my wits would have been those of a dolt had i not foreseen the possibility of the presence of señorita alisanda in the drawing-room. the chance of so favorable a meeting set my nerves to tingling between delighted anticipation and dread of disappointment.
thanks to my ruddy coloring and a natural erectness of bearing, i followed the others to the door with a fair show of confidence, notwithstanding that i had to endure the contrast of so polished a gentleman as mr. burr. as we advanced, he had promptly placed himself at my side, in the rear of the others, his yielding of precedence being, as i was not too dull to perceive, a most subtle attempt to flatter me.
that i was flattered was not strange, as may be testified to by those who have come in personal contact with the man. yet for all his winning manner i gave little heed to his words, my thoughts being fixed on the delicious possibility of an immediate meeting with my glorious lady of the avenue.
imagine the bitterness of my disappointment, upon entering the drawing-room, to see no one in the remotest degree resembling the señorita among the ladies who awaited our presence. while señor vallois was being introduced i had a moment to glance about the room, with the disheartening result that i nowhere saw the graceful figure which i had hoped to discover screened by the shabby crimson damask of the furniture.
the voice of mr. jefferson recalled me to the ladies, and i found myself making a melancholy bow to mrs. randolph, his surviving daughter. she in turn presented me to the other ladies,—of whose persons and appearance, out of the medley of muslins and fans, bright eyes, bared busts, and thinly veiled forms, i retain only the remembrance that one was mrs. dearborn, another a mrs. smith, daughter of the renowned senator bayard of delaware, and a third mrs. madison. of the fourth lady, whose name i did not catch, i recall that she was an elderly dame of sedate manners, but far other than sedate in her compliance with the extreme mode. her gray curls were all but dripping with pomade, and the gore in the left side of her narrow skirt extended up above mid-thigh. her jewelled garter was the handsomest one visible, for which reason, i presume, it was more openly displayed than those of the other ladies.
mrs. madison, petite and charming, notwithstanding her plainness of feature and the fact that she was nearer forty than thirty, promptly rallied me upon my look of depression. the colonel and mrs. smith joined forces with "dolly," as the latter addressed her, so that i was compelled to smile, if only to save myself from a general onslaught.
"that is better!" exclaimed mrs. madison. "he, a doctor! to think of dining with so gloomy a countenance!"
"above all, to think of any other than a smiling face in your presence!" chimed in mr. burr. "i had not thought it possible of one who has proved that he can be gallant even to horses."
at this there was a chorus of curious questions. i turned, seeking a way of escape, and discovered that i was all but touching elbows with my lady of the mire!
presently i found myself bowing. though still half bewildered, i realized that i was being introduced to her as miss vallois, the niece of señor vallois.
colonel burr, who had been introduced with the other gentlemen while i stood in my daze, now sought to engage her attention. his eye for feminine charm and beauty is as well known as is his success with the ladies. with such a rival, my utter loss of composure doubtless would have resulted quickly in the more serious loss of the lady's attention, had she not at the last moment recognized me as the buckskin caballero.
with a glance of frank pleasure which came near to finishing me on the spot, she signed gracefully to her uncle: "santa maria! it is he—the caballero who so kindly came to our assistance!"
"i have already expressed to the señor the full measure of our gratitude for his service," replied don pedro, in a tone which recalled the girl to her first manner of polite hauteur.
"permit me to join my thanks to those of my kinsman," she said to me.
nettled by the condescension of her tone and bearing, i shook off my daze, and rejoined with more wit than courtesy, "believe me, señorita, no thanks are due me other than from your coach horses."
another chorus of questions demanded the explanation, and colonel burr responded by telling over don pedro's account in the form of a wittily brilliant anecdote. i listened unheeding, for my gaze was fixed upon señorita alisanda.
at my rude reply her eyes had flashed with a look before which my own dropped,—though not to the floor. as she drew back a step in her displeasure, my gaze dwelt adoringly upon the graces of her lissome form. she was tall, yet not unduly slender, and the queenly dignity and beauty of her presence were enhanced by the flowing lines of her dress.
of the dress itself i can only say that it was of scarlet sarsenet, covered in part by an overdrape of silver spangles on white crêpe, and, in compliance with the empire mode, cut low enough in the waist to expose her dazzling shoulders and bosom. her arms, rounding up from the small hands and slender wrists as if carved from new ivory, were bare to the bows of black ribbon on her shoulders. close about her perfect throat, in place of the usual ruffs, was a double string of black pearls. notwithstanding the universal acceptance of the new fashions, i had great pleasure in the fact that she had not sacrificed her beautiful hair for a wig.
