The Stepmother | Page 4

him and his mother?
Godard (aside) Especially for his mother; she'll take care of that!
The General What are you saying? If you don't agree with me, out with it!
Godard (aside) If I did so, we should find ourselves in the law courts. (Aloud) I agree, and will back you in everything, General.
The General Good for you! And I'll tell you why, my dear Godard.
Godard De Rimonville.
The General Godard, I prefer Godard. I'll tell you why. After having commanded the grenadiers of the Young Guard, I, General Comte de Grandchamp, now weave the cloth for their uniforms.
Godard This is very commendable! You should keep on storing up, General, so that your widow may not be left without a fortune.
The General She is an angel, Godard!
Godard De Rimonville.
The General Godard, she is an angel, to whom you are indebted for the education of your intended, whom she has moulded after her own image. Pauline is a pearl, a jewel; she has never left this home; she is as pure and innocent as she was in her cradle.
Godard General, let me admit that Mlle. Pauline is beautiful!
The General I am quite sure of that.
Godard She is very beautiful; but there are numbers of beautiful girls in Normandy, some of them very rich, much richer than she is. Well now, you'll scarcely believe how the mothers and fathers of these heiresses run after me! It is scarcely decent. But it amuses me immensely; I visit their chateaus; they overwhelm me with attentions--
The General I said he was conceited!
Godard Oh, I am quite aware that it is not for my sake! I don't delude myself as to that; it is for my unmortgaged pastures; for my savings, and for my habit of living within my income. Do you know what it is that makes me seek an alliance with you above all others?
The General No.
Godard There are certain rich would-be fathers-in-law who promise to obtain from his Majesty a decree, by which I shall be created Comte de Rimonville and Peer of France.
The General You?
Godard Yes, I.
The General Have you won any battles? Have you saved your country? Have you added to its glory? This is pitiful!
Godard Pitiful? (Aside) What shall I say? (Aloud) We differ in our views on this subject, but do you know why I prefer your adorable Pauline?
The General I suppose it is because you love her.
Godard That is a matter of course; but it is also on account of the harmony, the tranquillity, the happiness which reign here! It is so delightful to enter a family of high honor, of pure, sincere, patriarchal manners! I am a man of observation.
The General That is to say, you are inquisitive.
Godard Curiosity, General, is the mother of observation. I know the seamy side of the whole department.
The General Really?
Godard Yes, really! In all the families of which I have spoken to you, I have seen some shabbiness or other. The public sees the decent exterior of irreproachable mothers of family, of charming young persons, of good fathers, of model uncles; they are admitted to the sacrament without confession, they are entrusted with the investments of others. But just learn their inner side, and it is enough to startle a police magistrate.
The General Ah! That is the way you look at the world, is it? For my part, I try to keep up the illusions in which I have lived. To peer into the inner life of people in that way is the business of priests and magistrates; I have no love for the black robed gentlemen, and I hope to die without ever having seen them! But the sentiment which you express with regard to my house is more pleasing to me than all your fortune. Stick to that point, and you will win my esteem, something which I lightly bestow on no one.
Godard Thank you, General. (Aside) I have won over the father-in-law at any rate.

SCENE FOURTH
The same persons, Pauline and Gertrude.
The General (catching sight of Pauline) Ah! Here you are, darling.
Gertrude Doesn't she look beautiful?
Godard Madame.
Gertrude Forgive me, sir. I had no eyes excepting for my handiwork.
Godard Mademoiselle is radiant!
Gertrude We have some people to dinner to-day, and I am something more than a stepmother to her; I love to deck her out, for she is to me like my own daughter.
Godard (aside) They were evidently expecting me!
Gertrude (aside to Godard) I am going to leave you alone with her. Now is the time for your declaration. (To the General) My dear, let us go out on the veranda and see if our friend the doctor is coming.
The General I am at your service, as usual. (To Pauline) Good-bye, my pet. (To Godard) I shall see you later.
(Gertrude and the General go to the veranda, but Gertrude keeps her eye on Godard