away; "he deserves to be happy! But will he be, with his Fanny? Hum! I'm
none too sure of it. For my part, I should prefer the other; but as he's
in love with this one--to be sure, she's a very pretty woman, but I, old
fox that I am, I wouldn't trust her!--Sapristi! what do I see? My two
little pearls, Laurette and Lucie, and I have money in my pocket! But,
no; by Saint Anthony, I will not yield to the temptation! Let's be off
before they see me."
Laurette and Lucie were, in fact, coming toward Cherami, both dressed
with much coquetry and looking very attractive; but he, after heaving a
profound sigh, retreated with so much precipitation, that he ran into
the door of an omnibus, which had stopped for a lady; and, being urged
by the conductor, he concluded to enter also.
XLVII
THE RETURN FROM ITALY
Several weeks passed. It was a Thursday; and Fanny, who had not been at
her father's for a long time, said to Gustave when she saw him during
the day:
"I must go to dine with father to-day, my dear; I trust that you will
come there this evening?"
"As you will be there, you may be certain that I will come. By the way,
I saw that there was an apartment to rent in a nice house on Rue
Fontaine. Do you like that quarter?"
"Very much."
"Very well; I will go some time to-day to look at it, and if it seems to
me to be suitable I will tell you this evening, so that you can go to
see it. For ten months have passed; the time is not very far away when I
shall be able to call you my wife! so it is none too soon for me to see
about getting an apartment ready."
"Do so, my dear; you can tell me to-night if you have found what we
want."
About five o'clock, the widow went to her father's. Monsieur Gerbault
always welcomed his daughter kindly, and Adolphine did her utmost to
smile on her sister.
"So you're really going to marry Gustave this time, are you?" said
Monsieur Gerbault.
"Why shouldn't I, father? Do you think I shall be doing wrong?"
"No--but I regret that you didn't marry him a year ago."
"Why, father, it seems to me that I acted very wisely! Gustave had only
a very modest salary then. Monsieur Monleard offered me a fortune, and I
could not hesitate; the sequel didn't come up to my hopes; but certainly
no one could have foreseen that."
"But you are very lucky to fall in with a man who still loves you after
you have once cast him off."
"Mon Dieu! father, if Gustave had not loved me, some other man would
have turned up--that's all there is to that."
"Possibly; at all events, I see that you have an answer for everything."
Adolphine listened to her sister with an air of amazement, but she did
not venture to make a single reflection; she kept to herself the
thoughts which Fanny's remarks inspired; and she avoided, so far as she
possibly could, any conversation with her on the subject of her
approaching marriage to Gustave.
The evening brought to Monsieur Gerbault's salon his faithful whist
players, and Gustave, who shook hands warmly with the man whom he
already looked upon as his father-in-law, and affectionately with
Adolphine. She, by an involuntary movement, withdrew her hand at first;
but the next moment she forced herself to smile, and offered her hand to
Gustave, saying:
"I beg your pardon. I thought you were Monsieur de Raincy."
"And she absolutely refuses to give her hand to him," said Fanny, with a
laugh, "although he offers his name in exchange for it. Don't you think,
Gustave, that she makes a great mistake in refusing that young man?"
"Why so, if she doesn't love him?"
"As if people married for love!"
Realizing that she had said something which might distress Gustave, the
young woman hastily added:
"When a woman has never been married, she ought to be reasonable; with a
widow, it's different; she can afford to obey the dictates of her
heart."
These words speedily restored the serenity of Gustave's brow, which had
become a little clouded. A moment later, Monsieur Batonnin arrived, and,
having saluted the company, said, with a radiant expression:
"I have just met someone, whom you will probably see this evening, for
when I said: 'I am going to pass the evening at Monsieur Gerbault's,' he
exclaimed: 'Oh! I mean to go there, too, if only for a moment.'"
"Who is it?" queried Monsieur Gerbault.
"Someone who is very agreeable--just back from Italy. What! can't you
guess? Monsieur le Comte de la Beriniere."
"Ah! the dear count! Has he returned?"
"Only yesterday. He instantly asked me for all the news. When I told him
that Madame Monleard was a widow, he was tremendously surprised; he
couldn't get over it."
"Mon Dieu! how stupid that man is!" muttered Gustave, glancing at Fanny.
Since the announcement of the Comte de la Beriniere's return, she seemed
disturbed and preoccupied. In a few moments, she left her seat between
her sister and Gustave, went to the window for a moment, as if to get a
breath of air, and then, instead of returning to her former seat, sat
down near the whist table.
