The Project Gutenberg EBook of Fairy Fingers, by Anna Cora Mowatt Ritchie
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Title: Fairy Fingers
A Novel
Author: Anna Cora Mowatt Ritchie
Release Date: February 21, 2008 [EBook #24664]
Language: English
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FAIRY FINGERS.
* * * * *
_IN PRESS:_
BY THE AUTHOR OF THIS VOLUME,
THE MUTE SINGER;
A Novel.
* * * * *
FAIRY FINGERS.
A Novel.
BY
ANNA CORA RITCHIE,
AUTHOR OF "THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN ACTRESS," "MIMIC LIFE,"
"TWIN ROSES," "ARMAND," "FASHION," ETC.
* * * * *
"Labor is Worship."
* * * * *
NEW YORK:
CARLETON, PUBLISHER, 413 BROADWAY.
MDCCCLXV.
* * * * *
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, by
GEO. W. CARLETON.
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court
for the Southern District of New York.
* * * * *
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAGE
I. Noblesse, 7
II. The Cousins, 17
III. Madeleine, 24
IV. Proposals, 38
V. Heart-beats, 43
VI. Unmasking, 55
VII. A Crisis, 68
VIII. Flight, 79
IX. The Empty Place, 94
X. The Humble Companion, 109
XI. Pursuit, 116
XII. The Sister of Charity, 121
XIII. Weary Days, 131
XIV. Diamonds and Emeralds, 139
XV. The Embroidered Handkerchief, 148
XVI. A Voice from the Lost One, 155
XVII. "Chiffons," 166
XVIII. Maurice, 173
XIX. The Aristocrats in America, 179
XX. The Incognita, 186
XXI. The Cytherea of Fashion, 195
XXII. Meeting, 200
XXIII. Noble Hands made Nobler, 213
XXIV. Feminine Belligerents, 226
XXV. The Message, 237
XXVI. Meeting of Lovers, 241
XXVII. Count Tristan's Policy, 249
XXVIII. Lord Linden's Discovery, 254
XXIX. A Contest, 260
XXX. Bertha, 268
XXXI. A Surprise, 278
XXXII. The Nobleman and Mantua-maker, 283
XXXIII. Madame De Gramont, 294
XXXIV. Half the Wooer, 298
XXXV. A Revelation, 305
XXXVI. The Suitor, 311
XXXVII. A Shock, 314
XXXVIII. The Mantua-maker's Guests, 323
XXXIX. Ministration, 330
XL. Recognition, 340
XLI. Unbowed, 345
XLII. Double Convalescence, 352
XLIII. Outgeneralled, 357
XLIV. A Change, 364
XLV. Reparation, 375
XLVI. A Mishap, 380
XLVII. Inflexibility, 387
XLVIII. The New England Nurse, 392
XLIX. Ronald, 405
L. A Secret Divined, 409
LI. Seed Sown, 415
LII. A Lover's Snare, 420
LIII. Resistance, 426
LIV. An Unexpected Visit, 431
LV. Amen, 435
LVI. The Hand of God, 442
LVII. Conclusion, 453
* * * * *
FAIRY FINGERS.
CHAPTER I.
NOBLESSE.
They were seated in the drawing-room of an ancient château in
Brittany,--the Countess Dowager de Gramont and Count Tristan, her only
son,--a mansion lacking none of the ponderous quaintness that usually
characterizes ancestral dwellings in that locality. The edifice could
still boast of imposing grandeur, especially if classed among "fine
ruins." Within and without were harmoniously dilapidated, and a large
portion of the interior was uninhabitable. The limited resources of the
count precluded even an apologetic semblance of repairs.
The house was surrounded by spacious parks and pleasure-grounds, in a
similarly neglected condition. Their natural beauty was striking, and
the rich soil yielded fruits and flowers in abundance, though its only
culture was received from the hands of old Baptiste, who made his
appearance as gardener in the morning, but, with a total change of
costume, was metamorphosed into butler after the sun passed the
meridian. In his button-hole a flower, which he could never be induced
to forego, betrayed his preference for the former vocation.
The discussion between mother and son was unmistakably tempestuous. A
thunder-cloud lowered on the noble lady's brow; her eyes shot forth
electric flashes, and her voice, usually subdued to aristocratic
softness, was raised to storm-pitch.
"Count Tristan de Gramont, you have taken leave of your senses!"
A favorite declaration of persons thoroughly convinced of their own
unassailable mental equilibrium, when their convictions encounter the
sudden check of opposition.
As the assertion, unfortunately, is one that cannot be disproved by
denial, the count sank resignedly behind the shield of silence. His
mother returned to the attack.
"Do you mean me to understand that, in your right mind, you would
condescend to mingle with men of business?--that you would actually
degrade yourself into becoming a shareholder, or manager, or director,
or whatever you please to term it, in a railway company?--_you_, Count
Tristan de Gramont! The very proposal is a humiliation; to entertain it
would be an absurdity--to consent, an impossibility. I repeat it, you
have taken leave of your senses!"
"But, my dear mother," answered the count, with marked deference, "you
are forgetting that this railway company chances to be an American
association; my connection with it, or, rather, its very existence, is
not likely to be known here in Brittany,--therefore, my dignity will not
be compromised. The only valuable property left us is the transatlantic
estate which my roving brother purchased during his wanderings in the
New World, and bequeathed to my son, Maurice, for whom it is held in
trust by an American gentleman. The members of the association, who
desire to interest me in their speculation, assert that the proposed
railroad may pass directly through this very tract of land. Should that
be the case, its value will be greatly increased. At the present moment
the estate yields us nothing; but the advent of this railroad must
insure an immense profit. We estimate that, by judicious management, the
land may be made to bring in"--
His mother interrupted him with a haughty gesture. "_'Speculation!'_
_'yield!'_ _'profit!'_ _'bring in!'_ What language to grow familiar to
the lips of a son of mine! You talk like a tradesman already! My son,
give up all idea of this plebeian enterprise!"
The count did not answer immediately. He seemed puzzled to determine
what degree of confidence it was necessary to repose in his stately
mother. After a brief pause, he renewed the conversation with evident
embarrassment.
"It is very difficult to make a lady, especially a lady of your rank,
education, and mode of life, understand these matters, and the
necessity"--
"It ought to be equally difficult to make the nobleman, my son,
comprehend them," answered the countess, freezingly.
The count rejoined, as though driven to extremity, "It is the very fact
of my being a nobleman, that has made these people, Americans as they
are, and despisers of titles as they profess to be, seek me with
eagerness. The _prestige_ of my _title_, and the promise of obtaining
some privileges respecting Maurice's Maryland estate, are all that I can
contribute toward the success of their undertaking. It is true I am a
nobleman; but even rank, my dear mother, must have the means of
sustaining its existence, to say nothing of preserving its dignity. Even
rank is subject to the common, vulgar need of food and raiment and
shelter, not to mention the necessity of keeping horses, carriages,
domestics, and securing other indispensable but money-consuming
luxuries. Our narrow income is no longer sufficient to meet even our
limited expenditures. The education of Maurice at the University of
Paris, and your own charities, have not merely drained our purse, but
involved us in debt. I hail the offer made me by this American company,
because it may extricate us from some very serious difficulties. I am
much mortified at your resolute disapproval of the step I contemplate."
Count Tristan de Gramont was a widower, the father of but one child. It
must not be supposed that, although he seriously purposed embarking in a
business enterprise, he had failed to appropriate a goodly share of that
pride which had both descended by inheritance, and been liberally
instilled into his mind by education. His character was strongly stamped
with the Breton traits of obstinacy and perseverance, and he was gifted
with an unaristocratic amount of energy. When an idea once took
possession of his brain, he patiently and diligently brought the embryo
thought to fruition, in spite of all disheartening obstacles. He was
narrow-minded and selfish when any interests save his own and those of
his mother and son were at stake. These were the only two beings whom he
loved, and he only loved them because they were _his_--a portion of
_himself_; and it was merely himself that he loved through them. In a
certain sense, he was a devoted son. His education had rendered him
punctilious, to the highest degree, in the observance of all those forms
that betoken filial veneration. He always treated his august mother with
the most profound reverence. He paid her the most courteous
attentions,--opened the doors when she desired to pass, placed
footstools for her feet, knelt promptly to pick up the handkerchief or
glove she dropped, was ever ready to offer her his arm for her support,
and seldom combated her opinions.
The first time he had openly ventured to oppose her views was in the
conversation we have just related.
She looked so regal, as she sat before him in a richly carved antique
chair, which she occupied as though it had been a throne, that, in spite
of the blind obstinacy with which she refused to see her own interests
and his, Count Tristan could not help regarding her with admiration.
She was still strikingly handsome, notwithstanding the sixty winters
which had bleached her raven locks to the most uncompromising white.
Those snowy tresses fell in soft and glossy curls about her scarcely
furrowed countenance. Her forehead was somewhat low and narrow; the
face, a decided oval; the nose, almost straight; the eyes almond-shaped,
and of a jetty blackness, flashing out from beneath brows that were
remarkable for the fine, dark line that designated their arch. The mouth
was the least pleasing feature,--it was too small, and unsuggestive of
varied expression; the lips not only lacked fulness, but wore a
supercilious curl that had become habitual.
Her form was considerably above the medium height, and added to the
sense of grandeur conveyed by her presence. Her carriage was erect to
the verge of stiffness, and her step too firm to be quite soundless.
Advancing years had not produced any unseemly _embonpoint_, nor had her
figure fallen into the opposite extreme, and sharpened into meagre
angularity; its outline retained sufficient roundness not to lose the
curves or grace.
She had made no reply to her son's last remark, which forced him to
begin anew. He thought it politic, however, to change the subject.
"You remember, my mother, that some seven of our friends are engaged to
dine with us to-morrow. I trust you will not disapprove of my having
invited two American gentlemen to join the party. After the letters of
introduction they brought me, I was forced to show them some attention
and"--
He paused abruptly, without venturing to add that those gentlemen were
directors of the railway company of which he had before spoken.
"My son, you are aware that I never interfere with your hospitalities,
but you seem to have forgotten that my Sêvres china is only a set for
twelve, and I can use no other on ceremonious occasions. With Bertha and
Madeleine we have one guest too many."
"That is a matter readily arranged," replied the count. "Madeleine need
not appear at table. She is always so obliging and manageable that she
can easily be requested to dine in her own room. In fact, to speak
frankly, I would _rather not_ have her present."
"But, should she be absent, Bertha will be annoyed," rejoined Madame de
Gramont.
"Bertha is a simpleton! How strange that she does not see, or suspect,
that Madeleine always throws her into the background! I said a while
ago, my mother, that _your charities_ had helped to drain our purse, and
this is one which I might cite, and the one that galls me most. Here,
for three years, you have sheltered and supported this young girl,
without once reflecting upon the additional expense we are incurring by
your playing the benefactress thus grandly. It is very noble, very
munificent on your part; still, for a number of reasons, I regret that
Madeleine has become a permanent inmate of this château."
"Madeleine was an orphan," replied the countess, "the sole remaining
child of the Duke de Gramont, your father's nephew. When she was left
homeless and destitute, did not the _honor of the family_ force me to
offer her an asylum, and to treat her with the courtesy due to a
relative? Have we not always found her very grateful and very
agreeable?"
"I grant you--very agreeable--_too_ agreeable by half," returned the
count; "so agreeable that, as I said, she invariably throws your
favorite Bertha into the shade. I confess that the necessity of always
reserving for this young person, thrust upon us by the force of
circumstances, a place at table, a seat in the carriage, room upon every
party of pleasure, makes her presence an inconvenience, if not a
positive burden. And will you allow me to speak with great candor? May I
venture to say that I have seen you, my dear mother, chafed by the
infliction, and irritated by beholding Bertha lose through contrast with
Madeleine?"
His mother replied with animation: "Bertha is my grandniece,--the
granddaughter of my only sister; the ties of blood, if nothing more,
would bind me more closely to her than to Madeleine. Possibly there may
have been times when I have not been well pleased to see one so dear,
invariably, though most inexplicably, eclipsed. Bertha may shine forth
in her most resplendent jewels,--her most costly and exquisite Parisian
toilet; Madeleine has only to enter, in a simple muslin dress, a flower,
or a knot of ribbons in her hair, and she draws all eyes magnetically
upon her."
"That is precisely the observation I have made," answered Count Tristan;
"and, my mother, have you never reflected how seriously your _protégée_
may interfere with our prospects respecting Maurice?"
The countess started. "Impossible! He could not think of Madeleine when
a union with Bertha would be so much more advantageous."
"Youth does not think--it chooses by the attraction it experiences
towards this or that object," answered the count. "Before Maurice last
returned to the university, nine months ago, his admiration for
Madeleine was unmistakable. Now that he is shortly to come home, and for
an indefinite period,--now that our plans must ripen, I have come to the
conclusion that Madeleine must be removed, or they will never attain
fruition; she must not be allowed to cast the spell of her dangerous
fascination over him; something must be done, and that before Maurice
returns; in a fortnight he will be here."
Before the countess could reply, a young girl bounded into the room,
with a letter in one hand, and a roll of music in the other.
It would be difficult to find a more perfect type of the pure blonde
than was manifested in the person of this fair young maiden. The word
"dazzling" might be applied without exaggeration to the lustrous
whiteness of a complexion tinged in the cheeks as though by the
reflection of a sea-shell. Her full, dewy lips disclosed milky rows of
childlike teeth within. Her eyes were of the clearest azure; but, in
spite of their expression of mingled tenderness and gayety, one who
could pause to lay the finger upon an imperfection, would note that
something was wanting to complete their beauty;--the eyebrows were too
faintly traced, and the lashes too light, though long. The low brow,
straight, slender nose, the soft curve of the chin, the fine oval of the
face, were obviously an inheritance. At a single glance it was
impossible not to be struck with the resemblance which these classic
features bore to those of the countess. But the sportive dimples,
pressed as though by a caressing touch, upon the cheeks and chin of the
young girl, destroyed, even more than the totally opposite coloring, the
likeness in the two countenances. The hair of the countess had been
remarkable for its shining blackness, while the yellow acacia was not
more brightly golden than the silken tresses of Bertha,--tresses that
ran in ripples, and lost themselves in a sunny stream of natural curls,
which seemed audaciously bent on breaking their bounds, and looked as
though they were always in a frolic. In vain they were smoothed back by
the skilful fingers of an expert _femme de chambre_, and confined in an
elaborate knot at the back of Bertha's small head; the rebellious locks
_would_ wave and break into fine rings upon the white brow, and lovingly
steal in stray ringlets adown the alabaster throat, ignoring
conventional restraint as sportively as their owner.
Bertha de Merrivale, like Madeleine, was an orphan, but, unlike
Madeleine, an heiress. The Marquis de Merrivale, Bertha's uncle, was
also her guardian. He allowed her every year to spend a few months with
her mother's relatives, who warmly pleaded for these annual visits. Her
sojourn at the château de Gramont was always a season of delight to
Bertha herself, for she dearly loved her great-aunt, liked Count
Tristan, enjoyed the society of Maurice, and was enthusiastically
attached to Madeleine.
"A letter! a letter from Maurice!" exclaimed Bertha, dancing around her
aunt as she held out the epistle.
The countess broke the seal eagerly, and after glancing over the first
lines, exclaimed, "Here is news indeed! We did not expect Maurice for a
fortnight; but he writes that he will be here to-morrow. How little time
we shall have for preparation! And I intended to order so many
improvements made in his chamber, and to quite remodel"--
"Oh, of course, everything will have to be remodelled for the Viscount
Maurice de Gramont! Nothing will be good enough for _him_! Every one
will sink into insignificance at _his_ coming! We, poor, forlorn
damsels, will henceforth be of no account,--no one will waste a thought
on _us_!" said Bertha.
"On the contrary," replied her aunt, "I never had your happiness more in
my thoughts than at this moment. Be sure you wear your blue brocade
to-morrow, and the blue net interwoven with pearls in your hair, and
that turquoise set which Maurice always admired."
"Be sure that I play the coquette, you mean, as my dear aunt did before
me," answered Bertha, merrily. "No, indeed, aunt, that may have done in
_your_ day, but it does not suit _ours_. We, of the present time, do not
wear nets for the express purpose of ensnaring the admiration of young
men; or don our most becoming dresses to lay up their hearts in their
folds. I am going to seek Madeleine to tell her this news, and I have
another surprise for her."
"What is it?" inquired the countess, in an altered tone.
"This great parcel of music, which I sent to Paris to obtain expressly
for her. But I have something else which she must not see to day,--this
bracelet, the exact pattern of the one my uncle presented to me upon my
last birthday, and Madeleine shall receive this upon her birthday; that
will be _to-morrow_."
As she spoke, she clasped upon her small wrist a band of gold, fastened
by a knot formed of pearls, and gayly held up her round, white arm
before the eyes of the count and countess.
The latter caught her uplifted hand and said gravely, "Bertha, music and
bracelets are very appropriate for _you_, but they do not suit
Madeleine. Madeleine is poor, worse than poor, wholly dependent upon"--
"There you are mistaken, aunt," returned Bertha, warmly. "As _I_ am
rich, she is not poor;--that is, she will not always be poor, and she
shall _not_ be dependent upon any one--not even upon _you_. I mean to
settle upon her a marriage portion if she choose to marry, and a
handsome income if she remain single."
"Very generous and _romantic_ on your part," replied the countess,
ironically; "but, unfortunately for her, you have no power at present
over your own property; you cannot play the benefactress without the
consent of your guardian, and that you will never obtain."
"But if I marry, I will have the right," answered Bertha, naïvely.
"You will have the consent of your husband to obtain, and that will be
equally difficult."
"That is true, but I am not discouraged. I suppose when I am of age I
shall have the power, and I need not marry before then. I am sixteen,
nearly seventeen; it will not be so _very_ long to wait, and I am
determined to serve Madeleine."
"Many events may occur to make you change you mind before you attain
your majority. Meanwhile you are fostering tastes in Madeleine which are
unsuited to her condition. I know you think me very severe, but"--
"No, no, aunt, you are never severe toward me; you are only too kind,
too indulgent; you spoil me with too much love and consideration; and it
is because you _have_ spoiled me so completely that I mean to be saucy
enough to speak out just what I think."
Bertha seated herself on the footstool at her aunt's feet, took her hand
caressingly, and with an earnest air prattled on.
"It is with Madeleine that you are severe, and you grow more and more
severe every day. You speak to her so harshly, so disdainfully at
times, that I hardly recognize you. One would not imagine that she is
your grandniece as much as I am,--that is, _almost_ as much, for she was
the grandniece of the Count de Gramont, my uncle. You find incessant
fault with her, and she seems to irritate you by her very presence. Oh!
I have seen it for a long time, and during this last visit I see it more
than ever."
"Bertha!" commenced her aunt, in a tone which might have awed any less
volatile and determined speaker.
"Do not interrupt me, aunt; I have not done yet, and I _must_ speak. Why
do you put on this manner towards Madeleine? You _do put it on_,--it is
not natural to you,--for you are kind to every one else. And have you
not been most kind to her also? Were you not the only one of her proud
relatives who held out a hand to her when she stood unsheltered and
alone in the world? Have you not since then done everything for her?
Done everything--but--but--but _love her_?"
"Bertha, you are the only one who would venture to"--
"I know it, aunt,--I am the only one who would venture, so grant me one
moment more; I have not done yet. Madeleine cannot be an incumbrance,
for who is so useful in your household as she? Who could replace her?
When you are suffering, she is the tenderest of nurses. She daily
relieves you of a thousand cares. When you have company, is it not
Madeleine who sees that everything is in order? If you give a dinner, is
it not Madeleine who not only superintends all the preparations, but
invents the most beautiful decorations for the table,--and out of
nothing--out of leaves and flowers so common that no one would have
thought of culling them, yet so wonderfully arranged that every one
exclaims at their picturesque effect? When you have dull guests,--guests
that put me to sleep, or out of patience,--is it not Madeleine who
amuses them? How many evenings, that would have been insufferably
stupid, have flown delightfully, chased by her delicious voice!"
"You make a great virtue of what was simply an enjoyment to herself. She
delights as much, or more, in singing than any one can delight in
hearing her."
"That is because she delights in everything she does; she always
accomplishes her work with delight. She delighted in making you that
becoming cap, with its coquettishly-disposed knots of violet ribbons;
she delighted in turning and freshening and remaking the silk dress you
wear at this moment, which fits you to perfection, and looks quite new.
She delighted in embroidering my cousin Tristan that pretty velvet
smoking-cap he has on his head. She delighted in making me the wreath
which I wore at the Count de Caradaré's concert the other evening, and
which every one complimented me upon. It was her own invention;--and did
not you yourself remark that there was not a head-dress in the room half
as beautiful? Everything she touches she beautifies. The commonest
objects assume a graceful form beneath her fingers. The "_fingers of a
fairy_" my cousin Maurice used to call them, and, there certainly is
magic in those dainty, rapidly-moving hands of hers. They have an art, a
skill, a facility that partakes of the supernatural. Madeleine is a
dependent upon your bounty, but her magic fingers make her a very
valuable one; and, if you would not think it very impertinent, I would
say that we are all _her debtors_, rather than _she ours_. There, I have
done! Now, forgive me for my temerity,--confess that you have been too
severe to Madeleine, and promise not to find fault with her any more."
"I will confess that she has the most charming advocate in the world,"
answered the countess with affection.
"Madeleine must not see this bracelet until to-morrow; so I must hasten
to lock it up," resumed the young girl; "after that I will let her know
that our cousin will be here to honor her birthday. How enchanted she
will be! But she makes entirely too much of him,--just as you all do.
The instant she hears the news, away she will fly to make preparations
for his comfort. I shall only have to say, 'Maurice is coming,' and what
a commotion there will be!"
Bertha tripped away, leaving the countess alone with her son.
"Is she not enchanting?" exclaimed the former, as Bertha disappeared.
"Maurice will have a charming bride."
"Yes, _if_ the marriage we so earnestly desire ever take place."
"IF? IF? I intend that it _shall_ take place. It is my one dream, my
dearest hope!" said the countess.
"It is mine also," replied the count; "and yet I have my doubts--my
fears; in a word, I do not believe this union ever _will_ take place if
Madeleine remain here."
The countess drew herself up with indignant amazement. "What do you
mean? Do you think Madeleine capable of"--
"I do not think Madeleine capable of anything wrong; but she has such
versatility of talent, she is so fascinating, her character is so
lovable, that I think those talents and attractions capable of upsetting
all our plans and of making Maurice fall deeply in love with her."
"But is not Bertha fascinating, and lovely as a painter's ideal?" asked
the countess.
"Yes, but it is not such a striking, such an impressive, such a
bewitching, bewildering style of beauty," replied her son. "Mark my
words: I understand young men. I know what dazzles their eyes and turns
their heads. If Maurice is thrown into daily communication with Bertha
and Madeleine, it is Madeleine to whom he will become attached."
"It must not be!" said the countess, emphatically, and rising as she
spoke. "It shall not!"
"I echo, it shall not, my mother. But we must take means of prevention.
It is most unfortunate that Maurice returns a fortnight before we
expected him. I had my plans laid and ready to carry into execution
before he could arrive. Now we must hasten them."
"What is your scheme?" asked his mother.
"Madeleine has other relations, all richer than ourselves. I purpose
writing to each of them, and proposing that they shall receive her, not
for three years, as we have done, but that they shall each, in turn,
invite her to spend three months with them. They surely cannot refuse,
and her life will be very varied and pleasant, visiting from house to
house every three months, enjoying new pleasures, seeing new faces,
making new friendships. And her relatives will, in reality, be our
debtors, for Madeleine is the most charming of inmates. She is always so
lively, and creates so much gayety around her; she has so many resources
in herself, and she is so _useful_! In fact, we are bestowing a valuable
gift upon these good relatives of hers, and they ought to thank us, as I
have no doubt they will."
The countess approved of her son's plan to rid them of their dangerously
agreeable inmate, and the count, without further delay, sat down to pen
the projected epistles.
CHAPTER II.
THE COUSINS.
Bertha's prediction was verified, and the whole château was thrown into
confusion by preparations for the coming of the young viscount. Old
Baptiste forsook his garden-tools for the whole day, to play in-door
domestic. Gustave, who daily doubled his _rôle_ of coachman with that of
_valet_, slighted his beloved horses (horses whose mothers and
grandmothers had supplied the de Gramont stables from time immemorial)
to cleanse windows, brighten mirrors, and polish dingy furniture.
Bettina, the antiquated _femme de chambre_ of the countess, who also
discharged the combined duties of housekeeper and housemaid, flew about
with a bustling activity that could hardly have been expected from her
years and infirmities. Elize, the cook, made far more elaborate
preparations for the coming of the young viscount than she would have
deemed necessary for the dinner to be given to her master's guests. This
band of venerable domestics had all been servants of the family before
the viscount's birth, and he was not only an idol among them, but
seemed, in a manner, to appertain to them all.
The countess, alone, did not find the movement of gladness around her
contagious. The coming of Maurice before the departure of Madeleine,
distressed her deeply; but small troubles and great were incongruously
mingled in her mind, for, while she was tormented by the frustration of
her plans, she fretted almost as heartily over that set of Sêvres
porcelain which, with the addition of her grandson, would not be
sufficient for the expected guests, even if Madeleine dined in her own
chamber. Besides, the arrival of Maurice made _that_ arrangement out of
the question. He would certainly oppose her banishment, just as Bertha
had done; and the day, unfortunately, was Madeleine's birthday. This
circumstance would give her cousins additional ground for insisting upon
her presence at the festive board. The countess saw no escape from her
domestic difficulties, and was thoroughly out of humor.
Before Madeleine had awoke that morning, Bertha had stolen to her
bedside and clasped the bracelet upon her arm. Light as was Bertha's
touch, it aroused the sleeper, and she greeted her birthday token with
unfeigned gratitude and delight. But Madeleine had few moments to spend
in contemplation of the precious gift. She dressed rapidly, then
hastened away to make the château bright with flowers, to complete
various preparations for the toilet of her aunt, to perform numerous
offices which might be termed menial; but she entered upon her work with
so much zest, she executed each task with such consummate skill, she
took so much interest in the employment of the moment, that no labor
seemed either tedious or debasing.
Maurice de Gramont had just completed his twenty-first year when he
graduated with high honor at the University of France. After passing a
fatiguing examination, he had gladly consented to act upon his father's
suggestion, and devote a few weeks to enjoyment in the gay metropolis.
The count had no clew to the cause of his sudden return to Brittany.
"Aunt, aunt! There is the carriage,--he is coming!--Baptiste, run and
open the gate!" cried Bertha, whose quick eyes had caught sight of a
coach which stopped at the farther end of a long avenue of noble trees,
leading to the château.
Baptiste made all the speed which his aged limbs allowed; Gustave
hastened to throw open the front door; Bertha was on the porch before
the carriage drew up; the count and countess appeared at the entrance
just as Maurice sprang down the steps of the lumbering vehicle.
His blue eyes sparkled with genuine joy, and his countenance glowed with
animation, as he embraced his grandmother warmly, kissed his father,
according to French custom, then turning to Bertha, clasped her extended
hands and touched either cheek lightly with his lips. She received the
cousinly salutation without any evidence of displeasure or any token of
confusion.
As the maiden and youth stood side by side, they might easily have been
mistaken for brother and sister. The same florid coloring was remarkable
in the countenances of both, save that the tints were a few shades
deeper on the visage of Maurice. His eyes were of a darker blue; his
glossy hair was tinged with chestnut, while Bertha's shone with
unmingled gold; but, like Bertha's, his recreant locks had a strong
tendency to curl, and lay in rich clusters upon his brow, distressing
him by a propensity which he deemed effeminate. His mouth was as ripely
red as hers, but somewhat larger, firmer, and less bland in its
character. His eyebrows, too, were more darkly traced, supplying a want
only too obvious in her countenance. The resemblance, however,
disappeared in the forehead and classic nose, for the brow of Maurice
was broad and high, and the nose prominent, though finely shaped.
His form was manly without being strikingly tall. It was what might be
designated as a noble figure; but the term owed its appropriateness
partly to his refined and graceful bearing.
"My dear father, I am so glad to see you!--grandmother, it is refreshing
to find you looking as though you bade defiance to time;--and you, my
little cousin, how much you have improved! How lovely you have grown! A
year does a great deal for one's appearance."
"Yours, for instance," replied Bertha, saucily. "Well, there was
abundant room for improvement."
Maurice replied to her vivacious remark with a laugh of assent, and,
looking eagerly around, asked, "Where is Madeleine?"
"Madeleine is busy as usual," answered Bertha. "I warrant she is in some
remote corner of the château, mysteriously employed. She does not know
that you have arrived."
"And is she well? My father never once mentioned her in his letters. And
has she kept you company in growing so much handsomer during the last
year?"
"_Her_ beauty needed no heightening!" exclaimed Bertha, affectionately.
"But she develops new talents every day; she sings more delightfully
than ever; and lately she has commenced drawing from nature with the
most wonderful ease. You should see the flowers she first creates with
her pencil and then copies with her needle! I really think her needle
can paint almost as dexterously as the brush of any other artist."
The count exchanged a look with his mother, and whispered, "Do stop
her!"
The latter turned quickly to her grandson, and said, "Are you and Bertha
determined to spend the morning out of doors? Come, let us go in."
As they entered the drawing-room, the countess pointed to a seat beside
her.
"Maurice, leave your chattering little cousin, and sit down and give us
some account of yourself. What have you been doing? How have you been
passing your time?"
Maurice obeyed; Bertha placed herself on the other side of her aunt; the
count took a chair opposite.
"Behold a most attentive and appreciating audience!" cried Bertha. "Now,
Mr. Collegian and Traveller,--hero of the hour!--most noble
representative of the house of de Gramont! hold forth! Let us hear how
you have been occupying your valuable time."
"In the first place, I have been studying tolerably hard, little cousin.
It seems very improbable, does it not? The midnight oil has not yet
paled my cheeks to the sickly and interesting hue that belongs to a
student. Still the proof is that I have passed my examination
triumphantly. I will show you my prizes by and by, and they will speak
for themselves. Next, I have joined a debating society of young students
who are preparing to become lawyers. Our meetings have afforded me
infinite pleasure. At our last reunion, I undertook to plead a cause,
and achieved a wonderful success. I had no idea that language would flow
so readily from my lips. I was astonished at my own thoughts, and the
facility with which I formed them into words, and they say I made a
capital argument. I received the most enthusiastic congratulations, and
my associates, in pressing my hand, addressed me, not as the Viscount de
Gramont, but as the _able orator_. I really think that I could make an
orator, and that I have sufficient talent to become a lawyer."
"A lawyer!" exclaimed the countess with supreme disdain. "What could
introduce such a vulgar idea into your head? A lawyer! There is really
something startling, something positively appalling in the vagaries of
the rising generation! A lawyer! what an idea!"
"It is something more than an _idea_, my dear grandmother: it is a
project which I have formed, and which I cherish very seriously,"
replied Maurice.
"A project,--a project! I like projects. Let us hear your sublime
project, Mr. Advocate," cried Bertha.
"The project is simply to test the abilities which I am presumptuous
enough to believe I have discovered in myself, and to study for the bar.
My father wrote me that he intended to become a director in a railway
company, and descanted upon the advantage of embarking in the
enterprise. He also confided to me, for the first time, the real state
of our affairs,--in a word, the empty condition of our treasury. Why
should my father occupy himself with business matters and I live in
idleness? Once more, I repeat, I am convinced I have sufficient ability
to make a position at the bar, and with my father's consent, and yours,
grandmother, I propose to commence my law studies at once."
"A pettifogger! impossible! I, for one, will never countenance a step so
humiliating! It is not to be thought of!" replied his grandmother, in a
tone of decision.
"No, Maurice, your project is futile," responded his father. "My joining
this railroad association is quite a different matter. I shall in
reality have nothing to do. It is only my name that is required;
besides, America is so far off that nobody in Brittany will be aware of
my connection with the company. Your becoming a lawyer would be a public
matter. I cannot recall the name of a single nobleman in the whole list
of barristers"--
"So much the better for me! My title may, _in this solitary instance_,
prove of service to me. It may help to bring me clients. People will be
enchanted to be defended by a viscount."
"You conjure up a picture that is absolutely revolting!" cried the
countess, warmly. "_My grandson_ pleading to defend the rabble!"
"Why not, if the rabble should happen to stand in need of defence?"
"Why not?--because you should ignore their very existence! What have you
and they in common?"
Maurice was about to reply somewhat emphatically, but noticing his
grandmother's knitted brow, and his father's troubled expression, he
checked himself.
The countess added, with an air of determination that forbade
discussion, "Maurice, you will never obtain my consent, never!"
"But if I may not study for the bar, what am I to do?" asked the young
man with spirit.
"Do?" questioned the countess, proudly. "What have the de Gramonts done
for centuries past? Do nothing!"
"_Nothing?_ Thank you, grandmother, for your estimate of my capacities
and of the sluggish manner in which my blood courses through my veins.
Doing _nothing_ was all very well in dead-alive, by-gone days, but it
does not suit the present age of activity and progress. In our time
everything that has heart and spirit feels that labor is a law of life.
Some men till the earth, some cultivate the minds of their fellow-men,
some guard their country's soil by fighting our battles; that is, some
vocations enable us to live, some teach us how to live, and some render
it glorious to die. Now, instead of adopting any of these pursuits, I
only wish to"--
"To become a manufacturer of fine phrases, a vender of words!" replied
the countess, disdainfully.
"An advantageous merchandise," answered Maurice,--"one which it costs
nothing, to manufacture but which may be sold dear."
"Sold? You shock me more and more! Never has one who bore the name of de
Gramont earned money!" replied the countess, with increased _hauteur_.
"Very true, and very unfortunate! We are now feeling the ill effects of
the idleness of our ancestors. It is time that the new generation should
reform their bad system," replied Maurice.
"Maurice"--began his father.
"My dear father, let me speak upon this subject, for I have it greatly
at heart. I have an iron constitution, buoyant spirits, a tolerably good
head, a tolerably large heart, an ample stock of imagination, an
unstinted amount of energy, and an admiration for genius; now, all these
gifts--mind, heart, imagination, spirit, energy--cry out for
action,--ask to vindicate their right to existence,--need to find vent!
_That_ is one ground upon which I plant my intention to become a lawyer.
Another is that a man of my temperament, liberal views, and tendencies
to extravagance, also needs to have the command of means"--
"Have we ever restricted you, Maurice?" asked his father, reproachfully.
"No, it is only yourselves you have restricted. But do you suppose I am
willing to expend what has been saved through your economy? Until lately
I never knew the actual state of our finances. Now I see the necessity
for exertion, that I may be enabled to live as my tastes and habits
prompt."
"That you may obtain by making an advantageous marriage," remarked the
countess, forgetting at the moment that Bertha was present.
"What! owe my privileges, my luxuries, my very position, to my wife?
Never! Every manly and independent impulse within me rises in arms
against such a suggestion; while the emotion I experienced when I felt I
could become something _of myself_,--that I had talents which I could
employ,--that I had a future before me,--renown to win,--great deeds to
achieve,--filled me with a strange joy hitherto unknown. I tell you, my
father, there is a force and fire in my spirit that must have some
outlet,--must leap into action,--_must_ and _will_!"
"It shall find an outlet," replied the countess, "without making you a
hired declaimer of fine words,--a paid champion of the low mob. Let us
hear no more of this absurd lawyer project. The matter is settled: you
will never have your father's consent, nor mine."
"Then I warn you," exclaimed Maurice, starting up, and speaking almost
fiercely. "You will drive me into evil courses. I shall fall into all
manner of vices for the sake of excitement. If I cannot have occupation,
I must have amusement, I shall run in debt, I may gamble, I may become
dissipated, I may commit offences against good taste and good morals,
which will degrade me in reality; and all because you have nipped a
pure intention in the bud. The root that bore it is too vigorous not to
blossom out anew, and the chances are that it will bring forth some less
creditable fruit. You will see! I do not jest; I know what is in me!"
"Content! we will run the risk!" replied the countess, trying to speak
cheerfully.
The grave manner of Maurice and his impressive tone, as he stood before
her with an air half-threatening, half-prophetic, made her experience a
sensation of vague discomfort.
"We will trust you, for you are a de Gramont, and cannot commit a
dishonorable action. Now, pray, go to your room and make your toilet. We
are expecting guests to dinner."
Maurice turned away without uttering another word, without even heeding
the hand which Bertha stretched in sympathy towards him; and, with a
clouded brow and slow steps, ascended to his own apartment.
CHAPTER III.
MADELEINE.
"Fourteen at table, and the Sêvres set only sufficient for twelve! Truly
it _is_ untoward, but I wish, my dear aunt, you would not let it trouble
you so much. If you will allow the two extra plates to be placed before
Bertha and myself, we will endeavor to render them invisible by our
witchcraft. Do compliment us by permitting the experiment to be tried."
"Bertha is entitled to the best of everything in my mansion," answered
the countess, unsoothed by this proposition.
"_That_ I admit," was Madeleine's cordial reply; "but to meet this
unlooked-for emergency, I thought you might possibly consent to let her
exert her witchery in making an intrusive plate disappear from general
view."
"And you, it seems, are quite confident of possessing witchcraft potent
enough to accomplish the same feat!"
Madeleine, without appearing to be hurt by the taunting intonation which
pointed this remark, replied frankly, "I suppose I must have been guilty
of imagining that I had; but, indeed, it was unpremeditated vanity. I
really did not reflect upon the subject. I was only anxious to get over
the dilemma in which we are placed by these troublesome plates."
"Not _premeditated_ vanity, I dare say," remarked the countess, dryly;
"only vanity so spontaneous, natural, and characteristic that
_premeditation_ is out of the question."
Madeleine remained silent, and went on with her task, dexterously
rolling around her slender fingers her aunt's soft, white curls, and
letting them lightly drop in the most becoming positions.
The toilet of the countess for her son's dinner-party was in process of
completion.
She wore a black velvet dress, which, after being on duty for a fabulous
number of years, and finally pronounced past all further active service,
had been resuscitated and remodelled, to suit the style of the day, by
Madeleine. We will not enter into a description of the adroit method by
which a portion of its primitive lustre had been restored to the worn
and pressed velvet, nor particularize the skilful manner in which the
corsage of the robe had been refashioned, and every trace of age
concealed by an embroidery of jet beads, which was so strikingly
tasteful that its double office was unsuspected. Enough that the
countess appeared to be superbly attired when she once more donned the
venerable but rejuvenated dress.
The snow-white curls being arranged to the best advantage, Madeleine
placed upon the head of her aunt a dainty cap, of the Charlotte Corday
form, composed of bits of very old and costly lace,--an heir-loom in the
de Gramont family,--such lace as could no longer be purchased for gold,
even if its members had been in a condition to exchange bullion for
thread. This cap was another of the young girl's achievements, and she
could not help smiling with pleasure when she saw its picturesque
effect. The countess, in spite of the anxious contraction of her dark
brows, looked imposingly handsome. Hers was an old age of positive
beauty,--a decadence which had all the lustre of
"The setting moon upon the western wave."
It was only when her features were accidentally contrasted with those of
such a mild, eloquent, and soul-revealing face as the one bending over
her that defects struck the eye,--defects which the ravages of time had
done less to produce than the workings of a stern and haughty character.
But Madeleine's countenance how shall we portray? The lineaments were
of that order which no painter could faithfully present by tracing their
outline correctly, and no writer conjure up before the mind by
descriptive language, however minutely the color of eyes, complexion,
and hair might be chronicled. Therefore our task must necessarily be an
imperfect one, and convey but a vague idea of the living presence.
It was a somewhat pale face, but pure and unsallow in its pallor. The
vivid blood rushed, with any sudden emotion, to cheek and brow, but died
away as quickly; for late hours, too little sunlight, fresh air, and
exercise, forbade the flitting roses to be captured and a permanent
bloom insured. The hue of the large, dreamy eyes might be called a light
hazel; but that description fails to convey an impression of their rare,
clear, topaz tint,--a topaz with the changing lustre of an opal: a
combination difficult to imagine until it has once been seen. The
darkly-fringed lids were peculiarly drooping, and gave the eyes a look
of exceeding softness, now and then displaced by startling flashes of
brilliancy. The finely-chiselled mouth was full of grave sweetness,
decision, and energy, and yet suggestive of a mirthful temperament. The
forehead was not too high, but ample and thoughtful. The finely-shaped
head showed the intellectual and emotional nature nicely balanced.
Through the long, abundant chestnut hair bright threads gleamed in and
out until all the locks looked burnished. They were gathered into one
rich braid and simply wound around the head. At the side, where the
massive tress was fastened, a single cape jasmine seemed to form a clasp
of union. A more striking or becoming arrangement could hardly have been
devised.
Madeleine was somewhat above the ordinary stature, and her height,
combined with the native dignity of her bearing, would have given her an
air of stateliness, but for the exceeding grace which dispelled the
faintest shadow of stiffness,--a stiffness very noticeable in the formal
carriage of the countess.
The wardrobe of the young girl was necessarily of the most limited and
uncostly character; and, though she was dressed for a ceremonious
dinner, her attire consisted merely of a sombre-hued barege, made with
the severest simplicity, and gaining its only pretension to full dress
by disclosing her white, finely-moulded neck and arms. Her sole ornament
was the bracelet which had been Bertha's birthday gift.
While giving the last, finishing touches to her aunt's toilet, Madeleine
talked gayly. Hers was not one of those bright, silvery voices which
make you feel that, could the sounds become visible, they must _shine_;
but there was a rich depth in her tones, which imparted to her lightest
words an intonation of feeling, and told the hearer that her vocal
chords were in close communication with her heart. Though her
countenance did not lack the radiance of youthful gladness, there was so
much thought mingled with its brightness that even her mirth conveyed
the impression that she had suffered and sorrowed.
The only daughter of the Duke de Gramont, at eighteen she suddenly found
herself an orphan and wholly destitute. Her father was one of that large
class of impoverished noblemen who keep up appearances by means of
constant shifts and desperate struggles, of which the world knows
nothing. But he was a man of unquestionable intellect, and had given
Madeleine a much more liberal education than custom accords to young
French maidens of her rank.
The accident of his birth the Duke de Gramont regarded as a positive
misfortune, and daily lamented the burden of his own nobility, for it
was a shackle that enfeebled and enslaved his large capacities.
He once said to his young daughter, "You would have been far happier as
a peasant's child; I should have had a wider field of action and
enjoyment as an humble laborer; we should both have been more truly
_noble_. I envy the peasants who have the glorious privilege of doing
just that which they are best fitted to do; who are not forced to
_vegetate_ and call vegetation existence,--not compelled to waste and
deaden their energies because it is an aristocratic penalty,--not doomed
to glide into and out of their lives without ever living enough to know
life's worth."
Such words sank into Madeleine's spirit, took deep root there, and,
growing in the bleak atmosphere of adversity, bore vigorous fruit in
good season.
She had known only the intangible shadow of pomp and luxury, while the
substance was actual penury. But her inborn fertility of invention, her
abundant resources, her tact in accommodating herself to circumstances,
and her inexhaustible energy, had endowed her with the faculty of making
the best of her contradictory position, and the most of the humblest
materials at her command.
Though she had several wealthy relatives, the Countess de Gramont was
the only one who offered her unsheltered youth an asylum. Perhaps we
ought not to analyze too minutely the motives of the noble lady, for
fear that we might find her actuated less by a charitable impulse than
by pride which would not allow it to be said that her grandniece ever
lacked, or had to solicit, a home. Be that as it may, the orphan
Madeleine became a permanent inmate of the Château de Gramont.
Her gratitude was deep, and found expression in actions more eloquent
than words. She was thankful for the slightest evidence of kindness from
her self-constituted protectors. She even exaggerated the amount of
consideration which she received. She was not free from the hereditary
taint of _pride_; but in her it took a new form and unprecedented
expression. The sense of indebtedness spurred her on to discover ways by
which she could avoid being a burden upon the generosity of her
benefactors,--ways by which her obligations might be lightened, though
she felt they could never be cancelled. She became the active, presiding
spirit over the whole household; her skilful fingers were ever at work
here, there, and everywhere; and her quick-witted brain was always
planning measures to promote the interest, comfort, or pleasure of all
within her sphere. The thought that an employment was menial, and
therefore she must not stoop to perform it, never intruded, for she had
an internal consciousness that she dignified her occupation. What she
accomplished seemed wonderful; but, independent of the rapidity with
which she habitually executed, she comprehended in an eminent degree the
exact value of time,--the worth of every minute; and the use made of her
_spare moments_ was one great secret of the large amount she achieved.
The toilet of the countess for the dinner was completed, but she kept
Madeleine by her side until they descended to the drawing-room.
Madeleine had not yet welcomed Maurice, who had retired to his chamber
to dress before she was aware of his arrival. When she entered the
_salon_ with the countess, he was sitting beside Bertha, but sprang up,
and, advancing joyfully, exclaimed, "Ah! at last! I thought I was never
to be permitted to see the busy fairy of the family, who renders herself
invisible while she is working her wonders!"
He would have approached his lips to Madeleine's cheek, but the countess
interfered.
"And why," asked Maurice, in surprise which was not free from a touch of
vexation,--"why may I not kiss my cousin Madeleine? You found no fault
when I kissed my cousin Bertha just now!"
"That is very different!" replied the countess, hastily.
"Different! What is the difference?" persisted Maurice.
"There is none that I can discover. Both are equally near of kin,--both
my cousins,--both second cousins, or third cousins, some people would
call them; the one is kin through my grandmother, the other through my
grandfather. What _can_ be the difference?"
"_My will_ makes the difference!" answered the countess, in a severe
tone. "Is not _that_ sufficient?"
"It ought to be so, Maurice," Madeleine interposed, without appearing to
be either wounded or surprised at her aunt's manner. "If not, I must add
_my will_ to my aunt's." Then, as though in haste to change the subject,
she said, extending her hand, "I am very, _very_ glad to see you,
Maurice."
"You have not changed as much as my pretty Bertha here," remarked
Maurice. "She has gained a great deal in the last year. But you,
Madeleine, look a little paler than ever, and a little thinner than you
were. I fear it is because you still keep that candle burning which last
year I used to notice at your window when I returned from balls long
after midnight. You will destroy your health."
"There is no danger of _that_," answered Madeleine, gayly. "I am in most
unpoetically robust health. I am never ailing for an hour."
"Never ailing and never weary," joined in Bertha. "That is, she never
complains, and never admits she is tired. She would make us believe that
her constitution is a compound of iron and India-rubber."
Maurice took a small jewel-case from his pocket, and, preparing to open
it, said, "Nobody has yet asked why I am here one fortnight before I was
expected. Has curiosity suddenly died out of the venerable Château de
Gramont, that none of the ladies who honor its ancient walls by their
presence care to know?"
"We all care!" exclaimed Bertha.
"That we do!" responded Madeleine. "Why was it, Maurice?"
"The reason chiefly concerns you, Madeleine."
"Me! You are jesting."
"Not at all; I came home because I remembered that to-day was your
twenty-first birthday. I would not be absent upon your birthday, though
I did not know that your reaching your majority was to be celebrated by
a grand dinner."
"Madeleine's birthday was not thought of when your father invited his
friends to dinner," remarked the countess, curtly.
Maurice went on without heeding this explanation.
"I have brought you a little birthday token. Will you wear it for my
sake?"
As he spoke, he opened the case and took out a Roman brooch.
Madeleine's eyes sparkled with a dewy lustre that threatened to shape
itself into a tear. Before she could speak, Bertha cried out,--
"A dove with a green olive-branch in its mouth,--what a beautiful
device! And the word '_Pax_' written beneath! That must be in
remembrance that Madeleine not only bears peace in her own bosom, but
carries it wherever she goes. Was not that what you intended to suggest,
Cousin Maurice?"
"You are a delightful interpreter," replied the young man.
"Yet she left me to read the sweet meaning of her own gift," said
Madeleine, recovering her composure. "See, a band of gold with a knot of
pearls,--a '_manacle of love_,' as the great English poet calls it,
secured by purity of purpose."
As she fastened the brooch in her bosom, she added, "I am so rich in
birthday gifts that I am bankrupt in thanks; pray believe _that_ is the
reason I thank you so poorly."
The countess impatiently interrupted this conversation by summoning
Maurice to her side.
As he took the seat she pointed out, he said, in an animated tone, "I
have not told you all my good news yet. Listen, young ladies, for some
of it especially concerns you. On my way here, I encountered the
equipage of the Marchioness de Fleury. She recognized me, ordered her
carriage to stop, and sent her footman to apprise me that she was on her
way to the Château de Tremazan, and to beg that I would pause there
before going home, as she had a few words to say to me. I gladly
complied. At the château I found quite a large and agreeable company. I
need not tell you that the amiable host and hostess received me with
open arms."
The countess remarked, approvingly, "Our neighbors the Baron and
Baroness de Tremazan are among the most valued of my friends. I have no
objection to their making much of you."
"Nor have I," answered Maurice, vivaciously. "But, to continue"--
Bertha interrupted him: "I have so often heard the Marchioness de Fleury
quoted as a precedent, and her taste cited as the most perfect in Paris,
that I suppose she is a very charming person;--is she not?"
A comical expression, approaching to a grimace, passed over the bright
countenance of Maurice, as he answered, "_Charming?_ I suppose the term
is applicable to her. At all events, her toilets are the most charming
in the world: she dresses to perfection! In her presence one never
thinks of anything but the wonderful combination of colors, and the
graceful flowing of drapery, that have produced certain artistic effects
in her outward adorning. She is style, fashion, elegance, taste
personified; consequently she is very _charming as an exhibition of the
newest and most captivating costumes_,--as an inventor and leader of
modes that become the rage when they have received her stamp."
"But her face and figure,--are they not remarkably handsome?" asked
Bertha.
"Her figure is the _fac-simile_ of one of those waxen statues which are
to be seen in the windows of some of the shops in Paris, and would be
styled faultless by a mantua-maker, though it might drive a sculptor
distracted if set before him as a model. As for her face, the novel
arrangement of her hair and the coquettish disposition of her
head-ornaments have always so completely drawn my attention away from
her countenance, that I could not tell you the color of her eyes, or the
character of any single lineament."
"Perhaps, too," suggested Madeleine, "she is so agreeable in
conversation, that you never thought of scanning her features."
"Of course she is agreeable,--that is, in her own peculiar way; for she
has an archly graceful manner of discussing the only subjects that
interest _her_, and always as though they must be of the deepest
interest to _you_. If you speak to her of her projects for the winter or
the summer, she will dwell upon the style of dress appropriate in the
execution of such and such schemes. If you express your regret at her
recent indisposition, she will describe the exquisite _robes de chambre_
which rendered her sufferings endurable. If you mention her brother, who
has lately received an appointment near the person of the emperor, she
will give you a minute account of the most approved court-dresses. If
you allude to the possibility that her husband (for such is the rumor)
may be sent as ambassador to the United States, she will burst forth in
bitter lamentations over the likelihood that American taste may not be
sufficiently cultivated to appreciate a Parisian toilet, or to comprehend
the great importance of the difficult art of dressing well. If you give
the tribute of a sigh to the memory of the lovely sister she lost a year
ago, she will run through a list of the garments of woe that gave
expression to her sorrow,--passing on to the shades of second, third,
and fourth mourning through which she gradually laid aside her grief.
You laugh, young ladies. Oh, very well; but I declare to you she went
through the catalogue of those mourning dresses, rehearsing the periods
at which she adopted such and such a one, while we were dancing a
quadrille. In short, the Marchioness de Fleury is an animated
fashion-plate!--a lay-figure dressed in gauze, silk, lace, ribbon,
feathers, flowers, that breathes, talks, dances, waltzes!--a
mantua-maker's, milliner's, hair-dresser's puppet, set in motion,--not a
woman."
"Has she really no heart, then?" questioned Bertha.
"I suppose that, anatomically speaking, a bundle of fibres, which she
courteously designates by that name, may rise and fall somewhere beneath
her jewel-studded bodice; but I doubt whether the pulsations are not
entirely regulated by her attire."
"You are too severe, Maurice," remarked his grandmother, rebukingly.
"The Marchioness de Fleury is a lady of the highest standing and of
great importance."
"Especially to the Parisian modistes who worship her!" replied Maurice.
"But, while we are discussing the lady herself, I am forgetting to tell
you her reasons for delaying me half an hour. It was to inquire whether
you would be disengaged to-morrow morning, as she purposes paying you a
visit to make a proposition which she thinks may prove agreeable to the
Countess de Gramont and Count Tristan."
"We are ever proud to receive the Marchioness de Fleury," responded the
countess, graciously.
"I dare say you think I have emptied my budget of news," Maurice went
on; "but you are mistaken: several bits of agreeable intelligence remain
behind. At the Château de Tremazan, I saw three of our relatives on the
de Gramont side, Madame de Nervac, the Count Damoreau, and M. de
Bonneville. They inquired kindly after you, Madeleine, and I told them
you were the most"--
The countess interrupted him with the inquiry, "Are they upon a visit of
several days?"
"I believe so. Now for the last, most pleasant item. As there are so
many lively young persons gathered together at the château, some one
proposed an impromptu ball. Madame de Tremazan seized upon the idea, and
commissioned me to carry invitations to the Countess dowager de Gramont,
Mademoiselles Madeleine and Bertha, and Count Tristan, for the evening
after to-morrow. I assured her in advance that the invitations would be
accepted;--was I not right?"
"Oh, yes," replied Bertha; "I am so glad!"
"We will enjoy a ball greatly!" exclaimed Madeleine.
"And so will I!" said Maurice. "I engage Madeleine for the first
quadrille, and Bertha for the first waltz."
"And we both accept!" answered his cousins, with girlish delight.
"Not so fast, young ladies," interrupted the countess. "It is quite out
of the question for you to attend a ball of such magnificence as may be
expected at the Château de Tremazan."
"And why not, aunt?" asked Bertha, in a disappointed tone. "You surely
will not refuse your consent?"
"I deny you a pleasure very unwillingly, dear child, but I am forced to
do so. You did not expect to appear at any large assemblies while you
were in Brittany, and you have brought no ball-dress with you. You have
nothing ready which it would be proper for you to wear at such a
brilliant reunion; for the de Tremazans are so rich that everything will
be upon the most splendid and costly scale. Mademoiselle Bertha de
Merrivale cannot be present upon such an occasion, unless she is attired
in a manner that befits her rank and fortune. I, also, have no dress
prepared."
"What a pity, what a pity!" half sighed, half pouted Bertha.
"It is too bad, too provoking!" ejaculated Maurice.
"If there be no obstacle but the lack of a ball-dress for yourself and
for Bertha, aunt," remarked Madeleine, "we may console ourselves; for we
will go to the ball."
"Oh, you dear, good, ingenious Madeleine!" exclaimed Bertha, throwing
her arms around her cousin. "I wonder if the time ever _will_ arrive
when you have not some resource to extricate us from a difficulty?"
"Madeleine forever! Long live Madeleine!" shouted Maurice, with
enthusiasm.
"And now, good, fairy godmother, where is the robe of gold and silver to
deck your Cinderella?" asked Bertha.
"I did not promise gold and silver apparel; you must be content
with a toilet simple, airy, fresh, and spring-like as yourself.
And for you, aunt, I will arrange an autumn arraying,--a costume
soft, yet bright, like the autumn days which the Americans call
'Indian summer,'--something which will almost make one wish to fall
into the sere and yellow leaf of life in the hope of resembling you."
"But how is it possible to make two ball-dresses between this time and
night after next?" inquired the countess, evidently not at all averse
to the project, if it could be carried into execution.
"I answer for the possibility!" replied Madeleine.
"Yes, Madeleine answers for it!" repeated Maurice.
"Madeleine answers for it!" echoed Bertha; "and you know Madeleine has
_the fingers of a fairy_; she can achieve whatever she undertakes. But
your own dress, Madeleine?"
"Do not be uneasy about that; we will think of that when the others are
ready."
"But if you do not wear a dress that becomes you?" persisted Bertha.
"Why, then I shall have to look at yours, and, remembering that it is my
handiwork, be satisfied."
"There is no one like you, Madeleine!" burst forth Maurice,
uncontrollably,--"no one! You never think of yourself; you"--
"But, as some one is always good enough to think of me, I deserve little
credit on that account," rejoined Madeleine.
"Who could help thinking of you?" murmured Maurice, tenderly.
The countess had not heard the enthusiastic encomium of Maurice, nor his
last, involuntary remark. The young man had risen and joined his
cousins. His father had taken the vacant seat beside the countess, and
was talking to her in a low tone. From the moment he learned that
Madeleine's relatives were accidentally assembled at the Château de
Tremazan, he had determined to seize that favorable opportunity, and
send them the letters requesting that they would by turns offer a home
to their poor and orphan relative. These letters, though written upon
the day previous, fortunately had not yet been posted. Count Tristan
whisperingly communicated his intention to his mother, and received her
approval.
Their conversation was interrupted by the entrance of M. Gaston de Bois,
who invariably arrived before other guests made their appearance. M. de
Bois was such a martyr to nervous timidity, that he could not summon
courage to enter a room full of company, even with some great
stimulating compensation in view. On the present occasion, though only
the family had assembled, his olive complexion crimsoned as he advanced
towards the countess, and his expressive, though irregular and not
strictly handsome features became almost distorted; he unconsciously
thrust his fingers through his hair, throwing it into startling
disorder, and twisted his dark moustache until it stood out with
sufficient ferocity to suit the face of a brigand in a melodrama.
But the most painful effect of this bewildering embarrassment evinced
itself when he attempted to speak. His utterance became suddenly
impeded, and, the more violent his efforts to articulate, the more
difficult it seemed for him to utter a distinct sentence. He was
painfully near-sighted; yet he always detected the faintest smile upon
the countenance of any one present, and interpreted it into an
expression of derision.
These personal defects, however, were liberally counterbalanced by
mental attributes of a high order. His constitutional diffidence caused
him to shun society; but he devoted his leisure to books, and was an
erudite scholar, without ever mounting the pompous stilts of the pedant.
All his impulses were noble and generous, though his best intentions
were often frustrated by that fearful self-consciousness which made him
dread the possibility of attracting attention. There was a slight shade
of melancholy in his character. Life had been a disappointment to him,
and he was haunted by a sense of the incompleteness of his own
existence.
His estate joined that of the Count de Gramont, and was even more
impoverished. Gaston de Bois led a sort of hermit-like life in the
gloomy and empty château of his ancestors. He chafed in his confinement,
like a caged lion ready to break loose from bondage. But the lion freed
might take refuge in his native woods, while Gaston, if he rushed forth
into the world, knew that his bashfulness, his stammering, his
near-sightedness, would render society a more intolerable prison than
his solitary home.
At the Château de Gramont he was a frequent guest, for the countess and
her son held him in the highest esteem.
After saluting his host and hostess, he warmly grasped the hand of
Maurice, and then addressed Madeleine, with but little hesitation
apparent in his speech; but when he turned to Bertha, and essayed to
make some pleasant remark, he was suddenly seized with a fit of hopeless
stammering.
The beaming smile with which Bertha greeted him was displaced by an
expression almost amounting to compassion. Madeleine, with her wonted
presence of mind, came to his aid; finished his sentence, as though he
had spoken it himself; and went on talking _to him_ and _for him_, while
he regarded her with an air of undisguised thankfulness and relief.
Between Madeleine and Gaston de Bois there existed that sort of
friendship which many persons are sceptical that a young and attractive
woman and an agreeable man can entertain for each other without the
sentiment heightening into a warmer emotion. But love and friendship are
totally distinct affections. A woman may cherish the truest, kindliest
friendship for a man whom it would be impossible for her to love; nay,
in whom she would totally lose her interest if he once presented himself
in the aspect of a lover; and we believe a certain class of men are
capable of experiencing the same pure and kin-like devotion for certain
women.
M. de Bois felt that he was comprehended by Madeleine,--that she
sympathized with his misfortunes, appreciated the difficulties of his
position, and, without pretending to be blind to his defects, always
viewed them leniently: thus, in her presence he was sufficiently at ease
to be entirely himself; his _amour propre_ received fewer wounds, and he
was conscious that he appeared to better advantage than in the society
of other ladies.
Madeleine, on her side, had more than once reflected that there was no
one to whom she could more easily turn to impart a sorrow, intrust a
secret, solicit a favor, or receive consolation and advice,--no one in
whom she could so thoroughly confide, as M. de Bois.
Gaston had only commenced to regain his self-possession when the two
American gentlemen, Mr. Hilson and Mr. Meredith, were announced.
The countess received them with a freezing formality which would have
awed any visitors less unsuspicious of the cause of this augmented
stateliness.
They were both gentlemen who held high positions in their own country;
they had brought letters to Count Tristan de Gramont, with a view of
enlisting his interest in the railway company of which we have before
spoken; they had been cordially received by him, and invited to partake
of his hospitality; it therefore never occurred to either of them that
the haughty demeanor of the countess was designed to impress them with a
sense of their inferiority.
Mr. Hilson was what is termed a "self-made" man,--that is, he owed
nothing to the chances of birth; he had received little early
cultivation, but he had educated himself, and therefore all the
knowledge he had acquired was positive mental gain, and brought into
active use. He had inherited no patrimony, and started life with no
advantages of position; but he had made his own fortune, and earned his
own place in the social sphere. He had been one of the most successful
and scientific engineers which the United States ever produced, and was
now the president of an important railroad, and a highly influential
member of society.
Mr. Meredith was born in the State of Maryland,--a "man of family," as
it is styled. He had not encountered the difficulties and experienced
the struggles of his associates; his was therefore a less strong, less
highly developed, character. He had travelled over the larger portion of
Europe, yet preferred to make his home in America; he had once retired
from business, but, finding that he was bored to death without the
necessity for occupation, connected himself with the railroad company of
which Mr. Hilson was president.
The other guests were gentlemen residing or visiting in the
neighborhood. They were the Marquis de Lasalles, the Count Caradore,
Messieurs Villiers, Laroche, and Litelle. The two former, being the most
important personages, occupied seats at table on the right and left of
the countess. Gaston de Bois was well pleased to find himself beside
Madeleine; for he was opposite to Bertha, and could feast his eyes upon
her fair, unclouded face, and now and then he spoke to her in glances
which were far more eloquent than his tongue.
Mr. Hilson sat on the other side of Madeleine. A few naturally suggested
questions about his native land unloosed his tongue, and she soon became
deeply interested in the information he gave her concerning
America,--the habits, views, and aspirations of its people.
After listening for some time, she almost involuntarily murmured, with a
half-sigh, "I should like to visit America."
There was something in her own nature which responded to the spirit of
self-reliance, energy, and industry, which are so essentially American
characteristics.
Bertha sat between the Marquis de Lasalles and Maurice. She was in the
highest spirits, and looked superlatively lovely. The brow of the
countess gradually smoothed as she noticed how gayly the heiress chatted
with her cousin.
The two plates which intruded into the Sêvres set had been a terrible
eyesore to Madame de Gramont at first; but Madeleine's suggestion had
been acted upon,--they were placed before the young ladies, and, as the
countess rose from the table, she comforted herself with the reflection
that they had escaped observation.
The gentlemen accompanied the ladies to the drawing-room, and then
Maurice lured Madeleine to the piano, and was soon in raptures over the
wild, sweet melodies which she sung with untutored pathos. His
grandmother could scarcely conceal her vexation. Approaching the singer,
she took an opportunity, while Bertha and Maurice were searching for a
piece of music, whisperingly to suggest that Baptiste was old and
clumsy, and the Sêvres set in danger until it was safely locked up
again.
Madeleine murmured, in return, "I will steal away unnoticed and attend
to it."
She stole away, but not unperceived, for one pair of eyes was ever upon
her. She found so much besides the valuable china that demanded
attention, and her aid was so heartily welcomed by the old domestics,
who had become confused by the multiplicity of their duties, that it was
late in the evening before she reappeared in the drawing-room. The
guests were taking their leave.
"I am highly flattered by the interest you have expressed in my
country," said Mr. Hilson, in bidding her adieu. "If you should ever
visit America, as you have expressed the desire to do, and if you should
pass through Washington, as you certainly will if you visit America,
will you not promise to apprise me? Here is my address?" and he placed
his card in her hands.
Madeleine looked not a little surprised and embarrassed at this
unexpected and informal proceeding, which she knew would greatly shock
the countess; but, taking the card, answered, courteously, "I fear
nothing is more unlikely than that I should cross the ocean; but, if
such an unlooked-for event should ever occur, I promise certainly to
apprise you."
CHAPTER IV.
PROPOSALS.
On the morrow, at the usual hour for visitors, the count and his mother
sat in the drawing-room awaiting the promised guest. Maurice, at Count
Tristan's solicitation, had very unwillingly consented to postpone his
customary equestrian exercise, and was sauntering in the garden,
wondering over the caprice that prompted his father to desire his
presence at the expected interview. The tramp of hoofs broke his
revery; and a superb equipage, drawn by four noble horses,
postilion-mounted, dashed up the long avenue that led to the château. He
hastened to the carriage-door, and aided the Marchioness de Fleury to
alight.
The living embodiment of graceful affability, she greeted him with a
volley of slaying smiles; then, with an air which betrayed her
triumphant certainty of the execution done, glided past him into the
drawing-room, almost disappearing in a cloud of lace, as she made a
profound obeisance to the countess, and partially rising out of her
misty _entourage_ in saluting Count Tristan.
Her voice had a low, studied sweetness as she softly syllabled some
pleasant commonplaces, making affectionate inquiries concerning the
health of the countess, and simulating the deepest interest as she
apparently listened to answers which were in reality unheard. Ere long,
she winningly unfolded the object of her visit. Her brother, the young
Duke de Montauban, had prayed her to become his ambassador. He recently
had the felicity of meeting the niece of the Countess de Gramont,
Mademoiselle Bertha de Merrivale. He had been struck and captivated by
her grace and surpassing beauty; he now charged his sister to apprise
the family of Mademoiselle Bertha that he sought the honor of her hand
in marriage, and hoped to obtain a favorable response to his suit.
The consternation created by those words did not escape the quick eyes
of the marchioness. The count half rose from his seat, white with
vexation, then sat down again, and, making an attempt to hide his
displeasure, answered, in a tone of forced courtesy,--
"Though Mademoiselle Bertha de Merrivale is my mother's grandniece, we
have no control over her actions or inclinations. Her uncle, the Marquis
de Merrivale, who is her guardian, is morbidly jealous of any influence
exerted over his niece, even by relatives equally near."
The Countess de Gramont, though she also had been greatly disconcerted,
recovered herself more quickly than her son, and answered, with such an
excess of suavity that it had the air of exaggeration,--
"We feel deeply indebted for the proposed honor. An alliance with a
nobleman of the high position and unblemished name of the Duke de
Montauban is all that could be desired for my niece; but, as my son has
remarked, her guardian is very punctilious respecting his rights, and
would not tolerate an interference with her future prospects. I beg you
will believe that we are highly flattered by the proposal of the Duke
de Montauban, though we have no power to promote his suit."
Maurice could not help wondering why his father looked so thoroughly
vexed, and why his grandmother made such an effort to conceal her
displeasure by an assumption of overacted gratification.
The Marchioness de Fleury betrayed neither surprise, disappointment, nor
emotion of any kind, except by gently tapping the ground with the
exquisitely gaitered little foot that peeped from the mazes of her ample
drapery.
She answered, in the most honeyed voice, "Oh! I was misinformed, and I
knew that your charming niece was at this moment visiting you."
Then, spreading her bespangled fan, and moving it gently backward and
forward, though the day was far from sultry, she dismissed the subject
by asking Maurice if he had delivered Madame de Tremazan's invitations
to the ball.
Almost before he had concluded his reply, she rose, and, with the most
enchanting of smiles, courtesied, as though she were making a reverence
in a quadrille of the Lancers, and the lace cloud softly floated out of
the room, the human being it encircled being nearly lost to sight when
it was in motion.
Maurice could not resist the impulse to turn to his father, and express
his amazement that the complimentary proposals made for Bertha by the
Marchioness de Fleury had been so definitely declined, adding, "If my
little cousin had been already engaged, you could not more decidedly
have shut the door upon the duke."
The count bit his lips, and strode up and down the room.
The countess replied, "We have other views for Bertha,--views which we
trust would be more acceptable to herself; but here she comes, and I
have a few words to say to her in private. Take a turn with your father
in the park, Maurice, while I talk to your cousin."
She gave the count a significant glance as she spoke.
Father and son left the room as Bertha entered.
For some minutes the two gentlemen walked side by side in silence.
Finding that his father did not seem inclined to converse, Maurice
remarked, abruptly,--
"Now that the visit of the marchioness is over, I shall take my
postponed ride, if you have no further need of me."
"I _have_ need; let your horse wait a few moments longer," replied the
count. "Can you conceive no reason why we did not for one instant
entertain the proposition of the Marchioness de Fleury?"
"None: it was made entirely according to rule; and, if you will allow me
to say so, common courtesy seemed to demand that it should have been
treated with more consideration."
"Suppose Bertha's affections are already engaged?" suggested the father.
"Ah, that alters the aspect of affairs; but it is hardly possible,--she
is so young, and appears to be so heart-free."
"Still, I think she has a preference; and, if I am not mistaken, her
choice is one that would give us the highest satisfaction."
"Really!" ejaculated Maurice, unsuspiciously. "Whom, then, does she
honor by her election?"
"A very unworthy person!" rejoined the count, in a tone of irritation,
"since he is too dull to suspect the compliment."
"You cannot mean"--began Maurice, in confused amazement, but paused,
unwilling to finish his sentence with the words that rose to his lips.
"I mean a most obtuse and insensible young man, walking by my side, who
has learned to interpret Greek and Latin at college, but not a woman's
heart."
"Impossible! You are surely mistaken. Bertha has only bestowed upon me a
cousinly regard," answered Maurice, evidently more surprised and
embarrassed than pleased by the unexpected communication.
"I presume you do not expect the young lady herself to make known the
esteem in which she holds you, undeserving as you are? You must take our
word for her sentiments. What this alliance would be to our falling
house, I need not represent; it is not even necessary that you should
enter into the merits of this side of the question. You must see that
Bertha is beautiful and lovable, and would make the most delightful
companion for life. Is this not so?"
"Yes, she is beautiful, lovable, and would make a delightful companion,"
answered Maurice, as though he echoed his father's words without knowing
what he said.
"Is she not all you could desire?"
"All,--all I could desire as--as--as a _sister_!" replied Maurice.
"But the question is now of a wife!" rejoined the count, angrily. "Are
you dreaming, that you pore upon the ground and answer in that strange,
abstracted manner?"
Maurice looked up, as if about to speak, but hesitated, dubious what
reply would be advisable.
The count went on.
"Maurice, your grandmother and I have this matter deeply at heart.
Besides, Bertha loves you; you cannot treat her affection with disdain.
Promise me that you will at once have an understanding with her, and let
this matter be settled. It must not be delayed any longer. Why do you
not reply?"
"Yes,--you are right. I ought to have an understanding with her,--_I
will have!_" replied Maurice, still in a brown study.
"That is well; and let it be as soon as possible,--to-day, or to-morrow
at the latest,--before this ball takes place,--before you meet the
Marchioness de Fleury again."
Maurice answered, hastily, "You need not fear that I desire any delay.
You have put an idea into my head which would make suspense intolerable.
I will speak to her without loss of time. And now will you allow me to
wish you good-morning? My horse has been saddled for an hour."
Saying this, he walked toward the stable and called to Gustave, who at
once appeared, leading the horse. The viscount vaulted upon its back,
and, starting off at full gallop, in a few moments was out of sight.
His father was mystified, doubtful of the real feelings of Maurice, and
uncertain what course he meant to pursue, but well assured that he would
keep his word; and, if he did, it would be impossible for him to
introduce this delicate subject without compromising himself,--nay,
without positively offering himself to Bertha. The very mention of such
a theme would be a proposal; and, with this consolatory reflection, he
returned to the château.
As he passed the drawing-room, he caught a glimpse of Bertha, sitting at
his mother's feet. The latter was holding both of the young girl's
hands, and talking to her earnestly. Bertha's countenance wore an
expression of maidenly confusion and perplexity which, even if the count
had not been aware of his mother's intentions, would have betrayed the
nature of her discourse.
CHAPTER V.
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.
CHAPTER VI.
UNMASKING.
Madeleine, left alone in the old _châlet_, remained for some time
absorbed in her work, which progressed rapidly. The ivy leaves were
dexterously polished, and a graceful garland laid above every tuck of
the transparent white dress. The last leafy band was nearly completed,
when the door again creaked upon its rusty hinges, and the young girl,
looking up, beheld Maurice.
"Is not Bertha here?" he asked, in a tone that sounded very unlike his
usual cheerful voice. "I came to seek her, and felt sure she must be
with you."
"I have not seen her since early morning," answered Madeleine. "She
promised to bring me this basket full of ivy leaves, but sent Baptiste
instead."
"I looked for her in the library, the _boudoir_, the drawing-room, and
the garden, before I came here," Maurice continued, in the same grave
tone. "She has disappeared just at the moment when I have made up my
mind to have an understanding without further delay."
Madeleine's speaking countenance betrayed her surprise, for it seemed
strange that Maurice should desire an especial interview with his
cousin, whom he saw at all hours; and stranger still that he appeared to
be so much disturbed.
"How serious you look, Maurice! Are you troubled? Has anything occurred
to cause you unhappiness?"
"I can have no disguises from you, Madeleine. I am thoroughly sick at
heart. In the first place, my father and my grandmother have violently
opposed my determination to embark in an honorable and useful career of
life;--_that_ threw a cloud over me almost from the hour I entered the
château. I tried to forget my disappointment for the moment, that no
shadow might fall upon your birthday happiness; besides, I clung to the
hope that I might yet convince them of the propriety, the policy, the
actual necessity of the step I propose to take. My father, yesterday,
stunned me with a piece of intelligence which renders me wretched, yet
forces me to act. I have given him my promise; there is no retreat. I
must bring this matter to a climax, be the sequence what it may; and yet
I dread to make the very first movement."
"I am too dull to read the riddle of the sphinx, and your words are as
enigmatical. I have not begun to find their clew," replied Madeleine,
pausing in the garland she was forming, and letting the ivy drop
unnoticed around her.
The first impulse of Maurice was to gather the fallen leaves; the second
prompted him gently to force the dress, she was so tastefully adorning,
out of her hands, and toss it upon the table.
"I see your task is nearly completed, and Bertha's toilet for the ball
will be sufficiently picturesque to cause the Marchioness de Fleury to
die of envy; can you not, therefore, rest from your labors, good fairy
dressmaker, and talk awhile with me? I need consolation,--I need
advice,--and you alone can give me both."
"I?" Madeleine spoke that single word tremulously, and a faint flush
passed over her soft, pale face.
"_You_, Madeleine, you, and _you_ only!"
"There is Bertha, at last," she exclaimed, rising hastily, and
approaching the door. "Do you not see her blue dress yonder through the
trees? Bertha! Bertha!" and, leaving Maurice, she went forth to meet
Bertha.
"Where have you hidden yourself all the morning, little truant? Why!
what has happened to distress you? Your eyes look as though you had been
weeping. Dear Bertha! what ails you?"
"I could not bear it any longer," almost sobbed Bertha, laying her head
upon her cousin's shoulder. "I could not help coming to you, though I
wanted to act entirely upon my own responsibility, and I had determined
not even to consult you, for I am always fearful of getting you into
trouble with my aunt."
Madeleine was so completely mystified that she could only murmur half
to herself, "More enigmas! What can they mean?"
Then, passing her arm around Bertha's slender waist, they walked to the
summer-house. The position of Bertha's head caused her bright ringlets
completely to veil her face, and it was not until after she entered the
_châlet_, and shook the blinding locks from before her eyes, that she
saw Maurice. She drew back with a movement of vexation and confusion
never before evinced at his presence,--clung to Madeleine as though for
protection, and seemed on the point of bursting into tears.
"Maurice came here expecting to find you with me," observed Madeleine.
"He wanted to speak to you."
"Did he?--yes, I know he did. I know what he is going to say; I kept out
of his way on purpose, until I could make up my mind about it all; I
mean, I thought it best to postpone; but it does not matter,--I would
rather have it over; no,--I don't mean _that_,--I mean"--
Bertha's perturbation rendered any clearer expression of her meaning out
of the question.
Madeleine took up the dress, which Maurice had flung upon the table, and
said, "When you return to the house, Bertha, will you not come to my
room and try on your dress? It is just completed."
"Stay, stay, Madeleine!" exclaimed Bertha and Maurice together.
"You see, we _both_ desire you to stay," added Maurice; "therefore you
cannot refuse. We have no secrets from you,--have we, Bertha?"
"_I_ had none until yesterday; but my aunt is inclined to be so severe
with Madeleine, that I feared I might make mischief by taking her into
my confidence. Do not go, Madeleine. Sit down, for you _must_ stay. If
you go, I will go with you; and Maurice wants to speak to me,--I mean, I
want to speak to him,--that is to say, he intends to"--
Madeleine resumed her seat.
"Since you so tyrannically insist upon my remaining, I will finish this
garland while you are having your mysterious explanation."
Maurice approached Bertha with a hesitation which had some slight touch
of awkwardness. Feeling that it was easier to induce _her_ to break the
ice than to take the first step upon this delicate ground himself, he
remarked, "You wanted to speak to me; what did you desire to say, my
dear little cousin?"
Bertha looked up innocently into his face, as though she was scanning
his features for the first time.
"What my aunt says is all very true. You _are_ exceedingly handsome; I
never denied it, except in jest; and you _are_ decidedly agreeable,
except now and then; and you _have_ a noble heart,--I never doubted it;
and a fine intellect,--though I do not know much about _that_; and any
woman might be proud of you,--that is, I dare say most women would."
"And I have a little cousin who is an adroit flatterer, and who is
herself beautiful enough for a Hebe, and whose fascinations are
sufficiently potent to captivate any reasonable or unreasonable man."
"Oh! but that is not to the point. I did not mean that we should
exchange compliments. What I want to say is that such an attractive and
agreeable young man as you are will naturally find hosts of young girls,
who would any of them be proud to be chosen as his wife."
"And you, with your grace and beauty, your lovable character, and your
large fortune, will have suitors innumerable, from among whom you may
readily select one who will be worthy of you."
"But that is not to the point either! I told my aunt that I was not
insensible to all your claims to admiration. I assure you I did you
ample justice!"
"You were very kind and complimentary, little cousin; but I said as much
of you to my father. I gave him to understand that I acknowledged you to
be one of the most charming beings in the world, and that I thought the
man to whom you gave your hand would be the happiest of mortals, and
that I did not believe _that man_ could value you more as a wife than I
should as a sister."
"_A sister! A sister!_ Oh! I am so glad!--a _sister_? You do not really
love me, then?"
"Have I said that?"
"You have said the same thing, and I am overjoyed! I can never thank you
half enough!"
"_You_ do not love _me_ then?" asked Maurice.
"I love you with all my heart! I never loved you half as well as at this
moment!--that is as--as--a _brother_; for you love me as a _sister_,
while my aunt declared you hoped to make me your wife,--that you were
crazily in love with me, and that if I refused you, I should ruin all
your future prospects, for the blow would almost kill you. I cannot tell
you how chagrined I was at the deplorable prospect. And it's all a
mistake,--is it not?"
"My father assured me that you had formed the most flattering attachment
for me. Is that a mistake also?" inquired Maurice, skilfully avoiding
the rudeness of a direct reply to her question.
"Oh! I never cared a straw for you except as the dearest cousin in the
world!"
"But why," asked Maurice, resuming his usual gay tone of raillery, "why,
if I am the incomparable being you pretend to think me, why are you so
particularly averse to becoming my wife? What do you say to that? I
should like to have an explanatory answer, little cousin; or else you
must take back all your compliments."
"Not one of them!" replied Bertha, merrily. "I am so charmed with you at
this moment that I feel inclined to double their number. Yet there is a
reason why I should have refused you, even if you had offered yourself
to me."
"Is it because you like somebody else better?"
"No, no," answered Bertha, hastily; "how can you suggest such an idea?
But I suppose _you do so because that is your reason_ for desiring to
refuse my hand?"
"I shall be obliged to think my suggestion correct, unless you tell me
why you are so glad to escape becoming my wife."
"It was because," said Bertha, approaching her rosy mouth to his ear,
and speaking in a low tone, "because there is another woman, who is far
more worthy of you, who would make you a better wife than I could, and
who--who does not exactly _hate_ you."
"Another woman?"
"Hush! do not speak so loudly. There is nothing in the world I desire so
much as to see that other woman happy; for there is no one I love half
so well."
"The garland is finished!" Madeleine broke in, starting up abruptly, for
she had caught the whispered words. "Come, Bertha, we must hasten back
to the château. I must try on your dress immediately."
"Oh, since it is finished, we have plenty of time," said Bertha. "It is
quite early in the day yet, and Maurice and I are deeply interested in
our conversation. We were never before such fast friends and devoted
cousins."
"Never," replied Maurice.
"But the dress may need some alteration," persisted Madeleine. "Pray,
pray come!"
She spoke almost imploringly, and in an excited tone, which the mere
trying on of a dress did not warrant.
"Oh, you dear despot! I suppose you must be obeyed."
Bertha snatched the ivy-garlanded dress, and bounded away. Madeleine
would have followed, but Maurice seized her hand detainingly.
"One moment, Madeleine,--grant me one moment!"
"Not now. Bertha will be waiting for me!" And she made an effort to free
her imprisoned hand.
"You shall tell her that you were taken captive, and she will forgive
you, if it be only for the sake of your _jailer_. There's vanity for
you!"
"But my arrangements for this evening are not all completed. It is
growing late, Maurice; I entreat you to release me; I _cannot_ remain--I
_must_ go!"
"Not until I have spoken to you. The time has come when you must hear
me."
Madeleine felt that there was no escape, and, forcing herself to assume
an air of composure, answered, "Speak, then; what can you have to say,
Maurice, to which I ought to listen?"
"Must I tell you? Have you not divined? Must I show you my heart? If no
responsive pulse in your own has revealed to you what is passing in
mine, I am truly unfortunate,--I have been deceived indeed!"
"Maurice, Maurice! for the love of Heaven"--
"You do well to say for the love of Heaven; for I love Heaven all the
better for loving a being who bears the impress of Heaven's own glorious
hand! Yes, Madeleine, ever loved,--loved from the first hour we met."
The rustling of silk interrupted his sentence. Madeleine tremblingly
withdrew her hand. The Countess de Gramont stood before them! Her tall
figure dilated until it seemed to shut out all the sunlight beyond; her
countenance grew ashy with suppressed rage; her black eyes shot out
glances that pierced like arrows; not a sound issued from her
tightly-compressed lips.
Maurice, recovering himself, tried to assume an unconcerned air, and
stooped to gather some of the ivy leaves scattered around him. Madeleine
bowed her head as a culprit who has no defence to make, and no hope of
concealment to cling to as a last refuge.
The countess broke the painful silence, speaking in a hollow, scornful
tone: "I am here at an unfortunate moment, it seems!"
There was no reply.
"Perhaps I ought to apologize for disturbing you," she continued,
sarcastically.
"Not at all--not at all," said Maurice, who felt that it was his duty to
answer and shield Madeleine, as far as possible, from his grandmother's
displeasure.
"Why, then, is Madeleine covered with confusion? Why did she so quickly
withdraw her hand? How--how came it clasped in yours?"
"Is she not my cousin?" answered Maurice, evasively. "Have I no right to
show her affection? Must I renounce the ties of blood?"
"It is not you, Maurice, whom I blame," said the countess, trying to
speak less sternly. "It is Madeleine, who should not have permitted this
unmeet familiarity. I well know by what arts she has lured you to forget
yourself. The fault lies with her."
For the first time the countess beheld a flash of indignation in the
eyes Madeleine lifted from the ground.
"Madame--aunt!" she began.
The countess would not permit her to proceed.
"I know what I say! You have too much tact and quickness not to have
comprehended our hopes in regard to Maurice and Bertha; and it has not
escaped my notice that you have sought, by every artful manoeuvre in
your power, to frustrate those hopes."
"I?" ejaculated Madeleine, aghast at the charge, and too much bewildered
to be able to utter a denial.
"Yes, _you!_ Have you not sought to fascinate Maurice by every species
of wily coquetry? Have you not"--
"Grandmother!" cried Maurice, furiously.
"Be silent, Maurice,--it is Madeleine to whom I am addressing my
remarks, and her own conscience tells her their justice."
"Aunt, if ever by word, or look, or thought"--
"Oh! it was all done in the most apparently artless, natural,
_purposeless_ manner! But the same end was always kept steadily in view.
What I have witnessed this morning convinces me of your aims. Your
movements were so skilfully managed that they scarcely seemed open to
suspicion. The most specious coquetry has governed all your actions. You
were always attired more simply than any one else; but by this very
simplicity you thought to render yourself remarkable, and attract a
larger share of attention. You always pretended to shun observation,
that you might be brought into more positive notice. You affected to
avoid Maurice, that he might feel tempted to follow you,--that he might
be lured to seek you when you were alone, as you were a moment
ago,--that he might"--
Maurice could restrain his ire no longer. He broke forth with
vehemence,--"Grandmother, I cannot listen to this injustice. I cannot
see Madeleine so cruelly insulted. Were it my mother herself who spoke,
I would not stand by and see her trample thus upon an innocent and
defenceless heart."
Madeleine turned to Maurice beseechingly. "Do not utter such words to
one whom you are bound to address with reverence;--do not, or you will
render my sufferings unendurable!"
"Your _sufferings_?" exclaimed the countess, catching at a word that
seemed to imply a reproof, which galled the more because she knew it was
deserved. "Your _sufferings_? That is a fitting expression to drop from
your lips! I had the right to believe that, far from causing you
_suffering_, I had put an end to your suffering when I threw open my
doors to admit you."
"You misunderstood me, aunt. I did not intend to say"--
"You have said enough to prove that you add ingratitude to your other
sins. And, since you talk of _sufferings_, I will beg you to remember
the sufferings you have brought upon us,--you, who, in return for all
you have received at my hands, have caused my very grandson to treat me
with disrespect, for the first time in his life. _Your_ sufferings? I
can well conceive that she who creates so much affliction in the house
that has sheltered her,--she who so treacherously pierces the hearts
that have opened to yield her a place,--she who has played the viper
warmed upon almost a mother's bosom,--she may well have sufferings to
wail over!"
Madeleine stood speechless, thunderstruck, by the rude shock of these
words. The countess turned from her, and, preparing to leave the
_châlet_, bade Maurice give her his arm. He silently obeyed, casting a
look of compassionate tenderness upon Madeleine. But she saw it not; all
her vast store of mental strength suddenly melted away! For the first
time in her life she was completely crushed, overwhelmed,--hopeless and
powerless. For a few moments she remained standing as motionless as one
petrified; then, with a heart-broken cry, dropped into a seat, and
covering her face with her hands, sobbed convulsively,--sobbed as though
all the sorrows of her life were concentrated in the anguish of that
moment, and found vent in that deluge of tears,--that stormy whirlwind
of passion! All the clouds in the firmament of her existence, which she
had, day after day, dispelled by the internal sunshine of her patient,
trustful spirit, culminated and broke in that wild flood. Hope was
drowned in that heavy rain; all the flowers that brightened, and the
sweet, springing herbs that lent their balm to her weary pilgrimage,
were beaten down into the mire of despair. There was no ark, no Ararat;
she was alone, without refuge, on the waste of waters.
Her heavy sobs prevented her hearing the entrance of Bertha, and it was
only when the arms of the young girl were fondly twined about her, that
she became aware of her presence.
"Madeleine, dear, dear Madeleine! What has happened? Why do you weep
thus?"
"Do not speak to me, Bertha!" replied Madeleine in a stifled voice. "You
cannot, cannot help me; there is no hope left,--none, none! My father
has died to me again to day, and I am alone once more!--alone in a
desert that has no place of shelter for me, but a grave beneath its
swathing sands!"
Her tears gushed forth with redoubled violence.
"Do not treat me so cruelly! Do not cast me off!" pleaded Bertha, as her
cousin tried to disengage herself from her encircling arms. "If you are
wretched, so am I--_because_ you are! Only tell me the reason for this
terrible sorrow. I was awaiting you in your room; but, as you did not
come, I felt sure my cousin Maurice had detained you."
At those last words an involuntary cry of intense suffering burst from
Madeleine's lips.
"Then I saw my aunt and Maurice returning together, and Maurice appeared
to be talking in an excited manner, and my aunt looked blacker than any
thunder-cloud. Still you did not come, and I went in search of you. Tell
me why I find you thus?--you, who have always borne your griefs with
such silent fortitude. What _has_ my aunt said or done to you?"
"She has ceased to love me,--she has ceased to esteem me,--she even
repents of the benefits she has conferred upon me."
"No, no, Madeleine; you are mistaken."
"Oh, I am not mistaken,--my eyes are opened at last. The thin, waxen
mask of assumed kindness has melted from her face! I am a burden to
her,--an encumbrance,--an offence. She only desires to be rid of me!"
"You,--the fairy of good works in her household? What could she do
without you? It is only excitement which makes you imagine this."
"I never guessed, never dreamed it before; but I have wilfully deceived
myself. _Now_ all is too clear! A thousand recollections rise up to
testify to the truth; a thousand suspicions, which I repulsed as
unworthy of me and of her, return to convince me; words and looks,
coldness and injustice, slights and reproaches start up with frightful
vividness, and throw a hideous light upon conduct I never dared to
interpret aright."
"What looks? what words? what actions?" asked Bertha, though her heart
told her with what a catalogue she could answer her own question.
"They could not be rehearsed in an hour or in a day. But it is not to my
aunt alone that my presence is offensive. Cousin Tristan also chafes at
the sight of his dependent relative. I have seen it when I took my seat
at table; I have seen it when room was made for me in the carriage; I
have seen it on numberless occasions. His glances, his accents, his
whole demeanor, have seemed to reproach me for the place I occupied, for
the garments I wore, for the very bread I ate,--the bread of bitter,
bitter charity! And oh!" she groaned, "_must this be so still?_ _Must_ I
still accept these bounties, which are begrudged me? _Must_ I still be
bowed to the dust by the weight of these charities? Alas! I _must_,
because I have nothing of my own,--because I am nothing of myself!"
"Madeleine! one of these days"--
Madeleine did not heed her. "Oh, my father! my father! To what torturing
humiliations you subjected me in bequeathing me nobility with poverty!
Well may you have wished that you had been born a peasant! Had I been a
peasant's child, I might have lived by, and rejoiced in, honest labor!
Had I been the daughter of a mechanic, I might have gained my bread by
some useful trade. Had I even been the child of some poor gentleman, I
might have earned a livelihood by giving lessons in music, in drawing,
by becoming a governess, or teaching in a school. But, the daughter of
the Duke de Gramont, it is one of the curses of my noble birth that I
must live upon charity,--charity unwillingly doled out and thrown in my
face, even when I am receiving it with meekness!"
"But, Madeleine, if you will but listen to me"--
Madeleine went on bitterly. "And I am young yet,--young and strong, and
capable of exertion; and I have dared to believe that, while one is
young, some of the benefits received could be repaid by the cheerful
spirit of youth,--by the performance of needful offices,--by hands ever
ready to serve, and a heart ever open to sympathize; but, if I am an
encumbrance, an annoyance while I am _young_, what an intolerable burden
I must become when youth passes away! Then I shall either be repulsed
with aversion, or sheltered with undisguised reluctance,--forced to
remember every moment that the hospitality I receive is an _alms_! Oh!
it is too horrible! Death would be a thousand times preferable."
"And you can forget how dreadful it would be for us, who love you, to
lose you?"
"I forget _everything_, except the misery of my own degraded position! I
ask for nothing save that God, in his mercy, will free me from it, I
care not how! I look despairingly on all sides, and see no escape! I am
bound, hand and foot, by the chains of my own noble birth, and shut
within the iron walls of circumstance. I struggle vainly in my
captivity; no way of freedom is open to me! And yet I can never again
resign myself to passive endurance."
"If you only knew how wretched you make me by talking in this strain!"
"I make you wretched, as I have made all others, by my presence
here,--yes, I know it! You see how ungrateful, how selfish misery has
rendered me, since I am cruel even to you whose pure love I never
doubted."
Before Bertha could make a fresh attempt to console her cousin, Baptiste
entered, bearing a letter. He looked dismayed when he beheld Madeleine's
face of woe, and Bertha's tearful countenance; but the latter checked
his glance of inquiry by asking abruptly what he wanted.
Still regarding Madeleine with an expression of deep concern, he
replied, "The _vâlet_ of Count Damoreau has just left this letter for
Mademoiselle Madeleine, and desired that it should be delivered to her
at once."
"Very well; that will do."
Bertha took the letter, and motioned to Baptiste to withdraw.
"What _can_ Count Damoreau have to write to you about? Do open the
letter and tell me."
"Not now, Bertha. Leave me to myself for a little while. I scarcely know
what I am doing or saying. I entreat you to leave me!"
"Madeleine, if I were in trouble, I would not send you from me."
"Go, if you love me! And you--_you_, at least, _do_ love me!"
"_If_ I love you? I will even leave you to prove that I do; but it is
very hard."
Bertha walked slowly away, taking the path that led from the château. In
a few moments she paused, turned suddenly, and quickened her steps in
the opposite direction, prompted by an impulse to seek Maurice and tell
him of Madeleine's grief. Perhaps he might have the power to console
her.
Count Tristan had been prevented opening the letters which M. de Bois
had delivered. When the two gentlemen reached the château, several
visitors were awaiting the count, and their stay was protracted. The
instant his guests took their leave, he hastened to the library, which
his mother entered at the same moment. He listened impatiently as she
briefly recounted the scene which had taken place in the summer-house.
"The time has come when we must put an end to this madness," answered
the count; "and I trust that I hold the means in my hands. These are the
replies of Madeleine's relations."
He broke one of the seals, and glanced over the contents of the letter,
gnawing his under lip as he read.
"Well, my son, what reply?"
"This letter is from M. de Bonneville. He writes that his château is
only large enough for his own family,--that it would be a great
inconvenience to have any addition to his home circle; and _we_--I
suppose _we_ have not been inconvenienced for the last three years"--
"I am not astonished at such a reply from M. de Bonneville. I expected
nothing else. Give me Madame de Nervac's letter. She is a charming
woman, whom every one admires and respects, and I know her kindness of
heart."
The count handed the letter. His mother opened it, and read,--
"MY DEAR COUSIN:
"Are you not aware that a woman of any tact, who has still
some claims to admiration, could hardly commit the absurd
_faux pas_ of establishing in her own house, and having
always by her side, a person younger and handsomer than
herself? To consent to your proposition concerning Madeleine
would therefore be a suicidal act"--
"This is insupportable!" ejaculated the count. "It seems that we are to
be forced into continuing to bear this burden, though it may bring us
to ruin. What insupportable vanity Madame de Nervac betrays! You see
what her kindness of heart is worth!"
"There is still one letter to open," remarked his mother, clinging to a
faint hope.
"Oh, it will be a repetition of the others,--you may be sure of that!"
He tore it open angrily; but, glancing at the first lines, exclaimed,
"What do I see? Have we found one reasonable and charitable person at
last? The Count Damoreau writes,--
"'A thousand thanks, my dear cousin for the opportunity you
afford me of being useful to that lovely and unfortunate
relative of ours. I have always regarded her with admiration
and affection, and always appreciated the noble generosity
which prompted your kindness to the orphan.'"
"The count is a man endowed with most excellent judgment," remarked the
countess with complacency.
Her son continued reading the letter,--
"'I am at this moment about to make a number of necessary
repairs in my château, which will cause me to absent myself
for some time. I shall probably spend a year or two on the
continent.'"
"So much the better! He will doubtless take Madeleine with him,"
suggested the countess.
Count Tristan in an altered tone read on,--
"'As I shall travel entirely _en garçon_, of course it will
be impossible for Madeleine to accompany me, but an
admirable opportunity presents itself for placing her in a
situation that is very suitable. My friend, Lady Vivian, of
Edinburgh, who forms one of the party here, is in search of
an humble companion. I have spoken to her ladyship
concerning Madeleine. She made some slight demur on account
of the young lady's attractive person, but finally consented
to offer her this situation.'"
"A de Gramont hired out as an humble companion! What an indignity!"
ejaculated the countess.
The count continued reading,--
"'I will myself write to Madeleine and apprise her of what I
have done, and present the many advantages of such a
position.'"
"She must not receive the letter!" said the countess, earnestly. "She is
capable of accepting this offer for the sake of wounding us. But Count
Damoreau has insulted us grossly. How has he dared to entertain such an
offer for a member of our family,--one in whose veins flows the same
untainted blood? Why do you not speak, my son? But indignation may well
deprive you of speech!"
"I can only say that in _some manner we must at once rid ourselves of
Madeleine_."
"I would rather see her dead than in a situation which disgraced her
noble name," answered the countess, violently.
"I quite agree with you," returned the count, with a sardonic look;
"but, unfortunately, life and death are not in our hands!"
As he spoke, there was a gleam in his malignant eye, almost murderous.
His foot was lifted to crush the worm in his path, and, could he have
trodden it out of existence in secret, the deed would have been
accomplished with exultation. His hatred for Madeleine had strengthened
into a fierce passion as his fears that Maurice loved her threatened to
be confirmed. Far from sharing his mother's indignation at the proposal
of Count Damoreau, he had made up his mind to force Madeleine into
acceptance, if no other presented itself for freeing the château from
her presence.
CHAPTER VII.
A CRISIS.
Count Tristan was in the heat of argument with his haughty mother, when
the door of the library opened, and Madeleine entered. One who had
beheld the tempestuous burst of grief, the torrent of tears, the
heart-rending despair that convulsed her frame but half an hour before,
in the little _châlet_, would scarcely have recognized the countenance
upon which the eyes of the Countess de Gramont and her son were now
turned. Not the faintest shadow of that whirlwind of passionate anguish
was left upon Madeleine's face, unless it might be traced in the great
calm which succeeds a heavy storm; in the death-like pallor which
overspread her almost rigid features; in the steady light that shone
from her soul-revealing eyes; in the firm outline of her colorless
lips; in the look of heroic resolve which imparted to her noble
lineaments a higher beauty than they ever before had worn.
She approached Count Tristan with an unfaltering step, holding a letter
in her hand. That letter had given a sudden check to her vehement
sorrow, and restored her equilibrium.
"I have received this communication from Count Damoreau."
As she spoke, she extended the epistle to the count, who for one instant
quailed before her clairvoyant eyes. It seemed as though a prophetic
judgment spoke out of their shining depths.
He took the letter mechanically, without opening it. His gaze was
riveted, as though by a magnetism too powerful for him to resist, upon
her purposeful countenance.
Madeleine went on,--
"Count Damoreau tells me that you and my aunt desire to withdraw your
protection from me; that you feel I have sufficiently long enjoyed the
shelter of your roof; that you wish to provide me with some other
asylum."
There was no hesitation in her voice as she uttered these words. She
spoke in a tone rendered clear and quiet by the dignity of self-respect.
"Count Damoreau had no authority to write in such a strain to you,"
observed the countess, with asperity.
"There is his letter. He informed me that he has the Count Tristan's
authority. To prove it, he encloses the letter yesterday delivered to
him by M. Gaston de Bois."
Count Tristan was too thoroughly confounded to attempt any reply. He was
painfully aware of the unmistakable character of that epistle.
"Count Damoreau announces to me," continued Madeleine, undisturbed,
"that he is unable to comply with your request, and extend an invitation
for me to join his family circle; and that my other relatives have also
declined to accede to a solicitation of yours that they should by turns
receive me as an inmate. He adds that his friend, Lady Vivian, is
seeking an humble companion to accompany her to Scotland; and he trusts
that I will thankfully accept this situation."
"It is an insult,--a deliberate insult to us and you!" broke forth the
countess.
Madeleine's lips trembled with a half smile.
"I do not deem it an insult to myself: I am as thankful as Count
Damoreau can desire me to be; but I decline his well-intentioned
offer."
Count Tristan ground his teeth, and cast upon Madeleine a glance of fury
and menacing detestation. Their eyes met, and she returned the look with
an expression which simply declared she recognized what was passing in
his mind.
"You did right to decline: I should never have permitted you to accept,"
remarked the countess, in a somewhat softer tone.
She deemed it politic to conciliate Madeleine for the present, fearing
that she might be driven to take some humiliating step which would cast
a reflection upon her kindred.
"I regret that my son has acted hastily. If you conduct yourself with
the propriety which I have the right to demand, you will still find a
home in the Château de Gramont, and in myself the mother I have ever
been to you."
"Mother!" at that word Madeleine's glacial composure melted. "A
_mother!_--oh, my aunt, thank you for that word! You do not know how
much good it does me to hear it from your lips! But the Château de
Gramont can never more be my home. That is settled: I came to tell you
so."
"What do you mean?" asked the count, with a gleam of ill-disguised
satisfaction.
"I mean that I purpose shortly to quit this mansion, _never to return_!"
"Then you _do_ intend to accompany Lady Vivian to Scotland?" he
inquired.
"You--my niece--_a de Gramont_--become the humble companion of Lady
Vivian!" exclaimed the countess, in wrathful astonishment. "Can you even
contemplate such an alternative?"
"No, madame," returned Madeleine, with an emphasis which might have been
interpreted into a tone of pride. "I shall _not_ become the humble
companion of any lady."
"With whom do you expect to live?" demanded the count.
"I shall live alone."
"_Live alone_, at your age,--without fortune, without friends? It is
impracticable,--impossible!" replied her aunt, decisively.
"I have reached my majority. I shall try to deserve friends. I have some
small possession: the family diamonds of my mother still remain to me."
"But your noble name."
"Rest assured that it will never be disgraced by me!"
"I tell you that your project is impossible," maintained the countess,
resolutely. "I forbid you to even attempt to put it into execution. I
forbid you by the gratitude you owe me. I forbid you in the name of all
the kindnesses I have lavished upon you!"
"And do you not see, my aunt, it is because I would still be grateful
for these kindnesses that I would go hence? From the moment I learned I
was a burden to you, that my presence here was unwelcome, this was no
longer my home. If I leave you now, the memory of your goodness only,
will dwell in my heart. If I were to remain longer, each day my presence
would become more intolerable to you; each day your words and looks
would grow colder and harsher; each day I should feel more degraded in
my own eyes. _You_ would spoil your own benefactions: _I_ perhaps, might
forget them, and be stained with the crime of ingratitude. No, let us
now part,--now, while I may still dare to hope that you will think of me
with tenderness and regret,--now, while I can yet cherish the
recollection of the happy days I have passed beneath your roof. My
resolution is taken: it is unalterable. I could not rest here. You will,
perhaps, accord me a few days to make needful preparations; then I must
bid you farewell."
She turned to quit the room, but encountered Maurice and Bertha, who had
entered in time to hear the last sentence.
Bertha, on leaving her cousin, had sought Maurice and told him of
Madeleine's prostrating sorrow. They hastened back to the _châlet_
together, but she had disappeared. They were in search of her when they
entered the library.
"Bid us farewell, Madeleine?" cried Bertha. "What do you mean? Where are
you going? Surely you will never leave us?"
"I must."
"But my aunt will not let you; Cousin Tristan will not let you; Maurice
will not let you. Speak to her, some of you, and say that she shall not
go."
"Bertha," answered the count, "you do not know all the circumstances
which have caused Madeleine to form this resolution; and, if my mother
will pardon me for differing with her, I must say, frankly, that I
approve of the course Madeleine has chosen. I honor her for it. I think
she acts wisely in remaining here no longer!"
Then Maurice came forward boldly, and placing himself beside Madeleine,
with an air of manly protection, spoke out,--
"And _I_ agree with you, my father. I honor Madeleine for her
resolution. I think she acts wisely in remaining here no longer."
"O Maurice, Maurice! how can you speak so? Don't let her go, unless you
want to make me miserable!" pleaded Bertha.
Madeleine's hueless face was overspread with a brilliant glow as she
cast upon Maurice one hasty look of gratitude.
"I speak what I mean. Madeleine cannot, without sacrificing her
self-respect, accept hospitality which is not freely given,--protection
which is unwillingly accorded. She cannot remain here as an inferior,--a
dependent; one who is under daily obligation,--who is merely tolerated
because she has no other place of refuge. My father, there is only _one_
position in which she _can_ remain in the Château de Gramont, and that
is as an equal; as its future mistress; as your daughter; _as my wife!_"
The countess was stricken dumb with rage; and a sudden revulsion of
feeling toward the shrinking girl, whose deep blushes she interpreted
into a token of exultation, made her almost as willing to drive her
forth, no matter whither, as her son himself.
Bertha, with an exclamation of delight, flung her arms joyfully about
Madeleine's neck.
"Maurice, are you mad? Do you forget that you are my son?" was all that
the count could gasp out, in his indignant amazement.
"It is as your son that I speak; it is as the inheritor of your
name,--that name which Madeleine also bears."
"You seem to have forgotten"--began his father.
Maurice interrupted him,--
"I have not forgotten that I have not reached my majority, and that your
consent is necessary to render Madeleine my wife."
(Our readers are doubtless aware that the law in France fixes the
majority of a young man at twenty-five, and that he has no power to
contract marriage or to control property until that period.)
"But, believe me, my father, even if this were not the case, I should
not desire to act without your approval, and I know I could never induce
Madeleine to forego your consent to our union. But what valid objections
can you have? You desired that Bertha should become my wife. Is not
Madeleine precisely the same kin to me as Bertha? Is she not as good, as
beautiful?"
"Oh, a thousand times better and lovelier!" exclaimed Bertha, with
affectionate enthusiasm.
"There is but one difference: she is poor and Bertha is rich. Think you
Bertha's fortune could have one feather's weight in deciding my choice?
I thank Heaven for teaching me to account it more noble, more honorable,
to ask what the woman I would marry _is_, than to inquire what she
_has_."
His father made a vain attempt to speak. Maurice went on without
noticing the futile effort.
"But this is not all: I dare to hope that Madeleine's heart is mine,
while Bertha's is not. My father, you requested that Bertha and I should
have an understanding with each other; and we have had one. Bertha has
told me that she does not love me. Is it not so, Bertha?"
"I told you that I loved you with all my heart, as the dearest, most
delightful cousin in the world!" answered Bertha, naïvely.
"Just as I love you!" replied Maurice, smiling upon her tenderly. "But,
as a lover, you definitely rejected me,--did you not?"
"Oh, yes; just as you refused me. We are perfectly agreed upon that
point," she rejoined, with childlike frankness and simplicity.
"For shame, Maurice!" said the countess, in a tone of angry rebuke.
"Grandmother, hear me out. For once my heart must speak, even though it
may be silent forever after. I feel that my whole future destiny hangs
upon the events of this moment. You love me as a de Gramont should love;
you love me with an ambition to see me worthy of my name,--to see that
name rendered more lustrous in my person. How far that is possible, my
father's decision and yours this hour will determine. I am ardent,
impetuous, fond of excitement, reckless at times,--as prone, I fear, to
be tempted to vice as to be inspired by virtue. If you withhold your
consent to my union with the only woman I can love,--if you drive me to
despair,--I am lost! Every pure and lofty aspiration within my nature
will be crushed out, and in its place the opposite inclination will
spring. I warned you before, when you thwarted the noblest resolution I
ever formed. There is yet time to save me from the evil effects of that
disappointment, and to spare me the worst results of _this_. If you
grant me Madeleine"--
"Maurice, for pity's sake!" supplicated Madeleine, extending her clasped
hands toward him.
