HOPE.
The early days of spring approached, the sun began to resume his power, the
sky was pure, the air soft and mild. Fleur-de-Marie, leaning on the arm of
La Louve, tried her strength by walking in Dr Griffon's garden. The
vivifying warmth of the sun and the action of walking colored with a rosy
tint the pale, thin cheeks of Goualeuse; her peasant's costume having been
torn in the agitation attending the first assistance that had been rendered
her, she wore a dress of dark-blue merino, made loose, and only confined
around her delicate and slender waist by a woolen girdle.
"How pleasant the sun is!" said she to La Louve, stopping at the foot of a
hedge of green trees exposed to the south, and which surrounded a stone
bench. "Will you sit down here a moment, La Louve?"
"Is there any need of asking me if I will?" answered the wife of Martial,
shrugging her shoulders.
Then, taking from her neck her shawl, she folded it carefully, knelt down,
laid it on the slightly damp gravel of the walk, and said to La Goualeuse:
"Place yourself there."
"But, La Louve," said Fleur-de-Marie, who had perceived the design of her
companion too late to prevent its execution, "but, La Louve, you will ruin
your shawl."
"None of your arguments! the ground is damp," said La Louve, and taking the
small feet of Fleur-de-Marie in her hands, she placed them on the shawl.
"How you spoil me, La Louve!"
"Hum! do you not deserve it; always contending against that which I wish to
do for your good. Are you not fatigued? here is a good half-hour that we
have been walking. Noon has just struck at Asnières."
"I am slightly tired; but I feel that this walk has done me good."
"You see, you were tired--you could not ask me sooner to sit down!"
"Do not scold me--I did not know that I was so weak. It is so pleasant to
walk after having been confined to the bed so long--to see the sun, the
trees, the country, when one has thought never to see them again!"
"The fact is, that you have been in a very dangerous state for two days.
Poor Goualeuse! Yes, now we can tell you that your life was dispaired of."
"And then imagine, that on finding myself under the water, the recollection
flashed across my mind that a wicked woman, who had badly treated me when I
was very little, had always threatened to throw me to the fishes. Then I
said to myself, 'I have no good fortune--it is fated that I shall not
escape.'"
"Poor Goualeuse! was this your last thought when you supposed yourself
lost!"
"Oh, no!" said Fleur-de-Marie, warmly; "when I felt myself about to die, my
last thought was of him whom I regard as my 'Dieu;' so, also, when I was
recalled back to life, my first thought was of him."
"It is a pleasure to confer benefits on you; you do not forget."
"Oh, no! it is so pleasant to fall asleep and dream of one's gratitude, and
on awakening to remember it still!"
"Ah! one would go through fire to serve you."
"Good Louve! Hold; I assure you that one of the causes which render me
desirous to live, is the hope of conferring happiness on you--of
accomplishing my promise; you remember our castles in the air at Saint
Lazare?"
"As to that, there is time enough; now you are on your feet again, I have
made my expenses, as Martial says."
"I hope that the Count of Saint Rémy will tell me, directly, that the
physician will allow me to write to Madame George. She must be so uneasy!
And, perhaps, M. Rudolph also!" added Fleur-de-Marie casting down her eyes,
and blushing anew at the thought of her preserver. "Perhaps they think me
dead!"
"As those believe, also, who ordered you to be drowned, poor dear! Oh, the
hounds!"
"You always suppose, then, that it was not an accident, La Louve?"
"An accident? Yes, the Martials call them _accidents_. When I say the
Martials, it is without counting my man for he is not of that family, no
more than François and Amandine shall be."
"But what interest could any one have in my death! I have never harmed any
one--no one knows me."
"It's all one, if the Martials are scoundrels enough to drown some one,
they are not fools enough to do it for nothing. Some words which the widow
made use of in prison, to my Martial, proves this."
"He has been to see his mother, then? this terrible woman!"
"Yes, and there is no more hope for her, nor for Calabash, nor for
Nicholas. Many things have been discovered, but Nicholas, in the hope of
saving his life, has denounced his mother and sister for another
assassination. On this account they will all be executed; the lawyers have
no hope, the judges say that an example is necessary."
"Ah! it is frightful--almost a whole family!"
"Yes, unless Nicholas makes his escape; he is in the same prison with a
monster called Skeleton, who has a plot on foot to escape. Nicholas told
this to a prisoner who was discharged, and he informed Martial; for my
Martial has been weak enough to go and see his rascally brother at La
Force. Then, encouraged by this visit, this wretch has had the impudence to
send word to his brother that any moment he may escape, and that Martial
should hold himself ready, at Micou's, with money, and clothes for a
disguise."
