^1 VI
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 / 

 
 The CHATEAU of MONTPLAISIR
 
 She turned on him two sweet, dark eyes.
 
 The CHATEAU of 
 
 MONTPLAISIR 
 
 BY 
 
 MOLLY ELLIOT .SEAWELL 
 
 A uthor of>- 
 
 "The Sprightly Romance of Marsac," 
 "Papa Bouchard" 
 
 YORK 
 
 D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 
 1906
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1906, BY 
 D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 
 
 Published April, 1906
 
 PS 
 M 
 Sic 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 I. UNCLE AND NEPHEW I 
 
 II. AUNT AND NIECE 29 
 
 III. GAY DINARD 39 
 
 IV. THE PLOT THICKENS 63 
 
 V. A DUKE, A COMTESSE, A SOAP-BOILER, AND 
 
 AN AUTO-CAR 102 
 
 VI. JULIE'S LITTLE MISTAKE 139 
 
 VII. A MERRY WEEK IN PARIS 178 
 
 VIII. MARS AND CUPID 207 
 
 IX. THE ROGUISH LITTLE BLIND BOY LAUGHS 
 
 LAST 229 
 
 1563019
 
 UNCLE AND NEPHEW 
 
 GUIS VICTOR DE LATOUR, 
 
 recently become lord of the 
 Chateau of Montplaisir,sat,the 
 picture of misery, at a window 
 of the grand saloon of the chateau looking 
 out upon the gray sea. To the right of him, 
 and visible through the misty veil of falling 
 rain, lay the usually merry watering place of 
 Dinard, now like everything else in sight 
 dripping wet and forlorn. The sky was 
 gloomier than the sea, and the chateau the 
 gloomiest of all. It was an immense pile, 
 with a great court-yard in the middle, where 
 the flagstones, like everything else about the 
 place, were cracked and broken. Half the 
 windows were out and the other half boarded
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 up. There were a few wrecks and remnants 
 of furniture in the saloon where the new 
 owner sat, but these wrecks and remnants were 
 huddled in one corner, the only spot secure 
 from the rain, which dripped ceaselessly from 
 the glass dome in the centre. 
 
 As for Louis de Latour, he had been 
 counted the merriest and lightest-hearted fel- 
 low alive as long as he had scarcely a franc 
 in his pocket; but now that he had come into 
 his inheritance he appeared to be as melan- 
 choly as an owl. He was good-looking and 
 well made and had been reckoned to be of 
 dauntless courage; however, it must be ad- 
 mitted that the Chateau of Montplaisir was 
 enough to take the courage out of a Julius 
 Caesar. 
 
 Louis sat at a rickety little table, taking 
 what he called by courtesy his mid-day break- 
 fast, which consisted of weak coffee, stale 
 bread, and something which old Suzette, who 
 in herself constituted the whole domestic staff 
 of the Chateau of Montplaisir, represented as 
 a salad. But Louis, after tasting it, had de- 
 termined that it was a collection of weeds 
 2
 
 UNCLE AND NEPHEW 
 
 grown between the broken flagstones of the 
 court-yard. 
 
 " Yes," he said sadly, holding up a piece of 
 the green stuff on his fork and looking out 
 into the dreary court-yard, " it is the same. 
 Suzette thinks to impose upon my innocence, 
 but I do know chicory from milkweed. How- 
 ever, she is quite justified. Any man who 
 would accept this old rattletrap as a gift could 
 be imposed upon by anybody in anything. 
 And how delighted I was to get it, and how 
 I used to mention casually, in the days when 
 I was an engineer looking for work, that the 
 seat of my family was the Chateau of Mont- 
 plaisir, near Dinard! If anybody would ask 
 me now about the seat of my family, I should 
 deny that I ever saw or heard of such a place 
 as Montplaisir. I am convinced that my 
 cousin who left it to me had a secret grudge 
 against me. That man was my enemy during 
 life, and determined to punish me at his death. 
 I can neither sell the place, nor lease it, nor 
 live in it, nor give it away. But one thing 
 remains " 
 
 Here Louis paused, and, getting up from 
 3
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPL4ISIR 
 
 his chair, walked about the room surveyed it 
 critically, and then leaned out of a window 
 opening upon the court-yard. 
 
 " Ah, well," he said to himself, coming 
 back to the table, " I now know what to do 
 with this old rookery! It is perfectly prac- 
 ticable. I can burn it up, if only I had the 
 money to buy the combustibles. But at least 
 I can try. No harm can come of it, because 
 the wretched old barn is not insured no com- 
 pany would insure the place for five hundred 
 francs. I shall at least have the biggest bon- 
 fire of the year. Sympathy will be excited 
 for me by my having lost my ancestral chateau. 
 I shall represent it to have been filled with 
 priceless treasures of art. This room I shall 
 say was equipped with real Louis Quatorze 
 furniture and pictures by Greuze and Horace 
 Vernet. The dining saloon, which is the 
 barest hole I ever saw in my life and must 
 always have been, I shall say was hung with 
 tapestries of the same period as that of Bay- 
 eux. There is a mouldy old picture in there 
 which answers exactly the description of a 
 Salvator Rosa. It is very black, very dirty, 
 4
 
 UNCLE AND NEPHEW 
 
 and looks as if it were done with ink instead 
 of paint. I shall, of course, represent that as 
 one of Salvator Rosa's masterpieces after it 
 is burned up. Then I shall also decorate that 
 room with Paul Veroneses and Titians, and 
 perhaps I shall throw in a Raphael or two 
 I can afford to lose them in the fire because 
 I never had them. I shall spend the rest of 
 to-day making out a list of the valuables which 
 I intend to lose. It will get in the newspapers, 
 and then it may reach the eyes of Julie de 
 Bresac." 
 
 As the thought of this charming girl oc- 
 curred to him, Louis threw himself back in his 
 chair with an increase of his despair. He had 
 met her in Algiers, that place of sunshine and 
 merriment, and Julie herself was a creature 
 of sunshine and merriment. She was young, 
 lovely, and heiress to a great fortune. Louis 
 was young, handsome, clever, and at that 
 time heir to nothing at all. But he and Julie 
 were of the same class and caste, the best in 
 France. 
 
 And Julie had an old aunt, the Comtesse 
 de Beauregard, who, for pure gaiety of heart, 
 
 5
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 prankishness, and an ineradicable passion for 
 sowing wild oats, was quite incomparable. 
 She was a very gay old person, indeed, and 
 Louis would have preferred that Julie should 
 have had some other guardian than this scape- 
 grace old lady. But at least, as Madame de 
 Beauregard was the most unconventional per- 
 son who ever lived, she allowed Julie a degree 
 of liberty quite unknown to any other young 
 lady of Louis de Latour's acquaintance. This 
 he had utilised in the most artful manner in 
 Algiers, and had contrived to see Julie often 
 enough and intimately enough to reveal the 
 secret of his heart to her and to draw from 
 her a sweet, unspoken acknowledgment. For 
 Julie was very sweet, with all her wildness, 
 one-half of which she was incited to by 
 the irrepressible Madame de Beauregard. 
 Louis's first thought, on hearing of his inheri- 
 tance, had been that he could make Julie the 
 mistress of the Chateau of Montplaisir, but 
 the notion of it now staggered him. 
 
 " She would be eaten up by the rats," he 
 groaned aloud. " The idea of showing Julie 
 this place, of letting her know that I was so 
 6
 
 UNCLE AND NEPHEW 
 
 cruelly imposed upon, is harrowing to my 
 feelings. O Julie, Julie ! " 
 
 Then old Suzette poked her nose in at the 
 door. She had a face as brown and hard as 
 a hickory nut, but there was a twinkle in her 
 eyes which sometimes reminded Louis of the 
 wicked gleam in the merry old eyes of Ma- 
 dame de Beauregard. These two were, in 
 truth, sisters under their skins. Just as she 
 entered a raindrop splashed upon Louis's nose. 
 There was an umbrella standing in the corner, 
 and Louis seized it and was about to open it 
 over his head when Suzette, rushing forward, 
 wrenched it out of his hand. 
 
 "O monsieur!" she cried, "don't you 
 know it is bad luck to put up an umbrella in 
 the house? " 
 
 " Do you call this a house? " replied Louis. 
 " I don't. And which is the worse luck to 
 put up an umbrella or to die of pneumonia? 
 Last night I slept under that umbrella I 
 fastened it to the head of my bed." 
 
 " O Heavens ! " cried Suzette in a frantic 
 voice, " how could you so tempt ill fortune? " 
 
 " I tempted ill fortune enough when I ac- 
 7
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 cepted this old barrack, but my excuse is that 
 I didn't know how to get out of it." 
 
 " It would be a fine place, monsieur," said 
 Suzette, clearing off the table, " if you had a 
 million of francs to put it in order." 
 
 " And five million more to live upon. Do 
 you know anywhere that I could pick up six 
 million francs ? At present I have exactly six 
 francs, fifty centimes in my pocket." 
 
 " At least," continued old Suzette, clatter- 
 ing the dishes, " it is a good place from which 
 to date your letters. It will look well on your 
 writing paper." 
 
 " Oh, yes," replied Louis sarcastically, 
 " and I might give an account of my domestic 
 staff as follows: Housekeeper, Madame Su- 
 zette Didier; cook, Suzette Didier; butler, 
 Didier; valet de chambre, Suzette. Some day 
 I shall get lost in this infernal place, and you 
 will find me eaten up by the rats, as I am afraid 
 my sweet Julie would be." 
 
 " And who is Mademoiselle Julie, mon- 
 sieur? " 
 
 " An angel, a ray of sunshine, a star, an 
 exquisite flower, a gem of dazzling beauty."
 
 UNCLE AND NEPHEW 
 
 " Oh, the young lady you are in love with ! 
 That's the way my Pierre used to talk about 
 me fifty years ago. Lovers are all alike, mon- 
 sieur, in every rank of life." 
 
 " But when she sees that I consented to ac- 
 cept this dismal old rookery I shall earn her 
 everlasting contempt," groaned Louis. 
 
 " Come, now, monsieur," said Suzette, 
 " don't be so downhearted. You are not at 
 all bad looking." 
 
 " Thank you a thousand times." 
 
 " And I have seen stupider men." 
 
 "Oh, no, never! The possession of this 
 chateau has forever ruined the reputation for 
 any good sense I ever had." 
 
 " Now, don't say that. When things 
 are at their worst they always begin to 
 mend." 
 
 " Do they? Then just look around and 
 see if there is a fire smouldering anywhere, 
 and don't put it out. But it would be just my 
 luck, as soon as the fire was started, to have a 
 pouring rain come down exactly like this. 
 However, that hope of a fire remains. Go, 
 and if you smell smoke come and tell me ; and 
 2 9
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 remember, whatever you do, don't try to put 
 the fire out." 
 
 As Suzette opened the door to go out she 
 almost walked over an elderly gentleman just 
 entering. He was one of those persons who 
 bear the stamp of prosperity writ large all 
 over them. His clothes were of the hand- 
 somest make, his umbrella, his watch chain, 
 everything about him betokened the man who 
 goes into a great shop and asks for the best. 
 He was clean-shaven and had a very intelli- 
 gent nose, pompous ears, and a smiling and 
 liberal mouth. But his ruddy countenance 
 was more marked than is usually found among 
 the merely rich, and he had a pair of gray-blue 
 eyes which indicated a strange mixture of 
 artlessness and shrewdness. Suzette took his 
 dripping umbrella, and then, advancing, he 
 made a very polite bow to Louis, who rose 
 courteously. The newcomer said, handing a 
 card: 
 
 " May I introduce myself? I am Mon- 
 sieur Victor Louis de Latour, and I hope it 
 is not presumptuous in me to claim descent 
 from the great family of De Latour, of which 
 10
 
 UNCLE AND NEPHEW 
 
 this chateau has been the seat for two cen- 
 turies." 
 
 " As a descendant of the great house of De 
 Latour, may I ask you to take the best of the 
 only two chairs in the chateau which my 
 ancestors have imposed upon me?" replied 
 Louis gravely, offering the only other chair in 
 the room besides the one on which he himself 
 had sat. 
 
 Monsieur de Latour seated himself and 
 smiled benignly. 
 
 " I am exceedingly grateful," he said, " that 
 you should receive me as a relative and as a 
 humble member of a distinguished family." 
 
 " My dear sir," answered Louis, " I am 
 glad you take it as a compliment. For my 
 part, I hate every ancestor I ever had. They 
 appear to have had no sort of consideration 
 for me whatever. They left me this old ruin, 
 which I don't believe has had ten francs' worth 
 of repairs on it in the last hundred years. But 
 they took pretty good care to build substantial 
 monuments to themselves in the church yon- 
 der " pointing from the window " com- 
 fortable tombs without a crack in them and 
 ii
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 not a leak in a single place. That is the way 
 of the world every man for himself." 
 
 " Do you mean to tell me," asked Monsieur 
 de Latour, glancing around him, " that you 
 have no means to repair this chateau? " 
 
 " I have at present six francs, fifty cen- 
 times," replied Louis. " That is hardly 
 worth applying to such a purpose." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour looked about him as 
 if he doubted whether his host were a lunatic 
 or not, but Louis's calm and graceful manner 
 and smiling eyes were reassuring. 
 
 " Oh, I see ! " cried Monsieur de Latour, 
 " you inherited the chateau and nothing with 
 it." 
 
 " Oh, yes, I inherited an army of rats and 
 the most beautiful views in France from every 
 window in the chateau; but, unluckily, I am 
 afraid of the rats, who are much more com- 
 fortable here than I am, and I can neither 
 eat the view nor sell it, nor raise money 
 on it so it is practically of no use to me 
 at all." 
 
 " Then what do you propose to do with the 
 property? " 
 
 12
 
 UNCLE AND NEPHEW 
 
 " I have considered the matter seriously, 
 and I propose to burn it up." 
 
 " Oh, come, now! " said Monsieur de La- 
 tour encouragingly, and drawing his chair 
 closer to that of Louis, " don't be so desper- 
 ate as all that. Since you have been so con- 
 fidential with me, and as we are members of 
 the same family, I will be equally confidential 
 with you. Although I have always yearned 
 to be recognised as a member of the distin- 
 guished family of De Latour, I admit that I 
 have no proof, and my calling might be con- 
 sidered against me. I am a soap-boiler." 
 
 " I assure you," said Louis, " I have no 
 prejudice whatever against soap." 
 
 " That's because you don't know what 
 goes into it," returned Monsieur de Latour. 
 " For my part, I have not used a piece of soap 
 for twenty years. I use this instead." 
 
 He took out of his pocket a little box of 
 fine white sand, showed it to Louis and then 
 put it back. 
 
 " But I have always had a soul above soap- 
 boiling. I began at it when I was a mere lad 
 in the soap-boiling factory of Cheri, and a bet- 
 13
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 ter man than old Cheri never lived. Twenty 
 years ago I started in business on my own ac- 
 count, and to-day I can retire at any moment 
 that I like with a fortune twice as large as I 
 have hoped to accumulate. Now, as you see, 
 I am not an old man, and I have determined 
 to stop work and enjoy my fortune while I 
 can. Two things are necessary to my enjoy- 
 ment of it the first that I shall be recognised 
 as a member of the distinguished family of 
 De Latour, and the second is that I shall 
 marry." 
 
 " Pray proceed," said Louis; " I am most 
 interested in all you tell me. So far as I am 
 concerned, I can only say that I should, at 
 present, gladly recognise a ragpicker who had 
 a fortune as a member of my family." 
 
 Old De Latour laughed at this. 
 
 " At least, I am not as bad as that. All I 
 want is a good batch of ancestors." 
 
 " And all I want," groaned Louis, " is to 
 get rid of my ancestors, for they have brought 
 nothing but misfortune upon me." 
 
 " Very well, why couldn't we come to an 
 agreement? Money for ancestors, eh?"
 
 UNCLE AND NEPHEW 
 
 " I should be perfectly delighted. I will 
 take one hundred francs for the whole lot." 
 
 "Oh, you are trifling! What I mean is 
 this that you should recognise me as a rela- 
 tive. This would enable me to use the De 
 Latour crest, and it would make those idiots 
 in my native town of Brionville, who have 
 laughed at my pretensions, laugh on the other 
 side of their faces. Couldn't you perch me 
 somewhere on the family tree? " 
 
 " On the very highest branch, if you like." 
 
 " Young man," said Monsieur de Latour, 
 drawing still closer to Louis until their noses 
 almost touched, and tapping him on the shoul- 
 der, " you don't take this business seriously 
 enough. You see, to recognise me as a mem- 
 ber of a noble family would very much assist 
 me in that other plan of marriage. How 
 would it suit you if I were to adopt you legally 
 as my nephew, according to the custom so 
 common in our country, and settle upon you, 
 say, three hundred thousand francs? " 
 
 Scarcely were the words out of Monsieur 
 de Latour's mouth than Louis rushed upon 
 him, squeezed him so hard that his ribs seemed 
 15
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 likely to break, and covered the top of his bald 
 head with kisses. 
 
 " Come, come," cried Monsieur de Latour, 
 struggling breathlessly against this over- 
 whelming demonstration, " this is too much ! 
 You will strangle me ! " 
 
 Louis, at this, released his hold, and seizing 
 the old gentleman's umbrella and hat, covered 
 them with kisses, murmuring: 
 
 " Three hundred thousand francs dear, 
 dear uncle ! " 
 
 Then, suddenly dropping them, he said : 
 
 " No, it cannot be true. My dear sir, you 
 must be either drunk or crazy." 
 
 " No, I am not," answered Monsieur de 
 Latour, laughing. "It is worth three hun- 
 dred thousand francs to me to have the notice 
 put in the Brionville newspaper that I am vis- 
 iting my relative at the Chateau of Mont- 
 plaisir, and to put the De Latour crest on my 
 carriage without being arrested for it." 
 
 " You may have it tattooed on your body 
 
 if you like," replied Louis joyfully. " Three 
 
 hundred thousand francs ! If I did not think 
 
 it a base return for your splendid offer, I 
 
 16
 
 UNCLE AND NEPHEW 
 
 should insist that you take possession of this 
 old rat-trap of a chateau." 
 
 " Well," said Monsieur de Latour, " I am 
 a man of business as well as a descendant of 
 a great feudal family, so I will wish to settle 
 this matter of adoption upon a proper basis. 
 You know, of course, that under our laws it is 
 a very serious thing. It implies a degree of 
 legal responsibility which, I am afraid, my 
 young friend, you scarcely appreciate. You 
 see, I have had to do with large affairs, and I 
 know what the legal obligation means. If I 
 adopt you as my nephew I should acquire over 
 you all the authority of a parent. You could 
 not marry without first asking my consent, for 
 example." 
 
 " Yes, I know, I know. Three hundred 
 thousand francs ! Dear, dear uncle I " and 
 Louis again made demonstrations toward em- 
 bracing Monsieur de Latour, which the old 
 gentleman cleverly warded off with his um- 
 brella. 
 
 " So now you understand fully the legal 
 obligations of adoption under the French 
 law?" 
 
 17
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 " Oh, yes, I believe you own me, body and 
 soul ! I shall not only have to ask your con- 
 sent before I can get married, but before I 
 get shaved, or even sneeze. But I am willing 
 to risk it for three hundred thousand francs." 
 
 " Don't be afraid. I shan't attempt to 
 coerce you in any way whatever. By the way, 
 what is your full name? " 
 
 " Louis Victor de Latour." 
 
 " And mine," said Monsieur de Latour de- 
 lightedly, " is Victor Louis de Latour." 
 
 " Why, I believe you are my uncle, after 
 all!" 
 
 " Isn't it a lucky coincidence? Now, I will 
 tell you what my ideas are with regard to mar- 
 riage. I have a good many ideas on the sub- 
 ject." 
 
 " And I have only one, and that is to 
 marry the girl I love, and through you, dear 
 uncle " 
 
 Here Louis made another dive at Monsieur 
 de Latour, hugged him violently in spite of his 
 struggles, and again covered the umbrella and 
 hat with kisses, whispering to himself: 
 
 "Dear, dear Julie!" 
 18
 
 UNCLE AND NEPHEW 
 
 Monsieur de Latour, like most persons, 
 when talking of himself was eloquent and ex- 
 pansive. He squared himself off, putting his 
 thumbs in his armholes, and said solemnly : 
 
 " The catastrophe will begin." 
 
 But the rickety chair, giving way under his 
 weight, suddenly collapsed, and in another 
 second he was sprawling upon the floor. 
 Louis helped him up, dusted his coat, and giv- 
 ing him the only remaining chair, himself took 
 a seat upon the table. 
 
 " Rather awkward, that," said Monsieur 
 de Latour, rubbing his shins. " You must get 
 some better chairs out of your three hundred 
 thousand francs. Well, when I was in the 
 house of Cheri I fell very much in love with 
 Mademoiselle Seline Cheri, but she was then 
 far above me, and remained so for twenty 
 years. She is still unmarried, and a pretty 
 woman yet, although no longer young, and a 
 good one, too, and until I got this noble fam- 
 ily bee in my bonnet I strongly desired to 
 marry Mademoiselle Seline. But it seems to 
 me now that we have had quite enough of 
 soap-boiling in the De Latour family, and I 
 19
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 might look higher. There is a Comtesse de 
 Beauregard, for example." 
 
 At that Louis's heart jumped into his 
 throat and remained there, thumping, while 
 Monsieur de Latour continued : 
 
 " You may be surprised that a man of my 
 position should have any connection with a 
 lady of Madame de Beauregard's rank, but 
 it happened in this way. Her brother, the 
 Vicomte de Bresac, honoured me with his 
 friendship, and when he died he left me as 
 guardian of the property of his only child 
 Julie." 
 
 Then the room began to whirl around 
 before Louis's misty eyes, and he heard, 
 as in a dream, old De Latour's voice con- 
 tinuing: 
 
 " Madame de Beauregard has charge of 
 the young lady herself, and, in fact, I have 
 never seen my ward, but I have seen the old 
 aunt. Great Heavens, what a creature ! She 
 is a woman of sixty who thinks she is twenty, 
 and acts accordingly. When that old lady is 
 awake the devil sleeps because he knows that 
 all of his business is being well attended to. 
 20
 
 UNCLE AND NEPHEW 
 
 I don't know what sort of pranks she may lead 
 my ward into, but I am not responsible for 
 anything except for Julie's money, which is 
 considerable. Madame de Beauregard has 
 one of those chateaux which carry a title with 
 it, and if I marry her I should become a 
 comte. That's a great temptation, you know ; 
 that is, if I could murder the old lady imme- 
 diately after the ceremony. But, seriously, it 
 would be an immense triumph at Brionville if 
 I should marry the sister of the Vicomte de 
 Bresac, and it would serve Seline Cheri right 
 for not having married me in all these years. 
 Still, I am not yet determined. Sometimes 
 I think I should like to marry a pretty young 
 girl, but then people would call me an old 
 fool. The subject of marriage is always full 
 of doubts." 
 
 " Quite so," answered Louis mechanically. 
 
 His mind had wandered to Julie and those 
 sunny days in Algiers when, with his heart full 
 of love and his pockets quite empty of money, 
 he adored her and received those secret sweet 
 assurances which a woman can always give the 
 man she loves. 
 
 21
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 " Well," said Monsieur de Latour, con- 
 tinuing to talk upon the subject most agree- 
 able to him in the world that is, himself 
 " a curious thing has just happened to me 
 with regard to Mademoiselle Cheri. I have 
 a young niece, Melanie Dupont, who has lived 
 with me for several years. We were starting 
 for Dinard to spend a month, when her 
 companion, a worthy, respectable person, was 
 taken ill and could not come with us. Melanie 
 found out that Mademoiselle Cheri had a 
 notion for Dinard, and as the two are great 
 friends she persuaded me to let her come with 
 Mademoiselle Cheri. Melanie, you must 
 know, is always begging me to marry Ma- 
 demoiselle Cheri and begging Mademoiselle 
 Cheri to marry me. At all events, I agreed 
 that the two should come to Dinard together, 
 and they are now at a villa in the town and 
 very happy with each other. But, of course, 
 this is a merely temporary arrangement, and 
 I have put an advertisement in the newspapers 
 for a chaperon for my niece. It would seem 
 a good scheme for you and Melanie to make 
 a match, but, unfortunately, the girl has be- 
 22
 
 UNCLE AND NEPHEW 
 
 come attached to Eugene de Contiac, the 
 nephew of the Comtesse de Beauregard." 
 
 Louis, feeling himself called upon to make 
 some remark, although his wits were still wool- 
 gathering, said absently : 
 
 " Such a match as that for your niece I 
 should think would satisfy your ambition." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour shook his head dole- 
 fully. 
 
 " The only trouble is that Eugene has not 
 a sou of his own. He is naturally pious, re- 
 served, and strictly correct in his conduct, and 
 my niece is of the same character. But Ma- 
 dame de Beauregard is determined to convert 
 him into the wildest rake in France and drives 
 him into dissipations to make a man of him, 
 as she says. As soon as he engages in an esca- 
 pade the old lady makes a will leaving him 
 half a million francs, and my niece, who is 
 quite disinterested, and, as I said, very relig- 
 ious, promptly jilts him. Then Eugene is con- 
 science-stricken at his behaviour, turns pious 
 again, is received back into my niece's affec- 
 tions, and is at once disinherited in another will 
 by Madame de Beauregard. It is a regular 
 23
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAIS1R 
 
 seesaw. That old woman actually carries an 
 advocate in her suite for the purpose of mak- 
 ing and destroying wills. It is a very difficult 
 problem for me, because at one time Eugene 
 is a very desirable parti, and then my niece 
 won't look at him, and next he hasn't a sou in 
 the world and my niece insists she will marry 
 him. Love and life are great puzzles." 
 
 " You will never get up a character for 
 originality on that observation," answered 
 Louis, his mind still full of Julie. " And so 
 you have never seen your ward? " he added 
 presently. 
 
 " Never. Luckily I have no responsibility 
 for her, only for her fortune. But I have seen 
 Madame de Beauregard, and I have been bal- 
 ancing in my mind for the last year whether 
 I shall marry her or Mademoiselle Cheri. 
 You see " here Monsieur de Latour assumed 
 a coquettish air " I can marry whom I 
 please." 
 
 " I suppose you mean by that," remarked 
 Louis, " that you could marry fifty or sixty 
 ladies at once, but that would hardly seem to 
 me to be desirable, if possible." 
 24
 
 UNCLE AND NEPHEW 
 
 Monsieur de Latour let this sarcasm pass 
 unnoticed, and then said: 
 
 " By the way, the old lady is at Dinard 
 now, I see by the newspapers." 
 
 " Is Mademoiselle de Bresac with her? " 
 asked Louis, his heart beginning to pound 
 again. 
 
 " I don't know. Her name is not men- 
 tioned," replied Monsieur de Latour. " Well, 
 now that we have come to terms, we had bet- 
 ter arrange to have the matter of adoption 
 put in legal form as soon as possible. I think 
 it can all be settled in a few days. Don't 
 let anybody frighten you about the liberty 
 you will surrender in becoming legally my 
 nephew." 
 
 " Nobody in the world can frighten me 
 from accepting three hundred thousand 
 francs," answered Louis determinedly, the 
 vision of Julie before his eyes Julie, with her 
 pretty head upon his shoulder, his arm around 
 her waist, and all those sweet fantasies which 
 haunt lovers. 
 
 " And of course you were not in earnest 
 about burning the chateau down. We shall 
 
 3 2 5
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 have to come to some arrangement on this 
 point, too, because it will add very much to 
 my consequence to have this place in exist- 
 ence. True, it would require a fortune to 
 rehabilitate it, but we might have a new 
 roof and all the windows put in and rebuild 
 one wing. Then, if you should marry an 
 heiress, you might repair the whole build- 
 ing, or I might. Soap-boiling is exceedingly 
 profitable, if you know what to put in the 
 soap." 
 
 " You or anybody else are at liberty to re- 
 pair this old barrack," answered Louis with 
 the greatest cordiality. 
 
 The elder De Latour rose to take his depar- 
 ture, saying affectionately: 
 
 " Adieu, my dear nephew." 
 
 Louis's reply to this was to seize Monsieur 
 de Latour in his arms. 
 
 " Good Heavens ! " cried the old gentle- 
 man, fighting off Louis's frantic demonstra- 
 tions to kiss him, " I can't stand this sort of 
 thing." 
 
 " But you must ! " exclaimed Louis raptur- 
 ously. " How can I restrain my transports in 
 26
 
 UNCLE AND NEPHEW 
 
 the presence of a man who has promised to 
 give me three hundred thousand francs, to 
 repair this old barn, and to make me his 
 nephew ? It must be a part of the agreement 
 that I am entitled to embrace and kiss you at 
 least three times a day nothing less will con- 
 tent me." 
 
 " And I," panted Monsieur de Latour, re- 
 treating toward the door, " must protect 
 myself from these vigorous demonstrations. 
 Once a day ought to suffice you." 
 
 " No, no ! " cried Louis, pursuing him to 
 the door, which Monsieur de Latour opened 
 precipitately, nearly knocking down old Su- 
 zette, who was listening at the keyhole. 
 Monsieur de Latour, taking advantage of this 
 diversion, waddled rapidly down the corridor, 
 calling out: 
 
 " Another such hug as that will cost you at 
 least one hundred thousand francs ! I shall 
 be here at ten o'clock to-morrow morning for 
 our business interview." 
 
 And he disappeared, while Louis, seizing 
 old Suzette in his arms, much to that worthy 
 woman's astonishment, began to waltz up and 
 27
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 down the saloon, shouting at the top of his 
 voice : 
 
 " Julie, I love you ! Julie, I adore you ! 
 Julie, I shall marry you ! " 
 
 28
 
 II 
 
 AUNT AND NIECE 
 
 'GUIS, having waltzed raptur- 
 ously with old Suzette in the 
 corridor for fully ten minutes, 
 returned to the saloon ironi- 
 cally called the grand saloon and began to 
 pace up and down, showing his joy in every 
 motion of his graceful figure and every ex- 
 pression of his handsome and vivacious coun- 
 tenance. His heart and mind were full of 
 Julie, and as he murmured her name to 
 himself, the rain stopped, the clouds parted 
 softly and swiftly, and a flood of sunlight 
 burst into the room. 
 
 " Julie, perhaps, is at Dinard," Louis kept 
 repeating to himself until he actually per- 
 suaded himself that she must be there. 
 
 Then looking at his watch and seeing that 
 it was after twelve o'clock, he determined to 
 29
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 hunt up Madame de Beauregard. He rushed 
 to the barrack which he occupied as a bed- 
 room, and made a toilet suitable for calling 
 upon ladies in the morning his one white 
 flannel suit, his one pair of black silk stock- 
 ings, his one pair of white shoes, and a new 
 straw hat with a black ribbon around it. He 
 surveyed himself in the glass with the earnest- 
 ness of a man desirous to please, but in truth 
 he need have given himself small concern on 
 that score, because he had that combination of 
 good looks, good manners, good temper, and 
 ineffable impudence which is always irresist- 
 ible to women. 
 
 He did not know where the Comtesse de 
 Beauregard was staying in the town, but that 
 was easily to be ascertained. Wherever 
 Madame de Beauregard went she always 
 made a commotion. She carried with her a 
 retinue, not of dogs, cats, and birds, such as 
 ladies of her age usually affect, but of human 
 beings, mostly men. 
 
 Louis, walking rapidly through the sunny 
 streets of the town, gay with the morning 
 gaiety of Dinard, bought a newspaper at the 
 30
 
 AUNT AND NIECE 
 
 first kiosk he found, and in the list of arrivals 
 at one of the most fashionable hotels he saw 
 the name of Madame de Beauregard, with 
 three maids and two valets, Monsieur Eugene 
 de Contiac, and Monsieur Bertoux, advocate. 
 Louis's joy was slightly dashed at the absence 
 of Julie's name, and he was walking discon- 
 solately enough along the shady street when he 
 suddenly ran almost into the arms of Madame 
 de Beauregard. And there, standing a little 
 way off, smiling, blushing,, and dimpling, was 
 Julie. She was radiant, all in white except a 
 splendid red rose which bloomed upon her 
 breast. 
 
