it was on the 25th of september that the building of the new façade of the ladies' paradise was commenced. baron hartmann, according to his promise, had had the matter settled at the last general meeting of the crédit immobilier. and mouret was at length going to enjoy the realisation of his dreams; this façade, about to arise in the rue du dix-décembre, was like the very blossoming of his fortune. he wished, therefore, to celebrate the laying of the first stone, to make a ceremony of the work, and he distributed gratuities amongst his employees, and gave them game and champagne for dinner in the evening. every one noticed his wonderfully good humour during the ceremony, his victorious gesture as he laid the first stone, with a flourish of the trowel. for weeks he had been anxious, agitated by a nervous torment that he did not always succeed in concealing; and his triumph served as a respite, a distraction in his suffering. during the afternoon he seemed to have returned to his former healthy gaiety. but, after dinner, when he went through the refectory to drink a glass of champagne with his staff, he appeared feverish again, smiling with a painful look, his features drawn up by the unavowed pain that was devouring him. he was once more mastered by it.
the next day, in the ready-made department, clara tried to be disagreeable with denise. she had noticed colomban's bashful passion, and took it into her head to joke about the baudus. as marguerite was sharpening her pencil while waiting for customers, she said to her, in a loud voice:
“you know my lover opposite. it really grieves me to see him in that dark shop, where no one ever enters.”
“he's not so badly off,” replied marguerite, “he's going to marry the governor's daughter.”
“oh! oh!” replied clara, “it would be good fun to lead him astray, then! i'll try the game on, my word of honour!” and she continued in the same strain, happy to feel denise was shocked. the latter forgave her everything else; but the idea of her dying cousin geneviève, finished by this cruelty, threw her into an indignant rage. at that moment a customer came in, and as madame aurélie had just gone downstairs, she took the direction of the counter, and called clara.
“mademoiselle prunaire, you had better attend to this lady instead of gossiping there.”
“i wasn't gossiping.”
“have the kindness to hold your tongue, and attend to this lady immediately.”
clara gave in, conquered. when denise showed her authority, quietly, without raising her voice, not one of them resisted. she had acquired absolute authority by her very moderation and sweetness. for a moment she walked up and down in silence, amidst the young ladies, who had become very serious. marguerite had resumed sharpening her pencil, the point of which was always breaking. she alone continued to approve of denise's resistance to mouret, shaking her head, not acknowledging the baby she had had, but declaring that if they had any idea of the consequences of such a thing, they would prefer to remain virtuous.
“what! you're getting angry?” said a voice behind denise.
it was pauline, who was crossing the department. she had noticed the scene, and spoke in a low tone, smiling.
“but i'm obliged to,” replied denise in the same tone, “i can't manage them otherwise.”
pauline shrugged her shoulders. “nonsense, you can be queen over all of us whenever you like.”
she was still unable to understand her friend's refusal. since the end of august, pauline had been married to baugé, a most stupid affair, she would sometimes gaily remark. the terrible bourdoncle treated her anyhow, now, considering her as lost for trade. her only terror was that they might one fine day send them to love each other elsewhere, for the managers had decreed love to be execrable and fatal to business. so great was her fear, that, when she met baugé in the galleries, she affected not to know him. she had just had a fright—old jouve had nearly caught her talking to her husband behind a pile of dusters.
“see! he's followed me,” added she, after having hastily related the adventure to denise. “just look at him scenting me out with his big nose!”
jouve, in fact, was then coming from the lace department, correctly arrayed in a white tie, his nose on the scent for some delinquent. but when he saw denise he assumed a knowing air, and passed by with an amiable smile.
“saved!” murmured pauline. “my dear, you made him swallow that! i say, if anything should happen to me, you would speak for me, wouldn't you! yes, yes, don't put on that astonished air, we know that a word from you would revolutionise the house.”
and she ran off to her counter. denise had blushed, troubled by these amicable allusions. it was true, however. she had a vague sensation of her power by the flatteries with which she was surrounded. when madame aurélie returned, and found the department quiet and busy under the surveillance of the second-hand, she smiled at her amicably. she threw over mouret himself, her amiability increased daily for this young girl who might one fine morning desire her situation as first-hand. denise's reign was commencing.
bourdoncle alone still stood out. in the secret war which he continued to carry on against the young girl, there was in the first place a natural antipathy, he detested her for her gentleness and her charm. then he fought against her as a fatal influence which would place the house in peril the day when mouret should succumb. the governor's commercial genius seemed bound to sink amidst this stupid affection: what they had gained by women would be swallowed up by this woman. none of them touched his heart, he treated them with the disdain of a man without passion, whose trade is to live on them, and who had had his last illusions dispelled by seeing them too closely in the miseries of his traffic. instead of intoxicating him, the odour of these seventy thousand customers gave him frightful headaches: and so soon as he reached home he beat his mistresses. and what made him especially anxious in the presence of this little saleswoman, who had gradually become so redoubtable, was that he did not in the least believe in her disinterestedness, in the genuineness of her refusals. for him she was playing a part, the most skilful of parts; for if she had yielded at once, mouret would doubtless have forgotten her the next day; whilst by refusing, she had goaded his desires, rendering him mad, capable of any folly. an artful jade, a woman learned in vice, would not have acted any different to this pattern of innocence.
thus bourdoncle could never catch sight of her, with her clear eyes, sweet face, and simple attitude, without being seized with a real fear, as if he had before him some disguised female flesh-eater, the sombre enigma of woman, death in the guise of a virgin. in what way could he confound the tactics of this false novice? he was now only anxious to penetrate her artful ways, in the hope of exposing them to the light of day. she would certainly commit some fault, he would surprise her with one of her lovers, and she should again be dismissed. the house would then resume its regular working like a well wound-up machine.
“keep a good look-out, monsieur jouve,” repeated bourdoncle to the inspector. “i'll take care that you shall be rewarded.”
but jouve was somewhat lukewarm, he knew something about women, and was asking himself whether he had not better take the part of this young girl, who might be the future sovereign mistress of the place. though he did not now dare to touch her, he still thought her bewitchingly pretty. his colonel in bygone days had killed himself for a similar little thing, with an insignificant face, delicate and modest, one look from whom ravaged all hearts.
“i do,” replied he. “but, on my word, i cannot discover anything.”
and yet stories were circulating, there was quite a stream of abominable tittle-tattle running beneath the flattery and respect denise felt arising around her. the whole house now declared that she had formerly had hutin for a lover; no one could swear that the intimacy still continued, but they were suspected of meeting from time to time. deloche also was said to sleep with her, they were continually meeting in dark corners, talking for hours together. it was quite a scandal!
“so, nothing about the first-hand in the silk department, nor about the young man in the lace one?” asked bourdoncle.
“no, sir, nothing yet,” replied the inspector.
it was with deloche especially that bourdoncle expected to surprise denise. one morning he himself had caught them laughing together downstairs. in the meantime, he treated her on a footing of perfect equality, for he no longer disdained her, he felt her to be strong enough to overthrow even him, notwithstanding his ten years' service, if he lost the game.
