"MY FRIEND:
"I am going away from this house, which has lost all its charm for me since Armantine has been my neighbor and has pa.s.sed all her time with us. I say with us--I imagined that it was still that happy time when there were only we two! That time pa.s.sed too swiftly. I realize that I am a selfish creature, and that it is natural that you should be happy in having found again a woman whom you once loved dearly, and whose presence has rekindled the fire which was not extinct. So, be happy with her. Remain at my house, my friend; remain there as long as you please, and believe that I go away without murmuring, but not without regret."
I had hardly finished reading the letter, when I called my servant.
"Pack my valise, Pomponne, and your own things; we are going back to Paris."
"Going back to Paris! When, monsieur?"
"Instantly! make haste!"
"What about dinner, monsieur? We haven"t dined, and I know it"s all ready; Adele told me so when she went away."
"We will dine in Paris. I do not propose to remain another half-hour in this house. Come! you should have had everything ready before now."
Fifteen minutes later, we were on our way to Paris in the first _coucou_ I could find; for there are still _coucous_ at Fontenay.
XLVIII
AT THE OPeRA
I reached Paris about seven in the evening. As I entered my house, the first person I saw was Ballangier, in a neat brown frock-coat and a round hat; his attire was noticeable for a sort of coquetry which indicated that the desire to please was still his first thought.
He grasped my hand, crying:
"Ah! here you are at last! I am so glad to see you! I have so much to tell you about all that has happened in the six weeks since you went away! For it is six weeks since you left Paris."
"Is Mignonne in my room now?"
"No; but she sometimes pa.s.ses the whole day there and a large part of the evening. She enjoys being in your room."
"Come up with me and tell me all about it."
Ballangier accompanied me to my apartment; I got rid of Pomponne by telling him to get his dinner wherever he chose; and when I was alone with my friend, I asked how his love affairs were progressing.
"In the first place, my dear Charles, when I came here, three days after you went away, I was very much surprised to learn that you were in the country; I was going away, sadly enough, when the concierge said to me: "There"s somebody upstairs, and my orders are to let you go up." I didn"t wait to be informed twice; something told me that I should find Mignonne here. Sure enough, she was here; she was working, but she was very sad--indeed, I believe she was crying. She received me coldly. I sat a long while looking at her, without saying a word, and she didn"t speak, either. At last I began to talk about you, of all that I owed you, of my affection for you. Then she listened to me and answered. On my next visit, I talked again about you; I saw that that was the only way of making her talk a little. I asked her if she knew where you were; she said, with a sigh, that she knew perfectly well, but, as you had made a secret of it, she didn"t think that she ought to tell. I continued to come from time to time; and when I couldn"t call during the day, on account of my work, I made up for it by waiting for her in the evening at the corner of the street. I watched for her to come away from your house; I didn"t dare to speak to her, for fear of displeasing her, but I followed her at a distance till she was safely at home; and as she lives on Rue Menilmontant, my pleasure lasted some time. You will see, Charles, what an excellent idea it was of mine to act as her escort. For several days I had noticed a middle-aged man prowling about the street, a well-dressed man, but very fat; and I fancied that he too was on the watch for Mignonne; for he walked very near her--when he could keep up with her, that is, for she quickened her pace at his approach.--"Parbleu!"
I said to myself, about a week ago; "I must find out about this matter.
I"ll just keep out of sight and see what this fellow"s intentions are."
The weather happened to be bad that night, and there were few people in the street. I waited; my man soon appeared, and he waited too. After a few minutes, Mignonne came out of the house. Then I saw my man, who was lurking in the darkest part of the street, speak to Mignonne, put his arm round her waist, insult her, in short, in spite of her entreaties and her shrieks. I tell you, his punishment wasn"t long in coming! In three seconds I was on the fellow; I had grabbed him by the throat, thrown him into the gutter, and hammered him with feet and hands. I believe that I should be punching him yet, if Mignonne hadn"t begged me to let him alone. You can imagine that I offered her my arm then to take her home, and she didn"t refuse it. The poor child was so frightened!
She thanked me a hundred times more than I deserved; and since then, I"m not sure, but it seems to me that she"s more friendly with me."
"Well done, Ballangier! that incident ought surely to have helped on your prospects. You have rendered Mignonne a great service, and she is grateful."
"A great thing that was! to punch an impertinent blackguard"s head!
Anybody would do as much for a poor little woman who"s being insulted--unless he has no blood in his veins! How is it with you, Charles, are you all right? Have you left the country for good?"
"I don"t know; that depends. Look you, my friend, I too am in love, and I don"t know yet whether my love is returned."
"Oho! Do you mean it? you are in love, too? Oh! she"ll love you, I"ll answer for that; it is impossible for anyone not to love you!"
"G.o.d grant it! Meanwhile, I will admit that I haven"t dined; and as it"s the fashion in our day for lovers to dine, because dieting would not advance their affairs, I propose to regale myself. Have you dined?"
"Oh! long ago. I came here to wait for Mignonne, but she must have gone away earlier than usual."
I was in a hurry to dine, because I intended to go immediately after to Madame Dauberny"s; as she had returned only a few hours ahead of me, it was impossible that she should not be at home.
Ballangier went out with me; he would have left me when we reached the street, but I asked him to walk with me as far as the boulevard; and on the way I learned with pleasure that his conduct was still all that could be desired, that his love did not cause him to neglect his work, and that he had become one of his employer"s head workmen.
We had almost reached the boulevard, when, as we pa.s.sed a brightly lighted shop, Ballangier started back, touched my arm, and said, pointing to a man who had just pa.s.sed us:
"There he is! That"s the man! He didn"t see me, but I recognized him."
"Who is he?"
"The man I thrashed so soundly for taking liberties with Mignonne."
I looked at the person whom Ballangier pointed out to me; his figure impressed me, it reminded me of someone. I ran back and overtook him, then turned about and faced him. I was not mistaken: it was Monsieur Dauberny.
I do not know whether he recognized me. He must have been surprised by the way I stared at him; but he simply frowned and went his way, quickening his pace. I let him go, and returned to Ballangier, who had stopped and was waiting for me a few steps away.
"Well, Charles, you wanted to see that man; you succeeded, didn"t you?"
"Yes, and I recognized him perfectly."
"Recognized? The deuce! do you know the old reprobate?"
"Ah! if he were no worse than that! But he"s an infernal villain! You did well, I a.s.sure you, to deliver Mignonne from his persecutions. Poor girl! If you knew of what that man is capable!"
"Really?"
"Continue to watch. The sight of that man makes me tremble for her! But the day of reckoning must come some time!"
"Explain yourself! Do you want me to run after the fellow and arrest him?"
"No, no! that"s not the way I must deal with him. But we will watch him, and an opportunity will soon come--with that man they must come frequently--and then----"
"Then we will annihilate him, won"t we?"
"Au revoir, Ballangier! I must dine. But, I repeat, watch over Mignonne more carefully than ever."
"Oh! you have no need to urge that on me."
I entered a restaurant, dined in hot haste, and went to Madame Dauberny"s house.
"Madame is not in," said the concierge.