The father and mother received me as their preserver, and they may have been sincere.  The count begged me to come out of the room for a moment with him, and when we were on the other side of the door, said,—­

“Forgive an old and unfortunate man, forgive a father, if I ask you whether it is true that you promised Irene a hundred sequins if I would let her go to the ball with you.”

“It is quite true, but of course you know what the consequences will be.”

At these words the poor old rascal took hold of me in a way which would have frightened me if I had not possessed twice his strength, but it was only to embrace me.

We went back to the room, he in tears and I laughing.  He ran and told his wife, who had not been able to believe in such luck any more than her husband, and Irene added a comic element to the scene by saying,—­

“You must not think me a liar, or that my parents suspected that I was imposing on them; they only thought you said fifty instead of a hundred, as if I were not worth such a sum”

“You are worth a thousand, my dear Irene; your courage in barring the way pleased me extremely.  But you must come to the ball in a domino.”

“Oh! you will be pleased with my dress.”

“Are those the shoes and buckles you are going to wear?  Have you no other stockings?  Where are your gloves?”

“Good heavens!  I have nothing.”

“Quick!  Send for the tradesmen.  We will choose what we want, and I will pay.”

Rinaldi went out to summon a jeweller, a shoemaker, a stocking-maker, and a perfumer.  I spent thirty sequins in what I considered necessary, but then I noticed that there was no English point on her mask, and burst out again.  The father brought in a milliner, who adorned the mask with an ell of lace for which I paid twelve sequins.  Irene was in great delight, but her father and mother would have preferred to have the money in their pockets, and at bottom they were right.

When Irene put on her fine clothes I thought her delicious, and I saw what an essential thing dress is to a woman.

“Be ready,” said I, “before the time for the opera to-morrow, for before going to the ball we will sup together in a room which belongs to me, where we shall be quite at our ease.  You know what to expect,” I added, embracing her.  She answered me with an ardent kiss.

As I took leave of her father, he asked me where I was going after leaving Milan.

“To Marseilles, then to Paris, and then to London, at which place I intend stopping a year.”

“Your flight from The Leads was wonderfully lucky.”

“Yes, but I risked my life.”

“You have certainly deserved all your good fortune.”

“Do you think so?  I have only used my fortune—­in subservience to my pleasures.”

“I wonder you do not have a regular mistress:” 

“The reason is, that I like to be my own master.  A mistress at my coat-tails would be more troublesome than a wife; she would be an obstacle to the numerous pleasant adventures I encounter at every town.  For example, if I had a mistress I should not be able to take the charming Irene to the ball to-morrow.”