"Your Martial has so kind a heart!"
"Kind heart as much as you please, La Goualeuse, but hang me if I let my
husband aid an assassin who wished to kill him! Martial will not denounce
the plot--that is already a great deal. Besides, now that you are nearly
well, La Goualeuse, we are going to start with the children on our tour
through France; we will never plant our feet in Paris again; it was painful
enough for Martial to be called son of the guillotined--what will it be
when mother, brother, and sister are also executed!"
"You will wait, at least, until I have spoken to M. Rudolph concerning you,
if I see him again. You have become changed; I told you that I would reward
you, and I wish to keep my word; otherwise how can I pay the debt I owe
you? You have saved my life; and during my illness you overwhelmed me with
attentions."
"Exactly; now I should seem self-interested if I allowed you to ask
anything for me from your protector. You are saved; I repeat to you that I
have made my expenses."
"Good Louve, reassure yourself; it is not you who are self-interested, it
is I who am grateful."
"Listen, then!" said La Louve, suddenly rising; "it sounds like the noise
of a carriage. Yes, yes, it approaches; hold! there it is; did you see it
pass before the gate? there is a lady within."
"Oh! goodness!" cried Fleur-de-Marie, with emotion; "I thought I
recognized--"
"Whom?"
"A handsome lady whom I saw at Saint Lazare, who was very kind to me."
"Is she aware that you are here?"
"I do not know; but she is acquainted with the person of whom I have spoken
and who (if he wish, and he will, I hope) can make a reality of our Saint
Lazare castles in the air."
A noise of footsteps approaching rapidly was heard behind the hedge;
François and Amandine, who, thanks to the kindnss of Saint Rémy, had not
left La Louve, came rushing into the garden, crying:
"La Louve, here is a fine lady with my lord: they want to see
Fleur-de-Marie at once."
"I was not mistaken," said Goualeuse.
Almost at the same moment, Saint Rémy appeared, accompanied by Lady
d'Harville.
Hardly had she perceived Fleur-de-Marie, than she cried, running toward her
and pressing her in her arms:
"Poor dear child! I see you again. Ah! saved! saved miraculously from a
horrible death! With what happiness I find you--I, who, as well as your
friends, thought you were lost forever!"
"I am also very happy to see you again, madame; for I have never forgotten
your kindness to me," said Fleur-de-Marie, returning the tender caresses of
Lady d'Harville with charming modesty.
"Ah! you do not know what will be the surprise, the wild joy of your
friends, who, at this moment, weep for you so bitterly."
Fleur-de-Marie, taking the hand of La Louve, who had withdrawn a short
distance, said to Lady d'Harville, presenting her:
"Since my safety is so dear to my benefactors, lady, permit me to bespeak,
through you, their kindness for my companion, who saved me at the risk of
her life."
"Be assured, my child; your friends will prove to the brave Louve that they
know it is to her they owe the happiness of seeing you again."
La Louve, blushing, confused, daring neither to answer nor raise her eyes
toward Lady d'Harville, so much did the presence of a woman of her rank
abash her, could not conceal her astonishment at hearing Clémence pronounce
her name.
"But there is not a moment to lose," said the marchioness. "I am dying with
impatience to take you with me, Fleur-de-Marie; I have brought in my
carriage a shawl and a warm cloak; come, come, my child." Then, addressing
the count, she added, "Will your lordship be good enough to give my address
to this courageous woman, so that she can come to-morrow and say farewell
to Fleur-de-Marie? So, you will be obliged to come and see us," she said to
La Louve.
"Oh! lady, I will come, very sure," answered she, "since it is to say adieu
to La Goualeuse; I should be very sad not to be able to see her once more."
A few moments afterward Lady d'Harville and La Goualeuse were on the road
to Paris.
* * * * *
Rudolph, after having beheld the death of Jacques Ferrand, so terribly
punished for his crime, had returned home in a state of deep dejection.
After a long and sleepless night, he had sent for Sir Walter Murphy, to
confide to this old and faithful friend the heartrending discovery
concerning Fleur-de-Marie that he had made the previous evening. The worthy
Englishman was overwhelmed; better than any other person, he could
comprehend and partake of the profound grief of the prince. The latter,
pale, prostrated, his eyes red from weeping, had just made Murphy this
painful revelation.
