"No more than I expect to be elected to the Academy.--Rich! wealthy! Now I shall no longer be despised; my homage will no longer be spurned; that adored woman will be mine!
"What a new life for me! ah! blessed change!
My grief has pa.s.sed away like summer clouds."
My hat--my handkerchief--my gloves--I have all that I require. Ah! my certificates of birth and of baptism and marriage. No, I don"t need the last; it"s of no consequence. Now I"m off."
"Monsieur has not drunk his coffee."
"Drink it, Madame Monin, drink it; it is no more than fair that you should partake of my good fortune."
Chamoureau called on the notary, who confirmed what he had written and advised him to go at once to Havre, in order to obtain immediate possession of the fortune which was held at his disposal there.
That same day, our legatee took the express train for Havre. There he exhibited to the notary all the doc.u.ments which proved that he was the Sigismond Chamoureau to whom Monsieur Eustache-Hector Chamoureau, his cousin and G.o.dfather, had bequeathed all his property.
Two days later the former business agent was back in Paris, armed with the well-filled wallet which his G.o.dfather had bequeathed to him. It had all come so suddenly and been done so quickly that, when he was in his own rooms once more, Chamoureau wondered if he were not the plaything of a dream, and if he had really become rich. But the rotund wallet was in his hands; he could feel and count the bank-notes, the government obligations, and several drafts accepted by the richest bankers in Paris. Thereupon he said to himself:
"No, I am not dreaming; I am really in possession of a very respectable fortune; therefore I may aspire to the woman whom I idolize. I must not delay; my fate must be decided at once."
He seated himself at his desk and wrote:
"Madame:
"It is no longer a humble real estate agent who lays his heart and his hand at your feet; my position has changed. An inheritance which I was far from expecting, but of which I have just come into possession, gives me an income of twenty thousand francs, in addition to twenty-five hundred which I already had.--I do not refer to my business, which I have abandoned.--I am therefore possessed of twenty-two thousand five hundred francs a year. This fortune I place at your disposal, soliciting anew the t.i.tle of your husband, which I should be proud to bear.
"If I have offended you, forgive me; I was absolutely innocent in the affair of the Champs-Elysees, where I went confident of my good fortune, and no less deceived than yourself. But since I have known you, my love for you has never diminished; on the contrary, it has grown greater and greater every day. I will not ask any questions concerning the past, and I shall always have the blindest confidence with respect to the present and the future. I await your reply."
Having signed this letter, Chamoureau went out and gave it to a messenger in whom he had confidence.
"Ten francs for you," he said, "if you bring me an answer. If she says that she will write, insist, implore her to give you a line on the spot.
I will wait for you in this cafe, where I shall absorb much chartreuse, to give me patience and courage."
Since the adventure on the Champs-Elysees, the fair Thelenie"s humor was uniformly morose; sometimes she pa.s.sed whole days absorbed in her thoughts. Her friend Helose"s society had not the power to divert her, and when that young woman said to her:
"Do you mean to pa.s.s your whole life regretting that little fellow?"
Thelenie would reply:
"I no longer regret him, I no longer love him; I hate him now! But I shall not be satisfied until I have had my revenge."
Chamoureau"s messenger found Thelenie in this frame of mind. She read the letter which was brought to her, and to which she was told that an answer was expected. She read it a second time more carefully, then handed it to Mademoiselle Helose, saying:
"Here, read this proposal that is made to me."
Mademoiselle Helose punctured her perusal of the letter with many "ohs!" and "ahs!" and when she had read it through she exclaimed:
"Mon Dieu! why, this is magnificent!--twenty-two thousand five hundred francs a year! it"s superb! And a man who will ask no questions concerning the past and will have blind confidence in the future! Why, that"s a model husband! Is it possible that you can refuse all that?"
"I find it difficult to believe that it"s true; I suppose it"s another miserable joke on the part of those who played that detestable trick on me before. As for this Chamoureau, he is a downright idiot, who is quite capable of seconding the schemes of those men because he doesn"t suspect them."
"But if it should be true! a splendid fortune, my dear!"
Thelenie rang for her maid.
"Who brought this letter, Melie?"
"A messenger, madame."
"Is he still here?"
"Yes, madame, he absolutely insists on having an answer."
"Let him come in."
The messenger was ushered into the presence of the ladies. Thelenie examined him for some seconds, then asked him:
"Who gave you this letter?"
"Monsieur Chamoureau, madame."
"You know him, then?"
"Yes, madame, he often employs me. He keeps a real estate office; I know him well."
"Was he alone when he handed you this letter?"
"Yes, madame, he came to my stand for me; he was all alone."
"What did he say to you?"
"He said--Well! he seems to be very anxious to have a written answer from madame, for he promised me ten francs if I"d bring him just a line."
"Very well; you shall earn your ten francs."
Thelenie took her writing-case and wrote:
"I will receive you at my apartment this evening. But bring the proofs of what you tell me, or you won"t leave my house with both your ears."
She handed the note to the messenger, who left the house with a radiant face. He had no sooner gone than the door opened again and Monsieur Beauregard entered the apartment, unannounced. At sight of him, Thelenie turned pale; then she motioned to her friend, saying:
"Go into the salon while I talk with monsieur."
Mademoiselle Helose rose and left the room, muttering:
"Well, well! I wonder if this is a brother, too! at all events, he isn"t of the same type as the other!"