De Brévannes had been sitting beneath this immense tree for half an hour, and rose when he saw Madame de Hansfeld, who had the utmost difficulty to conceal her emotion when, after several years, she again encountered a man whom she had so many reasons for detesting. Her heart beat violently, and, in a low tone, she desired Iris to remain close beside her.
De Brévannes, vain and proud, interpreted this emotion to his own advantage. He gazed with ecstasy on the fine features of Paula, which the cold had mottled with the brightest tints. Her exquisite figure was displayed to the utmost advantage beneath a garnet-coloured velvet gown trimmed with ermine.
Bertha's husband allowed himself to be led into the most foolish hopes by reflecting that, by dint of persistance, he had obtained a rendezvous with a woman who combined so many charms with so much dignity; so many graces with an elevated position in society; which latter, in the eyes of De Brévannes, was by no means the least of the princess's attractions.
[Illustration 15: "Full of hope and love, M. de Brévannes approached Paula."]
Full of hope and love, he approached Paula, saying, as he did so, respectfully,--
"Madame, with what impatience I have awaited this moment--how deep is my obligation for its concession--for such extreme kindness to me!"
"You know better than any one else, sir, by whom such a step is imposed upon me," said Madame de Hansfeld, alluding to De Brévannes' threats.
"I understand you, madame," said De Brévannes; "but if you knew into what a distracted state an ardent passion felt for many years can throw you!--Oh! how often have I remembered with rapture the time when I saw you every day--when, under the guise of the love I feigned for your aunt----"
"Enough, sir, enough; you did not, unquestionably, request this interview to talk to me of the past, and which for so many reasons you ought to forget."
"Forget!--can I ever forget? This recollection has effaced every other memory in my life."
"Deign to answer me, sir! When you persisted so obstinately in requesting this interview, what was your object?"
"To tell you of my love, more intense than ever--to interest you--almost in spite of yourself, in the torments I endure."