“We are going is very pretty! you are going, perhaps—that’s all right. But why should I, who don’t know the ladies in question—why should I go with you?”
“Because it’s somewhere to go; it will give you a chance to see that part of the suburbs of Paris, which is very beautiful. We will dine there; we will have a matelote; Gournay is famous for them and it’s close by.”
“That’s an inducement; I am passionately fond of matelote. In Parisian restaurants it’s execrable, as a general rule; you can’t get a good one unless you are right on the water.”
“While I go to call on the ladies, you can find out the best restaurant and order the dinner.”
“The best place to get a matelote is ordinarily the house of some fisherman who sells wine.”
“Oh! Freluchon, if you knew with what pleasure I shall see the lovely Agathe again! Her name is Agathe——”
“So you told me.”
“She has dark-blue eyes with such a sweet, amiable expression; a slender, graceful figure; perfect grace in every movement——”
“Like a cat.”
“Come, dress quickly, and we will go to the Strasbourg station.”