"In his name!" cried the stranger; and his eye gleamed with repressed rage. But soon, seeming to obtain control of himself, he continued:
"I say again, I am not in need of anything now; later, it is possible that your money may be of use to me. Adieu, young man; we shall meet again."
And the vagabond walked away, after casting upon Alfred a glance of strange meaning. The young men returned to their horses and rode back to the château, discussing this meeting, which caused them to forget Isaure and their rivalry for the moment.
While the two friends spent their time making love to the pretty goatherd, while Monsieur Férulus placed his grammars and his dictionaries on the dusty shelves of the library, while Mademoiselle Cheval exercised her talents in the kitchen and Cunette in the cellar, while the gardener was digging up the garden and the workmen were repairing the whole domain of La Roche-Noire, Robineau passed his time at the dinners and other parties which were given him at Saint-Amand, whither he went every day. Like all small provincial towns, the little town of Saint-Amand contained its proportion of originals, gossips, pretentious folk, and heads of families who had daughters to marry. Robineau was rich, he had just purchased a château, and he proposed taking a wife; that was more than was necessary for him to be fêted, made much of and invited everywhere.
Robineau created a sensation in every house that he visited; people said to themselves: "That is Monsieur de la Roche-Noire, the new owner of the château; he is rich and he means to marry; he told his notary, who told his clients, who told the rest of the town." All the young ladies glanced furtively at Robineau and assumed pretty little airs to attract that gentleman, who was not particularly fascinating; but it is so cruel to remain unmarried, and on the other hand so pleasant to have a château, and to be called Madame de la Roche-Noire, that those young ladies were very excusable for trying to captivate the newcomer. Their mammas also heaped attentions upon him; they applauded what he said and smiled at what he did. Even the widows darted at the new landed proprietor an occasional flashing or tender glance, accompanied by a stifled sigh; for many widows are not at all sorry to contract a second marriage, in order to divert their minds from their grief, if they have had a good husband; to recompense themselves, if they have had a bad one; or to draw distinctions, if they have had a passable one. Amid all these allurements, Robineau hardly knew where he was; he considered the soirées at Saint-Amand far preferable to the balls in Paris; he deemed himself at once an Apollo and a Voltaire, and did not reflect that it was his twenty-five thousand francs a year, which, in the eyes of many people, endowed him with charm, wit and learning; whereas in reality he was still as dull and as great a fool as ever! Bridoison declares that that is the sort of thing which people say to themselves; but there are many people still, who never do.