IN M. DE MORNAND'S STUDY.
"Well!" exclaimed M. de Mornand, as soon as he saw Ravil enter his
modest study filled with huge piles of printed reports and all sorts of
communications from members of the Chamber of Deputies; "well, have you
seen M. de Rochaigue?"
"Yes, I have seen him, and everything looks very promising."
"You may rest assured that I shall never forget your kindness in the
matter. It is evident that it is quite as much a matter of friendship as
of money with you, and I am all the more grateful from the fact that
your heart is not supposed to be particularly vulnerable."
"It is vulnerable enough to you, and that is all that is necessary in
the present instance."
"And the governess, have you spoken to her?"
"Not yet."
"Why not?"
"Because several little matters must be settled between us. I'll explain
what they are presently; besides, there is no hurry. Madame Laine, the
governess, will do whatever I wish, and whenever I wish it done."
"Whatever did Rochaigue say? Is he satisfied with the information he has
secured in regard to me. Have my colleagues and political supporters
spoken a good word for me? Do you think--?"
"You give me no chance to answer any of your questions."
"But you see ever since the possibility of this marriage first occurred
to me--and I have good reason to remember the date, for that ridiculous
duel with that miserable hunchback will always remind me of it," added
M. de Mornand, with a bitter smile--"ever since the possibility first
occurred to me, as I said before, this marriage has been a fixed idea
with me. Situated as I am, it means more than wealth to me,--power--the
highest diplomatic positions--will all be within my reach."
"Have you finished?"
"Yes, yes, I am listening."
"That is fortunate. Very well, all the information M. de la Rochaigue
has received corroborates what I had already told him. He is firmly
convinced that you will attain the position of minister or ambassador
sooner or later, but that the time would be greatly hastened by your
marriage with Mlle. de Beaumesnil, for men who are immensely rich are
preferred for such positions, their wealth being considered a guarantee
against all sorts of villainies. The good man is also certain that, if
he brings about your marriage with his ward, you will as soon as you
rise to power have him made a peer of France, for if persons who are
hung could be restored to life, this man would willingly be hung to
secure a seat in the Luxembourg. It is an infirmity, a positive mania
with him, and you may rest assured that I have made the most of it."
"If he brings about the marriage, his elevation to the peerage is
assured. He has been president of one of the commissions for years, and
I will nominate him at once."
"He hasn't the slightest doubt of it, and, being an old-fashioned sort
of a man, he relies upon your promise, and is willing to do anything in
his power to further your interests with his ward at once."
"Bravo! and Mlle. de Beaumesnil, what does he say about her? Being so
young and so entirely alone in the world, she isn't likely to offer
much opposition, so I should think he would feel pretty confident of
success."
"He never saw her until last evening, you recollect, but, thanks to a
few judicious questions, he fancies he has been able to discover that
this young woman is strongly inclined to be ambitious, and that her head
would be quite turned by the prospect of marrying a future minister or
ambassador, so she could have a crowd of other women under her feet."
"That is truly providential!" cried M. de Mornand, almost beside himself
with joy. "And when can I see her?"
"I have an idea about that, but I concluded to say nothing to Rochaigue
on the subject until after I had spoken to you."
"Well, well, let us hear the idea!" said M. de Mornand, rubbing his
hands, jubilantly.
"In the first place, you must understand that you are not handsome, that
you are much too fat, that you have entirely too large an abdomen, and
anything but a distinguished air. Pardon my sincerity, it is a friend
who speaks."
"That is all right!" responded Mornand, trying hard to conceal the
annoyance which his friend's plain speaking caused. "Between friends one
can say and hear anything."
"That is an excellent maxim. I will therefore add that you are neither
attractive, clever, nor good-tempered, but fortunately you have, or seem
to have, a very considerable amount of political tact. You have made a
careful study of the best means of corrupting consciences; you were born
a corrupter as one is born a singer. Moreover, you are endowed with an
eloquence of the continuous flow sort, capable of extinguishing and
bewildering the best orators--on the other side. In a drawing-room you
are heavy, clumsy, and awkward, like all big men; but in the tribune,
with the railing concealing your abdomen, and your chest swelling out
majestically under your embroidered coat, you are quite imposing, and
can even be said to have some pretensions to good looks."
"Of what earthly use is all this?" retorted Mornand, impatiently; "you
know very well that we politicians, we men of mark, care nothing in the
world about being considered handsome."
"Oh, that is all nonsense! Don't interrupt me. I was about to say that
so much depends upon a first impression that it is by all means
advisable that you should appear before Mlle. de Beaumesnil in your most
attractive guise, so you may fascinate and magnetise her, so to speak.
Do you understand?"
"That is an excellent idea, but how is it to be managed?"
"You are to make a speech three days hence in the Chamber, are you not?"
"Yes, upon the cod fisheries,--a speech full of dry statistics."
"Ah, well, you must be flowery, poetical, pathetic, pastoral, anything
but statistical, and this is an easy matter if you will only confine
yourself to one side of the question. You can talk of the fishermen and
their interesting families, the surf that breaks in thunder upon the
beach, the pale moonlight on the dunes, our gallant navy, and all that
kind of stuff."
"But I have considered the question from a purely financial point of
view."
"Then tear up that speech and write another, for you must devote all the
powers of your eloquence to dazzling the little Beaumesnil."
"What on earth do you mean?"
