Vautrin | Page 4

the servants' hall?
Joseph The duchess is considered a saint.
Vautrin Poor woman! And the duke?
Joseph He is an egotist.
Vautrin Yes, a statesman. (Aside) The duke must have secrets, and we
must look into that. Every great aristocrat has some paltry passion by
which he can be led; and if I once get control of him, his son,
necessarily-- (To Joseph) What is said about the marriage of the
Marquis de Montsorel and Inez de Christoval?
Joseph I haven't heard a word. The duchess seems to take very little
interest in it.
Vautrin And she has only one son! That seems hardly natural.
Joseph Between ourselves, I believe she doesn't love her son.
Vautrin I am obliged to draw this word from your throat, as if it were
the cork in a bottle of Bordeaux. There is, I perceive, some mystery in
this house. Here is a mother, a Duchesse de Montsorel, who does not
love her son, her only son! Who is her confessor?
Joseph She keeps her religious observances a profound secret.

Vautrin Good--I shall soon know everything. Secrets are like young
girls, the more you conceal them, the sooner they are discovered. I will
send two of my rascals to the Church of St. Thomas Aquinas. They
won't work out their salvation in that way, but they'll work out
something else.-- Good-bye.
SCENE SIXTH.
Joseph (alone) He is an old friend--and that is the worst nuisance in the
world. He will make me lose my place. Ah, if I were not afraid of being
poisoned like a dog by Jacques Collin, who is quite capable of the act, I
would tell all to the duke; but in this vile world, every man for himself,
and I am not going to pay another man's debt. Let the duke settle with
Jacques; I am going to bed. What noise is that? The duchess is getting
up. What does she want? I must listen. (He goes out, leaving the door
slightly ajar.)
SCENE SEVENTH.
The Duchesse de Montsorel (alone) Where can I hide the certificate of
my son's birth? (She reads) "Valencia. . . . July, 1793." An unlucky
town for me! Fernand was actually born seven months after my
marriage, by one of those fatalities that give ground for shameful
accusations! I shall ask my aunt to carry the certificate in her pocket,
until I can deposit it in some place of safety. The duke would ransack
my rooms for it, and the whole police are at his service. Government
refuses nothing to a man high in favor. If Joseph saw me going to
Mademoiselle de Vaudrey's apartments at this hour, the whole house
would hear of it. Ah--I am alone in the world, alone with all against me,
a prisoner in my own house!
SCENE EIGHTH. The Duchesse de Montsorel and Mademoiselle de
Vaudrey.
The Duchess I see that you find it is impossible to sleep as I do>
Mademoiselle de Vaudrey Louise, my child, I only rose to rid you of a
dream, the awakening from which will be deplorable. I consider it my
duty to distract you from your insane fancies. The more I think of what
you told me the more is my sympathy aroused. But I am compelled to
tell you the truth, cruel as it is; beyond doubt the duke has placed
Fernand in some compromising situation, so as to make it impossible
for him to retrieve his position in the world to which you belong. The
young man you saw cannot be your son.

The Duchess Ah, you never knew Fernand! But I knew him, and in
whatever place he is, his life has an influence on mine. I have seen him
a thousand times--
Mademoiselle de Vaudrey In your dreams!
The Duchess Fernand has the blood of the Montsorels and the
Vaudreys in his veins. The place to which he was born he is able to
take; everything gives way before him wherever he appears. If he
became a soldier, he is to-day a colonel. My son is proud, he is
handsome, people like him! I am sure he is beloved. Do not contradict
me, dear aunt; Fernand still lives; if not, then the duke has broken faith,
and I know he values too highly the virtues of his race to disgrace
them.
Mademoiselle de Vaudrey But are not honor and a husband's
vengeance dearer to him than his faith as a gentleman?
The Duchess Ah! You make me shudder.
Mademoiselle de Vaudrey You know very well, Louise, that pride of
race is hereditary with the Montsorels, as it is with the Montemarts.
The Duchess I know it too well! The doubt cast upon his child's
legitimacy has almost crazed him.
Mademoiselle de Vaudrey You are wrong there. The duke has