there was a man at the Bouffes last night who smelt very strongly of
tobacco; it made a number of ladies ill."
"As there is no performance at the Bouffes to-night, you have nothing to
fear."
"Oh! but I am going to a concert to-night, at which Alboni is to sing."
"You stick to music, don't you?"
"It's my element."
"You know, Edward," laughed Dumarsey, "Lamberlong would have been able
to reach high _C_, if his natural faculties had been cultivated. What a
pity to have neglected them!"
"Is there any chance of catching the lost note, if we should take an
express train?"
"You are pleased to jest, messieurs. None the less, it is true that a
gentleman in the balcony at the Bouffes said to me not long ago: 'This
is where you ought to be!'"
"In the balcony?"
"No; but at the Bouffes, with a salary of sixty thousand francs!"
"Had he heard your high _C_?"
"Yes; just as I left school."
"It can't be denied that there are some very fortunate mortals. There
was a man who had heard Lamberlong's high _C!_ And we poor devils might
pay fabulous prices, yes, hire the whole auditorium of the Bouffes, and
not hear it! It's heartrending!"
The red-haired young man rose impatiently, and began to inspect the
pictures that adorned the salon.
"What do you hear that's new, messieurs?" said Edward, tying his cravat.
"Oh! nothing piquant or interesting. There's been a great scarcity
lately of scandalous intrigues in which we know the leading parties."
"Who is the woman most in vogue? Remember that I am just from Italy,
messieurs, and that I am not at all posted as to what is going on in
Paris."
"There are five or six in high favor; but you must have seen them, for
you were at Saint-Phar the banker's great crush night before last."
"I saw nothing wonderful. If that's all you have to offer me, why----"
"There was a dazzling blonde at the Bouffes last night. She attracted
every eye."
"Well! of course, you made inquiries about her, Lamberlong?"
"Yes; she's the wife of a rich Spaniard, who is taking her to Brazil."
"If he's taking her to Brazil, that's too far to follow her. But you
must have had some romantic adventures in Italy, viscount? The women
there are very revengeful, they say."
"No more so than in France! I saw two or three little stilettos glisten
in the girdle or the garter, but I didn't feel the point of one."
"No great passions, then?"
"Nothing, nothing! it's maddening! Love is vanishing, messieurs."
"That isn't what says a young man who is always in the orchestra chairs
at the Bouffes; he's in a fair way of dying of love for an actress; he
won't say who she is."
"Oh! but one must be an habitué of the Bouffes to do that sort of
thing!--A cigarette, Lépinette."
"Here is one, monsieur."
"How many do you smoke a day, Edward?"
"I don't know; I never counted them."
"I'll bet that it's two dozen!"
"I'll bet it's three!"
"Pardieu! all you have to do is to ask my valet; he can give you more
accurate information than anyone else on that subject."
"Lépinette, how many cigarettes does your master smoke in a day--about?"
Lépinette reflected a moment, then replied:
"I have sometimes given monsieur le vicomte as many as sixty, messieurs;
but it's never less than forty."
"Ha! ha! ha! that is magnificent! sixty cigarettes a day! You deserve a
prize, Edward. We'll order a wreath of cigarettes for you!"
"Well, messieurs, what would you have? a man must do something; and when
one has no other amusement----"
"Oh! viscount, you can't make us believe that you haven't some beauty to
whom you are devoted."
"No, Florville, at this moment I love nobody. I am so utterly blasé on
the subject of love! It is all over; my heart has lost the power of
taking fire; the incendiary glances of my fair friends leave it as cold
as ice. And then, when one knows women, one knows how much reliance may
be placed on their oaths."
"Oh! there are exceptions," said Dumarsey. "I remember, Edward, when you
had a pretty young girl for a mistress--I think you had abducted her,
found her at a linen draper's. She came from Lorraine. She was almost a
peasant, and you sophisticated her."
"Oh! yes, I remember! You mean Suzanne, don't you?"
"Suzanne, yes, that was what you called her. She seemed to be very fond
of you."
"In other words, she loved me too much; it got to be insufferable. She
was far too sentimental."
"What did you do with the girl?"
"What did I do with her? Faith, nothing! What do you expect a man to do
with a girl of that sort, when she has once been his mistress, and he
has had enough of her? I don't see that there's anything for him to do
with her."
"Then you don't know what became of her?"
"No, indeed; and I should be very sorry to know. I had enough trouble to
rid myself of the little one's importunities.--Give me a cigarette,
Lépinette."
