"Listen to me, de Saynthine," went on de Gorbio. "I have had the closest inquiries made about Captain d'Haumont. There is a gap in his life! We must know what that gap means, my lad."
De Saynthine bowed.
"I will have a good try, Monsieur le Comte." Having said which, he took his leave.
So they had sent for him in order to talk about d'Haumont! "You don't catch me parting with that tit-bit to you," he growled, thinking of his own schemes.
As he walked past Violette's shop his thoughts turned once again to Giselle with a rancor which but immensely increased his longing to see the handsome mannequin. But she was no longer there.
As a matter of fact, while he was submitting to the caprice of Nina Noha, Giselle had been hastily sent for. Her mother was in an alarming state, and the poor girl had set out distraught. A few minutes later Captain and Madame d'Haumont came to the shop. Mdlle. Violette told them of the blow which was threatening her assistant, and Didier at once suggested that they should go and call on her. Somewhat surprised to see her husband display so much anxiety, Françoise none the less expressed her agreement with him; and Mdlle. Violette herself went with them to the Rue d'Angleterre.
Five minutes later they knocked at the door of a small flat on the fifth floor. A nurse asked them in, and they found themselves in a sort of entrance-lobby which contained a folding bedstead. It was here that Giselle slept.
Mlle. Violette had already slipped into the next room to see the mother, who appeared to be a little better. She had had a fit, but, according to the nurse, the doctor had given them a few words of hope. Mdlle. Violette came back to say that they could see the invalid.
They entered a room which was quite tastefully furnished, and Giselle's mother welcomed them with a smile on her pale face. She expressed her gratitude to Didier for what he had done for her daughter and her self in words which brought tears to Françoise's eyes. And she said a few nice things about Françoise and her marriage which stirred the latter to the depths of her being.
"But where is Giselle?" asked Didier.