He joined calmly the General on the road, and they made a
few steps in silence, the General trying to master his agitation, and
get proper control of his voice.
"It is perfectly true; I forgot something. I forgot till half an hour
ago that I had an urgent affair of honour on my hands. It's incredible,
but it is so!"
All was still for a moment. Then in the profound evening silence of the
countryside the clear, aged voice of the Chevalier was heard trembling
slightly: "Monsieur! That's an indignity."
It was his first thought. The girl born during his exile, the posthumous
daughter of his poor brother murdered by a band of Jacobins, had grown
since his return very dear to his old heart, which had been starving on
mere memories of affection for so many years. "It is an inconceivable
thing, I say! A man settles such affairs before he thinks of asking for
a young girl's hand. Why! If you had forgotten for ten days longer, you
would have been married before your memory returned to you. In my time
men did not forget such things--nor yet what is due to the feelings
of an innocent young woman.
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