The old maid was
questioning Gasselin as to what had brought him and his master to
Saint-Nazaire; the carriage of Mademoiselle des Touches had already
caught her eye. Before the young Breton could get out of sight,
Charlotte had seen him.
"Why, there's Calyste!" she exclaimed eagerly.
"Go and offer them seats in my carriage," said Camille to Calyste;
"the maid can sit with the coachman. I saw those ladies lose their
places in the mail-coach."
Calyste, who could not help himself, carried the message. As soon as
Madame de Kergarouet learned that the offer came from the celebrated
Camille Maupin, and that the Marquise de Rochefide was of the party,
she was much surprised at the objections raised by her elder sister,
who refused positively to profit by what she called the devil's
carryall. At Nantes, which boasted of more civilization than Guerande,
Camille was read and admired; she was thought to be the muse of
Brittany and an honor to the region. The absolution granted to her in
Paris by society, by fashion, was there justified by her great fortune
and her early successes in Nantes, which claimed the honor of having
been, if not her birthplace, at least her cradle.
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