"Oh, don't worry about that, madame," replied Herminie. "I'm sure I shall be able to save her from any discomfort on that account."
"How will you do it, my dear duchess?"
"Oh, that is my affair," laughed Herminie.
And still limping slightly,—deceitful creature that she was,—she walked towards the couch on which Mlle. de Beaumesnil was sitting.
CHAPTER II.
THE DUCHESS ENTERTAINS ERNESTINE.
Mlle. de Beaumesnil, on seeing Herminie approach, was so struck by her remarkable beauty that she entirely failed to notice the slight lameness which the duchess had feigned in order to avoid dancing that evening.
So what was Ernestine's surprise, when the duchess, seating herself beside her, said, in the most friendly manner:
"I am deputised by Madame Herbaut to come and keep you company for a little while, in place of her daughters, who, of course, have many duties to perform."
"So some one at least pities me," thought Mlle. de Beaumesnil, deeply humiliated.
But Herminie's voice and manner were so sweet and engaging, and the expression of her face was so kind, that Ernestine, reproaching herself for the bitterness of her first thought, replied: