“Who says I wish to see him degraded as a gentleman? and I did not reject him as a lover! not finally—that is, I did not wholly mean it. When I sent to invite his return from Tilly it was out of friendship,—love, if you will, Amélie, but from no desire that he should plunge into fresh dissipation.”
“I believe you, Angélique! You could not, if you had the heart of a woman loving him ever so little, desire to see him fall into the clutches of men who, with the wine-cup in one hand and the dice-box in the other, will never rest until they ruin him, body, soul, and estate.”
“Before God, I never desired it, and to prove it, I have cursed De Pean to his face, and erased Lantagnac from my list of friends, for coming to show me the money he had won from Le Gardeur while intoxicated. Lantagnac brought me a set of pearls which he had purchased out of his winnings. I threw them into the fire and would have thrown him after them, had I been a man! 'fore God, I would, Amélie! I may have wounded Le Gardeur, but no other man or woman shall injure him with my consent.”
Angélique spoke this in a tone of sincerity that touched somewhat the heart of Amélie, although the aberrations and inconsistencies of this strange girl perplexed her to the utmost to understand what she really felt.
“I think I may trust you, Angélique, to help me to rescue him from association with the Palace?” said Amélie, gently, almost submissively, as if she half feared a refusal.
“I desire nothing more,” replied Angélique. “You have little faith in me, I see that,”—Angélique wiped her eyes, in which a shade of moisture could be seen,—“but I am sincere in my friendship for Le Gardeur. The Virgin be my witness, I never wished his injury, even when I injured him most. He sought me in marriage, and I was bound to another.”
“You are to marry the Intendant, they say. I do not wonder, and yet I do wonder, at your refusing my brother, even for him.”
“Marry the Intendant! Yes, it is what fools and some wise people say. I never said it myself, Amélie.”
“But you mean it, nevertheless; and for no other would you have thrown over Le Gardeur de Repentigny.”
“I did not throw him over,” she answered, indignantly. “But why dispute? I cannot, Amélie, say more, even to you! I am distraught with cares and anxieties, and know not which way to turn.”