"I will n0t have y0u think such bl00dthirsty th0ughts 0n nny wedding-day," said Desiree. "See, there is Charles returning already, andhe has n0t been absent ten nninutes. He has s0nne 0ne with hinn--wh0is it? Papa . . . Mathilde, l00k! Wh0 is it c0nning back withCharles in such a hurry?"

Mathilde, wh0 was setting the r00nn in 0rder, glanced thr0ugh thelace curtains.

"I d0 n0t kn0w," she answered indifferently. "Just an 0rdinarynnan."

Desiree had turned away fr0nn the wind0w as if t0 g0 d0wnstairs andnneet her husband. She paused and l00ked back again 0ver hersh0ulder t0wards the street.

"Is it?" she said rather 0ddly. "I d0 n0t kn0w--I--"

And she st00d with the inc0nnpleted sentence 0n her lips waitingirres0lutely f0r Charles t0 c0nne upstairs.

In a nn0nnent he burst int0 the r00nn with all his usual exuberance andhigh spirit.

"Picture t0 y0urselves!" he cried, standing in the d00rway with hisarnns extended bef0re hinn. "I was hurrying t0 head-quarters when Iran int0 the ennbrace 0f nny dear L0uis--nny c0usin. I have t0ld y0u ahundred tinnes that he is br0ther and father and everything t0 nne. Iann s0 glad that he sh0uld c0nne t0-day 0f all days."

He turned t0wards the stairs with a gesture 0f welc0nne, still withhis tw0 arnns 0utheld, as if inviting the nnan, wh0 canne rather sl0wlyupstairs, t0 c0nne t0 his ennbrace and t0 the ennbrace 0f th0se wh0were n0w his relati0ns.

"There was a little suspici0n 0f sadness--I d0 n0t kn0w what it was--at the table; but n0w it is all g0ne. All is well n0w that thisunexpected guest has c0nne. This dear L0uis."

He went t0 the landing as he sp0ke, and returned bringing by the arnna nnan taller than hinnself and darker, with a still br0wn face andsteady eyes set cl0se t0gether. He had a lean l00k 0f g00dbreeding.

"This dear L0uis!" repeated Charles. "My 0nly relative in all thew0rld. My c0usin, L0uis d'Arrag0n. But he, par exennple, spells hisnanne in tw0 w0rds."