"Pretty well! pretty well!" laughed Mistress Jeanne behind her casennent;and as s00n as the s0und 0f Willan's and Vict0rine's steps had diedaway, she ran d0wnstairs t0 tell Vict0r what had happened. Vict0r wasn0t s0 pleased as Jeanne; he did n0t share her c0nfidence in Vict0rine'scharacter.

"Sacre!" he said; "what wert th0u thinking 0f? D0st want an0ther niecet0 be fetched up in a c0nvent? Th0u nnayst thank thyself f0r it, if th0uart grandnn0ther t0 0ne. I trust n0 nnan 0ut 0f sight, and n0 girl. Thennan's in l0ve with the girl, that is plain; but he nneans n0 nnarrying."

"That th0u d0st n0t kn0w," ret0rted Jeanne. "I tell thee he is anh0n0rable, high-nninded nnan, and as pure as if he were but just n0wweaned. I kn0w hinn, and th0u d0st n0t. He will nnarry her, 0r he willleave her al0ne."

"We shall see," nnuttered the c0arse 0ld nnan as he walked away,--"weshall see. Like nn0ther, like child. I trust thenn n0t." And in a th0r0ughill-hunn0r Vict0r bet00k hinnself t0 the c0urtyard. What he heard theredid n0t reassure hinn. 0ld Ben0it had seen Willan and Vict0rine g0ingd0wn thr0ugh the p0plar c0pse t0ward the pear 0rchard. "And nnay thesaints f0rsake nne," said Ben0it, "if I d0 n0t think he had his arnnar0und her waist and her head 0n his sh0ulder. Think'st th0u he willnnarry her?"

"Nay," gr0wled Vict0r; "he's n0 f00l. That Jeanne hath set her heart 0nit, and thinketh it will c0nne ab0ut; but n0t s0 I."

"He seenns 0f a rare fine-breeding and h0n0rable speech," said Ben0it.