CHAPTER XIII.

 WE found many of my friends assembled—habitués of the opera lobbies and of the greenroom, and, as I had expected, a few unmasked “bouquets” anxious for the time to come when the water-bottles would be used—supper time!

 

I introduced Louis to several friends, and it is needless to say that he was politely received and welcomed.

 

Ten minutes after our arrival D—— entered, accompanied by his bouquet¹ of myosotis, who unmasked herself with a freedom and precision which argued a long acquaintance with these sort of parties.

 

I introduced Louis to D——.

 

“Now,” said B——, “if all the presentations have been made, I suggest that we present ourselves at table.”

 

“All the presentations are made, but all the guests have not arrived,” replied D——.

 

“Who is expected then?”

 

“Chateau² Renaud is still wanting to complete the party.”

 

“Ah, just so. By-the-by, was there not some bet?”

 

“Yes. We laid a wager³ of a supper for twelve, that he would not bring a certain lady here to-night.”

 

“And who is the lady,” asked the bouquet of myosotis, “who is so very shy as to be made the subject of a bet?”

 

I looked at Louis de Franchi. He was outwardly composed, but pale as a corpse⁴.

 

“Faith, I don’t know that there is any great harm in telling you her name, especially as none of you know her I think. She is Madame——”

 

Louis placed his hand upon D——’s arm.

 

“Monsieur,” he said; “will you grant me a favour? As a new acquaintance I venture to ask it!”

 

“What is it, monsieur?”

 

“Do not name the lady who is expected with M. de Chateau Renaud, you know she is a married woman!”

 

“Oh yes, but her husband is at Smyrna, in the East Indies, in Mexico, or some such place. When a husband lives so far away it is nearly the same as having no husband at all.”

 

“Her husband will return in a few days. I know him. He is a gallant⁵ fellow. I would wish, if possible, to spare him the chagrin⁶ of learning on his return that his wife had made one at this supper-party.”

 

“Excuse me, monsieur,” said D——, “I was not aware that you are acquainted with the lady, and I did not think she was married. But since you know her and her husband——”

 

“I do know them.”

 

“Then we must exercise greater discretion⁷. Ladies and gentlemen, whether Chateau Renaud comes or not—whether he wins or loses his bet, I must beg of you all to keep this adventure secret.”

 

We all promised, not because our moral senses were offended, but because we were hungry and wished to begin our supper.

 

“Thank you, monsieur,” said Louis to D——, holding out his hand to him. “I assure you you are acting⁸ like a thorough gentleman in this matter.”

 

We then passed into the supper-room, and each one took his allotted⁹ place. Two chairs were vacant, those reserved for Chateau Renaud and his expected companion.

 

The servant was about to remove them.

 

“No,” said the master, “let them remain; Chateau Renaud has got until four o’clock to decide his wager. At four o’clock if he is not here he will have lost.”

 

I could not keep my eyes from Louis de Franchi; I saw him watching the timepiece anxiously. It was then 3.40 A.M.

 

“Is that clock right?” asked Louis.

 

“That is not my concern,” said D——, laughing. “I set it by Chateau Renaud’s watch, so that there may be no mistake.”

 

“Well, gentlemen,” said the bouquet of myosotis, “it seems we cannot talk of anything but Chateau Renaud and his unknown fair one. We are getting horribly ‘slow,’ I think.”

 

“You are quite right, my dear,” replied V——. “There are so many women of whom we can speak, and who are only waiting to be spoken to——”

 

“Let us drink their health,” cried D——.

 

So we did, and then the champagne¹⁰ went round briskly; every guest had a bottle at his or her elbow.

 

I noticed that Louis scarcely tasted his wine; “Drink, man!” I whispered: “don’t you see that she will not come?”

 

“It still wants a quarter to four,” said he; “at four o’clock, even though I shall be late in commencing, I promise you I will overtake some of you.”

 

“Oh, very well!” I replied.

 

While we had been exchanging these few words in a low tone, the conversation had become general around the table. Occasionally D—— and Louis glanced at the clock, which ticked regularly on without any care for the impatience¹¹ of the two men who were so intent upon its movements.

 

At five minutes to four I looked at Louis.

 

“To your health,” I said.

 

He took his glass, smiled, and raised it to his lips. He had drunk about half its contents when a ring was heard at the front door.

 

I did not think it possible that Louis could become any paler than he was, but I saw my mistake then.

 

“ ’Tis he,” he muttered.

 

“Yes, but perhaps he may have come alone,” I replied.

 

”We shall see in a moment.”

 

The sound of the bell had attracted everybody’s attention, and the most profound silence suddenly succeeded the buzz of conversation which had till then prevailed.

 

Then the sound of talking was heard in the anteroom.

 

D—— rose and opened the door.

 

“I can recognize her voice,” said Louis, as he grasped my arm with a vice-like grip.

 

“We shall see! wait! be a man!” I answered. “It must be evident that if she has thus come to supper with a man, of her own will, to the house of a stranger, she is not worthy¹² your sympathy.”

 

“I beg, madam, that you will enter,” said D——’s voice in the outer room. “We are all friends here I assure you.”

