Marianne, XVII-XXIII [pp. 202-210]

MA RIANViV3E.
had taken on an animated expression, resolute and
timid by turns; she blushed, her glance was full of
fugitive flashes. It was a true transformation. Pierre
was greatly struck by her appearance.
"You love him already," replied he, "for you are
really pretty; it is he who brings you the beauty you
did not before possess."
"If he brings me beauty," said Marianne, who
became suddenly crimson with pleasure, "he makes
me a charming present, and I am much obliged to
him. I have always thought myself homely, and no
one has yet undeceived me."
"You were never homely; and I do not know
that I ever said-"
"Oh, you," replied she, quickly-" you never
looked at me-you never knew what kind of a face
I have."
"This is coquetry again, Marianne. I have always regarded you-with interest."
"Yes, as a physician regards a patient; you
thought that I should not live. Now that you see I
am going to live, there is no need of further trouble."
"You see, however, that I did not lie down last
night from anxiety."
"But what anxiety? Let us see. What danger
can I run with M. Philippe Gaucher? Islie not an
honest man? At his age one is not corrupt; and,
besides, I am not a child, and unable to know how
to preserve myself from the fine words of a young
man."
"There is, in reality, only the danger of gossip
on your account before you have made up your mind
-you who are so afraid of idle talk that you will not
receive me at your house."
"Oh, you, my godfather-that would be more
serious. It is well known that you would not marry
me: you are not in the same case as a man who
wishes to establish himself."
"What do you say? That is absurd. I would
not marry you if I had had the misfortune to injure
your reputation?"
"Yes, indeed, you would marry me from a point
of honor, and I should not wish to cause you such
embarrassment, nor be forced to accept marriage as
a reparation."
All Marianne's words troubled Andre profoundly. They had involuntarily stopped-she in the
stream, where Suzon wished to drink, he leaning
against a block of sandstone. The stream flowed
transparent on the sand that it hardly seemed to
moisten. The trees, thick and clothed in their fresh
leaves, enveloped the objects with a soft, green tint,
with which mingled the rosy light of the rising sun.
"Marianne," said Andre, becoming very pensive,
"you are truly very pretty this morning; and the
young fop who has ventured first to discover your
beauty must have a profound contempt for me, who
have spoken of you with the modesty a father ought
to have when his daughter is praised. He will certainly tell you of it-"
"Well! what must I think?"
"You must think that a man in my position
should not regard you with the eyes of a lover, and
that he is not ridiculous because he renders justice
to himself. You seem to reproach me for having
been blind from disdain or indifference. Can you
not suppose that I have been so by honesty of heart
and by respect?"
"Thanks, my godfather," replied Marianne, with
a radiant smile; "you have never wounded me by
your indifference. It is of little importance to me to
be considered beautiful, provided that I am beloved,
and I am very sure that you have always had a sincere friendship for me. If M. Gaucher is not a desirable match for me, tell me, and I will do what will
please you."
"Wait till this evening, Marianne; if he suits
you, all will be changed, and you will ask no more
advice from me."
" lie might please me and displease you-if he
pleases me, so much the worse, for I will listen to
you just the same."
"You are making fun of me, my child; if he
suits you, I must be pleased."
Marianne changed countenance, and became suddenly the cold little person whom Pierre knew so
w,ell. It seemed that the resignation of her godfather had wounded her, and that, weary of seeking
to rouse in him an outburst of emotion, she renounced
anew, and this time forever, the hope of being loved
by him. "Since you leave me so perfectly free in
action, I shall think no more only of questioning myself. Adieu, for a short time, my godfather." And
she was going to retrace her steps, when Pierre, carried away by a violent agitation, seized Suzon's bridle, crying out:
"Wait, Marianne; you cannot leave me with these
ice-cold words! "
"Ah, well! godfather," said Marianne, pacified,
"what words must I say to you?"
"Words of affection and confidence."
"Did I not say them in promising not to marry
against your will?"
"And you do not understand that I cannot accept your submission as a sacrifice?"
"Perhaps it wvill not be a sacrifice, who knows?"
"Who knows? Yes, indeed! you know nothing
yet!" And Pierre, intimidated and discouraged at
the moment when he should have found expression
for his emotion, loosened Suzon's bridle and bent
down his head, but not quickly enough to conceal
from Marianne two tears that hung on the edge of
his eyelids.
xvIII.
"AT last," said Marianne to herself, as she retraced her steps toward home, "it seems to me that I
see clearly. I thought he would never love me!
Did he not think and write that marriage was a
tomb, and that he should never be contented with a
peaceable and certain happiness? For all that, howv
vexed he was in seeing me hesitate; what a singular character he has, and how he distrusts everything!"
Marianne entered the house and shut herself up
in her chamber, a prey to an agitation she had never
experienced before. She was very severe in her self
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