"Ah! that old pavilion of Richelieu's day?" said the countess indifferently.
"A mere hovel!" said the baroness; "it is good for nothing but to pull down!"
"Possibly," replied Marcel; "but the land has some value, and as the street is being built up, you might find a purchaser for it."
"And allow a house to be built so near my own," said Julie, "overlooking my garden, and almost overlooking my apartments."
"No, you would require that the house should turn its back to you and take the air from the street or from my uncle's garden."
"Who might your uncle be?" queried the baroness, with an indescribable touch of contempt in her tone.
"Monsieur Marcel Thierry," said the countess, "is a near relative of my wealthy neighbor, Monsieur Antoine Thierry, of whom you must certainly have heard."
"Oh! yes, a former tradesman."
"An armorer," rejoined Marcel. "He made his fortune in the colonies without ever setting foot on a ship, and, thanks to shrewd planning and good luck, he made several millions in his chimney corner, you might say."
"I congratulate him," replied the baroness. "And he lives in this neighborhood?"