"No, I am not indeed; and by this evening I shall have forgotten all about it. But confess, Marquis," she added, with a coquettish laugh, "that this is a droll way of making an acquaintance."
Norbert started at the word Marquis, for no one but Daumon had ever addressed him thus.
"She does not despise me," thought he.
"This little incident will be a lesson to me," continued she. "Mamma always has told me to keep to the highroad; but I preferred the by-paths because of the lovely scenery."
Norbert, for the first time in his life, realized that the view was a beautiful one.
"I am this way nearly every day," pursued Diana, "though I am very wicked to disobey my mother. I go to see poor La Berven. She is dying of consumption, poor thing, and I take her a little soup and wine every now and then."
She spoke like a real Sister of Mercy, and, in Norbert"s opinion, wings only were lacking to transform her into a perfect angel.
"The poor woman has three children, and their father does nothing for them, for he drinks what he earns," the young girl went on.
Berven was one of the identical men to whom Norbert had given his promissory note for four thousand francs, for he was one of the two men who had intrusted Daumon with their savings for investment; but the young man was not in a condition to notice this. Diana had meantime slung her basket on her arm.
"Before I leave you to-day," said she, "I should so much like to ask a favor of you."
"A favor of me, mademoiselle?"
"Yes; oblige me by saying nothing of what has occurred to-day to any one; for should it come to my parents" ears, they would undoubtedly deprive me of the little liberty that they now grant me."
"Mademoiselle," answered Norbert, "be sure that I will never mention the terrible accident that my awkwardness has caused."
"Thank you, Marquis," answered the girl, with a half-mocking courtesy.
"Another time let me advise you, before you shoot, to look that no one is behind a hedge."
With these words she tripped away, without her tiny feet showing any signs of lameness. She had read Norbert"s heart like the pages of a book, and felt that there was every chance of her winning the game. "I am sure of it now," said she; "I shall be the d.u.c.h.ess of Champdoce." How grateful she felt for that untimely shot! And she felt sure that Norbert had understood what she meant when she had said that she went along that path. She felt certain that the young man had not lost one word. She believed that the only opposition would come from his father. As she looked round for a moment, she saw Norbert standing fixed and motionless as the trees around him.
After Diana had departed, the unhappy lad felt as if she had taken half his life with her. Was it all a dream? He knelt down, and, after a slight search, discovered the little pellet, the cause of all the mischief; and, taking it up carefully, returned home. To his extreme surprise, he found the main gateway wide open, and from a window he heard his father"s voice calling out in kindly accents,--
"Come up quickly, my boy, for our guest has arrived."
CHAPTER VI.
THE COUNT DE PUYMANDOUR.
Since the death of the d.u.c.h.ess of Champdoce the greater portion of the Chateau had been closed, but the reception rooms were always ready to be used at a very short notice.
The dining-room was a really magnificent apartment. There were ma.s.sive buffets of carved oak, black with age, ornamented with bra.s.s mountings.
The shelves groaned beneath their load of goblets and salvers of the brightest silver, engraved with the haughty armorial bearings of the house of Champdoce.
Standing near one of the windows, Norbert saw a man, stout, robust, bald and red-faced, wearing a mustache and slight beard. His clothes were evidently made by a first-rate tailor, but his appearance was utterly commonplace.
"This is my son," said the Duke, "the Marquis de Champdoce. Marquis, let me introduce you to the Count de Puymandour."
This was the first time that his father had ever addressed Norbert by his t.i.tle, and he was greatly surprised. The great clock in the outer hall, which had not been going for fifteen years, now struck, and instantly a butler appeared, bearing a ma.s.sive silver soup tureen, which he placed on the table, announcing solemnly that his Grace was served, and the little party at once seated themselves. A dinner in such a vast chamber would have been rather dull had it not been enlivened by the amusing tales and witty anecdotes of the Count de Puymandour, which he narrated in a jovial but rather vulgar manner, seasoned with bursts of laughter. He ate with an excellent appet.i.te, and praised the quality of the wine, which the Duke himself had chosen from the cellar, which he had filled with an immense stock for the benefit of his descendants.
The Duke, who was generally so silent and morose, smiled buoyantly, and appeared to enjoy the pleasantries of his guest. Was this only the duty of the host, or did his geniality conceal some hidden scheme? Norbert was utterly unable to settle this question, for though not gifted with much penetration, he had studied his father"s every look as a slave studies his master, and knew exactly what annoyed and what pleased him.
The Count de Puymandour lived in a magnificent house, with his daughter Marie, about three miles from Champdoce, and he was exceedingly fond of entertaining; but the gentry, who did not for a moment decline to accept his grand dinners, did not hesitate to say that Puymandour was a thief and a rogue. Had he been convicted of larceny, he could not have been spoken of with more disdainful contempt. But he was very wealthy, and possessed at least five millions of francs. Of course this was an excellent reason for hating him, but the fact was, that Puymandour was a very worthy man, and had made his money by speculation in wool on the Spanish frontier. For a long period he had lived happy and respected in his native town of Orthez, when all at once he was tempted by the thought of t.i.tular rank, and from that time his life was one long misery. He took the name of one of his estates, he bought his t.i.tle in Italy, and ordered his coat-of-arms from a heraldic agent in Paris, and now his ambition was to be treated as a real n.o.bleman. The mere fact of dining with the eccentric Duke de Champdoce, who never invited any one to his table, was to him, as it were, a real patent of n.o.bility.
