"Yes, Ma'm'selle. Would Ma'm'selle wish to put them on?" "Most certainly." "But Monsieur de Berniers is expected this morning." "Precisely." "And Ma'm'selle will hardly have time--" "I shall receive him _en cavalier_." "_Seigneur Dieu du ciel!_" said Mariotte, astounded, "but that is impossible." "Be reasonable, Mariotte," said Virginie, "and listen to me. M. de Berniers proposes to do me the honor of espousing me. I have never seen M. de Berniers, but I know something of him and I wish to know more. My uncle earnestly desires this marriage, and it is my duty to oblige him. But he will not urge it against my inclination. If M. de Berniers, on arriving here, finds only the delicate and decorous young lady to whom he offers his hand, he will assume his best manner, conceal his faults, affect a hundred good qualities, and present nothing but a virtuously colored portrait of himself, which, I may afterward find out, bears little resemblance to the actual man. If, on the other hand,--do you see?" "Not exactly." "Mariotte, your stupidity pains me. You know that in my cavalier's dress nobody can distinguish me from a young gentleman of the court." "A very young gentleman, Ma'm'selle." "They are all mature at seventeen, now. At Paris I was taken for a man of fashion by half the ladies at the court ball, and even found myself with many a pretty quarrel on my hands. Well, M. de Berniers arrives; finds not me, but my cousin Charles, do you understand, who remains at the _château_ to receive him in the temporary absence of M. and Mlle. de Terville. With one of his own sex he will have no concealments, and we shall soon know, my good Mariotte, what sort of gentleman we have to deal with." "Then you will be--" "My cousin Charles." "O, impossible, Ma'm'selle! Think of the Count, your uncle." "Mariotte, think of me. It is I who am to be married, not the Count, my uncle. Consider, it is for my happiness." "One would almost think, Ma'm'selle, that you _wished_ to detect some excuse for ridding yourself of M. de Berniers." "Perhaps." "Ah, ah! then there is a reason." "Possibly." "And that reason is--" "Tall, brave, and handsome. Mariotte, do me justice; do you think it was for nothing that I used to dress with such double, triple care for the last few court balls at Paris?" "Ma'm'selle, say no more; I consent." "A thousand thanks, Mariotte." "But it is dreadful to so deceive one's husband before marriage." "Much better than to deceive him after, Mariotte." This swept aside all Mariotte's hesitation, and the plot was carried out accordingly. M. de Berniers was received in due form by the fictitious cousin Charles, whose disguise a keener observer could not easily have penetrated. According to her expectation, the conceited Parisian soon became free and confidential. "A neat little figure," said De Berniers, patronizingly. "Come to court a year hence, and I will point you the way to any victory you please."