very discourteous to send him away, to receive him unkindly."
"Without being unkind to him, you could easily make him understand that
his presence here may be very embarrassing; that he may meet your sister
and her husband here; that Monleard may have learned of his love for
Fanny; and that it would be better, therefore, for him not to come
again. But, I say once more, you will not have to tell him all that; for
I am very certain, myself, that he has no intention of coming here."
"Poor Gustave!" said Adolphine to herself, as she left the room; "father
doesn't want him to come here any more! What, in heaven's name, would he
say if he knew about that duel? Then it would surely be: 'I don't want
to see him in my house again!'--Luckily he thinks, like everybody else,
that Auguste's injury was the result of a fall on the stairs. But I
suppose father is right, and Gustave will never come here; I shall never
see him again!"
The girl put her handkerchief to her eyes once more, then went in search
of Madeleine, her maid, a young girl from Picardy, who did not know
Gustave, because she did not enter Monsieur Gerbault's service until
after his eldest daughter's marriage. Madeleine was very fond of her
mistress; she saw that she was unhappy, and often said to her:
"Mon Dieu! mamzelle, when shall I see you happy and gay, as you ought to
be at your age?"
"Why, I am very happy, Madeleine," replied Adolphine, forcing back a
sigh. Whereat the Picarde murmured, with a shrug of her shoulders:
"Oh! nenni! I can see well enough that you always have something inside
that keeps you from laughing!"
XXII
A SOFT-SPOKEN GENTLEMAN
The guests were punctual; the dinner was voted excellent. Monsieur
Batonnin ate for four, but was not thereby prevented from praising each
dish, adding compliments for the host, for the young lady of the house,
and even for the cook; if there had been a cat or a dog, it is probable
that it would have come in for its share in that distribution of
flattering speeches.
At dessert, the conversation fell upon the newly married couple,
Monsieur Gerbault expressing his regret that they had been unable to
come to dinner.
"Yes, they make a charming couple," said Batonnin, with his inevitable
smile. "Can Monsieur Monleard use his right arm now?"
"Yes; it is entirely well. It took a long while, for a mere fall on the
stairs."
"Ha! ha! a fall on the stairs! Ha! ha! Monsieur Gerbault says that as if
he really believed it. Ha! ha!"
"What do you mean by that?" retorted Monsieur Gerbault, who understood
neither Monsieur Batonnin's words nor the malicious tone in which he
uttered them; whereas Adolphine changed color, fearing that her father
might learn the truth. Monsieur Clairval alone seemed indifferent to
what was going on; but he glanced at the soft-spoken guest with an
expression which said plainly enough:
"In my opinion, that was a very stupid remark of yours."
Monsieur Batonnin smiled on, as he replied:
"Come, come, Monsieur Gerbault, you know perfectly well that your
son-in-law's wound was caused by a sword-thrust, which he received in a
duel. He preferred not to tell people that he had fought, especially
because--because---- I know the reason."
"Why, monsieur, that isn't at all probable!" cried Adolphine. "If my
sister's husband had fought a duel, I should certainly know it, and----"
"Why so, my dear young lady? If he has concealed it from Monsieur
Gerbault, he may well have concealed it from you, too."
"Be kind enough, monsieur, to explain yourself more clearly," said
Monsieur Gerbault, whose face had become very serious; "if my son-in-law
has had a duel, I knew nothing about it, I tell you again; now, if you
have any definite information on the subject, be good enough to impart
it to me; it seems to me that I ought to be at least as well informed as
a stranger, upon such a matter."
"Mon Dieu! my dear monsieur, I learned of it by chance two days ago. I
met Madame Delbois, who was at your daughter's wedding, and who left the
ball at the same time that she did. So, as you will see, they were in
the hall at the same time, waiting for their carriages."
"I don't see yet what connection there is between that fact and a duel."
"One moment--we are coming to it. While the ladies were waiting, a
person of unprepossessing aspect came out of the restaurant. He was just
behind Madame Delbois when she said to one of her friends: 'There goes
the bride; she's going away early.'--Thereupon, this person--of
unprepossessing aspect--had the effrontery to exclaim in a loud
voice---- But, really, if you know nothing of the episode, I am afraid
that, if I go any further, I may say something that it would be
unpleasant for you to hear."
