She rang for her lady's maid and whispered something to her, and then
she said: "Marquis, your bath is ready in your dressing-room. If you
will follow Sabina, she will show you to it. These gentlemen and I will
wait dinner for you." And as soon as he had gone out, she said to the
youngest there: "And now, Ernest, go upstairs and undress; I will allow
you to dine in your morning coat, and you will give your dress coat and
the rest to Sabina, for the Marquis."

Ernest was delighted at having to play a part in the piece, and the six
others clapped their hands. "Nobody else could think of such things;
nobody, nobody!"

Half an hour later they were sitting at dinner, the Marquis in a dress
coat on Sonia's left, and it was a great deception for the seven. They
had reckoned on having some fun with him, and especially Ernest, who set
up as a wit, had intended to _draw him_. But at the first attempt of
this sort, Sonia had given him a look which they all understood, and
dinner began very ceremoniously for the seven, but merrily and without
restraint between Sonia and the old man.

They cut very long faces, those seven, but inwardly, if one can say so,
for of course they could not dream of showing how put out they were, and
those inward long faces grew longer still when Sonia said to the old
fellow, quite suddenly: "I say, how stupid these gentlemen are! Suppose
we leave them to themselves?"

The Marquis rose, offered her his arm again, and said: "Where shall we
go to?" But Sonia's only reply was to sing the couplet of that song
which she had remembered:

"For three years I passed
The nights with my love,
In a beautiful bed
In a splendid alcove.
Though wine makes me sleepy,
Yet love keeps me frisky."

And the seven, who were altogether dumbfounded this time, and who could
not conceal their vexation, saw the couple disappear out of the door
which led to Sonia's apartments. "Hum!" Ernest ventured to say, "this is
really rather strong!" "Yes," the eldest of the menagerie replied. "It
certainly is rather strong, but it will do! You know, there is nobody
like her for thinking of such things!"

The next morning, the _chateau_ bell woke them up at six o'clock, when
they had agreed to return to Paris, and the seven men asked each other
whether they should go and wish Sonia good-morning, as usual, before she
was out of her room. Ernest hesitated more than any of them about it,
and it was not until Sabina