Before this outburst of despair, M. d"Escorval turned pale.
"You must exaggerate your misfortune," he faltered; "explain what has happened."
Unconscious of what he was doing, M. Lacheneur threw his hat upon a chair, and flinging back his long, gray hair, he said:
"To you I will tell all. I came here for that purpose. I know you; I know your heart. And have you not done me the honor to call me your friend?"
Then, with the cruel exactness of the living, breathing truth, he related the scene which had just taken place at the presbytery.
The baron listened petrified with astonishment, almost doubting the evidence of his own senses. Mme. d"Escorval"s indignant and sorrowful exclamations showed that every n.o.ble sentiment in her soul revolted against such injustice.
But there was one auditor, whom Marie-Anne alone observed, who was moved to his very entrails by this recital. This auditor was Maurice.
Leaning against the door, pale as death, he tried most energetically, but in vain, to repress the tears of rage and of sorrow which swelled up in his eyes.
To insult Lacheneur was to insult Marie-Anne--that is to say, to injure, to strike, to outrage him in all that he held most dear in the world.
Ah! it is certain that Martial, had he been within his reach, would have paid dearly for these insults to the father of the girl Maurice loved.
But he swore that this chastis.e.m.e.nt was only deferred--that it should surely come.
And it was not mere angry boasting. This young man, though so modest and so gentle in manner, had a heart that was inaccessible to fear. His beautiful, dark eyes, which had the trembling timidity of the eyes of a young girl, met the gaze of an enemy without flinching.
When M. Lacheneur had repeated the last words which he had addressed to the Duc de Sairmeuse, M. d"Escorval offered him his hand.
"I have told you already that I was your friend," he said, in a voice faltering with emotion; "but I must tell you to-day that I am proud of having such a friend as you."
The unfortunate man trembled at the touch of that loyal hand which clasped his so warmly, and his face betrayed an ineffable satisfaction.
"If my father had not returned it," murmured the obstinate Marie-Anne, "my father would have been an unfaithful guardian--a thief. He has done only his duty."
M. d"Escorval turned to the young girl, a little surprised.
"You speak the truth, Mademoiselle," he said, reproachfully; "but when you are as old as I am, and have had my experience, you will know that the accomplishment of a duty is, under certain circ.u.mstances, a heroism of which few persons are capable."
M. Lacheneur turned to his friend.
"Ah! your words do me good, Monsieur," said he. "Now, I am content with what I have done."
The baroness rose, too much the woman to know how to resist the generous dictates of her heart.
"And I, also, Monsieur Lacheneur," she said, "desire to press your hand.
I wish to tell you that I esteem you as much as I despise the ingrates who have sought to humiliate you, when they should have fallen at your feet. They are heartless monsters, the like of whom certainly cannot be found upon the earth."
"Alas!" sighed the baron, "the allies have brought back others who, like these men, think the world created exclusively for their benefit."
"And these people wish to be our masters," growled Lacheneur.
By some strange fatality no one chanced to hear the remark made by M.
Lacheneur. Had they overheard and questioned him, he would probably have disclosed some of the projects which were as yet in embryo in his own mind; and in that case what disastrous consequences might have been averted.
M. d"Escorval had regained his usual coolness.
"Now, my dear friend," he inquired, "what course do you propose to pursue with these members of the Sairmeuse family?"
"They will hear nothing more from me--for some time, at least."
"What! Shall you not claim the ten thousand francs that they owe you?"
"I shall ask them for nothing."
"You will be compelled to do so. Since you have alluded to the legacy, your own honor will demand that you insist upon its payment by all legal methods. There are still judges in France."
M. Lacheneur shook his head.
"The judges will not accord me the justice I desire. I shall not apply to them."
"But----"
"No, Monsieur, no. I wish to have nothing to do with these men. I shall not even go to the chateau to remove my clothing nor that of my daughter. If they send it to us--very well. If it pleases them to keep it, so much the better. The more shameful, infamous and odious their conduct appears, the better I shall be satisfied."
The baron made no reply; but his wife spoke, believing she had a sure means of conquering this incomprehensible obstinacy.
"I should understand your determination if you were alone in the world,"
said she, "but you have children."
"My son is eighteen, Madame; he possesses good health and an excellent education. He can make his own way in Paris, if he chooses to remain there."
"But your daughter?"
"Marie-Anne will remain with me."
M. d"Escorval thought it his duty to interfere.
"Take care, my dear friend, that your grief does not overthrow your reason," said he. "Reflect! What will become of you--your daughter and yourself?"
The wretched man smiled sadly.
"Oh," he replied, "we are not as dest.i.tute as I said. I exaggerated our misfortune. We are still landed proprietors. Last year an old cousin, whom I could never induce to come and live at Sairmeuse, died, bequeathing all her property to Marie-Anne. This property consisted of a poor little cottage near the Reche, with a little garden and a few acres of sterile land. In compliance with my daughter"s entreaties, I repaired the cottage, and sent there a few articles of furniture--a table, some chairs, and a couple of beds. My daughter designed it as a home for old Father Guvat and his wife. And I, surrounded by wealth and luxury, said to myself: "How comfortable those two old people will be there.
They will live as snug as a bug in a rug!" Well, what I thought so comfortable for others, will be good enough for me. I will raise vegetables, and Marie-Anne shall sell them."
Was he speaking seriously?
Maurice must have supposed so, for he sprang forward.
"This shall not be, Monsieur Lacheneur!" he exclaimed.
"Oh----"