"Then you're not afraid to pass the night with me?" "No, monsieur; I see that you're an honorable man, and that I needn't be afraid of anything in your rooms." "Oho! she sees that I am an honorable man!" said I to myself; "in that case, I must have a very captivating countenance. However, I am not ill-looking; some women say that I am rather handsome; and this girl isn't afraid to pass the night with a good-looking bachelor! Perhaps she thinks me ugly." These reflections annoyed me; while making them, I looked at Nicette more closely than I had hitherto been able to do. She was really very good-looking; a face at once piquant and sweet, and with some character--absolutely unlike what we ordinarily find in a flower girl: she had the freshness and charm of her flowers, and she was the daughter of a fruit peddler, of Mother Jérôme! There are such odd contrasts in nature; however, I could but acknowledge that chance had been very favorable to me this time. I began to be quite reconciled to my evening's entertainment; I forgot the grisette and the _petite-maîtresse_, to think solely of the charming face at my side. As I gazed at the girl, I had moved nearer to her; I softly passed my arm about her waist; and the more favorable the examination, the more tightly I pressed the red gown. Nicette did not speak, but she seemed agitated; her bosom rose and fell more frequently, her respiration became shorter; she kept her eyes on the floor. Suddenly she extricated herself from my embrace, rose, and asked me, in a trembling voice, where she was to pass the night. That question embarrassed me; I admit that I had not yet thought of that. I glanced at Nicette; her lovely eyes were still fastened on the floor. Was she afraid to meet mine? Did she love me already? and---- Nonsense! that infernal self-esteem of mine was off at a gallop! "We have time enough to think about that, Nicette. Do you feel sleepy?" "Oh, no! it ain't that, monsieur." "Ah! so there's another reason, is there?" "I don't want to be in your way; you told me you was tired, too." "That has all passed away; I have forgotten it." "Never mind, monsieur; show me where I can pass the night. I'll go into one of the other rooms. I shall be very comfortable on a chair, and----" "Pass the night on a chair! Nonsense! you mustn't think of such a thing!" "Oh, yes! I ain't hard to suit, monsieur." "No matter; I shan't consent to that. But sit down, Nicette, there's no hurry now. Come and sit down. Are you afraid to sit beside me?" "No, monsieur." But she took her seat at the other end of the couch. Her blushing face and her confusion betrayed a part of her sensations. I myself was embarrassed--think of it! with a flower girl! Indeed, it was just because she was a flower girl that I didn't know where to begin. I give you my word, reader, that I should have made much more rapid progress with a _grande dame_ or a grisette. "Do you know, Nicette, that you are charming?"