A fortnight pa.s.sed. Suppose that in seeking to cure Mignonne I had made myself ill? That is what I was beginning to ask myself; for the more I saw of Frederique, the more strongly I felt that it would be impossible for me to renounce the pure and unalloyed happiness that I enjoyed with her. I was no longer the same man; in the midst of my pleasures, I had attacks of melancholy. When Frederique fixed her eyes on me, I became embarra.s.sed, almost timid; but when she was not looking at me, with what joy I gazed at her! with what bliss my eyes feasted themselves upon every detail of her person! Was it love that I felt for her? I dared not confess it positively to myself, but I was terribly afraid that it was.

Yes, I was afraid; for if I loved her with love, and she loved me with friendship only, I must constantly endure the torments of Tantalus in her presence; if I loved her with love, I should not always be able to control myself; and my feelings since I had been with her in the country, the perturbation that I felt when she put her arm through mine, the flush that rose to my face when I happened to place my hand on her knee--everything warned me that a time would come--and perhaps soon--when I should forget respect and social conventions--when the friend would vanish and be succeeded by the lover! How many times, when we were walking together along a narrow path, had I been tempted to press her to my heart! to steal a kiss from her lips! But I remembered the night that I had supped with her, when we had agreed to be good friends, when she adopted the familiar form of address, and granted me the same privilege.--Excited by the fumes of wine,--or perhaps already a.s.sailed by the first flames of the pa.s.sion that was destined later to consume me,--I had kissed her pa.s.sionately. She had taken offence; that kiss was the signal for our rupture; she forbade me to enter her doors again. Suppose that she should do the same now! She manifested the utmost confidence in me, because she believed me to be simply her friend, because she was persuaded that I would never have any other feeling than friendship for her. Suppose that upon learning that I really loved her she should take offence anew, leave me, deprive me of her presence! That thought froze the blood in my veins, and was sufficient to recall me to my senses whenever Frederique's lovely eyes were on the point of making me forget myself.

Two old bachelors who lived in the nearest house were the only guests she had received thus far; the brothers Ramonet were very pleasant, and played billiards or whist with us when the rain compelled us to stay indoors.

Several times I had had occasion to send Pomponne to Paris. I told him to say to Mignonne that I was visiting my friend Balloquet, at Fontenay; I did not know whether he had obeyed my orders strictly, but I doubted it.

One evening, when the bad weather compelled us to resort to cards,--which, by the way, I would have been glad to dispense with, but Frederique, whether because she was afraid that I would be bored, or from pure coquetry, took care that our tete-a-tetes should not be too frequent,--the elder Monsieur Ramonet observed, as he was dealing:

"We have a new neighbor. The small house close by--on the right."

"With the terraces, in the Italian style?"

"Yes. It has been let."

"It must be very recently," said Frederique, "for all the shutters have always been closed until now."

"It was only three days ago. A lady has hired it."

"Is she alone?"

"Alone, except for a maid. But it's a very small house, almost no room at all. It's very pretty, though; I went over it once?"

"Have you seen the new neighbor yet?"

"No, but my brother has.--Haven't you, Jules, seen the lady who has hired the little house?"

"Yes, when I pa.s.sed there this morning, she was at the window on the ground floor; I bowed, and she returned my bow most affably. She's very pretty--a young woman, with an air of distinction."

"Ah! did you see all that at a glance, Monsieur Jules?"

"Why, yes, madame! Oh! one glance is all I need; however, I bestowed more than one on her."

"And, of course, you know already who she is, what she does, what her name is?"

"No, not yet; but I shall know all those things to-morrow. She must be a widow; for the house would be too small for a lady with a husband and family. Being neighbors, we will call on her one of these days--eh, brother?"

"To be sure."

"You have that privilege, messieurs. As for myself, as I pay very few visits, I think that I shall not make this lady's acquaintance."

After the brothers Ramonet had gone, Frederique, who seemed more thoughtful than usual, suddenly said to me:

"You are not bored here, are you, my friend?"

"How many times must I tell you that I am enjoying myself immensely; that I have never known such happy days as those that have just pa.s.sed?"

"And you don't regret Paris?"

"I regret nothing."

"And you don't care about making the acquaintance of new neighbors?"

"Certainly not; indeed, I think sometimes that the brothers Ramonet are in the way."

"Ah! how good you are to be so happy with your friend! Good-night, Charles; until to-morrow!"

She gave me her hand, and looked at me with such a charming expression that I was ready to cover her hand with kisses. Ah! if I dared confess what was taking place in my heart! But she would have had no choice but to be angry and order me to go. I preferred to hold my peace and remain with her.

XLVII

THE NEIGHBOR

On the following morning, Frederique and I were in the salon on the ground floor; I was trying to extort some melody from a wretched piano, and she was laughing at my impatience, when her servant appeared and informed her that a lady desired to see her.

"A lady!" exclaimed Frederique, in surprise; "but I don't expect any lady. Where does she come from?"

"It seems that she is the person who has hired the little house near by."

"And she thinks that, being a neighbor, she owes me a visit. Well, I will receive her, if it must be; but I propose to show her in short order that I don't choose to be intimate with my neighbors. Admit this lady who is in such a hurry to see me!"

The maid retired. I turned toward the door, curious to see the neighbor, who was said to be pretty; Frederique continued to sit nonchalantly on the couch. A lady appeared; I made a gesture of surprise, and Madame Dauberny uttered a cry; we recognized Madame Sordeville.

Armantine seemed amazed to find me there; but she recovered herself at once and ran toward Frederique, saying:

"It is I! You didn't expect to see me, did you? You had no idea that I had become your neighbor?"

"Why, no, surely not; I had not the slightest suspicion of it!" replied Frederique, in a tone that was not precisely affectionate; "but who told you--how did you know that I lived in this house, where, by the way, I have been only a short time?"

"Mon Dieu! servants, you know, find out instantly who one's neighbors are, and, in the country especially, that is the first thing one thinks about."

"I promise you that I think very little about it."

"My maid said to me this morning: 'Madame, this fine house next to us is let to Madame Dauberny.'--I needn't tell you that, when I heard your name, I asked for other particulars; I soon concluded that it must be you, so I lost no time in coming to see you and embrace you. Did I do wrong?"

"No, indeed! certainly not!"

The ladies embraced. I was not fully persuaded that their kisses were sincere. Frederique was much disturbed; she changed color every second.

Madame Sordeville was still pretty and as great a coquette as ever; I saw that instantly. She soon turned to me and said:

"When I came to see my friend, I did not expect, I must say, to find Monsieur Rochebrune here. That is an additional pleasure!"

I contented myself with bowing coldly. Frederique, who was watching me, said:

"Yes, Monsieur Rochebrune consented to pa.s.s some time with me here. I thought at first that he would not make a long visit, but he said to me lately that he did not regret Paris at all."