“And to whom do you give this money, _belle petite_?” asked the baronet, smiling at her delighted thanks for the gold he placed in her hand. “To the curés and their vicars, Monsieur,” she said gravely, “who will distribute it—they know every one so well!” Sir Godfrey mused. “And you live near us!” he said, thinking of his own daughter, as he asked her name. “It is Aimée—and my brother is Armand de l’Orme, an officer at Versailles. We are orphans, Armand and I, and we do not belong to Paris. We were both born in the south, in Provence—Were you ever in Provence, Monsieur—ah, how much more beautiful it is!” With an air of empressement she clasped her hands, and standing there in the quietly sunny street, while the stream of the populous chaussée passed athwart its end, the girl seemed to forget her impatient company beyond, whose whispers and exclamations at last betrayed them to the surprised glance of Sir Godfrey. “Was she allowed,” he asked, however, “to make visits from her convent—for _he_ had a daughter, little older than herself, who had no companions of her own age in Paris.” And the young quêteuse responded eagerly to the hint. “Oh, yes—she was allowed—on certain days—and she would positively come. Indeed—perhaps—mademoiselle herself would assist at their quête.” The baronet shook his head, almost starting in his saddle at the thought. But it struck him suddenly that his oddly-made new acquaintance, through her friends the curés, might aid him in discovery of the missing Suzanne Deroux; and she was all readiness and sanguine expectation when he explained the matter. There was one young vicar in particular, so mild, so missionnaire, so apostolique, whose acquaintance with all the poorer quarters was miraculous: she would be able to bring the news, she was sure, very soon indeed. So giving her, at her request, the same paper he had recalled from his banker, Sir Godfrey saw her rejoin her archway amidst the impatient welcome of her companions, and took his way into the Rue Debilly, with a feeling half-amused, half-meditative.