"Take courage," said the latter, wiping his eyes; for, notwithstanding his
firmness, he had also wept. "Yes, take courage, my lord--much courage. I
offer no vain consolations--this sorrow has no cure."
"You are right. What I felt yesterday is nothing compared to my present
sufferings."
"Yesterday your highness felt the shock, but the reaction will each day be
more grievous. Therefore, call up all your energy. The future is sad--very
sad."
"And then, yesterday, the contempt and horror with which this woman
inspired me! But may God have pity on her, for at this moment she is before
him. Yesterday, in fine, surprise, hatred, fright, so many violent
passions, smothered within me these elements of despairing tenderness, that
at present I can restrain myself no longer--I can hardly weep. And yet now,
with you, I can. Hold! you see, I have no strength--I am cowardly--pardon
me. Tears again--always--oh! my child! my poor child!"
"Weep, weep, your highness. Alas! the loss is irreparable."
"And so many dreadful miseries to make her forget," cried Rudolph, in a
touching tone, "after all that she has suffered! Think of the fate which
awaited her!"
"Perhaps this transition might have been too abrupt for the unfortunate,
already so cruelly tried."
"Oh! no, no! not so. If you knew with what delicacy--with what reserve, I
should have apprised her of her birth; how gently I should have prepared
her for this revelation--it was so simple, so easy. Oh! if this were the
only question, do you see," added the prince, with a bitter smile, "I
should have been composed, and not embarrassed. Throwing myself on my knees
before the idolized child, I would have said, 'You who have been until now
so cruelly treated, be at length happy--and forever happy. You are my
daughter.' But no," said Rudolph, "no, that is not it--that would have been
too hasty, too rash. Yes, I would have restrained myself and said to her,
in a calm manner, 'My child, I must tell you something that will astonish
you much. Yes; imagine that they have discovered traces of your parents;
your father lives, and your father is--I am your father.'" Here the prince
again interrupted himself. "No, no; this is also too sudden, too abrupt;
but it is not my fault that this revelation is always springing to my lips;
one must have more self-command--you comprehend, my friend, you comprehend?
To be there before your daughter, and restrain your feelings!" Then, giving
way again to despair, Rudolph cried, "But to what purpose these vain words?
I shall never speak to her again. Oh! that which is frightful--frightful to
think of, is, that I have had my daughter near me during a whole day--yes,
that day, forever accursed, on which I took her to the farm; that day when
all the treasures of her angelic mind were revealed to me in all their
purity, and nothing in my heart whispered, 'She is your daughter!'
nothing--nothing! Oh! how blind, stupid I was, not to imagine this. I was
unworthy to be a father."
"But, sir--"
"But, in truth," cried the prince, "did it not depend upon myself whether I
should ever leave her? Why did I not adopt her? I, who lament so much for
my child? Why, instead of sending this unfortunate child to Madame George,
did I not keep her with me? To-day I should only have had to extend my arms
to her. Why have I not done that? Why? Ah! because one only does good by
halves; because one only values treasures when they have disappeared
forever: because instead of raising at once to her true level this
admirable young girl, who, in spite of misery and abandonment, was, through
her mind and heart, greater, nobler, perhaps, than she ever would have been
by the advantages of birth and education. I thought I was doing much for
her by placing her at a farm with some good people, as I would for the
first interesting beggar that I met in the streets. It is my fault--it is
my fault. If I had done that she would not have been dead. Oh! yes, I am
punished--I have deserved it--bad son, bad father!"
Murphy knew that such grief was inconsolable, and remained silent.
"I shall not remain here--Paris is hateful to me; to-morrow I go--"
"You are right, my lord."
"We will stop at the farm of Bouqueval. I will shut myself up for some
hours in her chamber, where she passed the only happy days of her life. I
will have collected with religious care all that belonged to her--the books
she commenced to read; the paper she had written on; the clothes she has
worn--all, even to the furniture--even to the tapestry of her rooms, of
which I myself will take an exact delineation. And at Gerolstein, in the
private park where I have raised a monument to the memory of my outraged
father, I will have a small house built, in which shall be rebuilt
_this_ room; there I will go to weep for my daughter. Of these two
funeral monuments, one will recall my crime to my father, the other the
chastisement which reached me through my child. Thus, then, let everything
be prepared to-morrow morning."