And the viscount, with a testy exclamation, threw on the floor the
cigarette he had in his mouth, which he had smoked only a few seconds.
Since the mention of the young woman named Suzanne, his brow had
clouded, and his face had assumed an ill-humored expression. But young
Lamberlong brought back a smile to his lips by exclaiming:
"Oh! mon Dieu! I have entirely forgotten what they give at the Bouffes
to-morrow. Can you tell me, messieurs?"
"Oh! give us a moment's peace with your Bouffes, Lamberlong!--Can you
understand, messieurs, how a man can attend every blessed performance at
the Italiens, when he doesn't know a word of that language?"
"Who told you that I don't know a word of Italian? It's false; I
understand it quite well."
"You understand it, but you don't comprehend it."[H]
"You say you understand it; very well! answer this: _Pone nos recede_."
The young man with red hair scratched his head, looked at the ceiling,
and muttered:
"I never heard those words at the Bouffes."
Thereupon the dandy laughed heartily, and Florville exclaimed:
"Didn't you know that Dumarsey was talking Latin to you?"
"Latin! How do you suppose I could understand him, then? What do I know
about Latin--a dead language! They don't sing in Latin at the Bouffes."
"Monsieur le vicomte's horse is saddled," said a little groom, putting
his nose in at the door.
"All right!--Let us go, messieurs.--By the way, Lépinette, have you
filled my pockets with cigarettes?"
"Yes, monsieur, I have put some everywhere, even in your fob."
"That's right.--To horse, messieurs!"
XX
THE THIRD PETTICOAT
Two days after this riding party, Edward de Sommerston was in his
smoking room, stretched out on a divan, smoking and intensely bored, as
usual, and watching the puffs of smoke ascend and float about the room
until they formed a fog so dense that one could hardly see from one side
to the other. Suddenly the door was softly opened; Lépinette appeared,
and, trying to distinguish his master through the clouds that filled the
room, said in an undertone:
"Is monsieur le vicomte asleep?"
"What! No, I'm not asleep! I wish I were, but smoking never puts me to
sleep! What do you want of me?"
"I came to tell monsieur that I have just made a find."
"A find! Have you found a treasure? So much the better for you; keep
it!"
"Oh! monsieur, it isn't a treasure in money; it's something of another
sort, which will be much more to monsieur's taste."
The viscount half rose, saying:
"What in the deuce is it?"
"It's a woman, monsieur; or rather, an enchanting girl!"
The viscount fell back on the couch, muttering:
"And you came here and disturbed me for that, did you? That's what you
call a treasure!"
"I thought that monsieur would not be sorry to learn that there is in
the house a young woman who is really deserving of a moment's
attention."
"Aha! so this beauty lives in the house, does she?"
"Yes, monsieur. The concierge, who represents the owner, has several
rooms at the top of the house which he furnishes neatly and rents on his
own account."
"Oh, yes! his little perquisites; I understand. Well?"
"Well, it's one of those rooms that he has rented to Mademoiselle
Georgette, an exceedingly virtuous person, so it seems, who rarely goes
out and receives no visitors."
"Ah! very good! So it's a real model of virtue, is it? Did the concierge
undertake to swear to that?"
"No, monsieur, the concierge didn't say positively that it was so; I
simply repeat what I heard."
"And what does this chaste creature do?"
"She makes small articles in embroidery, monsieur; charming little
things, such as mats for candlesticks, little rugs to put under your
feet, and cigar cases--oh! lovely cigar cases!"
"How do you know? Have you bought something of the girl already?"
"No, monsieur; but the concierge showed me one that his new tenant made
for a present to him; it is exceedingly pretty."
"The concierge smokes, does he?"
"Oh! like a porter, monsieur."
"Those knaves take every conceivable liberty!--Well! how does all this
concern me?"
"I thought that monsieur might be curious to see the little one from
upstairs."
"Just an ordinary face, I am sure; one of those affected little
minxes--the grisette who wants to be followed; I know all about it."
"Oh, no! this one has no ordinary face. I will not say that she is
precisely a beauty; that would not be true; but it is the whole aspect
of her that attracts--and, above all, a figure so well set up--superb
outlines--a shapely leg and such a tiny foot!"
"Really! has she all those things? You have examined her very closely,
haven't you?"
"I was on the landing just now, monsieur, as she came upstairs, in a
jacket and a short petticoat, both white; and the petticoat has an
embroidered hem. Oh! she doesn't seem to be at all hard up! And she was
humming between her teeth as she came up. I stood aside to let her pass;
at that, she gave me a very pleasant bow; and as she was going on, I
said: 'Are we to have the good fortune to have you for a neighbor,
mademoiselle?'"
