"Jean is right," agreed M. de Jonzac; "he can very well afford to give advice to Pierrot, and even to the others, for he is himself highly intellectual and very good at sports."
Madame de Bracieux looked at her nephew with a benevolent expression in her eyes:
"Your uncle is right, my dear boy, you are the greatest success of the family," she said, and then seeing that Bijou appeared to be examining her cousin curiously, she added: "I am only speaking of the men, of course."
Pierrot leaned over towards Denyse, who was seated next him, and said, in an undertone with deep gratitude, "It's awfully good of you to stick up for me always, and I can't tell you how fond I am of you--more than any of the others."
She answered with a smile; and in an almost maternal way, said:
"That's very wrong! You ought to be much fonder of uncle, and of grandmamma, too, than you are of me."
"Oh, well, to begin with, there's no rule for that, and then, too, I didn't mean that at all. I meant that I am fonder of you than all the others are; and, you know, there's some of them very fond of you; there's Paul, for instance, Paul de Rueille--I'm sure he likes you better than he does Bertrade, or his children, better than anyone--even God!"
"Do be quiet!" said Bijou, alarmed, and looking round to see if anyone had heard.
"Don't be in a fright! They are all busy worrying each other; they are not troubling about us. It's quite true what I said, you know; and then Jean, too, and Henry, and Monsieur Giraud! There's scarcely anyone, except Abbé Courteil, who does not follow you about to every corner you go; and then--"
"You are talking rubbish! how can you imagine--"
"I don't imagine it--I see it!--and I see it, because it annoys me!"
Just at this moment M. de Jonzac's voice was heard.
"Oh, no!" he was saying, "I am convinced that he has no idea that Renan ever existed. He does not know a thing--not a single thing."
"Oh, yes," put in the tutor, in his usual gentle and conciliatory way, "as regards Renan, I am sure that he knows. Only three or four days ago I had occasion to quote him as the author of the 'Origin of Language.'"
"Well, I would wager that he does not even remember his name--Pierrot!" called out M. de Jonzac.