The Life of Matthias de Véreaux - Part 9

The Life of Matthias de Véreaux

Seigneur of Montclair

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Part IX

The Hallway 

 

The corridors of the château are darker at night than most people realize.

During the day the tall windows allow the sunlight to fall across the stone floors, giving the halls a certain quiet dignity. But once evening settles over the valley, the light becomes uneven. Long stretches of corridor fall into shadow between the candles placed along the walls.

I had walked these halls thousands of times.

So many times, in fact, that I rarely thought about them at all.

That night was no different.

The main doors of the château closed behind me with their usual heavy sound, and my boots echoed faintly against the stone floor as I began the familiar walk toward the western wing.

I still carried the pleasant fatigue of the hunting trip.

The smell of the forest seemed to linger in my clothes, and my muscles felt heavy in the comfortable way that follows a long day of walking and riding.

It had been a good trip.

One of the better ones.

Perhaps that was why my thoughts were unusually calm as I moved through the corridor.

Perhaps that was why I dismissed the guards.

“You may go,” I had told them.

They hesitated only a moment before turning back toward the entrance hall.

I continued alone.

The corridor leading to my quarters was quiet, lit only by a few candles along the wall. Their small flames flickered gently, casting long shadows that moved across the stone.

Ahead of me the hallway bent slightly to the left.

Just beyond that corner were the rooms I had occupied for many years.

I remember thinking, as I walked, that I might return to the library for a short while before sleeping.

There were several maps I had been studying recently, and the quiet of the evening seemed well suited for such things.

My footsteps echoed softly as I approached the corner.

Then I saw them.

Three figures stepped into the corridor.

They appeared from around the bend so suddenly that for a brief moment we all stood still, facing one another in the dim light.

They were not servants.

Nor were they guards.

Their clothing was rough, their faces unfamiliar.

And each of them held a knife.

The understanding came to me immediately.

There was no confusion.

No need for explanation.

In that instant I knew exactly what had happened.

I had dismissed the guards.

And now I was alone.

A strange calm settled over me as the realization took hold.

So this is how it ends, I thought.

The three men began moving toward me.

I did not run.

Running would have been useless in the narrow hallway.

Instead I stepped forward to meet them.

The first man lunged quickly, aiming the knife toward my side. I caught his arm and forced it aside, driving my shoulder into him with enough force to send him stumbling backward into the wall.

The second man came immediately after him.

His blade caught my arm as I tried to block the strike, tearing through the fabric of my sleeve and cutting into the skin beneath.

Pain flared sharply, but I managed to drive him back with a hard blow to the chest.

For a moment the three of them hesitated.

Perhaps they had not expected resistance.

But there were three of them.

And only one of me.

The third man rushed forward from the side.

I saw the knife only a moment before it struck.

The blade drove deep into my side, stealing the breath from my lungs.

I staggered but remained on my feet.

The first attacker recovered and came at me again.

Another blade struck.

Then another.

The strength drained from my body with frightening speed.

The corridor seemed to tilt slightly as my knees weakened beneath me.

I fell against the cold stone floor.

The candles along the wall flickered wildly as the men stepped back, their work finished.

For a moment the world grew very quiet.

My vision blurred, and the ceiling of the corridor seemed strangely distant above me.

I thought of the forest.

Of the hidden river beneath the trees.

Of the quiet evenings in the library.

And of the town of Montclair.

The people there had always seemed like the closest thing to family that I possessed.

I wondered briefly how they might hear of this.

Whether the news would surprise them.

Or whether, perhaps, they had always known that such an ending was possible.

My breathing grew shallow.

The corridor grew darker.

And at last, the quiet of the château closed around me completely.

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(To be continued in Part 10: The Man Who Loved Montclair)

The Life of Matthias de Véreaux - Part 8

The Life of Matthias de Véreaux

Seigneur of Montclair

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Part VIII

The Last Hunting Trip 

 

There are times in a man’s life when the world seems unusually balanced.

The troubles that usually linger in the back of his mind grow quiet, the burdens of responsibility feel lighter, and for a brief while everything appears to rest in its proper place.

It was during such a time that my final hunting trip took place.

