The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier

Author:Daphne du Maurier
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781405518901
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group

15

I remember hearing the midday angelus sound from the village church, and soon afterwards voices from the château, as the gardener Joseph, and I think Robert with him, emerged from a side-door and made their way towards the outbuildings. I was concealed by the low branches of the cedar-tree, and they did not see me. When they had gone I went through the gate in the wall to the grounds beyond, and walked swiftly across the moat to the path beneath the chestnuts, and so to one of the long rides and away into the woods. It did not matter to me where I went, or how far; all I knew was that I had to put myself out of the range of call and somehow decide upon a course of action. The most obvious one was to feign illness – a sudden dizziness, or mysterious pains in my limbs – yet to do so would demand the immediate attention of Dr Lebrun, who would surely know at once that there was nothing wrong. The mere pretext of a chill, of some vague malaise, would never serve. The seigneur of St Gilles would not take to his bed on the day of the big shoot because of stomach-ache. Besides, it was not only tomorrow that made the nightmare. It was today, at two o’clock, with Robert coming for orders once again.

I wondered if I could make Françoise the excuse, but it was too much out of character. However sick his wife might be, it would not matter to Jean de Gué. I could, of course, take the car and disappear, make this exit from the masquerade. Nothing prevented me from doing so, at any hour of the day or night. Now, perhaps, was the moment. I had survived up to the present because nothing had really constituted a challenge. The relationships within the family had not defeated me, or the intimacy without, or the tricks of language, the hazards of unaccustomed routine, the impossibilities of business and finance. I had plunged into this unknown world like a reckless walker into a morass, each step taking him deeper, each wild flounder committing him more inescapably. But, more fortunate than such a man, if I felt myself held fast and sucked into the depths, I had only to throw myself backwards to be free, to return to the past and take on the self discarded in Le Mans.

I crossed and re-crossed the rides, now deep in the dark woods, then suddenly emerging from the shadows, each ride converging in its turn upon the statue in the centre, surrounding it with compass points of light. I could see no way out of my dilemma, no real answer to the ridiculous situation in which I found myself, except by admitting defeat.

I walked slowly down one of the rides to the statue and stood beside it, looking towards the château. The sky had clouded. There was not the radiant blue of yesterday, and an autumn pallor masked a watery sun.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.