"What does he want of the chevalier?" said old Zephirine, addressing
her friend Jacqueline.
"Calyste strikes me as half-crazy," replied Mademoiselle de Pen-Hoel.
"He pays Charlotte no more attention than if she were a /paludiere/."
Remembering that the Chevalier du Halga had the reputation of having
navigated in his youth the waters of gallantry, it came into Calyste's
head to consult him.
"What is the best way to send a letter secretly to one's mistress," he
said to the old gentleman in a whisper.
"Well, you can slip it into the hand of her maid with a louis or two
underneath it; for sooner or later the maid will find out the secret,
and it is just as well to let her into it at once," replied the
chevalier, on whose face was the gleam of a smile. "But, on the whole,
it is best to give the letter yourself."
"A louis or two!" exclaimed Calyste.
He snatched up his hat and ran to Les Touches, where he appeared like
an apparition in the little salon, guided thither by the voices of
Camille and Beatrix. They were sitting on the sofa together,
apparently on the best of terms.
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