Bathilde had already s.n.a.t.c.hed the letter; she broke the seal, unfolded the sheet, and read:
"The Marquis de Marvejols requests Demoiselle Bathilde Landry to come to his house to-morrow, at two o"clock, accompanied by Master Hugonnet and his daughter Ambroisine."
"What does this mean?" murmured Bathilde, whom the reading of the letter had terrified beyond words. "It is his father, that old man, who does not know me, who writes me this!"
Thereupon Ambroisine sat down beside her friend, took one of her hands in hers, and in her softest voice confessed to her the course she had adopted in conferring with Leodgard"s father.
Bathilde shuddered as she listened; and when her friend had finished, she said to her, weeping bitterly:
"I cannot scold you for what you did, for you hoped to put an end to my trials! And yet, if you had consulted me, I should have dissuaded you from this plan; for the result can only be to increase my misery, if the marquis punishes his son. He will hate me all the more intensely; he will be furiously angry with me, for he will think that it was I who asked you to tell his father all.--Ah! as if his desertion were not enough! Must I endure his hatred in addition?--The old Seigneur de Marvejols will take care of my child, you say. But suppose that, in order to keep a closer watch on the child, to give it an education worthy of the blood that will flow in its veins, it should occur to him to take it into his own house! Then I should be compelled to part with it--never to see it again, perhaps!--Oh! the mere thought turns my heart to ice! I, part with my child, my treasure, my hope, the only living thing that still attaches me to life!--Never! never! far better to die!"
"Who says that anyone thinks of separating you and your child?" cried Ambroisine, raising her head proudly. "Do you think that I would allow it? Oh! have no fear; if I did wrong to go to your seducer"s father without consulting you, never fear, I will see to it that no misfortune comes to you on that account!--On the contrary, something tells me that you will not blame me long for having done so.--Courage, Bathilde, courage! the Marquis de Marvejols is a just and honorable man. Have confidence in him."
The next day, at noon, the large hall in the Hotel de Marvejols was arranged as if for a solemn ceremonial. Chairs were placed in rows on each side. At one end a large table, covered with a velvet cloth with gold fringe, stood before three handsome armchairs, each provided with a sumptuous silken footstool. On the table were papers and writing materials.
Several valets in rich livery, among them old Hector, went in and out of the hall, making sure that everything was prepared in accordance with their master"s orders.
As the clock struck two, one of the doors opened, and three persons were ushered into the hall. They were Bathilde, Ambroisine, and Master Hugonnet.
Bathilde, whose aspect was made even more interesting by her condition and her suffering expression, leaned on her friend"s arm, trembling from head to foot, and seemed to lack courage to raise her eyes.
Ambroisine walked forward with a confident step, although, in the depths of her heart, she was intensely excited. Then came the master bath keeper, who entered the hall with a respectful demeanor, cap in hand, saluting all the servants and even the articles of furniture as he pa.s.sed, because the magnificence of the hotel made a profound impression upon him.
Old Hector stepped forward at once to meet the young women, and escorted them to one side of the hall, where he gave them seats, saying:
"Pray be seated; monsieur le marquis will come very soon. Pray be seated, and your companion also."
Bathilde and her friends had been in the hall hardly five minutes, afraid to do more than exchange a few words in whispers, when another door opened and the Marquis de Marvejols entered, accompanied by two gentlemen, one of whom, almost as old as the marquis, had a venerable, benevolent face which inspired respect and confidence; while the other, who was much younger, had a n.o.ble, severe expression, and a glance that seemed determined to read one"s inmost heart.
"That is the marquis!" whispered Ambroisine to Bathilde; but she, instead of looking up, cast her eyes on the floor and felt as if she were about to swoon.
She rose, however, on the entrance of the three gentlemen, as did her friend and Master Hugonnet. The new-comers bowed graciously to the persons who were in the hall before them; and the marquis, walking forward alone toward Ambroisine, said to her, looking at Bathilde:
"This is your friend?"
"Yes, monseigneur."
Bathilde tottered; fear and excitement made her heart beat furiously.
But, despite her prostration and her extreme pallor, her beautiful and refined features were still fascinating, and the old man seemed impressed by the sweetness and charm of her face.
He gazed at her a few seconds in silence, then placed his hand on the girl"s arm and said:
"Do not tremble, my child; calm your emotion; you are not here as an accused person."
With that, the marquis returned to the two gentlemen who had come with him, and they all took their seats in the armchairs at the end of the hall.
In a moment a man clad in the black costume then worn by men of the law took his place in front of the table, on which papers and parchments were strewn.
Old Hector appeared at one of the doors and made a slight motion with his head to his master, who said:
"You may admit him now."
