“Oh my! Where have you come from?” cries Caroline, on seeing Adolphe standing in ecstasy before her voluptuous breakfast.
Adolphe, whose wife long since gave up treating him to such charming banquets, does not answer. But he guesses what it all means, as he sees the cloth inscribed with the delightful ideas which Madame de Fischtaminel or the syndic of Chaumontel’s affair have often inscribed for him upon tables quite as elegant.
“Whom are you expecting?” he asks in his turn.
“Who could it be, except Ferdinand?” replies Caroline.
“And is he keeping you waiting?”
“He is sick, poor fellow.”
A quizzical idea enters Adolphe’s head, and he replies, winking with one eye only: “I have just seen him.”
“Where?”
“In front of the Cafe de Paris, with some friends.”
“But why have you come back?” says Caroline, trying to conceal her murderous fury.