it was no longer possible for caroline to feel a doubt of the sentiment she had inspired. to avoid responding to it, she had but one line of defence, which was to act either as if she had never suspected it, or as if she did not suppose the marquis would dare to speak of it a second time to her, even indirectly. she resolved to discourage him so completely that he would never recur to the subject, and not to remain alone with him long enough for him to lose his natural timidity under the impulse of increasing emotion.
when she had thus marked out her course of conduct, she hoped to be at peace; but, after all, she had to give way to natural feelings, and sob as if her heart would break. she wisely yielded to this grief, saying to herself, that, since it must be so, it was better for her to suffer from a momentary weakness than to struggle against herself too much. she well knew that in a direct contest our instinctive self-love awakes, in spite of us, and leads us to seek some side issue, some compromise with the austerity of duty or destiny. she refused, then, to dream or reflect; it was better for her to hide her head and weep.
she did not see m. de villemer again until evening, just as the ordinary visitors of the family were taking leave; he came in with the duke, both of them in evening dress. they had just returned from the residence of the duchess de dunières.
caroline would have retired immediately. the marchioness detained her, saying, "o, so much the worse, my dear, you will have to sit up a little later this evening. it's worth while though; we are going to hear what has happened."
before long the explanation was forthcoming. the duke had an undefined look as of astonishment; but the countenance of the marquis was open and calm. "mother," said he, "i have seen mlle de xaintrailles. she is beautiful, amiable, full of attractions; i can't imagine any sentiments which she might not inspire in the man who has the good fortune to please her; but i have had no such good fortune. she would n't look at me twice,—so entirely did the first glance suffice for her to pass judgment on me."
and as the marchioness was silent in utter consternation, the marquis took her hands, adding, as he kissed them, "but this need n't affect you the least in the world. on the contrary, i have come back full of dreams and plans and hopes. there is in the air—o, i felt it at once—quite another marriage than this, and one which will give you infinitely more pleasure!"
caroline felt herself dying and reviving by turns at every word she heard; but she also knew the eyes of the duke were fastened upon her, and she said to herself that perhaps the marquis was stealthily watching her, between each of his phrases. so she kept her countenance. it was plain that she had wept; but her sister's departure might be the only cause. she had acknowledged it, and the marquis had himself witnessed her tears on that occasion.
"come, my son," said the marchioness, "don't keep me in suspense, and if you are talking seriously—"
"no, no," said the duke, mincing gracefully, "it is n't serious."
"but, indeed, it is," cried urbain, who was unusually gay; "it's on the programme for the most plausible and delightful thing in the world!"
"it's singular enough, at least—and spicy enough," rejoined the duke.
"come now, do stop your riddles," cried the marchioness.
"well, let us have it," said the duke to his brother with a smile.
"i propose to do that; i ask nothing better," replied the marquis; "it's quite a story, and i must proceed with it in order. imagine, my dear mamma, our arrival at the duchess's, both as fine as you see us now,—no, finer still, for there was on our faces that air of conquest which suits my brother so well, and which i attempted for the first time, but with no success at all, as you shall see."
"that means," rejoined the duke, "that you had an air of prodigious abstraction, and began operations by looking at a portrait of anne of austria, lately placed in the drawing-room of the duchess, instead of looking at mlle de xaintrailles."
"ah!" said the marchioness, sighing, "it was very lovely then, this portrait?"
