“I am going to crawl in this corner and rest a bit. And I wonder where Uncle Denys is?”
“He has been talking to the Governor. M. Cruzat is not above listening to the needs of the people. There are to be improvements along the levee.”
She waved her hand in dismissal. Then she wondered, with a bit of feminine inconsistency, who would be first to find her out. This would be a lovely corner for a chat.
A voice caught her ear. She heard her name mentioned in a complimentary manner.
“She is very well born. Although you do not seem to make much of that here.”
That was Monsieur Laflamme’s peculiarly cultivated accent.
“Yes, on the one side. The other, her grandfather—well, no one is quite certain. But he left her a fortune and some handsome jewels. How he obtained both no one really knows.”
“I suppose many things have to be condoned in this new country. In fact, they have to be in most places,” laughing ironically. “The world is quite turned upside down, but money is on the top everywhere. And the uncle, he has several interests I have heard. He has no family.”
“He is not a real relative, but a sort of godfather or guardian. She is like a child to him. There is a story that he was in love with her mother when they were children. Besides his trading business he has an interest in the lead mines. And it is said there are some wonderful discoveries of salt that hunters have found. We shall distance you more southern people some day.”
“Then M. Denys is one of your prosperous citizens?”