During dinner Maurice gave them an account of all that had happened to him, with many new incidents.
"I am not telling you anything new," he added to Albert when they were alone. "You know as well as I do that the Duke is in love with Esperance. We all know it here."
Albert agreed with a rather sad smile that he did know it.
"Now that my cousin is your fiancée, he is too much of a gentleman to seek her, but he certainly wants to be near her, to talk to her, in short to flirt with her."
"You believe that he would dare?"
"My dear cousin," said Maurice, half jestingly, half serious. "I believe him capable of anything, but he knows that you are here … and perhaps is afraid to take liberties."
"To put an end to his manoeuvrings we must somehow make him look ridiculous, and expose his folly. The fête, I think, will give us our chance."
Albert said, "I will follow your advice, Maurice."
"Very good. I will give you particulars of my plans. By the way, I have brought all your invitations. I will go and deliver them." So they went to seek the others, and Maurice gave each one a card with a personal invitation for the twentieth of September. Genevieve blushed.
"I am invited as well," she said.