He had no reason to doubt the maternal love and forgiveness.  From the first moment of his discovery he was acknowledged as the heir, and the happy mother celebrated his return by great rejoicings, to which all her friends and relatives were invited.  He was presented to the members of the family, and they recognised him readily; although they did not fail to notice certain distinctions of feature and manner between him and the Claude de Verre who had gone to join the regiment of Clanleu.  Still, as he answered all the questions which were put to him promptly and correctly, and as he sustained the character of the lost son perfectly, it was easy to suppose that absence and increasing age had effected a slight change in him, and he was received everywhere with marked demonstrations of friendship.  M. de Piedselon, a brother of Madame de Verre, alone denounced him as an impostor; but his words were unheeded, and the new comer continued to possess the confidence of the other relatives, and of the widow and her second son, with whom he continued to reside for some time.

At last the day came when he must rejoin his regiment, and his brother Jacques accompanied him into Normandy, where it was stationed, and where they made the acquaintance of an M. de Dauple, a gentleman who had a very pretty daughter.  Claude de Verre soon fell over head and ears in love with this girl, who reciprocated his passion and married him.  Before the ceremony a marriage-contract was signed, and this document, by a very peculiar clause, stipulated that, in the event of a separation, the bridegroom should pay a reasonable sum to Madlle de Dauple.  Jacques de Verre signed this contract as the brother of the bridegroom, and it was duly registered by a notary.  After their marriage the happy couple lived together until the drum and trumpet gave the signal for their separation, and Claude de Verre marched to the wars with his regiment.

But when released from service, instead of returning to pass the winter with his wife, he resorted once more to Chauvigny, to the house of Madame de Verre, and took his brother back.  She was delighted to see him again, and on his part it was evident that he was resolved to make amends for his past neglect and his prolonged absence.  Nevertheless, during his stay at the family mansion, he found time to indulge in a flirtation—­if nothing worse—­with a pretty girl named Anne Allard.  Soon after his arrival intelligence reached Saumur of the death of the Madlle de Dauple whom Claude had married in Normandy—­an occurrence which seemed to give him the utmost sorrow, but which did not prevent him from marrying Anne Allard within a very short time, his own feelings being ostensibly sacrificed to those of his mother, who was anxious that he should settle down at home.  In this instance, also, a marriage-contract was entered into, and was signed by Madame de Verre and her son Jacques.  Not content with this proof of affection, the mother of Claude, seeing her eldest son thus settled down beside her, executed a deed conveying to him all her property, reserving only an annuity for herself and the portion of the second son.