"Keep your hands so, please, mademoiselle," said Adele; "your
fingers loose."
And the next moment Celia winced and had to bite her lip to
prevent a cry. The thin cord was wound twice about her wrists,
drawn cruelly tight and then cunningly knotted. For one second
Celia was thankful for her gloves; the next, more than ever she
regretted that she wore them. It would have been difficult enough
for her to free her hands now, even without them. And upon that a
worse thing befell her.
"I beg mademoiselle's pardon if I hurt her," said Adele.
And she tied the girl's thumbs and little fingers. To slacken the
knots she must have the use of her fingers, even though her gloves
made them fumble. Now she had lost the use of them altogether. She
began to feel that she was in master-hands. She was sure of it the
next instant. For Adele stood up, and, passing a cord round the
upper part of her arms, drew her elbows back. To bring any
strength to help her in wriggling her hands free she must be able
to raise her elbows. With them trussed in the small of her back
she was robbed entirely of her strength. And all the time her
strange uneasiness grew. She made a movement of revolt, and at
once the cord was loosened.
"Mlle. Celie objects to my tests," said Adele, with a laugh, to
Mme. Dauvray. "And I do not wonder."
Celia saw upon the old woman's foolish and excited face a look of
veritable consternation.
"Are you afraid, Celie?" she asked.
There was anger, there was menace in the voice, but above all
these there was fear--fear that her illusions were to tumble about
her. Celia heard that note and was quelled by it. This folly of
belief, these seances, were the one touch of colour in Mme.
Dauvray's life. And it was just that instinctive need of colour
which had made her so easy to delude. How strong the need is, how
seductive the proposal to supply it, Celia knew well. She knew it
from the experience of her life when the Great Fortinbras was at
the climax of his fortunes. She had travelled much amongst
monotonous, drab towns without character or amusements. She had
kept her eyes open. She had seen that it was from the denizens of
the dull streets in these towns that the quack religions won their
recruits. Mme. Dauvray's life had been a featureless sort of
affair until these experiments had come to colour it. Madame
Dauvray must at any rate preserve the memory of that colour.
"No," she said boldly; "I am not afraid," and after that she moved
no more.
Her elbows were drawn firmly back and tightly bound. She was sure
she could not free them. She glanced in despair at Helene
Vauquier, and then some glimmer of hope sprang up. For Helene
Vauquier gave her a look, a smile of reassurance. It was as if she
said, "I will come to your help." Then, to make security still
more sure, Adele turned the girl about as unceremoniously as if
she had been a doll, and, passing a cord at the back of her arms,
drew both ends round in front and knotted them at her waist.