"Proceed," murmured the priest, who was already troubled with a presentiment of evil.
"Since we parted last night, strange things have happened at the château. A wounded traveller has arrived--a traveller whom we believed long since dead. He lives. _Eh bien_, Monsieur le Curé, can you guess who he is?"
"Monsieur le Baron--I--I know not," murmured the priest; and for the third time André Bernard uttered an untruth.
"I am really surprised, Monsieur le Curé at your want of penetration. Well, it is the Chevalier de Fontane."
At this name the priest turned pale and trembled. He looked silently upon the ground.
"Listen, Monsieur le Curé," cried the young man determinedly; "dissimulation avails nothing. My sister is a rich widow, and I shall be ruined if she breaks her solemn vow never to marry a second time. I have already procured large sums of money upon the reversion of her estate, when she either dies or adopts a conventual life. I am not a man who could pass his days agreeably at the galleys. My future depends solely on her vow, and she _must not_ marry a second time."
"But, Monsieur le Baron, it seems to me that you leap at too hasty a conclusion. Your fears may be without foundation. Madame may not wish to be absolved from her vow--Monsieur le Chevalier may no longer be desirous...."
"Bah!" interrupted the Baron, savagely, "what else is he here for? His servant has told me all. He has been for eight or nine years serving in the Prussian army; during all that time he kept a strict watch upon France. At length he heard of the death of the late Count de Peyrelade: he obtained leave of absence when a decent time had elapsed. Loving and hoping more ardently than ever, he set off for Auvergne; he met with this accident at the very gates of the château, (would that it had killed him!); and there he is!"
"You see, Monsieur le Curé, there is but one way to prevent this marriage. My sister is pious, and rests every faith in your sanctity. She will sigh--perhaps she will weep; but is it for a priest, a minister of the church, to be swayed by trifles of this kind? No! it is for the sake of religion and heaven, Monsieur le Curé, that you will be firm and faithful to your trust. It is nothing to you if my fortunes fail or prosper--if a young woman weeps or smiles--_you_ must fulfil the disinterested duties of your sacred calling--_you_ must maintain the sanctity of vows--_you_ must rescue my sister from the abyss of crime into which she is falling!"