“No, mademoiselle.”
“Then you apparently made a conquest of her last night; isn’t that so, uncle?”
“My dear girl, what would there be so extraordinary in that? I myself made ten conquests in the part of Figaro. To be sure, my cherry and white costume was very elegant.”
“It seems that Monsieur Dalbreuse does not need to be dressed as Figaro in order to fascinate the ladies. I confess that this particular one does not attract me so much as she did. I looked closely at her this morning. Great heaven! such thinness! such pallor! She certainly can never have been very pretty.”
I was on the point of contradicting her, but I restrained myself and said nothing.
After a drive of several hours, we returned to the hotel. We noticed much commotion among the people of the house, and a servant informed us that new guests had arrived: two English lords and their ladies, and a gentleman from Paris, who alone made as much fuss as four people.
Caroline went at once to change her dress, in order to outshine the Englishwomen, and perhaps also to turn the heads of the Englishmen and the Parisian.
I returned to my room and reflected upon what Mademoiselle Derbin had told me of her conversation with Madame Blémont. What did my intimacy with Caroline or with any woman matter to Eugénie? Was I not at liberty to dispose of my heart as I chose? But women have so much self-esteem that even when they no longer love you they are vexed to see that you follow their example. Men are much the same too.
I went without apprehension to the evening reception, being fully persuaded that Madame Blémont would not be tempted to appear.
There were many people in the salon. The English party was already there; the two young women were young and pretty and their travelling companions—I did not know whether they were their husbands—paid no attention to them, but were already deep in politics with the Spaniard and some Frenchmen. Several young men were already playing the gallant with the young women. I joined Mademoiselle Derbin, who was almost deserted for the new arrivals, although they were not to be compared with her.