HEART-BEATS.
Maurice must have found his equestrian exercise particularly agreeable
upon that day, for he returned to the château so late that no one saw
him again until the family assembled at dinner.
Bertha was unusually silent and _distrait_, not a single smile rippled
her slumbering dimples, and she answered at random. She did not once
address Maurice, to whom she usually prattled in a strain of merry
_badinage_, and he evinced the same constraint toward her.
As soon as the ladies rose from table, Madeleine retired to her own
chamber. Her preparations for the morrow demanded all her time. The
count retreated to the library. Maurice and Bertha were on the point of
finding themselves _tête-à-tête_, for the countess just remembered that
she had a note to write, when her little plot to leave the cousins
together was frustrated by the entrance of the Marquis de Lasalles.
The clouds suddenly melted from Bertha's countenance when the dull old
nobleman was announced. She greeted him with an air of undisguised
relief, as though she had been happily reprieved from an impending
calamity. The lively warmth of her salutation attracted the marquis to
her side, and he remained fascinated to the spot for the rest of the
evening. The countess was too thoroughly well-bred to allow herself to
look annoyed, or, even in secret, to acknowledge that she wished the
marquis elsewhere; but she was disconcerted, and puzzled by the
unaccountable change in Bertha's deportment.
So passed the evening.
The next morning, when Bertha appeared at breakfast, every one, Maurice
perhaps excepted, remarked that she seemed weary and dispirited. Her
brilliant complexion had lost something of its wonted lustre; her
usually clear blue eyes looked heavy and shadowed; her rosy mouth had a
half-sorrowful, half-fretful expression. It was evident that some
nightmare preyed upon her mind, and had broken the childlike sound
sleeping that generally visited her pillow. When the ball that was to
take place that evening was mentioned, she brightened a little, but
quickly sank back into her musing mood.
"You must give me some assistance this morning, Bertha," said
Madeleine, as she poured a few drops of almond oil into a tiny cup.
"Your task shall be to gather, during your morning walk, this little
basket full of the greenest and most perfect ivy leaves you can find,
and bring them to the _châlet_. Then, if you feel inclined to aid me
further, I will show you how to impart an emerald brilliancy to every
leaf by a touch of this oil and a few delicate manipulations."
"I suspect you are inventing something very novel and tasteful,"
remarked Bertha, with more indifference than was natural to her.
"You shall judge by and by," replied Madeleine, as she left the room,
with the cup in her hand.
She carried it, with her work, to a dilapidated summer-house, embowered
by venerable trees. Madeleine's taste had given a picturesque aspect to
this old _châlet_, and concealed or beautified the ravages of time. With
the assistance of Baptiste, she had planted vines which flung over the
outer walls a green drapery, intermingled with roses, honeysuckle, and
jasmine; and, within doors, a few chairs, a well-worn sofa, a table, and
footstool gave to the rustic apartment an appearance of habitableness
and comfort. This was Madeleine's favorite resort when the weather was
fine, and not a few of the magic achievements of her "fairy fingers" had
been created in that romantic and secluded locality. There was glamour,
perhaps, in the sylvan retreat, that acted like inspiration upon hands
and brain.
Bertha usually flitted about her as she worked, wandering in and out,
now and then sitting down for a few moments, and reading aloud, by fits
and starts, or occasionally taking up a needle and making futile efforts
to busy herself with the womanly implement, but always restless, and
generally abandoning her attempt after a brief trial; for Bertha frankly
confessed that she admired industry in her cousin without being able to
practise it in her own person.
This morning, however, Madeleine sat alone; the fleecy tarlatan, that
rolled in misty whiteness around her, gradually assuming the shape of
female attire. Bettina had been despatched to Rennes on the day previous
to procure this material for Bertha's ball-costume, and had not returned
until late in the evening; yet the dress was cut out and fitted before
Madeleine closed her eyes that night. The first auroral ray of light
that stole into her chamber the next day fell upon the lithe figure of
the young girl folding tucks that were to be made in the skirt,
measuring distances, placing pins here and there for guides; and, as the
dawn broke, she sat down unwearily, and sent her needle in and out of
the transparent fabric with a rapidity of motion marvellous to behold.