but, needless to say, i gave slight heed to her dress. my fascinated eyes dropped their gaze to the little arched foot which peeped from beneath the raised front of her dress, snugly cased in its diamond-buckled slipper of scarlet satin. the foot drew back out of view, and i looked up in time to catch a faint tinge of pink beneath the clear ivory of my lady's cheeks. her look was, if possible, more haughty than before. yet, emboldened by that faint blush and the intoxication of her beauty, i met her gaze with such a glow in my steel-gray eyes that this time it was hers that lowered.
a change in the light chatter of the company forced me to spare them a glance. señor vallois and mrs. randolph were leading the way to the dining-room, and the others were pairing off to follow, in a most informal manner. i saw colonel burr turning toward us, which spurred me to instant action.
"we go in now, señorita," i said, offering her my arm.
mr. burr flashed me a whimsical glance, between disappointment and commendation, and turned to the nearest lady. at the same time the señorita looked up. seeing the others all in couples, she hesitated only a moment before accepting my arm.
of the dining-room i can state no more than that it was a very long apartment, that the furniture was exceedingly plain, and that we sat at an oval table, whose shape was supposed to bring all present face to face.
thanks to the close imitation of parisian society at new orleans, to which i had enjoyed the entrée, i managed to conduct my unwilling partner to the table with a haut ton that brought an uplift in the brows of more than one of my fellow guests. my elation over this success was short-lived. colonel burr adroitly placed himself on her other hand, and for a time i saw no more of her scarlet lips and dusky eyes. both were given freely to the colonel, whose reputation was only too well known.
i might have sought to console myself with the rareness of the wines and the epicurean delicacy of the food. the service was simple, yet refined, the cooking such that i at once recognized the art of a frenchman. yet even the madeira failed to cheer me. i could only sit silent over my plate and steal lackadaisical glances at the rounded shoulder which my partner so cruelly turned upon me, and at the silky maze of sable hair which crowned her shapely head.
until now my feeling toward colonel burr had been uncertain, vaguely doubtful, yet by no means hostile. it now hardened of a sudden into deep-seated aversion. so little has reason to do with the affairs of men—and women!
to show the depth of resentment into which my passion flung me, i need only say that i conned over in my memory the fatal meeting between mr. burr and mr. hamilton, and exulted that i might be able to avenge the great federalist and myself at the same time by challenging the colonel to a like encounter. for all his sinister reputation as a duellist, at that moment i would gladly have met him with any weapons he might choose.
either because of my look, or, what was the more probable, because of his well-known aversion to a divided conversation at table, mr. jefferson broke in upon the colonel's tête-à-tête with so shrewd a question regarding the louisiana situation that mr. burr was required to answer at some length.
this fresh turn of the conversation the president, with seeming ingenuousness, deflected to me, so that, from being the one silent member of the party, i found myself most unexpectedly the main speaker and the centre of attention. by keeping well within the bounds of my certain information, i was able to hold my own in the general discussion which followed, and to reply to all questions with a fair degree of fluency, although subjected by each of the gentlemen in turn to a cross-examination as keen and pointed as it was lightly uttered.
"and your opinion of the spanish boundaries?" asked mr. madison at last. it was a question which i had expected from the first,—the question of all questions among my fellow-denizens of louisiana territory.
"we have him there!" said colonel burr, as i paused over my reply.
even the ladies bent forward to catch my words, and i was not surprised to see that señor vallois betrayed still more interest than the other gentlemen. for the first time my partner turned and fixed her eyes upon me. i stated my opinion without further hesitancy.
"as to the west florida boundary," i said, "there can be no doubt. spain is in the right."
"your proof?" demanded colonel burr.
i cited such clauses bearing upon the point in the spanish and french treaties as were known, and other facts which i had heard mentioned by mr. daniel clark.
"a plausible statement," remarked general dearborn. "but with regard to the other spanish line—the texas boundary?"
"as to that, would not the opinions of señor vallois and colonel burr be more authoritative?" i countered. "colonel burr at least should be well-grounded as to the points in controversy, in view of his high standing as a lawyer and the commonly accredited report in the west that he is negotiating for permission to found a colony within the spanish territory."
"it is the first i have heard of the undertaking," remarked the president, with evident surprise. "you did not mention it to me, colonel, at our meeting the other day."
"had your excellency then considered it expedient to give me the ministry for which i asked, i should have had no need to enter upon speculative projects," returned mr. burr, exposing his humiliating rebuff by mr. jefferson with a cynical frankness which it was plainly to be seen disconcerted not only the president but his eminent secretaries as well. mr. burr paused a moment to enjoy the confusion of his great adversary, then continued: "the project of a colony is as yet indefinite in my mind. i have considered the possibility of retrieving my fortunes by the purchase of four or five hundred thousand acres in the midst of the most fertile tract of texas,—on the washita river."
