CHAPTER XIX.

LE CABINET DE BEAUTÉ.

But little Margot was not to get off quite so easily. She was to have her _trials_ the same as other people. There was not the slightest doubt whatsoever that Margot had a nature far above the ordinary. It was strong, it was brave, it had a sort of noble simplicity about it. She was proud of her race, both on her father's and her mother's side, but she could not see the slightest harm in assisting _la belle_ grand'mère with the _établissement_. She did see, however, a good deal of harm in annoying, nay more, in seriously injuring, the lives of two dear old men, both of them in their own way the dearest old men in the world. Of course The Desmond was the best of all--he was grand, noble, superb; but there was also something _très magnifique_, according to _la belle_ grand'mère, in Monsieur le Comte St. Juste. He was so feeble, too, and so old; he must not be hurt for anything in the world.

Margot thought nothing whatsoever about her supposed _dot_, but she sympathised with la belle grand'mère in keeping all knowledge of _le magasin_ from M. le Comte. The little Madame idolised the sweet girl, and poured her troubles into those sympathetic ears.

"Behold, behold!" she cried. "There would not be _l'argent_ for _mon_ Alphonse if thou didst not do thy noble best; if I did not keep the _établissement_ going. He wants his comforts, that aged and beloved one."

"Ah, _oui, je comprens_," said little Margot.

And she did comprehend, and kept her word.

After a few weeks had gone by, Madame la Comtesse gave orders to her servants not to admit anyone, old or young, man or woman, into the presence of M. le Comte. The servants assured her that they would obey her to the very letter. They loved her because she was so bright and gay and obliging. They did not in the least mind whether she kept a _magasin_ or not. Did she not load them with gifts? Was there ever quite so good a place to serve in as the Château St. Juste?

Yes, they loved Madame, and they adored _la petite_ Comtesse.

But it so happened that the old M. le Comte, lying against his pillows of down, thought a great deal about his granddaughter. Henri was indeed a boy to be proud of, but after all he was nothing to _la petite_. He wasted _l'argent_; _la petite_ seemed never to spend anything. Was justice being done to this charming little creature by the father of Henri? He troubled himself about this. He became anxious.

One day he spoke to Madame la Comtesse.

"Madame," he said, "thou hast given up thy _établissement_?"

"Ah, _oui_, _certainement_, Alphonse," was the quick answer of Madame.

"Tell me now from the bottom of thy heart, Madame, what provision we can make for _la petite_ Comtesse."

Madame named a sum which certainly staggered the old man.

"Thou must be _très riche_," he said.

"Ah, _oui_, it is the will of God!" replied Madame. Then she added, stroking his silvery hair and laying her piquant face close to his. "Dost thou not remember, thou superb, angelic one, that on the day we received la Comtesse, a notary came and settled on her the sum I have mentioned?"

"Ah, _oui_," answered M. le Comte. "I remember and yet I forget. The aged, they always forget. It is the trial of old age not to remember."

"It is _un fait accompli_," said Madame. "Fret not thyself, _chère_ Alphonse."

The old Comte smiled.

"I like to think of our little one," he said, "always and ever surrounded by the luxuries of life. When she is older, much older, we will marry her to a man, young and beautiful and of great rank. She is worthy of the best and she shall have the best."

"_Mais oui, mais oui_," answered Madame.

"But I have been thinking," pursued M. le Comte, "that her education is not progressing. We could not permit her to return to the school, where that ugly M'selle was taught to tell the black lies."

"_Non_," said Madame. "_Certainement, non._"

"But I want her to go to a school," said M. le Comte. "Why dost thou frown, my adored Ninon?"

"Because I am thinking," she replied. "There is but one school in Arles worthy of _la petite_, and that is held by la Princesse de Pleury; but alas, even that school is not what it used to be. There used to be there only _les demoiselles_ the most refined, the highest in rank."

"Not the grass-green, ha! ha!" laughed the Comte.