The weeks following my discussion with my siblings passed with little visible change. They kept mostly to their side of the château, and though the servants continued to whisper occasional rumors, no direct challenges appeared.

In Montclair, life continued as it always had.

The market square remained lively, the harvest showed promise, and the river moved steadily past the town as it had for generations.

When the time came for the monthly hunting trip, I found myself looking forward to it more than usual.

Perhaps I needed the forest.

Perhaps I simply needed a few days away from the stone corridors of the château.

That month I invited a man named Bernard to accompany me.

Bernard was a broad-shouldered woodsman who often worked cutting timber in the forests near the valley. He was known in Montclair as a man who preferred honest labor to long conversations, which I believed would suit the quiet rhythm of the forest well.

When I extended the invitation in the square, Bernard looked almost startled.

“Seigneur?” he said.

“If you are willing,” I replied.

He nodded slowly.

“It would be an honor.”

As always, the town took immediate notice.

By the time we prepared to leave, several villagers had gathered along the road. The fishermen who had once argued over the trout called out jokingly that Bernard should bring back a deer large enough to settle their next argument.

Bernard promised nothing but smiled as we rode away.

The road followed the familiar path beside the river before we entered the forest.

The day was clear, and the air carried the clean scent of pine and damp earth beneath the trees.

For some time we rode without speaking.

Bernard seemed comfortable with the silence, which I appreciated.

Eventually he glanced toward me.

“Do you come here often, Seigneur?” he asked.

“Often enough,” I said.

The deeper we traveled into the forest, the more the concerns of the château seemed to fade behind us.

By the time we reached the hidden river, the valley of Montclair might as well have been a distant memory.

Bernard stood beside the stream for a long moment.

“This place is something,” he said quietly.

“It has been a reliable companion,” I replied.

We set our camp beneath the familiar stand of pines and spent the afternoon fishing along the shaded banks of the river.

The fish were cooperative that day.

By evening we had several trout resting beside the campfire and a comfortable silence settled over the clearing.

Bernard proved to be thoughtful company.

He spoke about the forests, about the patterns of animals in the valley, and about the ways a man could read the land if he paid close enough attention.

I listened with interest.

Few men in Montclair knew the forest as well as he did.

At one point Bernard studied the fire quietly before speaking again.

“You seem to like it here,” he said.

“Yes,” I admitted.

“More than the château?”

I considered the question.

“The château has its purpose,” I said carefully.

“And the forest?”

“The forest has its peace.”

Bernard nodded.

“That makes sense.”

Later the next morning we tracked a deer through a clearing not far from the river.

The shot was clean, and the animal fell quickly.

Bernard helped prepare the prize with the practiced efficiency of a man accustomed to the work.

When we began the journey back toward Montclair, the deer was secured carefully across his horse.

As we approached the edge of the town, I did what I always do.

“The deer belongs to you,” I said.

Bernard looked surprised.

“Seigneur…”

“A man should return home with the prize of his journey.”

For a moment he seemed uncertain what to say.

Then he nodded once.

“Thank you.”

When the rooftops of Montclair appeared through the trees, I slowed my horse.

Bernard continued ahead toward the square where the townspeople would soon gather to see the prize of the hunt.

I remained where I was for a moment, watching him ride toward the town.

Something about the trip had felt particularly good.

The forest had been calm.

The conversation had been easy.

For a brief while it had seemed that everything in my life rested exactly where it should.

Eventually I turned my horse back toward the road that leads to the château.

The sun was already beginning to lower behind the mountains, casting long shadows across the valley.

By the time I reached the gates of the château, evening had begun to settle.

I felt tired, but it was the good kind of tired that follows a long day in the forest.

As I stepped through the main doors and into the dim corridors beyond, I realized something that had not occurred to me in quite some time.

For the first time in many weeks, I felt completely at ease.

So much so that when my guards began to follow me down the hall toward my quarters, I dismissed them.

“You may go,” I told them. “I will manage from here.”

They hesitated briefly.

But the hallway ahead appeared quiet.

And I was in good spirits.

So I walked alone.

Toward the corner at the end of the corridor.

And the darkness waiting beyond it.

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(To be continued in Part 9: The Hallway)