La clique dorée. English Read online

  V.

  Daniel looked up. In the box which Maxime had pointed out to him he sawa girl of such rare and dazzling beauty, that he could hardly retaina cry of admiration. She was leaning forward, resting on the velvetcushion of her box, in order to hear better.

  Her hair, perfectly overwhelming in its richness, was so carelesslyarranged, that no one could doubt it was all her own; it was almostgolden, but with such a bright sheen, that at every motion sparks seemedto start from its dark masses. Her large, soft eyes were overshadowed bylong lashes; and as she now opened them wide, and now half closed themagain, they changed from the darkest to the lightest blue.

  Her lips smiled in all the freshness and innocence of merry youth,displaying now and then two rows of teeth, matchless in their beauty andregularity.

  "Can that be," said Daniel to himself, "the wretched creature whoseportrait Maxime has just given me?"

  A little behind her, and half-hid in the shade of the box, appeareda large bony head, adorned with an absurd bunch of feathers. Her eyesflashed indignation; and her narrow lips seemed to say perpetually,"Shocking!" That was Mrs. Brian.

  Still farther back, barely discernible after long examination, arose atall, stiff figure, a bald, shining head, two dark, deep-sunk eyes, ahooked nose, and a pair of immense streaming whiskers. That was the Hon.Thomas Elgin, commonly known as Sir Thorn.

  As Daniel was persistently examining the box, with the smiling girl,the stern old woman, and the placid old man in the background, he feltdoubts of all kinds creeping into his mind.

  Might not Maxime be mistaken? Did he not merely repeat the atrociousslanders of the envious world?

  These thoughts troubled Daniel; and he would have mentioned his doubtsto Maxime; but his neighbors were enthusiasts about music, and, as soonas he bent over to whisper into his friend's ear, they growled, and, ifhe ventured to utter a word, they forced him to be silent. At last thecurtain fell. Many left the house; others simply rose to look around;but Maxime and Daniel remained in their seats. Their whole attention wasconcentrated upon Miss Brandon's box, when they saw the door open, anda gentleman enter, who, at the distance at which they sat, looked likea very young man. His complexion was brilliantly fair, his beard jetblack, and his curly hair most carefully arranged. He had his opera-hatunder his arm, a camellia in his button-hole; and his light-yellow kidgloves were so tight, that it looked as if they must inevitably burstthe instant he used his hands.

  "Count Ville-Handry!" said Daniel to himself.

  Somebody touched his shoulder slightly; and, as he turned round, hefound it was Maxime, who said with friendly irony,--

  "Your old friend, is it not? The happy lover of Miss Brandon?"

  "Yes, it is so. I have to confess it."

  He was just in the act of explaining the reasons for his silence, whenM. de Brevan interrupted him, saying,--

  "Just look, Daniel; just look!"

  The count had taken a seat in the front part of the box, by MissBrandon's side, and was talking to her with studied affectation, bendingover her, gesticulating violently, and laughing till he showed everyone of the long yellow teeth which were left him. He was evidently onexhibition, and desired to be seen by everybody. Suddenly, however,after Miss Brandon had said a few words to him, he rose, and went out.

  The bell behind the scenes was ringing, and the curtain was about torise again.

  "Let us _go_," said Daniel to M. de Brevan: "I am suffering."

  He was really suffering, mortified by the ridiculous scene whichHenrietta's father was playing. But he entertained no longer any doubts;he had clearly seen how the adventuress was spurring on the old man, andfanning his feeble flame.

  "Ah! it will be hard work to rescue the count from the wiles of thiswitch," said Maxime.

  Having left the house, they were just turning into the narrow streetwhich leads to the boulevards, when they saw a tall man, wrapped up ina huge cloak, coming towards them, and behind him a servant with a wholearmful of magnificent roses. It was Count Ville-Handry. Coming suddenlyface to face upon Daniel, he seemed at first very much embarrassed;then, recovering himself, he said,--

  "Why, is this you? Where on earth do you come from?"

  "From the theatre."

  "And you run away before the fifth act? That is a crime against themajesty of Mozart. Come, go back with me, and I promise you a pleasantsurprise."

  Brevan came up close to Daniel, and whispered to him,--

  "Go; here is the opportunity I was wishing for."

  Then he lifted his hat and went his way. Daniel, taken rather bysurprise, accompanied the count till he saw him stop near a huge landau,open in spite of the cold weather, but guarded by three servants ingorgeous livery. When they saw the count, they all three uncoveredrespectfully; but he, without taking any notice of them, turned to theporter who had the flowers, and said,--

  "Scatter all these roses in this carriage."

