“Anything that concerns you, mademoiselle, cannot fail to interest me.”
Caroline turned her face away. Her uncle continued:
“Yes, my dear girl, you are not well; it is of no use for you to try to conceal it, for anybody can see it; and this solemn, melancholy expression which has taken the place of your former gayety—for you have lost all your gayety and——”
“Why, you are mistaken, uncle; I am just the same as always.”
“Well, you insisted on coming here for your health—at all events you told me so; and when you insist upon a thing—you know, my dear Dalbreuse, it’s just as it was when she made us go to drive at Mont-d’Or—it has to be done on the instant. And so, inside of twenty-four hours, we came, we saw, and we hired a house! And we must needs take possession of it at once.”
“It was because I was bored to death in Paris; and then I—I did not know this neighborhood——”
“Well, I know it; but I am very fond of it. Dugazon had a country house at Saint-Mandé! I will show it to you when we return. We used to come here to have little supper parties and theatricals, and to enjoy ourselves. I played L’Avocat Patelin, and Petit-Jean in Les Plaideurs; and by the way, in Les Plaideurs, I played a wicked trick! You know, when——”
“But we are detaining monsieur, uncle; we are taking his time, perhaps!”
“Oh! by no means, mademoiselle; I was just going back to Saint-Mandé.”
“We are going back there too; we will go together. As I was saying, it was in Les Plaideurs. In the third act, you know, some little dogs are brought on. Dugazon had said to me: ‘Will you undertake to provide some little dogs?’ I already had my plan in my head, so I said: ‘Yes, I will.’ Very good. The performance began and the moment came when the unfortunate orphans are called for. I brought on a large open basket. Guess what came out of it: a dozen mice, which I had concealed inside and which instantly ran about all over the stage, and jumped down into the orchestra; and the men laughed and the women shrieked, for everyone of them thought that she had a mouse under her skirt! I held my sides with laughter! After the play, those ladies said that I was a monster! That affair was worth three conquests to me!”