Florent; but he had no help for it; before
he knew where he was, Larochejaquelin had got him by the hand, and was
dragging him into the salon of Durbelliere. It appeared to the
postillion that the room was full; there were ladies there too--young,
beautiful, and modest--such as he was in the habit of seeing through the
windows of the carriages which he drove; the old Marquis was there too
now; the butler had just wheeled in his chair, and Cathelineau perceived
that he was expected to join the group at once. A vista was opened for
him up to the old man's chair; his eyes swam, and he hardly recollected
the faces of the different people round him. He wished that he had
waited at the gate, and sent in for M. Henri; he could have talked to
him alone. Why had he ridden up so boldly to the chateau gate? He had
never trembled, for a moment, during the hot work at St. Florent, but
now he felt that circumstances could almost make him a coward.
On a sudden he remembered that his hat was still on his head, and he
snatched his hand out of Henri's to remove it, and then, when it was
off, he wanted to go back to the hall to put it down.
Pages:
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103