“You wait very well.”
“Madam is very good.”
I had tucked in my superb ruffles of English point lace, but my frilled shirt front of the same material protruded slightly through my vest, which I had not buttoned carefully. She saw it, and said, “Come here a moment.”
“What does madam require?”
“Let me see it. What beautiful lace!”
“So I have been told, madam, but it is very old. An Italian gentleman who was staying here made me a present of it.”
“You have ruffles of the same kind, I suppose?”
“Yes, madam;” and so saying I stretched out my hand, unbuttoning my waistcoat. She gently drew out the ruffle, and seemed to place herself in a position to intoxicate me with the sight of her charms, although she was tightly laced. What an ecstatic moment! I knew she had recognized me, and the thought that I could not carry the masquerade beyond a certain point was a veritable torment to me.
When she had looked a long time, one of the others said,
“You are certainly very curious, my dear, one would think you had never seen lace before.”