In her trepidation, she hardly knew what words came to her lips.
There was silence; then after Privat had gotten the information into his head, and had digested it, he said slowly:—
"Tell Jeanne Privat that I shall come to see her—let me see—day after to-morrow—no—the day after that, Thursday, my first free time."
Edmé looked up into his face. He was very tall and of a ruddy complexion, fully fifteen years younger than his sister.
"Is that all your message?" she inquired, in order to gain time for thought.
"At four o'clock in the afternoon, if you like, but she knows the time well enough—from four to six."
Then without showing any further interest in the subject, the imperturbable Privat took up his bunch of keys and began to polish one of them upon his coatsleeve.
There was a pause.
Edmé summoned all her courage and spoke with as much composure as she could assume, although she felt that her voice trembled:—
"Citizen Privat, I have an urgent request to make you."