daumon had in no way exaggerated when he said that norbert was spoken of as the “young savage of champdoce,” though no one used this appellation in an insulting form. public opinion had changed considerably regarding the duke of champdoce. the first time that he had made his appearance, wearing wooden shoes and a leathern jacket, every one had laughed, but this did not affect him at all, and in the end people began to term his dogged obstinacy indomitable perseverance. the gleam that shone from his hoarded millions imparted a brilliant lustre to his shabby garments. why should they waste their pity upon a man who would eventually come into a gigantic fortune, and have the means of gratifying all his desires?
mothers, with daughters especially, took a great interest in the young man, for to get a girl married to the “young savage of champdoce” would be a feat to be proud of; but unluckily his father watched him with all the vigilance of a spanish duenna. but there was a young girl who had long since secretly formed a design of her own, and this bold-hearted beauty was diana de laurebourg. it was with perfect justice that she had received the name of the “belle of poitiers.” she was tall and very fair, with a dazzling complexion and masses of lustrous hair; but her eyes gleamed with a suppressed fire, which plainly showed the constitution of her nature. she had been brought up in a convent, and her parents, who had wished her to take the veil, had only been induced to remove her owing to her obstinate refusal to pronounce the vows, coupled with the earnest entreaties of the lady superior, who was kept in a constant state of ferment owing to the mutinous conduct of her pupil. her father was wealthy, but all the property went over to her brother, ten years older than herself; and so diana was portionless, with the exception of a paltry sum of forty thousand francs.
“my child!” said her father to her the first day of her return, “you have come back to us once more, and now all you have to do is to fascinate some gentleman who is your equal in position and who has plenty of money. if you fail in that, back you go to the convent.”
“time enough to talk about that some years hence,” answered the girl with a smile; “at present i am quite contented with being at home with you.”
m. de laurebourg had commented with some severity upon the conduct of the duke de champdoce towards his son, but he was perfectly willing to sacrifice his daughter’s heart for a suitable marriage.
“i shall gain my end,” murmured the girl, “i am sure of it.”
she had heard a friend of her father’s speaking of norbert and his colossal expectations.
“why should i not marry him?” she asked of her own heart; and, with the utmost skill, she applied herself to the execution of her design; for the idea of being a duchess, with an income of two hundred thousand francs, was a most fascinating one. but how was she to meet norbert? and how bring over the money-raking duke to her side? before, however, she could decide on any plan, she felt that she must see norbert. he was pointed out to her one day at mass, and she was struck by his beauty and by an ease of manner which even his shabby dress could not conceal. by the quick perception which many women possess, she dived into norbert’s inmost soul; she felt that he had suffered, and her sympathy for him brought with it the dawn of love, and by the time she had left the chapel she had registered a solemn vow that she would one day be norbert’s wife. but she did not acquaint her parents with this determination on her part, preferring to carry out her plans without any aid or advice. mademoiselle diana was shrewd and practical, and not likely to err from want of judgment. the frank and open expression of her features concealed a mind of superior calibre, and one which well knew how to weigh the advantages of social rank and position. she affected a sudden sympathy with the poor, and visited them constantly, and might be frequently met in the lanes carrying soup and other comforts to them. her father declared, with a laugh, that she ought to have been a sister of charity, and did not notice the fact that all diana’s pensioners resided in the vicinity of champdoce. but it was in vain that she wandered about, continually changing the hour of her visits. the “savage of champdoce” was not to be seen, nor was he even a regular attendant at mass. at last a mere trifle changed the whole current of the young man’s existence; for, a week after the conversation in which the duke had laid bare his scheme to his son, he again referred to it, after their dinner, which they had partaken of at the same table with forty laborers, who had been hired to get in the harvest.
“you need not, my son,” began the old gentleman, “go back with the laborers to-day.”
“but, sir—”
“allow me to continue, if you please. my confidential conversation with you the other night was merely a preliminary to my telling you that for the future i did not expect you to toil as hard as you had hitherto done, for i wish you to perform a duty less laborious, but more responsible; you will for the future act as farm-bailiff.”
norbert looked up suddenly into his father’s face.
“for i wish you to become accustomed to independent action, so that at my death your sudden liberty may not intoxicate you.”
the duke then rose from his seat, and took a highly finished gun from a cupboard.
“i have been very much pleased with you for some time past,” said he, “and this is a sign of my satisfaction. the gamekeeper has brought in a thoroughly trained dog, which will also be yours. shoot as much as you like, and, as you cannot go about without money in your pocket, take this, but be careful of it; for remember that extravagance on your part will procrastinate the day upon which our descendants will resume their proper station in the world.”
the duke spoke for some time longer, but his son paid no heed to his words, and was too much astonished to accept the six five-franc pieces which his father tendered to him.
“i suppose,” said the duke at last in angry accents, “that you will have the grace to thank me.”
“you will find that i am not ungrateful,” stammered norbert, aroused by this reproach.
the duke turned away impatiently.
“what has the boy got into his head now?” muttered he.
it was owing to the advice of the priest of bevron that the duke had acted as he had done; but this indulgence came too late, for norbert’s detestation of his tyrant was too deeply buried in his heart to be easily eradicated.
a gun was not such a wonderful present after all—a matter of a few francs, perhaps. had the duke offered him the means of a better education, it would be a different matter; but as it was, he would still remain the “young savage of champdoce.”
however, norbert took advantage of the permission accorded to him, and rambled daily over the estate with his gun and his dog bruno, to which he had become very much attached. his thoughts often wandered to daumon; but he had made inquiries, and had heard that the counsellor was a most dangerous man, who would stick at nothing; but for all that, he had made up his mind to go back to him again for further advice, though his better nature warned him of the precipice on the brink of which he was standing.