 The Comtesse de Beauregard, who would 
 never see sixty again, small, elegant, with a 
 laughing devil in her eye, but with a counte- 
 nance not devoid of good-nature, was dressed 
 in a costume which matched Julie's exactly, 
 red rose and all. A sailor hat was tipped 
 back upon her elaborately frizzed white hair, 
 for the old lady scorned disguise in any form, 
 and wore frankly, without any make-up, the 
 costumes which would have suited a chit of 
 sixteen. Her short white skirt showed her
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 little feet encased in the most daring of em- 
 broidered red silk stockings, which she evi- 
 dently wore to be seen. She carried a dainty 
 white parasol in her hand, and playfully 
 prodding Louis in the ribs, cried : 
 
 " Here is our young cavalier from Algiers. 
 Naughty boy ! Why didn't you let me know 
 that you were here? Men are so scarce now- 
 adays, and hard to catch." And she tweaked 
 Louis's left ear playfully. 
 
 Louis, his eyes still on Julie and his hat in 
 his hand, murmured : 
 
 " I only found out an hour ago that you, 
 madame, were here, and I was on my way to 
 your hotel to call upon you." 
 
 "'I dare say you are telling the truth," an- 
 swered the old lady, twirling her parasol 
 around her head gaily. " The men of the 
 present day haven't spirit enough to tell a 
 good, robust lie. In my day it was the fash- 
 ion for gentlemen to tell great big lies to 
 ladies, but the whole sex has reformed now 
 almost past endurance. By the way, I under- 
 stand you have inherited a fine, large chateau 
 close by." 
 
 32
 
 
 Here is our young cavalier from Algiers.' "
 
 AUNT AND NIECE 
 
 Julie, meanwhile, had opened her mouth 
 several times to speak, but in vain. It was 
 always difficult for other women to be heard 
 when Madame de Beauregard was present. 
 
 " Fine ! No, madame. I am thinking 
 of changing the name from the Chateau of 
 Montplaisir to the Chateau of Monmisere, or 
 calling it the chateau of rats and mice, or 
 something of the sort. But it is large ! " 
 
 " And have you seen or heard anything of 
 a grotesque old party of your name, a soap- 
 boiler by trade, who is extremely anxious to 
 be considered a member of your family? " 
 asked the old lady. 
 
 Julie's mouth was opened for the fourth 
 time to speak, but, as usual, Madame de 
 Beauregard gave her not the ghost of a chance 
 to be heard. 
 
 " He came to see me this morning," replied 
 Louis. 
 
 " You are indebted to me for that," cried 
 Madame de Beauregard. " You know he is 
 as rich as Aladdin, and quite respectable. If 
 he were not so tediously correct in his conduct, 
 and of such tiresome propriety, I think I 
 33
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 should marry him for his money. You know 
 he was a friend of Julie's father, my brother, 
 who made him trustee of her fortune, and as 
 I have charge of Julie I have met Monsieur 
 de Latour several times. I told him about 
 you, and put the notion into his head of es- 
 tablishing some sort of relationship with you. 
 When we were in Algiers you made a very 
 favourable impression upon me. I really be- 
 lieve you capable of mischief, unlike that poor 
 rag of a man, my nephew, Eugene de Con- 
 tiac. He is in love, you know, with old De 
 Latour's niece Melanie, who is twice as pious 
 as Eugene. To think that I should not only 
 have a pious man in my family, but should 
 run the risk of the type being perpetuated! 
 However, my family were all born to ill 
 luck." 
 
 " I am a thousand times obliged to you," 
 answered Louis, his eyes glued on Julie, who 
 made a last desperate effort to speak, but was 
 cut short promptly by Madame de Beaure- 
 gard. 
 
 " Now we have the finest joke in the world 
 afoot to play off on old De Latour. He is 
 34
 
 AUNT AND NIECE 
 
 advertising in the newspapers for a companion 
 for that niece of his, and I put it into Julie's 
 head to try to get the place. Old De Latour 
 has never seen her, you know. What larks 
 we shall have when we get Julie established 
 as Melanie's companion. She will have 
 strict orders from me to get some of the piety 
 and propriety out of that girl, because I don't 
 want any piety or propriety in my family. I 
 have too much already." 
 
 Louis felt like disputing this proposition, 
 and Julie again opened her lips to speak, but, 
 as usual, it was in vain. 
 
 " So now," cried the old lady, " you may 
 look out for some amusement! I intend to 
 have a gay time at Dinard. General Granier 
 is here, you know, and a few men. I don't 
 call every biped wearing trousers a man, if you 
 please. It is only those with life and spirit 
 in them who, I think, deserve the name. 
 Come, Julie, it is time for our lesson in skirt- 
 dancing." 
 
 As the old lady, seizing Julie, skipped off, 
 Julie turned her head and managed to articu- 
 late one sentence only, and this was : 
 35
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 " Good morning, monsieur." 
 
 Louis stood still and swore silently at Ma- 
 dame de Beauregard, but he was happy, after 
 all, for Julie was there. And then, what de- 
 licious possibilities of seeing her were involved 
 in that practical joke which Madame de 
 Beauregard proposed to play on Monsieur 
 de Latour. 
 
 With these thoughts animating him Louis 
 determined to carry out his original intention 
 and leave cards on the ladies at their hotel. 
 This he did, feeling as if he were walking on 
 air. Then he strolled about the town for an 
 hour or two, and presently, led by his good 
 genius, he went down to the beach, where the 
 sea was like molten gold under the summer 
 sky. The first object that met his eye among 
 the crowd of bathers was Madame de Beaure- 
 gard, in a bright red bathing suit, disporting 
 herself like a mermaid in the waves. And 
 oh, joy and rapture, a little way off stood 
 Julie, looking like a tall lily flower in her 
 pretty white gown ! Louis flew toward her 
 and received a welcome from her eyes. 
 
 " Mademoiselle," he whispered, " do you 
 36
 
 AUNT AND NIECE 
 
 know what my first thought was when I in- 
 herited the Chateau of Montplaisir ? " 
 
 It was one of those questions which require 
 no answer. Julie, whose eyes were usually 
 dancing with merriment and as fearless as a 
 child's, lowered her long lashes, but in a mo- 
 ment she raised her glance and said : 
 
 " Was it of me you were thinking, mon- 
 sieur? " 
 
 " Yes, yes, yes, mademoiselle ! And Mon- 
 sieur de Latour has offered to adopt me as his 
 nephew and give me three hundred thousand 
 francs if I will recognise him as the head of 
 the younger branch of the family. O Julie, 
 dearest!" 
 
 At that moment Madame de Beauregard, 
 in her red bathing suit, came rushing out of 
 the water and dashing up to Louis, shrieked 
 gaily: 
 
 " Come, now, go and get a bathing suit 
 and come into the water with me, and I will 
 show you how to turn a somersault." 
 
 Louis fled, hotly pursued for a short dis- 
 tance by the old lady ; but years and wind told, 
 and Madame de Beauregard had to return to 
 37
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 the sea, keeping her eyes open for a young 
 man more complaisant than Louis. But Julie 
 walked up and down the sand in the blazing 
 sunlight, listening to the quick beating of her 
 own heart which was flooded with the sun- 
 shine of life and love.
 
 Ill 
 
 GAY DINARD 
 
 HE fine weather continued dur- 
 ing the afternoon, and the 
 August sun, shining out bril- 
 liantly, drove the silvery mists 
 oceanward, turned the sea and shore into a 
 splendour of blue and gold, and made a glory 
 of the fields and woods about the merry little 
 town. 
 
 All the world was out of doors, including 
 Monsieur de Latour, Mademoiselle Cheri, 
 and Melanie, who were having tea in the gar- 
 den of the Villa Rose a gardenlike paradise. 
 Mademoiselle Cheri was a comely woman, 
 although past middle age, but in her some- 
 what plain face was the charm and repose of 
 a sweet nature. Mademoiselle Cheri had re- 
 markably good sense mixed with her sweet- 
 39
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 ness, and by no means shared all of her 
 ex-lover's projects and ambitions. Melanie, 
 on the contrary, pretty, pious, and trustful, 
 thought her uncle the wisest of men. 
 
 Monsieur de Latour, much elated at the re- 
 sult of his visit to the Chateau of Montplaisir 
 and his recognition as a member of the noble 
 house of De Latour, being unable to keep the 
 cat in the bag, let it escape before he had 
 finished his first cup of tea. He began by an- 
 nouncing with a lofty air to Mademoiselle 
 Cheri that he had spent the morning making 
 the acquaintance of his relative, the head of 
 the house of De Latour, at his Chateau of 
 Montplaisir, and described with perfect truth 
 the rapturous greeting he had received from 
 his new-found relative. He did not, how- 
 ever, mention the three hundred thousand 
 francs which he had offered for the privilege 
 of making Louis his nephew and of putting 
 the De Latour crest upon every one of his per- 
 sonal belongings on which he could stick it. 
 He, however, announced that he had arranged 
 to meet Louis the next morning, in order to 
 trace up their exact relationship. " I," he 
 40
 
 GAY DINARD 
 
 said pompously, " being the head of the 
 younger branch of the family." 
 
 At this Mademoiselle Cheri sniffed, if so 
 pleasant a creature could be said to sniff. 
 
 " How much, monsieur," she asked sweetly, 
 " did you pay for your place on the family 
 tree?" 
 
 Monsieur de Latour scowled. Mademoi- 
 selle Cheri was treating him exactly as if he 
 were still a clerk in the soap-boiling factory of 
 Cheri and Company, and he suspected that she 
 already considered him her own matrimonial 
 prize and hence took liberties beforehand. 
 
 " Nothing whatever, mademoiselle," he an- 
 swered stiffly, " but I may say that it is ex- 
 tremely likely I may become the owner of the 
 Chateau of Montplaisir and the head of the 
 family." 
 
 And then, determined to impress Mademoi- 
 selle Cheri with a sense of his own dignity, he 
 added: 
 
 " My connection with my new relative is 
 
 likely to become closer, because we were so 
 
 mutually pleased with each other that we have 
 
 agreed to assume legally the status of uncle 
 
 4 41
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPL4ISIR 
 
 and nephew a common enough arrangement 
 in France, which could be well imitated in 
 other countries." 
 
 " That must have cost you a good many 
 francs," said Mademoiselle Cheri coolly. 
 
 " Only three hundred thousand," tartly re- 
 sponded Monsieur de Latour, determined to 
 let Mademoiselle Cheri know that three hun- 
 dred thousand francs was a mere bagatelle 
 with him. 
 
 Even Melanie started at this, and cried: 
 
 "O uncle!" 
 
 But Mademoiselle Cheri showed not the 
 least surprise, merely saying : 
 
 " I thought that, in your craze for family 
 consequence and a crest on your carriage, you 
 would do something of the kind." 
 
 " A great many people would if they 
 could," said Monsieur de Latour darkly. 
 " Give me another cup of tea, Melanie." 
 
 " A great many more would not," replied 
 Mademoiselle Cheri ; " I, for example. My 
 father was an honest, respectable soap-boiler, 
 well thought of by all who knew him a good 
 father, a good friend, a good citizen. That is 
 42
 
 GAY DINARD 
 
 enough for me. I would not pay three hun- 
 dred francs to be recognised as sixty-fourth 
 cousin by the greatest family in France." 
 
 Here Melanie, seeing that her uncle and her 
 friend were fast approaching a quarrel, inter- 
 posed by taking a letter out of her pocket. 
 
 " This letter," she said hurriedly, " is, I 
 think, an answer to our advertisement." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour opened the letter. It 
 bore, in the fine stationery and elegant, if 
 somewhat illegible, handwriting, all the evi- 
 dences of refinement. The advertisement, 
 which read as follows, was pinned to it : 
 
 WANTED A companion for a young lady of good 
 family. Must be well educated, a musician and linguist, 
 and of unexceptionable family. Apply by letter to MON- 
 SIEUR VICTOR Louis DE LATOUR, POSTE RESTANTE. 
 
 Monsieur de Latour, with some difficulty, 
 made out the letter, which was as follows : 
 
 Mademoiselle de Courcey offers her services as com- 
 panion in answer to the above advertisement. Mademoi- 
 selle de Courcey can furnish unexceptionable references as 
 to her acquirements and associations, and will be pleased 
 to meet any appointment for a personal interview. 
 
 The name De Courcey made a great impres- 
 43
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 sion on Monsieur de Latour, to whom names 
 and titles were important things. 
 
 " Now, I like that letter," he said. " It's 
 very businesslike. It is evidently written by 
 a mature and experienced woman. That is 
 clearly shown in the letter nothing super- 
 fluous, a plain statement of fact and desires an 
 interview. Melanie, my love, you may write 
 in my name and suggest an appointment at 
 this villa at five o'clock to-morrow afternoon. 
 Of course, mademoiselle," he added, turning 
 to Mademoiselle Cheri, " I appreciate more 
 than I can express your kindness to Melanie, 
 and as long as you will allow her to remain 
 with you she will, I know, be very happy to 
 do so. I shall feel most grateful to you, but 
 I do not wish to impose upon you. If this 
 lady is all that. she appears to be, I could en- 
 gage her on trial and establish her in this villa, 
 so that I could have the benefit of your judg- 
 ment upon her qualifications." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour said this much, for 
 
 after all he had a soft spot in his heart for 
 
 Mademoiselle Cheri. He could not forget 
 
 when he had been a clerk in her father's fac- 
 
 44
 
 GAY DINARD 
 
 tory and sweet Seline Cheri had been the star 
 of his existence; but that was before he be- 
 came the prospective uncle of the head of the 
 house of De Latour. 
 
 " Certainly. I think the arrangement an 
 admirable one," replied Mademoiselle Cheri; 
 " and, by the way, monsieur, do you know 
 that your friend the Comtesse de Beauregard 
 is at Dinard? I saw her going into her hotel 
 this morning. She had her whole retinue 
 with her. There was our poor, dear Eu- 
 gene " for Mademoiselle Cheri was in the 
 confidence of the lovers " her advocate and 
 man of business, Monsieur Bertoux, two 
 valets, and three maids." 
 
 There was not a suspicion of jealousy in 
 Mademoiselle Cheri's voice as she said this, 
 which very much annoyed Monsieur de La- 
 tour. He therefore smiled significantly. 
 
 " Oh," he said, " I fancied Madame de 
 Beauregard would turn up at Dinard about 
 this time ! In my last communication to her 
 concerning her niece I mentioned that I would 
 be at Dinard for the month of August." 
 
 " And you think she came here to see you ? " 
 45
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 asked Mademoiselle Cheri, with a suspicious 
 innocence. 
 
 " Oh, no, no, no, I never said that ! But 
 she is a very fascinating woman, and the man 
 who marries her will get an ancestral seat 
 which carries with it a title." 
 
 " I think," responded Mademoiselle Cheri 
 calmly, " that you are likely to have one an- 
 cestral seat too many now." 
 
 Meanwhile Melanie, at the mention of Eu- 
 gene, leaned her head pensively on her hand. 
 Two tears gathered in her pretty blue eyes 
 and dropped down upon her cheeks. She had 
 not seen Eugene de Contiac for months, nor 
 had she heard from him, and by his appearing 
 at Dinard with his aunt, Melanie knew well 
 enough that he was leading a gay life, and a 
 gay life modelled upon Madame de Beaure- 
 gard's pattern was terrifying to the pious and 
 innocent Melanie. 
 
 " I think," said Monsieur de Latour, after 
 finishing his second cup of tea, " that I shall 
 call to see Madame de Beauregard this after- 
 noon," and then, answering the unspoken wish 
 in Melanie's face, he added: 
 46
 
 GAY DINARD 
 
 " I shall also inquire about our friend, Eu- 
 gene de Contiac." 
 
 " I wonder," remarked Mademoiselle 
 Cheri, " why that dreadful old scapegrace, 
 Madame de Beauregard " 
 
 Here Monsieur de Latour gave such a start 
 that he almost upset the tea-table. The idea 
 of speaking of so great a personage as Ma- 
 dame de Beauregard as " that dreadful old 
 scapegrace " electrified him. But Mademoi- 
 selle Cheri coolly repeated the words. 
 
 " dreadful old scapegrace, I say, should 
 wish to make so correct and prudent a young 
 man as Eugene de Contiac into a rake as wild 
 as herself. It is more than I can understand." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour fell back into his gar- 
 den chair. A comtesse of one of the greatest 
 families in France being called a rake ! But, 
 he reflected, jealousy was at the bottom of all 
 of Mademoiselle Cheri's remarks, and the no- 
 tion so tickled him that he grew quite gay 
 under it and beamed on Mademoiselle Cheri, 
 whom he supposed to be cherishing an ardent 
 passion for himself. By way of punishing 
 her, however, for her disrespectful attitude 
 47
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAIS1R 
 
 toward Madame de Beauregard, he rose and 
 said : 
 
 " I think I may as well go and make my call 
 now upon Madame de Beauregard. It is a 
 very good visiting hour." 
 
 " Do," replied Mademoiselle Cheri, help- 
 ing herself to bread and butter, " and say to 
 Eugene de Contiac that I shall be happy if 
 he will call to see me. There is a man who is 
 as well born as any in France, but quite demo- 
 cratic, and has always paid me as many kind 
 attentions as if I were the youngest and pret- 
 tiest girl of his acquaintance and the daugh- 
 ter of a duke instead of a respectable soap- 
 boiler." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour in a huff flung out of 
 the garden. He decided that Mademoiselle 
 Cheri was getting old there was no doubt 
 about that and when people grew old they 
 grew cranky. He regarded himself, how- 
 ever, as steadily growing younger, and began 
 to be disturbed, in the event that Madame de 
 Beauregard should marry him, whether the 
 fact that they were exactly the same age, sixty 
 years, might not be against him. 
 48
 
 GAY DINARD 
 
 Monsieur de Latour, in the August after- 
 noon, walked along the grand promenade, gay 
 with elegant-looking women and well-dressed 
 men sitting at tables, chatting, drinking tea, 
 and eating ices, the blue air vibrant with 
 music from the band, and ov*er all that atmos- 
 phere of pleasurable excitement which seems 
 to belong to Dinard. It occurred to him that 
 he might find Madame de Beauregard among 
 the crowd of pleasure-seekers. 
 
 He did not, however, see her until a well- 
 directed chocolate bonbon hit him in the back. 
 He turned around, and there at a table sat 
 Madame de Beauregard, Eugene de Contiac, 
 and a small, sunburned military man, whom 
 Monsieur de Latour recognised at once as 
 General Granier, who had been a lady-killer 
 fifty years before at the republican court of 
 Louis Napoleon. He was beautifully dyed 
 and made up, elaborately and very youthfully 
 dressed, and wore an orchid in his buttonhole. 
 It occurred to Monsieur de Latour that the 
 old general and Madame de Beauregard 
 matched each other as well as the Dresden 
 figures of Daphnis, the shepherd, and Chloe, 
 49
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 the shepherdess. But there was nothing 
 rural about either of them, especially Ma- 
 dame de Beauregard. She was much nearer 
 Chloe's age than Monsieur de Latour; that is, 
 if she could be said to be of any age, for 
 the brightness of her eye, the quickness of 
 her hand, the overflowing vitality which 
 bubbled forth, were more like sixteen than 
 sixty. 
 
 She was evidently in the midst of a roar- 
 ing flirtation with the general, and their re- 
 marks were so free that poor Eugene de Con- 
 tiac, by nature as pious and modest as a girl, 
 sat and hung his head in embarrassment. 
 Eugene was neat, precise, clean-shaven, and 
 not ill-looking, but persons not so gay even as 
 Madame de Beauregard might have seen in 
 him a slight superfluity of goodness and cor- 
 rectness. 
 
 Monsieur de Latour, considering the choco- 
 late bonbon thrown at him as an invitation, ad- 
 vanced, and Madame de Beauregard greeted 
 him rapturously. Eugene de Contiac, think- 
 ing this a good moment to escape from bad 
 company, promptly offered Monsieur de La- 
 50
 
 GAY DINARD 
 
 tour his chair and was sneaking off, but 
 was caught by Madame de Beauregard and 
 dragged back by his coat-tails. 
 
 " Oh, you delicious old soap-boiler! " she 
 cried to Monsieur de Latour, holding on 
 meanwhile with one hand to Eugene de Con- 
 tiac, "I am so glad to see you. Now, Eu- 
 gene, sit down. Monsieur de Latour will 
 fetch himself a chair " which he promptly 
 did " and try to learn something from the 
 conversation of two such men as General Gra- 
 nier and Monsieur de Latour, who, I dare say, 
 only wants a chance to kick up his heels with 
 the rest of us at Dinard. You see," cried 
 this terrible old lady, whisking herself into an 
 attitude by which she thoroughly displayed her 
 small and pretty feet in a pair of silk stock- 
 ings more daring than those she had worn 
 in the morning, and flouncing out her skirts so 
 as to show a wonderful lace and chiffon petti- 
 coat, " you see, Eugene still has pious inclina- 
 tions. I can't get that out of him, but if he 
 ever becomes permanently pious and correct 
 he shan't have a franc of my money, and he 
 knows it. I like a man with life in him, like 
 51
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 you, General Granier, and you, my rural 
 friend." And at this she actually pinched 
 Monsieur de Latour on the arm in full sight 
 of a thousand persons. 
 
 But to be pinched publicly by a comtesse of 
 one of the greatest families in France was an 
 honour that flooded Monsieur de Latour's 
 soul with joy. He wished to say something 
 impudent in reply, but could think of nothing 
 more original than to ask after Madame de 
 Beauregard's health. 
 
 " It is perfect, thank you," replied the old 
 lady. " My back is not a day over twenty- 
 five, my head is about fifteen, and as for my 
 le What are you winking and blinking 
 at me for, Eugene?" she snapped, turning 
 around on that unfortunate young man. 
 
 Monsieur de Latour, apprehending what 
 Madame de Beauregard meant to say, hast- 
 ened to interrupt. 
 
 " And Mademoiselle de Bresac, whom I 
 reckon it a privilege to call my ward? " 
 
 " Oh, she's in the country! " Madame de 
 Beauregard answered, again falling foul of 
 the luckless Eugene. " This fellow has been 
 52
 
 GAY DINARD 
 
 doing rather better in the last few months. 
 He has been tipsy three or four times, has been 
 going to some of the gayest theatres in Paris, 
 and has given up reading Bossuet's sermons. 
 I thought I should never cure him of that 
 abominable practice of sermon-reading, but 
 the last time I caught him at it I cut down 
 his allowance five hundred francs the month, 
 and it acted like a charm. Money is a great 
 persuader. I brought him down here for the 
 benefit of General Granier's society, who has 
 promised to teach him a few things; and, as 
 neither one of them returned to the hotel until 
 two o'clock this morning, I am in hopes that 
 Eugene is reforming." 
 
 Eugene, with a hangdog countenance, lis- 
 tened to all of this, apprehending that every 
 word would be repeated to Melanie. 
 
 " But I had a very difficult time of it," put 
 in General Granier. " I took him to the thea- 
 tre, and I almost had to drag him behind the 
 scenes, and when one of the young ladies of 
 the ballet made at him, out he ran for his life, 
 and much too fast for a man with an artificial 
 leg, like myself, to catch him." 
 53
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 Madame de Beauregard whirled around on 
 Eugene. 
 
 " And is that the way you see life? " she 
 cried indignantly. " Well, I always said I 
 was the only man in the family. All of my 
 brothers and nephews are like boarding-school 
 misses. My husband, poor man, was entirely 
 too good for this world." 
 
 " Not a gay dog in the lot except yourself," 
 impudently remarked General Granier, and 
 was rewarded by a kiss airily blown at him 
 from Madame de Beauregard's little withered 
 hand. 
 
 Monsieur de Latour, although somewhat 
 frightened, enjoyed this extremely. It was 
 a great deal more lively than drinking tea 
 in the garden with Mademoiselle Cheri and 
 Melanie. 
 
 " I don't see," he said, " why our young 
 friend objects to dancing the quadrille of life 
 to a lively air. Perhaps I can assist you, ma- 
 dame, in educating him." 
 
 Poor Eugene shuddered. 
 
 " I shall be a million times obliged to you, 
 my dear man," promptly replied Madame de 
 54
 
 GAY DINARD 
 
 Beauregard, pulling up her skirt higher and 
 showing so much of her chiffon petticoat that 
 Monsieur de Latour was seriously alarmed. 
 " But I know what ails Eugene. He is in 
 love with your niece charming girl, and I 
 should not have the least objection to her if 
 she would only be as gay as I am. But she 
 won't, and won't let Eugene be. So I have 
 told him frankly for I am a very frank per- 
 son, as you know that he may have Melanie 
 and be pious and not get a single sou from me, 
 or he can be a man, as I reckon men to be, 
 and I will leave him five hundred thousand 
 francs. No proposition could be fairer." 
 
 " I wish I could get five hundred thousand 
 francs on the same terms," remarked the old 
 general, with a couple of winks. 
 
 " Oh, I should not have the slightest trouble 
 with you ! " replied Madame de Beauregard 
 gaily. 
 
 " Really, it seems to me," said Monsieur de 
 Latour, jealous of the attentions which the 
 general was receiving, " it would be easy 
 enough for anybody. I always liked a gay 
 life myself, and I could tell you some of my 
 55
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 experiences, madame " here old De Latour 
 assumed a mysterious air " which I am 
 afraid would frighten you very much." 
 
 " Then pray go on," cried this terrible old 
 lady, " and tell us the worst." 
 
 But Monsieur de Latour, whose experiences 
 were really exceedingly mild, felt ashamed to 
 speak of them before two such accomplished 
 sinners as Madame de Beauregard and Gen- 
 eral Granier. They were, however, a pair of 
 merry old grigs, but Monsieur de Latour felt, 
 as well as saw, that Madame de Beauregard, 
 for all her kittenishness, was really a very 
 great lady and not without kindness of heart. 
 
 Poor Eugene sat, the image of woe, his 
 countenance lighted up by an occasional 
 sickly grin at the daring sallies of Madame 
 de Beauregard, to which General Granier 
 promptly responded in kind, and which Mon- 
 sieur de Latour vainly endeavoured to surpass. 
 He hit upon a lucky subject, however. Ma- 
 dame de Beauregard speaking of her possible 
 intention to buy a villa at Dinard, Monsieur 
 de Latour, mentioned, with a magniloquent 
 air, his recently acquired relationship to Louis 
 
 56
 
 GAY DINARD 
 
 Victor de Latour, of the Chateau of Mont- 
 plaisir. 
 
 " I think I know that young man," cried 
 Madame de Beauregard. " A delightful 
 young scamp, as impudent as they make them. 
 He came near kissing me at Algiers, a couple 
 of years ago. Now, Monsieur de Latour, I 
 think it would be a good idea for you to repair 
 and refurnish the Chateau of Montplaisir. 
 Oh, what a name ! What pleasure we could 
 have there ! " 
 
 This plan, recommended by a woman of 
 Madame de Beauregard's rank and conse- 
 quence, immediately appeared highly desir- 
 able to Monsieur de Latour. 
 
 " It would be quite possible," he said, medi- 
 tating, " to patch up the roof of the best wing, 
 put in windows, and get some furniture into 
 the place in a week or two. Money can an- 
 nihilate time and distance." 
 
 " Then do it! " cried Madame de Beaure- 
 gard, pinching his ear, to the delight of 
 the passers-by, who reckoned Madame de 
 Beauregard as among the peep-shows of 
 Dinard. 
 
 5 57
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 " And if I can make the place habitable, 
 you will probably do me and my kinsman the 
 honour of becoming our guest? " Monsieur de 
 Latour said grandly. " And may I also count 
 upon the presence of Mademoiselle de Bre- 
 sac? By the way, is she in the neighbourhood 
 of Dinard?" 
 
 " Oh, yes ! " answered Madame de Beaure- 
 gard, suddenly becoming interested in poor 
 Eugene de Contiac's hair. " She is staying 
 at a convent at Saint Malo. Eugene, why do 
 you wear your hair plastered down in that 
 sanctimonious manner? " 
 
 " But I thought you said Mademoiselle de 
 Bresac was in the country? " inquired Mon- 
 sieur de Latour, anxious to establish his asso- 
 ciation with such great people as the De Bre- 
 sacs and De Beauregards. 
 
 " So she is ! so she is ! The next thing, Eu- 
 gene, you will be taken for a clergyman, and 
 I shall be forever disgraced. I have had a 
 great many milksops in my family, but so far 
 I have been spared a clergyman." 
 
 The party remained together a half hour 
 longer, and consumed several ices and some 
 58
 
 GAY DINARD 
 
 very expensive wine before they rose from the 
 table, and Madame de Beauregard made a 
 triumphal circuit of the grand promenade, 
 with Monsieur de Latour on one side of her 
 and General Granier on the other, while the 
 unfortunate Eugene, with a carriage-load of 
 wraps, parasol, fan, books, and other impedi- 
 menta, brought up the rear. For a man with 
 an artificial leg, General Granier walked re- 
 markably well, and Monsieur de Latour was 
 electrified by Madame de Beauregard making 
 minute inquiries as to how the chassepot rifle 
 in the general's leg worked. 
 
 " Beautifully ! " cried the old gentleman 
 with enthusiasm. " I keep a record of my 
 target practice and can hit the bull's-eye five 
 times out of seven at forty paces." 
 
 Then, seeing Monsieur de Latour was com- 
 pletely mystified, General Granier continued, 
 lifting up his right leg, which, apparently, 
 was a perfectly normal right leg with 
 correctly fitting trousers and a well-made 
 shoe. 
 
 " Do you see that leg? " he asked critically. 
 " The real one is buried on the field of Grave- 
 59
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 lotte, but this one is twice as good. I had it 
 fitted with a rifle-barrel and trigger here in my 
 pocket." 
 
 The general slapped his pocket, and Mon- 
 sieur de Latour then noticed, as General Gra- 
 nier lifted up the heel of the boot, a small 
 round hole which was evidently the end of the 
 rifle-barrel. 
 
 " Well, every man must have his hobby, and 
 mine is to shoot as well with my right leg as 
 most men can do with their right hands. 
 Come to see me some morning, monsieur, and 
 I will give an exhibition that will make your 
 hair stand on end." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour's hair already stood on 
 end at this. 
 
 " Now," cried Madame de Beauregard 
 triumphantly, " are you surprised that I adore 
 General Granier? Think of a man having 
 the pluck and ingenuity to make a gun out of 
 his leg!" 
 
 General Granier showed his appreciation of 
 
 this compliment by pirouetting on his left leg, 
 
 without any regard to the crowd of laughing 
 
 sightseers, for he, like Madame de Beaure- 
 
 60
 
 GAY DINARD 
 
 gard, had been one of the monuments at Di- 
 nard for years. 
 
 " You see how delightfully gay we are," 
 cried Madame de Beauregard to Monsieur 
 de Latour, when they resumed their walk. 
 " Now, do have that old rookery of Mont- 
 plaisir done up, and then we will all come and 
 pay you a visit." 
 
 " I shall endeavour to do so," replied Mon- 
 sieur de Latour gallantly. 
 
 The party escorted Madame de Beauregard 
 to her hotel. Once or twice more Monsieur 
 de Latour tried to find out something about 
 Julie de Bresac, but as every mention of her 
 name brought down maledictions upon the un- 
 lucky Eugene, Monsieur de Latour abandoned 
 the subject after Madame de Beauregard had 
 informed him that Julie had all the life, spirit, 
 and gaiety which her cousin, Eugene de Con- 
 tiac, ought to have had but hadn't. 
 
 Monsieur de Latour took his way home 
 meditating deeply. These two persons, Ma- 
 dame de Beauregard and General Granier, 
 were of his period, though actually older than 
 he, and yet life was full of gaiety and spark- 
 61
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 ling pleasures for them. He began to think 
 that in the higher classes youth lasted longer 
 than in the middle classes. He had been reck- 
 oned an old fogy even at Brionville, and 
 Mademoiselle Cheri had a way of assuming 
 that he was an antiquated person who had no 
 longer any right to the fantasies or the follies 
 of youth, and this was extremely distasteful 
 to Monsieur de Latour, who had a taste for 
 both fantasies and follies. He almost decided 
 to marry Madame de Beauregard, provided, 
 of course, that she would take him ; but what 
 man lives who does not in his secret heart 
 believe that he can get any woman he wants, 
 for the asking? 
 
