Something too might well here be said as to his feeling towards Victor de Mauleon. He had joined in the family acquittal of that kinsman as to the grave charge of the jewels; the proofs of innocence thereon seemed to him unequivocal and decisive, therefore he had called on the Vicomte and acquiesced in all formal civilities shown to him. But such acts of justice to a fellow-gentilhomme and a kinsman duly performed, he desired to see as little as possible of the Vicomte de Mauleon. He reasoned thus: "Of every charge which society made against this man he is guiltless; but of all the claims to admiration which society accorded to him before it erroneously condemned, there are none which make me covet his friendship, or suffice to dispel doubts as to what he may be when society once more receives him. And the man is so captivating that I should dread his influence over myself did I see much of him."
Raoul kept his reasonings to himself, for he had that sort of charity which indisposes an amiable man to be severe on bygone offences. In the eyes of Enguerrand and Alain, and such young votaries of the mode as they could influence, Victor de Mauleon a.s.sumed almost heroic proportions. In the affair which had inflicted on him a calumny so odious, it was clear that he had acted with chivalrous delicacy of honour. And the turbulence and recklessness of his earlier years, redeemed as they were, in the traditions of his contemporaries, by courage and generosity, were not offences to which young Frenchmen are inclined to be harsh. All question as to the mode in which his life might have been pa.s.sed during his long absence from the capital was merged in the respect due to the only facts known, and these were clearly proved in his pieces justificatives: First, that he had served under another name in the ranks of the army in Algiers; had distinguished himself there for signal valour, and received, with promotion, the decoration of the cross. His real name was known only to his colonel, and on quitting the service, the colonel placed in his hands a letter of warm eulogy on his conduct, and identifying him as Victor de Mauleon. Secondly, that in California he had saved a wealthy family from midnight murder, fighting single-handed against and overmastering three ruffians, and declining all other reward from those he had preserved than a written attestation of their grat.i.tude. In all countries, valour ranks high in the list of virtues; in no country does it so absolve from vices as it does in France.
But as yet Victor de Mauleon"s vindication was only known by a few, and those belonging to the gayer circles of life. How he might be judged by the sober middle cla.s.s, which const.i.tutes the most important section of public opinion to a candidate for political trusts and distinctions, was another question.
The d.u.c.h.esse stood at the door to receive her visitors. Duplessis was seated near the entrance, by the side of a distinguished member of the Imperial Government, with whom he was carrying on a whispered conversation. The eye of the financier, however, turned towards the doorway as Alain and Enguerrand entered, and pa.s.sing over their familiar faces, fixed itself attentively on that of a mach older man whom Enguerrand was presenting to the d.u.c.h.esse, and in whom Duplessis rightly divined the Vicomte de Mauleon. Certainly if no one could have recognized M. Lebeau in the stately personage who had visited Louvier, still less could one who had heard of the wild feats of the roi des viveurs in his youth reconcile belief in such tales with the quiet modesty of mien which distinguished the cavalier now replying, with bended head and subdued accents, to the courteous welcome of the brilliant hostess. But for such difference in attributes between the past and the present De Mauleon, Duplessis had been prepared by the conversation at the Maison Doree. And now, as the Vicomte, yielding his place by the d.u.c.h.esse to some new-comer, glided on, and, leaning against a column, contemplated the gay scene before him with that expression of countenance, half sarcastic, half mournful, with which men regard, after long estrangement, the scenes of departed joys, Duplessis felt that no change in that man had impaired the force of character which had made him the hero of reckless coevals. Though wearing no beard, not even a mustache, there was something emphatically masculine in the contour of the close-shaven cheek and resolute jaw; in a forehead broad at the temples, and protuberant in those organs over the eyebrows which are said to be significant of quick perception and ready action; in the lips, when in repose compressed, perhaps somewhat stern in their expression, but pliant and mobile when speaking, and wonderfully fascinating when they smiled. Altogether, about this Victor de Mauleon there was a nameless distinction, apart from that of conventional elegance. You would have said, "That is a man of some marked individuality, an eminence of some kind in himself." You would not be surprised to hear that he was a party-leader, a skilled diplomatist, a daring soldier, an adventurous traveller; but you would not guess him to be a student, an author, an artist.
While Duplessis thus observed the Vicomte de Mauleon, all the while seeming to lend an attentive ear to the whispered voice of the Minister by his side, Alain pa.s.sed on into the ball-room. He was fresh enough to feel the exhilaration of the dance. Enguerrand (who had survived that excitement, and who habitually deserted any a.s.sembly at an early hour for the cigar and whist of his club) had made his way to De Mauleon, and there stationed himself. The lion of one generation has always a mixed feeling of curiosity and respect for the lion of a generation before him, and the young Vandemar had conceived a strong and almost an affectionate interest in this discrowned king of that realm in fashion which, once lost, is never to be regained; for it is only Youth that can hold its sceptre and command its subjects.
"In this crowd, Vicomte," said Enguerrand, "there must be many old acquaintances of yours?"
"Perhaps so, but as yet I have only seen new faces."
As he thus spoke, a middle-aged man, decorated with the grand cross of the Legion and half-a-dozen foreign orders, lending his arm to a lady of the same age radiant in diamonds, pa.s.sed by towards the ball-room, and in some sudden swerve of his person, occasioned by a pause of his companion to adjust her train, he accidentally brushed against De Mauleon, whom he had not before noticed. Turning round to apologize for his awkwardness, he encountered the full gaze of the Vicomte, started, changed countenance, and hurried on his companion.
"Do you not recognize his Excellency?" said Enguerrand, smiling. "His cannot be a new face to you."
"Is it the Baron de Lacy?" asked De Mauleon.
