"Never a ball, and no _volupetas_, as you call them. The lady doesn't care for society, and Monsieur de Noirmont pa.s.ses his life in his library. So our young marquis doesn't care to go to the house, although he has been invited."

"Ah! he has been invited there, has he?"

"Yes; but I've often heard him say when he's dressing in the morning: 'I've no desire to go to that house; it must be horribly dull there.'"

"Are you sure that Monsieur Cherubin said that?"

"Yes; and I've heard Monsieur de Monfreville answer: 'You are very wise; it's a house which has little to offer that is attractive to a man of your age.'"

Monsieur Gerondif rubbed his hands and asked no more questions. The next day, after procuring Monsieur de Noirmont's address, he went to his house, asked to speak to his servant, introduced himself as coming from old Jasmin and as having to suggest a lady's maid for Mademoiselle de Noirmont.

Jasmin was the Nestor of servants; his recommendation was most influential, and that of so serious-minded a man as Monsieur Gerondif seemed to be could only confirm the favorable opinion which was sure to be entertained of Jasmin's protegee.

The young servant of fifty-six informed the tutor that madame was absent, and that, as monsieur never interfered in any domestic details, the choice of another lady's maid was left to him; that he was perfectly content to accept the one whom the venerable Monsieur Jasmin was kind enough to send, and that his only wish was that she should arrive as soon as possible.

Sure of success in that direction, Monsieur Gerondif thanked the servant, promised to bring the girl soon, and set out at once for Gagny and Nicole's house.

The tutor's presence always brought joy to the humble abode of the villagers; for he brought news of Paris, and with him they talked constantly of Cherubin.

After answering the questions of Nicole and Louise, who inquired first of all for the health of the object of their affections, Monsieur Gerondif turned to the girl and said:

"My child, it is princ.i.p.ally on your account that I have come to Gagny, for I am thinking about your future, your lot in life. You are seventeen years of age, you are tall, and well-developed physically as well as mentally; I mean by that that you have intelligence beyond your years; and you have profited by being present at the lessons which I gave to my pupil; you read and write very fairly and speak quite correctly.

Moreover, you handle the needle with facility, and you seem to be apt at all the tasks suited to your s.e.x; isn't that so, Mere Nicole?"

"Why, yes, it's all true," replied the good woman, staring at the visitor. "What scheme have you got in your head for our Louise; do you mean to make a d.u.c.h.ess of her too?"

"No, not exactly; but I tell you again, I mean to a.s.sure her future.

What would it be if she remained in this village? She has no relations, no fortune; so she must think herself very lucky if some uneducated country clown should want to marry her."

"Oh! never! never!" cried Louise; "I won't marry!"

"Bless my soul, my dear child," said Nicole, "you know very well that n.o.body'll force you to, and that I'll never turn you out of our house."

"That is all very well," rejoined Gerondif. "But if Louise should find a good place in Paris, in a respectable family, where she could lay by a little money, and then find a good match, it seems to me that that would be worth thinking about."

"In Paris!" cried Louise, with a joyful exclamation; "go to Paris! Oh!

what bliss! how glad I should be! Oh! yes, yes! you'll let me go, won't you, mother?"

"What, my child, do you want to leave me too?" said Nicole sadly.

But Louise kissed her again and again, crying:

"Why, just think that _he_ is in Paris! If I live in the same city with him, it seems to me that I may see him, meet him sometimes; and that thought is the only thing that makes me want to go to Paris. Isn't it true, Monsieur Gerondif, that people are sure to meet when they live in the same place, and that I should see him sometimes if I was in Paris?"

"See him? whom?"

"Why Cherubin--monsieur le marquis. Whom do you suppose I am talking about, if not him?"

The tutor realized that the hope of seeing Cherubin was the sole reason that led the girl to welcome his suggestion so joyously, and he was careful not to undeceive her.

"Certainly," he replied, "when two people live in the same place, there is much more probability of their meeting than when one is at the north and the other at the south--or, if you prefer, when one is _per fas_ and the other _nefas_.--Well, my interesting young friend Louise, I have found what I wanted to find for you; the place of lady's maid is offered you in a first-rate family; and when I say 'lady's maid,' it's as if I said 'companion;' and when I say 'companion,' it's as if I said 'friend,' to a young lady of fifteen who is said to be as amiable as she is kindhearted. You will a.s.sist her to dress, and she will not a.s.sist you; but we see that every day between friends: there's one who does everything, while the other one strolls about. Lastly, you will be well dressed; the friend who strolls generally gives the gowns and fichus that she doesn't want to the friend who dresses her. And then you will earn money, which is never a bad thing to have; for with money--silver--you get gold, which is the purest of metals, when there's no alloy in it.--Well! what do you think of my proposition? tell me."

