et had scarcely begun before her mind
turned to Paris. Meanwhile Mme. de Bargeton's adorer found the silence
somewhat awkward.

"Dispose of me, I repeat," he added.

"Thank you," answered the lady.

"What do you think of doing?"

"I shall see."

A prolonged pause.

"Are you so fond of that young Rubempre?"

A proud smile stole over her lips, she folded her arms, and fixed her
gaze on the curtains. Chatelet went out; he could not read that high
heart.

Later in the evening, when Lucien had taken his leave, and likewise
the four old gentlemen who came for their whist, without troubling
themselves about ill-founded tittle-tattle, M. de Bargeton was preparing
to go to bed, and had opened his mouth to bid his wife good-night, when
she stopped him.

"Come here, dear, I have something to say to you," she said, with a
certain solemnity.

M. de Bargeton followed her into the boudoir.

"Perhaps I have done wrongly," she said, "to show a warm interest in M.
de Rubempre, which he, as well as the stupid people here in the town,
has misinterpreted. This morning Lucien threw himself here at my feet
with a declaration, and Stanislas happened to come in just as I told the
boy to get up again. A woman, under any circumstances, has claims which
courtesy prescribes to a gentleman; but in contempt of these, Stanislas
has been saying that he came unexpectedly and found us in an equivocal
position. I was treating the boy as he deserved. If the young
scatterbrain knew of the scandal caused by his folly, he would go, I
am convinced, to insult Stanislas, and compel him to fight. That would
simply be a public proclamation of his love. I need not tell you that
your wife is pure; but if you think, you will see that it is something
dishonoring for both you and me if M. de Rubempre defends her. Go at
once to Stanislas and ask him to give you satisfaction for his insulting
language; and mind, you must not accept any explanation short of a full
and public retraction in the presence of witnesses of credit. In this
way you will win back the respect of all right-minded people; you will
behave like a man of spirit and a gentleman, and you will have a right
to my esteem. I shall send Gentil on horseback to the Escarbas; my
father must be your second; old as he is, I know that he is the man to
trample this puppet under foot that has smirched the reputation of a
Negrepelisse. You have the choice of weapons, choose pistols; you are an
admirable