"What! you are going to leave me already?"
"Yes--I, too--somebody"s waiting for me--I too have an appointment. Did you think that that was impossible?"
"In what a tone you say that! I thought simply that, in that case, you would have taken me into your confidence."
"Perhaps so. I can"t tell all my sentiments so easily as you can."
"Then you have less confidence in me than I have in you."
"That is possible."
"But that is very unkind!"
"Tell me, how long will this new love of yours last?"
"My relations with Mademoiselle Rosette?--for you mustn"t call it love."
"What is it, then?"
"It is a little liaison of no consequence--for amus.e.m.e.nt."
"Give it whatever name you choose. Well, how long will this little liaison of no consequence, for amus.e.m.e.nt, be likely to last?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Because I want to know."
"It"s rather hard for me to answer. How is it possible to say? You see, I know nothing of the girl"s temperament. Such liaisons sometimes end in a week; sometimes they last three months."
"All right. Then I will come again three months hence."
"What does this mean? Why do you leave me so?"
"Because it seems to me that I always arrive most inopportunely and disturb you in the midst of your pleasures; and I shall do well not to intrude again, so long as you are--infatuated with this grisette."
"Really, Frederique, I can"t understand you! What connection can there possibly be between my follies, my amourettes, my momentary pleasures, and our delightful friendship?"
"Oh! you are quite right! Of course, there is not the slightest connection between me and your pleasures. Ah, me! I certainly do not know what I am saying to-day; my wits are all topsy-turvy. But, adieu! I repeat, I have an appointment; I must leave you. Adieu!"
"But I shall see you again soon?"
"Yes, soon."
She left the room. There were days when I was utterly at a loss to understand that woman"s changing moods.
"Ah! here"s Monsieur Pomponne! Just come this way, O faithful and, above all, obedient servitor!"
Pomponne hung his head and stood in front of me, like a Cossack awaiting the knout.
"What did I tell you when I sent you out this morning?"
"You told me, monsieur, that it would take me till two o"clock at least.
But I hurried and got back earlier. Monsieur tells me sometimes that I am slow, and I wanted to prove that I could be quick."
"You have proved that you are a prying rascal--that"s what you have proved! Another time, if you don"t carry out my orders to the letter, I will discharge you."
"You didn"t give me any letter, monsieur."
"Enough; off with you, or I may give you something else!"
The next day, at half-past five, I was at the place Mademoiselle Rosette had appointed; in a few moments, I saw my new conquest approaching; she did not keep me waiting, that was another excellent quality.
For this occasion Mademoiselle Rosette had made a toilet; she wore a green merino dress, a pretty shawl, a black velvet bonnet, with a tulle veil. It was all very becoming to her; moreover, her costume was suitable, without being pretentious; that fact denoted good taste.
I offered her my arm, and she smilingly accepted it. We walked toward the cab stand. I put her into a little _citadine_, and as we drove away I began the conversation with a kiss; that leads at once to intimacy. My companion accepted the situation with the best grace imaginable. We were very good friends in short order.
"Where are you taking me?" inquired Rosette.
"To a restaurant."
"Is it very far?"
"Near the Jardin des Plantes, opposite the Orleans station--the Arc-en-Ciel. It seems to me that if we get away from the crowd, we shall be more at liberty, more at home. You"re in no hurry, are you?"
"Oh, no! that is to say, provided I"m at home at eleven o"clock."
"Then we have plenty of time before us. By the way, where do you live?"
"Suppose I don"t choose to tell you?"
"It shall be exactly as you choose."
"I was joking. I live on Faubourg Saint-Denis, corner of Rue Chabrol."
"The deuce! that"s well up in the faubourg! And you go back there alone, at night, when you leave your work?"
"To be sure!"
"And you"re not afraid?"
"What should I be afraid of? Besides, I always have body-guards, men who follow me and protect me. But, speaking of that, monsieur, who was that lady who came to see you while we were polking? and who stayed there after I went, and looked at me as if she meant to count my eyelashes?"
"That lady is a friend of mine."
"I understand: she"s your mistress!"
"I a.s.sure you that she is not. If she were, I should have no reason to conceal the fact."