The deed of gift of the house at Sèvres and of an income of five thousand francs in the public funds was all ready. Marcel had to fight a terrible battle to prevent the insertion of a restriction analogous to that to which Julie was expected to submit. He argued that, as Julie had promised not to marry Julien, it was entirely useless for Julien to pledge himself not to marry Julie.
"But your Julie can very easily give up her fortune, and then when the other has made enough to live on, I shall have made a fine mess of it! I shall have married them! No, no! I propose to have a letter from this lady pledging herself on her honor and her religion never again in her lifetime to see this gentleman, with his name all spelled out. Women are bound tighter by such gilt-edged notes than by all your parchments. They are more afraid of scandal than of pettifogging. I must have that billet-doux addressed to me, or I'll not let anything go."
"You shall have it," said Marcel.
And he hurried away to the pavilion.
Julien was intensely agitated; he had not dared to ask any questions at the hôtel. He had sent his mother to reconnoitre, and she found all the apartments on the garden side closed. He did not know whether the dowager was still there, he knew nothing of Monsieur Antoine's visit and Julie's departure; he was surprised that, after confiding in Madame Thierry, she could not find time to send her three lines to set her mind at rest as to the results of the disturbance caused by the dowager. He anxiously awaited the evening. Black thoughts rushed into his mind.
"Who knows that the dowager and Monsieur Antoine have not plotted together to have Julie abducted and confined in a convent on the ground of misconduct?"
At that time it was no longer very easy to obtain lettres de cachet; but by going through formalities, an ex post facto judgment, etc., arbitrary incarceration could still be accomplished under the forms of law, especially as an intrigue with a plebeian might still be looked upon in official society as a scandal which a family was entitled to put down.
Julien was going mad when Marcel arrived. Madame Thierry was downcast and very sad. Marcel saw that was not the moment to be outspoken.
"I have some news for you," he said, forcing himself to assume an untroubled and even cheerful countenance. "We were about to sign, when Uncle Antoine appeared like a god from the clouds at the Opera. He lost his temper and had a row with the dowager, who, up to that time, had been acting in concert with him against Madame d'Estrelle; but he has repented of his folly, he proposes to give you a magnificent indemnity; he takes this opportunity to make amends for all the wrong he has done, and he does it handsomely, I must say; so be grateful to him for it, also for his intention to deal handsomely with Madame d'Estrelle. He will probably leave her twice as much as the dowager intended to leave her; so she thought that it was her duty to show her gratitude by yielding at once to a whim he had of turning her out of the hôtel——"
"She has gone!" cried Julien, turning pale.