At any rate, I
fancied so, and I hastened to compose myself; and the two, in
pressing upon me the simple dainties of the table soon forgot, or
appeared to forget, the incident.
Yet in spite of this CONTRETEMPS, that first meal had a strange
charm for me. The round table whereat we dined was spread inside
the open door which led to the garden, so that the October
sunshine fell full on the spotless linen and quaint old plate,
and the fresh balmy air filled the room with the scent of sweet
herbs. Louis served us with the mien of a major-domo, and set on
each dish as though it had been a peacock or a mess of ortolans.
The woods provided the larger portion of our meal; the garden did
its part; the confections Mademoiselle had cooked with her own
hand.
By-and-by, as the meal went on, as Louis trod to and fro across
the polished floor, and the last insects of summer hummed
sleepily outside, and the two gracious faces continued to smile
at me out of the gloom--for the ladies sat with their backs to
the door--I began to dream again, I began to sink again into
folly, that was half-pleasure, half-pain.
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