Paz might well be forgotten. Nevertheless, in the month
of May, as she drove home from the Bois, just before she left Paris
for Ronquerolles, her uncle's estate in Burgundy, she noticed
Thaddeus, elegantly dressed, sauntering on one of the side-paths of
the Champs-Elysees, in the seventh heaven of delight at seeing his
beautiful countess in her elegant carriage with its spirited horses
and sparkling liveries,--in short, his beloved family the admired of
all.
"There's the captain," she said to her husband.
"He's happy!" said Adam. "This is his delight. He knows there's no
equipage more elegant than ours, and he is rejoicing to think that
some people envy it. Have you only just noticed him? I see him there
nearly every day."
"I wonder what he is thinking about now," said Clementine.
"He is thinking that this winter has cost a good deal, and that it is
time we went to economize with your old uncle Ronquerolles," replied
Adam.
The countess stopped the carriage near Paz, and bade him take the seat
beside her. Thaddeus grew as red as a cherry.
"I shall poison you," he said; "I have been smoking."
"Doesn't Adam poison me?" she said.
"Yes, but he is Adam," returned the captain.
"And why can't Thaddeus have the same privileges?" asked the countess,
smiling.
That divine smile had a power which triumphed over the heroic
resolutions of poor Paz; he looked at Clementine with all the fire of
his soul in his eyes, though, even so, its flame was tempered by the
angelic gratitude of the man whose life was based upon that virtue.
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