Gustave did not fail to take advantage of the permission Fanny had accorded him. Two days after the party at which they had met, he called upon the young widow, who greeted him thus:

"I began to think that you were off on your travels again, and that we shouldn't see you for another six months."

"Oh! I have no desire to travel now; I am too happy in Paris; especially if you allow me to come to see you."

"What good does it do for me to allow it, when you don't come? I expected you the day before yesterday, I expected you yesterday."

"I was afraid of being presumptuous if I took advantage too soon of the permission you gave me."

"I thought that you wouldn't stand on ceremony, and that we should be on the same terms together as before my marriage to Monsieur MonlÉard."

These words were accompanied by such a soft glance that Gustave no longer doubted that he was loved. He took Fanny's hand and covered it with kisses; she did not resist, and her hand responded tenderly to the pressure of his. Any other than Gustave would probably have carried further his desires and his acts, but he had long been accustomed to look upon Fanny as the woman whom he wished to make his wife; and in his love there was a sort of respect which her widow's dress could not fail to intensify.

So Gustave confined himself to repeating that he had never ceased to be enamored of her whom he had hoped to call his wife, and that he would be very, very happy if his hopes could be gratified at last. For her part, Fanny gave him to understand that while she might once have been ambitious and fickle, those failings should be charged to her age and consequent giddiness, and that, in reality, her heart had never been in agreement with her vanity.

Then the young widow, by a natural transition, adroitly led Gustave on to speak of his position and prospects. He was assured of ten thousand francs a year if he remained in his uncle's banking-house; he could hope for more in the future; to be sure, Monsieur Grandcourt would not be pleased to have his nephew marry, but he would place no obstacle in the way of the execution of his project. They would not live in the banker's house, but would take pleasant apartments not far from his offices; they would keep no carriage; he would take his wife to the theatre very often, and to the country; he would not give her diamonds, but she should have handsome dresses, and, as she was charming in herself, she would always be the loveliest of women, even if she were not covered with jewels.

In such conversation as this, forming the most attractive plans for the future, the hours which Gustave passed at Fanny's side seemed very short. Being entirely at liberty to see his love at her own home, he went much less to Monsieur Gerbault's. As for Adolphine, she did not go to her sister's at all; for she knew that she would meet Gustave there, and she avoided his presence as much as possible.

Two months passed thus, during which time Cherami saw very little of Gustave, who spent with Fanny all the time that he could spare from his business.

But one morning, just as our lover was starting to call on his enslaver, Cherami caught him on the wing.

"Par la sambleu! my dear Gustave, is there no way of having a word with you? Have you nothing to say to your friend? Or am I no longer your friend? One would say that you avoided me!"

"No, no, my dear Arthur, far from it; it always gives me great pleasure to see you; but you are well aware that I am in love, more in love than ever, and that I pass with Fanny all the time I can steal from my duties."

"Very good! and tell me about this love of yours; sapristi! are you satisfied? Does it go as you want it to this time? Tell me that much, at least."

"Ah! my friend, I am the happiest of men! Fanny loves me; I can't possibly doubt it now. As soon as her mourning is at an end, we are to be married; we are already making our plans, our projects for the future; next month, as it will be almost ten months then, we shall begin to look about for apartments, which I shall have furnished and decorated in advance. I intend that Fanny shall find them fascinating."

"Well, I see that everything is going all right. The little woman is yours this time—and you think so much of her!—And her sister, the good Adolphine—do you still see her?"

"I have seen very little of her lately; she never comes to her sister's, and that surprises me; twice I have tried to talk with Adolphine, to tell her that my marriage to Fanny was settled; but I couldn't find her, she had gone out; for I can't believe that she would have refused to see me—her brother."

"In all this excitement, you haven't thought about a place for me, I suppose?"

"Pardon me, I did mention it to my uncle. He doesn't seem to believe that you are serious in your desire for employment."

"Ah! pardieu, if your uncle has got to have a hand in it, I am very certain that I shall never get a place!"

"Never fear; I will attend to it myself, but there's no hurry. Are you in need of money? Tell me."

"Why, no, I am not in need of money. Do you suppose that I have already gone through the thousand francs you loaned me?"

"But that was more than two months ago, and——"

"True, and formerly I should have seen the last of it in a week; I should have made only seven mouthfuls of it. But to-day it's different! I told you that I had reformed. I have discovered, just at the beginning of Boulevard du Temple, a soup dealer who supplies dinners; and delicious dinners, too, on my word of honor! you don't have a great variety of dishes, to be sure; but everything is good. Excellent roast beef; you would fancy you were in London; and you can dine abundantly for eighteen sous. Eighteen sous! I used to give more than that to the waiter."

"My friend, you shouldn't go to extremes in anything; it seems to me that you are carrying your reformation too far."

"I am very well pleased; I believe that I shall end by living on my five hundred and fifty francs a year; when that time comes, I propose to parade the streets between two clarionets, to exhibit myself."

"After I am married, I will find you a suitable place."

"Make haste and marry, then, that I may have my cue. By the way, I venture to believe that it won't come off without notice to me? I don't ask to be invited to the wedding; that would be presumptuous; but I desire, at least, to salute the bridal couple when they leave the church."

"And I propose that you shall be of the wedding party. We shall not give a ball,—her widowhood is too recent,—but a handsome banquet, and I hope that, on that day, you will forget your reformation. But, adieu! I am late, she is expecting me. You will hear from me soon."

"A mighty good fellow!" said Cherami to himself, as Gustave hurried away; "he deserves to be happy! But will he be, with his Fanny? Hum! I'm none too sure of it. For my part, I should prefer the other; but as he's in love with this one—to be sure, she's a very pretty woman, but I, old fox that I am, I wouldn't trust her!—Sapristi! what do I see? My two little pearls, Laurette and Lucie, and I have money in my pocket! But, no; by Saint Anthony, I will not yield to the temptation! Let's be off before they see me."

Laurette and Lucie were, in fact, coming toward Cherami, both dressed with much coquetry and looking very attractive; but he, after heaving a profound sigh, retreated with so much precipitation, that he ran into the door of an omnibus, which had stopped for a lady; and, being urged by the conductor, he concluded to enter also.