"I am sure you came partially to see me, but chiefly to see the lioness of the evening, Mlle. de Beaumesnil."
The prospective minister smiled as he replied, with truly diplomatic guile:
"I assure you, madame, I came only to have the honour of paying my respects to you, and to witness one of those charming fêtes you alone know how to give."
After which M. de Mornand made his best bow and passed on, whispering to Ravil:
"Go and see if she is in one of the other rooms. I will remain here. Try to bring the baron to me if you see him."
De Ravil nodded an assent to his Pylades and mingled with the crowd, saying to himself, as he thought of the meeting of the day before, which he had carefully refrained from mentioning to M. de Mornand:
"So here is an heiress who wanders about lonely parts of the town, grisette fashion, and then returns to that abominable Madame Laîné, who is complacently waiting for her in a cab. This last surprises me very little, however, as that unscrupulous female told me flatly, a week or so ago, that I could no longer count upon her influence. But at whose expense is she favouring this intrigue on the part of the little Beaumesnil? for there must be an intrigue, of course. That big ninny of a Mornand is no good. I might have known it. I must ferret out the truth of all this, for the more I think of it, the more convinced I am that the best thing for me to do is to drop Mornand, and devote my attention to the goose that lays the golden eggs, and, as a preliminary measure, I'll watch what goes on here this evening."
Just as the cynic vanished in the crowd, the Duchesse de Senneterre entered the room, but alone—her expression indicative of the deepest annoyance.
Madame de Mirecourt advanced a few steps to meet her, and, with the cleverness which women of the world possess in such an eminent degree, she found a way, though surrounded by a crowd of guests, and engaged to all appearance in exchanging the usual commonplaces with the duchess, to really hold the following low-toned conversation with her:
"But where is Gerald?"