'Will you do the same for me?' asked Madame Plomb, her leaden face darkening and becoming purple, as the blood rushed into it.
'Dear mistress, I will do all that I am able to do; I will spare no trouble, no exertion. I am poor, but so was Madame Legros; I am a nobody, but so was she. If she was successful, why should not I be so too?'
'God bless you, dear heart!' said the poor woman, in a tender tone, the wild light deserting her eyes, and the nervous contraction of the mouth yielding to a natural softness. She extended her hands over the girl's head,—Gabrielle was still kneeling before her; and said in the same low tone, 'God bless you, dear child! And sweet Mother Mary assist you, and your patron Gabriel protect you.'
Then she asked abruptly in her usual tone, 'Well! what are you going to do?'
'Madame, I had formed the intention of seeking an interview with the queen, and imploring her to use her influence with the king, to obtain for you an order of release.'
'But I am mad.'
'No, no, dearest madame. I know you better. Ill usage has made you very unhappy; but if you were alone,—away from M. Berthier and your father, in some quiet place, and I were to attend on you, you would be happy and well again.'
Joy irradiated the leaden face. The poor woman laughed and clapped her hands.
'We shall be together in a cottage, with flowers before the door.'
'Surely, madame.'