"This devil of a Lépinette doesn't waste any time; he makes
acquaintances at once!"
"When one has the honor of being in monsieur le vicomte's service, one
should understand how to deal with the fair sex."
"That's not bad. Go on!"
"The young woman stopped, and answered very pleasantly: 'Yes, monsieur,
I live in the house.'--Then she bowed again and went on upstairs."
"Is that all?"
"No, monsieur. As that meeting was very agreeable to me, I went out on
the landing several times. It was a happy thought. A moment ago, the
young woman came downstairs very fast."
"It seems to me that she spends a good deal of time on the stairs for a
girl who never goes out!"
"She had forgotten to buy some coffee, monsieur; coffee is her passion,
it seems; she can't do without it!"
"Did she tell you that?"
"Yes, monsieur; but she didn't stop; she went on downstairs. She'll
probably come back very soon; if monsieur chooses, I will keep watch on
the landing, and as soon as I see Mademoiselle Georgette in the hall
below I will let him know."
"Nonsense! Do you suppose I am going to put myself out to see this
grisette? You are crazy, Lépinette!"
"I would just like to have monsieur see her in her jacket and short
petticoat; they're so becoming to her!"
"Pardieu! there's a very simple way for me to see this girl without
disturbing myself. She embroiders cigar cases, you say? I'll order one
of her. Go out and watch for her, and, when she comes, ask her to step
into my apartment a moment. You may tell her why."
"Very good, monsieur; I will go on sentry duty, in order to give her
your message."
"If you don't see her pass, you may as well go up to her room; there's
no need of standing on ceremony with a mere working girl."
"Very well, monsieur; if she has already come in, I will go up and do
your errand."
Lépinette left the room, and Edward de Sommerston surrendered anew to
the charms of the cigarette; but five minutes had not passed when the
valet reappeared and said to him:
"The young person is here, monsieur."
"Whom do you mean?"
"The girl from upstairs who makes cigar cases."
"Oh! I had already forgotten your protégée. Well! show her in."
"Here, monsieur?"
"To be sure; you don't suppose I am going to put myself out to go into
the salon to receive this grisette, do you?"
"Then I will show her in here."
The servant went out, returned in a moment, and announced: "Mademoiselle
Georgette!"--And the Georgette with whom we are already acquainted,
having seen her on Rue de Seine and Boulevard Beaumarchais, entered the
smoking room in her morning costume; but this time there was something
in the simple négligé that denoted more thought, more coquetry: the
jacket was trimmed with lace, the white petticoat had an embroidered
hem; and the hair was arranged according to the prevailing style;
plainly, she realized that she was now in the Chaussée d'Antin.
Georgette advanced three steps and retreated two, crying:
"Mon Dieu! what a horrible smell!"
Thereupon the viscount turned over on his couch, and said:
"So you don't like the smell of tobacco, my girl?"
"Hallo! there's someone here. But I can't see anything; it's like being
in the clouds! Well! I won't stay here! I don't propose to have people
think that I've been in barracks!"
And Georgette walked quickly from the smoking room, followed a corridor,
opened the first door she saw, and found herself in a charming salon,
where she paused a moment.
"This is better! one can at least see something here, and it isn't
reeking with tobacco smoke!"
Meanwhile, the young man, surprised by his visitor's abrupt exit, rose
from his couch, laughing, and saying to himself:
"This is a most amusing creature! But, after all, I couldn't have seen
her here. Where in the devil has she gone! Let's look for her, let's
play hide-and-seek; it will remind me of my boyhood!"
Passing from one room to another, the young dandy arrived at last in
that one in which Mademoiselle Georgette had taken refuge; he discovered
her seated in an easy-chair and turning the leaves of an album that lay
on a table near by. The girl's utter lack of ceremony, and her perfect
ease of manner in that elegant salon, astonished Edward, who gazed at
her for several seconds, then said:
"It seems to amuse you to look at caricatures?"
Georgette rose and courtesied gracefully, as she replied:
"I was waiting for you to come, monsieur, and I thought there was no
harm in looking through this album."
"No, indeed! you have done nothing wrong, except running away from my
smoking room, as if it were a bear's den."
"Faith! monsieur, I am not sure that I should not prefer a bear's den to
a room where the smoke is so thick that you can't see, and makes your
eyes smart and your head ache, to say nothing of the insufferable odor!"
