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Among the most enthusiastic singers Élodie recognized the handsome dragoon, the little lawyer's clerk, Henry, her first love. After the performance the gallant Desmahis called a cabriolet and escorted the citoyenne Blaise back to the Amour peintre. In the carriage the artist took Élodie's hand between his: "You know, Élodie, I love you?" "I know it, because you love all women."
Then she broke down and wept wretchedly. Yes, it was true. She had but a few sous in the world. No other clothes but those she wore. Oh, she was ashamed, ashamed that he should guess. If she had not been weak, he would have gone away and never have known. And so on, and so forth. The situation was plain as day to Andrew. Elodie, if not his guardian angel, at any rate his mascot, was down and out.
He approached timidly, looked at the coach, recognized Lisbeth, and came to the window. "Why, my dear cousin, what a state you are in!" "Elodie keeps everything for herself," said Baron Hulot. "Those Chardins are a blackguard crew." "Will you come home to us?" "Oh, no, no!" cried the old man. "I would rather go to America." "Adeline is on the scent."
Perhaps now and then a stern and elderly French couple he stolid, strongly bearded and decorated, she thin and brown, over-coiffured and over-ringed with an elderly angular daughter, hard to marry, regarded us with eyes of disapproval. Elodie in happy mood threw off restraint, as, in more private and intimate surroundings, she would have thrown off her corset.
And as Elodie, now that she had got her birds to amuse her, made no demands on Andrew, and as Andrew, who had schooled his tidy soul to toleration of her slovenliness, made no demands on Elodie, they were about as happy as any pair in France. When she passed thirty, her face coarsened and her uncared-for figure began to spread. And then the war broke out.
Elodie continued the discussion of the disaster. His face wore its wry grin of discomfiture; but he said little. They must go on as they had begun. Perhaps things would right themselves. He would lose his loathing of his mountebank trade and thus win back the sympathy of his audience. Before they separated for the night she flung her arm protectingly round him and kissed him.
She had lived to grow old without any overt exercise of her religion, but she had always been a pious woman, and she would pray to God all day long, in the chimney corner, to save her boy and that good, kind Monsieur Brotteaux. Élodie often came to see her; they durst not look each other in the eyes, and sitting side by side they would talk at random of indifferent matters.
Evidently this kiss Elodie did not feel in her toes, for she walked along carelessly beside him to the door of her hotel, a hostelry possibly a shade more poverty-stricken in a flag paved by-street, a trifle staler-smelling than his own, and there put out a friendly hand of dismissal. "We will write to each other?" "It is agreed." "Alors, au revoir." "Au revoir, Elodie, et merci."
He refers to Salis and Matthisson, but Lamartine and people of his kidney come in 'Melancholy gentlemen' pardon, my dear Elodie, if I quote it in English 'Melancholy gentlemen to whom life was only a dismal swamp, upon whose margin they walked with cambric handkerchiefs in their hands, sobbing and sighing and making signals to Death to come and ferry them over the lake. Cela veut dire," he made a marvellous French paraphrase for Elodie's benefit.
If he had fallen into a rage, like ninety-nine men out of a hundred, and accused us of spying, I should have known how to reply. But that's where you can never get hold of Andrew Lackaday. He scorns such things. He said in his ramrod fashion: 'It's good of you to come to meet me, Elodie.
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