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This canal, which he intended to carry into the Vienne, would form a waterway by which to send down timber from the twenty thousand acres of forest land belonging to Madame Graslin in Montegnac, now admirably managed by Colorat, but which, for want of transportation, returned no profit.
The farmers, who were beginning to gather in the fruits of their sacrifices and those of Madame Graslin, now began to improve the grass of the plains, sowing seed of better quality, there being no longer any occasion to fear drought. During this year a man from Montegnac started a diligence between the chief town of the arrondissement and Limoges, leaving both places each day.
For several days past Madame Graslin had not left the house, and she seemed to be tormented by several of those caprices attributed to women in her condition. Her mother came to see her almost every day, and the two women remained for hours in consultation. It was nine o'clock, and the card tables were still without players, for every one was talking of the murder.
At the first glance the boy gave his father Madame Graslin recognized one of those unbounded affections in which instinct blends with thought, and a most active happiness strengthens both the will of the instinct and the reasoning of thought. "This must be the child I have heard of," said Veronique, motioning to the boy. "Yes, madame."
Brezac himself had a loyal and honest friendship for Sauviat, such as all Auvergnats are apt to feel for one another. So, whenever Sauviat passed the front of the Graslin mansion he had said to himself, "Veronique shall live in that fine palace."
At this time, when Graslin was negotiating the purchase, the Navarreins domains comprised the forest of Montegnac which contained about thirty thousand acres of unused land, the ruins of the castle, the gardens, park, and about five thousand acres of uncultivated land on the plain beyond Montegnac.
Madame Graslin, to whom the name told nothing, looked at the man and noticed in his face, the expression of which was now very gentle, the signs of underlying ferocity; irregular teeth gave to the mouth, the lips blood-red, an ironical expression full of evil audacity; the dark and prominent cheek-bones had something animal about them.
Graslin made about fifty such visits in two months; each time, besides the flowers, he brought with him some rich present, rings, a watch, a gold chain, a work-box, etc. These inconceivable extravagances must be explained, and a word suffices. Veronique's dowry, promised by her father, consisted of nearly the whole of old Sauviat's property, namely, seven hundred and fifty thousand francs.
Madame Graslin replied to Grossetete in few words: "Thank you, my friend; I shall expect your protege." She showed the letter to the rector, saying, "One more wounded man for the hospital." The rector read the letter, reread it, made two or three turns on the terrace silently; then he gave it back to Madame Graslin, saying, "A fine soul, and a superior man.
This discretion was a homage rendered to so many virtues by the hard-working Catholic population, which renewed in this little corner of France the miracles of the "Lettres Edifiantes." Gerard, appointed guardian of Francis Graslin, and obliged, by terms of the will, to reside at the chateau, moved there. But he did not marry Denise Tascheron until three months after Veronique's death.
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