"If what you have to tell Monsieur Gerbault is likely to be unpleasant
for him to hear," interposed Monsieur Clairval, "it seems to me,
Monsieur Batonnin, that you would have done much better to say nothing
at all on the subject. As Monsieur Monleard concealed the fact that he
had had a duel, it is to be presumed that he feared that it would
displease his father-in-law; and, frankly, it isn't decent of you to
come here and volunteer to tell something that nobody asked you to
tell."
"I beg your pardon, Monsieur Gerbault just asked me to tell him what I
knew."
"Go on, Monsieur Batonnin, finish your story, I beg; what did this
person say, whom Madame Delbois overheard?"
"Your son-in-law heard him, too, and that is what led to the challenge.
However, I simply repeat what Madame Delbois told me. I wasn't there; I
was dancing at that moment."
"Well, Monsieur Batonnin, this man said----?"
"I give you my word of honor, my dear Monsieur Gerbault, that it gives
me the greatest pain to repeat his detestable words. I am very sorry
that I mentioned it; I did it quite innocently----"
"Oh! finish, for heaven's sake!"
"That man exclaimed, when he caught sight of the bride: 'Ah! there's the
faithless Fanny!'"
Monsieur Clairval began to laugh, and Monsieur Gerbault deemed it the
wiser plan to do the same; Adolphine decided to imitate them, and
Monsieur Batonnin, who expected to produce a startling effect, looked
very sheepish when he saw them all laughing.
"Ah! that strikes you as amusing, does it?" he faltered.
"Mon Dieu! Monsieur Batonnin, with all your hesitation and holding back,
I thought that you were going to tell us something scandalous. Frankly,
it seems to me that those words, from the mouth of a man who was drunk,
no doubt, and whose tongue may have been twisted, did not deserve such a
long preamble----"
"Your son-in-law didn't think as you do, apparently; for he rushed after
the fellow, and they exchanged cards."
"Did Madame Delbois see that also?"
"Why, yes."
"How does it happen that that lady, who is evidently very fond of
talking, has not delivered herself before this of things that took place
more than six weeks ago?"
"That's easily explained: she left Paris for the country the next
morning, and didn't return until the day before yesterday."
"Oh! you needn't tell me that!--Come, let us go and have some coffee."
"Look you, my dear Batonnin," said Monsieur Clairval, laughing heartily,
"your news fell rather flat. It's a pity, isn't it?"
Batonnin bit his lips, and, strange to say, did not smile.
XXIII
A GAME OF BEZIQUE
They had just finished their coffee, when the Comte de la Beriniere was
announced.
"I come early, you see. I made haste to get rid of the person with whom
I dined," said the count, kissing Adolphine's hand, who seemed little
flattered by the attention.
"That is very good of you; in return, we will have a game of bezique for
your benefit."
"Oh! by and by; I will venture to request mademoiselle to give us a
little music first. When one has once heard her sing, one has but one
desire, and that is to hear her again."
"If it will give you any pleasure, monsieur---- I have not enough talent
to require to be asked more than once."
"That is to say, you are always charming."
"The rest of us, who are not music-mad like Monsieur de la Beriniere,
will play a three-handed game of bezique. You play, don't you,
Clairval?"
"I do whatever you please."
"And you, Monsieur Batonnin?"
"It will be no less flattering than agreeable to me to have the
privilege of playing with you. But I think that three-handed bezique is
less interesting than two-handed."
"I beg your pardon; it is even more interesting."
Adolphine took her place at the piano, and the count seated himself
beside it, darting burning glances at the girl, which she did her utmost
to avoid.
Batonnin, who had taken a seat at the card-table, kept turning his head
to look toward the piano, in order to see what was going on there, and
to try to hear what was being said.
"Shall we play with four packs?"
"Yes; but we must take out two eights, so that the cards will come out
even at the end."
"Very good; and how many cards do you deal?"
"Eight to each."
"Some people deal nine."
"That makes it too easy."
"What's the game?"
"Fifteen hundred."
"And the stakes?"
"Whatever you please, messieurs; what shall it be?"
"We don't want to ruin ourselves; say, two francs each."
"Two francs it is."
"I have seen people play for five hundred francs a game," said Batonnin.
"The deuce! that's flying rather high. But when a man's very rich----"
"Oh! it isn't always the richest men who play for the biggest
stakes--rather, those who want to pass themselves off for millionaires,
and who are in need of money."
"Our excellent Monsieur Batonnin, with all his air of indifference,
seems to observe everything."
"I? Oh! dear me, no! I say that because I've heard someone else say it."
"I declare four aces!"
