Feeling that therein lay her best chance of making things smooth,she exerted herself to convince him that there was no need for other information than she could give,and did all she could to blot the whole affair from his memory;and her success was such that at the end of the interview the duke was more enamoured and more credulous than ever,and believing he had done her wrong,he delivered himself up to her,bound hand and foot.Two days later he installed his mistress in another dwelling....
Madame Rapally also resolved to give up her rooms,and removed to a house that belonged to her,on the Pont Saint-Michel.
The commander took the condition of Charlotte Boullenois very much to heart.The physician under whose care he had placed her,after examining her wounds,had not given much hope of her recovery.It was not that de Jars was capable of a lasting love,but Charlotte was young and possessed great beauty,and the romance and mystery surrounding their connection gave it piquancy.Charlotte's disguise,too,which enabled de Jars to conceal his success and yet flaunt it in the face,as it were,of public morality and curiosity,charmed him by its audacity,and above all he was carried away by the bold and uncommon character of the girl,who,not content with a prosaic intrigue,had trampled underfoot all social prejudices and proprieties,and plunged at once into unmeasured and unrestrained dissipation;the singular mingling in her nature of the vices of both sexes;the unbridled licentiousness of the courtesan coupled with the devotion of a man for horses,wine,and fencing;in short,her eccentric character,as it would now be called,kept a passion alive which would else have quickly died away in his blase heart.Nothing would induce him to follow Jeannin's advice to leave Paris for at least a few weeks,although he shared Jeannin's fear that the statement they had been forced to give the stranger would bring them into trouble.The treasurer,who had no love affair on hand,went off;but the commander bravely held his ground,and at the end of five or six days,during which no one disturbed him,began to think the only result of the incident would be the anxiety it had caused him.
Every evening as soon as it was dark he betook himself to the doctor's,wrapped in his cloak,armed to the teeth,and his hat pulled down over his eyes.For two days and nights,Charlotte,whom to avoid confusion we shall continue to call the Chevalier de Moranges,hovered between life and death.Her youth and the strength of her constitution enabled her at last to overcome the fever,in spite of the want of skill of the surgeon Perregaud.
Although de Jars was the only person who visited the chevalier,he was not the only one who was anxious about the patient's health.
Maitre Quennebert,or men engaged by him to watch,for he did not want to attract attention,were always prowling about the neighbourhood,so that he was kept well informed of everything that went on:The instructions he gave to these agents were,that if a funeral should leave the house,they were to find out the name of the deceased,and then to let him know without delay.But all these precautions seemed quite useless:he always received the same answer to all his questions,"We know nothing."So at last he determined to address himself directly to the man who could give him information on which he could rely.
One night the commander left the surgeon's feeling more cheerful than usual,for the chevalier had passed a good day,and there was every hope that he was on the road to complete recovery.Hardly had de Jars gone twenty paces when someone laid a hand on his shoulder.He turned and saw a man whom,in the darkness,he did not recognise.
"Excuse me for detaining you,Commander de Jars,"said Quennebert,"but I have a word to say to you.""Ali!so it's you,sir,"replied the commander."Are you going at last to give me the opportunity I was so anxious for?""I don't understand."
"We are on more equal terms this time;to-day you don't catch me unprepared,almost without weapons,and if you are a man of honour you will measure swords with me.""Fight a duel with you!why,may I ask?You have never insulted me.""A truce to pleasantry,sir;don't make me regret that I have shown myself more generous than you.I might have killed you just now had I wished.I could have put my pistol to your breast and fired,or said to you,'Surrender at discretion!'as you so lately said to me.""And what use would that have been?"
"It would have made a secret safe that you ought never to have known.""It would have been the most unfortunate thing for you that could have happened,for if you had killed me the paper would have spoken.
So!you think that if you were to assassinate me you would only have to stoop over my dead body and search my pockets,and,having found the incriminating document,destroy it.You seem to have formed no very high opinion of my intelligence and common sense.You of the upper classes don't need these qualities,the law is on,your side.
But when a humble individual like myself,a mere nobody,undertakes to investigate a piece of business about which those in authority are not anxious to be enlightened,precautions are necessary.It's not enough for him to have right on his side,he must,in order to secure his own safety,make good use of his skill,courage,and knowledge.
I have no desire to humiliate you a second time,so I will say no more.The paper is in the hands of my notary,and if a single day passes without his seeing me he has orders to break the seal and make the contents public.So you see chance is still on my side.But now that you are warned there is no need for me to bluster.I am quite prepared to acknowledge your superior rank,and if you insist upon it,to speak to you uncovered.""What do you desire to know,sir?"
"How is the Chevalier de Moranges getting on?""Very badly,very badly."
