"Is this true?" exclaimed the duchess, delightedly. "Are you sure of what you say, Ernestine?"
"Perfectly sure."
"It is not so much that this disinterestedness on Gerald's part astonishes me," said Herminie, "as that—"
"That you are proud of this new proof of his love. Am I not right?"
"Yes, yes," exclaimed the duchess, her hopes reviving in spite of herself. "But once more, I can not help asking if you are perfectly sure of what you say? My poor child, you are so anxious to see me happy that I am afraid you have lent too ready an ear to these reports, for servants' gossip, you know, is proverbially unreliable. Do you know whether Gerald has ever met Mlle. de Beaumesnil?"
"Once or twice, I think my relative told me. But why do you ask that question, Herminie?"
"Because it seems to me that I shall feel very uncomfortable to-morrow, knowing that there has been some talk of a marriage between Gerald and Mlle. de Beaumesnil."
"Why, what is to happen to-morrow, Herminie?"
"I am to give Mlle. de Beaumesnil her first music lesson."
"To-morrow?" exclaimed Ernestine, without concealing her surprise.