When M. de Bargeton died, his wife sold the great house in the Rue du Minage. Mme. de Senonches, finding her own house scarcely large enough, persuaded M. de Senonches to buy the Hôtel de Bargeton, the cradle of Lucien Chardon’s ambitions, the scene of the earliest events in his career. Zéphirine de Senonches had it in mind to succeed to Mme. de Bargeton; she, too, would be a kind of queen in Angoulême; she would have “a salon,” and be a great lady, in short. There was a schism in Angoulême, a strife dating from the late M. de Bargeton’s duel with M. de Chandour. Some maintained that Louise de Nègrepelisse was blameless, others believed in Stanislas de Chandour’s scandals. Mme. de Senonches declared for the Bargetons, and began by winning over that faction. Many frequenters of the Hôtel de Bargeton had been so accustomed for years to their nightly game of cards in the house that they could not leave it, and Mme. de Senonches turned this fact to account. She received every evening, and certainly gained all the ground lost by Amélie de Chandour, who set up for a rival. Francis du Hautoy, living in the inmost circle of nobility in Angoulême, went so far as to think of marrying Françoise to old M. de Séverac, Mme. du Brossard having totally failed to capture that gentleman for her daughter; and when Mme. de Bargeton reappeared as the prefect’s wife, Zéphirine’s hopes for her dear goddaughter waxed high, indeed. The Comtesse du Châtelet, so she argued, would be sure to use her influence for her champion. Boniface Cointet had Angoulême at his fingers’ ends; he saw all the difficulties at a glance, and resolved to sweep them out of the way by a bold stroke that only a Tartuffe’s brain could invent. The puny lawyer was not a little amazed to find his fellow-conspirator keeping his word with him; not a word did Petit-Claud utter; he respected the musings of his companion, and they walked the whole way from the paper-mill to the Rue du Minage in silence. “Monsieur and madame are at breakfast”--this announcement met the ill-timed visitors on the steps. “Take in our names, all the same,” said the tall Cointet; and feeling sure of his position, he followed immediately behind the servant and introduced his companion to the elaborately-affected Zéphirine, who was breakfasting in company with M. Francis du Hautoy and Mlle. de la Haye. M. de Senonches had gone, as usual, for a day’s shooting over M. de Pimentel’s land. “M. Petit-Claud is the young lawyer of whom I spoke to you, madame; he will go through the trust accounts when your fair ward comes of age.” The ex-diplomatist made a quick scrutiny of Petit-Claud, who, for his part, was looking furtively at the “fair ward.” As for Zéphirine, who heard of the matter for the first time, her surprise was so great that she dropped her fork.