Maurice caught the outstretched hands in his, and bent over her with an
expression of ineffable love irradiating his countenance.
"Do not speak yet, Madeleine; do not answer until you have heard
me,--until you have well comprehended my meaning. You do not know the
thousand perils by which a young man is beset in Paris,--the siren lures
that are thrown in his way to ensnare his feet, be they disposed to
walk ever so warily. You do not know that your holy image, rising up
before me, shining upon the path I trod, and beckoning me into the right
road when I swerved aside, has alone saved me from falling into that
vortex of follies and vices by which men are daily swallowed up, and
from which they emerge sullied and debased. You do not know that, while
I am here beside you, listening to the sound of your voice, holding your
hand, gazing upon your face, I feel like one inspired, who has power to
make his life glorious and keep it pure! Madeleine, would you have me
great, distinguished? I shall become so if it be your will. Would you
have me lift up our noble name? It shall be exalted at your bidding.
Would you reign over my soul and keep it stainless? It is under your
angel guardianship. Madeleine, best beloved, will you not save me?"
Madeleine only answered with a look which besought Maurice to forbear.
"Is your rhapsody finished at last?" asked Count Tristan, scornfully.
"Is any one else to be permitted to speak?"
"It seems there is but one person whose voice is of any importance to
your son," sneered the countess, "and that is Madeleine. It is for _her_
to speak; it is for her to accomplish her work of base ingratitude; it
is for her to give the last finishing stroke to the fabric she has
secretly been laboring to build up for the last three years."
Madeleine--who, when the voice of Maurice was sounding in her ears, had
been unable to control the agitation which caused her breast to heave,
and her frame to quiver from head to foot, while confusion flung its
crimson mantle over her face--grew suddenly calm when she heard these
taunts. The same icy, pallid quietude with which, but a few moments
before, she entered the library, returned. She withdrew the hands
Maurice had clasped in his, lifted her bowed head, and stood erect,
preparing to reply.
"Speak!" commanded the count, furiously. "Speak! since _we_ are nothing
and nobody here, and _you are everything_. Since you are sole arbiter in
this family, speak!"
Madeleine could not at once command her voice.
The countess, arguing the worst from her silence, cried, with
culminating wrath, "Speak, viper! Dart your fangs into the bosom that
has sheltered you: it is bared to receive the deadly stroke; it is ready
to die of your venom! Nothing remains but for you to strike!"
"Take courage, dearest Madeleine," whispered Bertha. "They will not be
angry long. Speak and tell them that you love Maurice as he loves you,
and that you will be the happiest of women if you become his wife."
"Well, your answer, Mademoiselle de Gramont?" urged the countess.
"It will be an answer for which I have only the pardon of Maurice to
ask," said Madeleine, speaking slowly, but firmly. "Maurice, my cousin,
I shall never be able to tell you,--you can never know,--what emotions
of thankfulness you have awakened in my soul, nor how unutterably
precious your words are to me. Thus much I may say; for the rest, _I can
never become your wife!_"
"You refuse me because my father and my grandmother have _compelled_ you
to do so by their reproaches,--their _menaces_, I might say!" cried
Maurice, wholly forgetting his wonted respect in the rush of tumultuous
feelings. "This and this only is your reason for consigning me to
misery."
The fear that she had awakened unfilial emotions in the bosom of Maurice
infused fresh fortitude into Madeleine's spirit.
"No, Maurice, you are wrong. If my aunt and Count Tristan had not
uttered one word on the subject, my answer to you would have been the
same."
"How can that be possible? How can I have been so deceived? There is
only _one_ obstacle which _can_ discourage me, only one which can force
me to yield you up, and that is an admission, from your own lips, that
your affections are already bestowed,--that your heart is no longer
free."
Madeleine, without hesitation, replied in a clear, steady, deliberate
tone, looking her cousin full in the face, and not by the faintest sign
betraying the poniard which she heroically plunged into her own devoted
breast,--
"My affections are bestowed; my heart is _no longer free!_"
"Madeleine, Madeleine! you do not love Maurice,--you love some one
else?" questioned Bertha, in sorrowful astonishment.
Maurice spoke no word. He stood one moment looking at Madeleine as a
drowning man might have looked at the ship that could have saved him
disappearing in the distance. Then he murmured, hardly conscious of his
own words,--
"And I felt sure her heart was mine! O Madeleine! may you never know
what you have done!"
"Forgive me if you can, Maurice. Be generous enough to pardon one who
has made you suffer. A bright future is before you. The darkness of this
hour will gradually fade out of your memory."
"Say, rather, that you have taken from me my future,--withdrawn its
guiding star, and left me a rayless and eternal night. But why should I
reproach you? What right had I to deem myself worthy of you? You love
_another_. All is spoken in those words: there is nothing more for me to
say, except to thank you for not discarding me without making a
confession which annihilates all hope."
There was a dignity in his grief more touching than the most passionate
outburst would have been. Even his grandmother, in spite of her joy at
Madeleine's declaration, was not wholly unmoved as she contemplated him.
Count Tristan's exultation broke through all polite disguise,--
"Madeleine has atoned for much of the past by her present conduct; it
has restored her in a measure to"--
Madeleine, as far as her gentle nature permitted, experienced an
antipathy toward Count Tristan only surpassed by that which he
entertained for her. The sound of his voice grated on her ears; his
commendation made her doubt the wisdom and purity of her own act; his
approval irritated her as no rebuke could have done. Without waiting for
him to conclude his sentence, she grasped Bertha's hand, whispering, "I
cannot stay here; I am stifling; come with me."
They left the room together, and took their way in silence to
Madeleine's chamber. Bertha carefully closed the door, and, drawing her
cousin down into a seat, placed herself beside her, and strove to read
her countenance.
"Madeleine, is it possible? How mistaken I have been! You do not love
our cousin Maurice. Poor Maurice! It is a dreadful blow to him. And you
love some one else. But whom? I know of no gentleman who comes here
often,--who is on an intimate footing at the château,--except"--
A painful suspicion for the first time shot through her mind, and made
her pause. Could it be Gaston de Bois whom Madeleine preferred? She
always treated him with such marked courtesy. There was no one else,--it
must be he! Bertha could not frame the question that hovered about her
lips, though to have heard it answered in the negative would have made
her heart leap for joy.
Madeleine was too much absorbed by her own reflections to divine those
of her cousin.
"At all events," said Bertha, trying to rally and talk cheerfully,
though she could not chase that haunting fear from her thoughts, "my
aunt is no longer angry with you, and cousin Tristan was well pleased.
They will treat you better after this, and your home will be happier."
"_My home?_" ejaculated Madeleine, in a tone that made Bertha start.
"Yes, yours, until you exchange it for that of the favored lover, of
whose name you make such a mystery."
"_That will never be!_"
"Never? Does he not love you, then? But I know he does,--he must. Every
one loves you; no one can help it,--you win all hearts!"
"_Count Tristan's, for instance_," remarked Madeleine, bitterly.
"Ah, not _his_, that is true. How wickedly he looked at you when Maurice
pictured how dear you were to him! I noticed Cousin Tristan's eyes, and
they frightened me. He looked positively fiendish; and when Maurice
said"--
To hear those precious words Maurice had spoken,--those words which she
could never more forget,--repeated, was beyond Madeleine's powers of
endurance: she sprang up, exclaiming, "Do not let us talk of these
matters any more to-day, Bertha. It is growing late,--almost six
o'clock. It is time for you to dress for dinner. And you have not
forgotten the ball to-night?"
"I could not bear to go now. I am sure Maurice will not go; and
you,--would you go, even if we did?"
"You will not refuse me a favor, Bertha, though it may cost you some
pain to grant it? Go to this ball, and persuade, entreat Maurice to go.
If you do not, you will draw down my aunt's displeasure upon me anew,
for she will know why you remain at home,--especially as it will be
impossible for me to appear in public to-night."
"I would do anything rather than have my aunt displeased with you again;
and then there is the beautiful dress you have taken such pains to
make."
"I should be very much disappointed if you did not wear it this evening.
Now let us prepare for dinner."
As she spoke, Madeleine commenced her own toilet. Bertha stood looking
at her as she unbound her long silken hair, and, after smoothing it as
carefully as was her wont, rapidly formed the coronal braid, and wound
the rich tress about the regal head.
"I cannot comprehend you, Madeleine: you are a marvel to me. A couple
of hours ago you were almost frantic with grief,--I never saw any one
weep so immoderately; and now you are as serene as though nothing had
happened. If your lips were not so very, very white, and your eyes had
not such a fixed, unnatural look, I could almost think you had forgotten
that anything unusual had occurred."
"Forget it yourself, dear, and make ready for dinner."
Bertha obeyed at least part of the injunction, still wondering over
Madeleine's incomprehensible placidity.
The young maidens entered the dining-room together. Maurice came in
late. The meal passed almost in silence, though the Countess and Count
Tristan made unusual efforts to keep up a conversation.
Bertha was right in imagining Maurice had lost all inclination to appear
at the ball. When she brought up the subject, he answered impatiently
that he did not intend to go. His grandmother heard the remark, and made
an especial request that he would change that decision and accompany
them. Bertha added her entreaties; but Maurice seemed inclined to rebel,
until she whispered,--
"If you stay at home, my aunt will say it is Madeleine's fault, and she
will be vexed with her again. Madeleine begged you would spare her this
new trial, and bade me entreat you to go."
Maurice looked across the table, for the first time during dinner, and
found Madeleine's eyes turned anxiously upon him.
"I will go," he murmured.
His words were addressed rather to her than to Bertha. A scarcely
perceptible smile on the lips of the former was his reward.
No comment was made upon Madeleine's determination to remain at home.
But the tone of the countess to her niece, when she was officiating as
usual at her aunt's toilet, was gentler than she had ever before used.
Not the faintest allusion to the events of the morning dropped from the
lips of either.
At last the carriage drove from the door, and Madeleine was left alone
with her own thoughts. The mask of composure was no longer needed, yet
there was no return of the morning's turbulent emotion.
Are not great trials sent to incite us to great exertions, which we
might not have the energy, the wit, perhaps the _humility_, to
undertake, but for the spurring sting of that especial grief? Madeleine
had resolutely looked her affliction full in the face; had grown
familiar with its sternest, saddest features; had bowed before them,
and dashed the tears from her eyes, to see more clearly as that sorrow
pointed out a path which all her firmness would be taxed in treading,--a
path which she had never dreamed existed for her, until it had been
opened, hewn through the rocks of circumstance by that day's heavy
blows, that hour's piercing anguish.
Her greatest difficulty lay in the necessity of concealing the step she
was about to take from her aunt, whose violent opposition would throw a
fearful obstacle in the way. It was easier to avoid than to surmount
such a barrier; but if it could not be avoided, it _must_ be surmounted.
In that decision she could not waver.
CHAPTER VIII.
FLIGHT.
Can there be a more dreary solitude, to a mind writhing under the throes
of some new and hidden sorrow, than a brilliant ballroom? The stirring
music jars like harshest discord upon the unattuned ear; the glaring
lights dazzle the pained vision until utter darkness would seem
grateful; the merry voices and careless laughter catch a tone of bitter
mockery; the gayly apparelled forms, the faces decked with soulless
smiles, are more oppressive than all the apparitions with which a
fevered imagination can people the gloomiest seclusion. Maurice soon
found the festive scene at the Château de Tremazan intolerable, and took
refuge in the illuminated conservatory, the doors of which were thrown
invitingly open. It was mid-summer, but the flowers had been restored to
brighten their winter shelter during the fête. He had thought to find
himself alone; but yonder, bending over richly-tinted clusters of
azaleas and odorous heliotropes, a group of youthful heads unconcernedly
thrust their lifeless chaplets in challenging contrast with nature's
living loveliness, while flowing robes recklessly swept their floral
imitations against her shrinking originals. In a different state of mind
Maurice might not have been struck by the incongruous contact of the
painted semblance with the blushing reality; but now it reminded him too
keenly that the sphere within which he was bound, a social Ixion upon
the petty wheel of conventionalism, was one grand combination of
artificial trivialities and senseless shams. Goaded beyond endurance by
the reflection, he impatiently made his escape into the open air.
Bertha had never mingled with a gay crowd in so joyless a mood. The
presence of the heiress created no little sensation; but good-breeding
kept its manifestation within such delicate limits that she was
unconscious of its existence. She was not even aware that it was a sign
of her own importance when the Marchioness de Fleury glided up to Count
Tristan, on whose arm Bertha was leaning, and, in a softly cadenced
voice, asked if she had not the pleasure of seeing Mademoiselle de
Merrivale. In reply, the count presented Bertha. As she returned the
courtesy of the marchioness, she could not help remembering the
declaration of Maurice, that he had never perused the countenance of the
distinguished belle, because his attention was irresistibly riveted upon
the wondrous details of her toilet: for Bertha found her own eyes
involuntarily wandering over the graceful folds of the amethyst velvet,
and the exquisite disposition of the _point de Venise_ by which it was
elaborately ornamented; the artistic head-dress in perfect accordance
with the costly robe, and the Cleopatra-like drops of pearls which
seemed to have been showered over the wearer from brow to foot.
Bertha's eyes were too ingenuous not to betray their occupation; but
those of the marchioness seemed only to be looking, with the most
complimentary expression of interest, into the face of her new
acquaintance, while, in reality, she was scanning Bertha's picturesque
attire, and longing to discover by what tasteful fingers it had been
contrived; examining the polished ivy intertwined among her bright
ringlets, and the half-blown roses just bursting their sheaths in a
glossy covert of amber tresses; and wondering that a coiffure with such
poetic taste could have existed unknown in Brittany. As the marchioness
stood, dropping sweet, meaningless words from her dewy lips, Bertha's
hand was claimed by the Duke de Montauban, and she was led to the dance.
She was moving through the quadrille with a languid, unelastic motion,
very unlike her usual springing step, when she caught sight of M. de
Bois, standing at a short distance, with his face turned toward her. The
smile that accompanied her bow of greeting drew him nearer. As the dance
ended, and her partner was reconducting her to the countess, M. de Bois
overcame his timidity sufficiently to join her.
"Where is Mademoiselle Mad--ad--adeleine?" he inquired. "I have not seen
her."
"She is not here. She would not come," sighed Bertha, stopping abruptly,
though they had not quite reached her chaperone's side.
"Is she ill? She told me this morning that she would certainly be here.
Has anything happened?" asked M. de Bois, speaking as distinctly as
though he had never stammered in his life, and throwing off, in his
growing excitement, all the awkwardness of his constitutional
diffidence.
Bertha could not but remark his anxious expression, and a suspicion,
which she had essayed to banish, once more took possession of her mind.
But she loved Madeleine with such absolute devotion, that this vague,
uncomfortable sensation was quickly displaced by a purer emotion.
Glancing at the countess to see that she was not within hearing
distance, she disengaged her arm from that of the duke, with a bow which
he interpreted into a dismissal, and then, turning eagerly to M. de
Bois, recounted to him, in a low, hurried tone, the occurrences of the
morning. She fancied she heard words which sounded very like muttered
imprecations. He was perhaps putting into practice his new method of
loosening his tongue, and doubtless imagined that the emphatic
utterances were inaudible.
Bertha went on. "It was a terrible blow to Maurice! He felt so sure
until then that Madeleine loved him; so did I. But we were both
mistaken. It is plain enough now that she does _not_."
"What makes it plain? How can you be sure?" asked M. de Bois, becoming
more and more disturbed.
"Her own declaration has placed the fact beyond doubt. She even
confessed that she loved another."
Her listener did not attempt to conceal his consternation at these
words.
"Mademoiselle Madeleine said she loved another! She, who would not stoop
to breathe a word which was not the strictest truth,--_she told you so?_
You heard it yourself? You are _certain, very certain_, Mademoiselle
Bertha?"
"I dare say that I ought not to have repeated this to you," replied
Bertha, who now experienced some self-reproach at betraying her friend's
secret to one whom it, perhaps, so deeply concerned; "but I am very
certain that Madeleine distinctly rejected Maurice, and, when he
attributed her refusal to his grandmother's and his father's disapproval
of his suit, she denied that she was influenced by them, and confessed
that her heart was not free,--that she had bestowed it upon another."
"By all that is heroic, she is a noble woman!" exclaimed M. de Bois,
fervently. "She has the grandest nature! She is incom-com-com"--
"Incomparable," said Bertha, finishing his sentence, and checking a
sigh. "Yes, I never knew any one like her. She has no equal."
"I don't exactly say _that_. I don't mean _that_. She is not
su-su-superior--to"--
Bertha did not assist him by completing _this_ disjointed phrase, even
if she suspected what he desired to say.
At that moment Count Damoreau approached, accompanied by a gaunt,
overdressed lady, with harsh and forbidding features.
"Lady Vivian is looking for Mademoiselle de Gramont. Did she not
accompany you?" inquired the count.
"She intended to do so, but changed her mind."
"She received a letter from me to-day,--did she not?" continued Count
Damoreau.
"Yes, I remember delivering one to her myself, which Baptiste said was
brought by your valet."
"Did she not apprise you of its contents?"
"No. I was not present when she opened the letter."
"Then you do not know how she received my proposition?" remarked Lady
Vivian, in a grating voice. "I begin to be a little doubtful myself how
it will do. Is your cousin as handsome as they say she is?"
"In my eyes she is the most beautiful person in the world," answered
Bertha, in a tone of admiration the sincerity of which could not be
mistaken.
Lady Vivian looked vexed, and replied, "That's a pity. Beauty is a
decided objection in such a position."
"I beg your ladyship's pardon," returned Bertha, with spirit; "but I
cannot perceive that my cousin's position renders her beauty
objectionable."
"Beauty is very suitable to you, my dear; but for an humble companion"--
"An _humble companion_? Madeleine is not my aunt's humble companion, nor
mine. She is"--
"To become _mine_, I believe!" rejoined Lady Vivian, brusquely. "And I
already begin to regret that I acceded to Count Damoreau's wishes."
"Madeleine your ladyship's humble companion? _That_ she shall never be.
O Count Damoreau! how _could_ you have suggested such an idea? I would
go on my knees to implore her not to consent! I am sure your ladyship
will find yourself mistaken."
Bertha, as she said these words, bowed with a degree of hauteur which no
one had ever seen her assume, and, taking M. de Bois's arm, approached
her aunt with a troubled countenance. Before the Countess de Gramont
could ask the cause of her evident disquietude, she said,--
"I wish we could go home, aunt: I am wearied to death. I cannot enjoy
anything to-night. And that horrid Lady Vivian has made me so angry,
talking of Madeleine as her humble companion! Such impertinence! Surely
you would never permit anything of the kind?"
"Never! I do not wonder you were indignant. But do you really wish to
go?"
"Oh, yes. I am stifling here. I never was at such a dull ball. Pray,
pray take me home!"
Her aunt could not refuse a request so vehemently urged, and begged M.
de Bois to seek Maurice. Fearing that Madame de Tremazan would be
mortified by their early departure, the countess took an opportunity to
leave the ballroom, accompanied by her niece and son, without attracting
the observation of the hostess. M. de Bois joined them in the
antechamber, with the intelligence that Maurice was nowhere to be found.
After a second search, and half an hour's delay, the carriage started
without him.
As soon as they reached the château, Bertha bade her aunt good-night,
and hastened to Madeleine's chamber. Madeleine, who did not anticipate
her speedy return, and had not heard her light foot upon the floor, was
sitting beside a small table, her head supported by her hands, and bent
over some object which she contemplated with intense interest. At the
sound of Bertha's voice she hastily closed the lids of a couple of
ancient-looking caskets, which stood before her, and rose from her seat.
"Is it you, Bertha? How soon you have returned!"
"Yes; I was glad to get away. The ball was wretchedly stupid; and, after
that disagreeable Lady Vivian irritated me by talking of you, I could
not stay. She seemed to have the audacity to expect that you would
become her humble companion. _You!_ our noble, _doubly noble_ Madeleine,
the humble companion of any one, but especially of such a coarse person
as Lady Vivian! It was unendurable."
"It is very possible that Count Damoreau assured her I would accept the
proposition she made me through him," was Madeleine's calm reply.
"But you never could have entertained it for a moment?"
"No. There is the answer I have just written to Count Damoreau. You may
read it."
Bertha glanced over the letter approvingly. As she laid it upon the
table, she noticed the caskets.
"What are these, Madeleine?--jewel-cases?"
"They were my mother's diamonds. They have been in the family, I can
hardly tell you for how many generations."
"Do let me see them."
Bertha opened one of the cases. A necklace, brooch, and ear-rings of
brilliants sparkled within. The precious stones emitted a clear lustre
which would have caused a connoisseur at once to pronounce them of the
first water; but their setting was quaint and old-fashioned. The
necklace was composed of diamonds _fleur-de-lis_, divided by emerald
shamrock-leaves. A single _fleur-de-lis_, surrounded by the emerald
shamrock, formed the brooch and ear-rings.
"Some of your ancestors must have come from the emerald isle: so, at
least, we may infer from this shamrock."
"Yes, my great-great-great-grandfather married the beautiful Lady
Katrine Nugent, and these were her bridal jewels. You see that the
shamrock of Erin is mingled with the _fleur-de-lis_ of France."
Bertha unclosed the other case. It held a bracelet and a tiara-shaped
comb. The shamrock and lily were blended as in the necklace.
"These diamonds are very lustrous," said Bertha, clasping the bracelet
admiringly upon her delicate wrist. "But what are you doing with them,
and at this time of night?"
"Looking at them," answered Madeleine, with some hesitation. "I have not
seen them before for years."
"You shall wear them for your bridal _parure_, Madeleine."
Madeleine tried to laugh.
"Then I should carry my whole fortune on my back; all that remains of my
ancient house I should bear, snail-fashion, upon my head and shoulders.
No, little dreamer, of two facts you may rest assured: one is that I
shall never wear these jewels; the other that I never shall be a bride.
Come, let me undress you; your blue eyes are so sleepy they are growing
gray as the heavens at twilight."
The Château de Tremazan was seven miles from his father's mansion, but
Maurice, after his abrupt exit from the conservatory, walked leisurely
home. The next morning, before the count had risen, his son entered the
room, in travelling attire, to make the communication that he had
ordered the carriage to drive him to Rennes, in time to meet the early
train that started for Paris. He trusted his father would offer no
objection, and would make the traveller's apologies to the ladies of the
household, for avoiding the pain of leave-taking. Count Tristan approved
of the journey; and, a few moments later, Maurice leaped into the coach,
glancing eagerly up at a window, surrounded by a framework of jasmine
vines; but no face looked forth; no hand waved a farewell and filled the
vernal frame with a living picture.
The intelligence of his sudden departure was received differently by the
three ladies. The countess was inclined to be displeased that he had
foregone the ceremony of an adieu. Any shortcoming in the payment of the
full amount of deference, which she considered her due, was a great
offence. Of late, Maurice had several times wounded her upon this tender
point, and her sensitiveness was thereby increased.
Bertha was loud in her lamentations over the disappearance of her
cousin. Her deep chagrin revived the hopes of Count Tristan and his
mother, and awakened the welcome suggestion, that he, in reality, held a
tenderer place in her heart than she had ever admitted to herself.
Madeleine's face instinctively brightened when she heard that Maurice
was gone; his departure smoothed away a difficulty from the path she was
about to tread. Count Tristan watched her closely, and was perplexed by
the gleam of genuine satisfaction that illumined her countenance. For
the first time he was half deceived into the belief that the passion of
Maurice was unrequited. He had been puzzled in what manner to interpret
Madeleine's determined rejection of her cousin. He was unable to
comprehend a purity of motive which his narrow mind was equally
incapable of experiencing. He finally attributed her conduct partly to a
dread of her aunt's and his own displeasure, partly to a desire to
render herself more highly valued by Maurice, and to gain a firmer hold
upon his affections.
M. de Bois was an early visitor on the day after the ball, but never had
he seemed more ill at ease, or found more difficulty in controlling his
restless nervousness, or in expressing himself intelligibly. When he
heard that Maurice was on his way to Paris, he dashed down an antique
vase by his sudden movement of vexation, and, in stooping to gather the
fractured china, upset the stand upon which it had stood. This
manifestation of awkwardness, of course, increased his _mal-aise_; and,
although the countess remained as unmoved as though she wholly ignored
the accident, he could not recover his equanimity. Madeleine left the
drawing-room with the fragments of the vase in her hand, and did not
return. After a prolonged and unsatisfactory visit, M. de Bois took his
leave.
As he issued from the château, Baptiste dropped his spade and followed
him, keeping at a short distance behind, until he neared the gate; then
the old gardener approached, looking cautiously around to see that he
was not observed, stealthily held out a note, whispering, "Mademoiselle
Madeleine bade me give this to monsieur," turned on his heel, and walked
away as rapidly as though he feared to be pursued.
The note contained these words:--
"A friend in my great emergency is indispensable to me. I
have no friend in whom I can confide but you. I shall be at
the little _châlet_ to-morrow morning, at five o'clock.
"MADELEINE M. DE GRAMONT."
A radiant change passed over the shadowed features of Gaston de Bois, as
he read these lines. That one so self-reliant as Madeleine proffered him
her confidence, trusted him, appealed to him for aid, was surely enough
to raise him in his own esteem; and he almost forgot the recent
mortification caused by an unfortunate awkwardness and miserable
diffidence, which seemed the haunting demons of his existence.
Impatience chased all slumber from his eyes that night, and the dawn had
scarcely broken when he hastened to the _châlet_ to await the coming of
Madeleine. The appointed time had just arrived, as the watch he
constantly consulted informed him, when she entered the summer-house.
Their interview, occupied but half an hour; but, when M. de Bois left
the _châlet_, his countenance wore an expression of earnestness,
responsibility, and composure, totally opposite to its usual
characteristics.
Madeleine, as she tripped back through the dew, smiled with moist
eyes,--a smile of gratitude rather than of pleasure. More than once she
drew a long breath, as though some heavy pressure had been lifted from
her breast; and, as she dashed away the tears that gathered in her eyes,
she seemed eagerly looking into the distance, as though a mist had
rolled from before her steps, and she now saw her way clearly. All was
silent in the château, and she reached her chamber unperceived.
That day passed as usual, and another, and another. Madeleine never once
alluded to the determination which she had announced to her aunt as
unalterable, and the countess was satisfied that her niece had spoken
under the influence of excitement, without any fixed purpose; and
gradually dismissed from her mind the fear that her dependent relative
would take some rash and dignity-compromising step.
Bertha had not forgotten that Madeleine had declared the Château de
Gramont was no longer her home; but as the latter went through the daily
routine of her wonted avocations as though they were always to continue,
and as no change was apparent in her manner, save that she was more
silent and meditative, and her once ready smiles grew rarer, Bertha,
also, was lulled into the belief that her cousin had abandoned her
intention.
Count Tristan fell into no such error. Madeleine's preoccupied mien, her
unwonted reserve, the tender sadness with which she sometimes gazed
around her, as though bidding farewell to dear, familiar objects,
assured him that she had not spoken lightly, and that her threat would
be carried into execution at no distant period. Well was it for her that
he had come to this satisfactory conclusion, for it spared her further
persecution at his hands.
On the fourth morning after the departure of Maurice, Bertha entered
Madeleine's chamber, according to her custom,--for the young maidens
always descended to breakfast together. Her room was empty.
"She has not waited for me to-day," thought Bertha, hurrying down, and
expecting to find Madeleine in the breakfast-room.
The countess and her son were at table, but Madeleine was not there.
"Has Madeleine breakfasted?" inquired Bertha, cutting short her morning
salutations.
The answer was in the negative.
"Have you not seen her?" she asked.
"No, not this morning," replied the countess.
"I suppose she is taking an early walk," continued Bertha. "It seems odd
that she does not come back, for she is never late."
Bertha seated herself, but the coffee remained untasted before her; and
her head was constantly turned towards the window which commanded a view
of the garden and park. Gustave passed, and she cried out to him,--
"Gustave, have you seen Mademoiselle Madeleine, this morning?"
"No, mademoiselle."
"Why, where _can_ she be?" exclaimed Bertha, impatiently. "If you will
excuse me, aunt, I will go in search of her. Since she has not broken
her fast yet, we will breakfast together, as usual." And away darted
Bertha into the garden.
The countess had not attached any importance to Madeleine's absence, and
resumed the conversation with her son.
Through Count Tristan's mind the suspicion at once had flashed that
Madeleine was gone, and he chuckled inwardly at the verification of his
own unspoken predictions. A quarter of an hour passed, and then he
beheld Bertha coming rapidly from the direction of the _châlet_. He felt
no surprise in observing that she was alone. The windows of the
breakfast-room opened to the ground, and she entered by one of
them,--her face crimsoned, her fair hair unbound and floating over her
shoulders, for she had been running.
"I cannot find Madeleine!" she faltered out. "It is very strange! She is
not in the _châlet_, nor in the garden. I have called until I am hoarse.
I picked up this handkerchief in the _châlet_,--it is marked 'G. de
Bois,' yet it is three days since M. de Bois was here; and Madeleine and
I have spent every morning since then at the _châlet_. When could M. de
Bois have dropped this handkerchief there?"
The count took the handkerchief from her hand, and examined the mark
without comment: he could not trust his voice at that moment.
"I presume Madeleine will be here presently, to account for herself,"
remarked the countess, not apparently discomposed. "Take your breakfast,
Bertha; there is no need of your fasting until she chooses to make her
appearance."
Bertha obediently sat down, sipped her coffee for a few moments, and
then, declaring that she wanted nothing more, left the room and returned
to Madeleine's apartment. It was in perfect order, but so it was always;
the bed was made, but Madeleine was in the habit of making her own bed;
there was no sign of change. Bertha opened the wardrobe,--the dresses
Madeleine usually wore were hanging within; she wandered about the room,
examining every nook and corner, hardly conscious of what she was
doing,--what she expected to find or to miss. All at once she remarked
that a few books, which were favorites of Madeleine and once belonged to
her father, had been removed from the table; but what of that?--they
had probably been placed somewhere else. Continuing her almost
purposeless search, Bertha now drew out the drawers of the bureau: they
usually held Madeleine's linen; they were empty! In violent agitation
the kneeling girl sprang to her feet; her undefined fear was taking
shape. She ran to the antechamber and looked for a little trunk which
had come to the château with Madeleine: it was no longer there!
Bertha darted down the stair and rushed into her aunt's presence,
sobbing out in agony of grief,--"She has gone! Madeleine has gone! I
know she has gone, and she will never, never return to us! Her dresses
are there; everything you have given her is there; she has only taken
with her what she had when she came to the château, and she has surely
gone!"
Count Tristan pretended to laugh at Bertha's fears, and maintained that
Madeleine would presently walk in, and feel very much flattered by the
sensation she had created, and by her cousin's lamentations over her
supposed flight; adding, jocosely, that it was not easy for a young lady
to disappear in that dramatic manner, except from the pages of a novel.
The countess, who began to be alarmed, desired her son to ring the bell.
Gustave appeared in answer, and, after being closely questioned, was
desired to summon the other domestics. Bettina and Elise promptly obeyed
the command. Their answers were precisely the same as those of Gustave:
they had not seen Madeleine; they could not imagine where she was.
"Baptiste,--where is he?" asked the countess.
Baptiste was in the garden.
"I am going out,--I will speak to him myself, and also institute further
inquiries to satisfy our dear little Bertha; but I warn her that her
dreams of a romantic adventure, and the flight of a young lady from an
ancient château and her natural protectors, will probably meet with a
sudden check by Madeleine's walking in from a long ramble."
Thus speaking, the count left Bertha to be consoled by his mother, and
went forth in search of Baptiste. Count Tristan well knew that, although
the domestics were all warmly attached to Madeleine, the devotion of
Baptiste was unsurpassed. The count did not, for one instant, doubt that
she had really gone. Some assistance she must have had, and Baptiste's
was the aid she would naturally have selected. He chose to interrogate
the old man himself, to _prevent his giving_ rather than to extract
information from him.
The simple-hearted gardener was not an adept in deception. He was
digging among his flower-beds when his master approached him, and it did
not escape the nobleman's observation that the spade went into the
ground and was drawn out again with increased rapidity as he drew near,
and that the head of Baptiste, instead of being lifted to see who was
coming, was bent down as though he wished to appear wholly engrossed in
his occupation.
"Baptiste?"
"Monsieur?"
The tremulous voice in which that one word was uttered, and his guilty
countenance, scarcely raised as he spoke, were enough to convict him.
"Has Mademoiselle Madeleine passed you in walking out, this morning?"
"No, monsieur. I have been very busy, monsieur; these flower-beds are in
a terrible state; it is not easy for one pair of hands to keep them even
in tolerable order. I have not noticed who passed. I don't generally
look about me,--I"--
"Oh, very well; we thought perhaps you might have seen Mademoiselle
Madeleine to-day, as she must have walked out; but, as you know nothing
at all about her, I will inform the countess and Mademoiselle Bertha."
"I am much obliged to monsieur," replied Baptiste, gratefully.
He could not conceal his thankfulness at escaping the cross-examination
which he had anticipated with the dread natural to one wholly
unpractised in dissimulation.
"This handkerchief of M. de Bois was found in the _châlet_," continued
the count. "I suppose he sometimes strolls over here in the morning, at
an hour too early for visiting; it is very natural, as we are such near
neighbors."
"As monsieur says, it would be very natural."
The count had gained all the information that he desired, and without
letting Baptiste suspect he had betrayed his secret. That Madeleine had
actually fled, that M. de Bois had lent his aid, and that Baptiste had
been taken into their confidence, was indubitable.
The count returned to the château, and joined his mother, who was making
vain attempts to soothe Bertha. The only comfort to which she would
listen was the assurance that, if Madeleine had really gone, she would
be traced and entreated to return to her former home.
The count now thought it politic to assume an air of the deepest
concern.
"I am grieved to bring you such unsatisfactory news; but Baptiste knows
nothing,--he has not seen Madeleine. I am very much shocked, but the
fear that she has really left us forces itself upon me. I will order my
horse and ride over to Rennes. She probably obtained a conveyance last
night or this morning to take her there, as it is the nearest town; and
then, by railroad or stage-coach, she must have proceeded upon her
journey."
"But how could she have obtained a conveyance if none of the servants
were in her confidence? She must have walked, though it is five miles;
but that cannot be, for she could not have carried her trunk. Some one
_must_ have aided her. Oh, who _can_ it be?"
Bertha wiped her streaming eyes with the handkerchief in her hand; it
was the handkerchief found in the _châlet_,--that of Gaston de Bois. It
seemed to answer her question. She hesitated for some moments before she
could persuade herself to communicate her suspicion; but her strong love
for Madeleine, and her desire that she should be restored to them,
prevailed. She handed the handkerchief to Count Tristan.
"Before you go to Rennes, will you not return this handkerchief to M. de
Bois? As it was picked up in the _châlet_, he must have been there
lately,--possibly this morning. Perhaps he knows something of
Madeleine's flight. Oh, he _must_ know!--he must! Make him tell
you,--implore him to tell you!"
The count took the handkerchief, saying, "It is an admirable suggestion
of yours, my dear Bertha. I will go to M. de Bois at once. Meantime, do
not spoil your beautiful eyes with weeping. Never fear,--we will have
Madeleine back shortly; and if you will only be consoled, I promise to
forgive her all the anxiety she has occasioned us."
Count Tristan found M. de Bois at home, burrowing among musty volumes,
which were the daily companions of his solitude. When he received his
handkerchief, a violent fit of stammering rendered the words he
attempted to utter wholly incomprehensible, and the count made no effort
to understand them. He proceeded to inform M. de Bois of Madeleine's
sudden disappearance, and of the great unhappiness it had caused, adding
that he came to him as a neighbor, to ask his advice concerning the best
method of tracking the fugitive.
If M. de Bois offered any counsel (which his guest pretended to imagine
he did), the impediment in his speech increased to such an extent that
his suggestions were unintelligible. His perturbation might have passed
for surprise at the startling intelligence so abruptly communicated;
but it could hardly be translated into sorrow or sympathy, and was a
very imperfect simulation of astonishment.
"I am going to Rennes, for the purpose of making inquiries at the
railroad depôt. Will not that plan be a good one?" asked the count.
"Ver--ver--ery good," stammered M. de Bois.
"Can you think of any mode that will facilitate my search?"
"I fear not,--none at all; I am very dull in such m--m--matters."
The count took his leave, congratulating himself that his neighbor had
not been subjected to the scrutiny of the Countess de Gramont or Bertha,
and especially of Maurice, whose absence at this crisis he looked upon
as doubly fortunate.
Count Tristan returned to the château with as dejected a mien as he
could assume.
Bertha was watching at the window, and ran out to meet him. "What news?
When did M. de Bois lose his handkerchief? When did he last see
Madeleine?"
"Dear child, I am deeply pained not to bring more cheering information.
M. de Bois must have dropped his handkerchief some days ago,--the
morning after the ball; he has not been here since; he has no
recollection of the circumstance; he has not seen Madeleine at all."
"Was he not amazed to hear that she had gone?"
"Very much confounded; the shock quite bewildered him. We consulted
about the best means of tracing her at Rennes. You may rest assured that
M. de Bois was totally ignorant of her intention to leave us. And, if
you will allow me to make a suggestion, I would charge you not to let
him suspect, when you meet, that you for a moment imagine he was in
Madeleine's confidence. It would be highly indelicate,--the very
supposition would be derogatory to her dignity. _I_ have said all that
was necessary to him, and, as he had nothing to do with the affair, it
is a topic which cannot with propriety be touched upon again."
"Assuredly not," coincided the countess. "Madeleine, with all her
faults, would not so entirely forget her own self-respect as to have a
clandestine understanding with a young man. I cannot believe she would
disgrace herself and us by such unmaidenly conduct."
"Unmaidenly! Would it be unmaidenly?" questioned Bertha, innocently. "If
it would be an impropriety to confide in M. de Bois, then Madeleine
certainly has not made him her confidant. Oh, my poor Madeleine! It is
dreadful to think that she must have gone away alone,--quite alone!"
"You may well call it _dreadful_, Bertha. An occurrence of this kind has
never blotted the annals of our family! What will be said of her and of
us? Such a step, taken by a woman of her birth, will set hundreds of
tongues discussing our domestic concerns; our names will be bandied
about from lip to lip; our affairs will be in all sorts of common
people's mouths. Hasten, for heaven's sake, my son, and find Madeleine
before this story gets wind."
Count Tristan dutifully obeyed,--that is to say, he assumed an
appearance of compliance, for in a few moments he was galloping toward
Rennes.
Evening set in before he returned. His long absence had kindled in the
minds of the countess and Bertha a hope that he had discovered some
clew, and the latter had worked herself up to such a pitch of excitement
that she almost anticipated the return of Madeleine in Count Tristan's
company. Her disappointment when, at last, he entered, looking weary and
dejected, was proportionate to her expectations. He had made all
possible search,--_so he said_,--and no information concerning the
fugitive could be gathered; she was gone! He feared they must now wait
patiently until they heard from her. She would doubtless write soon,--a
letter might come at any moment. Very possibly she had changed her mind
in regard to Lady Vivian's offer, and had accepted it without
communicating her intention, because she feared her aunt's displeasure.
This was the most likely explanation of her sudden departure. He had
called at the Château de Tremazan, and Lady Vivian had left for Scotland
two days after the ball. Madeleine was doubtless at this moment on her
way to Edinburgh.
The count, though he made this assertion with an air of perfect
credence, did not, for a moment, believe that such was Madeleine's
destination; but he thought to check persistent inquiries which might
accidentally bring to light some fine thread that would lead to the
discovery of her retreat.
"Oh, if she goes to Lady Vivian, we will make her return at once,--will
we not, aunt?" asked Bertha, catching eagerly at this new hope. "But
Madeleine told me distinctly that she had no intention of accepting Lady
Vivian's offer."
"There would be no harm in changing her mind," observed the count. "You
will find that she has done so; therefore, give yourself no more
uneasiness at present."
Bertha would very gladly have followed the count's advice; but, even if
she had made the effort, it would have been impossible to drive anxiety
for Madeleine out of her thoughts. Several times during the evening she
started up, thinking that she heard her voice; if a step echoed in the
antechamber, she turned eagerly to the door, her blue eyes greatening
with expectation. Once, when the roll of wheels sounded in the distance,
she uttered a cry of joy and rushed out upon the porch. Every moment she
grew more and more restless and feverish; and when the usual hour for
retiring came, she wandered into Madeleine's room, instead of her own,
and once more minutely examined the whole chamber. There might, perhaps,
be a note somewhere which she had overlooked: after the most diligent
search, none was to be found. There were pens, ink, and paper upon the
little table which Madeleine generally used, but not a word of writing
was visible.
The sight of pen and ink suggested an idea which had not before occurred
to Bertha. She sat down and wrote to Maurice. She poured out all her
grief upon paper, and it was soothed as if dropped into words upon the
blank sheet before her. How often a full heart has had its burden lifted
and lightened at the pen's point, as if the sorrow it recorded grew less
heavy beneath the calming touch of that potent instrument!
CHAPTER IX.
THE EMPTY PLACE.
It chanced that Bertha's letter to Maurice was posted the next morning
without the knowledge of Count Tristan and his mother; not, however,
through any preconcerted arrangement on the part of Bertha. Her
character was so frank, so transparent,--her actions were always so
unveiled,--her thoughts flowed in such an instinctive current toward her
lips,--that the idea of concealment could have no spontaneous existence
in her mind. She made no allusion to the letter until it was gone; but
that was purely accidental, though not the less fortunate. Had Count
Tristan been aware that such a letter had been written, it would never
have reached its destination.
It was somewhat singular that the count, whose code of honor would have
forced him to resent, at the sword's point, the faintest hint that he
could be guilty of an unworthy action, would not have scrupled to
intercept a letter, to distort a fact (we use the mildest phrase), to
stoop to any deception, to be guilty of any treachery, if he were
powerfully prompted by what he termed family considerations,--which
simply meant his own personal interest.
He had determined to keep Maurice in ignorance of Madeleine's flight as
long as possible, that the chances of discovering her retreat might be
diminished; and great was the wily schemer's consternation when he
learned that Bertha had unadvisedly frustrated his plans by writing to
her cousin.
Madeleine's value had never been estimated to its just height until her
place was empty. It is not in human nature to prize that which we
possess to its full worth, until it is "lacked and lost!" Alas! in how
many households there moves, with noiseless feet, some placid, patient,
yet potent spirit, with hands ever ready to toil, or soothe; a smile
ever kindled to comfort or encourage; a voice that "turns common words
to grace," imparting hope and dispensing joy; a presence full of
helpfulness and peace; a being, grown familiar to our eyes by every
day's association, whom we carelessly greet, or jostle against
unheeding, or thrust aside impatiently, never dreaming that our
working-day mortal, could she cast off this garment of clay, would stand
revealed one of God's holy messengers commissioned to minister!--that
is, _never until_ we suddenly find her place empty, yet trace the touch
of her delicate fingers, the print of her light footsteps everywhere
around us, and feel the dreary void made in our hearts by her absence,
and recognize, too late, that we have entertained an angel unawares.
Throughout the Château de Gramont there was no one, save Count Tristan,
who did not make some such reflection (though vague and undefined,
perhaps) while thinking of Madeleine. The ancient domestics seemed
completely lost without her guiding hand,--her spirit of order
systematizing and lightening all their duties. Everything was in
confusion, everything went wrong. Dearly as they loved her, they had
never before realized that Mademoiselle Madeleine had been of so much
importance and assistance to them all.
The countess missed her every moment; and, interested as were her
regrets, they were not unmingled with some faint self-reproach when she
remembered how lightly she had prized her services. The antiquated
_femme de chambre_ had never appeared so clumsy, purblind, and stupid;
and the more her stately mistress chided her, the more bewildered
Bettina became, the more blunders she committed.
Even a bearing as majestic as that of the noble lady could not
neutralize the caricaturing effect of a robe pinned awry; curls with
long straight ends standing out porcupine fashion; a cap obstinately
bent upon inclining to one side; and a collar with a strong tendency to
avoid a central position.
As for Bertha, naturally restless, excitable, and untutored in the art
of calming the agitation of her mind by active employment, she could do
nothing but wander in and out of her aunt's apartment; stand at the
window watching for the postman, beating the devil's tattoo upon the
panes; counting the hours, fretting over their insupportable length, and
breaking out, at intervals, into piteous lamentations.
It was with difficulty that she could be persuaded to appear at table,
and she scarcely tasted food. Glancing up at the faded flowers in the
hanging baskets suspended before the windows, and to the withered
bouquets in the tall vases that stood on either side,--baskets and vases
which Madeleine had ever kept freshly supplied,--Bertha could scarcely
restrain her tears, as she murmured mournfully,--
"Ah, I know now what the English poet's Ophelia meant, when she said all
the violets withered when her father died! All our flowers faded when
Madeleine went!"
Baptiste, who was standing beside her chair, rubbed his eyes, and the
sigh, that would not be checked, was audible to her quick ears. She
turned to give him a glance which recognized his sympathy, and noticed
that there was no gay-looking blossom in his button-hole that day. This
was an unmistakable expression of sorrow on the part of Baptiste; for he
never assumed the compulsory office of butler without asserting his
preference for his legitimate vocation of gardener by a flower in his
coat. Bertha had never seen him dispense with the floral decoration
before, and she comprehended its absence but too well.
Her nervous disquietude increased every hour, and caused her aunt a
species of petty martyrdom resembling the torture of perpetual
pin-pricking, the incessant buzzing and stinging of a gnat, the endless
creaking of rusty door-hinges,--minor miseries often more unendurable
than some great mental or physical suffering. But although the patience
of the countess was wearied out, Bertha was too great a favorite to be
rebuked. Count Tristan discreetly fled the field, and thus avoided his
share of the infliction.
Bertha's letter reached Maurice the day after it was written, and found
him in a state of such torpid despondency that any summons to action,
even the most painful, was a blessing. He had felt that the only chance
of combating his sorrow, and preventing its obtaining full mastery over
all his faculties, was to work off the sense of depression by hard
study,--to battle against it with the arms of some engrossing
occupation; but how could he spur himself up to study without an
object?--and he was as far as ever from obtaining his father's consent
to fitting himself for the bar, or for any other professional pursuit.
No,--there was only one pursuit left open to him, the pursuit of
pleasure, and he had not sufficiently recovered from his late shock to
start off in chase of that illusive phantom. Bertha's letter roused him
out of this miserable, mind-paralyzing apathy. In the very next train
which left for Rennes he was on his way back to Brittany.
It was the fourth day after Madeleine's departure. Those days had seemed
months to Bertha, the weariest months of her brief, glad life. She was
standing at a window that commanded the road,--her favorite post, and
the only locality where she ever remained quiet for any length of
time,--when the carriage in which Maurice was seated drove up the
avenue. With a joyful exclamation she rushed out of the room, darted
down the stair, through the hall, into the porch, and had greeted
Maurice before any one but the old gardener knew that he had arrived.
"You have heard from her?" were her cousin's first words, gaspingly
uttered.
"No, not a line. She will never write; she will never come back! O
Maurice! I have lost all hope," sighed Bertha.
"Dear Bertha, we will find her! Let her go where she may, I will find
her!--be sure of that. I will not rest until I do."
His grandmother, attracted by Bertha's exultant ejaculation, had
followed her, though with more deliberate steps, and now appeared. The
cruel words the countess had spoken to Madeleine were ringing in the
ears of Maurice, and he saluted his noble relative respectfully, but not
with his usual warmth.
"I am glad you have come back to us, Maurice. Bertha is so lonely."
The lips of Maurice parted, but some internal warning checked the bitter
words before they formed themselves into sound. He bowed gravely, and,
entering the house, remarked to Bertha,--
"You wrote that all the servants had been examined?"
"Yes, all; and they know nothing of Madeleine's flight."
"That is _impossible_. One of them at least must have some knowledge."
Maurice rang the bell. It was Bettina, who replied. Gustave, she said,
was in the stable, and Baptiste in the garden. The answers of the _femme
de chambre_ to the young viscount were clear and unhesitating: no one
could doubt, for a moment, that she was wholly ignorant of Madeleine's
movement; and her tone and manner evinced, as forcibly as any language
could have done, how deeply she mourned over her absence. Elise was next
summoned, and her replies were but a repetition of Bettina's.
"I will not send for Gustave and Baptiste," he observed, dismissing the
two female domestics,--"I will walk out and see them."
"And I will go with you," said Bertha.
The countess was too well pleased to see the cousins together to object.
Gustave was grooming a horse as they passed by the stable. He paused in
his work to welcome the viscount, and added, in the same breath,--
"Monsieur will find it very dull at the château, now. It does not seem
like the same place since Mademoiselle Madeleine left!"
"Have you no idea how she went, Gustave? Some of you surely must know!"
"I know nothing, monsieur. When they told me that Mademoiselle Madeleine
was gone, it was as though a thunder-bolt had struck me. I have never
felt good for anything since!"
There was too much sincerity, too much feeling in his tone for Maurice
to doubt him, or deem further questioning necessary. He walked sadly
away, accompanied by Bertha.
Baptiste was busied near the little _châlet_; he seemed to hover about
it constantly of late. He was aware of the return of his young
master,--he had bowed to him as he was descending from the carriage.
When Bertha and her cousin approached the venerable domestic, his
trepidation was too obvious to escape their notice. He was pruning the
luxuriant growth of some of the vines Madeleine had planted, and the
hand which held his knife shook and committed unintentional havoc among
the blossoming branches.
"Baptiste, come in; I have something to talk to you about," said
Maurice, entering the _châlet_ with Bertha.
How painfully that pleasant little retreat reminded him of Madeleine!
For a moment he was overpowered, and dropped into a chair, covering his
eyes with his hands; perhaps because he could not bear the sight of
objects which called up such agonizing recollections; perhaps because
his eyes were dim with too womanish a moisture.
"Dear Maurice," said Bertha, bending over him compassionately, "if
Madeleine only knew how wretched she has made us both, surely she would
not forsake us so cruelly."
Maurice, by a gesture, prayed her to sit down. Baptiste stood in the
doorway; his attitude betokened a reluctance to enter, and a desire to
be quickly dismissed. After a long interval, the viscount, slowly
raising his head, was again struck by the perturbed mien of the
guileless old man, whose native simplicity, warmth, and ingenuousness
would have melted any mask he attempted to assume. Maurice had almost
abandoned all expectation that he would receive any information from the
domestics; but he now experienced a sudden renewal of hope.
"Baptiste," he said, scrutinizing the ancient gardener closely, "do you
not know where Mademoiselle Madeleine is?"
"No, monsieur."
The reply was uttered in a tone of genuine sadness.
"You cannot even guess?"
"No, monsieur."
"Do you know how she left here?"
"No, monsieur."
"Baptiste, you are not speaking falsely?--you are not trifling with me?
If you _are_, you can hardly know how cruelly you are adding to my
sorrow."
"I have spoken the exact truth, monsieur."
"I am sure he has, Maurice," interrupted Bertha. "I never knew Baptiste
to utter even a _white lie_: he has as great a horror of falsehood as
Madeleine herself."
Baptiste looked at her gratefully.
"Then you know _nothing at all_," ejaculated Maurice, in a tone of
discouragement. "You did not help Mademoiselle Madeleine in any way? She
must have had some assistance; but from _you_ she had none? You did not
even know that she intended to leave us?"
Baptiste hesitated; his mouth twitched,--his eyes were fixed upon the
ground.
"Why do you not answer, Baptiste?" asked Bertha. "You _did not_ know
that Mademoiselle Madeleine was going,--did you?"
"Yes, mademoiselle."
The answer was spoken almost in a whisper.
"_You knew it?_ And why, _why_ have you not told us this before?" she
almost shrieked out.
"No one asked me that question, mademoiselle; and Mademoiselle Madeleine
requested me not to give any information concerning her which I could
possibly, and without uttering a falsehood, avoid."
Maurice sprang up and laid his hand upon the old man's shoulder.
"Speak _now_ then! You cannot avoid telling us all you know! You were
aware that she was going; you assisted her flight. _How_ did you aid
her? _What_ did you do? _What_ do you know?"
"Very little, monsieur. I did very little and know very little. The
evening before Mademoiselle Madeleine left, she came to me in the
garden; she asked me if I would do her a favor. I would have done her a
thousand. Did I not owe her enough? Was it not she who watched beside my
bed when I had that terrible rheumatic fever two years ago? Did she not
pour out my medicine with her own white hands? Did she not talk to me
when I was racked with pain, until I thought the room was full of
heavenly music, and I forgot I was suffering? Did she not keep me from
cursing God when the pangs were so sharp that I felt I was tortured
beyond my strength? Did she not tell me why all anguish of soul or body
should be borne patiently? Was there, oh, was there _anything_ I would
not have done for Mademoiselle Madeleine? When she left the château, was
her loss greater to any one than it was to me? And she would not have
gone if she could have staid any longer. I was sure of _that_. When she
said she must go, I knew she _must_, and I never even dared to pray her
to remain."
It was seldom that Baptiste spoke so much, for he was taciturn by
nature; but the emotion, forcibly suppressed for so many days, once
breaking bondage, burst forth into a torrent of words.
"You did well, Baptiste,--good, faithful old man! Mademoiselle Madeleine
needed a friend; and I thank Heaven she had one like you. Do not think
we blame you; only tell us all you know. She came to you the evening
before she left: what favor did she ask?"
"Mademoiselle Madeleine only asked, monsieur, that I would come to her
room when the house was all quiet, that night, and carry down her trunk
and place it in the _châlet_. I could not help saying, 'Oh,
Mademoiselle Madeleine, are you going to leave us?' She answered, 'I
_cannot_ stay, Baptiste. I am _compelled_ to go. You are the only person
here who is aware of my intention. When I am gone do not give any
information concerning me that you can possibly, and without uttering a
falsehood, avoid. It will be better that no one should know I had your
aid.' Those were her exact words, monsieur."
"Go on,--go on!" urged Maurice, as the narrator paused.
"When the house was all quiet, I put off my shoes and stole softly to
Mademoiselle Madeleine's room. She opened the door, and, without
speaking, pointed to the little trunk. Old and weak as I am, I had no
trouble in carrying it. It was light enough. It could not have held
much."
"Did she not bid you adieu, then?" asked Bertha.
"Just as I was stooping to lift the trunk, Mademoiselle Madeleine
stretched out her hand and took mine. I felt her warm, soft touch the
whole day after. She did not say adieu, but she looked it. She looked as
though she were blessing me and thanking me. I never saw a face that
said so much,--so much that went to my very soul and comforted me! When
she let go my hand, I took up the trunk and carried it out. She closed
the door behind me without a sound, and I brought the trunk here that
night and left it. That is all I know, monsieur."
"But how was the trunk conveyed hence?"
"I do not know, monsieur."
"Did you see Mademoiselle Madeleine the next morning?" inquired Bertha.
"No, mademoiselle. I could not help going to the _châlet_ the first
thing when I came out to work. I pushed the door open and looked in; the
trunk was not there, and I knew that Mademoiselle Madeleine was gone
too!"
"But did not Mademoiselle Madeleine drop some hint, even the faintest,
of her plans?" asked Maurice, earnestly.
"I have told monsieur every word Mademoiselle Madeleine spoke to me on
the subject."
"_Some one_ must have aided her further! Who could it be? _Who could it
possibly be?_" mused Maurice.
Baptiste was certain he knew who alone it could be; and he was pondering
within himself whether he had the right to mention the note Madeleine
had ordered him to deliver to M. de Bois. Her request had been that he
would give no information he could honestly avoid; if it _could_ be
avoided, it was plain, then, that the intelligence ought not to be
communicated.
"Has monsieur done with me?" he asked, as Maurice stood reflecting in
silence.
"Yes, if you have nothing further to tell me."
"Nothing further, monsieur." Saying these words, Baptiste withdrew.
"After Madeleine was missed," said Bertha, when the old gardener was
gone, "I was the first person who came to the _châlet_. I found a
handkerchief lying just by this table. It was marked G. de Bois."
"Gaston de Bois! Then it is clear _he_ was Madeleine's confidant. He
promoted her flight!"
"So I thought, at first," rejoined Bertha; "but it seems this is not so.
Your father took him the handkerchief, and he could not tell when or
where he had lost it. He was amazed to hear that Madeleine had left us,
and disclaimed all knowledge concerning her."
"Who, then, could it have been? But I will see M. de Bois myself."
"First let me tell you"--began Bertha, and faltered.
"Why do you hesitate? For Heaven's sake, dear Bertha, tell me everything
which can throw the faintest glimmer of light upon the path Madeleine
has taken."
"I do not know how to say what I was thinking; perhaps I ought not to
allude to it at all; yet it seems as if it must be true. Do you not
remember that Madeleine confessed she had bestowed her affections upon
_some one_? Since they were not given to you, as I once believed, I
cannot help imagining that perhaps she might--might have meant"--
"Gaston de Bois?"
"Yes."
Maurice did not answer, and Bertha could say no more. There was a
painful struggle going on in her mind, though less torturing than that
which convulsed the spirit of her cousin.
When he had somewhat recovered himself, he said,--
"At all events I will see M. de Bois. If there is nothing to be learned
from him, if he really knows nothing concerning Madeleine's departure, I
must seek information at Rennes. There is no time to lose. I will call
upon M. de Bois at once."
The cousins parted at the door of the _châlet_. Bertha turned toward the
château, pausing on her way to talk with Baptiste; Maurice went in the
direction of his neighbor's residence.
Count Tristan's visit had taken M. de Bois aback, chiefly because he was
confounded by a new proof of his own awkwardness (stupidity, he plainly
termed it) in leaving his handkerchief behind him, as a witness of his
presence at the _châlet_. But there was no such confusing testimony to
destroy his composure when he received Maurice. Besides, he had ample
time to collect himself; for he was walking in the park when his valet
announced that the young viscount was awaiting him in the library. He
had looked forward to the return of Maurice to Brittany as soon as the
latter heard of Madeleine's mysterious disappearance. M. de Bois knew
that it would be more difficult to prevent her being traced by her
cousin than by any other person, and that it was by him Madeleine
herself most feared to be discovered. Gaston was therefore fully on his
guard against betraying her confidence.
Maurice, on his part, was keenly sensible of the difficulty of his
undertaking. He could not openly inquire of M. de Bois whether Madeleine
had apprised him of her intentions. The very question would have a
tendency to compromise his cousin, by suggesting that she was capable of
holding clandestine communication with a young gentleman. Then, too, if
M. de Bois was really the object of her attachment, he might not be
aware of the preference with which she honored him; and it would be the
height of indelicacy for Maurice to allow him to suspect a circumstance
which her modesty would scrupulously conceal. He was sitting in the
library pondering over the embarrassments of his position, when his host
entered. The gentlemen greeted each other with wonted cordiality.
"Did you return from Paris to-day?" asked M. de Bois. "Have you just
come?"
"About an hour ago. I came to you at once to"--
M. de Bois interrupted him. It was the policy of the former to lead the
conversation, that he might avoid direct questions.
"Had you heard that Mademoiselle de Gramont had left the château?"
"Yes; my cousin Bertha wrote to me, and"--
Again M. de Bois seized upon the thread of conversation.
"Have you no news from Mademoiselle Madeleine?--no letter?"
"None," sighed Maurice, convinced that, as M. de Bois plunged into the
subject in this straightforward, calm manner, he could not possibly be
in her confidence.
The host went on.
"Has not Count Tristan been able to obtain any trace of her?"
"Thus far, none at all! What _could_ have become of her! Where _could_
she have gone!" exclaimed Maurice; but not in a tone of interrogation,
for he now felt assured that M. de Bois could not answer.
"One thing is certain; what Mademoiselle Mad--ad--adeleine has done must
have been prompted by a noble motive. She could not cause you all this
sorrow unless she imagined herself compelled to take the step which we
must all lament."
"You are right, you only do her justice!" rejoined Maurice.
"What course do you propose to ado--op--opt?" inquired M. de Bois, with
a perfectly natural air of friendly interest.
"I hardly know what to do. I should be thankful for any advice. I shall
first visit the Prefecture at Rennes, to see if she obtained a passport.
She could not surely run the risk of attempting to travel without one.
If the passport be for Great Britain, I may go to Scotland. Possibly she
may have changed her mind, and accepted Lady Vivian's offer,--do you not
think so?"
"It does not appear to me likely. She definitely decli--i--ined."
"Did she tell you so? Did she speak to you on the subject?" asked
Maurice, hastily.
For the first time during the interview, M. de Bois betrayed a slight
disquietude, but he quickly collected himself and answered,--
"I heard Lady Vivian speak to Mademoiselle Bertha of the offer she had
made her cousin, and after that, Mademoiselle Mad--ad--adeleine told me
she had declined the prop--op--oposition. But, if you imagine she has
changed her mind, would not a letter to Lady Vivian answer every
pur--ur--urpose?"
"No; if she should be there, I must see her, and use arguments which
would have no force upon paper. _She must be there!_ Where else could
she be? I will start for Scotland to-night. Now I must bid you adieu."
"If you are going back to the château, I will accompany you. I must make
my _adieux_ to the ladies. I leave for Paris to-morrow."
"Indeed! Do you make a long stay?"
"Prob--ob--obably. The Marquis de Fleury had promised me a
secretaryship, if he were sent as ambassador to America. It is uncertain
when he may get the appointment, but he has offered me the post of
confidential sec--ec--ecretary at once."
"And you have accepted?"
"Gladly."
"Ah, M. de Bois, how I envy you! _You_ will have an object in life,
while _I_, who feel as though a pent-up volcano were roaring within me,
am condemned to let my struggling energies smoulder beneath the ashes of
my father's autocratic will! You have heard of his opposition to my
studying for the bar? What is to become of me if I am deprived of every
stimulating incentive to action?--especially now--now that"--he checked
himself suddenly. He was not aware that M. de Bois had been informed by
Bertha of Madeleine's rejection, and Maurice could not dwell upon his
own disappointment to one who might be a rival.
"Count Tristan may gradually be brought to contemplate your wishes with
more favor."
"Hardly; but come--if you will accompany me, let us go."
Bertha, who had been waiting impatiently for the return of Maurice, did
not fly to meet him when she saw M. de Bois walking by his side, as they
approached the château. The countess was in the drawing-room when the
gentlemen entered, and her majestic presence stemmed the stream of
inquiries that was ready to gush from Bertha's lips.
M. de Bois, who during his interview with Maurice had been so
self-possessed that the impediment in his speech was scarcely
observable, was seized anew and cast into chains by his invisible enemy.
The captive struggled in vain; the avenues of speech were barricaded;
all his limbs were shackled; his movements became uncertain and
spasmodic, menacing tables, chairs, vases, which, had they been gifted
with consciousness, must have trembled at his approach; his nervous
fingers thrust themselves into his hair, and threw it into ludicrous
disorder; his countenance was suffused with scarlet; he stammered out
something about bidding adieu, which the ladies were evidently at a loss
to comprehend, until Maurice explained that M. de Bois expected to start
on the morrow for Paris, where he purposed to take up his residence.
"We shall regret losing so valued a neighbor!" observed the countess,
condescendingly.
Bertha made no remark, though she looked as though she wished to speak,
and could not summon resolution. She took an opportunity, while the
countess was conversing with their guest, to whisper to her cousin,--
"You asked M. de Bois, and he could give you no information concerning
Madeleine?"
"None at all," replied Maurice in a low tone. Then, turning to the
countess, he said aloud, "I also must bid you adieu, my grandmother; I
am going immediately to Rennes; if I obtain the information there, which
I think probable, I shall start at once for Scotland and seek Lady
Vivian."
"You have not consulted your father, Maurice," the countess answered,
with an emphasis which was intended to remind him that he was not a free
agent.
"I must beg you to make my apologies to him."
Maurice, though he treated his grandmother with deference which left her
no room for complaint, could not force himself to assume his wonted air
of affection; his love for her had waned from the hour he listened to
the unjust accusation, the reproaches, the contumely she had heaped upon
the innocent and unfortunate orphan placed at her mercy. The softening
veil had fallen from her character, and disclosed its harsh, proud
selfishness and policy. He now knew that she had offered her destitute
relative shelter, not from any genuine, womanly feeling of tenderness
and compassion, but simply because she deemed it humiliating to allow
one who bore her name to be placed in a doubtful and friendless
position. All Madeleine's gentleness, cheerfulness, diligence to please,
had failed to melt her aunt's impenetrable heart and make it expand to
yield her a sacred place; the countess had misinterpreted her highest
virtues,--grossly insulted her by attributing shameful motives to her
most disinterested conduct, and destroyed all the merit of her own
benefactions by reminding the recipient of her indebtedness. Maurice
felt that, truly to venerate a person, he must be moved by esteem for
noble qualities possessed. The recent revelation of his grandmother's
actual attributes estranged and revolted him, until it became difficult
to treat her with even the outward semblance of reverence.
When the viscount bade farewell, M. de Bois also took his leave.
"You will write to me as soon as you reach Edinburgh?" pleaded Bertha to
her cousin.
"I will certainly write," answered Maurice; "meantime comfort yourself
with the assurance that I will not relinquish my search until Madeleine
is restored to us."
And Bertha did solace herself with that pledge, for hope was a dominant
characteristic of her buoyant temperament.
The monotonous round of blank, weary days that ensued was happily
broken, before the week closed, by the promised letter from Maurice.
Bertha, whose only exciting occupation consisted in watching for the
arrival and distribution of letters, was in possession of the precious
missive before her aunt and Count Tristan were aware of its arrival. She
tore it open, and, glancing through the contents, uttered a cry of joy
that rang through the château, and reached the ears even of the countess
and her son in the library. The next moment Bertha burst into the
apartment, laughing and crying, waving the letter triumphantly over her
head, and exclaiming, in a voice now stifled with sobs, now broken by
hysterical mirth,--
"She is found! she is found! Maurice has traced her! Oh, my dear, dear
Madeleine, I shall see her again!"
Her blinding tears, or her overwhelming transport, prevented her
noticing the totally different effect produced upon her two relatives by
this rapturously uttered communication. The face of the countess
expressed a haughty satisfaction that her noble family had been spared
some impending disgrace; but Count Tristan's black brows contracted; his
malignant eyes flashed fiercely; he ground his teeth with suppressed
rage as he snatched the letter out of Bertha's hand. She flung her arms
about her aunt, and laid her head lovingly upon her unsympathetic bosom,
as though she must caress some one in the exuberant outburst of her joy!
Meanwhile the count perused the letter.
"My son, let me hear what Maurice says."
Count Tristan read,--
"I hasten to send you good news, my dearest Bertha. At
Rennes I visited the Prefecture to examine the list of
passports, knowing that Madeleine must have obtained one to
travel unmolested. I found that her passport had been taken
out for England. This confirmed my impression that she had
joined Lady Vivian in Scotland. The passport which, as you
are aware, requires two responsible witnesses, was signed by
Messrs. Picard and Bossuet. I sought those gentlemen to
extract further information from them, but, singularly
enough, both had left Brittany the day after Madeleine. I
cannot conceive how she obtained their signatures, for
surely she had no acquaintance with them. Following this
clew I started immediately for Edinburgh, and arrived here
on Wednesday evening. I had no difficulty in finding the
residence of Lady Vivian. She is in London, but is expected
home shortly. I had an interview with her venerable
housekeeper, who answered all my inquiries with great
patience. From her I learned that Lady Vivian was
accompanied by a young French lady whom she had recently
engaged as a _dame de compagnie_. The housekeeper could not
remember her foreign name, but when I mentioned Mademoiselle
de Gramont, she said it sounded like that. She had been
informed that the young lady was very accomplished and
belonged to an excellent family; also that Lady Vivian had
first heard of her during her late visit in Brittany. In
answer to the question whether this young lady arrived with
Lady Vivian in London, the housekeeper replied that she did
not,--she had joined her ladyship only a few days ago. Thus
I feel certain that Madeleine is found. I leave for London
at once, and, not many days after you receive this letter,
you may expect to see us both; for I will never cease my
supplications until Madeleine yields and returns with me to
the Château de Gramont. I know what joy this intelligence
will give you, my dear little cousin, and my joy is
increased by the reflection of yours."
The count broke off without reading the concluding lines of the letter,
and remarked,--
"Maurice came to a hasty conclusion. If Lady Vivian's _dame de
compagnie_ should prove to be Madeleine, as it _may_ be, there is no
certainty that she will yield to his persuasions and return to us.
Madeleine is very obstinate and self-willed. You must pardon me, Bertha,
for throwing a damper upon your hopes, but I would spare you too severe
disappointment."
"I shall _not_ be disappointed. I feel sure Maurice has discovered
Madeleine: _that_ is all I ask for the present. You may be right about
her refusing to return here,--I dare say you are; but _that_ will not
make me miserable, which I should be if we could not find her at all. I
mean to ask my uncle's permission to allow Madeleine to reside with us.
I do not see how he can refuse, and he is very indulgent; so that,
whether Madeleine consents to return here, or not, we shall not be
wholly parted."
Bertha did not suspect into what a fury her words were lashing the
count, nor did she divine the machinations already at work within his
perfidious spirit to defeat her kindly purpose.
CHAPTER X.
THE HUMBLE COMPANION.
Rapidly as Maurice travelled from Edinburgh to London, the distance
seemed interminable to his impetuous spirit. Multitudes of arguments
were driven through his mind in long array, and he was impatient to
prove their power in persuading Madeleine to return. Was it possible
that she could refuse to see their force? If calm reasoning, if
entreaties and prayers failed to move her, he would test the potency of
a threat,--she should learn that he had vowed never to return to his
paternal home, never to forgive those who had driven her forth by their
cruelty, until _she_ had proclaimed their pardon by again taking up her
abode at the Château de Gramont. Madeleine, who shrank from all strife,
who moved in an atmosphere of harmony, which seemed to envelop her
wherever she went, would not lift her hand to sever the sacred bond of
union between father and son, grandmother and grandchild. Whatever
anguish it might cost her to yield, however great her sacrifice, she
would endure the one and accept the other rather than become the
instrument that, with fatal blow, struck such an unholy severance.
Maurice vividly pictured to himself his approaching interview under a
tantalizing variety of circumstances. Now he imagined that he saw
Madeleine only in the presence of her new friends,--that she was cold
and reserved, and allowed him no opportunity of uttering a word that
could reach _her_ ear alone. Now he fancied she had granted him a
private interview,--that she was sitting by his side, but resolute,
unconvinced, unmoved, while he besieged her with arguments, appealed to
her with all the passionate fervor that convulsed his soul, portrayed in
darkest colors the fearful results of her inflexibility. Now he painted
her overwhelmed by his reasoning, melted by his application, terrified
by that terrible menace, and finally consenting to his petition.
It was past ten o'clock when the train reached the London terminus. The
loquacious Edinburgh housekeeper had informed him that Lady Vivian was
the guest of Lady Augusta Langdon. The lateness of the hour forbade a
visit that night; yet, after having engaged a room at Morley's hotel, he
could not help strolling in the direction of Grosvenor Square, and was
soon searching for the number he had written upon his tablets. It was
easily found, and Maurice stood before one of the most sumptuous of the
magnificent edifices which adorn that aristocratic locality. The windows
were thrown open, and the richly embroidered lace curtains drawn back,
for the evening was more than usually sultry. He crossed to the opposite
side of the street, and took up a position which enabled him to
distinguish forms moving about the spacious drawing-room. With what
straining eyes and breathless anxiety he scrutinized them! Now he saw a
lady of noble carriage walking to and fro,--_that_ might be Lady
Langdon; by and by he caught sight of a gaunt, ungainly figure, and
recognized Lady Vivian. Who would have believed that a glimpse of that
angular, unsymmetrical form could ever have called such radiance to the
eyes of a young and handsome man?--could have kindled such a glow upon
his cheeks?--could have quickened his pulses with so joyful a motion?
Not long after, a group of young ladies clustered together, just beneath
the chandelier, to examine some object which one of them held in her
hand; and now the heart of Maurice throbbed so tumultuously that its
beats became audible. He had singled out one maiden whose height and
graceful proportions distinguished her from her companions,--Madeleine!
Her face was turned from him; but surely that statuesque outline, that
slender, flexible throat, that exquisitely-shaped head, about which he
thought he traced the coronal braid that usually crowned her noble
brows,--these could belong to Madeleine only! Could he fail to recognize
them anywhere or at any distance? The longer he gazed the more certain
he became that it was she herself,--that she was found at last! How
eagerly he watched to see her turn, and render "assurance doubly sure"
by revealing her lovely countenance! She remained some time in the same
position; then the little group dispersed, and she glided away, but not
in the direction of the window. The eyes of Maurice never moved from the
place where she had disappeared, though he was conscious of attracting
the attention of passers-by, and now and then a whispered comment of
derision fell upon his ear.
Several equipages drove up to Lady Langdon's door, and her guests
gradually departed. Soon after the drawing-room was deserted, the lights
were extinguished, the windows closed. Other lights brightened the
casements above. Still Maurice remained riveted to the spot,
unreasonably hoping to behold Madeleine for one fleeting moment again.
By and by, one window after another grew dark; but not until the last
light went out could he force himself to turn away and retrace his steps
to the hotel.
"Will the dawn never come?" How often that question rises involuntarily
to the lips, through the long night of expectation that precedes a
wished-for day! _Time_--that is, the sense of its duration--is but
another word for _state_,--state of mind. The length or briefness of the
hour is so completely governed by the mood of one's spirits that it
becomes easy for those who have learned this truth from experience to
conceive a thousand years but as a day to the blessed,--a day of
torture, an age to the miserable; and to comprehend that _time itself_
can have no existence, and its computation must be replaced by _state_
in the eternal hereafter where we shall live in the spirit only.
"Will the dawn never come?" Maurice repeated hundreds of times as that
night dragged its leaden, lagging feet with the slow movement of
centuries.
The dim, late London morning came at last to bring with it a new
perplexity. It would be a breach of etiquette to call upon Lady Vivian
at too early an hour; yet, how was Maurice to curb the headlong rush of
his impatience until the prescribed period for ceremonious visits
arrived? A stranger in London, it might be supposed that the numberless
noteworthy objects by which he was environed might have diverted his
attention; but one engrossing thought so completely filled his whole
being that it rendered him blind to all the marvels of art or beauties
of nature. Yet to remain imprisoned at the hotel was out of the
question. He concluded to spend his morning in Hyde Park, chiefly
because it was not far distant from Grosvenor Square. But the
attractions of the noble park, through which he listlessly sauntered,
and of the adjacent Kensington Gardens, to which he unconsciously
extended his rambles, were entirely lost upon the abstracted wanderer.
Grand old trees, romantic walks, delicious flowers, had no existence for
him; the whole world was one great, hueless, formless void, in which he
beheld nothing but the spectral image mirrored in his own soul.
He had decided not to pay his visit until after one o'clock; but, before
the sun reached its meridian, he absolved himself from the propriety of
waiting, and, with rapid steps, once more took his way to Lady Langdon's
residence.
The door was opened by a solemn footman.
"Is Lady Vivian at home?"
"Not at home, sir."
"Is Mademoiselle de Gramont--I mean the young lady who accompanied Lady
Vivian--at home?"
"Not at home, sir."
"Can you tell me when I shall be likely to find them?"
"Her ladyship gave no orders on the subject, sir."
Maurice stood perplexed, and hesitating.
"Your card, if you please, sir," suggested the demure domestic.
"No, I will call again by and by."
Maurice walked directly back to the park. His suspense was intolerable;
he could only endure it for another hour, and then returned to Lady
Langdon's.
The same staid attendant reappeared at his knock.
"Has Lady Vivian returned?"
"Not returned, sir."
"Can you tell me when I may depend upon seeing her? I call upon a matter
of great importance."
The stately footman looked as though he were pondering upon the
propriety of making any satisfactory answer to this question.
Maurice repeated the inquiry with such an anxious intonation, such a
perturbed air, that the stolid domestic, accustomed to behold only the
conventional composure which allows no pulse to betray its beating, was
moved out of the even tenor of his way by astonishment.
"Lady Vivian went with my lady and a large party to Hampton Court. Their
ladyships will probably spend the day."
"The day!" exclaimed Maurice, in an accent of consternation.
The footman evidently thought that he had proffered more than sufficient
information, and made a dignified attempt to put a close to the
interview, by extending his hand, and saying, "I will see that your card
reaches her ladyship."
"No, there is no need of my leaving a card: I shall return. At what hour
does Lady Langdon dine?"
"At seven, sir."
"I will take the liberty of calling after dinner."
The footman looked as though he decidedly thought it was a liberty, and
Maurice turned slowly away from the closing door.
What could be done to shorten the endless hours that stretched their
weary length between that period and evening? Hampton Court! What was to
prevent his going to Hampton Court? He might meet Lady Vivian and
Madeleine, there; nothing was more likely, since they were to spend the
day. His spirits revived as he signalled an empty cab, and requested to
be driven as rapidly as possible to Hampton Court. He took no note of
the length of time occupied in reaching his destination: it was a relief
to be in motion, and to know that every moment brought him nearer a
locality where the lost one might be found.
Was he more likely to encounter her in the palace or in the grounds? he
asked, internally, as he sprang out of the cab. He would try the palace
first. He strode through its magnificent apartments, one after another,
without noticing their gorgeous grandeur, without glancing at their
superb decorations, without wasting a look upon the wondrous products of
brush, or chisel, or loom. His disconcerted guide paused before each
world-renowned master-piece in vain; Maurice hurried on, and silenced
him by saying that he was in search of a friend.
Neither Lady Vivian nor Madeleine was to be seen. They were doubtless
rambling in the beautiful pleasure-grounds.
Maurice took his way through noble avenues of trees,--through groves,
gardens, conservatories,--without letting his eyes dwell upon any object
but the human beings he passed. Still no Madeleine. He made the tour of
the palace the second time, and then traversed the grounds once more.
The result was the same. Lady Vivian must have returned home.
It was growing late. He reëntered his cab, and ordered the driver to
take him to Morley's Hotel; paid the exorbitant price which the man,
knowing he had to deal with a stranger, demanded, and took refuge in his
chamber, without remembering that he had not broken his fast since
morning, until a waiter knocked at the door to know if he would dine.
Yes; dinner might assist in whiling away the time. But it helped less
effectually than he had anticipated; for to dine without appetite is a
tedious undertaking. His own busy thoughts supplied him with more than
sufficient food, and precluded all sense of hunger.
Maurice had but a slight acquaintance with Lady Vivian. An evening visit
certainly was not _selon les regles_; but all ceremony must give way
before the urgency of his mission. He compelled himself to wait until
nine o'clock before he again appeared in Grosvenor Square.
That imperturbable footman again! The very presence of the automaton
chilled and dispirited the impatient visitor.
"Is Lady Vivian at home?"
"Her ladyship is indisposed and has retired, sir."
"Can I see Mademoiselle de Gramont?"
"Whom, sir?"
"The young lady who accompanies Lady Vivian."
"She is with Lady Vivian; but I will take your card, sir."
Maurice had no alternative and handed his card.
"Say that I earnestly beg to see her for a few moments."
Did he imagine that human machine could deliver a message which conveyed
the suggestion that any one very earnestly desired anything in creation?
The viscount was ushered into the drawing-room. A long interval, or one
Maurice thought long, elapsed before the messenger returned.
"The ladies will be happy to see you, sir, to-morrow, at two o'clock."
Another night and another morning to struggle through, haunted by the
murderous desire of killing that which could never be restored,--_time!_
But here, at least, was a definite appointment,--a fixed period when he
should certainly see Madeleine; this was a great step gained.
He had heard some gentlemen, at the hotel, loud in praise of Charles
Kean's impersonation of "King John," which was to be represented that
evening, and the recollection of their encomiums decided him to visit
the Princess' Theatre.
Our powers of appreciation are limited, governed, crippled or expanded,
by the mood of the moment, and a performance, which might have roused
him to a high pitch of enthusiasm at another time, now seemed dull and
tedious. But duller and more tedious still was the night that followed.
And when morning came, how was he to consume the hours between breakfast
and two o'clock? He must go somewhere; must keep on his feet; must give
his restless limbs free action. He bethought him of St. Paul's and
Westminster Abbey. These majestic edifices were associated with the
memory of those who had done with time, and might assist him in the
time-annihilating process which was then his chief object. He was
mistaken; he could not interest himself in monuments to the dead; he was
too closely pursued by a living phantom. He walked through the aisles,
the chapels, the crypt, with as much indifference as he had wandered
through Hyde Park, and Kensington Gardens, and Hampton Court.
The appointed hour drew near, at last, and with rising excitement he
ordered the coachmen to drive to Grosvenor Square, number ----. It was
just two,--hardly two, perhaps. The inevitable footman received his
card, with the faintest _soupçon_ of a grin, and conducted him to the
drawing-room.
Lady Vivian entered a few moments afterwards. She was delighted to see
him,--very flattered at his visit. When did he come to London? Would he
make a long stay? How did he leave their friends in Brittany?
Maurice replied as composedly as possible to her inquiries, and then
asked, "May I be allowed to see Mademoiselle de Gramont?"
"Mademoiselle de Gramont!" exclaimed Lady Vivian, raising her bushy
eyebrows.
"Yes, she is with you. She is engaged as your humble companion,--is she
not?"
"No, I have not the pleasure of her acquaintance."
If a bullet had passed through Maurice, he could not have sprung from
his seat with a wilder bound, and hardly have dropped back more
motionless.
Lady Vivian looked at him in amazement,--asked what had happened. Was he
ill? Would he take anything? He had been very much fatigued, perhaps. He
was so very pale! She felt quite alarmed; really it was distressing.
Making a desperate effort to recover from the stunning blow, he faltered
out, "I heard that you made Mademoiselle de Gramont a proposition to"--
"To become my humble companion? Yes, I did so at the request of Count
Damoreau. But she definitely declined, and I felt much relieved, for she
was entirely too handsome for that position. Shortly afterward I heard
of a young person who suited me much better. I thought it was a mistake
of the footman's, last night, when he said you desired to see the young
lady who accompanied me. It was somewhat singular to have one's humble
companion included in a visit to one's self! Now I comprehend that you
thought she was your cousin. I hope you are feeling better; your color
is coming again."
Maurice was not listening. He had lost Madeleine anew. The agony of a
second bereavement, the mystery that enveloped her fate, the dreadful
uncertainty of tracing her, pressed upon him and rent his soul with
fiercer throes than before. Muttering some hurried apology, he rose,
staggered toward the door, and, to the amazement of the stoical footman,
who was greatly scandalized thereby, the pertinacious stranger fairly
reeled past him into the street.
CHAPTER XI.
PURSUIT.
Maurice, when he took his abrupt leave of Lady Vivian, did not return to
the hotel. He felt as though he could not breathe, could not exist, shut
within four walls, with the oppressive weight of his new disappointment
crushing and stifling his spirit. He traversed the streets with a rapid
pace, not knowing nor caring whither he went, if he only kept in motion.
His own torturing thoughts pursued him like haunting fiends, driving him
mercilessly hither and thither, and he sped onward and onward, as though
by increased celerity he could fly from his intangible persecutors.
Now sprang up the tantalizing suggestion, that, as Lady Vivian had never
seen Madeleine, the latter had presented herself under a feigned name,
for the sake of concealing her rank, and baffling the friends who sought
to discover her abode. Was not _that_ very possible, very natural? He
recalled the tall, finely-moulded form, of which he had caught a glimpse
in Lady Langdon's _salon_, and for awhile he cherished this chimera;
then its place was usurped by one more painful: Madeleine was perhaps
travelling alone, subjected by her very beauty to the curious scrutiny,
the heartless insults of brutal men; and, perchance, through her
ignorance of the world, trapped into some snare from which she could
never be extricated unharmed. Then his mind was filled with the horrible
idea that, in her friendliness and despair, finding no place of refuge
on earth, she had flung away her burdensome life with violent hands.
Nothing was more improbable than that a being endowed with her
self-controlled, serene, sorrow-accepting temperament, should be driven
to such an act of unholy madness. Yet Maurice allowed the frightful
fantasy to work within his brain until it clothed itself with a shape
like reality, and drove him to the verge of distraction.
Where could she have gone? _Where? oh, where?_
Hundreds of times he asked himself that perplexing question! All the
pursuing demons seemed to shout it in his ears, and defy him to answer.
If she had escaped the perils he most dreaded, where had she hidden
herself? Perhaps she had only taken out a passport for England, with a
view of throwing those who sought to track her steps, off the right
scent. If she had gone to England, her passport must have been _viséd_
as she passed through Paris. If it had not been presented at the _bureau
des passeports_, she must have remained in Paris. If she had conceived
any plans by which she thought to earn a livelihood, where could they so
well be carried into execution? In that great city she might reasonably
hope to be lost in the crowd, and draw breath untraced and unknown. If
she had left the metropolis, the fact could easily be ascertained by
examining the list of passports. Maurice walked on and on, until
gradually the clamorous city grew silent, and the streets were deserted.
Besides the vigilant police, only a few, late revellers, with uncertain
steps, and faces hardly more haggard than his own, passed him, from time
to time. Still he walked, carrying his hat in his hand, that the
night-breeze might cool his fevered brow.
There was a stir of wheels again, a waking-up movement around him;
shop-windows lifting their shutter-lids, and opening their closed eyes;
men and women bustling forward, with busy, refreshed morning faces.
Another day had dawned and brought its weight of anguish for endurance.
Maurice had paced the streets all night. The light that struck sharply
upon his bloodshot eyes first made him aware of the new morning. The
season for action then had arrived; the night had flown as a hideous
dream. He did not know into what part of London he had wandered, but
hailed a cab, sprang in, and gave the order to be driven to Morley's.
The distance seemed insupportably long. He was now tormented by the fear
that he should not reach his destination in time to take the first train
for Dover. When he alighted at the hotel, he learned that in less than
an hour the train would start. He dashed off a few, incoherent,
sorrowful lines to Bertha, hastily crammed his clothes into his trunk,
paid his bill, drove to the station, and secured a seat one moment
before the railway carriages were in motion.
After he had crossed the channel, and entered a railway coach at Calais,
utter exhaustion succeeded to his state of turbulent wretchedness.
Nature asserted her soothing rights, and poured over his bruised spirit
the balm of sleep. With reviving strength came renewed hope, and when he
awoke at the terminus, in Paris, he was inspired with the conviction
that he should find Madeleine in that vast metropolis,--a conviction as
firm as the belief he had entertained that he would behold her in
Scotland, and afterwards that he would discover her in London. He
hastened to the _bureau des passeports_, and examined the list. No
passport had been _viséd_ to which her name was attached. It was then
certain that she was still in Paris. But what method could he devise for
a systematic search? He thought of the argus-eyed, keen-scented police,
who, with the faintest clew, can trace out any footprint once made
within the precincts of the far-spreading barriers; but could he drag
his cousin's name before those public authorities? Could he describe her
person to them, and enter into details which would enable them to hunt
her down like a criminal? Delicacy, manly feeling, forbade. He must seek
her himself, unaided, unguided; and a superstitious faith grew strong
within him that, through his unremitting search, never foregone, never
relaxed, he would discover her at last.
His plan was sufficiently vague and wild. He resolved to scour Paris
from end to end, scanning every face that passed him, until the light
shone upon hers, and kindled up once more his darkened existence.
When he last returned from Brittany, he had engaged one small, plain
apartment in the Rue Bonaparte, the _Latin_ quarter of the city,--a
favorite locality of students. Here he again took up his abode, or,
rather, here he passed his nights; he could scarcely be said to have a
dwelling-place by day. From dawn until late in the evening he wandered
through the streets, peering into every youthful countenance that
flitted by him, quickening his pace if he caught sight of some graceful
female form above the ordinary stature, and plunging onward in pursuit,
with his heart throbbing madly, and his fevered brain cheating him with
phantoms. His search became almost a monomania. His mind, fixed
strainingly upon this one, all-engrossing object, lost its balance, and
he could no longer reason upon his own course, or see its futility, or
devise a better. The invariable disappointment which closed every day's
search, by some strange contradiction, only confirmed him in the belief
that Madeleine was in Paris, and that he would shortly find her there;
that he would meet her by some fortunate chance; would be drawn to her
by some mysterious magnetic instinct. Every few days he visited the
_bureau des passeports_, to ascertain whether her passport had been
presented to be _viséd_.
To the friends he daily encountered he scarcely spoke, but hurried past
them with hasty greeting, and a painfully engrossed look, which caused
the sympathetic to turn their heads and gaze after him, wondering at the
disordered attire and unsettled demeanor of the once elegant and
vivacious young nobleman, who had graced the most courtly circles, and
was looked upon as the very "glass of fashion and mould of form."
Maurice had been nearly a month in Paris, passing his days in the manner
we have described, when, for the first time, he encountered Gaston de
Bois. The former would have hastened on, with only the rapid salutation
which had grown habitual to him, but M. de Bois stopped with
outstretched hand, and said,--
"Where have you hidden yourself? I have been expecting to see you ever
since I came to Paris; but I could not discover where you
lod--od--odged."
"My lodgings are in the Rue Bonaparte, numero --," returned
Maurice, abruptly; "but I am seldom at home."
"You will allow me to take my chance of finding you?" asked M. de Bois,
forcibly struck by his friend's altered appearance. "Or," he added, "you
will come to see me instead? I am at the Hotel Meurice at present."
"Thank you," said Maurice, absently, and glancing around him at the
passers-by as he spoke. "Good-morning."
M. de Bois would not be shaken off thus unceremoniously. He was too much
distressed by the evident mental condition of the viscount. He turned
and walked beside him, though conscious that Maurice looked annoyed.
"When we parted, did you go to Scotland, as you pro--o--po--sed?"
inquired Gaston.
"Yes; but Lady Vivian was in London. I sought her there. She knew
nothing of my cousin. I returned to Paris; for I am sure Madeleine is
here."
"Here?" almost gasped M. de Bois, stopping suddenly.
Maurice walked on without even noticing the strange confusion that
arrested his companion's steps.
The latter recovered himself and rejoined him, asking, in as unconcerned
a tone as he could command, "What has caused you to think so?"
"I am certain of it;--her passport was taken out for England, but it has
not been _viséd_ in Paris. She must be here still, and I know that I
shall find her. I have walked the streets day after day, hoping to meet
her, and I tell you I shall--I must!"
M. de Bois, whose equanimity had only been disturbed for a moment, shook
his head sorrowfully, saying, "I fear _not_; it does not seem likely."
"To me it _does_. Fifty times I have thought I caught sight of her, but
she disappeared before I could make my way through some crowd to the
spot where she was standing. This will not last forever,--ere long we
shall meet face to face."
"I hope so! I heartily hope so! I would give all I possess, though that
is little enough, to have it so!"
These words were spoken with such generous warmth, that Maurice was
moved. He had not before noticed the change in his Breton neighbor,--a
change the precise opposite to the one which had taken place in himself,
yet quite as remarkable.
Gaston's address was no longer nervous and flurried; he had gained
considerable self-command and repose of manner. The air of uncomfortable
diffidence, which formerly characterized his deportment, had
disappeared, and given place to a manly and cheerful bearing.
"If he loves Madeleine," thought Maurice, "how can he look so calm while
she is--God only knows where, and exposed to what dangers?"
"Have you heard from Mademoiselle Ber--er--ertha?" asked M. de Bois,
with some hesitation.
"Yes, several times. My cousin Bertha was broken-hearted at the news I
sent her from London; but I trust that soon"--
He did not conclude his sentence: his wan face lighted up; his restless,
straining eyes were fastened upon some form that passed in a carriage.
Without even bidding M. de Bois good morning, he broke away and pursued
the carriage; for some time he kept up with it, then Gaston saw him
motion vehemently to a sleepy coachman, who was lazily driving an empty
fiacre. The next moment Maurice had opened the door himself and leaped
into the vehicle; it followed the carriage the young viscount had kept
in view, and soon both were out of sight.
The imagination of Maurice had become so highly inflamed that forms and
faces constantly took the outline and lineaments of those ever-present
to his mind. And when, after some exhausting pursuits, he approached
near enough for the illusive likeness to fade away, or when the shape he
was impetuously making towards was lost to sight before it could be
neared, he always felt as though he had been upon the eve of that
discovery upon which all his energies were concentrated.
After their accidental encounter Gaston de Bois called upon Maurice
repeatedly, but never found him at home.
Bertha continued to write sorrowful letters teeming with inquiries.
Maurice answered briefly, as though he could not spare time to devote to
his pen, but always giving her hope that the very next letter would
convey the glad intelligence which she pined to receive. Four months was
the limit of her yearly visit to the Château de Gramont, and the period
of her stay was rapidly drawing to a close. She wrote that in a few days
her uncle would arrive and take her back to his residence in Bordeaux.
The language in which this communication was made plainly indicated that
she would rejoice at the change. She touched upon the probability of
seeing Maurice before she left; but he was unmoved by the
half-invitation; nothing could induce him to leave Paris while he
cherished the belief that Madeleine was within its walls.
Count Tristan wrote and urged him to return home; but the summons was
unheeded. He could not have endured, while his mind was in this terrible
state of incertitude, to behold again the old château, which must
conjure up so many harrowing recollections. Then, too, his natural
affection for his father and his grandmother was embittered by the
remembrance of their persecution of Madeleine. Until she had been
found,--until he could hear from her own lips (as he knew he should)
that she harbored no animosity towards them,--he could not force himself
to forgive their injustice and cruelty. She alone had power to soften
his heart and cement anew the broken link.
CHAPTER XII.
THE SISTER OF CHARITY.
The marvellous change in the bearing of Gaston de Bois, by which Maurice
was struck, had been wrought by a triad of agents. A man who had passed
his life in indolent seclusion, who had plunged into a tangled labyrinth
of abstruse books, not in search of valuable knowledge, but to lose in
its mazes the recollection of valueless hours; who had allowed his days
to drag on in aimless monotony; who had fallen into melancholy because
he lacked a healthy stimulus to rouse his faculties out of their
life-deadening torpidity; who had allowed his nervous diffidence to gain
such complete mastery over him that it tied his tongue, and clouded his
vision, and confused his brain; who had despised himself because he was
keenly conscious that his existence was purposeless and
profitless;--this man, subjected to the sudden impetus of an occupation
for which his mental acquirements and sedentary habits alike fitted him,
found his new life a revelation. He had emerged from the dusty, beaten,
grass-withered path his feet had spiritlessly trodden from earliest
youth, and entered a field of bloom and verdure where the very stir of
the atmosphere exhilarated, where the labor to be performed called
dormant capacities into play and tested their strength, where each day's
achievement gave the delightful assurance of latent powers within
himself hitherto unrecognized,--in a word, where his manhood was
developed through the regenerating virtue, the glorious might, the
blessed privilege of _work!_
The second cause which had contributed to bring about the happy
metamorphosis in Gaston de Bois sprang out of the hope-inspiring words
Madeleine had dropped on that day which closed so darkly on the duke's
orphan daughter. Those few, passing, precious words had fallen like
fructuous seed and struck deep root in Gaston's spirit; and, as the
germs shot upward, every branch was covered with blossoms of hope which
perfumed his nights and days. He dared to believe that Bertha did not
look upon him with disdain,--that she sympathized with the misfortune
which debarred him from free intercourse with society,--that a deeper
interest might emanate from this compassionate regard. The possibility
of becoming worthy of her no longer appeared a dream so wild and
baseless; but he was too modest, too distrustful of himself, to have
given that golden dream entertainment had it not been inspired by
Madeleine's kindly breath.
The third cause which combined with the two just mentioned to
revolutionize his character will unfold itself hereafter.
The more cognizant M. de Bois became that powerful influences were
vivifying, strengthening, and bringing order out of confusion in his own
mind, the more troubled he felt in pondering over the disordered mental
condition of Maurice. During a whole month after their accidental
encounter in the street he called repeatedly at the lodgings of the
viscount, but never once found him at home. Half discouraged, yet
unwilling to abandon the hope of an interview, he persisted in his
fruitless visits. One morning, to his unbounded satisfaction, when he
inquired of the _concierge_ if M. de Gramont was within, an affirmative
answer was returned. Gaston could hardly credit the welcome
intelligence, and involuntarily repeated the question.
"Ah, yes, poor young gentleman! he's not likely to be out again soon!"
replied his informant, in a pitying tone.
Without waiting for an explanation of the mysterious words, M. de Bois
quickly ascended to the fifth story, and, being admitted into the
antechamber by a neat-looking domestic, knocked at the door of the
apartment which was indicated to him.
The voice of a stranger bade him enter. He turned the doorknob with
shaking hand. The room was so small that it could be taken in at a
single glance. It was a plain, almost furniture-less apartment. In the
narrow bed lay Maurice. His eyes--those great, blue eyes which so
strongly resembled Bertha's--were glittering with the wild lights of
delirium; fever burned on his cheeks and seemed to scorch his parched
lips. The fair, clustering curls were matted and tangled about his brow;
his arms were tossing restlessly about. He sprang up into a sitting
posture as Gaston appeared at the door, and gazed at him eagerly; then
stared around, peering into every corner of the chamber, as though in
quest of some one. Those searching glances were followed by a look of
blank despair that settled heavily upon his pain-contracted features as
he sank back and closed his eyes.
Beside the bed sat a woman, clad in the shapeless dress of black serge,
and wearing the widely projecting white bonnet and cape, black veil,
white band across the brow, and beneath the chin, which compose the
attire of a sister _de bon secours_. She was one of that community of
self-abnegating women, who, bound by holy vows, devote their lives to
the care of the suffering, and are the most skilful, tender, and zealous
nurses that France affords.
Just beyond the good "sister" stood a young man, poring over a piece of
paper, which had the appearance of a medical prescription: a
spirited-looking youth, whose harmonious and intellectual cast of
features was heightened to rare beauty by richly mellow coloring, and
the silken curves of a beard and moustache unprofaned by a
razor,--curves softly traced above the fresh, rubious lips, and
gracefully deepening about the cheeks and chin,--curves that disappear
forever when the civilized barbarism of shaving has been accepted.
He came forward when M. de Bois entered, and accosted him in an earnest,
rapid tone.
"I hope, sir, you are a friend of this gentleman. Am I right in my
supposition?"
"Yes--yes--what--what has happened?" asked M. de Bois, his countenance
plainly betokening his alarm.
"I occupy the adjoining apartment," continued the stranger. "My name is
Walton. Three nights ago I was startled by the sound of some object
falling heavily near my door, followed by a deep groan. I found this
gentleman lying on the ground, apparently insensible. I carried him into
his chamber, laid him upon the bed, and summoned the _concierge_. The
name inscribed upon her book is the Viscount Maurice de Gramont, and his
last residence the château of his father, Count Tristan de Gramont, in
Brittany, near Rennes. I took upon myself the responsibility of calling
a physician,--Dr. Dupont,--and, through his advice, of engaging this
good 'sister,' one of the '_soeurs de bon secours_,' as a nurse. Dr.
Dupont wrote to his patient's father; but no answer has been received. I
have been with your friend very constantly. You perceive he has a raging
fever; he talks a great deal, but too incoherently to be able to answer
any questions or to give any directions."
This information was communicated with a quick, energetic intonation,
while the speaker stood fanning Maurice, and preventing the hand which
he flung about from striking against the wall. There was a confident
rapidity in the stranger's movements, a vigorous manliness and
self-dependence in his bearing, strikingly dissimilar to the deportment
which usually characterizes young Parisians at the same age. Though he
spoke the French language with fluent correctness, a slightly foreign
accent betrayed to M. de Bois that he was not a native of France.
Gaston thanked him as warmly as his troublesome impediment permitted,
and said that he would himself write to the Count de Gramont. Then,
bending over his friend, took his hot, unquiet hand, and spoke to him
again and again. His voice failed to touch any chord of memory and cause
it to vibrate in recognition. Maurice was muttering the same word over
and over; Gaston hardly needed to bow his head to catch the imperfect
sound; he knew, before he heard distinctly, that it was the name of
"Madeleine."
"Had you not better write your letter _immediately_?" asked young
Walton. "Will you walk into my room? I do not see any writing materials
here. Mine are at your service."
Gaston, as he followed the stranger into the adjoining chamber, could
not but be struck by the easy, off-hand, decided manner in which he
spoke, and the promptitude with which he desired to accomplish the work
to be done.
Mr. Walton's sitting-room, which was separated from his bed-chamber, was
much larger than the apartment of Maurice. It had an air of great
comfort, if not of decided elegance, and testified to the literary and
artistic taste of its occupant. The walls were decorated with fine
photographic views, and some early efforts in painting. Here stood an
easel, holding an unfinished picture; there an open piano; further on a
convenient writing-table; in the centre another table covered with books
and portfolios; materials for writing and sketching were scattered about
with a bachelor's disregard for order.
"I will clear you a space here," said he, sweeping the contents of one
table upon another, already overburdened. "Everything is in confusion;
for I have been working at odd moments. I could not make up my mind to
go to the studio. I would not leave that poor fellow until somebody
claimed him. What an interesting face he has! If he were only better, I
would make a sketch. His countenance is just my beau ideal of the young
Saxon knight in a historical picture I am painting. A man always finds
materials for art just beneath his hand, if he only has wit and thrift
to stoop and gather them as he goes. But I fear I am interrupting you.
Make yourself at home. I will leave you while you are writing. Really, I
cannot express how glad I am that you have come at last. I have been
looking for you--that is, for somebody who knew M. de Gramont--every
moment for two days."
After drawing back the curtains to give M. de Bois more light, and
glancing around to see that he was supplied with all he could require,
the young artist returned to the apartment of Maurice.
Ronald Walton was born of South Carolinian parents,--their only child.
His boyhood was not passed in a locality calculated to develop artistic
instincts, nor had his education afforded him artistic advantages, nor
had he been thrown into a sphere of artistic associates; yet from the
time his tiny fingers could hold brush or pencil he had seized upon
engravings of romantic scenery, copied them upon an enlarged scale, and
painted them in oil, to the astonishment of his parents and friends.
When his young companions extracted enjoyment from fish-hook and gun,
and hilariously filled game-bags and fishing-baskets, he sat quietly
drinking in a higher, more humane delight before his easel. These
tastes, as they strengthened, caused his father, though a liberal and
cultivated man, severe disappointment. At times he was even disposed to
place a compulsory check upon his son's artist proclivities; but the
soft, persuasive voice of the gentle, refined, clear-sighted mother
interposed. She had made the most loving study of her child's character,
and had faith in his fitness for the vocation he desired to adopt. She
pleaded that his obvious gift might be tested, and proved spurious or
genuine, before it was trampled under foot as unworthy of recognition;
and her heart-wisdom finally prevailed.
Ronald was sent to Paris to study under a distinguished master. During
three years he had made golden use of his opportunities. He was
remarkable among his fellow-students for his indomitable perseverance,
and his power of concentrating all his thoughts upon his work. He
experienced a desire to attain excellence for _its own sake_, not for
the petty ambition of _excelling others_. Thus he became very popular
among his associates, and excited their admiration without ever
awakening the jealousies of wounded self-love. Though he had determined
to devote his life to art, from the conviction that it was the vocation
for which he came commissioned from the Creator's hand, there was
nothing morbid in his passion for his profession. It was a healthy love
of the beautiful in outward form, springing from the love of all which
the beautiful typifies, combined with a strong impulse to represent and
perpetuate the haunting images of varied loveliness which constantly
floated through his brain.
The young Carolinian was called an enthusiast even by his French
fellow-students, with whom enthusiasm is an inheritance; but his
enthusiasm was allied to a severely critical taste,--a rare combination;
and being grafted upon the tree of _practicability_, indigenous to the
soil of his young country, it brought down his ideal conceptions into
actual execution.
The philosopher of the present day scouts at _enthusiasm_; but what
agent is half so mighty in giving the needful spur to genius? Enthusiasm
kindles a new flame in the chilled soul when the ashes of disappointment
have extinguished its fires; enthusiasm reinvigorates and braces the
spirit that has become weary and enervated in the oppressive atmosphere
of uncongenial _entourage_; enthusiasm is the cool, refreshing breeze of
a warm climate and the blazing log of a cold. Ronald's unexhausted
enthusiasm was the secret fountain whose waters nourished laurels for
him in the gardens of success.
M. de Bois, when he had concluded his letter, found the art-student at
the bedside of Maurice.
"I will post your letter, if you please," said Ronald; "then I will make
a moment's descent into the studio, or some of those noisy madcaps will
be rushing here after me. I will return, however, before long, if you
have no objection."
Hardly waiting for M. de Bois's courteous, but rather slowly-expressed
acknowledgment, he hurried away.
For a couple of hours Gaston sat beside Maurice, listening to his
indistinct ravings, and tracing out that striking likeness to a
countenance he had studied too closely for his own peace. Now and then
he exchanged a word or two with the good "sister," as she moistened the
lips, or bathed the brow of the sufferer.
The doctor came, but pronounced his patient no better, and threw out a
hint that he had some fears the fever was taking the form of typhus;
adding a warning in regard to the danger of infection. That intelligence
had no influence upon Gaston, who resolved to pass as many hours as
possible with his friend. Nor did it affect Ronald Walton, when he
returned and heard the physician's verdict.
The two young men for the next four days alternately shared the duties
of the holy "sister."
The postal arrangements between Paris and Rennes chanced, at that
moment, to be very imperfect; the letter of Dr. Dupont never reached its
destination, and that of M. de Bois was delayed on its route. It was not
until the fifth day after it was posted that Count Tristan, who obeyed
the summons with all haste, arrived in Paris. His son had never once
evinced sufficient consciousness to recognize Gaston de Bois, but, the
instant the count was ushered into the room, was seized with a fit of
frenzy, and broke forth in a torrent of reproaches, upbraided his father
with the ruin and death of Madeleine, charged him with having wrought
the destruction of his own son, and warned him that he had brought utter
desolation upon his ancestral home.
Dr. Dupont, who entered the room during this paroxysm, suggested to the
count the propriety of withdrawing. The latter, although every word
Maurice uttered inflicted a deadly pang, could not, at first, be induced
to tear himself away. The doctor was resolute in pronouncing his
sentence of banishment, and declared that the viscount's life might be
the sacrifice if he were subjected to further excitement.
We will not attempt to portray the poignant sufferings of the count,
who, in spite of his wiliness and worldliness, was passionately attached
to his only child,--the central axis upon which all his hopes, his
schemes, his whole world moved.
Several times, while the invalid was sleeping, his father ventured to
steal into the chamber; but, by some strange species of magnetism, his
very sphere seemed to affect the slumberer, who invariably awoke, and
recognized, or partially recognized him, and burst out anew in violent
denunciations, to which respect would never have allowed him to give
utterance, except under the stimulus of delirium. The count writhed and
shrank beneath the fierce stabbing of those incisive words, and, in his
ungovernable grief, flung himself beside the son, whom he feared death
would shortly snatch from his arms, pouring forth assurances Maurice
would once have hailed as words of life, but which now fell powerless
upon his unheeding ears. While Count Tristan's overwhelming anguish
lasted, there was no promise he would not have made to purchase his
son's restoration, and no promise he would not have broken, if interest
prompted, when the peril was past.
After one of these agitating interviews, the doctor's edict entirely
closed the door of the patient's chamber against the count, who was
forced to admit the wisdom of the order.
