"Is Baptiste here?"
"Yes, madame la marquise."
"Send him to me at once."
"Why this servant instead of the other, Florence?" inquired Madame d'Infreville.
"The other man knows how to read. He is rather inquisitive, too, and he might think it singular that I wrote to you while you were here. The man I sent for cannot read, and is very stupid besides, so there is very little danger to apprehend from him."
"You are right, a thousand times right, Florence. In my excitement, I did not think of all this."
"Did madame la marquise send for me?" inquired Baptiste, appearing in the doorway.
"Do you know the flower girl that has a shop near the Chinese bath-house?" inquired Florence.
"Yes, madame la marquise."
"Go there at once, and buy me two large bunches of Parma violets."