"Thou art right, my adored one, not the grass-green. I, too, have thought of the education of _la petite_. It is of the utmost importance. Why not place her in the hands of a _gouvernante_? There is one, M'selle de Close. She is connected with M'selle de Blanc. She is of high rank and of great intelligence, and between M'selle de Close and M'selle de Blanc, we can have _la petite_ taught in this, thine own château, all the things that belong to the best society."

"Of what age are those M'selles?" asked the Comte.

"M'selle de Close is eighteen; M'selle le Blanc one year more. They are young, but they are finished--ah, to the most complete!"

"And what knowledge can they impart?" asked M. le Comte.

"They'll teach her all those things that a young M'selle should know. They will keep her mind, mark you, M. le Comte, as white as a white marguerite, and they will impart to her those graces of society which are essential to _le bon mari_ by-and-bye. They can come here day about, at two of the clock, and spend until four with _la petite_."

"Send them to me one at a time," said the Comte, "and let me interview them alone."

Accordingly Madame la Comtesse went that very day to a unique and charming little flat in a unique and charming part of Arles. It was called "_Le Cabinet de Beauté_. The lady who entered the room on the arrival of Madame called herself Félicité. She held up her hands, arched her brows and said:

"Ah, Madame, have you come to me indeed? Have you come at last, that I may perform on you my art? Behold how little it is, and how much. It finishes never, see, Madame? Behold, I will mark out to you your day! You must have the _chocolat_, you must rise never later than eight o'clock, and promenade on foot for _les douches_. This exercise preserves the form. Then, behold, the masseuse appears and makes miracles of the hands. Afterwards you rest as is necessary, and M'selle Blanc does the rest. Ah, but she is a veritable artist is M'selle Blanc. You want us; you have come. I am at your feet, beautiful Madame!"

"I want you not at all," said Madame la Comtesse. "The good God himself has given unto me the cheeks of roses and the eyes so bright and the figure so straight. But behold, listen! There is _ma petite_, the idol of her grandfather, the adored of her _belle_ grand'mère. M. le Comte knows nothing of my _établissement_, and he must never know, never, never! There are things which all women of fashion learn, and I want you, M'selle Close, and that other gracious lady, M'selle Blanc, to come day about to the château in order to instruct _la petite_, but you must not touch on the make up, _comprenez-vous_? It would be fatal. _L'enfant toujours_; that mind so white must be kept white; but you must teach her, M'selle Close, such things as the English and the French and the German and the _géographie_ for two hours every other day, and on the other days, M'selle Blanc shall teach her. You must be at the château for two hours each day, but before anything is firmly established, you must go to the château and acquaint M. le Comte with the fact that you are a poor _gouvernante_, one of the high nobility. You must present yourself to him as M'selle de Close, and your friend must be M'selle de Blanc; and I will pay you well, ah well; that is, if you keep strictly to your post; keep firmly to the lessons which I have set you--the white heart to be kept white; the holy things to be instructed to _la petite_, _comprenez-vous_?"

"Ah, _oui_," said M'selle Close. "And you will pay well, Comtesse?"

"According to your merits will I pay. I care not how much, so long as it pleases _mon mari_. Get ready at once and I will drive you, M'selle Close, to the Château St. Juste."

M'selle certainly saw a good thing before her. She dressed according to the directions of Madame very simply and quietly. She removed the rouge from her cheeks and the artificial darkness from beneath her eyes. She was no longer a pretty woman, but she was, according to Madame, one with _l'air distingué_.

Soon they reached the château. Little Margot had not yet returned home. She was at her dancing class and was perfectly happy.

Madame rushed gaily into the presence of _mon_ Alphonse.

"I have found her and she is a treasure. Listen, harken, she belongs to the nobility. She is M'selle de Close. Her friend also is M'selle de Blanc. She is poor, but she is simple, aristocratic, learned. She will teach thy granddaughter for two hours every second day. On alternate days M'selle de Blanc will do likewise. I have brought her back with me for thee to see."

