"Oh, what good fortune! How rejoiced my poor mistress will be! She did not dare to hope for this great kindness! I am so thankful! I will fly to announce to her the good news!"
She hurried away, leaving Madeleine's relatives more than ever amazed by these mysterious words.
Count Tristan was the first to break the silence. Ever keenly alive to his own interest, he saw a great advantage to be gained if he had interpreted the language of the femme de chambre rightly.
In an altered tone, a tone of marked consideration, he asked, "You are well acquainted with the Marchioness de Fleury?"
"Very well!" replied Madeleine, with an incomprehensible emphasis, while a smile that had a faint touch of satire flitted over her face.
"She receives you?" questioned the count.
"Always," answered Madeleine, smiling again.
"She esteems you?" persisted the count.
"I have every reason to believe that she does."