"Introduce me; I am curious to know your little vicomte."
Just then Spero raised his head, and, seeing Gontram, he cordially said:
"Gontram, am I not deserving of praise? You see I have accepted your invitation."
"I am very grateful to you," replied the painter warmly, and turning to Carmen he said:
"Mademoiselle de Larsagny, permit me to introduce the Vicomte of Monte-Cristo to you."
Spero bowed deeply. The young lady gazed steadily at the handsome cavalier, and admiration shone in her eyes.
"I really have not had the pleasure of seeing the vicomte. I should not have forgotten him."
"I believe you," said the painter; "the vicomte is, by the way, a man of serious ideas, an ascetic, who does not care for worldly pleasures."
Spero protested with a shake of the head, and muttered some disconnected words. Carmen, however, noticed that his thoughts were elsewhere.