"That's a good beginning."
"I remember now that it's Monsieur Monleard whom I have seen play
bezique for five hundred francs a game."
"My son-in-law? Oh! you must be mistaken; he doesn't play so high as
that."
"I beg a thousand pardons, but it was he. There's nothing remarkable
about that, for he plays whist at his club for a hundred francs a
point."
"He has assured me that he doesn't go to his club now."
"I have that fact from someone who played with him, less than a week
ago."
"Come, Monsieur Batonnin, its your turn; pray attend to the game."
"I am attending, my dear Monsieur Gerbault; I am paying the closest
attention. Ah! that's a very pretty thing Mademoiselle Adolphine is
singing!"
"Double bezique!"
"There, you have let Monsieur Clairval make five hundred!"
"I couldn't prevent him, could I?"
"Certainly you could: there were only three tricks left, and you had two
aces of trumps."
"Well! that makes only two tricks."
"I would have taken the third with my ace."
"Ah! so you think we could have prevented monsieur from counting his
five hundred?"
"That's plain enough. I don't see that you're any stronger at this game
than at whist."
"I certainly wouldn't play for five hundred francs a game, like your
son-in-law! But I didn't know that there was any skill in bezique; I
thought it was all luck."
"You see that it isn't! Indeed, any game can be played well or ill."
"Even lotto?"
"Certainly, you can forget to count."
Adolphine was singing a second selection, when Anatole de Raincy was
announced.
The arrival of the young man with the lisp interrupted the music, and
seemed greatly to annoy Monsieur de la Beriniere, who decided thereupon
to visit the card-table. The game was finished, and Monsieur Clairval
had won.
"Take my place," said Monsieur Gerbault to the count.
"Thanks, but I never play bezique with more than two."
"Play with Monsieur Batonnin, then; I will play a game of chess with
Clairval, if it's agreeable to him."
"Anything is agreeable to me."
"Unless Monsieur de Raincy would like to play whist with a dummy."
"Oh! I thank you, but I don't care about playing; I much prefer to thing
with Mademoithelle Adolphine, if that ith agreeable to her."
"It will give me great pleasure, monsieur."
"I have brought a few thongth, which I thing pathably--tholoth and
dueth.--You play everything at thight, I know?"
"I will try, at all events, monsieur; and if they're not too hard----"
"Here'th the aria from _La Dame Blanche_. I can thing that; it ith in
the range of my voith."
"Very good! I will play your accompaniment."
"If that young man sings as he talks," muttered Batonnin, with an
affable smile at the count, who had taken his place opposite him, "it
will produce a strange effect."
"He would do much better to let us listen to Mademoiselle Adolphine."
"Oh! yes, she has a voice----"
"Shall we play for two thousand?"
"That goes to the heart, monsieur."
"And we play with four packs."
"Very well.--But there are some men who have a perfect mania for
singing."
"And who often sing false--as, for instance---- I declare four queens!"
While these gentlemen played, Anatole shouted at the top of his voice:
"'Come, lady fair; I await thee, I await thee, I await thee!'"
"That is horrible!" said the count.
"It sounds like the hissing of a railroad train when it stops."
"I have a sequence!"
"It seems that we are not to see Madame Monleard and her husband this
evening?"
"No; they have gone to some grand affair.--I declare a single bezique!"
"Ah! Monleard doesn't propose that his little wife shall be bored; they
are going to parties all the time."
"Yes; if only it will last.--I declare four kings--eighty!"
"And why shouldn't it last?--Mon Dieu! how that fellow makes my ears
ache with his 'I await thee! I await thee!'--I am sorry for Mademoiselle
Adolphine."
"Haven't you heard, monsieur le comte,--a simple marriage in
diamonds,--that Monsieur Monleard was speculating on the Bourse in
a--another marriage, clubs this time--in a terrific way?"
"Faith! no.--Why, I am not counting at all. It's that infernal singer's
fault!"
"I have been told for a fact that he has lost a lot of money lately."
"We must never believe more than half of what we're told, you know."
"Double bezique!"
"Deuce take it! how you are beating me! Ah! they're singing a duet now;
we shall hear Mademoiselle Adolphine, at all events. If she could only
drown that fellow's voice!"
"I have made eleven hundred on this deal."
"And I a hundred and twenty. I am a long way behind. Do we count the
fifteen hundred?"
"To be sure; when you get three beziques, they count fifteen hundred.
But, in order to count them, you must still have the first two in hand."