"Ah, but I am tired!" said the Comte. "I did not know that thou wouldst be _si vite, ma_ Comtesse."

"Ah, but _vite_ is the word," cried la Comtesse; "for youth it flies, months go by, years go by. Behold, whilst thou art looking round, taking a little nap--ah, no more, just a little nap, _la petite_ will grow up. Wilt thou, then, see M'selle de Close?"

"Yes, thou art ever right, Comtesse," replied the old Comte. "Present me to M'selle. I will treat her with that courtesy which a lady should receive."

Now M'selle Close, as she was really called knew well where her bread was buttered, and she was in consequence quite able to answer the enquiries made by that gracious and most aristocratic old person, M. le Comte.

"I will try you for one month," he said. "You will be here at two to the minute to-morrow, and then, behold! it will be my pleasure to be present while you instruct my granddaughter."

But here M'selle drew up her head in a very haughty way.

"Alas, M. le Comte," she said. "I am poor and low in the world, but I have my little pride, my last rag of possession. I share that rag with my beloved friend, M'selle de Blanc. We could not be treated as though we meant to impart evil, we must be trusted or we can do nothing. We must decline this generous offer of yours, M. le Comte, unless we are treated as ladies of rank. _La petite_ Comtesse will not suffer at our hands, but we must teach her each in our turn alone. Is it to be, M. le Comte? For there is the house of one who seeks our services, and we can go there if you do not permit."

"For one month I permit," said the Comte. "I did not mean to hurt your feelings, M'selle. I was only full of interest at the thought of listening to the knowledge which you will pour into the ears of _la petite_ Comtesse."

"Ah, well, M'sieur, I cannot change, I await your decision."

"You shall teach her alone," said M. le Comte. "Send your friend to see me to-morrow and come yourself as arranged, to begin those instructions which demoiselles of rank require."

"Ah, _oui_, M'sieur, _oui_, you indeed belong, as I do myself, to the _ancienne noblesse_."

The arrangement was quickly arrived at. The two ladies were interviewed by M'sieur le Comte, and both completely had their own way with him. Madame la Comtesse had a little talk with Margot, and on a certain Thursday the lessons so unique and perfect began.

Unique and perfect they were not, but they interested Margot, who listened with the colour rising to her cheeks and her velvety black-brown eyes fixed on the faces of her teachers. She still pursued her French in the town of Arles and talked it with M'selles de Close and de Blanc. She also read a little history, all in the French tongue, but occasionally her lovely eyes were fixed with a sort of dull amazement on the faces of these faded women, who no longer dressed to captivate their customers at the _Cabinet de Beauté_, showed their true age which was anything but young.

When the first week was over and the ladies had departed, little Margot skipped into her grandfather's room, flung herself on her knees by his side, and told him about _les pauvres gouvernantes_.

"Dost thou like them, my little one?" asked M. le Comte.

"No, grandpère," was the reply.

"Why dost thou say that? Thy words arrest and alarm me."

"They are only wooden dolls," said _la petite_ Comtesse. "They have no thoughts. I do not think they can instruct me, for I--I wish not to be vain, but I know more than they do."

M. le Comte was much distressed at hearing this.

"I like thy teaching best, grandpère. Tell them to go and come back no more."

"I have engaged them for a month, _ma pauvre petite_. Thou must even bear with them for a month, _mon ange_, and then they shall go. But say not to them that they shall go!"

"_Non, non, mon_ grandpère, not for the world," said Margot.

The month came to an end. Margot endured it because she began to teach the aged, ignorant governesses herself. She found the task quite agreeable and did not mind what the ladies felt; in fact, they were fascinated by her talk and found her pretty speeches and gay manners truly diverting. They were earning large sums of money and had nothing to do. They were not teaching, they were being taught.

At last the day came when the thunderbolt fell. Margot was sent up to her room. The two ladies arrived in a hurry together by special request of M. le Comte.