“keep your eye on the young man in the lace department,” concluded he each time. “they are always together. if you catch them, call me, i'll manage the rest.”
mouret, however, was living in anguish. was it possible that this child could torture him in this manner? he could always recall her arriving at the ladies' paradise, with her big shoes, thin black dress, and savage airs. she stammered, they all used to laugh at her, he himself had thought her ugly at first. ugly! and now she could have brought him on his knees by a look, he thought her nothing less than an angel! then she had remained the last in the house, repulsed, joked at, treated by him as a curious specimen of humanity. for months he had wanted to see how a girl sprung up, and had amused himself at this experiment, without understanding that he was risking his heart. she, little by little grew up, became redoubtable. perhaps he had loved her from the first moment, even at the time he thought he felt nothing but pity for her. and yet he had only really begun to feel this love the evening of their walk under the chestnut trees of the tuileries. his life started from there, he could still hear the laughing of a group of little girls, the distant fall of a jet of water, whilst in the warm shade she walked on beside him in silence. after that he knew no more, his fever had increased hour by hour; all his blood, his whole being, in fact, was sacrificed. and for such a child—was it possible? when she passed him now, the slight wind from her dress seemed so powerful that he staggered.
for a long time he had struggled, and even now he frequently became indignant, endeavouring to extricate himself from this idiotic possession. what secret had she to be able to bind him in this way? had he not seen her without boots? had she not been received almost out of charity? he could have understood it had it been a question of one of those superb creatures who charm the crowd, but this little girl; this nobody! she had, in short, one of those insignificant faces which excite no remark. she could not even be very intelligent, for he remembered her bad beginning as a saleswoman. but, after every explosion of anger, he had experienced a relapse of passion, like a sacred terror at having insulted his idol. she possessed everything that renders a woman good—courage, gaiety, simplicity; and there exhaled from her gentleness, a charm of a penetrating, perfume-like subtlety. one might at first ignore her, or elbow her like any other girl; but the charm soon began to act, with a slow invincible force; one belonged to her for ever, if she deigned to smile. everything then smiled in her white face, her pretty eyes, her cheeks and chin full of dimples; whilst her heavy blonde hair seemed to light up also, with a royal and conquering beauty. he acknowledged himself vanquished; she was as intelligent as she was beautiful, her intelligence came from the best part of her being. whilst the other saleswomen had only a superficial education, the varnish which scales off from girls of that class, she, without any false elegance, retained her native grace, the savour of her origin. the most complete commercial ideas sprang up from her experience, under this narrow forehead, the pure lines of which clearly announced the presence of a firm will and a love of order. and he could have clasped his hands to ask her pardon for having blasphemed her during his hours of revolt.
why did she still refuse with such obstinacy. twenty times had he entreated her, increasing his offers, offering money and more money. then, thinking she must be ambitious, he had promised to appoint her first-hand, as soon as there should be a vacant department and she refused, and still she refused î for him it was a stupor, a struggle in which his desire became enraged. such an adventure appeared to him impossible, this child would certainly finish by yielding, for he had always regarded a woman's virtue as a relative matter. he could see no other object, everything disappeared before this necessity: to have her at last in his room, to take her on his knees, and, kiss her on her lips; and at this vision, the blood of his veins ran quick and strong, he trembled, distracted by his own powerlessness.
his days now passed in the same grievous obsession, denise's image rose with him; after having dreamed of her all night, it followed him before the desk in his office, where he signed his bills and orders from nine to ten o'clock: a work which he accomplished mechanically, never ceasing to feel her present, still saying no, with her quiet air. then, at ten o'clock, came the board-meeting, a meeting of the twelve directors, at which he had to preside; they discussed matters affecting the in-door arrangements, examined the purchases, settled the window displays; and she was still there, he heard her soft voice amidst the figures, he saw her bright smile in the most complicated financial situations. after the board-meeting, she still accompanied him, making with him the daily inspection of the counters, returned with him to his office in the afternoon, remaining close to his chair from two till four o'clock, whilst he received a crowd of important business men, the principal manufacturers of all france, bankers, inventors; a continual come-and-go of the riches and intelligence of the land, an excited dance of millions, rapid interviews during which were hatched the biggest affairs on the paris market. if he forgot her for a moment whilst deciding on the ruin or the prosperity of an industry, he found her again at a twitch of his heart; his voice died away, he asked himself what was the use of this princely fortune when she still refused. at last, when five o'clock struck, he had to sign the day's correspondence, the mechanical working of his hand again commenced, whilst she rose up before him more dominating than ever, seizing him entirely, to possess him during the solitary and ardent hours of the night. and the morrow was the same day over again, those days so active, so full of a colossal labour, which the slight shadow of a child sufficed to ravage with anguish.
but it was especially during his daily inspection of the departments that he felt his misery. to have built up this giant machine, to reign over such a world of people, and to be dying of grief because a little girl would not accept him! he scorned himself, dragging the fever and shame of his pain about with him everywhere. on certain days he became disgusted with his power, feeling a nausea at the very sight of the long galleries. at other times he would have wished to extend his empire, and make it so vast that she would perhaps yield out of sheer admiration and fear.
he first of all stopped in the basement opposite the shoot. it was still in the rue neuve-saint-augustin; but it had been necessary to enlarge it, and it was now as wide as the bed of a river, down which the continual flood of goods rolled with the loud noise of rushing water; it was a constant succession of arrivals from all parts of the world, rows of waggons from all railways, a ceaseless discharging of merchandise, a stream of boxes and bales running underground, absorbed by the insatiable establishment. he gazed at this torrent flowing into his house, thought of his position as one of the masters of the public fortune, that he held in his hands the fate of the french manufacturers, and that he was unable to buy a kiss from one of his saleswomen.
then he passed on to the receiving department, which now occupied that part of the basement running along the rue monsigny. twenty tables were ranged there, in the pale light of the air-holes; dozens of shopmen were bustling about, emptying the cases, checking the goods, and marking them in plain figures, amidst the roar of the shoot, which almost drowned their voices. various managers of departments stopped him, he had to resolve difficulties and confirm orders. this cellar was filled with the tender glimmer of the satin, the whiteness of the linen, a prodigious unpacking in which the furs were mingled with the lace, the fancy goods with the eastern curtains. with a slow step he made his way amongst all these riches thrown about in disorder, heaped up in their rough state. above, they were destined to ornament the window displays, letting loose the race after money across the counters, no sooner shown than carried off, in the furious current of business which traversed the place. he thought of his having offered the young girl silks, velvets, anything she liked to take in any quantities, from these enormous heaps, and that she had refused by a shake of her fair head.
after that, he passed on to the other end of the basement, to pay his usual visit to the delivery department. interminable corridors ran along, lighted up with gas; to the right and to the left, the reserves, closed in with gratings, were like so many subterranean stores, a complete commercial quarter, with its haberdashery, underclothing, glove, and other shops, sleeping in the shade. further on was placed one of the three stoves; further still, a fireman's post guarding the gas-meter, enclosed in its iron cage. he found, in the delivery department, the sorting tables already blocked with loads of parcels, bandboxes, and cases, continually arriving in large baskets; and campion, the superintendent, gave him some particulars about the current work, whilst the twenty men placed under his orders distributed the parcels into large compartments, each bearing the name of a district of paris, and from whence the messengers took them up to the vans, ranged along the pavement. one heard a series of cries, names of streets, and recommendations shouted out; quite an uproar, an agitation such as on board a mail boat about to start. and he stood there for a moment, motionless, looking at this discharge of goods which he had just seen absorbed by the house, at the opposite extremity of the basement: the enormous current there discharged itself into the street, after having filled the tills with gold. his eyes became misty, this colossal business no longer had any importance; he had but one idea, that of going away to some distant, land, and abandoning everything, if she persisted in saying no.
