Part 18

"Ah! so that is how you expect to capture him?" muttered Miretta in a trembling voice, gazing at the little man with eyes that flashed fire.

"It seems to me to be very easy; when you know almost the spot where a bird has its nest, you can find it. But I beg pardon, mademoiselle; I see that you consider me too talkative.--I was saying that Thomas's cottage is isolated; but within about three gunshots of it, toward Paris, there is a very pretty place, a very elegant sort of pavilion, which belongs now, I believe, to the Baron de Montrevert, but which formerly belonged to Comte Léodgard, who lost it at cards. This pavilion is what our seigneurs of the court call a _petite maison_, a place to which they go to enjoy themselves in secret, to which they take their mistresses or courtesans; and the young count----"

"Enough, monsieur, enough!" said Valentine, with a glance at the young man which cut him short. "This does not interest me. That the Comte de Marvejols should ruin himself like a gentleman, that he should commit a thousand follies--fight, drink too much, run in debt--all that I can understand! But that he should fall in love with a bath keeper's daughter, that that passion should keep him away from the world--that is what seems inconceivable to me!--But this plume that you found--are you willing to give it to me?"

Bahuchet rubbed his chin, assumed his mocking expression, and said at last:

"Give it to you, mademoiselle?--You are most worthy of it, certainly, but I have tried it on my hood, and it was not unbecoming to me; on the word of a Basochian, it made me quite the dandy! Ha! ha!"

"Not so loud, monsieur; you will wake my aunt!"

"Ah! to be sure; the honorable and venerable lady is taking a nap."

"When I ask you for this plume, which is of some value doubtless, I do not mean to suggest, monsieur, that you should make me a present of it; and I will beg you to accept this purse in exchange, not as the price of what I ask of you, but as a souvenir of me."

The little clerk hastily cast a furtive glance at the pretty velvet purse, which was not unlike an alms purse, and from which issued a sound very pleasant to his ear. He bowed to the floor before the noble maiden, and, almost kneeling, took the purse from her hand.

"I accept this in obedience to you, mademoiselle," he said; "to-morrow you shall have the plume. I am too happy to be able to do anything that is agreeable to you!"

"Very well, monsieur; now, leave us."

Bahuchet bowed once more, then smiled at Miretta, who answered his smile by a wrathful glance. But the little clerk hurried from the room and the house, paying no heed to the young lady's-maid's threatening expression. He was no sooner in the street than he opened the purse and found four gold pieces inside.

Thereupon he shouted for joy, tossed his cap in the air, bumped against the passers-by, and finally ran off at full speed, crying:

"O Plumard! I say, Plumard! where are you? I have got enough to buy you a wig! but I won't buy it!"

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 Léodgard; 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! pass all his time with her! and, to be with her, refuse to attend balls 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 noble conduct, the honorable love affairs of Comte Léodgard! that fashionable nobleman, that soul of honor, that gentleman of the court of Louis XIII! A noble 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 nobly 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, Cédrille'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-Honoré, 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 Fossés 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 assistance 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 Passedix 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 hell, 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 assignations 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 Grève, 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 Cédrille and myself on Rue Saint-Jacques."

"That day there was another reason," muttered Passedix, with a frown. "But let us return to the present; you wish to go to Pont Saint-Louis?"

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

"It is the same thing. You are going there very late, my dear. Is your lover a market gardener, pray? has he his lair among the cabbages and carrots that cover the road toward Vincennes?"

"If you propose to begin your questions again, monsieur, I will leave you and try to find some more obliging cavalier."

"No! no!" cried the Gascon, detaining the girl, who had already started to leave him; "why, the child is like a train of powder! what a hothead! If you were a man, we should have killed each other ten or twelve times before this. But I love this effervescent nature; it bears some resemblance to mine.--So you want to go to the Pont-aux-Choux? Take my arm, my love; I shall have the honor of escorting you thither."

Miretta decided to put her arm through the chevalier's; and he, overjoyed to have beside him the pretty girl of whom he was enamored, drew himself up and tossed his head, which made him appear even taller and diminished the stature of his companion.

They walked on for some time, the Gascon making his rusty spurs and Roland's scabbard ring on the stones; Miretta thinking of Giovanni and glancing all about at the slightest sound.

"Are we still far from the place to which I am going?" the girl asked her guide at last.

Passedix did not reply for some seconds. Since he had felt Miretta's arm in his, his love for the dark maiden had made rapid progress; his heart beat violently beneath his patched doublet, his head burned, and his imagination indulged in a multitude of wild antics.