 62
 
 IV 
 
 THE PLOT THICKENS 
 
 HE next morning, bright and 
 early, Monsieur de Latour pre- 
 sented himself at the Chateau 
 of Montplaisir. He proposed 
 to Louis that a large force of workmen should 
 be put in immediately to make one wing of 
 the old place habitable. 
 
 " For, to tell you the truth, my dear 
 nephew," he said confidentially, " it would add 
 immensely to my consequence to be able to 
 date my letters from the Chateau of Mont- 
 plaisir, and I don't mind spending twenty or 
 thirty thousand francs for that purpose." 
 
 " My precious uncle ! " was Louis's only 
 reply, endeavouring to clasp in his arms Mon- 
 sieur de Latour. 
 
 But his first embrace had been fraught with 
 63
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 so much danger to Monsieur de Latour's ribs 
 that the old gentleman fought him off, and 
 Louis was reduced, as usual, to embracing the 
 hat and umbrella. 
 
 " I could very easily telegraph to Paris for 
 workmen," continued Monsieur de Latour. 
 " I could have fifty in here within twenty-four 
 hours, and the materials could be had at 
 Dinard. Fifty workmen ought to be able to 
 make one wing habitable certainly within a 
 fortnight." 
 
 " My beloved uncle," answered Louis, 
 " you may have the whole chateau repaired at 
 your expense if you desire. No one shall call 
 me mean in that particular." 
 
 " And as for furniture and tapestries, if an 
 order were placed in Paris to-day it could be 
 filled within forty-eight hours." 
 
 " You are at perfect liberty to order furni- 
 ture amounting to a million francs, if you like, 
 also at your own expense, and Gobelins tapes- 
 tries in any quantities you may wish. You 
 will find me the most accommodating person 
 in the world in these matters as long as you 
 foot the bill." 
 
 64
 
 THE PLOT THICKENS 
 
 " And pictures we must have some pic- 
 tures to hide those discoloured walls." 
 
 " Pray decorate them with old masters at 
 five hundred thousand francs each, or if you 
 prefer the moderns, buy a few Munkacsys, 
 Corots, Detailles, or anything you like, pro- 
 vided they are good and very expensive. I 
 place no limit upon you in that respect." 
 
 " Really," sarcastically answered Monsieur 
 de Latour, " you are too good. I don't con- 
 template spending my whole fortune in fitting 
 up one wing of this establishment." 
 
 " I shall put no obstacles in your way, if 
 you do," said Louis with the utmost amia- 
 bility. 
 
 " I am afraid, young man, you don't know 
 very much about business." 
 
 " Of course not. I am a De Latour, and 
 if you wish to be taken for a scion of this noble 
 house you must forget all about business 
 that is, as soon as you have conveyed to me the 
 three hundred thousand francs which you have 
 promised." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour looked solemnly at 
 Louis and then winked his left eye. 
 65
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 " I am a De Latour," he said, " but I shan't 
 forget all about business. Don't think that I 
 am dipping into my principal or even hamper- 
 ing myself seriously in spending thirty or forty 
 thousand francs of my income on this chateau. 
 It is difficult to spend much in a small pro- 
 vincial place like Brionville. My income has 
 been steadily accumulating for the past twenty 
 years, and this is my first fling." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour, however, being prac- 
 tical even in his follies, then proceeded to un- 
 fold his projects to Louis as they sat together 
 at the rickety table in what Louis with much 
 solemnity called the grand saloon. Plans were 
 discussed, estimates were made, which pro- 
 vided for the expenditure of a considerable 
 sum of money, but by no means foolishly or 
 recklessly. Monsieur de Latour accompanied 
 Louis through each room of the wing to be 
 repaired. He selected his own apartments, a 
 bedroom and a study. 
 
 " Not that I am what is called a reading 
 
 man," he explained, " but it sounds well to 
 
 have a study. I have had an office all 
 
 my life until now at Brionville. I can bring 
 
 66
 
 THE PLOT THICKENS 
 
 my servants on from home and get others 
 here." 
 
 All the time Louis had been asking subtle 
 questions meant to discover how much Mon- 
 sieur de Latour knew or would tell about Julie 
 de Bresac, but without success, until Monsieur 
 de Latour, returning to the grand saloon, 
 squared himself off and said in a grandiose 
 manner: 
 
 " My object in hurrying things up is that I 
 may entertain as my guests the Comtesse de 
 Beauregard and her niece, Mademoiselle de 
 Bresac, of whom I spoke yesterday, and Gen- 
 eral Granier. You see, my young friend, I 
 am not without grand acquaintances." 
 
 " Of course not," replied Louis. " You 
 have known me since yesterday." 
 
 " I mean other than yourself." 
 
 " And what did you say was the name of 
 Madame de Beauregard's niece Mademoi- 
 selle de Marsac?" asked Louis artlessly, 
 meaning to throw Monsieur de Latour off the 
 scent. 
 
 " De Bresac. She is in the country, or in a 
 convent, or at St. Malo, or in Paris, or in half 
 67
 
 THE CHATEAU 'OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 a dozen other places. I don't know which. 
 I could not get any satisfactory information 
 concerning her out of Madame de Beaure- 
 gard, and it seemed to exasperate her every 
 time I asked about Julie." 
 
 Louis walked to the window. 
 
 " But she is coming to the chateau, is she 
 not? " he asked, turning around. 
 
 "Oh, yes! She is young and pretty, I 
 understand, and I like youth and beauty. 
 The fact is, I have not yet made up my mind 
 whether I shall marry youth and beauty, age 
 and rank, or " remembering Seline Cheri 
 " middle age and merit." 
 
 " I know which I shall marry," answered 
 Louis stoutly. " Youth and beauty, love and 
 rapture, smiles and kisses." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour then rose to go. 
 
 " I hope, my dear nephew-to-be," he said, 
 smiling, " that you will call upon my niece, 
 Mademoiselle Melanie Dupont, who is 
 shortly to become your cousin. But although 
 she has youth and beauty already, and kisses 
 and smiles in store, they are not for you, but 
 for that very piously inclined nephew of Ma- 
 68
 
 THE PLOT THICKENS 
 
 dame de Beauregard, of whom I spoke Eu- 
 gene de Contiac. I am afraid you would be 
 too gay for my niece. She is, as I mentioned, 
 staying under the charge of Mademoiselle 
 Cheri, my old friend, at the Villa Rose. But 
 don't go to kissing and embracing them as 
 you do me." 
 
 " Neither of them contemplates giving me 
 three hundred thousand francs," interrupted 
 Louis. " I insist that it shall be made a part 
 of our agreement that I shall be permitted to 
 embrace you at least three times a day. You 
 can get your life insured, you know. I shall 
 do myself the honour and pleasure of calling 
 this very afternoon upon Mademoiselle Cheri 
 and my cousin, Mademoiselle Melanie, whom 
 I shall be proud to acknowledge as a relative." 
 
 The arrangements took up all of the fore- 
 noon and much of the afternoon, and instead 
 of turning up at the Villa Rose punctually at 
 five o'clock for tea, as was his habit, Mon- 
 sieur de Latour was, at that time, in the tele- 
 graph-office sending and receiving despatches 
 concerning work on the Chateau of Mont- 
 plaisir. 
 
 69
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 But meanwhile Louis de Latour appeared 
 at the villa to pay his respects to the ladies, 
 quite unconscious of a strange and fortuitous 
 meeting which was ahead of him. 
 
 A little before five o'clock Louis rang the 
 bell of the villa, and was ushered through a 
 gateway into a beautiful garden at the back, 
 where, at their tea-table in a little grassy place 
 almost surrounded by ancient rose-trees in the 
 last blooming of summer, Mademoiselle Cheri 
 and Melanie received their guests in the after- 
 noons. The air was soft and fragrant with 
 the late blown roses, and the sunlight in un- 
 clouded splendour lay over land and sea. As 
 Louis walked along the shady garden path to 
 where the tea-table stood, the graceful figure of 
 a girl, dressed modestly in black, was preced- 
 ing him through the mazes of the shrubbery. 
 One look sufficed. It was Julie de Bresac. 
 Louis felt a shock of delight, rushed after 
 her, and they met, unseen by other eyes, in 
 a sweet and odorous solitude formed by a 
 circle of rose-trees. Louis seized Julie's 
 hand, and she turned on him two sweet, 
 dark eyes and a charming face all dimpling 
 70
 
 THE PLOT THICKENS 
 
 with smiles. There was pure delight in her 
 glance. 
 
 " I did not expect to meet you here," she 
 said with pretty gravity, seating herself on a 
 garden-chair and arranging her black draper- 
 ies gracefully around her. 
 
 " And I did not expect to meet you here, 
 mademoiselle," answered Louis in rapture. 
 " I suppose you have come, as I have, to call 
 upon Mademoiselle Cheri and Mademoiselle 
 Dupont, the niece of my benefactor, Mon- 
 sieur de Latour. O mademoiselle, what a 
 budget I have to unpack for you ! " 
 
 " That will keep," replied Julie hurriedly, 
 raising her hand in a warning gesture. " But 
 you are not to know that I am here nor to 
 recognise me in the least, until we are intro- 
 duced." 
 
 What madcap prank had Julie now in her 
 pretty head? thought Louis; for Julie was a 
 madcap and given to pranks, and those which 
 did not come of themselves into her head 
 Madame de Beauregard was tolerably cer- 
 tain to put there, and this Louis expressed in 
 guarded language. Suddenly it flashed upon 
 71
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 him, the escapade which Julie proposed enter- 
 ing upon with Monsieur de Latour, and Julie 
 herself confirmed this by whispering to him, 
 as she opened her dainty black parasol so as 
 to conceal her laughing face : 
 
 " You know, I have never seen Monsieur 
 de Latour, who is the trustee of my property, 
 but I happen to know that he has arrived at 
 Dinard with his niece, Melanie,and my cousin 
 Eugene adores that girl. I also found out 
 that Monsieur de Latour was advertising for 
 a companion for Melanie ; so it came into my 
 head and that of my aunt that I would take a 
 look at my trustee without telling him who I 
 am. So I have replied to the advertisement, 
 and I am here to-day to be inspected for the 
 position of companion." 
 
 Julie said this with a dangerous demure- 
 ness. Louis had discovered, in those radiant 
 days at Algiers, that Julie was never perfectly 
 serious unless she was bent on mischief. 
 
 " But, mademoiselle," he said, " although 
 
 Monsieur de Latour may not have mentioned 
 
 it in his advertisement, he wishes a serious and 
 
 settled person as companion, or rather chap- 
 
 72
 
 THE PLOT THICKENS 
 
 eron, for Mademoiselle Melanie. That 
 much I know, although I met Monsieur de 
 Latour only yesterday morning." 
 
 "Am I not a serious and settled person? " 
 asked Julie, tapping her little shoe with the 
 end of her parasol. "At least am I not as 
 serious and settled as you are? " 
 
 " Perhaps so, mademoiselle," answered 
 Louis, smiling. " I am afraid that both of us 
 are a little intoxicated with the new wine of 
 life which we are drinking." 
 
 "At least," promptly replied Julie, " I am 
 twice as serious and settled as my aunt." And 
 at this they both laughed. 
 
 "All I ask of you," added Julie, with a side- 
 long glance which enforced her request, " is 
 that you will let me play my little part undis- 
 covered. It is no harm how can it be? I 
 simply want to amuse myself a little. By the 
 way, this is my first opportunity of congratu- 
 lating you upon coming into your inheritance." 
 
 " I wish it were a better inheritance," re- 
 plied Louis, fixing his eyes, bright with mean- 
 ing, on Julie. 
 
 These two young souls, gay, affectionate, 
 6 73
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 and exuberant by nature, had from the be- 
 ginning, established a perfect communication 
 by glances and unspoken words. Julie knew 
 Louis to be her lover, and Louis felt that the 
 thought was far from unpleasing to Julie, 
 and she understood perfectly why he uttered 
 this wish. He desired that his inheritance 
 should be more worthy of her. 
 
 " But," he said, " I have had a great, a 
 marvellous piece of good fortune. Monsieur 
 de Latour, you know, belongs, or thinks he 
 belongs, to my family. Very well I am only 
 too happy to have an honest, hard-working 
 soap-boiler among my relations. So Monsieur 
 de Latour has arranged to make me a gift of 
 three hundred thousand francs and to adopt 
 me legally as his nephew. The papers will be 
 prepared and will be signed as soon as ready. 
 And then there is an another glorious possi- 
 bility in store for me. My Heaven-sent uncle 
 tells me that you and Madame de Beauregard 
 may be induced to visit us at the chateau as 
 soon as part of it can be made habitable." 
 
 " Then," responded Julie softly, giving him 
 another one of those lovely sidelong glances 
 74
 
 THE PLOT THICKENS 
 
 into which she threw both archness and senti- 
 ment, " even if I don't succeed in playing this 
 delightful trick on Monsieur de Latour, I 
 shall at least have the pleasure " 
 
 Here Julie stopped, smiling and blushing, 
 and Louis, taking up the thread, said de- 
 lightedly : 
 
 " I shall have the joy of being under the 
 same roof with you, at all events, for a little 
 time." 
 
 Louis paused and looked about him. They 
 were quite alone except for the presence of a 
 pair of blue pigeons, which were cooing softly 
 on the top of an arbour near them. Louis 
 leaned over and said one word, " Julie," and 
 Julie, whose eyes were suddenly downcast, 
 raised them with a look in their blue depths 
 which Louis had seen there when he had 
 scarcely a franc to his name. Just then voices 
 were heard, and in a half minute more Made- 
 moiselle Cheri and Melanie were seen ap- 
 proaching. There was no time for any fur- 
 ther explanation. Julie, like most women of 
 her class, was an admirable actress. As the 
 women of good society have to appear inter- 
 75
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 ested when they are bored, to maintain their 
 gravity when they are secretly amused, to reg- 
 ulate their antipathies and control their emo- 
 tions, they are already graduates of the 
 best school of acting in the world. Julie at 
 once assumed an air which Louis had never 
 dreamed that she possessed an air submissive 
 and deprecatory and well adapted to the char- 
 acter which she assumed of a young person 
 looking for work. Mademoiselle Cheri spoke 
 first, in her usual kind manner; she had no 
 idea that this fascinating young girl was the 
 person applying for a place as companion, 
 and was considerably astonished when Julie 
 *aid modestly : 
 
 " I am Mademoiselle de Courcey, and I 
 have called by appointment at this hour in an- 
 swer to an advertisement for a companion." 
 
 Mademoiselle Cheri looked a little puzzled, 
 glancing toward Louis, whom she had never 
 seen and for whose presence she could not well 
 account. 
 
 " Pardon, mademoiselle," he said, advan- 
 cing, " permit me to introduce myself. I am 
 Monsieur Louis Victor de Latour, a relative 
 76
 
 THE PLOT THICKENS 
 
 of Monsieur Victor Louis de Latour, and I be- 
 lieve I have the honour of claiming relation- 
 ship also with this young lady." And he 
 bowed and smiled in a pleasant manner pecu- 
 liarly his own at Melanie, who bowed and 
 smiled in return. 
 
 There was nothing patronizing or uppish 
 about this young man. Nothing could be 
 simpler or more agreeable than his manner, 
 thought Melanie, who had expected to find 
 him haughty to the last degree. 
 
 " I called to pay my respects to you, made- 
 moiselle, and to my relative, Mademoiselle 
 Dupont; but I perceive that you have an ap- 
 pointment with this lady, and I will postpone 
 my visit to a more opportune season. May I 
 return in half an hour? " 
 
 " Certainly, monsieur," replied Mademoi- 
 selle Cheri. " I hope by that time Monsieur 
 de Latour will be here. We expected him at 
 five o'clock, and he is likely to arrive at any 
 moment." 
 
 Louis bowed himself off, and then Made- 
 moiselle Cheri, inviting Julie to be seated, said 
 to her politely : 
 
 77
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 " I am afraid, mademoiselle, there is a mis- 
 take here. I think Monsieur de Latour de- 
 sired a lady old enough to be a chaperon, as 
 well as a companion, for his niece." 
 
 " Nothing was said about age, mademoi- 
 selle," answered Julie demurely, " and I 
 thought it possible that Monsieur de Latour 
 might desire a companion rather than a 
 chaperon." 
 
 " That is what I really desire," said Me- 
 lanie timidly. " I have no sisters, no cousins, 
 and few girl friends. I have often longed for 
 a companion of my own age." 
 
 The two girls looked at each other with 
 mutual good-will. Nothing could be more dis- 
 similar Melanie, nun-like in her simplicity 
 and piety, and Julie, full of the spirit of mis- 
 chief without a restraining hand to guide her. 
 But both of them were instinctively good, ten- 
 der of heart and incapable of meanness, and 
 their very oppositeness drew them together. 
 
 " Perhaps," said Julie, " Monsieur de La- 
 tour might accept me temporarily as a com- 
 panion for you, mademoiselle." 
 
 " Yes," answered Melanie, clapping her 
 78
 
 THE PLOT THICKENS 
 
 hands softly, " at least while we are at Di- 
 nard. I should love to have a companion, 
 and dear Mademoiselle Seline will chaperon 
 us both." 
 
 The two girls continued to gaze at each 
 other with friendly and smiling eyes. Ma- 
 demoiselle Cheri, the best of women and 
 by nature a spoiler of children, girls, men, 
 women, servants, horses, dogs, cats, and birds, 
 at once replied: 
 
 " If it is agreeable to Monsieur de Latour, 
 I am more than willing to chaperon you while 
 we are at Dinard. I love to have young life 
 about me." 
 
 The two girls immediately plunged into a 
 conversation with each other, Mademoiselle 
 Cheri taking an occasional part, and the longer 
 they conversed the more companionable they 
 seemed. After waiting half an hour for Mon- 
 sieur de Latour tea was served, and Mademoi- 
 selle Cheri and Melanie succumbed still more 
 to Julie's sweetness and sprightliness. At last, 
 finding it impossible to wait longer, as the 
 alleged companion had an engagement for a 
 very smart party given at one of the finest 
 79
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 chateaux in the neighbourhood, Julie rose to 
 go. She left behind her a strong desire in 
 the minds of both Mademoiselle Cheri and 
 Melanie to see more of her. 
 
 It was quite six o'clock before Monsieur de 
 Latour, red and panting, turned up, bringing 
 with him Louis, who had promised to return 
 within half an hour, but who had carefully 
 watched the garden waiting for Julie's depar- 
 ture. He had by no -means the same confi- 
 dence in his powers of acting that Julie had in 
 hers, and had no mind to meet her again until 
 he had better learned his part. Monsieur de 
 Latour, seating himself, demanded refresh- 
 ment at once, not only in the shape of tea, but 
 in a glass of cognac. 
 
 " For I can tell you," he puffed, turning to 
 Louis, " I have had as hard a day's work as 
 I ever did when I was in charge of the vats of 
 your respected father, Mademoiselle Seline. 
 But," he continued, after disposing promptly 
 of the cognac, " I have been quite successful. 
 In ten days more, thanks to my own energy 
 and determination and the good-will of my 
 nephew here " at which he slapped Louis on 
 80
 
 THE PLOT THICKENS 
 
 the back " one wing of my ancestral chateau 
 will be habitable." 
 
 Louis agreed to every plan, and even sugges- 
 tion, that Monsieur de Latour made, and ex- 
 pressed the highest gratification at all that 
 had been undertaken, of which he frankly 
 acknowledged himself the beneficiary. 
 
 "And then," he said, smiling, " I shall hope 
 to have the pleasure of seeing you, dear uncle, 
 and my Cousin Melanie and Mademoiselle 
 Cheri, established at the Chateau of Mont- 
 plaisir, to stay as long as you like." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour was delighted at this, 
 and went on to explain the various orders he 
 had given. Melanie attempted once or twice 
 to bring up the subject of the companion, but 
 Monsieur de Latour, with his tongue tied to 
 no ear but his own, would not listen. 
 
 " The great matter," he said, " was the 
 roof. I can get it temporarily patched up, and 
 then, when the season at Dinard is over, I can 
 have the work done properly. The windows 
 gave me very little trouble, as I found the 
 frames were the regulation size. The fur- 
 niture and tapestries were easily managed, and 
 81
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 I think those lazy Paris tradesmen will learn 
 a thing or 'two from the way we do things at 
 Brionville; eh, Mademoiselle Seline? " 
 
 Mademoiselle Cheri, who was as fond of 
 her native town as provincials usually are, 
 promptly agreed to this. Monsieur de Latour 
 could not forbear chuckling at the accounts 
 of his aristocratic splendour which his servants 
 would take back to Brionville. 
 
 At last Melanie managed to get his atten- 
 tion and told him that Mademoiselle de Cour- 
 cey had called and was much disappointed at 
 not seeing him, but had arranged to come to 
 the villa again the next morning at twelve 
 o'clock, when he must be there to meet her. 
 
 " But, my dear," remonstrated Monsieur 
 de Latour, " I am to be at the Chateau of 
 Montplaisir at twelve o'clock. However, 
 couldn't you and Mademoiselle Cheri, as I 
 wish to show you the chateau, bring the lady 
 there, and we could have the interview as well 
 as here." 
 
 " Certainly, dear uncle," cried Melanie, 
 and putting her hand on his arm, she con- 
 tinued: " I do hope that you will like Made- 
 82
 
 THE PLOT THICKENS 
 
 moiselle de Courcey. Ask Mademoiselle 
 Seline what she thinks of her." 
 
 " I admired her very much. She has the 
 unmistakable air of good breeding which I 
 think very necessary to a companion and most 
 difficult to find in that capacity," answered 
 Mademoiselle Cheri, secretly trying to for- 
 ward the wishes of the two girls. " Don't 
 you think so, monsieur? " she added, turning 
 to Louis. 
 
 Louis, who wished to keep out of the im- 
 broglio, was forced to speak, and he uttered 
 only the truth when he cordially agreed with 
 Mademoiselle Cheri. 
 
 "And the languages? " asked Monsieur de 
 Latour. 
 
 Mademoiselle Cheri and Melanie looked a 
 little blank at this. They had been so capti- 
 vated by Julie's charm that they had not in- 
 quired into her accomplishments. But Louis 
 came to the front, saying : 
 
 " I have reason to know that Mademoi- 
 selle de Courcey speaks English and German 
 fluently, and is an admirable musician." 
 
 Luckily, Monsieur de Latour did not de- 
 83
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 mand the source from whence Louis had ac- 
 quired his information, but asked the question 
 which Melanie had apprehended. 
 
 "And how about her age?" he inquired. 
 " She must be over fifty, of course." 
 
 There was a pause before Melanie said 
 timidly : 
 
 " She is quite young not more than two- 
 and-twenty, I fancy. But, uncle, I want her 
 for a girl companion and friend, at least while 
 we are at Dinard, and Mademoiselle Cheri 
 says she will chaperon us both." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour put his cup down and 
 looked around sternly. He felt that he had 
 been chicaned by the whole party. 
 
 " No, my love," he said positively, " you 
 have been talking nonsense, if you will pardon 
 me for saying so, and you have committed a 
 very great folly in encouraging this young 
 lady, Mademoiselle de Courcey, to suppose 
 that she was by any means the person I desired. 
 I admit all her accomplishments, but she is too 
 young. She would require more chaperoning 
 even than you, and kind as Mademoiselle 
 Cheri is, I could not think of imposing two 
 84
 
 THE PLOT THICKENS 
 
 girls upon her instead of one. So I am afraid 
 you will have to give up the notion of having 
 her." 
 
 " But, uncle " 
 
 " Not another word on the subject, my dear. 
 She is too young. I wonder that you should 
 not see the impossibility of any such arrange- 
 ment. Besides, think of the scandal it would 
 give. People would say that I intended to 
 marry the young woman, and, being a bache- 
 lor, I must be on my guard." 
 
 " I never observed," said Mademoiselle 
 Cheri, " that a bachelor on his guard was any 
 safer than a bachelor off his guard, and be- 
 sides, age is as good a protection to a man as 
 to a woman." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour glared at Mademoi- 
 selle Cheri. This way she had of giving him 
 penknife thrusts when he least expected them 
 was most unpleasant. He felt then far more 
 inclined to marry Madame de Beauregard 
 than Mademoiselle Cheri, being fully per- 
 suaded that he could have either lady at any 
 time he wished. 
 
 Louis listened to this conversation with 
 85
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 alternate hope and fear. The idea of having 
 Julie established at the chateau where he could 
 see her daily was inexpressibly captivating to 
 him, but her taste for lively adventures, which 
 was ardently fostered by that rollicking old 
 madcap, the Comtesse de Beauregard, made 
 him shiver with apprehension. However, he 
 thought if he could once call Julie his own 
 and he had reason enough to believe he 
 could she would, like all other women 
 who love, accommodate herself to his ideas, 
 which, although not as strict as Mademoiselle 
 Cheri's, were not exactly as lax as Madame 
 de Beauregard's. The more Mademoiselle 
 Cheri and Melanie saw of Louis, the better 
 they liked him, and he gave every indication 
 of an intention to live up to his bargain with 
 Monsieur de Latour and to treat the old gen- 
 tleman and his family and friends with the 
 greatest consideration. 
 
 " It would be just as well," said Monsieur 
 de Latour after a while, " that we should have 
 a family meeting and a little festivity at the 
 chateau to commemorate the reunion of the 
 two branches of the family. My lawyers 
 86
 
 THE PLOT THICKENS 
 
 promised to have all of the papers ready in a 
 few days, and then I shall hand over the sum 
 agreed upon to my nephew-to-be, and it may 
 not be all that he will get from me eventually." 
 
 To which Louis replied by a sudden sortie 
 on Monsieur de Latour, and an embrace 
 which Monsieur de Latour, rubbing his sides 
 afterward, declared almost cost him his life. 
 But he liked the heartiness and good-will 
 which Louis showed, and the indisposition to 
 haggle over the terms of the bargain. 
 
 The next morning at ten o'clock Monsieur 
 de Latour was in his glory at the Chateau of 
 Montplaisir. The hammering of workmen 
 resounded upon the roof, masons and carpen- 
 ters were all over the place, and Monsieur de 
 Latour was inspiring and directing them with 
 more zeal than helpfulness. He distracted the 
 workmen by his directions, called them when 
 they were busy to urge them to make greater 
 haste, and, in short, his wishes outran his dis- 
 cretion, as the case is with most people. 
 
 The August sun shone brightly, and the old 
 rookery was flooded with the warm blue air. 
 The presence of the workmen and Monsieur 
 8?
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 de Latour, strutting about declaiming in a 
 loud, cheerful voice, followed at every step by 
 Louis in great spirits, made a complete trans- 
 formation of the scene. There was but one 
 thing in Louis to which Monsieur de Latour 
 objected, and that was Louis's propensity to 
 embrace the old gentleman on every possible 
 occasion. When he had done this about 
 twenty times that morning, Monsieur de La- 
 tour stopped him in the middle of the court- 
 yard and remonstrated strongly. 
 
 " Look here," he said, " I can't stand this 
 eternal embracing and kissing on your part. 
 It's all 'well enough to be grateful, and I like 
 to see the spirit in you, young man, but I can't 
 run the risk of having my ribs broken twenty 
 times a day. There must be some limit put to 
 it." 
 
 " Very well, then, dear uncle," replied 
 Louis affectionately, " only grant me the priv- 
 ilege of embracing you and kissing the top of 
 your head three times a day. With less I can- 
 not exist." 
 
 "Wouldn't once a day answer?" asked 
 Monsieur de Latour dubiously. 
 88
 
 THE PLOT THICKENS 
 
 " No, a dozen times no ! I cannot control 
 the exuberance of my feelings for twenty-four 
 hours consecutively. I must embrace you at 
 least three times a day. Would you consider 
 it a violation of this arrangement, which, after 
 all, seems so inadequate to express my feelings, 
 if I were to put my arm affectionately around 
 your neck, thus? " 
 
 Here Louis insinuated his arm around Mon- 
 sieur de Latour's neck and rested his head 
 against his new-found uncle's left ear. 
 
 " Decidedly so," replied Monsieur de La- 
 tour, shaking him off. " It is the first time in 
 my life that I have ever had to repress grati- 
 tude ; but gratitude such as yours is positively 
 dangerous. I think my life has been in jeop- 
 ardy a dozen times since I arranged to give 
 you the three hundred thousand francs. You 
 are a very athletic young man and I am 
 not as young as I was once, and although my 
 life is insured I don't care to take unnecessary 
 risks." 
 
 " I must then submit," said Louis sorrow- 
 fully, withdrawing his arm. " But recollect, 
 three times a day I am to be allowed to ex- 
 7 89
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 press to you by my endearments my affection 
 and grateful thanks." 
 
 " Yes, and whenever else you feel the im- 
 pulse you will have to embrace my umbrella 
 and hat. I put no restrictions whatever upon 
 your endearments to those. Now let us go 
 out upon the terrace and await our friends." 
 
 The terrace, like the court-yard and the 
 chateau, was mouldering, cracked, and broken 
 in every part, but the view of the laughing blue 
 sea, the beautiful gardens and trees and grass 
 and the charming villas of Dinard was most 
 lovely. Louis and Monsieur de Latour had 
 just reached the terrace when Mademoiselle 
 Cheri and Melanie and Julie appeared. Me- 
 lanie ran forward and, taking her uncle's 
 hand, cried: 
 
 " Dear uncle, here we are with Mademoi- 
 selle de Courcey." 
 
 And then Mademoiselle Cheri presented 
 Julie. The instant Monsieur de Latour's eyes 
 rested upon Julie a sudden change came over 
 his feelings. He became acutely conscious of 
 her youth, her beauty, her charm. When a 
 man is in Monsieur de Latour's state of mind, 
 90
 
 THE PLOT THICKENS 
 
 having decided to marry and is merely con- 
 sidering the choice of a lady, he looks at every 
 member of the sex with a critical eye the 
 whole fair is his as long as he has sixpence in 
 his pocket. The idea recurred to him that he 
 might select, as the future Madame de La- 
 tour, a young and pretty girl. He wished to 
 see something more of the pretended Made- 
 moiselle de Courcey, but it occurred to him 
 at once that he had created rather an awkward 
 complication by his firmly expressed deter- 
 mination not to engage Julie on account of her 
 youth as companion for Melanie on any terms 
 whatever. Melanie was delighted, however, 
 and Louis secretly diverted, when Monsieur de 
 Latour promptly began to promenade up and 
 down the terrace by the side of Julie. Louis, 
 by way of giving Julie a chance, took Ma- 
 demoiselle Cheri and Melanie off into a cor- 
 ner where there were some decayed seats 
 everything about the Chateau of Montplaisir 
 was decayed and while ostensibly showing 
 them the view, saw Julie sailing into the old 
 gentleman's good graces in the most unequivo- 
 cal manner. Julie, with downcast eyes and the 
 91
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 most demure air in the world, was playing off 
 her little practical joke on her trustee, while 
 Monsieur de Latour, blandly unconscious that 
 he was being hoodwinked by the artful young 
 person at his side, was thinking that, after all, 
 no woman is too young for any man, and 
 rapidly coming to the determination to have 
 Julie at any price as a member of his family 
 circle. 
 
 Not one word on the subject of business was 
 exchanged between them as they promenaded 
 up and down for half an hour. The beauties 
 of the sea and sky, the charms of Dinard, the 
 latest plays in Paris, the last poems and ro- 
 mances, were the subjects on which Julie the 
 artful Julie chose to entertain Monsieur de 
 Latour, who was only too willing to be en- 
 tertained. Being a very clever young person 
 she realised all the headway she was making, 
 and was not in the least surprised when Mon- 
 sieur de Latour said impressively, after a 
 while : 
 
 " Now, my dear mademoiselle, when the 
 subject of your being my niece's companion 
 was first broached and I heard of your youth 
 92
 
 THE PLOT THICKENS 
 
 and ah extreme beauty and charm, I said 
 that, notwithstanding your acquirements and 
 accomplishments, you were not old enough to 
 be my niece's companion, who would also be 
 her chaperon." 
 
 " O dear Monsieur de Latour," answered 
 Julie in her sweetest voice and demurest man- 
 ner, " you have no idea how sedate I am. I 
 am serious beyond my years." Which was 
 quite true when she had a mischievous project 
 on hand. 
 
 " I know I know," remarked Monsieur 
 de Latour. " I see that you are prudence and 
 primness and propriety itself. But but the 
 world won't think so." 
 
 " If you, Monsieur de Latour, thought me 
 old enough to be your niece's companion, all 
 the world I mean our world, that is would 
 think so, too, because everybody respects your 
 judgment." 
 
 This was laying on the flattery where it 
 would do the most good, and Monsieur de La- 
 tour smiled delightedly. 
 
 " You are very good," he said. " Some 
 people do think me a person of sense. But, 
 93
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 although I cannot possibly engage you as my 
 niece's companion, another scheme occurs to 
 me by which she can have the benefit of your 
 charming society, and I, too, I hope, in a meas- 
 ure " this in a very low voice so that Ma- 
 demoiselle Cheri, whom Monsieur de La- 
 tour supposed to be consumed with jealousy 
 at the other end of the terrace, could not 
 hear. 
 
 "Any scheme which you advocate, mon- 
 sieur, will be highly agreeable to me," replied 
 Julie, seeing that she had brought down her 
 quarry at the first shot. 
 
 " It is this I foresee that I shall have 
 immediate need of a private secretary. Of 
 course, in my business I have persons to do 
 that sort of work, but a private secretary must 
 be a member of my family, and you are the 
 only person whom I have yet seen whom I 
 should be willing to have in that position. Do 
 you happen to have stenography among your 
 accomplishments? " 
 
 " What is that? " asked Julie innocently. 
 
 " Oh, well, never mind ! Did you ever do 
 any typewriting? " 
 
 94
 
 THE PLOT THICKENS 
 
 " No, indeed," replied Julie, laughing, 
 " but I have seen a typewriting machine two 
 or three times." 
 
 " Well, that's no matter I can get along 
 without that." 
 
 " But I can write," said Julie. 
 
 Monsieur de Latour remembered that the 
 only writing of hers which he had seen was 
 far from legible, but he was not going to let a 
 thing like ignorance of stenography or type- 
 writing, or even the inability to write a good, 
 plain hand stand in the way of his engaging a 
 pretty girl as secretary. 
 
 " Well, well," he continued confidently, " I 
 think we can manage. I myself write a good, 
 legible, commercial hand, and I could assist 
 you." 
 
 " Oh, if you would be so kind," cried Julie, 
 " I should think it would be perfectly charm- 
 ing ! I never thought I could be a private sec- 
 retary, but I am sure if I have neither stenog- 
 raphy nor typewriting to do and you will write 
 your own letters, that I could fill the place 
 acceptably." 
 
 " Certainly, certainly you can," replied 
 95
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 Monsieur de Latour. "And as for salary, 
 only name your price." 
 
 But Julie was too wary for this. 
 
 " Whatever you think, Monsieur de La- 
 tour," she said. 
 
 " What do you say to five hundred francs 
 the month? " 
 
 " I say five hundred thanks for it," replied 
 Julie, laughing, to whom five hundred francs 
 was by no means the enormous sum which 
 Monsieur de Latour supposed it would be. 
 
 Then came the breaking the news to Ma- 
 demoiselle Cheri and Melanie, but, as Mon- 
 sieur de Latour reflected, they had tormented 
 him to take Julie, and now they would have no 
 right to complain if he took her for his own 
 benefit and not theirs. So he marched up to 
 the group at the other end of the terrace and 
 said oracularly to Melanie: 
 
 " My dear, you have the most indulgent 
 uncle in the world. As soon as I found your 
 heart was set upon having Mademoiselle de 
 Courcey as your companion, I determined to 
 gratify you. It is true that her youth renders 
 her unequal to the position of chaperon, but 
 96
 
 THE PLOT THICKENS 
 
 as Mademoiselle Cheri has kindly consented 
 to take that upon herself as long as we are at 
 Dinard, I think we can arrange to have Ma- 
 demoiselle de Courcey in another capacity. 
 She is to be my private secretary." 
 
 At that a look of intelligence flashed be- 
 tween Louis and Julie. By some occult means 
 Louis understood that the prospect of being 
 near him had something to do with the 
 present arrangement, and a thrill of delight 
 went through him. Melanie was immensely 
 pleased, and only Mademoiselle Cheri looked 
 a little disconcerted. Monsieur de Latour 
 thought it was easy to account for this last. 
 All women are jealous. 
 
 " So now," continued Monsieur de Latour 
 grandly, " I hope very much that within ten 
 days we can be established in this wing of the 
 chateau and have some pleasant days together 
 before the end of the season. We shall, of 
 course, find acquaintances here. Among oth- 
 ers " here he turned to Julie, meaning to im- 
 press her with the fact that he knew some 
 people at Dinard with handles to their names 
 " I may reckon the Comtesse de Beaure- 
 97
 
 THE CHATEAV OF MONTPLA1S1R 
 
 gard, of one of the greatest families in 
 France, but a very terrible old lady, mademoi- 
 selle, and much too young for her years. 
 Then she has a friend, General Granier, as 
 old as Methuselah and as gay as a bird. Ma- 
 dame de Beauregard, I think, should be a 
 little more discreet than she is. But some 
 women never seem to realise the passage of 
 time." 
 
 " Nor some men, either," replied Made- 
 moiselle Cheri. "A woman always realises 
 that she must some day be old, and the idea is 
 too painful to be ignored, but no man, partic- 
 ularly if he is unmarried, ever actually believes 
 that age can touch him, and when he is a com- 
 plete old wreck he thinks, just as General 
 Granier does, that he is Apollo and Adonis 
 rolled in one." 
 
 This speech annoyed Monsieur de Latour 
 very much. Most people, since he had ac- 
 quired the power to write his cheque for three 
 hundred thousand francs without seriously 
 inconveniencing himself, treated him with a 
 very great degree of respect, but Seline Cheri 
 seemed unable to discern the difference be- 
 98
 
 THE PLOT THICKENS 
 
 tween him now and in the days when he was a 
 clerk in her father's soap-factory. 
 
 Monsieur de Latour, feeling called upon to 
 justify his somewhat precipitate action in en- 
 gaging this pretty young lady as his private 
 secretary, and quite determined to have his 
 own way in the matter, remarked to Julie : 
 
 " I think, mademoiselle, we must arrange 
 to begin work at the earliest possible moment. 
 I have some very important matters to attend 
 to business affairs concerning my nephew " 
 here Monsieur de Latour waved his arm 
 majestically toward Louis " and myself, so 
 if you could report to me, we will say to-mor- 
 row morning at ten o'clock, at the Villa Rose, 
 we could begin work." 
 
 " But why not here, monsieur? " asked 
 Julie innocently. " If the weather is fine, as 
 it promises to be, we could work on the 
 terrace." 
 
 " Quite true. What a very prompt and 
 businesslike young person you are ! Very well 
 if fair, to-morrow morning on the terrace 
 at ten; if rainy, at the Villa Rose." 
 
 Louis, his breath almost taken away by 
 99
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 Julie's proposition, gazed at her in astonish- 
 ment, but nothing could exceed that young 
 person's calmness and composure. Made- 
 moiselle Cheri and Melanie were not much 
 used to private secretaries, and they had been 
 so startled by Monsieur de Latour's sudden 
 change of mind that nothing further could 
 surprise them. And, besides, as they had both 
 urged him to secure Julie's companionship for 
 Melanie, they were hardly in a position to 
 oppose him. 
 
 Louis then invited them to inspect his an- 
 cestral mansion, which he professed, with the 
 utmost politeness, to consider Monsieur de 
 Latour's ancestral mansion likewise. The 
 prospect of being established there struck the 
 fancy of them all. It was a unique pleasure, 
 heretofore out of the experience of each, and 
 seemed like the beginning of one of those idyls 
 of times past when a party of congenial per- 
 sons could segregate themselves in some ex- 
 quisite spot and keep the whole world at bay. 
 
 Old Suzette had, by some hocus-pocus, ac- 
 quired a supply of fruit and cakes which she 
 served on the terrace, meanwhile scrutinising 
 100
 
 THE PLOT THICKENS 
 
 the party closely and coming rapidly to the 
 conclusion that Monsieur Louis, as she called 
 him, was deeply in love with Mademoiselle 
 Julie, and that Mademoiselle Julie had a soft 
 spot in her heart for Monsieur Louis. 
 
 As Louis stood on the terrace watching 
 Julie's graceful figure disappearing in the 
 shady path below, old Suzette came up, and 
 planting herself with both arms akimbo be- 
 fore him, said, with a broad smile : 
 
 " It is the young lady in black, and I have 
 a secret to tell you, monsieur. She is very 
 much in love with you." 
 
 At which Louis joyfully embraced her as he 
 had done Monsieur de Latour, and, printing 
 a sounding kiss on her leathery old cheek, 
 cried out : 
 
 " Do you think so? Heaven send you may 
 be right!" 
 
 101
 
 A DUKE, A COMTESSE, A SOAP-BOILER, AND 
 AN AUTO-CAR 
 
 HE next ten days passed in a 
 whirl of excitement for all of 
 the people associated with the 
 Chateau of Montplaisir. Be- 
 sides the work going on at the chateau it was 
 necessary to prepare the legal papers making 
 Louis the nephew of Monsieur de Latour, and 
 this gave Monsieur de Latour a valid ex- 
 cuse for Julie's services. He discovered at 
 once the importance of making copies of 
 everything he wished in his own round, clear, 
 clerk-like hand, for Julie's writing was expan- 
 sive and illegible beyond description, so that 
 really Monsieur de Latour acted more as her 
 private secretary than she did as private secre- 
 tary to him. This, of course, took up much 
 102
 
 A DUKE AND AN AUTO-CAR 
 
 time, and Monsieur de Latour did the hard- 
 est work of his life during those ten days. 
 He intrusted Julie, however, with the task of 
 forwarding and receiving his letters and docu- 
 ments, giving emphatic orders that his copy, 
 and not hers, of all those documents go forth 
 to the world, while hers were to be kept merely 
 as duplicates. 
 
 Every morning Julie would appear on the 
 terrace, the only spot available, as the chateau 
 swarmed with workmen. There, with her 
 pretty head bent over the rustic table used 
 as a writing table, she would scribble away 
 industriously, while Monsieur de Latour labo- 
 riously copied every word that his charming 
 amanuensis wrote. Louis hovered around, 
 wondering what was to be the outcome of 
 Julie's escapade. 
 
 One of the features of it was that on the 
 second morning that Julie arrived on the ter- 
 race she was soon followed by the appearance 
 of the Comtesse de Beauregard, her faithful 
 attendant, General Granier, and Eugene de 
 Contiac, whom the old lady kept a strict watch 
 upon lest he should go to church or take to 
 103
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 reading sermons. Monsieur de Latour felt 
 highly honoured at being tracked to his lair, so 
 to speak, by so great a lady as the Comtesse de 
 Beauregard, and when she skipped up to him 
 and playfully prodded him with her parasol 
 he was very much delighted. He had invited 
 her, it was true, to be his guest when he 
 should be in a position to entertain her, but it 
 was extremely gratifying to him that she 
 should anticipate her formal visit in this man- 
 ner. He greeted her warmly, and Madame 
 de Beauregard's first speech was : 
 
 " So you have a private secretary young 
 enough to be your granddaughter? " And, 
 turning to Julie, she cried: "What is your 
 name, my dear? " 
 
 " I am Mademoiselle Julie de Courcey," 
 responded Julie, acting her part quite as well 
 as Madame de Beauregard. 
 
 " Very well I like your independence, 
 and this afternoon, if you will come down to 
 the promenade, we will have tea together." 
 
 General Granier seemed to know Julie also, 
 as did Eugene de Contiac, but Monsieur de 
 Latour, remembering that his private secre- 
 104
 
 A DUKE AND AN AUTO-CAR 
 
 tary's connections were high, was not sur- 
 prised at this. Madame de Beauregard in- 
 sisted upon being shown through the chateau, 
 and was so pleased with it that she reminded 
 Monsieur de Latour of his invitation to visit 
 the chateau, saying she meant to come and 
 bring all her family and friends and remain 
 for several weeks as soon as the place was 
 habitable. 
 
 " And remember, monsieur," she con- 
 tinued roguishly. " I shall require at least six 
 rooms a bedroom, dressing-room, and saloon 
 for myself, a bedroom for my maid, one for 
 Eugene de Contiac, and one for my lawyer, 
 Monsieur Bertoux, when he arrives, because I 
 foresee that I shall soon have to change my 
 will. Ever since my nephew here came with- 
 in reach of your estimable niece he has been 
 going to the good very fast indeed. I have 
 reason to believe that he sneaks off to church 
 secretly every morning, and General Granier 
 tells me he does not think I shall ever be able 
 to make a man of Eugene." 
 
 Eugene at this looked very sheepish and 
 mumbled : 
 
 8 105
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 " I haven't been in bed before two o'clock 
 a night since I came to Dinard." 
 
 " By the way," cried Madame de Beaure- 
 gard, " I shan't require a room for my niece 
 and your ward. She is in Paris, nursing an old 
 cousin of ours, who has been quite ill." 
 
 " But I thought," responded Monsieur de 
 Latour, a little puzzled, " that you said she 
 was in the country, and then you said she was 
 in a convent, and a few other places." 
 
 " And now I say she is in Paris," tartly re- 
 plied Madame de Beauregard. " My dear 
 man, do you think that my niece, a girl brought 
 up by me, sticks in one place like a gate-post 
 planted in the ground? No, indeed! My 
 niece has too much of the spirit and indepen- 
 dence which my nephew lacks. I don't know 
 how in the world Providence ever came to 
 make such a mistake as to send Julie into the 
 world a girl, and this milksop, Eugene de Con- 
 tiac, a boy. But Providence does make ridicu- 
 lous blunders there's no doubt about that." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour did not know whether 
 this was heterodoxy or not, but he did know 
 that Madame de Beauregard was a comtesse 
 106
 
 A DUKE AND AN AUTO-CAR 
 
 of one of the greatest families in France, and 
 was coming to visit him, and thinking Provi- 
 dence could take care of itself, made no at- 
 tempt to defend its acts. 
 
 " I shall be most pleased, madame," he said 
 gallantly, " if your niece will accompany you 
 when you pay me the visit you promise, and I 
 need not say that the whole chateau will be at 
 your disposal, and in this, my nephew, I am 
 sure, will unite with me." 
 
 To this Louis assented politely, but in truth 
 knew not whether to be more frightened or 
 pleased at Madame de Beauregard's threat- 
 ened invasion of the chateau. Her presence, 
 it was true, would give a certain protection to 
 Julie when her escapade was found out, as it 
 must be, but the old lady was such a persistent 
 encourager of everything in the nature of a 
 lark that there was no telling what would hap- 
 pen if she were on the spot to goad Julie on. 
 
 Madame de Beauregard then launched out 
 into a description of her latest fad, automobil- 
 ing in her sixty-horse-power motor-car, and in 
 these adventures she had the assistance of Gen- 
 eral Granier and of a semi-royal duke as old 
 107
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 and as kittenish as herself. She cackled with 
 delight when she told of running into ditches, 
 lamp-posts, shop-windows, cows, and pedes- 
 trians, and of the car turning somersaults and 
 scattering its occupants all over the place. She 
 wound up by inviting Monsieur de Latour to 
 accompany her on an expedition that after- 
 noon, with the semi-royal duke and General 
 Granier, and she guaranteed her machine 
 would do sixty miles the hour continuously. 
 Monsieur de Latour turned pale at the propo- 
 sition, and paler still when General Granier 
 mentioned that in the last upset his leg, which 
 he always carried loaded, had accidentally 
 gone off and sent a bullet through the hat of 
 the semi-royal duke. 
 
 " Do you mean to say," asked Monsieur 
 de Latour in a shocked voice, of General 
 Granier, " that you keep that leg loaded on 
 these expeditions? " 
 
 " Certainly," answered General- Granier, 
 grinning, " I am practising a new feat, shoot- 
 ing at objects as we bowl along at sixty miles 
 an hour." 
 
 " But when you are upset, which seems to 
 108
 
 A DUKE AND AN AUTO-CAR 
 
 occur every time you go out? I should not 
 like to have been in the duke's place in that 
 last accident." 
 
 " My dear man," gaily interrupted Ma- 
 dame de Beauregard, " we are not upset more 
 than two or three times a week. And the duke 
 did not mind having his hat spoiled. After all, 
 you can buy a very good hat anywhere for fif- 
 teen francs." 
 
 This view of the accident was novel to Mon- 
 sieur de Latour, but the notion of appearing 
 on the streets of Dinard in a motor-car with 
 Madame de Beauregard and a semi-royal 
 duke, the glorious reputation he would acquire 
 of being a sad dog, the commotion it would 
 make at Brionville, and, above all, the acute 
 misery he imagined it would cause Mademoi- 
 selle Cheri, were vastly attractive to him. 
 Madame de Beauregard, however, was not in 
 the habit of leaving gentlemen any choice in 
 accepting her invitations, and demanded that 
 Monsieur de Latour should meet her at a cer- 
 tain place in the town that afternoon at four 
 o'clock. She took a great deal of notice of 
 both Louis and Julie, but did not ask them to 
 109
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 accompany her upon the proposed motor-car 
 expedition. 
 
 The old lady then departed with her suite. 
 Monsieur de Latour, torn with conflicting 
 emotions about the automobile party, was 
 quite unequal to any work that day, and Louis 
 volunteering to answer some routine letters for 
 him according to general directions, Monsieur 
 de Latour left the two at the writing-table on 
 the terrace, where they spent most of the morn- 
 ing. Monsieur de Latour, wandering like an 
 unquiet ghost about the chateau trying to 
 make up his mind whether he should risk his 
 neck or not in the auto-car that afternoon, no- 
 ticed vaguely that Louis and Julie appeared 
 to have a great deal to say to each other as 
 they sat at the writing-table in the morning 
 glow and scribbled at intervals. 
 
 When Julie took her departure for the 
 Villa Rose shortly after one o'clock Louis 
 went in search of Monsieur de Latour, who 
 was found sitting in one of the deserted 
 rooms, his head in his hands. 
 
 " My dear uncle," asked Louis, " what is 
 the matter? " 
 
 no
 
 A DUKE AND AN AUTO-CAR 
 
 " I am considering," gloomily responded 
 Monsieur de Latour, his ears still in his hands, 
 u whether it is worth while to risk my neck in 
 that auto-car trip this afternoon or not. Be- 
 sides the danger of being upset and of being 
 run into, there is that terrible risk of being 
 shot by General Granier's leg." 
 
 " Or drowned," solemnly added Louis. 
 " The last accident that Madame de Beaure- 
 gard had the auto-car ran into the sea and 
 headed for the bottom like a submarine 
 boat." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour groaned. 
 
 " But you must not flinch," continued Louis 
 sternly. " You, who aspire to the headship 
 of the house of De Latour, afraid of being 
 drowned or crushed or shot ! The De Latours 
 are hard to kill. Have you never heard of 
 that distinguished ancestor of mine who de- 
 termined to commit suicide because a lady had 
 preferred the favour of the great Napoleon to 
 himself ? He swallowed a dose of poison, tied 
 a rope around his neck, took a cocked pistol in 
 his hand, and jumped overboard in the deter- 
 mination to meet death either by poison, hang- 
 ili
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 ing, shooting, or drowning. He swallowed so 
 much salt water that he got rid of the poison, 
 and, firing his pistol, cut the rope and was 
 rescued without being in the least injured." 
 
 " Pray Heaven his fate may be mine," was 
 Monsieur de Latour's pious comment. 
 
 Louis continued urging him, and finally 
 Monsieur de Latour screwed up his courage 
 to the point of making an elaborate toilet and 
 meeting his appointment with Madame de 
 Beauregard at four o'clock. As soon as he had 
 disappeared and might be supposed to be out 
 of the town of Dinard, Louis sallied forth to 
 pay a visit to the ladies at the Villa Rose. 
 
 It was not yet five o'clock when he arrived, 
 but on being ushered into the garden, there he 
 found Julie sitting with a piece of needlework 
 in her hand and a look of infantile innocence 
 on her face. Mademoiselle Cheri, who saw 
 from her window Louis's arrival, came down 
 promptly into the garden ; nevertheless, Louis 
 and Julie had a delicious five minutes together, 
 for every moment they spent alone was like 
 paradise to both of them. Then Melanie ap- 
 peared, and Louis exerting all his powers to 
 
 112
 
 A DUKE AND AN AUTO-CAR 
 
 please, which were considerable, charmed 
 Mademoiselle Cheri and Melanie almost as 
 much as he did Julie. They had tea merrily 
 together, and it seemed scarcely an hour had 
 passed since Louis's arrival when they heard a 
 neighbouring clock strike seven. 
 
 At the same moment Monsieur de Latour 
 entered the garden. He was a pitiable-looking 
 object. One side of him was all mud and 
 the other side of him all dust, his hat was 
 battered, his coat totally wrecked, and he 
 limped slightly. To the anxious inquiries of 
 the ladies he only replied shortly: 
 
 " I have been automobiling with Madame 
 de Beauregard." 
 
 " You have got out. of it better than most 
 people," remarked Louis. 
 
 " Yes," said Monsieur de Latour, " I have, 
 on the whole, been fortunate. General 
 Granier kept up a continual fusillade and suc- 
 ceeded in potting a cow and a calf. He fired 
 over my shoulder and under my legs, and, I 
 need not say, made me very uneasy. As for 
 that devil "of a chauffeur, I believe he did his 
 best to upset us, egged on by Madame de
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 Beauregard and the duke. None of them ex- 
 cept me seemed afraid of anything but I 
 candidly admit that the next time Madame de 
 Beauregard asks me to go automobiling I 
 shall take the first train for Paris. Give me 
 some tea, Melanie, for Heaven's sake, and let 
 me go to bed and rest my nerves." Which he 
 proceeded to do as soon as he had disposed of 
 his tea. 
 
 By eight o'clock he was sound asleep in bed. 
 Just as he was comfortably tucked in he heard 
 a tremendous commotion in front of the villa. 
 Madame de Beauregard had come to ask him 
 to go upon a moonlight expedition in the 
 motor-car, but this Monsieur de Latour firmly 
 declined to do, and for fear Madame de Beau- 
 regard should come up and drag him out of 
 bed he locked and double-locked the door and 
 breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the 
 auto-car clattering away in the distance. 
 
 For several days after the auto-car expedi- 
 tion Monsieur de Latour was laid up for re- 
 pairs; but he was nevertheless able, though 
 somewhat dilapidated, to get about, and espe- 
 cially to superintend the work being done at 
 114
 
 I have been automobiling with Madame de Beauregard.
 
 A DUKE AND AN AUTO-CAR 
 
 the Chateau of Montplaisir. He did not, 
 however, do any more automobiling with Ma- 
 dame de Beauregard, although the old lady 
 pursued him to that end in such a way that she 
 declared she was afraid every rag of her repu- 
 tation would be lost. It was in vain that she 
 offered him the inducement of the semi-royal 
 duke's society and other very great people. 
 Monsieur de Latour was firm in declining. 
 He loved rank and high-sounding names, but 
 he loved his own carcass better than either and 
 refused to risk it. He made business his ex- 
 cuse, and required Julie's services every day at 
 the chateau; and Julie was always promptly 
 on hand. 
 
 But, with the single exception of being 
 always on the spot at the moment, Julie's 
 ideas of business were rudimentary. After 
 a day or two, when replies to his letters began 
 to come in, Monsieur de Latour discovered a 
 peculiarity of Julie's, which was that it seemed 
 impossible she should write any communica- 
 tion without omitting at least one word. It 
 was rarely more than one, and generally, as 
 Julie urged in extenuation, a very little one,
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 an " an " or a " but," but it was always at a 
 critical point and invariably resulted in end- 
 less confusion and misunderstandings. At 
 first Monsieur de Latour, meaning to instruct 
 Julie in the art of transacting the business of 
 a private secretary, remonstrated with her 
 kindly. Julie took these remonstrances in the 
 most amiable manner possible, made profuse 
 apologies and promises to reform, and re- 
 peated the mistake as soon as possible there- 
 after. Then Monsieur de Latour attempted 
 to be stern, and Julie, with a sidelong glance 
 of her beautiful eyes, explained that, much 
 as she sought to be exact, it was impossible for 
 her to be so because he was so interesting she 
 was always wondering about him, whether he 
 had been happy all his life, and if he had ever 
 had a real love-affair, and how many women 
 had wished to marry him. At that Monsieur 
 de Latour's mouth, in spite of him, came open 
 like a rat-trap, and there was nothing more 
 to be said. 
 
 Again he was seriously vexed. By Julie's 
 process he was made to declare that a pair of 
 carriage-horses which he had sold for a high 
 116
 
 A DUKE AND AN AUTO-CAR 
 
 price, had not four good legs between them, 
 and that he knew it at the time of selling. 
 When this was traced home to Julie she 
 laughed delightedly and cried : 
 
 " But you got the money, didn't you, mon- 
 sieur? What difference does it make about 
 the horses' legs? " 
 
 " It makes a great deal of difference," re- 
 plied Monsieur de Latour grimly, " whether 
 a horse has four legs or two." 
 
 " Then," cried Julie, clapping her hands, 
 " why not write and tell the person who bought 
 the horses all about General Granier's leg? 
 That will amuse him, and then he will forget 
 that the horses you sold him only had four 
 good legs between them." 
 
 "Mademoiselle!" roared Monsieur de 
 Latour, now fairly roused. 
 
 But before he could say another word Julie 
 jumped up and, blowing him a couple of 
 kisses from her finger-tips, cried: 
 
 " There, there, don't worry about it! You 
 
 have got the money and you've sold two 
 
 worthless horses for the price of a pair of 
 
 good ones and that's all my time is up 
 
 117
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 come to tea at five adieu ! " And she 
 ran off. 
 
 This was certainly very provoking, thought 
 Monsieur de Latour, but he had been so deter- 
 mined on securing Julie's presence he was loath 
 to admit what Mademoiselle Cheri had said 
 from the beginning, that Julie was not fitted 
 to be a private secretary. 
 
 Meanwhile preparations for the house 
 party went on famously, and Monsieur de 
 Latour, who had among his other virtues a 
 true hospitality, looked forward with pleasure 
 to having the chateau full of guests. Louis 
 insisted that Monsieur de Latour should play 
 the host quite as much as himself, and Mon- 
 sieur de Latour was more than willing. 
 
 He had asked Madame de Beauregard 
 several times about his ward, Mademoiselle de 
 Bresac, and had sent her a cordial invitation to 
 join the party at the chateau. But Mademoi- 
 selle de Bresac appeared to be a will-o'-the- 
 wisp so much so that Monsieur de Latour 
 one day remarked to Louis, as Madame de 
 Beauregard with her party in a magnificent 
 red devil whizzed past them on the road: 
 118
 
 A DUKE AND AN AUTO-CAR 
 
 " I think there is some mystery about my 
 ward, Mademoiselle de Bresac. I find it im- 
 possible to get from Madame de Beauregard 
 Mademoiselle de Bresac's actual abiding- 
 place. One day she is in the country near 
 here, another day she is in a convent at St. 
 Malo, another time she is nursing an invalid 
 cousin at Paris, yesterday she was making a 
 visit to England, and this morning Madame 
 de Beauregard tells me she is in Switzerland. 
 She appears to be quite as gay as her aunt." 
 
 " Yes," assented Louis, " but I have reason 
 to know that she is very charming." 
 
 " I wish very much that she could join our 
 party at the chateau for next week. Can you 
 contrive to find out where she is and to secure 
 her presence? " 
 
 " I think, possibly," replied Louis medi- 
 tatively as they walked along the sunny street, 
 " I might do so." 
 
 " It would be a real gratification to me, and 
 it would add to the obligations I already owe 
 you, for, my dear Louis, I appreciate very 
 much your politeness to me and to my niece, 
 and also to Mademoiselle Cheri. There are 
 119
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 some things in our agreement which cannot be 
 reckoned in money, and one of them is your 
 courtesy to my family. It is evident that you 
 are not ashamed of us." 
 
 " Far from it," replied Louis. " You know 
 the pride and delight I take in you, the very 
 flower of the De Latours, and I am more than 
 pleased to acknowledge Melanie as my 
 cousin." 
 
 It was with genuine enjoyment that Mon- 
 sieur de La tour, on the tenth day after the 
 influx of workmen in the chateau, saw the last 
 of them depart and awaited the arrival of 
 a house party consisting of Mademoiselle 
 Cheri and his niece, of Julie, whom he posi- 
 tively declared it impossible to transact busi- 
 ness without, and whom it was equally impos- 
 sible to transact business with, of Madame de 
 Beauregard and Eugene de Contiac. Mon- 
 sieur de Latour had felt some compunction at 
 not inviting General Granier to stay at the 
 chateau, but although his present inclination 
 was that Madame de Beauregard was entire- 
 ly too old for him and Julie just the right 
 age, yet he decided that General Granier, 
 
 120
 
 A DUKE AND AN AUTO-CAR 
 
 with his military air, his title as general, and 
 his interesting wooden leg, was too dangerous 
 a rival. As a matter of fact, General Gra- 
 nier had endless stories to tell of his prowess 
 with his leg, of various kinds of game 
 brought down, the snuffing of candles, the hit- 
 ting of bull's-eyes and all the other achieve- 
 ments of a crack shot. Madame de Beaure- 
 gard had frankly asked, and even insisted, 
 that General Granier should be invited, but- 
 the more she insisted the less inclined Mon- 
 sieur de Latour was to bring the fascinating 
 old general into competition with himself. 
 
 " To tell you the truth, madame," he had 
 said to the Comtesse de Beauregard, " I am 
 afraid of that leg of General Granier's. I be- 
 lieve it is always loaded, and is liable to go off 
 at any time. Now, suppose we were sitting at 
 dinner, for example, and the general should 
 inadvertently clap his hand into his pocket 
 and touch the trigger what do you suppose 
 would happen? " 
 
 " That would depend altogether upon the 
 direction of the leg, my dear man," replied 
 Madame de Beauregard, who often ad- 
 9 121
 
 THE CHATEAV OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 dressed Monsieur de Latour in this familiar 
 manner. " For my part I find General Gra- 
 nier's leg far more interesting than his head, 
 and I am not in the least afraid of either. 
 However, I shall ask him up to tea every 
 afternoon, and you can invite him to remain 
 to dinner, and if you don't I will." 
 
 Such was the lady whom Monsieur de La- 
 tour had invited to pay him a visit. It even 
 occurred to him that it was just as well his 
 ward, Mademoiselle de Bresac, did not see 
 very much of her aunt, and out of regard for 
 her father's memory Monsieur de Latour 
 would have welcomed the marriage of Julie 
 de Bresac so that he could see her in the hands 
 of a discreet husband. 
 
 However, all these misgivings were in 
 abeyance on the August afternoon when 
 Monsieur de Latour, with Louis, made a final 
 inspection of the wing of the chateau which 
 had been made habitable. Wonders had been 
 worked by the army of artisans. The walls 
 and ceilings which showed age and decay 
 most were covered, when possible, with dra- 
 peries, pictures, and mirrors. The discoloured 
 
 122
 
 A DUKE AND AN AUTO-CAR 
 
 floors were concealed by costly rugs, and car- 
 loads of furniture had been distributed among 
 the great rooms. A large domestic staff had 
 arrived from Brionville, and Suzette had 
 been deposed as major-domo, cook, and house- 
 maid. Her services, however, as valet were 
 retained by Louis, who declared his intention 
 of teaching her to shave him, as she already 
 dressed him. 
 
 Suzette was delighted at the turn affairs 
 had taken, for she had become much attached 
 to Louis in the days of his poverty and re- 
 joiced in his prosperity. Louis, himself, felt 
 as if he were taking part in the adventures of 
 Aladdin, and walked about the chateau in a 
 dazed fashion, wondering if the gilt chairs 
 were real or if the rugs were not an optical 
 illusion. Daily his gratitude became more 
 effervescent, and he implored from Monsieur 
 de Latour the privilege of embracing him at 
 least four instead of three times a day; this, 
 however, Monsieur de Latour promptly re- 
 fused. 
 
