That was the reign of stewards and bailiffs, wily fellows, into whose hands the interests of the great families passed, and who fed and grew fat on the parings of the great fortunes they managed. But now-a-days, utilitarian theories, as they call them, have come to the fore,--'We are never so well served as by ourselves,' 'There's no shame in attending to one's own business,' and many other bourgeois maxims which have suppressed the role of intermediaries. Why shouldn't Mademoiselle Brigitte Thuillier manage her own house when dukes and peers go in person to the Bourse, where such men sign their own leases and read the deeds before they sign them, and go themselves to the notary, whom, in former days, they considered a servant."During this time Cerizet had time to recover from the blow he had just received squarely in the face, and to think of the transition he had to make from one set of interests to the other, of which he was now the agent.
"What you are declaiming there is all very clever," he said, carelessly, "but the thing that proves to me our defeat is the fact that you are not on the terms with Mademoiselle Thuillier you would have us believe you are. She is slipping through your fingers; and Idon't think that marriage is anything like as certain as Dutocq and Ihave been fancying it was."
"Well, no doubt," said la Peyrade, "there are still some touches to be given to our sketch, but I believe it is well under way.""And I think, on the contrary, that you have lost ground; and the reason is simple: you have done those people an immense service; and that's a thing never forgiven.""Well, we shall see," said la Peyrade. "I have more than one hold upon them.""No, you are mistaken. You thought you did a brilliant thing in putting them on a pinnacle, but the fact is you emancipated them;they'll keep you now at heel. The human heart, particularly the bourgeois heart, is made that way. If I were in your place I shouldn't feel so sure of being on solid ground, and if something else turned up that offered me a good chance--""What! just because I couldn't get you the lease of that house do you want to knock everything to pieces?""No," said Cerizet, "I am not looking at the matter in the light of my own interests; I don't doubt that as a trustworthy friend you have done every imaginable thing to promote them; but I think the manner in which you have been shoved aside a very disturbing symptom. It even decides me to tell you something I did not intend to speak of;because, in my opinion, when persons start a course they ought to keep on steadily, looking neither forward nor back, and not allowing themselves to be diverted to other aspirations.""Ah ca!" cried la Peyrade, "what does all this verbiage mean? Have you anything to propose to me? What's the price of it?""My dear Theodose," said Cerizet, paying no attention to the impertinence, "you yourself can judge of the value of discovering a young girl, well brought-up, adorned with beauty and talents and a 'dot' equal to that of Celeste, which she has in her own right, PLUSfifty thousand francs' worth of diamonds (as Mademoiselle Georges says on her posters in the provinces), and, moreover,--a fact which ought to strike the mind of an ambitious man,--a strong political influence, which she can use for a husband.""And this treasure you hold in your hand?" said la Peyrade, in a tone of incredulity.
"Better still, I am authorized to offer it to you; in fact, I might say that I am charged to do so.""My friend, you are poking fun at me; unless, indeed, this phoenix has some hideous or prohibitory defect.""Well, I'll admit," said Cerizet, "that there is a slight objection, not on the score of family, for, to tell the truth, the young woman has none--""Ah!" said la Peyrade, "a natural child--Well, what next?""Next, she is not so very young,--something like twenty-nine or so;but there's nothing easier than to turn an elderly girl into a young widow if you have imagination.""Is that all the venom in it?"
"Yes, all that is irreparable."
"What do you mean by that? Is it a case of rhinoplasty?"Addressed to Cerizet the word had an aggressive air, which, in fact, was noticeable since the beginning of the dinner in the whole manner and conversation of the barrister. But it did not suit the purpose of the negotiator to resent it.