"Oh! by and by; I will venture to request mademoiselle to give us a little music first. When one has once heard her sing, one has but one desire, and that is to hear her again." "If it will give you any pleasure, monsieur---- I have not enough talent to require to be asked more than once." "That is to say, you are always charming." "The rest of us, who are not music-mad like Monsieur de la Beriniere, will play a three-handed game of bezique. You play, don't you, Clairval?" "I do whatever you please." "And you, Monsieur Batonnin?" "It will be no less flattering than agreeable to me to have the privilege of playing with you. But I think that three-handed bezique is less interesting than two-handed." "I beg your pardon; it is even more interesting." Adolphine took her place at the piano, and the count seated himself beside it, darting burning glances at the girl, which she did her utmost to avoid. Batonnin, who had taken a seat at the card-table, kept turning his head to look toward the piano, in order to see what was going on there, and to try to hear what was being said. "Shall we play with four packs?" "Yes; but we must take out two eights, so that the cards will come out even at the end." "Very good; and how many cards do you deal?" "Eight to each." "Some people deal nine." "That makes it too easy." "What's the game?" "Fifteen hundred." "And the stakes?" "Whatever you please, messieurs; what shall it be?" "We don't want to ruin ourselves; say, two francs each." "Two francs it is." "I have seen people play for five hundred francs a game," said Batonnin. "The deuce! that's flying rather high. But when a man's very rich----" "Oh! it isn't always the richest men who play for the biggest stakes--rather, those who want to pass themselves off for millionaires, and who are in need of money." "Our excellent Monsieur Batonnin, with all his air of indifference, seems to observe everything." "I? Oh! dear me, no! I say that because I've heard someone else say it." "I declare four aces!" "That's a good beginning." "I remember now that it's Monsieur Monleard whom I have seen play bezique for five hundred francs a game." "My son-in-law? Oh! you must be mistaken; he doesn't play so high as that." "I beg a thousand pardons, but it was he. There's nothing remarkable about that, for he plays whist at his club for a hundred francs a point." "He has assured me that he doesn't go to his club now." "I have that fact from someone who played with him, less than a week ago." "Come, Monsieur Batonnin, its your turn; pray attend to the game." "I am attending, my dear Monsieur Gerbault; I am paying the closest attention. Ah! that's a very pretty thing Mademoiselle Adolphine is singing!" "Double bezique!" "There, you have let Monsieur Clairval make five hundred!" "I couldn't prevent him, could I?" "Certainly you could: there were only three tricks left, and you had two aces of trumps." "Well! that makes only two tricks."