Murphy, willing to try if he could not turn the prince a moment from his
gloomy thoughts, said, "All shall be ready, sir; only you forget that
to-morrow the marriage of Germain, the son of Madame George, and Rigolette
takes place. Not only have you made a provision for Germain, and
munificently endowed the bride, but you have also promised to be present at
the wedding as a witness. Then are they to be informed of the name of their
benefactor."
"It is true I have promised. They are at the farm, and I cannot go there
to-morrow without being present at the ceremony, and I will confess I have
not the courage."
"The sight of the happiness of these young people will, perhaps, calm your
sorrow."
"No, no, grief is selfish, and seeks retirement. To-morrow you will go in
my place; and you will beg Madame George to collect everything belonging to
my daughter. Let a plan of her room be made, and sent to me in Germany.
"Will your highness depart without seeing Lady d'Harville?"
At the name of Clémence, Rudolph started; he still cherished for her a
sincere attachment, but at this moment it was, thus to speak, drowned in
the wave of bitterness which inundated his heart. By a strange
contradiction, the prince felt that the tender affection of Lady d'Harville
would alone have aided him to support the grief which overwhelmed him, and
he reproached this thought as unworthy the fervency of his paternal grief.
"I shall go without seeing the lady," answered Rudolph. "A few days since I
wrote her how much I sorrowed for the death of Fleur-de-Marie. When she
knows that Fleur-de-Marie was my daughter, she will comprehend the grief
that seeks to be alone--yes, alone, so that it may be expiatory; and it is
terrible, that expiation which fate imposes on me--terrible! for it
commences, for me, at the time when the decline of life also commences."
Some one knocked lightly and discreetly at the door; Rudolph started in
impatience; Murphy rose and went to see who was there. Through the
half-open door an aid-de-camp of the prince said a few words to the knight,
in a low tone. He answered by a sign, and, turning toward Rudolph, said,
"Will your highness permit me to be absent for a moment? Some one wishes to
speak to me on business of importance."
"Go," answered the prince.
Hardly had Murphy departed, than Rudolph, uttering a heavy sigh concealed
his face in his hands.
"Oh!" cried he, "that which I feel alarms me. My heart overflows with
hatred; the presence of my best friend weighs me down; the memory of a pure
and noble love importunes and troubles me, and then--it is cowardly and
unworthy. But last night I learned, with savage joy, the death of Sarah--of
this unnatural mother, who has caused the death of my child. I amused
myself in beholding the ravings and torments of the horrid monster who
killed my daughter--oh, madness!--I arrived too late. Yet, yesterday I did
not suffer so; and yesterday, as to-day, I thought my child dead--oh! yes;
but I did not say to myself these words which henceforth will imbitter my
life: 'I have seen my daughter; I have spoken to her; I have admired all
that was adorable in her. Oh! how much time I might have passed at that
farm! When I think that I only went there three times; yes, no more; and I
could have gone there every day--to see my child every day! What do I say
to keep her ever with me!' Oh! such shall be my punishment."
Suddenly the door of the cabinet opened, and Murphy entered; he was very
pale--so pale that the prince half arose, and cried, "Murphy, what is the
matter?"
"Nothing, my lord."
"You are very pale."
"It is astonishment."
"What astonishment?"
"Madame d'Harville!"
"Madame d'Harville? Some new misfortune!"
"No, no, my lord, reassure yourself; she is there in the parlor."
"She here! in my house! it is impossible!"
"I tell your highness, the surprise---"
"Such a step on her part--but what is the matter, in the name of heaven?"
"I do not know--I cannot explain what I feel."
"You conceal something from me."
"On my honor, no. I do not know what she meant?"
"But what did she say?"
"'Sir Walter,' and although her voice trembled, her face was beaming with
joy, 'my presence here must surprise you very much; but there are certain
circumstances so important, that they leave no time to think of
appearances. Entreat his highness to grant me, immediately, an audience in
your presence; for I know that the prince has no better friend. I should
have begged him to come to my own house, but that would have delayed our
interview for an hour, which the prince will confess should not have been
retarded a moment,' added she, with an expression which made me tremble."
"But," said Rudolph, in a broken voice, and becoming still paler than
Murphy, "I cannot imagine the cause of your trouble--of your emotion--of
your looks; there is something else--this interview--"
"On my honor, I do not know anything more. These words alone, of the
marchioness, have unsettled me. Why, I am ignorant. But you yourself--you
are very pale, sir."
"I?" said Rudolph, supporting himself on a chair, for he felt his knees
giving way under him.
"I tell your highness, that you are as much disturbed as I am. What is the
matter?"