 " But I must embrace something," cried 
 Louis in the exuberance of feeling. 
 123
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 " Then go and try your hand on Madame 
 de Beauregard," replied Monsieur de La- 
 tour. 
 
 Louis misinterpreted this recommendation, 
 and within half an hour afterward came very 
 near being caught by Monsieur de Latour in 
 the act of embracing Julie. For Julie was sit- 
 ting in her usual place on the terrace before 
 the writing-table, waiting for Monsieur de 
 Latour to arrive, when Louis, stealing up to 
 her, whispered in her ear : 
 
 " Julie, to-morrow the papers will be signed 
 making me Monsieur de Latour's nephew, 
 and three hundred thousand francs will be 
 mine, in addition to the Chateau of Montplai- 
 sir." 
 
 Louis paused, and Julie, whose pretty eyes 
 were downcast, raised them and giving him 
 a bewitching glance, said : 
 
 " I care nothing for your three hundred 
 thousand francs." 
 
 Louis's face grew pale, and paler still when 
 Julie added after a moment: 
 
 " Nor for your Chateau of Montplaisir." 
 
 And then, looking around and seeing no 
 124
 
 A DUKE AND AN AUTO-CAR 
 
 one in sight, she extended her hand a little 
 toward Louis a trifling gesture, but full of 
 sweet meaning. Her eyes said plainly, " It is 
 you for whom I care." The look was illumina- 
 ting. 
 
 " Mademoiselle, may I show you the 
 orangery which has just been formed at the 
 south end of the terrace? " 
 
 Julie rose willingly enough, and the two, 
 walking on air, as it were, passed along the 
 terrace to the extreme end where dozens of 
 orange-trees in tubs made a place of sylvan 
 beauty. When they were under the green ar- 
 cade they were quite secure from observation. 
 There was no time to think. Neither knew 
 how it happened, but suddenly Louis's arm 
 was around Julie and their lips had met. 
 And the next moment Monsieur de Latour's 
 jovial voice resounded at the other end of the 
 arcade. 
 
 "Where is Mademoiselle de Courcey? I 
 have something here very important to be 
 copied." 
 
 Julie scuttled back to the writing-table in 
 less time than it takes to tell, and Louis, 
 125
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 far less self-composed, dashed around the 
 corner of the terrace and disappeared. Mon- 
 sieur de Latour came bustling out with a tele- 
 gram in his hand. 
 
 " My dear young lady," he asked, " please 
 answer this at once, and pray be careful. I 
 think, so far as I know, that you have not yet 
 written anything for me precisely as I dic- 
 tated it. There is always a word or two goes 
 wrong. But nothing must go wrong now. 
 Here you see at the factory they are asking 
 directions about a large quantity of soap now 
 boiling. They want to know about adding 
 more soda. So, write the despatch, thus." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour gave the address and 
 then dictated slowly and portentously : 
 
 "Whatever you do, put no more soda in the sixteen 
 vats." 
 
 " Now write it out for me quickly, so that 
 I can send it off." 
 
 Julie, who was still palpitating and blush- 
 ing, and to whom the absent Louis was nearer 
 than the present Monsieur de Latour, wrote 
 out the despatch and handed it to Monsieur 
 126
 
 A DUKE AND AN AUTO-CAR 
 
 de Latour to read. He put on his spectacles 
 and tried to make it out, but could not. 
 
 " It's very inconvenient," he said after a 
 moment or two, " having a private secretary 
 who can't write legibly. I shall have to write 
 this despatch myself." 
 
 He sat down and wrote it out, and then 
 calling a servant to Julie to send the despatch, 
 bustled away himself to give the last orders 
 for the entertainment of his guests. When 
 the servant came, Julie, whose head and heart 
 were in a whirl, absently followed her usual 
 practice, handed him her own despatch and 
 carefully tucked Monsieur de Latour's away 
 in her belt, which served her for a despatch- 
 box, escritoire and burglar-proof safe com- 
 bined, for the important papers confided to 
 her charge. 
 
 And then Madame de Beauregard's 
 screeches of laughter being heard in the court- 
 yard, Julie saw that gay old person descend- 
 ing from her favourite red devil, which was 
 snorting and puffing before the main door of 
 the chateau. She was accompanied by Eu- 
 gene de Contiac, General Granier, and by an 
 127
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 unexpected guest in the person of her lawyer, 
 Monsieur Bertoux. He was a staid and some- 
 what wary-looking man, which would natu- 
 rally be the case, as he lived in hot pursuit 
 of Madame de Beauregard and was required 
 to make almost monthly changes in the dis- 
 position of her property. Monsieur de 
 Latour, followed by Louis, came out to 
 greet them. 
 
 " You see, my dear man," cried the old 
 lady to Monsieur de Latour, who had ad- 
 vanced to greet her, " I have brought Mon- 
 sieur Bertoux along with me. He is a very 
 pleasant sort of person, and more interesting 
 than he looks, as you will find out. And 
 besides, I foresee that unless my nephew 
 changes his course I shall be compelled not 
 only to leave him out of my will, but to cut 
 off his allowance. It is always the way," con- 
 tinued the old lady quite angrily; "just as 
 soon as he falls under the influence of your 
 niece, Melanie, Eugene forgets all the in- 
 structions I have given him to be a man, and 
 a very larky one at that, and gets so dread- 
 fully pious and moral there is really no 
 128
 
 A DUKE AND AN AUTO-CAR 
 
 standing him. And as of course he will have 
 to see a great deal of Melanie during this 
 visit, I thought it just as well to have my 
 lawyer on the spot, in case Eugene should go 
 to extremes and insist on going to church 
 every morning, for example. Not that I 
 have the slightest personal objection to Me- 
 lanie it is only her principles that I oppose, 
 and if she will turn about and commit a few 
 indiscretions I shall be more than willing for 
 the match. But I don't want any of these 
 pious and God-fearing men in my family, and 
 Eugene must be a man of spirit if he wants 
 to get my money." 
 
 And then, turning to Louis, she said laugh- 
 ing: 
 
 " Now, if you will engage to lead this 
 goody-goody boy astray I will give you some- 
 thing handsome, because I see that you are 
 one of the devil's darlings, and that's the sort 
 I like." 
 
 " Madame, you praise me beyond my 
 
 deserts," replied Louis, taking the old lady's 
 
 hand and kissing it gallantly. " But if you, 
 
 with your fascinations and delightful exam- 
 
 129
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 pie, cannot succeed in leading him astray, no- 
 body can." 
 
 The old lady screamed with delight at this 
 bold declaration, which was received by Eu- 
 gene in sheepish silence, and at that very mo- 
 ment Melanie and Mademoiselle Cheri ap- 
 peared. Madame de Beauregard had a 
 voice like an auctioneer, and her words were 
 plainly audible to the advancing Melanie. 
 Madame de Beauregard, however, with the 
 utmost goodwill greeted her and Mademoi- 
 selle Cherie. 
 
 " I dare say, my dear," she cried to Me- 
 lanie, " you heard every word that I said, and 
 I mean to stand by it. Either you and Eu- 
 gene have got to change your principles, or 
 you won't get a centime of my money. While 
 I am here I shall give you every opportunity 
 to commit any of the delightful improprieties 
 which you might, but won't." 
 
 Eugene and Melanie presented a pitiable 
 sight while this was going on. Both blushed 
 and were embarrassed beyond measure. But 
 Monsieur de Latour came to their relief by 
 cordially welcoming Madame de Beauregard 
 130
 
 A DUKE AND AN AUTO-CAR 
 
 and inviting the entire party to make a tour 
 of the renovated wing of the chateau. Mar- 
 vels had certainly been accomplished, and 
 Monsieur de Latour, anxious to justify him- 
 self for the employment of his private sec- 
 retary, would say of everything, " This was 
 the result of Mademoiselle de Courcey's 
 taste," or, "I contrived to get this done 
 through Mademoiselle de Courcey's prompt- 
 ness in telegraphing my orders." 
 
 The party at his heels listened to all of 
 these explanations, and Madame de Beaure- 
 gard cackled every time that Monsieur de 
 Latour brought in Julie's name, and was in 
 a perfect ecstasy when he said, with ponder- 
 ous courtesy: 
 
 " My only regret is that your niece, Made- 
 moiselle de Bresac, is not of the party. Noth- 
 ing would have given me more pleasure than 
 to have entertained at the Chateau of Mont- 
 plaisir, the ancestral seat of the De Latours, 
 the daughter of the Vicomte de Bresac, who 
 honoured me with his friendship." 
 
 " Oh," cried Mademoiselle Cheri inno- 
 cently, " how pleased your father, the soap
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 boiler, would have been to see you in such 
 grand company as this! " 
 
 Monsieur de Latour professed not to hear 
 this speech, but listened rather to Madame de 
 Beauregard, who was saying : 
 
 " It is a thousand pities, my dear man, that 
 my niece is taking the mud baths at Carlsbad. 
 You should know that girl." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour listened to this in si- 
 lence, but looked toward Louis with an ex- 
 pression which said plainly, " I told you so ! " 
 
 Tea was served on the terrace, and, after 
 the manner of such affairs, Julie and Louis 
 found themselves sitting next each other, 
 while Melanie and Eugene, some distance 
 apart, yet exchanged timid, longing glances. 
 Madame de Beauregard held her court at the 
 tea-table. Monsieur Bertoux was a very si- 
 lent man, who rarely opened his mouth except 
 to put something in it, and seemed to accept 
 quietly his position of a rod held in terrorem 
 over Eugene de Contiac as a punishment for 
 good behaviour. 
 
 The purple twilight fell and a faint young 
 moon shimmered upon the sea in which the 
 132
 
 A DUKE AND AN AUTO-CAR 
 
 large, palpitating stars were reflected. The 
 daylight of late summer had gone before 
 eight o'clock, when dinner was announced. 
 
 The dining-saloon, which a fortnight be- 
 fore had been a picture of gaunt neglect, was 
 now resplendent. Shaded lamps and can- 
 dles shone everywhere; pictures, mirrors, 
 draperies covered the walls; the alleged Sal- 
 vator Rosa had been removed and cast into 
 the ash-heap. The table glittered with glass 
 and silver, and was charmingly decorated 
 with deep red roses, and an exquisite dinner 
 was served. Everybody's spirits rose, includ- 
 ing even those of the silent Monsieur Bertoux, 
 who foresaw that he would make half a 
 dozen wills for Madame de Beauregard be- 
 fore she left the Chateau of Montplaisir. 
 
 Toward the end of the dinner the butler 
 handed a telegram to Monsieur de Latour. 
 By permission of the ladies he opened it, and 
 his countenance changed at once. 
 
 " This is outrageous ! " he cried. " I tele- 
 graphed to Brionville expressly that no more 
 soda was to be added to those sixteen vats of 
 soap, and here they send me this answer : 
 133
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 '"Your despatch received. Have added soda, as di- 
 rected, to sixteen vats. ' 
 
 " I sent no such despatch, and if the people 
 in the telegraph office sent such a one I shall 
 claim heavy damages. That means sixteen 
 vats of soap ruined ! " 
 
 Then, excusing himself, Monsieur de La- 
 tour bustled off to the telephone, where he 
 remained in angry colloquy with the tele- 
 graph office for ten minutes. Julie, mean- 
 while, seated next Louis, was quite smiling 
 and at her ease. When Monsieur de Latour 
 returned his brow was clouded, and as the 
 ladies were leaving for the drawing-room 
 where coffee was served, Monsieur de Latour 
 politely but grimly requested Julie to 
 remain. 
 
 " Certainly," replied Julie gaily, " but may 
 your nephew, Monsieur Louis, remain, too? 
 Because you look as if you would eat me up, 
 and I am afraid to be left with you. And, 
 besides, you are so fascinating that people 
 may say I am trying to marry you, so I think 
 we must have a chaperon." 
 
 " Just as you like, mademoiselle," replied 
 134
 
 A DUKE AND AN AUTO -CAR. 
 
 Monsieur de Latour in the Grossest tone he 
 had ever used to a young and pretty woman. 
 
 When he was left alone in the dining-room 
 with Julie and Louis he began in a tone of 
 profound vexation: 
 
 " My dear young lady, when I engaged 
 you as my private secretary I knew that you 
 had none of the qualifications which are usu- 
 ally required in that capacity, but I thought 
 you could write a simple despatch at my 
 dictation, especially when I warned you to be 
 very careful. Now, in everything that you 
 have written for me you have managed to get 
 at least one word wrong." 
 
 " But only one word, monsieur," answered 
 Julie, going and sitting down in a chair and 
 helping herself to a bunch of grapes. 
 
 " But that one word has always produced 
 a cataclysm. Do you see the result of leaving 
 out one word in that despatch about the 
 soda?" 
 
 " Yes, indeed," cried Julie, snipping off the 
 
 grapes and handing some to Louis. " These 
 
 are delicious grapes I wonder if they are 
 
 grown at Dinard? Yes, Monsieur de La- 
 
 135
 
 THE CHATEAV OF MONTPLAISIK. 
 
 tour, I dare say those telegraph people are 
 right and I did leave out one word, but only 
 one, and that such a little one." 
 
 " It was big enough to ruin sixteen vats of 
 soap," tartly responded Monsieur de Latour. 
 
 He wished that Julie were not quite so 
 pretty, and that he could keep his eyes off her 
 pink fingers and rosy mouth as she disposed 
 of the grapes. 
 
 " But I heard you say yourself, mon- 
 sieur," she said, snipping off some more grapes 
 and handing them to him, " that you never 
 used soap you always used white sand so 
 what does it matter about the sixteen vats? " 
 
 Monsieur de Latour groaned. Would he 
 ever be able to make Julie understand the first 
 principles of business ? At the same time, the 
 thought of parting with her was not agreeable 
 to him he enjoyed her society too much. 
 
 " Very well, mademoiselle," he said, try- 
 ing to be stern. " All I have to say is that you 
 must be more careful in the future. The no- 
 tary will be here to-morrow, bringing the 
 papers arranging matters between my nephew 
 and myself, and, luckily, he will no doubt cor- 
 136
 
 A DUKE AND AN AUTO-CAR 
 
 rect any blunders which you may have made 
 in the copy which I dictated to you." 
 
 " I haven't made any blunders," cried Julie, 
 laughing. " I wrote exactly what you dic- 
 tated, and if there are any blunders they will 
 be the notary's. Come, now, if you are 
 through scolding me, let us go and have coffee 
 with the rest." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour had meant to give her 
 a tremendous wigging, but instead of that he 
 found himself led, ostensibly by the arm and 
 secretly by the nose, into the drawing-room, 
 with Julie on his arm and Louis bringing up 
 the rear. 
 
 As they entered the drawing-room, Julie 
 joyfully proclaimed: 
 
 " Dear people, I have made the most 
 amusing mistake this time. I have ruined six- 
 teen vats of soap for Monsieur de Latour, 
 and he, poor darling, takes it like an angel. 
 But I won't do so any more, I promise you, 
 monsieur." 
 
 " No, you won't, mademoiselle," replied 
 Monsieur de Latour. " I sha'n't give you 
 the chance." 
 
 10 137
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 And then, like the hospitable host he was, 
 he proceeded to forget all about the sixteen 
 vats of ruined soap, and they had a merry 
 evening together, enlivened by Julie's songs 
 at the piano. 
 
 138
 
 VI 
 
 JULIE'S LITTLE MISTAKE 
 
 HE next day at twelve o'clock 
 was the hour fixed for the sign- 
 ing of the papers making legal 
 the adoption, by Monsieur de 
 Latour, of Louis, and transferring to Louis's 
 credit three hundred thousand francs in the 
 Bank of France. All of the guests of the 
 Chateau of Montplaisir were invited to assem- 
 ble in the grand saloon to witness this impor- 
 tant affair. The notary, with his clerk, arrived, 
 the papers were brought out and examined, 
 and Monsieur de Latour, with a gold pen, a 
 pompous air, and a great flourish, signed his 
 name. This was followed by Louis, who took 
 the occasion to make a graceful speech of 
 thanks to Monsieur de Latour, and to assure 
 all present that he felt it an honour to be re- 
 139
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 lated to so upright and enterprising a citizen. 
 Monsieur de Latour replied affectionately, and 
 then, luncheon being served, hosts and guests 
 drank to the health of the new head of the 
 house of De Latour. 
 
 Monsieur de Latour was indeed a happy 
 man. He had been officially made a gentle- 
 man, and he considered three hundred thou- 
 sand francs a very small price to pay for the 
 honour. 
 
 All were in high spirits, and even Made- 
 moiselle Cheri forebore to utter some of those 
 plain and rather unpleasing truths with which 
 she had occasionally prodded Monsieur de 
 Latour. 
 
 The ladies, after luncheon, retired for their 
 siesta, the party arranging to meet on the ter- 
 race, as usual, at five o'clock for tea. Then 
 Monsieur de Latour said to Louis: 
 
 " Now, my dear nephew, come with me 
 into the grand saloon, and let us talk over our 
 future arrangements, and I should be obliged 
 to you, Mademoiselle de Courcey, if you will 
 come, too, as I may need your services as 
 
 140
 
 JULIE'S LITTLE MISTAKE 
 
 " Certainly," replied Julie, " but first let 
 me go and curl my hair. This damp climate 
 takes all the curl out." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour was a little annoyed at 
 this, especially in the presence of Mademoi- 
 selle Cheri, who said nothing but saw every- 
 thing. However, it would be a bold man who 
 would refuse permission to a young lady to 
 curl her hair, and so Monsieur de Latour 
 merely asked Julie's presence as soon as con- 
 venient. 
 
 In the grand saloon he unlocked the escri- 
 toire in which the papers had been stowed, 
 and taking them out began to go over them 
 for the second time with Louis. All at 
 once Monsieur de Latour started and turned 
 pale. 
 
 " Why, look here," he said, " I didn't no- 
 tice this before, but instead of me, Victor 
 Louis de Latour, adopting you, Louis Victor 
 de Latour, here I see " At this point Mon- 
 sieur de Latour stopped, paled, and with a 
 shaking finger pointed to the impressive legal 
 paper with its great seals. 
 
 And there, sure enough, as plain as print, 
 141
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 Louis Victor de Latour had adopted Victor 
 Louis de Latour. Louis examined the paper 
 carefully and laid it down. Monsieur de La- 
 tour, running his hands frantically through his 
 scanty hair, cried out: 
 
 "It is all the work of that good-for-noth- 
 ing Julie, who is now upstairs curling her hair. 
 Well, it will have to be changed that's all. 
 The fact is, she has never yet written a letter 
 or prepared a document for me that she has 
 not got one word wrong. But she is so devil- 
 ish pretty and so fascinating and such a de- 
 lightful little scamp altogether that there is 
 no being angry with her. However, I shall 
 give her a good scolding for this, and the 
 work will all have to be done over again." 
 
 Louis during all this had sat calmly exam- 
 ining the papers spread out before him. His 
 silence aroused Monsieur de Latour's suspi- 
 cions. 
 
 " Of course," cried the old soap boiler, ad- 
 vancing and mopping his brow, " you see the 
 necessity for undoing this nonsensical per- 
 formance. You being my uncle, indeed! " 
 
 " I don't know about that," replied Louis 
 142
 
 JULIE'S LITTLE MISTAKE 
 
 coolly. " First let me ask you one question. 
 Are you really in love with Mademoiselle 
 Julie?" 
 
 The query staggered Monsieur de Latour, 
 and he sat down quickly, as if some one had 
 hit him a blow on the forehead. 
 
 " Well," he said after a moment, " I don't 
 know whether I am or not, but one thing is 
 certain I intend to have the benefit of her 
 society. It has occurred to me several times 
 in the last few days that you were paying 
 Mademoiselle de Courcey rather more atten- 
 tion than was necessary, and it was distinctly 
 displeasing to me." 
 
 " That settles it," replied Louis gravely. 
 " These papers stand. I cannot forego the 
 honour of being uncle to such a nephew as 
 yourself. I am proud of you, my dear Victor." 
 
 Here Louis rose and patted Monsieur de 
 Latour patronisingly on the back. 
 
 "It is not your money that I desire that 
 you are more than welcome to but to say 
 to the world that I have such a nephew as 
 yourself gives me the highest pleasure." 
 
 " Go to the devil! " bawled Monsieur de 
 143
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 Latour, jumping up. " You are the most im- 
 pudent, presumptuous dog I ever saw in my 
 life. I your nephew, indeed ! " 
 
 " But I thought you wanted to appear 
 young so as to win favour, perhaps, in Made- 
 moiselle Julie's eyes." 
 
 " So I do, but not so infernally and ridicu- 
 lously young as you would make me appear." 
 
 " Not at all. I might have a brother forty 
 years older than myself, and you might be 
 that brother's son." 
 
 " And I might elope with my great-grand- 
 father's sister-in-law," bellowed Monsieur de 
 Latour, " but we are not talking about such 
 things as that. What I mean to say is that 
 this ridiculous mistake must be rectified. I am 
 willing to adopt you as my nephew in fact, 
 I am rather pleased to be related to you, be- 
 cause I have learned to like you in spite of 
 your assaults upon my ribs. I am willing to 
 be your uncle, but I am not willing to be your 
 nephew." 
 
 " My dear boy, the thing is done. It is 
 signed, sealed, and delivered. You are my 
 nephew, and you can't help yourself. And 
 144
 
 JULIE'S LITTLE MISTAKE 
 
 remember that the arrangement carries with 
 it the authority of a parent for example, you 
 cannot marry anybody without my consent. 
 Our laws, you know, are very specific on that 
 point." 
 
 " Oh, yes, I know, but you are talking 
 nonsense ! " 
 
 " Am I? Then try to contravene my au- 
 thority and see what will happen ! " 
 
 Monsieur de Latour glared at Louis. And 
 just then the door opened and Julie entered, 
 looking, if possible, prettier than ever. 
 
 " Now," she said to Monsieur de Latour, 
 " I am ready to do anything you ask me that 
 is, for half an hour, when I expect the dress- 
 maker then I shall have to leave you." 
 
 " Certainly," answered Monsieur de La- 
 tour, laughing sardonically. " Between the 
 hairdresser and the dressmaker, you may oc- 
 casionally condescend to assist me. Thank 
 you very much, mademoiselle. I am indebted 
 to you, I think, for the present piece of work." 
 
 He got up and, in his wrath taking Julie 
 sternly by the arm, pointed with an accusing 
 finger at the document. 
 145
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 " Do you see," he thundered, " that 
 through that little peculiarity of yours by 
 which you always get one word wrong " 
 
 " But only one word, monsieur, and then 
 always a very small one." 
 
 " Yes, I know, but big enough to do the 
 business. Here you see that instead of Victor 
 Louis de Latour adopting Louis Victor de La- 
 tour, it is completely turned around, and this 
 young scapegrace has adopted me. Do you 
 understand? " 
 
 In his rage Monsieur de Latour's voice 
 had risen to a roar, but Julie, glancing at the 
 paper and then at Louis, burst into a ripple of 
 laughter. 
 
 " Oh, how amusing! " she cried. " It is 
 the most delightful thing I ever heard. Did 
 I make that mistake? " 
 
 " You did ! " shouted Monsieur de La- 
 tour, quite forgetting himself and actually 
 shaking Julie's arm. 
 
 "Well, what's the harm?" she asked, 
 
 breathless with the shaking and laughing still 
 
 more. " You are just as much a De Latour 
 
 of the Chateau of Montplaisir, monsieur, as 
 
 146
 
 JULIE'S LITTLE MISTAKE 
 
 you ever were. I thought that was the great 
 point." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour flung her into a chair 
 as if she had been a parcel, and strode up and 
 down the room. 
 
 " My dear Victor," said Louis soothingly, 
 " compose yourself. Have confidence in me, 
 your uncle, and believe that everything that 
 I shall do will be with an eye for your 
 advantage. If you should require me to 
 give back the three hundred thousand 
 
 " Oh, yes, give them back, indeed ! " bawled 
 Monsieur de Latour, going and standing be- 
 fore Louis. " You can afford to give them 
 back because you practically have the control 
 of all my property." 
 
 " I sha'n't interfere with that, my boy," 
 replied Louis. " I think you know how to 
 manage your money matters very much better 
 than I do. It is only your personal conduct 
 in which I shall concern myself, and, by the 
 way, I think it would be best for you to dis- 
 pense with Mademoiselle de Courcey's ser- 
 vices as private secretary." 
 147
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 " What have you to do with my private 
 secretary? " 
 
 " Everything. I am your legal guardian, 
 and I cannot allow you to continue what I 
 thought from the first a very indiscreet ar- 
 rangement. So, mademoiselle, I shall be 
 pleased myself to engage your services at the 
 same figure my nephew paid you, if you will 
 accept the place." 
 
 "Certainly!" responded Julie, jumping 
 up. 
 
 Monsieur de Latour's rage and chagrin at 
 this was indescribable. He ground his teeth, 
 and his scanty hair appeared actually to bristle 
 with wrath. Meanwhile, Louis was smiling 
 and imperturbable, and Julie was a picture of 
 innocence. 
 
 " Only I shall stipulate," continued Louis 
 gravely, " that you are not to do any writing 
 for me. I can't take the risk." 
 
 " Sixteen vats of soap spoiled! " interjected 
 Monsieur de Latour, throwing himself into a 
 chair. 
 
 " My dear Victor," said Louis, " would 
 you oblige me by allowing me a few min- 
 148
 
 JULIE'S LITTLE MISTAKE 
 
 utes' private conversation with Mademoiselle 
 Julie?" 
 
 " What? " screamed Monsieur de Latour. 
 
 " A few minutes' private conversation is 
 what I ask." 
 
 " Not under any circumstances." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour was so beside himself 
 with rage that he could not keep still, but, 
 jumping up from his chair, bounced about the 
 room. 
 
 " Then, mademoiselle," remarked Louis, 
 " I must ask you to step out with me upon the 
 terrace for a moment." 
 
 " Mademoiselle, I forbid you to go ! " 
 cried Monsieur de Latour. 
 
 But to this Julie paid no attention what- 
 ever, and followed Louis through the glass 
 door that opened on the terrace. Once out in 
 the clear and brilliant sunshine, Louis whis- 
 pered in her ear : 
 
 " Did you do it on purpose? " 
 
 And Julie whispered back: 
 
 "Yes, yes, yes!" 
 
 " And was it because his consent was neces- 
 sary to your marriage? " 
 149
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 Julie nodded her head and gave Louis her 
 bewitching side glance. 
 
 " Very well, he shall remain my nephew 
 until he has consented to our marriage." 
 
 Julie bestowed upon Louis another side 
 glance, a look of overpowering sweetness 
 which ran like wine through Louis's whole 
 being. Monsieur de Latour, within the room, 
 saw this exchange of tender and vivid glances, 
 and a flood of light poured in upon him. He 
 dashed out upon the terrace, almost knocking 
 them over. 
 
 " Oh, I see how it is! " he cried. " You 
 two are in a conspiracy against me. You " 
 pointing to Louis " want to marry Made- 
 moiselle de Courcey." 
 
 " Oh, no," replied Louis, " I want to marry 
 Mademoiselle de Bresac!" And taking 
 Julie's hand he placed it within his arm. 
 
 Slowly the truth dawned upon Monsieur de 
 Latour. He struck his forehead. 
 
 " I see it all," he groaned. " It is a trick. 
 You are Julie de Bresac. Strange I never sus- 
 pected it before. But that old gadabout, your 
 aunt, put you up to it, no doubt. Very well, 
 150
 
 JULIE'S LITTLE MISTAKE 
 
 all I have to say is that, under your respected 
 father's will, my consent is necessary to your 
 marriage, and you won't get that consent to 
 marry my nephew." 
 
 " Your uncle, you mean," interposed Louis. 
 
 " Very well, very well ! " cried Monsieur 
 de Latour, walking off, quivering with rage. 
 " You will see how it will turn out." 
 
 Louis followed him. 
 
 " Now, my dear nephew," he said in a paci- 
 fying tone, " don't let us, with guests in the 
 house", have a family row these things are 
 very bad form. It has never been the custom 
 of the De Latours to do such things, and if 
 you wish to prove yourself a genuine De La- 
 tour you must follow the traditions of the 
 house. Now, it isn't necessary to say how 
 things really stand I am willing to let you 
 pose as my uncle, provided you show me the 
 respect which is due me. So let us agree to 
 say nothing about this, but I will have no 
 interference between Mademoiselle Julie and 
 myself." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour paused and reflected 
 for a whole minute.
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 " Perhaps you know," he said, " that the 
 Comtesse de Beauregard's consent is neces- 
 sary, as well as mine, for anyone to marry 
 Julie." 
 
 " I believe so, but that is very easily won. 
 Just let me go on a gigantic lark and the old 
 lady will consent at once." 
 
 " Yes, but suppose she should marry? She 
 might marry me, you know! " 
 
 " That will make our relationship still 
 more interesting. You would be my nephew 
 and at the same time you would be my 
 uncle." 
 
 " Don't talk nonsense. What I mean is 
 that I intend to checkmate you and that head- 
 strong girl yonder." 
 
 " But to marry Madame de Beauregard 
 you would have to lead a very dissipated life, 
 and then I should be in a position to check- 
 mate you. I can exert my authority as your 
 uncle, and put a stop to your wild career 
 on the ground that you are squandering your 
 fortune. I can put you on an allowance of a 
 thousand francs a month. How would you 
 like that ? ' 
 
 152
 
 JULIE'S LITTLE MISTAKE 
 
 " Oh, it's all a confounded muddle," cried 
 Monsieur de Latour, " but I intend to block 
 your game, young man, with Julie, and you 
 see if I don't!" 
 
 While this turmoil was taking place in one 
 part of the chateau a like one was occurring in 
 another part of it. Just as luncheon was over 
 General Granier's card was brought in, and 
 Madame de Beauregard insisted upon the rest 
 of the party going with her to the orangery. 
 There they found General Granier, who 
 began to entertain them with anecdotes of 
 some of his most notorious escapades during 
 the Second Empire, varied with the recital 
 of some startling indiscretions about three 
 months before. His stories were really amus- 
 ing, and even Mademoiselle Cheri laughed 
 at them ; but Melanie, much scandalised, 
 maintained a shocked silence, and Eugene de 
 Contiac unconsciously did the same. 
 
 When General Granier had finished a story 
 of having kissed a dowager duchess in mis- 
 take for her daughter-in-law, a story which 
 sent Madame de Beauregard into convulsions 
 of mirth, she suddenly looked around and 
 11 153
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 caught Eugene in the act of handing a book 
 to Melanie. Madame de Beauregard seized 
 it and read aloud the title, " Sermons and 
 Discourses, by Bossuet." From screams of 
 laughter the old lady suddenly flew into a 
 temper, and, giving Eugene a smart clip over 
 the head with the book of sermons, she cried 
 wrathfully : 
 
 " I will teach you to be reading sermons in 
 good company! And what's this? " 
 
 A sheet of paper fluttered out, which the 
 old lady caught deftly and read aloud: 
 
 "DEAREST MELANIE: 
 
 "Don't believe for one moment that my heart or my 
 inclinations , are in the dissipations which I sometimes 
 follow. It is all the doing of my intolerable old aunt 
 and that old rip, General Granier. My darling, as soon 
 as my aunt is dead and I can follow my own inclinations 
 you will have no fault to find with me. Even without 
 your influence, dearest, I would wish to live a pious and 
 God-fearing life. How much more so when you en- 
 courage me in those religious observances of which I am 
 deprived! However, my old aunt can't live forever, 
 and when she is gone, and we can be married, rest assured 
 that I shall lead with you a life of prayer and piety, with 
 sermons for our only literature and church-going our dissipa- 
 
 154
 
 JULIE'S LITTLE MISTAKE 
 
 tion. My aunt has not a bad heart, and let us unite in 
 prayer, dear one, that she may mend her ways. 
 "Devotedly yours, 
 
 EUGENE DE CONTIAC." 
 
 This was a letter calculated to exasperate 
 a much milder person than Madame de Beau- 
 regard, and the old lady, although in general 
 good-tempered, as most old reprobates are, 
 was kindled into wrath. She sat up, whirled 
 around in her chair, rose, and actually danced 
 with rage. 
 
