'That's as may be; howsoever, it would not do, nohow, to buy a pig in a
poke, you know. And s'pose I shouldn't like her, arter all?'

Madame sneered, with a patois ejaculation of derision.

'Vary good! Then some one else will not be so 'ard to please--as you will
soon find.'

'Some one's bin a-lookin' arter her, you mean?' said the young man, with a
shrewd uneasy glance on the cunning face of the French lady.

'I mean precisely--that which I mean,' replied the lady, with a teazing
pause at the break I have marked.

'Come, old 'un, none of your d---- old chaff, if you want me to stay
here listening to you. Speak out, can't you? There's any chap as has bin
a-lookin' arter her--is there?'

'Eh bien! I suppose some.'

'Well, you _suppose,_ and _I_ suppose--we may _all_ suppose, I guess; but
that does not make a thing be, as wasn't before; and you tell me as how
the lass is kep' private up there, and will be till you're done educating
her--a precious good 'un that is!' And he laughed a little lazily, with
the ivory handle of his cane on his lip, and eyeing Madame with indolent
derision.

Madame laughed, but looked rather dangerous.

'I'm only chaffin', you know, old girl. _You_'ve bin chaffin'--w'y