ecessary, from your point of view, that Helene should be married soon.
You know that silly boy of yours fancies himself in love with her."

"It would not be unnatural. All France might do the same. But pardon me,
I do not know it."

"You mean that he has not confided in you. Well, well, do not lay hold
of my words; you had eyes the night before last; you saw what I saw,
what every one must have seen. You confessed as much to me yesterday, so
do not contradict yourself now."

"Very well--yes!" Urbain smiled and bowed. "Let us agree that my poor
boy may have such a fancy. But what does it matter?"

"Of course it does not really matter, because such a marriage would be
absolutely impossible for Helene. But it is better for a young man not
to have such wild ambitions in his head at all. You know I am right. You
agree with me. That is one reason why you are working with me now."

"It is true, madame. You are right. But did it not seem to you, the
other night, that Angelot himself saw the impossibility--"

"No, it did not," she said, and her eyes flashed. "He had to protect
himself from his uncle's madness--that was nothing. By the bye, that
wonderful brother of yours has changed his mind about Henriette. He
sent her here this morning with a letter to me, and she is now doing her
lessons with Sophie and Lucie."

"I am delighted to hear it," said Urbain, absently. "But now, to return
to our subject--the Ratoneau marriage--" he paused an instant, and
whatever his words and actions may have been, Madame de Sainfoy was a
little punished for her scorn of his son by the accent of utter disgust
with which he dwelt on the General's name.

For she felt it, and he had the small satisfaction of seeing that she
did. She had trodden on her worm a little too hard, in telling Ange de
la Mariniere's father that he might as well dream of a princess as of
Helene de Sainfoy.

"Yes, yes," she said hastily, and smiled brilliantly on Urbain as much
as to say, "Dear friend, I was joking. We understand each other.--Tell
me everything you did yesterday--what he said, and all about it," she
went on aloud. "Ah, Herve!" as her husband sauntered into the room--"do
have the goodness to fetch me those patterns of silk hangings from the
library. This dear Urbain has come at the right moment to be consulted
about them."

CHAPTER XV

HOW HENRIETTE READ HISTORY TO SOME PURPOSE

The inside of the Chateau de Lancilly was a curious labyrinth