"ah, texas!" exclaimed mrs. madison, turning to señor vallois. "is it not the question of the texas line which most threatens to terminate our fair relations with your government?"
"such is the fact, señora," replied the don, with marked reserve.
mrs. randolph addressed my partner: "your uncle takes you to chihuahua by way of texas, i believe you said, miss vallois."
"no, madam. i fear i was not clear in my explanations. señor vallois had intended to return that way before it was decided that i should accompany him from england."
"we go by way of vera cruz," explained señor vallois.
"so long a voyage!" exclaimed mrs. smith. "i should have imagined the passage from england would have wearied you of the water for a lifetime."
"we came in one of your american packet ships, and were only twenty-seven days in crossing," replied the señorita.
"only twenty-seven days on the ocean!" i exclaimed—"twenty-seven days!"
"it is not an extraordinarily quick passage, with favorable weather and our american-built ships," remarked mr. madison.
"believe me, sir, it was not the shortness but the length of the voyage which compelled my exclamation," i explained. "miss vallois will pardon me if i express my admiration of her heroism. i once made a trip from new york to boston by schooner. i came back on a horse."
this statement was met with a gust of mirth, no doubt due more to the wine which had gone before it than to its wit. yet it served to throw the conversation into a lighter vein, that ended in a run of repartee as sparkling as the champagne with which it was accompanied. in this contest of wit and airy nothings i soon found myself as far out-distanced as the others were outstripped by colonel burr.
again my partner gave me her shoulder, and my sole consolation for the slight was that she joined but little in the contest, and met the colonel's gallantry with a reserve unmistakably evident in the poise of her head and the coldness of her perfect profile. she could be haughty with others no less than with myself.
although she did not favor me with a single glance, the half-averted view of her adorably curved cheek and an occasional glimpse of her profile were far preferable to nothing. all too early, mrs. randolph gave the signal for the ladies to withdraw.
in rising, whether by accident or design, the señorita turned toward me. her eyes were nearer on a level with my own than those of any other young lady i had ever faced, and the erectness of her carriage, so different from the drooping french pose, added to the effect of proud height. she met me with a full open gaze, as devoid of allurement as it was of repellence and hauteur. i seemed to be looking down into the depths of fathomless wells, within which was nothing but velvety darkness.
it was but a moment, and she had turned away with the others, leaving me mystified. nor could i puzzle out the meaning of the look during the two hours i sat with the other gentlemen, matching them glass after glass, and with them growing steadily more mirthful over the witticisms of colonel burr, which were more notable for point than for decorum.
the fine and costly wines of our illustrious host stirred me to this false mirth, behind which, as behind a mask, i found my inner self constantly reverting to the thought of my lady's strange glance. but try as i might, i could not so much as guess at its meaning. as i have said, it had held nothing either of attraction or of repulsion; it had not expressed even the barest curiosity—only that fathomless depth of mystery.
all the more was i eager for the signal to rejoin the ladies in the drawing-room. another look, i thought, would give me the key to the puzzle, a trace to point me along the way of her meaning.
at last mr. jefferson saw fit to lead us in to the ladies, a servant following with the coffee. i pressed in close after señor vallois, and, like him, looked about in vain for his niece. mrs. randolph hastened to explain to him that miss vallois had only just withdrawn, on the plea of a slight indisposition. the señor immediately excused himself, saluting us all with punctilious bows and a sonorous "adios!" and withdrew.
after his departure the ladies were pleased to bestow on me some little attention, and in their seemingly artless manner drew from me much regarding my family, my education, and my fortune,—or, as i should say, my ambitions; for my fortune as yet lay mostly in the future. presently, to my surprise, i found myself invited to call at as many homes as there were ladies present. this was an honor entirely unexpected by me, in view of the fact that i could claim neither political prestige nor distinguished birth. the disregard for the latter may have been due to mr. jefferson's well-known jacobin principles, the reflection of which is clearly perceptible in the attitude of the greater number of his intimates.
the gentlemen were almost equally cordial when the time came for me to withdraw, general dearborn alone maintaining a certain reserve, due, as i surmised, to anticipations of a formal application for government favors.
at the last moment colonel burr remarked that he intended to stop over another day before going on to philadelphia, and gave me his address, followed by a cordial invitation to call. i replied with an expression of thanks for the honor and withdrew before he could pin me down to an outright acceptance.
