The Bath Keepers Volume Ii Part 17

"You must have heard wrong, niece; or else the young gentleman was amusing himself at his friend's expense.--A man of the Marvejols blood does not contract a marriage without letting it be known beforehand in society! That would in truth be most extraordinary!"

At that moment a servant appeared and announced the Baron de Germandre.

The old lady ordered him to be admitted, and soon a little, wizened, bald-headed old man entered the salon, saluted the ladies with all the grace of a courtier, and, after presenting his respects with a sprightly air, dropped upon a sofa, saying:

"Great news, mesdames! great news! I am always among the first to learn the news, you know. I like that; early fruits are always agreeable: ha!

ha! ha!"

"What is it, Monsieur de Germandre?" asked Madame de Ravenelle, half raising her head; "is the king making love to his wife? is Richelieu out of favor?"

"No, no, to-day's news does not concern the court, but a gentleman of n.o.ble lineage, of a very ancient family.--Why, it is utterly inconceivable! And if I had not had my information from the old Duc de Montaulac, who was one of the witnesses, I should refuse to believe it; but one must yield to evidence!"

"When you are willing to explain yourself fully, baron, we shall be very glad; for thus far you have confined yourself to most ambiguous phrases."

"That is true, mesdames--I beg pardon; this is the authentic news: the son of the Marquis de Marvejols, young Comte Leodgard, is married!"

"Married!" cried Madame de Ravenelle, unable to control a movement of surprise; and she glanced at her niece; but the latter remained impa.s.sive and simply pressed her lips tightly together, like one who was not at all surprised by what she heard.

"That would be perfectly natural," continued the baron; "the count's marriage was sure to come, and it would surprise no one if he had married someone of his own rank, a person of n.o.ble birth, of an ill.u.s.trious family. But if you knew to whom he has given his name!--why, it is beyond belief; such a thing was never seen!"

"Really, baron, you are intolerable! You keep us in this suspense!"

"Oh! a thousand pardons, _belle dame_!--Well, the descendant of the house of Marvejols, Comte Leodgard, has married a girl of the common people--the daughter of a bath keeper. That is the sort of people with whom that n.o.ble gentleman has allied himself."

Valentine clenched her fingers on the chair on which her hand rested, but she strove to retain her self-control.

For the first time in her life perhaps, Madame de Ravenelle uttered an exclamation, and seemed deeply moved; she could hardly murmur:

"It cannot be so, baron; there must be some mistake; such a marriage is impossible!"

"Mon Dieu! I said exactly the same thing, madame, when I heard of it; but since the Duc de Montaulac and the Baron de Freilly were present as witnesses to the marriage, and since they have confirmed the report, how can you entertain any further doubt?"

"And the old Marquis de Marvejols consented to this marriage?"

"He not only consented, but--and this may seem to you even more incredible--he forced his son to contract it, so to speak."

"He? the marquis?"

"Yes, madame.--You know that he is a very strange man, is the dear marquis! He has certain ideas, certain principles, on the subject of honor, which are worthy of much respect, no doubt; but still there are cases when one may well make an exception to the rule."

"And the Duc de Montaulac and the Baron de Freilly consented to act as witnesses to a marriage which violates all the proprieties, which is almost an insult to the n.o.bility?"

"What would you have? It seems that it is quite a romantic story. They say that the girl, who was a model of virtue, was seduced by that scapegrace of a Leodgard--for the gentleman is said to be a sad rake.

And then, the affair having had certain--er--consequences, the girl was turned out of doors by her parents, and but for a friend who a.s.sisted her and gave her shelter she would probably have died in the street; for the das.h.i.+ng Leodgard had abandoned her!"

"That was very wrong! He should have given her money--a great deal of money!"

"He has never had any too much for himself; though now, they say, he spends as much as a sultan!--To make my story short, the father learned all from the girl's friend, who went to see him. He summoned all the parties before him, and it was then that the Duc de Montaulac and Monsieur de Freilly were present. He told his son that he owed reparation to the father of the girl he had seduced. This father is an old soldier, so it seems; the marquis gave the count his choice between marrying the girl and fighting a duel with her father?"

