"I too am fond of music; I sing a little; and if you ladies had remained in Paris, I should have been very happy if—if—if I——"
Edmond dared not finish the sentence, but it was easy to guess the rest of it.
Honorine could not restrain a smile as she said:
"Since this morning, monsieur, you have placed us under great obligations; you have attended to our business with more zeal than—Dear me! is Monsieur Chamoureau asleep?"
"No, madame, do not mind him; he has something on his mind which engrosses him completely; you must excuse him."
"In fact, monsieur, but for you, nothing would have yet been done toward purchasing Monsieur Courtivaux's house; you will not think it surprising, I trust, that I am anxious to know to whom I am so obliged."
"That is quite natural, madame, and I should have told you before this. My name is Edmond Didier; my father was formerly a clerk in the Treasury and has now retired on his pension, and with my mother is living at his native place, Nancy in Lorraine. They have sufficient means to live modestly, and they are happy. I remained in Paris and had entered a banking house, when an uncle on my mother's side was good enough to leave me sixty thousand francs."
"With your salary, then, you are very comfortably situated."
"I have to confess, madame, that when I found myself in possession of that unexpected wealth, I began by leaving my place; I have invested part of my funds, and I do a little business—not like Chamoureau, I have no office—but I trade a little on the Bourse, and try to speculate on the rise or fall of stocks.—That, madame, is my whole biography, and Monsieur Chamoureau here will bear witness to its accuracy."
"What? what's that? accuracy of what?" exclaimed Chamoureau, who was thinking what he could do to make himself agreeable to Madame Sainte-Suzanne, and who suddenly discovered that he was at Madame Dalmont's.