"Though I did not beg it on my knees?"
"Chut!"
"Or with my last breath?"
"Very well, then; if you do not wish to hear——"
"No, no; tell me."
"Well then, Ange, she is noble—that girl."
"Oh no!"
"I am sure of it. The mystery, her coming here. Why has she no relations, no friends? And then her look, her manner. Why, the first tone of her voice made me start."
"Oh no, he would not——"
"Would not?" scoffed Marthe. "He 's a fool in love, and I suppose she was in danger. I tell you, I suspected it at once when his letter came. There, go to bed, and dream of our connection with the aristocracy. My faith, how times change! It is an edifying world."