me far-away foreign land, the
language of which they knew not.

All at once a voice startled her.

"Won't you take anything?" asked Pauline.

The drawing-room had emptied, and the guests were passing into the
dining-room to drink some tea. Helene rose with difficulty. She was
dazed; she thought she had dreamt it all--the words she had heard,
Juliette's secret intrigue, and its consequences. If it had all been
true, Henri would surely have been at her side and ere this both would
have quitted the house.

"Will you take a cup of tea?"

She smiled and thanked Madame Deberle, who had kept a place for her at
the table. Plates loaded with pastry and sweetmeats covered the cloth,
while on glass stands arose two lofty cakes, flanking a large
_brioche_. The space was limited, and the cups of tea were crowded
together, narrow grey napkins with long fringes lying between each
two. The ladies only were seated. They held biscuits and preserved
fruits with the tips of their ungloved fingers, and passed each other
the cream-jugs and poured out the cream with dainty gestures. Three or
four, however, had sacrificed themselves to attend on the men, who
were standing against the walls, and, while drinking, taking all
conceivable precautions to ward off any push which might be
unwittingly dealt them. A few others lingered in the two
drawing-rooms, waiting for the cakes to come to them. This was the
hour of Pauline's supreme delight. There was a shrill clamor of noisy
tongues, peals of laughter mingled with the ringing clatter of silver
plate, and the perfume of musk grew more powerful as it blended with
the all-pervading fragrance of the tea.

"Kindly pass me some cake," said Mademoiselle Aurelie to Helene, close
to whom she happened to find herself. "These sweetmeats are frauds!"

She had, however, already emptied two plates of them. And she
continued, with her mouth full:

"Oh! some of the people are beginning to go now. We shall be a little
more comfortable."

In truth, several ladies were now leaving, after shaking hands with
Madame Deberle. Many of the gentlemen had already wisely vanished, and
the room was becoming less crowded. Now came the opportunity for the
remaining gentlemen to sit down at table in their turn. Mademoiselle
Aurelie, however, did not quit her place, though she would much have
liked to secure a glass of punch.

"I will get you one," said Helene, starting to her feet.

"No, no, thank you. You must no