"Yes, yes, I know that. What is it they're singing now? Something else
from _La Dame Blanche_, I think."
"It's your play, monsieur le comte."
"Yes, so it is; I beg your pardon. It's that man's voice that confuses
me, or rather stuns me. Oh! what a squealer! Poor girl! she has a stock
of patience."
"I declare a royal marriage!"
"You are counting all the time, Monsieur Batonnin; you are very lucky to
be able to attend to your game."
"I try not to listen.--Single bezique!"
It was difficult not to hear the young singer, who at that moment was
shouting, with all the force of his lungs:
"'Thith hand, thith hand tho lovely!'"
At last, the duet being at an end, Adolphine declared that she was
tired, and left the piano.
"I can well believe that she's tired!" said Monsieur de la Beriniere;
"she might well be, for less than that. To play that fellow's
accompaniments--to sing with him! what a wicked task!"
"I have won, monsieur le comte!"
"Very good! give me my revenge. I can pay more attention to the game,
now that I don't hear that hissing voice; he's a veritable serpent, is
that young man."
But Monsieur de Raincy had seated himself beside Adolphine, and he
talked to her while the others played. Naturally, they spoke in
undertones, in order not to disturb the players. This conversation, of
which he could not catch a single word, seemed to annoy the count even
more than the music; and Batonnin made the most of his opponent's
distraction and misplays, while saying to him in a wheedling tone:
"Monsieur le comte isn't in luck to-night.--I declare a sequence!"
"It's true, I am absent-minded.--Well, Mademoiselle Adolphine, have you
stopped singing?"
"Oh! no, monsieur; I am resting."
"For heaven's sake, take care," said Batonnin; "you'll suggest to that
young man the idea of beginning again!"
"Why, no; I am talking to Mademoiselle Gerbault. I am sure that Monsieur
de Raincy is boring her at this moment. I would like to rid her of
him."
"Bezique!--You think she's bored? But you may be mistaken--he's a very
good-looking fellow, is Monsieur de Raincy.--Four aces!"
"Ah! upon my word! If he's a good-looking fellow--with that stupid,
idiotic, conceited air!"
"He has a good figure.--Double bezique!"
"Sapristi! you never fail to get that.--And that pronunciation of
his--do you think that's pretty, too?"
"Not in singing, at all events.--Take your card, if you please, monsieur
le comte!"
"Ah! to be sure.--I was not paying attention. Whose play is it?"
"Mine.--I have the honor of winning again. I have triple
bezique--fifteen hundred!"
"Is it possible?"
"Look for yourself."
"Well! I am not sorry it's over. I am not at all in the mood for cards
to-night."
XXIV
MARRIAGE PROPOSALS
Monsieur de la Beriniere left the table and went to talk with Adolphine;
she, no less indifferent to the gallant speeches of the old count than
to young Anatole's compliments, was equally amiable to both; for neither
of them diverted her thoughts for a moment, and it is easy to be amiable
when the heart is not involved.
The party broke up at last; but, before taking their leave, the count
and Monsieur de Raincy in turn exchanged a few words in undertones with
Monsieur Gerbault; which proceeding aroused Monsieur Batonnin's
curiosity to such an extent, that he went in the direction of the
kitchen instead of toward the street-door.
"It's your turn to be absent-minded, I see," observed Monsieur Clairval,
satirically.
"Oh! not at all; I made a mistake in the door; that may happen to
anybody. Perhaps you thought that I had something to whisper to Monsieur
Gerbault, like those two ahead of us?"
"Ah! so they whispered to our friend Gerbault, did they? I confess that
I didn't notice it, and, furthermore, that it's a matter of indifference
to me."
"And to me, too, of course; although I have an idea that I can guess
what they had to say to Mademoiselle Adolphine's father."
"Ah! you have an idea? The deuce! do you possess the art of divination,
then?"
"One needn't be a sorcerer to divine certain things.--Do you want me to
tell you my conjectures?"
"No, I thank you, Monsieur Batonnin, keep them to yourself; I don't
appreciate conjectures; I like official facts only. Good-night!"
"That means that he is vexed because he hasn't guessed it," said
Batonnin to himself, as they separated. "For my part, I would bet--six
francs to twenty--that young De Raincy and old De la Beriniere are in
love with the charming Adolphine; and I would also bet--twenty francs to
thirty--that the girl doesn't care for either of them. So much the
better for me! I have all the more chance. Let us wait, let us let the
mutton boil, as the common saying goes. That's an old proverb; and I am
like Sancho, I love proverbs."
