"Oh! mon Dieu! And what answer did you make to all that, father?"

"My dear child, the only answer that a father should make to honorable men, of good standing in society, who ask him for his daughter's hand: 'Your offer flatters me, does me honor, and, for my part, I will interpose no obstacle to the fulfilment of your wishes; but, as marriage is an act which has a decisive influence upon the happiness of one's whole life, I have determined to allow my daughters absolute freedom in the matter of choosing a husband, and never to enforce my wishes in opposition to theirs.'"

"Oh! my dear, good father! how good it is of you, not to force your children to marry!"

"Now, my dear love, it is for you to choose. These two offers are equally advantageous. Monsieur de la Beriniere makes you a countess, with thirty thousand francs a year--that is very attractive. To be sure, he is sixty years old, which lessens the attraction. Monsieur Anatole de Raincy is not a count; but he is of a very old family; he has only fifteen thousand francs a year, but he is only twenty-seven, and that's a valuable a.s.set. Now, you are fully posted as to these two aspirants to your hand. Reflect and choose."

"Oh! the reflecting is all done, father! I want neither of them."

"What! you refuse?"

"I refuse them both."

"But you are unreasonable, my child!--Either of the two marriages would be honorable; it would be hard to find a better match in respect to fortune; indeed, I am afraid that you'll never do so well."

"You know, don't you, father, that I care nothing about money?"

"My dear girl, it isn't well, perhaps, to love money as your sister loves it; but it isn't well to despise it, either. It is a great help to happiness. Come, between ourselves, why do you refuse both of these two offers? The count, I can understand; he's too old for you; but Monsieur Anatole is young, not a bad-looking fellow----"

"I refuse them, father, because I want to love my husband, and I shall never love Monsieur de la Beriniere or Monsieur de Raincy."

"So you are quite determined, are you?"

"Absolutely. You can tell them that I don't want to marry now. A well-bred man understands that that's a polite way of refusing."

"Very good, since you have made up your mind. Gad! you're not much like your sister! You see, she is rich, and happy! always at some festivity, always enjoying herself!"

"I don't envy her happiness; I should not be happy in the life she leads."

"Well, let's say no more about it."

Monsieur Gerbault left his daughter; but she could read in his eyes that he was not pleased that she had refused the two eligible husbands who had offered themselves. As for Adolphine, she said to herself:

"I cannot marry either of those men, for I love someone else. The man I love will never marry me,--I know that,--for he never thinks of me! But I choose to have the right to think of him always."

XXV

GUSTAVE'S UNCLE

After his duel with Auguste Monleard, Cherami returned to his lodgings, whistling a polka. He found his hostess where he had left her, standing in her doorway.

Madame Louchard was very inquisitive; it had stirred her curiosity to the highest pitch to see her tenant go away with the young exquisite who owned a cabriolet; and when the former returned alone, she cried:

"Well! what have you done with him?"

"With whom? with what?"

"Why, with that elegant gentleman who went away with you on foot,--a strange thing to do when he has a cabriolet at his command. You might just as well have got into it, both of you, as it followed you."

"It wasn't worth while to ride; we only went a little way."

"Oho! where did you go?"

"To that vacant lot over yonder, by the theatre."

"What in the world did you go there for? Does your friend think of buying the lot?"

"Not at all. We went there to fight. It's a very convenient place for that."

"To fight? Is it possible!"

"As I have the honor to tell you."

"With your fists?"

"Madame Louchard, you always imagine that you are talking to the clowns who are your usual a.s.sociates. Understand, pray, that a man like me doesn't fight with his fists! I sometimes send the toe of my boot into the fleshy part of an upstart who bores me--but when it's a question of a duel, that's another affair."

"What did you fight with, then?"

"With swords."

"You didn't have any."

"That gentleman had a whole a.r.s.enal in his carriage."

"Mon Dieu! And which of you was killed?"

"Why, your question is rather beside the mark. Do I look like a dead man?"

"Ah! that's so. It was the other man, then? Poor young man!"

"Don't be alarmed; he isn't dead, and he won't die. A simple wound--and I warned him, too; I said: 'You strike down too much!'--He fences rather well, but he isn't in my cla.s.s yet."

"You villain! always in trouble--fighting duels. But what if he had killed you, eh?"

"In that case, superb Louchard, I should not, at this moment, have the pleasure of gazing upon your strongly-marked features."

"And the cause of your duel?"

"A trifle--a mere nothing--a jest. But that young man's coming prevented me from breakfasting, and I feel the need of attending to that important function. I go to my room to get my pretty cane with the agate head, and I fly to the Vefour of the Quarter. But, no; there isn't one here, and, as I wish to breakfast very well indeed, I will go as far as Pa.s.soir's."

"Anyone can see that you're in funds."

"Indeed, it is true, divine hostess."