Gaston de Bois and Ronald Walton, between whom a pleasant intimacy was
springing up, continued to watch by the bed of Maurice. Another
fortnight passed, and though he lay, as it were, in a grave of fire, the
doctor's prediction of typhus fever was not verified. At the expiration
of this period, Ronald was the first to notice a favorable change, and
to discover that the invalid had lucid intervals which showed his reason
was reascending her abdicated throne. But he abstained from pointing out
the improvement to Gaston, fearing that, in his joy, he might
communicate the consolatory intelligence to the count, who would then
insist upon seeing his son, and possibly reproduce the evil results by
which his former visits had been attended.
Maurice had ceased to moan and mutter, and lay motionless as one
thoroughly exhausted. He slept much, waking for but a few moments, and
sinking again into a species of half-lethargy. There was something
inexpressibly sweet and pleasant in his present calmness; his mind
seemed to have been mysteriously soothed and satisfied; the turbulent
waves, that dashed him hither and thither against the sharp rocks of
doubt and fear, had subsided. His features, especially when he slept,
wore an expression of the most serene contentment.
The _soeur de bon secours_, who had watched him through the night, had
yielded her place to the "sister," who assumed the office of nurse
during the day. Gaston entered soon after, and, finding the patient
gently slumbering, sat down beside his bed. After a time, Maurice
stirred, drew a long breath, and slowly opened his eyes. They met those
of his watcher. For some time the invalid gazed at him without speaking,
and then said, in a tone that was hardly audible,--
"M. de Bois."
"My dear Maurice--dear friend--you are better,--you know me at last,"
exclaimed Gaston, joyfully.
"I knew you before; you have been the most faithful of friends and
nurses. I knew you quite well, and I knew _her_ too!"
Gaston bounded from his chair, breathing so hard that he could scarcely
stammer out, "Her! who--o--o--om do you me--e--ean?"
"Madeleine," replied Maurice, confidently.
"Mademoiselle Mad--ad--adeleine; you are dream--eaming!"
"No! I thought so at first, and the dream was so sweet that I would not
break it by word or motion, fearing that I should discover it was not
reality. But it was no _dream_. Night after night,--how many I do not
know--I could not count,--I have seen Madeleine beside me! When the good
'sister' moved about the room, in the dim light of the _veilleuse_, in
spite of her coarse, unshapely garb, I recognized the outlines of
Madeleine's form; notwithstanding the uncouth bonnet, and the white
bandage that concealed her hair and brow, and, passing beneath her chin,
almost hid her face, I recognized the features of Madeleine. I watched
her as she glided about the room, and with her delicate, noiseless,
rapidly moving touch created the most perfect order around her. I heard
her as she softly sang sweet anthems, and I could not mistake the voice
of Madeleine. I felt her hand, her cool, fresh, velvety hand, upon my
burning forehead, and it soothed me deliciously. I lay with closed eyes
as she bathed my temples, and passed her fingers through my hair to
loosen its tangles. I was afraid of frightening her away, or finding I
saw but a vision. The water she held to my lips was nectar; when she
smoothed my pillow, all pain passed from the temples that rested upon
it, throbbing with agony before, and I sank into a sweet slumber,--not
unconscious slumber: I knew that I was sleeping; I knew that Madeleine
sat there, filling the place of the sister of charity; I knew that when
I opened my eyes I should see her,--_and I did_, again and again. I
never once spoke to her; I feared some spell would be broken if I
breathed her name. In the morning she disappeared; but I knew she would
come again at midnight, when all was quiet, and the light was carefully
shaded. M. de Bois, my dear Gaston, I tell you _I have seen Madeleine!_"
M. de Bois sat still, looking too much astounded to utter a word.
"I see you cannot believe me," Maurice continued. "She never came while
you were here, and so you think it is a dream. A happy dream! a dream
full of the balm of Gilead! for she has cured me! My brain was a burning
volcano until her hand was laid upon my brow, and I gazed in her face,
and knew it was no phantom. Do not look so much distressed, my dear
Gaston. I am perfectly in my senses."
M. de Bois did not contradict him. Perhaps he remembered the good rule
of never opposing a sick man's vagaries. After a pause he said,--
"Maurice, since you are quite yourself, would you not like to see your
father?"
The wan face of Maurice flushed slightly.
"Is he here?"
"Yes, he has been here for more than a fortnight. The doctor forbade his
entering. Will you not see him now?"
The invalid assented languidly. He had perhaps spoken too much and
overtaxed his strength.
The joy of Count Tristan was deep and voiceless when he was once more
permitted to embrace his son. He was so fearful of touching upon some
painful chord, and of again hearing those frantic ravings, that he had
no language at his command. Maurice, in a faint tone, inquired after his
grandmother and Bertha, and then seemed too weary to prolong the
conversation. Glad at heart, as the count could not but feel, at the
wonderful improvement in his son, he was ill at ease in his presence,
and seemed always to have some haunting dread upon his mind. It was a
relief when the doctor forbade his patient to converse, and hinted that
the count should make his visits very brief.
The next day, when M. de Bois entered, Maurice greeted him in a mournful
tone.
"She did not come last night. I watched for her in vain. The 'sister,'
yonder, went as usual at midnight, and came back in the morning; but,
during the night, a stranger took her place."
What could M. de Bois answer? He gave a sigh of sympathy, but did not
attempt to make any comment.
"She knows perhaps that my father is here, and she will come no more for
fear of being discovered. But I have _seen her_, Gaston! I know I have
seen her! I could not have lived if I had not. And her countenance was
not sad,--it wore a look of patient hope that lent a glory to her face.
The very remembrance of that saint-like expression put to shame the
despair to which I have yielded."
"I--I--I--am"--
M. de Bois could get no further. If he meant to use any argument to
persuade Maurice that it was only a vision, conjured up by his fevered
imagination, which he had seen, the attempt would have been vain.
Maurice clung to the belief that he had really beheld Madeleine, and
that conviction soothed, strengthened, and reanimated him.
CHAPTER XIII.
WEARY DAYS.
Up to this period of his life the vigorous constitution of Maurice had
suffered no exhausting drain. His habits had been so regular, his mode
of life so simple, that his fine _physique_ had been untrifled with,
uninjured. As a natural sequence, the first inroads made upon its
strength were rapidly repaired. The fever once conquered, in a week he
was sufficiently convalescent to walk out, leaning on the arm of Gaston
de Bois, or Ronald Walton. His gait was feeble, his form attenuated, his
countenance had lost its ruddy glow,--the lines had sharpened until
their youthful, healthful roundness was wholly obliterated; but the
nervous, untranquil expression had passed away from his face, and the
restless glancing from side to side had left his eyes. Through the
stimulating medium of fresh air and gentle exercise he gathered new
vitality, and the promise of speedy restoration was daily confirmed.
His favorite resort was the _atelier_ of the celebrated master under
whose direction Ronald was studying his art. Seated in the comfortable
arm-chair devoted to the use of models, Maurice often remained for
hours, watching the busy brushes and earnest faces, among which the
genius-lighted countenance of the young Carolinian shone conspicuously.
On one of these occasions, after sitting for some time lost in thought,
when he chanced to turn his head Ronald surprised him by crying out,--
"My dear fellow, don't move! Keep that position another moment,--will
you? I am making a sketch of your head. It has just the outline I want
for my Saxon Knight after the battle."
Maurice could not but smile at this evidence of the national trait of
the young American, who seized upon every material within his reach for
the advancement of his art. Ronald's words, too, struck him,--"After the
battle!" Well might he resemble one who had passed through a severe
conflict; but it was also one who was prepared to fight valiantly anew,
and not disposed to succumb to the army of adverse circumstances arrayed
against his peace.
It was not possible for a young man, endowed with the impressible
temperament of Maurice, to be thrown into constant communication with
an associate as full of vigorous activity as Ronald Walton, without
being stirred and inspired by the contact. The force, decision,
aptitude, promptness, which distinguished Ronald, had constituted him a
sort of prince among his fellow-students, who gave him the lead in all
their united movements, without defining to themselves his claim to
supremacy. Ronald's character was not free from imperfections; but its
very faults were essentially national,--were characteristics of that
"fast-running nation" which is "indivertible in aim," and incredulous of
the existence of the unattainable. His dominant failing was a
self-dependence, which, in a weaker nature, would have degenerated into
self-sufficiency, but just stopped short of that complacent, puerile
egotism, which narrows the mind, and rears its own opinions upon a
judgment-seat to pronounce verdicts upon the rest of the world. He never
doubted his ability to scale any height upon which he fixed his eyes; he
laughed at obstacles; he did not believe in impossibilities; what any
other man could accomplish, that he had an internal conviction he might
also achieve; and he held the faith of the poet-queen that all men were
possible heroes.
These attributes were precisely those most calculated to impress and
charm Maurice, and he regarded Ronald with unbounded admiration, mingled
with a sickening sense of regret when he reflected upon the trammels
which reined in the ready impulses and crushed the instinctive
aspirations which were wrestling within himself.
Count Tristan, as soon as his son was sufficiently restored to travel,
suggested that he should return with him to Brittany; but Maurice
betrayed such uncompromising reluctance to this proposal that his father
thought it wise not to press the point.
Though the count had escaped a calamity, which even to contemplate had
almost driven him out of his mind,--though his son's life was spared,
and his restoration to vigorous health assured,--at times the father
felt as if that son were lost to him forever. An inexplicable reserve
had risen up and thrust them asunder. In the count's presence Maurice
was always abstracted and pensive; he uttered no complaints, made no
petitions. He had come to the conclusion that both were useless; but his
opinions and wishes were no longer frankly, boldly, iterated. He and his
father stood upon different platforms, with an invisible, but an
insurmountable barrier looming up between them. Count Tristan, albeit
irritated, galled, grieved, could discover no mode of reëstablishing the
olden footing. After spending a month in Paris, he returned to
Brittany, his mind filled with discomforting forebodings, to which he
could give no definite shape.
Maurice was once more left in the great, gay capital, his own
master,--at liberty to plunge into whatever sea of dissipation, to float
idly down whatever tide of pleasure lured him. But he wronged himself
when he warned his father, some months previous, that if he were
debarred from studying a profession, he might seek excitement, or
oblivion, in impure channels, and waste his exuberant energies in
degrading pastimes. He spoke on the spur of some vague, restless impulse
within him, that clamored for an outlet; but he misjudged himself in
imagining that he could be compelled to drown the memory of his
disappointment in the wine-cup, the vortex of the gaming-table, or the
more fearful maelstrom of siren allurements. To a young heart which has
not been sullied by familiar contact with evil, there is no ægis so
invulnerable to the assaults of those deadly enemies, who make their
attacks in the fascinating garb of licentious liberty, as a strong,
pure, life-absorbing attachment. He who wears the shield of a first,
stainless affection, carries Ithuriel's spear in his hand, and, at a
single touch, the sensual enchanter in his path, however resplendent its
disguise, drops the fair-featured mask and shining mantle, and stands
revealed in native hideousness. The image of Madeleine, ever present to
Maurice, drew around him a protecting circle which nothing vile could
enter, and, wherever his own eyes turned, it seemed to him that her
heavenly eyes followed. Could he profane their holy gaze by fixing his
upon scenes of captivating degradation and rose-crowned vice?
Day after day, as his strength returned, it was but natural that he
should grow more and more weary of monotonous indolence, and more and
more impatient to escape from its depressing, deadening thraldom. The
happy change, which a settled occupation had effected in Gaston de Bois,
seemed to add to the discontent of his friend. Sometimes he was on the
point of starting for Brittany, and making a fresh appeal to his father;
then he was withheld by the dread that an angry discussion would be the
only sequence. He knew that his father's pride, sustained by that of his
grandmother, was unconquerable, and that the sentence, which condemned
him to a dreary, inert, and profitless existence, would only be
pronounced upon him anew.
Since his illness he had entirely abandoned his vain search for
Madeleine. He always felt as though he had seen her, albeit, when he
attempted to reflect upon the likelihood that she had actually sat
beside his couch, and watched over him during his illness, reason
essayed to efface the impression which could hardly have been made by
the fingers of reality. Even granting that Madeleine, on leaving
Brittany, had joined the sisterhood, and proposed to devote her life to
holy offices, for which she was richly dowered by nature, was there not
a novitiate to be passed? How could she so soon have entered upon her
sacred duties? And if by some mysterious dispensation she had been
absolved from the probation of a novice, how could she have learned that
he was ill? How could she have come to him so promptly? Was it probable
that Mr. Walton, an entire stranger, had, by mere accident, selected a
nurse from the very society which she had joined? These questions, and
others equally difficult to answer, sprang up constantly in his mind,
and found no satisfactory solution. Yet the conviction that he had
actually beheld her remained unshaken.
Bertha had been apprised by her aunt of the dangerous illness of
Maurice, and had written to him when he was unable to read her letters.
As soon as he was convalescent, they were placed in his hands.
"My dear Gaston, write a line to my cousin for me," begged Maurice,
feeling that he had not strength to reply, and little dreaming what a
thrill of joy ran through Gaston's frame at that request.
M. de Bois wrote,--wrote with an eloquence that could never have found
utterance through his tongue.
If we may judge from the number of times Bertha perused that letter, or
if we may draw an inference from her wearing it about her person
(probably that she might be able to refresh her memory with its
information concerning her cousin), the epistle was either very
difficult of comprehension, or it had some witching spell which drew her
eyes irresistibly to its cabalistic characters.
She had not recovered her wonted buoyancy. Beneath her uncle's roof she
pined for Madeleine hardly less than at the Château de Gramont.
The Marquis de Merrivale, her guardian, was a bachelor. The chief object
of his existence was an endeavor to "take life easy," and guard himself
from all vexations and discomforts. His next aim was to pamper the
cravings of an epicurean appetite, but always with such judicious
ministry that his digestive organs might not be impaired thereby. He was
good-natured on principle, because it was too much trouble to get
excited and vexed. His equanimity was seldom disturbed, save by his
cook's failure in the concoction of a favorite dish.
Count Tristan had drawn largely on his invention when he informed the
Marchioness de Fleury that Bertha's uncle was exceedingly tenacious of
his rights, and jealous of the interference of his niece's relatives in
regard to any future alliance she might form. The marquis never dreamed
of troubling his brain with such a minor matter as matrimony. He was
inclined to be governed entirely by Bertha's predilection,--to leave the
affair wholly to her, throwing off the trouble with the responsibility.
He could have no objection to see her affianced to the Duke de
Montauban,--he would have had none to her union with Maurice de Gramont.
He found it sufficient pleasure to have his bright-faced niece sitting
opposite to him at table, so long as she was gay and had a good
appetite. If he had thwarted her wishes he would have accused himself of
making a base, unkinly attempt to injure her digestion by causing her
annoyance. He considered himself quite incapable of so unworthy, so
harmful so cruel an action.
When she returned from the Château de Gramont, he was discomposed at
finding that she brought back a clouded visage, and seemed perfectly
indifferent to the choicest dainties which he caused to be set before
her as the most striking mark of his affection. Indeed, he became so
uncomfortable when she rejected these delicate attentions day after day,
that his mind was gradually prepared to look favorably upon a
proposition which Bertha had resolved to make.
She had been at home about a month; they were dining,--that is, her
uncle was enjoyingly partaking of the meal that rounded his day, while
Bertha's fork played with the oyster _paté_ on her plate, dividing it
into tiny bits, but never lifting one to her mouth. The marquis, after
descanting warmly upon the excellence of the _paté_, which he highly
relished, interrupted his eulogium by saying,--
"My dear child, you have not tasted a morsel of this incomparable
_paté_! It is a triumph of culinary art! If you will just oblige me by
touching a small piece to your lips; the paste is so light it will
magically melt! Really, you _must eat_!"
"I cannot, uncle."
"Try, try; it disturbs me greatly to see you sitting there looking so
gloomy. It will really hurt my digestion, and that would be a frightful
calamity. Don't you like Lucien's cooking? I think him a treasure; but
if you cannot relish what he prepares he shall receive his dismissal."
"I dare say I should like the cooking in Paris better than any other,"
remarked Bertha, treacherously assailing her uncle in his vulnerable
point.
"Paris! what are you talking about? We cannot have our dinners sent from
Paris and kept warm on the road,--can we?"
"But we might go to Paris and take our dinners," she rejoined,
coaxingly.
"Bless my heart! What an idea! It is a day's journey! Think of the
trouble and discomfort of getting there!"
"Think of the new inventions of the Parisian _cuisine_; for they invent
new dishes, my Cousin Maurice has told me, as often as they originate
new fashions for dress. There are abundance of novel dishes every day
issuing from the brains of accomplished cooks,--dishes of which you have
never even heard. You really ought to taste some of them."
"That's a consideration,--positively it is. I must reflect upon it!"
replied her uncle.
"And Maurice seems to cling to the idea that my Cousin
Madeleine"--continued Bertha.
"There, there, my dear; that will do! don't touch on that unpleasant
subject, especially at dinner; it will certainly injure your digestive
organs, and give you the blues for the rest of the day. I assure you, my
child, all low spirits come from indigestion. I am convinced indigestion
is one great cause of all the sadness and sorrow, and, I dare say, of
all the sin in the world."
"It seems to me change of air must be very beneficial," replied Bertha,
recovering from the false step she had been on the point of making.
"Very wisely remarked! Change of air is beneficial, and gentle exercise
is beneficial: both stimulate the digestive faculties and keep up their
healthy action. And you really think, my dear, you would like to taste
some of those new Parisian dishes?"
"I should indeed!"
"Then you shall. I look upon it as criminal, in the present low state of
your appetite, to thwart its faintest craving. Of course we cannot
procure anything fit to sustain nature on the road to Paris, but I can
make Pierre pack up a basket of refreshments, and a bottle of old wine,
so that we shall not be poisoned on the way. If we can only make the
journey comfortably, I have no objection to investigate the gastronomic
novelties of which you have heard. I could take Lucien with us, that he
might learn some new mysteries in his art."
"To be sure you could. When shall we start, dear uncle? I am so anxious
to go! When shall we start?"
"There! there! Don't get excited about it; that will interfere with the
gastric juices. Let us conclude our dinner quietly. Try a wing of that
pheasant, while we discuss the matter with wholesome calmness."
Bertha allowed herself to be helped to the wing, and tried to force down
a few morsels for the sake of humoring the generously inclined _bon
vivant_, who grew more and more genial and amiably disposed as he sipped
his Château Margaux. Fine wine invariably had a softening, expansive
effect upon his character, and, after a few glasses, he honestly looked
upon himself as one of the most tender-hearted, soberly inoffensive, and
morally disposed of mortals.
If Bertha had openly proposed to him that they should spend a few weeks
in Paris for the gratification of any praiseworthy intention of her own,
or of any harmless whim, he would have unhesitatingly refused, and
opposed any number of objections to the proposition; but she had
introduced the subject in its most favorable light, and was sure of a
victory.
A few days later, the Marquis de Merrivale and his niece, attended by
her maid, his valet and cook, were on their way to the metropolis. The
marquis, having instituted many inquiries with the view of discovering
what hotel rejoiced in the possession of the most scientific cook,
concluded to engage a suite of apartments at the hotel _des Trois
Empereurs_.
The meeting between Bertha and Maurice was as full of tenderness as
though they had been in reality what their strong family resemblance
caused them to appear, brother and sister.
"No word from Madeleine yet?" was Bertha's first inquiry,--hardly an
inquiry, for she knew what the answer must be.
Then Maurice told her of the _soeur de bon secours_ who had sat by his
bed night after night.
"Could it really have been Madeleine?" she asked, breathlessly.
"M. de Bois seems to think not; yet I am unshaken in my conviction that
it was she herself."
"But why did you not speak to her?"
"A feeling which I can scarcely define withheld me. At first I thought I
was dreaming, and that the dream would be broken if I spoke or moved.
Then I felt sure Madeleine was there, but that she believed herself
unrecognized, and if I showed that I knew her she would leave me,--leave
me when I could not follow, and must again have lost all trace of her.
It was such a luxury, such a joy to feel her by my side! It was her
presence and not the skill of the physician which restored me."
"And you never once betrayed yourself?"
"No. What seems most singular is that from the very day I mentioned to
M. de Bois that I had seen her, she came no more. Yet how could she have
learned, or divined, that I knew her?"
"That circumstance, dear Maurice, makes it all look like a dream. As
soon as the fever left you the phantom it conjured up disappeared."
Maurice shook his head, unconvinced, and Bertha was too willing to be
deceived herself to attempt to persuade him that he was in error.
The Marquis de Merrivale now entered. Maurice, whom he had only known
slightly, rose in favor when the epicure found that the young Parisian
could give all requisite information concerning the best restaurants in
Paris; and the viscount reached a higher summit of esteem, when he
promptly promised to put Lucien _en train_ to familiarize himself with
certain valuable culinary discoveries. Maurice knew enough of the
character of the marquis to be confident that his stay in the metropolis
would be determined by the amount of comfort he enjoyed, and the quality
of the dinners set before him.
Bertha's next visit was from M. de Bois, and could she have banished
from her mind a vague impression that he loved Madeleine, or was beloved
by her, the interview would have afforded her unmitigated happiness.
M. de Bois had not yet gained sufficient mastery over himself to command
his utterance in the presence of the woman who had most power to confuse
him. He still stammered painfully; but he could not help remarking that,
even as Madeleine had said, Bertha finished his broken sentences,
apparently unaware that she was doing so. And her greeting, surely it
had been far from cold. And did she not say, with a soft emphasis which
it almost took away his breath to hear, that it seemed an age since they
met? Had she then felt the time long? And did she not drop some
involuntary remark concerning the dulness of Brittany after he and
Maurice left? Had she not coupled him with her cousin? Might he not dare
to believe that Madeleine was right, and Bertha certainly did not scorn
him?
CHAPTER XIV.
DIAMONDS AND EMERALDS.
"I wish you would go, Maurice. Do, for my sake!" pleaded Bertha,
twisting in her slender fingers a note of invitation. "The Marquis de
Fleury was one of the first persons who called upon my uncle, and he
made a very favorable impression. Then Madame de Fleury has nearly
crushed me beneath an avalanche of sweet civilities. I fancy that a
humming-bird drowned in honey must experience sensations very similar to
mine in her presence. Is it not the Chinese who serve as the greatest of
delicacies a lump of ice rolled in hot pastry? The condiment with which
she feeds my vanity reminds me of this singular and paradoxical dainty.
If you penetrate the warm, sugared, outer crust, you find ice within.
But, as my uncle does not anticipate Chinese diet at the table of the
marchioness, he desires me to accept her invitation; and, as you are
invited, I wish _you_ to do the same, that I may have some familiar face
near me."
"Gaston de Bois will be there," returned Maurice, "and so will the young
American student, Ronald Walton, whom I presented to you; they are my
dearest friends; pray let them represent me, little cousin."
But Bertha was obstinate; her character had a strong tincture of
wilfulness, the result of invariably having her pleasure consulted, and
always obtaining her own way. She did not relinquish her entreaties
until Maurice, who had not lived long enough to be skilled in the art of
successfully denying the petition of a person who will take no refusal,
or of plucking the waspish sting out of a "no," consented to be present
at the dinner.
The Marquis de Fleury had learned, through his secretary, that
Mademoiselle Merrivale and her guardian were in Paris. Though the
matrimonial proposition of the marchioness on behalf of her brother, the
Duke de Montauban, had been so unfavorably received by Bertha's
relatives in Brittany, and though Bertha herself, when she met the duke
at the Château de Tremazan, had treated him somewhat coldly, the young
duke was too much enamored of the fair girl herself,--to say nothing of
a tender leaning towards her attractive fortune,--to be discouraged by a
passing rebuff. His relatives hailed the anticipated opportunity of
making the acquaintance of Bertha's guardian, and were prompt in paying
their devoirs. An invitation to dine followed quickly on the footsteps
of the visit.
We pass over the days that preceded the one appointed for the dinner
party; they were unmarked by incidents which demand to be recorded.
The bond of intimacy between Ronald and Maurice was drawn closer and
closer each day. Little by little the latter had communicated the
history of his own trials; his father's determined opposition to his
embracing a professional career; his attachment to Madeleine; her
unaccountable rejection of his hand; her sudden disappearance, and the
mad pursuit, which terminated by casting him insensible at Ronald's
door, and brought to his succor one who not only watched beside him with
all the devotion of a brother, mingled with the tenderness of womanhood
itself, but whose buoyant, healthy tone of mind had infused new hope and
vigor into a broken, despondent, prostrate spirit.
Ronald Walton was placed in an advantageous position in Paris by the
very fact of being an American. His intellect, talents, manners, person,
fitted him to grace the most refined society; and, coming from a land
where distinctions of rank are not arbitrarily governed by the accident
of birth, but where men are assigned their positions in the social scale
through a juster, higher, more liberal verdict, the young Carolinian
gained facile admission into the most exclusive circles abroad, and even
took precedence of individuals who made as loud a boast of noble blood
and hereditary titles as though the concentrated virtues of all their
ancestors had been transmitted to them through these dubious mediums.
Ronald, as the intimate friend of Maurice de Gramont, had received an
invitation to the dinner given by the Marchioness de Fleury to the
relatives of the viscount.
The young men entered Madame de Fleury's drawing-room together, and,
after having basked for a few seconds in smiles of meridian radiance,
and been inundated by a flood of softly syllabled words, moved away to
let the beams of their sunny hostess fall upon new-comers.
Maurice glanced around the room in search of his cousin.
"She has just entered the antechamber," said Ronald, comprehending his
look. "Her Hebe-like face this minute flashed upon me."
While he was speaking, Bertha and her uncle were announced, and advanced
toward their hostess.
The low genuflection of the marchioness had been responded to by
Bertha's unstudied courtesy, and the lips of the young girl had just
parted to speak, when she suddenly gave a violent start, and uttered a
cry as sharp and involuntary as though she had trodden upon some
piercing instrument. As she tottered back, her dilated eyes were fixed
upon Madame de Fleury in blank amazement.
"What is it, my dear? Are you ill?" asked her uncle with deep concern.
Bertha did not reply, but still gazed at the marchioness, or rather her
eyes ran over the lady's toilet, and she clung to her uncle's arm as
though unable to support herself.
"I am afraid you really are ill," continued the Marquis de Merrivale.
"Something has disagreed with you; it must have been the truffles with
which that pheasant we had for _déjeuner_ was stuffed. I toyed with them
very timidly myself."
"Pray sit down, my dear Mademoiselle de Merrivale," said Madame de
Fleury, leading her to a chair which stood near. "Sit down while I order
you a glass of water."
She turned to address a servant, but Bertha stretched out her hand,
almost as though she feared to lose sight of her. "Don't go! Don't go!
Let me look! Can they be hers? Let me look again!"
Madame de Fleury, as unruffled as though these broken exclamations were
perfectly natural and comprehensible, bent over Bertha caressingly,
laying the tips of her delicately gloved fingers on her shoulder. Bertha
wistfully examined the bracelet on the lady's arm, then fixed her eyes
upon the necklace, brooch, and ear-rings, and lastly upon the tiara-like
comb, about which the hair of the marchioness was arranged in a
dexterous and novel manner.
Madame de Fleury was gratified, without being moved by the faintest
surprise that her toilet had produced such an overpowering sensation.
Bertha's emotion did not appear to her in the least misplaced or
exaggerated.
"You admire this set of diamonds and emeralds very much, then?" she
asked, complacently.
"The _fleur-de-lis_ and shamrock," faltered Bertha, "where--where did
they come from?"
Interpreting the unceremonious abruptness and singularity of the
question into a spontaneous tribute paid to her costly ornaments, the
marchioness graciously answered,--
"This _parure_ was a delicate attention from M. de Fleury. Not long
after he presented these diamonds to me, by a very strange coincidence
Vignon sent this dress for my approval. You observe how dexterously the
device of the necklace is imitated. Can anything be more perfect than
these lilies and shamrock leaves?"
Bertha hastily glanced at the rich white silk robe, trimmed with
_revers_ of pale violet, upon which the lilies and shamrock were
embroidered with some species of lustrous thread, which counterfeited
not only the design but the sparkle of the gems. The marchioness went
on,--
"Was it not odd that Vignon, famed as she is for novelties, should have
chanced upon a dress which so exactly matched my new set? It quite makes
me a convert to the science of animal magnetism. My mind, you see, was
_en rapport_ with hers. Indeed she says so herself, for she could not
otherwise explain the sudden inspiration which caused her to plan this
trimming. M. de Fleury wanted me to have these jewels set anew; but I
would not allow them to be touched,--this old-fashioned setting is so
remarkable, so unique. Probably there is not another like it to be found
in Paris: _that_ is always vantage ground gained over one's
jewel-wearing adversaries."
The marchioness, once launched upon her favorite stream of talk, would
have sailed on interminably, had not the announcement of new guests
floated her upon another current.
"I hope the spasms are going over, my dear," said the Marquis de
Merrivale, who was really distressed by Bertha's supposed illness. "It
was very clever to divert observation by talking about dresses and
jewels; but the truffles did the mischief. I knew well enough what was
the matter with you."
"No--no; it was those jewels," replied Bertha, who had not yet recovered
her self-possession. "Those diamonds and emeralds were Madeleine's!"
"Madeleine's!" ejaculated Maurice, who had approached her on witnessing
her unaccountable agitation. "Good heavens! is it possible?"
"Yes, they were Madeleine's,--they were her mother's jewels and had been
in her family for generations. Madeleine showed them to me only a few
nights before she left the Château de Gramont. I am sure of them. I
would have recognized them anywhere."
"Then at last--at last, oh thank God--we shall trace her! She must have
sold those jewels for her support. We must learn from whence Madame de
Fleury purchased them," returned Maurice, with a voice trembling with
exultation.
"Madame de Fleury said they were a _cadeau_ from the marquis," replied
Bertha. "Come, let us find him,--let us ask him at once."
Bertha rose with animation and took her uncle's arm.
"Where are you going, my dear? Pray do not excite yourself again,"
pleaded her solicitous guardian. "Pray keep cool. Dinner must shortly be
served, and you will not be in a fit state to do justice to the
sumptuous repast which I have no doubt awaits us,--some of those novel
inventions, perhaps, which you were so anxious to taste. I see people
are not scrupulously punctual in Paris,--it is ten minutes after the
time. Possibly we are waiting for some guest who has not sufficient good
taste to remember that viands may be overdone through his culpability."
"I must speak to M. de Fleury," said Bertha. "Let us get nearer to him,
that I may seize the first opportunity when he ceases talking to that
pompous-looking old gentleman who has the left breast of his coat
covered with decorations."
"Well, well, take it quietly--keep cool--don't get your blood into a
ferment,--that's all I ask."
Her uncle led her across the room, accompanied by Maurice.
Diplomat and courtier were inscribed on every line of the wrinkled
countenance of the Marquis de Fleury. He never took a step, or gave a
look, or scarcely drew a breath, by which he had not some object to
accomplish, some interest to promote. An oppressive suavity of manner,
an exaggerated politeness encased him in an impenetrable armor, and
prevented the real man from ever being reached beneath this smooth
surface. Impulses he had none. The slightest motions of his wiry frame
were studied. When he walked, he slid along as though he could not be
guilty of so positive an action as that of planting his feet firmly upon
what might prove "delicate ground." When he bowed, a contraction of
sinews worthy of an _acrobat_ allowed his head to obtain an unnatural
inclination, suggestive of a complimentary deference which humbled
itself to the dust and kissed the garment's hem. Straightforwardness in
word, thought, or action was to him as incomprehensible as it was
impossible. He was a great general, ever standing on the political or
social battle-field; skilful manoeuvres were the glory of his
existence, and flattery the magical weapon never laid aside by which he
gained his victories.
Madame de Fleury was thirty years his junior. He had purposely selected
a young, pretty, harmless, well-dressed doll, as the being best suited
to further his ends in the great world. He admired her sincerely. She
reached the exact mental stature and standard which he looked upon as
perfection in womanhood, and her absolute despotism in ruling the modes
and creeds of the _beau monde_ were to him the highest proof of her
superiority over the rest of her sex.
Though he was engaged in a conversation with the emperor's grand
chamberlain, which seemed deeply interesting to both parties, M. de
Fleury broke off instantly when Bertha, with her uncle and Maurice,
approached.
"You are so radiant to night, Mademoiselle de Merrivale," remarked the
courtier, "that all eyes are fixed upon you. It is cruel of you to
dazzle the vision of so many admirers!"
Bertha, without paying the slightest attention to these fulsome words,
replied, "Will you pardon me, M. de Fleury, if I ask an impertinent
question?"
"How could any question from such sovereign lips become other than a
condescension? The queen of beauty commands in advance a reply to the
most difficult problem which she can propound."
Bertha, with an impatient toss of her head, as though the buzz of this
nonsensical verbiage stung her ears, plunged at once into the subject.
"That set of diamonds and emeralds which Madame de Fleury wears to-night
were presented to her by you. Will you have the goodness to tell me from
whence you procured them?"
For M. de Fleury to have given a direct answer, even in relation to such
an apparent trifle, would have been contrary to his nature; besides, it
was one of his rules not to impart information without learning for what
object it was sought.
"You admire them?" he replied, evasively. "I am delighted, I am charmed
with your approval of my taste. I shall think more highly of it forever
after. The setting of the jewels is old-fashioned; but Madame de Fleury
found it so novel that I could not prevail upon her to have it
modernized."
"But you have not told me how the jewels came into your possession."
"Oh, very naturally, very naturally, lovely lady! They were not a fairy
gift; they became mine by the very prosaic transaction of purchase."
Maurice could restrain himself no longer.
"My cousin is particularly desirous of learning through what source you
obtained them. She has an important reason for her inquiry."
This explanation only placed the marquis more upon his guard.
"Ah, your captivating cousin thinks they look as though they had a
history? Yes, yes; jewels of that kind generally have. Does the design
strike you as remarkable, Mademoiselle de Merrivale?"
"Very remarkable,--and I have seen it before. I could not forget it. I
wished to know"--
Dinner was announced at that moment, and the Duke de Montauban came
forward and offered his arm to Bertha.
M. de Fleury, with lavish apologies for the interruption of a
conversation which he pronounced delightful, begged the Marquis de
Merrivale to give his arm to Madame de Fleury, named to Maurice a young
lady whom he would have the goodness to conduct, glided about the room
to give similar instructions to other gentlemen, and, selecting an
elderly lady, who was evidently a person of distinction, led the way to
the dining-room.
Maurice stood still, looking perplexed and abstracted, and quite
forgetting that he had any ceremonious duty to perform. Ronald, who from
the time he had watched beside the viscount's sick-bed had not
relinquished his friendly _surveillance_, noticed his absence of mind,
and, as he passed him, whispered,--
"My dear fellow, what is the matter? You are dreaming again. Rouse
yourself! Some young lady must be waiting for your arm."
"Ronald," exclaimed Maurice, "something very singular has happened.
Madame de Fleury is wearing Madeleine's family jewels!"
"Bravo! That is cheering news, indeed! You will certainly be able to
trace her now,--never fear! But you must get through this dinner first;
so pray collect your scattered senses as expeditiously as possible."
Elated by these words of encouragement, and the hilarious tone in which
they were uttered, Maurice shook off his musing mood, and proffered his
arm to the niece of Madame de Fleury, whom he now remembered that the
marquis had desired him to conduct.
During the dinner this young lady pronounced the handsome cavalier, who
had been assigned to her, tantalizingly _distrait_, and secretly wished
that the artistic _maître d'hôtel_ of her aunt had decorated the table
with a less novel and attractive central ornament; for it seemed to her
that the eyes of Maurice were constantly turned upon the miniature
cherry-tree, of forced hot-house growth, that rose from a mossy mound
in the centre of the festive board. The diminutive tree was covered with
superb fruit, and girdled in by a circle of Liliputian grape-vines, each
separate vine trained upon a golden rod, and heavily laden with luscious
grapes, bunches of the clearest amber alternating with the deepest
purple and richest crimson. Among the mosses of the mound were scattered
the rarest products of the most opposite seasons; those of the present
season being too natural to pamper the artificial tastes of luxury.
Truly, the arrangement was a charming exemplification of nature made
subservient to art; but was it this magnet to which the eyes of Maurice
were so irresistibly attracted? He chanced to be seated where his view
of the hostess was partially intercepted by the hot-house wonder, and he
was seeking in vain to catch a glimpse of those jewels which had been
Madeleine's.
Bertha was placed nearer the marchioness, and the Duke de Montauban
could not help noticing that her gaze was frequently fixed upon his
sister; but being one of those men who are thoroughly convinced that
what the French term "_chiffons_" is the most important interest of a
woman's life, he consoled himself with the reflection that Mademoiselle
de Merrivale was deeply engrossed by a contemplation of Madame de
Fleury's elaborate toilet, and that her absent manner had this very
feminine, reasonable, and altogether to be tolerated apology.
When Madame de Fleury and her guests swept back into the drawing-room,
Monsieur de Fleury and the grand chamberlain were again closely engaged
in some political battle. Maurice, after waiting impatiently for a
favorable moment when he might come between the wordy belligerents,
whispered to Ronald,--
"I am tortured to death! I shall never get an opportunity to ask the
marquis about those jewels. My cousin was questioning him on the subject
when dinner was announced; but he seemed to treat her inquiries as of so
little importance that she was quite baffled in obtaining information."
"Why not attack him in a straightforward manner?" answered the positive
young American. "Walk up to him and ask plainly for a few moments'
private conversation. Give him the reason of your inquiries, and demand
an answer. Bring him to the point without any fancy fencing about the
subject."
"I fear it will look very strange," replied Maurice, hesitating.
"What matter? Are you afraid of _looking strange_ when you have a worthy
object to accomplish? The information you need is of more importance
than mere looks. It thoroughly amazes me to see the awe in which a
genuine Parisian is held by the dread of appearing singular! One would
imagine that all originality was felony, and that to catch the same
key-note of voice, to move with the exact motion, and tread in the
precise footprints in which every one else speaks, moves, walks, was the
only evidence of honesty. What is a man's individuality worth, if it is
to be trodden out in the treadmill tramp of senseless conventionality?"
Maurice glanced at his friend admiringly. He had observed on more than
one occasion that although Ronald was thoroughly versed in all the
nicest rules of etiquette, he had a way of breaking through them at his
pleasure, and always so gracefully that his waiving of ceremony could
never be set down to ignorance or ill-breeding.
The viscount literally, and without delay, followed his friend's advice,
and soon succeeded in drawing M. de Fleury aside.
"Permit me to explain to you Mademoiselle de Merrivale's anxiety about
those jewels," said Maurice. "You have, perhaps, heard the name of
Mademoiselle Madeleine de Gramont, my cousin on my father's side. Some
six weeks ago she suddenly left the Château de Gramont, and has not
communicated with her family since. Those jewels were hers. She must
have sold them. We are exceedingly anxious to discover her present
residence and induce her to return to my grandmother's protection. If
you could inform me from whence the jewels came, it would facilitate my
search."
The marquis had no definite motive for concealment beyond the dictates
of his habitual caution. This explanation satisfied him in regard to the
reasons which prompted inquiry; and being desirous of getting rid of
Maurice, and of resuming the conversation he had interrupted, replied,
with an assumption of cordiality,--
"It gives me great pleasure to be the medium of rendering the slightest
service to your illustrious family. Those diamonds were brought to me by
the Jew Henriques, from whom I now and then make purchases. I did not
inquire in what manner they came into his possession; but, not intending
to be cheated as to their precise worth, I had them taken to Kramer, in
the Rue Neuve St. Augustin, and a value placed upon them. I paid
Henriques the price those trustworthy jewellers suggested, instead of
the exorbitant one he demanded. This is all the information I am able to
afford you on the subject."
"May I beg you to favor me with the address of this Henriques?"
"Certainly, certainly, with pleasure; but I warn you that you will not
get much out of him. He is the closest Israelite imaginable; and a
golden ointment is the only '_open sesame_' to his lips."
M. de Fleury wrote Henriques' street and number on his card, and handed
it to Maurice.
Meantime Gaston de Bois, in spite of the pertinacious attentions of the
Duke de Montauban, had approached Bertha, and would have drawn her into
conversation had she not exultingly communicated to him the discovery
she had made concerning Madeleine's jewels. Was it the sudden mention of
that name which threw M. de Bois into a state of almost uncontrollable
agitation? Why did he flush, and stammer, and try to change the subject,
and, stumbling with suppressed groans over his words, as though they had
been sharp rocks, talk such unmitigated nonsense? Why did he so soon
steal away from Bertha's side? Why did he not approach her again for the
rest of the evening? Could it be that her first suspicion was right, and
that he loved Madeleine? If not, why should her name again have caused
him such unaccountable emotion?
CHAPTER XV.
THE EMBROIDERED HANDKERCHIEF.
Maurice lost no time, the next morning, in seeking out the crafty old
Jew. Henriques was a vender of jewels that came into his hands through
private sources. There was considerable risk in his traffic; for it was
just possible some of the precious stones transferred to him might have
been acquired in a manner not strictly legal. Perhaps it was not part of
his policy to acquaint himself with the history of gems which he bought
at a bargain and reaped an enormous profit in selling; for, when Maurice
endeavored to extract some information concerning the diamonds purchased
by the Marquis de Fleury, the Jew protested entire ignorance in regard
to their prior ownership; stating that they were brought to him by one
of his _confréres_, of whom he asked no questions,--that he had
purchased them at a ruinous price, and resold them to the marquis
without a centime's benefit: a very generous proceeding on his part, he
asserted; adding, with a ludicrous assumption of importance, that he
highly esteemed the marquis, and now and then allowed himself the
gratification of favoring him in business transactions.
"But the name of the person from whom your friend received the jewels is
certainly on his books, and, however numerous the hands through which
they may have passed, they can be traced back to their original owner,"
observed Maurice.
"Not so easily, monsieur, not so easily. Purchaser has nothing to do
with original owner. Jewels worth something, or jewels worth
nothing,--that's the point; names of parties holding the articles of no
consequence."
"But you certainly inquire from what source the jewels offered you
proceed?"
"Never make impertinent inquiries,--never: would drive away customers.
If monsieur has any jewels for sale, shall be happy to look at them;
disposed to deal in the most liberal manner with monsieur."
"Thank you. My object is simply to discover a friend to whom the jewels
you sold to the Marquis de Fleury once belonged. It is indispensable
that I should learn through whose hands they came into your possession."
"Ah!" said the cunning Jew, placing his skinny finger on one side of his
hooked nose, as if reflecting; then glancing at Maurice out of the
corners of his searching eyes, he asked, "Party would like to be
discovered?--or would said party prefer to remain under the rose?"
"Possibly the latter."
"Just so; that gives interest to the enterprise. But when party objects
to being traced, difficulties spring up; takes time to overcome them;
always a certain cost."
"If you mean that I shall offer you compensation for your trouble, I am
ready to make any in my power: name your price."
"Price? price? not to be named so hastily; depends upon time consumed,
amount of labor, obstacles party concerned may throw in the way. Other
parties will have to be employed to seek out party who presented himself
with the jewels; enumeration requisite to induce communicativeness; may
turn out party had the jewels from another party, who obtained them from
another; shall have to track each party's steps backward to party who
was the original possessor."
"Take your own course. I am unskilled in these affairs," answered
Maurice, frankly; "all I ask is that you learn for me _where_ the lady
whose family jewels passed through your hands now resides. Name the cost
of your undertaking."
The wily Jew fastened his keen, speculative eyes upon his anticipated
prey, as he replied, slowly, "Cost?--can't say to a certainty; thousand
francs do to begin."
He heard the faint sigh, of which Maurice was himself unconscious, and
drew a correct inference.
From the hour that the viscount had been made aware of the true state of
Count Tristan's finances, he had reduced all his own expenses, allowed
himself no luxuries, no indulgencies, nothing but the barest
necessities, that his father's narrow resources might not be drained
through a son's lavishness. The young nobleman had not at that moment a
hundred francs at his own command. He had no alternative but to apply to
Count Tristan for the sum required by the Jew.
"My means are very limited," returned Maurice, with a great waste of
candor. "I must beg you to deal with me as liberally as possible. The
amount you demand I hope to obtain and bring you in a few days. In the
meantime you will commence your inquiries."
"Assuredly,--just so; commence putting matters in train at once;
possibly may have some clew between thumb and finger when monsieur
returns with the money; nothing to be done without golden keys: unlock
all doors; carry one into hidden depths of the earth. Shall be obliged
to advance funds to pay parties employed. Have the goodness to write
your name in this book."
Maurice wrote down his name and address, and took his leave, once more
elated by the belief that he was on the eve of discovering Madeleine's
retreat.
The letter to his father written and dispatched, he sought Bertha, and
gave her full particulars of his interview with the Jew, delicately
forbearing to mention the compensation he expected.
Bertha, as sanguine of success as her cousin, was gayly discussing
probabilities, when the Marquis de Merrivale entered.
"Young heads laid together to plot mischief, I wager!" remarked the
nobleman, jocosely; for he was in a capital humor, having just partaken
of an epicurean _dejeuner à la fourchette_ at the celebrated "Madrid's."
"We are talking about our Cousin Madeleine. Maurice has a new plan for
prosecuting his search," said Bertha. "Ah, dear Madeleine! Why did she
forsake us so strangely? How could she have had the heart to cause us so
much sorrow?"
"My dear child, it was probably her _liver_ not her _heart_ that was in
fault. Her heart, I dare say, performed its grave duties properly, and
should not be aspersed; some bilious derangement was no doubt at the
bottom of her singular conduct. The greatest eccentricities may all be
traced back to _bile_ as their origin. Regulate the bile and you
regulate the brain from which mental vagaries proceed. If some judicious
friend had administered to your cousin Madeleine a little salutary
medicine, and forced her to diet for a few days, she would have acted
more reasonably. Talking of diet, that was a princely dinner the Marquis
de Fleury set before us. He is really a very able and estimable member
of society,--understands good living to perfection. I cordially
reciprocate his wish that a lasting bond of union should exist between
us. His brother-in-law, the young Duke de Montauban, is enchanted with
my little niece. I say nothing: arrange between yourselves; but, by all
means, marry into a family which knows how to value a good cook; take a
young man who has had his taste sufficiently cultivated to distinguish
of what ingredients a sauce is composed. Don't despise a blessing that
may be enjoyed three hundred and sixty-five times every year,--that's
my advice."
Bertha had not attached any importance to the attentions of the young
duke; but her manner of receiving this suggestion,--the
"half disdain
Perched on the pouted blossom of her lip,"--
convinced Maurice that, if she favored any suitor, her inclinations did
not turn towards the duke.
"The Duke de Montauban is not ill-looking," Maurice remarked, to decoy
her into some more open expression; "and he is sufficiently
agreeable,--do you not think so?"
"I never thought about him," she replied, somewhat petulantly. "If I
chance to look at him I never think of any one but his tailor and his
hairdresser, without whom I verily believe he would have no tangible
existence."
"An accomplished tailor and a skilful _coiffure_ are all very well in
their way," observed her uncle; "but a scientific _cook_ is the grand
necessity of a man's life,--a daily need,--the trebly repeated need of
each day; and the education of a cook should commence in the cradle. If
this point received the attention which it deserves from sanitarians,
there would be fewer digestive organs out of order, and consequently
fewer police reports, and a vast diminution of eccentric degradation,
and moping madness and suicide, and horrors in general."
Bertha and Maurice did not dispute this sweeping assertion; for they
knew it would entail upon them the necessity of encountering a battalion
of arguments, which the marquis delighted to call into action to defend
the ground upon which he took up his favorite position.
Count Tristan's reply to Maurice, enclosing a check for the thousand
francs, was received a few days later. Maurice returned to the Jew with
the money. The latter rejoiced him by vaguely hinting that there was a
prospect of successful operation; but the matter would occupy time. The
viscount would be good enough to call again in a week.
Maurice was too unsuspicious and too unskilled in transactions of this
nature to doubt that the Jew was dealing with him in good faith. Instead
of a week, he returned the next morning, and repeated his visits
regularly every day. The Jew diligently fanned his hopes, assuring him
that old Henriques was not to be baffled, though the parties through
whose hands the jewels had passed were almost unapproachable. Very soon
the merciless Israelite notified the young nobleman that further funds
would be requisite, and Maurice writhed under the cruel compulsion which
forced him to make a second application to his father.
Bertha had been a fortnight in Paris when the anniversary of her
birthday, which for the first time had been forgotten, was in a singular
manner recalled to her mind. A small package had been received for her
at her uncle's residence in Bordeaux, and had been promptly forwarded to
Paris. The outer cover was directed in the handwriting of her uncle's
_concierge_; on the inner, a request, that if Mademoiselle de Merrivale
were absent the parcel might be immediately forwarded to her, was
written in familiar characters. Bertha had no sooner caught sight of
them than she cried out,--
"Madeleine! It is the handwriting of Madeleine!"
She tore open the paper with trembling hands. There was no note,--not a
single written word,--but before her lay a handkerchief of the finest
texture, and embroidered with the marvellous skill which belonged alone
to those "fairy fingers" she had so often watched.
Vainly might we attempt to convey even a faint idea of her tumultuous
rapture,--of the tears of ecstasy, the hysterical laughter, the dancing
delight, with which she greeted her uncle and Maurice, who entered a few
moments after the package was received. She kissed the handkerchief
moistened with her tears, waved it exultingly over her head, kissed it
again, and wept over it again, while the marquis and her cousin stood
looking at her in speechless astonishment.
"Madeleine! Madeleine! it is from Madeleine!" at last she found voice to
ejaculate. "See, that is her handwriting," pointing to the paper cover;
"and this is her work; her 'fairy fingers' send me a token on my
birthday. I am seventeen to-day, and no one has remembered it but
Madeleine. She thinks of me still; she never forgets any one; she has
not forgotten me!"
Maurice caught up the paper in which the handkerchief had been
enveloped, and with throbbing pulses eagerly examined the handwriting.
"See, Maurice," Bertha continued, joyfully, "in the corner she has
embroidered my name, surrounded by a wreath of forget-me-nots,--for
_she_ does not forget. The crest of the de Merrivales is in the opposite
corner; and this,--why this looks like the bracelet I gave her on her
last birthday. How wonderfully she has imitated the knot of pearls that
fastened the golden band! And this corner, Maurice, look,--this is in
remembrance of you,--of your birthday token to her. Do you not see the
design is a brooch, and the device a dove carrying an olive-branch in
its mouth, and the word 'Pax' embroidered beneath?"
Maurice looked, struggling to repress the emotion that almost unmanned
him. Pointing to the stamp upon the envelope which had contained the
handkerchief, he said,--
"It is postmarked Dresden."
"Dresden? Dresden? Can Madeleine be in Dresden?" returned Bertha. "Ah,
uncle, can we not go there at once? We shall certainly find her.
Yes,--we must go. I am tired of Paris,--let us start to-morrow."
"Dresden, my dear!" cried her uncle, in a tone of unmitigated disgust.
"Why, the barbarians would feed us upon _sour kraut_, and give us
pudding before meat! Go to Dresden? Impossible! Not to be thought of!
Paris was a wise move,--we have enjoyed the living amazingly; but trust
ourselves to those tasteless German cooks? We should be poisoned in a
couple of days. Keep cool, my dear, or you will make yourself ill by
getting into such a violent state of excitement just after breakfast.
How do you suppose the important process of digestion can progress
favorably if your blood is agitated in this turbulent manner?"
Bertha was about to answer almost wrathfully, but Maurice interrupted
her.
"_I_ will go, Bertha. Madeleine must be in Dresden. At last she has sent
us a token of her existence, a token of remembrance, thank Heaven!"
"Go! go! go at once!" was Bertha's energetic injunction.
Maurice pressed her hand tightly, and bowing to the marquis, without
attempting to utter another syllable, took his leave, carrying with him
the envelope which bore Madeleine's handwriting.
After having his passport _viséd_, he returned to his apartment to make
rapid preparations for starting that evening. Very soon Gaston de Bois
entered, evidently in a state of ill-concealed perturbation.
"Mademoiselle Bertha tells me you are going to Dresden."
"Yes, to seek my cousin. Look at the post-stamp upon that envelope.
Madeleine is in Dresden."
"How can you be sure of that?" asked Gaston.
"She writes from Dresden; can anything be clearer?" returned Maurice,
confidently.
"It is not clear to me that she is there. I wish I could persuade you
against taking this jour--our--ourney."
"That is out of the question, Gaston; so spare yourself the trouble of
the attempt."
"But the journey will be use--use--useless," persisted M. de Bois.
"How can you know that?" inquired Maurice, quickly.
"I think so; it is my impression, my conviction."
"It is not mine, and nothing can prevent my making the experiment,"
answered Maurice, decidedly.
Gaston looked as thoroughly vexed as though he were responsible for the
rash actions of his friend; but he knew that Maurice was inflexible
where Madeleine was concerned, and that all entreaties would be thrown
away unless he could sustain them by some potent reason; and _that_ it
was not in his power to proffer. He made no further opposition, but
remained fidgeting about the room in the most distracting manner,
hindering the preparations of Maurice, stumbling over articles scattered
on the floor, now and then stammering out a broken, unintelligible
phrase, and altogether seeming wretchedly uncomfortable, yet unwilling
to leave until he saw the obstinate traveller in the _fiacre_ which
drove him to the railway station.
CHAPTER XVI.
A VOICE FROM THE LOST ONE.
A few days after the departure of Maurice for Dresden, the Duke de
Montauban made a formal proposal for the hand of Mademoiselle de
Merrivale. French etiquette not allowing a suitor the privilege of
addressing the lady of his love, except through some kindred or friendly
medium, his pretensions were of course made known to Bertha by her
uncle. She received the communication with a fretful tapping of her
little foot, and a toss of her gamboling, golden ringlets, which bore
witness to her undisguised vexation and saucy disdain. The
uncompromising manner in which she declined the proposed honor, threw
her guardian, who had strengthened himself to enact the part of Cupid's
messenger, by a somewhat liberal repast, into a state of astonishment
which threatened alarming disturbance to his laboring digestive
functions.
"Really, my dear, you speak so abruptly that you make me feel quite
dyspeptic. What possible objection can you have to the young duke?"
"A very slight one, according to the creed which governs matrimonial
alliances in our enlightened land," returned Bertha, pouting through her
sarcasm. "My objection is simply that he is not an object of the
slightest interest to me."
"But the match is such a suitable one that interest will come after it
is consummated," answered her uncle.
"I do not intend to marry upon _faith_," retorted Bertha; then she broke
out petulantly, "In a word, uncle, I do not intend to marry a man who is
so insipid that I could not even quarrel with him; whom I could not
think of seriously enough to take the trouble to dislike; to whom I am
so thoroughly indifferent that for me he has no existence out of my
immediate sight."
"There, there; keep cool, my dear. Nobody intends to force you to marry
him. I did not know that it was necessary to be able to dislike a man,
and to have a capacity for quarrelling with him, to fit him for the
position of a husband. A very unwholesome doctrine. Emotion is
particularly prejudicial to the animal economy. I thought the cultivated
taste which the de Fleurys so evidently possess might have some weight
with you. That dinner they gave us was unsurpassable, and"--
"If I am to marry to secure myself superlatively good dinners, I had
better unite myself to an accomplished cook at once," replied Bertha,
demurely.
"That's very tart, my dear. All acids disagree with me, and your
acidulated observations are giving me unpleasant premonitory symptoms."
Bertha noticed that the _bon vivant_ had in reality began to puff and
pant as though he were suffering from an incipient nightmare. Being so
thoroughly habituated to his idiosyncrasy that she had learned to regard
it leniently, she made an effort to recover her good humor, and
answered,--
"I know my kind uncle will not render me uncomfortable by pressing this
subject; but, in the most courteous manner, will let the Duke de
Montauban understand that I do not intend to marry at present."
"Make you uncomfortable," rejoined the marquis, struggling for breath;
"of course, I would not for the world! Do you take me for an old brute?
And I have just made arrangements to drive you to the _Bois de Boulogne_
and dine at Madrid's this evening. A pretty state you would be in to do
justice to a dinner which promises to place in jeopardy the laurels even
of M. de Fleury's cook."
"We will strike a bargain," returned Bertha, with her wonted gayety. "If
you will agree not to mention the Duke de Montauban, I will agree to do
justice to the dinner at Madrid's."
"I am content; we will drop the duke and discuss the dinner."
The attentions of Madame de Fleury's brother to the heiress had been too
marked and open for his suit and its rejection to remain a secret.
Gaston de Bois heard Bertha's refusal commented upon, and there was a
buzz in his ears of idle speculations concerning the origin of her
caprice. Was it some blissful, internal suggestion, which diffused such
a glow of happiness over his expressive countenance when he next saw
Bertha? Was it some hitherto uncertain ground of encouragement made sure
beneath his feet, which so wondrously loosened his tongue from its dire
bondage? Was it some aerial hope, taking tangible shape, which imparted
such an air of ease and elation to his demeanor? Gaston stammered less
every day,--his impediment disappearing as his self-possession
increased. On this occasion he was only conscious of a slight difficulty
in utterance to rejoice at its existence, for it rendered delightfully
apparent Bertha's thoughtfulness in catching up words upon which he
hesitated, and concluding sentences he commenced, as though she read
their meaning in his eyes. Gaston had not seen her in so buoyant a mood
since they parted at the Château de Gramont. But the tide of her
exuberant gayety suddenly ebbed when she noticed the look of pain with
which he involuntarily responded to one of her chance questions. She had
asked if he thought it probable Maurice would find Madeleine in Dresden.
Again that singular expression on his countenance; again that sudden
change of color at Madeleine's name; again that involuntary starting
from his seat, with a return of the olden habit which placed fragile
furniture in danger! Was it the remembrance that Madeleine was lost to
them which occasioned M. de Bois's sudden depression? Was it an
overwhelming sense of doubt concerning the result of Maurice's mission,
which made his response to Bertha's inquiry so vague, his sentences so
disjointed? Once more Bertha asked herself whether he were not, after
all, the lover Madeleine had refused to mention. Yet, if this were the
case, how could Gaston have appeared so much less anxious and less
concerned at her flight than Maurice, who loved her with unquestionable
ardor? Why had M. de Bois aided so little in the search for her present
habitation? The young girl could not reconcile such apparent
contradictions, and while she sat perplexing herself by futile efforts
to unravel these mysteries, M. de Bois was equally puzzled to rightly
interpret her silence and abstraction.
The interview which, at its opening, had been as bright as a spring
morning, closed with sudden April shadows; and there was an April
mingling of smiles and tears upon Bertha's countenance when she retired
to her chamber, after M. de Bois's departure, and pondered over his
strange expression when her cousin was mentioned. Why, if Madeleine was
his choice, was his manner toward herself so full of tenderness? Why was
it that she never glanced at him without finding his eyes fastened upon
her face? Why had he so much power to draw her irresistibly towards him?
Why did his step set her heart throbbing so tumultuously? Why did his
coming cause her such a thrill of delight, and his departure leave such
a sense of solitude?--a void that no one else filled, a pain that no
other presence soothed.
Meantime Maurice had reached Dresden and was searching for Madeleine,
almost in the same vague, unreasonable manner that he had sought her in
Paris. But the mad course upon which he had again started, and which
might have once more unbalanced his mind, met with a sudden check. The
day after his arrival in Dresden he received a note, which ran thus:--
"Madeleine is not in Dresden. She entreats Maurice to
discontinue a search which must prove fruitless. Should the
day ever come, as she prays it may, when her place of refuge
can become known to him, no effort of his will be required
for its discovery. Will not Maurice accept the pains of the
inevitable present and wait for the consolations the future
may bring forth with the hope and patience which must
sustain her until that blessed period shall arrive?"
Maurice was almost stupefied as he read these lines. He crushed the
paper in his nervous fingers to be certain that it was tangible; he
compared the writing with the one upon the envelope which he had taken
from Bertha. If that were Madeleine's hand, so was this. He looked for a
postmark; there was none; the letter had been brought by a private
messenger, and yet Madeleine was not in Dresden! How could this be?
That, in some mysterious manner, she became acquainted with his
movements was unquestionable. Her thoughts then were turned to him,--her
invisible presence followed him. It was some joy, at least, to know that
he lived in her memory.
Maurice, without a moment's hesitation, without letting his own personal
suffering weigh in the balance of decision, without allowing his mind to
dwell upon the probabilities of tracing Madeleine through this new clew,
resolved to comply with her request.
When he returned to Paris and placed her letter in Bertha's hands, and
told her his determination, she impetuously urged him not to be guided
by their cousin's wishes. She pleaded that Madeleine was sacrificing
herself from a mistaking sense of duty; that, if her place of abode
could only be revealed, Bertha's own supplications might influence her
to abandon her present project, and to accept the home which Bertha,
with the full consent of her uncle, could offer.
Maurice listened not unmoved, but unshaken, in his selected course. He
felt that a woman of Madeleine's dignity of character,--a woman of her
calm judgment,--a woman who could look with such steady, tearless eyes
upon life's realities,--a woman who would not have trodden in flowery
ways though every pressure of her foot crushed out some delicious aroma
to perfume her life, if the "stern lawgiver, duty," summoned her to a
flinty road, and pointed to a glorious goal beyond,--such a woman,
having deliberately chosen her path, having tested her strength to walk
therein, having pronounced that strength all-sufficient, deserved the
tribute of confidence, and an even blind respect to her mandates.
Besides, compliance with her wishes was a species of voiceless, wordless
communication with her; it was sending her a message through some
unknown and mysterious channel.
Maurice presented this in its most vivid colors before Bertha's eyes;
but in vain. She was too wayward, too unreasonable, too full of
passionate yearning for the presence of Madeleine, too sensible of an
innate weakness that longed to lean upon Madeleine's strength, to see
the justice and wisdom of the conclusion to which Maurice had arrived.
As soon as their painful interview was closed by the entrance of the
marquis, Maurice sought the old Jew and ordered him to prosecute his
search no further. Henriques, who had already extracted a considerable
sum from the young nobleman, and looked upon the transaction as a safe
investment calculated to yield a certain profit for some months to come,
was very unwilling to relinquish his promised gain. He assured the
viscount that he had lately received information of the greatest
importance; the party to whom the jewels had originally belonged had at
last been tracked; the undertaking was on the very eve of success. To
abandon it was a refusal to grasp the prize almost within their clutch.
Whether the cunning Jew spoke the truth, or fiction, mattered little;
for Maurice, in spite of these alluring representations, did not allow
himself to be tempted to violate Madeleine's express command. He had, as
it were, accepted his fate, and cast away the arms with which men war
with so-called "destiny;" struggle and rebellion were over. To "_wait_"
in patience was all that remained.
But what was to be done with his existence? In the plenitude of youthful
health and strength, was his life to ebb away, like an unreplenished
stream, flowing into nothingness? His days became more and more
wearisome; the hours hung more and more heavily upon his hands; the feet
of time sounded with iron tramp in his ears, yet never appeared to move
onward.
"In his eyes a cloud and burthen lay;" a shadowy sorrow dropped its pall
of darkness over his mind and obscured his perception of all awakening,
quickening inspirations; a smouldering fire within him withered up every
vernal shoot of impulse and turned all the spring-time foliage of
thought and fancy sere. His voice, his look, his mien, betrayed that an
ever-living woe encompassed him with gloom.
Ronald fruitlessly strove to rouse him from this state of supine
despondency. The active employment, the all-engrossing interest which
would have medicined his unslumbering sorrow, were remedial agents
denied by his father's unwise decree. As a substitute, though of less
potency, Ronald strove to inspire him with his own strong love for
literature. The young American had a passion for books which were the
reflex of great minds. His quick hearkening to the voices breathing from
their pages, and made prophetic by some sudden experience; the ready
plummet with which he sounded their depths of reasoning; the sentient
hand with which he plucked out their truths and planted them in his own
rich memory, to grow like trees filled with singing-birds: these had
rendered his communings with master-spirits one of the noblest and most
strengthening influences of his life. What wonder, when literature was
so bounteously distributed over his native land that it made itself
vocal beneath every hedge,--enriched the humblest cottage with a
library,--found its way, in the inexpensive guise of magazines, a
welcome visitant at every fireside,--poured out its treasures at the
feet of rich and poor, liberally as the liberal sunshine, freely as the
free air?
Maurice, educated in a different atmosphere, at the same age as Ronald,
was a stranger to the companionship of written minds, save those to
which his college studies had formally presented him; and his dark
unrest rendered it difficult for him to follow his friend into the
teeming Golconda of literature, and to gather the gems spread to his
hands. And when, at last, Ronald's enthusiasm proved contagious and
kindled Maurice to seek out some great author's charm, it too often
chanced that he stumbled upon passages that irritated him, and increased
his moody discontent. We instance one of these occasions as illustrative
of many others.
Ronald, whose busy brush had been brought to a stand-still by an
unusually dark day, when he returned to his apartments, found his friend
reading Bulwer's "Caxtons." Maurice was leaning with both elbows upon
the table, his fingers plunged through his disordered hair, his brows
almost fiercely contracted, and his wan face bent over the volume before
him.
"I found some grand pictures in that book," remarked the young artist.
"Which are you contemplating?"
"No pictures. I have not your eye for pictures," answered Maurice, with
something more than a touch of impatience. "I am moved, haunted,
tormented by truths which have more power than all the ideal pictures
pen ever drew, or brush ever painted. You place me here before your
library, you lure me to read, and every book I open utters words that
make my compulsory mode of existence a reproach, a disgrace, a misery to
me. Read this, for instance: 'Life is a drama, not a monologue. A drama
is derived from a Greek word which signifies _to do_. Every actor in the
drama has something to do which helps on the progress of the
whole,--that is the object for which the author created him. _Do your
part_ and let the _Great Play_ go on!' _Do? do?_" continued Maurice, in
an excited tone as he finished the quotation; "it is a torment worthy of
a place in Dante's Inferno to know that there is nothing one is
permitted to _do_! I too am an actor in the Great Drama; but I have no
part to play save that of lay figure, motionless and voiceless; yet,
unhappy, not being deprived of sensibility, I am goaded to desperation
by inward taunting because I can do nothing."
"The play is not ended yet," answered Ronald, with as much cheerfulness
as he could command, for his friend's depression affected his
sympathetic nature. "We may not comprehend our _rôles_ in the beginning;
we may have to study long before we can thoroughly conceive, then
idealize, then act them."
"I could bear that mine should be a sad, if it were only an active one,"
returned Maurice, again fixing his eyes upon the book.
Ronald could make no reply to a sentiment so thoroughly in accordance
with his own views. He constantly pondered upon the possibilities
through which his friend might be freed from the shackles that bound him
to the effeminate serfdom of idleness; but the magic that could unrivet
those fetters had not yet been revealed. Still he was sometimes stirred
by a mysterious prescience that they would be loosened, and through his
instrumentality.
Ronald's nature was essentially practical without being prosaic. The
rich ore of poetry, inseparable from all exquisitely fine organizations,
lay beneath the daily current of his life, like golden veins in the bed
of a stream, shining through the crystal waters that bore the most
commonplace objects on their tide. He thoroughly accepted that
interpretation of the Ideal which calls it a "divine halo with which the
Creator had encircled the world of reality;" but while he instinctively
lifted all he loved into supernal regions and contemplated them in the
glorious spirit-light that heightens all beauty, he lost sight of none
of the stern actualities of their existence. His imagination had
fashioned a hero out of Maurice, and he had thrown his person in heroic
guise upon canvas; yet he clearly beheld and mourned over the morbid
tendency that was weakening his mind and threatened to render his
character and his life equally unheroic.
Only a few days after the conversation we have just narrated, when
Maurice entered Ronald's sitting-room he found the student with an open
letter in his hand. As he lifted his eloquent, brown eyes from the paper
a glittering moisture beaded their darkly fringed lashes, and an
expression of ineffable tenderness looked out from their lustrous
depths. The letter was from his mother,--one of those messengers of deep
affection which transported him into her presence, placed him, as he had
so often sat in his petted boyhood, at her feet, to listen to her holy
teachings, and be thrilled to the very centre of his being by her words
of love. During his three years of separation, at a period when the
expanding mind is most impressible, these letters, weekly received, had
surrounded him with a heavenly aura which seemed breathed out through a
mother's ceaseless prayers, and had kept his life pure, his spirit
strong, his heart uplifted; had preserved him from being hurried by the
wild, ungoverned impulses of youth, rendered more infectuous by the
volcanic fires of genius, into actions for which he might blush
hereafter.
It was one of the undefined, unspoken sources of sympathy between Ronald
and Maurice, that the guarding hand of _woman_, influencing them from a
distance, preserved the bloom, the freshness, the pristine purity of
both their souls, even in the polluted atmosphere of a city where
immorality is an accepted evil. Maurice, who had never known a mother's
hallowing affection, gained his strength through his early attachment to
a maiden whom no man could love without being ennobled thereby; and
Ronald, whose heart had never yet awakened to the first pulse of
tenderness which drew him towards one he would have claimed as a bride,
owed his powers of resistance to as strong, as passionate devotion to a
mother who united in her person all the most glorious attributes of
womanhood, and whose idolizing love for her child was tempered by wisdom
which placed his spiritual progress above all other gain. While he was
struggling to win laurels in art's arena, she strove to bind upon his
brow a crown whose gems were heavenly truths,--a crown the pure in
spirit alone could wear.
Blessed the son who has such a mother! Safe and blessed! His foot shall
tread upon the serpent that lies hidden beneath the tempting flowers in
his path, ere the reptile can sting him; his hand shall resolutely put
away the cup of pleasure from his lips when there is poison in the
chalice; he shall walk through the fire of evil lusts unscathed! No
laurel that wreaths his brow shall render it too feverish, or too proud,
to lie upon that mother's bosom with the glad, all-confiding, satisfied
sense which made its joy when it lay there in guileless boyhood. That
mother's love shall smooth for him the rough ways of earth, and place in
his hand the golden key that opens heaven.
As Maurice took his seat beside Ronald, the latter, hastily sweeping his
handkerchief across his eyes, said with a vehement intonation,--
"I have come to a sudden determination! I am going back to America. The
trip is nothing,--ten days over and ten back,--a mere trifle! I can
spend a couple of months with my parents and be back in time for autumn
work. Instead of sending my picture, which is nearly completed, I will
present it in person."
Maurice sighed as he answered, "They will be proud of your work! Happy
are they who have work to do, and who do it faithfully!"
"That is a sentiment worthy of an American," rejoined Ronald; "indeed,
you have unconsciously stolen it from one of our most distinguished
American writers, who says, 'To have something to do and _to do it_ is
the best appointment for us all.'[Footnote: Hillard's "Italy."] The
extent to which I have insensibly Americanized you is very evident. A
thought has just struck me: you are weary and melancholy, and seem to
grow much paler and thinner every day. It will revive and strengthen you
to accompany me. Come, let us go together!"
"Let us fly to the moon!" answered Maurice, half scornfully. "Ronald,
_why_ do you always forget that although we have lived precisely the
same number of years, and I may be said to have lived so much longer
than you, if we count time by sorrows that make long the days,--though
we have both passed our twenty-first anniversary, you, as an American,
have obtained your majority, and are a free agent, while the law of
France renders me still a minor for four years? You know I cannot stir
without my father's consent; and, of course, that is unattainable."
"Unattainable if you choose to imagine that it is, and will not seek for
it," answered Ronald, rebukingly. "The wisest poet that ever penned his
inspiration, says,--
'Our doubts are traitors
And make us lose the good we oft might win
By fearing to attempt!'
Do not let your traitorous doubts frighten you from the trial."
Maurice smiled away his rising irritability, and replied, "I think,
Ronald, your mind is so full of poetic arrows that one could not take a
step, or lift a finger, or draw a breath, without your being able to hit
him with a verse."
"A verse may hit him who a sermon flies!" retorted Ronald, laughingly.
"And a man is easy to hit who sits down with folded hands, like him of
whom my rhythmic shaft has just made a target. But, to speak seriously,
do you wonder that true thoughts, beautiful thoughts, which have been
thrown into the music of verse, keep their haunting echoes in some
stronghold of memory, and surge up to the lips when a stirring incident
causes the gates of the mind to vibrate? Why, the very proof of the
poet's genuine inspiration, his chiefest triumph lies in this, that he
speaks a familiar truth, a common word of hope, a little word of
comfort, a simple word of warning, with such potency that it strikes
deeper into the soul than any other adjuration can reach; it defies us
to forget; it takes the sound of a prophecy, and thrills our hearts and
governs our actions in spite of ourselves. So much in defence of my
poetic memories. Now be generous enough to admit that poetry is usually
mingled with a large proportion of prosaic common sense which resolves
itself into action. My scoffed-at poetry interprets itself into this
matter-of-fact prose: unless you have the courage, the energy to ask
your father's consent to your accompanying me to America, you will not
get it; and if you ask you _may_ get it; and if you accompany me it may
profit you. Come,--what say you? I shall be ready to start next week."
"So soon?" ejaculated Maurice, who, often as he had witnessed the
promptitude with which the young American moved, could not yet
familiarize himself with his national rapidity of action and decision.
"You call it _soon_? Why, if I had said day after to-morrow it might
have been termed _soon_; but it seems to me a week is time enough to
prepare for a journey around the world. Come, you have half an hour
before the post closes,--dash off your letter and let it go at once."
As he spoke, he cleared his writing-table of the books and papers by
which it was encumbered, and placed a chair for Maurice. The latter, who
was always carried onward by the rushing current of his friend's strong
will, wrote, on the spur of the moment, a letter more calculated to
impress his father than any deliberately studied epistle. The restless
and gloomy state of mind under which Maurice labored, revealed itself in
this impulsive effusion with a force which might not have found its way
into a calmer communication.
The frequent applications for money which Maurice had been compelled to
make, that he might meet the demands of the old Jew, were not without
their influence in preparing Count Tristan to look favorably upon his
son's solicitation. The count imagined that the sums so constantly
demanded were squandered in the manner habitual to gay young men in
Paris. He had experienced much difficulty in complying with his son's
last request, and became painfully aware that it would not much longer
be in his power to supply him at the same extravagant rate. As a natural
consequence, he hailed the proposition to travel, which might break off
any unfortunate connections, or _liaisons_, he might have formed in
Paris, and without their aid, divert his troubled mind. Then, the
present would be a favorable opportunity for Maurice to visit his estate
in Maryland, and to learn something further of that railway company
which seemed of late to have suspended its operations.
Maurice was not less astounded than overjoyed upon receiving his
father's prompt and unconditional consent to his proposed trip. He at
once carried the letter to Bertha. She was too generous to oppose a step
which promised to be advantageous to her cousin, yet she could not
contemplate their inevitable separation without sincere sorrow.
"I wish I were going with you!" she sighed. "It seems to me everybody is
going to America. Have you not heard that the Marquis de Fleury has just
received the appointment of ambassador to the United States? I wish my
uncle would let me travel to some foreign country. I am weary of this
Parisian, ball-going life."
"Has Monsieur de Fleury received his appointment at last? I had not
heard of it. Who told you?" inquired Maurice.
"M. de Bois, this very morning."
"Gaston goes with him, I presume?"
"Yes, he said so."
"That is an unexpected pleasure,--that is really delightful!" exclaimed
Maurice, enthusiastically.
Bertha did not reply; but she certainly looked inclined to pout, and as
though she had no very distinct perception of the delight in question.
In a few days Maurice and Ronald were on the great ocean.
A fortnight later the Marquis and Marchioness de Fleury, and the
secretary of the former, M. de Bois, were also on their way to the New
World.
Bertha worried her uncle by her sad face, listless manner, and low
spirits, to say nothing of her loss of appetite (to his thinking the
most important feature of her _malaise_), until he was convinced that
she had lost all interest in Paris, and that her sadness would be
increased by a longer sojourn in the gay capital. When she admitted
this, he kindly inquired if she desired to travel.
"Yes, _very much_," was her reply.
Whither would she go? To Italy? To England? To Russia?
"No,--to America!"
_America!_--land of savages!--land of Pawnees and Choctaws!--land where
cooking must be in its crude infancy! Her uncle would not listen to such
a barbarous proposition; and, finding that he could obtain no other
answer from his wilful and incomprehensible ward, he carried her back to
Bordeaux, consoling himself with the reflection that although the visit
to Paris had not been permanently advantageous to his niece, the
culinary knowledge acquired by Lucien was a full compensation.
CHAPTER XVII.
"CHIFFONS."
"Chiffons!" "_talking chiffons!_" "_writing chiffons!_"--will any one
have the goodness to furnish us with a literal yet lucid interpretation
of this enigmatical form of speech so incessantly employed in the
Parisian _beau monde_? Among the translatable words of the French
language,--among the expressive terms which cannot be rendered by
equally significant expressions in our own more copious tongue,--among
the phraseology invented to convey ideas which the phrases themselves
certainly do not suggest,--the common application of this curt little
word "_chiffons_" holds a distinguished place. Look for "_chiffons_" in
the dictionary, and you will see it simply defined as "_rags_;" yet
"_chiffons_" represent the very opposite of rags feminine, and conjure
up a multitudinous army of feminine fashions, fripperies, fancies,
follies, indispensable aids and adjuncts of the feminine toilet.
We have headed this chapter "_chiffons_," and given an imperfect
definition of the term, as a sign-post of warning to masculine
readers,--a hint that this is a chapter to be lightly skimmed, or
altogether skipped, for it unavoidably treats of "_chiffons_," which the
necessities of the narrative will not allow us to suppress.
The Marquis de Fleury had been appointed ambassador from the court of
Napoleon the Third to the United States of America.
Madame de Fleury's state of mind, in spite of the consolation afforded
by a number of strikingly original costumes, which she innocently
flattered herself would prove very effective during a sea-voyage, was
deplorable. Terror inspired by the perils of the deep was only surpassed
by intense grief excited by her compulsory banishment to a land where,
she imagined, the invading feet of modiste and mantua-maker had not
trodden out all resemblance to the original Eden; a land where the women
probably attired themselves with a leaning to antediluvian simplicity,
or in accordance with strong-minded proclivities, and the men were,
doubtless, too much engrossed by politics and business to be capable of
appreciating the most elaborate toilet that could be fashioned to
captivate their eyes; a land, in short, where taste was yet unborn, and
where it was ignorantly believed that the chief object of apparel was to
perform, on a more extensive scale, the use of primitive fig-leaves and
furs.
To prevent her from falling into the clutches of American barbarians,
Madame de Fleury secured two French maids as a _bodyguard_. Into the
hands of one, skilled in the intricate mysteries of hair-dressing, her
head was unreservedly consigned; the other, versed in more varied arts,
had entire charge of the rest of her person. But these _aides-de-camp_
of the toilet were deemed insufficient for the guardianship of her
charms. The moment her sentence of exile was pronounced, she had
summoned the incomparable Vignon to her presence, and piteously painted
the difficulties which must beset her path when she was remorselessly
torn from within reach of the creative fingers of the artist
_couturière_. Vignon had unanticipated comfort in store: the most
accomplished of her assistants,--one who had exhibited a skill in design
and execution positively marvellous,--had several times expressed a
strong inclination to establish herself in America, and would gladly
make her _debut_ in the New World under the patronage of the
marchioness. This information threw Madame de Fleury into such
ecstasies that all the waves of the Atlantic, which had been ruthlessly
tossing their wrecks about her brain, were suddenly stilled, and she
declared that Mademoiselle Melanie must make her preparations to sail in
the same steamer; for the knowledge that she was on board would render
the voyage endurable. The marchioness complacently added that she felt
so much strengthened by these tidings, that she could now look forward
to meeting, with becoming fortitude, the trials incident upon her
residence among a semi-civilized nation.
We need hardly relate how soon, after reaching Washington, the fair
Parisian discovered that civilization had made astounding progress if it
might be estimated by the deference paid to "_chiffons_;" nor need we
portray her astonishment at finding that American women "_of fashion_"
were not merely close copyists of extreme French modes, but that they
exaggerated even the most extravagant, and hunted after the newest
styles with the national energy which their countrywomen of a nobler
class expended upon nobler objects; and were more ready to deform or
ignore nature, and swear allegiance to the despotic rule of the
Crinoline Sovereign, than any Parisian belle under the sun.
Madame de Fleury's royal sway over the empire of "_chiffons_" was soon
as thoroughly established in Washington as it had been in Paris. Dress,
or head-dress, bodice, bonnet, mantle, gaiter, glove, worn by her,
multiplied itself in important imitations, and every feminine chrysalis
sent forth its ballroom butterfly in a livery to match. Whatever style,
shape, color, she adopted, however extraordinary, became the rage for
that season, and disappeared from sight, totally banished by her regal
command, at the inauguration of the next.
At one period no skirt could sweep the pavement, or lie in rich folds at
the bottom of a carriage, unadorned by an imposing flounce that almost
covered the robe; a little later, the one sober flounce was driven into
obscurity by twenty coquettish small ones; and these were displaced by
primly puffed bands; which gave way to fanciful "keys" running up the
sides of the dress (where they seemed to have no possible right); and
those vanished when double skirts commenced their brief reign; to be
dethroned by a severe-looking quilted ruffle marching around the hem of
the dress and up the centre to the throat; and this grave adornment
suddenly found its place usurped by an inundation of fantastic
trimmings, jet, bugles, _passementerie_, velvet or lace. So much for
skirts!
Then the bodices:--_now_ nothing was to be seen but the "square cut"
which revealed the fine busts of beauties in the days of Charles
II.,--now graceful folds _a coeur_ sentimentally ruled the day,--now
infant waists became a passion, and the most maternal forms aped the
juvenility borrowed from their babies. Then for sleeves: at one time
they were wide and long and cumbrous, forbidding every trace of the most
rounded member beneath; then they took the form of antique drapery,
disclosing the arm almost nude, save for the transparent lace of the
undersleeve,--then the close, tight fit of the Quaker left all but a
distorted outline to the imagination.
And bonnets: at one moment the tiniest bird's-nest of a hat, embowered
in feathers and buried in lace, was perched on the back of the head,
reminding one of Punch's suggestion that it could be more conveniently
carried upon a salver by a domestic walking behind; a little later, the
only bonnet admissible closed around the face like a cap, laces and
feathers had disappeared, a few tastefully disposed knots of ribbon, or
a single flower, were the only adornments: but hardly had Good Sense
nodded approvingly at the graceful simplicity with which heads were
covered, when, lo! the bonnets shot up like bright-hued coal-scuttles,
over which a basket of buds and blossoms had been suddenly upset, and
went through a variety of fantastic transformations wholly
indescribable.
So with other articles of attire. Mantles that had established for
themselves a natural and convenient length suddenly grew down to the hem
of the dress; basques, high in favor, were routed by Zouave jackets;
girdles were at one moment drawn down with tight pressure until they
barely surmounted the hips, the next were allowed to take an almost
natural round (as far as their fitting locality went), and next were put
wholly to flight by pointed Swiss belts, with enormous bows, and long,
flowing ends,--while these, in turn, were chased from the field by
picturesque scarfs.
Then as regards the disposition of that native veil of unsurpassable
beauty which adorns the head of woman: now, all locks were braided low
at the back of the head, almost lying upon the neck; now they surmounted
the crown and rose in stories higher and higher; now they sprang into a
pair of wings from either side of the temples; now they were clustered
in a tuft of disorderly curls above the brow; now smoothed and
bandolined close to the face and knotted with an air of quiet simplicity
behind the ears.
Whichever of these modes the Parisian queen of "_chiffons_" rendered
graceful in her own person, every fair one, with the slightest
aspiration to _style_, strengthened her claims to be thought fashionable
by scrupulously assuming. What wonder that Mademoiselle Melanie, prime
minister to the absolute sovereign, could scarcely receive the crowd of
clients that thronged her doors?
She hired a spacious mansion, near the capitol, and furnished it with
consummate taste. She combined the vocation of mantua-maker with that of
milliner, and supplied all the materials she employed from an assortment
of her own selection. This was one secret of her astonishing success,
for it gave her control over the entire apparel of her customers.
Regarding herself as responsible for the _tout ensemble_ of each toilet
that issued from her hands, and her reputation as at stake if any
defective touch marred the general result of her adorning, she exerted a
thoroughly despotic sway over those whom she undertook to dress, and
refused, in the most positive, yet most courteous manner, to allow them
to follow the dictates of their own faulty fancies. As a skilful artist
examines a picture in the best light, that all its beauties may be
revealed, she placed each one of her subjects in the most favorable
aspect, studied her closely, searched out every fine point which might
be heightened, and pondered over every defect which might be concealed.
She had the rare gift of knowing how to embellish nature, how to bring
forth all the capacities of a face and form, and how to modify the
fashion of the day to the requirements of the wearer, instead of
slavishly following an arbitrary mode, and thereby sacrificing all
individuality of beauty. Dress became high art in her hands. Wondrously
harmonious were the effects produced. Blondes looked softer and purer
than ever before, without becoming insipid; brunettes grew more
_piquante_ and brilliant; nondescripts gained force and character;
pallid faces caught a reflection of rose tints; too ruddy complexions
were toned down by paling colors, and sallow skins found their ochre hue
mysteriously neutralized. Angular shapes were draped so gracefully that
unsymmetrical sharpness disappeared; too ample forms exchanged their air
of uncouth corpulence for a well-defined roundness; low statures seemed
to spring up to a nobler altitude, and women of masculine height sunk
into feminine proportions. In short, Mademoiselle Melanie was not a
mantua-maker, or milliner,--she was the genius of taste, the artful
embodier of poetry in outward adorning.
Her own person was strikingly attractive; but the severest simplicity
characterized her attire. Her manners, though affable, were exceedingly
reserved; without any apparent effort, she repressed the familiarity of
the vulgar, and rebuked the patronizing airs of the assuming, winning
instinctive deference even from the ill-bred.
By her workwomen she was almost worshipped. Young herself, she impressed
them with the sense that notwithstanding her lack of advantage over them
in point of years, her superior skill and knowledge entitled her to be
their head. She sympathized with their griefs, inquired into their
needs, sometimes ignored their short-comings, but never their
sufferings, and took care that the thread which helped fashion a lady's
robe should not be drawn with such weary and overworked hands that, in
the language of Hood, it sewed a shroud at the same moment.
She was seldom seen in the streets; and, when her duties called her, she
went forth closely veiled. But her distinguished air, the simple
elegance of her apparel, and the dignified grace of her movements could
not escape admiration.
She soon found a carriage of her own indispensable, and selected an
unostentatious equipage; but allowed herself the indulgence of a pair of
superb horses, because she chanced to be an appreciating judge of those
noble animals: a rather unusual knowledge for a _couturière_.
She seldom walked or drove alone. She was usually accompanied by one of
her assistants, a young Massachusetts girl, with whom she had been
thrown into accidental communication shortly after her arrival in the
United States.
The history of Ruth Thornton is one every day repeated, but not less
touching because so far from rare. Born and bred in affluence which
emanated from the daily exertions of her father, his death left his
widow and three orphan daughters destitute. The eldest early assumed the
burdens of wifehood and maternity. Ruth was the second child. A girl of
high spirit, she quickly laid aside all false pride, and earnestly
sought to earn the bread of those she loved by the labor of her fair
young hands, until then strangers to toil. But where was remunerative
occupation to be found? Needy womanhood so closely crowded the few open
avenues of industry that it seemed as though there was no room for
another foot to gain a hold, another hand to struggle. To become a
teacher, or governess, was Ruth's first, most natural endeavor; but,
month after month, she sought in vain for a situation. She possessed a
remarkable voice and very decided musical talent. The idea of the
concert-room next suggested itself; but her naturally fine organ lacked
the long cultivation that could alone fit her to embark upon the career
of a singer. Her mind then turned to the stage; but, setting aside the
difficulty of obtaining engagements, even to fill some position in the
lowest ranks of the profession, she had no means, no time, to go through
a long course of requisite study, or to procure herself the costly
wardrobe indispensable to such a profession. She pondered upon the
possibility of entering that most noble institution, the New York School
of Design for Women. Here was meet work, hope-fanning, life-saving work
for feminine hands: engraving on wood or steel; coloring plates for
illustrated works; sketching designs for fashions to be used in
magazines, or patterns for carpets, calicoes, paper-hangings, etc. But,
on inquiry, she learned that a year's study would be needful before she
could hope to gain a modest livelihood through the medium of the
simplest of these pursuits. From whence, in the meantime, could her
mother, her sister, and herself derive their support? Next, she resolved
to resort to her needle; yet how small was the likelihood of keeping it
employed! and how poor the pittance it could earn as an humble
seamstress! True, she might learn a trade; but how was she to exist
meantime?
She stood erect in the midst of this desert of difficulties, perplexed
but undismayed, and still believing in, and steadfastly seeking for, the
work allotted to such weak hands as hers.
There is something magnetic in unflagging energy, and untiring hope;
they mysteriously attract to themselves the materials which they most
need. By a seeming accident, Ruth heard that an assistant housekeeper
was required at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York. Her high-born
relatives learned with horror that one of their kin, the daughter of a
gentleman who had held an honorable position in their community,
contemplated filling this menial position. But, in spite of their
disapproval, Ruth presented herself as an applicant for the post, and
though her youth (for she was hardly twenty) was an objection, her
services were accepted; and she entered forthwith upon her lowly duties.
We need not dwell upon the manifold and humiliating trials to which she
was subjected,--trials to which the loveliness of her person largely
contributed. Like a true American maiden, well-disciplined,
self-reliant, and of strong principles, she found protection within
herself, and bade defiance to dangers which might have proved fatal to
one whose early training had been less productive of strength.
It was while Ruth was meekly discharging these humble duties that she
became acquainted with Mademoiselle Melanie.
On arriving in New York, Madame de Fleury had taken up her residence for
a few days at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, and, as though she feared to lose
sight of Mademoiselle Melanie, requested her to do the same. A severe
indisposition, which caused the latter to seek feminine aid, threw her
in communication with the housekeeper of the hotel and her young
assistant. Mademoiselle Melanie quickly became interested in the sweet,
pale, patient face hovering about her bed, and did not fail to note the
air of refinement which seemed at variance with her position. In less
than four and twenty hours the young French _couturière_ had learned the
history of the young American housekeeper, and resolved, if she
prospered in America, to remove this lovely girl from her present
perilous position to one less exposed.
Six months later Ruth received a letter from Washington making her an
offer to become one of the assistants of Mademoiselle Melanie, and
gratefully accepted the proposal. Mademoiselle Melanie found her young
_employée's_ health too delicate for an exhausting apprenticeship to the
needle, and employed Ruth in copying and coloring sketches of costumes
which the accomplished _couturière_ herself designed. As she became more
and more conversant with the noble character of her _protegée_ the
spontaneous attachment she had conceived for her grew stronger, and Ruth
Thornton became her constant companion.
CHAPTER XVIII.
MAURICE.
On their arrival in America Ronald took Maurice to his southern home,
where he was received with a cordial hospitality that strengthened and
confirmed the tie of brotherhood between the young men.
We will not attempt to portray the meeting between Ronald and his
parents,--a meeting so full of joy that its throbs quickened into the
pulse of pain, as though clay-compassed hearts were hardly large enough
to endure the ecstasy of such a reunion. Nor will we dwell upon the
proud elation with which Ronald's first ambitious attempt in art was
contemplated by his parents. Their praises might simply have testified
that love appreciates; the hand that wrought might have sanctified even
a feeble work to their sight; but colder judgments pronounced Ronald's
initiatory achievement a pledge of power, and all the more decisive
because the execution of the youthful hand obviously had not kept pace
with the strong conception of the fervid brain.
We pass on to the effect produced upon Maurice by his sojourn in
Ronald's transatlantic home.
Many a pang did the youthful Frenchman endure as he noted the thorough
and genial understanding which seemed to exist between the southern
youth and his father. Maurice was amazed by Mr. Walton's unfailing
recognition that his son was a responsible being; by the confidence he
reposed in him; by the unequivocal manner in which he placed him upon a
footing of equality, even while guiding him by his counsels,--counsels
offered as the results of a larger experience, yet never so compulsorily
urged as to check his son's freedom of decision. Maurice, marked, too,
the earnest interest with which Mr. Walton entered into all Ronald's
projects, albeit some of them appeared too wild and high-reaching to be
easy of accomplishment; beheld how readily the paternal hand was
stretched out to soften the ordeals through which the neophyte must
inevitably pass, and was moved by the touching frankness with which the
noble-minded parent repeatedly congratulated himself that he had not
permitted his own predilections to force Ronald into a field of action
repugnant to his tastes.
When Maurice instinctively compared this liberal, high-toned father's
mode of influencing his son with the tyrannous control of the haughty
count, and contrasted Ronald's untrammeled position with his own state
of dependent nonentity, he felt that unstruggling submission to the
cruel decree which doomed him to waste those fresh, strong, aspiring
years of his life in hopeless idleness was a weakness rather than a
virtue.
He was only spared from passing a judgment upon his father, more correct
than filial, by throwing the blame of his conduct upon the shackling
customs, and false opinions, and arbitrary laws of his native land. He
could not but be forcibly struck by the wide dissimilarity between the
usages and views of life which distinguished the two nations. In
America, he saw men, self-made and self-educated, at an age when young
Frenchmen have scarcely begun to be aware that they have any independent
existence, rising to prominent and honorable positions, taking a bold
part in public affairs, and asserting by their achievements the maturity
of their brains. He saw men, who had been forced by circumstances to
commence their lives of toil and self-support at fifteen and eighteen, a
few years later not only gaining their own livelihood, but contributing
to the maintenance of their families, and laying the foundation of
future fortune. He saw artistic tastes, literary talents, professional,
legislative, and military abilities, brought to opulent fruition in men
but a few years his senior; and though every one seemed to work at high
pressure, every one appeared to live rapidly, crowding each day with
actions, still men _lived_, lived _consciously_, planting along the
pathway of their pilgrimage the landmarks of positive deeds; and they
sowed, and reaped, and rejoiced in their harvests, and if some of them
grew old faster than their European brethren, their age was at least
enriched by varied memories, vast experiences, manifold mental gains,
that testified to the value of their lives.
And was it imperative, Maurice asked himself, that the accident of noble
blood should paralyze a man's volition, and that the bearing of a noble
name should render his life inertly ignoble? He recognized that, in the
seeming curse which condemned man to "work," God had hidden the richest
blessing, even as he buried golden veins in the dark bosom of the earth.
"Labor was privilege," and gave its sweetest flavor to the daily cup of
life.
As for Ronald, though he loved his country with the enthusiasm which
characterized all his affections, he had never been fully cognizant of
the advantages it possessed over the land in which he had lately
sojourned until he saw them through the eyes of Maurice.
Nothing is more true than that _we can render no service to another by
which we are not served ourselves_, served spiritually, therefore
_actually_, and in the highest sense; and not merely in his new
appreciation of the land of his birth, but in numerous other ways,
Ronald was the unconscious gainer by the helpful influence he exerted
over his friend. The youthful Mentor confirmed himself in grand and
vital truths while imparting them to Maurice; his own noble resolves
were quickened into activity while he sought to infuse them into the
mind of another; his own spirit acquired strength while he was
endeavoring to render his companion strong of soul. Ronald's character
was perhaps more affluent and expansive, had more force and fixedness of
purpose, than that of Maurice, yet it derived fresh vigor from the less
hopeful, less confident nature upon which it acted.
Though Maurice owed much to the young art-student, he soon owed more to
that gentle but potent hand by which Ronald had been moulded, refined,
and spiritualized. Ronald's mother opened wide her large heart and her
loving arms to take in the motherless youth thrown by an apparent
accident within her sphere.
Mrs. Walton was one of those beings to whom life is a poem, read it in
sorrow or gladness, read it whatever way you will, because all things to
her mind had a divine significance; she knew that nothing had either its
_end_ or _origin_ here, and felt that the very day-dreams and
aspirations of impulsive youth descended by influx from those supernal
regions in which all _causes_ exist, though we darkly behold them
through _effects_ ultimated upon our earthly plane. Her eyes were never
bent upon the ground, to search out stumbling-blocks of doubt, but
looked up Godward until the heavens grew less distant, and earth's
perplexing mysteries were solved; and daily joys and daily pains only
acquired importance through their bearing upon the joys and pains of
eternity; and celestial light, flowing through her pure thoughts,
reflected its mellow glory upon her humblest surroundings, and tinged
them with ineffable beauty.
Maurice, who had been so deeply impressed by Ronald's attributes and
aims, quickly recognized the fountain-head from whence flowed the living
waters he had drank, and, humbly bending to quaff at the same stream,
became conscious that his whole being was vitalized and renewed. The
great ends of existence, for the first time, became apparent to him; and
as he learned to look upon the present and temporal as only of moment
through their effect upon the future and eternal,--as he renounced a
senseless belief in the very names of _chance_ and _accident_, and
yielded to the conviction that the simplest as the gravest occurrences
all tend to lay some stone in the great architectural edifice which
every man is building for his own dwelling-place in the hereafter,--his
trials, by some wondrous transmutation, wore a holy aspect, and gently
into his unfolding spirit stole the comforting assurance that those very
trials might be the fittest, the strongest, the _appointed_ instruments
to hew out the pathway he panted to tread, and carve for him a future
which could never have been wrought by such tools as the velvety hands
of prosperity hold in their feeble grasp.
The morbid melancholy into which Maurice had fallen, and which deepened
with his vain pondering over the mysterious fate of Madeleine, rolled
from his spirit before the breath of hope,--hope breathed through
sunshine, from the lips of a woman whose sympathetic voice, tender
looks, and quick comprehension of his emotions insensibly melted away
reserve, and drew out all his confidence. He could talk to Mrs. Walton
of Madeleine with an absence of _reticence_, an unchecked gush of
feeling, which would not have been possible when he conversed with
Ronald, or with any one but a woman, _and such a woman_.
Far from advising him, as a worldly-wise counsellor would have done, to
struggle against a passion which did not promise to prove fortunate, she
bade him cherish the image of the one he so ardently loved with perfect
trust, that if that woman were indeed his _other self_,--that _separate
half_ which makes man's full complement,--he would, in spite of all
adverse circumstances, be drawn to her, by mysterious and invisible
cords, until their union was consummated.
Mrs. Walton entertained the not irrational belief that as "either sex
alone is _half_ itself," and "each fulfils defects in each," there was
created for every male soul some feminine spirit, whose heart was
capable of responding to the finest pulses of his; one who could meet
his largest requirements; one who could alone render his being perfect,
his true manhood complete; one whom he might never meet on earth, and
yet who lived for him. This great truth (for as such he accepted it) was
a glorious revelation to Maurice. He cast out the remembrance that
Madeleine had said she loved another, or only recalled her declaration
to feel certain that she had mistaken her own heart, or that he had
misconstrued the language she had used. She became more vividly present
than ever to his mind, and the constant thought that now confidently and
happily wound itself about her seemed to him to annihilate material
distances and bring their spirits into close communion.
Maurice passed two delightful months beneath the hospitable roof of Mr.
and Mrs. Walton. The period which Ronald had allowed himself for a
holiday drew to a close. The sense of unoccupied power had begun to
render him restless, and it was with elation which might have appeared
tinctured with ingratitude by those who did not comprehend the
mysterious workings of his untranquil ambition, that he prepared for his
return to that foreign land where he could enjoy advantages for the
prosecution of his art-studies unattainable in a young country.
When Maurice embarked for America with Ronald, it was understood that
they were to return to Europe together; but one morning, when the latter
casually announced his intention of securing their passage on board of a
steamer about to sail from New York, Maurice turned to him and said
abruptly,--
"Ronald, one berth will be sufficient."
"My dear fellow, what do you mean?" inquired Ronald, only half
surprised.
"It is impossible for me," replied Maurice, "to return to my life of
indolence and _supposed gayety_. A snake might more easily crawl back
into his cast-off skin. I have breathed this free, exhilarating,
vitalizing atmosphere, and the convention-laden air of Paris would
stifle me. I have written to my father and announced that I propose
remaining in Charleston. That is not all: he forbade my studying law in
Paris, because his sapient Breton neighbors would have been scandalized
by a viscount's taking so sensible a step; but possibly I may prepare
myself for the bar at this distance, without subjecting my father to the
annoyance of their disapproval. The period required for study is
shorter, and I shall have a wider field in which to practise. I cannot
be prepared to enter upon the duties of my profession much before the
time when, according to the laws of France, I shall reach my majority;
meanwhile I study, we will say, _for amusement_. I study as other men
hunt, fish, boat, skate. What do you think of my plan?"
Ronald grasped him warmly by the hand.
"It is just what I expected of you, Maurice! When we first met, and I
was so strongly attracted to you, an internal prescience whispered that
you had within you the very qualities which are asserting their
existence to-day."
"They might have been _in_ me, Ronald," answered Maurice with emotion;
"but I fear they would never have been brought _out_ but for your
agency. I never can be grateful enough that we have been thrown
together! I never can sum up the good you have done me! I stood in such
great need of just the influence you and your mother"--The voice of
Maurice trembled, and he was unable to proceed.
Ronald broke the somewhat embarrassing silence by saying,--
"In short, you have come to the conclusion that my mother is right in
her faith, and whatever we actually need for our spiritual advancement
is invariably sent, if we will but preserve ourselves in a state of
reception. All that you still lack will be supplied in the same way, if
you can but believe."
"_I do believe_," answered Maurice, in a tone of greater solemnity than
the occasion seemed to demand; but there was a world of meaning in those
three words. We should be obliged to employ many if we attempted to
express a tithe of what he had recently learned to _believe_ through
the instrumentality of a noble thinker.
A week later, Ronald folded his mother to his throbbing heart, and
tenderly bade her adieu; but, without feeling that he should be parted
from her by their material separation. Strange to say, his farewell to
his father and Maurice was shadowed by a nearer approach to sadness and
a more definite sense of sundering. Possibly their spirits had less
power than his mother's to annihilate space and follow him whithersoever
he went.
Maurice was induced to linger a few days longer as the guest of his new
friends, and his presence prevented the void left by the departure of a
beloved and only son from being too keenly felt. At the commencement of
a new week the young viscount removed to Charleston. That city was only
a few miles distant from the residence of Ronald's parents. Mr. Walton
had made his visitor acquainted with an eminent lawyer, who consented to
receive Maurice de Gramont as a student.
Count Tristan at first violently opposed his son's step, but he could
not, with any show of reason, forbid his studying law as a _pastime_.
The count's affairs became more and more entangled, and he grew more
desirous than ever that his son should contract a wealthy marriage. The
hope that Maurice might woo and win one of those numerous heiresses,
who, Frenchmen imagine, abound in the Southern El Dorado, alone
reconciled the haughty nobleman to his son's sojourn in America.
CHAPTER XIX.
THE ARISTOCRATS IN AMERICA.
While Maurice was applying himself to study with a zeal and sense of
enjoyment wholly new to him, Bertha was passing through various stages
of ennui, and testing the patience, or rather the digestive powers, of
that sorely discomforted _bon vivant_, her uncle. Day after day she grew
more capricious, unreasonable, unmanageable.
The distressed marquis came to the conclusion that his disturbed animal
economy could only be restored by an amicable separation from his niece.
But in vain he bestowed his smiles, and his _dinners_, upon the
multitudinous suitors by whom the young heiress was besieged; her
autocratic decree condemned him to the cruel duty of closing the
sumptuous repasts by the _dessert_ of a dismissal to each lover in turn,
without extending to any the faintest hope that his sentence might be
reversed. Finally the marquis became a confirmed dyspeptic; the joy of
his life was quenched when his appetite failed, beyond the resuscitating
influence of _absenthe_ and other fashionable stimulants; the glory of
his festive board had departed, and he was haunted by the conviction
that the unnatural conduct of his niece would bring his whitening hairs,
through sorrow and indigestion, to the grave.
A small but dearly prized respite from his trials was granted him when
Bertha paid her yearly visit, of four months, to her relatives in
Brittany. Her stay, however, was never extended beyond the wonted
period, for she found her sojourn at the Château de Gramont
unmitigatedly dull. The reception of letters from Maurice, addressed to
his father, alone relieved the tediousness of the hours; but these
welcome messengers were infrequent, brief, and somewhat cold. They left
Bertha so unsatisfied that before the close of the first year of her
cousin's absence she opened a correspondence with him herself. The
initiative letter was suggested by pleasant tidings, which she hastened
to send. It was written immediately after the eighteenth anniversary of
her birthday, and communicated the agreeable intelligence that upon that
day she had again received a token of remembrance from their beloved
Madeleine.
A yearly gift, bearing the impress of those "fairy fingers," was the
only sign Madeleine gave that she lived and remembered.
Three years passed on, and upon each birthday, wherever Bertha chanced
to be, in Bordeaux, in Paris, in Brittany, a small parcel was
mysteriously left with the _concierge_ of the house where she was
residing. The package was always addressed in Madeleine's handwriting,
and contained some exquisite piece of needle-work, but no letter, and it
bore no mark of post or express. It was invariably delivered by private
hand. At least, it rendered certain the consolatory facts, not only that
Bertha was unforgotten, but that Madeleine was cognizant of all her
movements.
No sooner had the heiress reached her majority than she prepared to
carry into execution a plan which for a long period had been silently
forming itself in her mind. Her earnest desire to visit America had been
secretly, but systematically, strengthened by Count Tristan. He well
knew that the Marquis de Merrivale would never be induced to become her
escort; and, what was more likely than that she should seek the
countenance and protection of her other relatives?
He played his cards so adroitly that Bertha, without once suspecting his
machinations, wrote to him, on the very day that closed her twenty-first
year, and invited the countess and himself to accompany her upon an
American tour. She took care delicately to make a stipulation that the
expenses of the projected trip should devolve upon her. The count
concealed his exultation under an air of well-acted reluctance, and
required much persuasion before he could be taught to look with favor
upon this _unexpected_ and _sudden_ proposition.
There was no simulation in the dismay, the horror with which Bertha's
proposal was greeted by the countess. How was she to breathe in a land
where hereditary claims to rank were unknown?--where distinctions of
_brains_ not _blood_ were alone recognized?--where a man might rise to
the highest position, as ruler of the realm, though his father chanced
to be a mechanic, and his grandfather's existence was untraceable? For a
time, Bertha's entreaties and the count's representations were equally
impotent; the countess was inexorable. But her son was not to be
baffled; he found an avenue through which her heart could be reached,
and her resolution undermined. It lay in the suggestion that Bertha's
strong inclination to visit America sprang from a desire again to behold
Maurice, and that the result of their meeting, after so long a
separation, might be in the highest degree felicitous. Bertha, he urged,
during the absence of Maurice, had probably learned that he was dearer
to her than she imagined; and, if Maurice had reason to believe that she
crossed the ocean for the sake of rejoining him, could he remain
insensible to such a proof of devotion? The countess bowed her haughty
head to a sacrifice which vitally compromised her dignity.
One of the objects of the count's visit to America was to learn
something further of the railroad company with which he was connected.
For a time its operations had been suspended, owing to a financial
crisis,--a sort of periodical American epidemic that, like cholera,
sweeps over the land at intervals, making frightful ravage for a season,
and departing as mysteriously as it came. The elastic nation, never long
prostrate, had risen out of temporary difficulties and depression with a
sudden bound, and prosperity walked in the very footprints of the late
destroyer.
Mr. Hilson had lately announced to Count Tristan that the railway
association was again in full activity, and that the mooted question of
the direction which the road ought to take would, ere long, be decided.
He added that, according to his judgment, the left road was indubitably
the more desirable. Should that road be chosen, it would pass through
the property owned by the Viscount de Gramont. We have already alluded
to the immense difference in the value of the estate which the advent of
the railroad would insure.
Bertha had no difficulty in obtaining the Marquis de Merrivale's
approval of the contemplated trip.
Early in the spring the party embarked upon one of those superb steamers
that sweep across the ocean like floating cities, pulsating with
multitudinous life.
