“Well, fifty thousand francs for a country house, where you don’t live all the time, is no trifle; and think of all you have to spend when you buy a place! There’s a park of ten acres——”
“It isn’t a park, it’s a garden with a clump of trees.”
“I beg pardon—a garden of ten acres! that’s too big for a garden.”
“If you insist on calling it a park, I’ve no objection. Well, who are these distinguished people who have bought the Goldfish Villa?”
“They have a carriage.”
“They have a carriage!—with horses?”
“Yes, indeed, with real horses! There are just the husband and wife—no children. They live in great style, and they say the lady’s extremely pretty—and so stylish!”
“All right; we shall see how that is. I doubt whether this person dresses any better than I do. Did you see the dress I had on last Tuesday, Luminot?”
“I must have seen it!”
“The man didn’t so much as notice it! a gray damask with green stripes.”