14、Two pure souls 两个纯洁的 ...
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Youthful vigour ultimately prevailed.
After a high fever that lasted one day and two nights, Andre's breathing finally steadied. The doctor declared that he had made it through the most dangerous stage.
Edith knew nothing about household chores, let alone her anxious state of mind, so most of the care for the patient was left to Margot, while worried Aunt Adele acted as her daughter's assistant.
Once, Edith mustered up the courage to ask Margot to teach her how to help out.
As she turned Andre's body over to help scrub his upper body, she shyly averted her gaze.
Even in his most unconscious state, this handsome young man never uttered a delirious word; his bushy eyebrows furrowed in pain, his lips still pursed tight in coma, letting out only occasionally a muffled groan, which would make one's heart ache with pity.
Day by day, rosy flush climbed back onto Andre's fresh and tender cheeks.
"Thank goodness!" Philippe breathed a deep sigh of relief upon seeing his dear friend brought through.
His heart was so full of joy that he actually no longer painted pictures every day of Dumouriez's daily life in hell with his words.
And thus, on a spring afternoon, as Andre stirred from his slumber, the first sight that greeted him was the dainty countenance of his beloved, clad in a lily-white morning gown, standing by his bedside.
"Am I in paradise?" murmured the young man.
She bent down to him.
To ensure the patient's rest was not disturbed, the curtains before the blinds were left only with a slit, allowing a soft ray of sunlight to fall upon Edith's side face.
Everything unfolded in perfect harmony.
Their lips entwined - a kiss devoid of any carnal desires, two pure angels snuggling up to each other.
"I love you!" he said so firmly, gazing into her with his sparkling blue eyes the moment they parted.
She laughed and wept, upbraiding him for causing her such worry.
Their youthful and beautiful faces once again drew close, indulging themselves in unbridled joy at surviving the ordeal.
"My angel!" he called, panting.
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Andre got out of bed, yet the people of this house were no longer willing to let him go.
"You should live with us, dear Quenet." Aunt Adele was actually the first to propose.
Andre replied with a smile, "I defer to the opinions of the two young ladies."
"Edith is the centre of this family," said Margot softly. "You'd just ask her."
Edith complained about her sister forcing her to make this embarrassing decision in front of the whole family. But she nodded sheepishly in agreement.
Once they confirmed each other's mind, she tried to change the dressing on his shoulder wound herself.
Edith's technique was clumsy, plus her movements were never as gentle and nimble as her sister Margot's, causing the patient to involuntarily let out a groan of pain.
"I'm sorry," said Andre, lying on his front.
"Why are you apologising to me?" Edith looked at him funny.
"In front of my lover, I failed to show the adamancy that a man should have," he replied.
Edith was made laugh and flapped him on the chest.
Yet this brought up Andre's gunshot wound, and he gasped in surprise, moaning in pain once again.
He looked at her with a complaining gaze, but this time he didn't apologise again.
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"We should tell my aunt about us," Edith suddenly said to Andre one day.
Andre fell silent and looked serious.
"Perhaps it's better if fewer people know about our love," he said.
"Why?" she asked, clearly dissatisfied.
"The revolution is still in crisis. Dumouriez defected, federalists are inciting rebellions everywhere, famines and riots... I'm somewhat influential in the National Convention. There are quite a few people who harbour grudges against me. I'm afraid it could embroil you."
"You're right, Andre. You're so thoughtful!" She cuddled his neck and kissed his cheek. "You're so good!"
"I'm sorry, my Edith." He stroked her chestnut hair with gold threads, feeling a little heartache.
Nevertheless grinned the naturally optimistic girl cheerily. "A secret romance! How exciting!"
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Taking advantage of her family's occasional inattention, Edith pinned her sweetheart against the door, stretching her toes to reach his lips.
"The tenant and the landlord's daughter!" She teased him. "What a classic plot!"
In the evening, the two walked hand in hand along the boulevards, talking about their playful and learning-filled time in the small studio in Rouen.
"We were once a pupil and a tutor too! Doesn't it sound very much like Julie and Saint-Preux in The New Heloise?" Edith mischievously kidded him.
At Percys' dinner table, they kept exchanging caressing glances.
While Margot and Philippe were buried in their food, Edith wickedly extended her foot from under her skirt, leaving light taps on Andre's shoe and knee across from her.
He nervously looked around and then complained to her with his eyes about her boldness.
The lassie felt like she had conquered unconquerable virtue, complacently winking at him.
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On a morning, she sent him to a meeting, and as they said their goodbyes, she unbuttoned his collar and tousled his hair.
Lost in the bliss of love, the beau actually forgot to check his appearance in the mirror before leaving.
He stood exactly like that before the National Convention with his collar open wide, revealing a clear, fair neck and chest, and sort of messy blonde hair, oratorizing on the podium, "… towards the enemies of liberty, no matter how harsh we are, would it become too much?!"