"very lovely," replied urbain. "you will say it was no time for me to be noticing this; but you are going to see how fortunate it was, after all, that it happened. mlle diana was seated by the corner of the mantel; with mlle de dunières and two or three other young ladies of haughty ancestry more or less english. while my distracted eyes are hanging upon the plump countenance of our late queen, gaëtan, thinking me close at his heels, goes directly, in his capacity of elder brother, to salute first the duchess, then her daughter and the whole juvenile group, singling out at once, with an eagle eye, the beautiful diana, whom he had n't seen since she was five years old. having promenaded his bewitching smile into this privileged corner, and traversed the other groups with that meek and triumphant elegance which belongs to him alone, he returns to me, just as i am beginning my evolution toward the duchess, and says in an angry tone though in a low voice, 'come on! what are you about there?' i dart forward, i salute the duchess in my turn, i try to look at my betrothed; she had her back turned to me squarely. an evil omen! i retreat to the mantel-piece, in order to display all my advantages. the duchess addresses some conversation to me, charitably bent on giving me a chance to shine. and i—why, i was ready to talk like a book; but it was all for nothing; mlle de xaintrailles never looked at me and listened still less; she was whispering to her young companions. at last she turns round and darts at me a glance full of wonder and most decidedly cool. i am introduced to her neighbor, mlle de dunières, a young girl slightly deformed, but brilliant intellectually it seemed to me, and who was very evidently nudging her friend with her elbow; but all in vain, and i return to my rostrum, that is, to the mantel-piece, without having called up the faintest blush. i do not lose my self-possession, but, resuming conversation with the duke, i go on making some very judicious remarks about the session of the chambers, when, all at once, i hear the music of charming bursts of laughter, poorly suppressed, from the young ladies in the corner. probably they found me stupid. i am not confounded, however; i continue; and after having properly shown the fluency of my elocution, i inquire about the historical portrait, to the great satisfaction of the duke de dunières, who thinks of nothing but having his picture appreciated. while he is leading me toward it to examine it and admire the beauty of its execution, my brother quietly takes my place and on my return i find him installed between the arm-chair of the duchess and that of her daughter, close by mlle diana, in the midst of the group, joining in the chat of the young ladies."
"is this true, my son?" asked the marchioness of the duke, with anxiety.
"it is quite true," replied the duke, ingenuously. "i laid siege to the fortress; i took a position. i expected urbain to manœuvre so as to come to my support; but no, the traitor leaves me alone exposed to the fire, and you see i have to get off as i can. what took place meanwhile? he is going to tell you."
"alas! i know more than enough," said the marchioness, in despair; "he was thinking of something else."
"pardon me, mamma," replied the marquis, "i had no wish to do so and no time either, for the duchess, leaving gaëtan engaged with the young ladies, took me aside, and, laughing in spite of herself, said these memorable words, which i report verbatim: 'my dear marquis, what has taken place here this evening is like a scene in a comedy. just imagine to yourself that the young person—whom it is useless to name—takes you for your brother, and consequently persists in taking your brother for you. we tell her she is mistaken, but all in vain; she will have it that we are deceiving her, that she is not to be taken in so—and—must i tell you the whole?'
"'yes, certainly, madame de dunières; you are too much my mother's friend to let me sail on a false course!'
"'yes, yes, that 's it! i ought not to leave you on the wrong track, i should be really distressed at that, and you must know at once how matters stand. they find the duke charming, and you—'
"'and me absurd? come! be frank clear to the end.'
"'you! you are not thought of at all, you are not seen, you are nothing, no one is heard but the duke! if i did n't know you were very fond of your brother, i should never tell you this—'
"i reassured the duchess so earnestly, i expressed so much joy over the idea that my brother was preferred to me, that she replied, 'well done! why, here we are in a romance! when it is known the duke is the one who pleases, don't you expect a great outcry?'
"'why, who will make it? you, madame de dunières?'
"'perhaps so, but it 's certain she will! well, now, all this must be explained. come with me and see what is going on; we cannot part on the strength of a quid pro quo.'
"'no, no,' i said to the duchess, 'you must listen to me first. here i have a cause to plead which is a hundred times dearer than my own. you have said something that alarms me, at which i feel a real concern, and i beg you will take it back. you seem disposed to decide against my brother in case your amiable god-daughter should pardon him for not being the marquis. as i am sure, now, that she will pardon him without difficulty, if she has not done so already, i want to understand your objections to him, in order to do battle against them. my brother has, on his father's side, a descent far more illustrious than my own; he has all the traits of a true gentleman, and all the attractions of an agreeable man; as for me, i am not a man of the world, and, if i must avow all, i have some tendency toward being a liberal.'
"the duchess made a gesture of horror; then she began to laugh, thinking i was in jest."
"knowing you were in jest, my son!" interposed the marchioness, in a tone of reproach.
