[Illustration: frontispiece, Copyright 1904 by G. Barrie & Sons] _DEATH OF RONCHEROLLE_ _"O my God! my father is dead!" cried the girl. Georget and his friend sadly hung their heads; thereupon Violette fell into Monsieur de Brevanne's arms._ NOVELS BY Paul de Kock VOLUME XVI THE FLOWER GIRL OF THE CHATEAU D'EAU VOL. II [Illustration: PRINTED BY ARRANGEMENT WITH GEORGE BARRIE'S SONS] THE JEFFERSON PRESS BOSTON NEW YORK _Copyrighted, 1903-1904, by G. B. & Sons._ THE FLOWER GIRL OF THE CHATEAU D'EAU XXIV HOW IT HAPPENED "I had fallen madly in love with Mademoiselle Lucienne Courtenay; you know as well as I that her beauty and her charm attracted every eye. I paid my addresses to her, she welcomed my homage. In short, I believed that she loved me as dearly as I loved her, and we were married. "During the first year of our union, I was happy; but I began at last to discover that my wife was not, as I thought, a model of affection and sensibility. Lucienne was coquettish, extremely coquettish; accustomed very early to being flattered because of her beauty, she must needs always be surrounded with homage, with compliments, with admirers! Dress was her principal, I might even say her only, occupation. Amiable and playful when she had her little court about her, my wife yawned and was bored when we were alone. If I spoke to her of my love, she would reply by inquiring about some new fashion. Ah! Monsieur de Merval, if coquetry amuses and fascinates in a mistress, it becomes very dangerous in a wife, especially if a man is jealous, and I was. "The second year of my marriage passed, and I had already ceased to be happy; my wife desired to pass her life in parties, dissipation, balls; if I ventured to remonstrate, if I seemed disposed to decline an invitation, she would make a scene, she would call me a tyrant! You may imagine that I always ended by giving way; when one is in love, one is very weak, and I was still in love with my wife; I did everything to please her; I said to myself: 'Her taste for dissipation will pass! With time she will become more sensible, and she will give a little more thought to her husband.' "My greatest grief at that time was that I was not a father; I prayed constantly that Lucienne might give me a pledge of her love, but my prayers were not granted. Ah! many times since then, monsieur, I have thanked God because He did not listen to me; for it is a great misfortune to have children when one cannot set them the example of domestic peace and virtue!" Here Monsieur de Merval turned his head away, with a singular expression; but the count, paying no heed, continued: