Raymond must have been on the watch at the Café Turc for a long while; as for Gerville, we had seen him leave the house more than an hour before; so that there was nothing to detain us. My companion donned her bonnet and shawl and tried to assume a demure and modest air, which she was unable to master, even by lowering her eyes. I did what I could to maintain a grave demeanor and a steady gait; that infernal champagne always did go to my head! However, we could safely show ourselves on the boulevard; we were only a little giddy.
We left the Méridien, where Raymond had paid for everything. The hostess and waitresses saluted us with smiling faces.
“Is there anything amusing in our looks?” I asked Agathe.
“No; but do you suppose that those people don’t divine that we’ve been making a fool of Raymond? Perhaps they think he’s my husband.”
“Oh! that would be rather too much!”
“Bah! such things have been seen.”
“Here we are at the Café Turc; shall we go in?”
“What for?”
“To relieve Raymond, who’s doing sentry duty there.”
“Let him stay there; I’ve no desire to be bored any more with his love; I have had enough of it. Everything has turned out as I wanted; but as such adventures never happen twice, I assure you that he will never inveigle me into a private dining room again.”