"I won"t allow that lady to go away alone; the idea! I am going to escort her!"
I tried to hold him back by seizing his coat tails. I told him that Madame Dauberny did not want his escort, that she preferred to go alone.
He would not listen to me. He leaped out of the cab, tearing off one whole skirt of his coat, and disappeared.
"What"s the matter with you to-night, my friend?" said Rosette; "you interfere with everybody; you find fault with whatever we do, and tear people"s coats!"
"That doesn"t concern you."
"How polite my lover is to-day!"
"To which aunt shall I take you this evening, mademoiselle?"
"Faubourg Saint-Denis, as usual."
"By the way, you haven"t told me yet where you were perching yesterday, when I had the kindness--I might well say, the folly--to look for you at all your aunts" lodgings."
"Do you want to make me unhappy?"
"Answer me!"
"I told you that I was with a friend."
"Oh, yes! at the sponge dealer"s, perhaps?"
"What an outrage! Instead of saying such things, you would do well to kiss me. It seems that we don"t get beyond compliments to-day!"
In truth, she was right; I had rebuked her enough all day; the least I could do was to compensate her at that moment.
XL
A SICK CHILD
I pa.s.sed a wretched night. I was eager to know if Madame Dauberny had allowed Balloquet to escort her, and if he had made any progress in my friend"s good graces. Why was I so eager to know that? I myself could not understand. As I was not that lady"s lover, as I had never thought of mentioning the subject of love to her, ought I to take it amiss that others should mention it? I began to believe that one could be jealous in friendship as well as in love. If Frederique should have a lover, that would lessen the attachment that she seemed to entertain for me; doubtless that was the reason why it pained me to think that she should allow anyone to make love to her. That was selfishness, I admit; but what was I to do?
I arose early. I was strongly inclined to call on Balloquet, but I had forgotten his address. I had an idea that it was Cite Vinde; but what should I ask him. Should I not cut a very absurd figure, going there to question him? No, I would not go. Still, I would have liked to know whether he walked home with Frederique.
While I was hesitating, uncertain as to what I should do, Pomponne opened my door and announced with emphasis:
"Madame Potrelle, concierge or portress!"
The good woman came in, bowing and apologizing for disturbing me. I asked her what brought her there.
"Mon Dieu! monsieur, I have come again about that poor woman--Madame Landernoy. I wanted to know if monsieur"s intentions were still the same."
"What do you mean? what intentions?"
"About the work--about her taking care of monsieur"s linen."
"What difference does it make whether my intentions are the same, as that young woman is convinced that I have none but evil ones? as she believes that I am laying a trap for her, in concert with those scoundrels who deceived her? Faith! Madame Potrelle, one gets tired of being constantly suspected. If it is pleasant to do good, it is painful to come in contact with ingrates. In fact, I confess that your tenant had gone wholly out of my mind, and I a.s.sure you that you would not have heard from me again."
"Oh! mon Dieu! monsieur, I can understand that. But still, if you knew how miserable that young woman is at this minute! For near a month her child has been sick--suffering all the time; the little creature needs the fresh air; so the mother takes her child out to walk, and meanwhile she don"t do any work; but her little Marie"s health before everything!
She was a sweet little thing. She"s fourteen months old already--how time flies! Madame Landernoy goes without everything herself on the child"s account; and now she hasn"t got any work--or what little she does get is such poor stuff--eight sous a day! Think of taking care of a child with that! So I happened to think of you, monsieur, because you were always so kind to that young woman; and I"ve always judged you right, I have! And I says to Mignonne: "I"m going to see Monsieur Rochebrune and ask him for some work."--And this time she says: "Yes, go! go!" For she looked at her little girl, who seemed to be in pain; and what wouldn"t she do to get the means of helping her!"
"And she will go so far as to accept work from me?"
"Oh! you mustn"t blame her, monsieur; misfortune makes people unjust so often! Does monsieur refuse?"
"No, certainly not. Look over my commode and my closets, and take whatever you choose."
The good woman made haste to examine my effects. She made up a large bundle of linen, hastily, as if she were afraid I would change my mind; then she rolled it all up in her ap.r.o.n, saying:
"Will monsieur take an account of what I"ve got?"
"No, Madame Potrelle, that is quite unnecessary; I know with whom I am dealing, and I am not suspicious myself."
The concierge thanked me, bowed again, and took her leave, saying that the work would be attended to immediately.
Is it conceivable that during all the time that Madame Potrelle was talking about her tenant, I thought of nothing but Frederique and Balloquet? Ah! how small a thing it takes to give a new turn to our thoughts! We are kind or cruel to others only as it gratifies our caprices. That truth is most discreditable to mankind!
I had not fully determined what course to pursue, but I decided to go out; and at my door I found myself face to face with Balloquet, who was coming to see me.
"Ah! I am delighted to find you, my dear Rochebrune!"
"And I to see you. Shall we go upstairs?"
"It isn"t worth while; we can talk as well, walking."
"Very good. What have you to tell me?"
"I was coming to talk to you about Madame Dauberny. Ah! my friend, what a woman! what a physique--to arouse pa.s.sions!"
"I see that you are in love with her already. Well! did you overtake her yesterday?"
"Yes, I overtook her on the street. She didn"t want to accept my arm, but I insisted, and she yielded."
"Ah! she took it, did she? And you escorted her home?"
"Naturally."
"And--and--how does your pa.s.sion progress?"
"It"s all over! oh! it"s all over, absolutely!"