"Although I should die under the blow, beg Madame d'Harville to enter,"
cried the prince. By a strange sympathy, the visit, so unexpected, so
extraordinary, had awakened in both Murphy and Rudolph a certain vague and
indefinite hope; but this hope seemed so extravagant, that neither one nor
the other dared to avow it.
Madame d'Harville, followed by Murphy, entered the cabinet. Ignorant, as we
have said, that Fleur-de-Marie was the daughter of the prince, Madame
d'Harville, in her joy at bringing back his protégée, had not thought she
would be able to present her to him without previous preparation: she had
left her in the carriage at the door, as she did not know whether the
prince was willing to make himself known to the young girl, and receive her
in his own house. But perceiving the great alteration in the looks of
Rudolph, and remarking in his eyes the traces of recent tears, Clémence
thought he had met with some misfortune more severe than the death of La
Goualeuse; thus forgetting the object of her visit, she cried, "What is the
matter with your highness?"
"Are you ignorant, madame? Ah! all hope is lost. Your haste--the interview
you have so earnestly demanded--I thought----"
"Oh! I entreat you, let us not speak of the object of my visit. In the name
of my father, whose life you saved, I have almost the right to demand from
you the cause of the affliction in which you are plunged. Your state of
dejection, your paleness, alarms me. Oh! speak, my lord; be
generous--speak--have pity on my distress."
"For what good, madame? my wound is incurable."
"These words redouble my alarm, my lord; explain yourself--Sir Walter, what
is it?"
"Well!" said Rudolph, in a hollow voice, making a violent effort to
restrain himself, "since I informed you of the death of Fleur-de-Marie, I
have learned that she was my child."
"Fleur-de-Marie your child!" cried Clémence, in a tone impossible to be
described.
"Yes; and just now, when you asked to see me immediately, to inform me of
something that would overwhelm me with joy--have pity on my weakness--but a
father, mad with grief at the loss of his child, is capable of indulging in
many mad hopes. For a moment I thought--that--but no, no; I see I deceived
myself. Pardon me; I am but a miserable, foolish man."
Rudolph, exhausted by the violence of his feelings, fell back in his chair,
covering his face with his hands. Madame d'Harville remained stupefied,
immovable, dumb, breathing with difficulty--in turns a prey to joy, to
fear, for the effect which the revelation she was about to make might have
upon the prince--in fine, exalted by a holy gratitude toward Providence,
who intrusted her--_her_--to announce to Rudolph that his daughter
lived, and she had brought her back to him. Clémence, agitated by these
emotions, so violent, so diverse, could not utter a word. Murphy, after
having for a moment partaken of the mad hopes of the prince, seemed quite
as much overcome as he was. Suddenly the marchioness, yielding to an
unexpected and involuntary emotion, forgetting the presence of Murphy and
Rudolph, sunk on her knees, clasped her hands, and cried, with an
expression of fervent piety and ineffable gratitude:
"Thanks, my God! be praised! I acknowledge Thy sovereign will. Thanks once
more, for Thou hast chosen me to inform him that his child is saved!"
Although said in a low voice, these words, pronounced in a tone of sincere
and holy fervor, reached the ears of Murphy and the prince. The latter
raised his head quickly at the moment Clémence arose from the ground. It is
impossible to describe the look, action, and expression of Rudolph, on
contemplating Madame d'Harville, whose charming features, stamped with a
celestial joy, shone at this moment with superhuman beauty. Leaning with
one hand on the marble table, and compressing with the other the rapid
pulsations of her heart, she gave an affirmative nod of the head in answer
to a look from Rudolph, which once more we are unable to describe.
"Below--in my carriage."
Save for the presence of Murphy, who, quick as lightning, threw himself
before Rudolph, he would have rushed at once to the street.
"My lord, you would kill her!" cried the squire, holding back the prince.
"Only since yesterday she is convalescent. For her life, no imprudence, my
lord," added Clémence.
"You are right," said Rudolph, restraining himself with difficulty; "you
are right--I will be calm--I will not see her yet--I will wait--let my
first emotions be controlled. Ah! it is too much--too much in one day!"
added he, in a broken voice. Then, addressing Madame d'Harville, and
extending his hand toward her, he cried, with a burst of inexpressible
gratitude, "I am pardoned! You are the angel of mercy!"
"Your highness restored to me my father--Heaven willed that I should bring
back your child," answered Clémence. "But, in my turn, I ask your pardon
for my weakness. This revelation--so sudden, so unexpected--has confused
me. I confess that I have not the courage to go for Fleur-de-Marie--my
agitation would alarm her."
