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"Well!" replied M. de Larnac, "we have nothing." "What? Nothing?" cried Madame de Lavardens, very pale and agitated. "Nothing, nothing; absolutely nothing the one or the other of us." And M. de Larnac springing from his carriage, related what had taken place at the sale before the Tribunal of Souvigny. "At first," he said, "everything went upon wheels.
It was indeed Jean, who, when he saw in the distance the Cure and Paul de Lavardens, waved in the air his kepi adorned with two golden stripes. Jean was lieutenant in the regiment of artillery quartered at Souvigny.
"To Souvigny, to learn the result of the sale." "Stay here with us. M. de Larnac is there, and will hasten back with the news. But I can tell you who are the new owners of the castle." At this the abbé turned into the gates of the countess's grounds, and joined that lady and her son on the terrace of their house.
The Abbe had still about a mile to walk before reaching the first houses of Souvigny, and was passing the park of Lavardens when he heard, above his head, voices calling to him: "Monsieur le Cure, Monsieur le Cure." At this spot adjoining the wall, a long alley of limetrees bordered the terrace, and the Abbe, raising his head, perceived Madame de Lavardens, and her son Paul.
On November 14th, at seven o'clock in the morning, the mobiles of Souvigny assembled in the great square of the town; their chaplain was the Abbe Constantin, their surgeon-major, Dr. Reynaud. The same idea had come at the same moment to both; the priest was sixty-two, the doctor fifty.
Two thousand and odd years ago, here, in the very heart of France, Adhemar, a brave soldier, nothing more, became the first "Sire de Bourbon," Charles le Simple having given him the fief of Bourbon as a reward for military services, its chief establishing himself at Souvigny, and of course founding a religious house.
Some moments after he stopped by the little carriage, and, addressing the Cure, said: "I have just been to your house, 'mon parrain'. Pauline told me that you had gone to Souvigny about the sale. Well, who has bought the castle?" "An American, Mrs. Scott." "And Blanche-Couronne?" "The same, Mrs. Scott." "And La Rozeraie?" "Mrs. Scott again." "And the forest? Mrs. Scott again?"
It contained only a few lines: "'I have ordered the purchase to-day, for you and in your name, of the castle and lands of Longueval, near Souvigny, on the Northern Railway line. "Then we both burst into a fit of wild laughter at the thought." "No, no, Bettina; you calumniate us both. Our first thought was one of very sincere gratitude, for both my sister and I are very fond of the country.
All this passed through the mind of the old man, as he continued his walk toward Souvigny. He was going to the town, to the solicitor of the Marquise, to inquire the result of the sale; to learn who were to be the new masters of the castle of Longueval.
The posters announced that on Wednesday, May 18, 1881, at one o'clock P.M., would take place, before the Civil Tribunal of Souvigny, the sale of the domain of Longueval, divided into four lots: 1. The castle of Longueval, its dependencies, fine pieces of water, extensive offices, park of 150 hectares in extent, completely surrounded by a wall, and traversed by the little river Lizotte.
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