Rodolph remained deeply thoughtful after the perusal of this fragment of a letter, in which he had found two names whose connection struck him.
Although the fresh infamy which appeared to accuse Jacques Ferrand was not proved, yet this man had proved himself so pitiless towards the unhappy Morel, had behaved so shamefully to Louise, his daughter, that the denial of a deposit, protected by certain impunity, on the part of such a wretch, appeared to him by no means improbable. This mother, who claimed a fortune which had disappeared so strangely, was, doubtless, used to a life of ease and comfort. Ruined by a sudden blow, and knowing no one in Paris, as the letter said, what must have been the existence of these two females, perhaps utterly dest.i.tute and alone in the midst of this vast metropolis!
The prince had, as we know, promised sure occupation to madame, by giving her accidentally, and to employ her mind, a part to play in some future work of charity, being certain to find sure misery for her to curtail before his next meeting with that lady. He thought that, perhaps, chance might bring before him some unfortunate and worthy person, who would, as he trusted, interest the heart and imagination of Madame d"Harville. The sketch of the letter which he held in his hands, and the copy of which had, doubtless, never been sent to the person whose a.s.sistance was implored, evinced a high and resigned mind, which would revolt from an offer of alms. So, then, how many precautions, how many plans, how much delicacy, must be employed to conceal the source of such generous succour, or to make it accepted! And, then, how much address to introduce oneself to such a female, in order to judge if she really merited the interest which she seemed capable of inspiring!
Rodolph foresaw in the development of this mysterious affair a mult.i.tude of new and touching emotions, which would singularly attract Madame d"Harville in the way he had previously proposed to her.
"Well, husband," said Rigolette, gaily, to Rodolph, "what is there so interesting in that piece of paper, which you are reading there?"
"My little wife," replied Rodolph, "you are very inquisitive; I will tell you by and by. Have you bought all you want?"
"Yes; and your poor friends will be set up like kings. There is nothing to do now but to pay; Madame Bouvard has made every allowance, I must do her that credit."
"My little wife, an idea occurs to me; whilst I am paying, suppose you go and choose the clothes for Madame Morel and her children? I confess my ignorance on the subject of such purchases. You can tell them to bring everything here, and then all the things will be together, and the poor people will have everything at once."
"You are right, husband. Wait here, and I shall not be long; I know two shopkeepers here, where I am a regular customer, and I shall find in their shops all I require."
And Rigolette went out, saying:
"Madame Bouvard, take care of my husband, and do not flirt with him, mind, whilst I am gone."
And then came the laugh, and away the merry maiden ran.
"I must say, sir," said Mother Bouvard to Rodolph, "that you have a capital little manager there. _Peste!_ she knows how to make a bargain!
And then she is so prettily behaved and pretty-looking! red and white, with those large, beautiful black eyes, and such hair!"
"Is she not charming? and ain"t I a happy husband, Madame Bouvard?"
"As happy a husband as she is a wife, I am sure of that."
"You are not mistaken. But tell me how much I owe you."
"Your little lady would only give me three hundred and thirty francs for the whole; as true as heaven"s above us, I only make fifteen francs by the bargain, for I did not try to get the things as cheaply as I might, for I hadn"t the heart to bate "em down; the people who sold "em seemed so uncommon miserable!"
"Really! Were they the same people that you bought this little _secretaire_ of?"
"Yes, sir; and it cuts my heart to think of it! Only imagine, the day before yesterday there came here a young and still pretty girl, but so pale and thin one could almost see through her; and you know that pains people that have any feeling at all. Although she was, as they say, neat as a new-made pin, her old threadbare black worsted shawl, her black stuff gown, which was also worn bare, her straw bonnet, in the month of January, for she was in mourning, all showed what we call great distress, for I am sure she was a real lady. At last, blushing up to the very eyes, she asked me if I would buy two beds and bedding complete, and a little old _secretaire_. I said that, as I sold, of course I bought, and that if they would suit me I would have them, but that I must see the things. She then asked me to go with her to her apartment, not far off, on the other side of the Boulevards, in a house on the Quay of St. Martin"s Ca.n.a.l. I left my niece in the shop, and followed the lady until we reached a smallish house at the bottom of a court; we went up to the fourth floor, and, the lady having knocked, the door was opened by a young girl about fourteen years of age, who was also in mourning, and equally pale and thin, but still very, very pretty, so much so that I was quite astonished."
"Well, and this young girl?"
"Was the daughter of the lady in mourning. Though it was very cold, yet a thin gown of black cotton with white spots, and a small, shabby mourning shawl, that was all she had on her."
"And their rooms were wretched?"
