Part 11 (1/2)

Monsieur de Valois. ”Monsieur le vicomte has come, I am told, to settle in Alencon?”

Monsieur de Troisville. ”Yes, monsieur, I am looking for a house.”

[Mademoiselle Cormon, cup in hand, turns round.] ”It must be a large house” [Mademoiselle Cormon offers him the cup] ”to lodge my whole family.” [The eyes of the old maid are troubled.]

Monsieur de Valois. ”Are you married?”

Monsieur de Troisville. ”Yes, for the last sixteen years, to a daughter of the Princess Scherbellof.”

Mademoiselle Cormon fainted; du Bousquier, who saw her stagger, sprang forward and received her in his arms; some one opened the door and allowed him to pa.s.s out with his enormous burden. The fiery republican, instructed by Josette, found strength to carry the old maid to her bedroom, where he laid her out on the bed. Josette, armed with scissors, cut the corset, which was terribly tight. Du Bousquier flung water on Mademoiselle Cormon's face and bosom, which, released from the corset, overflowed like the Loire in flood. The poor woman opened her eyes, saw du Bousquier, and gave a cry of modesty at the sight of him. Du Bousquier retired at once, leaving six women, at the head of whom was Madame Granson, radiant with joy, to take care of the invalid.

What had the Chevalier de Valois been about all this time? Faithful to his system, he had covered the retreat.

”That poor Mademoiselle Cormon,” he said to Monsieur de Troisville, gazing at the a.s.sembly, whose laughter was repressed by his cool aristocratic glances, ”her blood is horribly out of order; she wouldn't be bled before going to Prebaudet (her estate),--and see the result!”

”She came back this morning in the rain,” said the Abbe de Sponde, ”and she may have taken cold. It won't be anything; it is only a little upset she is subject to.”

”She told me yesterday she had not had one for three months, adding that she was afraid it would play her a trick at last,” said the chevalier.

”Ha! so you are married?” said Jacquelin to himself as he looked at Monsieur de Troisville, who was quietly sipping his coffee.

The faithful servant espoused his mistress's disappointment; he divined it, and he promptly carried away the liqueurs of Madame Amphoux, which were offered to a bachelor, and not to the husband of a Russian woman.

All these details were noticed and laughed at. The Abbe de Sponde knew the object of Monsieur de Troisville's journey; but, absent-minded as usual, he forgot it, not supposing that his niece could have the slightest interest in Monsieur de Troisville's marriage. As for the viscount, preoccupied with the object of his journey, and, like many husbands, not eager to talk about his wife, he had had no occasion to say he was married; besides, he would naturally suppose that Mademoiselle Cormon knew it.

Du Bousquier reappeared, and was questioned furiously. One of the six women came down soon after, and announced that Mademoiselle Cormon was much better, and that the doctor had come. She intended to stay in bed, as it was necessary to bleed her. The salon was now full.

Mademoiselle Cormon's absence allowed the ladies present to discuss the tragi-comic scene--embellished, extended, historified, embroidered, wreathed, colored, and adorned--which had just taken place, and which, on the morrow, was destined to occupy all Alencon.

”That good Monsieur du Bousquier! how well he carried you!” said Josette to her mistress. ”He was really pale at the sight of you; he loves you still.”

That speech served as closure to this solemn and terrible evening.

Throughout the morning of the next day every circ.u.mstance of the late comedy was known in the household of Alencon, and--let us say it to the shame of that town,--they caused inextinguishable laughter. But on that day Mademoiselle Cormon (much benefited by the bleeding) would have seemed sublime even to the boldest scoffers, had they witnessed the n.o.ble dignity, the splendid Christian resignation which influenced her as she gave her arm to her involuntary deceiver to go into breakfast. Cruel jesters! why could you not have seen her as she said to the viscount,--

”Madame de Troisville will have difficulty in finding a suitable house; do me the favor, monsieur, of accepting the use of mine during the time you are in search of yours.”

”But, mademoiselle, I have two sons and two daughters; we should greatly inconvenience you.”

”Pray do not refuse me,” she said earnestly.

”I made you the same offer in the answer I wrote to your letter,” said the abbe; ”but you did not receive it.”

”What, uncle! then you knew--”

The poor woman stopped. Josette sighed. Neither the viscount nor the abbe observed anything amiss. After breakfast the Abbe de Sponde carried off his guest, as agreed upon the previous evening, to show him the various houses in Alencon which could be bought, and the lots of lands on which he might build.

Left alone in the salon, Mademoiselle Cormon said to Josette, with a deeply distressed air, ”My child, I am now the talk of the whole town.”

”Well, then, mademoiselle, you should marry.”

”But I am not prepared to make a choice.”

”Bah! if I were in your place, I should take Monsieur du Bousquier.”