The passage was so smooth that Bertha thoroughly enjoyed the strange,
new existence, and found such ever-varying beauty in the gorgeous
sunsets, and the resplendent moonlight, that she even forsook her berth
to see "Aurora draw aside her crimson curtain of the dawn;" in short she
was in an appreciating mood throughout the voyage, and her happy state
allowed her to ignore all the _désagreméns_ of the sea. The countess
also, as she sat upon the deck in a comfortable arm-chair,--which she
occupied as though it were a throne, and received the homage of
fellow-passengers, who were obviously struck and awed by her majestic
deportment,--pronounced the transit more endurable than she anticipated.
Maurice had gone to New York to welcome the voyagers, and when the
steamer neared the land he was the first person who bounded upon the
deck. Bertha caught sight of him, and as she sprang forward and threw
herself into his arms, weeping with joy and heartily returning his warm
embrace, the countess and her son exchanged looks of exultation which
showed that they had not reflected upon the vast distinction between the
frank greeting of brother and sister, and the meeting of possible
lovers.
A slight, irrepressible shadow passed over the beaming countenance of
Maurice as he turned from Bertha to welcome his father and grandmother.
The cloud flitted by in an instant, and only betrayed that the past was
unforgotten; while the look of manly confidence and self-possession, by
which it was replaced, told that the present and the future could not be
subject to by-gone storms.
After the first salutations were over, the countess scanned Maurice from
head to foot, to note what changes had been wrought by his residence in
a country which she held in such supreme contempt. The slight curl and
quivering of the lip, which accompanied her survey, bespoke that it was
not entirely satisfactory. In the first place, his apparel displeased
her. The care that he had once bestowed upon his toilet betrayed a
slight leaning to the side of foppishness; _now_, his attire gave him
the air of a man of business, rather than of mere pleasure. His bearing
was more confident than in former days, his movements more rapid, his
tone more animated and decisive, his whole manner more energetic. His
face was slightly careworn, his brow had lost something of its unruffled
smoothness, and the fresh carnation tints had faded out of his
complexion; but the wealth of expression his countenance had gained
might atone for heavier losses. In repose, his features wore a shade of
habitual sadness; but that disappeared the moment he spoke, and was
rather an air of reflection than of sorrow. Indeed, all gloom had
vanished from his spirit soon after his arrival in America. The
hope-inspiring ministry of Ronald's mother, first and engrossing study,
and ceaseless occupation next, had effectually medicined his growing
melancholy. Maurice had not felt himself a homeless exile during his
four years' sojourn in a foreign land. The Château de Gramont was less
dear to him than the quiet, unpretentious, but affection-brightened home
where he was always welcomed as a son.
When his stately grandmother, after so long a separation, once more
appeared before him, the cold dignity, repelling hardness, and
self-venerating pride of her demeanor struck him all the more painfully
because it conjured up, in contrast, a vision of soft humility,--the
gentle strength, the intellectual power, the refined tenderness of the
lovely woman who realized his ideal of maternity.
It almost seemed as though the countess had some internal perception
that Maurice weighed her in the balance of a new judgment, and found her
wanting; for she shrank beneath his gaze, and turned from him with a
sense of sickening disappointment.
Bertha, while she was struck by the marked alteration in Maurice, noted
the change with undisguised admiration. To _her_ eyes he was a thousand
times more attractive than ever, and she told him so without a shadow of
bashful hesitation.
The young French demoiselle had made up her mind to be charmed with
America, and little is required to satisfy those who are determined to
be pleased. How much of her enthusiasm was legitimately excited, and how
much was the spontaneous kindling of her own bright spirit, we will not
attempt to describe. Be it enough to say, that she frequently declared
her most sanguine expectations were far surpassed.
The countess, on the other hand, looked through a distorted medium which
filled her with disgust. She was horrified at the publicity of
hotel-life in New York. She could not tolerate the careless ease of the
persons with whom she was thrown into accidental communication,--the
confidence with which the very servants ventured to accost her. The
absence of awe, the lack of head and knee bending, in her august
presence, appeared a tacit insult. She was puzzled to reconcile the
freedom with which she was constantly addressed with the great deference
paid to her _sex_. While her _rank_ was almost ignored, the mere fact of
being _a woman_ commanded an amount of consideration unsurpassed by the
veneration paid to titled womanhood in her own land. Nothing, however,
shocked her more than the liberty accorded to young American maidens.
She found it impossible to comprehend that, educated as responsible
beings, the strict _surveillance_ over girlhood's most trivial actions,
which is deemed indispensable in France, ceased to be a matter of
necessity in America.
Immediately upon his arrival in New York the count had placed himself in
communication with Mr. Hilson; and, a few days later, received a letter
informing him that at a recent meeting of the managers of the ---- ----
Railway Association a committee of nine had been chosen to decide upon
the most suitable direction of the new road. The committee was to give
in its decision at the end of a fortnight. Mr. Hilson regretted to add
that he feared the majority were in favor of the road to the _right_. He
concluded by suggesting that it might be well for the count to visit
Washington, and exert over members of the committee any influence, that
he could command, to secure a majority of votes in favor of the road
which would prove so advantageous to his son's property.
The count resolved to act at once upon Mr. Hilson's suggestion. When he
proposed to his mother and Bertha that they should start the very next
day for Washington, the countess, for the first time since her arrival,
expressed herself gratified. At the seat of government she would meet
the French ambassador and his wife (the Marquis and Marchioness de
Fleury), and possibly, in the circle in which they moved, she might
encounter foreigners with whom it would not be repugnant to associate.
Bertha heard Count Tristan's announcement with such bright gleamings of
the eyes, such happy flushings of the cheeks, that the sudden radiance
which overspread her countenance set Maurice wondering over the emotions
that caused her to so warmly welcome this unanticipated change of
locality.
The revery into which he had fallen was broken by his father. The count
launched into a discussion upon the management of property in America,
then glided into the subject of the Maryland estate, and finally
suggested that it would be advisable for his son to grant him a power of
attorney which would place him in a situation to act as his
representative in any case of emergency. Maurice unhesitatingly
expressed his willingness to comply with this request, and the legal
instrument was drawn up without delay. Upon receiving the document, the
count assured his son that there was no probability that the power would
be required, and voluntarily pledged himself not to make use of it
without apprising Maurice.
Count Tristan's words and intentions were wholly at variance. His
affairs in Brittany had become so frightfully entangled, that it was
absolutely necessary for him to be able to command a considerable sum to
redeem his credit; and he saw no means by which this desirable end could
be obtained, except by a mortgage upon his son's estate. One of his
strongest motives in visiting America was to effect this purpose; but he
earnestly desired to conceal from Maurice the step he projected,
trusting to his own skill in under-hand management for the smoothing
away of difficulties before there was a necessity for explanation.
Maurice accompanied the count, his mother, and Bertha to Washington, and
there bidding them adieu returned to Charleston.
His preparatory studies being now completed, he was received as junior
partner by the gentleman who had initiated him into the mysteries of his
profession.
It chanced that Mr. Lorrillard had large possessions in certain iron
mines in Pennsylvania, which gave promise of yielding an immense profit.
He had conceived a high esteem for the young viscount, and, with a view
of promoting his interests, represented to him the advantage of
purchasing a few shares, which could at that moment be favorably
secured. Maurice had no funds at his command; but Mr. Lorrillard
suggested that the viscount could easily procure the ten thousand
dollars needful by a mortgage upon his Maryland estate, and even offered
to give him a letter to Mr. Emerson,--a personal friend residing in
Washington,--who, as the estate was wholly unembarrassed, would
willingly loan the money upon this security. It was hardly possible for
Maurice to have resided so long in America without being slightly bitten
by the national mania for speculation, and he gladly accepted the offer
of his principal, and retraced his steps to Washington.
CHAPTER XX.
THE INCOGNITA.
Maurice arrived in Washington without having apprised his father of his
purposed visit. Count Tristan received him with ill-concealed
embarrassment; but the young viscount was too ingenuous himself, and
therefore too unsuspicious of others, for him to attribute his father's
discomposure to any source but surprise at his unexpected appearance. If
Maurice noted an absence of pleasure in the count's constrained
greeting, he was too much accustomed to the formal and undemonstrative
manners of the aristocracy to dwell upon the lack of warmth.
The count had taken up his residence at Brown's hotel. He chanced to be
sitting alone when his son was ushered into the drawing-room. The
opportunity was a favorable one for Maurice to communicate to his father
the object of his visit.
After the first salutations were over, he inquired, rather abruptly,
"Have you seen Mr. Hilson? What does he say in regard to the
probabilities that the railroad will take the direction which we so much
desire?"
"Our prospects are tolerably good," returned the count; "but we need to
exert ourselves, and, possibly, you may be of service. The committee
that has the decision in its hands consists of nine persons. Out of
these, four have declared their preference for the road to the right,
and are immovable. Our friends, Meredith and Hilson, who are on the
committee, vote, of course, for the left road; then there are two rival
bankers, Mr. Gobert and Mr. Gilmer, who are bitterly opposed to each
other, and generally vote in opposition one to the other; we must bring
some agency into play which will induce them, for once, to vote alike."
"That seems indispensable; but is it possible?" questioned Maurice.
"I trust so. Mr. Gobert is the banker of the Marquis de Fleury, who
exerts unbounded power over him. One word from the marquis, and Gobert's
vote is secured. The marquis, as every one is aware, can always be
approached through Madame de Fleury. Obtain _her_ promise that we shall
have Mr. Gobert's vote, and it is ours! The marchioness, I fear, may not
have forgiven Bertha's rejection of her brother's suit; but, as both
parties are still unmarried and unengaged, if she can only be convinced
that Bertha's refusal was mere girlish caprice, and that there is still
hope of the young duke's success, she will be ready enough to serve us."
"But is there hope?" inquired Maurice, quite innocently.
The wily schemer replied by a glance half-angry, half-contemptuous; but,
without making any other answer, went on.
"The other banker, Mr. Gilmer, I am seeking the means to influence. I
have no doubt that I shall find them. The ninth member of the committee
is Mr. Rutledge, quite a young man, the only son and heir of a
Washington millionnaire. I learn, from M. de Bois, that Rutledge is
deeply enamored of the sister of Lord Linden."
"I beg pardon, but you have not yet told me who Lord Linden is; and it
is so unusual to hear _lords_ mentioned in this country that my ears are
quite unattuned to the sound of a title."
Another hasty look from the count might have been interpreted into one
of slight disgust. His son was far more Americanized than he could have
desired. He went on, with increased haughtiness.
"The English ambassador to the United States married a sister of Lord
Linden, and his lordship and a younger sister accompanied them to
Washington. Mr. Rutledge aspires to the hand of this young lady,--so
says M. de Bois, who is intimately acquainted with her brother. If she
can be interested in our plans the vote of Mr. Rutledge is easily
secured."
Maurice could not help laughing.
"It is, _in reality_, the votes of _women_, then, that are to determine
the direction of this road? I ought hardly to be surprised at _that_;
for, if they have feeble voices in other lands, they have very decided
ones in America. But how is the young lady in question to be reached?"
"That is what I am pondering upon," resumed his father. "I shall form
some plan, you may be sure; and no time must be wasted in carrying it
into execution. I have already ventured to touch upon the subject to
Lord Linden, but have not said anything definite. It is a difficult
affair to conduct delicately; yet the obtaining of these votes is of
such vital importance that we must strain every nerve to secure them."
"Certainly, since it will more than treble the value of the property,"
observed Maurice, placidly. "By the by, I presume you have had no
occasion to use the power of attorney which I gave you? Just at this
moment it is very fortunate for me that the estate is wholly
unencumbered."
The count grew ashy pale; but Maurice did not observe his change of
color, nor mark the hesitating tone in which he replied, "Very
fortunate, of course,--very fortunate, indeed;" and then, looking at his
watch, he added, "It is time for your grandmother and Bertha to return.
Lord Linden and M. de Bois escorted them to the capitol. You must be
impatient to see them."
"In regard to this property, Mr. Lorrillard informs me," resumed
Maurice; but the count interrupted him.
"A visit to Madame de Fleury is now the first step to be taken; _there_
you may be useful; you are such a decided favorite of hers, that your
advocacy may be inestimable. Suppose you call at once, and learn at what
hour she will receive your grandmother, Bertha, and myself. A visit from
you will open the way."
"I will call with pleasure," answered Maurice. "I have a letter from Mr.
Lorrillard to his friend Mr. Emerson, which I should like to deliver
without delay. It is a matter of business. Mr. Lorrillard thinks that,
as my estate is wholly unencumbered"--
"We can talk of that at another time," replied the count, hurriedly.
"Suppose you pay your visit to the marchioness at once. It is hardly
worth while waiting for the ladies; no one can tell when they may
return."
Maurice, though he could not interpret the count's singular manner,
could not even remotely divine the meaning of its abruptness and
confusion, felt himself checked in his proposed communication. He
experienced no uneasiness; he had not the faintest conception that the
count was dealing doubly with him, and that his very first act, on
reaching Washington, had been to mortgage the estate of his son for so
large amount that, but for the advent of the railroad, upon which he
confidently calculated, the mortgage must prove ruinous to the
interests of the landholder.
Had Maurice been aware of this fact, he would not for a moment have
contemplated delivering to Mr. Emerson Mr. Lorrillard's letter, in which
it was distinctly stated that the property of the viscount was without
lien.
Further discussion between the father and son was prevented by the
entrance of the countess, accompanied by Lord Linden, and followed by
Bertha and Gaston de Bois.
Maurice, as he saluted his grandmother, was gratified to observe that,
albeit her air was by no means less stately, it was more satisfied and
complacent. Though titled nobility had no native existence in the
semi-civilized land, she rejoiced to find that it was sometimes
_imported_. She had at last encountered an individual with whom she
could associate without derogation. The French, as all the world knows,
have a national antipathy towards the English; but a nobleman, even
though he chanced to be an Englishman, was hailed by the Countess de
Gramont, upon American soil, as a God-send. Lord Linden was not aware of
the compliment implied by the unwonted graciousness of her demeanor, and
the tone of _almost_ equality in which she addressed him.
Maurice comprehended the altered expression that softened his
grandmother's countenance, but was struck and amazed by the wonderful
radiance of Bertha's face. Her eyes shone as though a veritable sun
lived behind those azure heavens, and almost annihilated their color by
its brightness; her lips were eloquent with a voiceless happiness they
did not care to hide, yet could not speak; the laughing dimples played
perpetually about her softly suffused cheeks; her elastic feet almost
danced, so airy was their tread; about her whole presence there was a
buoyant glow that seemed to encompass her with an atmosphere of light
and warmth.
She had not attempted to disguise her joy on again meeting Gaston de
Bois; and, though he had paid them repeated visits during their sojourn
in Washington, there was always the same deepening of the hue upon
Bertha's cheek; the same flood of sunshine brightening over her face;
the same softening of the tones of her voice; the same quickened rise
and fall of her fair bosom when he approached.
And he,--did he not note these betraying indications of his own power?
Did they strike no electric thrill through his rejoicing soul? If they
did, he was too much bewildered by a happiness so unexpected to search
out calmly the hidden meaning of these precious signs.
The change in the deportment and character of M. de Bois, which we
described at its commencement, was now fully confirmed; and though the
blood still sprang too rapidly into his face, and his breathing grew
labored with emotion, and his manner, especially in Bertha's presence,
was slightly confused, it was the confusion of elation rather than
embarrassment. The self-control he had acquired had almost overcome his
propensity to stammer, and Bertha was unreasonable enough to half regret
that she could no longer finish his sentences, and thus prove how
instinctively she divined his thoughts.
Maurice greeted her, as was his cousinly wont after a separation, with a
kiss on either cheek; but, for the first time, she shrank from his
touch, and her ingenuous eyes involuntarily glanced toward Gaston, then
were quickly cast down; and the mutinous ringlets that had, as usual,
escaped from bondage, were a welcome veil, as they fell over her face.
"Why, little Bertha, has an absence of four years made you forget that
we are cousins?" asked Maurice, in surprise at her manner.
"No--no," she answered, shaking back the curls, and looking up brightly
in his face; "and I am rejoiced that you have come to Washington: it is
a delightful place; I am charmed with everything I see."
Did Bertha reflect how much the charm of a locality depends upon our own
internal condition? Was she aware that any place, however tame and dull,
becomes delightful through the presence of one who creates in us a state
receptive of enjoyment?
Maurice expressed his intention of calling upon Madame de Fleury; Lord
Linden and M. de Bois proposed to accompany him. The three gentlemen
took their departure together. But soon after they left the hotel,
Maurice changed his mind; and, telling his companions that he had some
business to transact which required immediate attention, apologized for
leaving them, adding that he would call upon Madame de Fleury an hour
later, and hoped he might have the pleasure of meeting them there.
M. de Bois proposed to Lord Linden that they, also, should postpone
their visit.
"As you please," answered his lordship, languidly. "I am perfectly at
leisure. I will go wherever you are going,--it does not matter where; I
am indifferent to place."
Lord Linden always _was_ at leisure, and always indifferent, and not
unfrequently attached himself to Gaston de Bois, and seemed disposed to
accompany him wherever he went.
His lordship was one of that vast race of _blasé_ young noblemen whose
opportunities of enjoyment had never been circumscribed, except by the
absence of the capacity to enjoy, and who, as a natural sequence, were
continually oppressed with a sense of satiety, enervated by the noonday
sunshine of unbroken prosperity, and thoroughly weary of their own
existence. When his brother-in-law had been appointed ambassador to
America, he had accompanied him to the United States with a vague idea
that he would be thrown in contact with warlike tribes of Indians, the
aborigines of the soil, whose novel and barbarous usages might afford
him some mediocre measure of excitement. We need hardly picture his
disappointment.
The ambassadors from foreign courts and their suites were as a matter of
course, thrown into constant communication with each other, and the
secretary of the French ambassador and the brother-in-law of the English
formed an acquaintance which ripened into an approach to intimacy. There
was no particular affinity between them, but Lord Linden liked M. de
Bois's society because he was a patient listener, and Lord Linden was
the opposite to taciturn; and Gaston, though he sometimes, as in the
present instance, felt his lordship an encumbrance, had too often been a
victim to ennui not to sympathize with a fellow-sufferer.
"Mademoiselle de Merrivale has a remarkably attractive face," said Lord
Linden. "I do not particularly fancy blondes; there is too much
milk-and-water and crushed rose-leaves in their general make-up; but, if
a blonde could, to my eyes, enter the charmed circle of the positively
beautiful, I would give her admission."
Gaston, who had fallen into a pleasant revery, was quickly roused by
this observation, and exclaimed, with an indignant intonation, "Not
admit a _blonde_ into the circle of the beautiful? Can anything be
lovelier than the countenance you have just looked upon?"
"Yes," replied the nobleman, musing in his turn.
"I think I could show you a face that would make Mademoiselle de
Merrivale's sink into the most utter insignificance."
"Is your beauty a Washington belle?" inquired Gaston, half-scornfully.
"I do not know,--I do not know anything about her. I merely spoke
figuratively when I said _I could show you_,--for I certainly could
_not_, at this moment; but I allude to the most peerless being that ever
captivated the eyes of man. In her, indeed, one could realize the poet's
thought,--
"'All beauty compassed in a female form.'"
"And who is this incomparable divinity?" asked Gaston, still with a
touch of sarcasm in his voice.
"Who is she? That is more than I know myself. We were thrown together by
an accident,--quite an every-day occurrence in this headlong-rushing,
pell-mell, neck-breaking land, where the people contemplate railroad
catastrophes and steamboat explosions with as cool indifference as
though they were a necessary part of a traveller's programme."
"You were thrown in contact with your beauty, then, by a railroad
collision, or were blown together through the bursting of a boiler?"
remarked Gaston interrogatively, and more because civility seemed to
demand the question than because he took any especial interest in the
narrative.
"Yes, quite a stirring incident. I felt alive for a month after. I was
travelling from New York to Washington, in such a listless and used-up
state that, in my desperation, I seriously pondered upon the amount of
emotion that could be derived from jumping off the train, at the risk of
one's neck. As I was glancing restlessly around, suddenly a face rose
before me that riveted my eyes. It was a countenance unlike any I had
ever seen. Though features and outline were faultless, in these the
least part of its beauty was embodied. There was an eloquence in the
rapid transitions of expression that melted one into another; there was
a dreamy thoughtfulness in the magnificent hazel eyes. They were not
exactly hazel either,--they reminded one of a topaz. I hardly know what
name to give to their hue. But it is useless to attempt to describe such
a face and form. I might heap epithet upon epithet, and then leave you
without the faintest conception of the bewildering loveliness of their
possessor."
"You succeeded in becoming acquainted with the lady?" inquired Gaston,
now really interested.
"That good fortune was brought about by one of those ill winds, which,
for the proverb's sake, must blow good to some one. It could not have
been accomplished by any effort of my own, for there was an air of quiet
dignity about the lady that no gentleman could have ventured to ruffle
by too marked observation, far less by presuming to address even a
passing remark. We were about half way between Philadelphia and
Baltimore, when suddenly a terrific shock was felt, followed by a
dashing of all humanity to one side of the cars, and a great crash. We
had run into another train, were thrown off the track, and, in a moment
more, upset."
"Since you were longing for excitement," observed Gaston, "this
agreeable little variety must have gratified you."
"Yes, it was well enough in its way, not being positively fatal to
existence. You may conceive the confusion and the difficulty of getting
upon one's feet. How the people scrambled out of the cars I do not
exactly know; for a short time I was too much stunned to see anything
distinctly. I remember nothing clearly until somebody helped me up, and,
in trying to move my left arm, I discovered that it was broken."
"How unfortunate! And you lost sight of the lady?"
"It would have been unfortunate if I _had_ lost sight of her; but I did
not. The passengers were huddled together in a most primitive inn by the
road-side. There I beheld her, moving about, quite unharmed, quieting a
child here, assisting a young mother there, doing something helpful
everywhere. There chanced to be a surgeon in the cars, who, happily, was
uninjured. He saw my predicament, for I was suffering confoundedly, and,
upon examining my arm, said that it must be set at once. He called upon
several persons to aid him. Some were too much occupied with their own
distress; some too bewildered; and some shrank from the task. But, to my
supreme joy (it was worth breaking an arm for such a piece of good
luck), the lady I just mentioned came forward, and offered her services!
She tore my handkerchief and her own into bandages, produced needle and
thread from her little travelling reticule, and sewed them together. She
assisted the surgeon in the most skilful but the calmest manner. What
could I do but express my gratitude? This was the opening to a
conversation. We were detained several hours at the inn before a train
arrived to take us on our journey. I had always detested these American
cars, where all the travellers sit together in pairs; but now I rejoiced
over them, for I managed to obtain a seat beside her. We conversed,
without pause, during the whole way to Washington; and what propriety
and good sense she evinced! Her beauty had deeply impressed me, but her
conversation struck me even more. Such elevated thoughts dropped
spontaneously from her lips, and so naturally, that she did not seem to
be aware that there was anything peculiar about them. It was enough to
drive a man distracted; I confess that it did me!"
"She came to Washington then?"
"Yes; and here we were forced to part. I begged that she would allow me
the privilege of calling to thank her. In the most suave, lady-like, but
resolute manner,--a manner that silenced all pleading,--she declined.
But she had inadvertently admitted that she resided in Washington.
_That_ has kept me here ever since. I have been searching for her these
six months."
"And you have never met her again?"
"No, I have sought her in the highest circles; for, from her
distinguished and even aristocratic air, her exceeding cultivation and
good-breeding, I infer that she is a person of standing. It was somewhat
singular that a lady of her unmistakable stamp should have been
travelling alone; but that is not unusual in this country. In spite of
all my efforts, I have never been able to encounter her again. I
examined the strips of the fine cambric handkerchief with which my arm
was bound, hoping to find a name. Upon one strip the letter 'M' was
daintily embroidered. I have those strips yet carefully preserved."
"Do you think she was an American lady?"
"No, assuredly not. Though she spoke the English language very purely,
and as only a scholar could have conversed, a slight accent betrayed
that she was a foreigner; French, or Italian, I imagine. If I could only
behold her once again, I should not be so miserably tired of everything
and so bored by my own existence. Washington is killingly dull. By the
way, the de Fleurys give a grand ball on Monday. I hear that there is
great anxiety prevalent in the _beau monde_ on the score of invitations.
Of course, Mademoiselle de Merrivale will be there. Her face must create
a sensation. What a piece of good fortune it would be if I could see it,
at this very ball, contrasted with that of my lovely incognita! _There_
is a day-dream for you! I never attend a ball, or any large assembly,
without a vague anticipation of finding her in the crowd. I should like
to hear _your_ candid opinion if you saw those two faces placed side by
side."
The response which Gaston made to this remark, and which expressed
certain convictions of his own, was not uttered aloud.
It is one of love's happy prerogatives that the countenance best beloved
gains to the lover's eye a charm beyond that with which any other face
is endowed, even when he is forced to admit _that_ dearest visage is
surpassed in point of positive, calculable, tangible beauty.
"A man may love a woman perfectly,
And yet by no means ignorantly maintain
A thousand women have not larger eyes:
Enough that she alone has looked at him
With eyes that, large or small, have won his soul."
CHAPTER XXI.
THE CYTHEREA OF FASHION.
Maurice had so unceremoniously parted from Lord Linden and M. de Bois
because he suddenly remembered that Mr. Lorrillard had impressed upon
him the necessity of making his arrangements with Mr. Emerson without
delay, as the present was a peculiarly favorable moment for purchasing
shares in the mines whose iron he hoped to convert to gold.
The viscount presented himself at Mr. Emerson's office, and delivered
Mr. Lorrillard's letter. This latter gentleman was held in such high
esteem that an introduction of his was certain of meeting with the
utmost consideration. Mr. Emerson, after only a brief conversation with
Maurice, informed him that he was ready to make the desired loan upon
the security offered, and begged that he would call the next morning,
when the necessary formalities would at once be gone through.
Gratified by his visit and elated by the prospect of effecting a
business transaction of so much importance, never dreaming of the fatal
sequence which might be the result, Maurice drove to the residence of
the French ambassador. It was not Madame de Fleury's reception-day, but
by some mistake he was ushered into her drawing-room. In a few minutes,
Lurline, a confidential _femme de chambre_, whom Maurice had often seen
in Paris,--a being all fluttering ribbons and alluring smiles and
graceful courtesies and coquettish airs,--made her appearance.
"Madame has received the card of monsieur _le vicomte_," she began, with
a sugary accent and soft manner, which reminded one strongly of the
tones and deportment of her mistress. "Madame would not treat monsieur
as a stranger, and therefore sent _me_,"--here, with her head on one
side, she courtesied again, bewitchingly,--"to say that we have a new
valet,--an ignorant fellow, for it is impossible to procure a decent
domestic in America,--and this untrained creature has to be drilled into
_les usages_: he has forgotten that madame only receives on Saturday.
Madame, however, would see _M. le vicomte_ at any time that was
possible."
"I am delighted to hear you say so," returned Maurice, "for I am very
desirous of having the pleasure of paying my respects."
"Madame is preparing for a _matinée_, at the Spanish Embassy. She is
just _coiffé_, and monsieur should see what a magnificent head I have
made for her. Notwithstanding my success with her head she is at this
moment in deep distress: her dress has not yet arrived; we expect it
every moment! Madame's agitation is overpowering. She is quite unequal
to encountering a disappointment of this crushing nature. She begs
monsieur will excuse"--
Before she could finish the sentence, the marchioness herself appeared,
wrapped in a delicate, rose-colored _robe-de-chambre_, prodigally
adorned with lace and embroidery.
"My dear M. de Gramont, I meant to excuse myself; but as I am forced to
wait for that tantalizing dress, a few moments with you, _en attendant_,
will divert my thoughts. I had heard from M. de Bois, that the Countess
de Gramont and her son, with Mademoiselle de Merrivale, are honoring
Washington by their presence; but I was informed that _you_ were not
here. You see I paid you the compliment of inquiring."
As she spoke, she glanced at the mirror opposite, and arranged the long
sprays of feathery flowers that were mingled with her braided tresses.
"I am highly flattered at not being forgotten," replied Maurice. "I only
arrived this morning, and hastened to pay my respects."
"And you ought to be very much flattered that I can spare you an
instant, at such a critical moment. Here is my toilet for this _matinée_
at a dead stand-still, because that tiresome dress has not come. It is
one I ordered expressly for the occasion, and, I assure you, it is a
perfect triumph of art,--a victory gained over great obstacles. Let me
tell you, nothing is more difficult to manage than an appropriate
costume for a _matinée_. One's toilet must be a delicate compromise
between ball attire and full visiting dress, but Mademoiselle Melanie
has hit the _juste milieu_; and succeeded in carrying me through all the
perils of Scylla and Charybdis. Oh, dear! oh, dear!" (stamping her tiny
slippered foot) "will that dress never come?"
"It must be very trying!" said Maurice, endeavoring to assume a tone of
sympathy.
"Trying? it is _killing_! Imagine my state of mind. I cannot go
_without_ this dress: all my other toilets have been seen more than once
in public; and this one was sure to create a sensation,--was planned for
this very occasion!"
"I fear my visit is inopportune, and ought to be shortened," replied
Maurice, for the agitated manner and troubled look of Madame de Fleury
made him feel that he must be an intruder. "I will only remain long
enough to know if you will receive my grandmother, my father, and my
cousin, Mademoiselle Bertha, to-morrow; they are very"--
"Hush!" cried Madame de Fleury, raising her finger and listening with an
eager countenance. "Was that not a ring? Patrick is opening the door.
Hush! let me listen! It is the dress,--it must be the dress!" and she
made several rapid steps toward the door, but returned to her seat as
the servant passed through the entry with empty hands. "This is
terrible! I have not my wits about me; I do not know what I am doing or
saying!"
"I am truly concerned," observed Maurice, who had risen to depart. "May
I tell the Countess de Gramont that you will receive her to-morrow?"
"To-morrow? Yes, certainly. I do not remember any engagement, but I can
think of nothing at this moment. If that tormenting dress would only
arrive! I fear it will never be here! It is the first time Mademoiselle
Melanie ever disappointed me; she is punctuality itself. This waiting is
torture, and completely upsets me,--turns my brain; it will throw me
into a nervous fever. You, insensible men, cannot feel for such a
position; you do not know the importance of a toilet."
"We must be very dull if we do not know how to appreciate those of
Madame de Fleury," replied Maurice, bowing courteously. "Pray, do not
include me in the catalogue of such sightless individuals. I will bid
you adieu until to-morrow, when you will allow me to accompany my
grandmother?"
"You are always welcome. Pray tell the countess I shall be charmed to
see her, and say the same to that cruel Mademoiselle Bertha,--though I
ought not to forgive her treatment of my brother. Say to her that he is
yet unconsoled. Good gracious! That dress certainly is not coming! If it
were to arrive at this moment I should be obliged to hasten; and to give
the _finishing_ touches to a toilet in a hurried and discomposed manner
is to run the risk of spoiling the general effect. What _can_ have
happened to Mademoiselle Melanie? Hark! is not that some one? Did you
not hear a ring? I am not mistaken; some one _did_ come in. It is the
dress at last!"
The marchioness started up joyfully, with clasped hands, and an
expression of deep gratitude. A servant entered with a note; she
snatched it petulantly and tossed it into the card-basket unopened.
"How vexatious! Only a note! It is _too_ cruel! I shall never, never
pardon Mademoiselle Melanie if she disappoints me. But that's easy
enough to say, difficult enough to carry into execution. In reality I
could not exist without her; and Mademoiselle Melanie knows _that_ as
well as I do. She is so sought after that her exhibition-rooms are
crowded from morning until night. It is now a favor for her to receive
any new customers, and I believe she has some thirty or forty workwomen
in her employment. Of course, you have heard of Mademoiselle Melanie?"
"I have not had that pleasure; she is a mantua-maker, I presume,"
returned Maurice, repressing a smile.
"I suppose that is what, strictly speaking, we must call her; but she is
the very Queen of Taste, the Sovereign of Modistes. She has a genius
that is extraordinary,--it is magic,--it is inspiration! A touch of her
hand transforms every one who approaches her. What figures she has made
for some of these American women! What charms she has developed in them!
What an air and grace she has imparted to their whole appearance! She
makes the most vulgar look elegant, and the elegant, divine! Another
ring. Now Heaven grant it may be the dress at last!"
The marchioness was again disappointed: it was only another note, which
shared the fate of the former.
"Oh, I shall not survive this!" she ejaculated, dropping into an
arm-chair; "and that horrid little Mrs. Gilmer will triumph in my
absence. You know Mrs. Gilmer?"
"I have not that honor," returned Maurice, who, impatient as he was to
take his leave, found it impossible to depart while the marchioness
chose to detain him.
"She attempts to pass herself off for a belle, and even tries to take
precedence of _me_, ignoring all the customs of good society; but,
doubtless, the poor thing is actually ignorant of them, and should be
pardoned and pitied for her ill-breeding. She is the wife of Gilmer, the
rich banker. It is to Mademoiselle Melanie that she is indebted for all
her social success. Mademoiselle Melanie positively _created_ her, and
she never wears anything made by any one else. It is all owing to
Mademoiselle Melanie that the men surround her as they do, and try to
persuade themselves that she is pretty. Pretty! with her turn-up nose,
and colorless hair and eyes. Her husband is immensely rich; and, as
wealth rules the day in this country, she takes good care that the depth
of his purse shall be known; for that purpose she loads herself with
diamonds,--always diamonds. She has not the least idea of varying her
jewels; even Mademoiselle Melanie could not make her comprehend that
art. I wonder she does not have a dress contrived of bank-notes! _That_
would be novel, and it would also prove a capital way of announcing her
opulence!"
"A rather dangerous costume!" returned Maurice, laughing.
"At all events it would be original; and, as originality is sure to
produce an effect, the saucy little _parvenue_ might afford to follow my
advice, even though it came from an enemy."
Maurice could not help exclaiming with a comical intonation,--for there
was something irresistibly ludicrous in the puny fierceness of the
dressed doll,--"An enemy!"
"Oh, there is no concealment about it!" exclaimed Madame de Fleury with
the air of a Liliputian belligerent. "It is open warfare; we are at
swords' points, and all the world knows our animosity. And Mrs. Gilmer
has the impertinence to pretend that our _styles_ are quite similar, and
that the same modes become us. She even declares that such has been
Mademoiselle Melanie's verdict, and from the judgment of Mademoiselle
Melanie nobody dares to appeal."
"This Mademoiselle Melanie is a Parisian, I presume?" asked Maurice,
more because it seemed polite to say something, than from any interest
in the answer to his question.
"Could she be anything else?" replied Madame de Fleury, with enthusiasm.
"Could a being gifted with such wondrous taste have been born out of
Paris? She is a _protegée_ of Vignon's; and, when I was exiled,
Mademoiselle Melanie came to America with me. She instantly became
known. There is a Mr. Hilson here, to whom she probably brought letters,
for he has taken the deepest interest in trumpeting her fame. She has
created a perfect furor."
"Hilson?" repeated Maurice, musingly. "A gentleman of that name visited
Brittany before I left. I wonder if it can be the same person."
"Very likely, for he has been abroad. I have heard him mention Brittany.
Well, this Mr. Hilson was so infatuated with--hush! That is a ring!"
While Madame de Fleury listened in breathless expectation, Lurline
opened the door and announced, "The dress of madame has arrived!"
"Ah! at last! at last! What happiness! I am saved, when I had almost
given up all hope! Monsieur de Gramont, you will excuse me! _Au
revoir!_"
Before Maurice could utter his congratulations upon the advent of the
dress, she had glided out of the room.
CHAPTER XXII.
MEETING.
The tangled web Count Tristan had woven for others began to fold its
meshes around himself, and to torture him with the dread that he might
be caught in his own snare. From the moment Maurice arrived in
Washington,--an event the count had not anticipated,--his covert use of
the authority entrusted to him was menaced with discovery. To a frank,
straightforward character, the very natural alternative would have
suggested itself of explaining, and, as far possible, justifying the
step just taken; but to a mind so full of guile, so wedded to wily
schemes as the count's, a simple, upright course would never have
occurred. The fear of exposure threw him into a state of nervous
irritability which allowed no rest, and he was compelled to pay the
price of deception by plunging deeper into her labyrinths, though every
step rendered extrication from the briery mazes more difficult.
On the morrow Maurice accompanied his grandmother, Bertha, and Count
Tristan to the residence of the Marchioness de Fleury. Count Tristan's
_malaise_ evinced itself by his unusually fretful and preoccupied
manner, his querulous tone, and a partial forgetfulness of those polite
observances of which he was rarely oblivious. He allowed his mother to
stand, looking at him in blind amazement, before he remembered to open
the door; was very near passing out of the room before her, and scarcely
recollected to hand her into the carriage. His abstraction was partially
dissipated by her scornful comment upon the contagious influences of a
plebeian country; but to recover himself entirely was out of the
question.
On reaching the ambassador's mansion, the visitors were disconcerted by
the information that Madame de Fleury "_did not receive_."
"She will receive us!" answered Maurice, recovering himself. "We are
here by appointment." And, passing the surprised domestic, he ushered
his grandmother into the drawing-room. Bertha and Count Tristan
followed.
The servant, with evident hesitation, took the cards that were handed to
him, and retired. The door of the _salon_ chanced to remain open, and
rendered audible a whispered conversation going on in the entry.
"I dare not disturb madame at this moment; she would fly into a terrible
rage. You know she never allows her toilet to be interrupted!"
These words, spoken in a female voice, reached the ears of the visitors.
"But the gentleman says it is an _appointment_. What's to be done? What
am I to answer?" was the rejoinder in rough male tones.
"You are a blockhead,--you have no management," replied the first voice.
"I will arrange the matter without your stupid interference."
Lurline now courtesied herself into the room, and, after bestowing an
arch glance of recognition upon the viscount, addressed the countess.
"I am _desolée_ to be obliged to inform madame that Madame de Fleury is
at this moment so much absorbed by her toilet that I fear I shall have
no opportunity of making known the honor of madame's visit. My mistress
has made an engagement to go to the capitol to hear some distinguished
orator. It is madame's _débût_ in spring attire this season. Madame's
dress, bonnet, and mantle have this moment been sent home. A more
delicately fresh toilet _de printemps_ cannot be conceived; it will
establish the fact that spring has arrived. But madame has not yet
essayed her attire and assured herself of its effect. I trust _madame la
comtesse_ will deem this sufficient apology for not being received."
As she concluded, Lurline simpered and courtesied, and seemed confident
that she had gracefully acquitted herself of a difficult duty.
"Not receive us when we are here by invitation?" ejaculated the
countess, angrily. "Is Madame de Fleury aware that it is the Countess de
Gramont and her family who are calling upon her?"
"There must be some mistake," interposed Maurice; then, turning to the
_femme de chambre_, he added, "I beg that you will deliver these cards
to the marchioness and bring me an answer."
"How am I to refuse monsieur?" replied Lurline, hesitating, yet
softening her unwillingness to comply by a volley of sidelong glances.
"Monsieur is not aware that he is placing me in a most delicate
position. It is against madame's rules to be disturbed when her toilet
is progressing: it requires her concentrated attention,--her whole mind!
Still, if monsieur insists, I will run the risk of madame's displeasure.
Monsieur must only be kind enough to wait, and allow me to watch for a
favorable moment when I can place these cards before madame."
With a low salutation, and a coquettish movement of the head that set
all her ribbons fluttering, the _femme de chambre_ made her exit.
"Not receive us? Make us wait?" exclaimed the countess, wrathfully;
"truly, Madame de Fleury has profited by her sojourn among savages! This
is not to be endured! Let us depart at once!"
"My dear mother," began Count Tristan, soothingly, "it will not do to be
offended, or to notice the slight, if there be one; but, I am sure, none
is intended. It is absolutely _indispensable_ that I should see the
countess, and get her to present this letter to the Marquis de Fleury,
and also that I should obtain her promise that she will influence him to
secure the vote of Mr. Gobert. Pray, be courteous to the marchioness
when she makes her appearance, or all is lost."
"What degradation will you demand of me next? How can you suppose it
possible that I can be courteous? I tell you I am furious!"
"But you do not know all that depends upon obtaining these votes. Think
of this railroad,--of the vital importance of the direction it takes!
Think of the Maryland property, which is almost all that is left to
us"--
"Have I not again and again begged you not to meddle with
railroads,--not to occupy yourself with business matters which a
nobleman is bound to ignore?"
"And by obeying you, as far as I could, and only acting in secret, I
have nearly ruined myself," answered the count, with growing excitement.
At this moment the loud ringing of a bell was heard, accompanied by the
voice of Lurline, speaking in tones of great tribulation.
"Patrick! Patrick! do you not hear the bell? Come here quickly! What's
to be done? Such a calamity! It's dreadful! dreadful!"
Count Tristan started up, and went to the door to question the _femme de
chambre_, fearing that the calamity in question might be of a nature
sufficiently serious to prevent the much-desired interview.
Lurline was standing in the hall; she wore her hat and shawl, and was
giving directions to a domestic in the most rapid and flurried manner.
"Will Madame de Fleury receive us?" inquired the count, anxiously.
"I told monsieur that I could not promise him, and, now that this
misfortune has befallen us, it is thoroughly impossible even to make
your presence here known to madame. Who could have anticipated such a
_contretems_? Never before has Mademoiselle Melanie allowed a dress to
issue from her hands which did not fit _à merveille_, and there are two
important alterations to be made in this before it can be worn. Madame
is in despair; she will go out of her senses; it will give her a brain
fever!"
"Can we not have the pleasure of seeing her for a few moments, when her
toilet is completed?" inquired Maurice.
"Ah, there it is! _When_ her toilet is completed? Will it be completed
in time for her to reach the senate at the hour proposed? Monsieur will
pardon me, but I have not a moment to spare."
Turning to Patrick, she added, "I am forced to go out to purchase some
ribbons. I have left madame in the hands of Antoinette. Madame is in
such a state that one might weep to see her! Take care not to admit any
one, except the Countess Orlowski, who accompanies your mistress to the
senate. I will be back presently."
The Countess de Gramont rose up majestically.
"Let us depart, my son! Never more will I cross this threshold,--never
enter this house where I have been insulted!"
"No insult was intended," replied Count Tristan, nervously. "Even if it
were, we are not in a position to be cognizant of insults; we should be
forced to ignore them. I cannot leave without entreating the marchioness
to deliver this letter to Monsieur de Fleury, herself: it _must_ be
done,--and _to-day_. There is not an instant to lose."
"And you can stoop so low,--you can demean yourself to such a degree?
What a humiliation!"
"Humiliations are not to be taken into consideration where _ruin_ stares
us in the face!" he answered, violently.
"Is it _so very important_?" inquired Bertha, struck by the count's
angry manner.
"Of more importance than I can explain to you!"
"Oh, then let us stay, aunt! We must make allowances for Madame de
Fleury's ruling passion. Her toilet first, all the world afterward!"
A carriage just then drove to the door, and attracted the attention of
Bertha, who was standing by the open window.
"What magnificent horses! and what a neat equipage! All the appointments
in such admirable taste! A lady is descending. I suppose it must be the
Countess Orlowski. What a dignified air she has! What a graceful
bearing! I wish I could see her face. She must be handsome with such a
perfect figure. Yes,--I am right,--it _is_ the Countess Orlowski, for
the servant has admitted her."
As the lady was passing through the hall, she said to the domestic, "No,
you need not announce me; I will go at once to the chamber of Madame de
Fleury."
At the sound of that voice, the shriek of joy that broke from Bertha's
lips drowned the amazed exclamation of Maurice. In another instant,
Bertha's arms were around the stranger, and her kisses were mingled with
tears and broken ejaculations, as she embraced her rapturously.
Maurice stood beside them, struggling with emotion that caused his manly
frame to vibrate from head to foot, while his dilated eyes appeared
spellbound by some familiar apparition which they hardly dared to
believe was palpable.
There is a joy which, in its wild excess, paralyzes the faculties, makes
dumb the voice, confuses the brain, until ecstasy becomes agony, and all
the senses are enveloped in a cloud of doubt. Such was the joy of
Maurice as he stood powerless, questioning the blissful reality of the
hour, yet in the actual presence of that being who was never a moment
absent from his mental vision.
"Madeleine! Madeleine! My own Madeleine! Have we found you at last? Is
it really you?" sobbed Bertha, whose tears always flowed easily, but now
poured in torrents from their blue heavens.
And Madeleine, as she passionately returned her cousin's embrace,
dropped her head upon Bertha's shoulder, and wept also.
"Madeleine!"
At that tremulously tender voice her face was lifted and turned toward
Maurice,--turned for the first time for nearly five long years; and yet,
at that moment, he felt as though it had never been turned away.
Bertha involuntarily loosened her arms, and Madeleine extended her hand
to Maurice. He clasped it fervently, but his quivering lips gave forth
no sound. One irrepressible look of perfect joy from Madeleine's
luminous eyes had answered the impassioned gaze of his; one smile of
ineffable gratitude played over her sweet lips. For an instant the eyes
were raised heavenward, in mute thanksgiving, and then sought the
ground, as though they feared to reveal too much; and the smile of
transport changed to one of grave serenity, and the wonted quietude of
her demeanor returned.
The countess and Count Tristan had both risen in speechless surprise,
but had made no attempt to approach Madeleine, whom Bertha now drew into
the room.
"Madeleine! I cannot believe that I am not dreaming," cried the latter;
"I cannot believe that I have found you!--that it is really you! And you
are lovelier than ever! You no longer look pale and careworn; you are
happy, my own Madeleine,--you are happy,--are you not? But why have you
forgotten us?"
"I have never forgotten--never--never _forgotten_!" faltered Madeleine,
in a voice that had a sound of tears, answering to those that glittered
in her eyes.
Maurice had not released her hand, and, bending over her, made an effort
to speak; but at that moment the stern voice of the countess broke in
harshly,--
"How is it that we find you here, Mademoiselle de Gramont? Where have
you hidden yourself? What have you done since you fled from my
protection?"
"Yes, what have you done?" chimed in Count Tristan. "How is it that we
find you descending from a handsome equipage and elegantly attired?"
"I have done nothing for which I shall ever have to blush!" answered
Madeleine, with a dignity which awed him into silence.
"It was needless to say _that_, dear Madeleine," cried Maurice, whose
powers of utterance had returned when he saw Madeleine about to be
assailed. "No one who knows you would _dare to believe_ that you ever
committed an action that demanded a blush."
Madeleine thanked him with her speaking countenance. Perhaps it was only
fancy, but he thought he felt a light, grateful pressure of the hand he
held.
"But tell us where you have been!" continued Bertha, affectionately.
"You look differently, Madeleine, and yet the same; and how this rich
attire becomes you! You are no longer poor and dependent then,--are
you?"
"I am no longer poor, and no longer dependent!" answered Madeleine, in a
tone of honest pride.
"Is it possible?" exclaimed the count and his mother together.
"But how has all this happened?" Bertha ran on. "Oh! I can divine: you
are married,--you have made a brilliant marriage."
At those words a suppressed groan, of unutterable anguish, struck on
Madeleine's ear; and the hand Maurice held dropped from his grasp.
"Speak! do speak! dear Madeleine!" continued Bertha. "Tell us all your
sufferings,--for you must have suffered at first,--and all your joys,
since you are happy now. And tell us how you chance to be here,--here in
America, as we are; and how it happens that you are calling upon the
Marchioness de Fleury, at the same time as ourselves; and why you expect
to be received by her, though she will not receive us."
Before Madeleine could reply, and she was evidently collecting herself
to speak, Lurline, who had just returned from executing her commission,
passed through the hall. The door of the drawing-room stood open; she
caught sight of Madeleine, and ran toward her, exclaiming joyfully,--
"Oh, what good fortune! How rejoiced my poor mistress will be! She did
not dare to hope for this great kindness! I am so thankful! I will fly
to announce to her the good news!"
She hurried away, leaving Madeleine's relatives more than ever amazed by
these mysterious words.
Count Tristan was the first to break the silence. Ever keenly alive to
his own interest, he saw a great advantage to be gained if he had
interpreted the language of the _femme de chambre_ rightly.
In an altered tone, a tone of marked consideration, he asked, "You are
well acquainted with the Marchioness de Fleury?"
"_Very well!_" replied Madeleine, with an incomprehensible emphasis,
while a smile that had a faint touch of satire flitted over her face.
"She receives you?" questioned the count.
"Always," answered Madeleine, smiling again.
"She esteems you?" persisted the count.
"I have every reason to believe that she does."
"And you have influence with her," joined in Bertha, suspecting the
count's drift, and feeling desirous of aiding him.
"I think I may venture to say I have."
"Oh, how fortunate!" cried Bertha; "you maybe of the greatest service to
our cousin, Count Tristan." She took the letter out of his hand, and
placing it in Madeleine's, added, "Beg Madame de Fleury to read this
letter, and obtain her promise that she will use her influence with the
Marquis de Fleury to cause Mr. Gobert,--Gobert, that's his name, is it
not?" appealing to the count,--"to cause Mr. Gobert to vote as herein
instructed. See, how well I have explained that matter! I really believe
I have an undeveloped talent for business."
"The letter should reach Madame de Fleury this morning. The appeal
should be made to the marquis _to-day_,--_this very day!_" urged the
count.
"It shall be!" replied Madeleine, with quiet confidence.
The countess here interposed.
"What, my son, you are willing to solicit the interference of
Mademoiselle de Gramont, without knowing how and where she has passed
her time, how she has lived since she fled from the Château de Gramont?
I refuse my consent to such a proceeding."
"Aunt,--madame," returned Madeleine, in a gently pleading voice, "do not
deprive me of the pleasure of serving you. Humble and unworthy
instrument that I am, leave me that happiness."
"If the marchioness would only grant me a few moments' interview this
morning," said Count Tristan, who evidently doubted the strength of
Madeleine's advocacy.
"I promise that she _will_ grant you an interview this morning," replied
Madeleine, interrupting him.
The _femme de chambre_ now reëntered and said, "Madame is impatient at
this delay; every moment seems an hour."
"Say that I will be with her immediately," answered Madeleine. She then
addressed the count: "Have no fears,--you may depend upon me; the
countess will receive you the moment her toilet is completed."
Madeleine once more embraced Bertha, once more extended her hand to
Maurice, who stood bewildered, dismayed, looking half petrified, and
passed out of the room.
As soon as she had disappeared, Bertha broke forth joyously, "Well,
aunt, what do you think _now_ of our Madeleine? Is not this magic? Is
not this a fairy-like _denouement_? She disappears from the Château de
Gramont as though the earth had opened to swallow her; no trace of her
could be discovered for nearly five years, and suddenly she rises up in
our very midst, a grand lady, enveloped in a cloud of mystery, and
working as many wonders as a veritable witch. She leaves us poor,
friendless, dependent; she returns to us rich, powerful, and with
influential friends ready to serve those who once protected her. But I
think I have found the key to the enigma. Did we not hear strict orders
given that none but the Countess Orlowski should be admitted? Well,
Madeleine was at once allowed to enter: it follows, beyond doubt, that
she is the Countess Orlowski."
This version of Madeleine's position seemed to strike both the countess
and her son as not merely possibly, but probably, correct.
"I always thought," returned the count, "that Madeleine was a young
person who, in the end"--
His mother finished the sentence, in a tone of pride, "would prove
herself worthy of the family to which she belongs."
The loud ringing of the street door-bell attracted the attention of the
group assembled in the drawing-room. A well-known voice exchanged a few
words with the servant, and Gaston de Bois entered. His manner was
unusually perturbed, and he looked around the room as though in search
of some one.
The instant he appeared, Bertha exclaimed, "Oh, M. de Bois! M. de Bois!
We are all so much rejoiced! Madeleine, our own Madeleine, is found at
last! She is here,--here in this very house, at this very moment!"
"I--I--I knew it!" answered M. de Bois, with a mixture of embarrassment
and exultation.
"You knew it? How could you have known it?" asked Maurice, eagerly.
"I saw her car--ar--arriage at the door."
"_Her_ carriage? She has a carriage of her own, then?" inquired the
count.
"Yes, and the most superb horses in Washington."
"You knew, then, that she was here?" cried Maurice, with emotion; "you
knew it, and you never told us?"
"I knew it, but I was forbidden to tell you. I hoped you would meet; I
felt sure you would. I did not know how or when; but, from the moment
you put your foot in this city, I looked for this meeting. I was
strongly impelled to bring it about, but my promise withheld me."
"Of course, you could not break a promise; that explanation is quite
satisfactory," remarked Bertha. "I am sure you would have given us a
hint but for your promise."
"I almost gave one in spite of it. I found it harder to keep silent than
I used to find it to speak; and that was difficult enough."
"But have the goodness to unravel to us this grand mystery," demanded
the count. "Madeleine is married--married to Count Orlowski, the Russian
ambassador."
"A nobleman of position!" added the countess.
"How did this come about?" inquired the count.
M. de Bois looked stupefied.
"Who--who--said she was married?" he gasped out. "Why do you imagine
that she is mar--ar--arried?"
"She is _not_--_not_ married then? _Say she is not!_" broke in Maurice,
hanging upon the reply as though it were a sentence of life or death.
"No--no--not married at all--not in the least married."
Maurice did not answer, but the sound that issued from his lips almost
resembled the sob of hysteric passion.
"Tell us quickly all about her!" besought Bertha, impatiently.
"Yes, speak! speak!" said the countess, imperiously.
"Speak!" echoed the count.
"Gaston, my dear friend, pray speak,--speak quickly!" Maurice besought.
"I wi--is--ish I could! That's just what I wa--an--ant to do! But it's
not so easy, you bewil--il--ilder me so with questions. But the time has
come when you must know that she has the hon--on--onor--the honor--the
honor to be"--
"Go on, go on!" urged Maurice.
"I wish I could! It's not so easy to expla--plai--plain."
The rustling of a silk dress made him turn. The Marchioness de Fleury,
in the most captivating spring attire, stood before them.
"Ah! here is Madame de Fleury, and she will tell you herself better than
I can," said M. de Bois, apparently much relieved.
The marchioness saluted her guests with excessive cordiality, softly
murmured her gratification at their visit, and added apologetically,--
"I must entreat your pardon for allowing you to wait; it was not in my
power to be more punctual; a terrible accident--the first of the kind
which has ever occurred to me--is my excuse. Do not imagine, my dear
viscount," turning to Maurice with a fascinating smile, "that I had
forgotten my appointment; but, at the Russian embassy, yesterday, I was
prevailed upon to promise that I would be present at the senate to-day
to hear the speech of a Vermont orator, a sort of Orson Demosthenes, who
has gained great renown by his rude but stirring eloquence. We ladies
have been promised admission (which is now and then granted) to the
floor of the house, instead of being crammed into the close galleries.
It will be a brilliant occasion. I invited the Countess Orlowski to
accompany me. If all had gone well I should have been ready to receive
your visit before she came."
The brow of the countess smoothed a little as she answered, "I felt
confident, madame, that there must have been _some_ explanation."
"Ah! I fear you are displeased with me," resumed Madame de Fleury,
playfully. "But I will earn my pardon. You will be compelled to forgive
me; M. de Fleury meets me at the capitol, and I will deliver this letter
of the count's into his hand, and make him promise, blindfold, to
consent to any request that it may contain."
"Madame," returned the count, bowing to the ground, "I shall never be
able to express my gratitude. You can hardly form a conception of the
favor you are conferring upon me. That letter is of the highest
importance, and my indebtedness beggars all expression."
"To be frank with you, count," answered Madame de Fleury, "you owe me
nothing. You are only indebted to the advocate you chose,--one whom I
never refuse,--one to whom I feel under the deepest obligation,
especially this morning,--one who is so modest that she can seldom be
induced to ask me a favor, or to allow me to serve her. Thus, you see,
it is but natural that I should seize with avidity upon this
opportunity."
The count looked at his mother triumphantly; and, as the face of the
marchioness was turned toward Bertha, he whispered, "Shall I not tell
her that Madeleine is our niece?"
The countess seemed disposed to consent, for the words of Madame de
Fleury had gratified as much as they astonished her.
The marchioness addressed the Countess de Gramont again. "I trust,
madame, that you will allow me to waive ceremony, and take a liberty
with you, since it is in the hope of being some service. I should like
to reach the capitol before the oration commences; and, if this letter
must be delivered to M. de Fleury immediately, my going early will
enable me to have a few moments' conversation with him, which I probably
shall not get after the orator rises. Will you excuse me, if I tear
myself away? And will you give me the pleasure of your company to-morrow
evening? To-morrow is my reception-day, and some of my friends honor me
in the evening. I am _desolée_ at this apparent want of courtesy, but I
am sure you see the necessity."
The countess bowed her permission to Madame de Fleury's departure, and
the count overwhelmed her with thanks. The countess would herself have
taken leave, but anxiety to learn something further of Madeleine, caused
her to linger.
The marchioness now addressed her valet, who was standing in the hall
waiting orders.
"Patrick, when Madame Orlowski calls, beg her to pardon my preceding her
to the capitol; say that I will reserve a seat by my side."
"Then the lady who just visited you was _not_ Madame Orlowski?" inquired
the count, more puzzled than ever.
"No, indeed; she is worth a thousand Madame Orlowski's!"
The count's glance at his mother seemed again to ask her permission to
allow him to announce that Madeleine was their relative.
"We felt certain that she was one of the magnates"--began the count.
The marchioness interrupted him.
"She is better than that; she has all the magnates of the land--that is
the female magnates--at her feet. The foreign ladies swear by her, rave
about her; and, as for the Americans, they are demented, and would
gladly pave her path with gold,--that being their way of expressing
appreciation. Madame Manesca passes whole mornings with her,--Madame
Poniatowski talks of no one else. She enchants every one, and offends no
one. For myself, I have only one fault to find with her,--I owe her only
one grudge; if it had not been for her aid, that impertinent little Mrs.
Gilmer would not have had such success in society. If I could succeed in
making her close her doors against Mrs. Gilmer, what a satisfaction it
would be! Then, and then only, should I be content!"
The count could restrain himself no longer.
"We are highly gratified to hear this, madame. It concerns, us more
nearly than you are aware; the lady is not wholly a stranger to us; in
fact, she--she"--
"Indeed? she was so little known in Paris that you were fortunate in
finding her out. I appreciated her there, but I did not know how much
actual credit was due to her, for she had not then risen to her present
distinction. I confess she is the one person in America without whom I
could not exist."
"Is it possible?" exclaimed the countess.
"And I cannot be grateful enough to her," continued the marchioness,
"for her visit this morning, for she never goes out, or, so seldom, that
I did not dare to expect, to even _hope_ for her presence; yet her
conscientiousness made her come; she suspected that I was in difficulty,
and hastened here."
"It is like her; she was always charming, and so thoughtful for others!"
observed the count, as complacently as though this were an opinion he
had been in the habit of expressing for years.
"You may well say charming," responded Madame de Fleury; "and what
knowledge she possesses of all the requirements, the most subtle
refinements of good society! What polished manners she has! What choice
language she uses! What poetical expression she gives to her sentiments!
I often forget myself when I am talking to her, and fancy that I am
communicating with a person of the same standing as myself; and, without
knowing what I am doing, I involuntarily treat her as an equal!"
"_An equal?_ Of course, most certainly!" answered the countess, aghast.
The amazement of the count, Maurice, and Bertha, sealed their lips.
"Her taste, her talent, her invention is something almost supernatural,"
continued the marchioness, enthusiastically; for, now that she was
launched upon her favorite theme, she had forgotten her haste. "She sees
at a glance all the good points of a figure; she knows how to bring them
out strongly; she discovers by intuition what is lacking, and
dexterously hides the defects. I have seen her convert the veriest dowdy
into an elegant woman. And, when she gets a subject that pleases her,
she perfectly revels in her art. Look at this dress for instance,--see
by what delicate combinations it announces the spring."
The marchioness was struck with the consternation depicted in the
countenances of her visitors.
Bertha was the only one who could command sufficient voice to falter
out, "That dress, then"--
"It is her invention," replied the marchioness, triumphantly. "Any one
would recognize it in a moment, as coming from the hands of
Mademoiselle Melanie. Though she has such wonderful creative fertility,
her style is unmistakable. There was never mantua-maker like her!"
"_A mantua-maker! a mantua-maker!_" exclaimed the countess and her son
at once, in accents of disgust and indignation.
"Ah, I see you do not like to apply that epithet to her, and you are
right. She should not be designated as a mantua-maker, but a great
artist,--a true artist,--a fairy, who, with one touch of her wand, can
metamorphose and beautify and amaze!"
At that moment, a servant announced that the Countess Orlowski waited in
her carriage, and desired him to say that she feared she was late.
"You will excuse me then?" murmured the marchioness. "I must hasten to
execute my mission for Mademoiselle Melanie, since it was she who so
warmly solicited me to undertake this delicate little transaction, and I
would not disappoint her for the world. Pray, do not forget to-morrow
evening. _Au revoir._"
She floated out of the room, leaving the countess and her son speechless
with rage and indignation.
Bertha and Maurice stood looking at each other, and then at M. de Bois,
the only one who expressed no surprise, but seemed rather more gratified
than moved when he beheld the countess sink back in her chair, and apply
her bottle of sal volatile to her nose. The shock to her pride had been
so terrible, that she appeared to be in danger of fainting.
CHAPTER XXIII.
NOBLE HANDS MADE NOBLER.
After the Marchioness de Fleury had departed, leaving her astonished
guests in her drawing-room, M. de Bois was the first to break the
silence.
"And you, Mademoiselle Bertha, are you also horrified at this
rev--ev--evelation?" he asked.
"I?" answered Bertha, making an effort to collect herself. "No, I can
never be horrified by any act of Madeleine's, for she could never be
guilty of an action that was unworthy. I am only so much astonished that
I feel stunned and confused, just as Maurice does; see, how bewildered
he looks!"
The countess had now recovered her voice, and said, in a tone trembling
with indignation, "It is _infamous_!"
"A degradation we could never have anticipated!" rejoined Count Tristan.
"She has disgraced her family,--disgraced our proud name forever!"
responded the countess.
"Do not say that, aunt!" pleaded Bertha. "She has not even used your
name, though it is as rightfully hers as yours. Do you not observe that
she has only allowed herself to be called by her middle name, and that
every one speaks of her as Mademoiselle Melanie?"
Bertha, as she spoke, bent caressingly over her aunt, and took her hand.
But the attempt to soften the infuriated aristocrat was futile.
The countess replied, with increasing wrath, "I tell you she has
humiliated herself and us to the last degree! She has brought shame upon
our heads!"
Gaston de Bois was walking up and down the room, thrusting his fingers
through his hair, flinging out his arms spasmodically, and, now and
then, giving vent to a muttered ejaculation, which sounded alarmingly
emphatic. When he heard these words, he could restrain himself no
longer. He came boldly forward, and planting himself directly in front
of the countess, unawed by her forbidding manner, exclaimed,--
"No, madame; that I deny! Mademoiselle de Gramont has brought no shame
upon her family!"
"She no longer belongs to my family!" retorted the countess. "I disown
her henceforward and forever!"
"And you do rightly, my mother," added the count. "We will never
acknowledge her, never see her again! Maurice and Bertha, we expect that
you will abide by our determination."
Maurice did not reply; he stood leaning against the mantel-piece, lost
in thought, his eyes bent down, his head resting upon his hands.
Bertha, however, answered with spirit. "I make no promise of the kind.
Nothing could induce me to cast off my dear Madeleine!"
M. de Bois seized her hand, and, involuntarily carrying it to his lips,
said, with mingled enthusiasm and veneration, "You are as noble as I
thought you were! I knew you would not forsake her!"
Bertha raised her eyes to his face with an expression which thrilled
him, as she answered, "You will defend her, M. de Bois; you, who can
perhaps disperse the cloud of mystery by which her life has been
enveloped for the last four years. You will tell my aunt how Madeleine
has lived,--what she has done. You will tell us _all about her_."
"That I will, gladly!" replied he. "That is, _if I can_. I never in my
life so much desired the pow--ow--ower of spee--ee--eech!"
He broke off, and, in an undertone, gave vent to certain exclamations
which indistinctly reached the ears of the countess and Bertha.
Their amazed looks did not escape his notice, and he continued: "Ladies,
I ought to ask your pardon; possibly my expressions have sounded to you
somewhat profane; I am under the sad necessity of using very strong
language. I cannot loosen my tongue except by the aid of these forcible
expletives, and I must--_must_ speak! For I, who have known all
Mademoiselle Madeleine's noble impulses, can best explain to you her
con--on--onduct."
The last word, which was the only one upon which he stammered, was
followed by another emphatic ejaculation.
Bertha, without heeding this interruption, asked, "And have you known
where Madeleine was concealed all this time?"
"Yes, mademoiselle, I knew."
"And it was you who assisted her to leave Brittany?"
"It _was_ I! That was about the first good action which brightened my
life, and--and--and"--(another muttered oath to assist his articulation)
"and I hope it was only a commencement."
"Tell us--tell us everything quickly," prayed Bertha.
"Mademoiselle Madeleine, when she determined to leave the Château de
Gramont,--when she resolved to cease to be dependent,--when, in spite of
her noble birth, which was to her only an encumbrance, she purposed to
gain a livelihood by honest industry,--confided her project to me. And
what good she did me in making me feel that I was worthy enough of her
esteem to be trusted! She first committed to my charge her family
diamonds, her sole possession, and ordered me to dispose of them"--
"Her diamonds! those which have been in her family for generations! What
sacrilege!" cried the countess, in accents of horror.
"Pardon me, madame; it would have been sacrilege, she thought, and so
did I, if she had kept them when their sale could have prevented her
being the unhappy recipient of the unwilling _charity_ of her
relatives."
"Go on--go on!" urged Bertha. "How did she leave the château? How could
she travel?"
"I obtained her a passport, for it would have been running too great a
risk if she had attempted to travel without one. The passport had to be
signed by two witnesses. Fortunately, two of my friends at Rennes were
about to leave the country; I selected them as witnesses, because they
could not be questioned; I told them the whole story, and bound them to
secrecy. We took out the passport for England to divert pursuit; but,
Mademoiselle Madeleine only went to Paris, and it was not necessary that
her passport should be _viséd_ if she remained there."
"But the diamonds,--they were those Madame de Fleury wore and which I
recognized!" exclaimed Bertha.
"I made a false step there; but it was just like me to bungle,"
continued Gaston. "I knew that the Jew, Henriques, often had
transactions with the Marquis de Fleury. I took the diamonds to another
Jew from whom I concealed my name, and suggested his taking them to
Henriques, hinting that the marquis would probably become their
purchaser. The marquis is a _connoisseur_ of jewels; and, as you are
aware, at once secured them. The sum realized was sufficient to supply
the simple wants of Mademoiselle Madeleine for years. But this did not
satisfy her,--her plan was to work. When she heard that the diamonds
were in M. de Fleury's possession, she embroidered a robe upon which the
lilies and shamrock were closely imitated, and took her work to Vignon,
Madame de Fleury's dressmaker. Vignon was amazed at the great skill and
taste displayed in the design and execution, and offered to give the
embroiderer as much employment as she desired. Madame de Fleury being
the most influential of Vignon's patrons, the dress was exhibited to
her. She was at once struck and charmed by the coincidence that allowed
her to become the possessor of a dress upon which the exact design of
her new jewels had been imitated. She asked a thousand questions of
Vignon, who gladly monopolized all the credit of inventing this novel
pattern. From that moment Mademoiselle Madeleine's 'fairy fingers'
commenced their marvels under the celebrated _couturière's_ direction,
and Vignon daily congratulated herself upon the mysterious treasure she
had discovered. Mademoiselle Madeleine now determined to remain in Paris
incognita. She worked night and day, scarcely allowing herself needful
rest; but, alas! she worked with a ceaseless heartache,--a heartache on
your account, Maurice, for she knew how wildly you were searching for
her; and when you fell ill"--
Maurice interrupted him: "It was she who watched beside me at night! I
knew it! I have always been convinced of it. Was I not right?"
"I was bound not to tell you, but there can be no need of concealment
now. Yes, you _are_ right. When the _soeur de bon secours_ we had
engaged to take care of you during the day, left, and would have been
replaced, according to the usual custom, by another to watch through the
night, we told her no watcher was needed before morning. Mademoiselle
Madeleine made herself a garb resembling that worn by the sisterhood;
and, every night, when the good sister we had hired left, Mademoiselle
Madeleine took her place. We thought your delirium would prevent your
recognizing her."
"Probably it did, at first," returned Maurice; "but, for many nights
before I spoke to you; I was conscious, I was sure of her presence."
"When you did speak, I was startled enough," resumed Gaston; "and it was
a sad revelation to Mademoiselle Madeleine; for, when your reason was
restored, she could not venture any more to come near you."
"Did she go to Dresden? How came my birthday handkerchief to be sent
from Dresden?" asked Bertha.
"That was another piece of stupidity of mine. You see what a blockhead I
have been. Mademoiselle Madeleine wished to send some token of assurance
that she thought of you still; but it was necessary that you should not
know she was in Paris. I had the package conveyed to a friend of mine in
Dresden, and desired him to remove the envelope and send the parcel to
Bordeaux, though you were in Paris at the time. It would not have been
prudent to let you suspect that Mademoiselle Madeleine was aware of your
sojourn in the metropolis. But, when the postmark induced Maurice to
start for Dresden, I saw what a fool I had been. It was just like me to
commit some absurdity,--I always do! I could not dissuade Maurice from
going to Dresden; but Mademoiselle Madeleine wrote a note which I
enclosed to my friend, and desired to have it left at the hotel where
Maurice was staying. After that I was more careful not to commit
blunders. The other birthday tokens, you received, Mademoiselle Bertha,
I always contrived to send you by private hand; thus, there was no
postmark to awaken suspicion."
"But how came Madeleine here in America?" inquired Bertha.
"When the Marquis de Fleury was appointed ambassador to the United
States, Mademoiselle Madeleine learned that Madame de Fleury sorely
lamented her hard fate, and mourned over the probability that she would
be obliged to have all her dresses sent from Paris. This would be a
great inconvenience, for she often liked to have a costume improvised
upon the spur of the moment, and completed with fabulous rapidity.
Mademoiselle Madeleine had frequently thought of America, and felt that
the new country must present a field where she could work more
advantageously than in Paris. She desired Vignon to suggest to Madame de
Fleury that one of the assistants in her favorite _couturière's_
establishment,--the one with whose designs Madame de Fleury was already
acquainted,--might be tempted, by the certainty of the marchioness's
patronage, to visit America. Madame de Fleury was contented, and
immediately proposed that Mademoiselle Melanie should sail in the same
steamer. Vignon allowed two of her work-women to accompany her. The sum
Mademoiselle Madeleine had realized from her diamonds enabled her to
hire a modest house in Washington, and to furnish it tastefully. On her
arrival she sent for Mr. Hilson. Perhaps you remember him, Mademoiselle
Bertha? He once dined at the Château de Gramont."
Here the count uttered an exclamation of violent displeasure, but M. de
Bois went on,--
"He had requested Mademoiselle Madeleine if she ever visited America to
let him know. He called upon her at once, and she frankly told him the
story of her trials, and the conclusion to which they had forced her. He
highly approved of her energy, her zeal, and spirit. She made him
promise to keep her rank and name a secret. He brought his wife and
daughter to see her, and they became her stanch, admiring, and helpful
friends. Through them alone, she would quickly have been drawn into
notice; but a more powerful medium to popularity was at work. The
sensation produced by Madame de Fleury's toilets caused all Washington
to flock to the exhibition-rooms of 'Mademoiselle Melanie,' who was
known to be her _couturière_. Soon, it became a favor for 'Mademoiselle
Melanie' to receive new customers. She was forced to move to the elegant
mansion where she now resides. It is one of the grandest houses in
Washington, and Mademoiselle Melanie has only one more payment to make
before it becomes her own. The fact is, people have gone crazy about
her. Those who seek her merely upon business, when they come into her
presence, are impressed with the conviction that she is not merely
their equal, but their superior, and treat her with involuntary
deference. She is rapidly becoming rich, and she has the glory of
knowing that it is through the labor of her own dainty hands, her own
'fairy fingers!'"
"Oh, all she has done was truly noble!" said Bertha, with enthusiasm.
"It was disgraceful!" cried the countess, fiercely. "She might better
have starved! She has torn down her glorious escutcheon to replace it by
a mantua-maker's sign. She has stooped to make dresses!--to receive
customers! Abominable!"
M. de Bois, for a moment forgetting the courtesy due to the rank and
years of the countess, replied indignantly, "Madame, did she not make
_your_ dresses for three years? Have you not been one of her customers?
An unprofitable customer? The _profit_ was the only difference between
what she did at the _Château de Gramont_ and what she does in the city
of Washington!"
"Sir!" exclaimed the countess, giving him a look of rebuke, which was
intended to silence these unpalatable truths.
"You are right, M. de Bois," answered Bertha, not noticing the furious
glance of her aunt. "That was a random shaft of yours, but it hits the
mark, and strikes me as well as my aunt; yet I thank you for it; I thank
you for defending Madeleine; I thank you for befriending her. I shall
never forget it--never!"
Bertha frankly stretched out her hand to him; he took it with joyful
emotion.
"Whom would she have to defend her if I did not, since her family
discard her? Since even an able young lawyer utters not a word to plead
her cause?" he added, looking reproachfully at Maurice. "But she shall
never lack a defender while I live, for I love her as a sister! I
venerate her as a saint. To me she is the type of all that is best and
noblest in the world! The type of that which is greater, more valuable
than glory, more useful than fame, more _noble_ than the blood of
countesses and duchesses--_honest labor!_"
Bertha's responsive look spoke her approval.
"And what do I not owe her, myself?" continued M. de Bois. "It was her
words, long before her sorrows began, which rendered me conscious of the
inert purposelessness of my own existence. It was the effect produced
upon me by those words which made me resolve to throw off my sluggish,
indolent melancholy and inactivity, and rise up to be one of the world's
'_doers_,' not '_breathers_' only. The change I feel in myself came
through her; even the very power of speaking to you thus freely comes
through her, for she encouraged me to conquer my diffidence, she made me
despise my weak self-consciousness, and I cannot offer her a sufficient
return; no, not if I took up arms against the whole world, her own
family included, in her defence! In my presence, no one shall ever
asperse her nobility of word, deed, or act!"
Bertha's speaking eyes thanked him and encouraged him again.
In spite of the manifest rage of the countess he went on,--
"But Mademoiselle Madeleine now holds a position which needs no
champion. She has made that position herself, by her own energy and
industry, and the unimpeachable purity of her conduct. In this land
where _labor_ is a _virtue_, and the most laborious, when they combine
intellect with industry, become the greatest,--in this land it will be
no blot upon her noble name, (when she chooses to resume it) that she
has linked that name with _work_. She will rather be held up as an
example to the daughters of this young country. No one, except Mr.
Hilson, not even her zealous patron, and devoted admirer, Madame de
Fleury, yet knows her history; but every one feels that she merits
reverence, and every one yields her spontaneous veneration. The young
women whom she employs idolize her, and she treats them as the kindest
and most considerate of sisters might. Some among them belong to
excellent families, reduced by circumstances, and she has inspired them
with courage to work, even with so humble an instrument as the needle,
rather than to accept dependence as inevitable. She is fitting them to
follow in her footsteps. If her relatives scorn her for the course she
has pursued, she will be fully compensated for their scorn by the
world's approval."
All eyes had been riveted upon Gaston, as he spoke, and no one perceived
that Madeleine was standing in the room, a few paces from the door.
Bertha's exclamation first made the others conscious of her presence.
"Madeleine! we know all! Oh, what you must have suffered! How noble you
have been! Madeleine, you are dearer to me than ever, far dearer!"
The tears that ran softly down Madeleine's cheeks were her only answer.
Bertha, as she wiped them away, said, "These are not like the tears you
shed that sorrowful day in the _châlet_, that day when you must have
first made up your mind to leave us. Do you remember how you wept then?
Those were tears of agony! You have never wept such tears since,--have
you, Madeleine?"
"No, never!"
"I could not then comprehend what moved you so terribly; but, at this
moment, I understand all your sensations. Now that we have met again
there must be no more tears. You know that I am of age now; I am
mistress of my own fortune; and you and I must part no more! You must
come and share what is mine. You must have done with work, Madeleine."
"That cannot be, my good, generous Bertha; my day of work has not yet
closed."
"Bertha!" exclaimed the countess, who, until then, had stood trembling
with anger, and unable to command her voice. "Bertha, have you quite
forgotten yourself? Remember that you are under my guardianship, and I
forbid your having any association with Mademoiselle de Gramont."
Madeleine advanced with calm dignity towards the countess, and said
quietly,--
"Madame--aunt"--
The countess interrupted her imperiously.
"Aunt! Do you _dare_ to address _me_ by that title? _You_--a
_dressmaker!_ When you forgot your noble birth, and lowered yourself to
the working-classes, making yourself one with them,--when you demeaned
yourself to gain your bread by your needle, bread which should have
choked a de Gramont to eat,--you should also have forgotten your
relationship to me, never to remember it again!"
"If I did not forget it, madame," answered Madeleine, with calm
self-respect, "I was at least careful that my condition should not
become known to you. I strove to act as though I had been dead to you,
that my existence might not cause you mortification. I could not guard
against the accident which has thrown us together once more, but for the
last time, as far as my will is concerned."
"This meeting was not Mademoiselle Madeleine's fault," cried M. de Bois,
coming to the rescue. "It was my folly,--another blunder of mine! I was
dolt enough to think that you had only to see her for all to be well;
and, instead of warning Mademoiselle Madeleine that you were in
Washington, I kept from her a knowledge which would have prevented your
encountering each other. It was all my imprudence, my miscalculation! I
see my error since it has subjected her to insult; and yet what I did,"
continued he more passionately, and regarding Maurice, as he spoke, "was
for the sake of one who"--
Madeleine, seized with a sudden dread of the manner in which he might
conclude this sentence, broke in abruptly,--
"Were I not indebted to you, M. de Bois, for so many kindnesses, I might
reproach you now; but it was well for me to learn this lesson; it was
well for me to be certain that my aunt would discard me because I
preferred honest industry to cold charity."
"Discard you?" rejoined the countess, furiously. "Could you doubt that I
would discard you? Henceforth the tie of blood between us is dissolved;
you are no relative of mine! I forbid you to make known that we have
ever met. I forbid my family to hold any intercourse with you. I appeal
to my son to say if this is not the just retribution which your conduct
has brought upon you!"
The count answered with deliberation, as though he was pondering some
possibility in his wily mind; as if some idea had occurred to him which
prevented his fully sharing in his mother's wrath, or, rather, which
tempered the expression of his displeasure,--
"Madeleine's situation has rendered this the most proper and natural
course open to us. She could not expect to be formally recognized. She
could not suppose it possible, however much consideration we might
entertain for her personally, that the Countess de Gramont and her
family should allow it to be known that one of their kin is a
dressmaker! Madeleine is too reasonable not to see the impropriety (to
use a mild word) there would be even in such a suggestion."
"I see it very plainly," answered Madeleine, not unmoved by the count's
manner, which was so much gentler than his mother's, and not suspecting
the motive which induced him to assume this conciliatory tone.
The count resumed: "We wish Madeleine well, in spite of her present
degraded position. If circumstances should prolong our stay in
Washington, or in America,--and it is very possible they may do so,--we
will only request her to remove to California or Australia, or some
distant region, where she may live in desirable obscurity, and not run
the risk of being brought into even _accidental_ contact with us."
"No,--no!" exclaimed Bertha, vehemently. "We shall not lose her
again,--we must not! _You_ may all discard her, but _I_ will not! I will
always acknowledge her, and I must see her! She is dearer to me than
ever; I will not be separated from her!"
Did Bertha see the look of admiration with which M. de Bois contemplated
her as she uttered these words?
The countess asked in an imperious tone,--
"Bertha, have you wholly forgotten yourself? I will never permit this
intercourse,--I forbid it! If _you_ are willing to brave my displeasure,
I presume Madeleine, ungrateful as she has proved herself to be, for the
protection I granted her during three years, will not so wholly forget
her debt as to disregard my command."
How often Madeleine had been reminded of that debt which her services at
the Château de Gramont had cancelled a hundred times over!
Before she could respond to her aunt's remark, Bertha went on,--
"You do not comprehend my plan, aunt. Madeleine, of course, must give up
her present occupation; there is no need of her pursuing it; I am rich
enough for both. She shall live with me and share my fortune. Madeleine,
you will not refuse me this? For nearly five years I have mourned over
our separation, and wasted my life in the vain hope of seeing you again.
You would be ashamed of me if you knew in what a weak, frivolous, idle
manner, I have passed my days, while you were working so unceasingly,
and with such grand results. I shall never learn to make good use of my
hours except under your guidance. Long before I reached my majority I
looked forward gladly to the time when I should be a free agent and
could share my _fortune_ with you. My aunt knows that I communicated my
intention to her before you left the Château de Gramont. And now,
Madeleine, my own best Madeleine,--you will let the dream of my life
become a reality,--will you not? Say yes, I implore you!"
Bertha had spoken with such genuine warmth and hearty earnestness that a
colder nature than Madeleine's must have been melted. She folded the
generous girl tenderly and silently in her arms, and, after a pause,
which the countenance of her aunt made her aware that the proud lady was
on the eve of breaking, answered, sadly,--
"It was worth suffering all I endured, Bertha, to have your friendship
tested through this fiery ordeal, and to know that your heart cannot be
divided by circumstances from mine. But your too liberal offer I cannot
accept; the path I have marked out I must pursue until I reach the goal
which I am nearing. An incompleteness in the execution of my deliberate
plans would render me more miserable than I am to-day in being cast off
by my own family."
"Do not speak such cruel words," returned Bertha. "They do not cast you
off; that is, _I_ do not, and never will; and I am sure"--
She turned to look at Maurice, who had stood silent through the whole
scene, leaning upon the mantel-piece, his head still resting on his
hand, and his eyes fixed upon Madeleine. His mind was too full of
conflicting emotions for him to speak; above all other images rose that
of the being whom Madeleine had declared she loved. Did she love him
still? Was he here? Did he know her condition? Was M. de Bois, whom she
had entrusted with her secret,--M. de Bois, who had protected and aided
her,--the object of her preference? Maurice could not answer these
torturing questions, and the happiness of once more beholding the one
whom he had so long fruitlessly sought, made him feel as though he were
passing through a strange, wild dream, which, but for _one doubt_, would
have been full of ecstasy.
When Bertha appealed to him by her look, he could no longer remain
silent.
"You are right, Bertha; Madeleine is to me all that she ever was. I am
as proud of her as I have ever been; more proud I could not be! _To
renounce her would be as impossible as it has ever been._"
Madeleine, who had appeared so firm and composed up to that moment,
trembled violently; her heart seemed to cease its pulsations; a cold
tremor ran through her veins; a mist floated before her eyes; exquisite
happiness became exquisite pain! She turned, as though about to leave
the room, but her feet faltered. In a second, M. de Bois was at her
side, and gave her his arm; she took it almost unconsciously. The voice
of her aunt restored her as suddenly as a dash of ice-water could have
done.
"Your father's commands and mine, then, Maurice, are to have no weight.
We order you to renounce all intercourse with this person, whom we no
longer acknowledge as a relative, and you unhesitatingly declare to her,
in our very presence, that you disregard our wishes. This, it seems, is
the first effect of Mademoiselle de Gramont's renewed influence, which
we have before now found so pernicious."
"Do not fear, madame," answered Madeleine; "I will not permit"--
"Make no rash promise, Madeleine,"--interrupted Maurice. "My father's
wishes and my grandmother's must ever have weight with me; but when I
honestly differ from them in opinion, I trust there is no disrespect in
my saying so. Blindly to obey their commands would be to abnegate free
agency and self-responsibility."
"I have not forgotten," said the countess, freezingly, "that the first
disrespect towards me of which you were guilty was originated by
Mademoiselle de Gramont. I perceive that she is again about to create a
family feud, and separate father and son, grandmother and grandchild.
All her noble sentiments and heroic acting have ever this end in view.
During the period that she concealed herself from us she has evidently
never lost sight of this great aim of her existence, and has closely
calculated events, and bided her time that she might manoeuvre with
additional power and certainty. She has not disgraced us enough; she is
planning the total downfall of our noble house, no matter whom it buries
in the ruins. It is not sufficient that we have to blush for the
_dressmaker_, who would exchange the device graven upon her ancestral
arms for that of a scissors and thimble; but she is laboring to bring
her disgrace nearer and fasten it more permanently upon us."
M. de Bois, who felt that Madeleine was clinging to his arm, as though
her strength was failing, answered for her,--
"The daughter of the Duke de Gramont has not become less noble, madame,
through her noble industry. She has not brought to her own, or any other
cheek, a blush of genuine shame. I, who have watched over her from the
hour that she left the Château de Gramont, claim the proud privilege of
giving this testimony. No duchess has the right to hold her head higher
than the Duke de Gramont's orphan daughter."
Before any one could reply, he led Madeleine from the room, and out of
the house. The movement which Maurice and Bertha, at the same moment,
made to follow her was arrested by the countess. Before they had
recovered themselves, Madeleine was seated in her carriage, and had
driven away. M. de Bois was walking rapidly to his hotel.
CHAPTER XXIV.
FEMININE BELLIGERENTS.
Madeleine's residence was one of the most superb mansions in Washington:
a spacious house, built of white stone, and located within a few
minutes' walk of the capitol. She was in the habit of seeking the
beautiful capitol-grounds every fine morning, before the busy city was
astir, accompanied by Ruth Thornton. The matinal hour devoted to this
refreshing walk was to both maidens the calmest and happiest of the
twenty-four. In that peaceful hour they gained strength to encounter the
petty vexations and _désagrément_ incident to the at once humble and
important vocation they had adopted.
Buried deep in Madeleine's heart there was ever a sadness that could not
be shaken off, but she turned the sunny side of her existence toward
others, and kept the shadow of her great sorrow for herself alone;
therefore her mien was ever tranquil, even cheerful. Possibly, she
suffered less than many whose griefs were not so heavy, because her
meek, uncomplaining spirit tempered the bleak wind that blew over her
bowed head, and rounded the sharp stones that would have cut her feet on
their pilgrimage, had they stepped less softly. Thus she carried within
herself the magic that drew from waspish circumstance its sharpest
sting.
The morning after Madeleine's rencontre with her relatives, a group of
young women were sitting busily employed around a large table in
Mademoiselle Melanie's workroom.
Mademoiselle Victorine, the forewoman, and Mademoiselle Clemence, her
chief assistant, were the only foreigners. They had been in Vignon's
employment, and had accompanied Madeleine to America. The other
workwomen Madeleine had selected herself. Many of them were young girls,
well born, and bred in luxury, who had been compelled by sudden reverses
to earn a livelihood. Madeleine often wondered how so many of this class
had been thrown in her way. In reality, the class is a frightfully
numerous one, and she had an intuitive faculty of discovering those of
whom it was composed. Not only did her instinctive sympathy attract her
toward them, but Mr. Hilson, who was an active philanthropist, had been
largely instrumental in pointing out young women who aspired to become
self-helpers. Madeleine took an affectionate interest in teaching them
a trade which almost rose to the dignity of a profession in her hands.
She became their friend, adviser, and comforter, and thus experienced
the delicious consolation of creating happiness for others after her own
happiness had received its death-blow.
The room in which the busy needle-women were sitting, was the farthest
of a suite of apartments opening into each other, on the second story.
These apartments were somewhat lavishly furnished, but in the strictest
good taste, and the eye was charmed by a profusion of choice plants
blossoming in ornamental flower-vases, placed upon brackets on the wall;
or of orchids floating in pendant luxuriance from baskets attached to
the ceiling. Then, Madeleine had not forgotten the picturesque use so
often made of the ivy in her native land, and had trained the obedient
parasite to embower windows, or climb around frames of mirrors, until
the gilt background gave but a golden glimmer through the dark-green
network of leaves.
Each room was also supplied either with portfolios containing rare
engravings, with musical instruments, or a library.
Rich dresses were displayed upon skeleton frames in one apartment;
mantles and out-of-door wrappings were exhibited in another; bonnets and
head-dresses were exposed to admiring view in a third.
Near the window, not far from the table which was surrounded by the
sewing-women, stood a smaller table where Ruth was engaged, coloring
designs for costumes.
The gossip of the Washington _beau monde_, very naturally furnished a
theme for the lively tongues of the needle-women. They picked up all the
interesting items of fashionable news that dropped from the lips of the
many lady loungers who amused themselves by spending their mornings at
Mademoiselle Melanie's exhibition-rooms, giving orders for dresses,
bonnets, etc., examining new styles of apparel, discussing the most
becoming modes, or idly chattering with acquaintances who visited
Mademoiselle Melanie upon the same important mission as themselves.
Mademoiselle Victorine generally led the conversation at the
working-table, or, rather, she usually monopolized it. It was a source
of great exultation to her if she happened to have a piece of news to
communicate; and this now chanced to be the case.
"Something very important is to take place in this house, probably this
very day!" she began, with a consequential air. "If Mademoiselle
Melanie has a fault, it is that she makes no confidants; and I think I
am fully entitled to her confidence. I should like to know what she
could have done without _me_?"
"What, indeed?" exclaimed several voices, for every one was anxious to
propitiate the forewoman by bestowing upon her the flattery which was
essential to keep her in an equable state of mind.
"When we think of the marvels," continued Mademoiselle Victorine, "that
issue from these walls; the splendid figures that go forth into the
world out of our creative hands,--figures, which, could they be seen
when they rise in the morning, would not be recognizable,--we have cause
for self-congratulation. And Mademoiselle Melanie gets all the credit
for these metamorphoses; though, we all know, she does _nothing_
herself; that is, she merely forms a plan, makes a sketch, selects
certain colors, and that is _all_! The execution, the real work, is
mine--_mine!_ I appeal to you, young ladies, to say if it is not
_mine_?"
"Yes, certainly," said Abby, one of the younger girls; "but without
Mademoiselle Melanie's sketch, without her ideas, her taste, what
would"--
"There--there; you talk too fast, Mademoiselle Abby; you are always
chattering. I say that without _me_ Mademoiselle Melanie would never
have attained her present elevated position; without _me_ this
establishment would never have been what it now is,--a very California
of dressmaking. And, in a little more than four years, what a fortune
Mademoiselle Melanie has accumulated! That brings me back to the point
from which I started. Does any one know what is to happen shortly?" she
inquired, with an air of elation at being the only repository of a
valuable secret.
"No--no--what is it?" asked numerous voices.
"Well, Mademoiselle Ruth, do you say nothing?" inquired the triumphant
forewoman. "Are you not anxious to know?"
Ruth, without lifting her head from the sketch she was coloring,
answered, "Yes, certainly, unless it should be something with which
Mademoiselle Melanie does not desire us to be acquainted."
"Oh, hear the little saint!" returned Victorine. "She does not care for
secrets,--no, of course not! She is only jealous that any one should
know more than herself. She would not express surprise, not she, if I
told her Mademoiselle Melanie is about to pay down ten thousand
dollars--the last payment--upon the purchase of this house, which makes
it hers."
Mademoiselle Victorine concluded with a violent shake of the brocade she
was trimming.
"But did you learn this from good authority?" asked Esther, a slender,
pale-faced girl.
"The very best. I heard Mrs. Hilson say so to some ladies whom she
brought to introduce here; and you know Mr. Hilson transacts all
business matters for Mademoiselle Melanie. Mrs. Hilson told her friends
that Mademoiselle Melanie's establishment was a perfect mint and fairly
coined money. When I heard this assertion I said to myself, 'How little
people understand that without _me_ Mademoiselle Melanie would never
have founded an establishment that was compared to a mint--never!' Yet
_she_ gets all the credit."
"But you see"--began Esther.
Victorine interrupted her.
"What a chatterbox you are, Mademoiselle Esther! You will never get on
with that work if you talk so much. Those festoons want spirit and
grace; you must recommence them, or the dress will be a failure, I warn
you! For whom is it? I have forgotten."
"It is Mrs. Gilmer's, and she expects to wear it at the grand ball to be
given by the Marchioness de Fleury."
"She will be mistaken!" said Victorine. "I know that she will not be
invited. The marchioness hates her; Mrs. Gilmer is the only rival whom
Madame de Fleury takes the trouble to detest; and it makes me indignant
to see a lady of her superlative fascinations annoyed by this little
upstart American. One must admit that Mrs. Gilmer is very pretty; her
figure scarcely needs help, and she is so vivacious, and has so much
_aplomb_, so much dash, that the notice she attracts renders her
alarmingly ambitious. Still, for her to dare to contrast herself with
the French ambassadress is intolerable presumption, and I rejoice that
she will get no invitation to the ball."
"How do you know that she will not be invited?" asked Esther.
"How do I know all that I _do_ know? It is odd to notice with what
perfect lack of reserve the ladies who visit us talk. They chatter away
just as if they thought we were human working-machines, without ears, or
brains, or memories. This singular hallucination makes it not difficult
to become acquainted with certain secrets of fashionable life which one
_clique_ would not make known to another _clique_ for the world."
"But this tittle-tattle"--Esther began.
"Chût, chût," cried the forewoman. "How you chatter, Mademoiselle
Esther; one cannot hear one's self speak for you! Somebody has just
entered the exhibition _salon_; who is it? Mrs. Gilmer, as I'm alive! M.
de Bois is with her; she has come to try on her dress, I suppose. She
may spare herself the pains, for she will not wear it at Madame de
Fleury's ball."
Ruth, whose duty it was to receive visitors, and to summon Victorine, if
they had orders to give, rose and entered the adjoining apartment.
Mrs. Gilmer was one of those light-headed and light-hearted women, who
float upon the topmost and frothiest wave of society, herself a
glittering bubble. To win admiration was the chief object of her life.
The breath of flattery wafted her upward toward her heaven,--that
rapturous state which was heaven to her. To be the _belle_ of every
reunion where she appeared was a triumph she could not forego; and there
were no arts to which she would not stoop to obtain this victory. Madame
de Fleury was a woman of the same stamp, but with all the polish, grace,
and refined coquetry which the social atmosphere of Paris imparts; and
though she had far less personal beauty than Mrs. Gilmer,--less mind,
less wit,--her capacity for using all the charms she possessed gave her
vast advantage over the fair-featured young American.
When Ruth entered the _salon_, Mrs. Gilmer was too much interested in
her conversation with M. de Bois to notice her, and continued talking
with as much freedom as though she was not present.
"I have set my heart upon it!" said she, "and I tell you I _must_
receive an invitation to this ball. Madame de Fleury positively _shall
not_ exclude me. I have already set in motion a number of influential
pulleys, and I am not apt to fail when I make an earnest attempt."
"I am quite aware of that," answered M. de Bois, gallantly.
"Oh, what a love of a dress! What an exquisite design!" exclaimed Mrs.
Gilmer, stopping delighted before a robe which had been commenced, but
was thrown over one of the manikins, with a sketch of the completed
costume attached to the skirt. "The blending of those pale shades of
green and that embroidery of golden wheat, with a scarlet poppy here and
there,--the effect is superb! Then the style, as this sketch shows, is
perfectly novel. I am enchanted! Miss Ruth, I must have that dress! _At
any price_, I must have it!"
"It is to go to New Orleans, madame," replied Ruth. "It was ordered by
Mrs. Senator la Motte, and is to be worn at some grand wedding."
"No matter--I tell you _I must have it!_ Where is Mademoiselle
Victorine?"
Ruth summoned the forewoman. Victorine advanced very deliberately, and
her bearing had a touch of patronage and condescension.
Mrs. Gilmer pleaded hard for the possession of the dress; but
Mademoiselle Victorine appeared to take the greatest satisfaction in
making her understand that its becoming hers was an impossibility. The
more earnestly Mrs. Gilmer prayed, the more inflexible became the
forewoman. As for _repeating_ a design which had been invented for one
particular person, _that_, she asserted, was against all rules of art.
The original design might be feebly, imperfectly copied by other
mantua-makers, but its duplicate could not be sent forth from an
establishment of the standing of Mademoiselle Melanie's.
Mrs. Gilmer, whose white brow was knitted with something very like a
frown, remarked that she would talk to Mademoiselle Melanie on the
subject, by and by.
"Mademoiselle Melanie does not usually reverse _my_ decisions," replied
the piqued forewoman, with an extravagant show of dignity.
"We shall see!" retorted Mrs. Gilmer. "Now let me choose a head-dress
for the opera to-night; something original. What can you invent for me?"
"Really," answered Victorine, who was not a little irate at the
suggestion that there _could_ be any appeal from her verdict; "I do not
feel inspired at this moment; I am quite dull; nothing occurs to me out
of the usual line."
"Oh! you _must_ think!" pleaded the volatile lady. "Invent me something
never before seen; something with flowers will do; but let me have
_impossible_ flowers,--flowers which have no existence, and which I
shall not behold upon every one's else head. Price is no object; my
husband never refuses me anything! Especially," she added in a lower
tone, to M. de Bois, "when he is _jealous_; and I find it very useful,
absolutely _necessary_, to begin the season by exciting a series of
Othello pangs through which he becomes manageable. I feed the jealous
flame all winter, and add fresh fuel in the spring, when I wish to
indulge in various extravagances."
"A very diplomatic arrangement," remarked M. de Bois.
"What a bonnet! What a beauty of a bonnet! what deliciously adjusted
lace! How was it ever made to fall in such folds, over that bunch of
moss roses; peeping out of those quivering leaves, touched with
dew-drops?"
"That bonnet belongs to _Madame de Fleury_," said Victorine, with a
malicious emphasis.
"Ah, indeed!" returned Mrs. Gilmer, changing color. "I wonder what would
become of Madame de Fleury were it not for her toilets! If she were
despoiled of her gay plumage, a very insipid, commonplace looking
personage would remain. I must say, it is rather singular," she
continued, growing warm in spite of herself, "but if I ever happen to
look at anything particularly worth noticing, I am _always told_ it is
for _Madame de Fleury_! Is Mademoiselle Melanie in her drawing-room? Is
she accessible at this moment?"
"She has just come in; Mademoiselle Ruth will conduct you to her,"
answered Victorine, with an offended air.
"M. de Bois, I will be back soon," said Mrs. Gilmer to her escort.
"There are books in abundance in yonder library,--rather an
extraordinary piece of furniture for a dressmaker's _salon_, but,
Mademoiselle Melanie has so much tact, she foresaw that they might be
useful on some occasions."
Mrs. Gilmer followed Ruth to Madeleine's own apartments, which were on
the first floor. Victorine returned to the room where the sewing-women
were at work. Gaston selected a book and seated himself in a comfortable
arm-chair.
He had hardly opened the volume when the Marchioness de Fleury entered,
accompanied by Lord Linden.
As she descended from the carriage she had found his lordship
promenading up and down before the house. He was overjoyed at this
unlooked-for opportunity to obtain admission.
Madame de Fleury saluted Gaston with one of her most gracious smiles.
Victorine, catching sight of the marchioness, hurried forward, saying to
Ruth,--
"Do not trouble yourself, Mademoiselle Ruth, I will have the honor of
attending upon Madame de Fleury."
"That is right, Mademoiselle Victorine; but I am going to intrude into
your _atelier_ of mysteries, and see what _chef d'oeuvres_ you have in
progress."
Judging from Madame de Fleury's tone, one might easily have supposed
that she alluded to pictures or statues, and was about reverently to
enter the studio of some mighty genius, and wonder over his achievements
in marble or on canvas. The apartment she invaded was one which
visitors were not usually invited, or expected, to enter.
The gentlemen were left together.
"I am in luck!" said Lord Linden in an unusually animated tone. "My dear
M. de Bois, I am the happiest of men! I have encountered my unknown
beauty at last! She passed me in a private carriage, which stopped here
and was dismissed. I saw her enter this house not a quarter of an hour
ago. She did not perceive me, and had disappeared before I could accost
her; but I determined to keep watch until she made her exit, and then
either to renew my acquaintance or to follow her home and learn where
she lived. She shall not give me the slip again."
"Are you sure you have not made some mistake? I do not think there is
any lady here, at this moment, except Mrs. Gilmer, whom I accompanied."
"I am perfectly certain I could not be mistaken. I shall make some
excuse for remaining here; I will select a shawl or mantle for my
sister, who is one of this celebrated Mademoiselle Melanie's customers,
and who will not be displeased at such an unprecedented attention."
Before M. de Bois could reply, the marchioness returned with Victorine.
"And you say my dress for this evening will be done in an hour? That is
delightful! I am impatient to test its effects. I am half inclined to
wait until it is finished, and take it home with me."
"It shall be completed _within_ the hour; I am occupied upon it
_myself_," answered Victorine, with a fawning manner, very different
from that by which the banker's wife had been kept in subjection.
"What an original idea!" cried Madame de Fleury, pausing before the
uncompleted dress which had attracted the admiration of Mrs. Gilmer.
"What an exquisite conception! Those blades of golden wheat and those
scarlet poppies make the most perfect trimming for these ravishing
shades of green; just the colors that become me most. That dress is a
triumph, Mademoiselle Victorine!"
"The design is Mademoiselle Melanie's, but the _cut_, the _execution_,
they are _mine_," said the forewoman, complacently.
"And for whom is the dress intended? But I need hardly ask,--I am
determined that it shall be _mine_."
"It was to be sent to New Orleans to Madame la Motte, wife of the
distinguished senator. But, I beg to assure madame that she cannot
judge of this attire; it is nothing now. In a few days, when it is
completed, then madame will be able to see that we have surpassed
ourselves in that dress."
"You have, indeed!" ejaculated Madame de Fleury, with fervor. "But I
claim it. You must invent something else for Madame la Motte.
Mademoiselle Melanie surely will not refuse me."
"If the decision depended upon _me_, the dress would assuredly become
Madame de Fleury's; although the design has been sent to Madame la
Motte, and has met with her approbation; but Mademoiselle Melanie is so
frightfully conscientious, she would not disappoint a customer, or break
her word, or give a design promised one person to another for a kingdom.
She is quite immovable, obstinately unreasonable on these points."
"But I _must_ have that dress," persisted the marchioness. "I cannot be
happy without it! I will implore Mademoiselle Melanie; she will drive me
to despair should she refuse."
"Mrs. Gilmer saw it a few moments ago, and was so enchanted that she did
her utmost to make me promise that the dress should be hers."
"_Hers_, indeed! That impertinent little _parvenue_!" replied Madame de
Fleury. "I would never forgive Mademoiselle Melanie if she consented to
anything of the kind. I suppose the banker's wife imagines this delicate
green would tone down her milk-maid complexion. But she shall not try
the experiment."
At this moment Mrs. Gilmer herself reëntered. The marchioness pretended
not to be aware of her presence, and, turning to the dress in question,
remarked,--
"Yes, this dress _must_ be one of the twelve that I shall order to take
with me to Maryland. Twelve will suffice for one week. I hear Mr.
Meredith's estate could bear comparison with our European country
residences; the toilets of his guests should do honor to their host."
She went on, addressing herself to Gaston. "There are but thirty guests
invited, and I hear that great indignation is felt by _certain persons_
who are not included in the number."
Madame de Fleury's shaft was directed towards Mrs. Gilmer, who was
writhing with vexation, at not forming one of the select party.
Mrs. Gilmer heard, and bit her lips with suppressed rage.
"Twelve dresses!" cried Lord Linden. "Twelve new dresses for seven
days?"
"Quite a moderate supply; but I could not possibly get through the week
with less," answered Madame de Fleury, serenely. "You are invited of
course?"
Lord Linden replied in the affirmative.
"And you, M. de Bois?" inquired the marchioness innocently, though she
was quite aware that he would repeat his lordship's answer, for she had
been consulted in regard to the guests whom it would gratify her to
meet.
Mrs. Gilmer, who was choking with vexation, sought revenge in one of
those petty manoeuvres which women of the world thoroughly understand.
She paused, in the most natural manner, before the hat which she had
just extolled, and which she had been informed was designed for Madame
de Fleury, and said aloud,--
"What a pretty bonnet! Admirably suited to hide the defects of an
uncertain complexion, and hair of no color, neither light nor dark. It
is not too gay or coquettish either; just the thing for a woman of
thirty, who has begun to fade."
"I beg pardon, madame, it is intended for Madame de Fleury," answered
Victorine, reprovingly, and not immediately comprehending the
intentional spite of Mrs. Gilmer's remark.
"Indeed!" returned the latter, still speaking as though she had no
suspicion of the presence of the marchioness; "will it not be rather
_young_ for her? It seems to me that these colors are a _little too
bright_ for a person of _her age_."
"Madame de Fleury is present, and may overhear you," whispered
Victorine, warningly.
"Ah, indeed! I did not perceive her; much obliged to you for telling me,
for she conceals her age so well that I would not mortify her by letting
her suppose that I am aware of her advanced years," continued the
malicious little lady in a very audible tone.
Madame de Fleury was, in reality, but twenty-five, and particularly
sensitive on the subject of her age, or rather of her youth. She
expected to be taken for twenty-two at the most, and had been furious
when Mrs. Gilmer talked of her bonnet as suitable to a person of thirty;
but when her spiteful rival had the audacity to suggest that Madame de
Fleury had even passed that decisive period, she could scarcely contain
her rage. By a sudden impulse she turned and faced the speaker. Both
ladies made a profound courtesy, with countenances expressive of mortal
hatred.
Lord Linden could not help whispering to Gaston, "Feminine belligerents!
Those courtesies were exchanged after the manner that men exchange
blows. It is very strange," he continued, looking about. "I do not see
my fair incognita, though she certainly entered here. I fancy the
marchioness intends to depart; I prefer to linger awhile. There are
several _salons_ yonder; I will steal off quietly and take refuge where
I can watch who passes."
Lord Linden had hardly disappeared before the marchioness remarked to
Victorine, "You said my dress would be ready in an hour, Mademoiselle
Victorine? I will take a short drive and return in that time. Let
Mademoiselle Melanie know that I particularly wish to have an interview
with her. I must see her about that unfinished dress which certainly
shall not go to New Orleans."
She courtesied once more very profoundly to Mrs. Gilmer and departed,
quite forgetting Lord Linden, who was well pleased not to be missed.
"Mademoiselle Melanie will not be so unjust as to let Madame de Fleury
have that dress after refusing it to me," observed Mrs. Gilmer tartly.
"If she is, I _never more_"--
The threat was nipped in the bud, for she well knew no one could replace
the sovereign modiste, and that the loss of Mrs. Gilmer's custom would
not in the least affect Mademoiselle Melanie, who daily refused a crowd
of applicants.
Recovering herself, the banker's wife concluded by saying, "Madame de
Fleury is to return in an hour; very well; I will call somewhat later to
learn Mademoiselle Melanie's decision. If the dress is not mine it
certainly must not be Madame de Fleury's. We shall see if Mademoiselle
Melanie's boasted justice is found wanting, or if she acts up to her
professions."
M. de Bois conducted Mrs. Gilmer to her carriage, and returned to the
_salon_; for he had an especial reason for desiring to see Madeleine;
but, having called during the hours which she scrupulously devoted to
her vocation, he did not feel at liberty to intrude in her private
apartments.
CHAPTER XXV.
THE MESSAGE.
