第24章

A STRANGER

Severine found her father seated on a wooden bench at the end of his terrace, under a bower of lilacs then in bloom, and taking his coffee;for it was half-past five in the afternoon.She saw, by the pain on her father's face, that he had already heard the news.In fact, the old count had sent a valet to his friend, begging him to come to him.

Up to the present time, old Grevin had endeavored not to encourage his daughter's ambition too far; but now, in the midst of the contradictory reflections which the melancholy death of Charles Keller caused him, his secret escaped his lips.

"My dear child," he said to her, "I had formed the finest plans for your future.Cecile was to have been Vicomtesse Keller, for Charles, by my influence, would now have been selected deputy.Neither Gondreville nor his daughter Madame Keller would have refused Cecile's dot of sixty thousand francs a year, especially with the prospect of a hundred thousand more which she will some day have from you.You would have lived in Paris with your daughter, and played your part of mother-in-law in the upper regions of power."Madame Beauvisage made a sign of satisfaction.

"But we are knocked down by the death of this charming young man, to whom the prince royal had already given his friendship.Now this Simon Giguet, who has thrust himself upon the scene, is a fool, and the worst of all fools, for he thinks himself an eagle.You are, however, too intimate with the Giguets and the Marion household not to put the utmost politeness into your refusal--but you must refuse him.""As usual, you and I are of the same opinion, father.""You can say that I have otherwise disposed of Cecile's hand, and that will cut short all preposterous pretensions like that of Antonin Goulard.Little Vinet may offer himself, and he is preferable to the others who are smelling after the dot; he has talent, and shrewdness, and he belongs to the Chargeboeufs by his mother; but he has too much character not to rule his wife, and he is young enough to make himself loved.You would perish between two sentiments--for Iknow you by heart, my child."

"I shall be much embarrassed this evening at the Marions' to know what to say," remarked Severine.

"Well, then, my dear," said her father, "send Madame Marion to me;I'll talk to her."

"I knew, father, that you were thinking of our future, but I had no idea you expected it to be so brilliant," said Madame Beauvisage, taking the hands of the old man and kissing them.

"I have pondered the matter so deeply," said Grevin, "that in 1831 Ibought the Beauseant mansion in Paris, which you have probably seen."Madame de Beauvisage made a movement of surprise on hearing this secret, until then so carefully kept, but she did not interrupt her father.

"It will be my wedding present," he went on."In 1832 I let it for seven years to an Englishman for twenty-four thousand francs a year,--a pretty stroke of business; for it only cost me three hundred and twenty-five thousand francs, of which I thus recover nearly two hundred thousand.The lease ends in July of this year."Severine kissed her father on the forehead and on both cheeks.This last revelation so magnified her future that she was well-nigh dazzled.

"I shall advise my father," she said to herself, as she recrossed the bridge, "to give only the reversion of that property to his grandchildren, and let me have the life-interest in it.I have no idea of letting my daughter and son-in-law turn me out of doors; they must live with me."At dessert, when the two women-servants were safely at their own dinner in the kitchen, and Madame Beauvisage was certain of not being overheard, she thought it advisable to give Cecile a little lecture.

"My daughter," she said, "behave this evening with propriety, like a well-bred girl; and from this day forth be more sedate.Do not chatter heedlessly, and never walk alone with Monsieur Giguet, or Monsieur Olivier Vinet, or the sub-prefect, or Monsieur Martener,--in fact, with any one, not even Achille Pigoult.You will not marry any of the young men of Arcis, or of the department.Your fate is to shine in Paris.Therefore I shall now give you charming dresses, to accustom you to elegance.We can easily find out where the Princesse de Cadignan and the Marquise de Cinq-Cygne get their things.I mean that you shall cease to look provincial.You must practise the piano for three hours every day.I shall send for Monsieur Moise from Troyes until I know what master I ought to get from Paris.Your talents must all be developed, for you have only one year more of girlhood before you.Now I have warned you, and I shall see how you behave this evening.You must manage to keep Simon at a distance, but without coquetting with him.""Don't be uneasy, mamma; I intend to adore the stranger."These words, which made Madame Beauvisage laugh, need some explanation.

"Ha! I haven't seen him yet," said Phileas, "but everybody is talking about him.When I want to know who he is, I shall send the corporal or Monsieur Groslier to ask him for his passport."There is no little town in France where, at a given time, the drama or the comedy of the stranger is not played.Often the stranger is an adventurer who makes dupes and departs, carrying with him the reputation of a woman, or the money of a family.Oftener the stranger is a real stranger, whose life remains mysterious long enough for the town to busy itself curiously about his words and deeds.

Now the probable accession to power of Simon Giguet was not the only serious event that was happening in Arcis.For the last two days the attention of the little town had been focussed on a personage just arrived, who proved to be the first Unknown of the present generation.

The stranger was at this moment the subject of conversation in every household in the place.He was the beam fallen from heaven into the city of the frogs.