he then went upstairs, continuing his inspection, talking, and agitating himself more and more, without finding any respite. on the second floor he entered the correspondence department, picking quarrels, secretly exasperated against the perfect regularity of this machine that he had himself built up. this department was the one that was daily assuming the most considerable importance; it now required two hundred employees—some opening, reading, and classifying the letters coming from the provinces and abroad, whilst others gathered into compartments the goods ordered by the correspondents. and the number of letters was increasing to such an extent that they no longer counted them; they weighed them, receiving as much as a hundred pounds per day. he, feverish, went through the three offices, questioning levasseur as to the weight of the correspondence; eighty pounds, ninety pounds, sometimes, on a monday, a hundred pounds. the figure increased daily, he ought to have been delighted. but he stood shuddering, in the noise made by the neighbouring squad of packers nailing down the cases. vainly he roamed about the house; the fixed idea remained fast in his mind, and as his power unfolded itself before him, as the mechanism of the business and the army of employees passed before his gaze, he felt more profoundly than ever the insult of his powerlessness. orders from all europe were flowing in, a special post-office van was required for his correspondence; and yet she said no, always no.
he went downstairs again, visiting the central cashier's office, where four clerks guarded the two giants safes, in which there had passed the previous year forty-eight million francs. he glanced at the clearing-house, which now occupied twenty-five clerks, chosen from amongst the most trustworthy. he went into the next office, where twenty-five young men, junior clerks, were engaged in checking the debit-notes, and calculating the salesmen's commission. he returned to the chief cashier's office, exasperated at the sight of the safes, wandering amidst these millions, the uselessness of which drove him mad. she said no, always no.
and it was always no, in all the departments, in the galleries, in the saloons, and in every part of the establishment! he went from the silk to the drapery department, from the linen to the lace department, he ascended to the upper floors, stopping on the flying bridges, prolonging his inspection with a maniacal, grievous minuteness. the house had grown out of all bounds, he had created this department, then this other; he governed this fresh domain, he extended his empire into this industry, the last one conquered; and it was no, always no, in spite of everything. his staff would now have sufficed to people a small town: there were fifteen hundred salesmen, and a thousand other employees of every sort, including forty inspectors and seventy cashiers; the kitchens alone gave occupation to thirty-two men; ten clerks were set apart for the advertising; there were three hundred and fifty shop messengers, all wearing livery, and twenty-four firemen living on the premises. and, in the stables, royal buildings situated in the rue monsigny, opposite the warehouse, were one hundred and forty-five horses, a luxurious establishment which was already celebrated in paris. the first four conveyances which used formerly to stir up the whole neighbourhood, when the house occupied only the corner of the place gaillon, had gradually increased to sixty-two trucks, one-horse vans, and heavy two-horse ones. they were continually scouring paris, driven with knowing skill by drivers dressed in black, promenading the gold and purple sign of the ladies' paradise. they even went beyond the fortifications, into the suburbs; they were to be met on the dusty roads of bicêtre, along the banks of the marne, even in the shady drives of the forest of saint-germain. sometimes one would spring up from the depths of some sunny avenue, where all was silent and deserted, the superb animals trotting along, throwing into the mysterious peacefulness of this grand nature the loud advertisement of its varnished panels. he was even dreaming of launching them further still, into the neighbouring departments; he would have liked to hear them rolling along every road in france, from one frontier to the other. but he no longer even troubled to visit his horses, though he was passionately fond of them. of what good was this conquest of the world, since it was no, always no?
at present, in the evening, when he arrived at lhomme's desk, he still looked through habit at the amount of the takings written on a card, which the cashier stuck on an iron file at his side; this figure rarely fell below a hundred thousand francs, sometimes it ran up to eight and nine hundred thousand, on big sale days; but these figures no longer sounded in his ears like a trumpet-blast, he regretted having looked at them, going away full of bitterness and scorn for money.
but mouret's sufferings were destined to increase, for he became jealous. one morning, in the office, before the boardmeeting commenced, bourdoncle ventured to hint that the little girl in the ready-made department was playing with him.
“how?” asked he, very pale.
“yes! she has lovers in this very building.”
mouret found strength to smile. “i don't think any more about her, my dear fellow. you can speak freely. who are her lovers?”
“hutin, they say, and then a salesman in the lace department—deloche, that tall awkward fellow. i can't speak with certainty, never having seen them together. but it appears that it's notorious.”
there was a silence. mouret affected to arrange the papers on his desk, to conceal the trembling of his hands. at last, he observed, without raising his head: “we must have proofs, try and bring me some proofs. as for me, i assure you i don't, care in the least, for i'm quite sick of her. but we can't allow such things to go on here.”
bourdoncle simply replied: “never fear, you shall have proofs one of these days. i'm keeping a good look out.”
this news deprived mouret of all rest. he no longer had the courage to return to this conversation, but lived in the continual expectation of a catastrophe, in which his heart would be crushed. and this torment rendered him terrible, the whole house trembled before him. he now disdained to conceal himself behind bourdoncle, but performed the executions in person, feeling a nervous desire for revenge, solacing himself by an abuse of his power, of that power which could do nothing for the contentment of his sole desire. each one of his inspections became a massacre, his appearance caused a panic to run along from counter to counter. the dead winter season was just then approaching, and he made a clean sweep in the departments, multiplying the victims and pushing them into the streets. his first idea had been to dismiss hutin and deloche; then he had reflected that if he did not keep them, he would never discover anything; and the others suffered for them: the whole staff trembled. in the evening, when he found himself alone again, his eyes swelled up, big with tears.
one day especially terror reigned supreme. an inspector had the idea that mignot was stealing. there were always a lot of strange-looking girls prowling around his counter; and one of them had just been arrested, her thighs and bosom padded with sixty pairs of gloves. from that moment a watch was kept, and the inspector caught mignot in the act, facilitating the sleight of hand of a tall fair girl, formerly a saleswoman at the louvre, but since gone wrong: the manouvre was very simple, he affected to try some gloves on her, waited till she had padded herself, and then conducted her to the pay-desk, where she paid for a single pair only. mouret happened to be there, just at that moment. as a rule, he preferred not to mix himself up with these sort of adventures, which were pretty frequent; for notwithstanding the regular working of the well-arranged machine, great disorder reigned in certain departments of the ladies' paradise, and scarcely a week passed without some employee being dismissed for theft. the authorities preferred to hush up such matters as far as possible, considering it useless to set the police at work, and thus expose one of the fatal plague-spots of these great bazaars. but, that day, mouret felt a real need of getting angry with some one, and he treated the handsome mignot with such violence, and the latter stood there trembling with fear, his face pale and discomposed.
