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Madame de Villegry took up her tortoiseshell opera-glasses, which were fastened to her waist, but already the young girl, over whose shoulders an attentive servant had flung a wrapper a 'peignoir-eponge' had run along the boardwalk and stopped before her, with a gay "Good-morning!" "Jacqueline!" said Madame de Villegry. "Well, my dear child, did you find the water pleasant?"
Madame de Villegry took up her tortoiseshell opera-glasses, which were fastened to her waist, but already the young girl, over whose shoulders an attentive servant had flung a wrapper a 'peignoir-eponge' had run along the boardwalk and stopped before her, with a gay "Good-morning!" "Jacqueline!" said Madame de Villegry. "Well, my dear child, did you find the water pleasant?"
"It seems that that young Count de Cymier, who is always hanging around you, by the way, has been making inquiries of him, in a manner that looks as if it had some meaning, as to what is our fortune, our position. But really, such a match seems too good to be true." "Why so?" said the Baronne. "I know more about it than you do, from Blanche de Villegry.
The day after his arrival he was sitting on the shingle at Madame de Villegry's feet, both much amused by the grotesque spectacle presented by the bathers, who exhibited themselves in all degrees of ugliness and deformity. Of course Madame de Villegry did not bathe, being, as she said, too nervous.
Madame de Villegry indeed cared little about standing well in public opinion, but rather the contrary; she would not, however, for the world have been willing, by too openly favoring one man among her admirers, to run the risk of putting the rest to flight.
He felt proud of the sacrifice this beautiful girl had made for his sake, though he did not consider himself thereby committed to any decision, only he felt more attached to her than ever. Ever since the day when Madame de Villegry had first introduced him at the house of Madame de Nailles, he had had great pleasure in going there.
The young girls interested themselves in the spring toilettes, which they either praised or criticised as they passed before their eyes. "Oh! there is Madame Villegry," cried Jacqueline; "how handsome she is! I should like one of these days to be that kind of beauty, so tall and slender. Her waist measure is only twenty-one and two thirds inches.
The Comte de Cymier, a satellite who revolved around that star of beauty, Madame de Villegry, had been by degrees brought round by that lady herself to thoughts of matrimony. Madame de Villegry, notwithstanding her profuse use of henna and many cosmetics, which was always the first thing to strike those who saw her, prided herself on being uncompromised as to her moral character.
In secret she often asked herself, with the keen insight of a woman of the world well trained in artifice and who possessed a thorough knowledge of mankind, whether there might not be women capable of using a young girl so as to put the world on a wrong scent; whether, in other words, Madame de Villegry did not talk everywhere about M. de Cymier's attentions to Mademoiselle de Nailles in order to conceal his relations to herself?
Jacqueline's conduct amazes me; it looks like ingratitude." "Oh! she is a hard-hearted little thing! I always thought so!" said Madame de Villegry, carelessly. Here the rising of the curtain stopped short these discussions, which displayed so much good-nature and perspicacity.
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