"There, you see! 'poor Caroline'--"

"No, no, do not laugh, my darling; we cannot go to the Feydeau Theatre
together this evening."

Caroline put on a little pout, but it vanished immediately.

"How absurd I am! How can I think of going to the play when I see you?
Is not the sight of you the only spectacle I care for?" she cried,
pushing her fingers through Roger's hair.

"I am obliged to go to the Attorney-General's. We have a knotty case
in hand. He met me in the great hall at the Palais; and as I am to
plead, he asked me to dine with him. But, my dearest, you can go to
the theatre with your mother, and I will join you if the meeting
breaks up early."

"To the theatre without you!" cried she in a tone of amazement; "enjoy
any pleasure you do not share! O my Roger! you do not deserve a kiss,"
she added, throwing her arms round his neck with an artless and
impassioned impulse.

"Caroline, I must go home and dress. The Marais is some way off, and I
still have some business to finish."

"Take care what you are saying, monsieur," said she, interrupting him.
"My mother says that when a man begins to talk about his business, he
is ceasing to love."

"Caroline! Am I not here? Have I not stolen this hour from my