"Imagine, sir, two little rooms, very neat, but nearly empty, and so cold that I was almost froze; there was not a spark of fire in the grate, nor any appearance of there having been any for a very long time.
All the furniture was two beds, two chairs, a chest of drawers, an old portmanteau, and the small _secretaire_, and on the chest was a parcel, wrapped in a pocket-handkerchief. This small parcel was all the mother and child had left when their furniture was once sold. The landlord had taken the two bedsteads, the chairs, a trunk, and a table, for what was due to him, as the porter said, who had gone up-stairs with us. Then the lady begged me fairly to estimate the mattresses, sheets, curtains, and quilts; and, as I am an honest woman, sir, although it is my business to buy cheap and sell dear, yet, when I saw the poor young thing with her eyes full of tears, and her mother, who, in spite of her affected calmness, seemed to be weeping in her heart, I offered for the things fifteen francs more than they were worth to sell again, I swear I did; I agreed, too, just to oblige them, to take this small _secretaire_, although it is not a sort of thing I ever deal in."
"I will buy it of you, Madame Bouvard."
"Will you though? So much the better, sir, for it is else likely to stay with me for some time; I took it, as I say, only to oblige the poor lady. I told her then what I would give for the things, and I expected that she would haggle a bit and ask me something more, I did. Then it was that I saw she was not one of the common; she was in downright misery, she was, and no mistake about it, I am sure! I says to her, "It"s worth so much," She answers me, and says, "Very well; let us go back to your shop, and you can pay me there, for we shall not return here again to this house." Then she says to her daughter, who was sitting on the trunk a-crying, "Claire, take this bundle." I remember her name, and I"m sure she called her Claire. Then the young lady got up, but, as she was crossing the room, as she came to the little _secretaire_ she went down on her knees before it, and, dear heart! how the poor thing did sob! "Courage, my dear child; remember some one sees you," said her mother to her, in a low voice, but yet I heard her. You may tell, sir, they were poor, but very proud notwithstanding. When the lady gave me the key of the little _secretaire_, I saw a tear in her red eyes, and it seemed as if her very heart bled at parting with this old piece of furniture; but she tried to keep up her courage, and not seem downcast before strangers. Then she told the porter that I should come and take away all that the landlord did not keep, and after that we came back here. The young lady gave her arm to her mother, and carried in her hand the small bundle, which contained all they possessed in the world.
I handed them their three hundred and fifteen francs, and then I never saw them again."
"But their name?"
"I don"t know; the lady sold me the things in the presence of the porter, and so I had no occasion to ask her name, for what she sold belonged to her."
"But their new address?"
"I don"t know that either."
"No doubt they know at their old lodging?"
"No, sir; for, when I went back to get the things, the porter told me, speaking of the mother and daughter, "that they were very quiet people, very respectable, and very unfortunate,--I hope no misfortune has happened to them! They appeared to be very calm and composed, but I am sure they were quite in despair." "And where are they gone now to lodge?" I asked. "_Ma foi_, I don"t know!" was the answer; "they left without telling me, and I am sure they will not return here.""
The hopes which Rodolph had entertained for a moment vanished; how could he go to work to discover these two unfortunate females, when all the trace he had of them was that the young daughter"s name was Claire, and the fragment of a letter, of which we have already made mention, and at the bottom of which were these words:
"To write to Madame de Lucenay, for M. de Saint-Remy?"
The only, and very remote chance of discovering the traces of these unfortunates was through Madame de Lucenay, who, fortunately, was on intimate terms with Madame d"Harville.
"Here, ma"am, be so good as to take your money," said Rodolph to the shopkeeper, handing her a note for five hundred francs.
"I will give you the change, sir. What is your address?"
"Rue du Temple, No. 17."
"Rue du Temple, No. 17; oh, very well, very well, I know it."
"Have you ever been to that house?"
"Often. First I bought the furniture of a woman there, who lent money on wages; it is not a very creditable business, to be sure, but that"s no affair of mine,--she sells, I buy, and so that"s settled. Another time, not six weeks ago, I went there again for the furniture of a young man, who lived on the fourth floor, and was moving away."
"M. Francois Germain, perhaps?" said Rodolph.
"Just so. Did you know him?"
"Very well; and, unfortunately, he has not left his present address in the Rue du Temple, so I do not know where to find him. But where shall we find a cart to take the goods?"
"As it is not far, a large truck will do, and old Jerome is close by, my regular commissionaire. If you wish to know the address of M. Francois Germain, I can help you."
"What? Do you know where he lives?"
"Not exactly, but I know where you may be sure to meet with him."
"Where?"
"At the notary"s where he works."
"At a notary"s?"