Then, taking the hand of Mme. de Polignac she turned it over several times, examining it carefully, and said: “You are, like the other, in the service of the same lady, who loves you so much that she confides to you her most precious jewels. You love her just as much, but still, in a short time you will leave that lady in haste, and what is more, you will not feel tranquil until you have put three great rivers between you and her. She will cry bitterly when you leave her and yet be very glad of the separation.”
Mme. de Polignac shuddered; exclaiming that she would never of her own accord leave her mistress, or if an absence was necessary to her health it should be a short one.
“Oh! for that matter,” said the gipsy, “it will have no limit.”
“What! Shall I never see my mistress again?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because she will die.”
A cry of horror escaped the two friends and Mlle. Robert began to threaten the gipsy.
“Hold your tongue, tête-qui-roule,” she cried angrily. “Your body will be food for dogs.”