"He has gone home, where you will find him; but don't say anything about
your spending the night here, or he will think it was spent with my
niece. I am very much obliged to you for what you have done, and I have
only to ask you to be discreet."

"You can count on me entirely, for I am grateful to you for having
forgiven my friend."

"Who would not do so? The dear young man is something more than mortal.
If you knew how he loved me! I am grateful to him, and I have taken him
to board for a year; he will be well lodged, well fed, and so on."

"What a delightful plan! You have arranged the terms, I suppose."

"All that will be settled in a friendly way, and we shall not need to
have recourse to arbitration. We shall set out to-day for Villette, where
I have a nice little house; for you know that it is necessary, at first,
to act in such a way as to give no opportunity to slanderers. My lover
will have all he wants, and whenever you, sir, honour us with your
presence you will find a pretty room and a good bed at your disposal. All
I am sorry for is that you will find it tedious; my poor niece is so
dull."

"Madam, your niece is delightful; she gave me yesterday evening an
excellent supper and kept me company till three o'clock this morning."

"Really? I can't make it out how she gave you anything, as there was
nothing in the house."