"Yes, I do love him—I love him as I ought to love him, too."
"We will see about that."
"What do you mean, monsieur?"
"In the first place, it is my duty to tell you that Gerald is deeply in love, and that—"
Madame de Senneterre sprang up out of her armchair, fairly purple with anger, and, interrupting the hunchback, exclaimed, vehemently:
"It is outrageous! I have suspected it all along! The mystery is cleared up now. It is my son who has refused, for that little Beaumesnil was wild about him. I could see that at the ball, and it is you, you, monsieur, who have had a hand in this abominable intrigue. I will never see my son again. He has no heart, no soul!"
The marquis had anticipated this explosion, and, without taking the slightest notice of it, continued:
"You interrupted me, madame. I was about to say that Mlle. de Beaumesnil, far from being in love with Gerald, entertains a very ardent affection for another man."
"The bold-faced hussy!" exclaimed the duchess with such naïveté that the marquis could not help smiling slightly, in spite of his anxiety.
"I also feel it my duty to inform you, madame, that Gerald is in love with a young girl who is in every respect worthy of his love."