“i ought to call a policeman,” cried mouret, before all the other salesmen. “but why don't you answer? who is this woman? i swear i'll send for the police, if you don't tell me the truth.”
they had taken the woman away, and two saleswomen were undressing her. mignot stammered out: “i don't know her, sir. she's the one who came——”
“don't tell lies!” interrupted mouret, in a violent rage. “and there's nobody here to warn us! you are all in the plot, on my word! we are in a regular wood, robbed, pillaged, plundered. it's enough to make us have the pockets of each one searched before going out!”
murmurs were heard. the three or four customers buying gloves stood looking on, frightened.
“silence!” resumed he, furiously, “or i'll clear the place!”
but bourdoncle came running up, anxious at the idea of the scandal. he whispered a few words in mouret's ear, the affair was assuming an exceptional gravity; and he prevailed on him to take mignot into the inspectors' office, a room on the ground floor near the entrance in the rue gaillon. the woman was there, quietly putting on her stays again. she had just mentioned albert lhomme's name. mignot, again questioned, lost his head, and commenced to sob; he wasn't in fault, it was albert who sent him his mistresses; at first he had merely afforded them certain advantages, enabling them to profit by the bargains; then, when they at last took to stealing, he was already too far compromised to report the matter. the principals now discovered a series of extraordinary robberies; goods taken away by girls, who went into the neighbouring w.cs, built near the refreshment bar and surrounded by evergreen plants, to hide the goods under their petticoats; purchases that a salesman neglected to call out at a pay-desk, when he accompanied a customer there, the price of which he divided with the cashier; even down to false returns, articles which they announced as brought back to the house, pocketing the money thus repaid; without even mentioning the classical robbery, parcels taken out under their coats in the evening, rolled round their bodies, and sometimes even hung down their leg's. for the last fourteen months, thanks to mignot and other salesmen, no doubt, whom they refused to name, this pilfering had been going on at albert's desk, quite an impudent trade, for sums of which no one ever knew the exact total.
meanwhile the news had spread into the various departments, causing the guilty consciences to tremble, and the most honest ones to quake at the general sweep that seemed imminent. albert had disappeared into the inspectors' office. next his father had passed, choking, his face full of blood, showing signs of apoplexy. madame aurélie herself was then called; and she, her head high beneath the affront, had the fat, puffed-up appearance of a wax mask. the explanation lasted some time, no one knew the exact details; but it was said the firsthand had slapped her son's face, and that the worthy old father wept, whilst the governor, contrary to all his elegant habits, swore like a trooper, absolutely wanting to deliver the offenders up to justice. however, the scandal was hushed up. mignot was the only one dismissed there and then. albert did not disappear till two days later; no doubt his mother had begged that the family should not be dishonoured by an immediate execution. but the panic lasted several days longer, for after this scene mouret had wandered from one end of the establishment to the other, with a terrible expression, venting his anger on all those who dared even to raise their eyes.
“what are you doing there, sir, looking at the flies? go and be paid!”
at last, the storm burst one day on the head of hutin himself. favier, appointed second-hand, was undermining the first-hand, in order to dislodge him from his position. this was always the way; he addressed crafty reports to the directors, taking advantage of every occasion to have the first-hand caught doing something wrong. thus, one morning, as mouret was going through the silk department, he stopped, surprised to see favier engaged in altering the price tickets of a stock of black velvet.
“why are you lowering the prices?” asked he. “who gave you the order to do so?”
the second-hand, who was making a great noise over this work, as if he wished to attract the governor's attention, foreseeing the result, replied with an innocent, surprised air:
“why, monsieur hutin told me, sir.”
“monsieur hutin! where is monsieur hutin?”
and when the latter came upstairs, called by a salesman, an animated explanation ensued. what! he undertook to lower the prices himself now! but he appeared greatly astonished in his turn, having merely talked over the matter with favier, without giving any positive orders. the latter then assumed the sorrowful air of an employee who finds himself obliged to contradict his superior. however, he was quite willing to accept the blame, if it would get the latter out of a scrape. things began to look very bad.
“understand, monsieur hutin!” cried mouret, “i have never tolerated these attempts at independence. we alone decide about the prices.”
he continued, with a sharp voice, and wounding intentions, which surprised the salesmen, for as a rule these discussions were carried on quietly, and the case might really have resulted from a misunderstanding. one could feel he had some unavowed spite to satisfy. he had at last caught that hutin at fault, that hutin who was said to be denise's lover! he could now solace himself, by making him feel that he was the master! and he exaggerated matters, even insinuating that this reduction of price appeared to conceal very questionable intentions.
“sir,” repeated hutin, “i meant to consult you about it. it is really necessary, as you know, for these velvets have not succeeded.”
mouret cut him short with a final insult. “very good, sir; we will look into the matter. but don't do such a thing again, if you value your place.”
and he walked off. hutin, bewildered, furious, finding no one but favier to confide in, swore he would go and throw his resignation at the brute's head. but he soon left off talking of going away, and began to stir up all the abominable accusations which were current amongst the salesmen against their chiefs. and favier, his eye sparkling, defended himself with a great show of sympathy. he was obliged to reply, wasn't he? besides, could any one have foreseen such a row for so trifling a matter? what had come to the governor lately, that he should be so unbearable?
“we all know what's the matter with him,” replied hutin, “is it my fault if that little jade in the dress-department is turning his head? my dear fellow, you can see the blow comes from there. he's aware i've slept with her, and he doesn't like it; or perhaps it's she herself who wants to get me pitched out, because i'm in her way. but i swear she shall hear from me, if ever she crosses my path.”
two days after, as hutin was going up into the work-room, upstairs, under the roof, to recommend a person, he started on perceiving at the end of a passage denise and deloche leaning out of a window, and plunged so deeply in private conversation that they did not even turn round. the idea of having them caught occurred to him suddenly, when he perceived with astonishment that deloche was weeping. he at once went away without making any noise; and meeting bourdoncle and jouve on the stairs, told them some story about one of the extincteurs the door of which seemed to be broken; in this way they would go upstairs and drop on to the two others. bourdoncle discovered them first. he stopped short, and told jouve to go and fetch the governor, whilst he remained there. the inspector had to obey, greatly annoyed at being forced to compromise himself in such a matter.
this was a lost corner of the vast world in which the people of the ladies' paradise worked. one arrived there by a complication of stairs and passages. the work-rooms occupied the top of the house, a succession of low sloping rooms, lighted by large windows cut in the zinc roof, furnished solely with long tables and enormous iron stoves; and right along were a crowd of work-girls of all sorts, for the under-clothing, the lace, the dressmaking, and the house furnishing; living winter and summer in a stifling heat, amidst the odour special to the business; and one had to go straight through the wing, and turn to the right on passing the dressmakers, before coming to this solitary end of the corridor. the rare customers, that a salesman occasionally brought here for an order, gasped for breath, tired out, frightened, with the sensation of having been turning round for hours and hours, and of being a hundred leagues above the street.
denise had often found deloche waiting for her. as secondhand she had charge of the arrangements between her department and the work-room where only the models and alterations were done, and was always going up and down to give the necessary orders. he watched for her, inventing any pretext to run after her; then he affected to be surprised when he met her at the work-room door. she got to laugh about the matter, it became quite an understood thing. the corridor ran alongside the cistern, an enormous iron tank containing twelve thousand gallons of water; and there was another one of equal size on the roof, reached by an iron ladder. for an instant, deloche would stand talking, leaning with one shoulder against the cistern in the continual abandonment of his long body, bent with fatigue. the noise of the water was heard, a mysterious noise of which the iron tank ever retained the musical vibration. notwithstanding the deep silence, denise would turn round anxiously, thinking she had seen a shadow pass on the bare, yellow-painted walls. but the window would soon attract them, they would lean out, and forget themselves in a pleasant gossip, in endless souvenirs of their native place. below them, extended the immense glass roof of the central gallery, a lake of glass bounded by the distant housetops, like a rocky coast. beyond, they saw nothing but the sky, a sheet of sky, which reflected in the sleeping water of the glazed work the flight of its clouds and the tender blue of its azure.
it so happened that deloche was speaking of valognes that day. “i was six years old; my mother took me to valognes market in a cart. you know it's ten miles away; we had to leave bricquebec at five o'clock. it's a fine country down our way. do you know it?”
