登陆注册
15423500000047

第47章

A SCHEME OF VENGEANCE.

The marriage between Norbert and Mademoiselle de Puymandour was entirely deficient in that brief, ephemeral light that shines over the honeymoon.The icy wall that stood between them became each day stronger and taller.There was no one to smooth away inequalities, no one to exercise a kindly influence over two characters, both haughty and determined.After his father's death, when Norbert announced his intention of residing in Paris, M.de Puymandour highly approved of this resolution, for he fancied that if he were to remain alone in the country, he could to a certain extent take the place and position of the late Duke, and, with the permission of his son-in-law, at once take up his residence at Champdoce.

Almost as soon as the young Duchess arrived in Paris she realized the fact that she was the most unfortunate woman in the world.As Champdoce was almost like her own home, her eyes lighted on familiar scenes; and if she went out, she was sure of being greeted by kindly words and friendly features; but in Paris she only found solitude, for everything there was strange and hostile.The late Duke, pinching and parsimonious as he had been towards himself and his son, launched out into the wildest extravagances when he imagined he was working for his coming race, and the home which he had prepared for his great-grandchildren was the incarnation of splendor and luxury.

Upon the arrival of Norbert and his wife, they could almost fancy that they had only quitted their town house a few days before, so perfect were all the arrangements.Had Norbert been left to act for himself, he might have felt a little embarrassed, but his trusty servant Jean aided him with his advice, and the establishment was kept on a footing to do honor to the traditions of the house of Champdoce.Everything can be procured in Paris for money, and Jean had filled the ante-rooms with lackeys, the kitchens and offices with cooks and scullions, and the stables with grooms, coachmen, and horses, while every description of carriage stood in the place appointed for their reception.

But all this bustle and excitement did not seem in the eyes of the young Duchess to impart life to the house.It appeared to her dead and empty as a sepulchre.It seemed as if she were living beneath the weight of some vague and indefinable terror, some hideous and hidden spectre which might at any moment start from its hiding place and drive her mad with the alarm it excited.She had not a soul in whom she could confide.She had been forbidden by Norbert to renew her acquaintance with her old Parisian friends, for Norbert did not consider them of sufficiently good family, and in addition he had used the pretext of the deep mourning they were in to put off receiving visitors for a twelvemonth at least.She felt herself alone and solitary, and, in this frame of mind, how was it possible for her not to let her thoughts wander once again to George de Croisenois.Had her father been willing, she might have been his wife now, and have been wandering hand in hand in some sequestered spot beneath the clear blue sky of Italy./He/ had loved her, while Norbert----.

Norbert was leading one of those mad, headstrong lives which have but two conclusions--ruin or suicide.His name had been put up for election at a fashionable club by his uncle, the Chevalier de Septraor, as soon as he arrived in Paris.He had been elected at once, being looked on as a decided acquisition to the list of members.He bore one of the oldest names to be found among the French nobility, while his fortune-- gigantic as it was--had been magnified threefold by the tongue of common report.He was received with open arms everywhere, and lived in a perfect atmosphere of flattery.Not being able to shine by means of cultivation or polish, he sought to gain a position in his club by a certain roughness of demeanor and a cynical mode of speech.He flung away his money in every direction, kept racers, and was uniformly fortunate in his betting transactions.He frequented the world of gallantry, and was constantly to be seen in the company of women whose reputations were exceedingly equivocal.His days were spent on horseback, or in the fencing room, and his nights in drinking, gambling, and all kinds of debauchery.His wife scarcely ever saw him, for when he returned home it was usually with the first beams of day, either half intoxicated or savage from having lost large sums at the gambling table.Jean, the old and trusty retainer of the house of Champdoce, was deeply grieved, not so much at seeing his master so rapidly pursuing the path to ruin as at the fact that he was ever surrounded by dissolute and disreputable acquaintances.

同类推荐
  • 赵盼儿风月救风尘

    赵盼儿风月救风尘

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 北魏僧惠生使西域记

    北魏僧惠生使西域记

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 大比丘三千威仪

    大比丘三千威仪

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 寿世保元

    寿世保元

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 弘道录

    弘道录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
热门推荐
  • 福妻驾到

    福妻驾到

    现代饭店彪悍老板娘魂穿古代。不分是非的极品婆婆?三年未归生死不明的丈夫?心狠手辣的阴毒亲戚?贪婪而好色的地主老财?吃上顿没下顿的贫困宭境?不怕不怕,神仙相助,一技在手,天下我有!且看现代张悦娘,如何身带福气玩转古代,开面馆、收小弟、左纳财富,右傍美男,共绘幸福生活大好蓝图!!!!快本新书《天媒地聘》已经上架开始销售,只要3.99元即可将整本书抱回家,你还等什么哪,赶紧点击下面的直通车,享受乐乐精心为您准备的美食盛宴吧!)
  • 卡耐基魅力口才与说话技巧