Shortly after M. de Bois returned to the exhibition _salons_, Madeleine
entered the workroom. Gaston could see her moving about among the young
girls, distributing sketches, making smiling comments upon the
occupation of this one and that; pointing out defects or praising
execution. Every face seemed to brighten when it was turned toward her,
and every countenance wore an unmistakable expression of affection. We
might, perhaps, except that of Mademoiselle Victorine, whose high
opinion of her own abilities made her somewhat jealous of Madeleine's
supremacy. Yet, even she experienced an involuntary reverence for the
head of the establishment, though golden dreams of some day leaping into
her place were ever floating through the Frenchwoman's plotting brain.
Beside the table where Ruth was painting, Madeleine made the longest
pause. She seemed disposed to converse with her young favorite; and Ruth
smiled so gratefully that M. de Bois was half reconciled to the delay,
though he had an important reason for wishing to exchange a few words
with Madeleine as soon as possible. The interval before she passed out
of the room to return to her boudoir appeared sufficiently tedious.
Gaston followed her and said,--
"Will you grant me a few moments, or are you very busy this morning?"
"Busy always," replied Madeleine, extending her hand to welcome him;
"but seldom _too_ busy to lack time for my best friend. Will you come to
my own little sanctum?"
The room to which Gaston followed her offered a striking contrast, in
point of furniture, to those which they had just left. Madeleine's
boudoir, though it had an air of inviting comfort, was adorned with
almost rigid simplicity. The only approach to luxury was a tiny
conservatory, she had caused to be built, rendered visible by glass
doors.
Madeleine took her seat before a small rosewood table, and with a pencil
in her hand, and a piece of drawing-paper before her, said, "You will
not mind my sketching as we talk. I have an idea floating through my
head, and I want to throw it off on paper; I can listen and answer, just
as well, with my fingers occupied."
Well might Gaston contemplate her in silent and wondering admiration.
Neither her countenance nor her manner betrayed any trace of the
suffering she must have endured on the day previous. She seemed to have
completely banished its recollection from her thoughts. M. de Bois was
fearful of touching upon the subject, it seemed so wholly to have
vanished from her mind; yet his errand compelled him.
"What courage, what perseverance you possess, Mademoiselle Madeleine! It
is incredible,--inexplicable," he said, at last, as he watched the
delicate fingers moving over the paper.
"There you err," answered Madeleine, brightly. "It is, at least, very
_explicable_, for it is in working that I find my strength, my
inspiration, my consolation! It was _work, incessant work_, which
sustained me when I determined to take a step from which my weaker,
frailer part shrank. A step which utter wretchedness first suggested to
me; which seemed terribly galling, oppressively revolting; which I
ventured upon with inconceivable pain. Yet, as you have seen, I was
enabled, in time, to look upon that step with resignation; I afterwards
contemplated it with pride; I now regard it with positive pleasure. This
could never have been had I not resolved to resist all temptation to
brood over grief, and turned to work as a refuge from sorrow."
"And it is really true, then, that you, a lady of noble birth, dropping
from so high a sphere into one not merely humble, but laborious, find
your vocation a pleasure at last."
"It is most true," said Madeleine lifting her beautiful eyes, with such
a radiant expression that the genuineness of her reply could not be
doubted. "When one has, for years, lived upon the bare suffrage of
others, no matter how dear,--when one has had no home except that which
was granted through courtesy, compassion, charity,--you cannot conceive
how delicious it is to dream of independence, of a home of one's own!
And this sweet dream has become reality to me more speedily and more
surely than my most sanguine hopes dared to anticipate. Think, in what a
rapid, an almost miraculous manner my undertaking has prospered; by what
magic my former life (that of an aristocratic lady who employed herself
a little, but without decided results) has been exchanged for the
delights of a life of active use, bringing forth golden fruition! In a
word, how suddenly my poverty has been turned to wealth,--at all events,
to the certain promise of opulence. And the most delightful sense of all
is the internal satisfaction of knowing that I have done this _myself_,
unaided; save, indeed, by the kindness, the counsel, the invisible
protection of such a friend as you are, and such a friend as Mr. Hilson
has proved."
"We have done nothing--but watch and admire."
"Nothing?" answered Madeleine, with gentle reproach. "Who helped me
carry out all my projects? When a man's hand was needed, who stretched
out his? but always with such prudence and delicacy that I could not be
compromised. How helpless I should have been in Paris without you! And
how many mistakes might I not have committed in America without Mr.
Hilson's aid! Little did he think, when he dined at the Château de
Gramont, with a noble family, and asked one of its members to promise
that if she ever visited America she would apprise him of her presence
there,--little could he imagine how soon she would make a home in his
native land, and of what inestimable aid his friendship would be to
her."
"He has been truly serviceable," answered Gaston. "His advice was always
good, and in nothing better than in deciding you to take this house,
which you, at first thought too magnificent; he was wise, also, in
persuading you to furnish it so luxuriously. He comprehended, better
than you or I did, that a certain amount of pomp and show would make a
desirable impression upon the inhabitants even of a republican country."
"Yes, I have cause to thank him for that counsel. And when I reflect
that this house, which I at first thought too splendid, will soon become
my own, I can hardly believe my good fortune. To-day, or to-morrow, I am
to make the last payment of ten thousand dollars, and the house will be
mine, clear of all incumbrance. I have the money ready, and probably
before night it will be paid. This very morning, when I returned home,
as I entered the door, I could not but pause suddenly, and say to
myself, 'Is this no dream? Have I a home of my own, at last? Will this
elegant mansion to-day become mine, and through the toil of'"--
"'Fairy fingers,'" interrupted Gaston.
"Something magical, I am inclined to admit," returned Madeleine, gayly.
"But had it not been for the earnest counsels of Mr. Hilson, I should
never have felt justified in living in my present style; he convinced me
that the money I expended in surrounding myself with all the elegances
of life was laid out at interest; and I suppose he is right; these
elegances have perhaps drawn the rich to my door."
"What was it that drew the poor?" asked Gaston. "You have tried to keep
your charities as secret from me as your noble birth was kept from
others, but accident has made me acquainted with more than you are
aware. I know with what liberal hands you have succored the needy."
"Those who have endured the sharp sting of poverty themselves may well
feel for the poor," replied Madeleine. "And yet, I do little enough for
my poor human sisters and brothers; but we are gossiping very idly. Did
you not say that you particularly wished to speak to me? It was not
simply to make these sage reflections, was it?"
"No; but I shrank from touching upon the subject while you seemed so
serene and happy. I could not bear to recall the painful interview with
your family yesterday, when they--they--they"--
"When they cast me off!--spurned me as one degraded! Do not fear to
speak out. My aunt is implacable,--I might have known that she would
be,--and Count Tristan is the same."
"What matter? You have no need of their affection. And yet, the day will
come when they will all seek you, and be proud and glad to claim you. I
say it, and I feel it!"
Madeleine shook her head.
"And they did not _all_ throw you off. Was not Mademoiselle Bertha just
what she always is? And was not Maurice,--though he appeared to be so
completely overwhelmed that he could not command his voice,--was he not
the same as ever?"
"_Was_ he the same, think you?" asked Madeleine, eagerly.
"Yes, I am sure of it; and I come here to-day as his messenger,--or,
rather, as the herald of his coming."
Madeleine trembled, in spite of herself. The thought of beholding
Maurice once more, of conversing with him, of listening to him, affected
her too strongly for her to be able even to _assume_ indifference.
M. de Bois regarded her with an air of exultation.
"I have judged you rightly, then, and you are unchanged. Maurice is not
less dear to you than"--
Madeleine's hand, appealingly lifted, checked him.
For a few moments she remained silent. When her tranquillity was
somewhat restored, she said slowly, but in an altered tone,--
"You are the messenger of Maurice; what did he request you to say to
me."
"He commissioned me to let you know that he earnestly desired an
interview with you, at once,--and alone,--free from interruption. He
entreats you to receive him to-day. I promised, as soon as I could make
known to you his petition, that I would return to him with your
answer;--he awaits it impatiently. What answer shall I give him?"
"He may come," answered Madeleine, in a tone of suppressed emotion.
"I will tell him that he may be here in an hour?" said Gaston
interrogatively, for he saw the mighty struggle Madeleine was making to
control herself, and thoughtfully desired to give her some little time
for preparation.
Madeleine bowed her head in acquiescence.
Gaston had too much delicacy to prolong the conversation. He bade her
adieu and at once sought Maurice.
CHAPTER XXVI.
MEETING OF LOVERS.
M. de Bois lost no time in communicating to Maurice the result of his
visit. He found the young viscount awaiting him with torturing
impatience. Gaston had scarcely said that Madeleine would receive her
cousin in an hour, when Maurice, without heeding the last words, caught
up his hat, convulsively grasped his friend's hand, and, without
uttering a syllable, hurried forth.
He was acquainted with Madeleine's residence,--he had sought it out the
night previous,--and thither he now hastened. He bounded up the street
door-steps, but paused a moment as his hand touched the bell. Was he
again about to look upon that face which he had sought with such
fruitless, but frenzied ardor? He thought of those days when all
creation became a blank because that heaven-lit countenance no longer
shone upon him. His brain and heart throbbed and beat at those
tumultuous recollections until both seemed mingled in one wild motion.
He comprehended Madeleine's character so well that he knew he should
find her tranquil and self-possessed; and was he about to enter her
presence as voiceless and unmanned as during their brief rencontre the
day previous?
He turned to descend the steps in the hope of collecting his scattered
faculties, by walking awhile, but the very thought of delaying, even for
a few moments, an interview for which he had so long pined caused him
too sharp anguish for endurance; he seized the bell, and rang with as
sudden an impulse as though he feared the mansion before which he stood
would vanish away, and he would awake from one of the old dreams by
which he had been haunted.
The door opened and he was at once conducted to Madeleine's boudoir.
Madeleine was still sitting before the little table where Gaston de Bois
had left her. The sketch she had commenced lay before her, and the
pencil beside it; but though she had not moved from her seat, the
drawing had not received an additional touch.
As Maurice entered she rose, and advanced toward him, stretching out
both her hands. Closely clasping those extended hands, he gazed upon her
with an expression of rapture. For a moment, the large, clear windows of
her soul opened as naturally and frankly as ever; but his look was so
full of unutterable tenderness that over her betraying eyes the lids
dropped suddenly, and her face crimsoned, it might be with happiness
which she felt bound to conceal.
Madeleine was the first to speak; but the only words she murmured were,
"Maurice!--my dear cousin!"
How her accents thrilled him! How they brought back the time when that
voice, which made all the music of his existence, was suddenly hushed,
and awful silence took its place, leaving the memory of departed tones
ever sounding in his aching, longing ears!
"Madeleine!--have I found you at last? Oh, how long we have been lost to
each other!"
"_You_ have never been lost to _me_," answered Madeleine involuntarily;
but the words were hardly spoken when she repented them.
"I know it; M. de Bois kept you informed of my movements. But, ah,
Madeleine, how could you be aware of my anguish, and so cruelly refuse a
sign by which I might learn that you were near me?"
"I had no alternative. I could not have carried out the project I had
formed, and which"--Madeleine paused, and looked around her somewhat
proudly, then added, "and which you now see crowned with success, if I
had run the risk of your tracing me. You would have opposed my
undertaking,--do you not feel that you would? Answer that question,
before you reproach me."
"Yes, you are right, Madeleine; I fear I should have opposed your
enterprise. And yet, believe me, I honor it,--I honor you all the more
on account of that very undertaking. Thank Heaven, I have lived long
enough in this land, where men (and women too) have sufficient courage
to use their lives, and senseless idlers are the exceptions; to realize
that man's work and woman's work are alike glorious; that labor is
dignified by the hand that toils; and that you, Madeleine, the daughter
of a duke,--you, the duchess-mantua-maker, have reached a higher
altitude through that very labor than your birth could ever command."
"Maurice,--my cousin, my dear, dear cousin!--these words compensate me
for all my trials and struggles. I hardly dared to dream that I should
hear them for your lips. Ah, to-day,--to-day when I am about to
accomplish one of the ends for which I have most earnestly
toiled,--to-day when I shall become full possessor of this mansion,
henceforth a home of my own,--this day will ever be full of precious
memories to me; it will be written upon my book of life moistened with
the sweetest tears I ever shed,--tears of gratitude and joy."
"You are to purchase this magnificent mansion? Is it possible?" asked
Maurice, for the first time looking around him. "How can you have
achieved this, Madeleine? You have had some friend who aided you,
and"--he paused abruptly.
"I _have_ had friends, Maurice, warm and devoted friends," answered
Madeleine, simply.
"But," he resumed, and hesitated, "how--how has all this been brought
about? Ah, Madeleine, I have not forgotten, I cannot forget the sad
revelation you made to me in Brittany. He whom you love,--it is
_he_,--_he_ who has protected you, who has enjoyed the exquisite
happiness of aiding you by his advice, and by his own means perhaps"--
Maurice uttered these words excitedly and almost in a tone of reproach.
"No, Maurice," returned Madeleine, growing ghastly pale, and speaking
with an effort which gave her voice a hollow, unnatural sound. "He whom
I love has never aided me,--I have received no assistance from him,--I
have given him no right to offer any."
"He whom you love!" repeated Maurice with culminating anguish. "Then you
love him,--you _do_ love him still? Answer me, Madeleine. Do not torture
me by suspense! Answer me,--you love him still?"
"_As ever!_" replied Madeleine, and an irrepressible blush chased the
ashy whiteness of her cheeks.
"And he is _here_,--here in America,--here in Washington?" asked
Maurice.
"Yes."
"And you see him? You have seen him perhaps this very day?"
"Yes."
"And he loves you,--loves you as much as ever?"
Madeleine silently bowed her head, but the radiant light that overspread
her countenance answered more unmistakably than the affirmative action.
"Ah, Madeleine, can you think, can you believe that his love equals
mine? You do not answer; speak, I implore you! _Do_ you believe that
_he_ has loved you as _I_ love you?"
Madeleine felt impelled to reply because she deemed it best for Maurice
to be confirmed in his error. In a low, tremulous tone, and with her
eyes swimming in the soft lustre of a half-formed tear, she murmured,
"Yes."
"No! no! It cannot be!" burst forth Maurice. "No woman was ever loved
_twice_ with such absorbing devotion. You cannot be to him what you are
to me! You cannot have saved him from all the perils from which you have
saved me! Ah, Madeleine, since you have been selected to fill the place
of a guardian angel to me, why, why was my love rejected? Why did
another rob me of your heart? Why were you willing to unite your fate to
his and not to mine?"
"Maurice," said Madeleine, regaining some degree of composure, "I shall
never forget the noble offer you made me when I was a desolate outcast;
I shall never forget the joy it gave me,--the gratitude it caused
me,--the good it did me, at the very moment when I was forced, _ay
forced_ to reject that offer. But had there been no other barrier could
I have consented to become a burden to you? I,--poor and
friendless,--_could_ I have consented to draw down the anger of your
family upon you? _Could_ I have consented to separate you from them?--to
make a lasting feud between you? Say, Maurice, would you have had me do
this?"
"I would have had you leave me still a hope upon which I could have
existed, until I had fitted myself to enter an honorable profession;
until I had a prospect of earning an independence through that
profession; until I had the right to say to you (as I now might, were
you but mine in heart), Madeleine, I have waited patiently, and toiled
earnestly,--will you share my narrow means, my almost poverty? Will you
be my wife? We might have been exiles, so to speak, for we should
perhaps have been cast off by our own kindred, and might never have
returned to our native land; but your presence would have made this new
country,--this young Hercules of lands,--this land full of sinews, bones
and muscle, not yet clothed with rounded symmetry of outward form, but
fresh and strong and teeming with promise, a true home to us. Its vast,
ever-growing mind would have given new expansion to our own mental
faculties. We should have grown spiritually, and reached nobler heights
together. If we had griefs to endure, grief itself would have been sweet
to me if we drank it from the same cup. All this might have been,
Madeleine, if you had loved me as I love you."
Madeleine passed her hand over her eyes as if to shut out some picture
of blinding brightness conjured before them by his words; and, looking
up with forced serenity, said,--
"Maurice, though I cannot be your wife, do you refuse to let me take the
place of a sister?--a sister who loves you with the most tender
affection,--who will rejoice in your joy and share your sorrow, and look
upon her own life as brighter if she brightens yours? Since it has been
the will of Heaven that we should meet again before the time I proposed
arrived, there is no need that we should become strangers to each other.
Because I cannot be _all_ that you desire, you will not reject such
affection as I _can_ offer you?"
"Reject it? No, _rejection_ has only emanated from your side," he
continued bitterly. "I was and am unworthy of your affection, your
confidence; but what you will grant I will thankfully receive, too poor
not to feel enriched even by your coldest regard."
"Will you prove that to me, Maurice?"
"Yes; how can I do so?"
"By promising that you will never have a sorrow which you do not confide
to me; by promising that you will never doubt my ready sympathy; more
yet,--by giving me an invaluable privilege,--one which will make me
proud indeed. Do not be offended, Maurice; but--but--should you ever
need means to carry out any enterprise (and you know, in this land, how
many offer themselves), I would claim the privilege of being your
banker, and joining in your undertaking as freely as if I were indeed
your sister."
"You, Madeleine? Can you imagine that I could force myself to consent to
this? You are already rich then?"
"I am becoming rich,--I have laid the foundation of wealth. But tell me
that you do not reject my sisterly regard, my devotion"--
"Would he whom you love permit this devotion?"
"Yes," answered Madeleine, smiling gravely.
"It would not render him wretched? It would not exasperate him?"
questioned Maurice.
"No."
"He is not jealous, then?"
"Yes, I fear he is,--very jealous; but not of _you_."
"And yet, he has cause," returned Maurice, with violence which he could
not control; "more cause than I trust he has of being jealous of any
other man; and there may be, _must_ be other men who aspire to love you.
Your position, Madeleine, must expose you, at times, to impertinence;
you must need protection."
"I have a talisman within which protects me ever," answered Madeleine.
"Ah, I know,--the love you bear _him_, my rival! Let us not speak of
him. I cannot endure it; let us ever banish him from our conversation."
"I did not mean to make you suffer," said Madeleine, soothingly.
Before he could reply, Victorine entered with a mysterious air. Her
countenance intimated that she had a matter of the utmost importance
upon her mind.
Habituated to some of the little, pleasant, and _supposed to be_
harmless customs of her own country, she could not comprehend that
Mademoiselle Melanie appeared to have no lovers, that she entertained no
gentleman in particular. M. de Bois was so openly her _friend_ that
mystery never attached itself to his visits. Mr. Hilson was a frequent
visitor, but he was a married man, whose wife and daughters were among
the most zealous of Mademoiselle Melanie's patrons. Victorine was always
on the _qui vive_ for the accession of a lover, as a necessary appendage
to one in Mademoiselle Melanie's position; and, at this moment, she felt
as though she had a clew to some intrigue.
Instead of speaking in an audible tone, she approached Madeleine, and
glancing dubiously at Maurice, said, in a whisper, "Mademoiselle, I have
something to communicate."
"What is it?" asked Madeleine, without the slightest embarrassment.
"A gentleman desires to see Mademoiselle Melanie immediately, and _in
private_," whispered Victorine. "He particularly said _in private_, and,
evidently he is very desirous of not being seen. He was quite confused
when that stupid valet ushered him into the exhibition-rooms; but
fortunately, I came to his assistance. He was so anxious to escape
observation that he _would_ follow me downstairs; I therefore ushered
him into Mademoiselle's private drawing-room."
"Did you not ask his name?" inquired Madeleine, quietly.
"He would not give his name, mademoiselle. He said I must deliver you
this note when no one was by, or slip it in your hand unperceived."
She spoke in a whisper, and gave the note with her back turned to
Maurice, probably supposing that he was not aware of its delivery.
Madeleine broke the seal quite openly. At the first line, however, she
changed color, and was visibly disturbed. Victorine, who was watching
her closely, exulted in secret. Maurice perceived Madeleine's agitation
with surprise and pain. A suspicion that the letter was from his rival
could not be escaped.
"What is it?" he asked, impulsively.
"I cannot tell you," replied Madeleine, hastily refolding the letter.
"Can you not tell me from whom this letter comes?"
"No--no!" she replied with unusual vehemence.
"Alas! I know too well," returned Maurice sadly. "But why should you be
agitated and troubled by what he says? What right has he to give you
pain?"
"You must leave me--leave me at once!" cried Madeleine, nervously.
Victorine was enchanted; the plot thickened! Here was a mystery, and she
held the clew to it! It was very plain that Mademoiselle Melanie did not
wish these two gentlemen to meet.
"Victorine, you will conduct monsieur"--said Madeleine. "I do not wish
him to leave by the front entrance; you will conduct him through the
garden."
There was a private entrance into the street through the large garden at
the back of the house; but this was the first time that Victorine had
ever received an order to show any visitor out by that way, and she felt
she was beginning to be admitted to Mademoiselle Melanie's
confidence,--an honor for which she had long sighed.
Maurice was about to remonstrate, but Madeleine said to him,
imploringly, "Can you not trust me? Will you not consent to my wishes,
and trust to their being explained some future day?"
Maurice, though tormented by the keenest pangs of jealousy, could not
resist this appeal.
"I trust you ever, Madeleine," he replied, taking up his hat. "When may
I see you again?"
"When you choose; you are always welcome; but go now. Show monsieur
_through the garden_, Victorine."
Victorine smiled a mysterious assent. Maurice followed her out of the
room, but Madeleine's intention was unexpectedly frustrated.
The visitor whom Victorine had ushered into the drawing-room had
followed her unnoticed to the small entry which led into Madeleine's
boudoir. The forewoman and Maurice had only taken a few steps when they
encountered him.
Maurice exclaimed in astonishment, "Good heavens, my father!"
"You here, Maurice," returned the count in a severe tone.
"Are you not here, my father?"
"That is different," answered the count, hiding his annoyance beneath a
frigid air. "You heard what your grandmother said. She would be
indignant if she knew of this visit, and you must be aware that it does
not meet with _my_ approval."
"Have I reason to think so when I find you here also?" replied Maurice,
in a manly tone.
"I come as the head of the family, and to talk upon a family matter of
great importance. I do not, however, wish that my visit here should be
known to any one. You understand me,--it is not to be mentioned."
"Be assured I shall not mention it," said Maurice, bowing and moving
onward.
As the gentlemen had met, Victorine concluded there was now no need of
showing the way through the garden entrance. She opened the door of the
boudoir to admit Count Tristan, and then led the way to the entrance
from the street. Maurice did not comprehend why Madeleine's orders were
disregarded; for he never suspected that his father was the writer of
the note.
At the sound of a footstep on the stair, the viscount raised his head,
and caught sight of a gentleman who had commenced descending, but
suddenly turned back, as though he also did not wish to be seen. He
could not, however, disappear before Maurice had recognized Lord Linden.
Why should Lord Linden have so rapidly retreated when he thought he
might be seen? Could this languid, _blasé_ nobleman be the man Madeleine
loved? Could she have been acquainted with him in France? When could
their acquaintance have commenced? Why had she never mentioned him? It
was very singular.
Maurice left the house he had entered with such joyous sensations, sadly
and slowly. Madeleine was found at last, yet Madeleine was again lost to
him!
CHAPTER XXVII.
COUNT TRISTAN'S POLICY.
When Count Tristan was ushered into Madeleine's presence, he was
received, not perhaps with warmth, but with marked courtesy. Nothing in
her greeting betrayed that his past conduct was remembered, and yet
nothing in her manner indicated that their relationship was unforgotten.
Her demeanor was simply that which would have been natural and
appropriate in receiving, beneath her own roof, one who was almost a
stranger.
The count had been completely disconcerted by the unexpected meeting
with his son; his wily smoothness was too much ruffled for him to couch
his first words in polite language; he could not forbear saying,--
"I entertained the hope that my visit would be private; it is very
unfortunate that I encountered Maurice; it will give him cause to think
that I am opposed to his grandmother's course." He smoothed over this
slip of the tongue by adding, "And, certainly, so I am! I disapprove of
her excessive rigor; her conduct toward you does not meet with my full
sanction."
It was the unintentional expression of Madeleine's countenance, perhaps,
which made Count Tristan remember that his own conduct had strongly
resembled that of his mother. But his auditor spoke no word; she was too
kind to utter her thoughts, and too frank to say what she did not think.
The count went on,--
"I could not yield to my strong impulse yesterday, and defend you; it
would not have done; my mother would only have been exasperated. I was
forced apparently to agree with her. The sacred title of 'mother,'
which is never to be forgotten, compelled me to yield her this
respect,--a respect due alike to her years and to her position. But, now
that we are alone, I may tell you how pained, how grieved I was at the
occurrences of yesterday."
"I no longer think of them," replied Madeleine.
"As I said," continued the count, "when you left us so mysteriously in
Brittany, however troubled we might have been at your sudden step,
however anxious about your welfare, it was useless to be indignant,
since you thought your course the right one, and you were ever
conscientiousness personified; besides it should always be taken into
consideration that, come what might, you are still our relation; the
ties of blood are indissoluble. I said to my mother, 'It can never be
forgotten that Madeleine is your niece.'"
"I would have had her forget it," replied Madeleine. "I preserved my
incognita, and kept at a distance from you all that you might not be
wounded by the remembrance."
"But be sure, Madeleine, that I, for one, cannot forget our
relationship, nor cease to treat you as my niece."
Madeleine could not but be touched by this unexpected declaration. She
answered, gratefully, "It is more than I ask, yet I thank you."
"Yes," returned the count, "and to prove to you how far I am from
looking down upon you,--how much I honor your position, and how highly I
esteem you,--how thoroughly I comprehend your character, and the
readiness with which you always serve others,--I come here to-day to ask
a favor at your hands."
"Is it possible?" exclaimed Madeleine, delightedly. "You make me truly
happy. Can I, indeed, serve you? You could scarcely have spoken words
that had more power to gladden me."
"That is precisely what I imagined," answered the count, complacently.
"Now let me explain the matter. You have often heard me speak of the
property left to Maurice by his uncle. It is now almost our sole
possession. Its value depends upon the railroad which may or may not run
through that portion of the country. A committee of nine persons has
been selected to decide whether this road shall run to the right or
left. If they choose the road to the right, the property of Maurice will
not be benefited, and--and--and--I cannot enter into particulars,
but--but--it is almost valueless. If they choose the left road, the
value of the estate will be so much increased that it will yield
us,--that is, will yield my son something very handsome. Of this
committee, Mr. Hilson and Mr. Meredith will vote for the left road, and,
through the influence of Madame de Fleury, for which I am indebted to
you, M. de Fleury's banker, Mr. Gobert, will also vote for the left:
that secures us three votes."
"How glad I am that I was able to accomplish something to serve you!"
said Madeleine.
"There is much more, I trust, that you will be able to accomplish. The
votes of Mr. Gilmer and Mr. Rutledge must be gained,--the only two which
it seems possible to obtain; for the other gentlemen are inflexible in
their decision. Mrs. Gilmer is one of your customers. I hear that she
raves about you; if that is the case, you can do anything with her, and
_she_ will manage her _husband_. Have you no mode of winning her over to
our side?"
Madeleine pondered a moment, then answered gayly,--
"Yes, I have at my command one method that is certain,--_perfectly
certain_. Mrs. Gilmer is very desirous of receiving an invitation to
Madame de Fleury's ball. The marchioness has left her out on purpose.
Mrs. Gilmer has made numerous efforts, but, thus far, unsuccessful ones,
to obtain this invitation; if I could secure it for her she would gladly
repay me by inducing her husband to vote as you desire."
"Bravo! Bravo! we shall succeed; for you can surely obtain the
invitation. Madame de Fleury herself said that she was enchanted at the
opportunity of obliging you,--that she could not do too much to show her
great consideration."
"Yes; but you can scarcely comprehend the difficulty of persuading her
to consent to invite Mrs. Gilmer. She mortally detests her, and I could
offer few petitions which she would be less likely to grant. Still, I
will use strong arguments,--powerful inducements. I will endeavor to
think of some temptation which she cannot resist."
"That is just what I believed you would do, my dear Madeleine," said the
count, taking her hand.
Madeleine withdrew it, though not too abruptly. The contact gave her,
magnetically, as it were, a painful impression.
"But how," she asked, "is Mr. Rutledge to be reached?"
"Through you,--through _you_ again, my kind, good Madeleine," answered
the count, hilariously.
"Through _me_? I do not know him except by name. He is a bachelor;
therefore there is no wife who can be induced to become a mediator."
"No, there is no wife, to be sure, but there is a lady-love whom he
hopes to make his wife, and she, also, is one of your patrons; it is the
sister of Lord Linden; you might solicit her, or you might obtain her
influence through his lordship."
"Through his lordship? That is not possible," replied Madeleine,
decisively.
"Surely it may be," remarked the count, "since you are acquainted with
him, and I have faith in your powers of persuasion."
Madeleine looked very much astonished as she answered, "What has made
you imagine that I have any acquaintance with Lord Linden?"
"I saw him upstairs in one of your _salons_, sitting in a comfortable
arm-chair, as though he were very much at home, reading a book."
Madeleine looked confounded.
"Lord Linden?"
"Yes; you will therefore admit that it was quite natural for me to
suppose that he had the _entrée_ here?"
"I did not know that he was in the house!" returned Madeleine,
ingenuously. "He has never been here before to my knowledge. I once was
thrown in contact with him in travelling from New York to Washington.
The cars met with an accident and he broke his arm; I, being unhurt, was
of some little assistance; but I have never seen him since."
"Then it is a most fortunate chance," resumed Count Tristan, "that
brings him here. Through him you can influence his sister,--through her
the vote of Mr. Rutledge will be secured, and these two votes gained;
the road to the left will be chosen, and for this I shall be wholly your
debtor. Truly, Madeleine, you are the fairy Maurice used to call you in
old times; for you have the power, the gift of working wonders, and you
always _had_!"
"Cousin Tristan,"--began Madeleine, seriously, then paused; "do you
allow me still to call you so?"
"Yes,--yes, undoubtedly; and especially when we are alone. Call me
_cousin_, certainly; but what did you wish to say?"
"You must find some other advocate as far as Mr. Rutledge is concerned.
I fear I have not sufficient influence with Lady Augusta Linden to make
this request, or to induce her to grant it, or to prevent her thinking
the petition itself an impertinence."
"That does not matter; you can manage the affair through Lord Linden,
and the opportunity presents itself this very moment, since he is
here,--here under your own roof."
"I cannot see him,--I particularly desire not to see him; there are
reasons which must prevent my asking any favor at his hands. It is
totally out of my power to do what you desire."
"But it is of the greatest importance, Madeleine; this opportunity must
not be thrown away. What would Maurice think if he believed that you
refused to serve him at such a critical moment?"
"Maurice, if he knew all which I could tell him, would be the first to
forbid my appealing to Lord Linden. I pray you to seek some other means
of influencing Mr. Rutledge; he cannot be reached through me."
"I have no other!" cried the count, with desperate energy. "My sole
dependence is upon you. And, Madeleine, this is not the mere question of
gain: more than I dare confide to you depends upon the decision of that
committee."
Madeleine made no response, but her manner plainly manifested that she
was not prepared to retract what she had said.
"Madeleine," continued the count, with ill-disguised anger, and feeling
that he had no alternative but to make a confession which humbled him to
the dust, "this property was held in trust by me; my difficulties, my
embarrassments, have been overwhelming: they have brought me to the
verge of absolute ruin. A man may be placed in positions where he is
forced into actions from which he would otherwise shrink; this was my
case. I obtained from Maurice a power of attorney which he thinks I have
never used,--but--but--impelled by my troubles, and without his
knowledge, I have been induced,--women cannot understand business
matters; it was a course that could not be avoided,--I have been forced
to compromise the interest of Maurice; I have been compelled to mortgage
his estate so heavily that it is valueless unless this road augments its
present worth. Do you not see what is at stake? Will you not exert
yourself to save me, to save Maurice from the mortification of knowing
that I have committed an action which might be misconstrued,--which
might be condemned,--might be considered,"--the count paused, overcome
with shame.
Madeleine hesitated; for the sake of Maurice she could endure to be
misunderstood,--she could submit to place herself in a position which
humbled and compromised her.
The count saw that her resolution was shaken, and he did not lose his
advantage.
"Remember that Maurice is beginning life; he has imbibed the sanguine
spirit of the land in which he has lately lived. What a sudden and
crushing blow to him will be the revelation that awaits him! Can _you_
bear to contemplate its effect? _I_ cannot. Answer, Madeleine; he has
suffered much, much for _your_ sake: will you, will you make him suffer
more?"
"No!" answered Madeleine, firmly. "Come what may, I will see Lord
Linden, and obtain his influence with his sister _if I can_."
"There spoke the Madeleine of other days!"
Madeleine interrupted him: "Spare me your praises; I do not deserve
them. If Lord Linden is here, as you say, I will see him at once."
"That is right; you are prompt as ever. I will take my leave. It may not
be well for him to see me here. Success to you, Madeleine! But you
always command success. It is a condition of your existence."
The count withdrew, and Madeleine, with a sad countenance, only waited
until the street door closed upon him, to keep her promise and seek Lord
Linden.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
LORD LINDEN'S DISCOVERY.
Lord Linden, who had resolved not to leave the house until he had
discovered his incognita, waited with laudable patience, closely
scanning every lady who passed through the adjoining apartments. His
position did not command a view of the workroom. An hour passed, and he
began to get puzzled. The non-appearance of the lady who had entered the
house was inexplicable, unless she resided there. His perplexity was
momentarily increasing, when he saw Count Tristan in conversation with
the forewoman. They left the apartment together. It then occurred to
Lord Linden that there might be other exhibition-rooms in the lower
story, and he had better reconnoitre. He had made up his mind to do
this, and was descending the stair, when he caught sight of Maurice de
Gramont and involuntarily retreated. What was Count Tristan doing here?
What brought his son here? Neither of the gentlemen were accompanied by
ladies. He returned to his former station, uncertain what step to take
next. Just then, Victorine passed through the apartment on her way to
the workroom. He accosted her and inquired if there were exhibition
rooms on the lower floor. She informed him that the first story was
reserved by Mademoiselle Melanie for her own use.
Lord Linden returned to his arm-chair, and had just made up his mind
that the lady of whom he was in search had visited Mademoiselle Melanie
in her own apartments and left the house again, when he was startled,
astounded, and overjoyed by the sight of the very being he sought,
tranquilly approaching him.
Madeleine looked serious, even sad; for she had consented to stoop to an
action which mortified her deeply.
Lord Linden was so thoroughly amazed at her sudden appearance that he
could not move,--could not collect himself to address her.
She courtesied, and said, with grave sweetness,--
"I was only informed a few moments ago of your presence here, my Lord."
Lord Linden rose and stammered out, "Is it possible? Do I really behold
you? This morning I saw you enter this house. I gained my admission as
Madame de Fleury's escort, and lingered in the hope of seeing you after
she left."
Lord Linden did not know how to proceed. He had expected to encounter
his incognita wearing her hat and mantle. He had supposed that her visit
to the residence of the celebrated _couturière_ was to make some
purchase. To behold her so apparently at home bewildered him.
Madeleine perfectly comprehended his perplexity, and, with the utmost
composure, attempted to clear away the mist from his mind by saying,--
"I beg pardon; I was not aware that you accompanied Madame de Fleury. As
I have the honor of numbering Lady Augusta Linden, your lordship's
sister, among my customers, I thought"--
"Customers? Your customers? You, then, are"--
"Mademoiselle Melanie, the mantua-maker," answered Madeleine with an
unfaltering voice.
"_You?_ Can it be?"
Pointing in the direction of the workroom, she answered with a
half-smile, "Yonder are a number of witnesses who can testify to my
identity."
Lord Linden, trying to conceal the shock he had received, and gazing
upon her with admiration, exclaimed, in an impassioned tone,--
"Ever since I first met you, when you were returning from"--
"From New York," broke in Madeleine, "where I went to choose silks and
velvets and other feminine paraphernalia for the use of my customers."
Lord Linden was again discomfited. After a moment he went on,--
"I have sought you everywhere. I was certain I should find you in the
first drawing-rooms in Washington."
"You find me in a _salon_ which a great many ladies visit before they
enter those drawing-rooms."
"It is incredible!"
"To me it seems very comprehensible," answered Madeleine stoically.
He looked into her lovely countenance and continued, with increasing
fervor,--
"I have never ceased to think of you. No other woman has had power to
efface your image. Having known you, without ever suspecting who and
what you are"--
Madeleine interrupted him.
"Now that you are aware _who_ I am and _what_ I am, my lord, it becomes
easier to dissipate any illusion which owes its origin to a mystery with
which you were pleased to surround me."
"To _exchange_ my illusions, perhaps, for others, more captivating, more
poetic," resumed the nobleman.
"Do you talk of poetry, my lord, to a mantua-maker?"
"Say, rather, to one who, in spite of her vocation, inspires me with the
most absolute veneration. I swear to you--But no, my actions, not my
words, must prove my admiration. You shall find me ever at your command.
I shall count it the greatest happiness of my life to devote myself to
your service."
"My lord, you tempt me to put your words to the test."
"Do so, I pray you. It is what I most desire."
"By a singular chance," said Madeleine, "one of those marvellous
coincidences which sometimes occur in real life, but which look like
fiction when they are related in books, an opportunity presents itself
that may enable you to prove the sincerity of your protestations. You
must understand that I am a woman of business. But that is easily
comprehended, as I am a woman who toils for her daily bread. I take
great interest in the decision of the committee of a certain railroad
company, one of the members of which I desire to influence."
Lord Linden looked stupefied, and almost as if he thought Madeleine were
making a jest of him. But her grave manner contradicted that suggestion.
She went on as tranquilly as before,--
"They are to decide, at their next meeting, whether a certain railroad
shall take the direction to the right or left. I desire that the left
road should be chosen."
Lord Linden still regarded her as though he were too completely
astounded to make any comment.
"Certain members of the committee will, I am aware, vote for the left
road. I wish to secure the vote of Mr. Rutledge."
"Mr. Rutledge!" exclaimed Lord Linden. "I know him well."
"He is the warm admirer of Lady Augusta Linden," observed Madeleine. "It
is even reported that he aspires to her hand."
Lord Linden showed plainly that he was astonished to find one in
Madeleine's position so conversant with the affairs both of the business
world and the _beau monde_.
Madeleine proceeded,--
"If any influence can be used with Mr. Rutledge to induce him to vote
for the left road, it will cause me gratification, I cannot explain of
what nature. You have spoken, my lord, of desiring to serve me. I have
very frankly pointed out in what manner it was possible that you might
confer a favor upon me. If I could enter into full particulars, this
request would lose its singularity. As that cannot be done, I can only
entertain the hope that you will believe it has an interpretation which
I should not blush to reveal."
"That I feel,--of that I am certain," returned the nobleman, earnestly.
"No one could look at you and doubt the nobility of your actions and
motives. I am almost hardy enough to venture to promise Mr. Rutledge's
vote. Will you permit me to return here after I have spoken with him,
and report to you the result of my advocacy?"
Before Madeleine could reply, Mrs. Gilmer entered the adjoining room.
Madeleine rose, and, courtesying to her visitor, said,--
"Your lordship will excuse me; my duty requires that I should leave you
and attend to this lady."
She glided out of the room, but Lord Linden continued to watch her, as
though he could not force his eyes away.
It was some time before he made his exit.
Mrs. Gilmer was looking very much depressed. She had begun to believe
that it was very possible she would receive no invitation to Madame de
Fleury's ball.
"Ah, Mademoiselle Melanie," said she, as Madeleine entered; "you will
sympathize with me. I have never had such a mortification before. I knew
Madame de Fleury's enmity, but I could not believe her so cruel, so
_inhuman_. She is thoroughly devoid of feeling, and has determined to
leave me out of her invitations. I actually induced the Russian
ambassadress, with whom she is very intimate, to intercede for me. I
have just seen Madame Orlowski, and she tells me Madame de Fleury
refused point blank. She resisted Madame Orlowski's most urgent
entreaties, and will not yield to any one; I have no longer any hope. I
shall be excluded from this ball, of which all Washington is talking.
How am I to survive such a slight?"
"It, however, may still be possible," said Madeleine, smilingly, "to
obtain you an invitation."
"You think so? You really think so?" cried Mrs. Gilmer, in joyful
surprise. "Do not raise my hopes to the highest pitch to cast them down
again unless you want to make me ill for a month. Who could have the
power to obtain me an invitation after the Russian ambassadress has been
refused?"
"It sounds very presumptuous to say so, but _I_ may have."
"_You?_ My dear Mademoiselle Melanie,--_you?_ I can well believe it.
Madame de Fleury adores you; she owes all her success to you. Oh, I know
it, well enough, though you may pretend to be ignorant of what you have
done for her. And you seriously think you can get me this invitation?
You will positively make the effort?"
"I will use my best endeavors, and I am pretty sure I shall succeed; but
it is to be the return for a favor which I desire you to grant me."
"A favor? You can ask none that I will not grant in return for this
invitation," replied Mrs. Gilmer, eagerly.
Madeleine could scarcely repress a smile, tinged with a slightly
scornful expression.
"You American ladies are said to be all-powerful with your husbands;
you, no doubt, have great influence with Mr. Gilmer?"
"I fancy I have," said Mrs. Gilmer, tossing her graceful head. "I
arrange matters so as to have him in my power. I know his weak points,
and I make it a rule to play upon them until I obtain everything I
desire. Just at this moment, he is in a particularly favorable state: he
is frantically jealous; though, between ourselves, I never give him real
cause. I only excite his jealousy to use it as a valuable weapon against
himself. Tell me quickly what favor you desire."
"Mr. Gilmer is a member of a committee which is to decide upon the
course a certain railroad is to take. I wish to secure his vote for the
left road."
"How odd! What difference can it make to you?"
"It would occupy too much time to explain that, and might not interest
you. The important question is, can he be induced to vote for this left
road?"
"I dare say; I do not doubt it,--that is, if you are really in earnest,
and can promise me my invitation to the ball in exchange for his vote."
"The one depends upon the other," replied Madeleine. "I had the good
fortune to secure the vote of Mr. Gobert, the banker of Monsieur de
Fleury, and"--
"Mr. Gobert votes for the left road? Ah, that increases the difficulty.
My husband makes a point of never voting as he does,--never! It is
enough that Mr. Gobert votes one way for him to vote the other."
"That is singular; they are both bankers, and I thought they were
friends."
"It is because they are both bankers that they are the bitterest
enemies. Talk of the jealousies of women, of artists, of men of genius,
of nations! Those are nothing to the jealousy of these rival
capitalists, who are engaged in a perpetual strife to excel each other.
If Mr. Gobert gives a ball that costs two thousand dollars, Mr. Gilmer
gives one that costs four thousand. If Mr. Gobert builds a superb house,
Mr. Gilmer builds a palace. It is a steeple-chase of vanity, in which
the conqueror has for the only price of his victory the delight of
seeing his rival conquered."
"Then you find the difficulty of reconciling Mr. Gilmer to vote for the
left road beyond your skill?"
"No,--no,--I do not say _that_. I do not admit _that_, by any means. But
Mr. Gobert is a great obstacle."
"But one which the pleasure of attending this ball will enable you to
surmount?"
"Yes, I trust so. There is a way,--there is a sacrifice I can make; and
I will not hesitate for such an object. My husband detests, without the
slightest cause, a gentleman who visits me frequently: now, if I
promised not to receive this obnoxious, but very delightful individual
(whom I care nothing about), I think Mr. Gilmer, in return, would be
willing, for once, to cast, his vote on the same side as his enemy. It
would need some such grave inducement, some such unquestionable
sacrifice on my part."
"That sacrifice may also be a prudent action," observed Madeleine.
"Oh, I do not know about that," replied the thoughtless woman of
fashion; "a woman is expected to have admirers; they only render her
more valuable in the eyes of her husband. I should not consent to offend
this devoted friend without some strong incentive. But to insure being
present at Madame de Fleury's ball, I would agree to anything. So, it is
a bargain: if I obtain you my husband's vote, you obtain me this
invitation?"
"That is our compact," answered Madeleine.
"Agreed. I shall return home with a light heart; you have cheered me
wonderfully; I am inclined to be so amiable to all the world, my husband
included, that all the world and my husband are your debtors. When shall
I receive the good news that you have conquered Madame de Fleury?"
"At whatever time you think you will be prepared to send me the
intelligence that you have vanquished Mr. Gilmer."
"That will be this evening, before my husband goes to his club."
"By this evening, then, I will have procured you the invitation."
"Remember, I depend upon you. Good-morning."
Mrs. Gilmer departed in high good-humor, leaving Madeleine reflecting
with regret upon the tools which harsh circumstance seemed to force her
to use.
CHAPTER XXIX.
A CONTEST.
When Mrs. Gilmer took her leave, Madeleine returned to the seclusion of
her own boudoir, having first given orders that she should be apprised
when Madame de Fleury made her appearance.
Madeleine was unnerved by the agitating incidents of the morning. There
are days into which emotions which might fill years are crowded. It was
long since she had felt oppressed by such a sense of lassitude and
melancholy. Her interview with Maurice had stirred all the tenderest
chords of her spirit, yet left them vibrating sadly. The mysterious
visit of Count Tristan had perplexed her mind with ominous forebodings.
She could scarcely be said to have seen through his machinations, yet
she had an instinctive disbelief in his sincerity, and the uprightness
of his motives,--a disbelief which she vainly tried to conceal from
herself. More painful still had been her conversation with Lord Linden;
she could not fail to perceive that he assumed the attitude of a lover,
and she felt humbled at having _apparently allowed_, or rather
_ignored_, such a position. Lastly, her late _bargaining scene_ with
Mrs. Gilmer had disturbed Madeleine's sense of delicacy; and a similar
scene remained to be enacted with Madame de Fleury.
Madeleine involuntarily rubbed her eyes, as though she were trying to
wake from a confused dream. She could not believe that she had really
entangled herself in this web of plotting, and at the bidding of Count
Tristan! She feared that she had acted too impulsively,--that she had
made unwarrantable use of her power. Then she remembered the look of
deep distress upon Count Tristan's face as he made his half confidences;
she recalled his assurances that without her interposition Maurice would
not only be ruined, but that disgrace must attach itself to his father's
name. She had promised her aid, had half gained the victory, and must
not retreat now when the only portion of her work which remained to be
accomplished consisted in compelling a fashionable puppet to send an
invitation to a rival whom she detested. There was nothing objectionable
in the act itself; yet Madeleine, during these calm reflections, shrank
from the part she was playing, and revolted against being mingled up
with stratagems, however innocent.
This revery was broken by the announcement that Madame de Fleury had
arrived, and was at that moment trying on her dress.
When Madeleine entered the apartment, Madame de Fleury was standing
before a mirror, evidently admiring her new costume, and in great
good-humor. She turned to Madeleine gayly, and said,--
"Mademoiselle Melanie, this dress is perfection! This corsage sets off
my figure beautifully! And what exquisite apologies for sleeves you have
invented! My arm is one of my best points, and the tinier the sleeve
the better. Then the looping of this lace dress through these miniature
chaplets of wild roses is very original; the whole effect is wonderfully
airy and poetic. This is one of your great triumphs; you have really
surpassed yourself."
As she spoke, she turned around and around, complacently contemplating
her reflected image from various points of view.
"I am particularly gratified at having pleased you, madam," said
Madeleine, with more gravity than was usual to her when she accosted her
light-brained customers.
Madame de Fleury, without noticing her serious mien, commenced
disrobing. Victorine folded up the dress and placed it in a _carton_.
"I mean to take the dress with me," said the marchioness. "Mademoiselle
Victorine, have the goodness to desire my servant to place that _carton_
in the carriage."
As Victorine prepared to obey, Madeleine motioned her to desist, and
said, "Not yet; leave the dress for a few moments. You may retire."
The forewoman reluctantly left the room, looking puzzled, curious, and
indignant.
"What? Is some alteration needful?" asked Madame de Fleury. "Have you
some fresh inspiration? Has a new idea that will improve the dress
suddenly struck you?"
Without replying to these questions, Madeleine looked earnestly at the
marchioness, who was now resuming her bonnet, and asked,--
"You are, then, satisfied with my work, madame?"
"Satisfied? that is a cold word. I am transported!"
"And if," continued Madeleine, "for that dress I should require a
price"--
"Oh, whatever you please," replied the marchioness, lightly. "Take me
prisoner, gag me, plunder me, what you will, I shall not complain: the
dress is worth it; and we have never had any discussion in regard to
prices."
"But the price in question is not one that can be paid with money; the
price I place upon this dress is the granting of a favor,--a favor most
precious to me."
"A favor? you have only to speak. Do you want an office for a friend? A
recommendation for some ambitious compatriot to the emperor? A pardon
for some exiled transgressor? Anything possible to the wife of the
French ambassador is at your service; you have but to speak."
"My petition is somewhat easier to grant; for I only ask a few words
from you in writing."
As she said this, Madeleine opened a desk, and placed upon it a sheet of
note-paper, a gold pen, and an inkstand. Then she paused, and said,
hesitatingly,--
"Yet, though I ask but these few written words, in full compensation for
that dress, the materials of which as well as the work being mine, I
fear to make my petition known, for I feel that it will cost you much to
comply with my wishes."
"Nonsense! speak plainly," said Madame de Fleury, smoothing her ribbons
with caressing touches.
"I would solicit an invitation to your ball for one of your
acquaintances who, as yet, has received none, and who chances to be one
of my customers."
"Is that all? We are enacting much ado about nothing," said the
marchioness, seating herself smilingly at the desk. "You shall have the
invitation, modest and mysterious petitioner. What name shall I write?"
"Mrs."--Madeleine faltered.
"Go on," cried the marchioness, who had commenced her note with the
usual formula.
"Mrs. Gilmer!" responded Madeleine.
Madame de Fleury threw down the pen and started up.
"Mrs. Gilmer! Invite Mrs. Gilmer to a ball from which I have purposely
excluded her? Invite her when I have the satisfaction of knowing that
she is dying of mortification because she cannot get an
invitation?--when I have steeled myself against the solicitations of
Madame Orlowski? Never! I would rather bear the weight of all the years
which she impertinently added to my age."
Madeleine, who was fully prepared for this burst, said, very quietly,
and approaching the marchioness,--
"Madame, it is not long since you assured me that it would be a positive
happiness to be able to render me a service."
"And I mean it. I would gladly serve you, but not by inviting Mrs.
Gilmer to my ball: that is a little too much to demand."
"But this is the service I most need; a service for which I would be
deeply grateful,--for which I could never sufficiently thank you,--which
would attach me to you as nothing in the past has ever done."
"The offer of your gratitude and the promise of your attachment are,
certainly, very touching," said Madame de Fleury, with a scornful
petulance which she had never before evinced toward Madeleine; "but I
beg leave to decline the indebtedness. You have forced me to remember,
for the first time, that when a lady in my station deals with a person
in your sphere, it is possible to be _too_ kind, _too_ condescending,
_too_ ready to forget necessary distinctions, and thus to draw upon
one's self the consequences of that forgetfulness. You have given me a
lesson, mademoiselle, by which I shall profit: in future I shall
remember the distance between us."
She walked toward the work-room and called Victorine, who immediately
responded to the summons.
Pointing to the _carton_, the indignant lady gave the order, "Have that
dress placed in my carriage."
"No!" said Madeleine, addressing Victorine, commandingly. "Let the dress
remain where it is."
"What do you mean, mademoiselle?" asked the marchioness, in angry
astonishment.
"That dress is still mine!" answered Madeleine.
"Yours?"
"It is mine, and we will each keep that which belongs to us,--_you_ the
privilege of your rank; I, the results of my labor, however humble."
"Do I understand you rightly? Have you the hardihood to say"--
Madeleine interrupted her,--
"That I refuse to part with that dress for gold, or for any compensation
you can offer, except the one already named,--an invitation for Mrs.
Gilmer to your ball."
"She shall never have one! I have said it, and nothing can change my
resolution."
"Nor mine! We are in the same position, madame, in spite of the
_difference of our stations_," answered Madeleine, with cold sarcasm.
"Nothing can change my resolution."
"But the dress is mine!" cried Madame de Fleury. "I will prove that it
is mine; but we will settle that question afterward. Meantime, I order
you, Mademoiselle Victorine, to have that dress placed in my carriage."
"I order you not to touch it!" said Madeleine.
Madame de Fleury now became so much exasperated that she seemed to be on
the point of seizing the dress and carrying it off in her arms.
Madeleine perceived her intention, and, suddenly lifting the dress out
of the _carton_, rolled it up rapidly, for the materials were light.
"I prove to whom the dress belongs, madame, by disposing of it _thus_!"
And with the most perfect tranquillity, she flung the disputed prize
into the fire! It was burning brightly, for the day was cool, though
spring had commenced.
The marchioness, for a moment, was stunned; but, as the flames caught
the lace, she cried out, "Save it! save it! It is burning! What an
infamous action! What a crime! It has killed me!"
She dropped upon the sofa, and was seized with one of those hysterical
paroxysms which French women designate as an _attaque de nerfs_.
Victorine, with a great display of distress, flew to the sufferer,
loosened the strings of the bonnet which she was recklessly
crushing,--held a bottle of sal volatile to her nose (for the
Frenchwoman was always prepared for similar pleasant excitements, and
carried a vial in her pocket), and commenced rubbing the lady's hand
with great energy.
"Save,--save the dress! Do not let it burn!" Madame de Fleury gasped out
between her sobs.
"The dress is beyond saving, madame," replied Madeleine; "it no longer
exists."
At this moment the marchioness suddenly recovered.
"And you have destroyed it? You have destroyed a toilet which would have
made me talked of for a week! It is abominable,--it is disgraceful,--it
is _criminal_!"
Madame de Fleury always used the strongest terms where matters of the
toilet, the most important interests of her life, were in question.
"What am I to wear this evening? What is to become of me?"
The marchioness wrung her hands, and wept in genuine tribulation. She
sunk back again upon the sofa, as though prostrated by her crushing
sorrow.
Madeleine allowed the grief of the fine lady to expend itself in
incoherent lamentations, and then said, in an icy tone,--
"Madame, do you desire to appear to-night in a dress which far surpasses
the one I have destroyed?"
The marchioness was sobbing so violently that she could only answer by a
movement of the head.
"Do you desire to wear a dress which has been refused to others?--a
dress which Mrs. Gilmer used every argument to induce me to finish for
her, but in vain?--a dress which I would even have refused _you_, with
whose wishes I have ever been ready to comply?"
"What--what dress? What do you mean?"
"I refer to the dress the design of which you so much admired this
morning,--the dress which is to be sent to New Orleans for Madame la
Motte."
"But that dress is not finished; it is hardly commenced; only the
embroidery is completed. Mademoiselle Victorine told me it could not be
done under three days."
"It shall be finished for _you_, if you so please, before it is time for
you to dress for this evening's assembly."
"But that cannot be; it is not possible; it is four o'clock now; it
would be a miracle!"
"Not quite," returned Madeleine, quietly. "In past days I was said to
have the fingers of a fairy, and you shall admit that magical power
remains to me. I repeat, the dress shall be completed, if you desire it,
to-night."
"But you have sent the design to Madame la Motte, who has approved of
it, and, I hear, you are bound not to furnish a duplicate to any one."
"True, I must run the risk of losing the confidence of a patron for the
first time in my life. I will tell Madame la Motte the truth, and
furnish her with another equally elaborate dress,--not a very easy
matter, as it must leave here in three days by express, and a new design
must not only be planned, but executed, within that time. I may lose
Madame de la Motte's patronage,--her esteem; but that will be the price
I pay for the favor I seek at your hands."
"The favor!" repeated the marchioness, abstractedly.
In her bewilderment and grief caused by the destruction of the dress,
she had forgotten, for the moment, all that had just taken place.
Madeleine pointed to the note which the marchioness had commenced, and
said,--
"The invitation for Mrs. Gilmer."
"Ah! Mrs. Gilmer!" cried Madame de Fleury, as though she had been stung
by the name.
"As you remarked, it is four o'clock," continued Madeleine; "the dress
ought to be at your house by half past nine; there is scarcely time for
any one who only _pretends_ to be a fairy to accomplish the work. Four
o'clock: it _is_ just possible that I have promised too much,--that is,
if we lose many minutes. Have you decided to write me the invitation?"
"You do not give me time for reflection," said Madame de Fleury,
hesitating.
"You scarcely give _me_ time," returned Madeleine, "to perform what I
have promised; the moments are precious."
"You are sure the dress can be completed if--if I give you this
invitation?"
"Yes, madame, if it be given _at once_. See," pointing to the clock,
"five minutes have flown already, and in every moment we are to do the
work of an hour. There is the pen."
Madame de Fleury took it reluctantly.
"That detestable Mrs. Gilmer will triumph so much!"
"You triumph in having obtained the dress that was refused to her, and
has been refused to many others. But time flies, and I shall not be
able, with all the magical aid for which I am given credit, to keep my
word. Victorine, while Madame de Fleury is writing, apprise the young
ladies to put by, as rapidly as possible, all other work, and be ready
to take in hand that which I will give them directly. We want our whole
force; let me find every one prepared to aid."
Victorine left the room to execute these orders.
Madame de Fleury seated herself and dipped the pen in ink.
"If you knew what it costs me to consent," she began.
"If I did _not_ know," rejoined Madeleine, "I should not have offered to
make a sacrifice of so much importance. A few moments more and it will
be too late to decide,--your consent will be of no avail."
"Ah, that is true," cried Madame de Fleury, writing rapidly.
She left the note unfolded on the desk, and, as she rose, said in a tone
of ludicrously mingled petulance and elation, "You have conquered! But I
shall have my dress!"
"Be sure of it!" answered Madeleine.
Victorine now announced that all other work had been laid aside, and the
young ladies awaited Mademoiselle Melanie's commands.
"Go--go--go! or you will be too late!" urged Madame de Fleury, hurrying
away.
Madeleine hastened to the work-room, and distributed portions of the
dress to different needle-women. After giving a number of minute
directions, and making known that she would return in a couple of hours
to see what progress was made, she retired to write to Mrs. Gilmer.
CHAPTER XXX.
BERTHA.
If Madeleine had been asked which of her relatives would first have
sought her after the unexpected _rencontre_ at Madame de Fleury's, she
would have answered, "Bertha,"--Bertha, whose devotion had been so
unflagging, so open, so daring. But on the day which succeeded that
stormy interview, Count Tristan and Maurice had visited Madeleine, yet
Bertha remained absent; another day passed, and still she came not.
The Countess de Gramont had resolved, at least, to postpone a meeting
she might not be able wholly to prevent. She formed her plans so
dexterously that Bertha was chained to her side, fretting through the
tedious hours, yet powerless to secure a moment's freedom.
Exasperation caused Bertha sleepless nights; and on the third morning
she rose with the sun, summoned her maid, sent for a carriage, and was
on her way to Madeleine's residence some three hours before it was
likely that the slumbers of the countess would be broken.
Madeleine was preparing for her matinal walk, when her cousin was
announced.
After the first joyous greetings were over, Bertha said, with tender
delight,--
"And now that I have found you, my own Madeleine, I mean to come to see
you every day."
Madeleine shook her head sadly. "Madame de Gramont will never permit
that."
"How can she help it if I choose to order all my dresses made here? The
choice and discussion of becoming attire shall occupy as much of my time
as it does of Madame de Fleury's. I mean to become her rival and almost
ruin myself in splendid toilets,--that is, unless you accept my
proposition."
"What proposition, Bertha?"
"To give up your--your--your--What shall I call it? Your
_occupation_,--your _vocation_,--I have a great mind to say your
'_trade_,' that the word may shock you. Live with me; travel with me; go
where I go. Will you not consent?"
"No," answered Madeleine, gently, but resolutely.
"Do not decide hastily. You cannot know how much I need you, Madeleine.
Your counsels were indispensable to me even in days when I had no secret
to confide: now--now"--
"Now you _have_ a secret? Is it indeed so?"
Bertha nodded, paused awhile, then went on abruptly,--
"I have been pestered to death by men who aspired to my hand, and my
uncle declares there is no possibility of my finding peace until I make
some choice."
"And you intend to secure peace upon his terms? Possibly among those who
aspired to your hand there is one who has discovered the entrance to
your heart."
"Among those who have aspired,--ah, there is the difficulty! Among those
there is none."
"Then you love one who has never aspired?"
"I fear so," answered Bertha, ingenuously, and yet blushing deeply.
Madeleine looked troubled; she had long entertained a pleasant hope
which she saw about to vanish.
"And you have loved him,--how long?" she asked, gravely.
"Oh, a very short time; only since day before yesterday," replied
Bertha.
This answer added to Madeleine's discomposure. There was no hope for
Gaston de Bois.
"Why do you look so sorrowful?" inquired Bertha, noticing her cousin's
expression.
"I am thinking of one who has loved you long, with such devotion, with
such self-abnegation, with such an ardent desire to become worthy of
you, that I could not but sigh over his disappointment. But this sudden
affection of yours may not be very deep."
"Ah, but it _is_! And as for suddenness, when I say I have only loved
him since day before yesterday, I mean that I only then discovered how
much I cared for him."
"And how came you to know that he was dear to you?"
"You will be very much shocked when I answer that question; but you
always said I was eccentric. I first felt that I loved him when I saw
him getting into a great rage, and when I positively fancied that I
caught the sound of a horrible oath, which he uttered in an undertone!"
"That _is_ original! I never before heard of a young lady being inspired
by love for a young man when he was angry, or when he was profane."
"Ah, but he was angry in a good cause," returned Bertha, earnestly. "It
was righteous indignation, and it was the violence with which he
defended one whom I love, that won my heart completely."
"Whom did he defend?" asked Madeleine, unsuspiciously.
"_You_,--_you_, my own, best Madeleine, and for _that_ I loved him. It
was so wonderful, knowing how constitutionally diffident he is, to see
him so courageous. And when I remembered how he used to hesitate and
stammer, it seemed marvellous to hear him talk on with an ease, a
fluency, a fervor truly eloquent. I never ask to listen to finer
oratory. My aunt, in spite of her indignation, was confounded into
silence. Count Tristan could not say a word, and Maurice looked as
though amazement alone kept him from throwing himself in his friend's
arms, and I fear I almost felt like doing the same."
"It was Gaston de Bois, then?" cried Madeleine, with sudden transport.
"Yes. Who else could it be? And he was so comical at the same time that
he was so pathetic! At first I almost felt like laughing at his odd
gesticulations. And then he talked so nobly, so grandly, that I felt
like weeping; and you know it is my nature to laugh and to cry in spite
of myself. I have made up my mind that I could never love anybody who
could not make me do both _at once_, just as he did, in such a comically
pathetic manner."
"How shall I thank you? Gaston de Bois is my best, my truest, friend!"
said Madeleine, rapturously.
"I know _that_ well enough! Once I feared he might be the mysterious
individual whom you loved; but he said himself that you were a sister to
him; and I almost leapt for joy at those words. A sister never fills the
_whole_ of a man's heart,--does she?"
"Not such a heart as Gaston de Bois'. He will tell you himself who
occupies the sovereign place in that heart when he knows that he may
speak."
"But how is he to know? You must promise me not to tell him, not to give
him even the faintest hint, of what I have communicated. Promise me that
you will not."
"I promise. But you forget how diffident M. de Bois is, how distrustful
of his own merits. He will not easily believe that you _can_ think of
him. And, meantime, you"--
"Will suffer. Yes, I know it; but I should suffer more if I were guilty
of an unmaidenly action. So you will keep your promise?"
"I will keep it faithfully."
It was time for the cousins to part. Bertha returned to the hotel with a
lighter heart, because she had transferred its weighty secret to
another's keeping. But Madeleine's joy was mingled with forebodings that
Gaston de Bois would not suspect his own happiness for a long, sad
period, if ever.
When she went forth, it was long past the hour usually devoted to her
walk. The capitol grounds were gay with promenaders. Madeleine and Ruth
attracted more attention than was agreeable, and, after a short ramble,
turned homeward.
As they passed out of the gates, the first person they met was Gaston de
Bois. He bowed, hesitated, seemed half inclined to walk on without
speaking, but changed his mind and joined them.
It was long since Madeleine had seen him apparently so ill at ease or so
distressed. She smiled as she reflected how quickly three little words
(which she, alas! was forbidden to speak) would change that perturbed
look to one of ineffable happiness.
For a few moments he walked moodily by her side, replying at random to
her casual remarks. It chanced that Ruth was not conversant with the
French language, and Madeleine, struck by his abstracted air, inquired
in that tongue whether he had any cause for vexation.
Gaston answered, vaguely, that he was troubled; he did not himself know
with how much real cause. A moment after, he mentioned her interview
with Count Tristan, and, stammering a little in his old fashion, asked
whether she would deem it a great liberty if he desired to know the
object of the count's visit.
A moment's reflection convinced Madeleine that M. de Bois would not have
made this inquiry out of sheer, causeless curiosity; and she made known
to him the count's request concerning the votes which she was to exert
herself to obtain. Gaston caught eagerly at her words, and exclaimed,--
"Valueless? Are you sure Count Tristan said the property of Maurice
would be valueless but for the advent of this railroad?"
"Yes," replied Madeleine; "I am quite sure that such was his assertion.
But why do you ask? What has happened? Nothing to compromise Maurice?"
"I do not yet definitely know; but, if it be what I suspect, what I
fear, it will compromise him wofully."
"Pray be explicit," said Madeleine, becoming alarmed. "Tell me what you
positively know, and what you fear. Remember, Maurice is my cousin."
"Would he were more! But that wish now is vain. In a word, then, I have
no faith in Count Tristan. I believe him capable of unscrupulous actions
which might ruin his son. At the club, last night, a group of gentlemen
chanced to be conversing near me. The name of Maurice de Gramont
attracted my attention. A Mr. Emerson asserted that he had just made a
discovery which convinced him that the Viscount de Gramont was a young
man regardless of honor; and added that he intended, without delay, to
commence legal proceedings against him. As soon as I could control my
indignation, I informed Mr. Emerson that the Viscount de Gramont was my
friend, and I could not allow his name to be used with disrespect
without demanding an explanation."
"And he gave you one?" inquired Madeleine, greatly agitated.
"He did not give me one. At first he was inclined to treat my request
cavalierly. But, upon my persisting, he replied that neither place nor
time served to discuss a business matter; adding that he would be at his
office on the morrow, at twelve o'clock, and, if I chose to call at that
hour, the whole matter would be made known to me; remarking,
significantly, that he had no intention of keeping the transaction from
the public."
"What could he mean?"
"_That_ I can only surmise. But a few hours will make all clear."
"To gain a few hours' time may be of the utmost importance," answered
Madeleine. "Try to see Mr. Emerson _at once_. Learn the meaning of his
words, and return to me with the intelligence."
"Ah, Mademoiselle Madeleine, you are always so prompt! I should have
lingered until twelve without"--
"Go! Go at once, and come back to me quickly! You have said enough to
awaken a horrible suspicion. I do not dare to let my mind dwell upon the
frightful possibility that suggests itself."
M. de Bois bade her good-morning as precipitately as she could desire,
and hastened upon his mission.
When Madeleine reached her home she said to Ruth, "I am unfit for my
usual duties to-day. Ruth, I have long intended that you should occupy a
more active and prominent position in this establishment. Do you not
feel yourself competent to do so?"
Ruth returned affectionately,--
"I have studied diligently under your tuition; sometimes I fancy that I
have almost mastered some of the rules, and fathomed some of the
mysteries, of your art."
"To-day, then," rejoined Madeleine, "I mean that you shall wholly take
my place. I have faith in your ability."
Ruth retired, well pleased at the confidence reposed in her; and
Madeleine entered her boudoir to await, with a sense of dread which she
could ill repress, the return of Gaston de Bois.
The clock had just struck twelve when he was announced. One glance at
his pale face hardly left Madeleine courage to ask,--
"What has happened?"
"The worst, the very worst that I deemed possible, and I have been able
to accomplish nothing. I feel like a brute to bring you these ill
tidings a single hour before you are compelled to know them."
"Do not keep me in suspense!" urged Madeleine.
M. de Bois went on, "Maurice obtained a loan of ten thousand dollars
from Mr. Emerson. The security given was upon this Maryland property,
which Maurice declared to be free of all mortgage; and, no doubt, he
thought it was so."
"And, alas! it is not?"
"So far from clear that Mr. Emerson yesterday learned the estate was
mortgaged to its full value. Count Tristan, who held in his hands a
power of attorney, has doubtless made use of the instrument without his
son's knowledge."
"Did you not explain this to Mr. Emerson in defence of Maurice?"
"Assuredly; but Mr. Emerson received my assertion with open incredulity.
He is determined to write to Maurice and inform him of his discovery,
and also to commence legal proceedings at once."
"Should these ten thousand dollars be paid into the hands of Mr.
Emerson, would they not prevent his sending the threatened letter to
Maurice, or taking any other steps?" inquired Madeleine, eagerly.
"Undoubtedly; but how are we to command ten thousand dollars?"
Madeleine smiled an inexpressibly happy smile, opened her desk, took out
a paper, and said,--
"I had arranged to make the last payment upon this house yesterday; the
sum due was ten thousand dollars: by some mistake, the person who was to
receive this money did not keep his appointment. He will, doubtless, be
here to-day. A few hours later, I might no longer have had these funds
under my own control. See how fortunate it is that I urged you to act
promptly!"
"Mademoiselle Madeleine, what--what do you intend to do?"
"Is not my intention plain and simple enough? Here is a check for ten
thousand dollars; draw the money at once, and place it in Mr. Emerson's
hands."
"But the payment for your house?"
"Cannot be made. We have no time for further discussion."
"Mademoiselle Madeleine, you are"--
"Very impatient and very imperative when I issue orders that I intend to
have obeyed? Admitted. You need not waste time in summing up the
catalogue of my imperfections."
Gaston took the check and was preparing to depart, when Madeleine
delayed him.
"Mr. Emerson must not know that these funds are furnished by me. What an
endless theme for gossip and speculation would be afforded by the very
suggestion that the fashionable mantua-maker came to the assistance of
the young nobleman! Let Mr. Emerson understand that this money is paid
by one of Maurice's relatives. That will be sufficient."
"Good," returned Gaston; "and if he should conclude that it was supplied
by Maurice's grandmother, all the better. If I said a relative, and
Madame de Gramont were not supposed to be the person, there is no one
but Mademoiselle Bertha; and Mr. Emerson might infer--I mean, it would
be natural to suppose"--
"You are right. We must guard against such a false step. Surely, no name
at all is necessary; but I leave the matter to your discretion; pray
hasten."
Without further discussion, Gaston set out to execute his agreeable
mission. He reached Mr. Emerson's office too late to stop the threatened
letter; it had already been despatched.
The young viscount was sitting in his father's drawing-room, at the
hotel, musing upon the mournful singularity of his own fate, and the
mystery that still enveloped Madeleine, when this letter was placed in
his hands. He was, at first, too completely wonder-struck to experience
a high degree of indignation. He thought he must have mistaken the
meaning of what he read. But no; the words were plain enough; the
accusation plain enough; the threat of legal proceedings to be
instituted against him plain enough. Still, he was too much amazed to be
able to give credence to the communication. He seized his hat, with the
intention of hurrying to Mr. Emerson, and demanding an explanation. As
he opened the door, his father entered.
"What has disturbed you so much?" asked Count Tristan, noticing his
son's disordered mien.
"Nothing that will prove of consequence," returned Maurice, glancing
over the open letter. "There is some vexatious mistake which will easily
be explained away. And yet, the language of this letter is grossly
insulting."
The count's secret guilt kept him in a constant state of torturing fear,
and he now vainly endeavored to conceal his alarm.
He gasped out, "That letter--let me see it!"
Before Maurice could hand the letter, it was eagerly snatched by the
count. His face grew livid as he read,--his white lips were tightly
compressed,--but could not shut in the sound of a convulsive groan.
Maurice, not suspecting the true cause of his father's agitation, went
on,--
"The language is rude; the accusation is made in the most unmannerly
style, and as if its justice were beyond doubt; but business men, in
this country, are usually abrupt, and, when they are annoyed, not too
courteous; one must get accustomed to their manner. My dear father, do
not let this mistake affect you too deeply; it will easily be rectified.
But, first, let me explain the transaction."
The count dropped his head without speaking, but again the sound of a
half-suppressed groan was audible.
"An opportunity offered," continued Maurice, "for the advantageous
employment of ten thousand dollars. Mr. Lorrillard suggested my raising
the money through Mr. Emerson, on the security of the Maryland estate."
The count staggered and sank into a chair. The hour of discovery then
had arrived,--there was no escape! Like those hopeless culprits before
the eternal judgment-seat, he could have cried out to the mountains to
fall upon him and hide him.
Maurice was too much alarmed by his father's appearance to go on. The
death-like pallor of his face had given place to a purple hue; his veins
seemed swollen; his blood-shot eyes appeared to be starting from their
sockets; his stalwart frame shivered from head to foot; he clutched the
table as though for support, and his head dropped heavily upon it.
"My dear father," exclaimed Maurice, "do not let the mistake move you
thus. I will go to Mr. Emerson at once"--
The count's face was lifted for an instant, as he cried in a tone of
intense agony, "No, no! Not for the world!"
His head fell again; he could not bear the unsuspicious gaze of the son
whom he had wronged, and in whose presence he sat, a self-condemned
criminal.
"Surely it is the fitting course," replied Maurice. "I will make him
retract his words."
"Impossible!" was all the count could ejaculate, still with bowed head.
"But I will prove it very possible!" returned Maurice, in a tone of
determination. "Mr. Emerson cannot use such language with impunity.
Though he threatens that the affair shall be made public, he cannot act
so rashly as to carry out that menace, and upon a mere surmise of some
kind. If there is any _publicity_, he shall publicly retract."
"Impossible! Impossible!" the count groaned forth again.
"That will soon be decided," answered Maurice, moving toward the door.
The count started up.
"Stay! do not go yet! You do not know what you are doing! Stay! I forbid
you to go!"
Maurice had such thorough confidence in his father's probity, that his
suspicions were not aroused even by this vehement language. He only
imagined that the very suggestion of a dishonorable action associated
with his son's name affected Count Tristan thus powerfully.
"But it is absolutely necessary that immediate notice should be taken of
this letter," argued Maurice. "If I had been guilty of the act of which
I have been accused, I could never have lifted my head again, and I feel
degraded by the very suspicion. Do not detain me, I entreat you."
"There is something you must hear before you go!" the count whispered
hoarsely.
For the first time an indefinable dread stole into the mind of Maurice.
He put down his hat, and, approaching his father, could only echo the
words,--
"Something I must hear?"
"You should have consulted me," the count continued, speaking with great
effort.
"True, and I meant to do so, had I not been prevented. But the
transaction was simple enough. My estate is unmortgaged. I had given you
a power of attorney, but I knew that it had not been used; you told me
so yourself, scarcely an hour before I requested Mr. Emerson to make me
this loan."
"No--no,--I did not say _that_;--you misunderstood me,--I did not say
_that_,--I never said _that!_ You only _inferred_ it! I could not be
answerable for your _inferences_," returned the count, in the tone of a
man defending himself.
"Great heavens! What does this mean?" exclaimed Maurice "I cannot have
misunderstood you? You cannot have used the power of attorney?"
The count was silent, but the shame and confusion depicted upon his
countenance were a fearful answer.
It was some minutes before Maurice could rally sufficiently to take a
clear view of his own position. His first impulse caused him to turn to
his father in an excess of rage; but the broken, contrite, abject
demeanor of the latter silenced the angry reproaches that were bursting
from his son's lips.
The count was the first to break the silence.
He said, in a pleading, exculpatory tone,--
"There was no other way; matters had gone terribly wrong with me in
Brittany; we were reduced to worse than poverty; I was frightfully
entangled; nothing remained but a mortgage upon your property."
"What Mr. Emerson writes me in this letter is true, then?" was all
Maurice could utter; but his tone pierced his father as deeply as the
sharpest reproaches.
The count assented.
Maurice, unable longer to control himself, broke forth, "And I shall not
only be forced to endure the blighting suspicion of being guilty myself,
but I must bear the terrible certainty that my father is so!"
The count only murmured in broken accents, "Oh, if the committee should
select the left road!"
Maurice caught eagerly at the faint hope, and after a few moments'
reflection, replied in a voice which, in spite of its coldness, was not
without a touch of pity,--
"I must see Mr. Emerson, and make an effort to postpone his present
intentions until the decision is made."
"It will be against us!" cried the count, vehemently. "Mr. Rutledge has
made up his mind to vote for the road to the right; that one vote would
have saved us! But we are too unfortunate; there is no longer a chance
left!"
Maurice went forth without replying.
CHAPTER XXXI.
A SURPRISE.
The severe mental suffering that he endured during the half hour that
was occupied in walking from Brown's hotel to the office of Mr. Emerson,
may easily be conceived. On reaching that gentleman's place of business,
Maurice learned that he was not within, but would probably return
immediately. The young viscount was painfully conscious that the clerks
answered his inquiries with a pointedly cold brevity. He saw them glance
at each other, and one of them shrugged his shoulders, and gave a low
whistle as Maurice seated himself to wait. The blood mounted to his face
at this indignity, and rage took the place of mortification; but he
could only nerve himself to endure with assumed composure the scorn he
so little deserved. It was half an hour before Mr. Emerson entered.
"The business which brings me here is so important that I took the
liberty of waiting," said Maurice, rising.
Mr. Emerson answered, stiffly,--
"Have the goodness to walk into my private apartment."
Maurice obeyed.
Mr. Emerson was one of those reserved men who never choose the
initiative in any transaction. He motioned Maurice to take a chair, then
seated himself in the attitude of a listener.
"I am placed in a position which renders explanation very difficult,"
commenced the viscount.
Mr. Emerson assented by a half bow, but did not in any manner assist the
speaker.
"Nothing could have astonished me more than the letter I have just
received from you," continued Maurice.
Mr. Emerson lifted his eyebrows a little incredulously, and crossed his
legs, but still played the auditor only.
Maurice, galled by his supercilious manner, said, in a tone of
irritation of which he repented a moment afterward, "I presume that you
had no doubt that my conduct justified your letter?"
"None," replied Mr. Emerson, with quiet severity.
"You were wrong, you did me the greatest injustice," cried Maurice, "and
yet unless you can credit this fact upon my bare assertion I have no
means of convincing you."
Mr. Emerson smiled sarcastically.
"You do not seem to me desirous, sir, of learning in what manner this
mistake has arisen, even if I could make it clear."
"You are right," returned Mr. Emerson; "I do not see that it is a matter
which further concerns me."
"But it concerns my honor"--began Maurice, angrily.
He was checked by another contemptuous smile from Mr. Emerson.
"I see, sir, you are not disposed to allow me to defend myself, or to
encourage me to enter into any explanation."
"I have said that the matter no longer concerns me."
"Then I will not occupy your time with a vain attempt to change your
opinion of me, but will proceed at once to the request I have to make."
"I shall feel obliged by your doing so," said Mr. Emerson, in a manner
which intimated that he wished to close the interview.
"All I ask," proceeded Maurice, "is that you will take no further steps
until"--
"I have no further steps to take," interrupted Mr. Emerson, frigidly.
Maurice looked puzzled, but, imagining that Mr. Emerson did not choose
to understand him, he added, "I mean, in plain language, that you will
not make the affair public, and that you will not institute legal
proceedings until"--
"The repayment of the money loaned, obviated the necessity for legal
proceedings," returned Mr. Emerson, in the same cold manner.
"The _repayment_?" exclaimed Maurice, in amazement; "what _repayment_?
what money?"
"The ten thousand dollars loaned to you by me, _somewhat rashly_, and
without examining a security which proved to be valueless."
In spite of Maurice's astonishment at this unexpected communication, the
arrow of this reproach did not miss its mark, but he only said,--
"Am I to understand that these ten thousand dollars have been repaid?"
"They were repaid about an hour ago."
"Repaid? Who could have repaid them? How is it possible?" Maurice
uttered these words to himself rather then addressed them to Mr.
Emerson.
But the latter answered briefly, "The Countess de Gramont."
"My grandmother? Impossible! It was not in her power; she knew nothing
of the transaction."
Mr. Emerson continued, without noticing this assertion,--
"A quarter of an hour ago I despatched a clerk to Brown's hotel, with a
receipt for the money."
"My grandmother!" repeated Maurice, musingly, and unable to credit the
possibility of her interference.
"You will find the information I have given you correct," said Mr.
Emerson, rising.
The hint was too marked to remain unnoticed by Maurice, in spite of his
bewilderment, and he also rose.
"If I had been aware of this fact I should not have trespassed upon your
time, sir; for, it is not difficult to perceive that you have formed an
opinion of my character which cannot readily be altered."
"I judge men by their actions rather than by their words and manners: a
very homely rule, sir, but one which is not subject to change at my time
of life."
The bow which closed this sentence was too pointedly a parting
salutation to be mistaken. Maurice returned it, and, without another
word, went forth. He hurried to Brown's hotel in the hope of unravelling
the mystery.
Meantime, the Countess de Gramont had been thrown, by the reception of
Mr. Emerson's letter, into a state of excitement almost equal to that of
Maurice. Over and over again she read the few lines acknowledging the
sum of ten thousand dollars sent by her, and the information that the
legal proceedings about to be instituted against the Viscount de Gramont
would be arrested.
The letter was in English; thus her difficulty in comprehending its
contents was increased, and, though she was tolerably conversant with
the language, she imagined that she must have misunderstood the words
before her.
The countess requested Bertha to read and translate the letter.
"Aunt," cried Bertha, "what is this about ten thousand dollars? You
cannot have sent this gentleman ten thousand dollars, and yet he makes
you a formal acknowledgment that the money has been received. There must
be some error."
"The error itself is an impertinence," returned the lady. "Does this low
person imagine that the Countess de Gramont meddles with business
matters?--with the sending of money and the receiving of receipts?"
At that moment Maurice entered, and his grandmother, taking the letter
from Bertha, and placing it in his hand, accosted him with no little
asperity of tone.
"What is the meaning of this?"
He glanced over the letter hurriedly and replied, "It is of you that I
should ask that question, my grandmother, and I must also ask how I am
to thank you for making me so deeply your debtor, and at a moment when,
for the first time in my life, my honor was implicated!"
"Your _honor_ implicated? _Your honor? The honor of a de Gramont?_ What
do you mean?"
"Had you not, in some inexplicable manner, become aware of my position,
and paid those ten thousand dollars with such liberality and
promptitude, I should have been--I cannot bear the thought! The very
remembrance of the position from which I have been extricated cuts me to
the soul."
"Are you mad, Maurice?" demanded the countess. "_I_ pay ten thousand
dollars for you? What do I know about money?"
"Then the money was not sent to Mr. Emerson by you?" inquired Maurice,
more bewildered than ever.
"Mr. Emerson? Who is Mr. Emerson? I never heard of the person."
Maurice turned to Bertha. The idea at once suggested itself that she had
used her aunt's name to conceal her own generosity.
"And you, Bertha,--do you also disclaim all knowledge of the
transaction?"
"Yes, I only wish I _had_ known."
"It was not you, then?" replied Maurice, more and more astonished. "Who
could it have been? I have no intimate friend in Washington but Gaston
de Bois, and he has not the power to do me this service."
"Was he aware of the circumstances which made you need this sum?" asked
Bertha.
"He certainly knew something of the transaction, but I do not think"--
"That is enough!" she replied, joyfully. "If he knew anything about it,
I know from whom the money came. There is but one person who could have
sent it; and that is Madeleine!"
"Madeleine?"
"Yes, Madeleine,--our own, generous Madeleine," returned Bertha. "M. de
Bois is her trusted friend and counsellor."
The Countess de Gramont rose up majestically, white with rage.
"But what _right_ has she, the mantua-maker, the tradeswoman, to make
use of _my_ name? How did she dare even to allow it to be suspected
that I had ever come in contact with a person who has so demeaned
herself? It is unpardonable audacity!"
"You little know the full value of the service she has rendered me!"
exclaimed Maurice, unheeding his grandmother's anger.
"A service which you must not and shall not stoop to accept. Never will
I consent to that," returned the countess, fiercely. "Would you profit
by her ignoble labor? Has your residence in this plebeian land bowed you
as low as that?"
"If," replied Maurice, "it be a blow to my pride to be forced to accept
her aid (for it has been tendered in a manner which cannot now be
declined), it is a blow which has lifted me up, not bowed me down. It
has made me feel that a great spirit which humbles itself and bends
meekly to circumstance and does not regard any toil, nearest to its
hand, as too lowly,--that spirit has truest cause for pride, since it
earns the privilege of serving others. You have yet to learn that
Madeleine's timely assistance has saved, not me alone, but our whole
family from _disgrace_,--ay, positive _disgrace_! If you would know more
on that subject, I refer you to my father. For myself, I will seek
Madeleine and discover whether she has indeed made me so greatly her
debtor."
The countess would have detained him; but Maurice was gone before she
could speak.
He had alluded to his father as involved in this mysterious affair,
which the countess was now tremblingly desirous of solving. She sought
Count Tristan. He was in the drawing-room, where Maurice had left him.
He sat beside the table,--his hands clinched, his head bowed, his face
rigid in its expression of stony despair. He looked like a man who
awaited the sentence of death.
The entrance of the countess scarcely roused him; nor did he hear, or
rather heed, her first address. But when she placed the letter, received
from Mr. Emerson, in his hand, and asked him if he knew what it meant,
he sprang from his seat with a sudden burst of half-frantic joy.
"Who has done this?" he almost shrieked out.
"Who indeed?" returned his mother. "It has been suggested that it may be
one of the evidences of Madeleine's presumption. I can scarcely credit
it. I can scarcely believe she would have the audacity to use my name,
or occupy herself with the affairs of my family. Yet there is no one
else"--
"It is like her! It is she! And may Heaven bless her for it!" cried the
count, stirred by a sudden impulse of genuine gratitude. "I must have
confirmation! I must go to her at once!"
"Yes, go to her," replied his mother; "but let it be to inform her that
we disdain her bounty; that we are astonished at her temerity in
offering it; and that we hope never to hear from her again."
Count Tristan had left the room before his mother had finished
speaking,--an act of disrespect of which he had never before been
guilty. Exasperated by his manner even more than by that of Maurice, and
dreading the result of their interview with Madeleine, the countess
resolved herself to take a step which would make her niece conscious of
her true position and of the light in which her presumption was viewed
by her aunt. She determined to follow her son to Madeleine's residence
and to give her a lesson, in the presence of the count and Maurice,
which would be the last he would ever need.
She had rung the bell to order a carriage, when Bertha entered. Learning
her destination and its object, Bertha expressed her intention of
accompanying her; and to this the countess could not object.
CHAPTER XXXII.
THE NOBLEMAN AND MANTUA-MAKER.
As we are already aware, Madeleine absolved herself from her usual
duties for one day, and made Ruth her representative in the working
department. In spite of Madeleine's habitual self-control, she
experienced some slight stirrings of irritation when Victorine, who
deemed herself a privileged person, intruded upon her privacy.
"Pardon, mademoiselle," began the consequential forewoman. "I should not
have ventured to disturb you, but there is a matter of importance to be
settled. Madame Orlowski has come in person to order six ball-dresses;
and she is not satisfied to decide upon the varieties of style that will
most become her without consulting Mademoiselle Melanie herself. She
insisted upon my bringing you this message."
"You have done wrong," answered Madeleine, somewhat less gently than was
her wont.
"But in a case of such great importance"--began Victorine, flushing
angrily.
Madeleine interrupted her with a slight touch of sarcasm in her tone:
"It is, no doubt, inconceivable to you that my mind should be occupied
with matters of even _greater_ importance than six ball dresses for one
lady. Still, I must be tyrannical enough to request you to believe so,
and not to allow me to be molested again. At all events," she added, her
good-humor returning, "I venture to hope that I have not often subjected
you to tyranny or caprice."
"No, no, certainly not," responded Victorine, a little mollified. "And
since it was _so obvious_ that mademoiselle had _something upon her
mind_, I have exerted myself as much as possible to prevent her being
annoyed."
"Thank you; have the goodness to send Robert here."
This order was so pointedly a dismissal that the forewoman had no excuse
to linger. She left the room thoroughly convinced that Mademoiselle
Melanie was in love,--in love at last! The house would soon be gayer;
Mademoiselle Melanie would leave the business more in her forewoman's
hands; the pleasant change so long desired was coming about; but she
could not rest until she discovered the object of Mademoiselle Melanie's
attachment. One thing was certain: there was romance and mystery about
the whole affair, and this lent zest to the Frenchwoman's enjoyment.
Victorine not only summoned Robert, but stole after him on tiptoe to the
door of Madeleine's boudoir to hear what order was given. She distinctly
caught these words:--
"You will admit no one but the Count de Gramont and M. Maurice de
Gramont."
"The Count de Gramont and his son!" said Victorine to herself, as she
hurried back to her satins and velvets; "Oh, this is decidedly getting
interesting,--Mademoiselle Melanie aims high,--and, in spite of her
prudence and propriety, she--well, well, we shall see! It's always still
water that runs deepest. The Count de Gramont and his son! Dear me,
Mademoiselle Melanie would do better if she made me her _confidante_ at
once."
Victorine, as she excused Mademoiselle Melanie to the Countess Orlowski,
could not help dropping a hint that Mademoiselle Melanie might not in
future be so wholly at the command of her customers,--she would receive
more visitors of her own,--there were noblemen from her own country who
were to have free access.
When Madame Orlowski departed and the forewoman returned to the
work-room, these inuendoes were repeated, and caused no little
excitement among the group of young women, who revered Madeleine almost
as though she were a patron saint, and they the most devout Catholics.
Ruth was highly indignant; but to have admonished the circulator of the
intelligence, by even the faintest reproach, would have been to make
matters worse, and to induce Mademoiselle Victorine to defend her rash
assertions by still rasher ones.
Madeleine was not destined to enjoy the uninterrupted solitude she so
much desired, for Robert had scarcely received his orders to admit no
one, when he returned to the boudoir with a card in his hand. He
presented it with hesitation in spite of the large bribe he had
received.
"His lordship insisted upon my taking his card to Mademoiselle," he said
apologetically.
"You should not have transgressed my orders," answered Madeleine, with
some show of impatience. "I have given you the names of the only persons
whom you were to admit to-day."
"I understand _that_, mademoiselle, but his lordship would not be
denied, and said that he called upon a matter of the greatest
importance, and that he knew Mademoiselle Melanie would see him."
Madeleine could not, after this, refuse to allow Lord Linden to enter;
he no doubt brought her some information concerning the vote which she
had charged him to obtain.
Lord Linden's countenance, which usually wore a moody, discontented
expression, was bright with expectation, as he entered Madeleine's
presence.
"You will pardon," he began, "my refusing to accept your servant's
denial; I based my hopes of forgiveness upon the good tidings which I
bring. My advocacy, or rather my sister's (but that is _entre nous_),
has not been used in vain with Mr. Rutledge; he had definitely made up
his mind to cast his vote differently, but his gallantry could not
withstand a fair lady's solicitation;--he is too thoroughly an American
for _that_, and you may depend upon his vote."
"I am more deeply grateful to you than you can imagine! I thank you
heartily!" exclaimed Madeleine, extending her hand with impulsive
frankness, but the action was checked almost as quickly as made. For a
moment she had forgotten the difference of station which she wished him
to believe existed between them.
"Do not withdraw your hand," he pleaded, making an attempt to imprison
that hand in his own. But he had the good taste instantly to abandon his
intention when he saw Madeleine's reluctance. "As you will; I am more
than satisfied by the assurance that I have a claim upon your
gratitude."
"You have, indeed, my lord; I am truly grateful."
"I will only ask in return," commenced his lordship, "that you will
listen to me for a few moments; that you will allow me to tell you what
is in my mind,--my heart."
Madeleine saw that the evil hour could not be escaped, or postponed, and
she answered with calm dignity which would have awed a man less under
the dominion of passion, "You are at liberty to speak, my lord; yet what
is there of _importance_ which your lordship can have to say to the
_mantua-maker_?"
Lord Linden, at first, found it difficult to avail himself of the
privilege so frigidly given; but he soon collected himself.
"The mantua-maker? How little that title seems to belong to you! The
proudest, the noblest lady could not have inspired me with the respect,
the veneration I feel for you."
"_Respect_ is peculiarly grateful to one in my position;" answered
Madeleine pointedly.
This answer seemed to suggest that he might be forgetful of the respect
due to her, and confused him for a moment; but such an opportunity as
the present was not to be lost. He went on with renewed animation.
"From the first moment that I met you,--from the moment when, during
that memorable journey, you shone forth as the guardian angel of all the
suffering--and especially mine"--
Madeleine tried to restrain him again, by saying, with a forced smile,--
"_An angelic mantua-maker!_ You have a great faculty of _idealizing_, my
lord. I believe the extent of my services to you consisted in the
sacrifice of an old pocket-handkerchief, torn into strips for a bandage,
and the use of my own especial implement, a needle, with which the
bandages were sewed."
"I have those strips yet," replied the nobleman with ardor. "I shall
never part with them,--they are invaluable to me; for, from the moment
we met, I loved you!"
Madeleine was about to answer, but he frustrated her intention and went
on,--
"You were lost to me for six months, yet I could not forget you. I
sought you unceasingly, and thought to find you in the society
of--of--of those who are not, in reality, your superiors--not your
equals even; I found you at last--but let me pass that over; since I
have had the happiness of seeing you again, every moment has increased
my admiration,--my devotion."
Madeleine would have interrupted him, but was again prevented.
"If I had not the misfortune to be a nobleman, if I were not accountable
to my family for the connection I formed, I would say to you, 'Will you
honor me by becoming my wife?' Never have I met a woman who united in a
higher degree all the attributes which are most beautiful in my
eyes,--all that man could desire in a companion,--all the charms of
person, intellect, soul!"
Madeleine took advantage of a moment's pause, for his lordship found it
sufficiently difficult to proceed, and replied, with glacial dignity,--
"Were all your compliments as merited as you perhaps persuade yourself
to imagine them to be, they would not alter the fact, my lord, that
_you_ are a nobleman and _I_ a dress-maker."
"True," replied Lord Linden, undaunted by her chilling demeanor; "and it
is not easy to break the iron bonds of conventionality. But, if the
difference of our rank prevents my enjoying the triumph of presenting
such a woman to the world as my wife, it does not prevent my renouncing
the whole world for her,--it does not prevent my devoting my life to
her,--my sharing with her some happy seclusion where I can forget
everything except my vow to be hers only."
This time Madeleine allowed him to conclude without word or movement.
She sat with her eyes fastened upon the ground, and though a bright,
crimson spot burned on either cheek, her manner was as calm as though
the offer just made her were full of honor. When it was unmistakable
that he had finished speaking and awaited her answer, she said, in a
firm voice, the mild serenity of which could not fail to penetrate the
breast of the man who had just insulted her,--
"In other words, my lord, you have in the most delicate phrases in which
infamy can be couched,--in phrases that are as flowers to hide the
serpent beneath them, given me to understand that were I of your own
rank you would address me as a man of honor might, and expect me to
listen to you; but, as I am but a mantua-maker and you are a nobleman,
you offer me _dishonor_ in place of honor, and expect that I shall
accept it as befitting my position."
"You use harsh language, my dear Mademoiselle Melanie,--language that"--
"That clearly expresses your meaning, and therefore sounds harshly. I am
accustomed to speak plainly myself, and to strip of their flowery
_entourage_ the sentiments to which I listen. It may be an ungraceful
habit, but it is a safe one. I am persuaded that if vice were always
called by its true name, shame, misery, and ruin would darken fewer
lives."
"Your candor is one of your greatest charms," said Lord Linden, who was
deeply impressed by her singular and open treatment of a proposition
which it had cost him a struggle to make.
"I am glad that you approve of my frankness, for I must be franker
still. When I asked you a favor I was impelled by motives which may
perhaps be explained to you hereafter; I was exceedingly unwilling to
make the request which you so promptly accorded,--but the strength of
those motives urged me to set aside prudence and reserve. I will not
pretend to conceal that I feared you might be placed upon a footing of
less restraint through the performance of the service I solicited at
your hands, and that you might make your visits more frequent than I
should be inclined to permit,--but I did not dream that the price you
set upon the performance of this act of kindness was the privilege of
offering me an insult."
"An insult? You do not imagine--you cannot suppose that I had any such
intention?"
"You have spoken too plainly, my lord, to leave anything to my
_imagination_; possibly, however, you may be acquainted with some fine
phrase, unknown to me, in which you would couch what I have plainly
styled, and as plainly comprehend to be an insult. Your advocacy with
Mr. Rutledge has brought about a result which will benefit one
who--who--who has the strongest claims upon me, and, under ordinary
circumstances, I should have been your debtor. As it is, you and I are
quits! The privilege of insulting me will suffice you! And now, my lord,
you will excuse me, if, being a woman who earns her livelihood and whose
time is valuable, I bring this interview to a close."
Madeleine, as she spoke, rose and courtesied, and would have passed out
of the room; but Lord Linden, forgetting himself for a moment, prevented
her exit by springing between her and the door.
"You will not leave me without, at least, one word of pardon?"
"I have said we were quits. You demanded a price for the service you
rendered me; I have paid it by listening for the first time to language
which, had I a father, or a brother, could not have been addressed to me
with impunity; I have neither."
"Let me, at least, vindicate myself. You do not know to what lengths
passion will drive a man."
"You are right, I never knew until now; I have learned to-day. Allow me
to pass without the necessity of ringing for a servant."
"First you must hear me," exclaimed Lord Linden, almost beside himself
at the prospect of her leaving him in anger, and closing her doors
henceforward against him. "I know how contemptible I must seem in your
eyes. I read it in your countenance; I have no excuse to offer, except
the plea that my love for you overleapt the bounds of all discretion."
"I ask for no excuse," answered Madeleine, freezingly.
"I only plead for forgiveness; I only entreat that you will forget the
error of which I have been guilty, that you will allow me to see you
again; that you will permit me to endeavor to reinstate myself in your
esteem."
"My lord, our intercourse is at an end. The service you have rendered me
it is no longer in my power to refuse, but you have received its full
equivalent. I can spare no more time in the discussion of this subject.
Once more, I request you to let me pass without forcing me to ring the
bell."
"I obey you, but on condition that I may return, if it be but once more.
Promise to grant me one more interview, and I leave you on the instant;
I implore you not to refuse."
He approached her, and before Madeleine was even aware of his intention,
seized her hand.
The door opened; M. Maurice de Gramont was announced just as Madeleine
snatched away the hand Lord Linden had taken, but not before the action
had been noticed by Maurice.
He paused at the sight of the nobleman, but Madeleine relieved and
rejoiced by the presence of her cousin, unreflectingly hastened toward,
and greeted him with a beaming face.
Lord Linden's astonishment was eloquently portrayed upon his
countenance. His hostess, recovering her presence of mind, turned to the
nobleman, and bowing as courteously as though she had no cause for
indignation, wished him good-morning. Her tone seemed to imply that he
was taking his leave when Maurice entered. Lord Linden had no
alternative but to withdraw.
Maurice, whose heart was swelling with deep gratitude, with increased
tenderness, with exalted admiration, experienced, at the sight of Lord
Linden, a sickening revulsion of feeling.
This nobleman, then, was received by Madeleine in her own especial
apartment, the doors of which were only opened to her particular
friends; he was alone with her, and his unusually agitated manner
betrayed that he had been conversing upon some subject of the deepest
interest. Madeleine, too, looked paler than usual, and the troubled
expression which had displaced the wonted placidity of her countenance
was, doubtless, owing to this unanticipated interruption.
As Lord Linden made his exit, he glanced at Maurice at once haughtily
and inquiringly. What was this young man, of his lordship's own rank,
doing here, in the boudoir of the mantua-maker? What claim had he to
admission? Must he not be upon an intimate footing? for, had not
Madeleine extended her hand to him without reserve, and as though she
were greeting one who was far from a stranger?
"A lover!" exclaimed Lord Linden to himself as he closed the door; "a
rival to whom she listens in spite of her bewitching prudery. It is
incomprehensible! and yet it has inspired me with new courage; I will
not leave him an undisputed field."
He had approached the street-door when he reflected that something might
be learned from Mademoiselle Melanie's _employées_. He turned back and
went upstairs to the exhibition rooms.
Ruth Thornton received him; and, at his request, displayed shawls,
mantles, scarfs innumerable. He had desired to see these articles on the
plea of making a selection for his sister. Hardly looking at them, he
purchased one of the most extravagant, while making an attempt to lure
Ruth into conversation. She replied simply and politely, but appeared to
be only interested in her occupation, and quite to ignore the occasional
gallantry of his remarks. He was on the point of desisting, when
Victorine, who had been attending to customers in another apartment,
chanced to look into this room, saw Lord Linden, recognized him as the
gentleman with whom she had noticed Mademoiselle Melanie earnestly
conversing on the day previous, and at once came forward as though to
assist Ruth. The latter had been rendered very uncomfortable by the
deportment of his lordship, and was only too glad to retire, leaving
the forewoman alone with Lord Linden.
The nobleman added so largely to his purchase that Lady Augusta's
astonishment must be greatly excited by the number of shawls and scarfs
which her brother deemed it possible for a lady to bring into use during
a season.
As may be supposed, it was not difficult to lure the lively Frenchwoman
into talking of the head of the establishment; and she very speedily
gratified Lord Linden by communicating as much of Mademoiselle Melanie's
history as she herself knew. But had Mademoiselle Melanie lovers? Or was
her vestal-like demeanor genuine? This was difficult and delicate ground
to tread upon; yet his lordship was too much in earnest not to venture a
step or two.
The wily Victorine now assumed a mysterious air, for she entertained a
suspicion that the gentleman did not make inquiries without being deeply
interested in the answers. It would be impossible to relate precisely
_what_ she said. Her confidences were given more by inuendoes and arch
glances and knowing shakes of the head, which suggest so much, because
they leave so much to the imagination. Lord Linden received the
impression that Mademoiselle Melanie, though much admired by the
opposite sex, had conducted herself with exemplary decorum _until
lately_; but, of late, certain mysterious proceedings had become known
to the forewoman of which she did not wish to speak too unreservedly.
The handsome black lace shawl which Lord Linden begged Victorine to
accept delighted her to a point which won further confidence; for, while
folding it up with caressing touches, and thanking the donor with that
grace which belongs to her nation, she admitted that there was a certain
M. de Gramont who was enamored of Mademoiselle Melanie, and for whom the
latter had evinced a marked preference, though Mademoiselle Melanie
evidently wished to act with all possible discretion, and keep his
attentions from the eyes of the public.
Be it understood, that with Victorine's lax ideas of morality, keeping
an _affaire de coeur_ from the eyes of the public was all that was
necessary to preserve the honor of a woman who chose to indulge in a
_liaison_.
Lord Linden had no alternative but to believe that Mademoiselle Melanie,
in spite of her air of exquisite purity, and the chaste dignity which
characterized all her words and actions, was, after all, not
inaccessible. It was (he reflected) as much out of the question for the
Viscount de Gramont to marry a mantua-maker as it was for Lord Linden to
marry her; as a natural sequence, their intentions must be the same; and
it remained to be proved which would be the successful lover.
He quitted the house enraged with himself for having been deceived;
indignant with Madeleine for her successful acting; furious with
Maurice, because he looked upon him as a rival; determined to seize an
early opportunity of quarrelling with him, and resolved to find some
pretext to gain admission to Mademoiselle Melanie's presence through the
aid of her obliging forewoman.
Let us return to Maurice, whom we left in Madeleine's boudoir. When the
door had closed upon Lord Linden, he said, in a wounded tone,--
"I thought only especial friends were admitted to this sanctum of yours.
I did not know, Madeleine, that you were acquainted with Lord Linden."
"He came to bring _Mademoiselle Melanie_ an important piece of
information; and one which concerns you, Maurice."
Maurice was exasperated, rather than soothed, by this intelligence, and
answered, hastily,--
"I am sorry for it. He belongs to a class of men whom I hold in supreme
contempt;--a _blasé_ idler, whose chief occupation in life is to kill
time. Madeleine, forgive me! What a brute I am to speak so harshly when
I come to thank you! But the sight of that senseless _roué_ in your
boudoir, and apparently upon a familiar footing, has made an idiot of
me. I will not pay you so bad a compliment as to suggest that _he_ is
the mysterious lover whom you have refused to name. But why is he here
to-day? Why did I see him here yesterday? Why did he, yesterday, when he
caught sight of me, suddenly disappear, as though desirous of eluding
observation?"
"Maurice, if there be true affection between us," said Madeleine,
gently, and laying her delicate white hand upon his, "if there be true,
_cousinly_ affection between us, we should trust each other wholly, and
_in spite of appearances_. Though it is easy for me to explain _why_ I
admitted Lord Linden to a private interview, it may not always be
equally easy to give you explanations; and we may bring great future
sorrow upon each other if either give entertainment to a doubt."
"No, Madeleine, I can never doubt that all you do is well and wisely
done. Would that I had no cause to doubt your affection for me; no cause
to be distracted by jealousy when I see any other man allowed
privileges which I long to claim as mine alone! But how is it possible
to love you, and not to be hourly tormented by the position in which I
am placed? Since you have rejected me as a lover, could I even be known
to the world as your cousin, I might, at least, have the joy of
protecting you. Must that, too, be denied me?"
"Yes, Maurice. Do you not know how important it is that our relationship
should remain undivulged, unsuspected?"
"No; I cannot see the importance! I cannot submit to such an
interdiction! Let my grandmother and my father say what they will, I am
not bound to yield to so unnatural a request!"
"You will yield to it as my petition, Maurice. Think of it as a favor, a
sacrifice I ask of you. If you refuse me, I shall believe that you feel
I have no right to ask favors."
"No right? There you touch me deeply! Madeleine, I am here to-day to
learn whether you have not laid me under the deepest obligation--whether
it was not by you"--
Madeleine, though she was not a little discomposed by learning that her
recent interference in his behalf was suspected, had presence of mind
left to endeavor to divert his thoughts. She interrupted him by saying,
in a lively tone,--
"I have made several vain attempts to explain Lord Linden's presence
here, and you will not permit me to do so, though his visit concerns
yourself. Have you no curiosity? I am half inclined to punish you for
your indifference."
Before Maurice could reply, Count Tristan de Gramont was announced.
"It is _you_ whom I have to thank,--you, good, generous, noble
Madeleine, I am sure it is!" said he, excitedly. "It is your hand which
has saved me and my son from the precipice over which we were suspended!
I could scarcely credit the good news."
"If you talk of good news," replied Madeleine, "I have some to give you
which I have just received from Lord Linden. Mr. Rutledge has promised
his vote for the left road."
The count looked at her as though he could not trust his ears; then he
said, in a tremulous voice that broke into a childish sob, "It is all
wonder! You are the Fairy they called you, the magician,--the--the--the"--
Robert opened the door and announced the Countess de Gramont and
Mademoiselle de Merrivale.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
MADAME DE GRAMONT.
The countess entered the room casting disdainful glances around her.
Madeleine, who could not suspect the object of her visit, accosted her
in astonishment.
"You, madame, beneath my roof; this is an unhoped-for condescension!"
"Do not imagine that I come to be classed among your customers, and
order my dresses of you," returned the countess, disdainfully, and
waving Madeleine off as the latter advanced toward her.
Bertha felt strongly inclined to quote from a former remark of Gaston de
Bois, and retort, "You have done that already, and the transaction was
not particularly profitable," but she restrained herself.
"Nor do I come," continued the imperious lady, "as one who stoops to be
your visitor! I came to rebuke impertinence, and to demand by what right
you have dared to make use of my name as a cloak to give respectability
to _charities_ forced upon your poor relations."
Madeleine was silent.
