"Oh! how terrible you are to-day with your reticences!"
"Listen! While I was absent from Paris, you didn"t know where I was, did you?"
"No; you didn"t tell me."
"As you didn"t ask me, I thought that you were not interested. Well, monsieur, I was at a charming country house that I had hired--and it is still mine, because I took it for a year, all furnished and equipped. I had nothing to do but to go there, and that was not much trouble; for the house is at Fontenay-sous-Bois, close to Vincennes--only two leagues and a half from Paris. I was not very far away, monsieur, as you see. So that I came often to Paris, and knew everything that happened here."
"And you propose to send Mignonne to your country house?"
"No, not that. In the first place, she would probably refuse to go to any house of mine. You must do the opposite of that--you must--that is, if it won"t be too much of a bore to you--pa.s.s some time yourself in that retreat. It is only the last of July, and the weather is fine. But perhaps country life is tedious to you?"
"Not at all! But you will go with me, of course; you will keep me company?"
"Most a.s.suredly! Must I not do the honors of my house?"
"Your plan is delightful, Frederique, and I accept with the greatest pleasure!"
"Really! you are really willing to go into the country with me? The prospect doesn"t alarm you--you"re not afraid of being bored?"
"Is that possible, with you?"
"Oh! how good you are, and how happy I am! But, never fear, my friend; I will try to arrange it so that the time won"t seem too long to you. In the first place, it is a lovely spot, the whole neighborhood is charming; you would think that you were a hundred leagues from the capital. However, it is no desert, for there are several pretty estates in the neighborhood; but I don"t care much for visiting neighbors, myself, especially in the country; for when you have once allowed your neighbors to call, they are always at your door, and that gets to be horribly tiresome. But wait till you see my house--it"s an immense place, like a little chateau. The garden is very large and well shaded; there"s a lake in which I have the right to fish--only there are no fish in it. There"s a billiard room, and all sorts of games. And then, when you are bored beyond endurance, or when you have any business in Paris, we are so near--you can be here in an hour."
"I am at your orders, Frederique. Let us start! let us start as soon as possible! I look forward with delight to living in the country with you."
Madame Dauberny pressed my hand with all her strength and kissed me on the forehead.
"Listen! listen!--Oh! mon Dieu! here I am beginning to address you familiarly again, as I used to."
"Oh! I am very willing."
"No, no! I won"t do it! Listen, my friend: you must tell Mignonne that you are going to pa.s.s some time in the country; that is a perfectly natural thing for you to do; ask her to continue to come to your rooms as usual, to superintend your household; you might even give her to understand that you rely on her friendship to look carefully after your interests. She will be flattered by that mark of confidence. You need not tell her how long you expect to be away--nor whom you are going to visit. You are not accountable to her, after all. But, my friend, you mustn"t come to Paris too often to see her; for that would destroy the effect of your sojourn in the country."
"I understand that perfectly."
"Then we must hope that absence--common sense---- That young woman will realize sooner or later that she does wrong to love you with love."
"Surely she will! And then, if another man calls to see her, now and then----"
"Ah, yes! That"s the very thing! Perhaps he will succeed in winning her love!"
I stared at Frederique in amazement, for I had never mentioned Ballangier"s pa.s.sion for Mignonne to her. She blushed and began to arrange her hair; that was her usual resource when she did not want to be examined.
"Who do you think may succeed in winning Mignonne"s love, pray?"
"Why, the man who is paying court to her--that young man who comes to see you sometimes."
"How do you know that, Frederique?"
"Wonderful cleverness on my part! Did I not meet him one day when he was going to see you?"
"And you guessed that he was in love with Mignonne, simply from seeing him come to my rooms?"
"He has changed greatly, and to his advantage, that young man."
"Ah! you recognized him, did you?"
I watched Frederique closely, for a mult.i.tude of ideas had suddenly rushed into my mind; something told me that Madame Dauberny knew more about Ballangier than she chose to tell me. I think that she must have divined my thoughts, for she rose hastily and said:
"It is getting late, my friend. We start to-morrow--is that settled?"
"I ask nothing better."
"Bring your servant; we have room enough for him. I have only a gardener and my maid there. Will Mignonne come to you to-morrow?"
"I think so, as she didn"t come to-day."
"Wait for her and tell her that you are going to the country; then come to me, and we will start together."
"Very good. I will go home to make my preparations, and to-morrow I will call for you. _O rus! quando te aspiciam?_"
"I can guess what that means. You will see the fields to-morrow, my friend."
On reaching home, I gave orders to Pomponne to prepare for our departure. I might take very few things to Fontenay, and send him to Paris whenever I needed anything. But that was just what I wanted to avoid, because I was acquainted with Monsieur Pomponne"s loquacity.
It was ten o"clock when Mignonne arrived. Since Frederique had opened my eyes to the young woman"s secret sentiments, I had dreaded that interview; I was deeply moved, and it grieved me to think of causing her pain. Poor child! from whom I was fleeing because she loved me! We run after so many women who do not love us!
Mignonne seemed to me even paler and more depressed than usual. However, she smiled when she saw me. I went to meet her and held out my hand.
"Mignonne, I was waiting to say good-bye to you."
She looked anxiously at me, did not take the hand I offered her, and faltered:
"What! to say good-bye? Are you going on a journey?"
"Oh, no! I am just going into the country--not very far away. I am not leaving you for long."
"Ah! you are going to the country? You have never said anything about it. Is it something you have just thought of?"
"I have been thinking of it for several days. I am in the habit of going into the country every year for a time; it does me good."
"If it"s for your health, you are wise. I will go away, then, and come again when you return--when you send me word."
"No; on the contrary, if you wish to please me, to do me a favor, you will continue to come here. I am taking my servant with me, but I will leave you my keys, which you will hand to the concierge when you go away. I intrust the care of my establishment to you! There are many things to be done here. I would like to have my curtains renovated, and the furniture of my salon and bedroom covered. You will find money in the desk. Be good enough to attend to all these details. I take the liberty of looking upon you as if you were my sister; does that offend you?"
"Offend me! no, indeed! You are too kind to me! you always find pretexts for keeping me busy, for heaping kindnesses on me. Oh! I see it plainly enough!"
"Don"t say that. On the contrary, it is due to you that my house has a.s.sumed an orderly, comfortable aspect that it never had before."