"It may be Mademoiselle de Verneuil, after all," she whispered to her
son.
"But that escort?" answered the young man, whose vexation at the young
lady's indifference allowed him to be cautious. "Is she a prisoner or
an emissary, a friend or an enemy of the government?"
Madame du Gua made a sign as if to say that she would soon clear up
the mystery.
However, the departure of Corentin seemed to lessen the young man's
distrust, and he began to cast on Mademoiselle de Verneuil certain
looks which betrayed an immoderate admiration for women, rather than
the respectful warmth of a dawning passion. The young girl grew more
and more reserved, and gave all her attentions to Madame du Gua. The
youth, angry with himself, tried, in his vexation, to turn the tables
and seem indifferent. Mademoiselle de Verneuil appeared not to notice
this manoeuvre; she continued to be simple without shyness and reserved
without prudery.
This chance meeting of personages who, apparently, were not destined
to become intimate, awakened no agreeable sympathy on either side.
There was even a sort of vulgar embarrassment, an awkwardness which
destroyed all the pleasure which Mademoiselle de Verneuil and the
young sailor had begun by expecting. But women have such wonderful
conventional tact, they are so intimately allied with each other, or
they have such keen desires for emotion, that they always know how to
break the ice on such occasions.
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