"Well, Doctor, sit down there. They shall give you a plate and you can say your word while you eat your breakfast."
"No, thank you, I am not hungry; besides, what I have to say to you as well as to Madame"—he bowed to Charlotte, who had just come in—"is strictly private."
"I think I can guess your errand," said D'Argenton, who did not care for a tête-à-tête conversation with the Doctor. "It is about the child, is it not?"
"You are right; it is about the child."
"In that case you can speak. These gentlemen know the circumstances, and my actions are always too loyal and too disinterested for me to fear the light of day."
"But, my dear!" Charlotte ventured to say, shocked for many reasons at the idea of this discussion before strangers.
"You can speak, Doctor," said D'Argenton coldly.
Standing upright in front of the table, the Doctor began:—
"Jack has just told me that you intend to send him as an apprentice to the iron works at Indret. Is this serious? Come!"
"Quite serious, my dear Doctor."