"Listen to me, innocent! Rochaigue shall be notified, and day after
to-morrow the young lady will hear everybody around her saying: 'On
Thursday the eloquent M. Mornand, the future minister, is to speak in
the House of Peers. All Paris will be there. They are issuing tickets of
admission, for when M. de Mornand speaks it is an event!'"
"I understand. You are certainly nothing more or less than a genius,
Ravil!" exclaimed M. de Mornand.
"M. de la Rochaigue will naturally inquire if Mlle. de Beaumesnil would
not like to attend the session, and we will arrange it so that Rochaigue
will amuse the girl with things outside until the time comes for you to
ascend the tribune and unloose the fountains of your eloquence. I will
then run out and warn the guardian, who will come in with his ward to
witness your triumph."
"Admirably planned!"
"And if you can organise a claque from among your colleagues to
interlard your speech with exclamations of 'Good! Bravo! Admirable!' our
success is assured."
"The plan is admirable, as I said before. There is but one thing that
worries me."
"And what is that?"
"Why, as soon as my speech is ended that fool Montdidier will begin to
contradict all I said. He isn't much of a politician, and he is not at
all practical, but he's as witty and sarcastic as the devil, and doesn't
hesitate to say aloud what other people scarcely dare to think in their
most secret hearts. If he should begin that before Mlle. de
Beaumesnil--"
"Oh, you need have no fears on that score. As soon as you have finished
your speech, and while you are receiving the congratulations of your
colleagues, we will exclaim: 'A magnificent effort, truly! He is a
Mirabeau, a Fox, a Sheridan, a Canning! It is not worth while to remain
any longer. There will be nothing worth listening to after that!' So we
will hurry out with the girl, after which Montdidier can ascend the
tribune and tear you to pieces and ridicule you as much as he likes. But
there is another means which I have not mentioned before,--an effectual
means which I have reserved until the last, but which will not only win
you the prize, but make it possible for you to retire from political
life if you like, and also to tell Rochaigue in so many words that you
cannot make him a peer of France, for, thanks to a brilliant idea that
has occurred to me, the baron will not only do everything in his power
to further your marriage, but you will also have Madame de la Rochaigue
and her sister-in-law on your side, though the most we can hope for now
is that they will remain neutral."
"Then why do you not employ this means, and at once?"
"I have hazarded a few words, thrown out a few hints, but I have
ventured nothing decisive."
"And why not?"
"You see I am not positive that--that you will like it. You might have
scruples--and yet the most honest and highly respected men, even kings
themselves--"
"Kings themselves? May I be hanged if I have the slightest idea what you
are driving at."
"But men are sometimes so absurdly sensitive on the subject."
"Sensitive?"
"Still, one is not responsible for it. Can one fight against nature?"
"Against nature? Really, Ravil, you must be losing your wits. What do
you mean by all this?"
"You are fortunate, too, inasmuch as appearances are in your favour. You
are stout, you have rather a shrill voice, and scarcely any beard--"
"And what of that?"
"You don't understand me?"
"No."
"And he calls himself a politician?"
"What the devil do you mean by prating about my shrill voice, my sparse
beard, and my political astuteness?"
"Mornand, you make me doubt your sagacity. Think, what did you say to
me only day before yesterday concerning the marriage of the young Queen
of Spain?"
"Day before yesterday?"
"Yes, that state secret, you know."
"Hush, hush!"
"Oh, you needn't be afraid,--I shall be as silent as the grave. Do you
recollect now?"
"Yes, I told you that if we could only marry a French prince to the
sister of the Queen of Spain, it would be one of the most brilliant of
diplomatic triumphs to give the aforesaid queen, for a husband, a prince
who offered sufficient guarantees--through his antecedents--that the
queen would never have any children. The throne would then pass
eventually into the possession of her sister's children, that is to say,
into the possession of French princes. A magnificent combination," added
the future minister, enthusiastically. "It would be a continuation of
the policy of the Great Monarch!"
"Well, the illustration is apt. Profit by it," retorted Ravil, shrugging
his shoulders.
"What do you mean?"
"Answer me this: Who are Mlle. de Beaumesnil's only remaining
relatives?"
"M. de la Rochaigue, his sister, and, after them, M. de la Rochaigue's
daughter, who is married and resides in the provinces."
"Exactly; so if Mlle. de Beaumesnil should die without issue--?"
"It is the Rochaigue family that would inherit the fortune. That is as
plain as daylight. But what the devil are you driving at?"
"Wait; now suppose that the Rochaigue family can persuade Mlle. de
Beaumesnil to marry a man who can furnish those same guarantees,--those
same reassuring antecedents you spoke of as desirable in the Queen of
Spain's husband? Would not the Rochaigues find it greatly to their
interest to bring about a marriage that would ensure them the
possession of their young relative's wealth at some future day?"
"I understand, Ravil," said M. de Mornand, thoughtfully, and as if
deeply impressed by the grandeur of the scheme.
"Tell me, then, are you willing that I should pose you before the eyes
of the Rochaigues as a man (except for royal lineage) perfectly adapted
to be the husband of a Queen of Spain who has a French prince for a
brother-in-law? It will ensure you the support of the baron's wife and
sister, remember."
After a prolonged silence, the Comte de Mornand said, with a both
diplomatic and majestic air:
"De Ravil,--I give you _carte blanche_."