    卡耐基魅力口才与说话技巧

    哈佛大学里最杰出的心理学教授威廉·詹姆斯曾经写道:“不管任何课程,只要你能满怀热忱,就一定可以确保无事。假如你对某一结果热切关注,你一定会达成愿望。假如你全心想做好一件事,你一定会做好它。假如你期望财富,那你就会拥有财富。假如你渴望成为一个博学的人,你一定会学富五车。只要你真心地期盼这些事,只有你心无旁骛地去努力,你才不会胡思乱想一些不相干的事,你才会得到你想要的东西。”
  • 玩火之格细寨

    玩火之格细寨

    一个可怕的梦,一首奇怪的歌,一个古老的传说,一个神秘的女人,揭开一段沉痛的历史,讲述一个扣人心弦的故事.
  • 云中恋歌

    云中恋歌

    我是云歌,也是云歌。但我究竟是不是云歌……那注定的命运能改变吗?与我携手一生的是陵哥哥还是那个翩翩公子孟玨?我究竟是谁……可是一切都不同了……(大家要有耐心,后面的内容有惊喜,可以保证搞笑,但是会有一点点虐心,希望大家多多支持::>_<::)
  • 天习

    天习

    亘古不变的天空之城,一点繁星坠落,一场大劫来临。百年年前的一朵浩劫之花,无数隐世高手丧命于此。今朝一稚子从世俗脱颖而出踏上修真大道。
  • 为了等到你

    为了等到你

    德国归来的博士生,遇见了自己的初恋,本以为可以微笑着面对这一切,但是她错了。“崇洋媚外的博士生,你还知道回来。”她眨眼看着这个穿着西装革履的男人,“这里是医院,我是要讨论你的病情的,你的先天性哮喘病已经治愈,不用再来了。”“我的病,你治不了。”“我这么一个崇洋媚外的博士生也治不了你的病吗,要知道我在德国学习了整整十年。”为了他的病,她说谎有了另外心仪的男子,飞到了德国男人拍桌子,“这十年我想你,想你都快成为精神病了,请问你是精神病医生吗?”凝视
  • 誓不为妃:邪君相公别闹了

    誓不为妃:邪君相公别闹了

    两年前,她一身修为随着清白被毁丧失殆尽,从天才骄女变成了人人唾弃的荡妇。两年后,她隐去那绝世妖艳的容貌,安静的做个废材傻女子……可却被某个无良邪君请妻入瓮,还一脸正义凛然的说:“怀了本王的崽儿,还想要逃到哪儿去!”【情节虚构,请勿模仿】
  • 弥赛亚之翼

    弥赛亚之翼

    原本宁静的村庄被一群恶心的怪物入侵,三少年英勇赴战,剿灭敌人。人们闻讯回来,村庄恢复昔日模样。三人成立公会,立志成为最强……奋斗过程中发现不可告人的秘密,最终的梦魇竟是……在力量与仁义之间,有人选择前者,有人选择后者。为了一己私利和变态的心理满足感,梦魇公然向世界宣战,善与恶的战斗在此展开,世界政府与公会的对抗也就此拉开帷幕……
  • 福妻驾到

    福妻驾到

    现代饭店彪悍老板娘魂穿古代。不分是非的极品婆婆?三年未归生死不明的丈夫?心狠手辣的阴毒亲戚?贪婪而好色的地主老财?吃上顿没下顿的贫困宭境?不怕不怕,神仙相助,一技在手,天下我有!且看现代张悦娘,如何身带福气玩转古代,开面馆、收小弟、左纳财富,右傍美男,共绘幸福生活大好蓝图!!!!快本新书《天媒地聘》已经上架开始销售,只要3.99元即可将整本书抱回家,你还等什么哪,赶紧点击下面的直通车,享受乐乐精心为您准备的美食盛宴吧!)
  • 拯救悬崖边上的人

    拯救悬崖边上的人

    人类文明的光环渐渐的消失,而彼此变得愚昧、野蛮、自私……巫婆的毒药,化为一种气体混杂在空气中,人们不知不觉中迷失了本性,变得像动物一样凶残。当人类失去了文明,与禽兽何异?一个勇敢的小姑娘,用她的勇气、智慧,战胜巫婆,重新找回文明的曙光。