Mademoiselle Duval treated herself to a new black gown and a very forbidding-looking black bonnet, but really presented an elegant though austere7 appearance. Denise’s white wedding gown was made with her own fingers, and, although it was only a [Pg 301]simple muslin, never was there a daintier looking bride in the world than the sergeant’s daughter.
In the first row of seats in the church sat Paul and Lucie, the latter charmingly dressed in honor of the occasion. The chapel was filled with humbler people, friends of the bride and bridegroom. The bride, with her father, the sergeant, arrived in great state in Lucie’s victoria and pair and the same equipage—the handsomest in Beaupré—carried the newly-married pair back to the large room in one of the plain but comfortable hotels of the place, where a wedding breakfast was served.
Toni was not at all frightened at the imminent8 circumstances of the day. On the contrary, he felt a sense of protection in marrying Denise. She would always be at hand to take care of him, for Toni felt the need of being taken care of just as much, in spite of his five feet ten, and his one hundred and fifty pounds weight, and his being the crack rider in the regiment9, as he had done in the old days at Bienville when he ran away from the little Clery boys. He did not, therefore, experience the usual panic which often attacks the stoutest-hearted bridegroom, and went through the wedding breakfast with actual courage. He absolutely for[Pg 302]got everything painful in his past life. Nicolas and Pierre melted away—he did not feel as if they had ever existed. The secret which had haunted him was a mere10 fantasy, that vanished in the glow of his wedding morning.
Paul and Lucie came in during the breakfast and Paul proposed the bridegroom’s health with his hand on Toni’s shoulder, Toni grinning in ecstasy11 meanwhile. Paul spoke12 of their early intimacy13, and Toni made a very appropriate reply—at least Denise and Madame Marcel thought so. After the lieutenant and his wife had left, the fun grew fast and furious. It was as merry a wedding breakfast as Paul’s and Lucie’s, even though the guests were such simple people as would come to the corporal’s wedding with the sergeant’s daughter. Toni could have said with truth that it was the happiest day of his life.
When the wedding party dispersed14, and they returned to the Duvals’ lodgings16 that the bride might change her dress, the sergeant, being left alone in the little sitting-room17 with Madame Marcel, grew positively18 tender, saying to her in the manner which he had found perfectly19 killing20 with the girls twenty-five years before:
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“Now, Madame, that we have seen our children happily married we should think somewhat of our own future. The same joy which those two children have may be ours.”
Madame Marcel, who had heretofore received all the sergeant’s gallant21 speeches with an air of blushing consciousness, suddenly burst out laughing in a very self-possessed22 manner, and said:
“Oh, we are much too old, Monsieur; we should be quite ridiculous if either one of us thought of marrying.”
The sergeant received a shock at this, particularly as he considered himself still young and handsome.
“My dear Madame Marcel,” he replied impressively, “certainly age has not touched you and I flatter myself”—here he drew himself up and twirled the ends of his superbly-waxed mustaches—“that so far time has not laid his hand heavily on me.”
“If you wish to marry, Monsieur,” replied Madame Marcel, still laughing, “you ought to marry some young girl. Men of your age always like girls young enough to be their daughters,” and she laughed again quite impertinently.
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The sergeant frowned at Madame Marcel. He had never seen this phase of her character before.
“I assure you, Madame,” he said stiffly, “that if I care to aspire23 to the hand of a young woman of my daughter’s age, I might not be really considered too old; but I prefer a maturer person like yourself.”
Madame Marcel, seeing that the sergeant was becoming deeply chagrined24, determined25 not to dash his hopes too suddenly, so she reassumed her old manner of girlish embarrassment26 and said:
“Well, Monsieur, one wedding makes many, you know; but a wedding is a fatiguing27 business to go through with, particularly at our age. It will take us both, at our time of life, several weeks to recover from this delightful28 event and we may then discuss the project you mention.”
This was slightly encouraging, and as the sergeant had nothing better to comfort himself with he contrived29 to extract some satisfaction from it.
When Denise appeared, dressed in her neat gray traveling gown, the Verneys’ handsome victoria was at the door to take her and Toni to the station. Toni and Denise felt very grand, as well as very happy, sitting up in the fine victoria with the pair [Pg 305]of prancing30 bays, and although they were conscious that the footman and coachman were thrusting their tongues into their cheeks, it mattered very little to Denise and Toni, whose black eyes were lustrous31 with delight. At last, he reflected joyously32, he had some one who would be obliged to look after him the rest of his life.
When they reached the station the train was almost ready to depart. Toni had wished, on this auspicious33 day, to travel to Paris second-class, but the prudent34 Denise concluded that as they would go through life third-class they had better begin on that basis. So Toni selected a third-class carriage which was vacant and, tipping half a franc to the guard, he and Denise found themselves in it without other company. It was their first moment alone since they had been made one. Toni put his arm around Denise and drew her head on his shoulder with the strangest feeling in his heart of being protected, and Denise, for her part, had the sense of having adopted this fine, handsome, laughing fellow, to shield under her wing the rest of her life. Yet they were lovers deep and sincere. No French gentleman had ever treated his fiancée with greater respect than Toni, the corporal, had treated [Pg 306]Denise, or ever had a higher rapture35 in their first long kiss.
He was roused from his dream in Paradise by the consciousness of a sinister36 presence near him, and his eyes fell on the red head of Nicolas peering like the serpent in the Garden of Eden in at the window of the railway carriage. If the place of eternal torment37 had yawned before Toni’s eyes he could not have felt a greater horror. And this was increased when Nicolas coolly opened the door of the carriage and got in, followed by Pierre, and the two seated themselves directly opposite the newly-married pair. Almost immediately the train moved off. Toni had only one thought in his mind—to keep Denise from finding out that terrible secret of his—why he hated and feared these men. He hated and feared them now more than ever, but some new courage seemed to be born in him. The cardinal38 difference between a brave man and a coward is that a brave man can think when he is afraid and can even act sensibly, and a coward can not do either. Always before this when he had been frightened, Toni had acted like a fool, but now he acted as sensibly as Paul Verney himself could, and for once behaved bravely, although he was contend[Pg 307]ing with men instead of horses. The two rogues39 opposite him leered at Denise, nudged each other, and Pierre held out his hand to Toni.
“How do you do, comrade?” he said.
For answer, Toni folded his arms and looked at the extended paw with disgust.
“No, I thank you,” he replied, in a voice as steady as if he were managing a vicious brute40 of a horse. “Denise, don’t look at them, my dear,” and he motioned her to sit with him in the furthest corner of the carriage.
Denise surmised41 who these two individuals were, but said nothing, only averting42 her eyes from them. Nicolas then persisted in trying to
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