"There is no hurry, monsieur; we shall see each other again. Excuse me; I cannot stay any longer, I have work to do. Au revoir, monsieur le vicomte!"
Georgette eluded the grasp of the young man, who tried to detain her, and who exclaimed when she had gone:
"I suspected as much; she's a sly little fox, as cunning as a demon! As bright as she is mischievous! But, twenty thousand francs—all at one stroke! No, no! I won't make such a fool of myself for a grisette; that would be too absurd! With her talk about a little girl, she reminded me of that poor Suzanne, who had one, I believe. But what the devil am I mooning about? I'll go to the club and forget it all!"
The viscount went to his club, then to a friend's house, where there was sure to be high play. He tried to divert his thoughts, took a hand at baccarat, lost ten thousand francs at the outset, then wound up by winning three thousand.
"I might have lost twenty thousand," he said to himself, as he left the game, "and I should have had to pay it within twenty-four hours. Oh! I can obtain the money easily enough—it isn't that; I have only to sell a few railroad shares. But, no, no! it would be too asinine! I am sure that I should be sorry afterward!"
Two days passed, during which the viscount did his utmost to avoid thinking about Georgette; but on the third day, being still haunted by her image, he rose early, saying to himself:
"Pardieu! I am a great fool to torment myself like this, when it rests entirely with me to obtain the pleasure I crave! After all, what do a few banknotes more or less amount to? I'll save money in some other direction. I may as well go to my broker and settle the matter. Besides, I am to dine with those fellows the day after to-morrow; it shall not be said that I had to pay for the dinner."
Edward called at his broker's and procured the sum that he needed by selling certain securities. He returned home, placed the twenty thousand francs in a dainty pocketbook, and, having ordered Lépinette to burden himself anew with all the things that he had previously sent to Georgette, said to him:
"Go up to that young lady's room; give her first this pocketbook, then all this finery, and ask her when I shall see her. Go; I propose to watch you from the hall; so no stupid blunders this time!"
The valet went up the two flights of stairs, and the viscount impatiently awaited his return. Lépinette's face was fairly radiant when he appeared.