II
We have every species of courage in France, and to a superiordegree, except that of braving public opinion. Few men would havedared, like Marius de Tregars, to offer their name to the daughterof a wretch charged with embezzlement and forgery, and that at thevery moment when the scandal of the crime was at its height. But,when Marius judged a thing good and just, he did it withouttroubling himself in the least about what others would think. Andso his mere presence in the Rue. St. Gilles had brought back hopeto its inmates. Of his designs he had said but a word,--"I havethe means of helping you: I mean, by marrying Gilberte, to acquirethe right of doing so."
But that word had been enough. Mme. Favoral and Maxence hadunderstood that the man who spoke thus was one of those cool andresolute men whom nothing disconcerts or discourages, and who knowshow to make the best of the most perilous situations.
And, when he had retired with the Count de Villegre,
"I don't know what he will do," said Mlle. Gilberte to her motherand her brother: "but he will certainly do something; and, if itis humanly possible to succeed, he will succeed."
And how proudly she spoke thus! The assistance of Marius was thejustification of her conduct. She trembled with joy at the thoughtthat it would, perhaps, be to the man whom she had alone and boldlyselected, that her family would owe their salvation. Shaking hishead, and making allusion to events of which he kept the secret,
"I really believe," approved Maxence, "that, to reach the enemiesof our father, M. de Tregars possesses some powerful means; and whatthey are we will doubtless soon know, since I have an appointmentwith him for to-morrow morning."
It came at last, that morrow, which he had awaited with an impatiencethat neither his mother nor his sister could suspect. And towardshalf-past nine he was ready to go out, when M. Chapelain came in.Still irritated by the scenes he had just witnessed at the MutualCredit office, the old lawyer had a most lugubrious countenance.
"I bring bad news," he began. "I have just seen the Baron deThaller."
He had said so much the day before about having nothing more to dowith it, that Maxence could not repress a gesture of surprise.
"Oh! it isn't alone that I saw him," added M. Chapelain, "buttogether with at least a hundred stockholders of the Mutual Credit."
"They are going to do something, then?"
"No: they only came near doing something. You should have seen themthis morning! They were furious; they threatened to break everything; they wanted M. de Thaller's blood. It was terrible. But M.de Thaller condescended to receive them; and they became at once asmeek as lambs. It is perfectly simple. What do you supposestockholders can do, no matter how exasperated they may be, whentheir manager tells them?
"'Well, yes, it's a fact you have been robbed, and your money is ingreat jeopardy; but if you make any fuss, if you complain thus, allis sure to be lost.' Of course, the stockholders keep quiet. It isa well-known fact that a business which has to be liquidated throughthe courts is gone; and swindled stockholders fear the law almost asmuch as the swindling manager. A single fact will make the situationclearer to you. Less than an hour ago, M. de Thaller's stockholders,offered him money to make up the loss."
And, after a moment of silence,
"But this is not all. Justice has interfered; and M. de Thallerspent the morning with an examining-magistrate."
"Well?"
"Well, I have enough experience to affirm that you must not relyany more upon justice than upon the stockholders. Unless there areproofs so evident that they are not likely to exist, M. de Thallerwill not be disturbed."
"Oh!"
"Why? Because, my dear, in all those big financial operations,justice, as much as possible, remains blind. Not through corruptionor any guilty connivance, but through considerations of publicinterest. If the manager was prosecuted he would be condemned to afew years' imprisonment; but his stockholders would at the same timebe condemned to lose what they have left; so that the victims wouldbe more severely punished than the swindler. And so, powerless,justice does not interfere. And that's what accounts for theimpudence and impunity of all these high-flown rascals who go aboutwith their heads high, their pockets filled with other people's money,and half a dozen decorations at their button-hole."
"And what then?" asked Maxence.
"Then it is evident that your father is lost. Whether or not hedid have accomplices, he will be alone sacrificed. A scapegoat isneeded to be slaughtered on the altar of credit. Well, they willgive that much satisfaction to the swindled stockholders. Thetwelve millions will be lost; but the shares of the Mutual Creditwill go up, and public morality will be safe."
Somewhat moved by the old lawyer's tone,
"What do you advise me to do, then?" inquired Maxence.
