"Madame, I did not, it is true, calculate the effect of the deeds of
gift. But if you do not wish Comte Paul for your son-in-law you are

not obliged to accept him. The contract is not signed. Give your fete,
and postpone the signing. It is far better to brave Bordeaux than

sacrifice yourself."
"How can I justify such a course to society, which is already

prejudiced against us by the slow conclusion of the marriage?"
"By some error committed in Paris; some missingdocument not sent with

the rest," replied Solonet.
"But those purchases of land near Lanstrac?"

"Monsieur de Manerville will be at no loss to find another bride and
another dowry."

"Yes, he'll lose nothing; but we lose all, all!"
"You?" replied Solonet; "why, you can easily find another count who

will cost you less money, if a title is the chief object of this
marriage."

"No, no! we can't stake our honor in that way. I am caught in a trap,
monsieur. All Bordeaux will ring with this to-morrow. Our solemn words

are pledged--"
"You wish the happiness of Mademoiselle Natalie."

"Above all things."
"To be happy in France," said the notary, "means being mistress of the

home. She can lead that fool of a Manerville by the nose if she
chooses; he is so dull he has actually seen nothing of all this. Even

if he now distrusts you, he will always trust his wife; and his wife
is YOU, is she not? The count's fate is still within your power if you

choose to play the cards in your hand."
"If that were true, monsieur, I know not what I would not do to show

my gratitude," she said, in a transport of feeling that colored her
cheeks.

"Let us now return to the others, madame," said Solonet. "Listen
carefully to what I shall say; and then--you shall think me incapable

if you choose."
"My dear friend," said the young notary to Maitre Mathias, "in spite

of your great ability, you have not foreseen either the case of
Monsieur de Manerville dying without children, nor that in which he

leaves only female issue. In either of those cases the entail would
pass to the Manervilles, or, at any rate, give rise to suits on their

part. I think, therefore, it is necessary to stipulate that in the
first case the entailed property shall pass under the general deed of

gift between husband and wife; and in the second case that the entail
shall be declared void. This agreement concerns the wife's interest."

"Both clauses seem to me perfectly just," said Maitre Mathias. "As to
their ratification, Monsieur le comte can, doubtless, come to an

understanding with the chancellor, if necessary."
Solonet took a pen and added this momentous clause on the margin of

the contract. Paul and Natalie paid no attention to the matter; but
Madame Evangelista dropped her eyes while Maitre Mathias read the

added sentence aloud.
"We will now sign," said the mother.

The volume of voice which Madame Evangelista repressed as she uttered
those words betrayed her violentemotion. She was thinking to herself:

"No, my daughter shall not be ruined--but he! My daughter shall have
the name, the title, and the fortune. If she should some day discover

that she does not love him, that she loves another, irresistibly, Paul
shall be driven out of France! My daughter shall be free, and happy,

and rich."
If Maitre Mathias understood how to analyze business interests, he

knew little of the analysis of human passions. He accepted Madame
Evangelista's words as an honorable "amende," instead of judging them

for what they were, a declaration of war. While Solonet and his clerk
superintended Natalie as she signed the documents,--an operation which

took time,--Mathias took Paul aside and told him the meaning of the
stipulation by which he had saved him from ultimate pain.

"The whole affair is now 'en regle.' I hold the documents. But the
contract contains a rescript for the diamonds; you must ask for them.

Business is business. Diamonds are going up just now, but may go down.
The purchase of those new domains justifies you in turning everything

into money that you can. Therefore, Monsieur le comte, have no false
modesty in this matter. The first payment is due after the formalities

are over. The sum is two hundred thousand francs; put the diamonds
into that. You have the lien on this house, which will be sold at

once, and will pay the rest. If you have the courage to spend only
fifty thousand francs for the next three years, you can save the two

hundred thousand francs you are now obliged to pay. If you plant
vineyards on your new estates, you can get an income of over twenty-

five thousand francs upon them. You may be said, in short, to have
made a good marriage."

Paul pressed the hand of his old friend very affectionately, a gesture
which did not escape Madame Evangelista, who now came forward to offer

him the pen. Suspicion became certainty to her mind. She was confident
that Paul and Mathias had come to an understanding about her. Rage and

hatred sent the blood surging through her veins to her heart. The
worst had come.

After verifying that all the documents were duly signed and the
initials of the parties affixed to the bottom of the leaves, Maitre

Mathias looked from Paul to his mother-in-law, and seeing that his
client did not intend to speak of the diamonds, he said:--

"I do not suppose there can be any doubt about the transfer of the
diamonds, as you are now one family."

"It would be more regular if Madame Evangelista made them over now, as
Monsieur de Manerville has become responsible for the guardianship

funds, and we never know who may live or die," said Solonet, who
thought he saw in this circumstance fresh cause of anger in the

mother-in-law against the son-in-law.
"Ah! mother," cried Paul, "it would be insulting to us all to do that,

--'Summum jus, summum injuria,' monsieur," he said to Solonet.
"And I," said Madame Evangelista, led by the hatred now surging in her

heart to see a direct insult to her in the indirectappeal of Maitre
Mathias, "I will tear that contract up if you do not take them."

She left the room in one of those furious passions which long for the
power to destroy everything, and which the sense of impotence drives

almost to madness.
"For Heaven's sake, take them, Paul," whispered Natalie in his ear.

"My mother is angry; I shall know why to-night, and I will tell you.
We must pacify her."

Calmed by this first outburst, madame kept the necklace and ear-rings,
which she was wearing, and brought the other jewels, valued at one

hundred and fifty thousand francs by Elie Magus. Accustomed to the
sight of family diamonds in all valuations of inheritance, Maitre

Mathias and Solonet examined these jewels in their cases and exclaimed
upon their duty.

"You will lose nothing, after all, upon the 'dot,' Monsieur le comte,"
said Solonet, bringing the color to Paul's face.

"Yes," said Mathias, "these jewels will meet the first payment on the
purchase of the new estate."

"And the costs of the contract," added Solonet.
Hatred feeds, like love, on little things; the least thing strengthens

it; as one beloved can do no evil, so the person hated can do no good.
Madame Evangelista assigned to hypocrisy the natural embarrassment of

Paul, who was unwilling to take the jewels, and not knowing where to
put the cases, longed to fling them from the window. Madame

Evangelista spurred him with a glance which seemed to say, "Take your
property from here."

"Dear Natalie," said Paul, "put away these jewels; they are yours; I
give them to you."

Natalie locked them into the drawer of a console. At this instant the
noise of the carriages in the court-yard and the murmur of voices in