The Bath Keepers Volume Ii Part 27

Then it was that Camilla's invitation reached the chevalier. He knew that Leodgard could not fail to attend a fete given by his mistress, and the reader will understand the purpose which had led the chevalier thither.

At the end of a path Jarnonville found himself in the circle of which the basin formed the centre. He saw before him the man he was seeking, and, as Leodgard did not see him, he went to him and touched his arm gently.

"You seem very pensive in the midst of so hilarious a gathering, Comte de Marvejols!"

Leodgard started; but on recognizing Jarnonville, he replied, with an air of surprise:

"Ah! is it you, Jarnonville? How does it happen that we see you at this fete? You have not been seen lately at any card party, or in any affray with the rabble. People say that you are becoming virtuous! that you are no longer the mischief-maker, the intrepid swordsman, of the old days!

It is too bad, i' faith! it is too bad! and for my part, I regret the Black Chevalier, with his rough hand and his l.u.s.ty blows with sword and dagger!"

"My sword and dagger will never fail to respond to a friend's call, and will strike, I trust, as l.u.s.ty blows as of old! But I must needs know first whether the cause that I defend be just, or whether I am asked to fight to forward some despicable intrigue."

Leodgard drew his heavy eyebrows together, and said in an ironical tone:

"You see, chevalier, you are no longer the same man. You desire now to make inquiries before you fight! Whereas, formerly, you would throw yourself head foremost into the melee, without disturbing yourself concerning the motive of the quarrel, and sometimes dealing blows on both sides. You were admirable then."

"Perhaps so.--Yes, I do not deny that I am no longer the same. The hatred that I once felt for the whole human race has vanished and given place to gentler sentiments. When I felt my heart beat again, I realized that all sensibility had not died within me. I have found my heart anew, I have felt sensations which I never expected again to know. And the gloom and despair which consumed me are transformed into touching memories."

"What can have produced this miraculous change in you, I pray to know?"

"A child!"

"A child?"

"Yes. The loss of my daughter made me the man you described so well just now. Another child--an angel like the first--has restored me to myself.

This child is not mine; but she is so affectionate, so lovable! Dear little one! she smiles at my caresses, she already manifests affection for me, and I imagine that my own daughter is given back to me!"

"Who is this marvellous child, pray?"

"Yours, count. I am speaking of your daughter, your little Blanche.--Ah!

I am ent.i.tled to love her, to lavish my affection upon her, for I, representing your father, had the honor to act as her G.o.dfather. I tell you again, your daughter is an angel; it is not only the beauty of her features that people admire in her; young as she is, her eyes already have a sweet and gentle expression which charms, attracts one, while her pure and n.o.ble brow denotes unusual intelligence!--Do you not wish to see her, count? Will you never imprint a kiss on that angel's brow? You have no suspicion that you possess such a treasure; but I am convinced that to see her for an instant will suffice to make you love her?"

"Was it to tell me all this, to speak to me of that child, that you came hither, chevalier?" asked Leodgard, with a sombre expression.

"You have said it, count: it was for that purpose that I came to this festivity. I was anxious to see you; I had been to your house several times in vain; I thought that I should be more fortunate here."

"If that is so, I regret that you have taken so much trouble. You would have done better not to mix with a company of courtesans and rakes.

Frankly, it is not becoming in a man who has renounced Satan."

"Is this the only reply that I can obtain from you, count? Will you not go once at least to see and embrace your daughter? Ah! if you had seen her! if her eyes had rested on yours! if her soft little voice had fallen on your ears! You would agree that all that I have said is far below the truth."

"Chevalier, do not recur to this subject. It is useless for you to attempt to lead me back to a person--whom I do not choose to see. For I understand that the little girl is only a pretext; you talk to me of the child, in order to reconcile me with the mother."

"And if that were true, count? The time is not so far away when I met you one night keeping watch under her windows. Oh! then she was an angel, you adored her, you could not live without her! and to-day----"

"Enough, Jarnonville, enough!"

Leodgard raised his voice as he uttered these last words in an angry tone; and several of the guests, who happened to be walking in that part of the garden, hurried to the spot, thinking that a quarrel was on.

"What is it, messieurs, what's the matter?" asked the Baron de Montrevert, who was one of the first to arrive. "Are you at odds here?

What! two excellent friends--Leodgard and the Sire de Jarnonville!"

"No matter!" cried Senange; "if you need seconds, here we are!"

"But first you must tell us the cause of your falling-out."

"You are mistaken, my masters!" rejoined Leodgard, calm once more.

"There is neither quarrel nor falling-out between us; I was talking with the chevalier, and I may have become a little heated and have raised my voice. But we have no inclination to fight, for we have no reason to cease to be friends."

"Oh! that's a pity!" muttered Monclair, walking away. "It would have amused me to see them cross swords."

"He did not choose to tell us the truth," said Montrevert, leading his friends away. "But we are not his dupes. He probably has got wind of Jarnonville's visits to his wife, and he was saying two words to him on the subject."

"In that case, they will fight at the first opportunity."

"That is inevitable!"

"Ah! here is Flavia!"

"And pretty Nadina! Come with us for a stroll, enchantresses!"

The two courtesans to whom these words were addressed turned back toward the salons, saying:

"No, indeed, we will not walk in the gardens with you, seigneurs; you have too p.r.o.nounced a penchant for the dark paths."

"Besides, I want to dance!" said little Nadina, who was rather stout for her short stature, but who carried her premature embonpoint with such graceful abandon and such a saucy expression that the men felt drawn toward the _Little Ball_, a sobriquet which her female friends had given her.

"She wants to dance, in order to melt her fat!" whispered Flavia to one of the gentlemen.

"Why so? for my part, I think her very comely as she is."

"Bah! one cannot see any figure!"

"I a.s.sure you that one can see some very pretty things!"

"As if men knew anything about it!"

"Ah! that remark is characteristic of a woman! They try to captivate, to seduce men, and then they declare that men are not capable of judging them!"

"Messeigneurs," said Camilla, approaching a group of gentlemen, among whom she saw Leodgard and Senange, "the supper is served under the great arbor of lilacs yonder. If it is your pleasure to serve us as cupbearers, we will take our places at the table.--Come, mesdames."

As she spoke, the fair courtesan led her friends away, and they ran like a swarm of b.u.t.terflies in the direction of the supper table.

"On my honor, that Spanish costume is marvellously becoming to Camilla!"

said Senange, exalted to the seventh heaven by a smile which the courtesan had bestowed upon him. "I do not believe that it is possible to find a more fascinating woman.--I am going to supper."

"Camilla is certainly very good-looking; I do justice to her attractions," said Montrevert, remaining behind to chat with a number of young men. "But as for saying that there is no more fascinating woman--Senange goes too far! What would he say if he had seen the young Marquise de Santoval? Ah! she is what I call a beauty that eclipses all others! And, with all Camilla's charms, I will bet that no one would notice her if she stood beside the marchioness!"

"Who is this Marquise de Santoval? where does she come from?" asked Monclair.