But Cachelin seized each of them by the neck, and, bringing them face
to face, cried: "Now kiss each other, by George! It is a fitting
occasion."
And after releasing them, he capered about like a schoolboy, shouting:
"Victory, victory, we have won our case! I say, Léopold, we must purchase
a country house; there, at least, you will certainly recover your health."
At this idea Lesable trembled. His father-in-law continued: "We will
invite M. Torchebeuf and his wife to visit us, and as the under-chief is
at the end of his term you may take his place. That is the way to bring it
about."
Lesable was now beginning to regard things from Cachelin's standpoint,
and he saw himself receiving his chief at a beautiful country place on
the banks of the river, dressed in coat of white twill, with a Panama hat
on his head.
Something sweet entered into his heart with this hope, something warm
and good seemed to melt within him, rendering him light of heart and
healthier in feeling. He smiled, still without speaking.
Cachelin, intoxicated with joy, transported at the thought of his fine
prospects, continued:
"Who knows, we may gain some political influence. Perhaps you will be
deputy. At all events, we can see the society of the neighbourhood, and
enjoy some luxuries. And you shall have a little pony to convey you every
morning to the station."
These images of luxury, of elegance and prosperity aroused the drooping
spirits of Lesable. The thought that he could be driven in his own
carriage, like the rich people he had so often envied, filled him with
satisfaction, and he could not refrain from exclaiming: "Ah, that will be
delightful indeed."
Cora, seeing him won over, smiled tenderly and gratefully, and
Cachelin, who saw no obstacles now in the way of indulgence, declared:
"We will dine at the restaurant, to celebrate the happy event."
When they reached home, the two men were a little tipsy, and Lesable,
who saw double and whose ideas were all topsy-turvy, could not find his
bedroom. He made his way by mistake, or forgetfulness, into the long
vacant bed of his wife. And all night long it seemed to him that the bed
oscillated like a boat, rolling and pitching as though it would upset. He
was even a little seasick.
He was surprised on awaking to find Cora in his arms. She opened her
eyes with a smile and kissed him with a sudden effusion of gratitude and
affection. Then she said to him, in that caressing voice which women
employ in their cajoleries: "If you wish to be very nice, you will not
go to your office to-day. There is no need to be so punctual now that we
are going to be rich, and we will make a little visit to the country, all
by ourselves."
Lesable was content to remain quiet, with the feeling for self-indulgence
which follows an evening of excess, and the warmth of the bed was
grateful. He felt the drowsy wish to lie a long time, to do nothing more
but to live in tranquil idleness. An unusual sloth paralyzed his soul and
subdued his body, and one vague, happy, and continuous thought never left
him--"He was going to be rich, independent."
But suddenly a fear seized him, and he whispered softly, as if he
thought the walls might hear him: "Are you very sure you are pregnant,
after all?"
She reassured him at once. "Oh, yes! I am certain of it. I could not be
mistaken."
And, as if still doubting, he traced the outline of her figure with his
hand, and feeling convinced declared: "Yes, it is true--but you will not
be brought to bed before the date. They will contest our right on that
account, perhaps."
At this supposition she grew angry.
"Oh, no indeed, they are not going to trick us now after so much misery,
so much trouble, and so many efforts. Oh, no, indeed!" She was overwhelmed
with indignation. "Let us go at once to the notary," she said.
But his advice was to get a physician's certificate first, and they
presented themselves again to Dr. Lefilleul.
He recognized them immediately, and exclaimed:
"Ah well, have you succeeded?"
They both blushed up to their ears, and Cora a little shamefacedly
stammered: "I believe we have, doctor."
The doctor rubbed his hands, crying: "I expected it, I expected it.
The means I recommended to you never fail; at least, only from some
radical incapacity of one of the parties."
When he had made an examination of the young wife, he declared: "It
is true, bravo!" and he wrote on a sheet of paper:
"I, the undersigned, doctor of medicine, of the Faculty of Paris,
certify that Madame Léopold Lesable, née Cachelin, presents all the
symptoms of pregnancy, dating from over three months."
Then, turning toward Lesable: "And you," he said, "how is that chest
and that heart?" and having made an auscultation, he declared that the
patient was entirely cured. They set out happy and joyous, arm in arm,
with elastic steps. But on the route Léopold had an idea. "We had better
go home before we see the lawyer, and rearrange your dress; you'll put two
or three towels under your belt it will draw attention to it and that will
be better; he will not believe then that we are trying to gain time."
They returned home, and he himself undressed his wife in order to
adjust the deception. Ten consecutive times Lesable changed the position
of the towels, and stepped back some paces to get the proper effect,
wishing to obtain an absolutely perfect resemblance. Satisfied with the
result at last, they set out again, and walked proudly through the
streets, Lesable carrying himself with the air of one whose virility was
established and patent to all the world.
The notary received them kindly. Then he listened to their explanation,
ran his eye over the certificate, and, as Lesable insisted, "For the rest,
Monsieur, it is only necessary to glance for a second," he threw a
convinced look on the tell-tale figure of the young woman.
There was a moment of anxious suspense, when the man of law declared:
"Assuredly, whether the infant is born or to be born, it exists, it lives;
so we will suspend the execution of the testament till the confinement of
Madame."
After leaving the office of the notary, they embraced each other on the
stairway, so exuberant was their joy.