After a time, the rickety door of the _châlet_ was unceremoniously
pushed open, and old Baptiste entered. He deposited a basket filled with
ivy leaves upon the table, and said that Mademoiselle Bertha desired him
to gather and deliver them to Mademoiselle Madeleine.
"Has she not taken her usual walk this morning, then?" asked Madeleine,
in surprise.
"No, mademoiselle; Mademoiselle Bertha only came to me as I was weeding
the flower-beds, and immediately went back to the château. Have I
brought mademoiselle enough ivy?"
"Quite sufficient, thank you; but I did not mean to consume your time,
my good Baptiste. I thought Mademoiselle Bertha would take pleasure in
selecting the ivy herself."
"Mademoiselle Madeleine knows how glad I always am to serve her,"
answered Baptiste.
For another hour Madeleine sat alone, singing, in a soft murmur, as she
sewed, while
"Her soul was singing at a work apart
Behind the walls of sense."
The sound of a manly step upon the pathway silenced her plaintive
melody. The next moment the vines, that formed a verdant curtain about
the otherwise unprotected casement, were gently drawn back, and a face
appeared at the window.
"I thought I should find you here on this bright morning, Mademoiselle
Madeleine. May I en--en--enter?" asked Gaston de Bois, speaking with so
much ease that his only stammer came upon the last word.
"If you please."
"A noble slave of the needle," he continued, still looking in at the
window. "The daughter of a duke, with the talents of a dressmaker!
_Where_ will ge--ge--genius next take up her abode?"
"Genius--since you are pleased to apply that sublime appellation to my
poor capacities for wielding the most familiar and harmless weapon of my
sex--is no respecter of persons, as you see. You are an early visitor
to-day, M. de Bois. Of course, you are on your way to the château?"
"I have let--let--letters for the count. He intrusted me
yes--es--esterday with a package to take with me to the Château de
Tremazan, where I was engaged to pass the evening, and I have brought
him the replies. But before I play the postman, let me come in and talk
to you, since you are the only person I can ever manage to talk to at
all."
"Come in then, and welcome."
Gaston accepted the invitation with alacrity. He took a seat, and,
regarding her work, remarked, "This must be for to-night's ball; is it
your own dress?"
"Mine? All these tucks for a dress of _mine_? No, indeed, it is
Bertha's, and I hope she will like the toilet I have planned; each tuck
will be surmounted by a garland of ivy, left open at the front, and
fastened where it breaks off, on either side, with blush roses. Then
among her luxuriant curls a few sprigs of ivy must float, and perhaps a
rose peep out. You may expect to see her looking very beautiful
to-night."
M. de Bois sighed, and remained silent for a moment. Then he resumed the
conversation by asking, "And the dress will be ready in time?"
"Before it is needed, I trust, for it is now well advanced. Fortunately
my aunt's dress was completed last night. But it was not new,--only a
fresh combination of materials that had already been employed. Yet she
was kind enough to be highly pleased."
"Well she might be! You are always wor--wor--working for the good of the
whole family."
"What other return can I make for the good I have received?" replied
Madeleine, with emotion. "Can I ever forget that, when I was left alone
in the world, without refuge, without friends, almost without bread, my
great-aunt extended to me her protection, supplied all my wants,
virtually adopted me as her own child? Can I offer her too much
gratitude in return? Can I lavish upon her too much love? No one knows
how well I love her and all that is hers! How well I love that dwelling
which received the homeless orphan! People call the old château dreary
and gloomy; to me it is a palace; its very walls are dear. I love the
trees that yield me their shade,--the parks that you no doubt think a
wilderness,--the rough, unweeded walks which I tread daily in search of
flowers,--this ruined summer-house, where I have passed hours of
delicious calm,--all the now familiar objects that I first saw through
my tears, before they were dried by the hand of affection; and I reflect
with joy that probably I shall never quit the Heaven-provided home which
has been granted me. I have been so very happy here."
