Scaramouche Rafael Sabatini (ebook pdf reader for pc TXT) đ
- Author: Rafael Sabatini
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AndrĂ©-Louis and M. de Vilmorin had been known to her from childhood. The three had been playmates once, and AndrĂ©-Louisâ âin view of his spiritual relationship with her uncleâ âshe called her cousin. The cousinly relations had persisted between these two long after Philippe de Vilmorin had outgrown the earlier intimacy, and had become to her Monsieur de Vilmorin.
She waved her hand to them in greeting as they advanced, and stoodâ âan entrancing picture, and fully conscious of itâ âto await them at the end of the terrace nearest the short avenue by which they approached.
âIf you come to see monsieur my uncle, you come inopportunely, messieurs,â she told them, a certain feverishness in her air. âHe is closelyâ âoh, so very closelyâ âengaged.â
âWe will wait, mademoiselle,â said M. de Vilmorin, bowing gallantly over the hand she extended to him. âIndeed, who would haste to the uncle that may tarry a moment with the niece?â
âM. lâabbĂ©,â she teased him, âwhen you are in orders I shall take you for my confessor. You have so ready and sympathetic an understanding.â
âBut no curiosity,â said AndrĂ©-Louis. âYou havenât thought of that.â
âI wonder what you mean, Cousin AndrĂ©.â
âWell you may,â laughed Philippe. âFor no one ever knows.â And then, his glance straying across the terrace settled upon a carriage that was drawn up before the door of the chĂąteau. It was a vehicle such as was often to be seen in the streets of a great city, but rarely in the country. It was a beautifully sprung two-horse cabriolet of walnut, with a varnish upon it like a sheet of glass and little pastoral scenes exquisitely painted on the panels of the door. It was built to carry two persons, with a box in front for the coachman, and a stand behind for the footman. This stand was empty, but the footman paced before the door, and as he emerged now from behind the vehicle into the range of M. de Vilmorinâs vision, he displayed the resplendent blue-and-gold livery of the Marquis de La Tour dâAzyr.
âWhy!â he exclaimed. âIs it M. de La Tour dâAzyr who is with your uncle?â
âIt is, monsieur,â said she, a world of mystery in voice and eyes, of which M. de Vilmorin observed nothing.
âAh, pardon!â he bowed low, hat in hand. âServiteur, mademoiselle,â and he turned to depart towards the house.
âShall I come with you, Philippe?â AndrĂ©-Louis called after him.
âIt would be ungallant to assume that you would prefer it,â said M. de Vilmorin, with a glance at mademoiselle. âNor do I think it would serve. If you will waitâ ââ âŠâ
M. de Vilmorin strode off. Mademoiselle, after a momentâs blank pause, laughed ripplingly. âNow where is he going in such a hurry?â
âTo see M. de La Tour dâAzyr as well as your uncle, I should say.â
âBut he cannot. They cannot see him. Did I not say that they are very closely engaged? You donât ask me why, AndrĂ©.â There was an arch mysteriousness about her, a latent something that may have been elation or amusement, or perhaps both. AndrĂ©-Louis could not determine it.
âSince obviously you are all eagerness to tell, why should I ask?â quoth he.
âIf you are caustic I shall not tell you even if you ask. Oh, yes, I will. It will teach you to treat me with the respect that is my due.â
âI hope I shall never fail in that.â
âLess than ever when you learn that I am very closely concerned in the visit of M. de La Tour dâAzyr. I am the object of this visit.â And she looked at him with sparkling eyes and lips parted in laughter.
âThe rest, you would seem to imply, is obvious. But I am a dolt, if you please; for it is not obvious to me.â
âWhy, stupid, he comes to ask my hand in marriage.â
âGood God!â said AndrĂ©-Louis, and stared at her, chapfallen.
She drew back from him a little with a frown and an upward tilt of her chin. âIt surprises you?â
âIt disgusts me,â said he, bluntly. âIn fact, I donât believe it. You are amusing yourself with me.â
For a moment she put aside her visible annoyance to remove his doubts. âI am quite serious, monsieur. There came a formal letter to my uncle this morning from M. de La Tour dâAzyr, announcing the visit and its object. I will not say that it did not surprise us a littleâ ââ âŠâ
âOh, I see,â cried AndrĂ©-Louis, in relief. âI understand. For a moment I had almost fearedâ ââ âŠâ He broke off, looked at her, and shrugged.
âWhy do you stop? You had almost feared that Versailles had been wasted upon me. That I should permit the courtship of me to be conducted like that of any village wench. It was stupid of you. I am being sought in proper form, at my uncleâs hands.â
âIs his consent, then, all that matters, according to Versailles?â
âWhat else?â
âThere is your own.â
She laughed. âI am a dutiful nieceâ ââ ⊠when it suits me.â
âAnd will it suit you to be dutiful if your uncle accepts this monstrous proposal?â
âMonstrous!â She bridled. âAnd why monstrous, if you please?â
âFor a score of reasons,â he answered irritably.
âGive me one,â she challenged him.
âHe is twice your age.â
âHardly so much,â said she.
âHe is forty-five, at least.â
âBut he looks no more than thirty. He is very handsomeâ âso much you will admit; nor will you deny that he is very wealthy and very powerful; the greatest nobleman in Brittany. He will make me a great lady.â
âGod made you that, Aline.â
âCome, thatâs better. Sometimes you can almost be polite.â And she moved along the terrace, AndrĂ©-Louis pacing beside her.
âI can be more than that to show reason why you should not let this beast befoul the beautiful thing that God has made.â
She frowned, and her lips tightened. âYou are speaking of my future husband,â she reproved him.
His lips tightened too; his pale face grew paler.
âAnd is
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