下载辰思小说免费APP
“Thatdoesn’tpreventherfrombeingasplendidmodel！——justplumpenoughnottospoilthehipsandthegeneralcontour——“
“Myson，youarenotinyourstudio，“saidAgathe。“Adolphineishere。“
“Ah，true！Ididwrong。ButyoumustrememberthateversinceleavingParisIhaveseennothingbutuglywomen——“
“Mydeargodmother，“saidAgathehastily，“howshallIbeabletomeetmybrother，ifthatcreatureisalwayswithhim？“
“Bah！“saidJoseph。“I’llgoandseehimmyself。Idon’tthinkhimsuchanidiot，nowIfindhehasthesensetorejoicehiseyeswithaTitian’sVenus。“
“Ifhewerenotanidiot，“saidMonsieurHochon，whohadcomein，“hewouldhavemarriedlongagoandhadchildren；andthenyouwouldhavenochanceattheproperty。Itisanillwindthatblowsnogood。“
“Yourson’sideaisverygood，“saidMadameHochon；“heoughttopaythefirstvisit。Hecanmakehisuncleunderstandthatifyoucalltherehemustbealone。“
“ThatwillaffrontMademoiselleBrazier，“saidoldHochon。“No，no，madame；swallowthepill。Ifyoucan’tgetthewholeproperty，secureasmalllegacy。“
TheHochonswerenotcleverenoughtomatchMax。InthemiddleofbreakfastKouskibroughtoveraletterfromMonsieurRouget，addressedtohissister，MadameBridau。MadameHochonmadeherhusbandreaditaloud，asfollows:——
MydearSister，——IlearnfromstrangersofyourarrivalinIssoudun。IcanguessthereasonwhichmadeyoupreferthehouseofMonsieurandMadameHochontomine；butifyouwillcometoseemeyoushallbereceivedasyououghttobe。Ishouldcertainlypayyouthefirstvisitifmyhealthdidnotcompelmejustnowtokeepthehouse；forwhichIoffermyaffectionateregrets。Ishallbedelightedtoseemynephew，whomIinvitetodinewithmeto-
morrow，——youngmenarelesssensitivethanwomenaboutthecompany。ItwillgivemepleasureifMessrs。BaruchBornicheandFrancoisHochonwillaccompanyhim。
Youraffectionatebrother，J-J。Rouget。
“Saythatweareatbreakfast，butthatMadameBridauwillsendananswerpresently，andtheinvitationsareallaccepted，“saidMonsieurHochontotheservant。
Theoldmanlaidafingeronhislips，torequiresilencefromeverybody。Whenthestreet-doorwasshut，MonsieurHochon，littlesuspectingtheintimacybetweenhisgrandsonsandMax，threwoneofhisslyestlooksathiswifeandAgathe，remarking，——
“HeisjustascapableofwritingthatnoteasIamofgivingawaytwenty-fivelouis；itisthesoldierwhoiscorrespondingwithus！“
“Whatdoesthatportend？“askedMadameHochon。“Well，nevermind；wewillanswerhim。Asforyou，monsieur，“sheadded，turningtoJoseph，“youmustdinethere；butif——“
Theoldladywasstoppedshortbyalookfromherhusband。KnowinghowwarmafriendshipshefeltforAgathe，oldHochonwasindreadlestsheshouldleavesomelegacytohergoddaughterincasethelatterlosttheRougetproperty。Thoughfifteenyearsolderthanhiswife，themiserhopedtoinheritherfortune，andtobecomeeventuallythesolemasteroftheirwholeproperty。Thathopewasafixedideawithhim。MadameHochonknewthatthebestmeansofobtainingafewconcessionsfromherhusbandwastothreatenhimwithherwill。
MonsieurHochonnowtooksideswithhisguests。Anenormousfortunewasatstake；withasenseofsocialjustice，hewishedittogotothenaturalheirs，insteadofbeingpilla
