“You might ask Monsieur de Gerfaut; he wishes to please you too much to refuse to tell you,” said Clemence, with an almost ironical smile.

“Do you think so?” asked Aline, innocently.  “I should never dare to ask him.”

“You are still afraid of him, then?”

“A little,” replied the young girl, lowering her eyes, for she felt her face flush.

This symptom made Madame de Bergenheim more vexed than ever, and she continued, in a cutting, sarcastic tone: 

“Has your cousin d’Artigues written you lately?”

Mademoiselle de Bergenheim raised her eyes and looked at her for a moment with an indifferent air: 

“I don’t know,” she said, at last.

“What! you do not know whether you have received a letter from your cousin?” continued Clemence, laughing affectedly.

“Ah!  Alphonse—­no, that is, yes; but it was a long time ago.”

“How cold and indifferent you are all of a sudden to this dear Alphonse!  You do not remember, then, how you wept at his departure, a year ago, and how vexed you were with your brother who tried to tease you about this beautiful affection, and how you swore that you would never have any other husband than your cousin?”

“I was a simpleton, and Christian was right.  Alphonse is only one year older than I!  Think of it, what a fine couple we should make!  I know that I am not very sensible, and so it is necessary that my husband should be wise enough for both.  Christian is nine years older than you, is he not?”

“Do you think that is too much?” asked Madame de Bergenheim.

“Quite the contrary.”

“What age should you like your husband to be?”

“Oh!—­thirty,” replied the young girl, after a slight hesitation.

“Monsieur de Gerfaut’s age?”

They gazed at each other in silence.  Octave, who, from his place of concealment heard the whole of this conversation, noticed the sad expression which passed over Clemence’s face, and seemed to provoke entire confidence.  The young girl allowed herself to be caught by this appearance of interest and affection.

“I will tell you something,” said she, “if you will promise never to tell a soul.”

“To whom should I repeat it?  You know that I am very discreet as to your little secrets.”

“It is because this might be perhaps a great secret,” continued Aline.

Clemence took her sister-in-law’s hand, and drew her down beside her.

“You know,” said Aline, “that Christian has promised to give me a watch like yours, because I do not like mine.  Yesterday, when we were out walking, I told him I thought it was very unkind of him not to have given it to me yet.  Do you know what he replied?—­It is true that he laughed a little—­It is hardly worth while buying you one now; when you are the Vicomtesse de Gerfaut, your husband will give you one.’”

“Your brother was joking at your expense; how could you be such a child as not to perceive it?”