第52章 LOUISE DE MACUMER TO RENEE DE L'ESTORADE March(1)

As Felipe has carried out,with a truly Saracenic generosity,the wishes of my father and mother in acknowledging the fortune he has not received from me,the Duchess has become even more friendly to me than before.She calls me little sly-boots,little woman of the world,and says I know how to use my tongue.

"But,dear mamma,"I said to her the evening before the contract was signed,"you attribute to cunning and smartness on my part what is really the outcome of the truest,simplest,most unselfish,most devoted love that ever was!I assure you that I am not at all the 'woman of the world'you do me the honor of believing me to be.""Come,come,Armande,"she said,putting her arm on my neck and drawing me to her,in order to kiss my forehead,"you did not want to go back to the convent,you did not want to die an old maid,and,like a fine,noble-hearted Chaulieu,as you are,you recognized the necessity of building up your father's family.(The Duke was listening.If you knew,Renee,what flattery lies for him in these words.)I have watched you during the whole winter,poking your little nose into all that goes on,forming very sensible opinions about men and the present state of society in France.And you have picked out the one Spaniard capable of giving you the splendid position of a woman who reigns supreme in her own house.My little girl,you treated him exactly as Tullia treats your brother.""What lessons they give in my sister's convent!"exclaimed my father.

A glance at my father cut him short at once;then,turning to the Duchess,I said:

"Madame,I love my future husband,Felipe de Soria,with all the strength of my soul.Although this love sprang up without my knowledge,and though I fought it stoutly when it first made itself felt,I swear to you that I never gave way to it till I had recognized in the Baron de Macumer a character worthy of mine,a heart of which the delicacy,the generosity,the devotion,and the temper are suited to my own.""But,my dear,"she began,interrupting me,"he is as ugly as ...""As anything you like,"I retorted quickly,"but I love his ugliness.""If you love him,Armande,"said my father,"and have the strength to master your love,you must not risk your happiness.Now,happiness in marriage depends largely on the first days--""Days only?"interrupted my mother.Then,with a glance at my father,she continued,"You had better leave us,my dear,to have our talk together.""You are to be married,dear child,"the Duchess then began in a low voice,"in three days.It becomes my duty,therefore,without silly whimpering,which would be unfitting our rank in life,to give you the serious advice which every mother owes to her daughter.You are marrying a man whom you love,and there is no reason why I should pity you or myself.I have only known you for a year;and if this period has been long enough for me to learn to love you,it is hardly sufficient to justify floods of tears at the idea of losing you.Your mental gifts are even more remarkable than those of your person;you have gratified maternal pride,and have shown yourself a sweet and loving daughter.I,in my turn,can promise you that you will always find a staunch friend in your mother.You smile?Alas!it too often happens that a mother who has lived on excellent terms with her daughter,as long as the daughter is a mere girl,comes to cross purposes with her when they are both women together.

"It is your happiness which I want,so listen to my words.The love which you now feel is that of a young girl,and is natural to us all,for it is woman's destiny to cling to a man.Unhappily,pretty one,there is but one man in the world for a woman!And sometimes this man,whom fate has marked out for us,is not the one whom we,mistaking a passing fancy for love,choose as husband.Strange as what I say may appear to you,it is worth noting.If we cannot love the man we have chosen,the fault is not exclusively ours,it lies with both,or sometimes with circumstances over which we have no control.Yet there is no reason why the man chosen for us by our family,the man to whom our fancy has gone out,should not be the man whom we can love.The barriers which arise later between husband and wife are often due to lack of perseverance on both sides.The task of transforming a husband into a lover is not less delicate than that other task of making a husband of the lover,in which you have just proved yourself marvelously successful.