"And Leodgard preferred the marriage? It is inconceivable!"

"He refused at first; he even rejected the proposition with contempt.

Then, all of a sudden--no one knows how it came about--he changed his mind and consented to marry. The ceremony took place instantly, in the chapel of the Hotel de Marvejols. A venerable priest had been summoned.

Everything was ready. The rite was performed."

"I cannot get over my surprise! No, it pa.s.ses my understanding. The new bridegroom will not have the audacity to present his wife at court, I presume?"

"It seems that after the marriage the bride's parents gave up their bathing establishment and went to live in the provinces."

"What a pity! we might have gone to the Comte de Marvejols's father-in-law's place to bathe! That might have become the fas.h.i.+on."

"As for the old marquis, he has given his mansion on Place Royale to the young bride, so they say. It seems that he has lavished gifts upon her; he has settled an enormous income upon her. But he has arranged it so that his son cannot touch it; in short, he has determined that the young woman shall have an independent fortune.--It is certain that with the sort of life that Comte Leodgard is leading now few fortunes could stand the strain.--Finally, the old marquis has left Paris; he has gone to his fine estate of Champfleury, announcing that he does not propose to leave it again."

"That is a very strange series of events!--Do the new husband and wife live happily?"

"Oh, yes! for they do not live together. On the very day of his marriage, Comte Leodgard left his wife and returned to his _pet.i.te maison_ in Rue de Bretonvilliers. As for the new countess, she has taken up her abode in the Hotel de Marvejols, and I am a.s.sured that the count, her husband, has not set his foot inside the door since she took possession."

"All that you have told me is so astounding--it has excited me too much.--I am afraid that I am going to be ill, baron; this is contrary to all my habits."

"You will resume them again, _belle dame_; after all, no matter what happens, it seems to me that it is a matter of indifference to us. So much the worse for people who make fools of themselves! The idea of marrying a woman whom you leave on your wedding day and whom you refuse to see again! I declare that, had I been in the count's place, I would have fought a hundred times rather than enter into such an absurd alliance!"

"You would have done well, baron; you would have done very well! Ah! you do not belie your blood!"

"What the devil! one is a gentleman or one is not; I know no other distinction!--But I must leave you, mesdames; receive my respects. I confess that I am in haste to go to several other houses to tell the story of the Comte de Marvejols's extraordinary marriage."

"I can understand that. Go, Baron de Germandre, go; we will detain you no longer."

The old baron took his leave.

Madame de Ravenelle glanced at her niece; Valentine simply said, in a curt tone:

"Well, madame! you see that I heard aright, do you not?"

The old lady made no reply; but, after so severe a shock, after such an excess of fatiguing emotion, it was plain that she wished to enjoy a little repose, for she stretched herself out on her couch as she did when she proposed to sleep.

Thereupon Valentine at once left the salon and went to her own apartment.

"Send Miretta to me!" she said to a servant whom she met; then, having no longer any motive for concealing her feelings, she abandoned herself to chagrin, wrath, mortification; she tore whatever was within reach of her hand; she spurned and broke everything that came in her way.

Miretta soon appeared before her mistress. For some time past, Miretta had been sad and pensive. Wherever she might be, her brow was pale and anxious, and her eyes expressed grief and discouragement; she was no longer the pretty and piquant brunette who fascinated all eyes. Grief soon works havoc with beauty.

"Mademoiselle sent for me, and I am here," she said in a low tone, bending her head before her mistress.

"Yes, come in; close that door, so that I may speak, so that I may at last give full vent to my feelings, without constraint."

"Mademoiselle is much agitated! Has anything happened to grieve her?"

"Oh, yes! yes! I am suffering acutely; I feel deeply humiliated! I cannot tell you all that I feel; I do not know myself what is taking place in my heart; but I would like to be able to avenge myself!--Miretta, that man who was to be my husband--at least, such was the wish of both our families--that Leodgard de Marvejols, is married--married to the girl Bathilde, the daughter of a bath keeper!