Adolphine also had noticed her father's brief _aside_ with the count and
with De Raincy. When all the guests had gone, she went to him, and said
with a smile:
"So those gentlemen have secrets with you, have they, father? for
Monsieur de la Beriniere, and then Monsieur Anatole, whispered to you in
a corner."
"Faith! my dear girl, as yet I have no more idea than you what they have
to say to me; but each of them asked me for an appointment to-morrow,
having a very important matter to discuss with me. I said to Monsieur de
Raincy: 'I shall expect you at eleven o'clock;' and to Monsieur de la
Beriniere: 'You will find me at home at one;' so I suppose that, at
three or four o'clock to-morrow, I shall be able to gratify your
curiosity, and to tell you what those gentlemen have confided to me----
Unless it concerns serious matters, which one doesn't tell to little
girls; but I fancy not."
"You fancy not?--Do you mean that you suspect what it is, father?"
"Why--bless my soul!--but, after all, as they will tell me to-morrow,
it's useless to indulge in conjectures. Ah! there's something which
interests me much more than that."
"What is it, father?"
"The duel that Batonnin told us about. I pretended, before him, not to
put any faith in what he said; but, if all that he told us is true, why,
your sister's husband didn't hurt himself by falling on the stairs--and
it must have been Gustave with whom he fought."
"Oh, no, father, no; I give you my word that it wasn't Gustave."
"Aha! so you know the truth, do you? and you never told me anything
about it?"
"Fanny and her husband didn't want it to become known, and she made me
promise not to mention it to you."
"But tell me whom Auguste did fight with?"
"With a man who was drunk, and who didn't know what he was
saying--that's the whole of it. And Auguste didn't attach the slightest
importance to it."
"Very good! I hope he didn't; but I am convinced, none the less, that
Gustave was mixed up in it in some way, and I repeat what I have said to
you before: that young man must never come here again!--Good-night, my
dear!"
"Good-night, father!"
Adolphine retired to her own room; the two appointments with her father,
solicited by two men who had persecuted her with their attentions during
the evening, caused her a vague feeling of uneasiness; a secret
presentiment told her that she would be the subject of the interviews to
be held on the morrow, and she was impatient to know whether her fears
were justified.
The next day, Adolphine did not leave her room, in order to avoid
meeting the two gentlemen who had appointments with her father. At
precisely eleven o'clock she heard the bell, and honest Madeleine came
and said to her:
"It's the tall young man who sang with you last night, mamzelle; he
asked for monsieur your father, and he's with him now."
"Very well, Madeleine; if he should happen to ask for me, you must tell
him that I have a headache and cannot leave my room."
"I understand, mamzelle."
"And come and tell me when he has gone."
"Yes, mamzelle."
Adolphine counted the minutes; but Anatole had not gone when the clock
struck twelve. She lost her patience; she said to herself:
"What can that man have to say to father, that takes such a long time?
For a young man, he's very talkative. If he doesn't go soon, he'll meet
the count. But, after all, it makes no difference to me."
At last, about half-past twelve, Monsieur de Raincy took his leave.
Madeleine came to inform her young mistress, and she was on the point of
going to her father, when the bell rang again.
It was Monsieur de la Beriniere. He had come ahead of time, but he was
at once ushered into Monsieur Gerbault's study. Madeleine informed
Adolphine of his arrival, and received the same orders as before, in
case the count should ask permission to pay his respects to her
mistress.
This second interview was much shorter; Monsieur de la Beriniere went
away before one o'clock. Thereupon, Monsieur Gerbault went up to his
daughter's room, with a gratified air, and rubbing his hands--a sign of
satisfaction common to all nations. Why? No one has ever been able to
find out.
"Well, father?" murmured Adolphine, in a voice which betrayed some
slight emotion; "did both of them come?"
"Yes, my dear girl. Oh! they were very prompt; indeed the count was a
little ahead of time; that's easily understood: the oldest are always in
the greatest hurry."
"And what did they say to you? must you keep it secret?"
"No, indeed; since you were the sole subject of both interviews."
"I?"
"Yes; and, frankly, I had some suspicion.--And you?"
"I--why---- Oh! I beg you, my dear father, tell me at once what they
wanted to say to you?"
"Well, my dear, the same motive brought them both; they both came to ask
me for your hand."
"My hand?"