As they drew near, Pierre heard the girl exclaim: “Mamma is so very busy; speak to her before we leave.” And Gérard thereupon replied: “It is understood. You have made me very happy, mademoiselle.”
Thus the husband had been secured, the marriage decided upon, during this charming promenade among the sights of Lourdes. Raymonde had completed her conquest, and Gérard had at last taken a resolution, realising how gay and sensible she was, as she walked beside him leaning on his arm.
de Guersaint, however, had raised his eyes, and was heard inquiring: “Are not those people up there, on that balcony, the rich folk who made the journey in the same train as ourselves?--You know whom I mean, that lady who is so very ill, and whose husband and sister accompany her?”He was alluding to the Dieulafa
