At that moment I heard voices outside, and recognized Pomponne's. "Monsieur is having a consultation with someone," he said. "I don't care a hang for his consultation; I can go in any time, I can!" was the reply. And an instant later, Mademoiselle Rosette opened the door and appeared before us. Frédérique turned pale, but she did not stir. I was annoyed that Rosette should have come just then. However, I had no reason for letting her see it; so I went to meet her, smiling as usual. But my grisette had assumed a furious expression, and she drew back from me, crying: "Don't put yourself out, monsieur, I beg; you were so comfortable with madame! You weren't polking, to be sure, but you were engaged in something more interesting; anybody could see that." I saw that Rosette was on the point of saying things most unseemly, and perhaps worse than that, to Madame Dauberny, and I felt my blood begin to boil. Frédérique, on the contrary, remained quite calm. "Mademoiselle," I said, "I cannot believe that it is your intention to insult those persons whom you may chance to meet on my premises; I tell you at once that that does not meet my views at all, and that I will not endure it." "Really? Perhaps I'll have to put on mittens when I speak to the princesses I find in monsieur's room! I guess not much! Humbug!" "O Rosette! Rosette!" "Let me alone; I propose to shriek all I want to, and get mad too! I don't believe in these _friendships_ between ladies and young men. Bah! friendship that crawls under your bedclothes!" "Be careful, mademoiselle!" "I won't be careful! I'm your mistress, I am, worse luck!--If madame don't know it, I'm very glad to tell her of it, so that she'll know it now. Yes, I'm your mistress; but I don't propose to have you have others at the same time--old ones or new ones;--if you do, I'll raise a deuce of a row! Ah! you'll see!" Frédérique, who seemed rather pleased than angry as she listened to Rosette, rose and said to her in a most affable tone: "I was quite well aware that you were monsieur's mistress, mademoiselle; I beg you to believe that I did not doubt it for a moment, when I saw you in his room. I assure you that you are wrong, altogether wrong, to be jealous of me, who am not and never have been Monsieur Rochebrune's mistress. So that I do not deserve your anger--and to prove it, I am going to take my leave at once and surrender my place to you--which I would not do, I beg you to believe, if monsieur were my lover. Come! make your peace; be reconciled! I am distressed to have been the cause of this scene.--Adieu, Rochebrune; au revoir, my friend! Be sure that I am not at all offended with you for what has happened." Frédérique left the room, smiling sweetly at me. I did not try to detain her, because I did not choose to expose her to fresh abuse from Rosette. As for my grisette, she threw herself on the divan, crying: