PHILIP.
Hardin chafes anxiously before a reply reaches him. When he reads it, he rages like a fiend. It clearly reads:
I will not obey. Marry me first. Come here. Keep your oath. I will keep my promise. A settlement on the other child is no safeguard to me. She must have a name. Letters final. Useless to telegraph. HORTENSE.
When Hardin's rage subsides, he reviews the situation in his palace. He is safe for years from an accounting, yet it is coming on. If he brings the heiress to California, it will precipitate it. Secret plans for the Senate of the United States are now maturing. Marriage with Hortense. Impossible. His friends urge his giving his name to an ambitious lady of the "blue blood" of his Southern home. She is a relative of the head of the Democratic capitalists. This is a "sine qua non." The lady has claims on these honors. It has been a secret bargain to give his hand in return for that seat. Hortense talks madness. Never.
As for facing her, he dare not. He has established her. She is too subtle to risk herself out of the lines she has found safe. Who can be the "Deus ex machina"?
Ah, that Italian meddler, Villa Rocca! Hardin weaves a scheme. He will wait her letters. If the Italian is his enemy, he will lure him to California and then——
Ah, yes, till then, patience—the patience of the tiger crouching at the water-pool for his coming prey.
Peyton loses no time in Paris. He reaches the home of Aristide Dauvray. He is welcomed by the circle. The young artists are busy with brush and modelling tool. Woods' patronage has been a blessing. The fame of his orders has been extended by the exhibition of the works ordered by him. His bankers have directed the attention of the travelling Americans to the young man.
Louise Moreau is no longer a bud, but an opening rose. So fair is she, so lovely, that Armand feels his heart beat quicker when the girl nears his canvas to admire his skill. By the direction of PŠre Fran‡ois, she leaves the house no more for her lessons. There is a secret guard of loving hearts around her.
PŠre Fran‡ois meets Peyton with open arms. They are to be joint guardians over the innocent child of destiny.