Just then the duke took the seat opposite them. He seemed to endure with Christian meekness the ridicule of this young woman who possessed such magnificent diamonds, as well as all sorts of gold and silver mines; but the furtive glance he bestowed on her now and then, and a certain contraction of his thin lips, indicated that a sullen rage was rankling in his heart.
The footman having asked for orders, M. de Riancourt replied:
"To the Hôtel Saint-Ramon."
"Pardon me, M. le duc," answered the footman, "but I don't know where the Hôtel Saint-Ramon is."
"At the end of the Cours la Reine," responded M. de Riancourt.
"Does M. le duc mean that large house on which they have been working several years?"
"Yes."
The footman closed the door, and repeated the instructions to the coachman who applied the whip vigorously to his bony steeds, and the landau started in the direction of the Cours la Reine.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE HOTEL SAINT-RAMON.
M. de Riancourt's clumsy equipage moved so slowly that when it reached the entrance to the Cours la Reine a pedestrian, who was proceeding in the same direction, kept pace with it without the slightest difficulty.