Free The Red and the Black by Stendhal

they don't know their lessons?'
    A voice so gentle and almost pleading from a lady of such beauty
caused Julien to forget at once what he owed to his reputation as a
Latin scholar. M me de Rênal's face was close to his, and he
caught the fragrance of a woman's summer clothes--something quite
breathtaking to a simple peasant. Julien blushed deeply and said with a
sigh in scarcely audible tones: 'Never fear, madam, I shall obey your
every word.'
    It was only at that moment, when her anxiety about her children was completely dispelled, that M me de Rênal was struck by how extremely good-looking Julien was. The
almost feminine cast of his features and his air of embarrassment did
not appear at all ridiculous to a woman who was excessively shy
herself. She would have been frightened by the overt masculinity which
is commonly thought an essential ingredient of good looks in a man.
    'How old are you, sir?' she asked Julien.
    'Nearly nineteen.'
    -31-

'My eldest son is eleven,' M me de Rênal went on, completely reassured, 'he'll almost be a companion
for you; you'll be able to reason with him. His father once decided to
thrash him, and the child was ill for a whole week, even though he
wasn't beaten at all hard.'
    How different things are for me, thought Julien. Only yesterday my father beat me. How lucky these rich people are!
    M me de Rênal had already reached the stage of reading what was going on
in the tutor's mind, down to the finest subtleties. She took his
wistful expression for shyness and tried to encourage him.
    'What's your name, sir?' she asked with a delicacy of tone which
thoroughly charmed Julien's feelings, although he was quite unaware of
what was going on.
    'I'm called
Julien Sorel, madam. I'm very nervous at coming into a strange
household for the first time in my life; I shall need you to protect
me and to forgive me a good many things in the early days. I never
went to secondary school, I was too poor. I've never talked seriously
to anyone apart from my cousin the army surgeon who's a member of the
Legion of Honour, and Father Chélan our priest. He'll put in a good
word for me. My brothers have always beaten me: don't believe them if
they say nasty things about me to you. Forgive my mistakes, madam; I
shall never intend any wrong.'
    Julien
was gaining confidence during this long speech. He looked closely at
Mme de Rênal. Such is the effect of perfect grace when it is a natural
part of someone's character-especially when the person it adorns does
not take pains to cultivate it--that Julien, who was a great
connoisseur of feminine beauty, would have sworn at that moment that
she was no more than twenty. He was at once struck with the bold
idea of kissing her hand. He soon took fright at his idea, but a
moment later said to himself: It would be cowardice on my part not to
carry out an action which may prove useful to me, and lessen the
disdain which this beautiful lady probably feels for a poor workman
only just wrested from his saw. Possibly Julien felt somewhat
encouraged at remembering the term handsome lad which he had heard some of the girls use a number of times on Sundays over the last six months. While
    -32-

this inner debate was going on, M me de Rênal had been giving him one or two words of instruction on how
to make a start with the children. Julien's struggle to take hold of
himself made him turn very pale again, and he said awkwardly:
    'I'll never beat your children, madam; I swear before God I won't.'
    As he uttered these words, he plucked up the courage to take M me de Rênal's hand and raise it to his lips. She was astonished at his
gesture, and when she thought about it, shocked. As the weather was
very hot, her arm was quite bare under her shawl, and it had been
completely uncovered when Julien raised her hand to his lips. After a
moment or so she was cross with herself, feeling that she had not been
quick enough to take offence.
    Hearing the