Jeanne of the Marshes
Page 28
CHAPTER VII
The Count de Brensault had seldom been in a worse temper. That Jeanneshould have flouted him was not in itself so terrible, because he hadquite made up his mind that sooner or later he would take a coward'srevenge for the slights he had been made to endure at her hands. Butthat he should have been flouted in the presence of a whole roomful ofpeople, that he should have been deliberately left for another man, wasa different matter altogether. His first impulse when Jeanne left him,was to walk out of the house and have nothing more to say to thePrincess or Jeanne herself. The world was full of girls perfectlywilling to tumble into his arms, and mothers only too anxious to pushthem there. Why should he put himself in this position for Jeanne,great heiress though she might be? But somehow or other, after he hadtossed off two glasses of champagne at the buffet, he realized that hisfancy for her was a real thing, and one from which he could not soreadily escape. If she had wished to deliberately attract him, shecould scarcely have chosen means more calculated to attain that endthan by this avowed indifference, even dislike. He sat by himself in asmall smoking-room and thought of her--her slim girlish perfection offigure and bearing, her perfect complexion, her beautiful eyes, herscarlet lips. All these things came into his mind as he sat there,until he felt his cheeks flush with the desire to succeed, and his eyesgrow bright at the thought of the time when he should hold her in hisarms and take what revenge he chose for these slights. No! he would notlet her go, he determined. Dignified or undignified, he would pursueher to the end, only he must have an understanding with the Princess,something definite must be done. He would not run the risk again ofbeing made a laughing-stock before all his friends. Forrest found himin exactly the mood most suitable for his purpose.
"Come and talk to the Princess," he said. "She has something to say toyou."
De Brensault rose somewhat heavily to his feet.
"And I," he said, "I, too, have something to say to her. We will take aglass of champagne together, my friend Forrest, and then we will seekthe Princess."
Forrest nodded.
"By all means," he said. "To tell you the truth I need it."
De Brensault looked at him curiously.
"You are very pale, my friend," he said. "You look as though thingswere not going too well with you."
"I have been annoyed," Forrest answered. "There is a man here whom Idislike, and it made me angry to see him with Miss Jeanne. I thinkmyself that the time has come when something definite must be done asregards that child. She is too young to be allowed to run loose likethis, and a great deal too inexperienced."
"I agree with you," De Brensault said solemnly. "We will drink thatglass of wine together, and we will go and talk to the Princess."
They found the Princess where Forrest had left her. She motioned to DeBrensault to sit by her side, and Forrest left them.
"My dear Count," the Princess said, "to-night has proved to me that itis quite time Jeanne had some one to look after her. Let me ask you.Are you perfectly serious in your suit?"
"Absolutely!" De Brensault answered eagerly. "I myself would like thematter settled. I propose to you for her hand."
The Princess bowed her head thoughtfully.
"Now, my dear Count," she said, "I am going to talk to you as a womanof the world. You know that my husband, in leaving his fortune entirelyto Jeanne, treated me very badly. You may know this, or you may notknow it, but the fact remains that I am a very poor woman."
De Brensault nodded sympathetically. He guessed pretty well what wascoming.
"If I," the Princess continued, "assist you to gain my stepdaughterJeanne for your wife, and the control of all her fortune, it is onlyfair," she continued, "that I should be recompensed in some way for theallowance which I have been receiving as her guardian, and which willthen come to an end. I do not ask for anything impossible orunreasonable. I want you to give me twenty thousand pounds the day thatyou marry Jeanne. It is about one year's income for her rentes, a meretrifle to you, of course."
"Twenty thousand pounds," De Brensault repeated reflectively.
The Princess nodded. She was sorry that she had not asked thirtythousand.
"I am not a mercenary woman," she said. "If I were not almost a pauperI would accept nothing. As it is, I think you will call my proposal avery fair one."
"The exact amount of Mademoiselle Jeanne's dot," he remarked, "hasnever been discussed between us."
"The figures are altogether beyond me," the Princess said. "To tell youthe truth I have never had the heart to go into them. I have alwaysthought it terribly unfair that my husband should have left me nothingbut an annuity, and this great fortune to the child. However, as youare both rich, it seems to me that settlements will not be necessary.On your honeymoon you can go and see her trustees in Paris, and youyourself will, of course, then take over the management of her fortune."
De Brensault looked thoughtful for a moment or two.
"Perhaps," he said, "it would be better if I had a business interviewwith her trustees before the ceremony."
"Just as you like," the Princess answered carelessly. "MonsieurLaplanche is in Cairo just now, but he will be back in Paris in a fewweeks' time. Perhaps you would rather delay everything until then?"