"And how was she saved?" cried Rudolph. "See my ingratitude. I have not yet
asked you this question."
"At the moment she was drowning, she was rescued from a watery grave by a
courageous woman."
"Do you know her?"
"To-morrow she will come to see me."
"The debt is immense," said the prince, "but I shall know how to pay it."
"What a happy circumstance, my God! that I did not bring Fleur-de-Marie
with me," said the marchioness; "this scene would have been fatal to her."
"It is true, madame," said Murphy; "it is a providential chance that she is
not here."
"Now," said the prince, who had for a few moments been endeavoring to
conquer his emotions, "now I have self-command, I assure you. Murphy, go
and seek _my daughter._" These words, _my daughter_, were
pronounced by the prince with an accent we will not attempt to express.
"Are you quite sure of yourself?" said Clémence. "No imprudence."
"Oh! be tranquil. I know the danger there would be for her--I will not
expose her to it. My good Murphy, I entreat you--go--go!"
"Reassure yourself, madame," answered the squire, who had attentively
observed the prince; "she can come. My lord will restrain himself."
"Then go--go quickly, my old friend."
"Yes, my lord; I ask but for a moment--one is not made of iron," said the
good man, wiping away the traces of his tears; "she must not see that I
have been weeping."
"Excellent man!" replied Rudolph, cordially pressing his hand.
"I am ready. I did not wish to pass through the servants' lines all in
tears, like a Magadalen. But what shall I say?"
"Yes, what shall he say?" demanded the prince from Clémence.
"That M. Ruldolph wishes to see her--nothing more, it seems to me."
"Undoubtedly. Say that M. Rudolph wishes to see her, nothing more. Come,
go--go."
"It is certainly the very best thing that can be said to her," answered the
squire. "I will merely say that M. Rudolph wishes to see her; that will not
cause her to conjecture anything--to foresee anything: it is the most
reasonable way, truly."
But Sir Walter did not stir.
"Sir Walter," said Clémence, smiling, "you are afraid."
"It is true, my lady; in spite of my six-foot stature and my rough
exterior, I am still under the influence of violent emotions."
"My friend, take care," said Rudolph; "wait a moment longer, if you are not
sure of your self-possession."
"This time, my lord, I am victorious," said the baronet, after having
passed over his eyes his Herculean hand. "Really, at my age, this weakness
is perfectly ridiculous. Fear nothing now."
And Murphy left the apartment with a firm step and tranquillized air. A
moment of silence ensued; then Clémence, blushing, remembered that she was
in Rudolph's house, and alone with him. The prince approached her, and
said, almost timidly, "If I choose this day--this moment--to make you a
sincere avowal, it is because the solemnity of this day--this moment--will
add still more to the gravity of the confession. Ever since I have known
you I have loved you. So long as concealment of this love was necessary, I
concealed it; now that you are free, and have restored me my daughter, will
you be to her a mother?"
"I, my lord!" cried Madame d'Harville. "What do you say?"
"I entreat you, do not refuse me; let this day decide my future happiness,"
said Rudolph tenderly.
Clémence also had loved the prince for a long time; she thought she was in
a dream. The avowal of Rudolph, at once so simple, so serious, so
touching--made under such circumstances, transported her with an
unhoped-for happiness; she answered, hesitatingly, "My lord, it is for you
to recall to mind the difference of rank--the interest of your
sovereignty."
"First let me think of the interest of my heart--of that of my cherished
daughter; make us both happy--oh! very happy. Permit me, who but now was
without family, to say, 'My wife--my daughter;' allow this poor child--also
without family--to say, 'My father--my mother--my sister;' for you have a
daughter, who will become mine."
"Oh! my lord, to such noble words one can only answer by grateful tears,"
cried Clémence. Then, composing herself, she added, "My lord, some one
comes; it is your child."
"Oh! do not refuse me," cried Rudolph, in a supplicating voice; "in the
name of my love, say our child."
"Our child," murmured Clémence; at the same moment Murphy opened the door,
leading in Fleur-de-Marie.
The girl, descending from the carriage, had crossed an ante-chamber, filled
with footmen in full livery; a waiting-room, where valets attended; then
the ushers' saloon; and, finally, the waiting-rooms, occupied by a
chamberlain and the aides of the prince in full uniform. Let the reader
imagine the astonishment of the poor Goualeuse, who knew no other splendors
than those of the farm at Bouqueval, on traversing these princely
apartments, resplendent with gold, mirrors, and paintings.
