"I promise to say nothing, but you must watch her carefully."
They were just going in when Maurice joined them, out of breath.
"Hello! cousin. Where do you spring from?"
"I have been looking for you for half an hour to give you the programme, edited by Jean and enlivened by your humble servant. Here you are, and here you are, naughty lady, who gives no word of warning to her lover of early morning escapades."
"Oh! Maurice, it was I who led Genevieve astray, and I am doubly repentant. She will tell you why."
Maurice grew serious.
"What means that haggard face, cousin, and the collar of your dress is all wet? Come, come, Genevieve herself seems ill at ease. I would like to know what you two have been up to."
"Well! take her into that grove, you will find a bench there, and she will tell you all about it. I am going to rest," replied Esperance.
Genevieve and Maurice sat down in the grove. After she had told him what had happened, she added, "What seems to me to make it really serious is that I believe the Duke to be in earnest."
"Love and flirtation often look alike," said the young man shrugging his shoulders.