 " So you are planning to be pious when I 
 am dead and buried! " she shrieked, shaking 
 the unlucky letter in poor Eugene's pallid 
 face. " Very well, then, you and your saintly 
 friend here can be pious on nothing at all. 
 You and this sanctimonious minx will unite in 
 prayer for me ! Just let me catch you at it 
 that's all I ask ! Oh, if I had but a man in my 
 family, he should have every franc I pos- 
 sess! Monsieur Bertoux," she cried, turning 
 to the silent advocate, who saw a good fee 
 staring him in the face for making another 
 will for Madame de Beauregard, " I desire 
 you this minute to make another will for me ! " 
 155
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 At this Monsieur Bertoux quietly took out 
 some sheets of legal-looking paper. 
 
 " Here, madame," he said resignedly, " I 
 always keep myself prepared, and I knew 
 when I arrived here yesterday and saw the 
 situation of affairs that I should be called 
 upon to make a will for you before the 
 week was out. Will you, as usual, when 
 you cut Monsieur de Contiac off, give your 
 property to found a hospital for cats and 
 dogs?" 
 
 " Yes," answered Madame de Beauregard 
 promptly, " except one hundred thousand 
 francs to General Granier, as the last man 
 with red blood in him who is left alive in 
 France. He deserves a legacy and he shall 
 have it, for knowing how to enjoy himself as 
 a man should." 
 
 General Granier bowed to the ground and 
 said gallantly: 
 
 " I hope, madame, that I shall never come 
 into the possession of that legacy. I should 
 be far more pleased if you would consider the 
 proposition which I have made to you at in- 
 tervals for the last forty years." Here the
 
 JULIE'S LITTLE MISTAKE 
 
 general put his hand to his heart and winked 
 sentimentally at Madame de Beauregard. 
 
 " Marry you, you mean? " cried Madame 
 de Beauregard. " Well, I have been consid- 
 ering it for forty years, as you say. But mean- 
 while I intend to punish my nephew not that 
 he appears to have a drop of my blood in him 
 so, Monsieur Bertoux, will you please to 
 come into the grand saloon with me, and we 
 will arrange this matter. And I beg to in- 
 form you, mademoiselle," she added to the 
 shrinking Melanie, " that you may marry my 
 nephew any time you like, and you will get a 
 pious husband and I could not desire you 
 any worse punishment, for pious husbands are 
 a terrible bore. I had one myself and I don't 
 propose to have another of that sort." 
 
 Madame de Beauregard marched off to the 
 saloon, escorted by Monsieur Bertoux and 
 General Granier. Mademoiselle Cheri, Me- 
 lanie, and Eugene remained in the orangery. 
 Eugene, like most men who have just lost a 
 half million francs, looked a little frightened. 
 Not so Melanie. Extending her hand to him, 
 she said with a kind of timid boldness : 
 '157
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 " I care nothing for the fortune you have 
 lost. It is you that I love, and when I feel 
 that you have perhaps secured your eternal 
 salvation by giving up that money, it is in my 
 heart to render thanks for losing it." 
 
 Eugene was scarcely then equal to render- 
 ing thanks for the loss of a half million francs, 
 but he was sincerely in love with Melanie, and 
 her disinterested affection touched him deeply. 
 And he could tell her with perfect truth, as he 
 did, that any loss of money was trifling so long 
 as he retained her love. 
 
 Mademoiselle Cheri, who was the most in- 
 dulgent person in the world to lovers and chil- 
 dren, considerately left the orangery and was 
 walking up and down the terrace, leaving Eu- 
 gene and Melanie practically alone under the 
 green shade of the orange trees. The two 
 stood hand in hand and were forgetful of all 
 the world but themselves. It seemed to them 
 but a few minutes that they were alone to- 
 gether, while it was really a half-hour. 
 
 Their Elysian dream was rudely inter- 
 rupted by Monsieur de Latour bouncing in 
 upon them. Monsieur de Latour had been 
 158
 
 JULIE'S LITTLE MISTAKE 
 
 very much tried that day, and this last straw 
 had brought his wrath to the boiling pitch. 
 So he bawled at the two young culprits : 
 
 " Well, I have just seen Madame de Beau- 
 regard, and she is having another will made 
 as fast as Monsieur Bertoux can write it, and 
 so you have lost between you by your folly 
 five hundred thousand francs which you could 
 have easily retained." And then addressing 
 Eugene : " What do a few escapades and a 
 little dissipation matter with half a million 
 francs to be gained by it? But no, you want 
 to thank God that you are better than other 
 men, and you have been rightly served by 
 Madame de Beauregard. All I have to say 
 is that you are to give up immediately any 
 idea you may have of marrying my niece. 
 Half an hour ago you were a very desirable 
 match now you are not a match in a mar- 
 riageable sense at all. Melanie, let go of his 
 hand!" 
 
 For as even a dove strives to defend her 
 nest, Melanie only held on the more to 
 Eugene's hand. 
 
 " Would you have me give him up because 
 159
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 he strives to be good and pleases me there- 
 by? " she asked, trembling. 
 
 " I certainly should! " roared Monsieur de 
 Latour. 
 
 Eugene, not to be less courageous than Me- 
 lanie, replied firmly: 
 
 " Mademoiselle, although I cannot ask you 
 now to share my poverty, rest assured that I 
 am yours forever." 
 
 " Ah, Eugene," said Melanie timidly, 
 " perhaps by waiting My uncle cannot 
 really mean to separate us, knowing how much 
 we love each other." 
 
 " But I shall separate you I " shouted Mon- 
 sieur de Latour, " and you will see, young 
 man, whether I do or not." 
 
 At this Louis's voice was heard over Mon- 
 sieur de Latour's shoulder. 
 
 " My dear nephew," he said, " what kind 
 of language is this that you are using? I am 
 simply shocked at you. Would you part two 
 young hearts that beat only for each other? " 
 
 " Certainly I would," angrily responded 
 Monsieur de Latour, wheeling around on 
 Louis. 
 
 1 60
 
 JULIE'S LITTLE MISTAKE 
 
 " Luckily," remarked Louis coolly, " it is 
 not in your power. Under the articles of my 
 adoption of you as a nephew you cannot do 
 anything of this character without my consent, 
 and I don't intend to allow you to separate 
 Mademoiselle Melanie and Monsieur de Con- 
 tiac." And then he briefly explained that he 
 had adopted Monsieur de Latour instead of 
 Monsieur de Latour adopting him. Turning 
 to Monsieur de Latour, Louis continued: 
 " The fact is, Victor, you have no experience 
 with the master passion. The love of two 
 young hearts cannot be treated like the boil- 
 ing soap in a couple of vats. You are dealing 
 with an unknown quantity when you try to 
 control the emotions of the soul. It is for- 
 tunate that you are enough under my authority 
 to prevent you from interfering either with 
 Mademoiselle Melanie's love affair or with 
 the tender attachment which I feel for Made- 
 moiselle Julie and which she does me the 
 honour to accept." 
 
 " Do you mean to say, you upstart ? " 
 thundered Monsieur de Latour. 
 
 " Come, come, Victor, that kind of Ian- 
 III
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 guage is totally unsuited to our relationship. 
 Remember, you are my nephew." 
 
 " The devil I am \ It's the most arrant 
 nonsense I ever heard in my life." 
 
 " Will you go and ask Monsieur Bertoux 
 what he thinks of it? " 
 
 " Oh, I know it's all legal, but it's simply 
 maddening! However" addressing Mela- 
 nie and Eugene in a menacing manner 
 " don't you two young hypocrites take this 
 gentleman too seriously about this adoption 
 business. First let us see how it will work." 
 
 " I," said Louis, with much dignity, " ad- 
 vise you, mademoiselle, and you, Monsieur de 
 Contiac, to take it with the utmost serious- 
 ness, as I mean to enforce all the rights of my 
 position. And among other things, I apolo- 
 gise for the behaviour of my nephew. You 
 are our joint guests, and I beg you will forget 
 everything that has been said. My nephew 
 has not yet learned the lesson of self-control, 
 but I hope to teach it to him. We shall all 
 have until five o'clock to compose ourselves, 
 and by that time I hope my nephew will have 
 arrived at a better frame of mind. Come. 
 162
 
 JULIE'S LITTLE MISTAKE 
 
 Victor," and with that he seized Monsieur de 
 Latour by the arm and dragged him off, splut- 
 tering : 
 
 " It's maddening, simply maddening! " 
 Monsieur de Latour, shaking himself free, 
 retired to his own room to ponder over the 
 topsy-turvy condition of affairs. The more 
 he pondered the more puzzling the situation 
 seemed to him. Julie, he realised, was out of 
 his reach, and the vision of a young and pretty 
 girl as his partner for the rest of his life 
 seemed less attractive when he reflected upon 
 the complications that Julie's youth and inex- 
 perience had brought upon him. His associa- 
 tion with Madame de Beauregard, and with 
 the persons of high-sounding names to whom 
 she had introduced him, including even the 
 semi-royal duke during that alarming experi- 
 ence in the autocar, had fostered extremely 
 his natural taste for aristocratic society, and 
 it really seemed to him as if he were throwing 
 himself away if he should marry Mademoi- 
 selle Cheri. 
 
 Just at that moment he glanced out of his 
 window and saw a superb carriage with a 
 163
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 ducal crest upon it turning into the court-yard, 
 and from it descended the semi-royal duke. 
 Madame de Beauregard appeared in person 
 on the terrace to greet her visitor. He was a 
 portly, red-faced old gentleman, apparently 
 of the same vintage as Madame de Beaure- 
 gard herself. 
 
 Monsieur de Latour, watching the scene 
 from his window, felt his chest swell at the 
 thought of entertaining such distinguished 
 guests. It is true that the duke had been 
 upon the autocar expedition, but Monsieur de 
 Latour had been so frightened on that occa- 
 sion as they whizzed and banged along that 
 he really remembered very little about the 
 duke. 
 
 The conversation of Madame de Beaure- 
 gard and the duke floated up to Monsieur de 
 Latour's window, and he could not forbear 
 listening to the clear, gay voices on the terrace. 
 
 Madame de Beauregard, who treated 
 dukes and costermongers alike, received this 
 particular duke with great familiarity, and 
 began to pour out to him the story of her 
 grievances against Eugene de Contiac and 
 164
 
 JULIE'S LITTLE MISTAKE 
 
 modern men in general, at which the duke 
 chuckled in a semi-royal way. 
 
 " Here," cried Madame de Beauregard, 
 snapping her bright old eyes, " I am the guest 
 of Monsieur de Latour, a soap-boiling man, 
 but I like him. There is not half as much dif- 
 ference as the world thinks between you peo- 
 ple, with sixteen quarterings, and a soap- 
 boiler after he is washed and combed and well 
 dressed. And this old soap-boiler has some 
 spirit in him I suppose he might be consid- 
 ered quite a desperate character in these milk- 
 and-water days. But he isn't a patch on you, 
 my dear duke, for example, nor on General 
 Granier, and when you are dead there will be 
 no more men left alive." 
 
 The semi-royal duke grinned, and re- 
 marked that he had no intention of dying yet 
 awhile. 
 
 " Nor have I ! " cried Madame de Beaure- 
 gard. " I expect to spend the season of 1940 
 at Dinard. Do you remember, my dear 
 duke, the season of 1860 at Deauville? Oh, 
 they were days then when one lived! We 
 had no rheumatism, we had all our own teeth, 
 165
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 and we could go the pace by night as well as 
 by day." 
 
 " My dear madame," replied the duke, 
 who really had quite a gentlemanly air when 
 he chose, " you are to-day as young in feel- 
 ings, in energy and in looks as you were in 
 1860." 
 
 " Oh, you old rogue ! " cried Madame de 
 Beauregard, playfully prodding the duke with 
 her fan, " how can you tell such taradiddles? 
 Well, I can't say that you are as young as you 
 were in 1 860, but I will say that you have more 
 life in you than ten young men of to-day." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour, watching and listen- 
 ing from his bedroom window, turned pale. 
 The idea of such language and such prodding 
 applied to any man with a ducal title was bad 
 enough, but to a duke who figured in the Al- 
 manach de Gotha ! 
 
 " There is something in blood, after all," 
 thought Monsieur de Latour, watching Ma- 
 dame de Beauregard's ease and sprightliness; 
 " but I believe that woman would chuck an 
 archbishop under the chin, and tweak a car- 
 dinal's ear, if she wanted to." 
 1 66
 
 JULIE'S LITTLE MIS-TAKE 
 
 The duke, however, who had known Ma- 
 dame de Beauregard for fifty years, settled 
 himself quite comfortably to hear the present 
 generation abused and his own lauded. 
 
 " The fact is, madame," he said, " the 
 young people of the present day are too cor- 
 rect by half." 
 
 " Quite right you are," replied Madame 
 de Beauregard with emphasis. " Now, there 
 is my nephew, Eugene de Contiac. You know 
 my troubles with that young man. Well, 
 now he is behaving worse than ever. He is 
 in love with the soap-boiler's niece, who is a 
 shade more pious than Eugene. The minx 
 actually tells him that she will marry him 
 without a franc if he continues pious, and 
 won't look at him if he doesn't, even if I give 
 him half a million francs. However, my 
 mind is made up that no godly young man 
 shall get any of my money. In 1860 there 
 weren't any pious young men, were there, 
 duke?" 
 
 Madame de Beauregard rattled on in her 
 shrill, high-pitched voice for the benefit of 
 everybody within half a mile, and Monsieur 
 167
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 de Latour, who could not help hearing, lis- 
 tened to the names of princes, kings, and even 
 emperors handled in the most familiar man- 
 ner, and getting the general impression that in 
 1860 Madame de Beauregard and the semi- 
 royal duke were engaged in one long, loud, 
 and uproarious romp with half the royal per- 
 sonages in Europe. This was not without its 
 effect on the retired soap-boiler, and his mind 
 returned to the half-formed scheme of marry- 
 ing the old lady herself. The duke paid a 
 long visit, and by the time he went away the 
 purple dusk was falling. 
 
 In spite of the exciting occurrences of the 
 day the whole party met at dinner with out- 
 ward composure and even gaiety. Monsieur 
 de Latour, however, was considerably an- 
 noyed by the tone of paternal authority which 
 Louis adopted toward him, and by the gibes 
 of Madame de Beauregard at the situation 
 which had been reversed. 
 
 " So it was that little baggage Julie who 
 did it all? " the old lady chuckled, indicating 
 Julie, who sat at the table and looked as in- 
 nocent as the cat that had eaten the canary. 
 168
 
 JULIE'S LITTLE MISTAKE 
 
 " To tell you the truth, Monsieur de Latour, 
 I don't believe she made the mistake in the 
 name through inadvertence. I think that she 
 meant to put you in Monsieur Louis de La- 
 tour's power." 
 
 " But it is preposterous ! " burst out Mon- 
 sieur de Latour. 
 
 " If you think so," replied Louis coolly, 
 " try to break the arrangement and see where 
 you are." 
 
 And then everybody at the table laughed, 
 and Monsieur de Latour, boiling and splut- 
 tering with rage, yet had to control himself 
 and smile a ghastly smile. 
 
 And so the old lady had countenanced the 
 trick his ward had played upon him ! But he 
 still held on to the three hundred thousand 
 francs, and there would be no question of 
 Julie and Louis marrying without it. It 
 seemed to Monsieur de Latour that he had 
 Louis in quite as much of a hole as Louis 
 had him. 
 
 The visit of the semi-royal duke made a 
 great impression upon Monsieur de Latour, 
 and he began to consider seriously how he 
 12 169
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 might contrive to marry Madame de Beaure- 
 gard. He concluded that the best and only 
 way was to enter upon a series of larks of the 
 wildest description, and began to turn over in 
 his mind plans to that effect. 
 
 As a preliminary Monsieur de Latour in- 
 vited the whole party, including Monsieur 
 Bertoux, to remain for the rest of the month 
 at the chateau, and in this Louis cordially con- 
 curred, and they all accepted. Madame de 
 Beauregard knew everybody worth knowing 
 at Dinard, and the old lady, in spite of her 
 peculiarities, was much sought after as a per- 
 son of great consequence. The terrace of the 
 chateau was gay with guests every afternoon 
 at tea time. Mademoiselle Cheri and Mela- 
 nie were very well pleased at the opportunity 
 of seeing a phase of society hitherto un- 
 known in their secluded and provincial lives, 
 but Mademoiselle Cheri, unlike Monsieur 
 de Latour, was not in the least overawed 
 by it. 
 
 Duchesses, princesses, and countesses, with 
 the gentlemen in their train, came every after- 
 noon, on Madame de Beauregard's invitation, 
 170
 
 JULIE'S LITTLE MISTAKE 
 
 to the terrace, for the old lady's idea of life 
 was one long, unintermittent frolic. But 
 Monsieur de Latour was so dazzled by the 
 names of the people, to say nothing of their 
 equipages and servants, that his head was 
 completely turned. To be the head of the 
 house of De Latour had seemed to him, the 
 month before, the acme of distinction, but 
 now he longed to be the Comte de Beaure- 
 gard, a title which he would acquire if he 
 succeeded in marrying Madame de Beaure- 
 gard. 
 
 The only serious rival he had was General 
 Granier, with his extremely interesting leg 
 and his repertoire of escapades, and his large 
 assortment of delightfully scandalous stories. 
 Monsieur de Latour could in no way pretend 
 to rival him in these particulars. How tame 
 and correct seemed his life at Brionville ! He 
 grew positively ashamed of its tameness and 
 correctness, and longed to prove that he had 
 in him the making of a dreadfully dissipated 
 character. 
 
 Moreover, he was checked at every turn 
 by Louis, who, with the coolest assumption 
 171
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 and most ineffable impudence, undertook to 
 treat him like a schoolboy. It was in vain 
 that he threatened Louis with the loss of the 
 prospective three hundred thousand francs 
 and the promise of withholding consent from 
 Louis's marriage to Julie. Louis snapped his 
 fingers at the three hundred thousand francs, 
 which he declared to be a mere trifle com- 
 pared with Julie's love. And as for the ques- 
 tion of Monsieur de Latour's consent ah, 
 there was a complication indeed ! Louis had 
 studied carefully the legal aspects of his adop- 
 tion of Monsieur de Latour instead of Mon- 
 sieur de Latour's adoption of him, and the 
 threat of attempting to enforce them and 
 compelling Monsieur de Latour to appear in 
 court as his adopted nephew made the old 
 gentleman extremely uncomfortable. Louis 
 absolutely undertook to cut down Monsieur 
 de Latour's allowance of champagne at din- 
 ner and cigars afterward, tried to force him 
 to go to bed at ten o'clock, and urged him to 
 lead as correct a life as that of Eugene de 
 Contiac. 
 
 Monsieur de Latour, turning these things 
 172
 
 JULIE'S LITTLE MISTAKE 
 
 over in his mind, determined to make a break 
 for liberty, not only for his own satisfaction 
 but as a means of recommending himself to 
 Madame de Beauregard, and he thought: 
 
 " If I can get that milksop of a nephew of 
 hers to come with me and make a man of him, 
 the Comtesse de Beauregard will be sure to 
 look upon me with an eye of favour, and per- 
 haps, as he and Melanie are determined to be 
 married some time or other, I can secure for 
 him the half-million francs which Madame 
 de Beauregard promises to give him, pro- 
 vided he turns from good to gay. And after 
 all, what Eugene said in that unlucky letter 
 about being as pious as he pleased after Ma- 
 dame de Beauregard is dead and gone is per- 
 fectly true, and Melanie can have that happi- 
 ness to which every woman aspires that of 
 reforming a man." 
 
 Filled with these notions Monsieur de La- 
 tour, one morning about a fortnight after the 
 arrival of his guests at the chateau, carried off 
 to his bedroom Eugene de Contiac, and, after 
 double-locking the door, seated himself for a 
 confidential interview. Eugene himself had 
 173
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 drooped somewhat in spirits, as a man will 
 who has just lost half a million francs. He 
 had begun to consider if there were not some 
 means by which he could get his legacy, have 
 his allowance restored, and still keep on terms 
 with Melanie, having a fixed determination to 
 become pious again as soon as he dared to be. 
 Monsieur de Latour, surmising what was 
 passing in Eugene's mind, unfolded a plan to 
 him. 
 
 " My dear fellow," said he, confidentially, 
 " I think you made a mistake in throwing 
 away that half-million francs. It doesn't 
 seem impossible that you should have your 
 legacy and your allowance restored and marry 
 my niece, for she certainly fancies you God 
 knows why! Now, Madame de Beauregard 
 can't live forever." 
 
 " Oh, yes, she will!" groaned Eugene. 
 " She is good for forty years yet. She will 
 live to bury all of us and be skipping around 
 here until she meets the fate of the old lady 
 who died at the age of one hundred and ten 
 of a fall from a cherry-tree." 
 
 " Well," said Monsieur de Latour, going 
 174
 
 JULIE'S LITTLE MISTAKE 
 
 closer and dropping his voice to a mysterious 
 whisper, " perhaps ahem! there are cer- 
 tain secrets of the heart it's rather embar- 
 rassing to speak of these things but it is 
 possible that I may become a candidate for 
 Madame de Beauregard's hand." 
 
 "Marry her, do you mean?" cried Eu- 
 gene, falling back in his chair. " Good 
 Heavens ! If I were in your place I would 
 rather marry a whole circus than my aunt. 
 Yet she is not a bad woman; but for pure 
 friskiness there never was anything like 
 her." 
 
 " I agree with you perfectly, but I am a 
 little frisky myself. Now, I have a proposi- 
 tion to make to you. Suppose you and I go 
 to Paris for a week with the express purpose 
 of having a little lark of the sort Madame de 
 Beauregard would like. I believe it would 
 certainly end in her restoring your legacy and 
 allowance, and might ahem ! incline her 
 favourably to listen to the proposition which I 
 am contemplating making her. If only Gen- 
 eral Granier, with that infernal leg of his, 
 were out of the way! But she seems never 
 175
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 tired of listening to stories of what he can do 
 with that leg shoot rabbits, play cards, and 
 actually play the piano with it. And he 
 eighty years of age if he is a day ! That man 
 and Madame de Beauregard have found the 
 fountain of eternal youth and friskiness." 
 
 " But Melanie? " asked Eugene anxiously. 
 " She is devoted to me now; but if I should 
 spend such a week in Paris as you desire I 
 am sure she would never speak to me." 
 
 " Oh, yes, she would ! She would have the 
 pleasure of reforming you again, and that is 
 a joy which a woman cannot repeat too often. 
 No, my dear fellow, don't think that for a 
 moment. Go down on your knees to Me- 
 lanie, tell her you are sorry for what you have 
 done, then get up and do it again. That's 
 what women all like." 
 
 There was something enticing to Eugene in 
 all this, and after an hour's urgent represen- 
 tation he finally consented to make the visit to 
 Paris with Monsieur de Latour. That night 
 at dinner Monsieur de Latour announced 
 their intended excursion. 
 
 " And I promise you," he said significantly 
 176
 
 JULIE'S LITTLE MISTAKE 
 
 to Madame de Beauregard, who sat at his 
 right, " that when we come back we shall 
 have some tales to tell ! " 
 
 " I do hope so," piously ejaculated Ma- 
 dame de Beauregard. 
 
 177
 
 VII 
 
 A MERRY WEEK IN PARIS 
 
 'NE week from the day that Mon- 
 sieur de Latour and Eugene 
 left for Paris they were sitting 
 in Monsieur de Latour's study 
 in the Chateau of Montplaisir, absolute 
 wrecks of their former selves. Monsieur de 
 Latour was the colour of a mustard plaster, his 
 eyes were bloodshot, his hand trembled, and 
 as he lay back in an arm-chair he seemed 
 scarcely able to raise his head. Eugene, sit- 
 ting at the other end of the room, leaned for- 
 ward, supporting his aching head upon his 
 shaking hands. At intervals a long, shudder- 
 ing sigh burst from him, which was answered 
 by a loud groan from Monsieur de Latour. 
 Presently Eugene spoke in a scarcely audible 
 voice : 
 
 178
 
 A MERRY WEEK IN PARIS 
 
 " I wouldn't spend such another week as 
 the last for half a million francs." 
 
 " And I," groaned Monsieur de Latour 
 from the other end of the room, " would give 
 half a million francs for another head and a 
 new stomach." 
 
 There was a silence after this, broken by 
 Eugene saying in a sepulchral voice, " Oh, 
 my head! " 
 
 To which Monsieur de Latour responded 
 in tones of agony, " Oh, my head! " 
 
 Then there was a longer silence still. 
 
 " Do you know how much it cost? " asked 
 Eugene. 
 
 " No," replied Monsieur de Latour. " All 
 I know is I used up all the cheques in my 
 cheque-book, and when I got to the station 
 here I didn't have enough money to pay the 
 cabman to bring us to the chateau." And he 
 groaned dismally. 
 
 While they sat in gloom and miserable si- 
 lence the door suddenly flew open and in 
 bounced Madame de Beauregard, carrying a 
 newspaper in her hand. 
 
 " Oh, you two darlings! " she cried, blow- 
 179
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 ing a kiss to Monsieur de Latour and throw- 
 ing her arm around Eugene's aching head, 
 "how delightfully you have been behaving! 
 It has been in the newspapers for three days 
 past. I was so pleased that I made Monsieur 
 Bertoux not only make me a new will, but 
 directed him to pay to my nephew's credit in 
 bank one-half of his legacy, that is, two hun- 
 dred and fifty thousand francs, in cash." 
 
 Eugene felt feebly in his pocket. 
 
 " Yes, I believe I did get a letter or some- 
 thing from Monsieur Bertoux, but I was not 
 in a state to understand it exactly. Here it 
 is." 
 
 He took the letter out and read it a brief 
 communication saying that Monsieur Bertoux 
 had, by the direction of Madame de Beaure- 
 gard, placed two hundred and fifty thousand 
 francs to Eugene's credit at his Paris bank- 
 er's. 
 
 " And now," cried Madame de Beaure- 
 gard, shaking him, " aren't you perfectly de- 
 lighted? " 
 
 Eugene shook his head dolefully. 
 
 " If you had my head! " he replied. 
 1 80
 
 A MERRY WEEK IN PARIS 
 
 Madame de Beauregard shrieked with 
 laughter at this. 
 
 " And how about your head, monsieur? " 
 she asked of Monsieur de Latour. 
 
 " It feels about the size of the Eiffel 
 Tower," gasped Monsieur de Latour. 
 
 This delighted the old lady still more. 
 
 " Now," she cried, " I will tell you what 
 the newspapers say. It is all about your visit 
 to the races. They say that the two of you 
 went out, escorting nineteen ballet-girls, and 
 before you left you had paid for one hundred 
 and twenty-seven bottles of champagne, and 
 that two of the young ladies he ! he ! gave 
 you, monsieur, a footbath in champagne 
 ha! ha!" 
 
 " They took off my shoes and stockings, 
 and before they got through I was wet to my 
 shirt with champagne." 
 
 " Why, that almost makes me fall in love 
 with you! And then the police came 
 along " 
 
 " I wish they had come before," murmured 
 Eugene sadly. 
 
 " and tried to arrest you, and the ballet- 
 181
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 girls smuggled you and Eugene out of the 
 way, and you jumped into a twenty-thousand- 
 franc racing machine " 
 
 " It cost me thirty thousand francs before 
 I got through with it," interjected Monsieur 
 de Latour. 
 
 " and ran it into a ditch, and smashed the 
 machine all to bits, and you fought the po- 
 lice " 
 
 "Look at the back of my neck!" said 
 Monsieur de Latour, displaying a number of 
 bumps and bruises. 
 
 " and got yourselves arrested, and by 
 some sort of hocus-pocus " 
 
 " It was ten thousand francs' worth of 
 hocus-pocus," said Eugene in a tired voice. 
 
 " managed to go free. And you sat up 
 all the next night playing cards and losing 
 money " 
 
 " We did that for six nights," replied 
 Monsieur de Latour, " and we weren't play- 
 ing cards all the time. I lost twelve thousand 
 francs on a bet that more flies would alight 
 on my lump of sugar than on another man's. 
 But we played cards, too." 
 182
 
 A MERRY WEEK IN PARIS 
 
 " In short," cackled the old lady, " you 
 must have had a most delightful week." 
 
 This remark was received in melancholy 
 silence. After a pause Monsieur de Latour 
 said wearily: 
 
 " It seems to me about ten weeks since we 
 left this place for Paris." 
 
 " And remember," cried Madame de 
 Beauregard, chucking Monsieur de Latour 
 under the chin, " that's the kind of a life you 
 will be expected to lead all the time if I con- 
 clude to marry you." 
 
 At which Monsieur de Latour shook his 
 head in a manner which did not indicate un- 
 mitigated joy at the prospect. 
 
 "And," continued Madame de Beaure- 
 gard merrily, " you have succeeded in making 
 General Granier insanely jealous. He hasn't 
 money to go the pace as you do in fact, he 
 never had. He makes no secret of his deter- 
 mination to run you out of the field, because 
 Granier, poor angel, really wants to marry me." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour at that moment would 
 have run out of the field without any assist- 
 ance whatever from General Granier.
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 Madame de Beauregard remained half an 
 hour longer in the company of her host and 
 her nephew, getting the particulars of what 
 she called their charming week in Paris out of 
 the two unfortunates. Every detail of agony 
 they gave delighted her more and more. 
 Their encounters with the police, their sleep- 
 less nights and exciting days, their expedi- 
 tions, their falls into gutters and being 
 dragged out again, their encounters with cab- 
 men and chauffeurs, ballet-dancers and the 
 like, gave her exquisite pleasure, and when 
 she skipped out it was with the assurance to 
 Monsieur de Latour that she really felt her- 
 self falling in love with him, and was afraid 
 to stay longer for fear she should kiss him 
 against his will. 
 
 As she left the room a servant appeared 
 with a message from Louis, which was de- 
 livered with much hesitation. It was a re- 
 quest that Monsieur de Latour should wait 
 upon him in the saloon. 
 
 " Go to the devil! " was Monsieur de La- 
 tour's response. 
 
 In a few minutes Louis appeared, and go- 
 184
 
 A MERRY WEEK IN PARIS 
 
 ing up to the great chair where Monsieur 
 de Latour, as limp as a rag, lay, said to him 
 in a voice of stern reproof: 
 
 " My dear Victor, your conduct in Paris 
 is known to me, and I have not language 
 strong enough to condemn it. What do you 
 suppose my feelings are, as your uncle, when 
 I hear of these outrageous performances, 
 dragging the name of De Latour into the 
 newspapers, and misconducting yourself in 
 general? " 
 
 Monsieur de Latour felt very ill and dis- 
 inclined to exert himself, but the tone of ad- 
 monition on Louis's part roused the old gen- 
 tleman to a pitch of great anger. 
 
 " Come, now, young man," he bawled, 
 " you may stop this tomfoolery. Whatever I 
 have done, I don't choose to be corrected by a 
 youngster like yourself." 
 
 " Remember," replied Louis in a voice of 
 awful warning, " I am your uncle." 
 
 "The devil you are! Well, uncle or no 
 uncle, I propose to do as I like, and if I please 
 to have a little lark in Paris " 
 
 " A little lark! " Louis threw his hands up. 
 13 185
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 " in conjunction with my young friend, 
 De Contiac, here, who, I must say, incited me 
 to most of the gaieties in which we indulged, 
 I shall do it without any reference to you or 
 anybody else." 
 
 At this poor Eugene raised his pallid face 
 from his hands, in which it had sunk, and said 
 in a sepulchral voice : 
 
 " 7 incited you to gaieties? " 
 
 " Well, well," answered Monsieur de La- 
 tour testily, " it doesn't make any difference 
 we incited each other." 
 
 " I wish I could believe you," said Louis, 
 " but I am sure that you were chiefly respon- 
 sible. As a result of your improper conduct, 
 your niece, Mademoiselle Melanie, is in the 
 very deepest distress, chiefly on account of 
 Monsieur de Contiac's share in your per- 
 formances, and she demands an interview, 
 a final one, with Monsieur de Contiac. She 
 awaits you," continued Louis, turning to Eu- 
 gene, " in the saloon with Mademoiselle 
 Cheri." 
 
