第64章

Claes never spoke of his eldest daughter, and showed no interest in her departure nor any anxiety as to her silence in not writing either to him or to Felicie.When de Solis or Pierquin asked for news of her he seemed annoyed.Did he suspect that Marguerite was working against him? Was he humiliated at having resigned the majestic rights of paternity to his own child? Had he come to love her less because she was now the father, he the child? Perhaps there were many of these reasons, many of these inexpressible feelings which float like vapors through the soul, in the mute disgrace which he laid upon Marguerite.

However great may be the great men of earth, be they known or unknown, fortunate or unfortunate in their endeavors, all have likenesses which belong to human nature.By a double misfortune they suffer through their greatness not less than through their defects; and perhaps Balthazar needed to grow accustomed to the pangs of wounded vanity.

The life he was leading, the evenings when these four persons met together in Marguerite's absence, were full of sadness and vague, uneasy apprehensions.The days were barren like a parched-up soil;where, nevertheless, a few flowers grew, a few rare consolations, though without Marguerite, the soul, the hope, the strength of the family, the atmosphere seemed misty.

Two months went by in this way, during which Balthazar awaited the return of his daughter.Marguerite was brought back to Douai by her uncle who remained at the house instead of returning to Cambrai, no doubt to lend the weight of his authority to some coup d'etat planned by his niece.Marguerite's return was made a family fete.Pierquin and Monsieur de Solis were invited to dinner by Felicie and Balthazar.

When the travelling-carriage stopped before the house, the four went to meet it with demonstrations of joy.Marguerite seemed happy to see her home once more, and her eyes filled with tears as she crossed the court-yard to reach the parlor.When embracing her father she colored like a guilty wife who is unable to dissimulate; but her face recovered its serenity as she looked at Emmanuel, from whom she seemed to gather strength to complete a work she had secretly undertaken.

Notwithstanding the gaiety which animated all present during the dinner, father and daughter watched each other with distrust and curiosity.Balthazar asked his daughter no questions as to her stay in Paris, doubtless to preserve his parental dignity.Emmanuel de Solis imitated his reserve; but Pierquin, accustomed to be told all family secrets, said to Marguerite, concealing his curiosity under a show of liveliness:--"Well, my dear cousin, you have seen Paris and the theatres--""I have seen little of Paris," she said; "I did not go there for amusement.The days went by sadly, I was so impatient to see Douai once more.""Yes, if I had not been angry about it she would not have gone to the Opera; and even there she was uneasy," said Monsieur Conyncks.

It was a painful evening; every one was embarrassed and smiled vaguely with the artificial gaiety which hides such real anxieties.Marguerite and Balthazar were a prey to cruel, latent fears which reacted on the rest.As the hours passed, the bearing of the father and daughter grew more and more constrained.Sometimes Marguerite tried to smile, but her motions, her looks, the tones of her voice betrayed a keen anxiety.Messieurs Conyncks and de Solis seemed to know the meaning of the secret feelings which agitated the noble girl, and they appeared to encourage her by expressive glances.Balthazar, hurt at being kept from a knowledge of the steps that had been taken on his behalf, withdrew little by little from his children and friends, and pointedly kept silence.Marguerite would no doubt soon disclose what she had decided upon for his future.

To a great man, to a father, the situation was intolerable.At his age a man no longer dissimulates in his own family; he became more and more thoughtful, serious, and grieved as the hour approached when he would be forced to meet his civil death.This evening covered one of those crises in the inner life of man which can only be expressed by imagery.The thunderclouds were gathering in the sky, people were laughing in the fields; all felt the heat and knew the storm was coming, but they held up their heads and continued on their way.

Monsieur Conyncks was the first to leave the room, conducted by Balthazar to his chamber.During the latter's absence Pierquin and Monsieur de Solis went away.Marguerite bade the notary good-night with much affection; she said nothing to Emmanuel, but she pressed his hand and gave him a tearful glance.She sent Felicie away, and when Claes returned to the parlor he found his daughter alone.

"My kind father," she said in a trembling voice, "nothing could have made me leave home but the serious position in which we found ourselves; but now, after much anxiety, after surmounting the greatest difficulties, I return with some chances of deliverance for all of us.

Thanks to your name, and to my uncle's influence, and to the support of Monsieur de Solis, we have obtained for you an appointment under government as receiver of customs in Bretagne; the place is worth, they say, eighteen to twenty thousand francs a year.Our uncle has given bonds as your security.Here is the nomination," she added, drawing a paper from her bag."Your life in Douai, in this house, during the coming years of privation and sacrifice would be intolerable to you.Our father must be placed in a situation at least equal to that in which he has always lived.I ask nothing from the salary you will receive from this appointment; employ it as you see fit.I will only beg you to remember that we have not a penny of income, and that we must live on what Gabriel can give us out of his.