Adolphine followed her sister with her eyes, and did not lose a single
one of her movements. Meanwhile, Gustave, seeing Fanny seat herself at a
distance, drew nearer to Adolphine, and said:
"Your sister, I see, wishes me to tell you of our delightful plans for
the future; for I have had no chance to talk with you lately, dear
Adolphine; I have been here several times, but have failed to find you."
"Yes, I know it."
"I think that you are not indifferent to what interests me, that you
take pleasure in my happiness. You saw me when I was so unhappy! I am
sure that you want to see me happy now."
"Yes, of course I do. A love like yours well deserves to be
reciprocated."
Gustave began to lay before Adolphine all the plans he had formed for
the future, when he should be her brother-in-law. Adolphine listened
with only half an ear; she seemed much more interested in watching her
sister, who pretended to take a deep interest in the game of whist; but
soon the arrival of the Comte de la Beriniere caused a general movement.
Everyone congratulated the traveller on the happy influence which the
climate of Italy seemed to have had on his health.
"Yes, I am very well indeed," said the count, who, after bowing coldly
to Adolphine, eagerly approached her sister. "Italy's a very beautiful
country, but it isn't equal to France, especially Paris! I tell you,
there is nothing like our Parisian women; and what I look at first of
all, in any country, is the women."
"Still, you have stayed away a long while, monsieur le comte," said the
widow, motioning to Monsieur de la Beriniere to take a seat by her side,
the gesture being accompanied by her most charming smile.
The count hastened to obey; and said to her, almost in a whisper:
"I have, in truth, been absent more than a year; and, meanwhile, certain
things have happened which it was impossible to foresee. Permit me to
offer you my condolence on your widowhood."
"Yes, I am a widow, I have become free again; it is more than ten months
since it happened. Truly, it could hardly have been anticipated! You
must find me greatly changed, do you not? I have grown old and thin--and
then, this costume is so dismal!"
"In other words, you are still captivating; indeed, if such a thing were
possible, I should say that you are even lovelier than you were. As for
your dress--what does that matter? You adorn whatever you wear."
"Oh! monsieur le comte, you flatter me; you don't mean what you say."
"Do I not? I mean it and feel it; you are an enchantress!"
"Italy is where you must have seen the pretty women!"
"Yes, there are many of them there; but I say again, they can't hold a
candle to Parisian women in general, and to you in particular."
"Oh! hush! Are you no longer in love with my sister?"
"Your sister? Faith! no; she refused my hand; I bear her no ill-will for
it; for, frankly, I am very glad of it now."
"Why so, pray?"
"Oh! I can't tell you here."
"Very well! then you must come to see me, and tell me."
"Do you give me leave to come to pay my respects to you?"
"More than that, I count upon it."
"You are adorable."
It seemed to Gustave that Fanny's conversation with the count was
unconscionably long. He could not see all the coquettish little grimaces
with which the widow accompanied her words, because she had taken pains
to turn her chair so that she was not facing the man she was to marry;
but he thought it very strange that Fanny could pass so long a time
without thinking of him, without wanting him near her. The young man
walked through the salon, gazing at the young widow, and sometimes
stopping beside her. She did not appear to pay the slightest heed to
him.
Being unable longer to control his impatience, he decided to interrupt
their conversation, and said aloud to Fanny:
"My dear Fanny, I went to-day to see that apartment on Rue Fontaine--you
know--that I spoke to you about this morning?"
The widow was perceptibly annoyed. However, she replied, with a
surprised air:
"What! what apartment? I don't remember. Oh! yes, yes, I know what you
mean."
"Well, the apartment is very well arranged and very attractive. I am
confident that you will like it; but you must look at it immediately,
for the chances are that it will be let very soon."
"Very well, very well; I will go to look at it.--Oh! Monsieur de la
Beriniere, you went to Naples, didn't you? Did you see Vesuvius vomit
flame? That is something I am very curious to see. Do tell me what a
volcano is like?"
Gustave walked away, far from satisfied. It seemed to him that his
future spouse was too deeply interested in Italy. He returned to
Adolphine, lost in thought, and sat down beside her. She said nothing,
but she looked at him and read his thoughts.
Monsieur Gerbault succeeded at last in talking with the count. Whereupon
Gustave returned to Fanny, and said to her:
"Aren't we going? You said that you should go home early."
But the little widow, who did not choose to have the count see her go
away with Gustave, replied:
"It's too early; my father would be angry if I should go now."
