The others protested. The lawyer, surprised, but greedy, hesitated a second between the desire for an invitation and the dignity of his position. The latter won, and he grew very angry:
"Take care, sir. You don't treat business matters seriously, and I have already noticed your dangerous inclination to pleasure. Did you not recently win another bet at the Café du Commerce on the longest time one could take to smoke a cigar? The longest time! At your age, I should have understood the shortest. You took more than an hour to do it. It was a sufficient cause, you know, to dismiss you. The interests of a business must be sacred to its employés, and I will not have my clerks betting on the loss of my cases."
And with this speech, in which he gave vent to his anger (a good thing for him, as he needed some helpful exercise to aid his digestion)—he inconsiderately distributed some work to his mournful listeners.
Saint-André's Square is two steps from the Quai de la République, where the Molay-Norrois lived. Instead of going toward the Isère, Elizabeth directed her steps toward the park. Philippe Lagier, who was silently walking beside her was surprised.
"Where are we going, Madame?"
"To my house."
"Then you have left your parents?"
"Did you not know about it? I have taken a flat in the Rue Haxo, almost opposite the Botanical Gardens."
"Ah," said he, making no comment.
"I have been very much criticised for it. Still it is better as it is. I see my parents almost every day, but a mother needs a little liberty to bring up her children."