He was taken to a small room at the top of the house and furnished with all that he required. Monsieur Cadet brought his fiancée, who seated herself, with downcast eyes, beside the table at which Auguste was working. Monsieur Cadet was preparing to watch the process of catching his charmer’s likeness when Auguste said to him:
“I am very sorry to send you away, but I cannot draw before anybody. If you want your wife’s portrait, you must leave me alone with her; indeed, that is the custom; a painter doesn’t like to have anyone see his work before it’s finished.”
“Oh, yes, that’s right,” said Cadet; “and then, if I watched you, I wouldn’t have any surprise.”
“That’s so.”
“All right, I’ll go away. You needn’t be afraid to stay alone with monsieur, Mamzelle Tapotte; he’s an artist—he’s going to catch you and surprise me. Ah! how nice that’ll be!”
Mademoiselle Tapotte smiled without raising her eyes, and Monsieur Cadet left her alone with Auguste, while he went to oversee all the preparations for the wedding.
Bertrand was already at table with Père Rondin. They were soon joined by several farmers of the neighborhood. Neighbors, male and female, kindred and friends came to take up their quarters under Eustache’s roof on the day before the wedding. Long tables were laid and covered with dishes and pitchers. They laughed and sang and shrieked and made a great uproar, for the hilarity of the peasant is exceedingly noisy. It seemed as if the wedding festivities had already begun; and Bertrand, who found the wine excellent and did not notice among the village girls any faces likely to inflame his master, concluded that they might safely pass a week at the farm.
But everybody asked for the bride, and Monsieur Cadet said:
“Someone’s catching her just at this minute, getting up a surprise for me, copying her face. I guess I’ll go and see how it’s coming on.”
Monsieur Cadet went up to the room where he had left Auguste and Mademoiselle Tapotte. But the door was locked, doubtless so that they might not be disturbed. The groom tapped gently on the door, saying: