XXV

THE MAN WITH FIVE FACES

When the messenger from her aunt's solicitor had gone, Valentine rose noiselessly and beckoned to her maid to follow her. They soon reached Mademoiselle de Mongarcin's bedroom, and the latter, after bidding Miretta to lock the door, said to her:

"We can talk more at ease here, Miretta. I do not know how to tell you what is taking place in my heart. I am chagrined, angry, almost furious.

And yet, I do not love this Leodgard; but I would be glad to make sure that that youth has not been telling us a parcel of lies.--Miretta, you must help me to discover the truth; you are in my service to do whatever I wish; you will help me, will you not?"

"I am devoted to you, mademoiselle, and you may rely upon me."

"Good! good! Oh! I will reward you handsomely, I promise you!"

"Do not speak of rewards, mademoiselle; I am in need of nothing; you are too kind to me now; I shall be happy to prove to you that I am not ungrateful."

"You are not moved by selfish motives, I have noticed that already; you are not an ordinary lady's-maid; besides, you love, you adore your lover. Therefore, you will understand me.--The Comte de Marvejols, the man whom my friends have selected for my husband, make love to a bath keeper's daughter! pa.s.s all his time with her! and, to be with her, refuse to attend b.a.l.l.s and receptions! Oh! I cannot believe it yet; but if it is so, you will agree that I shall be justified in refusing him, in spurning that alliance; and if anyone should ask me for my reasons, how sweet it would be to me to avenge myself by revealing the n.o.ble conduct, the honorable love affairs of Comte Leodgard! that fashionable n.o.bleman, that soul of honor, that gentleman of the court of Louis XIII!

A n.o.ble gentleman, on my word! who does not shrink from marring his escutcheon!--Oh! I don't know what is the matter with me! Give me water; give me that phial of salts! I need to inhale it a moment."

Miretta zealously waited upon her young mistress, whose nerves were in a state of high tension because her self-esteem was humiliated and she could not endure the thought that a bath keeper's daughter had prevented her destined husband from accepting her invitation.

At last, when she had become somewhat calmer, Valentine sat for some time deep in thought. Miretta awaited in silence the commands of the n.o.bly born heiress, who already felt that she hated the plebeian maiden whom she did not know.

"You are not timid, Miretta; you must be brave, since you are not afraid to go out alone at night, here in Paris, which is said to be such a dangerous place.--Well! you must go to Rue Dauphine, you must see this girl, this wonderful beauty."

"Yes, mademoiselle."

"You will ascertain whether there are, in fact, any rumors afloat respecting her love affairs; make the neighbors and servants talk; in a word, I rely upon you to discover the truth."

"Mademoiselle, the bath keeper's daughter whom I go to see, Ambroisine, knows this Landry's daughter, I think.--Yes, I remember now that she has often spoken to me of her friend Bathilde--that is the name of the girl on Rue Dauphine."

"Bathilde!--oh! her name is Bathilde! I thought that her name would prove to be Marion, or Margot!"

"I will go first to see Ambroisine; and through her I shall perhaps learn more than from others!"

"Do as you think best; I leave you entirely free. From this moment I relieve you from all service and give you permission to go out whenever you please, and to stay away as long as you please. The concierge will have orders to await your return; and if anyone in the house should venture to make any impertinent comments on your conduct, he will be dismissed at once; for I am mistress here!--As you see, my aunt is good for nothing but to sleep! She paid no attention to that young clerk's story, and yet her niece's future and happiness were directly concerned.

Henceforth I myself will look after everything that concerns my repose, my name, my honor.--Here is money--you may need it to bribe someone, to induce people to speak. Do not spare it, spend it lavishly if necessary; but act, act promptly."

On the evening following this interview between Valentine and Miretta, the latter left the house as soon as it was dark.

But do not think that she bent her steps toward Ambroisine's abode.

