"So you don"t see Edmond now?"
"I see him when I go to Ch.e.l.les, to his lodgings; but as I am not in love, I don"t go very often. Still, there"s a very pretty peasant girl there, Mademoiselle Poucette. But when you attempt to joke with her, why! she cuffs you as if she"d pound you to a jelly.--So, my dear fellow, you need not expect a call from Edmond. As I tell you, he is hooked this time; he"s head over ears in love; but this young woman cannot be his mistress--and then----"
"Then he will marry her."
"That would do very well if he still had the sixty thousand francs that he did have; one can live upon that amount. But he has very little of it left; and as for the young lady, I fancy that she has nothing but her lovely eyes, and they won"t do to make soup."
"Oh, no! money before everything! That is my wife"s principle, too."
"I don"t doubt it; she has famous principles, has your wife!--Adieu, Chamoureau de Belleville, lord of the outskirts and of other places which I will not mention. When you have a coat of arms, I advise you to put in some stag"s horns; they look well against the background of the shield."
Freluchon walked away, still laughing.
"That devilish Freluchon!" said Chamoureau to himself as he looked after him; "he"s always in high spirits; but I don"t believe he has thirty-two thousand two hundred francs a year! After all, I am quite as well pleased that he is not coming to our house; I am quite certain he would call me Chamoureau; he would do it on purpose!"
When he reached home, the happy bridegroom lost no time in seeking Thelenie, and telling her that he had met Freluchon. The name of Edmond"s friend instantly fixed Thelenie"s attention.
"Well, did you invite him to come to see us, and to bring his friend Monsieur Edmond?" she asked.
"Yes, to be sure, I did what you told me; but they won"t either of them come."
"What makes you think that?"
"Freluchon has contracted the habit of laughing in everybody"s face; he joked me about my change of name, and declared that if he came to see us he couldn"t help calling me Chamoureau. As you may imagine, I didn"t insist."
"But his friend, Monsieur Edmond Didier?"
"Oh! that"s a different matter! He has a love-affair on the brain; a pa.s.sion--oh! a grand pa.s.sion--Look out, my dear, you"ll drop that book you have in your hand."
"Never mind, monsieur; what does the book matter? Go on; you say that Monsieur Edmond is very much in love--as usual--some caprice for a grisette, for that gentleman takes to that type of woman."
"No, madame, this time it"s a respectable young woman with whom he is in love."
"How do you know that she is respectable?"
"Because I know her; she"s a fascinating blonde."
"You know her, you say, monsieur; and you have never mentioned it to me!"
"Never mentioned what to you?"
"Why, Monsieur Edmond"s love for this girl, whom you know, and whom you consider so pretty."
"Why, madame, I couldn"t mention it to you, because I knew nothing about it myself; it was Freluchon who told me."
"But you said that you knew this woman! You don"t seem to know what you are saying, monsieur! Oh! how you irritate me!"
"My dear love, do be careful; you"re tearing the lace in your sleeves--you will have it in rags."
"Oh! don"t bother about my lace, monsieur; it suits me to tear it, apparently. But for G.o.d"s sake, tell me exactly what Monsieur Freluchon said to you about his friend Edmond. Speak, monsieur! why don"t you speak? you see that I am waiting!"
At that moment Thelenie"s eyes emitted flames, and their expression was so far from loving that Chamoureau found them less beautiful than usual.
He had never seen his superb wife"s face wear such a savage, threatening expression; he felt ill at ease, he was frightened, and he stammered:
"Madame, you--you--dis--dis--distress me; what--what--what"s the m--m--matter?"
Thelenie strove to calm herself as she replied:
"Why, nothing"s the matter, monsieur; only my nerves are on edge this morning, and the slightest thing upsets me, irritates me. Go on, I am listening."
Chamoureau repeated to his wife all that Freluchon had told him concerning Edmond"s new love-affair. Thelenie listened attentively; she tried to remain calm; to avoid tearing her lace; and she rejoined with apparent tranquillity:
"So these women who live at Ch.e.l.les are known to you?"
"Yes, my dear love; it was through me that they bought Monsieur Courtivaux"s house--for twenty thousand francs, as I remember."
"What sort of women are they?"
"Madame Dalmont, the one who bought the house, is a widow, some twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, with an interesting, but sad face; of moderate means, she told me herself. Her young friend, the one Monsieur Edmond is so much in love with, must be about sixteen or seventeen--she"s an orphan, I believe--but such a pretty face! lovely fair hair, blue eyes----"
"Enough, monsieur! you have extolled this surprising beauty too much already! I shall end by thinking that you are in love with her too!"
"Ah! madame, you know very well that you alone, whose unapproachable charms----"
"And Monsieur Edmond has hired a house at Ch.e.l.les? he lives there now?"
"Yes, in order to be near those ladies."
"At whose house he visits?"
"Naturally."
After a few minutes of silence, Thelenie said:
"Monsieur, all _comme il faut_ people have a house in the country, a villa to which they go for the summer. Of course you do not expect me to stay cooped up in Paris all summer, like a shopkeeper on Rue Saint-Denis."
"Madame--I think--faith! I don"t know; I will do whatever you want."
"I want a country house, monsieur; we will hire one."
"Very well, my dear love; I will look about for one, I will read the _Pet.i.tes-Affiches_."
"Don"t take all that trouble; just tell them to put the horses in the carriage, and we will look for a house in the neighborhood that I like best."
Chamoureau executed his wife"s orders with alacrity, while she, left to her reflections, said to herself:
"Ah! I will know this woman whom you love, ungrateful Edmond! and I will find a way to put a spoke in your love-affairs!"