“Why—we must see the young man, I believe,” replied her aunt, “and hear what he has further to say for himself. You may tell him he may come.” Emily dared scarcely credit what she heard. “Yet, stay,” added Madame Cheron, “I will tell him so myself.” She called for pen and ink; Emily still not daring to trust the emotions she felt, and almost sinking beneath them. Her surprise would have been less had she overheard, on the preceding evening, what Madame Cheron had not forgotten—that Valancourt was the nephew of Madame Clairval.
What were the particulars of her aunt’s note Emily did not learn, but the result was a visit from Valancourt in the evening, whom Madame Cheron received alone, and they had a long conversation before Emily was called down. When she entered the room, her aunt was con