  The man hesitated. He was the servant of a famous florist, and had oftenseen people pay forty or fifty dollars for such bouquets. He thought thejoke was carried too far. However, the count insisted. The roses werepiled up in the bottom of the carriage; and, when he had done, hereceived a handsome fee for his trouble.

  Then the count returned to the opera-house, Daniel following him, filledwith amazement. Evidently love had made the count young again, and nowgave wings to his steps. He ran up the steps of the great porch of theopera-house, and in a few moments he was once more in Miss Brandon'sbox. At once he took Daniel by the hand; and, drawing him into the boxclose to the lady, he said to the young girl,--

  "Permit me to present to you M. Daniel Champcey, one of our mostdistinguished naval officers."

  Daniel bowed, first to her, and then solemnly to Mrs. Brian, and long,stiff Sir Thorn.

  "I need not tell you, my dear count," said Miss Sarah, "that yourfriends are always welcome here."

  Then, turning to Daniel, she added,--

  "Besides, I have long since known you."

  "Me?"

  "Yes, sir. And I even know that you are one of the most frequentvisitors at Count Ville-Handry's house."

  She looked at Daniel with a kind of malicious simplicity, and thenadded,

  "_I_ do not mean to say that the count would not be wrong if heattributed your frequent visits exclusively to his own merits. I haveheard something of a certain young lady"--

  "Sarah," here broke in Mrs. Brian, "what you say there is highlyimproper." This reproof, so far from checking Miss Sarah's merriment,only seemed to increase it. Without losing sight of Daniel, she turnedto her aunt, and said,--

  "Since the count is not opposed to this gentleman's paying hisattentions to his daughter, I think I may safely speak of them. It wouldbe such an extraordinary thing, if any thing should happen to interferewith his hopes!"

  Daniel, who had blushed all over, suddenly became deadly pale. After allthat he had been told, these words sounded to him, in spite of the loudlaugh that accompanied them, like a warning and a threat. But he wasnot allowed the time to reflect. The piece was coming to an end; MissBrandon was drawing a fur cloak over her shoulders, and left on thecount's arm; while he had to escort Mrs. Brian, being closely followedby tall, stiff Sir Thorn. The landau was at the door. The servants hadlet down the steps; and Miss Sarah was just getting in. Suddenly, as herfoot touched the bottom of the carriage, she drew back, and cried out,--

  "What is that? What is in there?"

  The count came forward, looking visibly embarrassed.

  "You are fond of roses," he said, "and I have ordered a few."

  With these words he took up some of the leaves, and showed them to her.But immediately Miss Brandon's terror was changed into wrath.

  "You certainly are bent upon making me angry," she said. "You wantpeople to say everywhere that I make you commit all kinds of follies.What a glorious thing to waste fifty dollars on flowers, when one has Iknow not how many millions!"

  Then, seeing by the light of the street-lamp that the cou
nt's faceshowed deep disappointment, she said in a tone to make him lose thelittle reason that was left him,--

  "You would have been more welcome if you had brought me a cent's worthof violets."

  In the mean time Mrs. Brian had taken her seat by Miss Brandon's side;Sir Thorn had gotten in; and it was now the count's turn. At the momentwhen the servant was closing the door, Miss Sarah bent forward towardDaniel, and said,--

  "I hope I shall have the pleasure of soon seeing you again. Our dearcount will give you my address, and tell you my reception-days. I musttell you that we American girls dote upon naval officers, and that I"--

  The remainder was lost in the noise of the wheels. The carriage whichtook Miss Brandon and Count Ville-Handry away was already at somedistance, before Daniel could recover from his amazement, his utterconsternation.

  All these strange events, coming upon him one by one, in the course ofa few hours, and breaking suddenly in upon so calm and quiet a life,overwhelmed him to such a degree, that he was not quite sure whether hewas dreaming or awake.

  Alas! he was not dreaming. This Miss Sarah Brandon, who had just passedaway from him like a glorious vision from on high, was only too real;and there, on the muddy pavement, a handful of rose-leaves bore witnessof the power of her charms, and the folly of her aged lover.

  "Ah, we are lost!" exclaimed Daniel, in so loud a voice, that some ofthe passers-by stopped, expecting one of those street-dramas whichread so strikingly in the local columns of our papers. They weredisappointed, however. Noticing that he attracted attention, Danielshrugged his shoulders, and quickly walked off towards the boulevards.

  He had promised Henrietta to be sure to tell her that very evening, ifpossible, what he had found out; but it was too late now; midnight wasstriking.

