She looked at her mother, and courage and defiance shone in her eyes.
By eleven o’clock they had finished breakfast. “Clear everything away,” Grandet told Nanon, “but leave us the table. We can look over your little treasure more comfortably so,” he said with his eyes on Eugénie. “Little, said I? ’Tis not so small, though, upon my word. Your coins altogether are actually worth five thousand nine hundred and fifty-nine francs, then with forty more this morning, that makes six thousand francs all but one. Well, I will give you another franc to make up the sum, because, you see, little girl … Well! now, why are you listening to us? Just take yourself off, Nanon, and set about your work!”
Nanon vanished.
“Listen, Eugénie, you must let me have your gold. You will not refuse to let your papa have it? Eh, little daughter?”
Neither of the women spoke.
“I myself have no gold left. I had some once, but I have none now. I will give you six thousand francs in silver for it, and you shall invest it; I will show you how. There is really no need to think of a dozen. When you are married (which will be before very long) I will find a husband for you who will give you the handsomest dozen that has ever been heard of hereabouts. There is a splendid opportunity just now; you can invest your six thousand francs in Government stock, and every six months, when dividends are due, you will have about two hundred francs coming in, all clear of taxes, and no repairs to pay for, and no frosts nor hail nor bad seasons, none of all the tiresome drawbacks you have to lay your account with if you put your money into land. You don’t like to part with your gold, eh? Is that it, little girl? Never mind, let me have it all the same. I will look out for gold coins for you, ducats from Holland, and genovines and Portuguese moidores and rupees, the Mogul’s rupees; and what with the coins I shall give you on your birthday and so forth, you will have half your little hoard again in three years’ time, besides the three thousand francs in the funds. What do you say, little girl? Look up, child! There! there! bring it here, my pet. You owe me a good kiss for telling you business secrets and mysteries of the life and death of five-franc pieces. Five-franc pieces! Yes, indeed, the coins live and gad about just like men do; they go and come and sweat and multiply.”
Eugénie rose and made a few steps towards the door; then she turned abruptly, looked her father full in the face, and said—
“All my gold is gone; I have none left.”
“All your gold is gone!” echoed Grandet, starting up, as a horse might rear when the cannon thunders not ten paces from him.
“Yes, it is all gone.”
“Eugénie! you are dreaming!”
“No.”
“By my father’s pruning-hook!” Whenever the cooper swore in this fashion, the floors and ceilings trembled.
“Lord have mercy!” cried Nanon; “how white the mistress is!”
“Grandet, you will kill me with your angry fits,” said the poor wife.
“Tut, tut, tut; none of your family ever die. Now, Eugénie! what have you done with your money?” he burst out as he turned upon her.
The girl was on her knees beside Mme. Grandet.
“Look! sir,” she said, “my mother is very ill … do not kill her.”
Grandet was alarmed; his wife’s dark, sallow complexion had grown so white.
“Nanon, come and help me up to bed,” she said in a feeble voice. “This is killing me …”
Nanon gave an arm to her mistress, and Eugénie supported her on the other side; but it was only with the greatest difficulty that they reached her room, for the poor mother’s strength completely failed her, and she stumbled at every step. Grandet was left alone in the parlor. After a while, however, he came part of the way upstairs, and called out—
“Eugénie! Come down again as soon as your mother is in bed.”
“Yes, father.”
In no long time she returned to him, after comforting her mother as best she could.
“Now, my daughter,” Grandet addressed her, “you will tell me where your money is.”
“If I am not perfectly free to do as I like with your presents, father, please take them back again,” said Eugénie coldly. She went to the chimneypiece for the napoleon, and gave it to her father.
Grandet pounced upon it, and slipped it into his waistcoat pocket.
“I will never give you anything again, I know,” he said, biting his thumb at her. “You look down on your father, do you? You have no confidence in him? Do you know what a father is? If he is not everything to you, he is nothing. Now; where is your gold?”
“I do respect you and love you, father, in spite of your anger; but I would very humbly point out to you that I am twenty-two years old. You have told me that I am of age often enough for me to know it. I have done as I liked with my money, and rest assured that it is in good hands—”
“Whose?”
“That is an inviolable secret,” she said. “Have you not your secrets?”
“Am I not the head of my family? May I not be allowed to have my own business affairs?”
“This is my own affair.”
“It must be something very unsatisfactory, Mlle. Grandet, if you cannot tell your own father about it.”
“It is perfectly satisfactory, and I cannot tell my father about it.”
“Tell me, at any rate, when you parted with your gold.”
Eugénie shook her head.
“You still had it on your birthday, hadn’t you? Eh?”
But if greed had made her father crafty, love had taught Eugénie to be wary; she shook her head again.
“Did anyone ever hear of such obstinacy, or of such a robbery?” cried Grandet, in a voice which gradually rose till it rang through the house. “What! here, in my house, in