"Oh! I ask nothing better--if my adopted mother consents!"

"Dear me! my child," said Nicole, "if it will make you so happy to go to Paris, I won't stand in your way; besides, I don't think that Monsieur Gerondif, who's been the village schoolmaster, could propose anything that wasn't for your good."

"You are as wise as aesop, Dame Nicole, although you are not hunchbacked!

My only desire is to a.s.sure a happy lot for this _puella formosa_,--and the future will prove it."

"And--Monsieur Cherubin?" ventured Louise, who no longer dared to say "Cherubin" simply, when she spoke of the young man she loved; "does he know of this plan that you propose to me? does he want me to go to Paris?"

Monsieur Gerondif scratched his nose a moment, then replied with a.s.surance:

"Does he know it? why, of course he does; and he is very anxious that my offer should please you."

"Oh! in that case, there must be no hesitation; must there, dear mother?--I accept, monsieur; I will start whenever you choose; I am ready."

"Then we will start at once."

"What!" cried Nicole, "do you mean to say you're going to take the dear child right away like this?"

"I must, Dame Frimousset; the place I have secured for her is wanted by a great many people; if we delay, it may be given to somebody else. We are not flooded with good places in Paris, so that I must introduce her and have her engaged to-day."

"Oh, yes! let me go, mother! I know that it will make you unhappy not to have me with you, and it makes me unhappy too to leave you. But, on the other hand, I am so glad to be near--Monsieur Cherubin. Besides, he wants me to come to Paris, and we mustn't vex him. But I will come to see you; oh! I won't do as he did, I shall never forget the village and those who have taken the place of my parents."

Nicole embraced the girl lovingly, and said at last:

"Go, my child; I am not your mother; I haven't any rights over you, and even if I had, I wouldn't stand in the way of your future good. But do at least come to see me sometimes. She'll be allowed to, won't she, Monsieur Gerondif?"

"Oh! certainly. She will enjoy a reasonable liberty, on condition that she doesn't abuse it.--Come, sweet Louise, make a bundle of your belongings--only those that are most necessary. You needn't carry your wooden shoes--you won't wear that kind where you are going. Make haste; I will wait for you."

Louise hastily made a bundle of her clothes; she was so surprised, so bewildered by what had happened to her, that it seemed to her that it must be a dream. Her heart leaped for joy at the thought of going to Paris. But the pleasures of the great city were not what she was thinking about, nor beautiful dresses, nor a less laborious life than she had led; in that journey she saw but one thing--that she was going to live in the same city with Cherubin.

While Louise was making her preparations for departure, Monsieur Gerondif took the nurse aside and said to her in a grave and imposing tone:

"Now, virtuous Nicole, I must disclose a secret to you. My main purpose in taking Louise to Paris is to remove her from the seductions which it is proposed to employ in order to triumph over her virtue and pluck the flower of her innocence. In two words, here are the facts: your foster-child Cherubin has become a great libertine in Paris; he will not endure resistance. Not long ago he remembered Louise, the playmate of his boyhood, and he exclaimed: 'She must be a charming girl by now! I am going to make her my mistress.'"

"Great G.o.d! is it possible?" cried Nicole, opening her eyes to their fullest extent. "My little Cherubin has got to be such a rake as that?"

"It's as I have the honor to tell you. In Paris, with lots of money, a man soon learns to be what they call a _lion_, and lion means seducer."

"Cherubin, a lion! And he used to be a perfect lamb!"

"I tell you there are no lambs in Paris now. To make a long story short, I thought that you wouldn't lend a hand to the ruin of your adopted daughter, and that you would approve my putting the child beyond the reach of any attempt at seduction."

"Oh! you did just right, monsieur le professor, and I approve of it."

"Now, when Cherubin comes to see Louise, you must tell him that she's been in Bretagne a long while, with a relation of yours, and that she's very happy there."