Here she was agreeably surprised by the appearance of her kind hostess, who came running into the room in great apparent alarm, to inquire what was the matter. The explanation that followed, consisted of the adventures which have been related; and when the old lady had heard them to the end, she remarked, with an odd sort of smile—“Well, never mind, my dear, you are safe out of their clutches now; so dress yourself, and come down to breakfast, for it is very near eight o’clock; but I did not call you before, as you seemed so sound asleep; and now I know what’s happened, I don’t wonder.”
CHAPTER III.
“No, no, you may depend upon it I shall not tell anybody about it, for my own sake; for if it got talked of, it might come to the ears of the Comte and the rest of them, and they’d be after me again; but I’ve had quite enough of your gentry, and lots of lovers; and if ever I should get another, I hope he’ll be a plain sort of body like myself.”
Thus said Jaqueline to her kind hostess of the castle, on their way to the Cock and Bottle, where they arrived after a pleasant walk, and parted without further adventures.
On the evening of that day our heroine was safely conveyed in the patache to the door of Madame Margot, who was a restauratrice in the Cours Public, a pleasant open space planted with trees in the town of Moulins. Her reception was most cordial; but Nicolas Margot, who officiated as premier garçon in the establishment, evinced no symptoms of that intense admiration which she had so recently excited. In a few days, however, they became excellent friends, as she cheerfully assisted him in his vocation during the morning, and he was consequently earlier at liberty to chaperon her about the town and environs, and all went on smoothly till the last day of the first week, which Jaqueline declared was Sunday.
How any Christian could so err, appeared wonderful—but she was positive, and would not be convinced, until the day had passed by, and the next came and was kept as Sabbaths are wont to be observed in France, by unusual gaiety all day, something more showy than common at the theatre in the evening, and fireworks “superbe et magnifique” at night. Then she was puzzled, and came to the conclusion that townsfolk and country people kept the calendar in two ways.
“They will never persuade me to the contrary,” she repeated to herself; “for I never can forget how I spent last Tuesday. But the old lady was right. It won’t do to tell Madame Margot or Nicolas about that, or I don’t know what they might not fancy, although I am sure it was no fault of mine that I got among such a pack of fools.”
So she kept that secret; and as time passed merrily along, it somehow happened that she and Nicolas glided unawares into such a degree of confidence, that it was the only secret she withheld from him.
The influence of the moon upon disordered brains may probably account for much of the nonsensical talk that passes between young persons of different sexes, when walking in pairs on “a shiny night;” and that or something else, ere a month had elapsed, caused a great alteration in the tone and subjects of familiar chat between Jaqueline and Nicolas.
This was observed by Madame Margot, who thereupon also changed her manner, by kissing her guest more fervently at night ere she retired to rest, while Nicolas looked very much as though he should like to do the same.