"Real--eal--eally?" asked Gaston, doubtingly. "I fancied sometimes, when
I saw the Countess and Count Tristan so--so--so severe to you, that"--
"Have they not the right to find fault with me when I fail to please
them? That is only what I expect, and ought to bear patiently. I will
not pretend to say that sometimes, when I have been misunderstood, and
my best efforts have failed to bring about results that gratify them,--I
will not say that my heart does not swell as though it would burst; but
I console myself by reflecting that some far off, future day will come
to make amends for all, and bring me full revenge."
"Re--re--revenge! You re--re--revenge?" cried Gaston, in astonishment.
"Yes, _revenge_!" laughed Madeleine. "You see what a vindictive creature
I am! And I am positively preparing myself to enjoy this delightful
revenge. I will make you the confidant of my secret machinations. This
old château is lively enough now, and the presence of Bertha and Maurice
preserve to my aunt the pleasant memory of her own youth. But by and by
Maurice will go forth into the world, and perhaps we shall only see him
from time to time, at long intervals. Bertha will marry"--
At these words M. de Bois gave a violent start, and, stammering
unintelligibly, rose from his seat, upsetting his chair, walked to the
window, brought destruction upon some of Madeleine's vines by pulling
them violently aside, to thrust out his head; then strode back, lifted
the fallen chair, knocking down another, and with a flushed countenance
seated himself again.
Madeleine went on, as if she had not noticed his abrupt movement.
"Solitude and _ennui_ might then oppress the Countess and even Count
Tristan, and render their days burdensome. I am laying up a store of
materials to enliven these scenes of weariness and loneliness. I have
made myself quite a proficient in _piquet_, that I may pass long
evenings playing with the count; I have noted and learned all the old
airs that his mother delights to hear, because they remind her of her
girlhood, and I will sing them to her when she is solitary and
depressed. I will make her forget the absence of the dear ones who must
leave such a void in her life; in a thousand ways I will soften the
footsteps of age and infirmity as they steal upon her;--that will be the
amends time will bring me,--that is the _revenge_ I seek."
"Ah! Mademoiselle Mad--ad--adeleine, you are an angel!"
"So far from an angel," answered Madeleine, gayly, "that you make me
feel as though I had laid a snare, by my egotism, to entrap that
ill-deserved compliment. Now let us talk about yourself and your own
projects. Do you still hold to the resolution you communicated to me in
our last conversation?"
"Yes, your advice has decided me."
"I should have been very impertinent if I had ventured to give you
advice. I can hardly be taxed with that presumption. We were merely
discussing an abstract question,--the use of faculties accorded us, and
the best mode of obtaining happiness through their employment; and you
chose to apply my general remarks to your particular case."
"You drew a picture which made me feel what a worth--orth--orthless
mortal I am, and this incited me to throw off the garment of
slothfulness, and put on armor for the battle of life."
"So be it! Now tell us what you have determined upon."
"My unfortunate imped--ed--ediment is my great drawback. Maurice hopes
to become a lawyer; but that profession would be out of the
ques--es--estion for me who have no power to utter my ideas. I could not
enter the army, for what kind of an officer could I make? How should I
ever manage to say to a soldier, 'Go and brave death for your
coun--oun--ountry'? I should find it easier to do myself than to say it.
Some diplomatic position I _might_ possibly fill. As speech, according
to Talleyrand, was given to men to disguise their thoughts, a man who
st--st--stammers is not in much danger of making known his private
medita--a--ations."
"That is ingenious reasoning," replied Madeleine. "I hope something will
grow out of it."
"It is grow--ow--ing already. Yesterday, at the Château de Tremazan, I
had a long interview with the Marquis de Fleury. He expects to be sent
as ambassador to the United States. We are old friends. We talked, and I
tol--ol--old"--
"You told him your views," said Madeleine, aiding him so quietly and
naturally that her assistance was scarcely noticeable. "And what was
concluded upon? for your countenance declares that you have concluded
upon something. If the marquis goes to America, you will perhaps
accompany him?"
"Yes, as sec--sec--sec--"
"As secretary?" cried Madeleine. "That will be an admirable position.
But America--ah! it is a long, long distance from Brittany! This is good
news for you; but there are two persons to whom it will cause not a
little pain."
"To who--o--om?" inquired Gaston, with suppressed agitation.
