"Monsieur le comte, King Henri IV tapped me on the shoulder and called me his brave! I do not think that you will dishonor yourself by measuring your sword with my rapier!"
"And so," rejoined the marquis, with a grief-stricken glance at his son, "you expect, by shedding her father's blood, to efface the shame with which you have sullied this maid's honor! Let it be as you choose, monsieur! Henceforth God will attend to your punishment.—But be not alarmed, my poor girl, poor mother, whom your seducer spurns; whatever the result of the combat about to take place, I will henceforth take care of you as if you were my own child.—And you, Landry, you, her father—now that you see her grief, her suffering, her repentance, you will forgive her for her sin; yes, you will forgive her—I see it in your eyes; and then you will thank this other maid, her friend, of whose devotion you are not as yet aware.—Come forward, Ambroisine, and receive the praise which you deserve; let your father hear it; let us bring joy to one heart at least!"
Master Hugonnet, flushing crimson with pleasure, gently pushed Ambroisine forward; she walked a few steps, being in dire embarrassment, and said, lowering her eyes:
"Monsieur le marquis is too kind; what I have done was quite natural—I should have been so happy to find that Monsieur le Comte Léodgard still loved Bathilde!—And so, before making up my mind to tell the whole story to monsieur le marquis, I went many times to the house in Rue de Bretonvilliers, to try to speak with monsieur le comte; and yet I confess that I was a little afraid when I went to that quarter alone at night. And then, as they always told me that Monsieur Léodgard was not in, I sometimes passed a great part of the night waiting for his return; and once—oh! I was so frightened—I had such a horrible experience!—But I beg pardon, monseigneur; that cannot interest you—excuse me."
Within a few seconds, Léodgard's face, as he listened to Ambroisine, had become deathly pale, and great drops of sweat stood on his brow; but he remained motionless in his place and affected to make light of what she said.
The old marquis motioned to Ambroisine as she was about to turn away, saying:
"Go on, my child; what happened to you in your friend's service cannot fail to interest us. What was this experience?"
"Mon Dieu! monsieur le marquis—excuse me—it was like a ghost.—This is how it happened. I was waiting for monsieur le comte to return; the clock had struck twelve; as I did not know what to do to kill time, instead of standing still in front of the gate, I walked now and then along the walls on one side or the other—for the hôtel stands entirely by itself. That night, as I stopped at the end of the wall, behind the hôtel, a man suddenly appeared; I had neither heard nor seen him; it was as if he came out of the wall.—But imagine my terror; by his hairy cap and his olive-green cloak, I had no doubt that it was Giovanni the brigand, whom I had heard described so often; and then——"
"It is all over! I will atone for everything!" cried Léodgard in a hoarse voice, roughly pushing Ambroisine aside, to approach Bathilde. "Monsieur le marquis, I surrender, I consent, I will marry Bathilde; I am ready to lead her to the altar!"
It would be impossible to describe the effect of these words, which everyone was so far from expecting.