"Good morning, Corinne," said M. Laviguerie, sitting down in the chair his daughter had vacated. "Odette was with you. She did not run away from me, I hope." "Oh, no; she simply went to her room to take off her riding-habit." "Will you excuse me if I read this letter? It was just handed to me." "Certainly, sir," replied Corinne; "besides, I must retire, myself, as lunch will soon be ready, and I am not dressed for the day." Then, turning to her husband with the air of an empress addressing the meanest of her subjects: "It seems to me, sir, you delay to offer me your arm." M. Descoutures, always very short, seemed to shrink two or three inches more, and, knocking over a camp-stool in his haste, murmured, "Pardon me, Madame, I thought--" They always addressed each other in this formal style. The humble M. Descoutures did not remain long absent; merely the five minutes necessary to escort his wife to the door of her rooms and return. When he reappeared upon the terrace, M. Laviguerie had just finished reading his letter. He looked harassed and worried. "Have you received any bad news, dear friend, in your letter?" "No bad news; still it is very annoying." "Corinne's husband" did not seem the same man when alone with his friend. His shyness almost entirely disappeared, and he ventured to talk, taking care to disguise his ideas somewhat in apologetic phrases, wrapping them in cotton, as it were. "I need some advice," continued Laviguerie, "and I can not do better than to turn to you. During our long friendship, I have often admired the correctness of your judgment, and your common sense, which is never at fault. Doubtless, you have sometimes wondered that I kept my eldest daughter so far away from me. It is strange, I confess, and many have been astonished at it, I suppose. I am obliged now to change this state of affairs. Mme. Rozan is dead, and Germaine writes that she is leaving Naples to come back to her father and sister." "But I am sure, my dear Laviguerie, that this reunion will give Odette the greatest happiness, and I do not see--"