As soon as she appeared, Lady d'Harville ran toward her, took her by the
hand, and placing her arm around her for support, she conducted her toward
the prince, who, standing near the chimney, had not been able to move.
Murphy, after having confided Fleur-de Marie to the care of Lady
d'Harville, hastily disappeared behind the folds of one of the immense
window-curtains, finding that he was not altogether sure of his
self-possession. At the sight of her benefactor, her savior, who regarded
her with silent ecstasy, Fleur-de-Marie, already so agitated, began to
tremble.
"Compose yourself, my child," said Lady d'Harville; "there is your friend,
M. Rudolph, who awaits you impatiently; he has been very uneasy about you."
"Oh! yes, very--very uneasy," said Rudolph, still immovable, his heart
almost breaking at the sight of the sweet pale face of his child.
Thus, in spite of his resolution, the prince was for a moment obliged to
turn his head to conceal his emotion.
"Stay, my child, you are still very weak; sit down there," said Clémence,
to turn her attention from the prince; and she led her to a large arm-chair
of bronze and gilt, in which the Goualeuse seated herself. Her agitation
increased every moment: she was oppressed, speech failed her; she had not a
word of gratitude for Rudolph.
At length, on a sign from Lady d'Harville, who was leaning on the back of
the chair, and holding one of Fleur-de-Marie's hands in her own, the prince
approached softly to the other side of the seat. With more self-command, he
then said to Fleur-de-Marie, who turned toward him her enchanting face:
"At length, my child, you are once more reunited to your friends, and
forever! You never shall leave them more Now you must forget what you have
suffered."
"Yes, my child, the best way to prove that you love us," added Clémence,
"is to forget the past."
"Believe me, M. Rudolph--believe me, my lady, that if I do recall it
sometimes, it will only be to say to myself, that, without you, I should
still be very unhappy."
"Yes; but we will take care that you have no more such gloomy thoughts. Our
tenderness will not leave you the time, my dear Marie," answered Rudolph,
"for you know that I gave you this name at the farm."
"Yes, M. Rudolph. And is Madame George, who allowed me to call her mother,
well?"
"Very well, my child. But I have important news to tell you."
"Me, M. Ruldoph?"
"Since I have seen you, great discoveries have been made concerning your
birth."
"My birth!"
"It is known who were your parents--who was your father."
Rudolph was so much choked by his tears on his pronouncing these words,
that Fleur-de-Marie, very much affected, turned quickly toward him: he had
turned away his head. An incident, half burlesque, diverted the attention
of La Goualeuse, and prevented her from remarking more closely the emotion
of her father: the worthy squire, who still remained behind the curtain,
and, apparently was very attentively looking into the garden of the hotel,
could not refrain from blowing his nose with a most formidable noise, for
he wept like a child.
"Yes, my dear Marie," Clémence hastened to say, "your father is known--he
still lives."
"My father!" cried the Goualeuse, with an outburst which put the composure
of Rudolph to a new trial.
"And some day," resumed Clémence, "very soon, perhaps, you will see him.
What will doubtless surprise you very much is, that he is of high
standing--noble birth."
"And my mother, madame-shall I see her?"
"Your father will answer this question, my child; but shall you not be very
happy to see him?"
"Oh! yes, madame," answered Fleur-de-Marie, casting down her eyes.
"How much you will love him, when you know him," said the marchioness.
"From that day forward, a new life will commence for you, Marie," added the
prince.
"Oh! no, M. Rudolph," answered the Goualeuse, unaffectedly.
"My new life commenced on the day when you took pity on me--when you sent
me to the farm."
"But your father will cherish you," said the prince.
"I do not know him, and to you I owe all, M. Rudolph."
"Then you love me as much--more, perhaps, than you would love your father?"
"I bless you, and I respect you as I do God. M. Rudolph, because you have
done for me that which God alone else could have done," answered the
Goualeuse, with enthusiasm, forgetting her habitual timidity. "When my lady
had the goodness to speak to me in prison, I said to her what I said to
everybody--yes, M. Rudolph; to those who were very unfortunate, I said,
'Hope! M. Rudolph succors the unfortunate.' To those who hesitated between
good and evil, I said, 'Courage, be virtuous; M. Rudolph rewards those who
are virtuous.' To those who were wicked, I said, 'Take care! M. Rudolph
punishes the wicked.' In fine, when I thought I was about to die, I said to
myself, 'God will have mercy upon me, for M. Rudolph has judged me worthy
of his interest.'"
