He would never be
anything but a headstrong fellow, restless, wandering, yielding to his
artistic tastes when so inclined. He was alarmed at seeing in his son
traits of character like those from which he himself had so cruelly
suffered. At last, from fear that he might take some foolish step, and
fall in love with someone beneath him in position, he wished to have him
here, that he might be married at once."
"Very well," said Angelique, who did not yet understand.
"Such a marriage had been proposed even before his arrival, and all
preliminaries were settled yesterday, so that the Abbe Cornille formally
announced that in the autumn Felicien would wed Mademoiselle Claire de
Voincourt. You know very well the Hotel de Voincourt there, close to the
Bishop's Palace. The family are very intimate with Monseigneur. On both
sides, nothing better could be hoped for, either in the way of name or
of fortune. The Abbe himself highly approves of the union."
The young girl no longer listened to these reasons of the fitness of
things. Suddenly an image appeared to come before her eyes--that of
Claire. She saw her, as she had occasionally had a glimpse of her in
the alleys of the Park during the winter, or as she had seen her on fete
days in the Cathedral.
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