 Eugene tried to rise from his chair, but 
 sank back exhausted. 
 
 186
 
 A MERRY WEEK IN PARIS 
 
 " I can't move," he said. " I thought I 
 would never reach the chateau alive. I be- 
 lieve three days more of the racket would 
 have killed me." 
 
 " Then," promptly said Louis, " Made- 
 moiselle Melanie and Mademoiselle Cheri 
 will no doubt come to you here when they 
 know the circumstances." 
 
 At this poor Eugene absolutely burst into 
 tears, while Louis, ringing the bell, directed 
 the servant to request Mademoiselle Cheri 
 and Mademoiselle Melanie to do him the 
 favour of coming to Monsieur de Latour's 
 study. While awaiting them Louis improved 
 the occasion by lecturing Monsieur de Latour 
 on the impropriety of his conduct, a proceed- 
 ing which lashed Monsieur de Latour to fury. 
 
 In a few minutes Mademoiselle Cheri ap- 
 peared with Melanie. The poor girl was dis- 
 solved in tears, and it was a pitiable sight as 
 she sank into a chair near Eugene, both of 
 them weeping bitterly. Between her sobs 
 Melanie could only say, " All is over between 
 us all is over between us." 
 
 u But he has two hundred and fifty thou- 
 187
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 sand francs, mademoiselle," put in Louis, 
 whose goodness of heart made him wish to 
 befriend the unhappy lovers. " Monsieur 
 Bertoux, who secretly sympathises with you, 
 induced Madame de Beauregard to let him 
 deposit the money to your credit in bank. 
 The old lady was so pleased with your indis- 
 cretions, monsieur, and so confident you 
 would never reform, that she directed Mon- 
 sieur Bertoux to do it, so you may reform and 
 have the two hundred and fifty thousand 
 francs as well." 
 
 " He will never reform," wailed Melanie, 
 " and we must part. O Eugene, how could 
 you be guilty of such wickedness? " 
 
 For answer Eugene could only sob and 
 point his finger at Monsieur de Latour. The 
 presence of Mademoiselle Cheri was pecu- 
 liarly unpleasant to Monsieur de Latour at 
 that moment. She was entirely too outspoken, 
 and she proceeded on the spot to treat Mon- 
 sieur de Latour to what ladies call giving a 
 man a piece of their minds. 
 
 " Monsieur," she said severely, " no one 
 can approve of your conduct in Paris. I 
 188
 
 A MERRY WEEK IN PARIS 
 
 thought I knew the extent to which folly 
 would lead you, but I never dreamed of any- 
 thing like your preposterous behaviour during 
 the past week. You have brought great dis- 
 tress upon your niece and mortification upon 
 all your friends." 
 
 This was too much for Monsieur de La- 
 tour. It was bad enough to be hectored over 
 by Louis, but by Seline Cheri, a soap-boiler's 
 daughter ! He struggled to his feet. 
 
 " Mademoiselle," he replied in a tone of 
 equal severity, " I think I understand the ani- 
 mus from which you speak. You have per- 
 haps observed that the Comtesse de Beaure- 
 gard looks upon me with an eye of favour, 
 and you probably disapprove of it." 
 
 " Quite so," answered Mademoiselle Cheri 
 frankly. 
 
 "Ah! Perhaps you recall the time, ma- 
 demoiselle, when I was an aspirant for your 
 own hand." 
 
 " Yes," replied Mademoiselle Cheri, " and 
 I will say to you, now that we are both old 
 enough to speak frankly, that but for the ob- 
 ligation I felt to take care of my father in his 
 189
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 declining years, I might have married you, 
 Victor de Latour. You were then a worthy 
 and estimable citizen, a good man and an 
 excellent soap-boiler. If you had continued 
 as such the time might have come when both 
 of us, remembering our early association and 
 feeling the need of friendship and compan- 
 ionship in our old age, would have married; 
 but it is impossible now." 
 
 " Thank you, mademoiselle," replied 
 Monsieur de Latour in a rage. " The pain 
 of my rejection is very much mitigated by 
 the fact that I have not made you an offer." 
 
 " I know it," calmly answered Mademoi- 
 selle Cheri. " We are speaking plainly, as 
 plain people like ourselves do speak, and 
 your fine-gentleman airs sit ridiculously on 
 you, Victor." 
 
 This further enraged Monsieur de Latour 
 so much that he whirled around and plumped 
 himself down into a chair, almost turning 
 his back upon Mademoiselle Cheri, who re- 
 mained placid though disapproving. 
 
 A long and painful silence ensued, which 
 became so intolerable to Monsieur de Latour 
 190
 
 A MERRY WEEK IN PARIS 
 
 that he suddenly jumped up and rushed out of 
 the room and into the saloon. As he opened 
 the door General Granier arose. Instead of 
 his usual gay and cordial greeting, General 
 Granier bowed stiffly and said: 
 
 " I am calling upon Madame de Beaure- 
 gard." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour was in no state to re- 
 member the amenities of social life. He fell, 
 rather than sank, into a chair, and stretching 
 his legs out, ran his hands through his already 
 rumpled hair, and then, forgetting General 
 Granier's presence, said to himself: 
 
 " My head is very bad, and my stomach 
 is worse, but those ballet-girls were pretty." 
 
 " You appear to plume yourself," said 
 General Granier stiffly, " upon your perform- 
 ances in Paris last week. Let me tell you, 
 my dear sir, they were not a patch upon what 
 I used to do in the year '60." 
 
 "Oh, nonsense!" answered Monsieur de 
 Latour. " You never had such a week in 
 your life as I have had." 
 
 " Do you mean to impugn my word, mon- 
 sieur? " asked General Granier, advancing 
 191
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 and putting his right hand into his trousers 
 pocket, and at the same time lifting up his 
 right leg, which was a habit of his. 
 
 " Come, now," said Monsieur de Latour, 
 shying off, " I don't like you to lift that leg 
 up that way at me. It's a gun, and I know 
 it, and it might be loaded." 
 
 " I always keep it loaded," snapped Gen- 
 eral Granier, " and if you wish to know just 
 how effective it is, observe that flower-pot 
 across the room." 
 
 He whirled around on his left leg, and 
 lifting his right one at an angle of forty-five 
 degrees, clicked the trigger in his pocket. 
 The next instant the flower-pot tumbled over, 
 smashed into bits. 
 
 " There, now," cried Monsieur de La- 
 tour, edging away, " I knew you were going 
 to do something of the kind. I think you 
 ought to be reported to the police for carry- 
 ing that thing loaded all the time, and I am 
 not sure it is not my duty to report you." 
 
 General Granier, twirling his mustache, 
 backed out of the door. 
 
 " Monsieur de Latour," he said, " I don't 
 192
 
 'A MERRY WEEK IN PARIS 
 
 understand at all your language to me this 
 morning. I shall write you and ask a cate- 
 gorical explanation. Good morning !" And 
 he disappeared. 
 
 Monsieur de Latour, lying back in his 
 chair in much agitation, turned over in his 
 mind the meaning of General Granier's re- 
 marks. But while meditating a drowsiness 
 overcame him. He had not slept for a week, 
 and in a few minutes his loud snores, which 
 resembled the trumpeting of an elephant, re- 
 sounded through the great room. 
 
 Monsieur de Latour slept peacefully. The 
 morning grew to high noon, high noon to af- 
 ternoon, and Monsieur de Latour had just 
 begun to make up the arrears of sleep he had 
 lost in Paris. He was roused by a knock at 
 the door, and a footman entered with a note. 
 Monsieur de Latour, more asleep than awake, 
 drowsily opened it, but at the first word he 
 sat bolt upright and became thoroughly alert. 
 It was from General Granier, and ran thus : 
 
 ' MONSIEUR VICTOR Louis DE LATOUR : 
 
 "I demand an explanation of your language to me this 
 morning, and if the explanation is not forthcoming I shall 
 
 193
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 insist upon that satisfaction which one gentleman accords 
 another. I am, sir, etc., 
 
 "AucusTE GRANIER." 
 
 " Now, what the devil does that mean? " 
 said Monsieur de Latour, reading the note 
 over. 
 
 " It means," cried Julie's voice from behind 
 his shoulder, " that General Granier wants 
 you to fight him." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour glanced up. Julie 
 had entered noiselessly, and holding up her 
 dainty skirts, was peering over his shoulder 
 and reading the note in his hand. 
 
 " He will be very much disappointed, 
 then," replied Monsieur de Latour promptly. 
 " I haven't the slightest notion of fighting 
 him or anybody else. I am a peaceable, law- 
 abiding citizen, and I don't propose to shed 
 the blood of a fellow-citizen, or let anybody 
 shed mine, if I can help it. So I shall im- 
 mediately write General Granier." 
 
 "Won't you let me write it for you?" 
 asked Julie artlessly, apparently in entire 
 unconsciousness of the awful consequences 
 which the note might involve. 
 194
 
 A MERRY WEEK IN PARIS 
 
 " No ! " thundered Monsieur de Latour, 
 " you have written enough notes for me. I 
 shall write this myself." 
 
 Julie ran and fetched pen and ink, put 
 them on the table, and Monsieur de Latour 
 drew his chair up to it and attempted to write, 
 but it was impossible. That week in Paris 
 had upset his hand as much as it had his head 
 and his stomach. He could not form a single 
 letter. 
 
 " There," he cried, throwing down the 
 pen, " you will have to write it for me, but 
 be sure you don't make any mistakes." 
 
 " I shall take the greatest care," sweetly 
 replied Julie. 
 
 Then she wrote, Monsieur de Latour dic- 
 tating slowly : 
 
 "GENERAL AUGUSTE GRANIER, 
 
 " MONSIEUR : 
 
 "I have received your letter, which I do not compre- 
 hend in the least ; but I beg you will understand one 
 point distinctly, and it is this that I will not fight you, 
 and this resolution will hold in any event. All arrange- 
 ments between us must conform to that understanding. 
 In this I am acting according to my conscience. I shall be 
 glad to hear from you further, and meanwhile I am, etc., 
 " VICTOR Louis DE LATOUR." 
 195
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 " Now," said Monsieur de Latour to Julie, 
 " make me a copy of that document and be 
 very exact." 
 
 " I will," responded Julie with her usual 
 promptness. 
 
 And with many nibblings at the end of her 
 pen, crossings out and interlineations, she 
 finally succeeded in producing two fair copies 
 of the letter exactly alike. 
 
 " And now let me read it," said Monsieur 
 de Latour. 
 
 His vision was blurred, however, and his 
 head muddled by the events of the past week 
 in Paris, and the letter appeared to him ex- 
 actly what he desired. 
 
 " Very well," he said with an accent of 
 relief, "you may send it off, and I am going 
 to bed. It is three o'clock, and I don't wish 
 to be disturbed until ten o'clock to-morrow 
 morning." 
 
 Before retiring to his room, however, Mon- 
 sieur de Latour had Julie address and seal 
 the letter to General Granier, and gave it him- 
 self to the footman. Ten minutes afterward 
 he was snoring peacefully in his bedroom, 
 196
 
 A MERRY WEEK IN PARIS 
 
 every shade drawn, the room as dark as night, 
 and he, as he said, with the arrears of six sleep- 
 less nights to make up. 
 
 In another room in the chateau was poor 
 Eugene de Contiac, but there was no sleep 
 for him. In addition to his mental perturba- 
 tion, be became violently ill, and had to pay 
 dearly for the champagne and cigars of the 
 week in Paris. Louis de Latour, with old 
 Suzette to assist him, stood by and adminis- 
 tered well-known remedies, consoling and 
 encouraging the unfortunate Eugene. At in- 
 tervals of an hour or two Madame de Beaure- 
 gard would flounce in, cackling with rapture, 
 and declare to Eugene that his physical con- 
 dition showed that he had spent exactly such 
 a week in Paris as a man should spend. 
 
 Eugene kept old Suzette trotting to Me- 
 lanie's room, to ask how the dear girl stood 
 the recent developments in his conduct, and 
 after every inquiry old Suzette came back 
 with a doleful tale of Mademoiselle Melanie 
 weeping and wringing her hands and declar- 
 ing that she and Eugene must part forever. 
 197
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 At this Eugene wept copiously, which very 
 much increased his mental and physical 
 agony. There was no sleep for him that 
 night. He lay awake, groaning and sighing, 
 and telling Louis, as long as he would listen, 
 that such a week in Paris was dear at any 
 price. Even if that price were two hundred 
 and fifty thousand francs. 
 
 The next morning at nine o'clock Mon- 
 sieur de Latour was still slumbering peace- 
 fully when a tremendous rap was heard at his 
 door. He mumbled a sleepy " Come in," and 
 Louis entered. Monsieur de Latour had not 
 adopted the modern fashions in men's attire 
 for the night, and still clung to a huge cam- 
 bric nightgown and a nightcap with a tassel 
 at the top of it. It was this figure, sitting up 
 in bed, which greeted Louis. 
 
 " My dear Victor," said Louis sternly, 
 " see what further trouble you have been 
 getting yourself into ! Here is a letter which 
 I have just taken the liberty of opening and 
 reading." 
 
 "Opening and reading my letters!" 
 roared Monsieur de Latour. 
 198
 
 A MERRY WEEK IN PARIS 
 
 " Certainly. After this I shall not only in- 
 sist upon reading such letters of yours as 
 come, but those that you write as well. My 
 dear boy, you are not to be trusted that is 
 the state of the case." 
 
 Louis, throwing open the shutters and let- 
 ting in the morning sun, handed the open 
 letter to Monsieur de Latour to read. But 
 again his shaking hand and uncertain vision 
 prevented him, and Louis had to read the 
 letter to him. It was from a representative of 
 General Granier and read thus: 
 
 " MONSIEUR VICTOR Louis DE LATOUR: 
 
 "I am directed by my friend, General Granier, to in- 
 form you that he has received your letter of the twentieth 
 of August containing your challenge ; and I beg to say 
 that I shall be glad to meet any appointment that you 
 may make with a friend of yours to arrange the details of 
 the meeting. Believe me, sir, with sentiments of the 
 highest respect, Very truly yours, 
 
 "]EAN LE GALLIAN." 
 
 " But I didn't send him any challenge ! " 
 cried Monsieur de Latour. " Here is an ex- 
 act copy of the note I sent General Granier." 
 
 He drew from under his pillow the fair 
 199
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 copy which Julie had made him and handed 
 it to Louis, who read it aloud carefully. 
 When he came to the part in which Monsieur 
 de Latour had instructed Julie to write " I 
 will not fight," that young person had fallen 
 into her usual mistake. One word was left 
 out, only a little word, but it was " not," and 
 it made Monsieur de Latour say " I will 
 fight you, and this resolution will hold in any 
 event." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour fell back on his pil- 
 lows. 
 
 " I know what she will say," he said, with 
 the calmness of despair; " that ' it was only 
 one word, and such a little one ! ' Great 
 God!" 
 
 " There is no way out of it," said Louis 
 meditatively, " and besides that, as a member 
 of the house of De Latour you must live up 
 to our traditions. You must fight." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour remained silent for a 
 full minute. 
 
 " But I sha'n't fight ! " he announced. " I 
 have made up my mind not to, and I am not 
 easily changed." 
 
 200
 
 A MERRY WEEK IN PARIS 
 
 " But you must, my dear boy. As the head 
 of the house I must insist that you shall do it." 
 
 " You may insist all you like, but I 
 sha'n't." 
 
 " General Granier, as the challenged party, 
 has the privilege of selecting weapons. I 
 think it extremely likely that he will require 
 that you will use a weapon fired with the leg, 
 as he can do." 
 
 " Very well. I can fire just as well with 
 my leg as I can with my arm, but I don't in- 
 tend to fire at General Granier, nor to allow 
 him to fire at me." 
 
 " Such language is most unbecoming the 
 name you bear, and I wish to say that, out of 
 regard for the honour of our family, I shall 
 take the matter in my own hands and will 
 act as your second and arrange the details of 
 the meeting," replied Louis. 
 
 Monsieur de Latour turned over in bed and 
 pulled the covers up so that only the top of 
 his nightcap was visible. 
 
 " Will you kindly draw the shade down," 
 he said, " and leave me in peace? If General 
 Granier wants to fight me, he will have to 
 14 201
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 come into this bedroom, for I have no inten- 
 tion of leaving it." 
 
 " You do not appear to appreciate the se- 
 riousness of the situation," said Louis, " nor 
 the point of honour involved." 
 
 " Be careful to shut the door after you," 
 answered Monsieur de Latour, " and don't let 
 them bother me with any breakfast. The 
 bottom of my stomach has dropped out com- 
 pletely and I can't eat anything, but I should 
 like a little cognac and water at ten o'clock." 
 
 Louis gazed at him meditatively. 
 
 " You might as well lie here and sleep," 
 he said. " Your hand seems to be pretty 
 shaky, anyhow. I am sorry the chances are 
 so against you, not being able to hold a 
 weapon steady nor to see clearly." 
 
 " That makes not the least difference," 
 said Monsieur de Latour, drawing the covers 
 up still higher. " I am not going to fight. 
 Good morning." 
 
 " At least," Louis urged, " you will have 
 to be at the place of meeting. That I shall 
 see to myself." 
 
 " You must then provide a wheeled chair," 
 202
 
 A MERRY WEEK IN PARIS 
 
 said Monsieur de Latour coolly, " because 
 you will never get me there any other way 
 likewise handcuffs and leg irons." 
 
 " You will be there," said Louis deter- 
 minedly, pulling down the shade and closing 
 the door after him. 
 
 Monsieur de Latour, left alone in silence 
 and darkness, began to revolve things in his 
 mind. He had determined upon one thing, 
 and that was to discharge Julie. Fascinating 
 though she was, that unfortunate peculiarity 
 of hers of always leaving out one word 
 small, it is true, but vital, and always bring- 
 ing about a catastrophe made her not only 
 useless but exceedingly dangerous. 
 
 He had not mentioned to Louis the method 
 of preventing the affair which had promptly 
 flashed into his mind. He would simply in- 
 form the police. And then, turning over in 
 bed, he slumbered peacefully until about 
 three o'clock, when he was again roused by 
 Louis's entrance. 
 
 " It is all settled," said Louis cheerfully. 
 " The meeting will take place to-morrow 
 morning, at seven o'clock, in the wood that 
 203
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 skirts the field a mile off by the side of the 
 old windmill. And just as I knew, General 
 Granier has selected as weapons a gun to be 
 fired with the foot. Of course it will be very 
 difficult for you, but I am familiar with fire- 
 arms, and I have rigged up a contrivance by 
 which you can fire a gun with your foot. 
 You might practise a little this afternoon, but 
 my experience is that practice before a duel 
 does no good, but simply is a tax upon the 
 nerves. And, as a matter of fact, I must say 
 to you, my dear Victor, that I don't think 
 you stand the least show of hitting General 
 Granier." 
 
 " I quite agree with you," replied Mon- 
 sieur de Latour. " Nothing would surprise 
 me more." 
 
 " And as for General Granier hitting you 
 well, I don't think that he means to kill 
 you, but I fancy that he means to inflict a 
 slight wound, perhaps leaving a mark upon 
 your scalp or taking the tip off your ear. But 
 one can never tell." And here Louis shook 
 his head dolefully. 
 
 Monsieur de Latour shivered a little at 
 204
 
 A MERRY WEEK IN PARIS 
 
 this; nevertheless he had his own reasons for 
 retaining his composure. 
 
 " At seven o'clock," he repeated, " in the 
 wood that skirts the field a mile off by the 
 side of the old windmill. Well, I sha'n't be 
 there." 
 
 " You will be there," answered Louis 
 firmly, " if I have, as you say, to provide a 
 rolling chair and leg irons and handcuffs ; but 
 be there you will, because you are a De La- 
 tour." 
 
 " Good afternoon," remarked Monsieur 
 de Latour, in the same voice in which he had 
 spoken in the morning. " Pull down the 
 shade and shut the door after you." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour was able to eat tfie 
 wing of a chicken that evening, and a little 
 boiled rice, brought up to him at dinner-time. 
 Before retiring for the night he had a couple 
 of alarm clocks placed in his room, set so as 
 to go off at five o'clock, for Monsieur de La- 
 tour had a scheme in his mind which he had 
 worked out during those long hours between 
 sleeping and waking that he had spent in his 
 room. 
 
 205
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 He had inquired about Eugene de Contiac 
 and had been told that the poor young man 
 was in the depths of physical and mental 
 agony, and unable to leave his bed. 
 
 Monsieur de Latour, having fixed upon his 
 plan of procedure, thought that he would 
 sleep soundly, but found himself mistaken. 
 
 206
 
 VIII 
 
 MARS AND CUPID 
 
 'O matter how fixed one's deter- 
 mination may be not to fight, 
 nor how promptly one means 
 to inform the police, in a case 
 like Monsieur de Latour's there are few men 
 who can sleep upon such a matter. Monsieur 
 de Latour was not one of them, and he lay 
 awake and pitched and tossed until five 
 o'clock. 
 
 For the first time a suspicion began to 
 steal upon him that he was, perhaps, better 
 off at Brionville, with his middle-class friends, 
 than at the Chateau of Montplaisir, with all 
 of the smart people he had got about him, and 
 with a semi-royal duke among the chateau's 
 visitors. Then came the thought of Made- 
 moiselle Cheri, quiet, middle-aged, middle- 
 207
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 class, like himself, and the remembrance 
 seemed strangely attractive. It was chased 
 away by the vision of the Comtesse de Beau- 
 regard and her kittenish old age, of the wild 
 set of untamed octogenarians by which she was 
 surrounded, and the prospect of leading a life 
 like that of the last week in Paris; and Mon- 
 sieur de Latour fell into a kind of panic. 
 
 " If I do get killed by that preposterous 
 old scapegrace with his outlandish leg," 
 thought Monsieur de Latour, " it will be the 
 fault of Madame de Beauregard. That 
 woman will have been my murderess. How- 
 ever, another week like the last in Paris I be- 
 lieve would kill me just as quickly as a bullet 
 from General Granier's leg. Nevertheless, 
 he won't get me to stand up and be shot at 
 he may be sure of that." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour, having dressed him- 
 self noiselessly in the first flush of the sum- 
 mer morning, crept downstairs with the quiet- 
 ness of a burglar bent on murder and arson, 
 and let himself out of a small side door. 
 
 He struck out at a smart gait for the town, 
 and making straight for the police station, 
 208
 
 MARS AND CUPID 
 
 entered and demanded to see the commissary. 
 He was informed that the commissary was at 
 home asleep, but the policeman on duty very 
 civilly offered to do what he could for Mon- 
 sieur de Latour. The policeman was a pleas- 
 ant-faced fellow of about twenty-five years of 
 age, entirely too young, so Monsieur de La- 
 tour determined, to be trusted with such a 
 serious affair as the present. He at once 
 plunged into the matter. 
 
 " Monsieur," he said, " I wish to have a 
 person, probably known to you, General 
 Granier, arrested for making threats against 
 my life." And then he poured out his story. 
 
 But either his mind had not yet recovered 
 from the strain of his week in Paris, or the 
 policeman was stupid, for after Monsieur de 
 Latour had talked straight ahead for twenty 
 minutes, rising and gesticulating, the police- 
 man appeared to be thoroughly confused. 
 
 " Do I understand, monsieur," the police- 
 man asked very politely, " that you demand 
 the arrest of General Granier without any 
 proof of the charges you make against him? 
 That, you must know, is quite impossible." 
 209
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 Monsieur de Latour sat down and mopped 
 his forehead. 
 
 " Do you mean to say," he asked, " that 
 General Granier is to be allowed to murder 
 me in cold blood? " 
 
 " Not at all, monsieur, but I don't quite 
 understand the state of affairs. You have sent 
 a challenge, so you tell me, to General 
 Granier." 
 
 " I never told you any such thing," bawled 
 Monsieur de Latour, jumping up from his 
 seat and walking up and down excitedly. 
 " It is General Granier who insists upon 
 fighting me that is to say, murdering me in 
 cold blood, as I told you. Now, I don't like 
 the idea, and I don't know any other man 
 who does, and I demand the assistance of the 
 law." 
 
 The policeman shook his head with a puz- 
 zled air, real or affected. 
 
 " If monsieur will return at nine o'clock, 
 the commissary will be here," he said, " and 
 will determine what to do." 
 
 " But I am to be shot at seven ! " cried 
 Monsieur de Latour. " That nephew of 
 210
 
 MARS AND CUPID 
 
 mine my uncle, that is " Here Monsieur 
 de Latour struck his forehead in agony and 
 bewilderment. "Good Heavens! what a 
 world this is ! When I call upon you to save 
 the life of a French citizen who is to be 
 shot at seven you tell me to wait till nine, 
 when the commissary will come. If you were 
 not a policeman I should call you a great 
 fool." 
 
 " Be careful," replied the policeman 
 angrily, " or you will find yourself under 
 arrest, monsieur, for abusing the police." 
 
 "Will I?" shouted Monsieur de Latour 
 joyfully. " Well, then, I wish to tell you that 
 I think you are the worst lot of rapscallions, 
 thieves, rogues, and liars on the face of the 
 earth. Now, arrest me if you like." 
 
 The policeman eyed Monsieur de Latour 
 critically. 
 
 " I think," he said, " you are a little off 
 your head." 
 
 " Then," promptly responded Monsieur 
 de Latour, " arrest me as a dangerous luna- 
 tic." 
 
 " I don't think you are dangerous at all," 
 211
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 replied the policeman, with the most exas- 
 perating calmness. 
 
 " I am," pleaded Monsieur de Latour, go- 
 ing up close to the policeman. " I am exceed- 
 ingly dangerous. Now, for all you know, 
 at this meeting with General Granier I may 
 be determined to kill him." 
 
 "What, with a rapier? You don't look 
 to me as if you would know a rapier when 
 you saw it." 
 
 " No, no, no ! We are to fight with guns 
 fired with our legs." 
 
 " Come, now," said the policeman sooth- 
 ingly, " you sit here quietly and I will tele- 
 phone to the Chateau of Montplaisir, where 
 you say you belong, and get your uncle to 
 come and fetch you." 
 
 With that the policeman rang up the tele- 
 phone. 
 
 " Don't, don't, for Heaven's sake ! " cried 
 Monsieur de Latour. " He would drag me 
 off to the meeting-place and hold me up to be 
 shot at." 
 
 But it was too late. The hour being early, 
 the policeman had got the chateau immedi- 
 212
 
 MARS AND CUPID 
 
 ately, and to Monsieur de Latour's horror he 
 heard the policeman's end of the conversation, 
 something like this : 
 
 " Yes, he's here, talks very wild, but seems 
 to be harmless. . . . You will be here imme- 
 diately? . . . Thanks, monsieur. . . . 
 Shall I order a rolling-chair? Certainly; 
 there is a place just across the street. . . . 
 Keep him here if I can? . . . Oh, yes, he 
 seems to be afraid to leave the station! . . . 
 That is all? ... Good morning, monsieur." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour knew well enough 
 what all this meant. He sat down and 
 sighed, and got up again and groaned. 
 
 " Your uncle will be here in a few min- 
 utes," said the policeman encouragingly, 
 " and says he has telephoned for a wheeled 
 chair to be here." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour, in a state of inde- 
 scribable anguish, determined to make a last 
 effort. 
 
 " See," he said to the policeman, " I am a 
 most desperate character. I am the gentle- 
 man you probably read of in the newspapers 
 last week in Paris. I am the person who took 
 213
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 the nineteen ballet-girls out to the races, and 
 we drank among us one hundred and twenty- 
 seven bottles of champagne that is, I paid 
 for one hundred and twenty-seven bottles 
 and smashed a twenty-thousand-franc auto- 
 mobile, and lost twelve thousand francs by 
 betting on flies, and did a great many other 
 things that I don't remember now. And I 
 am determined to kill General Granier ! " 
 Here Monsieur de Latour assumed an air 
 of fierceness entirely foreign to him, and 
 shouted: " I intend to have General Granier's 
 blood! Do you understand that? I mean 
 to kill him ! " 
 
 "Of course! of course! " replied the po- 
 liceman soothingly. " You couldn't do bet- 
 ter. Now, sit down quietly, and you can kill 
 him a great deal more comfortably when 
 your uncle comes." 
 
 " But I wish to kill him now," shouted 
 Monsieur de Latour, thinking his ruse had 
 succeeded. " I am to meet him at seven 
 o'clock in the wood on the edge of the field 
 near the old windmill." 
 
 With that Monsieur de Latour made a 
 214
 
 MARS AND CUPID 
 
 feint of going out of the door, and cannoned 
 against another policeman coming in to re- 
 lieve the one at the desk. A whispered con- 
 versation took place between the two, and 
 then Monsieur de Latour's enemy, as he had 
 begun to regard this smart-looking young 
 policeman, came out, and taking him by the 
 arm, said to him : 
 
 " Now, there is a wheeled chair at the 
 door. Suppose you get in it, and I will wheel 
 you about the town a little." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour hesitated for a mo- 
 ment and then joyfully consented. General 
 Granier could not possibly attack him under 
 the wing of a policeman. So, linking his arm 
 in that of the policeman, they went out of the 
 door, where they found a wheeled chair and 
 an attendant. The policeman whispered a 
 few words to the attendant, who went away 
 laughing, and then, Monsieur de Latour seat- 
 ing himself within the wheeled chair, the po- 
 liceman, with a grin almost as big as himself, 
 began to shove it along the street. 
 
 " I think," said Monsieur de Latour, over 
 his shoulder, " it will be just as well for us to 
 215
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 take a little tour around the town until about 
 eight o'clock. By that time General Granier 
 and his second will be tired of waiting, and 
 then it will be quite safe for me to go back 
 to the Chateau of Montplaisir. You can ar- 
 range to have both of us arrested, and I 
 should prefer, myself, to be incarcerated. It 
 is now only half-past six o'clock, so we can 
 take quite a pleasant jaunt. I am certainly 
 very much obliged to you for pushing me, 
 and hope you don't find me too heavy? " 
 
 " Not in the least," replied the policeman, 
 to whom every proposition of Monsieur de 
 Latour seemed agreeable. 
 
 " And whatever you do," added Monsieur 
 de Latour impressively, " don't take me any- 
 where near that wood. You see, my neph- 
 ew " 
 
 " I thought you said he was your uncle? " 
 
 " Oh, well, it doesn't make any difference 
 he will be there, and he wants me to fight I 
 He dragged me into this thing, and I don't 
 want to be at that place at that hour." 
 
 They were then on the outskirts of the 
 town, and Monsieur de Latour, who was not 
 216
 
 MARS AND CUPID 
 
 very familiar with the locality, pleased him- 
 self with the notion that they were going far- 
 ther and farther away from the dreaded spot 
 near the windmill. The policeman, who was 
 not very expert with wheeled chairs, bumped 
 Monsieur de Latour up and down consider- 
 ably, and once nearly jolted him out. 
 
 " Look here, my friend," said Monsieur de 
 Latour, turning around and eyeing the fellow, 
 who seemed to be enjoying the situation im- 
 mensely, " I had just as soon be shot by Gen- 
 eral Granier as to be thrown out of this chair 
 and have my neck broken." 
 
 " You see, monsieur," replied the police- 
 man suavely, " I am not used to playing 
 nursemaid for elderly gentlemen, but I am 
 doing the best I can." 
 
 Presently they came to a pleasant country 
 road which Monsieur de Latour remembered 
 to have seen in his drives about the place, but 
 what was his horror suddenly to find loom- 
 ing up before him in the vivid light of the 
 early morning a huge windmill. 
 
 " Take me away from here I " he cried to 
 the policeman. 
 