"The very reverse of what, on the first impulse, I advised you todo. That's why I have come. I told you yesterday, 'Make a row,act, scream. It is impossible that your father be alone guilty;attack M. de Thaller.' To-day, after mature deliberation, I say,'Keep quiet, hide yourself, let the scandal drop.'"
A bitter smile contracted Maxence's lips.
"It is not very brave advice you are giving me there," he said.
"It is a friend's advice,--the advice of a man who knows lifebetter than yourself. Poor young man, you are not aware of theperil of certain struggles. All knaves are in league and sustaineach other. To attack one is to attack them all. You have noidea of the occult influences of which a man can dispose whohandles millions, and who, in exchange for a favor, has always abonus to offer, or a good operation to propose. If at least Icould see any chance of success! But you have not one. You nevercan reach M. de Thaller, henceforth backed by his stockholders.You will only succeed in making an enemy whose hostility will weighupon your whole life."
"What does it matter?"
M. Chapelain shrugged his shoulders.
"If you were alone," he went on, "I would say as you do, 'What doesit matter?' But you are no longer alone: you have your mother andsister to take care of. You must think of food before thinking ofvengeance. How much a month do you earn? Two hundred francs! Itis not much for three persons. I would never suggest that youshould solicit M. de Thaller's protection; but it would be well,perhaps, to let him know that he has nothing to fear from you. Whyshouldn't you do so when you take his fifteen thousand francs backto him? If, as every thing indicates, he has been your father'saccomplice, he will certainly be touched by the distress of yourfamily, and, if he has any heart left, he will manage to make youfind, without appearing to have any thing to do with it, a situationbetter suited to your wants. I know that such a step must be verypainful; but I repeat it, my dear child, you can no longer think ofyourself alone; and what one would not do for himself, one does fora mother and a sister."
Maxence said nothing. Not that he was in any way affected by theworthy old lawyer's speech; but he was asking himself whether ornot he should confide to him the events which in the past twenty-fourhours had so suddenly modified the situation. He did not feelauthorized to do so.
Marius de Tregars had not bound him to secrecy; but an indiscretionmight have fatal consequences. And, after a moment of thought,
"I am obliged to you, sir," he replied evasively, "for the interestyou have manifested in our welfare; and we shall always greatlyprize your advice. But for the present you must allow me to leaveyou with my mother and sister. I have an appointment with--afriend."
And, without waiting for an answer, he slipped M. de Thaller'sfifteen thousand francs in his pocket, and hurried out. It was notto M. de Tregars that he went first, however, but to the Hotel desFolies.
"Mlle. Lucienne has just come home with a big bundle," said Mme.Fortin to Maxence, with her pleasantest smile, as soon as she hadseen him emerge from the shades of the corridor.
For the past twenty-four hours, the worthy hostess had been watchingfor her guest, in the hopes of obtaining some information which shemight communicate to the neighbors.
Without even condescending toanswer, a piece of rudeness at which she felt much hurt, he crossedthe narrow court of the hotel at a bound, and started up stairs.
Mlle. Lucienne's room was open. He walked in, and, still out ofbreath from his rapid ascension,
"I am glad to find you in," he exclaimed. The young girl was busy,arranging upon her bed a dress of very light colored silk, trimmedwith ruches and lace, an overdress to match, and a bonnet ofwonderful shape, loaded with the most brilliant feathers and flowers.
"You see what brings me here," she replied. "I came home to dress.At two o'clock the carriage is coming to take me to the bois, whereI am to exhibit this costume, certainly the most ridiculous that VanKlopen has yet made me wear."
A smile flitted upon Maxence's lips.
"Who knows," said he, "if this is not the last time you will haveto perform this odious task? Ah, my friend! what events have takenplace since I last saw you!"
"Fortunate ones?"
"You will judge for yourself."
He closed the door carefully, and, returning to Mlle. Lucienne,
"Do you know the Marquis de Tregars?" he asked.
"No more than you do. It was yesterday, at the commissary of police,that I first heard his name."
"Well, before a month, M. de Tregars will be Mlle. Gilberte Favoral'shusband."
"Is it possible?" exclaimed Mlle. Lucienne with a look of extremesurprise.
But, instead of answering,
"You told me," resumed Maxence, "that once, in a day of supremedistress, you had applied to Mme. de Thaller for assistance, whereasyou were actually entitled to an indemnity for having been run overand seriously hurt by her carriage."
"That is true."