"Then the aid which came to me at such an opportune moment _was_ yours,
Madeleine?" said Maurice. "It was you who saved me from worse than
ruin?"
Still no answer from Madeleine's quivering lips.
"Do not force her to say,--do not force her to acknowledge her own
goodness and liberality," said Bertha, "we all know that it _was_ she,
and she will not deny it. Does not her silence speak for her?"
"You thought, perhaps," resumed the countess, even more angrily than
before, "that because my son has flown in the face of my wishes, and has
mingled himself up with business matters, and because Maurice has chosen
to degrade himself by entering a profession,--you thought that you might
take the liberty of coming to his assistance, in some temporary
difficulty, and might also be pardoned the insolence of using my name;
but I resent the impertinence; I will not permit it to pass uncorrected!
I will write to the person whom you have deceived and let him know that
the name of the Countess de Gramont has been used without her authority.
I shall also inquire at whose suggestion he ventured to address an
epistle to me."
"No need of that, madame," said M. de Bois, who had entered the room in
time to hear this burst of indignation. "_I_, alone, am to blame for the
liberty of using your name. Knowing how desirous Mademoiselle de Gramont
was to conceal her relationship to your family, I suggested that the
money indispensable to her cousin should be sent in such a manner that
it might be supposed to come from you. I also took the responsibility of
suggesting to Mr. Emerson that it would be well to send a line to you,
enclosing a receipt for the sum paid into his hands by me; one of my
motives was to insure that the news of its payment would at once reach
Maurice."
"You presumed unwarrantably, sir," replied the countess. "You presumed
almost as much as did Mademoiselle de Gramont, in supposing that she
could use the money acquired in a manner so degrading to our _noble
house_ for the benefit of my grandson."
"That money, madame," rejoined M. de Bois, warmly, "has saved the honor
of your _noble house_! I will leave you to learn of Count Tristan how it
was imperilled, and how it would have been sullied but for Mademoiselle
Madeleine's timely aid."
"It has been _sullied_," began the countess.
"Not by Mademoiselle de Gramont," returned M. de Bois. "Once more, I
tell you that she has saved your escutcheon from a stain which could
never have been effaced. And for this act you spurn her, you scorn her
generosity; you tell her she is not worthy of rendering you a service,
instead of bowing down before her as you,--as we all might well do, in
reverence and admiration; thanking Heaven that such a woman has been
placed in the world, as a glorious example to her own sex, and an
inspiration to ours. The burden of her nobility has not crushed the
noble instincts of her heart, or paralyzed her noble hands. But you do
not know all yet; you owe her another debt"--
"Another debt?" Count Tristan was the first to exclaim.
"Yes," continued M. de Bois, in a tone of pride, "through her influence,
the influence of the duchess-mantua-maker, the votes you could never
otherwise have secured have been obtained; the committee met an hour
ago, and the road to the left, which you so much desired, has been
decided upon, and this, this too, you owe to Mademoiselle Madeleine's
exertions."
Neither Maurice nor Count Tristan was allowed to speak, for M. de Bois
went on without pause,--
"And do you deem _this, too_, madame, an impertinence, a presumption, a
crime, upon the part of your niece? Do you say that this is a favor
which you desire to reject? Happily it is not in your power! And now,
after she has been cast off, despised, and denounced by you and your
son, you are bound to come to her with thanks, if not to implore her
pardon."
"Sir," answered the countess, "you have forgotten yourself in a manner
which astonishes me, and must astonish all who hear you; and henceforth,
I beg you to understand"--
Bertha prevented the sentence of banishment, which the countess was
about to pronounce against M. de Bois, from being completed, by saying,
abruptly,--
"You will readily understand, M. de Bois, that we are so much surprised
that astonishment deprives us of fitting words."
Maurice now turned to Madeleine and said, with the emotion of a
genuinely manly nature which is not ashamed to receive a benefit,--
"To owe you so much is not oppressive to me, Madeleine. There is no
being on earth, man or woman, to whom I would so willingly be indebted.
I know the happiness it confers upon you to be able to do what you have
done. I know your thankfulness is greater even than mine; though how
great that is, even you cannot"--
"What, Maurice!" broke in the countess; "are you so thoroughly without
pride or self-respect that you talk of accepting the bounty of
Mademoiselle de Gramont? You consent to receive this charity doled out
by the hands of a _mantua-maker_?"
Maurice grew livid with suppressed anger at this new insult, because it
was levelled at Madeleine, rather than at himself.
"My grandmother, when you are calmer, and when I myself am calmer, I
will speak to you on this subject."
"How pale you look, Madeleine!" cried Bertha, suddenly. "Surely you are
ill!"
These words caused Maurice and M. de Bois to spring to the side of
Madeleine. Her strength had been over-taxed by the emotions of the last
few days, and it suddenly gave way. It was by a strong effort of
volition that she prevented herself from fainting. Maurice, who had
caught her in his arms, placed her tenderly in a chair, and for a moment
her beautiful head fell upon his shoulder; but she struggled against the
insensibility which was stealing over her, and feebly waved her hand in
the direction of a small table upon which stood a tumbler and a carafe
of water. M. de Bois poured some water into the glass and would have
held it to her lips; but Maurice took the tumbler from him, and, as
Madeleine drank, the delight of ministering to her overcame his alarm at
her indisposition, and sent shivering through his frame a thrill of
almost rapture.
In a few moments she lifted her eyes over which the lids had drooped
heavily, and, trying to smile, sat up and made an effort to speak; but
the pale lips moved without sound, and her countenance still wore a
ghastly hue.
"Are you better, my own dear Madeleine? What can I do for you?" asked
Bertha, who was kneeling in front of her.
Madeleine murmured faintly,--
"I would like to be left alone, dear. Forgive me for sending you away. I
shall soon be better when I am alone."
"Impossible, Madeleine!" cried Maurice, his arm still about her waist.
"You will not ask _me_ to leave you."
Perhaps she only at that moment became conscious of the supporting arm;
for she gently drew herself away, and the palest rose began to tinge her
ashy cheek; but it deepened into a sudden crimson flush, as she saw the
eyes of the countess angrily fixed upon her.
"Yes, Maurice, do not refuse me. I am better,--I am quite well." And she
rose up, forcing her limbs to obey her will. Then, leaning on Bertha's
shoulder, whispered, "I entreat you, dear, to make them go,--make them
_all_ go; I cannot bear more at this moment. Spare me, if you love me!"
"O Madeleine, how can you?" began Bertha.
But M. de Bois, who had perfect reliance in Madeleine's judgment, felt
certain that she herself knew what was best for her, and said,--
"Mademoiselle de Gramont will be better alone. If she will allow me, I
will apprise Miss Thornton of her indisposition, and we will take our
leave."
Madeleine smiled assent, and sank into her seat; for her limbs were
faltering.
M. de Bois could not have uttered words better calculated to induce the
countess to take her leave. She had no desire to be found in the boudoir
of the mantua-maker by any of Madeleine's friends. She said,
commandingly,--
"Bertha--Maurice--I desire you to accompany my son and myself.
Mademoiselle de Gramont, though my errand here is not fully
accomplished, I wish you good morning."
Neither Bertha nor Maurice showed the slightest disposition to obey the
order of the countess, but Madeleine said, pleadingly,--
"Go--go--I pray you! You cannot help me so much as by going."
They both began to remonstrate; but she checked them by the pressure of
her trembling fingers, for each held one of her hands, and said,
pleadingly,--
"Do not speak to me now,--another time,--when you will; but not _now_."
There was something so beseeching in her voice that it was impossible to
resist its appeal. Bertha embraced her in silence; Maurice pressed the
hand that lay in his to his lips; and both followed the countess out of
the room.
Count Tristan took the hand Maurice had relinquished, and, giving a
glance at the retreating figure of the countess, commenced speaking; but
Madeleine interrupted him with,--
"Another time, I beg. Leave me now."
Just then Gaston de Bois entered, accompanied by Ruth, and, reading
Madeleine's wishes in her eyes, placed his arm through that of the
count, and conducted him out of the room, closing the door behind him.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
HALF THE WOOER.
Count Tristan was about to hand Bertha into the carriage which the
countess had entered, when the young girl paused, with her tiny foot
upon the step. She shrank from a discussion with her aunt who was in a
high state of indignation. Madame de Gramont's wrath was not only
directed against Gaston de Bois, but she was exasperated by Bertha's
interference just when the haughty lady had been on the point of making
him feel that he would no longer be ranked among the number of her
friends and welcome visitors. While Bertha's foot still rested upon the
step, she glanced over her shoulder and saw Gaston standing beside
Maurice. Her decision was made. She looked into the carriage and said,--
"You will have the kindness to excuse me from accompanying you, aunt; I
will take advantage of the beautiful day and walk home with Maurice."
Having uttered these words, she drew back quickly and tripped away
before the answer of the countess could reach her. Maurice walked on one
side of her, and what was more natural than that Gaston should occupy
the place on the other side?
For a brief space all three pursued their way in silence, then Bertha
made an effort to converse. Maurice answered in monosyllables and those
were followed by deep sighs. Gaston seemed to be hardly more master of
language, though his taciturnity had a different origin; it was
occasioned by the unexpected delight of finding himself walking beside
Bertha, who constantly lifted her sweet face inquiringly to his, as
though to ask why he had no words.
Maurice was in a perplexed state of mind which caused him a nervous
longing for entire seclusion. Even sympathy, sympathy from those who
were as dear to him as Bertha and Gaston, jarred upon his highly-strung
nerves.
All at once, he stopped and said,--
"Gaston, I will leave you to conduct Bertha home; I fancy you will not
object to the trust," and trying to simulate a smile, he walked away.
Gaston, left alone with Bertha, quickly regained his power of speech.
They were passing the Capitol; how lovely the grounds looked in their
spring attire! The day, too, was delicious. The opportunity of seeing
Bertha alone was a happiness that might not soon return.
"These grounds are Mademoiselle Madeleine's favorite promenade,"
remarked M. de Bois. "Have you ever seen them?"
Bertha made no reply, but she moved toward the gate and they entered. A
short silence ensued, then she said abruptly, "What an heroic character
is Madeleine's!"
"A character," returned Gaston, tenderly, "which exerts a holy influence
upon all with whom she is thrown in contact, and works more good,
teaches more truth by the example of a patient, noble, holy life than
could be taught by a thousand sermons from the most eloquent lips." He
paused, and then continued in a tone of deep feeling, "_I_ may well say
so! I shudder to think what a weak, useless, self-centred being I should
have been but for her agency."
"You seem far happier," replied Bertha, smiling archly, "than you did in
Brittany! And this change was wrought by"--
"Mademoiselle Madeleine! It was she who made me feel that we are all too
ready with our peevish outcries against the beautiful world in which we
have been placed; too ready to complain that all is sadness and sorrow
and disappointment, when the gloom exists _within_ ourselves, not
_without_ us; it is from ourselves the misty darkness springs; it is we
ourselves who have lost, or who have never possessed, the secret of
being happy, and we exclaim that there is no happiness on the face of
the globe! It is we ourselves who are '_flat_, _stale_, and
_unprofitable_,' not our neighbors; though we are sure to charge them
with the dulness and insipidity for which we, alone, are responsible."
Bertha answered, "One secret of Madeleine's cheerfulness is her
unquenchable _hope_. Even in her saddest moments, the light of hope
never appeared to be extinguished. It shone about her almost like a
visible halo, and illumined all her present and her future. Have you not
remarked the strength of this characteristic?"
"That I have!" he replied with warmth. "And it forced upon my conviction
the truth of the poet's words that '_hope_ and _wisdom_ are akin'; that
it is always wise to hope, and the most wise, because those who have
most faith, ever hope most. She taught me to hope when I was plunged in
the depths of despair!"
Bertha blushed suddenly, as though those fervently-uttered words had
awakened some suggestion which could not be framed into language.
"This seat is shady and retired, and commands a fine view of the
garden," remarked Gaston, pausing. There was an invitation in his
accents.
Bertha, half unconsciously seated herself, and Gaston did the same. Then
came another pause, a longer one than before; it was broken by Bertha,
who exclaimed,--
"You defended Madeleine nobly and courageously! and how I thanked you!"
"I only did her justice, or, rather, I did her far less than justice,"
returned Gaston.
"Yet few men would have dared to say what you did in my aunt's
presence."
"Could any man who had known Mademoiselle Madeleine as intimately as I
have had the honor of knowing her, through these four last painful years
of her life, could any man who had learned to reverence her as I
reverence her, have said less?"
"But my aunt, by her towering pride, awes people out of what they
_ought_ to do, and what they _want_ to do; at least, she does _me_; and
therefore,--therefore I honored you all the more when I saw you had the
courage to tell her harsh truths, while pleading Madeleine's cause so
eloquently."
Gaston was much moved by these unanticipated and warmly uttered
commendations. He tried to speak, but once again relapsed into his old
habit of stammering.
"Your praises are most pre--pre--pre"--
Bertha finished his sentence as in by-gone days. "Precious, are they
indeed? I am glad! I am truly glad that they are precious."
M. de Bois, notwithstanding the happiness communicated by this frank
declaration, could make no reply. What _could_ he answer? And what right
had he to give too delightful an interpretation to the chance
expressions of the lovely being who sat there before him, uttering words
in her ingenuous simplicity, which would have inspired a bolder, more
self-confident man, with the certainty that she regarded him with
partial eyes.
His gaze was riveted upon the ground, and so was hers. Neither spoke.
How long they would have sat thus, each looking for some movement to be
made by the other, is problematical. The double reverie was broken by a
well-known voice, which cried out,--
"Ah, M. de Bois, you are the very man I wanted to see. Good-morning,
Mademoiselle de Merrivale."
Lord Linden and his sister, Lady Augusta, stood before them. M. de Bois
instantly rose, and Bertha invited Lady Augusta to take the vacant
place. Lord Linden had already seized Gaston's arm, and drawn him aside.
"My dear fellow," began the nobleman, "Do you know that I have been
vainly seeking you for a couple of days! I am in a most awkward
predicament; but I suppress particulars to make a long story short; in a
word, I have discovered the fair unknown! I expected,--you know what
sort of woman I expected to find."
"Perfectly," answered Gaston, laughing, "a walking angel, minus the
traditional wings. I remember your description. Perhaps the lady grows
more earthly upon a better acquaintance?"
"No, not by any means. I found her more enchanting than ever; but hang
it, unless you had seen her, you could not comprehend how I could have
made such a confounded mistake. This lovely being is--is--is--don't
prepare to laugh. I shall be tempted to knock you down if you do, for
really my feelings are so much interested that I could not bear even a
friend's ridicule."
"Well, go on," urged M. de Bois. "The lady in question is,--not an
angel, unless it be a fallen one; that I understand; good; then _what_
is she?"
"A _mantua-maker!_" exclaimed Lord Linden, in accents of deep
mortification.
Well might he have been startled by the change that came over Gaston's
countenance; the merriment by which it had been lighted up suddenly
vanished; he looked aghast, astounded, and his features worked as though
with ill-suppressed rage.
"I see you are amazed: I thought you would be! You did not take me for
such a greenhorn! But, in spite of her trade,--her _profession_, as it
is considerately called in this country,--she is the most peerless
creature; any man might have been duped."
"And her name?" inquired Gaston, in an agitated voice, though he hardly
needed the confirmation to his fears contained in Lord Linden's answer.
"Mademoiselle Melanie!"
"Good heavens! how unfortunate!" exclaimed Gaston, not knowing what he
was saying.
"Unfortunate," repeated Lord Linden; "you may well say _that_. But as
marrying her is out of the question, there may possibly be an
alternative"--
"_What_ alternative? _What do you mean?_" demanded Gaston, turning upon
him fiercely.
"It does not strike me that my meaning is so difficult to divine,"
replied the other, lightly. "When a woman is not in a position to become
the wife of a man who has fallen desperately in love with her, there is
only one thing else that he will very naturally seek to"--
"Forbear, my lord! I cannot listen to such language," cried Gaston,
angrily. "You could not insult a pure woman, no matter in what station
you found her, by such a suggestion. I will not believe you capable of
such baseness."
Lord Linden looked at him in questioning amazement; then answered,
somewhat scornfully,--
"Really, I was not aware that instances of the kind were so rare, or
that your punctilious morality would be so terribly shocked by an
every-day occurrence. If the lovely creature herself consents to my
proposition, I consider that the arrangement will be a very fair one."
"Consents?" echoed Gaston, lashed into fury. "Do you know of whom you
are speaking? This Mademoiselle Melanie is one of the noblest,--that is
to say, one of the most noble-minded, and one of the most chaste of
women."
"You have heard of her then? Perhaps seen her?" inquired Lord Linden,
eagerly. "As for her vaunted chastity, that is neither here nor
there,--that _may_ or _may not_ be fictitious. I have heard from the
best authority that she receives the private visits of titled admirers,
whose attentions can hardly be of a nature very different from mine. You
see, it is fair game, and if I succeed"--
"For Heaven's sake stop!" said Gaston, losing all control of his temper.
Then reflecting that this very energy in defending her might compromise
Madeleine, he said, more calmly, "I beg your lordship to pause before
you insult Mademoiselle Melanie. I know something of her history. She
bears an unblemished name; she has a highly sensitive, a most delicate
and refined nature. Could she deem it possible that any man entertained
toward her such sentiments as those to which you have just given
utterance, it would almost kill her."
Lord Linden's lips curled sarcastically, but he did not feel disposed to
communicate how completely Mademoiselle Melanie was already aware of
those sentiments. He now essayed to put an end to the conversation by
saying,--
"I shall bear your remarks in mind; though the accounts we have heard of
the fair mantua-maker differ materially."
"Who has dared to slander her?" demanded Gaston, with an air which
seemed to assert his right to ask the question.
"I have not said that she has been slandered. I see we are not likely to
understand each other; let us join the ladies."
As he spoke, he walked toward Lady Augusta and Bertha. His sister rose
and made her adieu.
When Lord Linden and Lady Augusta had passed on, Gaston was surprised to
see that Bertha did not appear desirous of returning to the hotel. She
sat still, and, when he approached her, drew her dress slightly aside,
as though to make room for him to resume his seat. Could he do otherwise
than comply? She sat with her head bent down. The shining ringlets
falling in rich, golden showers, partly concealed her face. She was
tracing letters upon the gravel-walk with her parasol. Gaston was too
much moved by his painful conversation with Lord Linden to start any
indifferent topic; and Bertha's manner, so different from her usual
frank, lively bearing, made it still more difficult for him to know how
to accost her.
At last, without raising her eyes, she said, "You and Lord Linden were
having a very animated discussion. At one time I began to be afraid that
you were quarrelling."
"We certainly never differed more. I doubt if we shall ever be friends
again."
This assertion was uttered so earnestly that Bertha involuntarily looked
up into Gaston's face. It was flushed by his recent anger, and the
expression of his countenance betokened perplexity mingled with
vexation.
What woman ever saw the man she loved out of temper without seeking to
pour oil upon the troubled waters, even at the risk of being charged
with her sex's constitutional curiosity? for an attempt to soothe
includes a desire to fathom the secret cause of annoyance. If there be
women who are not stirred by impulses of this kind they are cast in
moulds the very opposite to that of Bertha.
She said, in a soft and winning tone, "Has he done you wrong?"
"He has grossly wronged one whom I esteem more highly, perhaps, than any
woman,--any being living," answered Gaston, firing up at the
recollection of Lord Linden's insinuations; then he corrected himself.
"I should have said any--any oth--oth--other--but"--
"It was a woman--a lady, then, whom he wronged?" inquired Bertha,
betraying redoubled interest at this inadvertent admission.
Gaston perceived that he had said too much; but, in adding nothing more,
he did not extricate himself from the difficulty. His silence could only
be interpreted into an affirmative.
"And one whom you esteem more highly than all others?" persisted Bertha.
"Whom do you esteem so highly as Madeleine? Surely it could not have
been Madeleine? Lord Linden did not speak disrespectfully of Madeleine?"
Gaston had gone too far for concealment. "He spoke of Mademoiselle
Melanie, the mantua-maker; but I warrant I have silenced him!"
"Madeleine is very happy in the possession of such a true friend as you
are! one upon whom she can always lean,--always depend,--one who can
never fail her! Yes, she is very, very happy! When I heard you defending
her before my aunt, I said to myself, 'Oh that I had such a friend!'"
Would not Gaston de Bois have been the dullest of mortals if those words
had failed to infuse a sudden courage into his heart?
He replied with impetuous ardor, "Would--would that you could be induced
to accept the same friend as your own! Would that he might dare to hope
that some day, however distant, you would grant him a nearer, dearer
title! Would that he might believe such a joy possible!"
Bertha spoke no word, made no movement, but sat with her eyes bent on
the ground. Her manner emboldened Gaston to seize her hand; she did not
withdraw it from his clasp; then he comprehended his joy, and poured out
the history of his long-concealed passion with a tender eloquence of
which he never imagined himself capable.
If, when he awoke that morning from a dream in which Bertha's lovely
countenance was vividly pictured, some prophetic voice had whispered
that ere the sun went down he would have uttered such language, and she
have listened to it, he would not have believed the verification of that
delightful prediction within the bounds of possibility. Yet, when the
happy pair left the capital grounds to return to the hotel, Gaston
walked by the side of his betrothed bride.
It is true that the wealthy heiress had lured on her self-distrusting
lover to make a declaration which he had not contemplated; but who will
charge her with unmaidenly conduct? The most modest of women are daily
doing, unaware, what Bertha did somewhat more consciously. Shakespeare,
who read the hearts of women with the penetrating eyes of a seer, and
who never painted a heroine who was not the type of a class, pictured no
rare or imaginary order of being in his beauteous Desdemona,--
"A maiden never bold,
Of spirit so still and quiet that her motion
Blushed at herself,"--
who was yet "_half the wooer_." And there is no lack of men who can
testify (in spite of the feminine denial which we anticipate) that they
owe their happiness (or misery) to some gentle, timid girl who was
nevertheless "_half the wooer_."
CHAPTER XXXV.
A REVELATION.
Bertha was too happy as she walked toward the hotel, to dread the
rebukes which she had good reason to anticipate from the countess. For a
young lady to traverse the streets alone with a gentleman, however
intimate a friend, was, according to the strict rules of French
etiquette, a gross breach of propriety. And, though the escort of a
gentleman was deemed allowable in the purer and less conventional
society of the land in which they were sojourning, Bertha knew that her
supercilious aunt considered all customs barbarous but those of her
refined native country.
The countess was sitting in her drawing-room, evidently in a state of
high excitement, when Bertha and Gaston entered. Count Tristan appeared
to be endeavoring to palliate his recent conduct by a series of
contradictory statements, and a garbled explanation of the events which
had placed Maurice in a dubious position; but his mother had sufficient
shrewdness to detect that his object was to deceive, not to enlighten
her.
The appearance of Bertha and Gaston gave inexpressible relief to the
count, and his satisfaction betrayed itself in a singularly unnatural
and childish manner. He kissed Bertha on both cheeks as though he had
not seen her for a long period, asked her how she did, shook hands
warmly with Gaston as if they had not parted a couple of hours before,
offered them chairs, put his arm about Bertha, and drew her to him, as
though he were making her his shield against some imaginary assailant.
"What is the meaning of this prolonged absence, Bertha?" demanded the
countess, without appearing to notice M. de Bois. "Where have you been?
Why did you not return immediately? Where is Maurice?"
"The day was so fine," answered Bertha, trying to speak with some show
of dignity and composure, but failing lamentably, "that I thought I
would enjoy a walk in the capitol grounds. We met Lady Augusta and Lord
Linden. Maurice did not return with us."
"Are you aware of the singular impropriety of your behavior,
Mademoiselle de Merrivale? Is it possible that a niece of mine can have
become so perfectly regardless of all the rules of decorum?"
"Will you excuse me for the present, aunt?" interrupted Bertha,
retreating toward the door in a rather cowardly fashion. "I leave M. de
Bois to--M. de Bois wishes to"--
Gaston had risen and opened the door for her to pass, with as much
self-possession as though bashfulness had not been the tormenting evil
genius of his existence. His look reassured her, and, without finishing
her sentence, she disappeared.
The countess rose with even more than her wonted stateliness, and was
about to follow her niece; but M. de Bois, pretending not to perceive
her intention, closed the door and said,--
"There is a communication which I desire to have the honor of making to
Madame de Gramont and Count Tristan."
"You can make no communication to which I feel disposed to listen,"
answered the countess haughtily, and advancing toward the door.
"I regret to hear the aunt of Mademoiselle de Merrivale say so, as I
have this morning ventured to solicit the hand of that young lady in
marriage, and have received a favorable answer to my suit, as well as
permission to request the approval of her relatives."
The countess sank into the nearest chair. She knew that her consent was
a mere form, and that Bertha could dispose of her hand in freedom.
Count Tristan, still speaking in a confused, incoherent manner,
exclaimed,--
"Bless my soul! How astonishing! The game's up, and Maurice has lost his
chance! Bertha's fortune is to go out of the family! It's very puzzling.
How did it all come about? De Bois, you sly fellow, you lucky dog, I
never suspected you. Managed matters quietly, eh? Should never have
thought you were the man to succeed with a pretty girl."
"Really," returned Gaston good-humoredly, "I am almost as astonished as
you are by Mademoiselle de Merrivale's preference. Let me hope that the
Countess de Gramont and yourself will render my happiness complete by
approving of Mademoiselle Bertha's choice."
"Of course, of course; there's nothing else to be done; we have lost our
trump card, but there's no use of confessing it! Very glad to welcome
you as a relative, sir; very happy indeed; everything shall be as
Mademoiselle de Merrivale desires."
Count Tristan uttered these disjointed sentences, in the flurried,
bewildered manner which had marked his conduct since Gaston entered. A
stranger might easily have imagined that the count was under the
influence of delirium; for his face was scarlet his eyes shone with
lurid brightness, his muscles twitched, his hands trembled nervously,
and he was, to all appearance, not thoroughly conscious of what he was
doing.
His mother's look of rebuke was entirely lost upon him, and he rattled
on with an air of assumed hilarity which was painfully absurd.
Gaston was disinclined to give the disdainful lady an opportunity of
expressing her opposition to his suit, and, pretending to interpret her
silence favorably, he took his hat, and said, "I thank you for the
cordial manner in which my proposition has been received; I hope to have
the pleasure of visiting Mademoiselle de Merrivale this evening; I wish
you a good-morning."
The door had closed upon him before the countess had recovered herself
sufficiently to reply.
That evening, before paying his proposed visit to Bertha, M. de Bois
sought Madeleine, to make her a participator in the happiness which she
had so truly predicted would, one day, be his. He also purposed, if
possible, to put her on her guard against the advances of Lord Linden.
At the door he encountered Maurice, who with unaffected warmth,
congratulated him upon his betrothal.
When the servant answered their ring, both gentlemen were denied
admission. Mademoiselle Melanie was not well, and had retired.
"Are you going back to the hotel?" asked Gaston, as they left the door.
"No, not until late. I hardly know what I shall do with myself; I may go
to the reading-rooms."
As their roads were different, they parted, and Maurice, not being able
to select any better place of refuge, took his way to the reading-rooms
most frequented by gentlemen of the metropolis. He was fortunate in
finding an apartment vacant. He sat down by the table, took up a
newspaper, though the words before him might have been printed in an
unknown tongue, for any sense they conveyed.
He had been sitting about half an hour, musing sadly, when Lord Linden
sauntered through the rooms. The instant he observed Maurice, he
advanced toward him, and unceremoniously took a seat at the same table.
This was just the opportunity which the _piqued_ nobleman had desired.
Maurice returned his salutation politely, but with an occupied air which
seemed to forbid conversation. But Lord Linden was not to be baffled. He
opened a periodical, and, after listlessly turning the leaves, closed
it, and, leaning over the table in the direction of Maurice, said, with
a sarcastic intonation,--
"I hope you had an agreeable visit, M. de Gramont."
Maurice looked up in surprise.
"I beg pardon,--I do not comprehend. To what visit do you allude?"
"When we last met," returned Lord Linden, in the same offensive manner,
"I left you in charming company; the lovely mantua-maker, you know!--the
very queen of sirens!"
Maurice flushed crimson and half started from his chair, then sat down
again, making a strong effort to control himself, as he answered coldly,
"I am at a loss to comprehend the meaning of the language in which you
are pleased to indulge."
"'Pon my life, that's going too far; especially as I feel not a little
aggrieved that your inopportune entrance cut short my visit. And you
seemed to be a decided favorite. Deuced lucky! for she is the handsomest
woman in Washington. Come, be frank enough to confess that you think so,
and I'll admit that I think her the most beautiful woman upon the face
of the globe."
"My frankness," returned Maurice, sharply, "forces me to confess that
this conversation is particularly distasteful to me. The lady in
question"--
Lord Linden interrupted him with a light laugh. "Lady? Oh! I see you
adopt the customs and phraseology of the country in which you live; and
_here_, a mantua-maker is, of course, a lady; just as a respectable
boot-black is, in common parlance, an accomplished gentleman."
"My lord,"--began Maurice, angrily; but Lord Linden would not permit him
to continue.
"Oh, don't be offended; I suppose you are a naturalized foreigner; you
are quite right to accept the manners of the country you adopt; it is
the true diplomatic dodge. And, besides, I admit that the _lady_ in
question might anywhere be mistaken for a thorough lady. She has all the
points which betoken the high-bred dame. I'll not quarrel with the term
you use! All I ask is fair play, and that you will not attempt to
monopolize the field."
"Lord Linden," replied Maurice, unable to endure this impertinence any
longer, "once more I beg to inform you that you are using language to
which I cannot listen. I will not permit any man to speak of that lady
in the manner which you have chosen to employ. I shall consider it a
personal insult if you persist."
"Indeed! Have matters gone so far? Really, I did not suspect that the
ground was already occupied, and that the _lady_ whose mantua-making and
millinery are the admiration of all Washington, had a protector by whom
her less favored acquaintances must expect to be taken to task."
These words were spoken in a tone sufficiently caustic to render their
meaning unmistakable.
"She has protectors, my lord,--legal protectors,--who are ready to prove
their right to defend her," replied Maurice, with severity, and rising
as he spoke.
All considerations of prudence,--the wishes of Madeleine and of his
family,--were forgotten at the moment: she was insulted, and he was
there to defend her; that was all he remembered.
Lord Linden, though he could not but be struck by the tone and manner of
the viscount, echoed the words, "The right?"
"Yes, the _right_, as well as the _might_. Mademoiselle Melanie, the
mantua-maker, is in reality Mademoiselle Madeleine Melanie de Gramont,
the daughter of the late Duke de Gramont, and the second cousin of my
father, Count Tristan de Gramont."
"Good heavens! of what gross stupidity I have been guilty! How shall I
ever obtain your pardon?"
Without answering this question, Maurice went on.
"You have forced me to betray a secret which my cousin earnestly desired
to keep; but it is time that her family should refuse their countenance
to this farce of concealment. I, for one, will not be a party to it any
longer. I will never consent to calling her, or hearing her called, by
any but her true title, and I do not care how soon that is proclaimed to
the world."
"M. de Gramont," said Lord Linden, whose embarrassment was mingled with
undisguised joy, "I am overwhelmed with shame, and I beg that you will
forget what I have said. My apology is based upon the error under which
I was laboring. I make it very humbly, very gladly, and trust the
Viscount de Gramont will accept it generously. Without being able to
conceive the circumstances which have placed a noble lady in a position
which has caused me to fall into so grave a mistake, I shall only be too
proud, too thankful, to make the one reparation in my power,"--
Lord Linden had not finished speaking, but Maurice was disinclined to
hear any more or to prolong the interview, and said, frigidly, "I am
bound to accept your apology; but your lordship can hardly expect that I
can find it easy to forget that my cousin, Mademoiselle de Gramont, has
been regarded by you in an unworthy light. Good-evening."
Feigning not to see Lord Linden's outstretched hand, and disregarding
his attempt to exculpate himself further, Maurice walked out of the
reading-room, leaving the nobleman too much elated by the discovery of
Madeleine's rank to experience a natural indignation at her cousin's
cavalier treatment.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
THE SUITOR.
Lord Linden, when the Viscount de Gramont abruptly left him, returned to
his lodgings, and, in spite of the lateness of the hour, wrote to
Madeleine, implored her pardon for the presumption into which he had
been lured by his ignorance of her rank, and formally solicited her
hand. That night the happy nobleman's dreams, when he could sleep, and
his waking thoughts when he courted slumber in vain, had an auroral
tinge hitherto unknown. As soon as the sound of busy feet, traversing
the corridor, announced that the much-desired morning had at last
arrived, he rang his bell, gave his letter into the hands of a sleepy
domestic, and ordered it to be delivered immediately.
What was the next step which propriety demanded? To see Mademoiselle de
Gramont's relatives, to make known his suit to them, and to solicit
their approval.
He considered himself fortunate in finding both Madame de Gramont and
Count Tristan at home. The former received him with as much cordiality
as her constitutional stiffness permitted, but the latter appeared to be
in a half-lethargic state; he scarcely rose to welcome his visitor,
spoke feebly and indistinctly, and, as he sank back in his seat, leaned
his flushed face upon his hands.
"My visit is somewhat early," remarked Lord Linden, "but I was impatient
to see you, for I came to speak of your niece, Mademoiselle de Gramont."
The count looked up eagerly.
Madame de Gramont replied before her son could speak, "The person whom
you designate as my niece has forfeited all right to that title, and is
not recognized by her family."
"I nevertheless venture to hope," returned the nobleman with marked
suavity, "that, under existing circumstances, the alienation will only
be temporary."
The countess broke out angrily: "The impertinence of this young person
exceeds all bounds! She gave us to understand that she possessed, at
least, the modesty to hide her real name, and had no desire to disgrace
her family by proclaiming that it was borne by a person in her degraded
condition; but this, it seems, is only another evidence of her duplicity
and covert manoeuvring; she has taken care that your lordship should
become acquainted with a relationship which we can never cease to
deplore."
"You do her wrong," replied Lord Linden, with becoming spirit; "I regret
to say she so scrupulously concealed her rank that I was led into a
great error,--one for which I now desire amply to atone. It was from M.
Maurice de Gramont that I learned the true name of the so-called
Mademoiselle Melanie."
"Maurice!" cried the countess and her son together.
"I received the information from him last evening," said Lord Linden,
"and I have now come to solicit the hand of Mademoiselle de Gramont in
marriage."
The suggestion that Madeleine could thus magically be raised out of her
present humiliating condition, and that all her short-comings might be
covered by the broad cloak of a title, took such delightful possession
of the haughty lady's mind that there was no room even for surprise.
While Count Tristan was vehemently shaking hands with Lord Linden, and
stammering out broken and unintelligible sentences, his mother said
gravely,--
"We consider your lordship, in all respects, an acceptable _parti_ for a
member of our family. I have ever entertained for Mademoiselle de
Gramont the strongest affection, in spite of her lamentable
eccentricities. But these I would prefer to forget."
"Yes, that's it! That's the trump card now!--forget,--forget all about
it!" cried Count Tristan, hilariously. He had recovered his power of
utterance, yet spoke like a man partially intoxicated. "Let the past be
forgotten, bury it deep; never dig it up! There are circumstances which
had better not be mentioned. I myself have been mixed up with the
affair; of course, I was an innocent party; I beg you to believe so.
It's all right--quite right--quite right!"
Though it was so evident that Count Tristan's mind was wandering,--at
all events, that there was no connection in his ideas,--his mother could
not stoop to admit any such possibility, and said sternly,--
"My son, your language strikes me as singular. Lord Linden, of course,
comprehends that he has our consent to his union with Mademoiselle de
Gramont; but we also wish him to understand we expect him to remove his
wife to his own country, or some other land where her history will not
be known. Upon this condition we will pardon our relative's vagaries,
and give our sanction to her nuptials."
Lord Linden was not a man who could, with any complacency, consent to
have conditions enforced upon him by the family of the lady whom he
selected as his wife; his pride was quite as great as theirs; but before
he had obtained Madeleine's consent to his suit, it was politic to
preserve the favor of those who could influence her decision.
Turning to Count Tristan, he observed, "I sent a letter to Mademoiselle
de Gramont this morning, and I hope to be honored by an answer during
the day. Would it be asking too much if I begged that you would see the
lady, and inform her of the flattering reception which Madame de Gramont
and yourself have given my proposals?"
"I will go at once," replied Count Tristan. "An open visit, of course;
no need of concealment now! Where's my hat? What has become of it? It's
got a trick lately of getting out of the way."
Count Tristan, though his hat stood on the table before him, tottered
across the room, looking about in a weak, flurried way. His mother was
not willing to attribute his singularly helpless, troubled, and childish
demeanor, to the perturbed state of his brain, and said severely, though
addressing her words to Lord Linden,--
"Count Tristan's gratification at the intelligence you have
communicated, and his desire to serve your lordship, appear to have
somewhat bewildered him. He was always very much attached to
Mademoiselle de Gramont."
"Attached to her? Certainly! _Certainly!_" replied the count. "Though
she did not always think so! I was devotedly attached to her when she
imagined quite the contrary! This is my hat, I believe."
He took up Lord Linden's.
"I beg pardon,--_that_, I think is mine," replied his lordship; and
then, indicating the one upon the table which Count Tristan apparently
did not see, asked, "Is not this yours?"
"I suppose so; it cannot be any one's else; there are only two of us. I
wish you a good-morning."
With a forced, unnatural laugh, he left the room.
Count Tristan's deportment, in general, was almost as calm and stately
as that of his august mother; though it was only a weak reflex of hers;
accordingly the change in his demeanor surprised Lord Linden
unpleasantly; but he took leave of the countess without endeavoring to
solve an enigma to which he had no clew.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
A SHOCK.
Count Tristan, on reaching Madeleine's residence was ushered into her
boudoir. He found her reclining upon the sofa, with a book in her hand.
She had not entirely recovered from her indisposition, and wisely
thought that one of the most effectual modes of battling against illness
was to divert the mind: an invaluable medicine, too little in vogue
among the suffering, yet calculated to produce marvellous amelioration
of physical pain. As all _matter_ exists from, and is influenced by,
spiritual causes, the happy workings of this mental ministry are very
comprehensible. Madeleine invariably found medicinal and restorative
properties in the pages of an interesting and healthful-toned volume
which would draw her out of the contemplation of her own ailments. She
had trained herself, when the prostration of her faculties or other
circumstances rendered it impossible for her to read, to lie still and
reflect upon all the blessings that were accorded to her, to count them
over, one by one, and _compel_ herself to estimate each at its full
value. In this manner she successfully counteracted the depression and
unrest that attend bodily disease, and often succeeded in lifting her
mind so far above its disordered mortal medium that she was hardly
conscious of suffering, which was nevertheless very real. Sceptical
reader! you smile in doubt, and think that if Madeleine's wisdom and
patience could accomplish this feat, she was a rare instance of
womanhood. Try her experiment faithfully and then decide!
Madeleine only partially rose when Count Tristan entered.
"My dear niece,--my dearest Madeleine,--I hope you are not ill?"
Although the count spoke with an air of exaggerated affection, his
manner was far more self-possessed than when he left the hotel. The
fresh air had revived him. Madeleine was not struck by any singularity
in his deportment.
"Not exactly ill, yet not quite well," she answered, without pretending
to respond to his oppressive tenderness; "and I was trying to forget
myself."
"That was always your way, Madeleine; you are always forgetting yourself
and remembering others. I always said so. I always appreciated your
beautiful traits. The time has come when your whole family will
appreciate them, and rejoice that you are restored to us. My mother is
in a very different frame of mind to day; you must forget all that took
place yesterday. You must forgive the past, and accept the hand of
reconciliation which she extends to you."
"Is it possible that the Countess de Gramont has charged you to say this
for her?"
"This, and a great deal more. She opens her arms to you; hereafter you
two are to be as mother and daughter."
Count Tristan spoke with so much earnestness, that probably he had
succeeded in believing his own liberally invented statements.
"It seems very strange," returned Madeleine; "yet I thank the countess
for her unlooked-for cordiality. I do not know what good angel has
opened her heart to me; but I am grateful if she will give me a place
there."
"The good angel in question was Lord Linden," answered the count, quite
seriously. "His lordship called this morning. I left him with my
mother."
"Lord Linden?"
"Yes, it was at his suggestion that I hastened here; not that I thought
any influence of mine was needed; but just now it is well to keep in
with every one, and you must oblige me by permitting Lord Linden to
imagine that it was through my advocacy you were induced to look
favorably upon his suit."
"That is impossible."
"Not at all; a mere suggestion in your letter will have the desired
effect. You have not answered Lord Linden's letter yet,--have you."
"No,--I intend to reply this morning, and"--
"That's right! You will grant me this favor, I know you will! Say that
_after having conversed with me_, you accept the offer of his hand."
"I mean to decline it in the most definite manner."
"Decline?" cried Count Tristan, breathing hard, while his face rapidly
changed color; for at one moment it was overspread with a death-like
pallor, and then, suddenly grew purple. "Decline? Such a thing is not to
be thought of; you are jesting?"
"I was never more serious in my life."
"But you will think better of the matter; you will listen to reason; you
will reverse your decision," pleaded the count, his nervous incoherence
and confusion increasing as he grew more and more agitated. "It's for
the honor of the family to say 'yes,' and therefore 'yes' is the proper
_answer_,--eh, Madeleine? Don't joke any more, my dear; it troubles me;
it gives me such a throbbing and heavy weight in my brain. All's
right,--is it not?"
Count Tristan lay back in his chair, and continued muttering, though his
words were no longer comprehensible.
Madeleine now began to be alarmed, and, approaching him, said kindly,
"Can I give you anything? You are not well. Let me order you a glass of
wine."
He stared at her with vacant, glassy eyes, while his lips moved and
twitched without giving forth any distinct sounds. He lifted up his arms
in appeal; they dropped suddenly, as if struck by a giant's invisible
hand, and his head fell forward heavily.
Madeleine, greatly terrified, spoke to him again and again, shook him
gently by the shoulder, to rouse him,--tried to lift his head; the face
she succeeded in turning toward her was frightfully distorted; white
foam oozed from the lips; the eyes were suffused with blood. She had
never before seen a person in a fit, but instinct told her the nature of
the seizure.
Her violent ringing of the bell quickly brought servants to her
assistance, and she ordered Robert to summon Dr. Bayard with the utmost
haste.
This distinguished physician pronounced the attack apoplexy; and, after
applying those remedies which recent discoveries in science have proved
most efficacious, ordered the patient to be undressed and put to bed.
Madeleine's own chamber was prepared for the count's use. The attack was
of brief duration, and he recovered from its violence soon after the
physician arrived, but remained exhausted and insensible.
Another critical case required Dr. Bayard's immediate attendance, and
after giving Madeleine minute directions, he took his leave, saying that
he would return in a couple of hours.
Then Madeleine, who had been engrossed by the necessity of promptly
ministering to the sufferer, remembered that the count's family should
at once be made aware of his condition. What a frightful shock the
countess would receive when she heard of her son's state! And Maurice
and Bertha,--would they not be greatly alarmed? How could intelligence
of the calamity be most gently communicated? Should Madeleine write? A
note bearing the tidings might startle his mother too much. Madeleine
saw but one alternative,--it was to go in person and break the sorrowful
news as delicately as possible. She did not waste a moment in pondering
upon the manner in which the haughty countess might receive her, but
ordered her carriage, and drove to the hotel, leaving Count Tristan
under the charge of Ruth, and Mrs. Lawkins, the housekeeper.
Arrived at her destination, Madeleine ordered her servant to inquire for
the Viscount de Gramont. He was not at home. Was Mademoiselle de
Merrivale at home? The same reply. Was the Countess de Gramont at home?
Madeleine could not help hoping that a negative would again be returned,
for she grew sick at heart at the prospect of encountering her aunt
alone. The countess was within.
Madeleine's card was requested. She had none. What name should the
servant give? Here was another difficulty: she was only known as
"_Mademoiselle Melanie_;" she could not make use of her real name;
besides, she feared that the countess would deny her admission if made
aware who was her visitor. But something must be done. Madame de Gramont
had issued orders that prevented any guest from entering her presence
without permission. Madeleine asked for a sheet of note-paper, and, with
her pencil, hastily wrote,--
"Madeleine entreats the Countess de Gramont to see her for a moment. She
has a matter of importance to communicate."
The servant returned almost immediately, and, replacing the note in
Madeleine's hand, said, "The Countess de Gramont desires me to say that
she is engaged."
"It is absolutely necessary that I should see Madame de Gramont,"
replied Madeleine. "I will bear the blame of her displeasure if you will
show me to her apartment."
"The lady is very rigid, ma'am. I don't dare."
"She will be angry at first, I admit," returned Madeleine; "but her
dissatisfaction will not last when she knows upon what errand I have
come. I can confidently promise you _that_. Perhaps you will consider
this money sufficient compensation for her displeasure, should I prove
wrong; and if I am right, you can keep it in payment for having served
me."
She handed him a piece of gold, which the man took with so little
hesitation it left no doubt upon Madeleine's mind that he was well
acquainted with the nature of a bribe.
"I'll do what I can, ma'am, if you will take the blame," replied he.
Madeleine alighted, followed him to the door of the room which he
designated as the drawing-room of the countess, and then desired him to
retire; he obeyed with well-pleased alacrity.
The young girl had been trembling from agitation until that moment; but
there was necessity for calmness in executing her mission. She opened
the door with a firm hand, and entered the apartment with unfaltering
steps.
The countess was sitting with her back turned to the entrance; she did
not perceive Madeleine until the latter stood beside her.
Madame de Gramont pushed back her chair with a repellant gesture, and,
before her niece could speak, asked indignantly, "What is the meaning of
this intrusion? Did you not receive my message, Mademoiselle de Gramont,
and understand that I declined to see you?"
"I received it, madame," returned Madeleine, mildly and mournfully; "but
I feel sure you will pardon an intrusion I could not avoid when you
learn the cause which brings me here."
"I can divine your errand, Mademoiselle de Gramont; you probably imagine
that, because I permitted my son to say that your marriage with Lord
Linden would, _after a proper interval_, allow me to acknowledge you
once more as a relative, your mere acceptance of his lordship's hand
entitles you to seize upon any frivolous excuse to force yourself upon
my privacy. You are mistaken. I have no intention of recognizing _the
mantua-maker_, and I forbid her to make any attempt to hold the most
transient intercourse with me. I have already said, I will receive Lady
Linden when I meet her in another country, where her history is unknown;
but not until then. And now I must request you to retire, or you will
compel me to leave my own apartment."
Madeleine had made one or two fruitless attempts to interrupt the
countess; but now, as the latter moved toward the door, about to put her
threat into execution, the young girl sprang after her and said,
beseechingly,--
"I implore you not to go until you hear me! I did not come to speak of
myself at all. I came in the hope of sparing you too severe a shock."
"Very generous on your part, but somewhat misjudged, as your unwelcome
presence has given me as great a shock as I could well sustain."
"Ah, aunt,--Madame de Gramont,--do not speak so harshly to me! I have
scarcely strength or courage left to tell you; I came to speak of--of
Count Tristan."
"My son seems to have chosen a somewhat singular messenger, and one who
he was well aware would be far from acceptable," returned the countess,
wholly unmoved.
"He did not send me; I came myself; He is not aware of my coming,
for--for"--
Madeleine's voice failed her, and the countess took up her words.
"_For_ you desired to make me fully sensible of the length to which you
carried your audacity. So be it! I am satisfied! Mademoiselle de
Gramont, for the second time I request you to retire."
"I cannot, until I have told you that Count Tristan is--is not, not
quite well; that is, he became indisposed at my house."
"In that case, it would have appeared to me more natural, and certainly
more proper, if he had returned to his old residence, and spared me the
pain of being apprised of his indisposition by an unwelcome messenger."
"He had no choice, or, rather, I had none. I feared to have the news
broken in a manner that might alarm you too much, and therefore I would
not even trust myself to write. Count Tristan was seized with,--I mean
was taken ill while conversing with me. He is not in a state to return
home at present, and I came to beg that his mother or his son will go to
him."
"I comprehend you, Mademoiselle de Gramont; you were always politic in
the highest degree. You know how to make the best of opportunities. You
find my son's temporary indisposition an admirable opportunity to lure
his relatives to your house, and to make known to the world your
connection with them. Your well-laid, dramatic little plot will fail.
Your good acting has not succeeded in alarming me, and I see no reason
why Count Tristan de Gramont, in spite of his sudden illness, should not
send for a carriage and return to the hotel. By your own confession, the
step you have taken is unwarranted; for you admitted that my son was not
aware of your intention."
"Because he was too ill to be aware of it, madame," replied Madeleine,
with an involuntary accent of reproach.
The cold and cruel conduct of the countess did not render her niece less
compassionate, less fearful of wounding; but it inspired her with the
resolution, which she had before lacked, to impart the fearful tidings.
"He is too ill to be moved at this moment. I sent for medical aid at
once, and everything has been done to restore him."
"_Restore him?_ What do you mean?" almost shrieked the countess, now
becoming painfully excited, and struggling against her fears, as though,
by disbelieving the calamity which had befallen her son, she could alter
the fact. "Why do you try to alarm me in this manner? It is very
inconsiderate! very cruel! You do it to revenge yourself upon me! Where
is Maurice? Where is Bertha? I must have some one near me on whom I can
depend! Why am I left at your mercy?"
"I asked for Maurice and Bertha before I attempted to force my way to
you," returned Madeleine. "I was told that neither was at home. Pray do
not allow yourself to be so much distressed. I have no doubt that we
shall find Count Tristan better."
"_We_ shall find! What do you mean by _we_ shall find?" sternly demanded
the countess, whose grief and alarm did not conquer her pride, though
her voice trembled as she asked the question.
"My carriage is at the door: I thought I might venture to propose that
you would enter it, and return with me to my house, that no time might
be lost." Madeleine said this with quiet dignity.
"_Your_ carriage? And you expect me to be seen _with you_, in _your_
carriage? I cannot comprehend your object, Mademoiselle de Gramont. What
possesses you to try to exasperate me by your insolent propositions?"
"Pardon me; I did not mean to add to your trouble; if my suggestion was
injudicious, disregard it. Nothing can be easier than to send for
another carriage. Will you allow me to ring the bell for you to do so?
And, since you would not wish to be seen in my company, I can leave the
house before you."
"And you expect me to follow? You expect that I will order the carriage
to drive to the residence of _Mademoiselle Melanie_, the
_mantua-maker_?"
"You need only say, 'Drive to ---- street, number ----.' My errand here
is at an end. I pray you to pardon me, if I have executed it clumsily.
My sole intention was to spare you pain, and I almost fear that I have
caused you more than I have shielded you from."
Madeleine was retiring, but the countess called her back.
"Stay! You have not told me all yet. What is the matter with my son? Was
it a fainting fit? I never knew him guilty of the weakness of fainting."
It was difficult to answer this question without explaining the grave
nature of the attack. Madeleine was silent.
"Did you not hear me? Why do you not answer?"
"The doctor did not call it a fainting fit," was Madeleine's vague
response. "Yet Count Tristan was in a state of insensibility, and had
not spoken when I left him."
"Why did you leave him, then? How could you have been so neglectful?"
The countess burst out as though it was a relief to have some
one on whom she could vent her wrath. "If he is seriously ill,--so
ill as to continue insensible,--you should have remained by his
side, and not left him to the improper treatment of strangers:
it is abominable,--outrageous!"
"I will gladly hasten back. Pray be composed, madame, and let us hope
for a favorable change. I expect to find him better. Before you reach
the house, his consciousness may have returned."
Madeleine retired, without waiting for any further comment; for she had
an internal conviction that whatever she did or said would be unpleasant
to her aunt in her present troubled state.
There was no perceptible alteration in the condition of Count Tristan.
Ruth, who was sitting by his side, said he had scarcely stirred. His
face still wore a purplish hue, and his glassy, bloodshot eyes, though
wide open, were vacant and expressionless. He lay as still as if
deprived of sensation and motion.
Madeleine had been at home nearly an hour before she heard the carriage
which contained the countess stop at the door. Madame de Gramont, even
in a case of such extremity, was not able to complete her arrangements
hurriedly.
Madeleine, when she went forth to receive her relative, was much
relieved to find her accompanied by Bertha.
Bertha threw herself in Madeleine's arms, whispering, "Is he _very_
ill?"
"Yes, I fear so," answered Madeleine, in too low a voice for the
countess to hear. Then turning to Madame de Gramont, she inquired,
gently, "Do you wish to go to him at once?"
"For what other purpose have I come?" was the ungracious rejoinder.
Madeleine led the way to the apartment, and motioned Ruth to withdraw.
The countess walked up to the bed with a firm step, as though nerving
herself to disbelieve that anything serious was the matter.
"My son!" she said, in a voice somewhat choked, but which expressed
confidence that he would immediately reply, "My son! why do you not
answer me?"
She took his hand; it remained passive in hers; his eyes still stared
vacantly. His mother more tightly grasped the hand she held, shook it a
little, and called out to him again in a hoarser tone; but there was no
answer.
Bertha burst into tears, and knelt down sobbing by the bed.
"Hush!" said the countess, angrily. "You will disturb him. Why do you
cry so? It is nothing serious,--nothing _very_ serious;" and she looked
around appealingly, her eyes resting, in spite of herself, upon
Madeleine.
"We must hope not," said the latter, now venturing to draw near. "The
doctor will be here again shortly, and, if you would permit me to
advise, I would suggest that Count Tristan should remain undisturbed."
"I only ask that he will speak to me once!" exclaimed the countess, in
peevish distress. "A _mother_ may demand that! Do you not hear me, my
son? Why, why will you not answer?"
Her voice was raised to a high pitch, but it did not seem to reach the
ears of the insensible man.
Voices in the entry attracted Madeleine's attention; the sound of
well-known tones reached her ears, and she hastily left the room.
The servant was communicating to Maurice the sad event which had just
taken place. Madeleine beckoned her cousin to follow to her boudoir,
and, in a few words, recounted what had just taken place.
Maurice had listened, too completely awe-stricken for language, until
Madeleine rose and asked, "Will you not go to him now, Maurice?"
Then he ejaculated, "How mysteriously all things are ordered, Madeleine!
Truly you are the ministering angel of our family!"
As Maurice, with Madeleine, entered the chamber where Count Tristan lay,
the countess experienced a revulsion of feeling at beholding them side
by side, and cried out, in a louder tone than seemed natural in that
chamber at such a moment,--
"Maurice! Maurice! I have wanted you so much to advise me! You see your
father's condition: he does not seem to recognize us; but it cannot be
anything serious. The great point is to make arrangements for removing
him at once to the hotel. You must attend to that; I wish no time to be
lost."
Maurice was gazing in dumb anguish upon his father's altered face, and,
though no tears moistened his eyes, his frame shook with emotion far
more painful to man than weeping is to woman.
"You will see to his immediate removal," repeated his grandmother,
authoritatively, finding that he did not notice her request.
"That cannot be done with safety, I feel certain," answered Maurice.
"But he cannot remain here," persisted the countess. "He must be taken
to the hotel, where I can watch by him."
"You would not have the attempt made at the risk of his life?" remarked
Maurice, with more sternness than he intended.
Madeleine gently interposed.
"Dr. Bayard, the physician who was called in, promised to return in a
couple of hours: he must be here shortly: will it not be best to ask his
opinion? And if he says Count Tristan cannot yet be removed with safety,
I entreat, madame, that you will allow me to place this suite of
apartments at your disposal and his. They are wholly disconnected with
the rest of the house, and you can be as private as you desire."
"Do you expect _me_ to remain under this roof? _Your roof?_ Do you
imagine that I will allow my son to remain here, even in his present
condition? Oh, this is too much! This would be more terrible than all
the rest! I could not humble myself to endure _that!_"
The countess spoke in a perfect agony of mortification.
Madeleine only replied, "There is no necessity for a decision until you
have consulted the physician."
Maurice thought it wise to echo her words; the countess was partially
soothed, for the time being, and sat down to await the coming of Dr.
Bayard.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
THE MANTUA-MAKER'S GUESTS.
Around Count Tristan's bed were grouped in silence his four nearest of
kin, waiting for the physician who was to decide upon the possibility of
removal. The countess sat erect and motionless by her son's head. Her
countenance wore a look of granite hardness, as though she were fighting
her grief with _Spartan_-like determination which would not let her
admit, even to herself, that any anguish preyed upon her heart. Maurice
sat at the foot of the bed, mournfully watching the spasmodic movements
of his stricken father: they were but feeble and few. Madeleine had
placed herself upon the other side of the couch. Her instinctive
delicacy prompted her to withdraw as far as possible from the countess.
Bertha had softly stolen to Madeleine's side, and sat silently clasping
her hand, and leaning against her shoulder; for hers was one of those
clinging, vine-like natures that ever turn for support to the object
nearest and strongest.
This was the disposition of the group when Ruth Thornton entered the
room on tiptoe and placed a card in Madeleine's hand.
"Did you tell him what had occurred?" whispered Madeleine.
"I did, and he still begged to see you."
Though Ruth spoke in a low voice, Bertha was so near that she heard her
reply, and it caused her, almost unconsciously, to glance at the card.
"Say that I will be with him directly," said Madeleine.
"It is M. de Bois. I will go with you," murmured Bertha, rising at the
same time as her cousin.
The countess did not move her eyes, but Maurice turned his head to look
after them. Madeleine could never pass from his presence without his
experiencing a sense of loss which inflicted a dull pang.
M. de Bois had been ushered into Madeleine's boudoir. He had not
anticipated the happiness of seeing Bertha. When she entered, his start
and flush of joy, and the gently confident manner in which he took her
hand, and drew her toward him, might well have surprised Madeleine; but
that surprise was quickly turned to positive amazement, for Bertha's
head drooped until its opulent golden curls swept his
breast,--and--and--(if we record what ensued be it remembered that
constitutionally bashful men, stirred by a sudden impulse, have less
control over their emotions than their calmer brothers)--and--in another
second, his own head was bent down, and his lips lightly touched her
pure brow, just where the fair hair parting ran on either side, in
shining waves. Truly was that first kiss
"The chrism of Love, which Love's own crown
With sanctifying sweetness did precede."
Gaston's ideas of what amount of tender demonstration punctilious
decorum permitted a lover, had finally undergone an alarming
modification, through the corrective influence of the social atmosphere
he had inhaled during the last few years. In his own land the limited
privileges of an accepted suitor do not extend thus far until the day
before a wedding-ring encircles the finger of a bride. Is it on this
account that the Parisian _Mrs. Grundy_, dreading some irresistible
temptation, never allows affianced lovers to be left alone?
Bertha's conceptions of propriety must also have been in a very
unsettled state; for, albeit "to her brow the ruby mounted," that first
kiss seemed to her to lie there as softly as an invisible gem, and she
did not withdraw her head, nor look up reproachfully, nor utter one word
of chiding.
Gaston noticed Madeleine's wonder-struck look, and said, "You did not
know, then, Mademoiselle Madeleine, how happy I am?"
Then Bertha escaped from the arm that encircled her, and nestling in her
cousin's bosom, faltered out, "I was so much troubled about Cousin
Tristan that I could not tell you."
"One of my most cherished hopes has become reality!" returned Madeleine,
fondly. "M. de Bois knows how much I have wished for this consummation;
and I think you have known it, Bertha, ever since you made me a certain
confession."
"What? Mademoiselle Bertha confessed to you, and you kept me in
ignorance?" cried Gaston, reproachfully.
"I did _as I would be done by_,--an old rule that wears well, and keeps
friendships golden."
There was a significance in Madeleine's look comprehended by Gaston. It
warned him that any confidence which she had reposed in him must be
sacred, even from his betrothed bride.
Dr. Bayard was announced, and Madeleine conducted him to the chamber
occupied by her suffering guest, and withdrew.
It strikes us that Madeleine's interpretation of the rules of decorum
must also have suffered by her residence in America; for she very coolly
left the lovers to themselves, and, passing through the dining-room,
walked into the garden.
When she reëntered her boudoir she found Gaston and Bertha conversing as
happily as though no sorrow found place upon the earth, or certainly
none beneath that roof; but, since the world began, lovers have been
pronounced selfishly forgetful of the rest of mankind. We have our
doubts, however, whether their being wholly wrapped up in each other
deserves so harsh a name as _selfishness_, since that very closeness of
union renders souls richer and larger, and gives to each additional
power to receive and communicate happiness, while thoroughly selfish
people lack the capacity to impart good gifts, and are content with
being recipients.
Madeleine had just seated herself opposite to the lovers, and was
thinking what a pleasant picture to contemplate were those two radiant
countenances, when Maurice entered with the physician.
"I fear, sir, you look upon my father's state as very critical?"
"Very," replied Dr. Bayard, who was a man of such acknowledged ability
that he could afford to be frank without being suspected of a desire to
magnify the importance of a case under his treatment. "Apoplexy may be
produced by various causes, hereditary disposition, high living, or
anxiety of mind, or all united. I cannot decide what was the origin of
Count Tristan de Gramont's seizure. One side is entirely paralyzed, and
the other slightly."
"Can he be removed to his hotel with safety?" inquired Maurice.
"Assuredly not. The risk would be very great. It should not be
encountered if there is any possibility of his remaining here for the
present."
He looked questioningly toward the mistress of the house.
Madeleine promptly replied, "These apartments are entirely at the
service of Count Tristan and his family, if they will honor me by
occupying them."
"That is well," returned the doctor. "Let the count remain undisturbed
until he is convalescent. I will see him again in the evening."
Dr. Bayard took his leave, and Maurice turned to Madeleine,--
"This is most unfortunate. It is a great burden to be thrown upon you,
Madeleine."
She interrupted him quickly. "You could hardly have spoken words less
kind, Maurice. If this shock could not have been spared your father, I
am thankful that it fell beneath my roof. He will be more quiet here
than in a hotel, and can be better tended. If the countess will permit
me, I will gladly constitute myself his chief _garde malade_. I have had
some experience"--
That inadvertent remark increased the agitation of Maurice, and he
answered, in a voice tremulous from the rush of sad recollections, "Who
can testify to that better than _I_? Do you think I have forgotten the
good _soeur de bon secours_ whose movements I used to watch, and whose
features, dimly traced by the feeble light of the _veilleuse_, I never
ceased to gaze upon, as she moved about my bed?"
Madeleine smiled and sighed at the same moment, and then remarked,
perhaps to turn the conversation,--
"But your grandmother,--I fear it will be very difficult to obtain her
consent to Count Tristan's remaining under my roof."
"She cannot desire to risk my father's life!" returned Maurice, somewhat
angrily. "I may as well tell her what is decided upon, at once."
Madeleine detained him.
"First let me explain to you the arrangements I propose making. If the
countess will condescend to remain here, I will have the drawing-room,
which opens into the room Count Tristan occupies, made into a
bed-chamber for her. The apartment beyond is the dining-room. This
little boudoir can be converted into a chamber for you. There is an
apartment upstairs which I will occupy; and, as Bertha cannot remain at
the hotel alone, I shall be truly happy if she will share my room, or
that of the countess."
"Yours! yours!" exclaimed Bertha. "Oh, what a pleasant arrangement! And
how quickly and admirably you have settled everything, just as you
always used to do; and nobody could ever plan half so well!"
"It will be your turn to play the hostess, and to them all!" cried
Gaston. "Who would have believed such a revolution of the great wheel
possible! That's what I call _compensation in this world_; for few
things, I know, can make you happier; and nothing can strike such a
severe blow at the pride of the Countess de Gramont as to find herself
the compulsory guest of the relative she has despised and persecuted."
Gaston, in his ardor and desire to see Madeleine avenged, had forgotten
the presence of the viscount; but Madeleine's look of reproach and her
glance toward her cousin recalled his presence to the mind of her
enthusiastic defender.
"I beg pardon, Maurice," said he; "I ought not to have spoken
disrespectfully of the countess; that is, while you were by."
"I understand and can pardon you, Gaston. Now I must go to my
grandmother and learn what she says; for I can see Madeleine's 'fairy
fingers' are impatient to commence their magical preparations for our
comfort."
He spoke sadly; though his words were half gay in their import.
Very few minutes elapsed before Maurice returned, accompanied by the
countess. She swept into the room, towering as majestically as though
she could rise above and conquer all the assailing army of circumstances
arrayed against her.
Madeleine made a movement toward the door.
"Remain! I wish to speak to you, Mademoiselle de Gramont," cried the
countess in her most icy tone.
"Permit me first to request Miss Thornton to watch beside Count Tristan.
He ought not to be left alone."
Madeleine had been more thoughtful of the patient than his mother, and
the latter could not detain her.
"Are you positive that your father cannot be moved? I am not convinced
that it is out of the question."
The countess addressed these words to Maurice.
"The physician has just declared that the risk would be too great. That
question, then, is definitely settled. It only remains for you to say
how far you will accept Madeleine's hospitable proposition."
"_Hospitable!_ Do not talk of _hospitality_ but of _degradation!_ What
will be said when it is known that Count Tristan de Gramont was
sheltered, during his illness, by his _mantua-maker relative!_--his
_tradeswoman niece!_ There is only one condition upon which I can be
forced to consent."
Here Madeleine reëntered, and the countess accosted her.
"Mademoiselle de Gramont, the tide of fortune has, for the moment, set
against our ill-fated house, and our humiliation can scarcely be more
complete. You are aware that the physician you have employed (and with
whom I trust you are not in league) says that my son cannot be removed
without danger."
"Yes, madame, and I hope Maurice has communicated the suggestion which I
have hesitatingly, but very gladly, made for your accommodation."
"He has done so," replied the countess, with undiminished stateliness.
"As for myself, it is asking too much,--it is an impossibility that I
should stoop to take up my abode here; but, while my son lies in his
present state, which I am told is alarming (though I believe I am
misinformed), I, as his mother, should feel bound to visit him though it
were in a pest-house. Your offer is declined for myself and Mademoiselle
de Merrivale. Maurice gives me to understand that he considers his place
to be by his father's side, night and day; therefore for him it will be
accepted upon certain conditions; upon these only can I allow my son and
grandson to remain beneath your roof."
"Name them, madame. I will promptly, joyfully comply with your wishes if
it be in my power to do so."
"You will immediately close your establishment, that none of the
transactions of the trade which has sullied your rank may go on within
these walls; and you will at once make known to the public your intended
nuptials with Lord Linden."
"I never had the remotest intention, madame, of becoming the wife of
Lord Linden."
"Has he not offered you his hand?"
"Yes, and but for the accident which has wholly diverted my thoughts, he
would have received a distinct refusal before now."
"What reason can you advance for declining so eligible an offer?"
"The same I gave at the Château de Gramont, nearly five years ago. My
affections belong to another."
Madeleine spoke with fervor, as though she experienced a deep joy in
thus proclaiming her constancy. Maurice, with a stifled sigh, turned
from her, and pretended to be gazing at the flowers in the conservatory.
"And may we, at last, be favored," demanded the countess, scornfully,
"with the name of this unknown lover, who has been able to inspire you
with such a rare and romantic amount of constancy?"
"It is one, madame, I cannot now mention with any more propriety than I
could have done years ago."
"Then it must be one of which you are ashamed! But how can I doubt that?
Has he not allowed you to become a tradeswoman? Has not the whole affair
been a disgraceful and clandestine one? You may well refuse to mention
his name! It can only be one which your family can object to hear."
"You are right in one respect, madame: it is one which they object to
hear; but, as I shall never be the wife of any other man,--yet never, in
all probability, the wife of _that one_,--let the subject of marriage be
set aside. In regard to closing this establishment, you are hardly
aware, madame, what you request. It would not be in my power to close it
suddenly, granting that I had the will to do so. I should not merely
throw out of employment some fifty struggling women, who are at present
occupied here, but would prevent my keeping faith in fulfilling
engagements already made. I will not dwell upon the great personal loss
that it would be to me. I should be glad to believe you are convinced of
the impossibility of my complying with your wishes."
"Do you mean to say that you actually refuse?"
"I am compelled to do so; but I will exert myself to render your visits
private. I will devise some method by which you will be entirely
shielded from the view of those who come here on business."
"You presume to think, then, that in spite of your insolent refusal, I
will allow my son to remain here?"
Madeleine felt that she could say no more, and looked beseechingly
toward Maurice, who exclaimed,--
"My father must remain here, for he cannot be removed. I gladly accept
my cousin's kind offer, and will remain to watch beside my father.
Bertha and yourself can continue to live at the hotel and visit him as
often as you feel inclined."
"Let me go! Let me go! I am suffocating! I stifle in this house!" burst
forth the countess, as though she were really choking. "I cannot remain.
Bertha, I want you. Maurice, give me your arm,--let me get away
quickly."
Maurice reconducted his grandmother to the hotel, almost without their
exchanging a word by the way. Bertha accompanied them, but she walked
behind with Gaston de Bois.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
MINISTRATION.
Maurice, exasperated as he was at his grandmother's insolence to his
cousin, well knew that any attempt to soothe Madame de Gramont, or even
to reconcile her to the inevitable, would be fruitless. Her domineering
spirit could not bow itself to be governed, even by the pressure of
inexorable circumstance; she strove to control events by ignoring their
existence, and to break the force of her calamity by encasing herself in
an iron mail of resistance, which, she thought, no blows could
penetrate. This was her state when she hastened to her own chamber, and
was about to lock herself in, under the conviction that she could shut
out the phantom of misery which seemed to dog her steps.
"I will return this evening, and let you know how my father progresses,"
said Maurice, as she was closing the door.
She reopened it without moving her hand from the silver knob. "Then you
persist in going back to that house?"
"Would you have me leave my father without a son's care? I shall remain
at Madeleine's while it is necessary for my father to stay there."
Maurice spoke with a decision that admitted no argument.
The countess shut her door, and the sound of the turned key was
distinctly audible. How she passed the succeeding hours no one knew; she
was not heard to move; she answered no knock; she took no notice of
Bertha's petition that her dinner might be brought to her; she was not
again seen until the next morning.
There is no proverb truer than the one which suggests that even an ill
wind blows some one good. Bertha was the gainer by her aunt's seclusion:
she had full liberty, and for a large portion of the time she did not
enjoy her freedom _alone_.
Madeleine had been actively employed during the absence of Maurice. Her
first step was to send for an upholsterer. Other arrangements followed
which quickly converted the drawing-room into a comfortable bed-room.
She herself proposed to take such rest as she found needful upon the
sofa in her boudoir.
The upholsterer had arrived, and Madeleine had no little difficulty in
making him comprehend her plan of completely shutting off the staircase
which led to the exhibition and working rooms above, by means of
drapery. She had felt bound thus far to consult the countess' desire for
privacy. A separate entrance from the street was out of the question,
but the draperies were to be disposed in such a manner that the instant
Madame de Gramont and her family passed the threshold they were
completely secluded.
Madeleine was standing in the hall giving her orders, when Maurice
reappeared. Finding her occupied, he passed on to his father's chamber.
It was now six o'clock. Dinner was served for three persons. Madeleine
summoned her housekeeper and requested her to watch beside Count Tristan
while his son dined.
On entering the count's room Madeleine assured herself that there was no
change in the patient's condition, and then said, "Come, Ruth, dinner is
served; come, Maurice, if you assume the office of _garde malade_, I
must take care that your strength is not exhausted."
Her cheerfulness dispelled some of the heavy gloom that hung about
Maurice, and he rose and followed her. She led the way through the
apartment which had been the drawing-room, and pointing to the bed,
said,--
"That is for you; this is your bed-chamber."
"Mine? I do not expect to need a bed; I mean to sit up with my father."
"Yes, to-night; but not every night," she added, with playful
imperativeness. "I shall not allow _that_, and you see I have taken the
reins into my own hands, and show that a little of the de Gramont love
of rule has descended to me with its blood."
They entered the dining-room. Maurice was struck by the air of combined
simplicity and elegance which characterized all the appointments. The
dinner, too, was simple, but well-cooked. Maurice had no appetite at
first, but was soon lured to eat,--everything placed before him appeared
so inviting. Then, it was delightful to see Madeleine sitting quietly
opposite to him, looking even lovelier than she did in those happy,
happy, by-gone days in the ancient château! Ruth's pretty and pleasant
countenance at another time might have been an addition; but we fear
that Maurice at that moment, did not appreciate the presence of a very
modest and attractive young girl who reflected in her own person not a
few of Madeleine's virtues. The repast was of brief duration; but
Madeleine was the one who partook of it most sparingly. She enjoyed so
much seeing Maurice eat that she could not follow his example.
Maurice and Madeleine returned to Count Tristan's apartment together.
Soon after, Dr. Bayard paid another visit, but expressed no opinion.
Maurice went back to the hotel to keep his promise to his grandmother.
There was no response when he knocked at her door; no reply, though he
spoke to her, that she might hear his voice and know who was there.
Bertha and Gaston were sitting together. Albeit the conversation in
which they were engaged appeared to be singularly absorbing, the latter
said,--
"Do you return immediately to Mademoiselle Madeleine's? If so, I will
accompany you; and, as I suppose you will watch beside your father, we
will sit up together."
Maurice assented and they set forth; that is, as soon as Bertha, who
detained them, first upon one plea and then upon another, would permit.
But when Madeleine learned Gaston's friendly proposition, she answered,
"We shall not need you. Maurice is hardly experienced enough for me to
trust him just yet. I intend to sit up to-night; to-morrow night Maurice
must rest, at least part of the night, and then, M. de Bois, we will be
glad to claim you as a watcher."
There was no appeal from Madeleine's decision. She exerted a mild
authority which was too potent for argument.
After Gaston departed, Madeleine, for a brief space, left Maurice alone
with his father. When she stole back to her place at the head of the
bed, she was attired in a white cambric wrapper, lightly girded at the
waist; a blue shawl of some soft material fell in graceful folds about
her form. She had entered with such a soundless step, that when Maurice
saw her sitting before him, he started, and his breath grew labored, as
though, for a second, he fancied that he gazed upon some unreal shape.
The flowing white drapery, and the delicate azure folds of the shawl
helped the illusion, which her musical voice would scarcely have
dispelled, but for the sense of reality produced by the words she
uttered.
"It is just eleven; that is the hour at which the medicine was to be
given."
She took up the cup and administered a spoonful of its contents, before
Maurice had quite recovered himself.
The silence which followed did not last long. Madeleine began to
question Maurice concerning his life in America, his opinions, his
experiences, the people he had known and esteemed; and he responded, in
subdued tones, by a long narrative of past events.
It was the first time that Maurice had been called upon to watch beside
a bed of sickness, and his was one of those vivacious temperaments to
which sleep is so indispensable that an overpowering somnolence will
fling its charms about the senses, and bear the spirit away captive,
even in the soul's most unwilling moments. Five o'clock had struck when
Madeleine perceived that her companion's eyes had grown heavy, and that
he was making a desperate struggle to keep them open. With womanly tact
she leaned her elbow on the bed, and rested her forehead on her hand, in
such a manner that her face was concealed, and thus avoided any further
conversation. In less than ten minutes, the sound of clear but regular
breathing apprised her that Maurice had fallen asleep.
When she looked up, at first timidly, but soon with security, Maurice
was lying back in his arm-chair--his hands were calmly folded together,
his head drooped a little to one side, the rich chestnut curls (for his
hair had darkened until it no longer resembled Bertha's golden locks)
were disordered, and fully revealed his fair, intellectual brow; the
pallor of his face rendered more than usually conspicuous the chiselling
of his finely-cut features; the calm, half-smiling curve of his
handsome mouth gave his whole countenance an expression of placid
happiness which it had not worn, of late, in waking hours. Madeleine sat
and gazed at him as she could never have gazed when his eyes might have
met hers; she gazed until her whole soul flashed into her face; and if
Maurice had awakened, and caught but one glimpse of the fervent radiance
of that look, he would surely have known her secret.
There is intense fascination to a woman in scanning the face that to her
is beyond all others worth perusing, when the soft breath of sleep
renders the beloved object unconscious of the eyes bent tenderly upon
his features. No check is given to the flood of worshipping love that
pours itself out from her soul; then, and perhaps _then only_, in his
presence, she allows the tide of pent-up adoration to break down all its
natural barriers. However perfect her devotion at other times, there
_may_, there always _does_ exist a half-involuntary _reticence_, a
secret fear that if even her eyes were to betray the whole wealth of her
passion, it would not be well with her. Men are constitutionally,
unconsciously _ungrateful_; give them abundance of what they covet most
and they prize the gift less highly than if its measure were stinted.
And women have an instinct that warns them not to be too lavish. Those
women who love most fervently, most deeply, most _internally_, seldom
frame the full strength of that love into words, or manifest it in looks
even; that is, in the waking presence of the one who holds their entire
being captive.
Maurice slept on, though the streets had long since become noisy, and
door-bells were ringing, and there was a sound of hammering in the entry
(the upholsterer at work), and steps could be distinguished passing up
and down the stair.
Madeleine, who at one period of her life had been used to night vigils,
hardly felt fatigued; but she knew that she must hoard her strength if
she would have it last to meet prolonged requirements. She touched
Maurice softly; but he was not aroused until she had made several
efforts to break his slumber. He looked about him in bewilderment, and
then at the white-robed figure before him as though it were an
apparition.
"It is I, and no ghost," said Madeleine. "The morning has come; go and
lie down for a couple of hours to refresh yourself,--I will do the same.
Mrs. Lawkins will stay with your father."
"Have I really been asleep?" asked Maurice, in a tone of mortification.
"Asleep, while you were waking? What a stupid brute I am!"
"Have brutes easy consciences? for that is said to be man's best
lullaby. You must consider yourself still subject to my orders. Go and
lie down. You shall be called to breakfast at nine o'clock; that will
give you two hours' rest. As for me, I shall fall asleep in a few
moments."
Maurice yielded.
Madeleine did _not_ fall asleep quite as soon as she predicted; but,
after a time, she sank into a refreshing slumber. At nine o'clock the
ringing of the alarum she had taken the precaution to set, awoke her.
She stole to Maurice's door, but had to knock several times before she
could arouse him; he was again enjoying that blessing which he had
lately professed to despise.
"What is it? Who is there?" he cried out, at last.
"It is I, Madeleine. Nine o'clock has just struck. We will breakfast as
soon as you are ready to come into the dining-room."
She returned to her boudoir and made a hasty toilet, substituting, for
her simple white wrapper, another, somewhat richly embroidered, and
trimmed with pale blue ribbons. We reluctantly venture upon the
suggestion, for it would indicate a decided weakness, quite unworthy of
Madeleine's good sense; but there is just a possibility that she
remembered she was to breakfast once more with her lover, and her
artistic eye selected the most becoming morning-dress in her possession.
Ruth had breakfasted some hours before; Madeleine and Maurice sat down
to table alone. In spite of the grief which lay in the depths of both
their hearts, it must be avowed that both experienced a sense of calm
felicity which made them shrink from contemplating the past, or looking
forward to the future; the delicious _present_ was all sufficient.
Maurice wondered at himself,--was almost angry with himself,--and then
he looked across the table and wondered no longer.
Madeleine was less astonished at her own pleasant emotions. Partly
through discipline, and partly through temperament, she always caught up
all the sunshine of the passing hour, even though she did not lose sight
of the clouds that lay in the distant horizon. And how often the present
beams had pierced their way through thick darkness to reach her!
"Come and tell me what you think of my invention," said she, as they
rose from the table and opened the door which led into the hall.
The upholsterer had already completed his work. A crimson drapery was
suspended from the ceiling to the ground, along the whole length of the
entry, and entirely shut out the staircase. At the street door this
drapery was so skilfully arranged that a person visiting the apartments
on the first floor could, at once, pass out of sight.
"Will not these curtains render this portion of the house quite
secluded? I hope they will make your grandmother feel less aversion to
coming here."
"What resources you have, Madeleine! And how kindly you employ your
fertile ingenuity! _Who_ would have thought of such an arrangement?"
"Why _any one_ who took the trouble to sit down and think about the
matter at all! Possibly some people might not have been in the habit of
exercising their ingenuity enough to do that; but _any one_ who took the
trouble to reflect how the desired object could be accomplished would
have seen the difficulties melt away."
"Under the touch of 'Fairy Fingers,'" returned Maurice, admiringly.
"Ah, that is an old superstition of yours which you have not quite
outlived. Will you not go to your grandmother now? She may be expecting
you, and must be anxious for news."
"She showed great anxiety last night," replied Maurice, bitterly.
"Maurice, we have no right to judge her! Unless we ourselves have
experienced her sensations, we cannot even comprehend her state. Speak
to her this morning as though you had parted in all affection yesterday;
and bring her here, if you can. For her own sake try to bring her."
Shortly after Maurice left, Madeleine received another letter from Lord
Linden. Finding that she did not reply to the first, he had called upon
her twice on the day previous; but, greatly to his mortification, had
been denied. Later in the day, his wounded vanity was somewhat soothed
by learning the calamity which had befallen Count Tristan, at
Madeleine's house; though his lordship could hardly deem even such an
event sufficient excuse for her tardiness in replying to a letter of so
much importance. In reality, Madeleine had entirely forgotten her suitor
and his letter. She glanced hastily over his second epistle, and,
without further delay, wrote a few frigid lines conveying a definite
refusal of the proposed honor with which he had followed his proposition
of dishonor.
It is needless to describe Lord Linden's emotions when this response
reached him. Madeleine's language was so cuttingly cold, yet so full of
dignity, that he could only curse the rash blindness which could have
permitted him to make dishonorable advances to such a woman. He ordered
his trunk to be packed, and left Washington by that afternoon's train.
Bertha had not seen Madame de Gramont from the time she locked herself
in her chamber until the breakfast hour, next day. The maid Mademoiselle
de Merrivale brought with her from Paris was in the habit of attending
the countess as punctiliously as she did her own mistress; but her
services were, for the first time, dispensed with on the night previous.
Bertha was oppressed by a vaguely uncomfortable sensation when she
entered the room where breakfast awaited her, and found the apartment
vacant. In a few moments the countess entered.
How frightfully old she had grown in a single night! Her step, which
used to be so firm and measured, was feeble, uncertain, and heavy.
Sixty-six years had not bowed her straight shoulders; but now they
stooped. The blow of an iron hand had bent them at last! Her features
had grown sharp and hard, and the lines looked as though they had been
cut to twice their usual depth; the mouth appeared to have fallen, the
corners pressing downward; one might have thought that tears had scalded
away the lustre and dimmed the vision of the dark eyes that yesterday
flashed with such steel-like brilliancy. The soft, white locks, that
were usually arranged with so much skill, hung partially uncurled, and
scarcely smoothed about her face, adding to the desolation of her whole
appearance.
Bertha was impressed with greater awe than she had ever experienced
toward her aunt in the latter's most imperious moments; yet the young
girl mustered courage to advance and embrace her,--more timidly,
perhaps, but also more tenderly than was her wont. The countess
permitted her own cold lips to sweep Bertha's forehead; but they could
hardly be said to press upon it a kiss.
As they sat at table, Bertha, whose tongue had a gift for prattling,
could not make an effort to speak. The countess had not tasted food
since the light, noonday repast of the day previous, yet she now
swallowed her cup of coffee as though it nearly choked her, and tried,
in vain, to force down a few morsels of bread. Nothing would have
induced her to depart from the custom of her country where coffee and
bread are considered all-sufficient for the first meal.
They had returned to the drawing-room when Maurice entered. The countess
greeted him with an inclination of the head, but asked no questions.
"My father seems to be in the same state," said he. "There was no change
during the night; he does not appear to suffer; but, as yet, he is not
conscious."
Madame de Gramont made no reply, but her breast visibly heaved.
"Did you sit up?" asked Bertha. "Are you not very much fatigued? Did
Madeleine watch also? Is she not very weary?"
"Not very; nor am I." Then he turned to his grandmother. "Will you come
with me to see my father? You will find that every arrangement possible
has been made for your privacy."
The lips of the countess curled scornfully, but she rose and passed into
her chamber.
"I must make ready also," cried Bertha, flying out of the room. "I am so
glad that we are to go."
She returned wearing her bonnet and mantle. It was sometime before the
countess reëntered, prepared to depart.
Maurice had ordered a carriage, and they were soon at Madeleine's door.
If the countess noticed the draperies which closed off a portion of the
house, she gave no sign of doing so.
Madeleine was sitting beside Count Tristan, but rose to yield her place
to his mother. Madame de Gramont only betrayed that she was aware of her
niece's presence by a slight movement of the head, while her eyes looked
past her toward the passive figure lying on the bed. She took the vacant
seat with a sort of frozen quietude, and her limbs seemed to settle
themselves rigidly into positions where they remained immovable.
Madeleine at once retired, knowing that her presence must be galling to
the proud relative whom circumstance thus forced into contact with her;
nor did she reënter the room again while the countess was there. Maurice
remained with his father and grandmother, but Bertha stole away to
Madeleine's boudoir.
M. de Bois, who had called to inquire after the count, and to know of
what service he could be, found the cousins together. Madeleine, whose
wealth of energy rendered idleness, when it could be avoided, another
name for weariness, had seated herself at her desk, and was making
sketches for Ruth to copy. Bertha sat beside her, destroying pencils in
her awkward attempt to sharpen them. Madeleine did not desist from her
occupation, but Bertha's was quickly at an end.
She and her lover conversed for a while; then Gaston offered to show her
Madeleine's conservatory, and then they passed into the garden. What
wonder that they found unknown charms in the opening flowers! Was it not
a spring morning? And was there not spring in their hearts? Was it not
life's blossoming season with them?
At noon luncheon was served; and Madeleine, in remembrance of her
guests, had given such especial instructions to Mrs. Lawkins that the
luncheon closely resembled the _déjeuner à la fourchette_ served at that
hour in France. As Bertha was still in the garden, Madeleine passed into
the conservatory and called her.
"Will you not go in, Bertha, and see if you can induce the countess to
accompany you and Maurice to the dining-room? Say that I will remain
with Count Tristan while they take luncheon."
Bertha went on her errand, but quickly returned with Maurice.
"My aunt does not seem disposed to eat."
In reality Bertha had received no answer from the countess. Did
Madeleine expect that Madame de Gramont would break bread under her
roof? The haughty aristocrat would sooner have perished of hunger.
"Then we will go to table together," replied the hostess, disappointed,
in spite of herself. "M. de Bois, you will join us?"
The meal passed off very quietly, but very pleasantly. Bertha and Gaston
were happy enough in each other to have thought a repast of bread and
cheese a banquet. Maurice could not but be penetrated by the charm of
sharing Madeleine's home; and, at table, where she presided with such
graceful ease, he never forgot that it was in _her_ home he was
dwelling. Madeleine herself could not gaze upon the little circle of
beloved ones, from whom she had been so long separated, and who were now
so singularly drawn around her, without feeling supremely happy. In the
midst of sorrow there are often given, to soften and render it
endurable, passing flashes of absolute joy.
When they rose from table Maurice returned to his father's chamber. His
grandmother still sat erect and statue-like in her chair as though she
had not moved.
The hours flew by only too rapidly with Bertha, however they might have
dragged in the sick-chamber. M. de Bois, also, must have lost all
consciousness of time, for he did not propose to take his departure, and
could Madeleine, even by a hint, dismiss him from her own house?
"Past five o'clock," said she, looking up from her drawing. "Bertha,
pray ask Maurice to come to me."
When Maurice obeyed the summons, Madeleine remarked, showing him her
watch, "You see how late it is; I fear the countess will become
exhausted for want of food. It is in vain to hope that she could be
induced to dine here; had you not better conduct her home and return?"
"Yes, certainly; it would be the wisest plan; how thoughtful you are!"
"Shall I send for a carriage? I fear she would not enter mine, or I
would order that."
"I suppose not; it is wonderful to what cruel and inconsistent length
she carries her pride."
"It is not our place, Maurice, to measure its length or analyze its
workings. There is Robert in the hall; tell him to call a carriage."
When the carriage arrived, the countess, Bertha and Maurice, drove away
together.
CHAPTER XL.
RECOGNITION.
With electric rapidity flashed the news through Washington that
Mademoiselle Melanie, the fashionable dressmaker, was a lady of rank,--a
heroine,--a being hardly inferior to those disguised princesses who
figure in popular fairy tales. Numberless romantic stories were
fabricated and circulated, and the startling and improbable motives
assigned for her incognita bore witness to the fertile imagination of
the American public.
It may well be imagined that there was but one all-engrossing theme
discussed in the working-rooms of Mademoiselle Melanie's establishment.
Mademoiselle Victorine was not a little disgusted when she learned that
a secret of such moment had been so successfully concealed from her. But
the quick-witted foreigner had too much tact to betray her ignorance by
evincing astonishment in the presence of the _employées_, or the patrons
of Mademoiselle Melanie. On the contrary, Mademoiselle Victorine gave
them to understand that she had all along been the repository of
Mademoiselle de Gramont's secrets, and knew more of her past history and
future plans than was yet suspected.
Madeleine's thoughtful kindness prompted her to make a brief explanation
to Ruth Thornton, whom she had so long treated as a friend, or younger
sister. Ruth was moved and gratified by the unsought confidence; but her
genuine, up-looking veneration for Madeleine could not be increased by
the knowledge that she was the daughter of the late Duke de Gramont.
Madeleine concluded her narrative by saying,--
"One may be very poor, and very dependent, and yet be the daughter of a
duke; and even a duke's daughter may find it less irksome to earn her
own bread than to eat the bread of charity."
Ruth asked, tremblingly, "But now will all go on as before? Will your
noble relatives permit you to continue your present life?"
"My relatives can exert no influence which will turn me from the path I
have chosen," replied Madeleine, divining her young _protegée's_
thoughts. "While Count Tristan remains in my house, _you_ will act as my
representative. When he is restored, or, rather, when he is no longer my
guest, I shall resume my former duties."
Ruth's sinking heart was lifted up by this assurance, and the cloud that
had gathered upon her sweet face passed away, and left it as placid as
Madeleine's own. Madeleine's tranquillizing influence over others was
one of her most remarkable traits. She was not merely calm and
self-possessed herself, but her presence communicated a steadfast,
hopeful calmness that was irresistible.
The _beau monde_ had decided that as Mademoiselle de Gramont's family
had claimed her, she would unhesitatingly abandon her humble occupation,
and assume her legitimate position in the social sphere; and great were
the lamentations over the noble _couturière's_ supposed abdication of
her throne.
The next question to be settled was whether her former patrons should
recognize and visit her as an equal, ignoring their previous
acquaintance. Madame de Fleury was the first to reply to that query. We
will not make ourselves responsible for the assertion that she was
prompted by purely disinterested motives, and the unqualified admiration
with which Mademoiselle Melanie had long since inspired her. It is _just
possible_ that other incentives had their weight in her light head, and
that believing herself about to be deprived of the inventive genius
which had rendered her toilet the glory and delight of her life, she
might have determined to preserve Mademoiselle Melanie's friendship that
she might secure her advice on all important occasions. Be that as it
may, Madame de Fleury immediately left cards for Mademoiselle de
Gramont, and her example was followed by the Countess Orlowski, and a
host of other ladies, who conscientiously walked in her footsteps.
The morning of the third day after Count Tristan's seizure passed much
in the same manner as the second. Maurice conducted his grandmother and
Bertha to Madeleine's residence. The countess was as silent, as frigid,
as immovable as before. She took the same seat, kept the same unbent
position, appeared to be as completely abstracted from what was passing
around her, as on the day previous. Madeleine absented herself, and
Bertha soon stole to her side. M. de Bois, whose vigils, it appeared,
had not fatigued him sufficiently for extra repose to be requisite,
joined them at an early hour.
About noon, Maurice hastily entered Madeleine's boudoir and said, "I
think there is some change in my father; his face is much paler and his
eyes appear to be wandering about with a faint sign of consciousness;
the motion of his right hand is restored, for he has lifted it several
times. Pray come to him, Madeleine."
"I only banished myself in the fear that my presence would not be
agreeable to the countess," replied Madeleine. "Do you think it will not
now pain her to see me?"
"I cannot tell, but you _must_ come."
Madeleine obeyed.
The countess had risen and was bending over the bed.
"My son! Tristan, my son! do you not hear your mother?" she cried, in a
hollow, unnatural voice.
His eyes still gazed restlessly about, with a helpless, hopeless,
supplicating look.
"My dear father," said Maurice, taking the hand which the count had
again lifted and let fall.
No sign of recognition followed.
"What do you think of his state, Madeleine? Is he not better?"
His cousin softly drew near, and taking in her own the hand Maurice had
dropped, said, "You know us, Count Tristan, do you not?"
His eyes, as though drawn by her voice, turned quickly, and fastened
themselves upon her face; his hands made a nervous clutch, his lips
moved, but the sounds were thick and indistinct, yet the first syllable
of her name was audible to all.
"Do not try to speak," said Madeleine, soothingly; "you have been very
ill; you are still weak; do not endeavor to make any exertion."
He continued to look at her beseechingly, and to clasp her hand more and
more tightly,--so tightly that it gave her positive pain, and his
quivering lips again made a fruitless effort to utter her name.
"Tristan, my son!" exclaimed the countess, motioning Madeleine to move
aside.
Madeleine attempted to obey, but could not release her hand from its
imprisonment.
Count Tristan did not appear to hear, or rather to recognize the voice
of his mother, although she continued to address him in a loud tone, and
to beg, almost to command, him to listen to her. Maurice also spoke to
him, but without making any impression on his mind. There was no meaning
in his gaze when it rested on the faces of either; but his eyes, the
instant they fell upon Madeleine's countenance, grew less glassy, more
_living_, and through them the darkened soul looked dimly out.
Whatever might have been the internal sufferings of the countess, they
did not conquer her stoicism. She resumed her seat, and her lips were
again sealed; their close compression and ashy hue alone told that the
torture of the mental rack upon which she was stretched had been
augmented.
As soon as Madeleine felt the count's hand relaxing its firm grasp, she
withdrew hers, though he made a faint attempt to detain her. As she
retired from the bed, his eyes followed her, and his lips moved again.
"You are not going, Madeleine?" questioned Maurice. "My father evidently
knows you,--wants you near him; you are the only one he recognizes; do
not leave us!"
Was that low, stifled sound which reached their ears, in spite of the
firmly-compressed lips of the countess, an inward sob or groan?
As Madeleine sat down, Dr. Bayard entered. Maurice related what had
passed, and the doctor requested Madeleine to address the patient. That
he made an effort to reply was unmistakable. Dr. Bayard then spoke to
the count, but without attracting his attention. He desired Maurice to
accost him, but no better result ensued. He signified to the countess
that she should do the same; but the agony of beholding her son
recognize, cling to one toward whom she entertained the bitterest
enmity, while the voice of his mother--his mother who loved him with all
the strength of her proud nature--was unheeded, became intolerable. She
rose up, not quickly, but with all her wonted stateliness, and with a
firm and measured pace walked out of the room. She had no definite
purpose,--she did not know where she was going, or where she wished to
go,--but she could not abide the sight forced upon her eyes in that
chamber.
"Maurice, attend your grandmother," whispered Madeleine.
Maurice had not thought of stirring, but he rose and opened the door of
the adjoining room.
"Leave me! I would be alone!" said the countess, as he entered.
He returned to his father's side.
Dr. Bayard was giving his orders to Madeleine. A crisis had just passed,
he said. Count Tristan was better; there was reason to hope that he
would recover. One side was still paralyzed and there was partial
paralysis of the tongue. His mind, too, was in a torpid state, but might
gradually awaken. As Madeleine was the person whom he recognized, it
would be well for her to remain near him and minister to his wants.
Madeleine was more than content.
An hour passed and the countess did not return to her son's bedside.
Maurice, at Madeleine's suggestion, ventured to intrude upon her. She
appeared to be lost in a deep revery, and did not raise her eyes at his
approach.
"I fear you are not well, my grandmother; will you not allow me to
conduct you home?"
"I am _well_," she answered bitterly, "but I will go. My presence is of
no use here; my own son ignores it!"
She spoke as though the invalid had refused to recognize her for the
express purpose of adding a fresh insult to those which an evil fortune,
a malicious chance (to use her own expressions), had heaped upon her
head.
Without again visiting her son's chamber, she entered the carriage which
Maurice had ordered; he took his seat opposite to her, and neither
remembered, until they entered the hotel, that Bertha was left behind.
"I was thinking so much of my poor father that I quite forgot Bertha,"
he said, apologetically. "I will return for her at once."
"Yes, go, go!" was all the countess replied.
CHAPTER XLI.
UNBOWED.
Maurice did not suspect how Bertha was employed at that moment, and how
much his heart would have had cause to rejoice if she proved successful
in her undertaking. She was so happy herself in her betrothed that she
was possessed by a strong desire to make some effort by which a like
felicity might be secured to Madeleine. It had been one of the
day-dreams of Bertha's girlhood that she and Madeleine should receive
their wedding rings in the same hour. Gaston was entreating his
_fiancée_ to name a period, even though it might be some months hence
(only a few days before, we think, he declared himself content with
knowing that he might hope for this crowning joy _at the most distant
date_), when he might call her his.
Bertha replied, tantalizingly, "The time depends upon Madeleine, not
upon me. She must name the day."
"May she, indeed?" asked M. de Bois, joyfully, for he was convinced that
he could influence Madeleine's decision.
"Yes, she will name it in naming the day for her own wedding. I have
always intended that we should be married together."
M. de Bois's countenance fell.
"But Mademoiselle Madeleine is not even engaged."
"Is she not? Are you sure?"
"Quite sure," returned Gaston.
"But she loves some one,--does she not?" questioned Bertha, artfully.
"She has said she did," was the cautious response.
"Then, if she loves some one, we have only to find out who it is and
bring them together, and get them to understand each other, and help
them to fix the day. Would not that be charming?"
"Yes, very," replied M. de Bois; but he sighed as he spoke, remembering
how improbable it was that anything of the kind would take place.
Bertha had a suspicion that he must have some knowledge of Madeleine's
mysterious lover, and her idea of the perfect confidence that ought to
exist not only between husband and wife, but a lover and his betrothed
bride, would of itself have been sufficient inducement to make her
endeavor to discover the secret.
"You have been near Madeleine all these years that she has been lost to
us."
"Yes, happily for _me_; and if she can only say happily for _her_, I
should be proud as well as thankful."
"She does,--I am sure she does say so," responded Bertha,
affectionately. "What could she have done without you? It was because
you were so much to Madeleine that you became so much to--to--that is
so--so--I mean"--
Many a sentence of Gaston's had she finished when his words became
entangled through confusion; it was but a fair return for him to
conclude this one of hers, though perhaps he did so in a manner that
added to her embarrassment.
Bertha recovered herself, and shook back her curls as though they were
in fault. Then looking up archly in Gaston's face she said,--
"And if I wanted an excuse for what I have done, could I have found a
better?"
"Not easily," returned the delighted lover, "and I excuse you for a
piece of bad taste which has rendered me the happiest and proudest of
men."
"But we were talking of Madeleine," persisted Bertha; "you know every
one whom she knows,--do you not?"
"What, all her patrons? Heaven forbid!"
"No,--no,--you are very tantalizing,--I did not mean those. I mean the
persons who visit her: you know them all?"
"Most of them, I believe."
"Then you must be acquainted with this invisible lover of hers!"
Now was M. de Bois puzzled. Bertha saw the advantage she had gained.
"You must have seen him,--you must know all about him,--and _I must
know_ also. Not to satisfy my curiosity,--do not imagine _that!_--I am
not in the least curious; but because I want to assist Madeleine. I want
to judge whether nothing can be done to bring about her union with him."
"Nothing,--I fear, nothing," replied M. de Bois, sadly.
"Then you _do_ know who he is? There, you have admitted that you did!"
"Are you laying snares for me, then, sweet Bertha? But I shall not let
you exult over my falling into one of these well-laid traps. I only said
I feared nothing could be done to bring about Mademoiselle Madeleine's
union with any one."
"But you know whom she loves?"
"She has never told me."
"But you at least _suspect_?"
"What right have I to _suspect_? And you know I am _dull_,--I did not
even suspect _whom_ her cousin Bertha loved."
Bertha hung her head for a moment, but quickly returned to the attack.
"Tell me, at least, whom you think Madeleine _prefers_."
"I have no right to do that,--it would not be fair to Mademoiselle
Madeleine,--she would never forgive me!"
"Ah, then you and I may have secrets from each other? That is the
inference I shall draw if you refuse," said Bertha, provokingly.
This was a most distasteful suggestion to Gaston, who had a masculine
touch of jealousy in his composition,--just enough to make him desire to
monopolize Bertha _entirely_. He was not willing that she should have a
thought which she could not communicate to him; to hide anything from
him was to rob him! Was his an exceptional case, or are men in general
as _exigeant_?
"Well, you do not answer?" Bertha observed.
"I should be grieved if I had not your _whole_ confidence, now and
ever," he replied.
"So shall I be if I have not yours. Should one exact more than one is
willing to give? Tell me who it is that you suspect Madeleine of loving.
Tell me at once!"
"I cannot,--I have no right!"
"I think you have no right to withhold the knowledge from me."
"I think so too," answered Gaston, sorely perplexed; "and yet I must not
tell you! Will you not be generous enough to pity me, and ask me no
more?"
Bertha only pouted at this appeal; but Gaston must have found some means
of soothing her, for, by and by, she said, coquettishly,--
"Of course, I only wanted to know on Madeleine's account and on yours."
"_Mine?_" exclaimed Gaston.
"Yes, _yours_; because if I had discovered who this lover was, I might
have given him some valuable hints, and all might come right very
quickly; as it is, you may have to wait a long time for a bride."
"I? Why, I am not Mademoiselle Madeleine's lover!"
"No, but you are very dependent upon him. You cannot encircle your
bride's finger with a wedding-ring until he passes one on the taper
finger of his."
"Bertha, that is unreasonable!" remonstrated Gaston.
"All the more womanly! Of course it is unreasonable; I never laid claim
to being _reasonable_; but, on the other hand, I am obstinate. When
Madeleine names the day for her marriage she names the day for mine."
"But if she should never marry, and that is possible."
"Then _I never shall!_" said Bertha, with a petulant little air of
determination which looked only too real.
M. de Bois had no opportunity at that moment to test the effect of his
newly-acquired eloquence, for Maurice entered.
"Bertha, will you believe that I have escorted my grandmother home and
actually forgotten you? The carriage waits, and I am deputed to see you
safely to the hotel."
"Do you suppose I shall accept as an escort one who thought me of too
little importance to bear me in mind?" asked Bertha, who was not wanting
in feminine tact, that sixth sense of womanhood, which becomes
wonderfully quickened when love sharpens the faculties.
Gaston joined in; "My dear fellow, you could scarcely hope to be treated
civilly after such a confession. But I will do my utmost to relieve you
in this unpleasant predicament. Mademoiselle Bertha refuses you as an
escort--but, as she cannot return alone, I will take your place."
"And you may dismiss your carriage," returned Bertha. "I prefer to
walk."
"And you really will not let me accompany you?" asked Maurice. "What
will my grandmother say?"
"No doubt we shall hear _that_ when we reach the hotel," was the young
lady's saucy reply.
But they did _not_ hear; for the countess had closed her door, and did
not open it again until she summoned Adolphine to undress her.
The watchers beside Count Tristan that night were Madeleine and Maurice.
The count was somewhat restless and often muttered unintelligible words;
but he continued to recognize Madeleine and seemed pleased to have her
near him. Maurice did not fall asleep again; he and Madeleine talked, in
whispers, the whole night through, with the exception of those brief
intervals when the count was awake. The themes of conversation were so
abundant, so self-increasing, there was always so much which remained
untold, that the topics of interest appeared to be inexhaustible.
Madeleine had given orders that Ruth and Mrs. Lawkins should commence
their watch at five o'clock; but she could hardly believe that hour had
arrived when the housekeeper entered, followed by Ruth. Maurice declared
that he was not in the slightest degree fatigued, or sleepy, and did not
need rest; but Madeleine, with smiling imperativeness, ordered him to
bed; and certainly Maurice, when he obeyed, slept remarkably sound for a
man who was not in the least fatigued or sleepy, and who was inclined to
battle against sleep because he could not bear to lose the consciousness
of being beneath the same roof as the one so long loved, so long and
vainly sought; and because it was a joy inexpressible to lie still and
think over all the words she had just uttered, and to picture her face
until it seemed actually before him. Yet, in spite of this delightful
occupation, inexorable sleep would suddenly fling her mantle over his
senses, and even refused to grant him the happiness of continuing his
blissful dreams in her own realm.
Maurice sought his grandmother the next morning, at the usual hour, and
carried her the tidings that Count Tristan moved his limbs more freely,
and that he had even spoken several words which could be comprehended.
She gave no sign of preparing to accompany her grandson, and, after
waiting awhile, he asked,--
"Will you and Bertha be ready soon? It is later than usual."
"I shall not go," replied the countess slowly, and as though it cost her
a great effort to force out the words.
Maurice made no remonstrance; he well knew that to endeavor to alter a
resolution of hers would be a fruitless attempt.
"And you, Bertha?" he inquired.
Bertha looked toward the countess: "Perhaps you would not like me to
leave you?"
"_All leave me!_" she almost groaned out. "Why not you?"
"I will stay with my aunt," replied Bertha, without hesitation.
And she remained all day beside the afflicted, but ever haughty,
countess. They did not converse, for the latter rarely spoke, even in
answer to Bertha's questions, and Bertha could invent no mode of
arousing and amusing her.
M. de Bois, not finding Bertha at Madeleine's, came to the hotel; but
his presence was obviously very distasteful to the countess. She did not
withdraw, she would have suffered martyrdom (as she did) rather than
commit the impropriety of leaving Bertha alone with her lover; but she
sat with knitted brows, her stony eyes turned scrutinizingly upon them,
listening to and passing judgment upon every word they uttered, and
looking a rebuke if Bertha ventured to smile. The icy chill of such a
presence rendered Bertha and Gaston so thoroughly uncomfortable, that
the young girl, although she was one of those beings who could hardly
bear to live out of the sight of those she loved best, felt relieved
when Gaston rose and bade her adieu. His visit had been brief, yet it
seemed longer than all the combined hours they had passed together
during the last three days. The visage of the countess relaxed somewhat
after Gaston had gone, but she remained lost in thought without further
noticing her niece. Bertha was, at least, spared the nervous unrest
produced by those piercing eyes ever upon her.
Unfortunately Bertha's resources for self-diversion were of the most
limited description. Hers was a social, a wholly dependent nature; she
could not, like Madeleine, create her own amusement, and make her own
occupation. She tried to read, but could not fix her attention; she
tried to embroider, but quickly threw down her work; she could only
wander in and out of the room, now watching at the window as though she
expected some one; now sitting down and jumping up again; now turning
over books and papers, and looking about for something, she did not know
what, until she had thrown the room into complete disorder; and
certainly her restless flitting backward and forward would have half
distracted any one less absorbed than the countess. During one of
Bertha's fits of contemplation at the window, she exclaimed,--
"Here comes Maurice, at last! I thought he would never be here!"
"I think my father is decidedly improving," said Maurice, as he entered.
"I feel certain he recognized me to-day, and I thought he attempted to
pronounce my name."
A faint light gleamed in the eyes of the countess at these words, but it
was quenched by those which followed.
"Madeleine, he always seems to know, and he evidently likes to have her
near him. His eyes wander after her when she leaves the room, and
to-day, I thought he tried to smile when she returned."
"He is better then; it will soon be possible to move him; he can soon
have that care which _should_ be most acceptable to every son, and, I
trust, has ever been to mine."