Fleur-de-Marie, carried away by her gratitude toward her benefactor, had
overcome her fears: a slight carnation tinged her cheeks, and her beautiful
blue eyes, which she raised toward heaven as if in prayer, shone with the
softest luster. A silence of some seconds succeeded the enthusiastic words
of Fleur-de-Marie; the emotions which affected the actors in this scene
were profound.
"I see, my child," resumed Rudolph, hardly containing his joy, "that in
your heart I have almost taken the place of your father."
"It is not my fault, M. Rudolph. It is, perhaps, wrong in me; but, as I
have told you, I know you, and I do not know my father, and," added she,
holding down her head in confusion, "and then you know the past, M.
Rudolph; and yet you have overwhelmed me with favors; but my father does
not know it. Perhaps he will regret having found me," added the unfortunate
child, shuddering, "and since he is, as my lady said, of high birth,
doubtless he will be ashamed--he will blush for me!"
"_Blush_ for you!" cried Rudolph, drawing himself up proudly.
"Reassure yourself, poor child; your father will place you in a position so
brilliant, so lofty, that the greatest among the great of this world will
regard you henceforth with the utmost respect. Blush for you! no, no; you
will rank with the noblest princesses of Europe."
"My lord!" cried Murphy and Clémence at the same time, alarmed at the
vehemence of Rudolph and the increasing pallor of Fleur-de-Marie, who
looked at her father with surprise.
"Blush for you!" continued he; "oh! if I ever rejoiced and felt pride in my
sovereign rank it is that, thanks to this rank, I can elevate you as much
as you have heretofore been abased. Do you hear, my darling child--my
beloved daughter? for it is I--I, who am your father!"
And the prince, no longer able to conquer his emotion, threw himself at the
feet of Fleur-de-Marie, whom he covered with tears and caresses.
"God be praised!" cried Fleur-de-Marie, clasping her hands. "I am permitted
to love my benefactor as much as I would have loved him. He is my father. I
can cherish him without remorse. Be praised, my---"
She could not finish--the shock was too violent; Fleur-de-Marie fainted in
the arms of her father.
Murphy ran to the door, opened it, and said, "Dr David instantly for his
royal highness; some one is ill!"
"Curses on me? I have killed her," cried Rudolph--in tears, kneeling before
his daughter. "Marie, my child, listen to me; it is your father.
Pardon--Oh! pardon for not having retained this secret longer. I have
killed her!"
"Calm yourself, my lord," said Clémence; "there is, doubtless, no danger.
See her cheeks are tinged with color; it is the shock--only the shock."
"But hardly convalescent, she will die. Woe is me!"
At this moment, David, the black physician, entered precipitately: holding
in his hands a small box filled with vials, and a paper, which he handed to
Murphy.
"David, my child is dying. I have saved your life--you must save my child!"
cried Rudolph.
Although amazed at these words of the prince, who spoke of his child, the
doctor ran to Fleur-de-Marie, whom Lady d'Harville held in her arms, took
hold of the young girl's pulse, placed his hand on her forehead, and
turning toward Rudolph, who, pained and alarmed, awaited his doom, he said:
"There is no danger, let your highness be assured."
"You speak the truth--no danger--none?"
"Not any, your highness. A few drops of ether, and this attack will pass
over."
"Oh! thank you, David--my good David!" cried the prince, warmly. Then
turning toward Clémence, Rudolph added, "She lives--our daughter will
live."
Murphy had just cast his eyes over the note which David had placed in his
hand; he shuddered, and looked at the prince with affright.
"Yes, my old friend," said Rudolph, "in a short time my daughter will say
to Lady d'Harville," My mother!'"
"My lord," said Murphy, trembling, "the news of yesterday was false."
"What do you say?"
"A violent attack, followed by a fainting fit, had caused them to think
that the Countess M'Gregor was dead."
"The countess--"
"This morning there are hopes of saving her."
"Oh!" cried the prince, while Clémence looked at him with surprise, not
comprehending his altered appearance.
"My lord," said David, still occupied with Fleur-de Marie, "there is no
cause for the slightest uneasiness. But fresh air is necessary; the chair
can be rolled on the terrace by opening the door of the garden, she will
then soon recover."
Murphy ran immediately to open the glass door, and aided by David, he
gently rolled the chair into the garden, leaving Rudolph and Clémence
alone.