While Georgette was speaking, Edward examined her from head to foot; and
his examination was evidently favorable to her, for he muttered from
time to time:
"Very good, on my word! very seductive! That devil of a Lépinette didn't
deceive me!"
Then the viscount began to walk around the girl, who was standing in the
middle of the salon; and he smiled as he observed the little white
petticoat that outlined her hips so perfectly; until at last, vexed by
this inspection, she exclaimed:
"Haven't you nearly finished staring at me, monsieur?"
"Why, you are exceedingly pleasant to look at!"
"Is that why you sent for me?"
"Well! suppose it were? My valet had praised your face and figure, and I
wanted to see if he told the truth."
"If I had known that, I certainly would not have come into your
apartment. Adieu, monsieur!"
"One moment, I pray! What a hurry you're in, Mademoiselle
Georgette!--for Georgette is your name, I believe?"
"Yes, monsieur."
"From what part of the country do you come?"
"From Bordeaux, monsieur."
"From the South. I'd have bet on it."
"Why so?"
"Because you seem to have a little head that is very quick to take
offence."
"Oh! I have a very good head."
"Do you live alone upstairs?"
"Yes, monsieur."
"How many lovers have you, Mademoiselle Georgette?"
The girl stared at the viscount with an impertinent expression, and
finally answered:
"I have none, monsieur."
"What! not one? not the least little bit of a one?"
"No, monsieur."
"That is very strange."
"What is there strange about it, monsieur? Do you think that a girl
cannot remain virtuous, and live without a lover?"
"It seems to me to be very difficult, to say no more, in Paris."
"No more difficult in Paris than elsewhere; a woman always does just
what she chooses."
"Oh! not always! There is the desire to please, the instinct of
coquetry, which is inborn in woman. She wants to have pretty gowns, and
she can't buy them with what she earns. She wants to wear silk dresses
and cashmere shawls! You are fascinating in this déshabillé; still, you
wouldn't go to Mabille's in such a costume."
"Oh! I have no desire to go to Mabille's."
"You don't mean what you say."
"Yes, I do, monsieur."
"No lover! what a phenomenon! Surely, with that figure, that dainty
foot, you must have made many conquests?"
"Oh, yes!"
"And you have never listened to any man?"
"Never."
"Then you must have a lover in your province--some secret passion that
fills your heart?"
"No, monsieur; I have no secret passion."
"In that case, I say again, you are a phenomenon, and I am very proud to
have such a rarity for a neighbor. Are you afraid of loving, pray?
afraid of love?"
"I! I am not afraid of anything."
"Ha! ha! ha! you are very amusing!"
"You think me amusing, monsieur? How lucky for me!"
"I think you provoking, alluring, fascinating!"
And the young man tried to take Georgette in his arms; but she quickly
extricated herself and pushed him away, saying in a very decided tone:
"I don't like such manners, monsieur; and they will never succeed with
me, I warn you."
"Pardon, mademoiselle, pardon! I forgot that I was dealing with a
Lucretia."
"Is this all you have to say to me, monsieur?"
"Why, no; I wanted to order an embroidered cigar case; my servant tells
me that you make lovely ones."
"I do my best, at all events. Would you like one?"
"If you will make it for me."
"What color do you want?"
"Oh! I leave all those details to you."
"Very good, monsieur! I charge fifteen francs."
"Whatever you choose! The price is of little consequence to me."
"Very well, monsieur; in three days, you shall have your cigar case."
"All right. Will you be kind enough to bring it yourself?"
"Certainly, monsieur."
"Don't be afraid; I won't receive you in my smoking room."
"So much the better! for, really, that smell of tobacco makes my head
ache. I have the honor to salute you, monsieur!"
Georgette executed a bewitching little reverence, and the viscount said
to himself as he looked after her:
"Pardieu! that little brunette must be mine, for she is really a most
original creature!"
XXI
AN ATTACK
Edward de Sommerston did not believe what Georgette had told him on the
subject of lovers; he was sceptical concerning the virtue of a girl who
lived alone and worked for a living.
"This girl," he said to himself, "tries to pass herself off for a model
of virtue so as to secure more generous treatment; that's a trick that
doesn't fool me. She will submit like the others; for she's a woman, so
she must love finery; that's the bait to catch them with."
During the three days that elapsed before she brought him what he had
ordered, the young man asked his servant several times if he had
happened to meet on the stairs the young woman who lived at the top of
the house; but Lépinette had not seen Georgette, which fact seemed to
vex him; he flattered himself, perhaps, that he could make a conquest of
the girl more easily than his master could.
