+anxiety for my friend. Cold horror that froze my blood kept me rooted to
+the spot.
+
+Behind me de Lacy had fallen to his knees. I could hear him repeating
+the Latin words of a prayer. All at once I saw where the light was
+coming from. The entire north wall, ordinarily lined with books, had
+gone. In its stead was a stone wall, and in the center of the wall was a
+low-hung Gothic door, carved and ornate. It was standing open, and
+beyond was a pale, luminous yellow mist. I could see nothing of what
+else was beyond the door, for the yellow haze filled the entire space.
+It was like a golden fog, and its radiance lighted the library with a
+strange, unearthly glow. Its luminosity glowed upon Helene and Wrexler
+like a spotlight.
+
+For a moment I thought Rougemont, de Lacy, everything of the past weeks,
+must have been a dream and that I was watching a cinema of past days.
+All at once, before my astonished eyes Helene gently drew her lips away
+from Wrexler's. She slipped from his arms and extended her hands to him.
+"Come," I heard her say.
+
+Wrexler had been right: her voice was like golden honey. It was like the
+music of willow trees in early spring. Wrexler grasped her hands. For
+the first time I saw his face. Joy transfigured it, such joy as I have
+never seen before, and never shall see again.
+
+Helene moved backward, slowly but surely, drawing him toward the little
+Gothic door that stood open. With her soft lips half parted, she
+whispered, "Come."
+
+"Wrexler," I cried suddenly.
+
+He did not hear me. As he looked into her eyes, he might have been a
+bird charmed by a snake. Nothing could break through the spell that
+bound him.
+
+They were nearer the door. Each second brought them closer to it. Now
+Helene was on the other side. The golden mist concentrated upon her,
+until she looked like a goddess in its eery light.
+
+"Wrexler! Wrexler!" The words tore through my throat.
+
+Wrexler stepped over the threshold. Through the golden mist I saw him
+clasp Helene in his arms again. I saw her smile triumphantly at me, as
+she raised her lips to his. There was something in her eyes that filled
+me with horror.
+
+The mist swirled about them until I could barely discover the outlines
+of their figures through its gleaming haze. Then the door swung slowly
+shut.
+
+I awoke to feverish activity. "Wrexler! Wrexler!" I shouted and rushed
+forward to the door.
+
+I grasped the iron ring that hung in its center. I pulled on it with all
+my might. When I found that it resisted all my efforts I began beating
+against the door itself. Presently I felt myself being pulled away.
+
+"There is no use, my lord," de Lacy's voice was saying. "The door is
+gone."
+
+"Gone!" I ejaculated, and even as I spoke I saw what he meant. The north
+wall of the library was lined with books as it always had been. I had
+been beating upon them impotently.
+
+I looked down at my hands; the knuckles were raw and bleeding, just as
+they would have been from pounding on a heavily carved wooden door. De
+Lacy caught my meaning. "The door was there, my lord. It was the lost
+door--the door behind which Black George buried Helene d'Harcourt. It
+had been lost for centuries."
+
+I sank into a chair, weakly, for now the fact that I had lost Wrexler,
+my friend, was paramount. "I will tear down the walls until I find it."
+
+"That has been done, my lord, and it has never been found. It will never
+be found again. Only for a brief moment you and I have been granted a
+glimpse of something we can not understand."
+
+"And Wrexler----" I groaned.
+
+"He was happy," de Lacy comforted. "No matter what happened after, he
+has had happiness such as I have never seen before."
+
+My head pitched forward and I knew no more.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Three days later, I was escorted to the library by de Lacy, to whom
+since Wrexler's loss I was more devoted than ever. With great ceremony I
+was given the key to the gilded casket, then left alone.
+
+Seated in the great chair before the oaken table, I unlocked the casket.
+It contained many pages closely written in my father's hand. In them
+were instructions as to my future conduct, my care of Rougemont, what he
+had done and what he expected me to do. But the lines that interested me
+most were these:
+
+"_I bought Rougemont for your mother, shortly after your birth, because
+when riding through this country, she saw and loved it. It was a
+purchase that cost me dear. For Rougemont held a curse and an avenging
+spirit in the form of a beautiful young girl who could not bear to see
+others' happiness. So my wife died._
+
+"_Two months after your mother's death, I first saw la belle Helene. We
+fought a long battle, she and I, but I was strong, my son, because I
+loved your mother. No other woman's charms could lure me to my doom.
+Finally I made a bargain with a ghost._
+
+"_She hated modern things and longed for Rougemont to be great again. I
+promised to restore the chateau to its former splendor, to make it just
+as it had been in her days, and in return she promised immunity to me,
+and afterward to you, and to all my court when I should have established
+it._
+
+"_I restored Rougemont. I repeopled it. With her help and advice, I have
+made it as it was in her own day._
+
+"_She showed me the hidden treasure vaults of the d'Harcourts so that I
+would have enough money to purchase the things she wanted._
+
+"_She too has kept her bargain, for I and my court have lived happily
+here unmolested. Only when an outsider came or someone disobeyed or
+longed for the outside world, has she wreaked vengeance._
+
+"_She has sworn to give you the kiss that promises immunity, the night
+you come. Only, beware, my son, whom you bring here from the world you
+know, and beware of the lovely Helene. Old man as I am, devoted to your
+mother's memory as I am, she can still make my pulses leap._
+
+"_Above all things, if she shows you the Lost Door, do not be tempted to
+cross its threshold, for that way, unless you are the reincarnation of
+the Englishman, annihilation lies._"
+
+There was more, pages more, of other matters, but I left them for
+another day. Alone there in the library, I let my eyes wander to where
+the little Gothic door had been.
+
+Had Wrexler been the Englishman come back to earth to claim his bride?
+Could that account for the strange, unsatisfied longings he had always
+had, his unearthly feelings, his unlikeness to other people? Or was he
+Black George, lured back to Rougemont for Helene's vengeance? I hope for
+his sake that was not the explanation; that he and Helene would find
+bliss waiting for them behind the Lost Door and I would never see Helene
+again.
+
+The days pass. I do what my father set out for me to do. I keep his
+bargain with the ghost of the fair Helene. I never leave Rougemont. I
+have no desire to, for I am always hoping that some day I shall again
+find the Lost Door.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Lost Door, by Dorothy Quick
+
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