  "I'll go to-morrow," he said to himself.

  Whilst lounging leisurely down the boulevards, still brilliantly lightedup, and crowded with people, he strained all his faculties for thepurpose of examining his situation coolly and calmly. At first hehad imagined he should only have to do with one of those common_intriguantes_ who want to secure themselves a quiet old age, andclumsily spread their nets to catch an old or a young man; and whocan always easily be gotten rid of by paying them a more or lessconsiderable sum of money, provided the police does not get hold ofthem. In such a case he would have had some hope.

  But here he saw himself suddenly confronted by one of those formidableadventuresses in high life, who either save appearances altogether, or,at worst, are only compromised far enough to give additional zest andan air of mystery to their relations. How could he hope to compete withsuch a woman? and with what weapons could he attack her? How should hereach her? and how attack her?

  Was it not pure folly to think even of making her give up themagnificent fortune which she seemed already to have in her hands,Heaven knows by what means? She evidently looked upon it as her ownalready, and enjoyed its charms in anticipation.

  "Great God!" said Daniel, "send me some inspiration."

  But no inspiration came; and in vain did he torture his mind; he wasunable to think.

  When he reached home, he went to bed as usual; but the consciousness ofhis misfortunes kept him awake. At nine o'clock in the morning, havingnever closed his eyes, and feeling utterly overcome by sleeplessness andfatigue, he was just about to get up, when some one knocked at his door.He rose hastily, put on his clothes, and went to open the door. It wasM. de Brevan, who came to hear all about his new acquaintance of lastnight, and whose first word was,--

  "Well?"

  "Alas!" replied Daniel, "I think the wisest plan would be to give itup."

  "Upon my word, you are in great haste to surrender."

  "And what would you do in my place, eh? That woman has beauty enough todrive any one mad; and the count is a lost man."

  And, before Maxime had time to reply, Daniel told him simply andfrankly all about his love for Miss Ville-Handry, the hopes he had beenencouraged to cherish, and the dangers that threatened his happiness inlife.

  "For I can no longer deceive myself, Maxime," he concluded with a toneof utter despair. "I foresee, I know, what is going to happen. Henriettawill obstinately, and at any risk, do every thing in the world toprevent her father's marriage with Miss Brandon; she will struggle tothe bitter end. Ought I, or ought I not, to help her? Certainly. Can wesucceed? No! But we shall have a mortal enemy in Miss Brandon; and, onthe morning after her wedding, her first thought will be how to avengeherself, and how to separate Henrietta and myself forever."

  Little as Brevan was generally given to show his feelings, he wasevidently deeply touched by his friend's despair.

  "In short, my dear fellow, you have reached the point at which we nolonger know what to do. All the more reason, then, that you shouldlisten to the calm advice of a friend. You must have yourself presentedat Miss Brandon's house."

  "She has invited me."

  "Well, then, do not hesitate, but go there."

  "What for?"

  "Not for much. You will pay some compliments to Miss Sarah; you willbe all attention to Mrs. Brian; and you will try to win over the Hon.Thomas Elgin. Finally, and above all, you will be all ears and alleyes."

  "I am sorry to say I do not understand you yet."

  "What? Don't you see that the position of these daring adventurers,however secure it may appear, may, after all, hang on a singlethread? and that nothing is wanting in order to cut that thread but anopportunity? And when you may expect, at any moment, any thing and everything, what is to be done but to wait and watch?"

  Daniel did not seem to be convinced. He added,--

  "Miss Sarah will talk to me about her marriage."

  "Certainly she will."

  "What can I say?"

  "Nothing,--neither yes nor no,--but smile, or run away; at all events,you gain time."

  He was interrupted by Daniel's servant, who came in, holding a card inhis hand, and said,--

  "Sir, there is a gentleman down stairs in a carriage, who wants to knowif he would interrupt you if he came up to see you."

  "What is the gentleman's name?"

  "Count Ville-Handry. Here is his card."

  "Be quick!" said Daniel, "run down and ask him, would he please comeup."

  M. de Brevan had started up, and was standing, with his hat on, near thedoor. As the servant left, he said,--

  "I am running away."

  "Why?"

  "Because the count must not find me here. You would be compelled tointroduce me to him; he might remember my name; and, if he were to tellMiss Sarah that I am your friend, all would be lost."

  Thereupon he turned to go; but at the same moment the outer door wasopened, and he said,--

  "There is the count! I am caught."

  But Daniel opened promptly the door to his bedroom, pushed him in, andshut the door. It was high time; the same moment the count entered.