A Distinguished Provincial at Paris | Page 4

moreover, looked more thoughtful and dignified than was
necessary now, when no barriers stood between her and happiness.
Gentil and Albertine waited upon them, and while they were present
Lucien could not complain. The dinner, sent in from a neighboring
restaurant, fell far below the provincial average, both in quantity and
quality; the essential goodness of country fare was wanting, and in
point of quantity the portions were cut with so strict an eye to business

that they savored of short commons. In such small matters Paris does
not show its best side to travelers of moderate fortune. Lucien waited
till the meal was over. Some change had come over Louise, he thought,
but he could not explain it.
And a change had, in fact, taken place. Events had occurred while he
slept; for reflection is an event in our inner history, and Mme. de
Bargeton had been reflecting.
About two o'clock that afternoon, Sixte du Chatelet made his
appearance in the Rue de l'Echelle and asked for Albertine. The
sleeping damsel was roused, and to her he expressed his wish to speak
with her mistress. Mme. de Bargeton had scarcely time to dress before
he came back again. The unaccountable apparition of M. du Chatelet
roused the lady's curiosity, for she had kept her journey a profound
secret, as she thought. At three o'clock the visitor was admitted.
"I have risked a reprimand from headquarters to follow you," he said,
as he greeted her; "I foresaw coming events. But if I lose my post for it,
YOU, at any rate, shall not be lost."
"What do you mean?" exclaimed Mme. de Bargeton.
"I can see plainly that you love Lucien," he continued, with an air of
tender resignation. "You must love indeed if YOU can act thus
recklessly, and disregard the conventions which you know so well.
Dear adored Nais, can you really imagine that Mme. d'Espard's salon,
or any other salon in Paris, will not be closed to you as soon as it is
known that you have fled from Angouleme, as it were, with a young
man, especially after the duel between M. de Bargeton and M. de
Chandour? The fact that your husband has gone to the Escarbas looks
like a separation. Under such circumstances a gentleman fights first and
afterwards leaves his wife at liberty. By all means, give M. de
Rubempre your love and your countenance; do just as you please; but
you must not live in the same house. If anybody here in Paris knew that
you had traveled together, the whole world that you have a mind to see
would point the finger at you.

"And, Nais, do not make these sacrifices for a young man whom you
have as yet compared with no one else; he, on his side, has been put to
no proof; he may forsake you for some Parisienne, better able, as he
may fancy, to further his ambitions. I mean no harm to the man you
love, but you will permit me to put your own interests before his, and to
beg you to study him, to be fully aware of the serious nature of this step
that you are taking. And, then, if you find all doors closed against you,
and that none of the women call upon you, make sure at least that you
will feel no regret for all that you have renounced for him. Be very
certain first that he for whom you will have given up so much will
always be worthy of your sacrifices and appreciate them.
"Just now," continued Chatelet, "Mme. d'Espard is the more prudish
and particular because she herself is separated from her husband,
nobody knows why. The Navarreins, the Lenoncourts, the
Blamont-Chauvrys, and the rest of the relations have all rallied round
her; the most strait- laced women are seen at her house, and receive her
with respect, and the Marquis d'Espard has been put in the wrong. The
first call that you pay will make it clear to you that I am right; indeed,
knowing Paris as I do, I can tell you beforehand that you will no sooner
enter the Marquise's salon than you will be in despair lest she should
find out that you are staying at the Gaillard-Bois with an apothecary's
son, though he may wish to be called M. de Rubempre.
"You will have rivals here, women far more astute and shrewd than
Amelie; they will not fail to discover who you are, where you are,
where you come from, and all that you are doing. You have counted
upon your incognito, I see, but you are one of those women for whom
an incognito is out of the question. You will meet Angouleme at every
turn. There are the deputies from the Charente