"My father's eyes were threatening; he meant to kill my lover; so I refused to name him.
"'Very well!' said my mother; 'go and join the man for whom you have forgotten your duty; the man who has brought shame into our house; go—you can live with us no longer; you are no longer worthy to live under our roof; we turn you out. Begone!'
"In the hope of moving her, I told her then that I bore within me a helpless creature, innocent of my sin! But, far from appeasing her anger, it seemed to redouble when she heard that. She called me a—— But what need is there for me to tell you more? You saw me in the street, when the storm, increasing in violence to crush me, seemed to say to me that the wrath of God had joined forces with my mother's to punish the girl who had forfeited her honor, who had brought a blush to her father's brow!"
Bathilde's eyes filled with fresh tears as she finished her story.
Ambroisine allowed her grief to vent itself; there are times when words of consolation buzz in our ears without reaching the heart.
At last Bathilde took her friend's hand and pressed it, saying:
"Forgive me for causing you so much distress. But your father—if he learns that you have taken in the child whom her parents have cursed, perhaps he too will turn me out of doors. I will remain hidden in your chamber, Ambroisine; I will not stir from it. You will not tell your father that I am here; for where should I go, if he too should turn me away?—With no roof to shelter me, I should die of grief and want. And I do not want to die, because there is a little being to whom I must give life."
"Calm your fears, my poor darling! I shall tell my father all, for I should not like to have any secrets from him; but I am not at all alarmed; he is soft-hearted, is my father; although he shouts and storms, he has a kind heart; and, far from blaming me for taking you in, he will approve of it, he will say that I did quite right; and then he will go to see your parents and plead for you; for it is not possible that they do not regret having turned you away."
"You do not know my mother, Ambroisine; she never recedes from her resolutions; and my father is so exacting with respect to honor! he had such perfect confidence in his daughter! Believe me, your father would take an absolutely useless step; but there is someone whom I would like much to see; someone whom I must inform of my condition, my present plight; for then he will be able—at least, I hope so—to allay the anger of my parents by telling them that he means to repair his wrongdoing—and to console me a little for all my suffering by telling me that he still loves me. That someone—you know who it is, do you not, Ambroisine? Well, you can easily find his home—the Hôtel de Marvejols is on Place Royale.—You are so kind, Ambroisine, that I know that you will go to see him, and tell him all that has happened, and give him a letter which I will write to him, begging him to put an end to our misery, and telling him also that—that there is another person to whom he owes aid and protection.—You will see Léodgard, will you not?—Ah! if he knew that I had been cursed by my mother, he would have come here ere this to comfort me."
"I will do whatever you wish, my poor love!" Ambroisine replied, forcing back a sigh. "But, sleep a little, take a little rest; remember that you need it, and that you must be careful of your health."