Jeanne, who was nineteen, looked much older than Denyse, although she was a little like her. Her hair, which was fair like Bijou's, was less glossy, and not so auburn, although it was thicker; her eyes were of a less uncommon blue; her teeth were as white, but not so regular; her complexion was less brilliant, and her head not so well set on her shoulders.
Bijou, who was very short, wore very high heels in order to look taller, whilst Jeanne, who was tall enough, always wore flat-heeled boots.
The one fairly dazzled everyone by her wonderful beauty, whilst the other would pass by almost unnoticed, her chief claim to prettiness being a certain charm of expression, which betokened an unselfish disposition and a kind heart.
After luncheon, Bijou carried Jeanne off with her to the park which surrounded the château. She had scarcely seen her friend since her engagement.
"Why," asked Bijou, "did you tell me so calmly that M. Spiegel was rather good-looking?"
"Well, because I think he is," answered Mademoiselle Dubuisson. "Do you mean to say that you--"
"Oh, come now, don't act; you know perfectly well that he is more than _rather_ good-looking."
"Yes, don't you see, from the description you gave me, I expected to see a nice young man with a goody sort of look about him--rather a bore, in fact--and then, instead, you bring us a most delightful man. You ought to have prepared us; you ought not to give people such shocks--" And then, not giving Jeanne time to reply, she continued: "Where did you meet him?"
"This spring, at Easter, when we went to Bordeaux to stay with my aunt."
"Yes, you are one of the affectionate kind."
"And I soon saw that he, too, liked very much to be with me."
"Well, then, we came away, and I felt wretched, of course. I thought I was mistaken, and that he did not care about me at all."
"You did not tell me anything about all that."
"No; in the first place I imagined that it was all over, and then I should not have liked to talk about it to anyone, not even to you; it seems to me that, about such matters--well, when one is in love, one should only talk about it to one's own self; that is the only way to be quite understood."
"Oh, then, you fancy that I do not understand anything about love?"