The young girl stepped back, and in the evening-light he could see her large astonished eyes shining as she gazed at him.
"How cross you are!" she said timidly. "What's the matter with you?" He did not answer, and she asked again: "Won't you tell me?"
"No, no," he said curtly, and then he re-mounted the steps and went into the drawing-room.
Bijou followed him, and whispered to Bertrade:
"I don't know what is the matter with your husband, but he is very bad-tempered."
Madame de Rueille glanced at Paul. He looked rather fagged and nervous, and was trying to appear at his ease, as he talked and laughed noisily with the tutor, who, on the contrary, was silent and reserved.
"Yes, certainly something is the matter with him," said Bertrade, rather uneasy at seeing her husband so strange. "I do not know at all what it is, though," she added.
"Only imagine," Bijou proceeded to explain to the whole room, "Paul wanted to go for a stroll instead of coming to work. Yes, and it was not very easy to get him here, I can assure you."
With a resigned look, M. de Rueille took his seat at a side table with a marble top. He then took up the manuscript, and, turning to the page which was commenced, dipped a long, quill pen into the ink.
"When you are ready?"—he said calmly.