“Yes, you shall hear from me to-morrow at the latest. Adieu; pardon me for leaving you so abruptly, but a truffled turkey admits of no postponement.”
And Monsieur de Cligneval, who was in truth very particular about keeping his word when a dinner or luncheon was concerned, shook off his creditor and escaped from the salon. But as he was by no means anxious to meet Dalville frequently at his friend La Thomassinière’s, monsieur le marquis, when he reached the reception-room, told a servant to go to his master and tell him privately that Monsieur de Cligneval had something to impart to him in confidence.
The servant did the errand and La Thomassinière hastily left the salon and joined the marquis, whose obsequious servant he deemed himself very fortunate to be.
“What is it, my dear marquis? I am at your service,” cried the parvenu.
“Sh! let us go into your study, my friend. Dalville thinks that I have gone, and I don’t want him to meet me when he goes away.”
They went into Monsieur de la Thomassinière’s study, and there the marquis seemed to hesitate, as if he did not know whether he ought to speak.
“I am dreadfully perplexed,” he said at last to La Thomassinière, who was waiting humbly to hear what he had to tell him.
“Perplexed!—you! Is it possible that a marquis can ever be perplexed? Nonsense, you are joking!”
“No, my friend, no. Mon Dieu! because one happens to have been born in an exalted sphere, because one enjoys some consideration and has some little power, do you suppose that one is not human just the same, and subject to all the weaknesses that nature has allotted to us?”
“Surely not, monsieur le marquis! and——”