'I have, therefore, consented that you shall receive his
visits; and, though I will not bind myself by any promise, or say, that
I shall consider him as my nephew, yet I shall permit the intercourse,
and shall look forward to any further connection as an event, which may
possibly take place in a course of years, provided the chevalier rises
in his profession, or any circumstance occurs, which may make it prudent
for him to take a wife. But Mons. Valancourt will observe, and you too,
Emily, that, till that happens, I positively forbid any thoughts of
marrying.' Emily's countenance, during this coarse speech, varied every instant,
and, towards its conclusion, her distress had so much increased,
that she was on the point of leaving the room. Valancourt, meanwhile,
scarcely less embarrassed, did not dare to look at her, for whom he
was thus distressed; but, when Madame Cheron was silent, he said,
'Flattering, madam, as your approbation is to me--highly as I am
honoured by it--I have yet so much to fear, that I scarcely dare to
hope.'
'Pray, sir, explain yourself,' said Madame Cheron; an unexpected
requisition, which embarrassed Valancourt again, and almost overcame him
with confusion, at circumstances, on which, had he been only a spectator
of the scene, he would have smiled.
'Till I receive Mademoiselle St. Aubert's permission to accept your
indulgence,' said he, falteringly--'till she allows me to hope--'
'O! is that all?' interrupted Madame Cheron. 'Well, I will take upon me
to answer for her. But at the same time, sir, give me leave to observe
to you, that I am her guardian, and that I expect, in every instance,
that my will is hers.' As she said this, she rose and quitted the room, leaving Emily and
Valancourt in a state of mutual embarrassment; and, when Valancourt's
hopes enabled him to overcome his fears, and to address her with the
zeal and sincerity so natural to him, it was a considerable time
before she was sufficiently recovered to hear with distinctness his
solicitations and inquiries.
The conduct of Madame Cheron in this affair had been entirely governed
by selfish vanity. Valancourt, in his first interview, had with great
candour laid open to her the true state of his present circumstances,
and his future expectancies, and she, with more prudence than humanity,
had absolutely and abruptly rejected his suit. She wished her niece to
marry ambitiously, not because she desired to see her in possession of
the happiness, which rank and wealth are usually believed to bestow, but
because she desired to partake the importance, which such an alliance
would give. When, therefore, she discovered that Valancourt was the
nephew of a person of so much consequence as Madame Clairval, she became
anxious for the connection, since the prospect it afforded of future
fortune and distinction for Emily, promised the exaltation she coveted
for herself.