"No, Miss, 200,000."
"Very well, say 200,000. I do not wish to distress you for so little."
"And the Church?"
"Ah, yes, the Church——"
"You cannot refuse to give God His share, Miss, after He has given you so much!"
"Quite true. Next week I shall add something in my will."
And for an hour the discussion would continue in this tone. The results were duly consigned to the secret account book, and then would follow the question of investments.
"Monsieur Loiseau tells me that the Western Railway shares have dropped. He advises me to buy Northern. He says that Northern means Rothschild, which means a good deal, you understand, Victorine."
"That Monsieur Loiseau knows everything! You must do as he says. Me, I don't know anything about such things."
"Well, then, put down Northern instead of Western shares. As for the dividends, they talk of changing the rate of interest."