And he replied:—
"Is he in love with her? I saw it from the beginning. He simply worships her."
"And she?" asked Olivier.
"She?" echoed Corancez. "She is madly in love with him!"
And he congratulated himself upon his perspicacity, saying to himself:—
"At any rate, I feel more at ease now. Du Prat will not commit any folly."
For once the Southerner had not realized the irony of his own thoughts. He was as naïve as his secret wife, simple-minded Andryana, who, discovering Madame du Prat at one of the roulette tables, replied to the questions of the young wife without noticing her trouble, answering with the most imprudent serenity.
"You were talking about a Baroness Ely in the train.—What an odd name!"
"It is a diminutive of Elizabeth, and is common enough in Austria."
"Then she is an Austrian?"