"But you said----"
"Mon Dieu! you seem to be in a great hurry to go!"
Gustave bit his lips and said no more. Monsieur Batonnin joined him, and
said with a smile:
"You don't seem to be doing anything, Monsieur Gustave. Don't you play
cards?"
"I don't care for cards, monsieur."
"You prefer to talk with the ladies--I can understand that. You have
been travelling, too; and the ladies like to hear about travels. Have
you seen any volcanoes?"
"No, monsieur."
And Gustave turned his back on Batonnin, who smiled at his own
reflection in a mirror.
The count soon took his hat, and was about to withdraw, without a word,
as the custom is in society; but Fanny, who had kept her eyes on him,
found an excuse for standing in his path, and said to him in an
undertone:
"I shall expect you to-morrow."
Monsieur de la Beriniere replied by a graceful inclination, and
disappeared.
A few moments later, Fanny said to Gustave:
"Well, monsieur; if you want to go, I am at your service."
"I am at yours, rather, madame."
"Let us go."
Adolphine went up to Gustave of her own motion, and pressed his hand
affectionately.
In the street, the young man began:
"Monsieur de la Beriniere's conversation evidently interested you very
much? You talked with nobody but him; you left your sister and me, and
forgot all about us."
"Why, I enjoyed listening to what he told me about Italy. He is very
pleasant, and amusing to listen to. I didn't suppose that you would see
any harm in that."
"I see no harm in the conversation; but I am horribly bored when you
talk to anybody else for long. I am sorry that you don't feel the same
way."
"Oh! what childishness! As if I were not always there!--How my head does
ache! I shall have a sick headache to-morrow, I am sure."
"You will go to look at that apartment, won't you?"
"Yes, if my head doesn't ache; but if it does, I certainly shall not
stir from my bed."
They arrived at Fanny's door, and the future husband and wife parted
much more coldly than usual.
The next morning, the young widow gave these orders to her servant:
"If Monsieur le Comte de la Beriniere calls, you will admit him at once.
If Monsieur Gustave comes, you will tell him that I have a sick
headache, that I am asleep; and you will not let him in on any pretext.
Do you understand?"
"Yes, madame."
Fanny took the greatest pains with her hair, her dress, and every part
of her toilet; she omitted nothing that was adapted to captivate, to
dazzle, to seduce.
At one o'clock, Monsieur de la Beriniere was ushered into the pretty
creature's boudoir, where she awaited him, seated in a graceful attitude
on a sofa, and motioned him to a seat by her side.
"You see, fair lady, that I take advantage of the permission accorded
me," said the count, gallantly kissing Fanny's little hand.
"It was presumptuous in me, perhaps, to tell you that I expected you;
but I wanted to talk with you, and one has little chance to talk in
society."
"You give me the most delicious pleasure--a tete-a-tete with you! It is
a priceless favor to me. It is very true that in society it is difficult
to say--all that one thinks; and last night, at your father's, there was
a young man who seemed to be vexed at our conversation."
"Oh! Gustave.--He's an old play-fellow of mine."
"An old play-fellow? Isn't he something more than that?"
"What! what do you mean?"
"Stay, charming widow, I will explain my meaning without beating about
the bush. Yesterday, when he told me that you were a widow, Monsieur
Batonnin told me also that you were to marry again very soon."
"Mon Dieu! what a chatterbox that Monsieur Batonnin is! what business is
it of his?"
"It is quite possible that he's a chatterbox; but, tell me, is it the
truth? Are you going to marry Monsieur Gustave, your old play-fellow?"
"Yes, it is true that there has been some talk of marriage between us;
but it's a long way from that to an actual marriage."
"Really--you are not actually engaged to him?"
"Engaged? Not by any means!"
"But--that apartment that he spoke about last night, that he asked you
to go to look at?"
"Why, it's an apartment that he is thinking of renting for himself, and
he wants my advice as to the arrangement of the rooms; because a woman
understands such things better than a man, don't you see? But now it's
your turn, monsieur le comte, to tell me why you are so anxious to know
whether my hand is at my disposition."
"Why, charming creature! can't you guess why? Don't you remember what I
said to you one day, at your own house, soon after your marriage? I
said: 'Monleard has been smarter than I, he has got ahead of me; for, if
it had not been for him, I would have asked you to be Comtesse de la
Beriniere.'--Very good; what I could not do then, I should be very happy
to do to-day. Now, you see, I don't propose to lose any time and let
some other man get ahead of me; I go straight to the point. If you are
not engaged, I offer you my name and my fortune; I will transform you
into a fascinating countess."
"Oh! monsieur le comte, can I believe you? do you really mean what you
say? I most certainly am not engaged--but my sister--you loved her?"
"I thought of your sister for a moment, solely with a view of entering
your family. You cannot fear to make her unhappy by accepting my hand,
since she refused it."
"True, the little fool! I wouldn't have refused it, I can tell you!"
"Very well; then you accept now--you consent to become a countess? Give
me your hand, as a token of your consent."
Fanny pretended to be embarrassed, and lowered her eyes; but she gave
her hand to the count, who threw himself at her feet, crying:
"I am the happiest of men!"
During this interview, Gustave had called and asked for Fanny; but the
maid said to him:
"It is impossible for you to see her, monsieur; she has a sick headache;
she is asleep, and told me not to wake her."
"And her order applies to me too?"
"Oh! yes, monsieur; you cannot see madame; her headache's very bad."
XLVIII
WOMAN CHANGES OFT
Gustave returned to his office sadly out of temper. He was surprised
that for a headache Fanny should refuse to see him; he said to himself
that, if he were ill, the presence of his loved one could not fail to do
him good and cure him at once. Then, in spite of himself, he recalled
Fanny's conduct at her father's, her evident pleasure in conversing with
Monsieur de la Beriniere, while she barely listened to what he, Gustave,
said to her. All this distressed and worried him. He could not be
jealous of the count, who was sixty years old, but he was displeased
with Fanny; and while he sought excuses for her, saying to himself that
a young woman was not debarred from being a little coquettish, from
liking to cut a figure in society, he feared, nevertheless, that she was
not capable of loving as he loved.
We often hear of presentiments; but, in most cases, these presentiments
are simply the assembling of our memories so as to form a new light,
which enlightens our minds, destroys our illusions, undeceives our
hearts. With the aid of this new light, we foresee the treachery that
lies in wait for us, and we say: "I had a presentiment of it."
Gustave returned to Fanny's that evening; it was natural enough that he
should be anxious to know whether the headache had disappeared. The
servant informed him that madame had gone out.
"Gone out!" cried Gustave; "she is better, then?"
"_Dame_! yes, monsieur; it's evident that madame has got rid of her sick
headache."
"Where has she gone?"
"I don't know, monsieur."
"And she left no message for me, if I came?"
"Not a word."
"Has she gone to her father's?"
"I said that I didn't know."
"Very well; I will come again. Ask her to wait for me, when she
returns."
The young man hurried to Monsieur Gerbault's. He found Adolphine alone.
She read at once on his face that he was suffering, and asked him as she
took his hand:
"What has happened, my friend? Something is the matter."
"Why---- Have you seen your sister to-day?"
"No."
"You have not?"
"No, she hasn't been here. Why do you ask?"
"Because I haven't seen her to-day, either. This morning, I called on
her; I was told that she had a headache and was asleep. But this evening
I called again, and she had gone out."
"Well, she has probably gone to see some of her friends. She has
retained some acquaintances from the time when her husband was living,
and she goes to see them sometimes. I can see nothing disturbing in
that."
"But, after a whole day without seeing each other, to go out in the
evening without saying where she's going--without leaving a word for
me!"
"Fanny is so thoughtless; she probably forgot."
"Dear Adolphine! you try to excuse your sister, but I am sure that you
blame her, at the bottom of your heart. Don't you remember how unkind
she was to me last night?"
"Why, I didn't notice----"
"Yes, yes, you did notice that she left us to go and talk with that
Monsieur de la Beriniere. Who is that man? wherever did she know him?"
"He was a friend of her husband, and in that way became acquainted with
father."
"Is he rich?"
"He has forty thousand francs a year."
"Married?"
"No, he's an old bachelor; he asked father once for my hand."
"And you refused him?"
"Yes."
"You thought him too old, didn't you?"
"That wasn't the reason; but I refused him."
"Do you know, Adolphine, I have no idea what is going on in Fanny's
head, but all this isn't natural. At the point we have reached,--we are
to be married in six weeks, and we are both free,--two people don't pass
a whole day without exchanging a glance, or a grasp of the hand. I tell
you, there's something wrong. Could she deceive me again? Oh! no, that
isn't possible; it would be too ghastly! too shameless!--No, I blush for
having had such a thought. I have no doubt that she is at home and
waiting for me. Au revoir, little sister!"
