"Pardon me, monsieur, but that room is not arranged yet, and no one can go in."
"Oh! that makes a difference; some other time then. I must go home, for I am afraid my wife has forgotten to skim her stew."
"That would be surprising on the part of a person who washes dishes so well."
"Mesdames, I renew my compliments; enchanted to have made your acquaintance. My wife will come to see you soon; we do not often entertain, because our house is very small, but we are pleased to accept invitations. We are not ceremonious people, who keep a strict account of calls, like Madame Droguet for example; she is terrible for that! We do not insist at all that people shall come to see us, but when we are invited to dinner, we can be relied upon to come.—Mesdames, I have the honor."
Honorine escorted the visitor to the door, and bowed, but did not utter a word. As soon as he had disappeared, Agathe cried:
"Oh! what a horrid man! so inquisitive and presuming! He has a bad word for everything."
"You see, Agathe, that, as compared with Monsieur Jarnouillard, we are driven to regret Monsieur Luminot!"
"That is so; he may be a fool, but he hasn't such a nasty, sneering way. Mon Dieu! if Madame Jarnouillard is like her husband, she must be perfectly ghastly!"
"There was no need of his being so emphatic about not insisting that people should call on him; he need have no fear—we shall never set foot inside his door."
A quarter of an hour after Monsieur Jarnouillard's departure, Poucette appeared once more, with a smile on her face, saying: