AN ORGY OF SINCERITY.
After a moment's silence, Madame de la Rochaigue, with a penetrating
glance at M. de Maillefort, said:
"Marquis, I understand you."
"Bah!"
"Understand you perfectly."
"You do everything to perfection, so this does not surprise me. But let
me hear the proofs of these surprising powers of penetration on your
part."
"For fear of harrowing my feelings too much, I will not count the number
of years during which you never set foot in my house, and now you
suddenly return with a truly flattering eagerness. So, being a sensible
woman, and not a mere bundle of conceit, I say to myself--"
"Come, baroness, what is it you say to yourself?"
"I say to myself simply this: 'After M. de Maillefort's long desertion
of me, to what am I now indebted for the novel pleasure of seeing him so
often? It must be because I am Mlle. de Beaumesnil's guardian, and
because this most estimable marquis has some special reason for again
favouring me with his visits.'"
"You are about right, baroness, upon my word."
"What! you admit it?"
"I am compelled to."
"You almost make me doubt my powers of penetration by your prompt
confession, marquis."
"Are we not striving to outdo each other in frankness?"
"True; I forgot that."
"And now I, in my turn, will explain why I so suddenly ceased to visit
your house. You see, madame, I am something of a stoic, and when
anything gives me very great pleasure I suddenly renounce it, so I may
not allow myself to become enervated by too much pleasure. That is why I
suddenly ceased to visit you."
"I would like to believe it, but--"
"You can at least try. As to the resumption of my visits--"
"Ah, that is the most curious part--"
"You have guessed the reason--pretty nearly."
"Pretty nearly, marquis?"
"Yes, for though I have no special plans in relation to the subject of
your ward's marriage, I can't help saying to myself that this great
heiress is sure to draw a crowd of unscrupulous fortune-hunters around
her, and Madame de la Rochaigue's house will soon be the scene of all
sorts of amusing intrigues. A person who desires to see all the amusing
acts of this comedy can view them from the reserved seats, so to speak,
in Madame de la Rochaigue's house. At my age, and made as I am, I have
no other amusement in the world except what observation affords me; so I
intend to frequent Madame de la Rochaigue's house for that purpose. She
will receive me, because she received me years ago, and because, after
all, I am not any more stupid, nor any more of a bore than other people.
So, from my quiet corner, I will watch the fierce struggle between the
rival suitors. This is the truth, and now, baroness, you surely will not
be so hard-hearted as to refuse me a place in your drawing-room where I
can watch this contest, of which your ward is to be the prize."
"But, marquis, you are not one of those persons who can watch people
fight, without taking a hand in it yourself," said Madame de la
Rochaigue, shaking her head.
"Well, I can't say that I am."
"So you will not remain neutral."
"I don't know about that," answered the marquis.
Then, emphasising the words strongly, he added:
"As I am experienced in the ways of the world, as I have a horror of
cowardice and conceit, and as I have always maintained my habit of plain
speaking, I admit that if I should see a brave warrior, whose courage
and worth have interested me, perfidiously attacked, I should be very
likely to come to that person's assistance with all the means at my
disposal."
"But this, permit me to say, monsieur," responded the baroness,
concealing her anger under a forced laugh, "is nothing more nor less
than a sort of inquisition, of which you will be the inquisitor-general,
and which will be located in my house."
"Yes, in your house, or elsewhere; for you know, baroness, that if the
whim should seize you,--every pretty woman, you know, must have her
whims, and you are certainly entitled to a good many of them,--I repeat
that, if the whim should seize you, you could easily tell your servants
that in future you will never be at home to me."
"Why, marquis, can you suppose--?"
"I was only jesting," replied M. de Maillefort, dryly. "The baron is too
sensible a man to allow your doors to be closed against me without a
cause, and he will spare me, I am sure, any explanation on the subject.
I have the honour to tell you, my dear baroness, that having resolved to
watch these very amusing doings, to see, in fact, how the richest
heiress in France is married off, I can establish my point of
observation almost anywhere, for, in spite of my diminutive stature, I
can manage to see from almost any position, high or low."
"Then, my dear marquis, you must confess that it is an offensive and
defensive alliance you are proposing to me," said Madame de la
Rochaigue, with the same forced smile.
"Not the least bit in the world. I shall neither be for you nor against
you. I shall merely watch what goes on, with a keen eye, and perhaps try
to aid this suitor, or to circumvent the other suitor, according to my
best judgment and my feeble resources, if the desire seizes me, or
rather if justice and truth demand it, for you know I am very peculiar
in my notions."
