"Oh, you always see the black side of things; he thinks Bijou is sweet, he admires her and likes to be with her; but that is all!"
"You know very well, grandmamma, that Bijou is perfectly adorable, and so attractive that everyone is fascinated by her."
The marchioness pointed to her great-nephew, Jean de Blaye, who, ever since he had left the window, did not appear to be taking any notice of what was going on around him.
"Everyone?" she said, almost angrily; "no, not everyone. Look at Jean, he is as blind as the abbé!"
Jean de Blaye was sitting motionless in a large arm-chair; there was an impassive expression on his face, and a far-away look in his eyes. He appeared to be in a reverie, and the younger lady glanced across at him, as she answered:
"I am afraid that he is only acting blind!"
"Oh, nonsense!" said Madame de Bracieux delighted, "do you think that Bijou could possibly interest Jean enough, for instance, to keep him, even for a time, from his actresses, his horses, his theatres, and the stupid life he generally leads?--You really think so?"
"Oh, only just now. When he told us with such conviction that '_he did not care all that much about being reminded of Paris_,' I felt that he was speaking the truth. I began to wonder then what could have made him forget Paris. I wondered and wondered--and I found out."
"So much the better if that really should be so. For my part, I do not think it looks like it. He takes no notice of her."
"He seems low-spirited and absent-minded."
"He would be for less cause than this. Jean never does things in a half-and-half way. If he were in love, I mean seriously, he would be desperately in love; and if he were to be desperately in love with Bijou, or if he were to discover that he was falling in love with her, it certainly would not be a thing for him to rejoice over. He cannot--no matter how much he might wish it--he cannot marry Bijou. It is not only that he is her cousin, but he is not rich enough."
"He has about twenty thousand pounds. Bijou has eight thousand, to which I shall add another four thousand, that makes twelve thousand--total between them thirty-two thousand."
"Well, and can you imagine Bijou with an income of about nine hundred pounds a year?"