“Can monsieur tell me where to find the key of the great trunk?” she said.
“What do you want with it?” asked Thuillier.
“Mademoiselle told me to take it to her room.”
“What for?”
“Mademoiselle must be going to make a journey. She is getting her linen out of the drawers, and her gowns are on the bed.”
“Another piece of nonsense!” said Thuillier. “Flavie, go and see what she has in her head.”
“Not I,” said Madame Colleville; “go yourself. In her present state of exasperation she might beat me.”
“And my stupid wife, who must needs raise a fuss about the contract!” cried Thuillier. “She really must have said something pretty sharp to turn Brigitte off her hinges like this.”
“Monsieur has not told me where to find the key,” persisted Josephine.
“I don’t know anything about it,” said Thuillier, crossly; “go and look for it, or else tell her it is lost.”