"Ah! He does things well," commented Adhemar, but he did not breathe a word concerning his conversation with the Count that morning.
Before there was time for a reply a waiter entered with a card. "M.
Mounet-Sully would like to come up."
"Oh! yes," cried out the young artist with delight.
A little startled at finding five people in the room, Mounet-Sully regained his assurance as he recognized Jean and Maurice.
"My dear child, we rehearse at two-thirty," he said to Esperance, "so be prompt, because we have heard that the Queen will be there, though you may not see her. She is not well enough to come out in the evening."
The young girl blushed with excitement. "It is fortunate that I shall not see her, I think that I should be paralyzed!"
"Perhaps she will send for you after the rehearsal," returned the tragedian. "She is a patroness of art, and very kind to artists."
"Will His Majesty, King Leopold, come this evening?" demanded
Meydieux, with great interest.
"Certainly," Mounet-Sully assured him.
Then, as he was about to go, he turned, "Have you received your invitation for…?"