Page:Novels of Honoré de Balzac Volume 23.djvu/360

 “Come, my little angel, could we not do better than that? Listen to me carefully. We have altogether forty-eight thousand francs a year from the estate round about Le Rouvre, which is a truly royal château; besides that, we can give Désiré twenty-four thousand francs a year in bonds of the national debt, in all, seventy-two thousand francs a year. You will agree that there are not many matches that can vie with him. You are an ambitious little thing, and you are right,” said Zélie, seeing Ursule’s quick gesture of denial. “I have come to ask your hand for Désiré; you bear your godfather’s name, it will be doing him an honor. Désiré, as you have seen, is a handsome fellow; he is very well thought of at Fontainebleau, and he will soon be public prosecutor. You are a wheedler, you could make him go to Paris. We would give you a fine house in Paris, you would be conspicuous, you would play a grand part, for with seventy-two thousand francs a year and the salary from an appointment, you and Désiré, you would be in the highest society. Consult your friends and see what they will tell you.”

“I need only to consult my heart, madame.”

“Tush! tush! do you mean to tell me about that little heart-breaker of a Savinien? Well! you will pay very dear for his name, his little moustaches turned up like two hooks, and his black hair. And a nice sort of fellow! You will flourish in a household on seven thousand francs a year and a man who ran up a debt of a hundred thousand francs in