"Whilst you were in the vestibule, waiting for an answer to yourletter, which a servant had taken up stairs, M. de Thaller came in;and, when he saw you, he could not repress a gesture of surprise,almost of terror."
"That is true too."
"This behavior of M. de Thaller always remained an enigma to you."
"An inexplicable one."
"Well, I think that I can explain it to you now."
"You?"
Lowering his voice; for he knew that at the Hotel des Folies therewas always to fear some indiscreet ear.
"Yes, I," he answered; "and for the reason that yesterday, when M.de Tregars appeared in my mother's parlor, I could not suppress anexclamation of surprise, for the reason, Lucienne, that, betweenMarius de Tregars and yourself, there is a resemblance with which itis impossible not to be struck."
Mlle. Lucienne had become very pale.
"What do you suppose, then?" she asked.
"I believe, my friend, that we are very near penetrating at once themystery of your birth and the secret of the hatred that has pursuedyou since the day when you first set your foot in M. de Thaller'shouse."
Admirably self-possessed as Mlle. Lucienne usually was, thequivering of her lips betrayed at this moment the intensity of heremotion.
After more than a minute of profound meditation,
"The commissary of police," she said, "has never told me his hopes,except in vague terms. He has told me enough, however, to make methink that he has already had suspicions similar to yours."
"Of course! Would he otherwise have questioned me on the subjectof M. de Tregars?"
Mlle. Lucienne shook her head.
"And yet," she said, "even after your explanation, it is in vainthat I seek why and how I can so far disturb M. de Thaller's securitythat he wishes to do away with me."
Maxence made a gesture of superb indifference. "I confess," hesaid, "that I don't see it either. But what matters it? Withoutbeing able to explain why, I feel that the Baron de Thaller is thecommon enemy, yours, mine, my father's, and M. de Tregars'. Andsomething tells me, that, with M. de Tregars' help, we shall triumph.You would share my confidence, Lucienne, if you knew him. There isa man! and my sister has made no vulgar choice. If he has told mymother that he has the means of serving her, it is because hecertainly has."
He stopped, and, after a moment of silence, "Perhaps," he went on,"the commissary of police might readily understand what I only dimlysuspect; but, until further orders, we are forbidden to have recourseto him. It is not my own secret that I have just told you; and, ifI have confided it to you, it is because I feel that it is a greatpiece of good fortune for us; and there is no joy for me, that youdo not share."
Mlle. Lucienne wanted to ask many more particulars. But, looking athis watch,
"Half-past ten!" he exclaimed, "and M. de Tregars waiting for me."
And he started off, repeating once more to the young girl,
"I will see you to-night: until then, good hope and good courage."
In the court, two ill-looking men were talking with the Fortins.But it happened often to the Fortins to talk with ill-looking men:so he took no notice of them, ran out to the Boulevard, and jumpinginto a cab,
"Rue Lafitte 70," he cried to the driver, "I pay the trip,--threefrancs."
When Marius de Tregars had finally determined to compel the boldrascals who had swindled his father to disgorge, he had taken inthe Rue Lafitte a small, plainly-furnished apartment on the entresol,a fit dwelling for the man of action, the tent in which he takesshelter on the eve of battle; and he had to wait upon him an oldfamily servant, whom he had found out of place, and who had for himthat unquestioning and obstinate devotion peculiar to Breton servants.
It was this excellent man who came at the first stroke of the bellto open the door. And, as soon as Maxence had told him his name,
"Ah!" he exclaimed, "my master has been expecting you with aterrible impatience."
It was so true, that M. de Tregars himself appeared at the samemoment, and, leading Maxence into the little room which he usedas a study,
"Do you know," he said whilst shaking him cordially by the hand,"that you are almost an hour behind time?"
Maxence had, among others the detestable fault, sure indication ofa weak nature, of being never willing to be in the wrong, and ofhaving always an excuse ready. On this occasion, the excuse wastoo tempting to allow it to escape; and quick he began telling howhe had been detained by M. Chapelain, and how he had heard from theold lawyer what had taken place at the Mutual Credit office.
"I know the scene already," said M. de Tregars. And, fixing uponMaxence a look of friendly raillery,
"Only," he added, "I attributed your want of punctuality to anotherreason, a very pretty one this time, a brunette."
A purple cloud spread over Maxence's cheeks.