 15 217
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 But the policeman, suddenly putting on a 
 spurt, started the chair off at a dead run, jolt- 
 ing Monsieur de Latour most unmercifully 
 and making it quite impossible for him to get 
 out. His screams to stop were unheeded, and 
 in about five minutes' time he found himself 
 in the appointed place in the wood just on 
 the edge of the field. And, horror of horrors I 
 there was General Granier, with a very fierce- 
 looking gentleman in attendance, another 
 gentleman with a sinister box which revealed 
 his profession as a surgeon, and Louis de La- 
 tour. As soon as Louis caught sight of the 
 wheeled chair, which the policeman was trun- 
 dling along the road at a furious rate of speed, 
 he rushed forward and, clasping Monsieur de 
 Latour in his arms, cried : 
 
 " I knew, my dear nephew, you would not 
 disgrace the name you bear, and, like a true 
 De Latour, you would be on the spot to de- 
 fend your honour." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour, panting and ex- 
 hausted, was still more agitated by the 
 thought that he had escaped a broken neck 
 at the policeman's hands, only to become a 
 218
 
 MARS AND CUPID 
 
 target for General Granier's leg. He held on 
 firmly, however, to the sides of the chair, feel- 
 ing himself safer there than standing on his 
 feet. 
 
 " I told General Granier," continued 
 Louis, " that I felt sure some accident had 
 occurred which would merely delay your ar- 
 rival. I went to your room before six o'clock 
 and was puzzled by your disappearance, but 
 soon I was called up over the telephone and 
 discovered where you were. I thought it use- 
 less to come to the police station after you, 
 knowing that nothing would detain you from 
 this place at this hour." 
 
 Every man has in him some species of 
 courage, and Monsieur de Latour had enough 
 moral courage to own up to a lack of physical 
 courage. 
 
 " My dear Louis," he said, recovering 
 himself, " we may as well understand each 
 other. I never had the slightest idea of 
 standing up to be shot at by General Granier. 
 If he chooses to murder an innocent man sit- 
 ting here in a wheeled chair, he may do it I 
 am at his mercy but as for taking part in 
 219
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 a duel, nothing was further from my inten- 
 tion, and I said so all the time! " 
 
 Louis gazed at him meditatively. 
 
 " I think the presence of this policeman 
 has something to do with what you say," he 
 remarked, " but I believe we can easily stop 
 his mouth." 
 
 Louis came up to the policeman and looked 
 meaningly into his face, at which the police- 
 man, upon whose countenance a stupendous 
 grin was fixed, said : 
 
 " I sha'n't make any trouble, monsieur; but 
 I think it only fair to tell you that this is the 
 most bloodthirsty old gentleman I ever came 
 across in my life. He swore that he would 
 have General Granier's blood and meant to 
 kill him at all costs. I never saw a man in 
 all my days so bent on murder as this one is." 
 
 " You are an infernal " 
 
 Monsieur de Latour was going to say liar, 
 but it suddenly occurred to him that the po- 
 liceman had some justification for what he 
 said. 
 
 " Very well," he continued, tucking his 
 feet under him, " it makes no difference what 
 220
 
 MARS AND CUPID 
 
 I said perhaps I had a motive in it. But I 
 don't mean to fight I have said that from 
 the beginning, and I am not a man to say one 
 thing one day and another the next." 
 
 At that the fierce-looking person whom 
 Louis addressed as Major Le Gallian, ad- 
 vanced and said f reezingly to Louis : 
 
 " Monsieur, now that you have your prin- 
 cipal on the ground, is it not as well to begin 
 work?" 
 
 " No," promptly replied Monsieur de La- 
 tour. " You may not have heard what I said, 
 so I will repeat it for your benefit. I never 
 agreed to fight General Granier; I have no 
 grudge against him, and if he has one against 
 me I am willing to apologise. That is final." 
 
 Major Le Gallian stood at attention and 
 looked at Louis, as much as to say, " The 
 next move is yours." 
 
 General Granier, some distance off, was 
 making mysterious gyrations, with his right 
 leg lifted at an angle that would have de- 
 stroyed the equilibrium of most men, but 
 which he maintained with perfect ease. The 
 sight of him at that very moment was most 
 221
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 terrifying to Monsieur de Latour. Louis, 
 with an air of great perturbation, turned 
 again to Monsieur de Latour and began to 
 speak, but the latter, waving his hand, cut 
 him short. 
 
 " Not a word, not a word, my dear boy 
 my mind is made up and has been all the time." 
 
 " Do you mean to say," asked Louis 
 sternly, " that you do not intend to live up to 
 the courageous traditions of the house of De 
 Latour?" 
 
 " That is precisely what I don't mean to 
 do," promptly answered Monsieur de Latour. 
 " And to be perfectly frank with you, I would 
 rather be a live soap-boiler than a dead head 
 of the house of De Latour." 
 
 " Then I shall be obliged to disown you as 
 my nephew." 
 
 " I wish you would. It has bothered me 
 almost to death ever since the unlucky mis- 
 take was made by that pretty little rogue in 
 petticoats, Julie de Bresac that is if it was 
 a mistake at all." 
 
 To have a principal on the ground who 
 positively refuses to fight would be an em- 
 222
 
 MARS AND CUPID 
 
 barrassing situation for most men; but Louis, 
 with the air of a man who supposes that no 
 one has heard what has passed, turned to 
 Major Le Gallian. 
 
 " I think," he said, " that we may as well 
 begin measuring off the ground." 
 
 This took them off a little distance, and if 
 Monsieur de Latour had been experienced in 
 such matters he would have noticed that their 
 heads were uncommonly close together for 
 gentlemen engaged in such grim work, and 
 that both of them carefully avoided letting 
 their faces be seen. 
 
 Monsieur de Latour dived down in his 
 pockets, and, producing four twenty-franc 
 pieces, held them up to the policeman and 
 nodded anxiously. The policeman's grin 
 grew broader, if possible, and he nodded 
 back, and then, with a whirl that almost 
 pitched Monsieur de Latour head foremost 
 out of the wheeled chair, the policeman 
 started him off down the road at a gait that 
 would have put a professional sprinter to his 
 trumps. 
 
 Both Louis de Latour and Major Le Gal- 
 223
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 lian were keeping their backs to their prin- 
 cipals, so that the policeman got a good start 
 of them before they found that the bird had 
 flown. But General Granier had seen the 
 whole proceeding and, shouting, " Stop him ! 
 stop him ! " started off in chase. However, 
 his right leg, which was an excellent weapon, 
 was by no means sufficient as a motor, and 
 very much impeded his progress. And by 
 some strange fortuity neither Louis de La- 
 tour nor Major Le Gallian could be made to 
 heed the general's shouts and efforts to catch 
 the rapidly retreating wheeled chair. When 
 at last General Granier succeeded in attract- 
 ing their attention, and pointed down the 
 road, the wheeled chair had just turned the 
 corner of a thicket some distance off, and 
 both Louis and Major Le Gallian, looking 
 in an entirely opposite direction, declared 
 they saw no sign of Monsieur de Latour, 
 and could not imagine in what quarter he 
 had vanished. This infuriated General Gra- 
 nier, who, shaking his fist in the faces of 
 Major Le Gallian and Louis de Latour, 
 shrieked : 
 
 224
 
 MARS AND CUPID 
 
 " You have tricked me and played with 
 me. Was ever a gentleman so treated be- 
 fore ? I demand satisfaction of both of you." 
 
 Louis and Major Le Gallian were pro- 
 fuse in apologies, and Louis undertook to ex- 
 plain and apologise for Monsieur de Latour's 
 conduct. 
 
 " You see, my dear general," he said, 
 " after all, my nephew is but a soap-boiler, 
 and how absurd it is to expect a soap-boiler 
 to have a sense of noblesse oblige. I apologise 
 for him, and if you insist oh fighting, I will 
 cheerfully take my nephew's place." 
 
 " I do insist on fighting," screamed 
 General Granier, snapping his false teeth 
 viciously. 
 
 But here Major Le Gallian interfered. 
 
 " I can't permit this," he protested. " The 
 proceedings this morning have been so irregu- 
 lar that it is impossible they can be taken 
 seriously, and they cannot be carried further." 
 
 " At all events," said Louis, with a bow 
 
 to General Granier, " the gallantry shown by 
 
 you, monsieur, is worthy of your name and 
 
 military rank. I shall have great pleasure in 
 
 225
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 testifying to it, particularly in the presence of 
 my nephew, whose conduct I deplore, and in 
 that of the Comtesse de Beauregard, who, as 
 you know, is a great admirer of spirit in a 
 man. I am inclined to think that my nephew 
 has lost whatever chance he had of winning 
 Madame de Beauregard's hand." 
 
 A sudden change came over General Gra- 
 nier's wizened old face. 
 
 "Do you think so?" asked he, stroking 
 his mustache. 
 
 " I certainly do," responded Louis. " And 
 I may say to you that there are other gen- 
 tlemen whom I might name that come much 
 nearer Madame de Beauregard's ideas of a 
 man than my nephew, worthy as he is, and 
 admirable in his own province of soap-boil- 
 ing. I hope, monsieur, that matters may be 
 arranged so that our former pleasant rela- 
 tions may be resumed, and that I may have 
 the pleasure of seeing you at the Chateau of 
 Montplaisir, especially during Madame de 
 Beauregard's stay there." 
 
 General Granier, smiling like a May morn- 
 ing, replied: 
 
 226
 
 MARS AND CUPID 
 
 " I am perfectly willing, monsieur, to 
 be reconciled to Monsieur de Latour, and 
 any arrangement which Major Le Gallian 
 makes will be agreeable to me. I need 
 scarcely say that I am without malice in the 
 affair." 
 
 Louis and Major Le Gallian retired a few 
 yards off, and Louis whispered in Major Le 
 Gallian's ear : 
 
 " We can have a great deal of amusement 
 still out of the old gentleman, so you had bet- 
 ter arrange to bring him up to the chateau to 
 dinner to-night, and come yourself." 
 
 Major Le Gallian, whose countenance 
 had been hitherto unmoved, winked and 
 grinned in reply, and then, turning to Gen- 
 eral Granier, announced gravely that every- 
 thing had been settled to his entire satisfac- 
 tion, and that he had accepted an invitation 
 for both his principal and himself to dine at 
 the chateau that night 
 
 Meanwhile, the doctor, sitting with his 
 back against a tree, had fallen asleep. Major 
 Le Gallian, going up to him, shook him vigor- 
 ously and shouted in his ear: 
 227
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 " Get up. The whole thing has been ar- 
 ranged, and not a shot has been fired." 
 
 " Eh? " cried the doctor, jumping up, " so 
 nothing happened, after all? Well, I am 
 very much disappointed that's all I can say 
 for I really hoped to have had some inter- 
 esting professional experiences." 
 
 And then, taking up his gruesome-looking 
 case, he disconsolately followed Major Le 
 Gallian and General Granier down the road 
 to where their carriage awaited them. The 
 cabman, who had also fallen asleep on his 
 box, seemed equally disappointed when he 
 found his patrons had escaped without death 
 or even injury. 
 
 228
 
 IX 
 
 THE ROGUISH LITTLE BLIND BOY LAUGHS 
 LAST 
 
 BOUT a half hour later a cab and 
 a wheeled chair both appeared 
 before the entrance of the Cha- 
 teau of Montplaisir. Louis de 
 Latour jumped out of the cab while Mon- 
 sieur de Latour scrambled out of the wheeled 
 chair. The four gold pieces slipped into the 
 policeman's hand increased still further his 
 colossal grin, but it was nothing to the air of 
 pleasure and relief which Monsieur de La- 
 tour wore. He took Louis by the arm, and 
 the two marched into the room known as 
 Monsieur de Latour's study. 
 
 " I have thought it all over," said Mon- 
 sieur de Latour, sitting down in a chair and 
 putting his hands on his knees, " and I know 
 what to do." 
 
 229
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 " What do you mean? " asked Louis. 
 
 " Why, the whole business, marrying and 
 the rest of it. I am not going to marry Ma- 
 dame de Beauregard. That woman is too 
 much for me." 
 
 " So everybody knows," remarked Louis. 
 
 " In fact, I would rather stand up and be 
 shot at by General Granier's leg than marry 
 Madame de Beauregard, with the life she 
 would lead me. And as for a pretty young 
 girl like Julie, that unfortunate peculiarity 
 she has of always leaving out one word in 
 everything she writes and getting one word 
 twisted in everything she tells is very annoy- 
 ing. So I have abandoned all idea of marry- 
 ing her. Perhaps she might take you." 
 
 Louis assumed a reflective air. 
 
 " I think," he said, " I could break her of 
 that unfortunate habit, as you call it, which 
 she has," and at the same moment he took a 
 dainty note out of his pocket. 
 
 It was in Julie's expansive handwriting, 
 but there was not a single word left out, and 
 it was expressed with the utmost clearness and 
 precision. 
 
 230
 
 THE BLIND BOY LAUGHS LAST 
 
 " I shall venture to read it to you," said 
 Louis. " I don't think that Mademoiselle de 
 Bresac will be offended with me." And he 
 read: 
 
 "I have just had your note. Nothing would induce 
 me to marry any one except you. If my aunt and Mon- 
 sieur de Latour will not give their consent, then we can 
 wait ; but I am always, until I die, your own 
 
 " JULIE DE C. DE BRESAC." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour listened attentively. 
 
 " Now, if she had been as clear and busi- 
 nesslike as that in what she wrote for me, I 
 would have been perfectly satisfied." 
 
 " Possibly she did not understand so well 
 what you wished her to say." 
 
 " She seems to understand well enough 
 what she wishes to say herself in this case. 
 Well, now, I shall tell you my plan. I shall 
 marry Mademoiselle Cheri." 
 
 " Provided she will have you." 
 
 "Oh, I think she will!" 
 
 " And also provided that I consent. Re- 
 member, my dear fellow, that I am your 
 uncle." 
 
 " The devil you are ! " 
 231
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 " Recollect, if you please, the legal rights 
 of adoption." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour jumped up, and tak- 
 ing an angry turn or two about the room, sat 
 down again. 
 
 " Very well," he said, " if you refuse your 
 consent to my marrying Mademoiselle Cheri, 
 I can very easily refuse my consent, to your 
 marrying Julie." 
 
 " Monsieur Bertoux tells me that it is a 
 complicated question," responded Louis, " but 
 nevertheless our marriage could scarcely be 
 prevented. However I, as your uncle, could 
 very easily prevent your marrying Mademoi- 
 selle Cheri." 
 
 This infuriated Monsieur de Latour, who, 
 shaking his fist in Louis's face, bawled : 
 
 " I'd like to see you try, and I have a great 
 mind to elope to America with Mademoiselle 
 Cheri this very day! " 
 
 Louis whistled softly, by way of showing 
 his contempt for this proposition. Then 
 Monsieur de Latour, relapsing into a gloomy 
 silence, sat huddled up in his chair for some 
 minutes. Presently he growled: 
 232
 
 THE BLIND BOY LAUGHS LAST 
 
 " If I give my consent to your marriage 
 with Julie, I presume you would consent, con- 
 found you ! to my marriage with Mademoi- 
 selle Cheri?" 
 
 " Certainly I would," cried Louis, " but I 
 should still exercise a fatherly care over you, 
 and see that two giddy young things like you 
 and Mademoiselle Cheri did not commit any 
 indiscretions like your duel of this morning, 
 for example." 
 
 " Into which you dragged me against 
 my will," replied Monsieur de Latour. " I 
 outwitted all of you. It cost me eighty 
 francs, but it was the best investment I ever 
 made. It saved my life from that blood- 
 thirsty old general." 
 
 " I shall, of course," continued Louis lof- 
 tily, " keep an eye upon you, regulate your ex- 
 penditures, and require you to report to me 
 at least once a week till I see how you are 
 behaving yourself. This will be my duty as 
 your uncle." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour ground his teeth 
 with rage. Then, after another pause, he 
 said: 
 
 16 233
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 " I believe that whole scheme was ar- 
 ranged between you and Julie." 
 
 A smile flickered in Louis's eyes, but he 
 made no reply to this. At last Monsieur de 
 Latour cried: 
 
 " Confound both of you ! But I will give 
 you the three hundred thousand francs to let 
 me off from that agreement." 
 
 " No, my dear Victor," answered Louis, 
 shaking his head, " agreeable as it would be 
 to me to have that three hundred thousand 
 francs, I can't make a relationship so delicate 
 and tender as ours a matter of barter and 
 sale." 
 
 " You mean the power of thwarting and 
 opposing me?" cried Monsieur de Latour 
 very excitedly. " Well, I will give you four 
 hundred thousand francs to let me off." 
 
 " No, I cannot, after having just acquired 
 you as a nephew, part with you so easily." 
 
 "So cheaply, you mean. I will give you 
 five hundred thousand francs." 
 
 " You affront me." 
 
 " Five hundred and fifty thousand." 
 
 " You insult me." 
 
 234
 
 THE BLIND BOY LAUGHS LAST 
 
 " Six hundred thousand." 
 
 " Be silent. I can stand no more." 
 
 " You mean you won't let me off at any 
 price?" 
 
 " I must consult Julie first." 
 
 " This is enough to put a man in a mad- 
 house that I am to be discussed by two such 
 flibbertigibbets. Of course it's nothing but 
 a scheme to get money out of me, but six hun- 
 dred thousand francs is all I mean to pay for 
 my liberty." 
 
 Just then the door burst open, and in 
 pranced Madame de Beauregard. It was 
 still very early in the morning, and Madame 
 de Beauregard had not made her midday 
 toilet. She wore a peignoir, and the defi- 
 ciencies of her hair-dressing were concealed 
 by a shawl wrapped around her head. She 
 had slippers on her little feet, but Monsieur 
 de Latour suspected that she had omitted to 
 put on her stockings. 
 
 Monsieur de Latour, not feeling equal to 
 
 encountering Madame de Beauregard just at 
 
 that moment, retired hastily into his bedroom 
 
 adjoining. But Madame de Beauregard, 
 
 235
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 who was no respecter of persons, followed 
 him in and almost collared him as he retreated 
 toward the fireplace. 
 
 " So," she cried, " you call yourself a man 
 of spirit, and you are put into a wheeled chair 
 to be carried to the field of honour, and then 
 you pay a policeman eighty francs to trundle 
 you away. And I believe you actually got it 
 into your ridiculous old head that I would 
 marry you. Not for worlds! " 
 
 Here Louis, seeing a chance to put in a 
 word for General Granier, said: 
 
 " But, madame, General Granier was pres- 
 ent and acted with the utmost gallantry. I 
 have never seen such a fire-eater. He not 
 only frightened my nephew, but he frightened 
 me." 
 
 "Did he really?" asked Madame de 
 Beauregard, whirling around. 
 
 " And his leg was as steady as a rock, 
 though he had been up three nights running, 
 playing cards and drinking champagne until 
 breakfast-time." 
 
 "Was he really? Well, I declare, if he 
 were fifty years younger I'd marry him." 
 236
 
 THE BLIND BOY LAUGHS LAST 
 
 " He's coming to dinner to-night," put in 
 Louis insinuatingly. " My own belief, ma- 
 dame, is that you would have difficulty in find- 
 ing any man fifty years younger than General 
 Granier with the life and spirit that he has 
 in him." 
 
 " At all events," said Madame de Beau- 
 regard, addressing Monsieur de Latour, 
 who, chased almost into the fireplace, was 
 about taking refuge in a wardrobe, " I 
 shouldn't think of marrying an old sheep 
 like you, my dear man. You had much bet- 
 ter marry the soap-boiler's daughter, Made- 
 moiselle Cheri, and the couple of you 
 will be about as tame as a pair of barnyard 
 fowls." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour, stung by the con- 
 tempt expressed in Madame de Beauregard's 
 tone, plucked up his courage. 
 
 " It is my wish to marry Mademoiselle 
 Cheri, if she will have me, madame," he said, 
 " and as for leading the life of barnyard 
 fowls well, it agrees with my constitution 
 better than the life that you, madame, will 
 probably lead with General Granier. And 
 237
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 now, madame, if you will kindly leave me, 
 I wish to arrange my toilet." 
 
 " Don't mind me," said the old lady non- 
 chalantly, seating herself on the bed. 
 
 Monsieur de Latour, meaning to frighten 
 her, peeled off his coat. Madame de Beaure- 
 gard, without flinching, spread her petticoats 
 around her, and began to sing a song which 
 ended in a refrain of " Tra la la something 
 or other." Monsieur de Latour then re- 
 moved his waistcoat, but Madame de Beaure- 
 gard stood, or rather sat, her ground un- 
 dauntedly. 
 
 " Will you force me, madame, to appear 
 sans culottes'? " asked Monsieur de Latour in 
 desperation. 
 
 " Just as you please, my dear man. I don't 
 mind a little thing like that." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour, finding himself de- 
 feated, resumed his waistcoat and coat, and 
 offering his arm to Madame de Beauregard, 
 the old lady skipped off with him. Monsieur 
 de Latour escorted her out to the terrace. 
 There sat Mademoiselle Cheri, Melanie and 
 Eugene de Contiac. Madame de Beaure- 
 238
 
 THE BLIND BOY LAUGHS LAST 
 
 gard's sketchy toilet gave a slight shock to all 
 of them, but the old lady herself remarked 
 casually : 
 
 " I know I haven't got half enough 
 clothes on, but you needn't look at me, and 
 you can't see without looking, that much is 
 certain." 
 
 Eugene de Contiac had in his hands a book 
 of sermons. He made not the least attempt 
 to conceal this when Madame de Beauregard 
 appeared, but kept it openly and shamelessly 
 in view. 
 
 " So you are at it again ! " shrieked Ma- 
 dame de Beauregard. " That's the way it 
 has been ever since that idiotic Bertoux paid 
 the two hundred and fifty thousand francs to 
 your credit in bank. He says I told him to 
 do it, and perhaps I did, as I really thought 
 you had mended your ways by that trip to 
 Paris." 
 
 " My dear aunt," quietly replied Eugene, 
 " Melanie has forgiven me that trip to Paris, 
 and I have promised her never to go upon 
 a like expedition. I was perfectly safe in 
 doing this, as another such week would be 
 239
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 my death. And as you have kindly made me 
 independent, Melanie has agreed to marry 
 me, provided Monsieur de Latour gives his 
 consent." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour assumed a very stern 
 and forbidding air, and then said : 
 
 " I must consider it." 
 
 Then . Mademoiselle Cheri, rising and go- 
 ing to him with the familiarity of an old 
 friend, said: 
 
 " Come now, Victor, you don't mean that 
 you will really interfere with the happiness of 
 these two young people? " 
 
 Monsieur de Latour, seeing his chance, 
 remarked significantly : 
 
 " Shall we discuss it a little, then? " And 
 the two walked off toward the orangery. 
 
 Once under its green shade, Monsieur de 
 Latour, with the air and manner of a man of 
 twenty-five making love to a girl of eighteen, 
 said sentimentally : 
 
 " I will give my consent upon one condi- 
 tion, and it is that you, Seline, forgive all 
 my follies and faithlessness, and marry me. 
 I am done with great people. I have nearly 
 240
 
 
 " ' I will give my consent upon one condition.
 
 THE BLIND BOY LAUGHS LAST 
 
 been killed by two of them that dreadful 
 old lady over yonder and General Granier. I 
 am a changed man. Instead of being the 
 head of the house of De Latour, I should like 
 to return to Brionville and boil soap the rest 
 of my life. And if you, Seline, will go with 
 me, I will promise you to lead a quiet, respect- 
 able and, I hope, respected life the rest of my 
 days." 
 
 Mademoiselle Seline looked at him and her 
 kind eyes grew kinder. 
 
 " If that be true, Victor," she answered 
 sweetly after a moment, " then we may in- 
 deed spend the rest of our lives together. As 
 long as you aspired to rank and fashion, 
 and courted the society of people above 
 you, who simply amused themselves at 
 your expense, I could not think of marrying 
 you. But now that you have become the 
 Victor de Latour of twenty years ago, well 
 then " 
 
 Mademoiselle Cheri, with a smile, gave her 
 hand, still plump and pretty, to Monsieur de 
 Latour, who raised it to his lips. 
 
 " And now," she continued, " you will not 
 241
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 stand between Melanie and her happiness, for 
 I know that those two are sincerely attached 
 to each other." 
 
 To this Monsieur de Latour, like a true 
 lover, replied: "Your will, Seline, shall be 
 my law." 
 
 Monsieur de Latour and Mademoiselle 
 Cheri, their countenances beaming, returned 
 to the group, which had been increased by the 
 appearance of Louis and Julie, who had come 
 from Heaven knows where. As soon as the 
 group caught sight of Monsieur de Latour 
 and Mademoiselle Cheri all knew that some- 
 thing had happened that something which 
 makes or mars a lifetime. In this case it was 
 evident that Monsieur de Latour's happiness 
 was made forever. His countenance shone 
 like the harvest moon, he stepped high, as one 
 in whose veins joy is pulsating, and he radi- 
 ated satisfaction. Mademoiselle Cheri was 
 smiling and composed, and her gentle face 
 expressed a tranquil happiness. 
 
 " My friends," said Monsieur de Latour, 
 still holding Mademoiselle Cheri's plump 
 hand as they drew near, " felicitate me, I beg 
 242
 
 THE BLIND BOY LAUGHS LAST 
 
 of you. Mademoiselle Cheri has promised 
 to forgive me and to marry me." 
 
 At this Melanie krssed them both joyfully, 
 and Louis, with a paternal air, said : 
 
 " My dear nephew, I assure you there is 
 no one I would more gladly welcome as my 
 niece than Mademoiselle Cheri, and I may 
 say that Mademoiselle de Bresac, who will 
 certainly be your future aunt, feels as I do." 
 
 "Indeed Ido!" cried Julie, laying her 
 hand upon Monsieur de Latour's arm. " And 
 I rejoice in the thought of becoming aunt to 
 you and dear Mademoiselle Cheri " 
 
 " What did you say? " asked Monsieur de 
 Latour incredulously. 
 
 " As your prospective aunt, dear Victor," 
 Julie reiterated, with the calmest air in the 
 world. " Of course, if I marry Louis, I shall 
 be your aunt." 
 
 " Come," said Monsieur de Latour, a little 
 upset by the turn of the conversation, " let us 
 stop all this nonsense. I haven't the slightest 
 objection to your marrying Louis. I like the 
 scamp, in spite of the annoyance that he has 
 caused me, and I believe him to be an excel- 
 243
 
 THE CHATEAU OF MONTPLAISIR 
 
 lent fellow, but I can't be made further ridicu- 
 lous by this uncle and nephew business. There 
 has been quite enough of it, and I desire you 
 to stop it. So I propose that to-day we shall 
 straighten out the relationship and correct the 
 mistake that you made, and I will hand over 
 the three hundred thousand francs with which 
 I agreed to endow Louis. It is worth that 
 much to get rid of his patronising airs and in- 
 fernal meddling." 
 
 At this Monsieur de Latour found himself 
 struggling in Louis's embrace and almost felt 
 his ribs cracking, while Julie nearly strangled 
 him with kisses. Madame de Beauregard's 
 clear old voice cut the morning air as she pro- 
 claimed : 
 
 " Good Heavens ! all the world seems to be 
 getting married. I shall ring up General 
 Granier over the telephone and tell him that 
 I mean to marry him just as soon as I have 
 time to attend to anything. Let me see 
 automobiling this morning, casino in the af- 
 ternoon, dinner in the evening; automobiling 
 to-morrow morning, casino in the afternoon, 
 ball in the evening well, I shall arrange to 
 244
 
 THE BLIND BOY LAUGHS LAST 
 
 get married as soon as possible ; but one leads 
 such a gay life in Dinard that it's very hard 
 to find time to do anything, even to get mar- 
 ried." 
 
 To judge, however, from the radiance of 
 happiness which played upon every face as- 
 sembled upon the terrace of the Chateau of 
 Montplaisir that sunny August morning, it 
 was plain that each of them, except Madame 
 de Beauregard, would easily and quickly find 
 time for the perfect union of hearts and souls 
 and minds which awaited in marriage each 
 
 pair of lovers. 
 
 (i) 
 
 245
 
 WHERE LOVE CONQUERS. 
 
 The Reckoning. 
 
 By ROBERT W. CHAMBERS. 
 
 The author's intention is to treat, in a series of four or five 
 romances, that part of the war for independence which particularly 
 affected the great landed families of northern New York, the 
 Johnsons, represented by Sir William, Sir John, Guy Johnson, and 
 Colonel Claus ; the notorious Butlers, father and son, the Schuylers, 
 Van Rensselaers, and others. 
 
 The first romance of the series, Cardigan, was followed by the 
 second, The Maid-at-Arms. The third, in order, is not completed. 
 The fourth is the present volume. 
 
 As Cardigan pretended to portray life on the baronial estate of 
 Sir William Johnson, the first uneasiness concerning the coming 
 trouble, the first discordant note struck in the harmonious councils 
 of the Long House, so, in The Maid-at-Arms, which followed in 
 order, the author attempted to paint a patroon family disturbed by 
 the approaching rumble of battle. That romance dealt with the 
 first serious split in the Iroquois Confederacy ; it showed the Long 
 House shattered though not fallen ; the demoralization and final 
 flight of the great landed families who remained loyal to the British 
 Crown; and it struck the key-note to the future attitude of the 
 Iroquois toward the patriots of the frontier revenge for their 
 losses at the battle of Oriskany and ended with the march of the 
 militia and continental troops on Saratoga. 
 
 The third romance, as yet incomplete and unpublished, deals 
 with the war-path and those who followed it led by the landed 
 gentry of Tryon County; and ends with the first solid blow de- 
 livered at the Long House, and the terrible punishment of the 
 Great Confederacy. 
 
 The present romance, the fourth in chronological order, picks 
 up the thread at that point. 
 
 The author is not conscious of having taken any liberties with 
 history in preparing a framework of facts for a mantle of romance. 
 
 ROBERT W. CHAMBERS. 
 NEW YORK, May 26, 1904. 
 
 D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK.
 
 WORKS OF ROBERT W. CHAMBERS. 
 
 IOLE 
 
 Colored inlay on the cover, decorative borders, head- 
 pieces, thumb-nail sketches, and tail-pieces. Frontispiece 
 and three full-page illustrations. i2mo. Ornamental 
 Cloth, $1.25. 
 
 Does anybody remember the opera of The Inca, and that heart-breaking 
 episode where the Court Undertaker, in a morbid desire to increase his pro- 
 fessional skill, deliberately accomplishes the destruction of his middle-aged 
 relatives in order to inter them for the sake of practice ? 
 
 If I recollect, his dismal confession runs something like this : 
 " It was in bleak November 
 When I slew them, I remember, 
 As I caught them unawares 
 Drinking tea in rocking-chairs." 
 
 And so he talked them to death, the subject being " What Really Is Art ?" 
 Afterward he was sorry 
 
 " The squeak of a door, 
 
 The creak of a floor, 
 My horrors and fears enhance ; 
 And I wake with a scream 
 As I hear in my dream 
 The shrieks of my maiden aunts ! " 
 
 Now it is a very dreadful thing to suggest that those highly respectable 
 pseudo-spinsters, the Sister Arts, supposedly cozily immune in their polyga- 
 mous chastity (for every suitor for favor is popularly expected to be wedded to 
 his particular art) I repeat, it is very dreadful to suggest that these impeccable 
 old ladies are in danger of being talked to death. 
 
 But the talkers are talking and Art Nouveau rockers are rocking, and the 
 trousers of the prophet are patched with stained glass, and it is a day of dinki- 
 ness and of thumbs. 
 
 Let us find comfort in the ancient proverb : " Art talked to death shall rise 
 again." Let us also recollect that "Dinky is as dinky does;" that "All is 
 not Shaw that Bernards ; " that " Better Yeates than Clever ; " that words are 
 so inexpensive that there is no moral crime in robbing Henry to pay James. 
 
 Firmly believing all this, abjuring all atom-pickers, slab furniture, and 
 woodchuck literature save only the immortal verse : 
 
 44 And there the wooden-chuck doth tread ; 
 
 While from the oak trees' tops 
 The red, red squirrel on the head 
 
 The frequent acorn drops." 
 
 Abjuring, as I say, dinkiness in all its forms, we may still hope that those 
 cleanly and respectable spinsters, the Sister Arts, will continue throughout the 
 ages, rocking and drinking tea unterrified by the million-tongued clamor in 
 the back yard and below stairs, where thumb and forefinger continue the 
 question demanded by intellectual exhaustion : 
 " L'arr ! Kesker say 1'arr ? " 
 
 D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK,
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 UO/URL 
 
 NOV23198S 
 
 Form L9-Series 4939
 
 3 1158 01312 2998 
 
 I II 
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