On the day that Georgette had appointed, Edward, attired in a coquettish
morning négligé, awaited the young woman in a pretty little salon which
might at need have passed for a boudoir. He was smoking cigarettes, but
had ordered them made of a very mild tobacco, in which there was a touch
of perfume.
About noon, Lépinette announced: "Mademoiselle Georgette!" and the young
woman appeared, still in her little morning costume.
"I beg your pardon, monsieur," she said, as she courtesied to the
viscount, "for presenting myself in this négligé; but I have none too
much time to work, and I never dress when I expect to stay at home."
"The hussy knows perfectly well that she is more alluring in this
dress," thought Edward, "and that is why she comes in her short
petticoat. If she weren't so well built, she'd be all bundled up in
clothes. We know all about that. Mademoiselle Georgette desires me to
admire her good points; therefore, she desires to please me."
And the young man, without stirring from his couch, pointed to a chair
and said:
"Take a seat, I beg! You are very attractive thus. Besides, one doesn't
dress to call on a neighbor. Will it annoy you if I continue to smoke?"
"Oh! I didn't come here to interfere with your pleasures, monsieur."
"This tobacco is very mild, and the odor is not disagreeable, even to
people who don't like tobacco."
"That is true; it smells like patchouli."
"Have you been good enough to remember my cigar case?"
"Here it is, monsieur."
And Georgette handed him a lovely little affair, lined with silk.
"Why, this is delicious! it's an admirable piece of work!" cried Edward.
"Do you like it? So much the better!"
"I should be very exacting if I did not like it. The colors of the
little diamonds are blended perfectly. You have no less taste than
talent. And it took you only three days to make it?"
"That was quite long enough."
"It should be worth fifty francs, at least."
"No, that would be too much; I am content with the price I told you."
"But in that case you earn less than five francs a day, for you have to
buy your wool and your silk."
"Oh! if I earned five francs a day, that would be too fine; I should be
too rich!"
"So you are not ambitious, eh? You have no desire to change your
position?"
"Hum! that depends. To change it for a short time would hardly be worth
while. Sometimes I have had dreams: at such times, I see myself in a
superb apartment; I have diamonds and handsome dresses, a carriage, and
servants to wait on me; oh! it's magnificent!"
"I understand the moral!" said Edward to himself. "We would like to
obtain all those things! The damsel seems to be decidedly calculating!"
While making these reflections, the young man left his couch and planted
himself in front of the chair occupied by Georgette; and there, with his
head thrown back and one hand on his hip, he eyed her coolly and
laughed in her face, saying:
"Do you know that you're nobody's fool, my dear?"
Georgette supported his stare and his question without the slightest
trace of emotion; she simply rose from her chair and said:
"I am very glad that you have so good an opinion of me, monsieur."
"Pray keep your seat; do you think of running away already?"
"Yes, monsieur; for I don't pass my time doing nothing, myself; I can't
afford it."
"One moment--let us talk a little. In the first place, you can't go away
till I have paid you."
"Oh! I am not worried! I'll trust you."
"You might make a mistake.--Do give me a few seconds. It affords me much
pleasure to talk with you."
Edward took her hand, and she consented to resume her chair; whereupon
he seated himself very close to her, saying:
"Shall I tell you something?"
"What is it?"
"I am in love with you!"
"Ha! ha! ha! what folly!"
"It may perhaps be folly! But, whatever it is, it's the truth all the
same! Yes, I am in love with you. That rather surprises me; for I
haven't been able to fall in love for some time past. It must be that
there is in you something--I don't know what--more enticing than in
other women. Look you! I verily believe, God forgive me! that it's your
little petticoat that has turned my head!"
"Then, monsieur, I will run upstairs and send you the petticoat, so that
you may have nothing more to wish for."
"Hum! you scamp! No, that would not be enough for me! I want the
petticoat and all it contains!--What a sweet little hand!"
"Oh! monsieur, don't touch me, I beg! I have told you before that I
don't like such manners."
"That is true; I keep forgetting that you are a vestal! I am so
unaccustomed to meeting such!"
"Oh! you have a very bad opinion of women! Surely you must have met some
virtuous ones, whom you seduced and then deserted, like the others!"
"It is possible; I don't remember. With me the past is always in the
wrong."
"Oh! I am sure of that! That is why it is necessary to take precautions
for the future."
"What an amusing creature! Do you [_tu_] know that you [_tu_] are most
amusing?"