"But why not content yourself with the role of a looker-on? Why can you
not remain neutral?"
"Because, as you yourself remarked just now, my dear baroness, I am not
one of those persons who can watch others fight without taking a hand in
the fight myself."
"But," said Madame de la Rochaigue, quite at her wits' end,
"suppose,--and it is merely a supposition, for we have decided not to
think of Ernestine's marriage for a long time yet,--suppose, I say, that
we did have some one in view for her, what would you do?"
"I haven't the slightest idea, upon my word!"
"Come, come, M. le marquis, you are not acting fairly with me. You have
some scheme of your own."
"Nothing of the kind. I do not know Mlle. de Beaumesnil; I have no
suitor to suggest for her. I am, consequently, an entirely disinterested
looker-on, and, this being the case, my dear baroness, I do not exactly
understand why you should have any objection to my watching the amusing
proceedings."
"That is true," said Madame de la Rochaigue, recovering her composure,
"for, after all, in marrying Ernestine, what can we have in view, except
her happiness?"
"Nothing, of course."
"Consequently, we have nothing to fear from your observation, as you
call it, my dear marquis."
"Nothing, absolutely nothing."
"For, in case we should make a mistake--"
"Which may happen to any one, even one who has the best intentions in
the world."
"Certainly, marquis. Well, in that event, you would not fail to come to
our assistance, and warn us of our danger."
"That is what an observer is for," laughingly remarked M. de Maillefort,
rising to take leave.
"What, marquis, you are going so soon?"
"To my great regret. I must make the tour of five or six drawing-rooms,
to hear what people are saying about your young heiress. You have no
idea how amusing, curious, and sometimes revolting the remarks upon the
subject of her immense dowry are!"
"Ah, well, my dear marquis," said Madame de la Rochaigue, offering her
hand to the hunchback in the most cordial manner, "I hope to see you
often, very often; and as all this seems to interest you so much, I
shall keep you fully posted."
"And I, too, will promise to tell you everything I hear. It will be
wonderfully amusing. And, by the way," added the marquis, with the most
careless air imaginable, though he had come to Madame de la Rochaigue's
house as much to endeavour to secure some light upon an as yet
impenetrable mystery as to see Ernestine,--"by the way, did you ever
hear anything about an illegitimate child that M. de Beaumesnil left?"
"M. de Beaumesnil?" asked the baroness, with evident surprise.
"Yes," replied the hunchback, for, in putting the question thus, he
hoped to attain his object without endangering the secret he thought he
had discovered in relation to Madame de Beaumesnil; "yes, did you never
hear that M. de Beaumesnil had an illegitimate child?"
"No," replied the baroness, "this is the first time I ever heard of any
such rumour, though a long while ago there was some talk about a liaison
the countess had prior to her marriage. It must, consequently, have been
in connection with her that you heard this story of an illegitimate
child, but I, myself, have never heard anything on the subject before."
"Then whether this rumour relates to the count or the countess, there is
evidently not the slightest truth in it, my dear baroness, for, by
reason of your close connection with the family, you would have been
sure to know of the matter."
"And I assure you, marquis, that we have never heard or seen anything
that would lead us to suppose that either M. or Madame de Beaumesnil
left any illegitimate child."
M. de Maillefort, who was endowed with an unusual amount of penetration,
as well as tact, now felt fully convinced of Madame de la Rochaigue's
entire ignorance of the existence of any illegitimate child, and the
failure of this fresh attempt on his part caused him deep chagrin,
particularly as he began to despair of discovering any trace of this
unknown child, and of thus complying with Madame de Beaumesnil's dying
request.
Madame de la Rochaigue, without appearing to notice the hunchback's
preoccupation, continued, gaily:
"It is really very amusing to listen to all the rumours that are afloat
concerning our ward's inheritance, as well as the large but singular
legacies left by the countess."
"Indeed?"
"There is little or no foundation for these absurd reports," continued
the baroness, in supercilious tones, for she had always disliked Madame
de Beaumesnil. "The countess left a few trifling legacies to three or
four old retainers, and small gratuities to her other servants. That is
all the magnificent legacies, of which everybody is talking, amount to.
But while the countess was in such a generous mood, she ought not to
have been guilty of the ingratitude of forgetting a poor girl to whom
she certainly owed some recognition of her services."
