"No more difficult in Paris than elsewhere; a woman always does just what she chooses." "Oh! not always! There is the desire to please, the instinct of coquetry, which is inborn in woman. She wants to have pretty gowns, and she can't buy them with what she earns. She wants to wear silk dresses and cashmere shawls! You are fascinating in this déshabillé; still, you wouldn't go to Mabille's in such a costume." "Oh! I have no desire to go to Mabille's." "You don't mean what you say." "Yes, I do, monsieur." "No lover! what a phenomenon! Surely, with that figure, that dainty foot, you must have made many conquests?" "Oh, yes!" "And you have never listened to any man?" "Never." "Then you must have a lover in your province--some secret passion that fills your heart?" "No, monsieur; I have no secret passion." "In that case, I say again, you are a phenomenon, and I am very proud to have such a rarity for a neighbor. Are you afraid of loving, pray? afraid of love?" "I! I am not afraid of anything." "Ha! ha! ha! you are very amusing!" "You think me amusing, monsieur? How lucky for me!" "I think you provoking, alluring, fascinating!" And the young man tried to take Georgette in his arms; but she quickly extricated herself and pushed him away, saying in a very decided tone: "I don't like such manners, monsieur; and they will never succeed with me, I warn you." "Pardon, mademoiselle, pardon! I forgot that I was dealing with a Lucretia." "Is this all you have to say to me, monsieur?" "Why, no; I wanted to order an embroidered cigar case; my servant tells me that you make lovely ones." "I do my best, at all events. Would you like one?" "If you will make it for me." "What color do you want?" "Oh! I leave all those details to you." "Very good, monsieur! I charge fifteen francs." "Whatever you choose! The price is of little consequence to me." "Very well, monsieur; in three days, you shall have your cigar case." "All right. Will you be kind enough to bring it yourself?" "Certainly, monsieur." "Don't be afraid; I won't receive you in my smoking room." "So much the better! for, really, that smell of tobacco makes my head ache. I have the honor to salute you, monsieur!" Georgette executed a bewitching little reverence, and the viscount said to himself as he looked after her: "Pardieu! that little brunette must be mine, for she is really a most original creature!" XXI AN ATTACK Edward de Sommerston did not believe what Georgette had told him on the subject of lovers; he was sceptical concerning the virtue of a girl who lived alone and worked for a living. "This girl," he said to himself, "tries to pass herself off for a model of virtue so as to secure more generous treatment; that's a trick that doesn't fool me. She will submit like the others; for she's a woman, so she must love finery; that's the bait to catch them with."