 

“Yes, come in, my dear Emily,” said M. de Chateau Renaud, “you need not take off your mask if you do not wish to do so.”

 

“The wretch,” muttered Louis.

 

At that moment a lady entered, dragged in rather than assisted by D——, who fancied he was doing the honours, and by Chateau Renaud.

 

“Three minutes to four,” said Chateau Renaud to D——, in a low voice.

 

“Quite right, my dear fellow, you have won.”

 

“Not yet, monsieur,” said the young unknown addressing Chateau Renaud, and drawing herself up to her full height. “I can now understand your persistence¹³. You laid a wager that I would sup here. Is that so?”

 

Chateau Renaud was silent. Then addressing D——, she continued.

 

“Since this man cannot answer, will you, monsieur, reply. Did not M. de Chateau Renaud wager that he would bring me here to supper to-night?”

 

“I will not hide from you, madame, that he flattered us with that hope,” replied D——.

 

“Well, then, M. de Chateau Renaud has lost, for I was quite unaware¹⁴ he was bringing me here. I believed we were to sup at the house of a friend of my own. So it appears to me that M. de Chateau Renaud has not won his wager.”

 

“But now you are here, my dear Emily, you may as well remain; won’t you? See, we have a good company and some pleasant young ladies too!”

 

“Now that I am here,” replied the unknown, “I will thank the gentleman who appears to be the master of the house for the courtesy with which he has treated me. But as, unfortunately, I cannot accept his polite invitation I will beg M. Louis de Franchi to see me home.”

 

Louis with a bound placed himself between the speaker and Chateau Renaud.

 

“I beg to observe, madam,” said the latter between his shut teeth, “that I brought you hither and consequently I am the proper person to conduct you home.”

 

“Gentlemen,” said the unknown, “you are five, I put myself into your honourable¹⁵ care. I trust you will defend me from the violence of M. de Chateau Renaud!”

 

Chateau Renaud made a movement. We all rose at once.

 

“Very good, madame,” he said. “You are at liberty. I know with whom I have to reckon.”

 

“If you refer to me, sir,” replied Louis de Franchi with an air of hauteur¹⁶ impossible to describe, “you will find me all day to-morrow at the Rue¹⁷ du Helder, No. 7.”

 

“Very well, monsieur. Perhaps I shall not have the pleasure to call upon you myself, but I hope that two friends of mine may be as cordially received in my place.”

 

“That was all that was necessary,” said Louis, shrugging his shoulders disdainfully. “A challenge before a lady! Come, madame,” he continued, offering his arm. “Believe me, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the honour you do me.”

 

And then they left the room, amidst the most profound silence.

 

“Well, gentlemen, so it seems I have lost,” said Chateau Renaud, when the door closed. “That’s all settled! To-morrow evening all of you sup with me at the Frères Provençaux.”

1 bouquet   

n.花束，酒香

参考例句：

• This wine has a rich bouquet.这种葡萄酒有浓郁的香气。
• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。

2 chateau   

n.城堡，别墅

参考例句：

• The house was modelled on a French chateau.这房子是模仿一座法国大别墅建造的。
• The chateau was left to itself to flame and burn.那府第便径自腾起大火燃烧下去。

3 wager   

n.赌注；vt.押注，打赌

参考例句：

• They laid a wager on the result of the race.他们以竞赛的结果打赌。
• I made a wager that our team would win.我打赌我们的队会赢。

4 corpse   

n.尸体，死尸

参考例句：

• What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
• The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。

5 gallant   

adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的

参考例句：

• Huang Jiguang's gallant deed is known by all men. 黄继光的英勇事迹尽人皆知。
• These gallant soldiers will protect our country.这些勇敢的士兵会保卫我们的国家的。

6 chagrin   

n.懊恼；气愤；委屈

参考例句：

• His increasingly visible chagrin sets up a vicious circle.他的明显的不满引起了一种恶性循环。
• Much to his chagrin,he did not win the race.使他大为懊恼的是他赛跑没获胜。

7 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

8 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

9 allotted   

分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I completed the test within the time allotted . 我在限定的时间内完成了试验。
• Each passenger slept on the berth allotted to him. 每个旅客都睡在分配给他的铺位上。

10 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

11 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

12 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

13 persistence   

n.坚持，持续，存留

参考例句：

• The persistence of a cough in his daughter puzzled him.他女儿持续的咳嗽把他难住了。
• He achieved success through dogged persistence.他靠着坚持不懈取得了成功。

14 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

15 honourable   

adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的

参考例句：

• I don't think I am worthy of such an honourable title.这样的光荣称号，我可担当不起。
• I hope to find an honourable way of settling difficulties.我希望设法找到一个体面的办法以摆脱困境。

16 hauteur   

n.傲慢

参考例句：

• Once,she had been put off by his hauteur.她曾经对他的傲慢很反感。
• A deeper shade of hauteur overspread his features,but he said not a word.一阵傲慢的阴影罩上了他的脸，可是他一句话也没有说。

17 rue   

n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔

参考例句：

• You'll rue having failed in the examination.你会悔恨考试失败。
• You're going to rue this the longest day that you live.你要终身悔恨不尽呢。