"No, monsieur. Indeed, I have not been long in Paris."
"Ah! then you are not a Parisienne? You surprise me! You have all the grace of one. May I, without being impertinent, ask you from what province you come?"
Georgette hesitated a moment before she replied:
"I come from a small village near Rouen."
"Ah! you are a Norman! That is strange, for you haven't the Norman accent. How long have you been in Paris?"
"Nearly five months."
"Did you come alone?"
"Yes, all alone. I said to my parents: 'I want to go to Paris; I will work hard there, and perhaps I may make my fortune—who knows?'"
Monsieur de Mardeille scratched his head as he repeated:
"Fortune! hum! that's not so easy. Women don't often make their fortunes in Paris, when they have no other means of earning money than their needle. But, when you came to Paris, you probably knew that you would find a friend here, a wealthy protector, who could start you at once on the road to the fortune to which you aspire?"