Part 39 (1/2)
”Do you know, my dear, Madame Vaudrey is charming?”
He felt himself blush at these words hurled at him point-blank, then his cheeks grew cold. Never, till that moment, had Mademoiselle Kayser mentioned Adrienne's name.
”You like blondes, I see!” said Marianne. ”I am almost inclined to be jealous!”
”Will you do me a great favor?” then interrupted Sulpice. ”Never let us speak of her. Let us speak of ourselves.”
”Yes,” continued the perfidious Marianne in a patronizing tone, as if she had not heard him, ”she is certainly charming! A trifle--just a trifle--bourgeoise--But charming! Decidedly charming!”
Knowing Vaudrey well, she understood what a keen weapon she was plunging straight into him. A little _bourgeoise_! This conclusion rendered by the Parisienne with a smile now haunted Sulpice, who was annoyed at himself and he sought to discover in his wife, the dear creature whom he had so tenderly loved, whom he still loved, some self-satisfying excuse for his pa.s.sion and adultery.
”Bah!” he thought. ”Is it adultery? There is no adultery save for the wife. The husband's faithlessness is called a caprice, an adventure, a craving or madness of the senses. Only the wife is adulterous.”
In all candor, what sin had he committed? Was Adrienne less loved? He would have sacrificed his life for her. He overwhelmed her with presents, created surprises for her that she received without emotion, and simply said in a doleful tone:
”How good you are, my dear!”
He was ruining neither her nor his children! Ah! if he but had children!
Why had not Adrienne had children? A woman should be a mother. It is maternity that in the marriage estate justifies a man in abandoning his freedom and a woman her shame.
A mother! And was Marianne a mother?
No, but Marianne was Marianne. Marianne was not created for the domestic fireside and the cradle. Her statuesque and seductively lovely limbs only craved for the writhings of pleasure, not the pangs of maternity.
Adrienne, on the contrary, was the wife, and the childless wife soon took another name: the friend. No, he robbed her of nothing, Adrienne lost none of his affection, none of his fortune. The money squandered at Rue p.r.o.ny, Vaudrey had acquired; it was the savings of the honest people of Saint-Laurent-du-Pont, the parents, the _old folks_, that he threw--as in smelting--into the crucible of the girl's mansion.
Adrienne expressed no desire that was not fulfilled, and Sulpice who was, moreover, confident and lulled by her quietude, felt no remorse. He did not enquire if his pa.s.sion for Marianne would endure. He flung himself upon this love as upon some prey; nor was desire the only influence that now attached him to this woman, he was drawn to her also by the admiration that he felt for her boldness of thought, her singular opinions, her careless expressions, her devilish spirit; her appetizing and voluptuous attractions surprised and ensnared him--
What a counselor and ally such a woman would be!
Well and good! When Vaudrey informed her that he was about to become first minister, to preside over the Council, to show his power--this was his eternal watchword--Marianne immediately comprehended the new situation and what increase of influence in the country such a fortunate event would give him.
He observed with pleasure that something like a joyful beam gleamed in Mademoiselle Kayser's gray eyes.
She also doubtless thought that it was desirable to take advantage of the occasion, to seize and cling to the opportunity.
”Then it is official?” she asked.
”Not yet. But it is certain.”
What could Marianne hope for? Again, she had no well-defined object; but she watched her opportunity, and since Vaudrey's power was enlarged, well, she was to profit by it. Claire Dujarrier, who had already served her so well, could be useful to her again and advise her advantageously.
That will be seen.
”Are you desirous of attending Collard's funeral?” Vaudrey asked Marianne.
She laughed as she asked:
”Why! what do you think that would be to me?”
”It will be very fine. All the authorities, the magistrates, the Inst.i.tute, the garrison of Paris will be present.”