Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III WHEN madame went to ascertain what had happened to her favorite she found her at the further end of the show-room in a condition bordering on hysteria. Hopelessly bewildered, but sympathetic as ever, the good woman took her in her arms. " My child, my little cabbage, what ails thee? Hast thou hurt thyself—hast thou nerves, my darling, or the grippe? Thou art trembling all over—thy poor hands are as ice—and thy face, my faith ! is like fire. Come, tell me, my little one." Liane cowered shaking in madame's kind arms. " He kissed me—that man," she gasped at last. "Oh, dear madame, do not ask me to come into the show-room again when he is here! It would kill me—he is bad—he is evil." Madame soothed her tenderly. "Thou shalt never serve them again. What impertinence—to kiss a girl of mine almost under my very nose! Oh, they are wretches, these blue and silver officers, with their voices as of a cat licking up the cream! Not often do I allow them within my doors—it is not conven- able with so many young girls about—butmadame 1'ambassadrice was with him and I should have thought she would have looked after her own property." "He loves her—the ambassadrice?" Liane asked. " I know not, my cabbage. I think he loves any sort of wickedness. And I have heard also that he loves the gold of M. le Prince Rou- manine no less than he loves madame la prin- cesse. Do not vex thy pretty head about him any more. He shall not come here again." But Liane could not avoid vexing her head over the delinquencies of the beautiful attache. She never ran along the Boulevard Mikhail II without a lurking thought, half fear, half hope, that at any moment she might see that tall figure coming towards her, and hear the deep, sweet, drawling voice in her ear. She could hear i... --This text refers to the Paperback edition.