He had known the
inside of the boudoirs and the bed-chambers of women of fashion--he had
seen them, at least. In them the voluptuous, the indulgent, seemed part
of the picture. But he was not a beast, that he could fail to see what
this tiny bedroom would be, if he followed his wild will. Some terrible
fate might overtake his gay pilgrimage to empire, and leave him lost,
abandoned, in a desert of ruin.
Why not give up the adventure, and come to this quiet, and this good
peace, so shutting out the stir and violence of the world?
All at once Madame Chalice came into his thoughts, swam in his sight, and
he knew that what he felt for this peasant girl was of one side of his
nature only. All of him worth the having--was any worth the having?
responded to that diffusing charm which brought so many men to the feet
of that lady of the Manor, who had lovers by the score: from such as the
Cure and the avocat, gentle and noble, and requited, to the young
Seigneur, selfish and ulterior, and unrequited.
He got to his feet quietly. No, he would make a decent exit, in triumph
or defeat, to honour the woman who was standing his friend.
Pages:
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152