"Good; I see that everything is complete; and if, with all the rest, the cooking is good----"
"Very good; and they give you fine _matelotes_, because they catch the fish on the spot."
"This rustic restaurant will certainly receive a call from me very soon; indeed, I would go there to-day--delighted to take the trip with you, mesdemoiselles--if I were not expecting someone--who, I am beginning to think, will not come. It"s an infernal shame! we are invited to dine at the Palais-Royal; it"s almost five o"clock now, and we shall break our engagement and they"ll dine without us, all on his account!"
"You"ll dine somewhere else; that"s all. There"s no lack of restaurants in Paris."
"Vive Dieu! who knows that better than I! So I have no difficulty on that score--that is to say, I don"t know which to select, and if you young ladies will do me the honor to accept a little dinner in the suburbs----"
"Thanks, monsieur; but we don"t accept dinners; besides, we are to meet someone at Parc Saint-Fargeau."
"That"s just the reason I venture to invite them," said Cherami to himself.--"Are you young ladies engaged in business?" he asked.
"Yes, monsieur; we make feathers; we work in one of the best shops on Rue Saint-Denis; but to-day is the mistress"s birthday; that"s why we have the whole day to ourselves."
"Enchanted to have made your acquaintance. Ah! so you"re in feathers--a charming trade for a woman! They have the same volatility: birds of a feather flock together."
"Is he talking nonsense to us?" whispered Mademoiselle Lucie in her friend"s ear.
"Why, no, stupid; not at all; that"s a compliment."
"Belleville! pa.s.sengers for Belleville!"
"Here"s the Belleville "bus, Laurette, and they"re making signs that there are seats for us."
"Oh! we must run, then. Bonjour! monsieur."
"What! you are going so soon! I thought--I hoped----"
The two girls were already in the omnibus, which soon disappeared.
Cherami turned on his heel, muttering:
"They were shrewd to refuse my dinner. Peste! how should I have got out of it? I"m not sorry to have had a chat with the little dears--one"s name is Laurette, and the other"s Lucie, or Lucile; they may be desirable acquaintances, on occasion; if I ever want to buy feathers, for instance."
IX
ANOTHER WEDDING PARTY
A young man of some twenty-five years, fashionably dressed, but whose costume was in some disorder, suddenly appeared upon the scene. He was walking very fast, and did not stop until he reached the porte cochere of the Deffieux restaurant. There he halted, and gazed under the porte cochere with every indication of anxiety, not to say distress; then looked all about him and along the boulevard. From the pallor of his cheeks, the distortion of his features, the expression of his eyes, it was easy to see that he was suffering keenly, and that his distress was augmented by the expectation of some impending event. Cherami had no sooner espied the young man, than the latter ran to where he stood and said, in a trembling voice:
"Have you been here some time, monsieur?"
"Why, yes, monsieur; quite a long time."
"I beg your pardon, but in that case you can tell me---- Have you noticed a wedding party arrive at this restaurant?"
"A wedding party? Certainly, I have seen one; it"s only a short time since the carriages went away."
"They have arrived already? I thought I should be here before them."
"No; you are late."
"They have gone in?"
"Yes, monsieur; I had a very good view of the bride."
"You saw f.a.n.n.y?"
"I don"t know whether her name"s f.a.n.n.y, I"m sure; but what I do know is that she"s very pretty."
"Oh! yes, monsieur; she"s charming, isn"t she?"
"She"s a very pretty bride, without being a beauty."
"Oh! monsieur, there"s no lovelier woman on earth."
"That"s a matter of taste. I don"t propose to contradict you."
"Was she pale, trembling? did she look as if she had been crying?"
"Why, not at all! She was fresh and rosy and affable; she laughed as she jumped out of the carriage; then I saw her figure, which isn"t so bad, although she"s a little stout."
"Stout! why, no! she"s slender and rather small."
"I tell you, she"s decidedly plump. But that does no harm in a blonde; a thin blonde is too much like a feather-duster."
"Blonde? f.a.n.n.y is dark! You made a mistake, monsieur; it wasn"t the bride that you saw."
"It wasn"t the bride that I saw? Oh! I beg your pardon, monsieur; I can"t be mistaken, for I talked with the groom"s uncle, whom I know very well, Papa Blanquette, wholesale linen-draper."
"Blanquette! I beg your pardon, monsieur; the party you saw isn"t the one I am expecting."
"Faith! it"s not my fault. You ask me if a wedding party has arrived at this restaurant, and I tell you what I"ve seen. It seems that that isn"t the one you are looking for; pray be more explicit, then."
"Oh! monsieur, pardon me; it"s no wonder that I make mistakes, I am in such agony!"
"Agony? The deuce! In truth, you are very pale. Where"s the pain?"
"In my heart!"
"The heart? Why, in that case, you must take something. Come with me to a cafe; I know what you need; I often have a pain in my heart."
"No, no! I won"t leave this spot until I have seen her--the perfidious, faithless creature!"