"Who will prevent it?"
"I will."
"You can not! I defy you to do your utmost. You can not prevent it now!"
CHAPTER VII.
Four weeks later Odette's marriage took place.
Odette was right when she said Claude would find it impossible to prevent it. The only way in which it could have been done, would have been to tell Paul of that passionate love in Odette's heart; and Claude, of course, could not reveal her secret.
As time passed on, he became more accustomed to the idea; and resolving to see as little of Odette as possible in the future, and always to be formally ceremoniously reserved whenever he was obliged to meet her, he was forced to let things take their course.
Among the witnesses to the ceremony was Grenoble, Claude's most intimate friend. He is celebrated for his sparkling, witty conversation in all the salons of Paris. For twenty-five years, he was one of that noble army of martyrs who fling themselves before the Juggernaut car of art. His genius as a sculptor made him famous, but left him to starve.