"To my cousin Bertha, and to me."
"Mademoiselle Ber--er--ertha! Will _she_ heed my absence?
She--she--she,--will she?" asked Gaston, confusedly.
"Yes--but take care; if you let me see how deeply that idea affects you,
you will fail to play the diplomat in disguising your thoughts, for I
shall divine your secret."
"My secret,--what--what secret? What is it you divine? What do you
imagine? I mean."
"That you love Bertha,--love her as she deserves to be loved?"
"I? I?" replied M. de Bois, trying to speak calmly; but, finding the
attempt in vain, he burst forth: "Yes, it is but too true; I love her
with my whole soul; I love her passionately; love her despairingly,--ay,
_despairingly_!"
"And why _despairingly_?"
"Alas! she is so rich!" he answered, in a tone of chagrin.
"True, she is encumbered with a large and _un_-encumbered estate."
"A great misfortune for me!" sighed Gaston.
"A misfortune which you cannot help, and which Bertha will never
remember when she bestows her heart upon one who is worthy of the gift."
"How can she ever deem _me_ worthy? Even if I succeed in making myself a
name,--a position; even if I become all that you have caused me to dream
of being,--this dreadful imped--ed--ediment, this stammering which
renders me ridiculous in the eyes of every one, in her eyes even,
will"--
"Your stammering is only the effect of timidity," answered Madeleine,
soothingly. "Believe me, it is nothing more; as you overcome your
diffidence and gain self-possession, you will find that it disappears.
For instance, you have been talking to me for some time with ease and
fluency."
"To _you_, ah, yes; with _you_ I am always at my ease,--I have always
confidence. It is not difficult to talk to one for whom I have so much
affection,--_so much_, and yet not _too much_."
"That proves fluent speech possible."
"But to any one else, if I venture to open my heart, I hesitate,--I get
troubled,--I--I stammer,--I make myself ridic--ic--iculous!"
"Not at all."
"But I do," reiterated Gaston, warmly. "Fancy a man saying to a woman
he adores, yet in whose presence he trembles like a school-boy, or a
culprit, 'I--I--I--lo--ov--ov--ove you!'"
"The fact is," began Madeleine, laughing good-naturedly.
"_There! there!_" cried M. de Bois, with a gesture of impatience and
discouragement; "the fact is, that you laugh yourself,--_you_, who are
so forbearing!"
"Pardon me; you mistook"--
"You could not help it, I know. It is precisely that which discourages
me. And yet it is very odd! I have one method by which I can speak for
five minutes at a time without stopping or hesitating."
"Indeed! Why, then, do you not always employ that magical method in
society?"
"It would hardly be admissible in polite circles. Would you believe
it?--it is very absurd, but so is everything that appertains to us
unfortunate tongue-tied wretches."
"Tell me what your method is."
"I--I--I do not dare; you will only laugh at me again."
"No; I promise I will not."
"Well, then, my method is to become very much animated,--to lash myself
into a state of high excitement, and to hold forth as though I were
making an exordium,--to talk with furious rapidity, using the most
forcible expressions, the most emphatic ejaculations! Those unloose my
tongue! My words hurl themselves impetuously forward, as zouaves in
battle! Only, as you may conceive, this discourse is not of a very
classic nature, and hardly suited to the drawing-room,--especially, as I
receive great help, and rush on all the faster, for a few interjections
that come under the head of--of--of swear--ear--earing!"
"_Swearing?_" was all Madeleine could say, controlling a strong
inclination to merriment.
"Yes, downright swearing; employing strong expletives,--actual oaths!
Oh, it helps me more than you can believe. But just imagine the result
if I were to harangue Mademoiselle Bertha in this style! She
would--would--"
"Would think it very original, and, as she has a joyous temperament, she
might laugh immoderately. But she likes originality, and the very oddity
of the discourse might impress her deeply. Then, too, she is very
sympathetic, and she would probably be touched by the necessity which
compelled you to employ such an extraordinary mode of expression."
"Ah, if that were only true!"
"I think it _is_ true."
"Thank you! thank you!"
Madeleine was opening a skein of silk, and, extending it to M. de Bois,
she said: "Will you assist me? It is for Bertha I am working. Will you
hold this skein? It will save time."
