The lad stood taken by surprise for a moment, thinking that
Tithonus must have looked just like this, and skipped like this,
just as he became a grasshopper; then he recollected that this must
be the Chevalier de Ribaumont, and tried to make up for his want of
cordiality. The old man had, it appeared, come out of Picardy,
where he lived on soupe maigre in a corner of the ancestral
castle, while his son and daughter were at court, the one in
Monsieur's suite, the other in that of the Queen-mother. He had
come purely to meet his dear young cousin, and render him all the
assistance is his power, conduct him to Paris, and give him
introductions.
Berenger, who had begun to find six Englishmen a troublesome charge
in France, was rather relieved at not being the only French scholar
of the party, and the Chevalier also hinted to him that he spoke
with a dreadful Norman accent that would never be tolerated at
court, even if it were understood by the way. Moreover, the
Chevalier studied him all over, and talked of Paris tailors and
posture-masters, and, though the pink of politeness, made it
evident that there was immensely too much of him. 'It might be the
custom in England to be so tall; here no one was of anything like
such a height, but the Duke of Guise. He, in his position, with
his air, could carry it off, but we must adapt ourselves as best we
can.' And his shrug and look of concern made Berenger for a moment almost
ashamed of that superfluous height of which they were all so proud
at home. Then he recollected himself, and asked, 'And why should
not I be tall as well as M. de Guise?'
'We shall see, fair cousin,' he answered, with an odd satirical
bow; 'we are as Heaven made us. All lies in the management and if
you had the advantages of training, PERHAPS you could even turn
your height into a grace.'
'Am I such a great lubber?' wondered Berenger; 'they did not think
so at home. No; nor did the Queen. She said I was a proper
stripling! Well, it matters the less, as I shall not stay long to
need their favour; and I'll show them there is some use in my
inches in the tilt-yard. But if they think me such a lout, what
would they say to honest Philip?'
The Chevalier seemed willing to take on him the whole management of
his 'fair cousin.' He inquired into the amount of the rents and
dues which old Osbert had collected and held ready to meet the
young Baron's exigencies; and which would, it seemed, be all needed
to make his dress any way presentable at court. The pearls, too,
were inquired for, and handed over by Osbert to his young Lord's
keeping, with the significant intimation that they had been
demanded when the young Madame la Baronne went to court; but that
he had buried them in the orchard, and made answer that they were
not in the chateau. The contract of marriage, which Berenger could
just remember signing, and seeing signed by his father, the King,
and the Count, was not forthcoming; and the Chevalier explained
that it was in the hands of a notary at Paris. For this Berenger
was not sorry. His grandfather had desired him to master the
contents, and he thought he had thus escaped a very dry and useless
study.