At last he argued the matter out with himself thus:

"Since my good star has caused me to meet my inhuman fair, I should be very stupid to take her to my rival, that knave who nearly made me lose Roland; should I not rather seize the opportunity which offers to avenge myself and to triumph over a cruel enslaver? The little one does not know her way; instead of taking her to her rendezvous, I will take her to the Place aux Chats, and tell her that it is the Pont-aux-Choux! Then, by frightening her with tales of robbers, I will try to induce her to accept shelter in the Hôtel du Sanglier; and once there!--Sandioux! it's a daring plan, it has a suggestion of felony about it! But this girl is a demon, and I shall not vanquish her unless I resort to heroic means!"

"Well, monsieur le chevalier, you have not yet answered me; are we still far from the Pont-aux-Choux?"

"Why, yes, my sweet child, rather far. Oh! you had gone entirely astray, you were not going in the right direction."

"That is strange; I followed the directions that were given me."

"Some persons are so unkind! they take delight in making people go astray who ask them to point out their road.--Lean on me, tender blossom! Do not be afraid of wearying me; it is a joy to me to feel your round arm in mine. Ah! ye gods!"

"It would be a great joy to me to arrive. I cannot understand this; it seems to me that you are making me retrace my steps."

"As you were not going toward your destination, I must, of course, take you back. This is one of the most blissful evenings of my life!"

"Do not press my arm so tightly, I beg you."

"This loving pressure is a magnetic effect of the fire which consumes my heart, and which snaps devilishly so near to you!"

"Are you going to begin again to talk to me of your love? I thought that you were cured."

"Cured! I!--Better to die than to be cured! What would you have me talk about, sweet friend, when I am with you?"

"Have you forgotten, pray, that I am only a servant, upon whom you conferred too much honor simply by looking at her?"

"A man may say that when he is angry, my dear; but, in reality, he does not mean a word of it."

"Oh!" cried Miretta, suddenly stopping at a street corner; "I am sure now that it is you who have lost your way! I recognize this street perfectly; it runs into the street I live on; you have brought me back to the quarter I came from."

"Sandis! I am taking you where you want to go. Come, we shall soon be there."

"No!" cried the girl, as she withdrew her arm from the chevalier's, refusing to go any farther; "no! I will not go with you, for it is not possible that the Pont-aux-Choux is in this direction."

Passedix tried to take Miretta's arm again; she resisted, but the Gascon was excited, and he was determined not to let the girl escape him anew.

Suddenly a new personage, whose approach neither of them had observed or heard, appeared on the scene and put an end to the contest by releasing Miretta from the chevalier's grasp.

The new-comer wore the costume of a citizen of the middle class; his chin was cleanly shaven.

The girl had no sooner glanced at him than her face regained its serenity; and she hastened to take her place by his side, while the unknown said to the Gascon:

"How now, my master! Do you propose to make this young girl go with you against her will? For a chevalier who wears a helmet and sword, that is hardly chivalrous."

"Eh! where in the devil did this fellow spring from? I neither heard nor saw him coming. Do me the favor to go your way, my dear fellow; this young shepherdess is in my company, and we do not require your interference in our affairs."

"But it seemed to me that you were hardly in accord, and I always protect the ladies.--Tell me, my lovely child, did not this gentleman try to make you take a road which you did not wish to take?"

"He did indeed, monsieur; for I wished to go to the Pont-aux-Choux, and I am sure that he was not taking me there!"

"Oh, no! by no means! He was taking you to the Place aux Chats, to the Hôtel du Sanglier; a most excellent hotel, i' faith! of which he proposed to do the honors for you, I doubt not."

"Sandioux! it seems that you know me! But whoever you are, I forbid you to take this girl's arm! Back, instantly!"

Passedix tried to push away the stranger, who had already taken the girl's arm in his; but with his free hand the _soi-disant_ bourgeois seized the Gascon's wrist and pressed it with his fingers with such force that he cried:

"Oh! oh! That cursed grip again! Ah! it is the very same, I recognize it! You are the mechanic of the Place de Grève; you are the Bohemian of the Loup de Mer!"

"Search your memory--it is possible that I am still another person."

"Yes--those eyes, that expression! Ten thousand devils! it is the face of the Comte de Carvajal, the noble guest of Dame Cadichard! But whoever you may be, double, triple, or quadruple! even though you be the devil in person--if you are a man of heart, you will give me satisfaction like a gallant champion, sword in hand!"