The countess made this assertion proudly, in spite of the deep wound she
had received through her son's recognition of Madeleine; she had tried
to forget that blow, or to persuade herself that it had not been dealt.
Maurice did not know what answer to make, and remained silent.
"Aunt, you would not think of having cousin Tristan brought here until
he is nearly well,--that is, well enough to walk about,--would you?"
asked Bertha; and her accents expressed her disapproval of such an
attempt.
"He shall come the very moment that it is possible! Do you suppose that
I would submit to his remaining where he is one instant longer than is
absolutely necessary?"
No reply to this declaration was needed or expected. Maurice returned to
Madeleine's house with a sense of thankfulness that the count's seizure
had taken place where it did.
Gaston and the housekeeper were the watchers beside the count that
night, taking the places of Madeleine and Maurice at midnight,--this
exchange having now become the established rule for alternate nights.
In spite of the iron-like constitution, and iron-like character of the
countess,--in spite of her valiant, her desperate struggles,--her
strength began to fail under the pressure of her hidden sorrow. She was
unwilling to admit that she was subject to bodily any more than to
mental infirmities. She belonged to that rare class described by the
poet when he speaks of one who
"Scarce confesses
That his blood flows, or that his appetite
Is more to bread than stone."
And though she had been suffering for days from a low nervous fever,
neither her words nor actions gave the slightest indication that she was
not in her usual health. But, one morning, when she endeavored to rise,
her limbs refused to support her,--her head swam,--it was with
difficulty that she poured out a glass of water to cool her parched and
burning lips, and she was so fearful of falling (there seemed something
positively awful to her in the possibility of _prostration_, perhaps on
account of the fall it typified) that she staggered back to bed and
there remained.
Neither Bertha's persuasions, nor those of Maurice, could induce her to
allow a physician to be summoned. Maurice suggested Dr. Bayard, who was
attending Count Tristan, but the countess was even more opposed to him
than to any other medical attendant. Was he not aware of her
relationship to the _mantua-maker_? Had he not seen Count Tristan
recognize that humble and degraded relative when he did not know his own
mother?--his own son? No,--she never allowed physicians to approach her;
she never had need of them; she had none now, so she affirmed.
Bertha was not particularly well fitted to preside in a sick-room, and
her maid, Adolphine, was versed in the arts of the toilet alone. She
could have made the most charming cap for an invalid, but would have
proved particularly clumsy in smoothing a pillow for the head by which
the cap was to be worn. Yet the countess obstinately refused to have a
proper attendant engaged. She wanted nothing, she said, except to be
left to herself,--not to be disturbed,--not even to be accosted.
The position of Maurice grew far more painful than ever. He could no
longer devote himself exclusively to his father. Even though he could,
in reality, do nothing for his grandmother, yet he felt bound to pass a
portion of the day by her side; for Bertha was too much distressed and
too inefficient to be left with no assistance save that of her frivolous
maid. Madeleine longed to seek her aunt, and make some few, needful
arrangements for her comfort; but she could not doubt that her presence
would do more harm than good. All that she could effect was to instruct
Maurice, as far as possible, in the requirements of a sick-room, and to
have prepared, in her own kitchen, the light food suitable to an
invalid, which it would be difficult to obtain in a hotel. Every day
delicate broth, beef tea as clear as amber, panada, simple jellies, and
choice fruit were sent to Bertha for her aunt, without the knowledge of
the countess; indeed, the only nourishment the invalid tasted was
provided by the thoughtful Madeleine.
CHAPTER XLII.
DOUBLE CONVALESCENCE.
A fortnight passed on. At its close the vigorous constitution of the
countess, united to her powerful volition, gained a victory over her
malady. She had remained unshaken in her resolution not to receive
medical advice; she had taken no remedies,--used no precautions; yet
the fever had been conquered. Her strength began to return, and she
insisted upon leaving her bed, and being dressed, not as befits an
invalid, but in her usual precise and _soigné_ style. Adolphine timidly
suggested that a wrapper would be more comfortable than her ordinary
attire, and a morning cap would allow her to repose her head. The
countess awed her into silence by remarking:
"I keep my chamber no longer. I shall dress in a manner suitable to the
drawing-room."
During the progress of the tedious toilet, it was more than once
apparent that she was battling against a sense of faintness; but even
this discomfort did not induce her to allow a single pin to be less
conscientiously placed, a single curl less carefully smoothed. Adolphine
did not dare to betray that she perceived the failure of her mistress'
strength, and had not courage to offer her a glass of water. When the
folds of her heavy black silk dress were adjusted, her collar and
sleeves, of rich lace, arranged, her girdle tightly clasped with a
buckle of brilliants which was an heirloom, and her snowy hair
ornamented with a Parisian head-dress of mingled lace, velvet, and
flowers, she contemplated herself in the mirror as complacently as
though she perceived no change in her shrunken, haggard, altered
features, and rose up to proceed to the _salon_.
Her first steps were so feeble and uncertain that Adolphine started
forward involuntarily, to offer her arm; but a look from her mistress
made her draw back, and the tread of the countess grew firmer as she
entered the drawing-room. She did not sink into the nearest seat, but
crossed the apartment to the arm-chair which she was accustomed to
occupy; but she had hardly sat down, before her eyes closed and her head
fell back; her face was as white as that of the dead. Adolphine caught
up a bottle of cologne; but she stood in such fear of the countess, that
without using the restorative she ran to summon Bertha. Bertha
approached her aunt in great alarm, but sprinkled the cologne on her
face with lavish hands, applied it to her nostrils, and bathed her
temples. In a few moments Madame de Gramont opened her eyes and said,--
"A little on my handkerchief, Bertha. Adolphine carelessly forgot to
give me any."
Her proud, unconquered spirit would not admit the passing insensibility
of its mortal part. There was nothing to be done except for her niece
and maid to appear unconscious of the weakness which she herself
ignored. Adolphine placed a footstool beneath her mistress' feet and
retired. Bertha went to the window and looked out,--a favorite amusement
of hers, as we are aware.
The fortnight had been one of severe privation and discipline to her.
She had not once seen Madeleine, for she could not have left her aunt,
except when Maurice was with her, and the countess would not have
permitted her niece to go forth unprotected by Maurice or her maid, and
the latter could not be spared. The escort of Bertha's affianced husband
Madame de Gramont would have considered highly improper.
Gaston's visits, though he came every day, were brief and
unsatisfactory; for the countess, who could not forbid them, (as she
felt inclined to do), ordered the large folding-doors which divided her
chamber from the drawing-room to be left open, and desired Adolphine to
take her work into the latter apartment. Conversation in an ordinary
tone was quite audible to the countess, and could not but be heard by
Adolphine, who had a tolerable knowledge of English. What lover cares to
converse to more than one listener?
Bertha pined for the fresh air,--for a drive in the country, or, better
still, a stroll in the capitol grounds with Gaston; but this latter was
a happiness almost as far out of her reach as the paradise which she
deemed it foreshadowed.
The countess had grown highly irascible during her illness, and as
Bertha and her maid were the only ones upon whom she had a chance of
venting her spleen, she spared neither. She experienced a sick longing
for her native land; she more than ever detested the republican country
in which she was sojourning, and she heaped upon Bertha the bitterest
reproaches as the instigator of the exile which had been followed by so
many calamities. The countess never condescended to remember that her
wealthy young relative had liberally borne all expenses since they left
the Château de Gramont, where its owners had no longer the means of
residing. Of this fact she might be supposed to be ignorant, as she
never vouchsafed a thought to _money matters_; it, however, had been
made known to her by Count Tristan before she consented to the journey;
but the _trivial circumstance_ was quickly forgotten.
While Bertha was dreamily looking out of the window, and wondering when
she would be freed from this prison-like life, she heard the door open,
and turned quickly, hoping to greet the all-brightening presence. It was
Robert, Madeleine's servant, who entered bearing a silver salver. Bertha
had not supposed that the countess would, without warning, occupy her
usual place in the drawing-room, and had not guarded against Robert's
being seen. The young girl was so much discomposed that she stood
motionless, aghast, expecting some terrible outburst from her aunt.
Robert had admitted the countess at each of her compulsory visits to the
residence of "Mademoiselle Melanie," and it seemed hardly possible that
she would not recognize him again. Bertha ought to have known Madame de
Gramont better than to have supposed she would have stooped to bestow
glances enough upon a servant of Madeleine's, or, indeed, any servant,
to know his features. Robert placed the salver upon the table, and
either because he was naturally a silent man, or because the presence of
the countess struck him dumb, or because he had no message to deliver
that morning, retired without speaking. Bertha looked anxiously at her
aunt; the immobility of her features was reassuring.
The salver bore a pitcher of admirably prepared chocolate, made by
Madeleine herself, a plate carefully covered with a napkin, containing a
delicate species of Normandy cake, to which the countess had been
particularly partial in Brittany (Madeleine had remembered the recipe),
and a dish of enormous strawberries, served, according to the French
custom, with their stems. It occurred to Bertha, for the first time,
that perhaps there was a cipher upon Madeleine's plate which would
betray from whence it came; she examined a spoon before she ventured to
present the tray to her aunt. The silver only bore the letter "M."
Bertha, considerably relieved, but still flurried by the peril she had
just escaped, placed a small table before Madame de Gramont, then poured
out and handed her the chocolate in silence, fearing to provoke some
question.
The countess, who was growing faint again, gladly accepted the
nourishing beverage, and even ate several cakes. She seemed to enjoy
them, for it was long since she had spoken in so pleasant a tone as when
she remarked,--
"These cakes remind me of our noble old château; one would hardly
suppose that they would be found in America."
Bertha suspected who had made the cakes, and, to draw her aunt's
attention away from them, said,--
"What delicious strawberries! And how fragrant they are!"
The countess took one by the stem, and dipped it in the sugar, but with
a disparaging look. It was large and juicy, and possessed a rich flavor
and an aromatic odor which French strawberries can seldom boast; but the
countess would not have admitted the superiority even of American fruit
over that of her own country, and after tasting a few of the
strawberries returned to the cake which reminded her of her forsaken
home.
How fared it with Count Tristan during the fortnight in which he had not
seen his august mother? Under judicious and tender care, he had
steadily, rapidly improved. His mental faculties had been sufficiently
restored for him to recognize every one around him, but his memory was
still clouded, and his thoughts sadly confused. He had partially
recovered his articulation, though his speech continued to be thick and
at times unintelligible. His limbs also had been partly freed from the
thraldom of paralysis, but were still heavy and numb, as though they had
long worn chains. He clung to Madeleine more eagerly than ever, and
seemed to be disturbed and uncomfortable except when she was near him.
He had a vague consciousness that she was the medium through which all
good flowed in to him, and often repeated, as he held her hand,--
"You,--you--yes, you, Madeleine, you saved us all! Good angel--good
angel!"
That her ministry in the sick-room was so grateful to the sufferer was
not surprising; for a gentle, efficient hand which knows precisely how
to make a pillow yield the best support,--a low, soft, yet encouraging
voice,--a cheerful, yet sympathizing face,--a soundless step,--garments
that never rustle,--movements that make no noise,--are among the chief
blessings to an invalid.
The count seemed less happy at the sight of his son; his mind was
haunted by an undefined fear that there was something Maurice would
learn which would make him shrink from his father,--which would disgrace
both; the sufferer had quite forgotten that the discovery he dreaded had
already been made. When he looked at Maurice he often muttered the
words,--
"Unincumbered,--no mortgage,--of course it's all right,--power of
attorney untouched,--leave all to me!"
At other times he would plead, in broken sentences, for pardon, and
denounce himself as a villain who had ruined his only son.
It was a somewhat singular coincidence that the very morning the
countess had risen and dressed for the first time for a fortnight, Count
Tristan appeared to be so much more restless than usual that Madeleine
suggested he should be conducted to her boudoir. Maurice assisted him to
rise, enveloped him in a comfortable _robe de chambre_, and, with the
help of Robert, led him to that pleasant, peace-breathing apartment,
where she had arranged an easy-chair with pillows, had opened the doors
of the conservatory to admit the odorous air, and had shaded the windows
that the light might be softened to an invalid's eyes.
He smiled placidly and gratefully as he looked toward the flowers, and
stretched out his hand to Madeleine. She took her place on a low seat,
her little sewing-chair, and, unbidden, sang some of the wild, old
strains to which he had often listened in the ancient château. The sigh
he heaved was one of pleasure, as though his heart felt too full, but
not of care. Madeleine sang on, ballad after ballad, for she could not
pause while he appeared to be so calmly happy, and her voice only died
away as she felt the hand that clasped hers relax its hold, and, looking
up, she found that her patient was gently slumbering.
Maurice had sat listening and gazing as one spellbound, but Madeleine
roused him by saying,--
"It is long past your usual hour for visiting your grandmother. Had you
not better go? I think it likely your father will sleep some time. The
change of scene and the fresh air have lulled him into a tranquil
slumber."
"And your voice had nothing to do with his rest?" asked Maurice,
tenderly.
"Any old crone's would serve as well for a lullaby," she answered,
playfully. "Now go, and be sure you find out whether the countess liked
the chocolate and those Normandy cakes."
CHAPTER XLIII.
OUTGENERALLED.
Madame de Gramont welcomed Maurice that morning with more animation than
she had evinced during her illness. He did not anticipate finding her in
the drawing-room; and was even more surprised to see her not in an
invalid's _déshabille_, but dressed for visitors; not reclining, but
sitting up almost as stiffly as in the days of her grandeur. He
congratulated her upon her convalescence with mingled warmth and
astonishment.
"Thank you, I am quite well," she replied; though her colorless lips and
wan, sunken face solemnly contradicted the words. "How is your father?"
This question was asked apparently with newly-awakened anxiety; for of
late she had made no inquiries, but listened in silence to Maurice's
daily report, and turned sullenly from him as though he were responsible
for its unfavorable nature.
He now answered in an unusually cheerful tone,--
"My father is better, much better, to-day; improving fast, I think."
Some of the old triumphant light flashed out of the countess' black eyes
as she ejaculated,--
"Thank God! Then he can be brought here at once!"
Maurice perceived his mistake too late. He had not foreseen that the
countess would have drawn this conclusion from the intelligence just
communicated.
"My dear grandmother, you cannot think of desiring to remove my father
at present?"
"Cannot think of it? What other thought fills my mind night and day? He
_must_ be removed from that house. I say _must_, the very instant his
life would not be perilled by the attempt. Better that it should have
been placed in jeopardy than that he should have remained there thus
long."
"We will talk of this when he is more decidedly convalescent," returned
Maurice, perceiving that some generalship must be employed to protect
his father. "I will let you know how he progresses, and we will make all
the necessary arrangements for his change of abode in due season."
The countess was too shrewd not to see through this answer, and she was
quite competent to return Maurice's move by generalship of her own; for,
in the battle of life, it is the tactics of womanhood that oftenest win
the day. She allowed the conversation to drop; and Maurice secretly
rejoiced at her having, as he supposed, yielded the point. He chatted
awhile with Bertha; then his eyes chanced to fall upon the salver which
Madeleine had prepared. It called to mind her request.
"What have you here? Chocolate? Did you find it well made?"
The countess took no notice of the inquiry.
"These are very fine strawberries," persisted Maurice. "Did you enjoy
them? And these cakes,"--he tasted one,--"used to be favorites of
yours."
The countess checked a rising sigh; for her aversion to betraying even a
passing emotion was insuperable. "They reminded me of Brittany," she
said, involuntarily.
"You liked them, then? They are to your taste?" questioned her grandson,
hoping to be able to tell Madeleine that her labors had been rewarded.
But the countess answered coldly,--
"I find very little in this country, even though the object be imported,
which is to my taste."
She did not open her lips again until Maurice was taking his leave. Then
she said,--
"Has your father's physician been to see him to-day?"
"No; he had not come when I left, though it was past his usual hour."
"Let him know that I wish to see him," ordered the countess.
Had Maurice suspected her object he would not have replied so
cordially,--
"I am truly glad that you will accept medical aid at last. You look very
feeble."
The countess considered such a suggestion an insult; and drew herself up
as she replied,--
"You are mistaken. I am far from feeble. Feebleness does not belong to
my race. My strength does not forsake me readily; it will last while I
last. Still you may inform your father's physician that I desire to see
him."
"I will send him to you at once. You shall certainly see him to-day."
"Thank you."
These two words were spoken dryly by the countess, and with an emphasis
which might have struck Maurice and caused him to suspect her intentions
and possibly to frustrate them, had he not been so thoroughly convinced
that her own state required medical care, and had he not known that her
stoical fortitude made it easier for her to suffer than to admit that
she _could_ suffer.
Maurice found Madeleine where he had left her. The count had just
awakened, much refreshed. He was softly stroking her head and saying
with the same indistinct utterance, "Good angel! good angel!"
At the sight of Maurice the old troubled look passed again over his
face, and he whispered hoarsely,--
"He shall never know. Never, never let him know. It would kill me! kill
me!"
Maurice had told Madeleine how much better he had found his grandmother,
and was giving her the gratifying intelligence that Madame de Gramont
had said the cakes reminded her of Brittany (the highest praise possible
for her to bestow on anything), when the doctor entered.
His patient, he said, had made marvellous progress; but that was owing,
in a great measure, to admirable nursing; and he nodded approvingly to
Madeleine.
"If physicians had only at their disposal a train of well-informed,
efficient, conscientious nurses to distribute among their patients,
medical services might be of some use in the world; but, as it is, we
might make a new application of the old proverb, that God sends us
dinners, and the devil sends us cooks who make the dinners valueless; a
physician gives his orders and prescriptions, and a careless nurse
renders them null."
Dr. Bayard was not a man who dealt in compliments, even in a modified
form; he was sagacious, abrupt, straightforward, and at times spoke his
mind rather sharply. He had been impressed by Madeleine's unremitting
care of his patient, and, in declaring that the count's convalescence
was, in a large degree, due to her prudence and vigilance, he simply
said what he thought.
"I am glad to see you have removed your charge to this room," he
continued. "Change of scene and of air is always good, when practicable.
I recommend a short drive to-morrow. I never keep an invalid imprisoned
one hour longer than is necessary."
Maurice delivered his grandmother's message; and Dr. Bayard promised to
call upon her before his return home. The claims upon his time, however,
were so numerous that it was evening before he reached Brown's hotel.
The countess would not, even to herself have admitted that she could be
subject to such an unaristocratic sensation as impatience; but we are
unable to hit upon any other word to express the state of unquiet
anxiety with which she awaited his coming.
He was announced at last.
At that hour in the day, it was not unnatural for Dr. Bayard to be in a
great hurry to get home to his dinner; and consequently his manners were
even more blunt and informal than usual. Without losing a minute, he
took a seat in front of the lady whom he supposed to be his patient,
looked scrutinizingly into her face and said,--
"Well, and what's the matter? A touch of fever, I suspect. We shall soon
bring that under."
Without further ceremony he placed his fingers on her wrist.
The countess drew her hand away, as though something loathsome had dared
to pollute her; and the bright red fever spot on either cheek deepened
into the crimson of wrath.
"Sir, I am perfectly well. I did not send for you to ask your advice
concerning myself."
Dr. Bayard drew back his chair an inch or two, but made no apology.
"I am the mother of Count Tristan de Gramont whom you are attending."
Dr. Bayard bowed.
"I hear that he is much better."
"Much better," was the physician's laconic reply.
"It would no longer be dangerous for him to be removed from his present
most unfit abode," the countess asserted rather than interrogated.
Dr. Bayard, in answering the queries of patients, or those of their
families, did not follow the practice of physicians in general, but
adhered to the exact truth. He replied, "It would not be dangerous,
madame, but it would be unwise,--confounded folly, I might say. He is
very comfortable where he is, and he has capital care. I do not believe
there is such another nurse as Mademoiselle Melanie in Christendom."
If fiery arrows ever flash from human eyes, as some who have felt their
wound declare they do, such darts flew fast and thick from the eyes of
the countess as she regarded him.
"Sir, it is not a question of nurses. A mother is the fittest person to
watch beside her son."
Dr. Bayard differed with her, but did not give her the benefit of his
private opinion.
"As Count Tristan is in a state to be removed, I will give orders to
have him brought here to-morrow. I suppose it is too late to-night?"
observed the countess.
"I have already said that I do not see the necessity of his being moved
at all, until he is perfectly restored," persisted the doctor.
"It is enough that I see it!" remarked the countess, frigidly. "I
believe my inquiries only extended to asking your medical opinion as to
the _danger_ not the _propriety_ of moving my son."
"Then I have nothing more to say," replied the physician, rising. "I
have already stated that his removal, if advisable in other respects,
would not be dangerous. Allow me to wish you good-evening."
Though Dr. Bayard's visit had highly irritated Madame de Gramont,
exultation prevailed over all other emotions.
Bertha had been present during the interview, and albeit she was filled
with grief at the prospect of Madeleine's sorrow and mortification, she
had not the moral courage to remonstrate.
The countess was up betimes on the morrow. It may be that her strength
had really returned; it may be that excitement supplied its place; but
there was no recurrence of the feebleness which she had not been able
wholly to conceal on the day previous. Before Bertha was dressed for
breakfast her aunt had sent to borrow her writing-desk (having no
correspondents, the countess did not travel with one of her own), and
Bertha experienced a heart-sickening foreboding at the request. When she
entered the drawing-room, Madame de Gramont was writing slowly and
elaborately, as though she were preparing some document which was to
pass into the hands of critical judges; but she never wrote in any other
manner. A hasty, impulsive, dashing off of words and ideas would have
lacked dignity. The whole character of the haughty lady might easily
have been read in the stiff but elegant hand, the formal and carefully
constructed phrases, the icy tenor of her simplest missive.
She folded the note, told Bertha where to find her seal with the de
Gramont arms, impressed it carefully upon the melted wax, desired Bertha
to ring the bell, and bade her send the note at once to Maurice. The
countess could not have stooped to name to the servant the residence of
the mantua-maker.
Though Madame de Gramont expected that her command would be instantly
obeyed, she was too little used to attend to household matters, or
bestow a thought upon the comfort of others, to give any orders
concerning her son's room, or even to reflect that additional care in
its preparation was needed for an invalid.
Count Tristan had passed the best night with which he had been favored
since his attack. He had slept so uninterruptedly that Gaston and Mrs.
Lawkins (whose turn it was to replace Madeleine and Maurice) had
followed the invalid's example and travelled with him to the kingdom of
Morpheus.
In the morning he expressed a desire to rise. The first words he uttered
showed that his articulation was clearer. Madeleine had arranged the
pillows in his arm-chair and placed it where he could look into the
conservatory. He walked into the boudoir supported only by Maurice.
There was a rare amount of stamina, a wondrously recuperative power in
the de Gramont constitution, as was manifested both by mother and son.
When the count was comfortably seated, Madeleine placed before him a
little table with his breakfast so neatly arranged that merely to look
at it gave one an appetite. She served him herself, and the tranquil
pleasure he felt in receiving what he ate from her hands was
unmistakable. His own hands were still weak and numb, and she cut up the
delicate broiled chicken, and broke the bread, disposed his napkin
carefully, and then steadied the cup of chocolate which he tried to
carry to his lips. Maurice stood watching her, just as he always did;
for it was difficult for him to remove his eyes from her face when she
was present, though, in truth, when she was absent he saw her before him
hardly less distinctly.
The trio was thus agreeably occupied when the note of the countess was
placed in the hands of Maurice. His consternation vented itself in an
irrepressible groan, which made Madeleine and the count look up.
The latter trembled with alarm, and, his haunting fear coming back, he
asked, in a terrified tone,--
"What has happened? What do they want? What would they make you believe?
No harm of me,--you wont! you wont! Here's Madeleine will make all
right!"
"Do not trouble yourself," said Madeleine, soothingly; "there are no
business matters to fret you now."
Her sweet, quieting voice, or the assurance, calmed him, and he repeated
once more, for the thousandth time, "Good angel! good angel!"
"It is a note from my grandmother," said Maurice, biting his lips. "She
has seen Dr. Bayard, and insists on carrying out certain views of hers,
and she informs me that she has his permission to do so."
Madeleine had not nerved herself against this blow; it fell heavily upon
her; she could not at once resign the precious privilege of ministering
to her afflicted relative; and she could not hope that the countess
would allow her to approach him if he were removed to the hotel.
"Surely she will not be so cruel! It will harm him,--it will retard his
recovery."
"I will see her, at once, and try what argument and remonstrance can
do," replied Maurice.
And he set forth on his difficult mission.
A moment's reflection convinced Madeleine that if the countess had
received the doctor's consent, she would prove inexorable. There was no
resource but to submit as patiently as possible. Count Tristan must be
reconciled to the change, and to effect that was the task now before
her. She tried to break the news gently; she told him his mother had not
seen him of late because she had been ill; and now, hearing he was so
much better, she desired him to return to the hotel that he might be
nearer to her.
The count answered peevishly, "No--no,--I'll not go! I'm better
here,--better with you, my good angel!"
"But if Madame de Gramont is determined," said Madeleine, "I have no
right, no power to resist her authority."
"Can I not stay? Let me stay!" he pleaded, pathetically.
"I would be only too thankful if you could; but you know the wishes of
the countess cannot be disregarded."
"I cannot go! It will kill me if I go back! I am better here. I'm safe
with you! I'll not go!"
He seemed so much distressed that Madeleine dismissed the subject by
saying, "Maurice has gone to see his grandmother; we need not torment
ourselves until he returns."
The count was easily satisfied, and the remembrance of his trouble soon
faded from his mind. Madeleine asked him if she should sing, and he
nodded a pleased assent. She could not give voice to any but the saddest
melodies, for a sorrowful presentiment that she would never sing to him
again, filled her mind. She continued to charm away his cares by the
witchery of her accents until Maurice returned. The result of his
advocacy was quickly told. The countess was inflexible, and awaited her
son.
CHAPTER XLIV.
A CHANGE.
The strongest heart will sometimes betray that it is overtaxed through
the pressure of a sorrow which appears trivial contrasted with the
stupendous burdens it has borne unflinchingly; the firmest spirit is
sometimes crushed at last, by the weight of a moral "feather" that
breaks the back of endurance. Madeleine's courage proved insufficient to
encounter calmly this new trial. She could not see that poor, wretched,
brain-shattered sufferer, that proud man bowed to the dust, clinging to
her with such a strange, perplexed, yet steady grasp, and know that she
could no longer tend, amuse, and soothe him! Her composure was forsaking
her, and she could only hurriedly whisper to Maurice,--
"I will pack your father's clothes; make him comprehend that we have no
alternative; reconcile him if you can. Since he must go, it had better
be at once; the countess is no doubt anxiously expecting him."
She passed into the count's room, gathered together all his wearing
apparel, and knelt down beside his trunk. Her heart swelled as though
it would burst; she bowed her head upon the trunk she was about to open,
and sobbed aloud!
Madeleine's tears were not like Bertha's,--mere summer rain which sprang
to her eyes with every passing emotion, and fell in sun-broken showers
that freshened and brightened her own spirit. Madeleine seldom wept, and
when the tears came, they sprang up from the very depth of her true
heart, in a hot, bitter current which was less like the bubbling of a
fountain than the lava bursting from a volcano. It is ever thus with
powerful, yet self-controlled natures, and Madeleine's equanimity in the
midst of trials which would have prostrated others, was not a lack of
keen, quick sensibility, but an evidence of the supremacy she had gained
by discipline over her passions.
Madeleine wept and wept, forgetting the work before her, the time that
was passing, the necessity for action! All the tears that she might have
shed during the last few weeks, if it were her nature to weep as most
women weep, now rushed forth in one passionate torrent. She did not hear
a step approaching; she was hardly conscious of the encircling arm that
raised her from the ground, nor was she startled by the voice that
said,--
"Madeleine! my own Madeleine! Is it you sobbing thus?"
"I feel _this!_ O Maurice, I feel _this!_ My aunt has never had power to
make me feel so much since that day in the little _châlet_ when my eyes
were opened,--when she cast me off, and I stood alone in the world."
"Ah Madeleine, dearest and best beloved, if you had only loved me
then,--if I could only have taught you to love me,--you would not have
stood alone! I should have battled against every sorrow that could come
near you; or, at least, have borne it with you. O Madeleine, why could
you not love me?"
For one instant Madeleine was tempted to throw herself in his arms and
confess all. The high resolves of years of self-denial were on the verge
of being broken in one weak moment; but the very peril, the very
temptation calmed her suddenly. She brushed away her tears, and, gently
withdrawing the hand Maurice held, said, in broken accents,--
"I have caused you too much pain in other days, Maurice. I should not
have added more by allowing you to witness my weakness. Help me to be
strong; for you see I have sore need of help."
"All that I can offer, Madeleine, you reject," said Maurice,
reproachfully. "My heart and life are yours, and you fling them from
you."
"Maurice, my cousin, my best friend, spare me! I have no right to listen
to this language."
"But the right to hear it from the lips of another," retorted Maurice
bitterly.
"Be generous, Maurice. For pity's sake, do not speak on that subject."
There was so much anguish depicted in Madeleine's face that Maurice was
conscience-stricken by the conviction that his rashly selfish words had
caused her additional pain.
"This is a poor return, Madeleine, for all the good you have done my
father,--all the good you have done me,--you have done us all. You see
what a selfish brute I am! My very love for you, which should shield you
from all suffering, has, through that fatal selfishness, added to your
sorrow. Can you pardon me?"
"When you wrong me, Maurice, I will; but that day has yet to come. Leave
me for a few moments, and I will complete what I have to do here and
join you."
Maurice complied, but slowly and reluctantly, and looking back as he
left the room.
Madeleine wept no more; she bathed her face and smoothed her disordered
hair, and then collected all the articles scattered about, placed them
carefully in the trunk, shut it and locked it, looked about to see that
nothing was forgotten, ordered her carriage, and with a composed mien
entered the little boudoir.
Maurice must have used some potent argument with his father which
reconciled him to his change of habitation, or made him comprehend that
resistance was useless, for when Robert announced that the carriage was
at the door, and Madeleine brought the count's coat to exchange for his
dressing-gown, he allowed her to assist him, only repeating the term of
affection so often on his lips.
The count was ready, and Madeleine signed to Maurice not to linger. He
gave his arm to his father, and they passed through the entry. Madeleine
preceded them; she opened the street door herself; father and son passed
out, but without bidding her adieu. The steps of the carriage were let
down; just as Maurice was assisting his father to ascend them, the count
drew back with native politeness and said,--
"Madeleine first."
Madeleine was still standing in the doorway ready to wave her
handkerchief as the carriage drove off.
"Come, Madeleine, come! come! We are waiting for you!" cried the count.
Maurice expostulated in vain; his father insisted that Madeleine should
go with them.
"Only get into the carriage, my dear father, while I speak with her."
"Get in before a lady? No--no! We are not backwoodsmen,--are we? Come,
Madeleine, come!"
Madeleine saw that argument would not avail with the count; his mind was
not sufficiently clear; it only had glimpses of reason which allowed him
to comprehend by fits and starts.
Ever quick of decision, she said cheerfully, "Yes, in one moment," and
withdrew; but before Maurice had divined her intention, returned,
wearing her bonnet and shawl, and sprang into the carriage.
"Drive into the country," was Madeleine's order to the coachman.
Maurice looked at her with inquiring surprise.
"Dr. Bayard said a drive would do your father good. We can first take a
short drive, then return, and go to the hotel."
Count Tristan looked happy. The motion of the carriage was agreeable to
him, and the fresh air revived him; he gazed eagerly out of the window
as though the commonest objects had caught the charm of novelty. His
pleasure was of brief duration; for when they had driven about a mile,
prudence suggested to Madeleine that it would be well to return before
the patient became fatigued. She pulled the check-cord, and herself gave
the order, "To Brown's hotel."
Count Tristan paid no attention to the command. The hotel was quickly
reached; the carriage stopped; Maurice descended and handed out his
father.
"Let me hear good news of you," said Madeleine to Count Tristan,
encouragingly, and kept her seat.
Leaning heavily on his son's arm, the count mounted the hotel steps, but
he did not comprehend Madeleine's words as an adieu, and turned to speak
to her, thinking she was beside him. The coachman was closing the
carriage-door preparatory to driving away.
"Madeleine! Madeleine!" cried out the count, stretching his hand
imploringly toward her. "Madeleine, come! come!"
Madeleine perceived that Maurice was remonstrating with his father, and
trying to lead him on, but that the count would not move, and still
cried out, "Come! come!" in a voice of piteous entreaty.
Curious strangers began to collect; Madeleine knew that if the scene
continued even a few moments, a crowd would gather, and all manner of
inquiries be made of her coachman, the hotel-keepers, the servants. She
leaped out of the carriage, hastened to the count's side, and said,--
"I will go upstairs with you; the assistance of Maurice may not be
sufficient; lean on my arm also."
And Count Tristan did lean upon her, for his limbs were too feeble to
ascend a long flight without difficulty.
The door of the countess's _salon_ was but a few paces from the top of
the stair. Madeleine paused, took the count's hand affectionately in
hers, and pressed it several times to her lips, saying,--
"Now I must bid you adieu. It would not be agreeable to the countess to
see me. She would think my coming with you impertinent. You will not
force me to bear the pain of seeing her displeasure? Bid me adieu and
let me go!"
The count, easily swayed by her persuasive voice, and inspired with a
vague dread of his mother's anger, kissed her forehead, and did not
remonstrate, but stood still and watched her gliding swiftly down the
stairs.
Maurice had whispered to her, "I will be with you as soon as possible,
Madeleine. Be brave, for my sake!"
The countess had only betrayed her anxious expectancy by changing her
usual seat to one where she could watch the door, and by looking up
eagerly every time it opened. When, at last, Maurice entered, supporting
Count Tristan, there was a gleam of mingled joy and triumph in his
mother's eye. It was doubtful whether the triumph of having compelled
obedience to her commands, and of having wrested her son from Madeleine,
did not surpass the joy she experienced in beholding that son once
again.
From her greeting, a stranger would hardly have imagined that when she
saw him last his life was in imminent peril, and that she had rushed
from his presence overcome by grief and mortification. She now received
him as though she had cheated herself into the belief that she was doing
the honors in her ancestral château, and that his brief absence had no
graver origin than some ordinary pleasure party.
"Welcome, my son, welcome!" said she, kissing him on either cheek. "We
have missed you greatly; you are thrice welcome for this brief
separation."
Count Tristan returned her salutation, but looked strangely
uncomfortable, as though the atmosphere oppressed and chilled him.
"Dear cousin Tristan, I am so glad to see you better; you will soon be
quite well again," said Bertha, embracing him far more warmly than his
mother had done.
The countess made no allusion to his illness; she preferred wholly to
forget the past.
Maurice led his father to an arm-chair, and asked Bertha to bring a
pillow. Under Madeleine's tuition Maurice had become quite expert in
promoting an invalid's comfort, and yet he now failed to arrange the
pillow satisfactorily. Perhaps his father's chair was not easy, or the
one to which he was accustomed was more commodious, or Maurice was more
clumsy than usual; for though Bertha also lent her aid, the count kept
repeating, fretfully,--
"It's not right,--it does not support my shoulders! You can't do it!
Leave it alone! Leave it alone!"
They desisted, and sat down beside him.
The countess had no faculty of starting conversation, and Bertha's merry
tongue had of late lost its volubility; she had so often irritated her
aunt by her remarks that she had become afraid to speak. Maurice was too
sad to be otherwise than taciturn. Thus the reunited little family sat
in solemn silence. Count Tristan looked around him drearily for a while,
and then having for a moment lost recollection of what had just taken
place, exclaimed disconsolately,--
"Where is Madeleine?"
These unfortunate words roused the countess. She rose up as loftily as
in her proudest, most unchastened days, and approaching him, asked, in a
rebuking voice,--
"For _whom_ do you inquire, my son? Am I to understand that a mother's
presence is not all-sufficient for her own child? Is not hers the place
by his side? If that place has been, for a season, usurped, should he
not rejoice that she to whom it legitimately belongs occupies it once
more?"
The count looked awed, and did not attempt to reply. Maurice perceived
that he must exert himself to shield his father from as much discomfort
as could be warded off, and inquired, without directly addressing either
the countess or Bertha,--
"Is my father's room prepared for him? But I suppose that it is. His
drive must have fatigued him, and I think he would like to retire."
The countess disclaimed any knowledge of the state of the apartment,
signifying that she was not in the habit of occupying herself with
matters of this nature. Bertha was equally ignorant, but said she would
go and see. Maurice prevented her by going himself.
The room looked as though it had not been entered since the day when he
had packed up his father's clothes to move them to Madeleine's, and that
was more than a fortnight ago. There was some delay in getting a
chambermaid; servants are always busy, yet never to be had in an
American hotel; after several ineffectual attempts, he obtained the
services of an Irish girl; and he induced Adolphine to lend her aid,
that the room might be aired, swept, and put in order more rapidly.
Adolphine was rather a hinderance to the bustling Irish help, for a
Parisian lady's-maid knows one especial business, and knows nothing
else, however simple; she is an instrument that plays but one tune, and
she boasts of her _speciality_ as a virtue. In something more than an
hour Adolphine announced that the apartment of _M. le Comte_ was in
readiness.
Count Tristan was very willing to retire, and after Maurice had played
the valet without assistance, his father seemed disposed to sleep, and
Maurice closed the blinds and sat down quietly until he perceived that
the invalid had fallen into a deep slumber. Henceforth he was to watch
beside him, when watching was needed, alone! Those blessed nights,
shorter and sweeter than the happiest dreams, when he had sat in the
pale light, with that beautiful face beaming opposite to him,--that soft
voice sounding melodiously in his ears,--they were gone, never to
return!
At that very moment Madeleine herself was haunted by the same
reflections. When she drove home alone, and reëntered her house, how
desolate and dreary it appeared! How empty and lonely seemed those
apartments so lately occupied by the ones nearest of kin and dearest to
her heart! She wandered through the rooms, up and down, up and down,
with restless feet, pondering upon the singular events of the last few
weeks; she had not before had leisure to dwell upon them. Was it indeed
true that her roof had sheltered Count Tristan de Gramont?--Count
Tristan de Gramont, whose persecutions in other days, had driven her
from his own roof, and whose hatred had embittered and blighted her
life? And had he learned to depend upon her? to love her? To talk to
her, even when his mind wandered, of _gratitude_, as though that emotion
was ever uppermost in her presence? And Maurice, her dear
cousin,--Maurice, the beloved of her soul, who must never know that he
was all in all to her,--had he been her guest for more than two weeks?
And had she been permitted the joy of promoting his comfort in a
thousand little, unnoted, womanly ways? Had he sat at her table? Had
they watched together, night and day, by his father's bed?--talking
through the night hours, unwearied when the morning broke, unwilling to
welcome the first rays of the sun, because their sweet, inexhaustible
converse came to an end? Had they shared the happiness of ameliorating
Count Tristan's melancholy state, and seeing him daily improve? And now
it was all over: she must resume her old course of life, her temporarily
laid aside labors! To muse too long upon departed happiness would unfit
her for those. Even the sad joy of recollection was denied her.
She sent for Mrs. Lawkins and directed everything to be restored to its
usual order. The draperies in the entry were to be taken down;--no, let
them remain; Madeleine had been accustomed to see that portion of the
house divided from the rest; let them stay. In passing through the
drawing-room she noticed Maurice's trunk, which he had not thought of
packing. Though it gave her many a pang, because she was forced to
realize more keenly that he was surely gone, it was also with a sense of
pleasure that she collected together the articles belonging to him and
packed them carefully. Hers was a nature peculiarly susceptible to the
pure delight of serving, aiding, sparing trouble to those whom she
loved. The meanest household drudgery, the severest labor, the most
prosaic making and mending, would have gained a charm and been idealized
into pleasures, if they contributed to the well-being of those dear to
her; but, when performed for the one more precious than all others, they
became positive joys.
She left Mrs. Lawkins busied in the arrangement of the apartments, and
went upstairs to the workroom, which she had not entered for nearly
three weeks. She had not seen any of her _employées_, except Ruth, and
Mademoiselle Victorine, since they all had learned her rank. Her
unexpected appearance created a great commotion. No one but Ruth had
expected to behold her in that apartment again. The women all rose
respectfully; but an unwonted restraint checked the expression of
gratification which her presence ever imparted. Madeleine smilingly bade
them to be seated; then passed around the table and spoke to every
needle-woman in turn, inquiring after the personal health of each, or
asking questions about her family,--for she knew the histories of all;
and then learning particulars concerning the work that had been done,
and the work in hand.
The obsequiousness of Mademoiselle Victorine was perfectly overwhelming,
yet she experienced no little disappointment. She had made up her mind
that since Mademoiselle Melanie was known to be Mademoiselle de Gramont,
she would never again be able to appear among her workwomen, even to
superintend their labors, and a large portion of the resigned power must
be delegated to the accomplished forewoman. Ruth Thornton, Madeleine's
favorite, as Victorine considered her, was in the way; but what were a
French woman's wits worth if they could not devise some method of
removing a dangerous rival?
Madeleine lingered long enough to be _au courant_ to the present state
of affairs, and she found that the business of the establishment had so
much increased during her seclusion, that every day, a host of orders
had to be declined. This overwhelming influx of patronage was partially
attributable to the reports circulated concerning Mademoiselle Melanie's
romantic history, and also to the strong desire of the public (a
democratic public) to secure the honor of procuring habiliments from the
establishment of a dress-maker whose father was a duke.
Madeleine had taken a seat near Ruth, and was listening to Mademoiselle
Victorine's _histories_ and suggestions, when Robert made known that
Monsieur Maurice de Gramont begged to see Mademoiselle Melanie.
Maurice had left his father as soon as he slept; he was impatient to
return to Madeleine. He was tortured by the remembrance of her burst of
grief, and her bitter words. The forced composure by which they were
succeeded could not hide from him the deep wound she had received.
Though the period which had elapsed since his father was conducted from
Madeleine's house was so brief, the rooms, grown familiar to Maurice,
already wore a different aspect; he actually felt hurt that Madeleine
could have made the change thus rapidly. Men are so unreasonable!
Maurice resembled his sex in that particular. Then, too, he found his
trunk packed, and he knew by whose hand that duty had been performed.
Doubtless, he was grateful? Not in the least! It seemed to him that
Madeleine was in too much haste to remove the last vestige of his
sojourn near her. When she entered the drawing-room he was standing
contemplating the neatly filled trunk, and was cruel enough to say,--
"You used your _old magic_ to make ready for us, Madeleine, and you
have used it again to efface all our footprints here. I can hardly
persuade myself that I occupied this room."
Madeleine felt the implied reproach; but without answering the unmerited
rebuke, she asked, "Is your father doing well?"
"He is sleeping at this moment; but it is very evident that he is going
to have a sorrowful time; he will miss you so much; and my grandmother
is as cold and hard as though her illness had petrified her more
completely than ever."
That was another observation to which Madeleine could find no reply.
Without essaying to make an appropriate answer, she said, "It will never
do to let the whole burden of nursing your father devolve on you,
Maurice; you will be broken down. May I plan for you? You need an
experienced _garde malade_. It would be difficult, at short notice, to
procure any so reliable, and so well versed in the duties of a nurse as
Mrs. Lawkins. Then, too, your father is accustomed to see her near him;
and a familiar face will be more welcome than a stranger's. Do you think
it would be wrong to engage her without your grandmother's knowing that
she had been in my employment?"
"I have no scruples on that head," returned Maurice; "but there are
others which I cannot readily get over. She is your house-keeper, and I
have heard you say she was very valuable to you. I know that it is
exceedingly difficult to obtain good domestics in this country; you
cannot replace her at once. How can you spare her?"
"Easily,--easily; do not talk of that. I will speak to her and she will
go to you to-morrow morning. Meantime, I advise you to inform the
countess that a nurse is coming. One charge more: your father is so much
better that instead of wearing yourself out by sitting up with him, it
would be wiser to have a sofa, upon which you could take rest, placed
beside his bed. M. de Bois will gladly take his turn in watching, but
after a few nights, I think Count Tristan will need no one but Mrs.
Lawkins."
"Ah, Madeleine"--
Madeleine interrupted him. "One word about the delicacies which you
cannot readily procure in a hotel, and which it would deprive me of a
great happiness if I could not send. As the countess is now up, and
might see and recognize Robert, I will order him to deliver the salver
to the waiter who attends upon your rooms. Would it not be advisable to
say a few words to this man to prevent any inadvertent remark in the
presence of your grandmother?"
"Well thought of. How do you keep your wits so thoroughly about you,
Madeleine? How do you manage to remember everything that should be
remembered, and at the right moment?"
"If I do,--though I am not disposed to admit that such is the case,--it
is simply through the habit of taking the trouble to _think at all_, to
reflect quietly upon what would be best, what is most needed,--a very
simple process."
"And, like a great many other simple but important processes, rare just
because it _is so simple_," remarked Maurice, with great justice.
During this conversation Maurice and Madeleine had been standing where
she found him on entering the room; but he had not resolution to tear
himself quickly away, and said,--
"Let me sit a little while in your boudoir, and talk to you, Madeleine.
_I_ have not been able to reconcile myself so quickly to my own change
of abode as you seem to have done to our departure from yours."
Was it not surprising that such a noble-minded man as Maurice could make
an observation so ungracious, so ungenerous, and one which in his heart
he knew was so unjust, to the woman he loved? Yet it would be difficult
to find a lover who is incapable of doing the same. Why is it that men,
even the best, are at times stirred by an irresistible prompting,
themselves, to wound the being whom they would shield from all harm
dealt by others with chivalric devotion? Let a woman commit the
slightest action that can, by ingenious torturing, be interpreted into a
moment's want of consideration for the feelings of her lover, and all
his admiration, his tenderness, his reverence, will not prevent his
being cruel enough to stab her with some passing word that strikes as
sharply as a dagger.
"You think me a true philosopher, then?" replied Madeleine, gravely. But
she added, in a lower and less firm tone, while a soft humility filled
her mild eyes, "Do you think _I am reconciled_, Maurice?"
"Do you not think I am a heartless, senseless brute to have grieved you?
Do not look so sorrowful! You make me hate myself! Ah, you did well not
to trust your happiness to my keeping; I was not a fit guardian."
It was far harder for Madeleine to hear him say _that_ than to listen to
an undeserved reproach; but she led the way to her boudoir without
replying, and for the next hour Maurice sat beside her, and they
conversed without any jarring note breaking the harmony of their
communion.
CHAPTER XLV.
REPARATION.
Maurice, with as much _nonchalance_ as he could assume, informed his
grandmother that he had engaged a _garde malade_ to assist in the care
of his father. When good Mrs. Lawkins made her appearance the next
morning, looking as plump, rosy and "comfortable" as English nurses (and
house-keepers) are wont to look, the countess merely bestowed upon her a
passing glance and then took no further notice of her presence. It never
occurred to Madame de Gramont to inquire into the fitness of this person
for her position and duties. Besides, the countess seldom addressed a
"hireling," except to utter a command or a rebuke. Maurice was greatly
relieved when he perceived his grandmother's perfect indifference to the
individual whom he had selected. Mrs. Lawkins had been thrown "into a
flutter" by Madeleine's cautions and the prospect of being obliged to
parry a series of cross-questions; but the reception she received
quickly restored her equanimity. Count Tristan was sitting near his
mother; the worthy house-keeper made her obeisance to both in silence,
then turned to Maurice for directions.
"You have brought your trunk with you?" inquired the latter.
"I left it in the entry, sir."
The count looked up at the sound of that voice. Immediately recognizing
one whose association in his mind with Madeleine struck the chord which
vibrated most readily, he exclaimed, in a piteous tone, "Madeleine!
Madeleine! Why don't she come? Wont Madeleine come soon?"
Maurice, Bertha, and Mrs. Lawkins were filled with consternation at
these words, which they imagined must arouse the suspicions of the
countess; but she had not condescended to waste sufficient attention
upon the domestic her son had hired to perceive that Count Tristan's
ejaculations had any connection with her presence. The disdainful lady's
eyes sparkled with anger at the unexpected mention of one whose name she
desired never more to hear. She drew her chair close to Count Tristan's
and said in harsh accents,--
"I trust, my son, that you have no wish ungratified? When your _mother_
is by your side, _whom_ else _can_ you desire?"
Count Tristan was too easily cowed by her manner to venture a reply,
even if his disordered intellect could have suggested any appropriate
answer.
"I rejoice at your restoration to me," continued his mother; "and the
filial duty I have the right to expect prompts me to believe that you
also rejoice at our reunion."
The invalid looked very far from rejoicing; but the countess solaced
herself by interpreting his silence into an affirmative.
From that time he never breathed Madeleine's name in his mother's
presence; but those who watched beside him, often heard it murmured when
he slept, or just as he wakened, before full consciousness was restored.
From the day that he returned to the hotel, he sank into a state of deep
dejection. He would sit or lie for hours with his eyes wide open,
without apparently seeing or hearing what passed around him, while an
expression of despair overshadowed his deeply furrowed countenance.
The manifest weakness of his brain was a severer trial to Madame de
Gramont than his enfeebled bodily condition; but she dealt with it as
with her other trials; she would not acknowledge to herself the
existence of his mental malady; she refused to admit that he lacked
power to reason, at the very moment when she was exerting the species of
authority she would have employed to keep an unreasoning child in check.
The idea that it would be well to divert his mind, and render the hours
less tedious, never occurred to her, or, if it did, she was totally at a
loss to suggest any means of pleasantly whiling away the time. Her own
health had not wholly recovered from its recent shock; the slow fever
still lingered in her veins, but the daily routine of her life was as
unchanged as though her strength had been unimpaired.
Dr. Bayard had ordered his patient to drive out every day, and the
countess considered it her duty to accompany him. The pillows which Mrs.
Lawkins carefully placed for the support of the invalid were almost as
much needed by his mother; but she sat erect, and drew herself away from
them, as though the merest approach to a reclining posture would have
been a lapse from dignity. The count no longer gazed out of the window
with that calm look of enjoyment which Maurice and Madeleine had
remarked; he usually closed his eyes, or fixed them on his son, sitting
opposite, with a mournfully appealing look, which seemed to ask,--
"Can no help come to me? Will it _always_ be thus?"
Week after week passed on. Maurice, in spite of his unremitting
attention to his father, found time to pay daily visits to Madeleine.
She no longer made her appearance in the exhibition-rooms, or saw the
ladies who came to her establishment, upon business; but when Count
Tristan was removed she had no gracious plea for excusing herself to
those who called as visitors. She received them with graceful ease and
dignified composure. Not one of them had courage or inclination to make
the faintest allusion to the past, or to their acquaintance with her as
"Mademoiselle Melanie." It was Mademoiselle de Gramont in whose presence
they sat. Even Madame de Fleury had too much perception to venture to
ask her advice upon questions of the deepest interest,--namely, the most
becoming shapes for new attire, the selection of colors, the choice of
appropriate trimmings, or some equally important matter which engrossed
that troubled lady's thoughts, and caused her many wakeful nights.
After Count Tristan and Maurice returned to the hotel, Bertha escaped
from imprisonment. When she informed her aunt that she was suffering
from want of fresh air, the countess requested her to accompany Count
Tristan and herself upon their daily drive; but Bertha maintained that
driving would do her no good; she detested a close carriage; she wanted
more active exercise,--she would take a brisk walk with her maid. Madame
de Gramont would assuredly have mounted guard over her niece in person,
were it not that the fatigue experienced even after a couple of hours'
driving, admonished her that she lacked the strength for pedestrianism.
Bertha was allowed to go forth attended only by Adolphine. Her walk
always lay in one direction, and that was toward the residence of
Madeleine; and, strange to say, she never failed to encounter M. de
Bois, who was always going the same way! These invigorating promenades
had a marvellous effect in restoring Bertha's faded color and vanished
spirits; and in the small, sad circle of which the stern-visaged
Countess de Gramont formed the centre, there was, at least, one radiant
face.
About this time the quiet monotony of Maurice's life was broken by a
letter from his partner, Mr. Lorrillard. This gentleman had only
recently learned from Mr. Emerson the painful circumstances which had
taken place in connection with the loan made to the Viscount de Gramont
at Mr. Lorrillard's suggestion. Mr. Lorrillard prided himself upon being
too good a judge of character and upon having studied that of Maurice
too thoroughly, not to feel confident that some satisfactory
explanation could be given to occurrences which wore a very dubious
aspect. He wrote kindly, yet frankly, to Maurice, requesting to know
whether the account of the transaction which he had received was
thoroughly correct, and more than hinting his certainty that all the
facts had not been brought to light. Maurice was sorely perplexed; but,
in spite of his strong desire to shield his father, he finally decided
that Mr. Lorrillard was entitled to a full explanation, and that his own
position would never be endurable while a suspicion shadowed his name.
He despatched Mr. Lorrillard the following letter.
"_My dear Sir_:--
"I cannot but be touched by the confidence you repose in me.
I do not thank you less because you have done me the common
justice which is due from one man to another. When I
received the loan from Mr. Emerson, I as firmly believed
that the security I gave him was unquestionable, as he did.
I had been led to think that the power of attorney in my
father's hands had not been used. I was mistaken. I pass
over Mr. Emerson's proceedings, which, however severe, were
authorized by the light in which he viewed my conduct. The
ten thousand dollars he loaned me were, at once, repaid him
by the generosity of one of my relatives, Mademoiselle
Madeleine de Gramont, whose debtor I remain. My father's
dangerous illness has detained me in Washington. The instant
he is sufficiently convalescent I purpose returning to
Charleston to resume my professional duties.
"I am, my dear sir,
"Yours, very truly,
"MAURICE DE GRAMONT."
Mr. Lorrillard was highly gratified by the simple, ingenuous, yet manly
tone of this letter, and well pleased to find his impressions correct.
He immediately despatched an epistle to Mr. Emerson which convinced the
latter that he could only conciliate a valued friend by making every
possible reparation.
A few days later Maurice was surprised by Mr. Emerson's card. He could
not converse with him in the presence of Count Tristan and Madame de
Gramont, and was obliged to receive him in the general drawing-room of
the hotel.
When Maurice entered, Mr. Emerson extended his hand and said, with an
air of frankness,--
"I am a just man, M. de Gramont, and I came to make you an apology. My
friend, Mr. Lorrillard, has convinced me that I ought to have paused
before I yielded to the conviction that one whom he esteemed so highly
had wilfully taken advantage of my credulity. I am now convinced that
you were not aware that your property was mortgaged, and I come to tell
you so."
"You have again made me your debtor," replied Maurice, not a little
gratified. "I give you my word, as a gentleman, that I had not the
remotest suspicion the property in question was encumbered. I have no
right to complain of the severity of your treatment; it was justifiable
under the circumstances."
"Hardly," replied the other. "But I shall esteem it a privilege to make
all the reparation in my power. Of course you are aware that the
railroad mentioned passes through your property, and that the estate has
already doubled its former value? I came here to say that I am ready not
only to loan you the ten thousand dollars you originally requested me to
advance, but a larger sum, if you so desire."
What a sensation of thankfulness and relief those words caused Maurice!
He would not only be enabled to repay Madeleine the amount she had so
generously loaned, but he would be in a situation to meet the heavy
expenses which his father and grandmother were daily incurring! Count de
Gramont had never given his son entire confidence, and the latter was
not aware of the _exact_ state of the count's affairs; but Maurice had
too much cause to believe that they were in a ruinous condition. He had
only recently become acquainted with the mortifying fact that, from the
time his father left the Château de Gramont, Bertha had been the banker
of the whole party.
"I will meet your offer as frankly as it is made," answered Maurice,
after a moment's reflection. "If you feel justified in loaning me
fifteen thousand dollars, instead of ten, upon the former security, I
will esteem it a great favor."
"Willingly; come to my office to-day, at any hour you please, and we
will settle the matter. Make haste, for I must write to Lorrillard by
this evening's mail, and I desire to inform him, in answer to his
somewhat caustic letter, that I have made the _amende honorable_."
CHAPTER XLVI.
A MISHAP.
Madeleine was accustomed to see Maurice at a certain hour every day, and
looked forward to that period with such joyous expectation that a sense
of disquiet, amounting to positive pain, took possession of her mind
when the time passed without his making his appearance. She could not
help reflecting how sad and long the days would grow when she could no
more listen for his welcome step, and feel her heart bounding at the
sight of his handsome countenance; and yet such days must come, and must
be borne with the rest of life's burdens.
That was his ring at the bell,--those were his firm, rapid steps! His
face glowed so brightly when he entered the little boudoir that
Madeleine exclaimed,--
"Your father must be much better! You carry the news written in shining
characters in your eyes."
Maurice related what had passed between himself and Mr. Emerson, to whom
he had just paid the promised visit, and concluded by saying,--
"Now, dearest Madeleine, I am enabled to repay your most opportune loan,
but not able to tell you from what misery and disgrace you saved me."
He laid a check upon the table as he spoke.
Madeleine was silent, and looked uncomfortable. Maurice went on,--
"You cannot _conceive_ my happiness at being so unexpectedly able to pay
this debt, though that of gratitude must ever remain uncancelled."
"At least, Maurice, I will not _deprive_ you of the happiness, since it
is one; and perhaps you will be more pleased when you know that this
money will enable me to make the last payment upon this house, which
will now become wholly mine. It has grown more dear to me than I
imagined it could ever become,--more dear through the guests whom it has
sheltered, and the associations with which it is filled. I never thought
of making it mine with so much joy."
"You will remain here then? You will continue your occupation?" asked
Maurice.
"Yes, undoubtedly."
"But," persisted Maurice, "do you not look forward to a time when you
will have another home?"
"I see no such time in the dim future," she returned. "Perhaps I may
become so rich that the temptation to retire will be very great; but as
I cannot live unemployed I shall first be obliged to discover some
other, wider, and nobler sphere of usefulness."
"But the home I mean," continued Maurice, with an air of desperation,
"is the home of another,--the home of one whom you love. Do you not look
forward to dwelling in such a home?"
Madeleine's "No" was uttered in a low tone, but one of unmistakable
sincerity.
"How can that be?" exclaimed Maurice, at once troubled and relieved.
"Do not try to read the riddle, Maurice. You will be happier in setting
it aside as one of life's mysteries which will be revealed in the great
day. Will you listen to a new song which I have been learning?"
"Will I listen? Will a hungry beggar gather the crumbs falling from a
rich man's table?"
Madeleine laughed and seated herself at the piano. The new song only
made Maurice desire to hear some of the old ones, and then other new
ones, and she sang on until an unexpected and startling interruption
destroyed all the harmony of the hour. But that occurrence we will
relate in due season. We must first return to the hotel which Maurice
had left before his usual hour, that he might pay a visit to Mr. Emerson
previous to calling upon Madeleine.
The palatable delicacies which Madeleine daily sent to the invalids
always reached the hotel at an hour when Maurice had promised to be at
home. Robert had strict orders to deliver the salver to one of the hotel
servants, and never to appear before the countess. This morning,
however, the arrival of a large number of travellers had occupied all
the domestics; not a waiter was to be found. Robert was anxious to
inquire about a silver milk-jug which had not been returned. He carried
his salver to the door of Madame de Gramont's drawing-room, though
without intending to enter. The door happened to be open; he could see
that the room was only occupied by Count Tristan, who was asleep in his
arm-chair, and Mrs. Lawkins. She was the person whom he wished to see.
The temptation was too great to be resisted. He entered with soundless
feet, and placed upon the table a salver bearing a bowl of beef tea,
two glasses of calves'-feet jelly, a plate of those Normandy cakes which
the countess had so much relished, and a dish of superb white and red
raspberries.
Approaching his mouth to Mrs. Lawkins' ear, Robert said, in a whisper,--
"Mrs. Lawkins, I had to come in, for you were just the person I wanted
to see. You never sent back the silver milk-pitcher."
"The milk-pitcher?" replied Mrs. Lawkins. "Bless my heart! You don't say
so? It's not here! I hope it's not been stolen. It must have got mixed
up with the hotel silver and gone downstairs."
"You'll be sure to hunt it up, Mrs. Lawkins. I have said nothing to
Mademoiselle Melanie,--Mademoiselle Madeleine, I mean; but I am
responsible, as you know, for all her silver, and I can't have what I
bring here mislaid; as you were here I thought it was quite safe. How is
the poor gentleman?"
"Ah, not so well as he was under Mademoiselle Madeleine's care. I'll see
after the silver jug, and keep a sharp look-out for the silver in
future."
Robert and Mrs. Lawkins stood with their backs to the door of Madame de
Gramont's apartment, which opened into the drawing-room. What was their
consternation on finding the countess herself standing in the door-way!
Her countenance was perfectly appalling in its white, distorted wrath.
She strode toward the two abashed domestics, and cried out, in a voice
which broke the count's slumbers, and caused him to sit up in his chair
with terror-dilated eyes,--
"Woman! What is the meaning of this? Of whom are you talking? Whose
silver is that?" (pointing savagely to the salver.) "And who are you?"
Mrs. Lawkins was dumb.
"Am I to be answered?" demanded the countess, imperiously.
Then she turned to Robert. "Whose silver is that? Whose silver did you
say was missing?"
"Mademoiselle de Gramont's," Robert faltered out.
"And Mademoiselle de Gramont has the unparalleled audacity to send her
silver here for my use? Do you mean to tell me that this salver and what
it contains are from her?"
Robert could not answer.
"Great heaven! that I should endure this! That Madeleine de Gramont
should have the insolence to _force_ her _bounty_ by stealth upon me,
and that I should not have suspected her at once! Remove that salver out
of my sight, and if you ever dare"--
Mrs. Lawkins had now partially recovered her self-possession, and
interrupted the countess politely but very firmly,--
"Madame, you will do M. de Gramont great injury. Do you not see that you
are exciting him by this violence?"
"_Who_ are you that you dare dictate to me? Leave this house instantly!
Were you sent here by Mademoiselle de Gramont to institute an
_espionage_ over me and my family? Go and tell your mistress that
neither she nor anything that belongs to her shall ever again defile my
dwelling! I shall watch better in future! I will not be snared by her
low arts, her contemptible impostures!"
Mrs. Lawkins, though she was a mild woman, loved Madeleine too well to
hear her mentioned disrespectfully without being roused to indignation;
affection for her mistress overcame her awe of the countess, and she
replied with feeling,--
"She is the noblest lady that ever walked the earth to bless it! and her
only art is the practise of goodness! Those who are turning upon her and
reviling her ought to be on their knees before her this blessed moment!
Didn't she nurse that poor gentleman night and day, as though he had
been her own father? Did she not bear all the slights put upon her by
those who are not half as good as she?--yes, that are not worthy to wipe
the dust from her holy feet, for all their pride? Didn't it almost break
her heart when they forced the poor sick gentleman out of her house, to
cage him in this cold, dreary place, where his own mother takes about as
much care and notice of him as though he were a _Hindoo_ or a
_Hottentot_!" (Mrs. Lawkins was not strong in comparisons.) "And don't
he mourn the night through for Mademoiselle Madeleine, crying out for
her to come to him, as, I warrant, he never did for his mother? And
isn't that mother murdering him at this very moment?"
"Leave the house! Leave the house!" cried the countess, in a voice that
had lost all its commanding dignity, through rage. "Leave the house, I
say! Do you dare to stand in my presence after such insolence?"
"Yes, madame I dare!" replied Mrs. Lawkins, coolly. "I am not afraid of
a marble figure, even though it has a tongue; and there's not more soul
in you than in a piece of marble; there's nothing but stone where your
heart should be; but even stone will break with a hard enough blow, and
perhaps you will get such a one before you die."
"Go! I say, go!" vociferated the countess, pointing to the door. "Am I
to be obeyed?"
"No, madame!" replied Mrs. Lawkins, undaunted. "Not until I receive the
orders of M. Maurice de Gramont. He placed me here, and here I shall
stay until I have his leave to resign my duties."
Count Tristan had caught his attendant's hand when he conceived the idea
that she was to be sent away from him, and when she refused to leave
him, he pressed it approvingly.
"I am mistress here!" said the countess, with something of her former
grandeur of bearing. "M. Maurice de Gramont has no authority to engage
or discharge domestics, or to give any orders that are not mine. I will
have none of Mademoiselle de Gramont's spies placed about my person! Go
and tell her so, and say that after this last outrage, I will never see
her face again. Would that I might never hear her name! She has been my
curse,--my misery; she shall never cross my path more!"
The count rose up as if sudden strength were miraculously infused into
his limbs; he raised both his arms toward heaven, and wailed out, "O
Lord God, bless her! bless her! Madeleine! Good angel! Madeleine!"
The next moment he fell forward senseless and rolled to the ground.
The countess was stupefied;--she could not speak, or stoop, or stir.
The alarmed house-keeper knelt beside him. Robert hastily set down the
salver and lent his assistance. They lifted the count and laid him upon
the sofa. The instant Mrs. Lawkins saw his face, and the foam issuing
from his lips, she exclaimed,--
"It is another fit! It is his second stroke! Lord have mercy upon him!
and upon _you_," she continued, turning to the countess, solemnly; "for,
if he dies, so sure as there is a heaven above us, you have killed your
own son!"
The countess' look of horror softened the kindly house-keeper, in spite
of her just wrath, and she added, "He may recover,--he has great
strength. Robert, run quickly for Dr. Bayard."
Then she unfastened the patient's cravat and dashed cold water upon his
head, and chafed his hands, while his mother, slowly awakening from her
state of stupefaction, drew near, and bent over him. But not a finger
did she raise to minister to him; she would not have known what to do,
so little were her hands accustomed to ministration,--so seldom had they
been stretched out to perform the slightest service for any one, even
her own son.
We left Madeleine chasing away all heaviness from the soul of Maurice by
her sweet singing. She was still at the piano, and he still hanging over
her, when Robert burst into the room. He was a man almost stolid in his
quietude, and his hurried entrance, and agitated manner, were sufficient
to terrify Maurice and Madeleine before he spoke.
"Mademoiselle, it was my fault! Oh, if I had been more careful to obey
your orders it would never have happened!"
His contrition was so deep that he could not proceed.
"Has Madame de Gramont discovered who sent the salver?" asked Madeleine,
with an air of vexation.
"That's not the worst, Mademoiselle. The countess has found out how Mrs.
Lawkins came there. She overheard us talking about the milk-jug I
missed. Madame de Gramont was very violent; she said such things of you,
Mademoiselle, that Mrs. Lawkins, who loves you like her own, couldn't
stand it, and gave her a bit of her mind, and M. de Gramont was roused
up also; he wouldn't hear you spoken against; he took on so it caused
him another attack; down he dropped like dead!"
"My father,--he has been seized again, and"--Maurice did not finish his
sentence, but caught up his hat.
"I've been for the doctor, sir," said Robert; "he's there by this time."
Maurice was out of the room, and hurrying toward the street door;
Madeleine sprang after him.
"Maurice! Maurice! Stay one moment! Oh, if I could be near your
father,--if I could see him! My imprudence has been the cause of this
last stroke; yet I feel that he would gladly have me near him."
"He would indeed, my best Madeleine; but, my grandmother, alas! I have
no hope of moving her."
"If her son were dying," persisted Madeleine, "her heart might be
softened. If he asked for me, she might let me come to him; it would
soothe _him_ perhaps, and how it would comfort _me_! I shall be at the
hotel nearly as soon as you are. I will wait in my carriage until you
come to me and tell me how he is. Perhaps I _may_ be permitted to enter
if he asks for me. Do not forget that I am there."
Did Maurice ever forget her, for a single moment?
As soon as Madeleine's carriage could be brought to the door she
followed her cousin.
It was perhaps surprising that she was moved with so much sympathy for
one whom she not only had good reason to dislike, but toward whom she
had formerly experienced an unconquerable repugnance; but, with spirits
chastened and purified, as hers had been, a tenderness is always kindled
toward those whom they are permitted to _serve_. The very office of
ministration (the office of angels), softens the heart, and substitutes
pity for loathing, the strong inclination to regenerate for the spirit
of condemnation. While Madeleine was daily ministering to the count, she
found herself becoming attached to him, and, with little effort of
volition, she blotted the past from her own memory.
The action of Count Tristan's mind had been peculiar; when the discovery
of his dishonorable manoeuvring caused him a shock which planted the
first seeds of his present malady,--when he had fallen into the depths
of despair,--it was Madeleine's hand that raised him up, that saved him
from disgrace, and saved his son from being the innocent participator of
that shame. For the first time in his life a strong sense of gratitude
was awakened in his breast. Again, it was through Madeleine that the
votes of so much importance to him, and which he had believed
unattainable, were procured; she stood before him for the second time in
the light of a benefactress. He had been seized with apoplexy while
conversing with her; when reason was dimly restored, his mind went back
to his last conscious thought, and _that_ had been of her,--hence his
immediate recognition of her alone. Her patient, gentle, tender care had
impressed him with reverence; he was magnetized by her sphere of
unselfishness, forgiveness and goodness, and some of the hardnesses of
his own nature were melted away.
Count Tristan had practised deception until he had nearly lost all
belief in the truth and purity of others,--had apparently grown
insensible to all holy influences. Yet the daily contemplation of a
character which bore witness to the existence of the most heavenly
attributes silently undermined his cold scepticism, and tacitly
contradicted and disproved his creed that duplicity and selfishness were
universal characteristics of mankind,--a creed usually adopted by him
who sees his fellow-men in the mirror which reflects his own image.
Madeleine had discovered some small, not yet tightly closed avenue to
Count Tristan's soul. Her toiling, pardoning, helping, holy spirit had
done more to lift him out of the bondage of his evil passions than could
have been affected by any other human agency.
CHAPTER XLVII.
INFLEXIBILITY.
"Oh, you have come at last!" exclaimed the countess, with acrimony, as
Maurice opened the door of his father's chamber. Then, pointing to the
count, who still lay in a state of unconsciousness, she added, "Do you
see what calamities you leave me alone to bear?--you who are the only
stay I have left?"
By the aid of Mrs. Lawkins and the servants of the hotel, the count had
been removed to his room. When Maurice entered, Mrs. Lawkins was
standing on one side of the bed, Dr. Bayard on the other. The countess
was pacing up and down the small chamber like a caged lioness.
Her grandson did not reply to her taunt, but addressed the doctor in a
tone too low for her to hear. His answer was a dubious movement of the
head which augured ill.
Bertha, who chanced to be in her own chamber, writing to her dyspeptic
uncle, had only that moment become aware of what had happened. She stole
into the count's room, pale with terror, crept up to Maurice, and clung
to his arm as she asked, in a frightened tone,--
"Will he die, Maurice? Is it as bad as that?"
"I cannot tell; I have great fears. But see, he is opening his eyes; he
looks better."
The senses of the count were returning; the fit had been of brief
duration, and hardly as violent as the one with which he had before been
attacked. In a short time it was apparent that he was aware of what was
passing around him.
Maurice whispered to Bertha: "Madeleine is in her carriage at the door;
put on your bonnet and run down to her,--you will not be missed. Tell
her that my father is reviving."
Bertha lost no time in obeying, and was soon sitting by Madeleine's
side, receiving rather than giving comfort.
Dr. Bayard, whose visits were necessarily brief, was compelled to leave,
but he did so with the assurance that he would return speedily.
Count Tristan's eyes wandered about as though in search of some one;
they rested but for one instant upon his mother, Maurice, Mrs. Lawkins,
and then glanced around him again with an anxious, yearning expression,
and he moaned faintly.
Maurice bent over him. "My dear father, is there anything you desire?"
The count moaned again.
"Is there any one you wish to see?" asked Maurice, determined to take a
bold stand.
"Mad--Mad--Madeleine!"
The feeble lips of the sufferer formed the word with difficulty, yet it
was clearly spoken.
Maurice turned bravely to the countess. "You hear, my grandmother, that
my father wishes to see Madeleine; it is not usual to refuse the
requests of one in his perilous condition. With your permission I shall
at once seek Madeleine and bring her to him."
"Have you taken leave of your senses?" she asked with tyrannous passion.
"Or do you think that I have not borne insults enough, that you strive
to invent new ones to heap upon me? How can you mention the name of that
miserable girl in my hearing? Has she not occasioned me and all my
family sufficient wretchedness? Are you mad enough to imagine that I
will allow you to bring her here that she may triumph over me in the
face of the whole world?"
"My father asks to see her," returned Maurice, adding, in a lower tone,
"and he may be on his death-bed."
Madame de Gramont, losing all control over herself, replied savagely,
"_If_ he were stretched there a corpse before me,--_he_, _my only son_,
the only child I ever bore, the pride of my life,--Madeleine de Gramont
should not enter these doors to glory over me! I know her arts; I know
the hold she has contrived to obtain over him while he was at her mercy.
That is at an end! I have him here, and she shall never come near him
more,--neither she nor her _accomplices_!" and she indicated Mrs.
Lawkins by a disdainful motion of the hand, as though she feared her
meaning might not be sufficiently clear.
Maurice could not yield without another effort; for he perceived, by his
father's countenance, that he not only heard the contest, but appealed
to him to grant his unspoken wish.
"This is cruel, my grandmother! It is inhuman! You have nothing to urge
against Madeleine, who has too nobly proved her devotion to her family,
and her respect for your feelings; but if you _had_ real and just cause
of complaint, it should be forgotten at this moment. If my father
desires to see her, she should be permitted to come to him."
"Do you presume to dictate to me, Maurice de Gramont? Is this one of
the lessons you have learned from the _mantua-maker_? Do you intend to
teach me my duty to my own child? I _swear to you_ that Madeleine de
Gramont shall _never_ see my son again, while I live! I, his mother, am
by his side,--that is sufficient. No one's presence can supersede that
of a mother!"
Maurice saw that contention was fruitless; he sat down in silence, but
not without noticing the look of compassion which Mrs. Lawkins bestowed
upon him. The count had closed his eyes again, but low groans, almost
like stifled sobs, burst at intervals from his lips.
The countess essayed to unbend sufficiently to attempt the task of
soothing him.
"My son," she said, in the mildest tone she could command, "do you not
know that your mother is near you?"
Without unclosing his eyes, he answered, "Yes."
"And her presence under all circumstances," she continued, "should leave
nothing to desire. In spite of what Maurice with so little respect and
consideration has attempted to make me believe, I know you too well not
to be certain that he did you injustice."
No answer; but the countess interpreted her son's silence into
acquiescence with her observation, and remarked to Maurice with
asperity,--
"I presume you perceive that your father is fully satisfied. It does not
interfere with his comfort that you have failed in your attempt. I well
know you were instigated by one who hopes to make use of your father's
indisposition as the stepping-stone by which she can again mount into
favor with her family, and force them into public recognition of her.
This is but one of her many cunning stratagems; there are others of
which we will talk presently."
She glanced at Mrs. Lawkins, who was arranging the count's pillows, and
raising him into a more comfortable position.
Maurice bethought him that it was time to let Madeleine know there was
no hope of her obtaining admission to his father. As he left the
apartment, the countess followed him into the drawing-room.
"I have something further to say to you, Maurice, and I prefer to speak
out of the hearing of that woman. Am I to understand that you were privy
to her introduction into this house, and that you were aware that she
was a spy of Mademoiselle de Gramont?"
"A spy, madame?"
"Yes, a spy! Why should Mademoiselle de Gramont wish to place her
menials here except to institute _espionage_ over my family?"
"Mrs. Lawkins was sent here by Madeleine because she is an efficient
nurse,--such a nurse as my father needs and as he could not readily
obtain, _I_ brought her here, and I did not do so without knowing her
fitness for her office."
"Her chief fitness consists, it appears, in her having been in the
employment of the mantua-maker. I have no more to say on this subject,
except that the woman must quit the house this evening."
"That is out of the question; she cannot leave until I have found some
one to take her place."
"Do you mean to dispute my orders, Maurice de Gramont? I shall not
entrust to you the task of dismissing her. I shall myself command her to
leave, and that without delay."
"You will do as you please, madame; but may I ask by whom you intend to
replace her?"
"Somebody will be found. I will give orders to have another nurse
procured. In the mean time, Adolphine can make herself useful."
"Adolphine!" replied Maurice, contemptuously. "A butterfly might turn a
mill-wheel as efficiently as Adolphine could take charge of an invalid."
"Be the alternative what it may," replied the countess, peremptorily, "I
am unalterable in my determination. That woman sent here by Madeleine de
Gramont leaves the house to-day!"
Just then her eye fell upon the salver which Robert had left upon the
table when he ran for the doctor; that sight added fresh fuel to her
indignation.
"Have you also been aware that Mademoiselle de Gramont carried her
audacity so far that she had even ventured secretly to send donations,
in the shape of chocolate, beef-tea, cakes, jellies, and fruit, to her
family?"
"I am aware," replied Maurice, "that Madeleine's thoughtful kindness
prompted her, during your indisposition as well as my father's, to
prepare, with her own hands, delicacies which are not to be obtained in
a hotel. I was aware that this was her return for the harsh and cruel
treatment she had received at the hands of,--of some of her family."
"Mad boy! You are leagued with her against me! This is unendurable! Oh,
that I had never been lured to this abominable country! Oh, that I had
never known the shame of finding my own grandson sunken so low! But I
have borne the very utmost that I can support! Now it shall end! I will
return with your father to our old home, that we may die there in peace!
If you are not lost to all sense of filial duty, you will not forsake
your father, but accompany him to Brittany; he will henceforth need a
son!"
Maurice avoided making a direct reply by saying, "Have the goodness to
excuse me, madame; I will return in a few moments."
He descended the stair with slower steps than was his wont when on his
way to Madeleine. Bertha was still sitting in the carriage beside her
cousin. Maurice read anxious expectation, mingled with some faint hope,
in Madeleine's countenance. He entered the carriage before he ventured
to speak.
"Your father, Maurice?" she asked eagerly.
"I think he is better; the attack does not appear as severe as the
former one must have been."
"Did you speak to your grandmother of me? Did you plead for me, and
entreat that she would allow me to go to Count Tristan?"
"She is not to be moved, Madeleine; she is implacable."
"But if your father should desire to see me?" persisted Madeleine.
"He did desire,--he even asked for you,--but my grandmother was
inflexible."
"Maurice, I must,--must go to him, if he wishes to see me. I understand
his wants so well,--I must, must go to him! Madame de Gramont may treat
me as she will; but if he wants me, I must go to him!"
Madeleine was so carried away by her strong impulse to reach one to whom
she knew her presence was essential, that she was less reasonable than
usual, and it was with some difficulty that Maurice pacified her. But to
resign herself to the inevitable, however hard, was one of the first
duties of her life, and after awhile her composure was partially
restored, and, bidding Bertha and Maurice adieu, she drove home.
CHAPTER XLVIII.
THE NEW ENGLAND NURSE.
Madeleine, in spite of the positive denial she had received, experienced
as strong a desire to be near her afflicted relative as though his
yearning for her presence drew her to him by some species of powerful
magnetism. The wildest plans careered through her brain. She thought of
the days in Paris when she had so successfully assumed the garb of the
_soeur de bon secours_, and kept nightly vigils beside the bed of
Maurice. Was there no disguise under which she could make her way to the
count? But the doubt that she could elude the countess's scrutinizing
eyes,--the certainty of the violent scene which must ensue if Madame de
Gramont discovered her,--made her reluctantly relinquish the attempt.
Then she clung to the hope that her aunt would not, while Count Tristan
lay in so perilous a condition, insist upon discharging Mrs. Lawkins.
All uncertainty upon that head was quickly dispelled by the appearance
of Mrs. Lawkins herself. The countess had peremptorily repeated her
sentence of banishment, and refused to listen to her grandson's
entreaties that she might be permitted to remain until a substitute
could be procured. To search for that substitute was the sole work left
for Madeleine's hands. She despatched the willing housekeeper to make
inquiries among her acquaintances, and charged her to spare neither time
nor expense. Few Europeans can imagine the difficulty of executing such
a commission in America; but the Englishwoman had lived in Washington
long enough to know that she had no light labor before her. She was too
zealous, however, to return home until she had found a person who was
fully qualified to fill her vacant post.
Maurice was sitting beside Madeleine when Mrs. Lawkins returned from her
weary peregrinations and made known her success.
"I did not send for the nurse to come here," said Madeleine. "It seemed
to me better for you, Maurice, to go and see her and engage her to enter
upon her duties to-morrow morning. That will give you an opportunity
this evening of preparing the countess for her reception."
Maurice acted upon Madeleine's suggestion, and, after a very brief
conversation with Mrs. Gratacap, secured her services.
Mrs. Gratacap belonged to the "Eastern States," albeit the very opposite
of _oriental_ in her appearance and characteristics. She was a tall,
angular, grave-visaged person, possessing such decided, common-place
good sense that she came under the head of that feminine class which
Dickens has taught the world to designate as "strong-minded." There was
no "stuff and nonsense" about her; she had a due appreciation of her own
estimable attributes, as well as a firm conviction of the equality of
all mankind, or, more especially, _womankind_. When she accepted a
situation, it was in the conscientious belief that the persons whom she
undertook to serve were the indebted party; yet she was a faithful nurse
and both understood and liked her vocation. In spite of her masculine
bearing toward the rest of the world, she always treated her invalid
charges with womanly gentleness.
When Maurice informed his grandmother that he had obtained a new _garde
malade_, the countess at once asked,--
"Are you attempting to introduce another spy of Mademoiselle de Gramont
into my dwelling?"
Maurice controlled his indignation and replied, "My cousin Madeleine has
never seen this person. I hope she will suit, as I have engaged her for
a month, that being the custom here; even if she does not meet _all_ our
requirements, we cannot discharge her until that period has elapsed."
"I shall not consent to any such stipulation," answered the countess.
"If she does not please me, I shall order her to leave at once."
"The arrangement is already concluded," returned Maurice; "it is the
only one I could make, and you cannot but see that it is a matter of
honor, as well as of necessity, to abide by the contract."
Maurice evinced tact in his choice of language. The imposing words
"honor" and "contract" made an impression upon the countess, and she
said no more.
The next day, shortly after the morning meal, the sound of sharp tones
echoing through the entry, was followed by the noisy opening of the
countess' drawing-room door.
"This is the place, is it?" cried a harsh voice. "I say, boy, bring
along that box and dump it down here."
Mrs. Gratacap entered with a bandbox in one hand, and in the other a
huge umbrella and huger bundle, while the box (which was a compromise
between a trunk and a packing-case) was carried in without further
ceremony. Mrs. Gratacap was attired with an exemplary regard for
_utility_; her garments were too short to be soiled by contact with the
mud, and disclosed Amazonian feet encased in sturdy boots, to say
nothing of respectable ankles protected by gray stockings. Her dress was
of a sombre hue and chargeable with no unnecessary amplitude; where it
was pulled up at the sides a gray balmoral petticoat was visible;
crinoline had been scrupulously renounced (as it should be in a
sick-chamber); the coal-skuttle bonnet performed its legitimate duty in
shading her face as well as covering her head.
The countess might well look up in stupefied amazement; for she had
never before been thrown into communication with humanity so strikingly
primitive, and so complacently self-confident.
"This is the nurse of whom I spoke," was Maurice's introduction.
Mrs. Gratacap who had been too busily engaged in looking after her
"properties" to perceive the viscount until he spoke, now strode
forward, extended her hand, and shook his with good-humored familiarity.
"How d'ye do? How d'ye do, young man? Here I am, you see, punctual to
the moment. Told you you could depend on me. Well, and where's the poor
dear? And who's _this_, and who's _that_?" looking first at the countess
and then at Bertha.
Maurice was forced to answer, "That is Madame de Gramont, my
grandmother, and this is Mademoiselle de Merrivale, my cousin."
"Ah, very good! How are you, ma'am? Glad to see you, miss!" said Mrs.
Gratacap, nodding first to one and then to the other. "Guess we shall
get along famously together."
Then, totally unawed by the countess' glacial manner, for Mrs. Gratacap
had never dreamed of being afraid of "mortal man," to say nothing of
"mortal woman," she disencumbered herself of her bandbox, bundle, and
umbrella, deliberately took off the ample hat and tossed it upon the
table, sending her shawl to keep it company, walked up to Madame de
Gramont, placed a chair immediately in front of her, and sat down.
"Well, and how's the poor dear? It's a pretty bad case, I hear. Never
mind,--don't be down in the mouth. I've brought folks through after the
nails were ready to be driven into their coffins. Nothing like keeping a
stiff upper lip. Your son, isn't he? Dare say he'll do well enough with
a little nursing. Let's know when he was taken, and how he's been
getting on, and what crinks and cranks he's got. Sick folks always have
crumpled ways. Post me up a bit before I go in to him."
The countess's piercing black eyes were fixed upon the voluble nurse
with a look of absolute horror, and she never moved her lips.
Maurice came to the rescue.
"My father has been ill nearly a month; he was attacked with apoplexy;
he had a second stroke yesterday."
"You don't say so? That's bad! Two strokes, eh? We must look out and
prevent a third; that's a dead go; but often it don't come for years. No
need of borrowing trouble,--worse than borrowing money."
"Let me show you to my father's apartment," said Maurice, to relieve his
grandmother.
"All right,--I'm ready! And then you'll let me see where I am to stow my
duds; any corner will do, but I must have a cupboard of a place all to
myself; it need only be big enough to swing a cat round in. It isn't
much comfort I want, but a hole of my own I always bargain for. Aren't
you coming along?" she said, looking back at the countess, who sat
still.
Madame de Gramont did not betray that she even suspected these words
were addressed to her, nor that she heard those which followed, though
they were spoken in a stage-whisper which could hardly escape her ears.
"Is your granny always so glum? We must cheer her up a bit," was Mrs.
Gratacap's encouraging comment.
The nurse's high-pitched voice was softened to a lower key when she
entered the apartment where Count Tristan lay, and there were genuine
compassion and motherly tenderness in her look as she regarded him. She
continued to question Maurice until she had learned something of the
patient's history,--not from sheer curiosity, but because she always
took a deep interest in the invalids placed under her charge, and by
becoming acquainted with their peculiarities she could better adapt
herself to their necessities.
One word only can express the countess's sensations at the dropping of
such a "monstrosity" into the midst of her family circle,--she was
appalled! Never had any one ventured to address her with such freedom;
never before had she been treated by any one as though she were mere
flesh and blood. She had not believed it possible that any one could
have the temerity to regard her in the light of equality. One might
almost have imagined that the formidable New England nurse had inspired
her with dread, for she could not rouse herself, could not gain courage
to face the intruder, and, during that day, never once approached her
son's chamber. But Mrs. Gratacap, in the most unconscious manner, made
repeated invasions into the drawing-room, and even extended her sallies
to the countess's own chamber, always upon some plausible pretext,--now
to inquire where she could find the sugar, or the spoons, now to beg for
a pair of scissors, or to ask where the vinegar-cruet was kept, or to
learn how the countess managed about heating bricks, or getting bottles
of hot water to warm the patient's feet!
The countess, compelled by these intrusions to address the enemy, and
galled by the necessity, said sternly, "Go to the servants and get what
is needful."
"Law sakes! You needn't take my head off! I haven't got any other and
can't spare it!" answered Mrs. Gratacap, not in the least abashed. "I
don't want to go bothering hotel help; I always keep out of their way,
for they have a holy horror of us nurses, and the fuss most of us make;
though I am not one of that sort. I leave the help alone and help myself
considerable; and what I want I manage to get from the folks I live
with. That's my way, and I don't think it's a bad way. I've had it for
thirty odd years that I've been nursing; and I don't think I shall
change it in thirty more."
She flounced out of the room after this declaration, leaving the
countess in a state which Mrs. Gratacap herself would have described as
"quite upset;" but the haughty lady had scarcely time to recover her
equanimity before the strong-minded nurse returned to the attack.
The countess had retreated to her own room; but Mrs. Gratacap broke in
upon her, crying out, "I say, when will that young man be back? He's
gone off without telling me when he'd be at his post again."
Madame de Gramont's usual refuge was in silence, ignoring that she
heard; but here it was not likely to avail, for she saw that the unawed
nurse would probably stand her ground, and repeat her question until she
received an answer. The countess, therefore, forced herself to inquire
in a severe tone,--
"Whom do you mean?"
"Why, the young man, your grandson, to be sure! A very spry young
fellow. I like his looks mightily."
If Madame de Gramont had been an adept in reading countenances she would
have read in the nurse's face, "I cannot say as much for his
grandmother's;" but the proud lady was not skilled in this humble art,
and never even suspected that a person in Mrs. Gratacap's lowly station
would dare to pass judgment upon one in her lofty position. She replied,
with increased austerity,--
"I am not in the habit of hearing the Viscount de Gramont; my grandson,
mentioned in this unceremonious manner; it may be the mode adopted in
this uncivilized country, but it is offensive."
"Law sakes! You don't say so?" answered Mrs. Gratacap, as if the rebuke
darted off from her without hitting. "I didn't suppose you'd go to fancy
I was _snubbing_ him because I called him a young man! What could he be
better? He's not an old one, is he? But I know some folks have a
partiality to being called by their names, and I have no objection in
life to humoring them. Well, then, when will Mr. Gramont be back? I'd
like to know!"
"M. de Gramont did not inform me when he would return;" was the freezing
rejoinder.
"Now, that's a pity! I want somebody in there for a moment, for the poor
dear's so heavy I can't turn him all alone. Aren't you strong enough to
lend a hand? To be sure, at your time of life, one an't apt to be worth
much in the arms. At all events, an't you coming in to see him? You're
his own mother; and, I swan, you haven't been near him this blessed
day."
"Woman!" cried the countess, lashed into fury. "How dare you address
such language to me?"
"Law sakes!" exclaimed Mrs. Gratacap, lifting up her hands and eyes.
"What _did_ I say? You _are_ his mother, an't you? There's no shame
about it, I suppose. I hadn't a notion of putting you into a passion. I
thought it mighty queer you didn't come in to see your own son when he's
lying so low; and I said so,--that's all! But if you don't want to come,
I don't want to force you. I can't put natural feelings in the hearts of
people that haven't got them; it stands to reason I can't, and you
needn't be flying out at me on that account."
Mrs. Gratacap, after delivering this admonitory sentiment, was returning
to the patient when she encountered Bertha, and inquired,--
"Did Mr. Gramont say when he would come back?"
"He did not say; but I think he will be absent for a couple of hours,"
replied Bertha.
"Oh, if that's the case, I must get a helping hand somewhere.
You're a young thing, and, I dare say, strong enough. Come along and
help me move the poor dear."
"Willingly," replied Bertha, "if I am only able."
As they entered the count's chamber, Mrs. Gratacap again subdued her
voice, and though her words and manner were always of the most positive
kind, there was a sort of rude softness (if we may use the contradictory
expression) in her mode of instructing Bertha in the service required.
When the count was comfortably placed, she sat down, and Bertha also
took a seat.
"I say," commenced Mrs. Gratacap, in a half whisper, "that's the most of
a tigress yonder I ever had the luck to come across. Why, she's got no
more natural feeling than an oyster,--no more warm blood in her veins
than a cauliflower. I wonder how such beings ever get created. Are there
many of that sort in the parts you came from?"
"She is very proud," replied Bertha, "and I am afraid there is no lack
of pride in France among the noble class to which she belongs."
"Pride! Why, I wonder what she's got to be proud of? She looks as though
she couldn't do a thing in life that's worth doing? I like pride well
enough! I'm awful proud myself when I've done anything remarkable. But I
wonder what that rock yonder ever did in all her born days to be proud
of?"
Bertha tried to explain by saying, "Her pride is of family descent."
"I suppose she don't trace back further than Adam, does she? And we all
do about that," was the answer.
Here the conversation was interrupted. Bertha was summoned to receive
visitors.
The instant Maurice returned his grandmother attacked him. "Maurice,
that woman's presence here is insupportable; there is no use of argument
on the subject; I have made up my mind,--go and dismiss her at once, and
seek somebody else!"
May not Maurice be pardoned for losing his temper and answering with
considerable irritation,--"Have I not clearly explained to you, madame,
that I cannot do anything of the kind? I have engaged her for a month,
and I cannot turn her away without a good reason; here she must remain
until the time expires."
"Pay her double her wages, and let her go!" urged the countess.
"Once more, and for the last time," cried Maurice, determinedly, "I tell
you, I cannot and will not!"
"Then send her to me!" answered the countess.
Maurice did not stir; she repeated, in a more commanding voice, "Send
her to me, I say!"
Maurice reluctantly went to his father's room and returned with Mrs.
Gratacap. Before the countess could commence the formal address she had
prepared, the good woman took a chair, and with complacent familiarity,
sat down beside her, saying, "Well, and what is it? I hope you feel a
little better. I'm afraid you've a deal of _bile_; really, it ought to
be looked after; if you can just get rid of it you'll be a deal more
comfortable."
"Woman"--began the countess.
Mrs. Gratacap interrupted her, but without the least show of ill-temper.
"Now I tell you, if it's all the same to you, I'd just as lief you'd
call me by my name, and that's 'Gratacap'--'Mrs. Gratacap!' Fair play's
a jewel, you know, and you didn't like my calling your grandson a 'young
man' even, but politely begged that I'd term him 'Mr. Gramont;' so you
just call me by my name, and I'll return the compliment."
"I choose to avoid the necessity of calling you anything," returned the
countess, when Mrs. Gratacap allowed her to speak. "You are discharged!
I desire you to leave my house" (the countess always imagined herself in
her château, or some mansion to which she had the entire claim), "leave
my house within an hour."
"Hoighty-toighty! here's a pretty kettle of fish! But it's no use
talking; I'm settled for a month! that's my engagement."
"I am aware of it; you will receive double your month's wages and go!"
"I'll receive nothing of the kind! I don't take money I've not earned;
and I'll not go until the time's up! That's a declaration of
independence for you, which I suppose you're not accustomed to in the
outlandish place you came from, where people haven't a notion how to
treat those they can't do without. Do you suppose your paltry money
would compensate me for the injury it would do my character, if it
should be said I was engaged for a month, and before I had been in the
situation a day, I had to pull up stakes and make tracks? No,--unless
you can prove that I don't know my business, or don't do my duty, I've
just as much right here, being engaged to take up my quarters here, as
you have. Don't think I'm offended; make yourself easy on that head.
I've learnt how to deal with all sorts of folks. I saw at the first
squint that you and I would have a rather rough time, and I made ready
for it. If you've got nothing more to say, I'll go back to the poor
dear, for he's broad awake and may be wanting something."
"And you dare to refuse to go when I dismiss you?"
"_Dare?_ Law sakes! there's no _dare_ about it. _Who's to dare me?_ or
to frighten me either? You don't think you've come to a free country to
find people afraid of their shadows,--do you? I'm afraid of nothing but
not doing my duty; I always dare do that, to say nothing of asserting my
own rights and privileges. So let's have no more nonsense, and I'll go
about my business."
Mrs. Gratacap returned to her patient as undisturbed as though the
countess had merely requested her presence as a matter of courtesy.
The torment Madame de Gramont was destined to endure from this
straightforward, steady-of-purpose, unterrified New England woman, must
exceed the comprehension of those who never felt within themselves the
workings of an overbearing spirit. Mrs. Gratacap maintained her ground;
there was no displacing her; and she had become thoroughly sovereign of
the sick-room, as a good nurse ought to be. The only alternative for the
countess was to avoid her; but she was a pursuing phantom that met the
proud lady at every turn, haunted her with untiring pertinacity. Madame
de Gramont absented herself from her son's chamber, except when Mrs.
Gratacap went to her meals; but little was gained by that, for the nurse
was always flitting in and out of the drawing-room, or dining-room, at
unexpected moments, and only the turning of the key kept her out of the
countess's own chamber.
The first time that Madame de Gramont bethought herself of visiting her
son when the inevitable _garde malade_ was absent, Mrs. Gratacap
returned in one quarter the time which the countess imagined it would
require to swallow the most hasty meal.
"Well, I _do_ say, that's a sight for sore eyes!" exclaimed the nurse.
"I am as pleased as punch to find you here; but I've been thinking that
like as not, you're scared of sick folks; there's plenty of people that
are; but there's nothing to be skittish about; I think this poor dear
will get all right again."
"Silence, woman!" commanded the countess.
"Never you fear," replied Mrs. Gratacap, either misunderstanding her or
pretending to do so. "I'm not talking loud enough for him to hear. I
don't allow loud talking in a sick-room, nor much talking either, of any
kind. If you'd stay here a little while every day, you'd get some ideas
from my management."
The exasperated countess retreated from the apartment, falling back, for
the first time, before an enemy.
As she made her exit Mrs. Gratacap said to Maurice, "It's a pity your
grandmother is so cantankerous; but, I'm used to cranks and whims of all
sorts of folks, and it's only for her own sake, that I wish she'd make
herself more at home here. Who'd think she was the mother of that poor
dear lying so low? and she never to have a word of comfort to throw at
him. But people's ways an't alike, thank goodness! It may be the style
over in your parts, but I'm thankful I was born this side of the great
pond."
A fortnight passed on, and the count rallied again. The shadows which
obscured his brain seemed in a measure to have passed away; but they
were succeeded by a deep melancholy. No effort made by Maurice or Bertha
(Madame de Gramont made none) could rouse him. His countenance wore an
expression of utter despair. He never spoke except to reply to some
question, and then as briefly as possible; but his answers were quite
lucid. As far as mere _physique_ was in question, he was convalescing
favorably.
Maurice received another letter from his partner, urging him to return
to Charleston as soon as possible, and giving him the information that
there was a most advantageous opening in his profession. While the count
remained in his present feeble state, Maurice could not leave him;
besides the countess and Bertha required manly protection.
Bertha continued to resist all Gaston's entreaties to name the day for
their union, always replying that the day depended upon Madeleine, and
if the latter remained single, she would do the same.
Maurice decided that, as soon as his father had recovered sufficiently
to travel, it would be advisable for the whole party to take up their
abode in Charleston. Many and sharp were the pangs he suffered at the
thought of leaving a city which Madeleine's presence rendered so dear;
but he would be worthier of her esteem, and his own self-respect, if he
resolutely and steadfastly pursued the course he had marked out for
himself before she was restored to him. To prepare the mind of his
grandmother, and to learn Bertha's opinion of the proposed change, were
subjects of importance which demanded immediate attention. He spoke to
his cousin first, seizing an opportunity when the countess chanced to be
absent.
Bertha looked amazed, and asked, "How can you leave Madeleine?"
"When I think of it, I feel as though I could not; and yet I must. I
cannot linger here in idleness. Madeleine herself would be the first one
to bid me go."
"I dare say!" answered Bertha, pettishly.
"But you, Bertha," continued Maurice, "how will you leave one who has a
dearer claim upon you, than I, alas! will ever have upon Madeleine? How
will you be reconciled to part from M. de Bois?"
"I answer as you do, that I _must_."
"But you, Bertha, have an alternative; Gaston, if he could induce you to
remain,--induce you to give him a wife,--would be enraptured."
"I suppose so," returned Bertha, with charming demureness; "but that is
out of the question. Wherever my aunt goes, I will go."
"But how long is this to last, Bertha?"
"Nobody knows, except Madeleine, perhaps. I shall not be married until
she is."
That very suggestion sent such a shuddering thrill through the veins of
Maurice, that he cried out,--
"Bertha! for the love of Heaven! never mention such a possibility again!
When the time comes, if come it must, I trust I shall behave like a man,
but I have not the courage now to contemplate a shock so terrible. The
very suggestion distracts me. I shall never cease to love
Madeleine,--never! Were she the wife of another man, I should be forced
to fly from her forever, that I might not profane her purity by even a
shadow of that love; yet I should love her all the same! My love is
interwound with my whole being; the drawing of my breath, the flowing of
my blood are not more absolute necessities of my existence; my love for
Madeleine is life itself, and if she should give her hand, as she has
given her heart, to another man, I,--it is a possibility too dreadful to
contemplate,--it sets my brain on fire to think of it. Never, never,
Bertha, never if you have any affection for me, speak of Madeleine as"--
He could not finish his sentence, and Bertha said, penitently,--"I am so
sorry, Maurice, I beg your pardon; and there's no likelihood at present;
and so I have told M. de Bois, that he might reconcile himself and learn
patience."
Madame de Gramont entered, and Maurice, endeavoring to conquer his
recent agitation, said to her,--
"I have been talking with Bertha about our future plans. I purpose
returning shortly to Charleston; indeed, it is indispensable that I
should do so. I trust you and my father and Bertha will be willing to
accompany me as soon as he is able to bear the journey,--will you not?"
"No," replied the countess, decidedly. "Why should I go to Charleston?
Why should I linger in this most barbarous, most detestable country,
where I have suffered so much? I have formed my own plans, and intend to
carry them into immediate execution."
"May I beg you to let me know what they are?"
"I purpose," said the countess, slowly, but with a decision by which she
meant to impress Maurice with the certainty that there was no appeal; "I
purpose returning to Brittany, and there remaining for the rest of my
days!"
Bertha half leaped from her chair, her breath grew thick, and her heart
must have beat painfully, for she pressed her hand upon her breast, as
though to still the violent pulsations.
"To Brittany, my grandmother?" said Maurice, in accents of
consternation. "I trust not. In my father's state of health, I could not
feel that I was doing my duty if I were separated from him, and my
interests, my professional engagements, compel me to remain in this
country."
"Your filial affection, Maurice de Gramont, must be remarkably strong,
if you weigh it against your petty, selfish interests,--your
professional engagements. But, do as you please,--I ask nothing, expect
nothing from you,--not even the protection of your presence, though I
have no longer a son who is able to offer me protection."
"But if you will allow me to explain,--if you will allow me to show you
that my lot is cast in America,--that it would ruin all my future
prospects to return to Europe! My father's affairs are so much entangled
that I must exert myself for his support and my own." (He might have
said the support of his grandmother also, but was too delicate.) "There
is no opening for me in France, no occupation that I am fitted at
present to pursue."
"I do not undertake to comprehend what you mean by your
_prospects_--your _engagements_--your _exerting_ yourself--or any of the
other low phrases that drop so readily from your tongue. These are not
matters with which I can have any concern. I have nothing to do with
your _prospects_, your _exertions_, your _engagements_, or your
_intentions_. _My intentions_ are plain and unalterable. As soon as the
physician says my son is in a state to travel, I shall engage our
passage upon the first steamer that starts for Havre, and turn my back
upon this miserable land, to which you, Bertha, by your capricious
folly, lured us. It does not matter who accompanies me, or who does not;
my son and I will depart,--_that is settled_."
Bertha and Maurice were silent through dismay. The countess finding that
neither replied, said to her niece,--
"Upon what have you resolved, Bertha? Will you allow me to return alone?
Do you intend to refuse to go with me, because my grandson has coldly
disregarded all the ties of kindred and severed himself from his father
and me?"
Bertha answered quickly, "I wish, oh! I wish you could be persuaded to
remain here; but if not,--if you _will_ go,--if you _must_ go--I will go
with you."
It was long since the countess had looked so gratified, and she drew
Bertha toward her and kissed her brow, exclaiming,--
"There is, at least, _one_ of my own kindred left to me! Thank God!"
"Do not suppose," said Maurice, "if this voyage is inevitable, if you
cannot be persuaded to think the step hazardous, that I shall allow you
to take it without a proper escort. If you return to France, let the
consequence be what it may, I will go with you. Circumstances render it
impossible that I should take up my residence there, but I will make the
voyage with you,--I will see you and my father in your own home, and
then"--
The countess contemplated him approvingly. "That was spoken like
yourself, Maurice! I have still a grandson upon whom I can lean. Now,
let us hasten our departure; let us start the instant it is possible; we
cannot set out too soon to please _me_."
The countess _never_ thought of the _necessity_, _propriety_, or
_charity_, of pleasing any one else. Could any one's pleasure be of
importance weighed against hers?
CHAPTER XLIX.
RONALD.
Who cannot conceive the consternation of Gaston de Bois when he learned
that Madame de Gramont had resolved to return to Brittany with her son,
and that Bertha had promised to accompany them? The countess sat looking
at him with a species of savage triumph; for since he had become
Madeleine's champion, she had treated him with pointed coldness. Gentle
and sympathetic as his affianced bride was in general, she seemed for
once to be insensible to the wound she had inflicted, and gave no sign
of wavering in her resolution.
The next morning she was on her way to Madeleine's, accompanied by her
maid. M. de Bois joined them as soon as they were out of sight of the
hotel. How suddenly Bertha's soft heart must have become fossilized!
for, although his heavy eyes and disturbed mien bore witness to the
sleepless night he had passed, she did not appear to notice any change
in his appearance.
"Bertha," he said, reproachfully, "you cannot be so cruel,--so
ungenerous! You will not leave me and return to Brittany with your aunt,
instead of giving me the right to detain you!"
"It's very hard-hearted," replied Bertha, tantalizingly; "but I have
promised my aunt to accompany her, and I, cannot break my word."
"But your promise to me?"
"I hope to keep that, in good time, when the conditions are fulfilled."
"But you link that promise with conditions which may never be
fulfilled,--never!"
"Then we must be happy as we are," said Bertha, naïvely.
Bertha's obstinacy was surprising in one of her malleable, easily
influenced character; but it seemed prompted by an instinctive belief
that Gaston would be forced to make some exertion,--take some steps
(their nature Bertha did not define to herself) which would result in
bringing about Madeleine's happiness, and in promoting her union with
her unknown lover. This one idea had taken such full possession of
Bertha's brain that it could not be dislodged, and all Gaston's fervent
entreaties that she would not let his happiness depend upon such an
unlikely contingency were fruitless.
"Then I have but one alternative," said Gaston, at last. "I will resign
my secretaryship and accompany you to Brittany. You cannot imagine that
I would let you go without me?"
Bertha did not say how much pleasure this suggestion gave her; but the
glad radiance in her blue eyes told she had been unexpectedly spared one
half the sacrifice which she had determined to make, if necessary.
When Madeleine learned from Gaston the proposed departure of the
countess and her family, a death-like pallor suddenly overspread her
countenance, and she gasped out faintly, "All,--all going?"
"Dear, dear Madeleine," cried Bertha, "do not look so; you frighten me.
It's very sad to leave you in this strange land alone. It depends upon
you to keep two of us near you,--I mean M. de Bois and myself."
Bertha's words imparted no consolation.
"If you would but unravel this mystery, Madeleine?" Bertha went on. "It
depends upon you and you only, to bind me here. When you are ready to
stand before the altar with the one you have so long loved, so shall I
be! Yes, though it were to-morrow."
"Bertha," answered Madeleine with such sad solemnity that for the first
time Bertha's hope that her ardent desire might be accomplished was
chilled, "you do not know what an,--an almost impossibility you are
asking. Believe me, when I tell you, in all seriousness, that I shall
never stand before the altar as a bride. An insurmountable barrier
forbids! I shall live on,--work on, alone,--finding consolation in the
certainty that I am acting wisely, and bearing bravely what must be
endured. Will not this declaration convince you that you have decided
rashly, not to say _cruelly_, in making your wifehood dependent upon
mine?"
Bertha shook her head pertinaciously: "No--no--no! If I were to yield I
should have to relinquish my last hope of seeing you a bride. I do not
mean to yield! You need not persuade me; nor you either, M. de Bois. I
am as obstinate as the de Gramonts themselves; and yet, in this
instance, I think I am more reasonable in my firmness."
Madeleine and Gaston did not forego entreaties in spite of this
assertion; but they had no effect upon Bertha, though she was thankful
to be relieved from their importunities by the entrance of Maurice.
Neither Madeleine nor Gaston felt disposed, in his hearing, to run the
risk of making Bertha repeat her desire that Madeleine should become a
bride. Madeleine roused herself that Maurice might not perceive her
sadness, and made an effort to speak of the proposed voyage as a settled
plan. The gloom of Maurice was not diminished by her attempt. He would
have been less chagrined if he had seen the emotion which her pallid
cheeks betrayed when the intelligence of their approaching departure was
communicated to her. Ungenerous manhood! he would have suffered less had
he known that she whom he loved suffered also!
