pebbles on the banks of the river, or rolled in the hay while their mothers sauntered through the meadows bordering the Oiselle.
For their mothers were friends.
Mme. Lacheneur had been reared like other poor peasant girls; that is to say, on the day of her marriage it was only with great difficulty she succeeded in inscribing her name upon the register.
But from the example of her husband she had learned that prosperity, as well as noblesse, entails certain obligations upon one, and with rare courage, crowned with still rarer success, she had undertaken to acquire an education in keeping with her fortune and her new rank.
And the baroness had made no effort to resist the sympathy that attracted her to this meritorious young woman, in whom she had discerned a really superior mind and a truly refined nature.
When Mme. Lacheneur died, Mme. d’Escorval mourned for her as she would have mourned for a favorite sister.
From that moment Maurice’s attachment assumed a more serious character.
Educated in a Parisian lyceum, his teachers sometimes had occasion to complain of his want of application.
“If your professors are not satisfied with you,” said his mother, “you shall not accompany me to Escorval on the coming of your vacation, and you will not see your little friend.”
And this simple threat was always sufficient to make the school-boy resume his studies with redoubled diligence.
So each year, as it passed, strengthened the grande passion which preserved Maurice from the restlessness and the errors of adolescence.
The two children were equally timid and artless, and equally infatuated with each other.
Long walks in the twilight under the eyes of their parents, a glance that revealed their delight at meeting each other, flowers exchanged between them—which were religiously preserved—such were their simple pleasures.
But that magical and sublime word, love—so sweet to utter, and so sweet to hear—had never once dropped from their lips.
The audacity of Maurice had never gone beyond a furtive pressure of the hand.
The parents could not be ignorant of this mutual affection; and if they pretended to shut their eyes, it was only because it did not displease them nor disturb their plans.
M. and Mme. d’Escorval saw no objection to their son’s marriage with a young girl whose nobility of character they appreciated, and who was as beautiful as she was good. That she was the richest heiress in all the country round about was naturally no objection.
So far as M. Lacheneur was concerned, he was delighted at the prospect of a marriage which would ally him, a former ploughboy, with an old family whose head was universally respected.
So, although no direct allusion to the subject had ever escaped the lips of the baron or of M. Lacheneur, there was a tacit agreement between the two families.
Yes, the marriage was considered a foregone conclusion.
And yet this impetuous and unexpected declaration by Maurice struck everyone dumb.
In spite of his agitation, the young man perceived the effect produced by his words, and frightened by his own boldness, he turned and looked questioningly at his father.
The baron’s face was grave, even sad; but his attitude expressed no displeasure.
This gave renewed courage to the anxious lover.
“You will excuse me, Monsieur,” he said, addressing Lacheneur, “for presenting my request in such a manner, and at such a time. But surely, when fate glowers ominously upon you, that is the time when your friends should declare themselves—and deem themselves fortunate if their devotion can make you forget the infamous treatment to which you have been subjected.”
As he spoke, he was watching Marie-Anne.
Blushing and embarrassed, she turned away her head, perhaps to conceal the tears which inundated her face—tears of joy and of gratitude.
The love of the man she adored came forth victorious from a test which it would not be prudent for many heiresses to impose.
Now she could truly say that she knew Maurice’s heart.
He, however, continued:
“I have not consulted my father, sir; but I know his affection for me and his esteem for you. When the happiness of my life is at stake, he will not oppose me. He, who married my dear mother without a dowry, must understand my feelings.”
He was silent, awaiting the verdict.
“I approve your course, my son,” said M. d’Escorval, deeply affected; “you have conducted yourself like an honorable man. Certainly you are very young to become the head of a family; but, as you say, circumstances demand it.”
He turned to M. Lacheneur, and added:
“My dear friend, I, in my son’s behalf, ask the hand of your daughter in marriage.”
Maurice had not expected so little opposition.
In his delight he was almost tempted to bless the hateful Duc de Sairmeuse, to whom he would owe his approaching happiness.
He sprang toward his father, and seizing his hands, he raised them to his lips, faltering:
“Thanks! you are so good! I love you! Oh, how happy I am!”
Alas! the poor boy was in too much haste to rejoice.
A gleam of pride flashed in M. Lacheneur’s eyes; but his face soon resumed its gloomy expression.
“Believe me, Monsieur le Baron, I am deeply touched by your grandeur of soul—yes, deeply touched. You wish to make me forget my humiliation; but, for this very reason, I should be the most contemptible of men if I did not refuse the great honor you desire to confer upon my daughter.”
“What!” exclaimed the baron, in utter astonishment; “you refuse?”
“I am compelled to do so.”
Thunderstruck at first, Maurice afterward renewed the attack with an energy which no one had ever suspected in his character before.
“Do you, then, wish to ruin my life, Monsieur?” he exclaimed; “to ruin our life; for if I love Marie-Anne, she also loves me.”
It was easy to see that he spoke the truth. The unhappy girl, crimson with happy blushes the moment before, had suddenly become whiter than marble, as she looked imploringly at her father.
“It cannot be,” repeated M. Lacheneur; “and the day will come when you will bless the decision I make known at this moment.”
Alarmed by her son’s evident agony, Mme. d’Escorval interposed:
“You must have reasons for this refusal.”
“None