While Mademoiselle de Mongarcin had been profoundly impressed by the little clerk's gossip, Cedrille's pretty cousin had been no less moved by what she had heard concerning Giovanni. Monsieur Bahuchet's words with respect to him had struck her to the heart; she saw her lover arrested and led to execution; and her feeling for Giovanni was stronger than her devotion to her mistress.

On leaving the house, she proposed first of all to try to meet Giovanni that night. The little clerk had declared that his favorite lurking place was the neighborhood of the Pont-aux-Choux, and Miretta said to herself:

"I will go in that direction; I have no idea where that bridge is, but someone will tell me."

The first person whom Miretta addressed, on Rue Saint-Honore, to ask for directions, seemed much surprised.

"Pont-aux-Choux, mademoiselle!" he exclaimed. "The deuce! it's a long way from here; it's outside of the city, beyond the Fosses Jaunes, between the Porte du Temple and Porte Saint-Antoine; you don't expect to go there to-night, I presume?"

"Pardon me, I do."

"And you are all alone! Beware! it's a lonely neighborhood, and very dangerous at night."

"I am not afraid; but please tell me which way I must go."

He directed her as well as he could, concluding with the usual phrase:

"When you get there, inquire again."

Miretta walked a long while; she was not sufficiently familiar with Paris to tell where she was, so that she did not know if she was approaching her destination.

Most of the shops were already closed; and the girl, remembering that she had money about her, regretted that she had not secured the a.s.sistance of a torchbearer or messenger, who would have guided her directly to the place to which she wished to go; but it was too late now to find any of those hard-worked men in the street.

More than once, bands of students and pages had attempted to accost the girl, offering her their services in very familiar fashion; but she had run away from them without replying.

She had just made her escape from a group of young men who seemed well disposed for mirth, when, as she halted, all out of breath from running, at the corner of a street, a well-known voice fell upon her ear.

"Eh! sandis! my eyes do not deceive me! it is in very truth our cruel infanta whom I see before me!--By Roland, my dear, you expose yourself to great risk, rambling about alone at night in such an unsavory quarter; none but knights of my temper should haunt such places by night!"

When she recognized the voice of her faithful suitor, the Gascon chevalier, Miretta felt relieved; for although Pa.s.sedix pestered her with his love, at all events she knew him; and while she found him intolerable as a lover, she believed him to be incapable of attempting any enterprise calculated to offend a woman's modesty. It was with something like pleasure, therefore, that the pretty brunette recognized the chevalier at that moment, the result being that she answered in a much more amiable tone than she usually adopted with him.

"Is it you, monsieur le chevalier? I confess that I did not expect to meet you here!"

"That is because you were not looking for me, little one; whereas I am always hoping to meet you!"

"As you are here, you will help me out of my perplexity."

"I will help you in whatever you wish to undertake! Do you wish to ascend to the moon--to revolve about a planet? I will escort you to the celestial empire; I have no very clear idea what road we must take; but, no matter! I would act as your escort, even to h.e.l.l, if such were your whim!"

"I thank you, monsieur le chevalier, but I have no intention of asking you to go so high or so low; I do not deem myself worthy as yet to dwell with the angels, but I have no desire, either, to pay a visit to the demons!"

"Sandis! I would gladly sell myself to the devil to win your love!"

"Be kind enough not to talk to me of love, and please be my guide to the Pont-aux-Choux, for that is where I am going."

"Ah! I understand; that is where you make a.s.signations with your lover; probably you are going there to join that rough fellow, that rustic, that artisan, who was awkward enough to make Roland drop from my hand on the Place de Greve, solely by favor of the crowd that pushed me from behind!--Ah! ten thousand _bombardes_! I would like right well to meet your spark again; I would show him this time that I know how to use my sword, and that it is not in the habit of escaping from my hand."

"But if I remember aright, chevalier, it escaped from your hand on the day you were kind enough to espouse my cause and to stand in front of Cedrille and myself on Rue Saint-Jacques."

"That day there was another reason," muttered Pa.s.sedix, with a frown.

"But let us return to the present; you wish to go to Pont Saint-Louis?"

"No; to the Pont-aux-Choux."