"What!" he stammered, "you know?"
"I thought you must have been in haste to go and tell a person ofyour acquaintance why, when you saw me yesterday, you uttered anexclamation of surprise."
This time Maxence lost all countenance.
"What," he said, "you know too?"
M. de Tregars smiled.
"I know a great many things, my dear M. Maxence," he replied; "andyet, as I do not wish to be suspected of witchcraft, I will tellyou where all my science comes from. At the time when your housewas closed to me, after seeking for a long time some means ofhearing from your sister, I discovered at last that she had forher music-teacher an old Italian, the Signor Gismondo Pulei. Iapplied to him for lessons, and became his pupil. But, in thebeginning, he kept looking at me with singular persistence. Iinquired the reason; and he told me that he had once had for aneighbor, at the Batignolles, a young working-girl, who resembledme prodigiously. I paid no attention to this circumstance, andhad, in fact, completely forgotten it; when, quite lately, Gismondotold me that he had just seen his former neighbor again, and, what'smore, arm in arm with you, and that you both entered together theHotel des Folies. As he insisted again upon that famous resemblance,I determined to see for myself. I watched, and I stated, _de visa_,that my old Italian was not quite wrong, and that I had, perhaps,just found the weapon I was looking for."
His eyes staring, and his mouth gaping, Maxence looked
like a manfallen from the clouds.
"Ah, you did watch!" he said.
M. de Tregars snapped his fingers with a gesture of indifference.
"It is certain," he replied, "that, for a month past, I have beendoing a singular business. But it is not by remaining on my chair,preaching against the corruption of the age, that I can attain myobject. The end justifies the means. Honest men are very silly,I think, to allow the rascals to get the better of them under thesentimental pretext that they cannot condescend to make use of theirweapons."
But an honorable scruple was tormenting Maxence.
"And you think yourself well-informed, sir?" he inquired. "Youknow Lucienne?"
"Enough to know that she is not what she seems to be, and whatalmost any other would have been in her place; enough to be certain,that, if she shows herself two or three times a week riding aroundthe lake, it is not for her pleasure; enough, also, to be persuaded,that, despite appearances, she is not your mistress, and that, farfrom having disturbed your life, and compromised your prospects,she set you back into the right road, at the moment, perhaps, whenyou were about to branch off into the wrong path."
Marius de Tregars was assuming fantastic proportions in the mind ofMaxence.
"How did you manage," he stammered, "thus to find out the truth?"
"With time and money, every thing is possible."
"But you must have had grave reasons to take so much trouble aboutLucienne."
"Very grave ones, indeed."
"You know that she was basely forsaken when quite a child?"
"Perfectly."
"And that she was brought up through charity?"
"By some poor gardeners at Louveciennes: yes, I know all that."
Maxence was trembling with joy. It seemed to him that his mostdazzling hopes were about to be realized. Seizing the hands ofMarius de Tregars,
"Ah, you know Lucienne's family!" he exclaimed. But M. de Tregarsshook his head.
"I have suspicions," he answered; "but, up to this time, I havesuspicions only, I assure you."
"But that family does exist; since they have already, at threedifferent times, attempted to get rid of the poor girl."
"I think as you do; but we must have proofs: and we shall find some.You may rest assured of that."
Here he was interrupted by the noise of the opening door.
The old servant came in, and advancing to the centre of the roomwith a mysterious look,
"Madame la Baronne de Thaller," he said in a low voice.
Marius de Tregars started violently.
"Where?" he asked.
"She is down stairs in her carriage," replied the servant. "Herfootman is here, asking whether monsieur is at home, and whethershe can come up."
"Can she possibly have heard any thing?" murmured M. de Tregarswith a deep frown. And, after a moment of reflection,
"So much the more reason to see her," he added quickly. "Let hercome. Request her to do me the honor of coming up stairs."
This last incident completely upset all Maxence's ideas. He nolonger knew what to imagine.
"Quick," said M. de Tregars to him: "quick, disappear; and, whateveryou may hear, not a word!"
And he pushed him into his bedroom, which was divided from the studyby a mere tapestry curtain. It was time; for already in the nextroom could be heard a great rustling of silk and starched petticoats.Mme. de Thaller appeared.
