"
Mademoiselle de Verneuil began to study the young man from the
vantage-ground of her position with coolness and dignity; at the
bottom of her heart she admired his courage and tranquillity. Happy in
discovering that the man she loved bore an ancient title (the
distinctions of which please every woman), she also found pleasure in
meeting him in their present situation, where, as champion of a cause
ennobled by misfortune, he was fighting with all the faculties of a
strong soul against a Republic that was constantly victorious. She
rejoiced to see him brought face to face with danger, and still
displaying the courage and bravery so powerful on a woman's heart;
again and again she put him to the test, obeying perhaps the instinct
which induces a woman to play with her victim as a cat plays with a
mouse.
"By virtue of what law do you put the Chouans to death?" she said to
Merle.
"That of the 14th of last Fructidor, which outlaws the insurgent
departments and proclaims martial law," replied the Republican.
"May I ask why I have the honor to attract your eyes?" she said
presently to the young chief, who was attentively watching her.
"Because of a feeling which a man of honor cannot express to any
woman, no matter who she is," replied the Marquis de Montauran, in a
low voice, bending down to her. "We live in times," he said aloud,
"when women do the work of the executioner and wield the axe with even
better effect.
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