"Yes; Jacob has concealed this intrigue well; but some day I'll tease him about it. That will be great fun."
"I can hardly believe it yet," said Henri.
"There is no doubt whatever, I assure you. Jacob supports a pretty girl, and she lacks nothing. If you think it is for love of humanity and chastity, explain his motive."
"He is, then, a Don Juan disguised as an anchorite. It is a side of his character that I have never suspected. I never dreamed of it."
"Do you wish to be convinced with your own eyes? Here is the address, go and see for yourself; you are one of the family, and you might take a little trouble about it. The thing ought to be cleared up. You will not fail, with a little pains, to surprise the gay Lothario in flagrante delicti. After that he will not talk so much about the saints and holy writ. At heart he is no better than the rest of us."
"Alas, poor Jacob, where is your character now! Do you know how this original romance commenced?"
"It is a secret that you will discover, no doubt. I can only say one thing, that it is a secret no longer."
"But it is such a short time since he returned, that the connection must have begun abroad. Who knows where? Perhaps at the baths."
Henri Segel, seemingly absorbed in thought, went in the early evening to see Muse. This was for him the privileged hour for a charming interview, when no one ventured to disturb them, not even Sofronof. She had so well arranged her time that her favourites never ran the risk of meeting each other. The early part of the evening was given to Henri, who could then at his ease chat and joke with the siren and kiss her lovely hands. Segel was so preoccupied that the young lady noticed it.
"What has come over you?" asked she. "Why are you so quiet? Have you lost at the Bourse, or has your dancer left you for the epaulets?"