Had not the Abbé been so fond of hearing the sound of his own voice, had he not been so used to his brilliant listener, he must surely have noted that Jeanne was not herself to-day as they walked in the garden.
"There is a new arrival I hear, mademoiselle."
"Indeed. I thought every room was occupied."
"Ah, mademoiselle, I fear there must be some one who is not able to pay next Saturday. I have often noticed that new arrivals have come a day or two before the time, putting up with anything until the room was left vacant for them on Saturday."
"I wonder who is going," said Jeanne.
"It is a pity we cannot pick and choose," the Abbé returned. "There are one or two in the company we could well dispense with."
Jeanne's eyes flashed at his callousness, but he did not notice.
"There are some here that Legrand ought not to have taken," the Abbé went on.
"But they pay."
"Ah, mademoiselle, you have hit it. They pay, and this fellow Legrand is satisfied. He has no sense of the fitness of things, yet this house has the name of being exclusive."