"Ah! you wish to measure swords with me, do you, chevalier? Very good! it shall be as you wish. On guard!--Have no fear, my girl! it is a matter of an instant."

As he spoke, the pretended bourgeois drew from beneath his cloak a short sword with a broad blade. Meanwhile, Passedix had drawn Roland from the scabbard; but when he saw his adversary's weapon, he paused and exclaimed:

"What in the devil do you expect to do with that little cutlass against my noble blade? Sandis! I have too great an advantage over you!"

"Let not that deter you, chevalier, but try to hold your long sword more firmly in your hand this time."

With that, the stranger attacked Roland with such vigor and dexterity, that in less than two minutes the long sword went flying through the air, and Passedix, stepping back, put his foot in a hole, fell over, and rolled at the feet of his adversary, who placed the point of his short sword against the prostrate man's breast, saying:

"Well! do you think that my little cutlass is worthy to measure itself against your illustrious blade?"

"I cannot understand it! You have a way of fighting that bewilders one! deceives one! Sandis! it is impossible; it must be that I have the gout in my right hand!--But, no matter! I am vanquished! Strike!"

"I should be very sorry to do so. Au revoir, Chevalier Passedix! try to find your sword; it went in that direction. But take my advice and do not again lead young girls astray."

As he spoke, the victor joined Miretta, drew her arm through his, and walked rapidly off with her, paying no further heed to his adversary, who made a piteous face when he saw them go away together.

"Ah! what good fortune to have met you, Giovanni!" said Miretta, when they were far enough away to have no fear of being overheard. "I was not afraid for a single instant during the battle I have just been watching; I was perfectly sure that you would be the victor!"

"But why did you wish to go to the Pont-aux-Choux so late?"

"Why! Because I want to save you; because you are in danger; because, guilty as you are, I do not want you to be arrested and put to death!"

"_Què diavolo è questo?_ What is the source of this dread, of these new alarms?"

"Ah! because I heard a young man say: 'I know where Giovanni's usual lurking place is; it is near the Pont-aux-Choux that he ordinarily lies in hiding; if they would surround that place with archers, it would be very easy to capture the famous brigand.'"

"Ah! indeed!"

"'It is in that neighborhood,' he added, 'that he usually attacks people; not long ago he stole an ass from my cousin, and murdered an old peasant woman of Vincennes!'--Oh! those words made me shudder; I said that it was not true, that Giovanni never shed blood.--Was I right in saying that?"

"You did right to think it, but you did wrong to say it. Do you wish people to suspect that you know me? You are an imprudent child, Miretta; you forget what I have told you.--Never a word about me, never a comment that may lead anyone to infer that we are not strangers to each other! Listen, but do not seem to pay any attention to what people say about me."

"Oh! do you think that it is possible for me to remain unmoved when I hear someone say that he knows where you hide, that you will be arrested, that you will be---- Oh! I will not utter that horrible word!"

"In the first place, my dear love, why are you so silly as to place any faith in these fables, invented by one person to give himself importance, and repeated by others because lies always find fools enough who are ready to spread them? I, kill a peasant! to take her vegetables, I presume? I, steal an ass! Why, what on earth should I do with it?--And you could believe that, Miretta! you, who have seen my wealth, and who know of the thirst for gold that possesses me now!"

"Mon Dieu! will it never be satisfied, this passion which drives you to crime? Giovanni, do you mean to pass your whole life in this way?"

"No; a few months more.--Hark ye, next spring I mean to return to my lovely Italy."

"You will take me, will you not?"

"Yes, I will take you. I will buy a palace, a superb villa. I will have splendid equipages. You shall be covered with diamonds! I propose that Milan and Florence shall be dazzled by my magnificence and my luxurious mode of life."

"Why do you not carry out your plan now?"

"No; this will be a good winter in Paris; we will go in the spring."

"Giovanni, no one can defy danger forever with impunity! No one can be always stronger than the laws and his fellow men! The moment of retribution arrives when he believes that he is safe from all danger."

"Enough, Miretta, enough! I have told you before that your arguments are of no avail.--Let us take this street--we shall soon be at the Hôtel de Mongarcin."

"Then let us take another, for I do not want to leave you so soon, Giovanni. I do not know why, but it seems to me that I shall not see you again for a long while. I have a heavy weight on my heart; do not leave me yet, I implore you, unless your safety requires it!"

"My safety has nothing to fear. But it is very late, and I thought that it was necessary for you to return."