The Chevalier de Pean had long made distant and timid pretensions to
her favor, but he had been overborne by a dozen rivals. He was
incapable of love in any honest sense; but he had immense vanity.
He had been barely noticed among the crowd of Angelique's admirers.
"He was only food for powder," she had laughingly remarked upon one
occasion, when a duel on her account seemed to be impending between
De Pean and the young Captain de Tours; and beyond doubt Angelique
would have been far prouder of him shot for her sake in a duel than
she was of his living attentions.
She was not sorry, however, that he came in to-day after the
departure of the Intendant. It kept her from her own thoughts,
which were bitter enough when alone. Moreover, she never tired of
any amount of homage and admiration, come from what quarter it
would.
De Pean stayed long with Angelique. How far he opened the details
of the plot to create a riot in the market-place that afternoon can
only be conjectured by the fact of her agreeing to ride out at the
hour designated, which she warmly consented to do as soon as De Pean
informed her that Le Gardeur would be there and might be expected to
have a hand in the tumult raised against the Golden Dog.
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