"The unhappy creature threw herself at my feet and held out her hands in entreaty; I raised her and implored her to be calm, to look upon me only as a brother, as a friend, and to conceal from me no longer the cause of her grief.
"‘You wish it,’ she said; ‘well, I will obey you. This confession is very painful; it would have been easier for me to die, but I must undergo this punishment, too. As I have told you, I am unworthy to bear the name of your wife. Another man has my love. He told me that he would die rather than abandon me; and yet, alas! he has gone; and I, I had the weakness to believe in his words! I hoped that my father would consent to our union; but, far from that, he harshly refused my hand to the man who already called me his wife; and I, when I allowed my father to see that I shared the love of him whom he turned away from his house—Ah! if you knew how terrible his anger was! I realized that he would kill me if he suspected my fault and I did not wish to die by my father’s hand.—Yes, I am guilty, I am ruined, and I bear in my womb the fruit of my dishonor!’
"You can judge of the effect produced upon me by such a confidence; jealous rage created a revolution in my mind. I longed to kill Savigny, or to die at his hands; for although she had not named her seducer, I could not doubt that it was that man, of whom Monsieur de Montfort had spoken to me, who had abused Adèle’s innocence.—While, giving way to the first outburst of my rage, I strode rapidly back and forth, swearing to be revenged, the unfortunate creature who had made so painful a confession had lost consciousness again. She lay on the floor, pale and lifeless. That sight recalled me to myself, and I blamed myself for my barbarity; for doubtless, after the confession of her wrongdoing, Adèle had heard the threats inspired by my despair, and I had added to her sufferings. I took her in my arms; as I gazed upon her sweet and lovely features, I promised to do my utmost to restore tranquillity, at least, if not happiness, to her heart. By my persistent efforts I restored her to consciousness once more; but she dared not look me in the face, she feared to read there an expression of contempt; she thought that I would not forgive her for giving me her hand when her honor was sullied, and she said again, in a heartrending tone, that there was nothing for her to do but to die.
"I sat down beside her, I took one of her hands, and begged her to listen quietly to me.
"‘Adèle,’ I said to her, ‘a villain has abused your innocence, your candor; it is he especially who is guilty; but have no fear, this misstep is hidden forever; no one will ever be able to divine it, your father shall never know it. I shall have only the name of your husband; I will be to you a brother, a friend, if you some day deem me worthy of that title. In marrying you, when your melancholy, your secret melancholy, should have convinced me that I had not your love, I made a mistake. Presuming too far, no doubt, I listened only to the passion which I felt, and flattered myself that I could make you share it. I must renounce all hope of that happy future; and yet I feel that it will still be sweet to me to pass my life with you, to try to allay your suffering, and to restore peace to your soul. Yes, such henceforth will be my only object; as the reward of my efforts, I hope only to see a smile upon your lips some day, and in your eyes a little affection for me.’
"Adèle pressed my hand, and said in a voice trembling with emotion:
"‘How kind you are, monsieur! and how much your conduct adds to the remorse I feel! But, since you will have it so, I will live; henceforth, dispose of my fate; I will have no other will than yours, even in the most trivial actions of my life; I trust that I may, by my entire submission, prove to you my respect and gratitude at least!’
"After such intense emotion, Adèle sorely needed rest. I left her in her room, and withdrew to mine. That is how the first night after our wedding passed! And when so many people were envying my happiness, I was consecrating that unfortunate bond by bitter tears.
"The next day I secretly made inquiries concerning the Chevalier de Savigny, but he had quitted Bordeaux, leaving an enormous amount of debts behind him, and no one knew in what direction he had gone. Everything that I learned about that young man convinced me that Monsieur de Montfort had not slandered him and that he was, in fact, a thorough rascal. And yet such a man had been able to make himself master of Adèle’s heart; but it is only too common a thing to see women misplace their love. However, I never mentioned his name before my wife; that would have compelled her to blush, and she had only too much remorse for her fault. It was enough for me to know her seducer’s name to be certain that he would never appear in my presence with impunity.
"I had determined upon my plan of conduct. We passed another fortnight with Monsieur de Montfort, and at the end of that time I announced that we were going to take a trip to Italy. My father-in-law, realizing that we were entitled to do only what we pleased, contented himself with wishing us a pleasant journey, caring very little in which direction we bent our steps. My wife and I started without a single servant, and began a journey which was not to come to an end until Adèle had brought into the world the child that she was bearing.