“yes, yes,” replied denise, slowly, her looks lost in the distance. “i was there once, but was very little then. nice roads with grass on each side, aren't there? and now and again sheep browsing in couples, dragging their clog along by the rope.” she stopped, then resumed with a vague smile: “our roads run as straight as an arrow for miles between rows of trees which afford a lot of shade. we have meadows surrounded with hedges taller than i am, where there are horses and cows feeding. we have a little river, and the water is very cold, under the brushwood, in a spot i know well.”
“it is the same with us, exactly!” cried deloche, delighted. “there's grass everywhere, each one encloses his plot with thorns and elms, and is at once at home; and it's quite green, a green far different to what we see in paris. dear me! what fun i've had at the bottom of the road, to the left, coming down from the mill!”
and their voices died away, they stopped with their eyes fixed and lost on the sunny lake of the glazed work. a mirage rose up before them from this blinding water, they saw an endless succession of meadows, the cotentin bathed in the balmy breath of the ocean, a luminous vapour, which melted the horizon into a delicate pearly grey. below, under the colossal iron framework, in the silk hall, roared the business, the trepidation of the machine at work; the entire house vibrated with the trampling of the crowd, the bustle of the shopmen, and the life of the thirty thousand persons elbowing each other there; and they, carried away by their dreams, on feeling this profound and dull clamour with which the roofs were resounding, thought they heard the wind passing over the grass, shaking the tall trees.
“ah! mademoiselle denise,” stammered deloche, “why aren't you kinder to me? i love you so much!” tears had come into his eyes, and as she tried to interrupt him with a gesture, he continued quickly: “no—let me tell you these things once more. we should get on so well together! people always find something to talk about when they come from the same place.”
he was choking, and she at last managed to say kindly: “you're not reasonable; you promised me never to speak of that again. it's impossible. i have a good friendship for you, because you're a nice fellow; but i wish to remain free.”
“yes, yes. i know it,” replied he in a broken voice, “you don't love me. oh! you may say so, i quite understand it. there's nothing in me to make you love me. listen, i've only had one sweet moment in my life, and that was when i met you at joinville, do you remember? for a moment under the trees, when it was so dark, i thought your arm trembled, and was stupid enough to imagine——”
but she again interrupted him. her quick ear had just caught bourdoncle's and jouve's steps at the end of the corridor.
“hark, there's some one coming.”
“no,” said he, preventing her leaving the window, “it's in the cistern: all sorts of extraordinary noises come up from it, as if there were some one inside.”
and he continued his timid, caressing complaints. she was no longer listening to him, rocked into dreamland by this declaration of love, her looks wandering over the roofs of the ladies' paradise. to the right and the left of the glazed gallery, other galleries, other halls, were glistening in the sun, between the tops of the houses, pierced with windows and running along symmetrically, like the wings of a barracks. immense metallic works rose up, ladders, bridges, describing a lacework of iron in the air; whilst the kitchen chimneys threw out an immense volume of smoke like a factory, and the great square cistern, supported in the air on wrought-iron pillars, assumed a strange, barbarous profile, hoisted up to this height by the pride of one man. in the distance, paris was roaring.
when denise returned from this dreamy state, from this fanciful development of the ladies' paradise, in which her thoughts floated as in a vast solitude, she found that deloche had seized her hand. and he appeared so woe-begone, so full of grief, that she had not the heart to draw it away.
“forgive me,” he murmured. “it's all over now; i should be quite too miserable if you punished me by withdrawing your friendship. i assure you i intended to say something else. yes, i had determined to understand the situation and be very good.” his tears again began to flow, he tried to steady his voice. “for i know my lot in life. it is too late for my luck to turn. beaten at home, beaten in paris, beaten everywhere. i've now been here four years and am still the last in the department so i wanted to tell you not to trouble on my account. i won't annoy you any longer. try to be happy, love some one else; yes, that would really be a pleasure for me. if you are happy, i shall be also. that will be my happiness.”
he could say no more. as if to seal his promise he raised the young girl's hand to his lips—kissing it with the humble kiss of a slave. she was deeply affected, and said simply, in a tender, sisterly tone, which attenuated somewhat the pity of the words:
“my poor boy!”
but they started, and turned round; mouret was standing before them.
for the last ten minutes, jouve had been searching for the governor all over the place; but the latter was looking at the works going on for the new façade in the rue du dix-décembre. he spent long hours there every day, trying to interest himself in this work, of which he had so long dreamed. this was his refuge against his torments, amidst the masons laying the immense corner-stones, and the engineers setting up the great iron framework. the façade already appeared above the level of the street, indicating the vast porch, and the windows of the first storey, a palace-like development in its crude state. he scaled the ladders, discussing with the architect the ornamentation which was to be something quite new, scrambled over the heaps of brick and iron, and even went down into the cellar; and the roar of the steam-engine, the tic-tac of the trowels, the noise of the hammers, the clamour of this people of workmen, all over this immense cage surrounded by sonorous planks, really distracted him for an instant. he came out white with plaster, black with iron-filings, his feet splashed by the water from the pumps, his pain so far from being cured that his anguish returned and his heart beat stronger than ever, as the noise of the works died away behind him. it so happened, on the day in question, a slight distraction had restored him his gaiety, and he was deeply interested in an album of drawings of the mosaics and enamelled terra-cottas which were to decorate the friezes, when jouve came up to fetch him, out of breath, annoyed at being obliged to dirty his coat amongst all this building material. at first mouret had cried out that they must wait; then, at a word spoken in a low tone by the inspector, he had immediately followed him, shivering, a prey again to his passion. nothing else existed, the façade crumbled away before being built; what was the use of this supreme triumph of his pride, if the simple name of a woman whispered in his ear tortured him to this extent.
upstairs, bourdoncle and jouve thought it prudent to vanish. deloche had already run away, denise alone remained to face mouret, paler than usual, but looking straight into his eyes.
“have the kindness to follow me, mademoiselle,” said he in a harsh voice.
she followed him, they descended the two storeys, and crossed the furniture and carpet departments without saying a word. when he arrived at his office, he opened the door wide, saying, “walk in, mademoiselle.”
and, closing the door, he went to his desk. the new director's office was fitted up more luxuriously than the old one, the reps hangings had been replaced by velvet ones, and a book-case, incrusted with ivory, occupied one whole side; but on the walls there was still no picture but the portrait of madame hédouin, a young woman with a handsome calm face, smiling in its gold frame.
