Rosaline made a little grimace and blushed, turning away from him with a gesture of impatience. The little hunchback, watching the two, read her mood more truly than she read it herself, and his new-born pleasure died out of his face.
“I shall wear these shoes to-night, Charlot,� she hastened to say, her back turned on the supposed steward. “They are fit for a ball, but I never go to balls, so I will wear them on my birthday as the greatest honor I can pay them.�
“Mademoiselle makes me happy by wearing them at all,� Charlot replied simply.
D’Aguesseau was now looking intently out of the window.
“M. de Baudri is mounting at the gate,� he announced. “Mademoiselle, you are no longer in prison.�
She would not look at him, but she beamed on the little cobbler.
“I will run and show my present to grand’mère,� she said.
Charlot followed her to the door.
“Mademoiselle, a word with you,� he said in a low voice.
She turned in surprise and then beckoned to him to follow her into the entry.