“‘Neither have I’
“‘What! not invited?’
“‘No. I am going with one of my friends.’
“‘And does your friend know them?’
“‘Scarcely; but enough to introduce us. Come along; you will see Mrs. Scott.’
“‘Oh! I have seen her on horseback in the Bois.’
“‘But she does not wear a low gown on horseback; you have not seen her shoulders, and they are shoulders which ought to be seen. There is nothing better in Paris at this moment.’
“And I went to the ball, and I saw Mrs. Scott’s red hair, and I saw Mrs. Scott’s white shoulders, and I hope to see them again when there are balls at Longueval.”
“Paul!” said Madame de Lavardens, pointing to the Abbe.
“Oh! Monsieur l’Abbe, I beg a thousand pardons. Have I said anything? It seems to me—”