ith an
adventurer,' she said, smiling, though bitterly.

'My husband!' returned Eustacie proudly.

'Bah! You know better than that!' Then, as Eustacie was about to
speak, but checked herself, Diane added, 'Yes, my poor friend, he has
a something engaging about him, and we all would have hindered you from
the pain and embarrassment of a meeting with him.'

Eustacie smiled a little saucy smile, as though infinitely superior to
them all.

'_Pauvre petite_,' said Diane, nettled; 'she actually believes in his
love.'

'I will not hear a word against my husband!' said Eustacie, stepping
back, as if to return to her place, but Diane rose and laid her hand on
hers. 'My dear,' she said, 'we must no part thus. I only wish to know
what touches my darling so nearly. I thought she loved and clung to us;
why should she have turned from me for the sake of one who forgot her
for half his life? What can he have done to master this silly little
heart?'

'I cannot tell you, Diane,' said Eustacie, simply; and though she looked
down, the colour on her face was more of a happy glow than a conscious
blush. 'I love him too much; only we understand each other now, and it
is of no use to try to separate us.'

'Ah, poor little thing, so she thinks,' said Diane; and as Eustacie
again smiled as one incapable of being shaken in her conviction, she
added, 'And how do you know that he loves you?'

Diane was startled by the bright eyes that flashed on her and the bright
colour that made Eustacie perfectly beautiful, as she answered, 'Because
I am his wife! That is enough!' Then, before her cousin could speak
again, 'But, Diane, I promised not to speak of it. I know he would
despise me if I broke my word, so I will not talk to you till I have
leave to tell you all, and I am going back to help Gabrielle de Limeuil
with her shepherdess.'

Mademoiselle de Ribaumont felt her attempt most unsatisfactory, but she
knew of old that Eustacie was very determined--all Bellaise know that
to oppose the tiny Baronne was to make her headstrong in her resolution;
and if she suspected that she was coaxed, she only became more
obstinate. To make any discoveries, Diane must take the line of most
cautious caresses, such as to throw her cousin off her guard; and this
she was forced to confess to her father when he sought an interview with
her on the day of her return to Paris. He shook his head. She must be
on the watch, he said, and get quickly into the silly gi