"Mademoiselle," said the host, "permit me to present to you the Vicomte de Monte-Cristo."
Esperance bowed low.
"I think I have never had the pleasure of meeting you before, Vicomte," said Carmen.
"Oh! Esperance is a workingman!" cried Goutran. "He disdains our worldly pleasures."
Esperance protested with a gesture, but evidently his mind was elsewhere.
"I rely on you, Mademoiselle, and on your charming friends," continued Goutran, "to cure this misanthrope of his bad habits!"
Carmen, probably displeased at the indifference manifested by Esperance, now drew her host away.
"What do you think of him?" asked Goutran.
"He is good looking, certainly, but I cannot judge of his mind."