Gaston, well pleased, stretched out his hands. Madeleine adjusted the
skein, and commenced winding.
"Besides, who knows?" she went on to say. "It seems to me very possible
that the very singularity of such an address might captivate her, and
give you a decided advantage over lovers who pressed their suit in
hackneyed, stereotyped phrases."
"You think so?"
"I should not be surprised if such were the case, because Bertha has a
decided touch of eccentricity in her character."
"If I only dared to think that she had ever given me the faintest
evidence of favorable regard!"
"When she sees you embarrassed and hesitating, does she not always
finish your sentences?"
"Is it pos--pos--pos--" stammered Gaston.
"Possible?" said Madeleine. "Yes, I have observed that she invariably
does so if she imagines herself unnoticed. I have besides remarked a
certain expression on her transparent countenance when we talked of you,
and she has dropped a word, now and then,"--
"What--what--what words? But no, you are mocking me cruelly! It cannot
be that she ever thinks of me! I have too powerful a rival."
"A rival! what rival?" asked Madeleine, in genuine astonishment.
"The Viscount Maurice."
The silken thread snapped in Madeleine's hand.
"You have broken the thread," remarked M. de Bois; "I hope it was not
owing to my awkward hold--old--olding."
"No, no," answered Madeleine, hurriedly, and taking the skein out of his
hand, but tangling it inextricably as she tried to draw out the threads.
"You--you--you--think my cousin Maurice loves Bertha?" she asked, hardly
aware of the pointedness of her own question.
"I do not exactly say _that_; but how will it be possible for him to
help loving her? Good gracious, Mademoiselle Madeleine! what have I said
to affect you? How pale you have become!"
Madeleine struggled to appear composed, but the hands that held the
snarled skein trembled, and no effort of will could force the retreating
blood back to her face.
"Nothing--you have said nothing,--you are quite right, I--I--I dare
say."
"Why, you are just as troubled and embarrassed as I was just now."
"I? nonsense! I'm--I'm--I'm only--only--"
"And you stammer,--you actually stammer almost as badly as I do!"
exclaimed Gaston, in exultation. "Ah, Mademoiselle Madeleine! I have
betrayed to you _my_ secret,--you have discovered _yours_ to me!"
"Monsieur de Bois, I implore you, do not speak another word on this
subject! Enough that, if _I had a secret_, there is no one in the world
to whom I would sooner confide it."
"Why, then, do you now wish to hide from me the preference with which
you honor your cousin?"
Madeleine replied, in a tremulous tone, "You do not know how deep a
wound you are probing, how heavy a grief you"--
"Why should it be a grief? What obstacle impedes your union?"
"An insurmountable obstacle,--one that exists in my own heart."
"How can that be, since that heart is his?"
"Those to whom I owe everything," replied Madeleine, "cherish the
anticipation that Maurice will make a brilliant marriage. Even if my
cousin looked upon me with partial eyes, could I rob my benefactors of
that dearest hope? Could I repay all their benefits to me by causing
them such a cruel disappointment? I could never be so ungrateful,--so
guilty,--so inhuman. Therefore, I say, the obstacle lies in my own
heart: that heart revolts at the very contemplation of such an act. I
pray you never to speak to me again on this subject; and give me your
word that no one shall ever know what I have just confided to you,--I
mean what you suspect--what you suspect, it may be, _erroneously!_"
"I promise you on the honor of a gentleman."
"Thank you."
A step was heard on the path leading to the summer-house.
Gaston looked towards the open door and said, "It is the count."
At the same moment he withdrew to the window.
Madeleine, who had risen, resumed her seat, and, as she plied her
needle, half buried her agitated face in the white drapery which lay in
her lap.
The count entered with downcast eyes, and flung himself into a chair.
He had not perceived that any one was present. Madeleine found it
difficult to command her voice, yet could not allow him to remain
unaware that he was not alone.
After a brief interval, she said, in a tolerably quiet tone, "I am
afraid you have not chosen a very comfortable seat. I told Baptiste to
remove that chair, for its legs are giving signs of the infirmities of
age."