"To whom do you refer?" asked the marquis, concealing the pain he felt
on hearing the baroness thus asperse Madame de Beaumesnil's memory. "Of
what young girl are you speaking?"
"You have not heard, then, that, during the last days of her life, the
countess, at the advice of her physician, summoned to her bedside a
young and talented musician, who assisted not a little in assuaging the
lady's sufferings?"
"It seems to me that I do recollect hearing this fact spoken of,"
answered the marquis.
"Well, does it not seem monstrous that the countess did not leave even a
slight legacy to this poor girl? It may have been an oversight on her
part, but, to me, it looks exceedingly like ingratitude."
The marquis knew Madame de Beaumesnil's kindness and nobility of heart
so well that he, too, was struck by this apparent forgetfulness of the
young artiste's claims.
After a moment of reflection, however, he vaguely felt that, inasmuch as
such an oversight, if real, was inexplicable, there must have been
something more than a mere failure of memory in the circumstance, so he
said:
"You are sure, madame, that this young girl received no remuneration
from Madame de Beaumesnil for her services? You are positive of it?"
"We were so unanimously convinced of the fact," replied the baroness,
delighted at this opportunity to show her generosity, "that, deploring
this ingratitude on the part of the countess, we decided to send five
hundred francs to the young girl."
"That was only just."
"I think so, too, but what do you think came of it?"
"I haven't the slightest idea."
"Well, the young artiste brought the five hundred francs back to us and
told us that she had been paid."
"She must be a noble-hearted girl," exclaimed the marquis; "but you see
from that, that the countess had not forgotten the young musician, after
all. Doubtless, she must have given her a suitable token of her
gratitude while she was alive instead of leaving her a legacy."
"You would not think so, monsieur, if you had seen how indicative of
decent poverty the young girl's garments were. She would certainly have
been better dressed if she had been a recipient of Madame de
Beaumesnil's bounty. In fact, the young artiste, who, by the way, is
wonderfully handsome, so excited my compassion and admiration by the
delicacy of her conduct that I suggested she should come and give
Ernestine music lessons."
"You did? Why, that was very noble of you!"
"Your astonishment is not very flattering, marquis."
"You mistake admiration for astonishment, baroness. I am not surprised
in the least. I know the wonderful kindness and gentleness of your heart
too well," added M. de Maillefort, concealing his hope that he had at
last found the desired clue under his usual persiflage.
"Instead of making fun of my kindness of heart, marquis," replied Madame
de la Rochaigue, "you ought to imitate it by endeavouring to procure the
poor young girl some pupils among your numerous acquaintances."
"Certainly," replied the marquis, rather indifferently, however; "I will
do the best I can for your protegee, though I am not considered much of
a musical connoisseur, I fear. But what is this young girl's name, and
where does she live?"
"Her name is Herminie, and she lives on the Rue de Monceau. I don't
remember the number, but I will ascertain and let you know."
"I will secure some pupils for Mlle. Herminie if I can; but, in return,
if I should ever ask your protection for some suitor for Mlle. de
Beaumesnil's hand,--some suitor whom I see getting the worst of it in
the melee, you will grant my request, will you not?"
"You set a high value on your services, I must say, marquis," replied
the baroness, laughing in a very constrained way; "but I am sure we
shall come to an amicable understanding."
"You can not imagine how deeply I rejoice in advance at the touching
harmony which is henceforth to exist between us, my dear baroness. Well,
after all, let us admit that this little orgy of sincerity has been of
immense advantage to us. We are full of confidence in each other now,
are we not, my dear baroness?"
"Unquestionably, and mutual confidence, alas, is so rare!" exclaimed the
baroness, with a sigh.
"But all the more precious when it is found, eh, my dear baroness?"
"Unquestionably, my dear marquis. _Au revoir_, then, if you must go. I
shall hope to see you again very soon."
"I trust so," responded M. de Maillefort, as he left the room.
"Detestable man!" exclaimed Madame de la Rochaigue, springing from the
sofa, and beginning to pace the room excitedly, while she gave vent to
her long-repressed feelings. "Every word that accursed hunchback uttered
contained either a sarcasm or a threat," she added, venomously.
"He's a contemptible scoundrel! There isn't the slightest doubt of it,"
exclaimed the baron, suddenly drawing aside the portieres at one of the
doors opening into the drawing-room.