“When I slipped and almost fell, I clung to him, and that made him smile.”
“It’s strange; I remember nothing of all that.”
“Oh! the storm was so violent!—Well, I am sure, for my part, that it makes Madame Droguet furious to see we already know that gentleman, who has refused to have anything to do with anyone in the neighborhood! Just for that reason, I am delighted that she saw him bringing us home.”
The conversation of the two friends was interrupted by sobs from Poucette, who tried in vain to check them. They rose at once to inquire the cause of their servant’s grief.
VII
A SALE BY AUTHORITY OF LAW
Little Claudine, Poucette’s cousin, had just arrived; her eyes were red, and she too was crying; evidently it was something that she had told Poucette which caused the young peasant to sob so bitterly.
“What is the matter, my child; what makes you so unhappy?” Madame Dalmont asked her servant.
But she, according to the custom of country people, continued to sob and made no reply.
“And you, my girl,” said Agathe to Claudine, “you are crying too; is it something you have told your cousin that is making her cry?”
“Yes—yes—mamzelle.”