"good or poor," rejoined the marquis, "the joke had no ill effect. the duchess let me set off my brother's merits, agreed with me that a man of rank, who has never forfeited his honor, has a right to ruin himself financially, that a life of pleasure has always been well received in high circles, when there is wisdom enough to leave it behind in season, to accept poverty nobly, and to show one's self superior to one's follies. finally, i appealed to the friendship of the duchess for you, to the desire she had felt for an alliance with you on the part of her god-daughter, and i had the good fortune to be so persuasive that she promised not to influence the choice of mlle de xaintrailles."
"ah! my son, what have you done?" cried the marchioness, trembling. "i recognize your good heart in it all, but it is a dream! a girl brought up in a convent will certainly be afraid of a conquering hero like this vain fellow. she would never dare to trust him."
"stop, mother," resumed the marquis, "i have n't finished my story. when we returned to the young ladies, mile. diana was calling my brother 'your grace,' as boldly as you please. she was talking and laughing with him, and i was allowed to aid him in shining before her. however, he had no great need of me. she drew him out brilliantly herself, and i found she was n't sorry to show us in her replies that she was quite witty, and that mirth suited her excellently."
"the fact is," said the duke, carried away by an irresistible infatuation, "she is bewitching, this little diana, whom i have seen playing with her dolls! i reminded her of it, for i did n't wish to impose upon her as to my age—"
"and to this," continued the marquis, "i added that you were fibbing to her, that it was i who had seen the doll, and that you were a child in the cradle then; but mlle diana would n't let me suppose that she saw in me the material for a duke. 'no, no, monsieur, the marquis,' said she, laughing, 'your brother here is thirty-six years old, i know all about it.' and this was said with a tone, with an air—"
"that drove me distracted, i admit it," said the duke, rising and tossing his mother's spectacles up to the ceiling, catching them again adroitly; "but, see, all this is folly! mlle diana is an artless and adorable little coquette—a thorough school-girl, a little wild over her approaching entrance into society, preparing herself in the retirement of her family circle to keep all heads turned, until at last her own is turned also; but it 's too soon now! to-morrow morning, after she has thought it over—and then they will tell her such naughty things about me!"
"to-morrow night you will see her again," said the marquis, "so you can counteract the evil influences, if any such are near her, and i don't believe there will be. don't make yourself more interesting than you really are, brother mine! besides, the duchess is on your side, and she did n't let you go without saying, 'come again soon. we are at home every evening: we don't go into society till after advent,'—which means, in good plain french: 'there is still a whole month before my daughter and god-daughter will see the gay world. it is for you to please before they are intoxicated with dress and balls. we receive but few young people now, and it only remains for you to be the youngest, that is, the most eager and the most fortunate.'"
"bless me, bless me!" said the marchioness, "i feel myself in a dream. my poor duke! and i never so much as thought of you. why, i—i imagined you had won so many women that you would never find one simple enough, generous enough; wise enough, after all; for here you are, reformed, and i dare say you will make the duchess d'aléria perfectly happy."
"i can answer for that, mother," cried the duke. "what has made me bad is suspicion, experience of coquettes and ambitious women; but a charming young girl, a child of sixteen, who is willing to trust me, ruined as i am—but i should become a child again myself! and you would be very happy too, would n't you? and you, urbain, who were so afraid you would have to marry?"
"has he taken a vow of celibacy, then?" asked the marchioness, looking at the marquis with tenderness.
"not at all," replied urbain, with some spirit, "but you see there has been no time lost, as my elder brother still makes such fine conquests! if you will give me a few months more for reflection—"
"yes, yes, indeed! there is no real haste," rejoined the marchioness; "and since we have such good fortune, i trust in the future—and in you, my excellent friend!"
she embraced her two sons, evidently intoxicated with joy and hope. she addressed her children in the most familiar and affectionate way, and also embraced caroline, exclaiming, "you good pretty little blonde! you must rejoice too!"
caroline had more disposition to rejoice than she cared to admit, even to herself. overcome with fatigue after the excitement of the day, she slept delightfully; with the assurance that the crisis had been postponed, and that some time, at least, must elapse before she would see the final and irrevocable obstacle of marriage come between herself and m. de villemer.
