The Flower Girl of The Chateau d'Eau Volume Ii Part 32

"No, monsieur; besides it will not take long."

Roncherolle drew his chair nearer to the sick girl's bed, so that she might not raise her voice, and Violette began:

"Some time ago, monsieur, I was at my flower booth on Boulevard du Chateau d'Eau."

"Yes, I know where it is."

"A servant came to order a handsome bouquet, and gave me one hundred sous in advance, saying to me: 'You must carry this bouquet to Madame de Belleval's, Boulevard Beaumarchais, number 88; be sure to take it up to the lady yourself, because she wants to order others for a wedding.'--I accepted the order, monsieur; for you see, a bouquet for a hundred sous is worth the trouble; we don't sell many at that price on the boulevard.--The servant went away. When I had made a magnificent bouquet, I asked a neighbor to look after my booth, and I hurried to the address that was given me. I arrived there and asked the concierge for Madame de Belleval. He hesitated for a moment, then said: 'Go up to the fifth floor, the door to the right.'--Ought I not to have gone up, monsieur?"

"Why thus far I see no reason why you should have hesitated."

"I reached the fifth floor, and rang at the right hand door. A woman answered the bell. I asked for Madame de Belleval.--'Come in,' she said.--'But I simply have a bouquet to deliver.'--'Come in all the same,'she said; 'madame wants to speak to you;' and she opened the door of a small salon where I saw n.o.body, and left me there, saying: 'Wait, she will come.'--Should I not have gone in, monsieur?"

"Why not, my child? There was nothing to arouse your suspicion so far."

"I waited for a few moments, then a door opened; but instead of a lady, I saw Monsieur Jericourt come in; a man whom I detest, and who had been pestering me for a long while with his love and his insulting propositions; he is a swell who thinks that a woman, especially a flower girl, cannot resist him."

"I know him; go on, go on."

"When I recognized that man, I guessed that I had fallen into a trap; I tried to go away, but he held me and began to talk to me of his love; he laughed when I reproached him with his treachery, and dared to tell me that I had no choice, because we were in his rooms and no one would come to my help. Ah! if you knew, monsieur, what strength despair and indignation gave me then; I began to shriek. Monsieur Jericourt tried to kiss me, but I clawed his face so that he had no inclination to try again! He was furious with rage, but he let me go, and as you can imagine, monsieur, I left the room instantly. But it seems that there was somebody on his landing when I went out: that little squint-eyed young man, who lives in the same house, saw me come out all excited and upset. It is quite possible that I was; but I was so happy to escape, so terrified by the risk I had run, that I saw n.o.body; I was no longer in that man's power, that was my only thought; and I am sure that I went downstairs very quickly.--That is the whole truth; that is how I happened to go to Monsieur Jericourt's, without a suspicion that that was where I was going; but that is exactly what took place there--I swear it to you, monsieur; and may the good Lord prevent me from ever leaving this bed if I have lied in any one detail!"

Roncherolle gazed attentively at the young girl while she was speaking, and for the first time in his life, perhaps, he felt deeply moved. He pressed Violette's hand, and said:

"I believe you, my child, I believe you. In fact, there is nothing improbable in your story; it isn't the first time that a pretty girl has been lured into a trap in this way. It is very wrong, but still I could forgive this Jericourt, if, having failed in his attempt, he had admitted his defeat; but when you were virtuous, when you resisted his attack, to go about proclaiming that he had triumphed over you, that you had yielded to him--why that is going too far, deuce take it! Men ruin enough women who are willing to be ruined; they should not ruin those who object!"

"Oh! how glad I am that you believe me, monsieur!"

"But do you mean to say that when you told all this to your sweetheart, he refused to believe you?"

"He has never given me a chance to justify myself; he ran away from me without deigning to listen to me."

"Be calm, and get well; before long, he will do you justice, and will himself ask your pardon for having suspected you."

"Do you think so, monsieur?"

"I am sure of it."

"You make me very happy, monsieur."

"I no longer believed myself capable of making a young girl happy, and I am exceedingly proud. I am very glad that you have told me this whole story, my little neighbor; and on your side, I hope that you will not regret it."

"How kind you are to take an interest in me, monsieur."

"Now we have talked enough and I must leave you; rest, sleep, and everything will go well; but above all, no more flowers in your bedroom!"

"Oh, no! you see that there are none here now, monsieur."

"There is still one--but that one will never do any harm."

Roncherolle went away, and the girl fell asleep.

x.x.xIX

PURE LOVE

For several days the Comte de Brevanne walked upon the boulevard where the pretty flower girl ordinarily stood, to no purpose. At last, after allowing three days to elapse without going to Paris, he went thither again, and as he drew near the Chateau d'Eau, he saw that Violette was once more in her place.

Violette did not notice the gentleman who approached her and halted in front of her flowers. But on raising her eyes and recognizing Georget's protector, the man who had treated her so harshly and turned her out of his house, the poor child shuddered and had not courage to utter a word.

"Yes, it is I, mademoiselle," said the count, imparting to his voice its mildest intonation; "I frighten you, I see; you lower your eyes in order not to meet mine. Oh! do not be afraid; you would not read in them any trace of anger, but rather an expression of sorrow; for I behaved very badly toward you, poor girl! But at that time cruel memories led my reason astray; since then I have realized how unjust, how cruel I was to you, when you came to ask for aid and protection; and so, on the day after that scene, I came here to ask your pardon."

"Pardon! pardon!" murmured Violette, not daring as yet to believe what she had heard, and timidly raising her eyes to Monsieur de Brevanne's face. "Ah! is it possible, monsieur? Then you no longer despise me?"

"I have never despised you, my child; I simply vented upon you a fit of anger which never should have touched you; for you are not the guilty one.--Once more, are you willing to forget my injustice? Are you willing to forgive me?"

"Oh! with all my heart, monsieur; I have never been angry with you, but it made me very unhappy."

"Have you been sick, that you have not been here selling your flowers?"

"Yes, monsieur, I have been sick; but only for a week; it is all over now, and I have forgotten about it."

"But you are still pale and changed."

"It is the result of the fever; but I feel better, and now, monsieur, that you have told me that you are not angry with me any more, why, I feel perfectly well; it seems to me that my strength has come back to me, and that my health is as it was."

"I am glad to hear that, for your absence from this place worried me a great deal; and if I had known where you lived, I should have gone to inquire for you."

"And--and--is he still with you, monsieur?"

"He? You mean Georget, do you not?"

"Yes, monsieur, Georget."

"To be sure; but he didn't come with me; I left him at Nogent. I must also confess to you, my child, that I didn't tell him that you had been to Nogent; after what happened, I knew that I should simply make him unhappy; and before telling him anything, I wished to see you again."

"You did well, monsieur."

"However, as the winter is approaching, we shall return to Paris in a few days."

"Will he come back with you?"

"Yes, I shall bring him with me; I shall find work for him here; he is an intelligent fellow and he writes well--it would be a pity to have him continue as a messenger."

"And you will return soon, monsieur?"