“Gad! there’s as much difference as there is between the sun and a flea!”
“Come, mesdames, get out of the carriage; you can talk upstairs.”
The company soon assembled in the salon where the table was laid. Messieurs d’Hurbain and Monfréville had arrived at the same time with the cab containing Chérubin and the dancers. The notary went to Daréna and said in his ear:
“I trust, my dear count, that your dancers will behave properly here. I agree that by their graceful dancing and their bright eyes they have fascinated this young man; but he is still a mere child, who ought not to consort with ballet dancers——”
“Mon Dieu! don’t be alarmed! You surprise me! It is due to me that this baby of sixteen years and a half consented to leave his nurse, and, instead of thanking me, you preach at me. Be of service to people—exert your imagination—so that they may lecture you afterwards!”
“I say, Daréna,” said Monfréville, scrutinizing Monsieur Poterne, who was sidling by the ladies, casting furtive glances at them, to which they replied by wry faces, “is that horribly dirty person a friend of yours? Do you expect us to dine with him? I must confess that I am not charmed by the prospect of his company. Who is the fellow? He looks very like a hawk.”
“He is my steward.”
“Ah! so you still have a steward? I thought that you had ceased to keep up an establishment.”
“I have kept nobody else. This man looks after my affairs—he’s an invaluable fellow for expedients.”
“In that case, he would do well to devise an expedient for obtaining another coat.”