"Well, monsieur," said Thelenie, who could hardly resist the desire to laugh anew at her visitor"s embarra.s.sment, "you seem to be unwilling to tell me whether this little Amelia is pretty."
"The girl in a _debardeur"s_ costume? she is rather attractive--one of those roguish grisette faces. There are some better-looking ones among young women of her cla.s.s, but there are many inferior to her."
"Tell me what happened at your supper. Did you laugh much? did you have much sport? Was Monsieur Edmond very devoted to his little flower-maker?"
"The supper, madame; you persist in wanting to talk about the supper--after the ball!"
"Well, yes, monsieur, I do. Sometimes I am very curious; where"s the harm?"
"I see none, madame; but I must admit that I am hardly able to satisfy your curiosity."
"Why so, monsieur, as you were with your friends?"
"I was there, madame, it is true, but it was almost as if I were not there. I don"t know how it happened, but after the oysters I felt very dizzy; I suppose the wine was not pure! In fact, while my friends were chatting with the ladies, I, who did not take the slightest interest in what they said, as I could think of nothing but you--I fell asleep, yes, sound asleep."
"Indeed! you fell asleep thinking of me; that is very flattering!"
"That proves, _belle dame_, that your image transports me from the earth, that I dream, and----"
"And that you fall asleep. But still, you didn"t sleep all the time, of course; and when you woke----?"
"When I woke, they had all gone; which was the more unkind of Freluchon, because he had my clothes at his rooms! You cannot imagine all the annoyance that has caused me--to say nothing of the embarra.s.sing plight in which I find myself at this moment."
For several seconds Thelenie had not been listening to Chamoureau. Her brow had become grave, her features expressed dissatisfaction. She rose and paced the floor, apparently quite oblivious of her guest"s presence.
For his part, Chamoureau was no better pleased with his tete-a-tete. She seemed unwilling that he should talk to her of love; she questioned him concerning things which did not interest him in the least, and now she left him alone on the couch and strode about the room regardless of him.
He said to himself that if he had torn his coat and trousers simply to obtain that result, it was not worth while to go to so much expense. He was strongly tempted to rise in his turn and walk beside his hostess, who seemed to have the fidgets in her legs; but he feared that if he did so he might add to the rents that he had already made in his garments, and that fear cast him into the most painful perplexity.
At last Thelenie seemed suddenly to remember that she was not alone. She halted in front of him, then resumed her seat on the couch, saying:
"Excuse me, monsieur; you must consider me most impolite, but I am sometimes extremely absent-minded; ideas come into my head which absorb me completely. It is a part of my temperament."
"You are forgiven, _belle dame_; indeed, I myself have moments when I am downright stupid! Really, I don"t know how to explain it."
"And then I will admit that I am angry with you for falling asleep at that supper after the ball. I had asked you to report to me all that you heard. If that is the way you perform commissions that are entrusted to you----"
"Forgive me, madame; in future I will keep awake, if that will give you pleasure; and it will be all the easier for me, because I feel that you have robbed me of repose forever!"
Thelenie looked at him severely, and said:
"So you absolutely persist in talking to me about love, do you, monsieur?"
"Insist upon it! Why, madame, I came here for no other purpose."
"Ah! that is true frankness! I am going to be as frank with you, monsieur: perhaps you hope to make me your mistress?"
"Oh! madame, I dare not say that I hope it, but I may at least confess that it would be to me the height of felicity! And if the purest love, the most immovable constancy will avail me anything, put me to the test."
"I had an idea that you were in mourning, monsieur. Yes, there is a band on your hat. You are in mourning for your wife, are you not?"
"Yes, madame, for my wife, whom I regret; that is to say, I did regret her profoundly and weep bitterly for her; but it was for the very purpose of putting an end to my grief that I welcomed with joy this new love which has taken possession of my heart, my senses, my----"
"What do you take me for, monsieur?"
Chamoureau was embarra.s.sed; that seemed to him an artful question.
"Why, madame," he stammered, looking down at his trousers, "I take you for a lady of the best society--ex--exceedingly well-bred--er--with much wit--in short--er--created to attract the homage of all mankind."
"You don"t say all you think; you met me at the Opera ball, and you said to yourself: "A woman who comes to the masquerade is sure to be an easy victim. She began to talk to me, consequently she won"t make a long resistance.""
"Oh! madame, I beg your pardon----"
"Monsieur Chamoureau, it is my duty to inform you that you are entirely mistaken in your conjectures. I will not be your mistress, monsieur. In fact, I do not propose to be anyone"s mistress. Oh! I won"t pretend that I am of the most rigid virtue. I have had a very stormy youth, I don"t deny it; but now I am growing old, I must be prudent----"
"You, growing old, madame! what a mockery!"
"I am past thirty, monsieur; at that age one must think of the future; one must think about obtaining a name, a position in society. Do you understand, monsieur?"
"I think that I understand you, charming creature; but if you will deign to accept my name, my hand, my office, I will place them all at your feet by becoming your husband."
"Your offer touches me, monsieur, but between ourselves, marriage is a business matter, and a matter of the greatest importance! What is your fortune, monsieur? How much is this office worth that you lay at my feet?"
Chamoureau drew himself up, did a little mental reckoning, then replied:
"With what I already have and my office, I do not exaggerate when I place my income at four to four thousand five hundred francs."
The fair Sainte-Suzanne threw herself back on the couch with a mocking laugh. Our widower, disquieted by that laugh, waited until it subsided before he said timidly:
"Don"t you think that a neat income?"
"Oh, no! frankly, it isn"t neat enough for me. I have ten thousand francs a year, and I would not accept any man for a husband who did not bring me at least twice that. I am fully decided as to that. Let us forget this nonsense, my dear Monsieur Chamoureau; let us think no more about your love, which is not old enough to have taken very deep root yet; but come to see me sometimes as a friend. In that capacity, I shall be glad to receive you, but, you understand, only as a friend."
"Forget my love! Ah! fascinating woman! Why, you do not know that you have bewitched me, that you have turned my head, that I fairly dote on you! You do not know----"
"I beg pardon, Monsieur Chamoureau, but I do know that I have visits to pay to-day, and that it is time for me to think about dressing. Permit me therefore to bid you adieu."
Sorely vexed to be thus summarily dismissed, Chamoureau rose, grasped the seat of his trousers with his left hand, took his hat in his right hand, bowed very slightly, so that his coat might not split more, and walked out backwards.
But once outside, he pulled his hat over his ears, muttering:
"Much satisfaction there is in spending money for this! Oh! these women!--And I have got to take a cab again!"
XII
AGATHE"S PARENTS