"It is."

"Well, then, I must reflect on the necessary means to that end; it
will need all our cleverness to manage our forces. I will give you
some instructions on my arrival this evening; follow them carefully,
and I think I may promise you a successful issue. Is the Comte de
Manerville in love with Mademoiselle Natalie?" he asked as he rose to
take leave.

"He adores her."

"That is not enough. Does he desire her to the point of disregarding
all pecuniary difficulties?"

"Yes."

"That's what I call having a lien upon a daughter's property," cried
the notary. "Make her look her best to-night," he added with a sly
glance.

"She has a most charming dress for the occasion."

"The marriage-contract dress is, in my opinion, half the battle," said
Solonet.

This last argument seemed so cogent to Madame Evangelista that she
superintended Natalie's toilet herself, as much perhaps to watch her
daughter as to make her the innocent accomplice of her financial
conspiracy.