On the day of the dinner, Modeste, led away by the preference she
bestowed on Canalis, walked alone with him up and down the gravelled
space which lay between the house and the lawn with its flower-beds.
From the gestures of the poet, and the air and manner of the young
heiress, it was easy to see that she was listening favorably to him.
The two demoiselles d'Herouville hastened to interrupt the scandalous
tete-a-tete; and with the natural cleverness of women under such
circumstances, they turned the conversation on the court, and the
distinction of an appointment under the crown,--pointing out the
difference that existed between appointments in the household of the
king and those of the crown. They tried to intoxicate Modeste's mind
by appealing to her pride, and describing one of the highest stations
to which a woman could aspire.
"To have a duke for a son," said the elder lady, "is an actual
advantage. The title is a fortune that we secure to our children
without the possibility of loss."
"How is it, then," said Canalis, displeased at his tete-a-tete being
thus broken in upon, "that Monsieur le duc has had so little success
in a matter where his title would seem to be of special service to
him?"
The two ladies cast a look at Canalis as full of venom as the tooth of
a snake, and they were so disconcerted by Modeste's amused smile that
they were actually unable to reply.
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