Free The Red and the Black by Stendhal Page A

sound of voices M. de Rênal came out of his study and said
to Julien with the solemnity and smooth condescension he assumed when
officiating at weddings in the town hall: 'It is essential that I
have a word with you before the children see you.'
    He ushered Julien into a room and asked his wife to remain with them,
despite her desire to leave them alone. Once the door was shut, M. de
Rênal sat down gravely.
    ' Father
Chélan tells me you are diligent and well-behaved. Everyone here will
treat you with respect, and if I am pleased with you I shall arrange a
modest settlement for you at a later date. My wish is that you should
have no further dealings with your family or friends, as their
manners are not fitting for my children. Here are thirty-six francs
for the first month; but I must have your word that you will not give a
single penny of this money to your father.'
    M. de Rênal was furious with the old man for having been more cunning than himself over this deal.
    'Now, sir --for
everyone here is under orders to call you "sir", and you will
appreciate the advantage of entering a respectable household--now,
sir, it is not appropriate for the children to see you dressed in a
jacket. Have the servants seen him?' M. de Rênal asked his wife.
    'No, my dear,' she replied, looking deeply pensive.
    'So much the better. Put this on,' he said to the astonished
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young man, handing him one of his own frock-coats. 'And now we shall call on M. Durand, the draper.'
    When, over an hour later, M. de Rênal returned home with the new
tutor dressed entirely in black, he found his wife sitting in the same
spot. She felt her peace of mind return in Julien's presence:
studying him closely made her forget to be afraid of him. Julien had
no thoughts for her; despite all his mistrust of fate and of mankind,
he was at that moment still only a child at heart. It seemed to him
that aeons had passed since that moment three hours ago when he had
stood trembling in the church. He noticed how aloof M me de
Rênal was looking, and took it she was angry because he had dared to
kiss her hand. But the sense of pride he derived from the feel of
clothes so unlike the ones he was accustomed to wearing put him in
such an abnormal state of excitement, and he was so anxious to hide
his delight, that every movement he made seemed jerky and
uncontrolled. M me de Rênal gazed at him with astonishment in her eyes.
    'A little gravity, sir,' said M. de Rênal to Julien, 'if you wish to be respected by my children and my servants.'
    'Sir,' replied Julien, 'I feel uncomfortable in these new clothes.
I'm only a poor peasant, and I've never worn anything but jackets.
With your permission, I'll go and retire to my room.'
    'What is your opinion of our new acquisition?' M. de Rênal asked his wife.
    In an almost instinctive reaction--one which certainly escaped her conscious awareness--M me de Rênal concealed the truth from her husband.
    'I'm by no means as delighted as you are with this peasant lad. Your
attentions will give him ideas above his station, and you'll be
obliged to dismiss him before the month is up.'
    'Well then! we'll dismiss him; it will have cost me a hundred francs
or so at most, and Verrières will have grown used to seeing a tutor in
charge of M. de Rênal's children. This end could not have been
achieved if I had left Julien in workman's attire. When I dismiss him,
I shall of course retain the full black suit I've just ordered from
the draper. He will only keep
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what I found ready-made at the the tailor's, and had him put on.'
    The hour that Julien spent in his room seemed a brief moment to Mme
de Rênal. The children, who had been told of the new tutor's arrival,
were besieging their mother with questions. At last Julien made his
appearance. He was a changed man. It would have been incorrect to say
that he was grave: he was gravity incarnate. He was introduced to the
children, and spoke to them