“Mademoiselle is generous,� she said; “she has more than paid for the fish—will she not have them?�
Rosaline was annoyed beyond endurance. She still held the dog and she turned a withering glance on Mère Tigrane.
“Go!� she said sharply, “at once. Let me hear no more of you or your fish.�
“Mère de Dieu, but my beauty can be angry!� remarked la Louve. “Farewell, my pretty, and good luck to you and your dog.�
The old woman made her another curtsey and still chuckling to herself walked slowly away.
Scarcely had she disappeared behind the tall hedge when there was a footstep on the path behind Rosaline and François d’Aguesseau came in sight. He was soberly dressed like a steward, and bare-headed, having hurried from the house at the sound of Mère Tigrane’s outcry. He found Rosaline still holding the dog, her face flushed with anger and her eyes fastened on the opening in the hedge where her unpleasant visitor had disappeared.
“I heard a noise, mademoiselle,� he said, “and thought something had alarmed you.�
“And something did,� replied Rosaline, with a shudder; “the most dreadful old woman has been here trying to force her way into the house.�
D’Aguesseau smiled; old women did not terrify him, and he set mademoiselle’s excitement down to her nerves.
“What sort of an old woman?� he asked pleasantly; “you look as if you had seen a witch, mademoiselle.