Hector left the hall by the door through which Bathilde and her friends had entered; a few moments later, a man appeared at that door; he was pale and his emotion was apparent, but his glance was stern. He had donned his old uniform, which he had ceased to wear except on solemn occasions. He carried his head erect, and his step was firm as he walked into the hall without turning his eyes in the direction of Bathilde, who shuddered at sight of him, and hid her face against Ambroisine"s bosom, murmuring:
"My father! it is my father!"
It was, in fact, the old trooper of Henri IV who had pa.s.sed within a few feet of his daughter. He walked toward the marquis, and said to him in a tone in which, although perfectly respectful, there was a slight tinge of bitterness:
"Seigneur, you request me to come to your house; you inform me that you will make known to me the seducer of my--of her who was once my daughter; you might well be certain that I would not decline that invitation; but permit me to say that I did not suppose that this information would be given before so many witnesses; I did not think that it was necessary that my shame should be so public!"
"Master Landry, do not accuse us before you know what we propose to do,"
replied the Marquis de Marvejols; "we know that you are a most honorable man; the fact that you served under King Henri honors you in our eyes no less than the most ancient quarterings of n.o.bility on your arms could do; you cannot believe, therefore, that in requesting you to come before us our purpose was to humiliate you. On the contrary, we propose that justice shall be done you; and if your shame has been public, the reparation shall be equally public.--Be kind enough to take a seat--on this side."
The marquis pointed to the side opposite that where Landry"s daughter was seated; and the old soldier, whose features had softened somewhat as he listened to the words of the Seigneur de Marvejols, seated himself on a bench, caressing his grizzled moustache, but taking pains not to look toward Bathilde.
She had been hardly able to control herself since she had been in her father"s presence.
"He does not deign even to cast a glance at me!" she whispered to her friend.
"Because he is afraid of breaking down. He knows very well that you are here! If he saw you so pale and distressed, do you suppose that he could continue to be angry?--Wait, and hope."
The sound of a curtain drawn noisily back, and of spurs jangling loudly on the floor, attracted the attention of the two girls. A new personage had entered the hall; he made his appearance there as a master; and his manner was proud and arrogant as he strode toward the old marquis, pa.s.sing disdainfully before the persons a.s.sembled there.
Bathilde instantly recognized Leodgard; she pressed Ambroisine"s hand, murmuring:
"It is he! O mon Dieu! what is going to happen?"
"You wrote to me to come to you, seigneur, with respect to a matter which concerns the honor of our family, you say," said Leodgard, halting in front of his father; "but what is the meaning of such an a.s.semblage as this? Are you about to sit in judgment? Have you sent for me to come here as an accused person?"
"Perhaps," replied the old marquis, in a solemn voice, fastening his eyes upon his son with a look which compelled him to turn his away.
But Leodgard, looking at the persons who surrounded him, speedily recognized them all. At sight of Bathilde he turned pale, and could not master his confusion; but when he recognized Landry, an expression of annoyance, of anger, appeared on his face, and he waited, quivering with impatience, to hear what was wanted of him.
"Comte de Marvejols," said the old marquis, "when a sin--I might say, a crime--has covered an old man"s brow with shame and brought despair into a family, reparation should not be made in darkness and secrecy.
Therefore I have requested Monsieur le Duc de Montaulac and Monsieur le Baron de Freilly to be kind enough to a.s.sist me with their presence to-day; for, in the presence of such gentlemen, one must do his duty or be adjudged unworthy to wear a sword."
"I do not understand you, seigneur," rejoined Leodgard, while his features a.s.sumed an arrogant and scornful expression. "If anyone here considers that I am unworthy to wear a sword, let him come forward and tell me so, and I will show him how I handle it."
"Honor, monsieur, does not consist simply in being able to fight with skill; if it were so, bandits, highwaymen, cutthroats, would all be men of honor, and would be rewarded rather than punished.--But a truce to discussion.--Comte Leodgard, cast your eye upon this young woman who is here, by your side,--upon this old soldier, who has never been recreant to honor, and who no longer dares to look upon his child, because she has brought the flush of shame to his brow--those are your two victims."
"What! he is the man! he! the mise----"
And Landry, leaving his sentence unfinished, put his hand to the hilt of his sabre. But a glance from the old marquis recalled him to himself; he restrained his pa.s.sion and confined himself to glaring at the young man in a fashion which was sufficiently indicative of what he proposed to do.
The marquis resumed, still addressing his son:
"You seduced Bathilde, Landry"s daughter; you deceived a young girl, innocent until then. She put faith in your promises and your oaths. And after ruining her, you abandoned her in the most dastardly manner when she was cursed and cast out by her parents!--Comte Leodgard, was it because you belong to an ill.u.s.trious house, because you bear a n.o.ble name, that you deemed yourself ent.i.tled to bring misfortune and infamy upon a family of lower rank, a family which had as its possessions only honor?--Answer me!"
Profound silence reigned for a moment in the hall. Landry toyed with the hilt of his old sabre with a trembling hand. Bathilde scarcely breathed.