“mademoiselle,” said he at last, trying to maintain a cold, severe air, “there are certain things that we cannot tolerate. good conduct is absolutely necessary here.”
he stopped, choosing his words, in order not to yield to the furious anger which was rising up within him. what! she loved this fellow, this miserable salesman, the laughingstock of his counter! and it was the humblest, the most awkward of all that she preferred to him, the master! for he had seen them, she leaving her hand in his, and he covering that hand with kisses.
“i've been very good to you, mademoiselle,” continued he, making a fresh effort “i little expected to be rewarded in this way.”
denise, immediately on entering, had been attracted by madame hédouin's portrait; and, notwithstanding her great trouble, was still pre-occupied by it. every time she came into the director's office her eyes were sure to meet those of this lady. she felt almost afraid of her, although she knew her to have been very good. this time, she felt her to be a protection.
“you are right, sir,” he said, softly, “i was wrong to stop and talk, and i beg your pardon for doing so. this young man comes from my part of the country.”
“i'll dismiss him!” cried mouret, putting all his suffering into this furious cry.
and, completely overcome, entirely forgetting his position as a director lecturing a saleswoman guilty of an infraction of the rules, he broke out into a torrent of violent words. had she no shame in her? a young girl like her abandoning herself to such a being! and he even made most atrocious accusations, introducing hutin's name into the affair, and then others, in such a flood of words, that she could not even defend herself. but he would make a clean sweep, and kick them all out. the severe explanation he had promised himself, when following jouve, had degenerated into the shameful violence of a scene of jealousy.
“yes, your lovers! they told me about it, and i was stupid enough to doubt it but i was the only one! i was the only one!”
denise, suffocating, bewildered, stood listening to these frightful charges, which she had not at first understood. did he really suppose her to be as bad as this? at another remark, harsher than all the rest, she silently turned towards the door. and, in reply to a movement he made to stop her, said:
“let me alone, sir, i'm going away. if you think me what you say, i will not remain in the house another second.”
but he rushed in front of the door, exclaiming: “why don't you defend yourself? say something!”
she stood there very stiff, maintaining an icy silence. for a long time he pressed her with questions, with a growing anxiety; and the mute dignity of this innocent girl once more appeared to be the artful calculation of a woman learned in all the tactics of passion. she could not have played a game better calculated to bring him to her feet, tortured by doubt, desirous of being convinced.
“come, you say he is from your part of the country? perhaps you've met there formerly. swear that there has been nothing between you and this fellow.”
and as she obstinately remained silent, as if still wishing to open the door and go away, he completely lost his head, and broke out into a supreme explosion of grief.
“good heavens! i love you! i love you! why do you delight in tormenting me like this? you can see that nothing else exists, that the people of whom i speak only touch me through you, and you alone can occupy my thoughts. thinking you were jealous, i gave up all my pleasures. you were told i had mistresses; well! i have them no longer; i hardly set foot outside. did i not prefer you at that lady's house? have i not broken with her to belong solely to you? and i am still waiting for a word of thanks, a little gratitude. and if you fear that i should return to her, you may feel quite easy: she is avenging herself by helping one of our former salesmen to found a rival establishment. tell me, must i go on my knees to touch your heart?”
he had come to this. he, who did not tolerate the slightest peccadillo with the shopwomen, who turned them out for the least caprice, found himself reduced to imploring one of them not to go away, not to abandon him in his misery. he held the door against her, ready to forgive her everything, to shut his eyes, if she merely deigned to lie. and it was true, he had got thoroughly sick of girls picked up at theatres and night-houses; he had long since given up clara and now ceased to visit at madame desforges's house, where bouthemont reigned supreme, while waiting for the opening of the new shop, the four seasons, which was already filling the newspapers with its advertisements.
“must i go on my knees?” repeated he, almost choked by suppressed tears.
she stopped him, herself quite unable to conceal her emotion, deeply affected by this suffering passion. “you are wrong, sir, to agitate yourself in this way,” replied she, at last “i assure you that all these wicked reports are untrue. this poor fellow you have just seen is no more guilty than i am.”
she said this with her brave, frank air, looking with her bright eyes straight into his face.
“very good, i believe you,” murmured he. “i'll not dismiss any of your comrades, since you take all these people under your protection. but why, then, do you repulse me, if you love no one else?”
a sudden constraint, an anxious bashfulness seized the young girl.
“you love some one, don't you?” resumed he, in a trembling voice. “oh! you may speak out; i have no claim on your affections. do you love any one?”
she turned very red, her heart was in her mouth, and she felt all falsehood impossible before this emotion which was betraying her, this repugnance for a lie which made the truth appear in her face in spite of all.
“yes,” she at last confessed, feebly. “but i beg you to let me go away, sir, you are torturing me.”
she was now suffering in her turn. was it not enough to have to defend herself against him? was she to be obliged to fight against herself, against the breath of tenderness which sometimes took away all her courage? when he spoke to her thus, when she saw him so full of emotion, so overcome, she hardly knew why she still refused; and it was only afterwards that she found, in the depths of her healthy, girlish nature, the pride and the prudence which maintained her intact in her virtuous resolution. it was by a sort of instinct of happiness that she still remained so obstinate, to satisfy her need of a quiet life, and not from any idea of virtue. she would have fallen into this man's arms, her heart seduced, her flesh overpowered if she had not experienced a sort of revolt, almost a feeling of repulsion before the definite bestowal of her being, ignorant of her future fate. the lover made her afraid, inspiring her with that fear that all women feel at the approach of the male.
mouret gave way to a gesture of gloomy discouragement. he could not understand her. he turned towards his desk, took up some papers and then laid them down again, saying: “i will retain you no longer, mademoiselle; i cannot keep you against your will.”
“but i don't wish to go away,” replied she, smiling. “if you believe me to be innocent, i will remain. one ought always to believe a woman to be virtuous, sir. there are numbers who are so, i assure you.”
denise's eyes had involuntarily wandered towards madame hédouin's portrait: that lady so wise and so beautiful, whose blood, they said, had brought good fortune to the house. mouret followed the young girl's look with a start, for he thought he heard his dead wife pronounce this phrase, one of her own sayings which he at once recognised. and it was like a resurrection, he discovered in denise the good sense, the just equilibrium of her he had lost, even down to the gentle voice, sparing of useless words. he was struck by this resemblance, which rendered him sadder still.
