nerally the part
of the young girls; the men did not often help them, so that Madame de
Sainfoy looked at Angelot with surprise, and a shade of displeasure,
when he approached her with Helene.

Angelot was perfectly grave and self-possessed. On his side, no one
would have known that he had ever met General Ratoneau before, certainly
not that he regarded him as an enemy. He hardly changed colour, even
when Ratoneau waved him aside with a scowl, and stretched across him,
without rising, to take his cup from Helene.

"Come," he said, "I'll have my coffee from those pretty hands, or not at
all."

Helene looked up startled, and met the man's bold eyes. Angelot turned
away instantly, and in a few seconds more she had joined him, and they
were attending to other guests. Angelot commanded himself nobly; his
time for punishing the General would come some day, but was not yet. As
he and his cousin walked together along the room, the Vicomte des
Barres, Monsieur Joseph's friend, pointed them out to Madame de la
Mariniere.

"A pretty pair of cousins, madame!"

"Ah, yes," she said a little sadly. "I cannot always realise that Ange
is grown up. To see him, a man, in the salon at Lancilly, makes me feel
very old."

The Vicomte murmured smiling compliments, but they soon turned to talk
which was more serious, if not a little treasonable.

And in the meanwhile other eyes followed the two young people: Madame de
Sainfoy's, while she doubted whether it might be necessary to snub
Monsieur Ange de la Mariniere; General Ratoneau's, with a long, steady,
considering gaze, at the end of which he turned to his hostess and said,
"You advise me to marry, madame! Give me your daughter."

For the moment, even the practical Madame de Sainfoy was both startled
and shocked; so much so that she lifted her fan to hide the change in
her face. But she collected herself instantly, and lowered it with a
smile.

"Indeed, Monsieur le General, you do us great honour"--she began. "But
you were good enough to ask my advice, and I should not, I think--in
fact, my daughter is still rather young, rather unformed, for such a
position--and then--"

"She is nineteen, I know," said General Ratoneau. "Too young for me, you
think? Well, I am forty-two, the same age as the Emperor, and he married
a young wife last year."

"You wish to resemble His Majesty in every way," said Madame de Sainfoy,
smiling graciously; it was necessary to say something.

"I am l