“I don't know what it is, but something terrible is going on. Gaston came home last night and he was very upset. He was pale and very quiet. Then, suddenly he took me roughly into his arms and practically raped me. Afterwards, he fell into a fitful sleep and kept tossing and turning, mumbling about death, gambling and dishonor. I am afraid. I don't know what to do. Please, come with me and have lunch with us this morning.”
“Give me time to get dressed, and I will come with you.”
Two hours later, coming home for lunch, Gaston found himself face to face with Don Jose.
Extending his hand to the visitor, unable to hide his surprise, “Here at this hour, General? And all alone? Where is Julia?”
“She is crying while waiting for you. I sent her upstairs to dry her eyes.”
“Julia crying? Why?”
“That's what you are going to tell me, I hope. Look, Gaston, by now you must know that Julia can only be happy when you are. Well then, it appears to me that there is some sort of trouble brewing between you two. I don't know what it is, since she has no idea what the cause could be. It is clear to her, the instincts of a woman in love are very sharp, my dear boy-that something is wrong. I love her as if she were my own daughter, and I cannot bear to see her unhappy. We are both men of the world, so don't beat around the bush. What is the matter?”
“It's a fairly simple thing. Last night I lost one hundred and fifty thousand francs. I do not have that much money. I have had bad luck ever since we returned to Paris. And if Isaak Kaponski cannot give me the loan tonight, there is nothing I can do lest what one is expected to do in such a case. Understand, dear General, that my only collateral is what I fall heir to upon my aunt's death. And, if she finds out about Julia, there would not be any inheritance. Do you understand me?”
“Perfectly! Only, have you thought of the fact that you do not have the right to take your life as long as Julia is not your legal wife?”
Gaston shrugged his shoulders. “What good are beautiful sentiments at a time like this? I love Julia more than anybody else. But, if she had not become my mistress, she would have become the mistress of someone else. Isn't that the destiny of French women who are both beautiful and poor?”
“My dear Count, you are undoubtedly under terrible pressure, or, by God, I would forget about my age and make you regret what you have just said. I shall pretend not to have heard a word of the whole conversation other than that you need a paltry hundred and fifty thousand francs. Under the condition that you shall never gamble again, I will see to it that your debt will be paid. My lawyer shall take care of the necessary arrangements.”
“You would do this for me?”
“I would do this for Julia, and consider it already done. Now, let's reassure your dear Viscountess, who loves you more than you deserve. In matters of love we can never equal a woman, my dear Count.”
“That's very well possible, General.”
Julia entered the room and she soon noticed that the threatening thunderclouds had cleared.
“Look at your penitent,” Don Jose told her. “I have heard his confession and I have absolved him on the condition that he obtains your forgiveness for having made you cry.”
“You have cried? Oh, you naughty girl,” Gaston murmured tenderly, “can you ever forgive me?”
“But what was the matter? I would like to know.”
“A little gambling debt, dear. But thanks to Don Jose everything is settled. Unfortunately, I have to leave and see the noble lady Athena, the Countess Saski, who lately has been very reluctant to part with her money.”
“What? You are going to leave us again?”
“It takes great diplomacy and personal care to soften the mood of my headstrong aunt. Don't worry dear, it's the first time we have been separated since we were married.”
“I'll come with you.”
Gaston swiftly looked at the General. The old man had turned pale and Julia realized how much her presence in Paris meant to the old man who had been so generous to her lover.
“Darling,” Gaston said tenderly, “at this time of the year, the plains of Poland are a sad sight, indeed. Saski Palace would depress you terribly, and that would be a shame.”
“You are right as always, darling,” said Julia, and turning to the General, “my good friend, you will keep me company. We shall have lunch and dinner together… we'll sit by the fireside and talk about him.”
“Two weeks at the most, darling, and then I'll be back.”
“Take your time, young man, take your time,” the General said with a sad smile. “I can be trusted. I promise to take good care of her.”
Several days later, a carriage loaded high with luggage drove up before the steps of the somber castle. The old majordomo solemnly announced the arrival of His Lordship, Gaston, Count Saski, to his mistress.
Meanwhile, the coachman was unloading the carriage, and he smiled when the remnants of a bouquet of violets and a silken perfumed handkerchief fluttered from the carriage to the frozen ground. Embroidered in the corner of the handkerchief was a nude little boy, armed with a bow and arrow.
He remembered the stopover in Warsaw where the Count had visited an old flame of his. Katinka had given him her maidenhood, and since she was the first girl he had ever embraced, Gaston Saski had a special weakness for her. Aunt Athena had rewarded the girl handsomely, under the condition that she would never come farther east than Warsaw. The girl Katinka, who was sweet and loving, but not beautiful, had bought herself a flower shop and did an excellent business.
“Kate,” the Count had said, when he stopped off at her place, “will you keep me company till we have reached the castle? I'll have the coachman drive you back to your home, and my aunt will never know that you have broken your promise.”
Kate was ready and willing, and under the furs they delighted in one another's bodies, keeping warm and comfortable, barely noticing that outside it was thirty degrees below.
Snow covered the earth-the trees looked like ghosts shaking their shrouds-and from time to time a snarling wolf scurried away, howling in frustration at the jangling sleigh-bells. In the steamy atmosphere under the fur heap, mouth to mouth and cock to cunt, Gaston and Kate forgot that the one had ties in Paris and the other in Warsaw.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Crossing the threshold of his aunt's parlor, Gaston was fully prepared to receive a lecture. He realized that he richly deserved the worst scolding of his life. He was therefore utterly surprised when his aunt kissed him, almost affectionately, upon his forehead, exclaiming, “At last! The prodigal son has remembered his old home, and has felt the need to rest a little and breathe the air of our forests!”
“I have come especially to see you, dear aunt Athena. It has been so long since we have seen each other.”
“The doors of Saski Castle are always open to you, nephew.”
“And you see that I have not forgotten.”
“Is Paris really so splendid that you can no longer tear yourself away from it?”
“Oh, yes! Once you have lived in Paris, you no longer wish to leave it.”
“Is that true?”
“It's exactly as I have told you.”
“In that case, dear Gaston, I would like to put that to the test. I am going back with you to France whenever you have another attack of the traveling mood.”
If lightning had struck the Count, he could not have been more overwhelmed. He stared at his aunt in disbelief but saw that she was dead serious. What was more, she smiled! It looked a little unnatural on her, because he had never seen his aunt smile.
“Are you really Considering a visit to Paris, dearest Aunt? You can see that I am very surprised, but let me assure you that it is a happy surprise and I shall be honored to show you this most beautiful of all cities.”
“Tell me about it. It interests me.”
And Gaston told her, painting all the enchantments of Paris in glowing colors, leaving out a detail here and there when he was sure that this would not particularly interest his stern maiden aunt. But in all the glowing pictures he painted he did not mention Julia with a single word, or a single allusion. He was delighted about her interest in the city, and he hoped that the bitter pill of one hundred and fifty thousand francs would go down easily.