CHAPTER IX

FILOMÈNE had her attractions, and a man of so enterprising a nature as the citizen-representative does not allow feminine attractions to go unheeded. When she returned to him where he waited in the hall, he took her softly rounded chin in his lean hand and considered her approvingly. His words, however, suggested that he did so dispassionately, in a spirit of critical detachment. ‘Does he perceive your graces yet, my dear, this fastidious _ci-devant_? Faith, in his place, I should not wait to be bidden twice. I’ll …