“you know i am yours,” murmured he in conclusion. “do what you like with me.”
then she resumed gaily: “that is right, sir. the advice of a woman, however humble she may be, is always worth listening to when she has a little intelligence. if you put yourself in my hands, be sure i'll make nothing but a good man of you!”
she smiled, with that simple unassuming air which had such a charm. he also smiled in a feeble way, and escorted her as far as the door, as he would a lady.
the next day denise was appointed first-hand. the dress and costume department was divided, the management creating especially for her one for children's costumes, which was installed close to the ready-made one. since her son's dismissal, madame aurélie had been trembling, for she found the directors getting cool towards her, and saw the young girl's power increasing daily. would they not shortly sacrifice her in favour of this latter, by taking advantage of the first pretext? her emperor's mask, puffed up with fat, seemed to have got thinner from the shame which now stained the whole lhomme dynasty; and she made a show of going away every evening on her husband's arm, for they were brought nearer together by misfortune, and felt vaguely that the evil came from the disorder of their home; whilst the poor old man, more affected than her, in a sickly fear of being himself suspected of robbery, counted over the receipts, again and again, noisily, performing miracles with his amputated arm. so that, when she saw denise appointed first-hand in the children's costume department, she experienced such joy that she paraded the most affectionate feeling towards the young girl, really grateful to her for not having taken her place away. and she overwhelmed her with attentions, treating her as an equal, often going to talk to her in the neighbouring department, with a stately air, like a queen-mother paying a visit to a young queen.
in fact, denise was now at the summit. her appointment as first-hand had destroyed the last resistance. if some still babbled, from that itching of the tongue which ravages every assemblage of men and women, they bowed very low before her face. marguerite, now second-hand, was full of praise for her. clara, herself, inspired with a secret respect before this good fortune, which she felt herself incapable of achieving, had bowed her head. but denise's victory was more complete still over the gentlemen; over jouve, who now bent almost double whenever he addressed her; over hutin, seized with anxiety on feeling his position giving way under him; and over bourdoncle, reduced at last to powerlessness. when the latter saw her coming out of the director's office, smiling, with her quiet air, and that the next day mouret had insisted on the board creating this new department, he had yielded, vanquished by a sacred terror of woman. he had always given in thus before mouret, recognising him to be his master, notwithstanding his escapades and his idiotic love affairs. this time the woman had proved the stronger, and he was expecting to be swept away by the disaster.
however, denise bore her triumph in a peaceable, charming manner, happy at these marks of consideration, even affecting to see in them a sympathy for the miseries of her debut and the final success of her patient courage. thus she received with a laughing joy the slightest marks of friendship, and this caused her to be really loved by some, she was so kind, sympathetic, and full of affection. the only person for whom she still showed an invincible repugnance was clara, having learned that this girl had amused herself by taking colomban home with her one night as she had said she would do for a joke; and he, carried away by his passion, was becoming more dissipated every day, whilst poor geneviève was slowly dying. the adventure was talked of at the ladies' paradise, and thought very droll.
but this trouble, the only one she had outside, did not in any way change denise's equable temper. it was especially in her department that she was seen at her best, in the midst of her little world of babies of all ages. she was passionately fond of children, and she could not have been placed in a better position. sometimes there were fully fifty girls and as many boys there, quite a turbulent school, let loose in their growing coquettish desires. the mothers completely lost their heads. she, conciliating, smiling, had the little ones placed in a line, on chairs; and when there happened to be amongst the number a rosy-cheeked little angel, whose pretty face tempted her, she would insist on serving her herself, bringing the dress and trying it on the child's dimpled shoulders, with the tender precaution of an elder sister. there were fits of laughter, cries of joy, amidst the scolding voices of the mothers. sometimes a little girl, already a grand lady, nine or ten years old, having a cloth jacket to try on, would stand studying it before a glass, turning round, with an absorbed air, her eyes sparkling with a desire to please. the counters were encumbered with the things unpacked, dresses in pink and blue asian linen for children of from one to five years, blue sailor costumes, with plaited skirt and blouse, trimmed with fine cambric muslin, louis xv. costumes, mantles, jackets, a pell-mell of narrow garments, stiffened in their infantine grace, something like the cloak-room of a regiment of big dolls, taken out of the wardrobes and given up to pillage. denise had always a few sweets in her pockets, to appease the tears of some youngster in despair at not being able to carry off a pair of red trousers; and she lived there amongst these little ones as in her own family, feeling quite young again herself from the contact of all this innocence and freshness incessantly renewed around her skirts.
she now had frequent friendly conversations with mouret. when she went to the office to take orders and furnish information, he kept her talking, enjoying the sound of her voice. it was what she laughingly called “making a good man of him.” in her prudent, cautious norman head there sprang up all sorts of projects, ideas about the new business which she had already ventured to hint at when at robineau's, and some of which she had expressed on the evening of their walk in the tuileries gardens. she could not be occupied in any matter, see any work going on, without being moved with a desire to introduce some improvement in the mechanism. then, since her entry into the ladies' paradise, she was especially pained by the precarious position of the employees; the sudden dismissals shocked her, she thought them iniquitous and stupid, hurtful to all, to the house as much as to the staff. her former sufferings were still fresh in her mind, and her heart was seized with pity every time she saw a new comer, her feet bruised, her eyes dim with tears, dragging herself along in her misery in her silk dress, amidst the spiteful persecution of the old hands. this dog's life made the best of them bad; and the sad work of destruction commenced: all eaten up by the trade before the age of forty, disappearing, falling into unknown places, a great many dying in harness, some of consumption and exhaustion, others of fatigue and bad air, a few thrown on the street, the happiest married, buried in some little provincial shop. was it humane, was it just, this frightful consumption of human life that the big shops carried on every year? and she pleaded the cause of the wheel-work of the colossal machine, not from any sentimental reasons, but by arguments appealing to the very interests of the employers. to make a machine solid and strong, it is necessary to use good iron; if the iron breaks or is broken, there is a stoppage of work, repeated expenses of starting, quite a loss of power.
sometimes she would become quite animated, she would picture an immense ideal bazaar, the phalansterium of modern commerce, in which each one should have his exact share of the profits, according to his merits, with the certainty of the future, assured to him by a contract mouret would feel amused at this, notwithstanding his fever. he accused her of socialism, embarrassed her by pointing out the difficulties of carrying out these schemes; for she spoke in the simplicity of her soul, bravely trusting in the future, when she perceived a dangerous hole underlying her tender-hearted plans. he was, however, shaken, captivated by this young voice, still trembling from the evils endured, so convinced and earnest in pointing out the reforms which would tend to consolidate the house; yet he listened while joking with her; the salesmen's position gradually improved, the wholesale dismissals were replaced by a system of holidays granted during the dead seasons, and there was also about to be created a sort of benefit club which would protect the employees against bad times and ensure them a pension. it was the embryo of the vast trades' unions of the twentieth century.
denise did not confine her attention solely to healing the wounds from which she had herself bled; she conceived various delicate feminine ideas, which, communicated to mouret, delighted the customers. she also caused lhomme's happiness by supporting a scheme he had long nourished, that of creating a band of music, in which all the executants should be chosen from amongst the staff. three months later lhomme had a hundred and twenty musicians under his direction, the dream of his whole life was realised. and a grand fête was given on the premises, a concert and a ball, to introduce the band of the ladies' paradise to the customers and the whole world. the newspapers took the matter up, bourdoncle himself, frightened by these innovations, was obliged to bow before this immense advertisement. afterwards, a recreation room for the men was established, with two billiard tables and backgammon and chess boards. then classes were held in the house of an evening; there were lessons in english and german, in grammar, arithmetic, and geography; they even had lessons in riding and fencing. a library was formed, ten thousand volumes were placed at the disposal of the employees. and a resident doctor giving consultations gratis was also added, together with baths, and hair-dressing and refreshment saloons. every want in life was provided for, everything was to be obtained without going outside—board, lodging, and clothing. the ladies' paradise sufficed entirely for all its own wants and pleasures, in the very heart of paris, taken up by all this clatter, by this working city which was springing up so vigorously out of the ruins of the old streets, at last opened to the rays of the sun.
