"Oh! of course; but, after all, the count was no longer a young man; while your daughter was going to be a countess and have forty thousand francs a year; and I believe that the count agreed to make a will when he married her, making her his heir. A woman doesn"t find such a husband every day."
"Monsieur Batonnin, it"s a sad business to speculate on the death of the person one marries!"
"That is true, it"s very sad; but still it"s done."
"You may say what you please; I do not pity my daughter."
"You astonish me!"
Adolphine, finding that her sister did not come, went to see her; but the concierge always said to her: "Madame Monleard has gone out;" and the girl understood at last that her sister did not choose to see her.
One morning, Cherami was preparing to go out, when Madame Louchard came up to his room, and said, with an air of mystery:
"There"s a person below who wants to know if you are visible; and I came up to make sure that you were dressed from top to toe."
"Who is this person, pray, who makes so much fuss about coming to my room?"
"A pretty young woman."
"A pretty young woman coming to call on me! Ah! my excellent hostess, methinks I have returned to the days of my early prowess!"
"I"ll go and tell her to come up."
"One moment! Let me brush my hair a little, straighten the parting, and see if my whiskers are well combed."
"Look at the flirt!"
"It is never wrong to beautify one"s self. Go, show this lady up. I have my cue!"
A lady of small stature, very well dressed, and of distinguished bearing, soon entered Cherami"s room; when she was sure that he was alone, she raised her veil, saying:
"Good-morning, monsieur! do you recognize me?"
"G.o.d bless my soul! it"s Madame Monleard, the fascinating widow. Pray be seated, fair lady; excuse me if I do not receive you in a palace, but for the moment I have only this hovel at my disposal. To what am I indebted for the honor of your visit?"
"I desired to have a little conversation with you. Such a melancholy thing has happened since we last met."
"Don"t speak of it! The poor count"s death upset me completely; I couldn"t believe it."
"Especially as he seemed to be entirely restored to health. What was it that you gave him to take, in heaven"s name?"
"Mon Dieu! just plain chartreuse--an excellent, strengthening liqueur.
But it seems that he dined with two friends, that he did not spare himself, that the champagne made him ill, and----"
"Well, he"s dead; we must make the best of it. But it is doubly unfortunate for me. I lose a great fortune, a t.i.tle, which I had in my grasp."
"True; you lose all that!"
"And then I--I also lose--I lose--the husband with whom I broke off relations--in order to become a countess."
"True--you lose both. You are almost thrice a widow."
"And yet, it seems to me that I was excusable for being blinded for a moment by ambition. Mon Dieu! who in this world has not been? We all want to raise ourselves."
"That is the first thing to which we aspire when we are born."
"Monsieur Cherami, are you still on friendly terms with Gustave?"
"With Gustave? Oh! ours is a friendship for life and death; there will never be any break in our friendship. He"s a man for whom I would throw myself into the fire."
"Ah! that is very fine. And tell me, do you know whether he will return to Paris soon?"
"Hum! I see what you are driving at!" thought Cherami, stroking his whiskers.
"Why, no, I don"t," he replied. "According to what I learned at his uncle"s house, it seems that Gustave, instead of returning to France, is going to Russia, where he will probably stay a long time--perhaps a year or two--or four."
f.a.n.n.y made a gesture of disgust.
"What an idea! To go to Russia, where you freeze all the time! When one can be so comfortable in France--especially in Paris!"
"Oh! I beg your pardon; the women in Russia aren"t frozen. It seems that there are some very pretty ones there, and some immensely rich! Gustave is a good-looking fellow, he"ll turn some high-born damsel"s head there, and make a marriage set in diamonds."
The little widow rose abruptly, lowered her veil, and said:
"Adieu, Monsieur Cherami! I must leave you."
"What! already? Had madame nothing else to say to me?"
"No. Frankly, I came because I wanted to learn something about Gustave; but what you have told me---- However, perhaps he will change his mind; he won"t stay in Russia, he"ll be bored to death there. In any event, if you learn anything about him, if you find out just where he is, it will be very good of you to let me know."
"Madame, I shall always be delighted to be able to gratify you."
"Adieu, Monsieur Cherami!"
Cherami looked after f.a.n.n.y as she went away, saying to himself:
"I think I see myself telling her where Gustave is, even if I knew! I believe, G.o.d bless me! that she is inclined to go after him, that she hopes to catch him in her net again! Gad! he must either be stupid or bewitched. But there are some men, men of intelligence, too, whom love makes as stupid as earthen pots. I lied to the little widow when I told her that Gustave was going to Russia. On the contrary, when I went to ask about him, the day before yesterday, the concierge, who knows me now, told me that he expected him in a few days. Par la sambleu! I guess I"ll go again; he may have come."
Cherami lost no time in making his way to the banker"s house, where the concierge said to him:
"Monsieur Gustave Darlemont returned yesterday; he"s at home."
Thereupon our friend scaled the stairs; in a few seconds he was at his young friend"s door, and began by throwing himself into his arms. That first outburst of emotion pa.s.sed, Cherami looked at Gustave and suddenly e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed:
"Ten thousand devils! What does that mean?"
That exclamation was drawn from him by the sight of a great scar, which started from the young man"s forehead, crossed his left eyebrow, and came to an end at the lower part of the cheek.
"That?" replied Gustave, with a smile. "That is the result of a duel with swords with an Irish officer. You fought my battles here, my dear Cherami; the least I could do was to look after my own affairs across the channel."