Claire, forcing herself to smile, said, "It must be confessed, mother, he is not jealous, and yet I have been courted wherever I have gone, and am scarcely allowed to remain in peace, even in this desert of Beaulieu.
It would seem I have attracted the attention of our neighbour the ironmaster."
"Monsieur Derblay?"
"Yes, mother; but his homage is respectful, and I have no cause to complain of him. I only mentioned him as an example--as one of many. The duke stays away, and I remain here alone, patient and--"
"And you act very wrongly!" exclaimed the marchioness.
The opportunity of easing her mind was not to be lost, and she told Claire that if the marriage ever did take place she feared there would be cause for regret. But her daughter"s violent emotion made her realise more forcibly than ever how deeply and firmly Claire was attached to the Due de Bligny. So she a.s.sured her she had heard nothing fresh about him, and hoped they might have news from the De Prefonts, who were to arrive that day from Paris.
"Ah!" interrupted Mdlle. de Beaulieu, "here is Octave coming with Monsieur Bachelin, the notary." And she went to meet them, looking the living incarnation of youth in all its grace and vigour.
"You have had good sport, it seems," she said, waylaying her brother, and feeling the weight of his game-bag.
"Oh, I"ll be modest. This game was not killed by me," answered the marquis; and explained that he had lost his way on the Pont Avesnes land, and had been rather haughtily accosted by another sportsman, who, however, as soon as he heard his name, became very polite, and forced him to accept the contents of his own bag.
Maitre Bachelin immediately informed them that this must have been the ironmaster himself, whom he had been to see that morning, and all questions at issue about the boundaries of the estates were as good as settled.
"For," said he, "my worthy friend accepts whatever conditions you may lay down. The only point now is to sign the preliminaries, and with this object Monsieur Derblay proposes to call at Beaulieu with his sister, Mile. Suzanne; that is, if you are pleased to authorise him, Madame la Marquise."
"Oh, certainly. Let him come by all means. I shall be glad to see this Cyclops, who is blackening all the valley. But come, you have, no doubt, brought me some fresh doc.u.ments in reference to our English lawsuit."
"Yes, Madame la Marquise, yes," rejoined Bachelin, with an appealing look. "We will talk business if you desire it."
Without asking any questions, Claire and the marquise gave their mother a smile, and left the drawing-room.
"Well, Bachelin, have the English courts decided? Is the action lost?"
The notary lacked courage to reply in words, but his gesture was sufficient. The marchioness bit her lips, and a tear glittered for a moment.
"Ah!" said the notary. "It is a terrible blow for the house of Beaulieu."
"Terrible indeed," said the marchioness; "for it implies my son"s and my daughter"s ruin. Misfortunes seldom come singly," she resumed. "I suppose you have some other bad news for me, Bachelin. Tell me everything. You have news of the Duc de Bligny?"
"For the last six weeks M. le Duc de Bligny has been in Paris."
"He is aware of the misfortune that has overtaken us?"
"He knew of it one of the first, Madame la Marquise."
The marchioness was grieved more cruelly by this than by the money loss; and the notary was thus emboldened to tell her that a gallant friend of his, M. Derblay, whose father had been kind enough to call Maitre Bachelin his friend, had fallen pa.s.sionately in love with Mdlle. de Beaulieu, and would be the happiest man in the world if he were even allowed to hope. He advised the marchioness not to say anything at present to her daughter. Maybe the duke would return to more honourable feelings, and it would always be time enough for Mdlle. Claire to suffer."
"You are right; but, at all events, I must inform my son of this blow that strikes him."
Octave was not surprised, but affectionately taking his mother"s hand, said, "My only concern was for my sister, whose dowry was at stake. You must leave her the part of your fortune you were reserving for me. Don"t you think, mother, that our cousin De Bligny"s silence has some connection with the loss of this lawsuit?"
"You are mistaken, child," cried the marchioness eagerly. "For the duke----"
"Oh, fear nothing, mother," said Octave. "If Gaston hesitates now that Mdlle. de Beaulieu no longer comes to him with a million in either hand, we are not, I fancy, the sort of folk to seize him by the collar and compel him to keep his promises."
"Well said, my son," cried the marchioness.
Bachelin took respectful leave of his n.o.ble clients, and hurried off to Pont Avesnes as fast as his legs could carry him.
_II.--M. Derblay"s Pa.s.sion_
It was really M. Derblay whom the Marquis de Beaulieu had met in the woods of Pont Avesnes. Letting Octave call after him as loud as he liked, he hurried on through the woods. Chance had brought him nearer to the woman he adored from afar, in a dream as it were, and his heart was full of joy. He, Philippe, might approach her--he would be able to speak to her. But at the thought of the Duc de Bligny, a feeling of deep sadness overcame him, and his strength waned.