Later in the day, as he was slowly walking toward the hotel, plunged in
one of those despondent moods to which he had been subject before his
sojourn in America, he was roused by a clear, ringing voice, though so
long unheard, still familiar, and ever pleasant to his ears.
"Maurice!"
"Ronald! There is not a man in the world I would rather have seen!"
"And you are the very man I was seeking. I came to Washington on purpose
to see you," replied the young artist, who had exerted so strong an
influence over the character of Maurice in other days, and who had done
so much toward "shaping his destiny."
Ronald was somewhat changed; the rich coloring of his handsome face had
paled, or been bronzed over; a few lightly traced, but expressive lines
were chronicles of mental struggles, and told that he had thought and
suffered. There was more contemplation and less gayety in the brilliant
brown eyes; more reflective composure and less impulsive buoyancy in his
demeanor. Heretofore his bearing, language, whole aspect had ever
communicated the impression of possible power; now it bespoke power
confirmed and concentrated, and brought into living action.
The friendship of Maurice and Ronald had not grown cold during the years
they had been separated. They had corresponded regularly; their interest
in each other, their affection for each other had deepened and
strengthened with every year, as all emotions which have their root in
the spirit must deepen and strengthen,--the elements of _progress_ being
inseparable from those affections which draw their existence from this
life-source.
Maurice, during his sojourn in Charleston, had paid weekly visits to
Ronald's parents, usually spending his Sundays beneath their hospitable
roof; and this made the day a true Sabbath to him. During the two months
he had passed in Washington, Maurice had only written brief letters to
Mrs. Walton; for the rapid succession of exciting events had engrossed
his time, though it could not make him forget one who was ever ready
with her sympathy and counsel. Her replies also had been curtailed by
the all-absorbing joy of welcoming her son after his long absence.
The young artist had now achieved an enviable reputation as a painter.
His first works were characterized by a towering ambition in their
conception, which his unpractised execution could not fitly illustrate;
but they had disappointed no one so much as himself. After many
struggles against a sense of discouragement, inseparable from high
aspirations, frustrated for the moment, he had broken out of his
chrysalis state of imperfect action, and spread his wings in strong and
serious earnest. His sensitive perception of the great and beautiful,
allied to the creative power of genius soon blazoned his prodigal gifts
to the world, and he had gloried in that sense of might which makes the
true artist feel he has a giant's strength for good or evil.
"I have rejoiced over your new laurels!" exclaimed Maurice, warmly; for
he had learned Ronald's distinction through the journals of the day.
"They are so intangible," replied Ronald, smiling, "that I'm not quite
sure of their existence. I did not tell you that my father and mother
are here and most anxious to see you. When will you pay them a visit?
Can you not come with me now?"
Maurice gladly consented to accompany his friend.
"You are our chief attraction to Washington," continued Ronald. "My
mother was the first to propose that we should seek you out. Your
letters were so sad, and even confused, that she felt you needed her. I
think she fancies she has two sons, Maurice."
"She is the only mother I have ever known," answered Maurice; "and life
is incomplete when a mother's place is unfilled in the soul."
CHAPTER L.
A SECRET DIVINED.
"Take care! the 'Don' will be jealous!" exclaimed Mr. Walton, as he
witnessed his wife's greeting of Maurice,--a greeting as tender as a
true mother could have bestowed. "When Ronald was a boy he would rush
about like one gone mad if his mother ever ventured to take another
child upon her knee,--he would never have his throne usurped. Our 'Don'
was always 'monarch of all he surveyed.'"
This jocular appellation of the 'Don,' Mr. Walton had bestowed upon his
son on account of his early propensity to fight moral windmills, and the
Quixotic zeal with which he espoused the cause of the weak and the fair.
This knight-errant proclivity ripened from the Quixotism of boyhood into
the chivalrous devotion which had manifested itself in his somewhat
romantic friendship for Maurice,--a friendship productive of such happy
results to the young viscount.
Ronald replied, "My affection has gained a victory over my jealousy, as
Maurice discovered some years ago. I have just given him a new evidence
of that fact by accompanying you and my mother to Washington in the hope
of seeing him."
"Did you really come for my sake," asked Maurice, much moved.
Mrs. Walton answered, "How could we help being distressed about you?
Your letters were so unsatisfactory. I shall know more of your true
state in one _tête-à-tête_,--one good long heart-talk,--than I could
learn by a thousand letters."
After this declaration, Ronald and his father jestingly pronounced
themselves _de trop_ and departed.
Maurice had long since given Mrs. Walton his full confidence, and now to
sit and relate the events that had transpired during his stay in
Washington was a heart-unburthening which lightened his oppressed
spirit. It seemed to him as though some ray of hope must break through
the clouds which enveloped him, if her clear, steady vision closely
scanned their blackness; _she_ might discover some gleam of light which
he could not perceive.
When he finished the narrative she asked,--
"And have you no suspicion who this mysterious lover can be? No clue to
his identity?"
"Not the faintest," answered Maurice.
"But since you have seen Madeleine at all hours of the day, since you
have resided in her house, she could not have evinced a preference for
any gentleman without your perceiving the distinction."
"She evinced no preferences; no gentleman was upon an intimate footing
except M. de Bois, who is engaged to Bertha, much to Madeleine's
delight."
"M. de Bois, you tell me," continued Mrs. Walton, "has been her devoted
friend during all these years that she has been separated from you. Have
you not been able to learn something from him?"
"I have too much respect for Madeleine to force from another a secret
which she refuses to impart to me; but I am quite certain that if M. de
Bois knows whom Madeleine has blessed with her love, Bertha is still in
ignorance. Bertha would have told me at once."
Mrs. Walton mused awhile, then said, "I do not see any loose thread by
which the mystery can be unravelled; but you will, of course, make me
acquainted with your Madeleine?"
"_My_ Madeleine," began Maurice, bitterly.
"I called her yours involuntarily, because your heart seems so wholly to
claim her. She will receive me,--will she not?"
"Gladly, I am sure."
"Then we will go to-morrow."
There were too many chords of sympathy which vibrated responsively in
the bosoms of Mrs. Walton and Madeleine, too many planes upon which they
could meet, for them to remain merely formal acquaintances. It was
Madeleine's nature to treat those with whom she was thrown in contact
with a genial courtesy which rose to kindness, often to affection; but
it was only to a few that she really threw wide the portals of her large
heart. Mrs. Walton's devotion to Maurice was claim enough for her to be
ranked among the small number whom Madeleine admitted to that inner
sanctuary.
On the other hand, Mrs. Walton was by no means impulsive in forming
friendships; her existence had been brightened by very few. She had much
constitutional _reticence_; she enjoyed a secluded life; she was not
dependent upon others for happiness. A rich, inexhaustible well-spring
of joy,--the one joy of her days,--flowed in through her son, and that
pure fount was all-sufficient to water the flowers that sprang in her
path. Maurice had awakened her womanly compassion, first, because Ronald
had found in him a brother; next, because he was motherless and almost
heart-broken, and finally, because his noble attributes won her admiring
affection. But, although Mrs. Walton had no facility in making
friendships, when she did become attached, it was with a sympathetic and
absolute devotion which extended itself involuntarily to the beings who
were dear to those she loved; thus her attachment for Maurice awakened
an affection for Madeleine before they met; and when she clasped
Madeleine's hand, and looked into her fair face, the reserve she
invariably experienced toward strangers at once melted away, and in
their very first interview these two responsive spirits drew near to
each other with a mutual sense that their intercourse must become closer
and closer.
Madeleine had frequently seen Ronald when, habited as the _soeur de
bon secours_, she kept nightly vigil by the bed of Maurice, and Ronald
had marked the classic features of the "holy sister," and quickly
recognized them again when he was presented to Mademoiselle de Gramont.
After Mrs. Walton had visited Madeleine, Ronald persuaded her to call
with him on Mademoiselle de Merrivale. Bertha received her quondam
partner of the dance with much warmth and vivacity; but the countess
looked with freezing hauteur upon these American friends of her
grandson. Though Mrs. Walton was naturally timid, she was unawed by the
countess's assumption of superiority; her self-respect enabled her to
remain perfectly composed and collected, and to appear unconscious of
the disdain with which she was treated.
This initiative visit was quickly followed by others, and Mrs. Walton
proved how little she dreaded the countess by inviting Bertha to dine
with her.
"I shall be delighted to go," said Bertha, "that is, if my aunt does not
object."
"Rather tardily remembered," answered the countess, with acerbity.
"Better late than never," retorted Bertha, gayly; "so, my dear aunt, you
will not say 'No.'"
The countess would gladly have found some reason for refusing, but none
presented itself, and Bertha was sufficiently self-willed to dispute her
authority; it was therefore impolitic to make an open objection.
M. de Bois also received an invitation. Maurice and Madeleine joined
the little circle in the evening,--a delightful surprise to Bertha and
Gaston. This was the first evening that Madeleine had passed out of her
own dwelling during her residence in America. She had necessarily
renounced society when she adopted a vocation incompatible with her
legitimate social position; but, on this occasion, she could not resist
Mrs. Walton's persuasions, and perhaps the promptings of her own
inclination.
Once more Madeleine's vocal powers were called into requisition. She was
ever ready to contribute her _mite_ (so she termed it) toward the
general entertainment, and she would have despised the petty affectation
of pretended reluctance to draw forth entreaty, or give value to her
performance. Her voice had never sounded more touchingly, mournfully
pathetic, and her listeners hung entranced upon the sounds. Maurice
drank in every tone, and never moved his eyes from her face; but when
the soft cadences sank in silence, what a look of anguish passed over
his manly features, and told that the sharp bayonet of his life-sorrow
pierced him anew. He turned involuntarily toward Mrs. Walton, and met a
look of sympathy not wholly powerless to soothe.
Mr. Walton was loud in his praises of Madeleine's vocalization; he had a
courtier's felicity in expressing admiration, never more genuine than on
the present occasion.
"We must not be so ungrateful as to forget to offer Mademoiselle de
Gramont the only return in our power, however far it may fall short of
what she merits," said he; "the 'Don' here, does not sing; he is not a
poet even, except in soul, and all his inspirations flow through his
brush; but he interprets poets with an art which I think is hardly less
valuable than the poet's own divine afflatus."
Madeleine, delighted, seized upon the suggestion, and solicited Ronald
to favor the company. His mother placed in his hands a volume of Mrs.
Browning's poems, and he turned to that surpassingly beautiful romance,
"Lady Geraldine's Courtship."
Ronald was one of those rare readers gifted with the power of filling,
at pleasure, the poet's place, or of embodying the characters which he
delineated. The young artist's rich, sonorous voice; obeyed his will,
and was modulated to express every variety of emotion, while his
animated countenance glowed, flushed, paled, grew radiant or clouded,
with the scene he described. A master-spirit playing upon a thoroughly
comprehended instrument manifested itself in his rendition of the
author.
All eyes were riveted upon him as he read; he possessed in an eminent
degree the faculty of magnetizing his hearers, taking them captive for
the time being, and bearing them, as upon a rising or falling wave,
whither he would. As the tale progressed, the silence grew deeper, and,
save Ronald's voice, not a sound was to be heard, except, now and then,
a quickened breath and Bertha's low sobbing; for she wept as though
Bertram had been one whom she had known.
Mrs. Walton's eyes had been fixed upon her son, with an expression of
ineffable soul-drawn delight; but, just before the poem drew to a close,
they stole around the circle to note the effect produced by his masterly
reading upon others. Every face mirrored such emotions as the poem might
have awakened in minds capable of appreciating the noble and beautiful;
but by Madeleine's countenance she was forcibly struck; a marble pallor
overspread her visage, her eyes were strangely dilated and filled with
moisture; if the lids for a moment had closed, the "silver tears" must
have run down her cheeks as freely as ran Lady Geraldine's; but, when
Ronald came to that passage where Lady Geraldine thrills Bertram with
joy by the confession that it was him whom she loved,--though he had
never divined that love,--him only! Madeleine's lips quivered, and, with
a sudden impulse, which defied control, she covered her face with her
hands as though she dreaded that her heart might be perused in her
countenance. It was an involuntary action, repented of as soon as made,
for she withdrew the hands immediately, but the spontaneous movement
spoke volumes.
As Mrs. Walton watched her, a sudden flash of _clairvoyance_ revealed a
portion of the truth, and she ejaculated, mentally,--
"The man whom Madeleine loves is unaware of her love, as Bertram was of
Lady Geraldine's."
This suggestion, born in the under-current of her thoughts, floated
constantly to the surface awaiting confirmation. If her belief were
well-grounded, one step was taken toward fathoming the secret which
Madeleine had doubtless some motive for preserving, but which Mrs.
Walton's sympathies with Maurice made her earnestly desire to bring to
light. Madeleine might have conceived a passion for one whom she would
never more meet, or for one who was unconscious of her preference,
though that seemed hardly possible.
Under ordinary circumstances Mrs. Walton would have been one of the last
persons to take an active part in searching out the hidden springs of
any human actions; but she was so deeply interested, both in Maurice and
Madeleine, that a strong desire to be of service to them made her break
one of the rules of her life. A wise rule, perhaps, so far as it frees
one from responsibility, yet a rule which generous and impulsive spirits
will often disregard in the hope of wafting into a drooping sail some
favorable breeze that will send the ship toward a wished-for port.
It chanced the very next day, when Mrs. Walton was visiting Madeleine,
that the latter was summoned away, and as she left the room, she said,--
"I will not be long absent; here are books with which I hope you can
amuse yourself."
They had been sitting in Madeleine's boudoir; Mrs. Walton's chair was
close to Madeleine's desk; upon the desk lay several volumes, probably
those which had been last in use. Mrs. Walton made a haphazard
selection, and took up a little sketch-book. Her interest was quickly
awakened when she found that it contained sketches which were doubtless
Madeleine's own. There was the château of Count Tristan de Gramont at
Rennes, and the memorable little _châlet_--the château of the Marquis de
Merrivale, and sketches of other localities in her native land, of which
she had thus preserved the memory. Then followed fancy groups, composed
of various figures, apparently illustrative of scenes from books; but
Mrs. Walton could not be certain of the unexplained subjects.
One familiar face struck her,--a most perfect likeness of Maurice,--it
was unmistakable. Prominent in every group, though in different
attitudes and costumes, was that one figure. Maurice,--still Maurice,
throughout the book. Mrs. Walton was pondering upon this singular
discovery when Madeleine entered.
She flushed crimson when she saw the volume her visitor was examining,
and said, in a confused tone, taking the book from Mrs. Walton's
hands,--
"I thought I had locked this book in my desk; how could I have left it
about? It only contains old sketches of remembered places, and similar
trifles, not worth your contemplation."
"I found them very beautiful," replied Mrs. Walton, "and the likenesses
of Maurice are perfect."
"Of Maurice?" was all that Madeleine could say, her agitation increasing
every moment.
"Yes, I could not understand the subjects, but his face and form are
admirably depicted. You have a true talent for making portraits."
Madeleine could not answer, but as Mrs. Walton glanced at her conscious
and troubled countenance, woman's instinct whispered, "It is Maurice
whom she loves."
CHAPTER LI.
SEED SOWN.
Once more Count Tristan was convalescent. He could move his limbs with
tolerable freedom,--could walk without support, though with slow,
uncertain, uneven steps; his articulation was now hardly impaired,
though he never spoke except in answer to questions, and then with
evident unwillingness. He took little or no notice of what passed around
him, but ever seemed brooding over his own misfortunes,--that is, if his
mind retained any activity, of which it was not easy to judge.
In another week the month for which Mrs. Gratacap considered herself
engaged would expire. That worthy, but voluble and independent person
determined that she would not submit to the slight of having due notice
of dismissal given her, and therefore herself gave warning that she
purposed to take her departure. At the same time she said to Maurice,--
"I vow to goodness that grandmother of yours hasn't got the least idea
of manners. I wonder if that's the style in her country? Why, we
shouldn't call it common decency here! Law sakes! she's had a lesson or
two from me, I think. Would you believe it, this very blessed morning
she had no more civility than just to bid me leave the room as she
wanted to speak to the doctor. I vow to goodness, I wouldn't have
stirred a step if it hadn't been that I knew she didn't know any better,
and I never force myself where I am not wanted; so I just took myself
off."
"It was better to try and bear with my grandmother," answered Maurice,
soothingly.
"And it's bearing with a bear to do it!" responded Mrs. Gratacap. "I
don't mind it on my own account,--I am accustomed to all sorts of queer
folks, but I suspected the old lady was up to something that would worry
the poor dear, and, to be sure, I was right."
"What do you mean?" inquired Maurice, anxiously.
"Why, I couldn't help catching a word or two of what the doctor said
when he went out; I just heard him say that the patient _could_ make the
voyage if it were necessary, though it would be better to keep him
quiet. Mark my words, she wants to pack off, bag and baggage, at short
notice,--and _she'll do it_! Never trust my judgment if she don't."
Mrs. Gratacap was right; one hour later, the countess, with a look which
reminded Maurice, of the days when she swayed unopposed, informed him
that Count Tristan had been pronounced by his physician sufficiently
convalescent to bear a sea-voyage, and that she intended to leave
Washington that day week, for New York, and take the first steamer that
sails for Havre.
Maurice could only stammer out, "So suddenly?"
"Suddenly?" echoed the imperious lady; "it is a century to me! a century
of torture! And you call it _suddenly_? _Nothing_ will prevent my
leaving this city in a week, and this detestable country as soon after
as possible. Do you understand me?"
"I do."
"Then I depend upon you to make all the needful preparations. There will
be no change in my plans; the matter is settled and requires no further
discussion."
Maurice knew too well that there was but one course left, and that was
submission to her despotic will. He at once apprised Gaston of the
determination of the countess. M. de Bois was more grieved for his
friend than for himself, and said he could be ready to accompany the
party in twenty-four hours.
After this, Maurice took his way to the Waltons. He could not yet summon
resolution to go to Madeleine.
We have already said that Mrs. Walton, through her woman's instincts,
thought she had discovered Madeleine's secret, and every day some
trivial circumstance confirmed her in her belief. But her shrinking
nature made it difficult for her ever to take the initiative, or to
attempt to change the current of events by any strong act of her own.
There was no absence of _power_ in her composition, but a distrust of
her own powers which produced the same effect. Hers was a _passive_ and
not _suggestive_ nature; if the first step in some desirable path were
taken by another she would follow, and labor heart and hand, and by her
judgment and zeal accomplish what that other only projected; but she had
a horror of taking the responsibility, of "meddling with other people's
affairs," even in the hope of bringing about some happy issue.
Ronald's impulses were precisely opposite to his mother's. He had an
internal delight in swaying, in influencing, in bending circumstances to
his will, in making all the crooked paths straight and righting all the
wrongs of mankind. He was always ready to form projects (his father
would say in a Quixotic style) and carry them into execution, to benefit
his friends. He was deterred by no constitutional timidity, and the rash
impulsiveness of youth looks only to happy results, and is seldom curbed
by the reflection of possible evil. Ronald would have served Maurice at
all hazards, and by all means in his power, or _out of his power_. He
was expressing to his mother the chagrin he felt at the sad position of
his friend, and his fear that it would throw a blight over his energies,
when the latter remarked,--
"I think I have made a discovery which concerns Maurice, though I do not
see how it can benefit him. Yet I am sure I know a secret which he would
give almost his existence to learn."
"Indeed!" exclaimed Ronald. "Tell him then at once!"
"I cannot make up my mind that it would tend to any good result. It
would be better, I think, not to touch upon the subject at all; let
events take their natural course."
"We should build no houses, we should write no books, and paint no
pictures, if we adopted that doctrine," answered Ronald. "At least, tell
me what you have learned."
"I think I know," replied Mrs. Walton, "whom Madeleine loves."
"Is it possible?"
"And that is Maurice himself!"
Mrs. Walton went through the whole train of reasoning by which she had
arrived at her conclusion; and Ronald was only too well pleased to be
convinced.
"But, my dear, impetuous boy," said she, as she looked upon his glowing
face, "what good to Maurice can grow out of this?"
"Let us plant the seed and give it some good chance to grow," returned
Ronald, eagerly. "Here is Maurice himself. The first step is to tell
him"--
Maurice entered in time to hear the last words, and took them up.
"You can hardly tell him anything sadder than he comes to tell you. In a
week we must bid each other adieu; my grandmother has resolved to return
to Brittany without further delay."
"I should be more deeply moved by that news," replied Ronald, "did I not
think that I had some intelligence to communicate in exchange which is
very far from sad. Maurice, are you prepared to hear anything I may have
to say?"
"When did your words fail to do me good?" asked Maurice. "Do you think I
have forgotten our long arguments in Paris, when I was in a state of
such deep dejection, and you roused me and spurred me on to action by
your buoyant, active, hopeful spirit? But go on."
"I want to speak of your cousin, Mademoiselle de Gramont."
Maurice expressed by his looks how welcome that theme ever was.
"You ardently desire," continued Ronald, "for so my mother has told me,
to know who Mademoiselle Madeleine loves."
"Yes, I desire it more than words can utter."
"I think I can tell you," returned Ronald.
"You? You are not in earnest?" cried Maurice, in amazement. "For the
love of Heaven, Ronald, do not sport with such a subject!"
"I do _not_ jest, Maurice. I only tell you what you ought yourself to
have discovered long ago."
"How could I? There is no possible clew. Madeleine sees no one, writes
to no one, whom I could conceive to be the man whom she prefers."
"Easily explained," continued Ronald. "That man does not know he is
beloved by her."
"Incredible!" replied Maurice.
"Very credible, my dear Maurice, as you are bound to admit; for that man
stands before me."
"Ronald, for pity's sake--this--this is inhuman!"
"Do not wrong me so much, Maurice, as to think me capable of speaking
lightly upon such a subject. My mother's perception of character is
really wonderful; and her instincts, I think, never fail her; she is
convinced that it is _you_, and you only, whom Madeleine loves. Reflect
how many proofs of love she has given you! Has she not, through M. de
Bois, kept trace of all your movements during the years that you were
separated? Did she not run great risk to watch beside your sick-bed in
Paris? Did you not tell me that it was her prompt and generous
interference which prevented your losing your credit with Mr. Emerson?
Does not her every action prove that you are ever in her thoughts? And,
Maurice, I tell you, it is _you_ whom she loves."
Maurice listened as though some holy voice from supernal regions chanted
heavenly music in his ears. But he roused himself from the delicious
dream, for he did not dare to yield to its spell, and said,--
"Did she not herself tell me that she loved another?"
"May you not have mistaken her exact words?" asked Ronald. "It was
necessary to renounce you, to take all hope away from you, and place in
your path the only barrier which you could not hope to overleap. And may
she not have given you the impression that she loved, that her
affections were engaged, while you drew the inference from her rejecting
your hand that her heart was given to some other?"
The countenance of Maurice grew effulgent with the flood of hope poured
upon it.
"Oh, if it were so!" he exclaimed, in rapture. "Ronald, my best friend,
what do I not owe you? Mrs. Walton, why, why are you silent? Speak to
me! Tell me that you really believe Madeleine loves me!"
Mrs. Walton, alarmed by the violence of his emotion, began to turn over
in her mind the unfortunate results which might ensue if she had made an
error. Maurice still implored her to speak, and she said, at last, with
some hesitation,--
"If Madeleine does not love you, and you only, I have no skill in
interpreting 'the weather signs of love.' I ought not to be too
confident of my own judgment; and yet I cannot force myself to doubt
that, in this instance, it is correct."
"Say that again and again. I cannot hear it too often. _You cannot force
yourself to doubt_,--you are quite convinced then, quite sure that
Madeleine, my own Madeleine, loves me?"
"I am indeed," responded Mrs. Walton, tenderly.
Maurice folded his arms about her, bowed his head on her shoulder, and
his great joy found a vent which it had never known before; for never
before had tears of ecstasy poured from his eyes. That Mrs. Walton
should weep too was but natural. She was a woman, and tears are the
privilege of her sex. Ronald had evidently some fears, that their
emotion would prove contagious; for he walked up and down the room with
remarkable rapidity, and then threw open the window and looked out,
cleared his throat several times, and finally said, in tolerably firm
accents,--
"But, Maurice, what are we to do if the countess is determined to return
to Brittany at once?"
"If Madeleine loves me, I can endure anything! I can leave her, I can go
with my father, or perform any other hard duty. The sweet certainty of
her love will brighten and lighten my trial. Oh, if I could only be
sure!"
"Make yourself sure as soon as possible," suggested Ronald, to whom
promptitude was a second nature.
"I will go to her; I will tell her what I believe; I will implore her to
grant me the happiness of knowing that her heart is mine. But O Ronald,
if I have been deluded,--if you have given me false hopes"--
"You will fight me," answered Ronald, laughing. "Of course that's all a
friend gets for trying to be of service."
"Go, Maurice," said Mrs. Walton, "and bring us the happy news that
Ronald and his mother have not caused you fresh suffering."
"You said you had not a _doubt_," cried Maurice, trembling at the bare
suggestion.
"And I have not. Go!"
CHAPTER LII.
A LOVER'S SNARE.
Maurice was on his way to Madeleine's. Not for years, not since the day
when he breathed his love in the old Château de Gramont, had his heart
throbbed with such rapturous pulsations as now; not since that hour had
the world looked so paradisiacal,--life so full of enchantment to his
eyes. As he reached her door and ascended the steps, his emotions were
overpowering. A few moments more, and the heavenly dream would become a
glorious, life-brightening reality, or would melt away, a delusive
mirage in the desert of his existence, leaving his pathway a blanker
wilderness than ever.
He was too much at home to require the ceremony of announcement, and
sought Madeleine in her boudoir. She was not there. She was receiving
visitors in the drawing-room. Maurice sat down to await her coming; but
his impatience made him too restless for inaction, and he entered the
_salon_.
Madeleine's guests were Madame de Fleury and Mrs. Gilmer,--an accidental
and not very welcome encounter of the fashionable belligerents; though
since Mrs. Gilmer had received the much-desired invitation to Madame de
Fleury's ball, she had affected to lay down her arms, and Madame de
Fleury pretended to do the same.
Madeleine was listening with patient courtesy to the meaningless
nothings of the one lady, and the stereotyped insipidity of the other.
Madame de Fleury was tortured by a desire to consult her hostess
concerning a fancy ball-dress which at that moment filled her thoughts;
but Madeleine's manner was so thoroughly that of an equal who
entertained no doubts of her own position,--the vocation of
"Mademoiselle Melanie" was so completely laid aside,--that Madame de
Fleury, with all her tact and world-knowledge, could not plan any mode
of introducing the fascinating subject of "_chiffons_."
The marchioness greeted Maurice with enthusiastic cordiality. It struck
her, on seeing him, that she might broach the desired topic through his
aid; and she said, with the most charmingly innocent air, as though the
thought had just occurred to her,--
"Shall I see you, M. de Gramont, at the grand fancy ball which Madame
Orlowski gives next week? I hear it will be the _fête_ of the season."
"I have not the honor of Madame Orlowski's acquaintance," replied
Maurice.
"What a pity! But I can easily procure you an invitation, and you will
have time enough to arrange about a costume. I have not determined upon
mine yet. I want something very original. I am quite puzzled what to
decide upon. I am perfectly haunted with visions of dresses that float
through my brain. I have imagined myself attired as nymphs, and heathen
deities, and ladies of ancient courts, and heroines of books; but I
cannot make a choice."
Madame de Fleury did not venture to look toward Madeleine, and the
latter made no observation. Maurice rejoined,--
"My father's state of health forbids my availing myself of your amiable
offer."
Madame de Fleury was slightly discomfited. It was difficult to keep up
the subject which seemed to have dropped naturally; but for the sake of
reviving it, and trying to draw some suggestion from the Queen of Taste,
she even condescended to address her foe; and, turning to Mrs. Gilmer
with a false smile, asked,--
"_You_ are going, of course? Have you determined upon the character you
mean to assume?"
Mrs. Gilmer was flattered by finding her attire a matter of acknowledged
importance to her rival, and replied, with a simper,--
"Not altogether,--my costume is under discussion,--I shall decide
_presently_."
A significant glance intimated that she meant shortly to proceed
upstairs, to the exhibition-rooms of "Mademoiselle Melanie."
Madame de Fleury grew desperate, and was resolved not to be baffled in
her attempt; she now launched into a dissertation upon different styles
of fancy dresses. Madeleine turned to Maurice to make inquiries about
his father. Poor Maurice! as he noted the unruffled composure of her
bearing, the quietude of her tone, the frank ease with which she
addressed him, his hopes began to die away, and tormenting spirits
whispered that Ronald's mother had certainly come to an erroneous
conclusion.
Madame de Fleury, finding that her little artifices were thrown away
upon Madeleine, took her leave; Mrs. Gilmer lingered for a few moments,
then also made her exit, closely copying the graceful courtesy and
floating, sweeping step of her rival.
"Thank Heaven! they are gone!" exclaimed Maurice. "I have so much to say
to you, Madeleine, every moment they staid appeared to me an hour."
He could proceed no further, for the door opened, and Ruth Thornton
entered with sketches of costumes in her hand, and said, hesitatingly,--
"I am sure you will pardon me, Mademoiselle Madeleine; Madame de Fleury
insisted; she fairly, or rather _unfairly_ forced me to seek you with
these sketches; she seems resolved to secure your advice about her
costume."
Madeleine knew how to rebuke impertinence in spite of her natural
gentleness, and the very mildness of her manner made the reproof more
severe. She had thoroughly comprehended Madame de Fleury's tactics, and
had determined to make her understand that when she visited Mademoiselle
de Gramont, the visit was paid to an equal, not to the mantua-maker upon
whose time the public had a claim.
"Say to Madame de Fleury that I leave all affairs of this nature in your
hands, and that I have perfect reliance on your good taste."
Ruth withdrew.
"Let us go to your boudoir, Madeleine," said Maurice.
Madeleine, as she complied, remarked,--
"You are troubled to-day, Maurice; two bright spots are burning upon
your cheeks; you look excited; what has happened?"
"Much or little, as it may prove," replied Maurice, taking a seat beside
her. "In the first place, my grandmother has concluded to leave
Washington in a week, and, after she reaches New York, take the first
steamer to Havre."
Maurice had given this intelligence so suddenly that Madeleine was off
her guard, and the rapid varying of her color, the heaving breast, the
look of anguish, the broken voice in which she exclaimed, "So soon? so
very soon?" rekindled his expiring hopes.
"This has been but a brief meeting, Madeleine, after the separation of
those long, sorrowful years. The future is all uncertain, I cannot fix a
time, after I have said adieu, when I may clasp this dear hand again."
"But," faltered Madeleine, "your profession,--you will not abandon that?
You will return to Charleston?"
"It is my earnest desire to do so."
"Then you _will_ return! You will return soon?"
Maurice must have been the dullest of lovers if he could not distinguish
the intonation of joy in Madeleine's voice.
"If my own advancement is the only incentive to my return, circumstances
may interfere; my father's health, for instance, the necessity of
attending to his affairs, or other considerations."
Madeleine did not reply.
"Madeleine, I shall offend you, perhaps, for I am about to transgress.
At all hazards, I must touch upon a subject which you have banished from
our conversation."
For a moment Madeleine looked disturbed, but this warning enabled her to
collect herself; she soon said, with composure,--
"Even if you do not spare _me_, Maurice, do not touch on any theme which
must give pain to yourself."
"I have not yet quite decided," returned he, "how much pain it may cost
me. I will only ask you to answer me a few questions. As I am a lawyer,
cross-examination, you know, is my vocation, and you must indulge me.
Nearly five years ago you declared that you had bestowed your heart
irrevocably. You were very young then,--you had had few opportunities of
seeing gentlemen; yet you have remained constant to this mysterious
lover? You have never repented that you loved him?"
"Never!" answered Madeleine, with fervor.
"And you believe that he loves you?"
Madeleine bowed her head.
"And you have loved him long? Perhaps you loved him early in your
girlhood; perhaps you loved him from the time you first met?"
Madeleine bowed her head again.
"Even as _he did you_?"
"I do not know," she answered, in a low voice.
"That is strange; men are apt to boast of the length as well as of the
strength of their passion," remarked Maurice. "Your lover must be an
exception. But perhaps he is unaware that he is blest by your love?"
Without suspicion Madeleine fell into that snare, well-laid by the young
lawyer, for she answered, thinking that it would calm the jealous pangs
to which Maurice might be subjected,--
"You are right; he is _not_ aware that I love him."
Had her eyes not been downcast, had she looked up for an instant into
the face of Maurice, she would have known by its look of radiant ecstasy
that she had betrayed herself.
In a tone which emotion rendered unsteady, he went on,--
"You would cast your lot with his, Madeleine? If he were poor, you would
share his poverty? You would even abandon your dream of earning a
fortune for yourself,--and I know how dear that dream is to your
heart,--for his sake? You would do this were there no barrier to the
avowal of your love,--no barrier to your union with him?"
"I would."
"And that barrier is the opposition of his proud relatives?" asserted
Maurice.
Madeleine started, looked in his face in alarm; for the first time, the
suspicion that he had divined her secret, flashed upon her.
But Maurice went on unpityingly,--
"You refused him your hand because you thought it base ingratitude to
those relatives who had sheltered you in your orphan and unprotected
condition, and who had other, as they supposed, _higher_ views for him.
You feared by letting him know that you loved him to injure his future
prospects, and you nearly blighted that future by the despair you caused
him when he lost you. And since you have been restored, at least to his
sight, you have with a martyr's heroism adhered to your plan of
self-sacrifice because you thought that to relinquish it would draw down
upon him and yourself the wrath of his haughty grandmother,--I will not
say of his father; because, too, you believed that you would be accused
of ingratitude. And you have allowed him to suffer unimaginable torture
rather than acknowledge that the lover to whom you have been so
true,--the lover for whom you have sacrificed yourself,--the lover most
unworthy of you (save through that love which renders the humblest
worthy),--is the man you rejected in the Château de Gramont at the risk
of breaking his heart."
Madeleine dropped her face upon her hands with a low sob, but Maurice
drew the hands away, and folding his arms about her said, fervently,--
"Madeleine, my own, my best beloved, it is too late for concealment now!
I know whom you love,--it is too late for denial. Look at me and tell me
once,--tell me only _once_ that it is true you do love me; tell me this,
and it will repay me for all I have suffered."
But Madeleine did not yield to his prayer; she tried to extricate
herself from his arms, but they clasped her too tightly; and when she
could speak she said, through her tears,--
"You ensnared me,--you entrapped me to this! I should never have told
you! And what does it avail,--I can never be your wife."
"It avails beyond all calculation to know that you love me, even if, as
you say, you cannot be my wife. Madeleine, to know that you love no
other,--that you love _me_,--that I have a claim upon you which I may
not be able to urge until we meet in heaven,--is heaven on earth!"
What could Madeleine reply?
"But why, Madeleine, can you not become mine? My father would no longer
object. Are you not sure of that? Do you not see how he clings to you?
And my grandmother"--
"It would kill her," broke in Madeleine, "to see you the husband of one
whom she detests and looks down upon as a degraded outcast. The Duke de
Gramont's daughter only feels her pride in this, that she could never
enter a family to which she was not welcome."
"Then her pride is stronger than her love! No, Madeleine, though your
firmness has been tested and I dread it, I will not believe that you
will continue so cruel as to refuse me your hand."
"Did you not say that it was happiness enough to know that,--that,"--
Madeleine had stumbled upon a sentence which it was not particularly
easy to finish.
"To know that you love me! that you love me! Let me repeat the words
over and over again, until my unaccustomed ears believe the sound; for
they are yet incredulous! But, Madeleine, you who are truth itself, how
could you have said that you loved another, even from the best of
motives?"
"I did not. I said that my affections were already engaged: yet I meant
you to believe, as you did, that I loved another; and the thought of the
deception, for it _was deception_, has caused me ceaseless contrition.
_I do not reconcile it to my conscience_; I spoke the words
_impulsively_ as the only means of forcing you to give up all claim to
my hand; _but I do not defend those words_."
"And I do not forgive them! You can only win my pardon by promising me
that you will openly contradict them, and atone for your error by
becoming my wife."
Madeleine's agitated features composed themselves to a look of
determination which made Maurice tremble with apprehension; and he had
cause, for she said,--
"I cannot, Maurice,--I cannot,--must not,--will not be your wife without
the consent of your father and your grandmother!"
"But if it be impossible to obtain my grandmother's?"
"Then you must prove to me that you spoke truth by being content with
that knowledge which you declared _would_ satisfy you."
Maurice remonstrated, argued, prayed, but he did not shake Madeleine's
resolve. Believing she was right, she was as inflexible as the Countess
de Gramont herself.
CHAPTER LIII.
RESISTANCE.
Maurice could not tear himself away; he was still lingering by
Madeleine's side when Bertha and Gaston entered to pay their daily
visit. The perfect joy that rendered luminous the countenance of
Maurice, and the happy confusion depicted upon Madeleine's face,
demanded but few words of explanation. Bertha caught Madeleine in her
arms, laughing and crying, kissing her and reproaching her, over and
over again. Then she turned to Maurice, as if impelled to greet him
hardly less lovingly; but Gaston, jealous of his own particular rights,
interposed. She darted away from his restraining arms and danced about
the room, shouting like a gleeful child; then she kissed Madeleine
again; then, suddenly calming down, said to Gaston, reproachfully,--
"And you,--_you_ knew this all the time, and did not tell me? What
penalty can I make you pay that will be severe enough? I will plot
mischief with Madeleine. If we can punish you in no other manner, we
will postpone to a tantalizing distance the day you wish near at hand.
Confess that I was wise to wait! I knew Madeleine's lover would claim
her in good season, but I never suspected he was my own dear cousin
Maurice, whom she so resolutely rejected."
"Nor did I!" cried Maurice, joyously; "and if _I_ can forgive Gaston,
you must."
"All in good time; after he is fitly punished, not before! What do you
say, Madeleine? Shall we promise these two hapless swains their brides a
couple of years hence?"
"Bertha, Bertha! you have not understood," answered Madeleine, gravely,
yet with a happy smile on her sweet lips. "Maurice has no promise of a
bride; he looks forward to no bride, though I trust, you will, before
very long, give one to M. de Bois."
"Dear me!" exclaimed Bertha, completely sobered by this unexpected
announcement. "I thought you had confessed to Maurice that _he_ was the
mysterious but fortunate individual whom you loved, and whom I have been
puzzling my brains to discover."
Madeleine did not choose to respond to the statement made with such
straightforward ingenuousness by Bertha, and only replied,--
"Madame de Gramont would never give her consent to the marriage of
Maurice with the humble mantua-maker. I have too much of the de Gramont
pride, or too much pride of my own, or too much of some stronger feeling
which I can only translate into a sense of right and fitness, to become
the wife of Maurice in the face of such opposition."
Bertha looked sorely disappointed and vexed, but vented her spleen upon
the one whom she loved best, according to the invariable practice of
women. She said to Gaston,--
"There! you are no better off than you were before! That's just what you
deserve for keeping this secret from me!"
"But, Bertha, you will not be so unreasonable," urged Madeleine.
"Why not, when you set me the example? Why should I not be unreasonable
and obstinate when you teach me how to be so? You know, Madeleine, you
have been my model all my life long, and it is too late to choose
another."
Madeleine was silenced, but Bertha ran on petulantly, this time turning
to Maurice.
"How _can_ you look so happy when Madeleine says she does not mean to
marry you? I never saw anything like you men! One would think you had no
feeling."
Maurice replied: "It is so much happiness to know who possesses
Madeleine's heart, that even if she remain unshaken in her resolution, I
could not be miserable."
"And you will not mind leaving her and going to Brittany? Your plans are
not to be altered?"
"Not unless she will alter them by consenting to accompany me. You know
that my grandmother insists upon returning, and she is inexorable when
she has once made up her mind."
"Like somebody else!" said Bertha, who was decidedly irritated.
Maurice resumed: "And it is my duty not only to protect her, but to
watch over my poor father."
"And you will really, _really_ go?" questioned Bertha, doubtingly.
"I have no alternative."
"Then I am more thankful than ever," she replied, tartly, "that when my
aunt wished to make a match between us, I never thought of accepting
you! I never could have endured such a patient, contented, stoical
suitor, who would be perfectly happy in spite of his separation from
me."
Maurice laughed at this sally, but Gaston remarked, seriously,--
"Yet you demand great sacrifices from one who is not as patient and
well-disciplined. You make your wedding-day dependent upon Mademoiselle
Madeleine's, when Mademoiselle Madeleine declares that she does not
intend to name one."
"We are an obstinate family, you see!" retorted Bertha, her good-humor
returning.
"Will not your father miss you?" suggested the ever thoughtful Madeleine
to Maurice. "You have been absent very long; that talkative nurse may
not be able to restrain herself, and your presence may be needful to
preserve harmony."
Maurice admitted that he ought to return; but, after bidding Madeleine
adieu, he could not persuade himself to go back to the hotel until he
had seen those to whom he owed his present happiness.
"Ronald!" he exclaimed, as he entered Mrs. Walton's drawing-room; "long
ago I became largely your debtor, but now you have placed me under an
obligation which cannot be estimated. Oh, if I only had your energy and
promptitude of action, I might some day"--
Ronald interrupted him: "Then my mother was right, and I did not give
you bad advice in spite of my Quixotism?"
Maurice related what had happened to sympathetic listeners.
Evening was approaching; his absence from his father had been far more
protracted than usual, and before he had said half that he desired to
say, or listened to half that he wished to hear, he was compelled to
leave.
When the hand of Maurice was on the door of his grandmother's _salon_,
he could distinguish the sound of angry voices within,--his
grandmother's sonorous tones and the sharper voice of Mrs. Gratacap. As
he entered, the latter was saying,--
"It's a sin and a shame, I tell you! And I'll not have the poor dear
made miserable in that way, while he is under my charge. I'm not going
to submit to it; and you know you can't frighten me with all your high
ways."
Mrs. Gratacap was standing beside the count, as though to protect him;
Madame de Gramont was seated directly before him, and looking highly
incensed. Count Tristan himself appeared to be in great tribulation, and
grasped the hand of his nurse with a dependent air. As soon as he caught
sight of Maurice, he cried out,--
"I'm not going! I'm not going, I say! Maurice, come, come and tell her!"
"What has happened?" inquired Maurice, with deep concern.
The countess attempted to speak, but Mrs. Gratacap was too quick for
her.
"Here's the madame has been talking to the poor dear until she has
driven him half wild. I never saw anything like it in my born days; she
wont give him one moment's peace! He was doing well enough until she
began _jawing_ him."
It is to be hoped that the countess did not understand the meaning of
this last, not very classical expression.
"Will you be silent, woman?" said she, wrathfully.
Mrs. Gratacap was about to answer; but Maurice silenced her by a
reproving look, and then asked again,--
"What has happened? Why does my father seem so much distressed?"
"I have been preparing his mind"--began the countess.
Mrs. Gratacap broke in, "Upsetting his mind, you mean."
Before Madame de Gramont could answer, Maurice said to the nurse, in a
persuasive tone, "Pray leave us, for a little while, Mrs. Gratacap."
"I wouldn't contrary you for the world!" returned the nurse. "Only when
_she's_ done, just you come to _me_ and I'll give you the rights of the
case."
Mrs. Gratacap departed, and the countess continued,--
"I have been explaining to your father that we are shortly to leave this
execrable country and return to Brittany, and that he has great cause
for congratulation; but he did not seem to comprehend me clearly, and
that woman, who is always intruding her opinions, chose to imagine that
he was groaning and crying out on account of what I said. The liberties
she takes become more intolerable every day; she is enough to drive your
father distracted."
"What does she mean?" asked Count Tristan, piteously. "Where do they
want to take me? I'm not going."
"My son," replied the countess, "I have informed you; but that insolent
woman prevented your understanding; we are to return very soon to
Brittany, to the Château de Gramont; I expect you to rejoice at this
pleasing intelligence."
"No--no, I cannot go! I cannot leave"--
He stopped as though his mother's flashing eyes checked the words ready
to burst from his lips.
"You will not have to leave _Maurice_," she said, coldly; "he is to
accompany us."
"But Madeleine! Madeleine!" he sobbed forth as if unable to restrain
himself.
The countess was on the point of replying angrily, when Maurice
interposed.
"I beg you, madame, not to excite my father by further discussion. Come,
my dear father, you are tired; it is getting late; I know it will do you
good to lie down."
And he conducted the unresisting invalid to his own chamber, leaving the
countess swelling with rage, yet glorying in the certainty that she
would carry out her plans, in spite of every opposition.
CHAPTER LIV.
AN UNEXPECTED VISIT.
Another week passed on. The day preceding that on which the countess and
her party were to set out on their journey had arrived. All the
necessary preparations were progressing duly.
Maurice, from the hour that he had learned Madeleine's secret,
had lived in such a dream of absolute happiness that he felt as
though he could ask for nothing more,--as though the cup presented
to his lips was too full of joy for the one, ungrateful drop of an
unfulfilled desire to find room. He comprehended Madeleine's character
too thoroughly,--respected all her instincts and principles of action
too entirely, again to urge his suit, or seek to obtain her promise that
she would one day be his; she _was his_ in spirit,--he could openly
recognize her as his,--that sufficed! and he believed it would still
suffice (if her sense of duty remained unaltered) through his whole
earthly existence; for all his days would be brightened by her love, and
the privilege of loving her.
Bertha, after her first, petulant outbreak, had also ceased to press
Madeleine on the subject of her possible marriage, and with meek
demureness reconciled herself to the uncertainty of the future, and the
certainty of tormenting her lover in the present.
M. de Bois's devotion to Madeleine sealed his lips. Madeleine had formed
a resolution which she declared unalterable. Bertha had announced a
determination dependent upon Madeleine's, and the suitors of the two
cousins had only to submit and hope.
The labor of packing Madame de Gramont's wardrobe, as well as that of
Bertha, devolved upon Adolphine; she had not quite filled the trunks of
her young mistress when she was summoned by the countess. This was on
the morning of the day preceding the one appointed for their departure.
Adolphine was heedless and forgetful to a tantalizing degree. The
countess deemed herself compelled to superintend her movements; that is
to sit in an arm-chair and look on; the lofty lady would not have
deigned to assist by touching an article, though she now and then issued
an order or indulged in a rebuke, and by her presence greatly retarded
Adolphine's operations.
Count Tristan had driven out every day. His mother and Maurice always
accompanied him. This morning, when Maurice went to announce to his
grandmother that the carriage was at the door, he found her watching
Adolphine, who was on her knees before an open trunk.
"It will be impossible for me to accompany you to-day," said the
countess. "I will speak to your father; it will be his last drive, and
he must excuse me."
She rose and passed into the drawing-room where Count Tristan was
waiting.
"My son," said his mother, raising her voice as she now always did when
she spoke to him, seeming to imagine that by this means she could make
him comprehend better. He was not, however, in the least afflicted with
deafness, and the loud tone was more likely to startle him than to calm
the perturbation which was usually apparent when she addressed him. "My
son, you are to take your airing this morning without me. You understand
that this will be your _last_ drive in this detestable city. You
perfectly comprehend, I hope, that you leave here to-morrow; and before
long we shall be safely within the time-honored walls of the old château
which we ought never to have left."
The proposed change had been so constantly impressed upon the count's
mind by his mother that he seemed, at times, to be thoroughly aware of
it; yet at others the recollection faded from his memory. At first, when
the voyage was mentioned, he would remonstrate in a piteous, feeble,
fretful way, declaring that he would not go; but of late he had appeared
to yield to the potency of Madame de Gramont's will.
Maurice offered his arm to the count and they left the room. As the door
closed after them, Count Tristan turned, as though to assure himself
that it was shut, then looked at Maurice significantly and nodded his
head, while a smile brightened his countenance. It was so long since
Maurice had seen him smile that even that strange, half-wild,
inexplicable kindling up of the wan face was pleasant to behold. As they
descended the stair, the count looked back several times, and gave
furtive glances around him, smiling more and more; then he rubbed his
hands and chuckled as though at some idea which he could not yet
communicate. At the carriage-door he paused again, and again looked all
around, continuing to rub his hands, then fairly laughed out. Maurice
began to be alarmed at this unaccountable mirth. They entered the
carriage and the coachman drove in the usual direction; but the count
exclaimed impatiently,--
"No--no--that's not the way! stop him! stop him!"
Maurice, at a loss to comprehend his father's wishes, did not
immediately comply with his request, and the count, with unusual energy,
himself caught at the check-cord and pulled it vehemently.
"This is not the way,--not the way to _Madeleine's_!"
Then Maurice comprehended his father's exultation; he had conceived the
project of visiting Madeleine! But what was to be done? The countess
would be enraged if she discovered Count Tristan had seen Madeleine; and
the agitation caused by the interview might prove harmful to him. Yet
would it not do him more injury to thwart his wishes? And would it not
be depriving Madeleine of an inestimable joy?
The count grew impatient; he shouted out, in a clearer tone than he had
been able to use since his first seizure, "To Madeleine's! To
Madeleine's, I say! I _will_ see Madeleine!"
Maurice hesitated no longer and gave the order. His father's agitation
was, every moment, on the increase, though it was now of the most
pleasurable nature; he gave vent to little bursts of triumphant
laughter, muttering to himself, "I shall see her! I knew I should see
her again!"
"My dear father, you will endeavor to be calm,--will you not? I am
fearful this excitement will injure you, and my grandmother will never
forgive me if you become worse through my imprudence. She must not know
that we have been to Madeleine's. It would render her uselessly
indignant; but Madeleine will be so overjoyed to see you once more that
I could not refuse to comply with your wishes."
The count murmured to himself, rather than replied to his son,--
"Good angel! My good angel! We are going to her! We are very
near--there! that's the house yonder. I'd know it among a thousand!
Maurice, I'm well! I'm strong! I want nothing now but to see Madeleine!
It's all right--is it not? She settled about that mortgage--she obtained
us those votes--there's no more trouble! Nobody knows what a scoundrel I
have been! I remember all clearly. I am very joyful; I must tell
Madeleine; I must say to her that she--she--she brought something of
heaven down to me; there must _be_ a heaven, for where else could
Madeleine belong?"
Maurice had not heard his father speak as much or as connectedly for a
month. His face was pleasantly animated, in spite of its unnatural
expression, and he moved his arms about so freely it was evident the
weight which had pressed with paralyzing force upon them was removed.
The carriage stopped. Maurice could scarcely prevent his father from
springing out before him and without assistance.
The silent Robert looked his surprise and gratification as he opened the
street door. While Maurice was inquiring where his mistress would be
found, Count Tristan pressed on alone, walking with a firm, rapid step.
He entered the first room. It was Madeleine's bed-chamber; the one he
himself had occupied during his illness. It was vacant. He passed on,
crying out,--
"Madeleine! Madeleine!" He looked into the drawing-room, then into the
dining-room, still calling, "Madeleine! Madeleine!"
He hurried on toward the well-remembered little boudoir. There Madeleine
was sitting at her desk, quietly sketching. When, to her amazement, she
heard the count's voice, she thought it was fancy; but the sound was
repeated again and again. Those were surely his tones! She started up
and opened the door. Count Tristan was standing only a few paces from
it,--Maurice behind him.
"Madeleine! Madeleine! I see you. I am happy. I can die now."
As these words burst from his lips, the count staggered forward and sank
on Madeleine's shoulder; for she had involuntarily stretched out her
arms toward him. The next instant he slipped through them and dropped
heavily upon the floor. One glance at his distorted face, and at the
foam issuing from his lips, one sound of that stertorous breathing was
enough. Maurice and Madeleine knew that he had been struck with apoplexy
for the third time!
Maurice and Robert carried him to the bed he had before occupied; and
Madeleine sent for Dr. Bayard in all haste.
The count lay quite still, save for that heavy breathing and the
convulsive motion of his features. Madeleine and Maurice stood beside
him in silence, with hands interlocked.
Dr. Bayard arrived, looked at the patient, shook his head, and, turning
to Maurice, said, in a low tone,--
"There is nothing to be done."
"But see," answered Maurice, clinging to a faint hope, "he is getting
over it,--he seems better."
"It is the third stroke," replied the doctor, significantly, as he was
leaving the room.
Madeleine heard these words, though they were spoken in an undertone,
and she followed Maurice and the physician from the apartment.
"Do you mean," she inquired of the physician, in accents of deep sorrow,
"it is _impossible_ for Count Tristan to recover from this shock?"
"My dear young lady, I am unwilling to say that anything is
_impossible_. The longer a physician practises, the more he realizes
that we cannot judge of _possibilities_; but, in my experience, I have
never known a case of apoplexy that survived the third stroke."
"He will die, then? Oh, will he die?"
"His life, for the last two months, has been a living death," replied
the physician, kindly. "Could you wish to prolong such an existence?"
The doctor took his leave, promising to return, but frankly avowing that
his presence was needless. As soon as he had gone, Madeleine said to
Maurice, who appeared to be so much stunned by this new blow that he was
incapable of reflection,--
"Your poor grandmother,--O Maurice, what a terrible task lies before
you! You will have to break this news to her. She must want to see him
once more, and he may not linger long. You have not a moment to lose."
"I feel as though I could not go to her," answered Maurice. "What good
can she do here? She will only insult you again; and, if my father
should revive, her words may render his last moments wretched. Let him
die in peace."
Madeleine replied,--
"She may be softened by the presence of the angel of death. She may long
to hear one parting word of tenderness from his lips, and utter one in
return. Go, I beseech you! Go and bring her!"
And Maurice went.
CHAPTER LV.
AMEN.
Maurice, when he opened the door of his grandmother's drawing-room,
found the apartment vacant. The countess was still in her own chamber
issuing orders to the bewildered Adolphine, whose packing process
advanced but indifferently. Bertha had retired to her room. Maurice
passed into his father's apartment, where Mrs. Gratacap sat knitting,
and, in a few words, told her what had occurred.
"Poor dear!" cried the compassionate nurse. "I feared it would
be so. I saw it coming this last week; and a third stroke is a
death-knell--that's certain! But it will be a blessed escape for the
poor dear; so don't take on, Mr. Morris" (this was her nearest approach
to saying "_Maurice_"). "You'll need all your spirit to get along with
the old lady; though, if she were the north pole itself, I should think
this blow would break up her ice."
"Will you have the goodness to desire my cousin to come here? I had
better tell her first," said Maurice.
Mrs. Gratacap withdrew and quickly returned accompanied by Bertha who
was trembling with alarm; for the messenger had lost no time in making
the sad communication.
"I cannot tell my grandmother, Bertha, in the presence of Adolphine.
Will you not beg your aunt to come to me in the drawing-room?" said
Maurice.
Bertha had scarcely courage to obey, she had such a dread of witnessing
the countess's agitation; for she felt certain it would take the form of
anger against Madeleine and Maurice. With hesitating steps the young
girl entered the apartment where the countess sat. She had been much
irritated by Adolphine's stupidity, and cried out,--
"Positively, Bertha, this maid of yours has been totally spoiled by her
residence in this barbarous country. She is worth nothing; she has no
head; and she even presumes to offer her advice and suggest what would
be the best mode of packing this or that! It is fortunate for us that
this is our last day in this odious city, and that we shall soon be on
our way back to Brittany. But Adolphine is completely ruined; there is
no tolerating her."
"I am very sorry," said Bertha, putting her handkerchief to her eyes.
"You need not cry about it," retorted the countess, angrily. "How often
have I tried to impress upon you that this habit of evincing emotion is,
in the highest degree, plebeian! Tears are very well for a milk-maid,
but exceedingly unbecoming a lady. They are an unmistakable sign of
vulgar breeding. I cannot endure to see a niece of mine with so little
self-control."
Bertha removed her handkerchief and tried to force back her tears, as
she said,--
"Maurice begs to speak to you for a moment."
"Very good. Can he not come to me?"
"He entreats that you will go into the drawing-room."
"Do you mean to intimate," asked the countess, sternly, "that my
grandson ventures to _summon me to his presence_, instead of coming to
mine? What indignity am I to expect next? Since he has forgotten his
duty and the deference due to me, go and remind him."
"He has something very serious to tell you," faltered Bertha; "he wants
you to hear it there,--it is so sad."
Bertha, in spite of her aunt's contemptuous glances, could not help
burying her face in her handkerchief again.
"What absurdity!" sneered the countess; but she began to experience a
vague sensation of uneasiness.
"Come! come! do come!" pleaded Bertha.
"Since it seems the only way to put an end to this hysterical exhibition
of yours, Bertha, I will go and reprove Maurice for his lack of
respect."
But the countess did not literally carry her threat into execution; for,
noticing the absence of Count Tristan, she said hurriedly,--
"Where is your father?"
"Pray sit down one moment, my dear grandmother"--
She interrupted him by asking again, more anxiously,--
"Where is your father?"
"I will explain, but"--
"Why do you not answer my question?" she cried with increased violence.
"Where is your father?"
Could Maurice answer "At Madeleine's?" He still hesitated, and the
countess, with more rapid steps than she was wont to use, hastened to
Count Tristan's bedroom.
Mrs. Gratacap greeted her with "Oh, poor dear, don't take on about it!
We couldn't but expect that it would come soon, and"--
The countess did not wait to hear the close of her sentence, but with a
cold horror creeping through her veins, hurried back to Maurice, and
once more asked, imperiously,--
"Maurice, where is your father? I command you to answer at once! I will
hear nothing but the answer to that question."
Driven to extremity, Maurice replied, "My father is at Madeleine's!"
"Miserable boy! How did you dare to set my wishes at defiance? You
shall repent this,--be sure you shall! How had you the audacity to fly
in the face of my command?"
"I heard no commands on the subject," returned Maurice; "and if I had
done so, my father's wishes would still have held the first place. As
soon as we left the house he insisted upon going to Madeleine's; he
would take no refusal; his affection for her is so strong that"--
"How dare you talk to me of his affection for that artful, designing
girl, who is a disgrace to us all,--whose low machinations have placed
her beneath my contempt? Henceforth, thank Heaven! we shall be out of
the reach of her vile manoeuvres."
This was beyond endurance. Maurice forgot everything but the insulting
epithets applied to Madeleine, and said, with a dignity as imposing as
Madame de Gramont's own had ever been,--
"My grandmother, never shall such language be applied to Madeleine again
in my presence, by you or any one! Madeleine is not merely my cousin,
she is the woman I love best and honor most in the world;--the woman
who, if I ever marry, will become my wife."
"Never! never!" cried the countess, fiercely. "That shall never be, come
what may!"
Maurice, recovering himself somewhat, went on,--
"It is upon a far sadder subject that I wish to speak to you,--I meant
to break the news gently,--I hoped to spare you a severe shock, but you
force me to come to the point at once. My dear father has had another
seizure of the same nature as the two former."
"Parricide!" shrieked the countess, "you have done this! You have killed
your father! The agitation occasioned by your taking him to that house
and letting him see that unhappy girl has caused this attack; if he
should die you will be his murderer!"
What reply could Maurice make which would not enrage her more? The
countess went on, furiously,--
"Go,--bring him back to me quickly! He shall not remain there! By all
that is holy, he shall not."
"I come to ask you to go to him since he cannot come to you," said
Maurice, with as much mildness as he could throw into his tone.
"Yes, I will go, I will go!" replied his grandmother. "I cannot trust
you; I will go myself, and see him brought here."
She retired to her own chamber to make ready, and Bertha quickly
followed her example.
Meantime Madeleine with Mrs. Lawkins, watched beside the count. His
attack was briefer than the former ones. When it was over, he fell into
a deep and placid slumber. During that sleep his face changed! Those who
have watched the dying and recognized the indescribable expression which
marks the countenance when it is "death-struck" will understand what
alteration is meant. He waked slowly and gently,--first stirring his
hands as though clutching at something impalpable, then gradually
opening his eyes. They looked large and glassy, but as they fixed
themselves upon Madeleine's face, bespoke full consciousness.
"Madeleine!" he murmured feebly; but his voice was distinct, and
pathetically tender. "I am with you again, Madeleine,--that is great
happiness,--great comfort, I am going soon, Madeleine;--do you not know
it?"
"Oh! I fear so!" answered Madeleine, weeping; "but you do not suffer?
You are calm?"
"Very calm,--very happy with my good angel near me. Madeleine, you have
much to pardon; but you will pardon,--all,--all!
"I do, I do. If there be anything to pardon, I do, from my soul, a
thousand times over."
"You have made me believe in God and his saints, Madeleine, and I bless
you."
Madeleine was holding both of his cold hands in hers, and had bowed her
head, that his icy lips might touch her forehead; but she rose up
suddenly, for she heard the wheels of a carriage stop, and the street
door open; she deemed it well to prepare the count.
"I think your mother and Maurice have arrived."
A cloud passed over the face of the dying man, but did not rest there.
He was beyond fear! His haughty mother could no longer inspire awe!
A moment after, Maurice opened the door and the countess entered the
room. Approaching the bed, as though unconscious of Madeleine's
presence, she exclaimed,--
"My son, my son, what brought you here? How could you have paid so
little respect to my wishes? I will not reproach you" (this was much for
her to say), "only make the effort to let yourself be removed at once."
"I am going fast enough, mother; I am dying!"
"No,--no!" cried the countess, vehemently. "You could not die _here!_
You are not dying! You cannot, _shall not die!_"
She spoke as though she believed that her potent volition could frighten
away the death-angels hovering near, and prolong his life.
Madeleine had attempted to withdraw her hand from his, for his mother
had seized the other clay-cold hand; but he said, with a faint smile,
"Don't go, Madeleine; do not leave me until I cannot see you and feel
you more." Then making a great effort to rally his expiring energies, he
continued, "Mother, love Madeleine! We need angels about us to lift us
up when we fall. Keep her near you if you would be comforted when the
hour that has come to me comes to you!"
The countess did not reply, but the hand she held had grown so clammy,
she could no longer refuse to believe that her son might be dying. Still
she was not softened; she could not turn to Madeleine and embrace her,
as the dying man so obviously desired.
"Maurice," said his father.
Maurice approached, and the countess instinctively drew a step back, to
give him room. She had dropped the marble hand, and Maurice took it in
his.
"Maurice, you, too, have much to pardon. Madeleine has forgiven,--will
not you?"
"Oh, my father, do not speak of that! All is well between us; but, if we
must indeed lose you,--tell me,--tell Madeleine that you give her to me.
She loves me, she has never loved any other; and I never _have_
loved,--never _can_ love any woman but her. Bid her be my wife, for she
has refused to let me claim her without your consent and my
grandmother's."
Count Tristan tried to speak, but the words died upon the lips that
essayed to form themselves into a smile of assent. He lifted Madeleine's
hand and placed it in that of Maurice.
A convulsed groan, or sob, broke from the countess, but it was unheard
by her son; his spirit had taken its flight.
It had gone, stained with many evil passions,--perhaps crimes,--but what
its sentence was before the High Tribunal, who shall dare to say? That
erring spirit had recognized good, and therefore could not be wholly
unsanctified by good; it had repented, and therefore sin was no longer
loved; all the rest was dark; but He who, speaking in metaphors, forbade
the "bruised reed" to be broken, or "smoking flax" to be quenched,
might have seen light, invisible to mortal eyes, even about a soul as
shadowed as that of Count Tristan de Gramont.
The countess had been the only one who doubted that he would die, yet
she was the first to perceive that he was gone. She uttered a piercing,
discordant cry, and with her arms frantically extended, flung herself
upon the corpse. Her long self-restraint, her curbing back of emotion,
made the sudden shock more terrible; she fell into violent convulsions.
Maurice bore her into the adjoining apartment, followed by Madeleine,
Bertha, and Mrs. Lawkins. When the convulsions ceased she was delirious
with fever.
Madeleine ordered the room Maurice had occupied to be speedily prepared
for her reception. Her delirium lasted for many days. Had she recovered
her senses, she would assuredly have commanded that the corpse of her
son should be removed to the hotel, that his funeral might take place
from thence; but Maurice thought it no humiliation that the funeral of
the proud Count Tristan de Gramont should move from the doors of that
mantua-maker niece who had saved his name from dishonor by the products
of her labor.
Count Tristan had few friends, or even acquaintances in Washington.
Maurice and Gaston were chief mourners. The Marquis de Fleury and his
suite, Mr. Hilson, Mr. Meredith, Mr. Walton, and Ronald, accompanied the
corpse to its last resting-place.
Bertha had taken up her residence at Madeleine's. Maurice remained at
the hotel,--that is, he slept there, but the larger portion of his hours
was passed beneath Madeleine's roof.
That Madeleine was his betrothed was tacitly understood, though no word
had been spoken on the subject, and her manner toward him was little
changed. She loved him with all the intensity and strength of her large
nature, but her love could not, like Bertha's, find expression in words,
in loving looks, and caressing ways. Maurice was content, even though he
could never know how inexpressibly dear he was to her. His was one of
those generous natures which experience more delight in _loving_ than in
_being loved_. He never believed that Madeleine's love _could_ equal
his, and he argued that it _could not because_ there was so much more to
love _in her_ than there was _in him_, and a true, pure, holy love,
loves the attributes that are lovable rather than the mere person to
whom they appertain. Maurice asked but little! A gentle pressure of the
hand,--a soft smile,--a passing look of tenderness, though it was
certain to be quickly veiled by the dropped lids,--a casual word of
endearment timidly, reluctantly spoken, or, oftener, spoken
unpremeditatedly and followed by a blush; these were food sufficient for
his great passion,--the one passion of his life, to exist upon. Indeed
we are inclined to think that with men of his temperament love is kept
in a more vigorous, more actively healthy state by its (apparently)
receiving only measured response. A woman who is gifted with the power
of throwing her soul into looks, and language and loving ways, runs the
risk of producing upon certain men an effect approaching satiety. The
woman who has instinctive wisdom will never dash herself against this
rock; yet few women are _wise_; fewer give _too little_ of their rich,
heart-treasures than _too much_.
CHAPTER LVI.
THE HAND OF GOD.
When the fever gradually abated, and consciousness returned to the
countess, she lay in a state of half-dreamy exhaustion which precluded
the power of thought or the stir of her high passions. It was manifest
that she recognized those who moved about her bed, for she now and then
addressed Bertha, Maurice, and even Madeleine by name. Madeleine's heart
throbbed with joy when she dared to believe that there was no unkindness
in Madame de Gramont's tone. Maurice and Bertha had made the same
observation and augured future harmony and happiness from the
unanticipated change. But their delusion was quickly dispelled, for it
soon became apparent that the countess believed herself to be in the
Château de Gramont, and that her mind had gone back to a period previous
to the one when Madeleine had awakened her displeasure. Either the
objects by which she was surrounded had grown familiar to her eyes, or
as she beheld them indistinctly in the dim light, imagination lent them
olden shapes, for she assuredly fancied herself in her own chamber, in
that venerable château to which she had so earnestly longed to return.
It was somewhat remarkable that she never mentioned Count Tristan,
though she several times spoke of her antiquated _femme de chambre_,
Bettina, and of Baptiste, and desired Madeleine to give them certain
orders, just as she would have done in by-gone days.
It was not deemed prudent to make any attempt to banish the
hallucination under which she was laboring, and which unavoidable
circumstances must gradually disperse.
Maurice received a second letter from Mr. Lorrillard, again urging him
to return to Charleston, and apprising him that his services would be
particularly valuable at that moment, as he (Mr. Lorrillard) was
occupied in preparing to conduct a case of much importance, which needed
great care in collecting authorities, and these researches it was the
province of Maurice to make.
Maurice placed the letter in Madeleine's hands, less because he needed
her counsel than because it was so delightful to feel that he had the
right to consult her.
"What do you advise, Madeleine?" he asked, after she had perused it.
"I would have you send the answer you have already concluded to send."
"How do you know that answer?"
"I have read more difficult books than your face, Maurice; besides,
there seems to me only one answer which would be advisable. Your
grandmother is safe under Bertha's care and mine; she does not
absolutely need your presence."
"And nobody else needs it, I am to infer?" retorted Maurice, a little
ungenerously.
He deserved that Madeleine should give him no answer, or, at least, one
that implied a rebuke; but such women are usually tardy in giving men
their ill deserts, and she answered softly, "It will be less hard to
part than it has been."
"You have uttered my very thought," returned Maurice. "It is less hard
to part now that we know how closely we are linked,--now that separation
cannot any longer disunite, and love's assurance has taken the place of
doubt and anguish. Were we _less_ to each other in spirit, we should
feel the material space that can divide us _more_,--is it not so?"
If Maurice expected any answer, he was forced to be contented with the
one which, according to the proverb, gives consent through silence.
It was needful to prepare the countess for his departure. Maurice went
to her chamber, and, after a few inquiries concerning her health, to
which she hardly replied, said,--
"I am truly grieved that I am forced to leave you, my dear grandmother.
I am summoned away by urgent business."
At that last word her brows were slightly knitted, and she murmured
contemptuously, "_Business_" as though the expression awakened some old
train of painful recollection.
"If it were not needful for me to go," continued Maurice, "I would not
leave you; but you have the tender and skilful care of Madeleine and
Bertha, and I shall be able to return to you at any moment that you may
require me."
"Where are you going?" asked the countess, but hardly in a tone of
interest.
"To Charleston."
"Charleston!" she repeated with a startled, troubled look, "Paris,--you
mean Paris?"
"No,--not so far as Paris,--you remember the journey is but short
between Washington and Charleston."
Maurice had not deliberately intended to force upon the countess the
consciousness of her present position; but it was too late to retract.
She raised herself in the bed, leaning with difficulty upon her wasted
arm, and asked, in a frightened tone,--
"Where,--where am I then?"
"In Washington, my dear grandmother. Have you forgotten how my poor
father was"--
"Hush! hush!" she gasped out, "I cannot endure it. Let me think! let me
think!"
She sank back upon the pillow with closed eyes, and the workings of her
features testified that recollection was dawning upon her.
After a time she cried out,--for it was a veritable cry,--"And _this
house_,--_this bed_ where I am lying,--O God! it is too much!"
Maurice was at a loss to know what to do. He waited to see if she would
not question him, would not speak again; but, as she lay silent and
motionless, he retired and sought his cousins.
"Do not be so much distressed," prayed Madeleine, when she heard what he
had to relate. "This was unavoidable,--your grandmother's intellect was
not disturbed,--her memory only seemed quiescent; the most casual
circumstance might, at any moment, have awakened her recollection of the
past; it is as well that it should be recalled to-day as to-morrow.
Come, Bertha, we will go to her."
Madeleine and Bertha entered the room together, but the ever cowardly
Bertha drew back, and Madeleine approached the bed alone. The countess
opened her eyes, looked at her a moment, as though to be quite certain
of her identity, then turned her face to the pillow and murmured, "Where
is Bertha?"
"Bertha is here," said Madeleine, motioning Bertha to take her place, as
she drew back.
Madeleine felt that the countess had turned from her because her
presence was painful; with a light step, but a heart once more grown
heavy, she withdrew.
Bertha stood by her aunt's side without daring to disturb her by a word.
After a time the countess unclosed her eyes again and looked around the
room; then, gazing at Bertha, said slowly,--
"It all comes back,--it was like a frightful dream at first,--but the
reality is more terrible! Bertha,--Bertha,--I have so little left! _You_
love me? _You_ will not forsake me?"
Bertha had never before heard her imperious aunt make an appeal to any
human being; what wonder that she was melted?
The countess resumed, with increasing agitation, "You were to have gone
back with me to Brittany,--you, and Maurice, and his"--
There came a break,--she could not name her dead son. Death to her was
the harsh blow dealt by a merciless hand, snatching its victim away in
retributive wrath,--not the wise and mild summons that bids suffering
mortality exchange a circumscribed, lower life for a larger, higher,
happier existence.
It was some time before Madame de Gramont could continue; then she said,
"I must go back, Bertha! I cannot die out of those old walls! It was
you, you who lured me from them. We will return to them. You will go
with us, Bertha?"
"I will," replied Bertha, though her heart sank as she uttered the
words. She had thought that the project of returning to France was
wholly abandoned.
"And we will go soon,--as soon as I am able to travel, that time will
come quickly. I am growing stronger every minute. Let me depart
speedily; it is all I can look forward to that can sustain me, that can
lift me up after the abasement to which I have been subjected."
Though they conversed no more, Bertha did not leave her aunt until she
had seen her sink to repose.
When Bertha repeated to Maurice, Madeleine, and Gaston the conversation
which had just taken place, a heavy gloom fell upon all. Maurice's
return to Brittany, at this crisis, would be a great disadvantage to
him, and when the countess was removed to a distance from Madeleine, it
was more unlikely than ever that she would yield consent to Madeleine's
union with Maurice; the chances were that she would not allow
Madeleine's name to be uttered in her presence.
Gaston had given up all idea of altering Bertha's repeatedly expressed
determination to be married upon the same day as her cousin, and not to
marry at all if that day never came; but since Count Tristan had joined
the hands of Maurice and Madeleine, he cherished the hope that the
countess would no longer refuse to sanction their union, and that this
voyage to France would be wholly relinquished.
Maurice listened to Bertha in silence, but that night his step could be
heard pacing up and down his chamber through the still hours, and he
scarcely attempted to rest. During this period of painful reflection, he
formed a resolution which he proposed to carry into execution as soon as
his grandmother was ready to receive him.
As he took a seat by her side he motioned Mrs. Lawkins to leave them
together.
"Are you well enough to listen to me, my dear grandmother? I must speak
to you on a subject of great importance to me; I ought to add, of some
importance to yourself."
The countess signified that she listened by a slight affirmative
movement of the head.
"Bertha has told me that you still desire to return to Brittany. Though
at this moment my accompanying you will force me to make some heavy
sacrifices, still, there is one condition,--_and only one_,"--Maurice
emphasized these last words,--"upon which I can consent."
The countess made no observation. He was forced to proceed,--
"You were present when my dying father placed Madeleine's hand in
mine,--do not interrupt me, I entreat! Madeleine and I have loved each
other from our infancy; she has rejected me solely that she might not
cause grief to you and my father; he has given her to me,--he bade you
love her; will _you_ not give her to me also?"
"Never!" answered the countess; and though the tone was low it was
steady and resolute.
Maurice went on, disregarding her reply. "I will return with you to
Brittany on the condition that she accompanies us, as my affianced
bride, or as my wife. You have lived beneath Madeleine's roof; my father
died there; gratitude, if nothing else, should bind us to her. Can you
urge any reasonable objection to her going with us to Brittany, and as
my wife?"
The countess was roused. "Would you have me show my runaway niece to the
world? Would you have me publicly patronize, associate with, caress the
_mantua-maker_, in my own land, before my own kin? Never!"
"Then," returned Maurice, resolutely, "I do not return with you to
Brittany. Bertha may do so, and you will, doubtless, have the escort of
M. de Bois; but if you renounce Madeleine, you renounce me! Madeleine
will not become my wife without your consent,--I do not conceal _that_
from you; but I remain in this land, where she will continue to dwell.
If _you_ so wholly disregard my father's last wishes, you cannot hope
that _I_ can forget them, or that I can feel as bound to you as though
they had been respected. If your decision is final, I will not urge you
further."
"It is final!" was the laconic answer.
"And so is mine!" replied Maurice, rising. Without longer parley he left
the room.
At this crisis, the conduct of M. de Bois threatened to give a new turn
to events. We have had abundant proof of his gratitude and unwavering
devotion to Madeleine. His aversion to the countess had increased with
her persecution of her defenceless niece, and when the inexorable lady
remained unmoved by the dying prayer of her son, and refused to sanction
Madeleine's union with Maurice, M. de Bois's detestation culminated. He
was inspired with an earnest desire to stretch out his arm to shield and
aid Madeleine, and humble her oppressor; but an effectual method of
accomplishing this act of justice did not present itself to him until
Maurice communicated the result of his last interview; then Gaston
conceived the project of following up that masterly move with another
which would give it force. If he could only have counted upon Bertha as
an ally he would have been confident of the success of his plan; but he
knew that Bertha's timidity--say, rather, her _cowardice_--was
insuperable, and she held her aunt in too much awe to dare to take any
decided stand. M. de Bois called all his energies into play to influence
the weak medium he was compelled to employ.
Madeleine was occupied in a different part of the house when Maurice,
finding Gaston and Bertha in the boudoir, told them the result of his
interview with Madame de Gramont. By and by Gaston lured Bertha into the
garden. They made one or two turns in silence; Bertha looked up
wistfully into her lover's face, and said, in a tone of reproach,--
"How silent you seem to-day!"
"Yes, I feel grave,--I have something to accomplish, and I greatly need,
but fear to claim, your aid."
"Mine? What lion is there in a net that needs such a poor, wee mouse as
I to gnaw the meshes?"
"No lion already in the snare, but a lioness to be lured into our net.
Bertha, do you truly love Mademoiselle Madeleine?"
"What a question!"
"Do you love her so well that your love for her could surmount your
dread of your aunt?"
"Yes, that is, I think it could. What would you have me do?"
"Follow the noble example of Maurice; tell Madame de Gramont that you
will not return to Brittany with her unless Maurice and Mademoiselle
Madeleine return also. She detests this country, and the fear of being
compelled to remain here will conquer her."
"But how could I do this?" questioned Bertha, feeling that she had not
firmness for the task. "I have promised to go with her. What excuse
could I offer?"
"The excuse," answered her lover, "that you could not travel with her
alone."
"Alone?"
"Yes, for I do not count the light-headed Adolphine any one."
"But you,--you are going with us?"
"I shall not go unless Maurice and Mademoiselle Madeleine go," replied
M. de Bois.
"And you can let me go without you? You can let me take such a journey
with my aunt in her broken state of health?"
"I will not let you go at all if I can prevent your going."
Not a few persuasions were needed before M. de Bois could obtain
Bertha's promise to inform her aunt that she could not accompany her
except upon the conditions Maurice had made. Bertha looked like a
culprit awaiting sentence, rather than a person who came to dictate,
when she entered Madame de Gramont's apartment. The countess had been
highly incensed by her conversation with Maurice, and was wrought up to
such a pitch that she seemed to have gained sudden strength, and almost
to be restored to health. Bertha stole to her side, but the young
girl's good intentions were oozing away every moment. The probability is
that that she would not have had the courage to introduce the subject at
all had not the countess asked,--
"Have you heard of the unnatural conduct of Maurice? Do you know that my
own grandson abandons me?"
"I have heard," replied Bertha, hesitatingly. "Oh! what are we to do?
How could you ever travel to Brittany alone?"
"Alone?" cried the countess, catching hold of the blue silk curtains
that draped her bed, and raising herself by clinging to them. "Alone? Do
_you_, too, forsake me? But what else could I expect when my grandson,
my only child left, has abandoned me?"
Bertha's determination was put to flight by her aunt's woful look as she
spoke these words with despairing fierceness, while she grasped the
curtains more tightly and bore heavily upon them for support.
These draperies were suspended over the centre of the bed from a massive
gilded ornament, shaped to represent a huge arrow, and the countess in
her agitation gathered the folds around her, and hung upon them in her
efforts to sit up.
"Oh, no, aunt, I have not forsaken you," returned Bertha. "I will go
with you; but what shall we do alone? M. de Bois refuses to go unless
Maurice and Madeleine go."
"Does M. de Bois expect to dictate to _me_?" demanded Madame de Gramont,
haughtily. "Let him remain; you will go with me, Bertha, and I shall
hire a courier."
"I am afraid we will not be able to find a courier in America," Bertha
ventured to suggest.
"Then we will go without one! We will go the instant I am able; and I
feel so much stronger at this moment that I could start at once. It is
settled that we go, and I defy Maurice or any one else to keep me."
Madeleine had been visiting the working-room, and, without being aware
of what had just taken place, she now entered her aunt's chamber. Madame
de Gramont's convulsed features, and her singular attitude as she sat up
in the centre of the bed, tightly grasping the curtains, which had been
drawn from their usual position, impressed Madeleine so painfully, that
she was running toward her; when the countess, raising herself up, with
sudden strength, exclaimed,--"Madeleine de Gramont, keep from me!--do
not come near me! All my sorrow has come through you!--Go! go!"
She gave such a violent strain upon the curtains, as she passionately
uttered these words, that Madeleine's quick ears caught a sound as of
some fastening giving way. With a cry of horror, she sprang to the bed,
flung her arms around the countess, and dragged her from it just as the
heavy ornament fell!
Madeleine's piercing cry, and Bertha's shriek summoned not only Mrs.
Lawkins, who was sitting in the adjoining chamber, but Maurice and
Gaston. The curtains partially concealed the bed and the two who lay
prostrate beside it; the white, haggard, terrified countenance of Madame
de Gramont was alone visible. As Mrs. Lawkins endeavored to extricate
her from the folds of the curtain, Maurice and Gaston removed the fallen
arrow to which the drapery was still attached. Afterwards Gaston, who
was nearest to Mrs. Lawkins, assisted her in raising the helpless
countess and placing her upon the bed. Then the form of Madeleine became
visible. She was stretched upon the ground motionless and senseless; her
beautiful hair, loosened by her fall, enveloped her like a veil, and
wholly concealed her face. What a groan of agony burst from Maurice as
he knelt beside her and swept away the shrouding tresses! They were wet,
and the hands that touched them became scarlet. The outermost edge of
the arrow had struck Madeleine's head, inflicting a deep gash, and, as
it fell, tore her dress the whole length of her left shoulder and arm,
making another wound which bled profusely.
Maurice was so completely stupefied with horror that he had scarcely
power to lift her light form.
"Here! here! place her here!" cried Mrs. Lawkins; "don't stir her any
more than possible."
Maurice mechanically obeyed and laid Madeleine upon the same bed which
bore the countess.
The nurse was the only one whose presence of mind had not completely
departed, and she hurried from the room to send for medical assistance.
Maurice, as he clasped Madeleine in his arms, groaned out, "She is
killed! she is dead! Oh, my Madeleine, my Madeleine! are you gone?
Madeleine! Madeleine!"
Madeleine gave no sign of life, though the blood still flowed.
Mrs. Lawkins, who had returned, tried to force him away--entreated him
to let her approach Madeleine, that she might bind up her head and
stanch the blood; but he did not hear, or heed,--he was lost in grief.
M. de Bois also appealed to him, but in vain; then Gaston attempted to
use force to recall him to reason, and, seizing both of Maurice's arms,
essayed to unclasp them from their hold of the inanimate form, saying as
he did so:
"For the love of Heaven, Maurice, collect yourself; she may bleed to
death if you prevent Mrs. Lawkins from doing what is needful to stop the
blood."
Maurice struggled with him, as he exclaimed, hopelessly, "She is dead!
she is dead!"
"She is _not_ dead, but you may kill her if you refuse to let Mrs.
Lawkins bind up her wounds."
Maurice no longer resisted, and Mrs. Lawkins wiped away the blood, and
commenced bandaging the fair, wounded head. The pale features had been
stained with the crimson flood, and, as Mrs. Lawkins bathed them, their
marble whiteness and stillness were appalling.
Bertha had not ceased to sob, though Gaston, the instant he could safely
relinquish his hold of Maurice, essayed by every means in his power to
soothe her.
The countess was gazing upon Madeleine with an air of stupefied grief.
Bertha, who had no control over her passionate sorrow, as her eyes fell
upon Madame de Gramont, cried out, reproachfully,--
"Aunt, but for her, you would have been killed! You who never loved her!
She has lost her life in trying to save yours!"
The countess did not appear to heed the cruel words, though they were
the echo of her own thoughts.
Mrs. Lawkins' skilful ministry had stanched the blood and Madeleine's
head and arm were bound up; but still she lay like some lovely statue,
her lips apart and hueless,--her eyes closed, and the dark lashes
sweeping her alabaster cheeks; while her long hair, still dripping with
its crimson moisture, was lifted over the pillow. As Mrs. Lawkins,
having accomplished her sad task, drew back, Maurice pressed into her
place, and Bertha crowded in beside him, loading the senseless Madeleine
with caresses and tender epithets; then, as she turned to her aunt, who
had raised herself on her elbow, and was also bending over the lifeless
figure, exclaimed impetuously,--
"Oh! how could you help loving her? We all loved her so much! Cousin
Tristan said she was his good angel, and she has been the good angel of
all our family; but our good angel is gone! We have lost her through
you!"
Bertha's overwhelming sorrow had swept away all her former dread of her
aunt, whom her reproaches deeply stung. They were the first Madame de
Gramont had ever heard from those timid lips. At that moment the
conscience-stricken woman would have made any sacrifice, even of her
pride, to have seen Madeleine restored to life. While contemplating that
angelic face, now so still and white, torturing fiends recalled all the
harsh words she had used to pain this defenceless being,--all the cruel
wrong she had done her,--all the misery she had caused her; and now she
inwardly prayed that Madeleine might live; but with that prayer arose
the thought that the supplication of such a one as she would remain
unheard in heaven.
Mrs. Lawkins, aided by Maurice, was applying restoratives. With his arm
beneath Madeleine's head, he was holding a spoon to her lips, and, with
gentle force, pouring its contents into her mouth, watching her with the
most thrilling anxiety. He thought a slight movement of the lips was
perceptible; then they quivered more certainly, and she made an effort
to swallow.
The countess was the first one that spoke: "She is not dead! I am spared
that!"
She sank back upon her pillow and wept.
No one present had ever seen her weep; but now she did not try to hide
her tears; they gushed forth in fierce torrents, like a stream that
breaks forth through severed icebergs; for in her soul the ice that had
gathered to mountain heights was melting at last.
Maurice had echoed the words, "She is not dead," pressing his own
burning lips upon those pale, feebly-stirring, cold ones, and catching
the first returning breath that Madeleine drew. At that long, fervent
kiss her eyes unclosed; they saw his face and nothing beside.
"Madeleine, my beloved, you are spared to me! My life returns now that
you are given back."
Madeleine faintly murmured "Maurice," and then her eyes wandered from
his face to those around her, and she added, "What is it?"
Bertha's transition from grief to joy was so clamorous that no one could
answer. If Gaston had not restrained her, Madeleine's bandage would have
been endangered by the young girl's vehement embraces, which were
mingled with incoherent exclamations of rapture.
"What is it?" again questioned Madeleine; but, as she spoke her eye
caught sight of the fallen curtain, thrown in a heap, and remembering
the recent danger, she turned quickly to the countess, and said,
feebly,--
"You are not hurt, aunt,--madame? The shaft did not strike you,--did
it?"
The countess felt that a shaft had fallen and struck her, indeed, but
not the one Madeleine meant. She stretched out her hand and clasped that
of her niece as she said,--
"I am uninjured, Madeleine; it is you who received the blow. God grant
that this may be the last that will fall upon you through me! It is in
vain to struggle against His will. It was His hand,--I feel it! I resist
no longer!"
She looked toward Maurice, who exclaimed joyfully, "My dear, dear
grandmother, have I regained Madeleine doubly to-day? Do you mean"--
The countess finished his sentence solemnly, "That it shall be as my son
said."
Madeleine, overcome with joy and gratitude, tried to raise herself up
that she might reach the countess, but sank back powerless, and the
effort again started the crimson current which trickled through the
bandage and ran down her face.
"Don't move!" cried Mrs. Lawkins. "See, see, what you have done by
agitating her. Go, all of you, away. Mr. Maurice, go, or you will do her
more mischief. Take him away, M. de Bois."
Maurice was so much alarmed at the sight of the blood that he could not,
at first, listen to these expostulations; but Mrs. Lawkins continued to
threaten him with such evil results if he did not obey, and to urge M.
de Bois so strenuously to compel him, that Gaston succeeded in leading
him away; Mrs. Lawkins bade Bertha follow them, and then locked the
door.
As she prepared a fresh bandage she said apologetically, "I was obliged
to send them away, Mademoiselle Madeleine; you must be quiet and not
speak a word until the doctor comes; it is very, very important."
And Madeleine did lie still in a trance of pure delight, and the
countess lay beside her almost as motionless.
CHAPTER LVII.
CONCLUSION.
The wound in Madeleine's head was dangerously near her temple. Her long
swoon had been caused by the severity of the blow, and she was
completely exhausted by her great loss of blood. When Dr. Bayard had
examined her injuries and readjusted the bandage, Maurice bore her
gently to her own chamber, clasping her closely in his arms as he went,
and breathing over her words of tenderest endearment. He left her in
Mrs. Lawkins' charge to be undressed and laid in bed, but even during
that brief process, knocked several times at the door to urge the good
house-keeper to make haste and admit him.
For nearly two months Maurice had been chained to the bedside of his
suffering father, or his grandmother; he had been fully initiated into
the duties of ministration, and upon the strength of his experience he
claimed the entire care of the new invalid. What a luxury to him it was
to watch over his beloved Madeleine! It seemed ungrateful of her to
deprive him of the happiness by getting well too rapidly. As Ruth
Thornton occupied the same room, Madeleine needed no watcher at night;
but Maurice scarcely left her during the day. Her light food, her
cooling drinks and calming potions, she received from his hands alone.
Hour after hour, he sat and read to her,--sat and talked to her,--sat
and looked at her,--and never was weary,--never was so superlatively
happy in his life! He was jealous of any one who attempted to share his
vigils; when Mrs. Lawkins approached, he playfully reminded her that
they had agreed upon a division of labor, and Madame de Gramont was her
patient; when Ruth and Bertha tried to press upon him their services, he
had always some plea to peremptorily dismiss them both. Mrs. Walton was
the only one in whose favor he relented a little. He allowed her to sit
beside his charge for a couple of hours every day. How could he refuse
when the presence of this invaluable friend gave Madeleine such true
pleasure, and when Mrs. Walton was filled with such evident delight in
watching the intercourse of these two kindred spirits, who to her eyes
seemed created for partnership?
Madame de Gramont had daily, with a sort of ceremonious affection,
inquired after Madeleine's health. Madeleine's first visit, when she was
able to rise, was to her aunt; but Maurice would not allow his patient
to attempt to walk without his supporting arm about her waist. We will
not say that Madame de Gramont greeted Madeleine _cordially_; but she
received her with marked consideration, and expressed satisfaction at
beholding her able to move; this was the sole allusion she made to the
accident. Maurice, who had grown thoroughly tyrannical, would only
permit Madeleine to remain a few moments with his grandmother, and
brought the interview to a sudden close.
Now that Madeleine was convalescent, she found great enjoyment in long,
pleasant drives with Bertha, Maurice and Gaston. On bright days they
left the carriage, and wandered into the woods to gather wild flowers,
and rest beneath the trees. On one of these occasions, Madeleine was
sitting upon a fallen tree, her lap filled with the flowers she had
culled, and which she was weaving into a wreath. Bertha aided her work
by selecting and handing the requisite flowers. Maurice was supplying
her with luxuriant moss which she mingled among the bright blossoms.
Gaston, lying at Bertha's feet, contemplated the lovely picture before
him. The wreath was finished, and Madeleine wound it about Bertha's
picturesque little hat,--not one of those unmeaning abominations which
neither cover the head, nor shade the face, but a round straw hat,
slightly turned up at the sides, and ornamented only by a single, black
plume.
"Look, M. de Bois," said Madeleine, "is not my chaplet successful? Could
anything be more becoming to Bertha?"
"Yes," answered Gaston, "there is one chaplet in which she would look
still lovelier,--a wreath of orange-blossoms. Come, Bertha, are you not
ready to reward my patience and forbearance? Will you not let me
remember this day as one of our brightest, by telling me when you will
wear that orange-blossom wreath?"
Bertha laid her head upon Madeleine's shoulder at the risk of crushing
some of the wild flowers, and answered, "That depends upon Madeleine. I
told you long ago that Madeleine should name the day."
"Come then, Mademoiselle Madeleine," Gaston pleaded; "do you speak!"
Maurice's eyes fervently seconded the adjuration.
Madeleine answered, with the perverseness of her sex, "You ought to
return to Charleston, Maurice."
"I know I _ought_; but do not imagine I mean to do what I ought to do,
until you have done what you ought to do as an example; if you do
_that_, you will tell me when I may return to claim my bride."
"You shall know to-morrow," said Madeleine, "but only on condition that
neither of you gentlemen mention the subject again to-day."
Both lovers promised; but, simply because a condition had been made,
they every moment experienced the strongest temptation to disregard the
stipulation.
That night Madeleine and Bertha had a long conversation,--"a woman's
talk," such as maidens, and matrons too, delight in, all the world over.
They decided that Maurice must leave at once for Charleston, and remain
three months, only returning the day before the one appointed for his
nuptials. The double wedding was to take place in church; the bridal
party to return to Madeleine's and, after a collation, leave for
Philadelphia, and the day following for New York. The countess,
accompanied by Gaston and Bertha, would sail at once for Havre, and
Maurice, and Madeleine take up their abode in Charleston. Bertha's
plans, after she reached France, were left to be determined by
circumstances.
Madame de Gramont was the first one apprised of this arrangement, and it
met with her full approval. She rejoiced at the certainty of seeing her
beloved château again; and, though she spoke not one word to that
effect, experienced great relief at being spared the necessity of
appearing in Brittany with Madeleine, whose presence must necessarily
cause abundant gossip.
Maurice and Gaston were warned that the penalty of a single remonstrance
against these plans would be a month added to their period of probation.
Maurice compromised by pleading that instead of leaving Washington at
once, he might be permitted to remain until the close of the week.
The French ambassador had been much chagrined at the prospect of parting
with Gaston. It was tolerably difficult to find a person who was not
always seeking his own interests, or meddling in diplomatic affairs, to
supply M. de Bois's place. When M. de Fleury was informed that the
period for Gaston's departure was settled, he urged him to promise to
return within six months, saying that he would only engage a secretary
_pro tem._ in the hope of M. de Bois occupying his former position.
As the young French maidens were orphans, and of high family, M. de
Fleury offered to assume the office of father in giving them away, and
the flattering proposition was particularly acceptable to the countess.
Ronald Walton was to be the groomsman of Maurice, and Madeleine made her
humble friend Ruth, the happiest of maidens, by inviting her to
officiate as bridesmaid. Bertha needed a bridesmaid and groomsman, since
her cousin would be thus attended, and she chose Lady Augusta Linden and
her _fiancé_, Mr. Rutledge, through whose influence Madeleine had
obtained a vote of so much importance to Maurice.
These nuptial arrangements seemed to give general satisfaction, with
one exception; Mr. Walton declared that he was unfairly treated; that he
meant to be assigned some office; and as his son was Madeleine's
groomsman, and as he was not himself qualified to be Bertha's, he must
be allowed to act as the father of the latter. M. de Fleury, he said,
ought to be contented with the _rôle_ of father to one of the brides.
Bertha, who had been charmed by the courtly manners and delightful
conversation of this agreeable gentleman, cordially consented.
Once more Madeleine and Maurice were to be parted; and even this brief
separation tested their fortitude. The Waltons accompanied Maurice, and
were to return with him to Washington.
On his arrival in Charleston, he had cause to be flattered by the hearty
greeting of his partner. Maurice plunged at once into professional
duties; but another employment helped to speed the time,--a truly
charming occupation,--the preparation of a home for his bride.
Mrs. Walton assisted the young lawyer in the agreeable task of selecting
furniture, and making those arrangements which demanded a woman's hand.
A never-failing happiness flowed to Maurice from the exchange of letters
with Madeleine. Each day commenced with the sending, and closed with the
receiving, of one of these precious paper messengers. But Madeleine's
letters, by no means, came under the head of "love letters." She could
not have poured out upon paper, any more than she could have spoken, the
fulness and depth of her affection; but Maurice found inexhaustible
delight in what she wrote, which was always suggestive of so much left
unsaid.
Madeleine rented her house to Ruth, who now became the head of the
establishment which "Mademoiselle Melanie" had rendered so popular. At
Madeleine's suggestion, Ruth had written to her widowed mother and young
sister and requested them to make their future home with her. That
letter was read by streaming eyes, and its contents filled to
overflowing two joyful hearts.
Mrs. Lawkins was to accompany Madeleine to Charleston and take charge of
her household there.
Madeleine proposed closing her establishment on the day of her wedding;
for she well knew that her _employées_ would desire to witness the
ceremony. And she further evinced her thoughtfulness by ordering a
bountiful collation to be spread in the apartments usually devoted to
business, at the same time that the table was prepared for her own
bridal party in the apartments beneath.
Madeleine and Bertha had both apprised their bridegrooms elect that they
preferred to forego the French custom of receiving the usual
_corbeille_, containing laces, India shawls, jewelry, etc., etc., adding
that some simple bridal token would be more acceptable.
The day before the wedding arrived, and with it Maurice and the Waltons.
We will not attempt to paint the meeting between Maurice and
Madeleine,--it was too full of joy for language, too sacred for
description,--but pass on to the events of the evening when the exchange
of bridal gifts was made.
Maurice fastened about Madeleine's white throat a small chain of
Venetian gold, to which was suspended a cross of rare pearls; and on the
back of the cross were inscribed these words of the prophet,--
"Labor is worship."
M. de Bois, knowing that Bertha was only too well supplied with gems,
had experienced great difficulty in selecting a bridal gift. But, after
many consultations with Madeleine, he chose a set of cameos cut in
stone. The necklace and bracelets were composed of angel heads; but his
own likeness was cut upon the brooch, and that of Madeleine on the
medallion that formed the centre of the bracelet. Who can doubt that
Bertha was enchanted with her gift?
Madame de Gramont presented each of her nieces with a handkerchief of
rich old lace, very rare and no longer purchasable.
Madeleine placed in Bertha's hands a magnificently bound volume; it
contained Mrs. Browning's poems illustrated, in water colors, by
Madeleine herself. Many of the paintings were exquisite, but those which
represented "Lady Geraldine's Courtship," far surpassed all the others.
And now came the great surprise of the evening,--the disclosure of a
secret which Gaston and Bertha had carefully guarded. Bertha, in her
clingingly affectionate way, knelt down beside Madeleine, and laid in
her lap two ancient-looking jewel-cases, her bridal gift to Madeleine.
How Madeleine started and trembled at the sight! Well she knew those
caskets, but her shaking hands could not press the springs by which they
were secured. Bertha lifted their lids and disclosed the diamonds and
emeralds which had been the bridal jewels of Lady Katrine Nugent,
Madeleine's great-great-grandmother; the jewels which Madeleine had been
forced to part with to obtain herself subsistence; the jewels whose
design she had imitated on the dress which first made her "fairy
fingers" known to Vignon; the jewels Bertha had recognized when they
were worn by Madame de Fleury; the jewels which in attempting to trace
to their owner, Maurice had suffered so terribly. These memorable jewels
were restored through Gaston's agency. He had related to M. de Fleury
their history, and Mademoiselle de Merrivale's desire to repurchase
them. The marquis had promised acquiescence in the young lady's wishes
if Madame de Fleury's consent could be obtained. Gaston and Bertha paid
the ambassador's wife a visit of persuasion. Gaston was an especial
favorite, and Madame de Fleury loved Madeleine as well as it was
possible for her to love any one. Her yielding up these jewels was a
high proof of the noble _couturière's_ power over her frivolous heart.
What bride does not smile when she sees the sun shine into her chamber
on the nuptial morning? The sun shone gloriously on the bridal day of
Madeleine and Bertha. The ceremony was to take place at any early
hour,--no invitations were issued,--the bridal party was to meet at
Madeleine's to go to church.
Madeleine and Bertha were attired precisely alike, and with severe
simplicity; they both wore dresses of white silk, made close to the
throat. (A _décolté_ attire would not be tolerated at a Parisian
bridal.) Their veils were circular and of point lace; their chaplets of
natural orange blossoms woven by Madeleine herself. Madeleine had not
intended to wear any ornament, save the cross Maurice had presented her,
but Bertha insisted on clasping Lady Katrine Nugent's bridal bracelet on
her cousin's arm, and fastening her tiny lace collar with the lily and
shamrock brooch. Bertha, herself, wore Gaston's cameos, and could
scarcely restrain her joyful tears when she fastened on her fair bosom
the brooch which represented her lover's countenance, and the bracelet
that bore her beloved Madeleine's. She was adorned with the images of
the two most dear on earth.
Need we say that both brides were supremely lovely? Gazing at Bertha's
sweet, unclouded face, that looked out from among the wealth of golden
ringlets, and noting the soft light in her blue eyes, the delicate
rose-flush that came and went on her cheeks, one might well declare that
nothing more beautiful could be found, until the gazer turned to
Madeleine. Her face was colorless with emotion, yet its paleness only
rendered the sculpturesque beauty of her features more striking; her
eyes were downcast, and thus one missed their clear lustre and holy
expression; yet the long lashes were some compensation, and her look was
so spiritual, so saint-like in its beauty, that nothing mortal could
have been lovelier.
For one moment only were Maurice and Gaston permitted to greet their
brides, and then they were hurried into the carriages which awaited
them.
Though no invitations had been given, the church was densely crowded.
When the nuptial procession entered, the suppressed murmur of many
voices sounded like the rushing of distant waves. First came Madame de
Gramont, leaning on the arm of Maurice; they were followed by Ronald and
Ruth Thornton; Madeleine, led by the Marquis de Fleury, followed. Then
came the second party, Gaston with Mrs. Walton on his arm; Lady Augusta
and Mr. Rutledge; Bertha, led by Mr. Walton, not the least proud and
happy man of that large assembly.
At times, during the ceremony, low sobs were audible; they came from
Madeleine's _employées_, who could not wholly control their grief, as
the certainty of losing their gentle mistress forced itself upon them.
The newly made wives passed out of the church conducted by their
husbands and returned to Madeleine's residence.
During the collation the brides stood together at the head of the table.
The French ambassador and Mr. Walton were the life of the festive board,
and infused an element of gayety which the small assemblage would have
lacked without their aid, for a happy silence had fallen upon the
nuptial party. Besides these gentlemen, Mr. Meredith and Mr. Hilson were
the only strangers present.
The brides left the company to assume their travelling attire; but
Madeleine, before she made this change, stole to the apartment where her
needle-women were at table, with Victorine at the head, and spoke a word
of kindly farewell to each, in turn. There were no dry eyes in that
room.
Maurice was more than satisfied with Madeleine's approval of the
pleasant abode he had chosen. Many and joyous were the years he and his
beloved companion passed under that roof. One year after their marriage
it also sheltered for a time Gaston and Bertha. Madame de Gramont died
soon after her return to Brittany.
* * * * *
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TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:
Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as
possible, including obsolete and variant spellings. Obvious
typographical errors in punctuation (misplaced quotes and the like) have
been fixed. Corrections in the text are noted below, with corrections
inside the brackets:
page 5:
XX. The Incognito[Incognita], 186
page 32
I saw three of our relatives on the de Gramont side, Madame
de Nervac, the Count Damorean[Damoreau], and M. de
Bonneville. They inquired kindly after you, Madeleine, and I
told them you
page 91
"Before you go to Rennes, will you not return this
handker-Shief[handkerchief] to M. de Bois? As it was picked
up in the châlet, he
page 122
confusion in his own mind, the more troubled he felt in
pondering over the disorded[disordered] mental condition of
Maurice. During a whole month after their accidental
encounter in the street he called
page 123
great, blue eyes which so strongly resembled Bertha's--were
glittering with the wild lights of delirum[delirium]; fever
burned on his cheeks and seemed to scorch his parched lips.
The fair, clustering
page 129
seen Madeleine beside me! When the good 'sister' moved about
the room, in the dim light of the veillense[veilleuse], in
spite of her coarse, unshapely garb, I recognized the
outlines of Madeleine's
page 132
Walton, without being stirred and inspired by the contact.
The force, decision, aptitude, promptness, which
distinguished Roland[Ronald], had constituted him a sort of
prince among his fellow-students,
page 135
the Marchioness de Fleury that Bertha's uncle was exceedingly
tenacious of his rights, and jealous of the
inteference[interference] of his niece's relatives in regard
to any future alliance she might
page 150
golden keys: unlock all doors; carry one into hidden depths
of the earth. Shall be obliged to advance funds to pay
partiest[parties] employed. Have the goodness to write your
name in this
page 153
"See, Maurice," Bertha continued, joyfully, "in the corner
she has embroidered my name, surrounded by a wreath of
for-get-me-nots[forget-me-nots],--for she does not forget.
The crest of the de Merrivales is in the opposite
page 158
woman of her calm judgment,--a woman who could look with such
steady, tearless eyes upon life's realties,[realities]--a
woman who would not have trodden in flowery ways though every
page 165
compelled to make, that he might meet the demands of the old
Jew, were not without their influence in preparing Count
Triston[Tristan] an to look favorably upon his son's
solicitation. The count imagined
page 189
to mortgage the estate of his son for so large amount that,
but for the advent of the railroad, upon which he confidently
calculated, the mortgage must prove ruinious[ruinous] to the
interests of the landholder.
page 209
"I must entreat your pardon for allowing you to wait; it was
not in my power to be[repeated word "be" removed] more
punctual; a terrible accident--the first of the kind which
has ever occurred to me--is my
page 228
Ruth, without lifting her head from the sketch she was
coloring, answered, "Yes, certainly, unless it should be
something with which Mademoiselle Malanie[Melanie] does not
desire us to be acquainted."
page 237
Shortly after M. de Bois returned to the exhibition salons,
Madeline[Madeleine] entered the workroom. Gaston could see
her moving about among the young girls, distributing
sketches, making smiling
page 241
he should find her tranquil and self-possessed; and was he
about to enter her presence as voiceless and unmanned as
during their brief recontre[rencontre] the day previous?
page 281
The Countess de Gramant[Gramont] rose up majestically, white
with rage.
page 287
"True," replied Lord Linden, undaunted by her chilling
de-demeanor;[demeanor] "and it is not easy to break the iron
bonds of conventionality. But, if the difference of our rank
prevents my
page 288
"An insult? You do not imagnie[imagine]--you cannot suppose
that I had any such intention?"
page 332
"Yes, to-night; but not very[every] night," she added, with
playful imperativeness. "I shall not allow that, and you see
I have taken the reins into my own hands, and show that a
little of
in the social sphere; and great were the lamentations over
the noble coutourière's[couturière's] supposed abdication of
her throne.
page 345
CHAPTER LXI.[XLI.]
page 356
precisely how to make a pillow yield the best support,--a
low, soft, yet encouraging voice,--a cheerful, yet
symathizing[sympathizing] face,--a soundless step,--garments
that never rustle,--movements that
page 358
Maurice perceived his mistake too late. He had not foreseen
that the countess would have drawn this
conclusiou[conclusion] from the intelligence just
communicated.
page 363
lips. "She has seen Dr. Bayard, and insists on carrying out
certains[certain] views of hers, and she informs me that she
has his permission
page 371
mending, would have gained a charm and been idealized into
pleasures, if they contributed to the well-being of those
dear to[repeated "to" removed] her; but, when performed for
the one more precious than all
page 373
you to inform the countess that a nurse is coming. One charge
more: you[your] father is so much better that instead of
wearing yourself out by sitting up with him, it would be
wiser to have
page 379
and we will settle the matter. Make haste, for I must write
to Lorillard[Lorrillard] by this evening's mail, and I desire
to inform him, in answer to his somewhat caustic letter, that
I have made the
page 423
"This has been but a brief meeting, Madeleine, after the
sepation[separation] of those long, sorrowful years. The
future is all uncertain, I cannot fix a time, after I have
said adieu, when I may clasp
page 451
Mrs. Lawkin's[Lawkins'] skilful ministry had stanched the
blood and Madeleine's head and arm were bound up; but still
she lay like
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