"No, no! if you wish it, you!" exclaimed Rouget. "Yes, you shall be
--mistress here. All that is here shall be yours; you shall take care
of my property, it is almost yours now--for I love you; I have always
loved you since the day you came and stood there--there!--with bare
feet."
Flore made no answer. When the silence became embarrassing,
Jean-Jacques had recourse to a terrible argument.
"Come," he said, with visible warmth, "wouldn't it be better than
returning to the fields?"
"As you will, Monsieur Jean," she answered.
Nevertheless, in spite of her "as you will," Jean-Jacques got no
further. Men of his nature want certainty. The effort that they make
in avowing their love is so great, and costs them so much, that they
feel unable to go on with it. This accounts for their attachment to
the first woman who accepts them. We can only guess at circumstances
by results. Ten months after the death of his father, Jean-Jacques
changed completely; his leaden face cleared, and his whole countenance
breathed happiness. Flore exacted that he should take minute care of
his person, and her own vanity was gratified in seeing him
well-dressed; she always stood on the sill of the door, and watched
him starting for a walk, until she could see him no longer. The whole
town noticed these changes, which had made a new man of the bachelor.
"Have you heard the news?" people said to each other in Issoudun.
Pages:
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509