He recalled to mind all the exploits of his life, and asked himself if, in virtue of the task he had accomplished, he were not really deserving of happiness. After very brilliant studies, he had left the polytechnic school with first honours, and had chosen the state mining service when the Franco-German war had broken out. He was then two-and-twenty, and had just obtained an appointment, but at once enlisted as a volunteer.
He served with distinction, and when at last he started for home he wore on his breast the ribbon of the Legion of Honour. He found the house in mourning. His mother had just died, and his little sister, Suzanne, just seven years old, clung to him with convulsive tenderness. Within six months his father also died, leaving his affairs in a most confused state.
Philippe renounced the brilliant career as an engineer already chalked out before him, and that his sister might not be dowerless, became a manufacturer. In seven years he had liquidated the paternal inheritance; his property was really his own, and he felt capable of greatly extending his enterprises. Popular in the district, he might come forward at the elections to be returned as a deputy. Who knew? Hope revived in Philippe Derblay"s heart.
After a long talk with Maitre Bachelin, he, on considering the situation, felt it was not unfavourable to his hopes. When he presented himself at Beaulieu, the marchioness received him kindly, and, touching Suzanne"s fair hair with her lips, "There is peace signed on this child"s forehead," said she. "All your sins are forgiven you, neighbour.
And now come and let me introduce you to the family."
A burning flush suffused Philippe"s face, and he bowed low before the girl he adored.
"Why, he"s a gentleman, dear!" whispered the baroness to Claire. "And think, I pictured him with a leather ap.r.o.n! Why, he"s decorated, and the baron isn"t! He"s really very good-looking, and his eyes are superb!"
Claire looked at him almost sternly. The contrast was complete between him and Bligny, far away. Philippe was relieved to find the Baron de Prefont present; he had read a treatise of his, which delighted the baron, who at once became very friendly, and insisted on visiting the ironworks. Only Claire remained frigid and indifferent, and this on his second visit, instead of disconcerting the ironmaster, only irritated him; and the more she pretended to ignore him the more determined he became to compel her to notice him. They were all on the terrace when Monsieur and Mademoiselle Monlinet were announced.
"What can these people want?" said Madame de Beaulieu.
Monsieur Monlinet was a wealthy tradesman, who had just bought the Chateau de la Varenne, near by. His daughter had been at school with Claire and the Baroness de Prefont, and a bitter warfare was waged incessantly between the juvenile aristocrats and the monied damsels without handles to their names. All recollections of Athenais had faded from Claire"s mind, but hatred was still rife in Mlle. Monlinet"s heart; and when her father, in view of her marriage, bought La Varenne for her, the chateau was a threatening fortress, whence she might pounce down on her enemy.
Now she advanced towards Mlle, de Beaulieu when she entered the drawing-room at Beaulieu and threw her arms round her neck, and boldly exclaimed, "Ah, my beautiful Claire! How happy am I to see you!"
This young person had wonderfully improved, had become very pretty, and now paralysed her adversaries by her audacity. She soon contrived to leave the others, and when alone with Claire informed her she had come to beg for advice respecting her marriage.
Mlle, de Beaulieu instantly divined what her relatives had been hiding so carefully, and though she became very pale while Athenais looked at her in fiendish delight, she determined to die rather than own her love for Gaston, and exerted all her will to master herself. The noise of a furious gallop resounded, and the Duc de Bligny dashed into the courtyard on a horse white with foam. He would have entered the drawing-room, but the baron hindered him, while Maitre Bachelin went to ask if he might be received.
Claire wore a frightful expression of anger.
"Be kind enough"--she turned to Bachelin--"to ask the duke to go round to the terrace and wait a moment. Don"t bring him in till I make you a sign from the window; but, in the meantime, send M. Derblay to me."
The marchioness and the baroness immediately improvided a _mise-en-scene,_ so that when the duke entered, he perceived the marchioness seated as usual in her easy chair, the baroness standing near the chimney-piece, and Claire with her back to the light. He bowed low before the n.o.ble woman who had been his second mother.
"Madame la Marquise," he said, "my dear aunt, you see my emotion--my grief! Claire, I cannot leave this room till you have forgiven me!"
"But you owe me no explanation, duke," Claire said, with amazing serenity; "and you need no forgiveness. I have been told you intend to marry. You had the right to do so, it seems to me. Were you not as free as myself?"
Thereupon, approaching the doorway, she made a sign to Philippe. Athenais boldly followed the ironmaster.
"I must introduce you to one another, gentlemen. Monsieur le Duc de Bligny--my cousin." Then, turning towards her faithless lover, and defying him, as it were, with her proud gaze, she added, "Duke, Monsieur Derblay, my future husband."