then a fresh movement of opinion took place in denise's favour. as bourdoncle, vanquished, repeated with despair to his friends that he would give a great deal to put denise into mouret's arms himself, it was concluded that she had not yielded, that her all-powerfulness resulted from her refusal. from that moment she became immensely popular. they knew for what indulgences they were indebted to her, and they admired her for the force of her will. there was one, at least, who could master the governor, who avenged all the others, and knew how to get something else besides promises out of him! so she had come at last, she who was to make him treat the poor devils with a little respect! when she went through the shop, with her delicate, self-willed head, her tender, invincible air, the salesmen smiled at her, were proud of her, and would willingly have exhibited her to the crowd. denise, in her happiness, allowed herself to be carried along by this increasing sympathy. was it all possible? she saw herself arrive in a poor dress, frightened, lost amidst the mechanism of the terrible machine; for a long time she had had the sensation of being nothing, hardly a grain of seed beneath these millstones which were crushing a whole world; and now to-day she was the very soul of this world, she alone was of consequence, able at a word to increase or slacken the pace of the colossus lying at her feet. and yet she had not wished for these things, she had simply presented herself, without calculation, with the sole charm of her sweetness. her sovereignty sometimes caused her an uneasy surprise; why did they all obey her? she was not pretty, she did nothing wrong. then she smiled, her heart at rest, feeling within herself nothing but goodness and prudence, a love of truth and logic which constituted all her strength.
one of denise's greatest joys was to be able to assist pauline. the latter, being about to become a mother, was trembling, aware that two other saleswomen in the same condition had been sent away. the principals did not tolerate these accidents, maternity being suppressed as cumbersome and indecent; they occasionally allowed marriage, but would admit of no children. pauline had, it was true, her husband in the house; but still she felt anxious, it being almost impossible for her to appear at the counter; and in order to postpone a probable dismissal, she laced herself very tightly, resolved to conceal her state as long as she could. one of the two saleswomen who had been dismissed, had just been delivered of a still-born child, through having laced herself up in this way; and it was not certain that she herself would recover. meanwhile, bourdoncle had observed that pauline's complexion was getting very livid, and that she had a painfully stiff way of walking. one morning he was standing near her, in the under-linen department, when a messenger, taking away a bundle, ran up against her with such force that she cried out with pain. bourdoncle immediately took her on one side, made her confess, and submitted the question of her dismissal to the board, under the pretext that she stood in need of country air: the story of this accident would spread, and would have a disastrous effect on the public if she should have a miscarriage, as had already taken place in the baby linen department the year before. mouret, who was not at the meeting, could only give his opinion in the evening. but denise having had time to interfere, he closed bourdoncle's mouth, in the interest of the house itself. did they wish to frighten the heads of families and the young mothers amongst their customers? and it was decided, with great pomp, that every married saleswoman should, when in the family way, be sent to a special midwife's as soon as her presence at the counter became offensive to the customers.
the next day when denise went up into the infirmary to see pauline, who had been obliged to take to her bed on account of the blow she had received, the latter kissed her violently on both cheeks. “how kind you are! had it not been for you i should have been turned away. pray don't be anxious about me, the doctor says it's nothing.”
baugé, who had slipped away from his department, was also there, on the other side of the bed. he likewise stammered his thanks, troubled before denise, whom he now treated as an important person, of a superior class. ah! if he heard any more nasty remarks about her, he would soon close the mouths of the jealous ones! but pauline sent him away with a good-natured shrug of the shoulders.
“my poor darling, you're always saying something stupid. leave us to talk together.”
the infirmary was a long, light room, containing twelve beds, with their white curtains. those who did not wish to go home to their families were nursed here. but on the day in question, pauline was the only occupant, in a bed near one of the large windows which looked on to the rue neuve-saint-augustin. and they immediately commenced to exchange whispered words, tender confidences, in the calm air, perfumed with a vague odour of lavender.
“so he does just what you wish him to? how cruel you are, to make him suffer so! come, just explain it to me, now i've ventured to approach the subject. do you detest him?” pauline had retained hold of denise's hand, as the latter sat near the bed, with her elbow on the bolster; and overcome by a sudden emotion, her cheeks invaded with colour, she had a moment of weakness at this direct and unexpected question. her secret escaped her, she buried her head in the pillow, murmuring:
“i love him!”
pauline was astonished. “what! you love him? but it's very simple: say yes.”
denise, her face still concealed, replied “no!” by an energetic shake of the head. and she did so, simply because she loved him, without being able to explain the matter. no doubt it was ridiculous; but she felt like that, she could not change her nature. her friend's surprise increased, and she at length asked: “so it's all to make him marry you?”
at this the young girl sprung up, quite confused: “marry me! oh! no! oh! i assure you that i have never wished for anything of the kind! no, never has such an idea entered my head; and you know what a horror i have of all falsehood!”
“well, dear,” resumed pauline, kindly, “you couldn't have acted otherwise, if such had been your intention. all this must come to an end, and it is very certain that it can only finish by a marriage, as you won't let it be otherwise. i must tell you that every one has the same idea; yes, they feel persuaded that you are riding the high horse, in order to make him take you to church. dear me! what a funny girl you are!”
and she had to console denise, who had again dropped her head on to the bolster, sobbing, declaring that she would certainly go away, since they attributed all sorts of things to her that had never crossed her mind. no doubt, when a man loved a woman he ought to marry her. but she asked for nothing, she had made no calculations, she simply begged to be allowed to live quietly, with her joys and her sorrows, like other people. she would go away.
at the same moment mouret was going through the premises below. he had wanted to forget his thoughts by visiting the works once more. several months had elapsed, the façade now reared its monumental lines behind the vast hoardings which concealed it from the public. quite an army of decorators were at work: marble-cutters, mosaic-workers, and others. the central group above the door was being gilded; whilst on the acroteria were being fixed the pedestals destined to receive the statues of the manufacturing cities of france. from morning to night, in the rue du dix-décembre, lately opened to the public, a crowd of idlers stood gaping about, their noses in the air, seeing nothing, but pre-occupied by the marvels that were related of this façade, the inauguration of which was going to revolutionise paris. and it was on this feverish working-ground, amidst the artists putting the finishing touches to the realisation of his dream commenced by the masons, that mouret felt more bitterly than ever the vanity of his fortune. the thought of denise had suddenly arrested him, this thought which incessantly pierced him with a flame, like the shooting of an incurable pain. he had run away, unable to find a word of satisfaction, fearful lest he should show his tears, leaving behind him the disgust of his triumph. this façade, which was at last erected, seemed little in his eyes, very much like one of those walls of sand that children build, and it might have been extended from one end of the city to the other, elevated to the starry sky, yet it would not have filled the emptiness of his heart, that the “yes” of a mere child could alone fill.
when mouret entered his office he was almost choking with sobs. what did she want? he dared not offer her money now; and the confused idea of a marriage presented itself amidst his young widower's revolts. and, in the debility of his powerlessness, his tears began to flow. he was very miserable.