Madame Couer-Brulant: The Cousins,volume II

“'My mistress,' the Negro woman continued, 'is a foreigner.'

“'Who does not come from this country?'

“'It is as your Grace says, and I can also see that you are in a very humorous mood.'

“'And who of the great minds of Montmartre or Belville has taught your mistress the subtlety of our beautiful French language?'

“'Madame,' she continued, 'belongs to the high aristocracy of her county, and because of her position she cannot afford to have intimate connections in her own circles, if I may say so.'

“'You may. Your explanations are a little bit obscure, but I think that the gist of it is perfectly clear.'”

“'Your Grace does understand what I am saying?'

“'Completely. What is Madame's name?'

“'Pomegranate Flower.'

“'I'll be damned, if you will pardon the expression. That is a name as burning hot as the sun of Andalusia. And it is obvious to me that anyone with a name like that is incapable of loneliness, Miss…'

“'Felicitas, at your service, Count de Paliseul.'

“'Is your mistress beautiful, young and witty? You do not have to tell me whether she is a blonde or a brunette. Her pseudonym tells me that she must have the dark eyes of a woman of Madrid, and her hair is black as the feathers of a raven.'

“'That is indeed a wonderful guess, Monsieur. And I might add that she is one of the most beautiful women in Paris. Moreover, she is only twenty-five years old.'

“'That is the age when the fruits are juiciest, Miss Felicitas.'

“'Unfortunately, she must be very careful in combining her personal desires with the conventions of society.'

“'You must admit, Miss Felicitas, that this desirable creature is taking a tremendous risk. Can you imagine what would happen if I were not a man of honor?'

“'As far as that is concerned, my lord… my mistress knows you very well.'

“'Well, now that's the limit! This beautiful stranger knows me?'

“'Absolutely!'

“'Pooh!'

“'Oh, yes, she has known you for almost two years.'

“I must have looked very incredulous, but Miss Felicitas told me so many intimate things from my private life that I could no longer doubt that the unknown beauty from that far country knew me through and through.

“'In that case,' I answered, 'I can only be very grateful to Madame Pomegranate Flower that her beautiful eyes have fallen upon me, and that she has considered me worthy of being her companion.'

“'Yes, but there is one more thing.'

“'And that is?'

“'That you must give your word as a nobleman never to try and find out who she is.'

“'Discretion is my noble virtue. I accept that condition, and I add to it that, if I ever were to meet Madame Pomegranate Flower socially, I would never give away that I know her, unless she greets me first.'

“'That is still not enough. You must also promise never to try to remove the domino mask which she always wears.'

“'Now, that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of! Your mistress, I am sorry to say, must have lost her mind during her travels. She greatly desires, if I am to believe you, an intimate friend and even then she intends to wear a veil or a mask?'

“'Yes, but only as far as her face is concerned.'

“'Aah… only her face?'

“'Yes!'

“'And what about the rest?'

“'That might, if the circumstances are proper, be unveiled.'

“'Good. I hope that this will make up for not being able to see her lovely face.'

“That Paliseul is the worst bandit I ever heard,” groaned de Melreuse.

“I agree. Completely without shame. It's positively indecent,” added de Laigle.

“A fine for both of you,” exclaimed de Lyncent. “You two have promised to shut up! Come on, Paliseul, don't let us wait. Your story is getting very interesting.”

“'Do you mean to tell me,' de Paliseul continued, 'that Madame Pomegranate Flower would show herself to me without any clothes on?'

“'Did Eve when she talked to the snake in the Garden of Eden wear any costume?'

“'No, she definitely did not. What you say makes a lot of sense and I promise happily to do whatever you have asked me. But I must admit that I am burning with desire to see this divine goddess, who, if she is incredibly beautiful as you say, dares to show herself in her natural state.'

“'In that case all I have to do is invite Your Grace in the name of my mistress for a light supper. I will be here promptly at nine o'clock tonight to drive Your Grace to the home of my mistress.'

“I already had an engagement for that particular night, but the adventure was too exotic to pass up. I promised the black chambermaid that I would be there on time, at the same time thinking what exactly was going to happen.

“It did not seem that it was a matter of money, for it had not even been brought up. My beautiful paramour-to-be seemed to know me very well, and therefore, she should have known that I can be had for flowers and candy, which really aren't very valuable. Was this woman merely eccentric, or was I about to be ambushed?

“I decided that the latter possibility was not at all impossible, and I decided to carry a gun with me.”

“Oh, my dear God. Sometimes his imagination goes too far! Jesus, man, we are living in the nineteenth century! Things like that just don't happen any longer. You may have some money, but you aren't worth all that trouble,” murmured a voice in the background.

“At exactly nine o'clock”-de Paliseul decided to ignore the nasty remark-“I was at the same spot on the Avenue MacMahon, and a few minutes later the equipage came speeding along the empty boulevard. The golden sphinx was painted on the door, and I must admit that it seemed to me that the Negress was painted black, also.

“I had barely seated myself, when she drew the curtains, and it was impossible for me to see where we were driving. We must have been riding crisscross through the city for at least a half hour when I suddenly heard a whistle. I shivered.

“'Don't be afraid,' said my companion smilingly. 'The coachman is deaf and dumb and this is the sign for the doorman to open the gate. We have arrived.'

“And indeed, I could hear the creaking of a heavy iron gate, and the coach drove through some sort of tunnel. We stopped in front of a large, marble staircase with hand forged railings. It was a very expensive estate.

“Enormous vases of porcelain were placed everywhere, filled with fresh flowers. It gave the place a festive look which was enhanced by the many lanterns which lit the entire front of the building. But, gentlemen, I am afraid that I am tiring you with my Icing story. Maybe I'd better stop.”

“That is like interrupting a serial in a newspaper. To be continued-just at the moment that it gets spicy. Come on, Paliseul, let's hear the rest of it.”

“Fine with me, but let me catch my breath first.”

“Waiter, bring something to drink for our friend here! I think that he was hinting at our lack of hospitality. And we can't hear a sexy story from a parched throat!”

“The house which I was about to enter was by no means a new or modern building. It was, however, obviously a very well kept estate, and maintaining it must have cost the owner a fortune. Moreover, it was located in a quiet section of the city, because I did not hear a sound coming from the streets. The house was quiet, almost dead, which made the many flowers and the brilliant lights look eerie.

“'Would your Grace please walk up these stairs?' Felicitas, who had preceded me, opened the door to a small waiting room which was covered with Oriental tapestries and rugs.

“The Negro woman announced the Count de Paliseul, opened yet another door, and I believed myself transported to one of those fabulous places mentioned in the stories of a Thousand and One Nights.