"I must beg your pardon once more," interrupted the vicomte, "but before dessert I never bother about serious affairs."
"Ah, it is serious then," remarked Arthur. He knew that Talizac was often short and feared that he was about to ask for a loan. The young men dined with good appetite, and as the waiter placed the dessert upon the table, the vicomte threw a glass filled with red wine against the wall and exclaimed:
"Champagne, bring champagne!"
"Well, I must say that you end the Carnival in a worthy way," laughed Velletri.
"Bah! I must drown my troubles in champagne," replied the vicomte, shrugging his shoulders. "I tell you, my friends, I had a conversation with my father to-day which made me wild."
"Ah, it was about your marriage, no doubt!" said the Italian.
"Yes. The marquis wants me to go to the altar in fourteen days. That would be a fine thing."
"But I thought the marriage was a good one for both sides; the fortune of the Salves—"
"Oh, bother with the fortune!" interrupted the vicomte.
"And, besides, the young countess is very beautiful," continued Arthur.