She was still the same coarsely beautiful woman, who, sixteen yearsbefore, had sat at Mme. Favoral's table. Time had passed withoutscarcely touching her with the tip of his wing. Her flesh hadretained its dazzling whiteness; her hair, of a bluish black, itsmarvelous opulence; her lips, their carmine hue; her eyes, theirlustre. Her figure only had become heavier, her features lessdelicate; and her neck and throat had lost their undulations, andthe purity of their outlines.
But neither the years, nor the millions, nor the intimacy of themost fashionable women, had been able to give her those qualitieswhich cannot be acquired,--grace, distinction, and taste.
If there was a woman accustomed to dress, it was she: a splendiddry-goods store could have been set up with the silks and thevelvets, the satins and cashmeres, the muslins, the laces, and allthe known tissues, that had passed over her shoulders.
Her elegance was quoted and copied. And yet there was about heralways and under all circumstances, an indescribable flavor of the_parvenue_. Her gestures had remained trivial; her voice, common andvulgar.
Throwing herself into an arm-chair, and bursting into a loud laugh,
"Confess, my dear marquis," she said, "that you are terriblyastonished to see me thus drop upon you, without warning, at eleveno'clock in the morning."
"I feel, above all, terribly flattered," replied M. de Tregars,smiling.
With a rapid glance she was surveying the little study, the modestfurniture, the papers piled on the desk, as if she had hoped thatthe dwelling would reveal to her something of the master's ideasand projects.
"I was just coming from Van Klopen's," she resumed; "and passingbefore your house, I took a fancy to come in and stir you up; andhere I am."
M. de Tregars was too much a man of the world, and of the best world,to allow his features to betray the secret of his impressions; andyet, to any one who had known him well, a certain contraction of theeyelids would have revealed a serious annoyance and an intenseanxiety.
"How is the baron?" he inquired.
"As sound as an oak," answered Mme. de Thaller, "notwithstanding allthe cares and the troubles, which you can well imagine. By the way,you know what has happened to us?"
"I read in the papers that the cashier of the Mutual Credit haddisappeared."
"And it is but too true. That wretch Favoral has gone off with anenormous amount of money."
"Twelve millions, I heard."
"Something like it. A man who had the reputation of a saint too; apuritan. Trust people's faces after that! I never liked him, Iconfess. But M. de Thaller had a perfect fancy for him; and, whenhe had spoken of his Favoral, there was nothing more to say. Anyway, he has cleared out, leaving his family without means. A veryinteresting family, it seems, too,--a wife who is goodness itself,and a charming daughter: at least, so says Costeclar, who is verymuch in love with her."
M. de Tregars' countenance remained perfectly indifferent, likethat of a man who is hearing about persons and things in which hedoes not take the slightest interest.
Mme. de Thaller noticed this.
"But it isn't to tell you all this," she went on, "that I came up.It is an interested motive brought me. We have, some of my friendsand myself, organized a lottery--a work of charity, my dear marquis,and quite patriotic--for the benefit of the Alsatians, I have lots oftickets to dispose of; and I've thought of you to help me out."
More smiling than ever,
"I am at your orders, madame," answered Marius, "but, in mercy,spare me."
She took out some tickets from a small shell pocket-book.
"Twenty, at ten francs," she said. "It isn't too much, is it?"
"It is a great deal for my modest resources."
She pocketed the ten napoleons which he handed her, and, in a toneof ironical compassion,
"Are you so very poor, then?" she asked.
"Why, I am neither banker nor broker, you know."
She had risen, and was smoothing the folds of her dress.
"Well, my dear marquis," she resumed, "it is certainly not me whowill pity you. When a man of your age, and with your name, remainspoor, it is his own fault. Are there no rich heiresses?"
"I confess that I haven't tried to find one yet." She looked athim straight in the eyes, and then suddenly bursting out laughing,
"Look around you," she said, "and I am sure you'll not be longdiscovering a beautiful young girl, very blonde, who would bedelighted to become Marquise de Tregars, and who would bring inher apron a dowry of twelve or fifteen hundred thousand francs ingood securities,--securities which the Fav
orals can't carry off.Think well, and then come to see us. You know that M. de Thalleris very fond of you; and, after all the trouble we have been having,you owe us a visit."
Whereupon she went out, M. de Tregars going down to escort her toher carriage. But as he came up,
"Attention!" he cried to Maxence; "for it's very evident that theThallers have wind of something."