Madame looked at them with anxious eyes. "I did not know that you were quite so ignorant, Félicité," she said, "nor you, Thérèse. I have given _mon mari l'argent_ to pay you both, but my poor friends, behold, you must come here no more!"

The astonished ladies were received by M. le Comte. He received them civilly but with a certain distance. He said he had other views for _la petite_. He paid them their month's money, which Madame had given him for the purpose, and they walked down the neatly kept avenue, burning rage in their hearts. Why had they made themselves so ugly for so poor a reward? Suddenly, as they were approaching Arles, hoping not to be recognised, whom should they see coming to meet them but several girls belonging to the school of la Princesse de Fleury! Amongst these girls was Louise Grognan. Most of the girls took no notice whatsoever of the faded-looking old ladies, but Louise recognised them. Quick as thought she made up her mind. She said a word to her companion, explained that she knew the _chères demoiselles_, and presently was walking by their sides.

"You keep the _Cabinet de Beauté_?" she said.

"We do and we have almost ruined ourselves for nothing," said M'selle Close. Tears crept between her eyelids.

"Tell me everything," said Louise, "and perhaps I can help."

"You! How can you possibly help?"

"Well, at least tell me; I will do my best."

So the old ladies described how they had to give up their profession. They could no longer use the masseuse on the hand nor the rouge on the cheeks. They could no longer direct as they used to do, the daily programme of their pupils. Everything was at an end because, forsooth, Madame la Comtesse St. Juste required the best part of the day for one of these ladies; turn about truly, ah, yes, turn about, to teach _la petite_ Comtesse. But, behold, they could not teach. It was true, alas, more than true! They could give vast instructions as to massage and the brushing of the hair and the delicate touch of rouge on the cheeks but what did they know of German or of geography? The world for them consisted of _la belle_ France. Was there another land? Ah, well, they did not know of it. Still _la charmante petite_ Comtesse was all that was elegant and delightful, and she would beyond doubt have a very great _dot_ some day, and she would marry according to the French custom into the high nobility. They found it tiresome to sit with the child and teach her nothing, but behold she taught them, and she knew, ah, ten times as much as they did! It was wonderful to listen to her. There were other countries--Angleterre, Irlande, a country called Germany, and lands many and wonderful across the deep, deep sea. It was like listening to a fairy tale to hear _la petite_ talk, and they were getting a good salary. Ah, _oui, très bien, n'est-ce pas_! But behold, the old Comte, he was angry, and _la petite_ Comtesse must have told him things. She looked true at heart, but she was not true at heart; and behold, undoubtedly, she had enlightened M. le Comte concerning them. They were sent away in disgrace. Their hearts were broken.

"Do you want your revenge?" asked Louise.

"Revenge, _certainement_, but could there be revenge?"

"I tell you there can," said Louise. "I failed, but you can succeed. You, Félicité Close, will receive me in your _Cabinet de Beauté_ to-morrow, and behold, you will manicure my hands, and while so doing, I--I myself will enlighten you and you shall avenge yourselves upon the Comte."

"_C'est bien, c'est bien_," murmured M'selle Blanc.

"At two o'clock to-morrow I will arrive," said Louise. "Keep me not waiting, I beseech of you, M'selle Close and M'selle Blanc. I will teach you both how to avenge yourselves on M'sieur le Comte at the Château St. Juste."

Accordingly Louise returned home in the highest spirits, and wrote a letter of rapture to Tilly at Clapham Common.

"There is still of the hope," she wrote, "the hope that never dies. Keep up your spirits, Matilda Raynes. Most unexpectedly has the hope arisen. It fills the sky like the most beautiful sunset. Behold, it is golden and close at hand. I shall have earned my sixty francs, and thou wilt invite me to thy château of renown in the aristocratic quarter called Clapham Common. I will visit you in Angleterre, and in Clapham Common we shall clasp hands and meet heart to heart."