Never, no, never will I give him cause to reproach me! I would rather----" A loud and confused noise on the stairs interrupted this soliloquy.

At one moment bursts of laughter were heard, and the next angry voices.
Then a loud exclamation, followed by a short silence.

Being alarmed at this disturbance in a house which was usually so quiet, Mademoiselle de Guerchi approached the door of her room, intending either to call for protection or to lock herself in, when suddenly it was violently pushed open.

She recoiled with fright, exclaiming-- "Commander de Jars!" "On my word!" said Quennebert behind the arras, "'tis as amusing as a play! Is the commander also going to offer to make an honest woman of her?
But what do I see ?" He had just caught sight of the young man on whom de Jars had bestowed the title and name of Chevalier de Moranges, and whose acquaintance the reader has already made at the tavern in the rue Saint-Andre-des-Arts.
His appearance had as great an effect on the notary as a thunderbolt.
He stood motionless, trembling, breathless; his knees ready to give way beneath him; everything black before his eyes.

However, he soon pulled himself together, and succeeded in overcoming the effects of his surprise and terror.