At ten o"clock he rose and declared he must leave, and the Duke escorted him the length of the avenue to the great gates opening on the main road, and Norbert, who walked a few paces in the rear, caught now and then a few words of their conversation.
"Yes," remarked Puymandour, "I will give a million down."
Then came a few words from the Duke, of which Norbert could only catch the words, "thousands and millions."
He paid, however, but little attention, for his mind was many miles away. Since the unlooked-for meeting with that fair young face, he had thought of nothing else, and he mechanically shook hands with, and bade his guest "Good-night" when his father did.
When the Duke was sure that M. de Puymandour could not hear his voice, he took his son by the arm, and the bitterness of feeling which he had so long repressed burst forth in words.
"This," said he, "is a specimen of the mushroom aristocracy that has sprung up, and not a bad sample either; for though he is puffed up by ridiculous vanity, the man is shrewd and intelligent enough, and his descendants, who will have the advantages of a better education than their progenitors, will form a new cla.s.s, with more wealth and as much influence as the old one."
For more than an hour the Duke de Champdoce enlarged on his favorite topic; but he might as well have been alone, for his son paid no attention to what he said, for his mind was still dwelling upon his adventures of the morning. Again that sweet, soft laugh, and that modulated voice rang in his ears. How foolish he must have seemed to her! and what a ridiculous figure he must have cut in her eyes! He had by no means omitted to engrave on the tablet of his memory the fact that Diana pa.s.sed daily down the little path on her errand of bounty, and that there he had the chance of again seeing her. He fancied that he had so much to say to her; but as he found that his bashfulness would deprive him of the power of utterance, he determined to commit his sentiments to paper. That night he composed and destroyed some fifty letters. He did not dare to say openly, "I love you," and yet that was exactly what he wanted to express, and he strove, but in vain, to find words which would veil its abruptness and yet disclose the whole strength of his feelings. At last, however, one of his efforts satisfied him. Rising early, he s.n.a.t.c.hed up his gun, and whistling to Bruno, made his way to the spot where he had the day before seen Diana stretched upon the ground. But he waited in vain, and hour after hour pa.s.sed away, as he paced up and down in an agony of suspense. Diana did not come. The young lady had considered her plans thoroughly and kept away. The next day he might have been again disappointed but for a lucky circ.u.mstance.
Norbert was seated on the turf, awaiting with fond expectation the young girl"s approach and as Diana pa.s.sed the opening to the pathway Bruno scented her, and rushed forward with a joyous bark. She had then no option but to walk up to the spot where Norbert was seated. Both the young people were for the moment equally embarra.s.sed, and Norbert stood silent, holding in his hand the letter which had caused him so much labor to indite.
"I have ventured to wait for you here, mademoiselle," said he in a voice which trembled with suppressed emotion, "because I was full of anxiety to know how you have been. How did you contrive to return home with your wounded foot?"
He paused, awaiting a word of encouragement, but the girl made no reply, and he continued,--
"I was tempted to call and make inquiries at your father"s house, but you had forbidden me to speak of the accident, and I did not dare to disobey you."
"I thank you sincerely," faltered Diana.
"Yesterday," the young man went on, "I pa.s.sed the whole day here. Are you angry with me for my stupidity? I had thought that perhaps you had noticed my anxiety, and might have deigned to----"
He stopped short, terrified at his own audacity.
"Yesterday," returned Diana with the most ingenuous air in the world, and not appearing to perceive the young man"s embarra.s.sment, "I was detained at home by my mother."
"Yes," replied he, "for the past two days your form, lying senseless and bleeding on the ground, has ever been before my eyes, for I felt as if I were a murderer. I shall always see your pale, white face, and how, when I raised up your head it rested on my arm for a moment, and all the rapture--"
"You must not talk like that, Marquis," interrupted Diana, but she spoke in such a low tone that Norbert did not hear her and went on,--
"When I saw you yesterday my feelings so overpowered me that I could not put them into words; but as soon as you had left me, it appeared as if all grew dark around me, and throwing myself on my knees, I searched for the tiny leaden pellet that might have caused your death. I at last found it, and no treasure upon earth will ever be more prized by me."
To avoid showing the gleam of joy that flashed from her eyes, Diana was compelled to turn her head on one side.
"Forgive me, mademoiselle," said Norbert, in despair, as he noticed this movement; "forgive me if I have offended you. Could you but know how dreary my past life has been, you would pardon me. It seemed to me, the very moment that I saw you, I had found a woman who would feel some slight interest in me, and that for her sweet compa.s.sion I would devote my whole life to her. But now I see how mad and foolish I have been, and I am plunged into the depths "of despair.""
She accompanied these words with a glance sufficiently tender to restore all Norbert"s courage.
"Ah, mademoiselle," said he; "do not trifle with me, for that would be too cruel."
She let her head droop on her bosom, and, falling upon his knees, he poured a stream of impa.s.sioned kisses upon her hands. Diana felt herself swept away by this stream of pa.s.sion; she gasped, and her fingers trembled, as she found that she was trapped in the same snare that she had set for another. Her reason warned her that she must bring this dangerous interview to a conclusion.