FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117  
118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   >>   >|  
es, how beautiful it must be! It was remarkable that she had no longing, envious feeling. She was so full of delight there was no room. They sat still a long while. She patted the thin, brown hand, then laid her soft cheek on it or made a cradle of it for her chin. "Pani," she said at length, "how splendid it would be to have M. St. Armand for one's father! I have never cared for any girl's father, but M. St. Armand would be gentle and kind. I think, too, he could smooth away all the sort of cobweb things that haunt one's brain and the thoughts you cannot make take any shape but go floating like drifts in the sky, until you are lost in the clouds." Pani looked over toward the river. Like the master, the child's strange thoughts puzzled her, but she was afraid they were wrong. The master wished that she could be translated to some wider living. It took Jeanne several days to answer her letter, but every hour was one of exultant joy. It gave her hardly less delight than the reception of his. Then it was to be sent to New York by Monsieur Fleury, who had dealings back and forth. There had been a great wedding at the Fleury house. Madelon had married a titled French gentleman and gone to Montreal. "Oh!" cried Jeanne to Monsieur Fleury, "you will be very careful and not let it get lost. I took so much pains with it. And when it gets to New York--" "A ship takes it to France. See, child, there is all this bundle to go, and there are many valuable papers in it. Do not fear;" and he smiled. "But what has M. St. Armand to say to you?" "Oh, many things about what I should learn. I have already studied much that he asked me to, and he will be very glad to hear that." M. Fleury smiled indulgently, and Jeanne with a proud step went down the paved walk bordered with flowers, a great innovation for that time. But his wife voiced his thoughts when she said:-- "Do you not think it rather foolish that Monsieur St. Armand should trouble his head about a child like that? No one knows to what sort of people she has belonged. And she will marry some habitan who cares little whether she can write a letter or not." "She will have quite a dowry. She ought to marry well. A little learning will not hurt her." "M. Bellestre must have known more than he confessed," with suspicion in her voice. M. Fleury nodded assentingly. Jeanne had been quite taken into Madame De Ber's good graces again. The money had worked wonder
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117  
118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Fleury

 

Armand

 

Jeanne

 
thoughts
 
Monsieur
 

master

 
letter
 

smiled

 

things

 

father


delight
 

bundle

 

assentingly

 

nodded

 

valuable

 
suspicion
 

papers

 

careful

 

confessed

 
graces

Madame

 
worked
 

France

 

Bellestre

 

voiced

 

innovation

 

bordered

 
flowers
 

foolish

 

people


habitan

 

trouble

 

studied

 

belonged

 

learning

 

indulgently

 

gentle

 

cradle

 

length

 

splendid


smooth

 

floating

 

drifts

 

cobweb

 

feeling

 

envious

 
beautiful
 

remarkable

 

longing

 

patted