This man, who
has since become an infamous scoundrel, was then only a rake, an
unprincipled drunkard and libertine. He fancied the poor little
apprentice--she was then but thirteen years old--would be only too
glad to become the mistress of her employer's brother; but she
scornfully repulsed him, and his vanity was so deeply wounded that
he persecuted the poor girl to such an extent that she was obliged
to complain, first to Madame Greloux, who--to her shame be it
said--treated these insults as mere nonsense; and afterward to
Greloux himself, who was probably delighted to have an opportunity
of ridding himself of his indolent brother-in-law, for he turned
him out of the house."
The thought that so vile a rascal as this man Vantrasson should
have dared to insult Marguerite made Pascal frantic with
indignation. "The wretch!" he exclaimed; "the wretch!" But
without seeming to notice her son's anger, Madame Ferailleur
continued: "They pretended they had not seen their former
apprentice since she had been living in grandeur, as they
expressed it. But in this they lied to me. For they saw her at
least once, and that was on the day she brought them twenty
thousand francs, which proved the nucleus of their fortune. They
did not mention this fact, however."
"Dear Marguerite!" murmured Pascal, "dear Marguerite!" And then
aloud: "But where did you learn these last details, mother?" he
inquired.
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