A message came at last to say that she was indisposed for that one morning and could not appear. The ladies felt a keen and unaccountable sense of disappointment. The old Comte knew that the adventure was over, but he would occupy himself by buying a brooch of the very finest sapphires for his little Margot. The Ladies Odile stood behind him. It was just at that moment that two very beautiful, dark young girls, accompanied by a stately gentleman in middle life, entered the _établissement_. The girls were tall; they were really very young; they had a glow of health, not rouge on their cheeks. The eldest called herself Rose, the other was Clotilde. Suddenly the father of these fair young girls made a graceful plunge forward. It was rapid, and only a Frenchman could do it without awkwardness. He seized the hand of M. le Comte. "Ah, behold, behold, _mon ami_," he said, "what joy is here. I came to get some pretty trifles for my daughters, Rose and Clotilde; but I will present them first to thee, _mon ami_. I have heard wonderful stories of this _établissement_. We are anxious to see _the little wonder_, as she is called. Ah, we see her not! Clotilde, make thy curtsey to M. le Comte St. Juste; Rose, do thou likewise." "But--but----" said the astonished and amazed old Comte. "But--but----" mimicked the father of Rose and Clotilde. "I am the Marquis Odile. Thy cousin and thy friend, _mon ami_." "I am bewildered," said the poor old Comte. "All day Rose and Clotilde have been with me. They brought me here; I thought them _charmantes_; but I see them not. What does all this mean?" The trembling, terrified ladies who kept the _Cabinet de Beauté_ knew only too well what it all meant. The real Marquis and the real Marquises had appeared in the flesh. As fast as their trembling legs could carry them, they reached the door. They got into the automobile and drove to the _Cabinet de Beauté_. "We have had a terrible escape," murmured M'selle Blanc. "Never, never will I undertake such work again," said M'selle Close. Tremblingly they got off their hats and appeared in their usual dress. The Marquis brought the Comte back to his château in his own automobile. The young Marquises Rose and Clotilde made him lie down, and petted him and talked to him as though they were his daughters. When _la pauvre_ grand'mère entered, an hour or so later, she found her beloved one calm and easy in his mind. It was only after M. le Marquis and his beautiful young daughters had gone that he told her of his very great adventure. "It was the biggest of all my life," he said. "Two ladies, _très belles_ and _très jeunes_, appeared and introduced themselves as _mes cousines_, _les_ Marquises Rose _et_ Clotilde. Ah, but they were _charmantes_. Then behold, they spoke to me of a wonder, a _très petite_ wonder in the _établissement_ of Madame Marcelle. They asked me to go with them to see her, and I went."