"I had just come back here to live over an unforgettable moment."
"This corner must be the rendezvous for the slaves of the little god," said Maurice, bowing to the statuette of Love Enchained. "We will leave you."
"No," said the Duke quickly, "Please stay. Your happiness shows me the vision of which I dreamed. Art is the inspiration of the beautiful, and I believe, that artists have a more delicate sense of love than other people.
"I believe, in truth," said Maurice, "that artists, move in a much larger world than that which is inhabited by either the bourgeoisie or the aristocracy."
They talked for a long time, and returned to the Château together.
Albert was beneath the green oak, talking to the Dowager Duchess, who was telling him how much she admired Genevieve. She had repeated her poem so wonderfully to her alone that morning! They did not see the trio emerge from the thicket, and Maurice was glad of it. He felt more and more constrained. The complicity against the poor fellow's happiness seemed to him a form of treason. He looked at his watch. It was only five o'clock.
"That is impossible. This watch must have stopped."
The Duke went to his room. His man gave him an elegant little note, and as his master threw it down on the table, "They await an answer."
"Very well, I will send one."
The servant withdrew. On the stair he met an English maid waiting the answer.