Saint-Charles (aside)
Indeed?
Vautrin You are an architect, and have a proposal to make to me; but I have already received most excellent offers.
Saint-Charles
Excuse me, your Dutchman must have mispronounced my name. I am the
Chevalier de Saint-Charles.
Vautrin (raising his spectacles)
Let me see—we are old acquaintances. You were at the Congress of
Vienna, and then bore the name of Count of Gorcum—a fine name!
Saint-Charles (aside)
Go choke yourself, old man! (Aloud) So you were there also?
Vautrin I should think so! And I am glad to have come upon you again. You were a deuced clever fellow, you know. How you fooled them all!
Saint-Charles (aside) We'll stick to Vienna, then. (Aloud) Ah, baron! I recall you perfectly now; you also steered your bark pretty cleverly there.
Vautrin Of course I did, and what women we had there! Yes, indeed! And have you still your fair Italian?
Saint-Charles
Did you know her? She was a woman of such tact.
Vautrin My dear fellow, wasn't she, though? She actually wanted to find out who I was.