"Adieu, monsieur! I understand that the events of last night must have fatigued you; you need rest, and a little solitude; I leave you to dream at your leisure of the brilliant conquest which will furnish you with constant enjoyment from this time on! I beg you to be good enough to give my address to Mademoiselle _de_ Nicette; I shall be delighted to have her custom, in case she should think of changing her style of dress; unless, however, you intend to take her under your protection in that modest gown. I can understand that, to a sensitive and loving heart, the round cap of virtue is preferable to the toque of frivolity." And Mademoiselle Agathe took her leave, humming: "'When one knows how to love and please, What else need one desire?'" VII A WORD ABOUT MYSELF Agathe had been gone for a long while, and I was still in my study, thinking of the past evening and night. Somebody opened the door of my apartment: it was my concierge, Madame Dupont, coming to put my room to rights, as usual. As she came in, the good soul did not fail to glance at everything within range; and a woman will see more at a glance than we men can see in fifteen minutes. Fool that I was! I had forgotten to put the couch where it belonged! that wretched Agathe was responsible for that! But when all was said and done, I was master in my own apartment; I could arrange my furniture as I pleased. I was not in the habit of talking with my concierge, and Madame Dupont knew it. Nevertheless, I noticed that she hovered about me and tried to enter into conversation. "It looks as though 'twill be a lovely day; that's very lucky, seeing it's Sunday; there are so many people who don't have any other day for an outing!" "Yes," I assented, "it is very fortunate." "Ah! monsieur has moved his furniture, I see. Does monsieur mean to leave this couch in his study?" "No; you may put it back where it belongs; I'll help you." "I see; monsieur has been trying an experiment?" "Yes, it was an experiment." "That's like my daughter, who's forever moving her son's cradle from one place to another. Last night, she put it beside the bed; but my son-in-law wouldn't have it there, because the child's nearly four years old, and it is embarrassing for a husband and wife, when---- Why, your bed's hardly tumbled at all, monsieur!" "I suppose that I didn't move much." "Monsieur has already breakfasted, apparently? Monsieur was hungry earlier to-day than usual." I made no reply, but dressed to go out, being impatient to leave the house. Madame Dupont stooped and picked up something, which she brought to me with a mischievous air. "Here's a little cross _à la_ Jeannette, monsieur, that I just found beside your bed." "Ah! give it to me, Madame Dupont, give it to me; I know what it is, I bought it yesterday. I have got to send it to someone; it's to go into the country, to our farmer's daughter." "It's a pretty little cross; but I shouldn't think it was new."