"No!" De Brensault said, after a moment's hesitation. "I would like todelay nothing. I would like to marry Mademoiselle Jeanne at once, if itcan be arranged."
"To tell you the truth," the Princess said, "I think it would be muchthe best way out of a very difficult situation. I am finding Jeannevery difficult to manage, and I am quite sure that she will be happierand better off married. I am proposing, if you are willing, to exercisemy authority absolutely. If she shows the slightest reluctance toaccept you, I propose that we all go over to Paris. I shall know how toarrange things there."
De Brensault smiled. The prospect of winning Jeanne at any cost becamemore and more attractive to him. The Princess, who was looking at himthrough half closed eyes, saw that he was perfectly safe.
"And now, my dear Count," she said, "I am going to ask you a favour. Iam doing for you something for which you ought to be grateful to me allyour life. For a mere trifle which will not recompense me in the leastfor what I am giving up, I am finding you one of the most desirablebrides in Europe. I want you to help me a little."
"What is it that I can do?" he asked.
"Let me have five thousand pounds on account of what you are going togive me, to-morrow morning," she said coolly.
De Brensault hesitated. He was prepared to pay for what he wanted, butfive thousand pounds was nevertheless a great deal of money.
"I would not ask you," the Princess continued, "if I were not reallyhard up. I have been gambling, a foolish thing to do, and I do not wantto sell my securities, because I know that very soon they will pay meover and over again. Will you do this for me? Remember, I am giving youmy word that Jeanne is to be yours."
"Make it three thousand," De Brensault said slowly. "Three thousandpounds I will send you a cheque for, to-morrow morning."
The Princess nodded.
"As you will," she said. "I think if I were you, though, I should makeit five. However, I shall leave it for you to do what you can. Now willyou take me out into the ballroom. I am going to look for Jeanne."
They found her at supper with the Duke and Andrew and a very greatlady, a connection of the Duke's, who was one of those few who hadrefused to accept the Princess. The Princess swept up to the littleparty and laid her hand upon Jeanne's shoulder.
"I do not want to hurry you, dear," she said, "but when you havefinished supper I should be glad to go. We have to go on to DorchesterHouse, you know."
Jeanne sighed. She had been enjoying herself very much indeed.
"I am ready now," she said, standing up, "but must we go to DorchesterHouse? I would so much rather go straight home. I have not had such agood time since I have been in London."
The Duke offered her his arm, ignoring altogether Count De Brensault,who was standing by.
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"At least," he said, "you will permit me to see you to your carriage."
The Princess smiled graciously. It was bad enough to be ignored, as shecertainly was to some extent, but on the other hand it was good for DeBrensault to see Jeanne held in such esteem. She took his arm and theyfollowed down the room. The Duke was bending down and talking earnestlyto Jeanne; this surprised the Princess.
"I wonder," she remarked, more to herself than to her companion, "whathe is saying."
De Brensault shrugged his shoulders.
"I do not care," he said. "We will keep to our bargain, you and I. In afew days it will be my arm that she shall take, and nobody else's.Perhaps I shall be a little jealous. Who can say? In a little time shewill not mind."
"Remember," the Duke was saying, as he drew Jeanne's hand through hisarm, "that I was very much in earnest in what I said to you just now. Ihave seen a good deal of the world, and you nothing at all, and Icannot help believing that the time when you may need some one's helpis a good deal nearer than you yourself imagine."
"I wonder," she asked, a little timidly, "why you are so kind to me?"
"I accept you upon trust," the Duke said, "for the sake of my friendAndrew. I know that he lives out of the world, and has not muchexperience in judging others, but I do believe that when he has made uphis mind about anybody, he is generally right. Frankly, from what Ihave heard, and a little that I know, I am afraid that I should havebeen suspicious about even a child like you, because of yourassociates. But because I believe in you, I am all the more sure thatvery soon you are going to find yourself in trouble. It is agreed,remember, that when that time comes you will remember that I am yourfriend."
"I will remember," she murmured. "I am not likely to forget. Except foryou and Mr. De la Borne, no one has been really kind to me since I leftschool. They all say foolish things, and try to make me like them,because I am a great heiress, but one understands how much that isworth."
The Duke looked at her, and seemed half inclined to say something.Whatever it may have been, however, he thought better of it. Hecontented himself with taking her hand in his and shaking it warmly.
"Good night," he said, "little Miss Jeanne, and remember, No. 51,Grosvenor Square. If I am not there, I have a very nice old housekeeperwho will look after you until I turn up."
"No. 51," she repeated softly. "No, I shall not forget!"