ith shame, confused and furious, I was wondering how I
could interfere, when suddenly the consultation ceased and the gentlemen
at once surrounded me. One of them, a little old man with a vapid smile
and twinkling eyes, tapped me on the cheek, and said: 'So she is as good
as she is pretty!' I could have struck him; but all the others laughed
approvingly, with the exception of M. de Chalusse, whose manner became
more and more frigid, and whose lips wore a constrained smile, as if he
had resolved to keep his temper despite all provocation. It seemed to me
that he was suffering terribly, and I afterward learned that I had not
been mistaken. Far from imitating the old gentleman's manner, he bowed
to me very gravely, with an air of deference that quite abashed me, and
went away after saying that he would return the next day to conclude the
arrangements.

"I was at last left alone with the superior, whom I longed to question,
but she gave me no time to do so, for with extreme volubility she began
to tell me of my surprising good fortune, which was an unanswerable
and conclusive proof of the kindness and protection of Providence. 'The
count,' she said, 'was to become my guardian. He would certainly give me
a dowry; and by and by, if I were grateful to him for his goodness, he
would adopt me, a poor, fatherless and motherless girl, and I should
bear the great name of Durtal de Chalusse, and inherit an immense
fortune.' In conclusion, she said that there was no limit to the count's
generosity, that he had consented to reimburse the asylum the money that
had been spent on me, that he had offered to dower, I do not know how
many poor girls, and that he had promised to build a chapel for the use
of the establishment. This was all true, incredible as it might seem.
That very morning, M. de Chalusse had called at the asylum, declared
that he was old and childless, a bachelor without any near relatives,
and that he wished to adopt a poor orphan. They had given him a list
of all the children in the institution, and he had chosen me. 'A mere
chance, my dear Marguerite,' repeated the superior. 'A mere chance--or
rather a true miracle.' It did, indeed, seem a miracle, but I was more
surprised than elated. I longed to be alone, so as to deliberate and
reflect, for I knew that I was free to accept or decline this dazzling
offer.

"I timidly asked permission to return to my employers to inform them of
what had happened and consult with them