“Haverleigh was in excellent spirits that night. Indeed he had been in excellent spirits ever since the morning when he received the dispatch from Chateau d’Or announcing the birth of a son. Whether it would ever please him to have his wife fully restored to reason, and free to come and go with him in his journeying was doubtful. It was a rather pleasant excitement, having her at the chateau, where he could visit her when the mood was on him; but to have her with him in Paris and Nice, and London, where he wished to be free and untrammeled, was another thing. “So Anna seemed likely to remain just where she was for an indefinite length of time, unless he allowed her as a great favor to visit Eugenie for a few weeks. But the son—his boy—was to be a great source of pride and happiness to him, and he had already formed many plans for the future of that son, and everything wore a brighter hue since that little life began at Chateau d’Or. Then, too, Eugenie was latterly more gracious in her demeanor toward him, and he had hopes that in time he might be reinstated in her good graces, and as he had a genuine liking for her, this of itself was a sufficient reason why he seemed so elated and even hilarious as he sat once more at her table and basked in the sunshine of her smile. To be sure she talked of Madame Haverleigh more than he cared to have her, but then she had conceived a great friendship for his wife, and it was for his interest to encourage it. So he, too, talked of madame and her health, and answered Eugenie’s questions regarding her family _en Amerique_. Was there insanity in the blood? Was it a large family? many sisters? any brothers? and were they _nobilite_? At this question Haverleigh winced, for he was not certain how much nobility Eugenie would think there was in a shoe-shop, but he tried to answer her readily, and said the family was highly respectable, not nobility exactly, but good; that _la mère_ was dead—and here he did not look straight at Eugenie lest the lie should show itself—that there was a sister Mary, a stronger girl every way than Madame Anna, though not so pretty, and a boy Fred, who was, or seemed to be, quite young, and of whom he did not remember much; he was more interested in girls, he said, and seldom took much notice of boys. “Eugenie shrugged her shoulders significantly and as they had finished their dessert led the way to the drawing-room, telling him as she went that her advertising had been very successful, and brought her such a treasure of an English girl, Fanny Shader, who was so nice and respectable. Haverleigh cared nothing for Fanny Shader personally, but if she interested Eugenie he must be interested, too, and he said he was very glad madame was suited, and asked from what part of England Fanny came. London was a safe place to come from, and so Fanny’s home was there, and Eugenie said so, and fluttered about the salon until she remembered that she needed a shawl, and rang the bell for Fanny.