Comtesse de la Main and Julia Redmond
Julia Redmond shook her head. She did not want compliments. The eyes of the two women met and read each other.
"Couldn't you be frank with me, Madame? It is so easy to be frank."
It was, indeed, impossible for Julia Redmond to be anything else. The comtesse, who was only a trifle older than the young girl, felt like her mother just then. She laughed.
"But be frank—about what?"
"You see," said Julia Redmond swiftly, "I care absolutely nothing for the Duc de Tremont, nothing."
"You don't love him?" returned Madame de la Maine, with deep accentuation. "Is it possible?"
The girl smiled.
"Yes, quite possible. I think he is a perfect dear. He is a splendid friend and I am devoted to him, but I don't love him at all, not at all."
"Ah!" breathed Madame de la Maine, and she looked at the American girl guardedly.