“You old fox, you,� he exclaimed, “you do not want me to marry the girl—I believe you want her yourself!�
Père Ambroise turned his eyes piously toward heaven.
“The saints forbid!� he murmured. “You have an unbridled tongue, mon fils, and deserve discipline for offering an insult to one in holy orders.�
The officer laughed. “Dame, you old rogue!� he said, “do you fat fathers take us for fools? Hark!� he added sharply, pausing to listen, “what is that? I heard the dog bark.�
“Rosaline’s poodle,� replied the priest, undisturbed.
M. de Baudri was suspicious. “Have you got her secure?� he demanded imperiously.
“Absolutely secure,� retorted his companion, indifferently; “my servants are faithful, and her door is fastened by an oaken bar too strong for two women to force. Compose yourself, mon fils; you consented to this respite; she was to have until eight to-morrow morning for reflection, and she has reason enough to make good use of the time. Her grandmother is dead and she has no defender but me. She will not resist my authority, but you take a strange way to propitiate me and obtain my good offices.�
M. de Baudri gnawed his lip with a lowering expression on his face.
“I shall have to come to your terms, I suppose, mon père,� he said at last with an effort to appear congenial.
“That is more to the point,� Père Ambroise remarked pleasantly, and leaned over to fill his guest’s glass again.