At the sound of her voice the count glanced at her over his shoulder,
and said, brusquely, "What are you doing there?"
"Playing Penelope, as usual."
The count returned harshly, "Always absorbed in some feminine frippery,
just as if"--
"Just as if I were a woman!" answered Madeleine, forcing a laugh.
"A woman in your position should find some less frivolous employment."
Madeleine replied, in a tone of badinage that would have disarmed most
men, "How cruelly my cousin pretends to treat me! He actually makes
believe to scold me when I am occupied with the interests of his
family,--when I am literally _shedding my blood_ in their behalf!" she
added playfully, holding towards him the white dress upon which a slight
red stain was visible; for the needle grasped by her trembling hands had
pricked her.
"Good heavens, Madeleine! when will you lay aside those intolerable airs
and graces which you invariably assume, and which would be very charming
in a young girl of sixteen,--a girl like Bertha; but, in a woman who has
arrived at your years,--a woman of twenty-one,--become ridiculous
affectation?"
M. de Bois, enraged at the injustice of this rebuke, could control
himself no longer, and came forward with a lowering visage. The count
turned towards him in surprise.
"Ah, M. de Bois, I was not aware of your presence. I must have
interrupted a _tête-à-tête_. You perceive, I am, now and then, obliged
to chide."
Gaston answered only by a bow, though his features wore an expression
which the count would not have been well pleased to see if he had
interpreted aright.
"But," continued the latter, "we are most apt to chide those whom we
love best, as you are aware."
"I am a--a--ware," began M. de Bois, trying to calm his indignation, yet
experiencing a strong desire to adopt his new method of speaking
fluently by using strong interjections.
The count changed the subject by asking, "Did you deliver the letters,
of which you had the goodness to take charge, to the Count Damoreau,
Madame de Nervac, and Monsieur de Bonneville?"
"Our relatives!" exclaimed Madeleine, unreflectingly. "Have you
forgotten that you will see them to-night at the ball? But I beg pardon;
perhaps you had something very important to write about."
"It _was_ very important," answered the count, dryly.
"I im--im--imagined so," remarked M. de Bois, "by the sensation the
letters created. Madame de Nervac turned pale, and the Count Damoreau
turned red, and M. de Bonneville gnawed his nails as he was reading."
"Had they the kindness to send answers by you, as I requested?"
"Yes, the object of my early vi--vi--visit was to deliver them. I heard
Mademoiselle Madeleine singing as I passed the _châlet_, and paused to
pay my respects."
He drew forth three letters, and placed them in the count's hand.
The latter seized them eagerly, and seemed inclined to break the seals
at once, but changed his mind, and putting them in his pocket, said,
"Shall I have the pleasure of your company to the château?"
M. de Bois could not well refuse.
He left the _châlet_ with the count, but, after taking a few steps,
apologized for being obliged to return in search of a glove he had
dropped. He went back alone. Madeleine was occupied with her needle as
when he left her. There were no traces of tears upon her cheeks; there
was no flush, no expression of anger or mortification upon her serene
countenance.
M. de Bois regarded her a moment in surprise, for he had expected to
find her weeping, or looking vexed, or, at all events, in a state of
excitement.
"Is the count often in such an amiable temper?" he asked.
"No; pray, do not imagine _that_; he is evidently troubled to-day. You
saw how preoccupied he was. Something has gone wrong, something annoys
him. He did not mean to be harsh."
"And _you_ can excuse him? Well, then _I_ cannot! I felt as though I
must speak when he rated you so unreasonably. And, if I had spoken, I
should certainly have had my tongue loosened by swearing; perhaps I
shall yet"--
"Pray, M. de Bois," urged Madeleine, "do not try to defend me, or
allude to what you unfortunately heard. It will only make my position
more trying."
"So I fear; but I have something to say to you. _You_ have given _me_
good counsels; you must listen to some I have to give you in
return,--but not now. You are going to the ball to-night?"
"Yes, certainly."
"Perhaps I may find an opportunity of talking to you there."
Saying these words, he picked up the glove, and hastened to rejoin the
count, who was too much absorbed in his own thoughts to remark the
length of his friend's absence.