"Quenet seems a bit different today," a chubby member of the Convention remarked puzzled to his colleague. "He doesn't seem to hold his own head as the beacon of the republic anymore."
"Amazing! Today the apostle's bow tie is actually not tied up to his chin!" his colleague echoed, stroking his beard.
"There is a saying that those who have escaped death will undergo a major transformation in their disposition," another senator added, "perhaps Quenet has finally decided to change course and become a valentine that matches his appearance, rather than shaping himself into a revolutionary textbook."
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Throughout the wonderful Floréal, two sincere souls loved each other to their hearts' content.
Since becoming lovers, Edith and Andre no longer had so much to say to each other instead as before. They often sat together in silence for hours, looking into each other's eyes or gazing at their hands interlaced.
He read that Ode to Lady Liberty to her personally.
"Oh, how happy I am! I did never truly live until I had you!" Edith looked up at the starry sky, moved to tears.
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In May, Andre was selected into the Commitee of General Security.①
Edith and Margot warmly congratulated him, while Philippe admired and became loyal to him doubly.
However, after taking on this responsibility, he became busier and busier, sometimes working fifteen or sixteen hours a day, leaving hardly time for meals and sleep.
At night, he hurried out of the committee, lifted the drapes of the carriage, and saw Edith sitting inside, as if he had received a mysterious and precious gift.
Without saying a word, he threw the documents under his arms into the carriage and climbed up, pressing his lips against hers.
"I worry very much about your health, and so is Auntie," she leaned against his arms and said. "Your eyes are all bloodshot! But you have just recovered."
"The republic needs me. Haven't you heard that? 'A revolutionary only finds rest in his grave'." He whispered in her ear.
"You are always so busy, I am even ashamed to ask you for love anymore! I'm afraid it will add your burden."
He smiled and smoothed his lover's anxiety with one kiss after another. "Your embrace will only give me the sweetest rest, angel."
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The room was quiet, everyone asleep. Edith became bold and as she said goodbye to Andre at the door of his bedroom, they exchanged a passionate kiss once more.
However, when she tiptoed back to her own room, she saw her sister Margot sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for her.
"You and Andre are in love, right?" Margot asked.
"You saw it, Margot!" Edith whispered flurriedly.
"I didn't see anything!" Margot denied hastily with a blush. "But I've already sensed it. Did you think you were able to hide it from your sister, Edith?"
Edith stood in front of her sister like a child who had done something wrong, exchanging her two feet uneasily.
Margot's voice softened: "Of course I won't blame you for that. Andre is a patriot and a brave, upright man. I trust him just like Brother does."
"I didn't mean to hide it from you, sister! Andre told me that the revolutionary situation is tense, and he's worried that he might be in danger and implicate us." Edith explained quickly.
"I've guessed that. Citizen Quenet is a responsible man. Honestly, it's no big deal. Philippe is essentially in his faction too..."
"Andre doesn't belong to any faction!" Edith couldn't help but interrupt her sister.
Margot went blank for a moment, then smiled resignedly: "Anyway, since he moved in with us, our family has been tightly tied to him. I don't oppose you choosing Citizen Quenet. But you must well protect yourself."
"I understand." Edith shyly slipped into the covers, turning her back to her sister.
At this moment, what she was thinking of was the promise she made with Andre just fifteen minutes ago: they must dream of each other tonight.
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Those with life experience are always clear that such dreamlike happiness cannot last long.
The day of happiness' end arrived with the arrest of Madame Roland.
Edith stormed into his office, her rage ablaze.
"Why implicate Manon? What wrong has she done?" she questioned him.
"Are you close to Roland's wife?" he asked in return.
"Why can't I be friends with her? She's done nothing to deserve this! Are you guys to throw all those in jail just because of different political opinions?"
"You don't understand, Edith. This is not just a matter of politics. Federalism would only divide and harm the Republic. You only see a beautiful and elegant lady that young girls would adore, ignorant of her conspiracy with the aristocracy..."
"But you men don't even allow her direct participation in politics! Yet you generously grant women the right to guillotine! So this is how the principle of equality is understood!"
Edith regained the sharpness she had concealed during their fervent romance, leaving no slightest concession to Andre.
Andre was stunned for a moment. Only after a while did he speak, "The decision to arrest the Girondins is not something I can influence. I just hope to protect you. I don't wish to see you hurt for your association with that woman."
"I don't need your self-righteous protection, Quenet! I know exactly what's right and wrong." She refuted trenchantly, "I'm never a naive little bird living in a fairy tale world. I've been involved in the revolution no less than you have. If the Republic permitted women equal opportunities, I'd have achieved more than you!"
Without allowing Andre a chance to reply, she walked away in a huff, slamming the door with force behind her.
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第14章 Two pure souls
