“I know,” the young girl cut her short, “you are attached to me. But listen!”
And then she promptly explained to her what she wanted; while Jacques, standing a little aside in the shade, watched the impression on the woman’s face. Gradually she raised her head; and, when Dionysia had finished, she said in a very different tone,—
“I understand perfectly, and, if I were the master, I should say, ‘All right!’ But Blangin is master of the jail. Well, he is not bad; but he insists upon doing his duty. We have nothing but our place to live upon.”
“Have I not paid you as much as your place is worth?”
“Oh, I know you do not mind paying.”
“You had promised me to speak to your husband about this matter.”
“I have done so; but”—
“I would give as much as I did before.”
“In gold?”
“Well, be it so, in gold.”