"Very calm," replied Katte. "Just now, when we put her to bed,--though she did not want to go, saying she felt well,--I took her the bundle of linen, but she told me to take it away, and asked what I meant her to do with it.""You see," said Corentin, grasping the Provencal's hand, "you are the lance of Achilles."And he left the room with Katte to receive Doctor Bianchon.
Left alone, Theodose was a prey to thoughts which may perhaps be imagined. After a while the door opened, and Bruneau, the old valet, ushered in Cerizet. Seeing la Peyrade, the latter exclaimed:--"Ha! ha! I knew it! I knew you would end by seeing du Portail. And the marriage,--how does that come on?""What are you doing here?" asked la Peyrade.
"Something that concerns you; or rather, something that we must do together. Du Portail, who is too busy to attend to business just now, has sent me in here to see you, and consult as to the best means of putting a spoke in Thuillier's election; it seems that the government is determined to prevent his winning it. Have you any ideas about it?""No," replied la Peyrade; "and I don't feel in the mood just now to be imaginative.""Well, here's the situation," said Cerizet. "The government has another candidate, which it doesn't yet produce, because the ministerial negotiations with him have been rather difficult. During this time Thuillier's chances have been making headway. Minard, on whom they counted to create a diversion, sits, the stupid fool, in his corner; the seizure of that pamphlet has given your blockhead of a protege a certain perfume of popularity. In short, the ministry are afraid he'll be elected, and nothing could be more disagreeable to them. Pompous imbeciles, like Thuillier, are horribly embarrassing in the Opposition; they are pitchers without handles; you can't take hold of them anywhere.""Monsieur Cerizet," said la Peyrade, beginning to assume a protecting tone, and wishing to discover his late associate's place in Corentin's confidence, "you seem to know a good deal about the secret intentions of the government; have you found your way to a certain desk in the rue de Grenelle?""No. All that I tell you," said Cerizet, "I get from du Portail.""Ah ca!" said la Peyrade, lowering his voice, "who IS du Portail? You seem to have known him for some time. A man of your force ought to have discovered the real character of a man who seems to me to be rather mysterious.""My friend," replied Cerizet, "du Portail is a pretty strong man. He's an old slyboots, who has had some post, I fancy, in the administration of the national domain, or something of that kind, under government;in which, I think, he must have been employed in the departments suppressed under the Empire.""Yes?" said la Peyrade.
"That's where I think he made his money," continued Cerizet; "and being a shrewd old fellow, and having a natural daughter to marry, he has concocted this philanthropic tale of her being the daughter of an old friend named Peyrade; and your name being the same may have given him the idea of fastening upon you--for, after all, he has to marry her to somebody.""Yes, that's all very well; but his close relations with the government, and the interest he takes in elections, how do you explain all that?""Naturally enough," replied Cerizet. "Du Portail is a man who loves money, and likes to handle it; he has done Rastignac, that great manipulator of elections, who is, I think, his compatriot, several signal services as an amateur; Rastignac, in return, gives him information, obtained through Nucingen, which enables him to gamble at the Bourse.""Did he himself tell you all this?" asked la Peyrade.
"What do you take me for?" returned Cerizet. "With that worthy old fellow, from whom I have already wormed a promise of thirty thousand francs, I play the ninny; I flatten myself to nothing. But I've made Bruneau talk, that old valet of his. You can safely ally yourself to his family, my dear fellow; du Portail is powerfully rich; he'll get you made sub-prefect somewhere; and thence to a prefecture and a fortune is but one step.""Thanks for the information," said la Peyrade; "at least, I shall know on which foot to hop. But you yourself, how came you to know him?""Oh! that's quite a history; by my help he was able to get back a lot of diamonds which had been stolen from him."At this moment Corentin entered the room.
"All is well," he said to la Peyrade. "There are signs of returning reason. Bianchon, to whom I have told all, wishes to confer with you;therefore, my dear Monsieur Cerizet, we will postpone until this evening, if you are willing, our little study over the Thuillier election.""Well, so here you have him, at last!" said Cerizet, slapping la Peyrade's shoulder.
"Yes," said Corentin, "and you know what I promised; you may rely on that."Cerizet departed joyful.