“Recognized?”
“That has nothing to do with it. Recognized or unrecognized, rich or poor, he is still Baron de Valois.”
“Madame, explain to me this descent; it interests me; I love heraldry.”
Jeanne repeated all that the reader already knows.
The cardinal listened and looked. He did not believe either her story or her merit; but she was poor and pretty.
“So that,” he said carelessly, when she had finished, “you have really been unfortunate.”
“I do not complain, monseigneur.”
“Indeed, I had heard a most exaggerated account of the difficulties of your position; this lodging is commodious and well furnished.”
“For a grisette, no doubt,” replied Jeanne.
“What! do you call these rooms fit for a grisette?”