"So much the better! so much the better! you set my mind at rest.—About how old was this stranger?"
"Why, he is no longer young, madame; and still he has the appearance and manners of a young man."
"Ah! very good; I am on the track; he is a very stylish, well-dressed man, is he not?"
"Yes, madame, he was very well-dressed; and his manner was very distinguished."
"What is the color of his hair?"
"He is light-haired, with a rather red face."
"Enough! enough! I know perfectly now who it is."
And Madame de Grangeville, leaning toward her maid, who was behind her chair, said in an undertone:
"It is he again, I was sure of it; it is Monsieur de Merval.—Well, what are you looking at so attentively, Lizida?"
"I was looking at this girl, madame, and the more I look at her—why, it is perfectly amazing! is it possible that you haven't noticed it, madame?"