"The Baron de Lacy, now Comte d"Epinay, amba.s.sador at the Court of -----, and, if report speak true, likely soon to exchange that post for the porte feuille of Minister."
"He has got on in life since I saw him last, the little Baron. He was then my devoted imitator, and I was not proud of the imitation."
"He has got on by always clinging to the skirts of some one stronger than himself,--to yours, I dare say, when, being a parvenu despite his usurped t.i.tle of baron, he aspired to the entree into clubs and salons. The entree thus obtained, the rest followed easily; he became a millionaire through a wife"s dot, and an amba.s.sador through the wife"s lover, who is a power in the State."
"But he must have substance in himself. Empty bags can not be made to stand upright. Ah! unless I mistake, I see some one I knew better.
Yon pale, thin man, also with the grand cross--surely that is Alfred Hennequin. Is he too a decorated Imperialist? I left him a socialistic Republican."
"But, I presume, even then an eloquent avocat. He got into the Chamber, spoke well, defended the coup-d"etat. He has just been made Prefet of the great department of the a popular appointment. He bears a high character. Pray renew your acquaintance with him; he is coming this way."
"Will so grave a dignitary renew acquaintance with me? I doubt it."
But as De Mauleon said this, he moved from the column, and advanced towards the Prefet. Enguerrand followed him, and saw the Vicomte extend his hand to his old acquaintance.
The Prefet stared, and said, with frigid courtesy, "Pardon me,--some mistake."
"Allow me, Monsieur Hennequin," said Enguerrand, interposing, and wishing good-naturedly to save De Mauleon the awkwardness of introducing himself,--"allow me to reintroduce you to my kinsman, whom the lapse of years may well excuse you for forgetting, the Vicomte de Mauleon."
Still the Prefet did not accept the hand. He bowed with formal ceremony, said, "I was not aware that Monsieur le Vicomte had returned to Paris,"
and moving to the doorway, made his salutation to the hostess and disappeared.
"The insolent!" muttered Enguerrand.
"Hush!" said De Mauleon, quietly, "I can fight no more duels,--especially with a Prefet. But I own I am weak enough to feel hurt at such a reception from Hennequin, for he owed me some obligations,--small, perhaps, but still they were such as might have made me select him, rather than Louvier, as the vindicator of my name, had I known him to be so high placed. But a man who has raised himself into an authority may well be excused for forgetting a friend whose character needs defence. I forgive him."
There was something pathetic in the Vicomte"s tone which touched Enguerrand"s warm if light heart. But De Mauleon did not allow him time to answer. He went on quickly through an opening in the gay crowd, which immediately closed behind him, and Enguerrand saw him no more that evening.
Duplessis ere this had quitted his seat by the Minister, drawn thence by a young and very pretty girl resigned to his charge by a cavalier with whom she had been dancing. She was the only daughter of Duplessis, and he valued her even more than the millions he had made at the Bourse.
"The Princess," she said, "has been swept off in the train of some German Royalty; so, pet.i.t pere, I must impose myself on thee."
The Princess, a Russian of high rank, was the chaperon that evening of Mademoiselle Valerie Duplessis.
"And I suppose I must take thee back into the ballroom," said the financier, smiling proudly, "and find thee partners."
"I don"t want your aid for that, Monsieur; except this quadrille, my list is pretty well filled up."
"And I hope the partners will be pleasant. Let me know who they are," he whispered, as they threaded their way into the ball-room.
The girl glanced at her tablet.
"Well, the first on the list is milord somebody, with an unp.r.o.nounceable English name."
"Beau cavalier?"
"No; ugly, old too; thirty at least."
Duplessis felt relieved. He did not wish his daughter to fall in love with an Englishman.
"And the next?"
"The next?" she said hesitatingly, and he observed that a soft blush accompanied the hesitation.
"Yes, the next. Not English too?"
"Oh, no; the Marquis de Rochebriant."
"Ah! who presented him to thee?"
"Thy friend, pet.i.t pere, M. de Braze."
Duplessis again glanced at his daughter"s face; it was bent over her bouquet.
"Is he ugly also?"
"Ugly!" exclaimed the girl, indignantly; "why, he is--" she checked herself and turned away her head.
Duplessis became thoughtful. He was glad that he had accompanied his child into the ball-room; he would stay there, and keep watch on her and Rochebriant also.
Up to that moment he had felt a dislike to Rochebriant. That young n.o.ble"s too obvious pride of race had nettled him, not the less that the financier himself was vain of his ancestry. Perhaps he still disliked Alain, but the dislike was now accompanied with a certain, not hostile, interest; and if he became connected with the race, the pride in it might grow contagious.
They had not been long in the ball-room before Alain came up to claim his promised partner. In saluting Duplessis, his manner was the same as usual, not more cordial, not less ceremoniously distant. A man so able as the financier cannot be without quick knowledge of the human heart.
"If disposed to fall in love with Valerie," thought Duplessis, "he would have taken more pains to please her father. Well, thank heaven, there are better matches to be found for her than a n.o.ble without fortune and a Legitimist without career."
In fact, Alain felt no more for Valerie than for any other pretty girl in the room. In talking with the Vicomte de Braze in the intervals of the dance, he had made some pa.s.sing remark on her beauty. De Braze had said, "Yes, she is charming; I will present you," and hastened to do so before Rochebriant even learned her name. So introduced, he could but invite her to give him her first disengaged dance, and when that was fixed, he had retired, without entering into conversation.
Now, as they took their places in the quadrille, he felt that effort of speech had become a duty, if not a pleasure; and of course, he began with the first commonplace which presented itself to his mind.
"Do you not think it a very pleasant ball, Mademoiselle?"