"Gustave, if anything should happen, you would tell me at once, wouldn't
you?"
But Gustave did not hear; he was already at the foot of the stairs, and
he hurried away to Fanny's house. She had not returned; he remembered
the apartment he had asked her to inspect, and, although it was hardly
customary to look at apartments in the evening, he said to himself:
"Perhaps she has gone there." And in a few moments he was in Rue
Fontaine. He inquired of the concierge who had the keys to the
apartment, and was told that no lady had come that day to look at it.
One more hope dashed to the ground: as Fanny had gone out, why had she
not gone to inspect the apartment of which he had spoken so highly the
night before, telling her that they must make haste lest it should be
rented to others? Gustave said all this to himself as he returned to
Madame Monleard's abode. She had not returned; but it was only nine
o'clock; she must return sooner or later, and Gustave was determined not
to go to bed until he had seen her and spoken to her, even if he had to
pass half the night on sentry-go before her door. But a woman,
unattended, was unlikely to stay out late; she could not have gone to a
ball; ladies did not go alone to the theatre; so she must be at some
small party; someone would probably escort her home, but he would find
out who her escort was.
How many ideas pass through the mind of a jealous, worried lover in a
few seconds! The imagination moves so fast that it does not know where
to stop, or on what to decide. Every moment that passed without bringing
Fanny added to Gustave's anxiety, his suffering, his suspicions. At
last, about half-past ten, a cab stopped in front of the house. Gustave
ran forward and was at the door before the cabman had alighted from his
box. Fanny was in the cab, alone. When she recognized Gustave in the man
who opened the door for her, she laughed heartily and cried:
"Ah! you open carriage-doors now, do you? Ha! ha! I congratulate you on
your new trade."
This outburst of merriment seemed untimely, to say the least, to
Gustave, who rejoined:
"I have no choice but to wait for cabs to arrive, as I fail to find you
at home; as you go out without even leaving a line for me so that I may
know where you are."
"Oh! mon Dieu! what a terrible crime! Am I no longer my own mistress--to
go where I please without asking your leave? That would be very
amusing!"
"You know very well, Fanny, that that isn't what I mean; you know that
you are at liberty to do whatever you choose to do. So do not try to
dodge the question. At the point we have reached, it is natural for us
to tell each other what we do; for we ought to have no secrets from each
other. I came here this morning, and you didn't see me on account of
your headache."
"Well, monsieur, am I no longer allowed to have a headache? Pay the
cabman, will you; I have come from Madame Delabert's.--Can I no longer
visit my friends, I should like to know?"
"Come, come, Fanny, don't be angry; perhaps I was foolish to be anxious.
But it would have been so easy for you to leave word for me! Remember
that I haven't seen you at all to-day, and a whole day without seeing
you seems very long now!"
"It isn't my fault if I have a sick headache. I can still feel the
effects of it, so I am going to bed; I am very tired."
"Mayn't I come up with you for a moment?"
"Oh! I should think not! it wouldn't be proper, so late."
"It isn't eleven yet."
"But I tell you that I still feel the effects of my headache, and that I
am going straight to bed."
"Why didn't you go to see that apartment I told you about--on Rue
Fontaine, near Place Saint-Georges?"
"Why didn't I? Because I forgot all about it."
"How could you forget a thing of such importance? For, if it suits you,
we must rent it at once."
"Oh! my dear friend, I am not anxious to stand here in the street any
longer. What do we look like--talking like this on a doorstep?"
"Then let me come up a moment."
"No; I tell you that I am going to bed!"
"There's something wrong, Fanny. This isn't natural. You're not the same
with me that you were two days ago."
"You can tell me all that to-morrow. Good-night!"
"Very well, until to-morrow, then, madame! I trust that you will be
visible?"
"Mon Dieu! monsieur, I am always visible when I am not sick. But don't
come too early; for I don't rise with the dawn."
Fanny knocked, and the door opened. She hurried in and closed the door
on Gustave, who remained in the street, poor fellow, unable to make up
his mind to leave his fair one's abode. He did not know what to believe.
He asked himself if he had not done wrong to reproach Fanny; she had
been to see one of her friends, and had returned alone: there was no
great harm in that. And yet, he was ill at ease, he suffered; his heart
told him that something was wrong, and that his love was not the same to
him as before.
At last, after pacing back and forth in front of Fanny's door for nearly
an hour, gazing at those of her windows which were lighted, he decided
to go away when the lights went out.
"I wish to-morrow were here," he thought.