"Mon Dieu! my dear Adolphine! what's the matter?" cried the young man, in dismay; "shall I call somebody?"
But Adolphine motioned to him not to go, and shook hands with him, saying in an uncertain voice:
"It's nothing--the surprise--the excitement; I was so unprepared to see you! But it's all gone.--So you are at home again, Monsieur Gustave?"
"Yes, my good little sister. So you didn't expect me, eh? You had forgotten all about me?"
"Oh! I don't say that; on the contrary, it seemed to me that you were staying away a long while this time."
"I have been away nearly seven months; and during that time, I understand that--many things have happened here."
"Yes, I know that your sister is a widow."
"Cherami; you know, the man who was with me the day of----"
"Oh, yes! I know him; it was he, too, who came to tell us the fatal news of poor Auguste's death; for, I don't know how it happens, but your Monsieur Cherami succeeds in having his finger in everything; everybody takes him for a confidant.--When did you return?"
"It was very nice of you to think of coming here. Father is out, but he will be at home soon."
"Good! for I shall be very glad to talk with him. I trust that he won't think it improper for me to come here now, as he did before?"
Adolphine could not restrain a nervous gesture as she replied:
"Ah! so you want to come to see us again? Yes--I understand--you are no longer afraid to meet Fanny."
"Do you think that I ought to avoid her presence still? tell me, dear Adolphine!"
"I? Oh! I don't think anything about it. Why should you suppose that I think that? I can't read your heart, you see, and I have no idea whether it still entertains the same sentiments as before."
"Ah! I can safely tell you, who have always treated me like a brother; indeed, why should I make a mystery of it, anyway? Yes, I love Fanny as dearly as ever, her image has not ceased for a single day to be present in my thoughts. My love, although hopeless, has never changed. Judge, then, whether I can cease to love her, now that I am once more at liberty to anticipate happiness in the future!"
Adolphine passed her hand across her brow and made an effort to retain her self-possession, as she replied:
"Ah! it's a fine thing to love like that, with a constancy which time and absence have failed to shake! It's a fine thing; and a woman could not love you too well to recompense a passion as true and pure as yours!"