rward with his forefinger raised delicately to the tip of his nose.

"I temporised, Comtesse," he said, in a low voice. "I explained as
gracefully as one could that it was too early to think of such a
development--that I was taken by surprise."

"Which could hardly have been true," put in Madame de Chantonnay in an
audible aside to the mulberry-tree, "for neither Guienne nor la Vendee
will be taken by surprise."

"I said, in other words--a good many words, the more the better, for
one must be polite--'Secure your throne, Monsieur, and you shall marry
Juliette.' But it is not a position into which one hurries the last of
the house of Gemosac--to be the wife of an unsuccessful claimant, eh?"

Madame de Chantonnay approved in one gesture of her stout hand of these
principles and of the Marquis de Gemosac's masterly demonstration of
them.

"And Monsieur de Bourbon--did he accept these conditions?"

"He seemed to, Madame. He seemed content to do so," replied the Marquis,
tapping his snuff-box and avoiding the lady's eye.

"And Juliette?" inquired Madame, with a sidelong glance.

"Oh, Juliette is sensible," replied the fond father. "My daughter is, I
hope, sensible, Comtesse."

"Give yourself no uneasiness, my old friend," said Madame de Chantonnay,
heartily. "She is charming."

Madame sat back in her chair and fanned herself thoughtfully. It was the
fashion of that day to carry a fan and wield it with grace and effect.
To fan oneself did not mean that the heat was oppressive, any more than
the use of incorrect English signifies to-day ill-breeding or a lack
of education. Both are an indication of a laudable desire to be
unmistakably in the movement of one's day.

Over her fan Madame cast a sidelong glance at the Marquis, whom she,
like many of his friends, suspected of being much less simple and
spontaneous than he appeared.

"Then they are not formally affianced?" she suggested.

"Mon Dieu! no. I clearly indicated that there were other things to be
thought of at the present time. A very arduous task lies before him, but
he is equal to it, I am certain. My conviction as to that grows as one
knows him better."

"But you are not prepared to allow the young people to force you to
take a leap in the dark," suggested Madame de Chantonnay. "And that poor
Juliette must consume her soul in patience; but she is sensible, as you
justly say. Yes, my dear Marquis, she is charming."

They were thus engaged in facile tal