The White House Part 63

"Really," said Alfred, gazing at the vagabond in surprise, "you have principles which I should never have expected to find in an old soldier."

"Soldier! Who told you that I was ever a soldier?" retorted the stranger proudly.

"You yourself, the other morning, after speaking of my father, whose name made such an impression upon you."

The stranger frowned, and was silent for some moments; at last he continued:

"Well, that isn't the question now; do you propose to allow this girl to be whisked away from you by your rival, when it is entirely in your power to possess her? I confess that that surprises me on the part of the young Baron de Marcey."

"Thoughtless and enterprising as I am, or as I have been, I have always respected the happiness of my friends. I may have tried to triumph over Edouard when it was a question simply of a caprice, of a mere amourette!

But since this girl has turned his head to the point that he proposes to make her his wife----"

"To make her his wife!" cried the stranger, with an outburst of sarcastic laughter. "Oh! that would be too much, upon my word! If you love Monsieur Edouard, you will confer a genuine service upon him by preventing him from doing such a foolish thing."

"You speak with much a.s.surance. What makes you think so ill of this girl, pray?"

"I have eyes and experience; and you, who know women, how can you fail to see that this one with her simple, sweet manner is a little minx who knows a great deal? What do you think of a girl whose parents no one knows, and to whom they who adopt her leave all their property? Who entertains generously all those who seek hospitality at her hands? Who lives alone in these mountains, and talks as correctly as a woman brought up in the city? But that is not all; there are other mysterious circ.u.mstances, and I shall discover them."

Alfred reflected upon what he had heard; he could not help thinking that Isaure's conduct was in fact calculated to arouse strange suspicions.

The man who had stopped in front of Alfred watched him closely while he reflected; one could see that he was trying to read his eyes, to divine what was taking place in the depths of his heart. After a rather long silence he continued at last:

"Upon my word, you hesitate a long while; a lot of time and sighs wasted upon a girl who amounts to nothing; and who asks nothing better than to be seduced! If she were the heiress of a great name, or a n.o.ble chatelaine, you could not treat her with more respect! In heaven's name, have we gone back to the time of the Renauds and the Amadises? I am tempted to believe it. You ought to give tournaments for this young beauty; to break a lance or two to demonstrate her virtue, and to shatter a few helmets in favor of her innocence! Happy times those were when, in order to be recognized as the loveliest and the most virtuous of women, a maid had only to choose the bravest and strongest champion."

Alfred listened closely to the speaker's last words. He scrutinized him with more attention than before, and said to him:

"Who on earth are you, who presume to give me advice for which I do not ask you? I see that I am mistaken about you. No, you are not an ex-soldier. Edouard guessed the truth more nearly, I see, when he said that you must have held some position in society; in truth, your language, although you often affect a vulgar tone and manners, your language betrays education and knowledge. What misfortunes have reduced you to the melancholy situation in which I find you now?"

"What is there so surprising, young man, in my having once been rich and highly considered, and being so no longer? That is seen every day! Is not a man subject to a thousand and one reverses? And is not one especially in danger of falling when one occupies a lofty position?

Whether those reverses were due to others or to my own fault, I do not need to tell you. I had ardent pa.s.sions, I admit, and I loved to gratify them; that is the history of practically all men."

"You will agree," said Alfred with a smile, "that your present situation is hardly calculated to arouse a desire to imitate you."

"Oh! How many men, who have done worse than I, are still on the pinnacle? After all, what is there so unfortunate in my position? I am free, I am my own master, I can do whatever I please from morning until night. I wear a costume which is not fas.h.i.+onable, but it covers me, and that is enough for me; I do not envy the wealth of other men, because I have been sated with pleasure; when a man has often made himself drunk on exquisite wines, he is not sorry to drink water."

"But I have fancied that I noticed from your remarks that you had a decidedly bad opinion of women; have they treated you so very badly, that you bear them such a grudge?"

"Treated me badly! Not at all! On the contrary I was their favorite, their Benjamin; they have more reason to complain of me. There was one, however, whom I loved more sincerely than the others; she alone, I think, might have been able to subdue my character, to master my pa.s.sions; with her, in short, I might perhaps have become virtuous and orderly; and I should not now be wandering about these mountains!"

"In that case, why did you not marry her?"

"Why?" replied the stranger, and his eyes gleamed with rage, as he raised them to Alfred's face; "because another, more fortunate than I, stole her from me, and that other----"

"Well, that other?"

"I was never able to find an opportunity to be revenged upon him; but I hope to find one before long, and you may well believe that I shall not let it escape me."

"I have never appreciated the pleasure of revenge!"

"Ah! you are young still! However, you know love, and you allow the woman who attracts you to be stolen from you, when it rests only with you----"

"When it rests only with me! Upon my honor, you speak very coolly.

Isaure is more cruel than you think."

"She was not yesterday with your friend."

"She has with her a guardian whom it is very difficult to bribe."

"But might one not remove that faithful guardian?"

"What?"

"To be sure; could you not lure her away from her home, and then take her somewhere else, to a place where you could do whatever you chose with her, with the alternative of taking her back to her cottage if she absolutely refused to listen to your suit?"

"But who would undertake such an enterprise?"

"Who! parbleu! I would."

"You?"

"Yes, I, whenever you choose; say the word, and I promise you that your rival will not find the little one at her house to-morrow."

Alfred gazed at the vagabond for some moments, and then exclaimed:

"You are a miserable villain! Leave me, say nothing more to me! I blush to think that I have listened to such propositions!"

The stranger replied with a sneering laugh:

"What! just a little abduction of a girl who asks nothing better! A mere trick frightens you! Oh! I thought that you were farther advanced than that, monsieur le baron; but just as you please. Let your friend enjoy himself at your expense, let the girl laugh in her sleeve at your respect! After all, what difference does it make to me? But I will wager that before long you will see that my advice was good; then, if you need me, you will find me still, for I do not bear a grudge for a word.--Au revoir!"

The stranger turned his back on Alfred and disappeared by a narrow path among the cliffs, and young De Marcey, after a moment's reflection, turned and rode back to the chateau, instead of pursuing his journey.

XXII

THE LA PINCERIE FAMILY AT THE CHaTEAU

The vagabond's aspect and suggestions had produced upon Alfred's mind an effect different from that which that man apparently hoped. Disgusted by the wretch's hateful propositions, Alfred reflected upon the injustice of his conduct toward Edouard; he felt that he ought not to consider it a crime in him to have triumphed over him; and if Isaure really loved him, he vowed that he would not seek to interfere with his friend's happiness.

More content with himself after taking this resolution, Alfred, when he saw Edouard again, far from manifesting the same coolness as in the morning, spoke to him as was his habit before their rivalry. Edouard, no less surprised than delighted by this change in Alfred's humor, felt much happier since he had reason to hope that he had recovered his friend.

The next day Alfred accompanied Edouard; they rode together into the mountains. The young men did not mention Isaure; they seemed equally to dread talking about her. But they approached the valley, they were soon to see her, and Edouard felt a weight at his heart on Alfred's account.

Still he was soon to see her whom he adored; but it is when we are happiest that we would like all those whom we love to share our happiness.

Since the girl had told Edouard that she loved him, she no longer feared to let him see all the pleasure which his presence caused her; she stood in her doorway, awaiting his arrival, because there she was much nearer the road, and could be the sooner in her lover's arms.