My Little Lady | Page 7

famous gambler? He does not look much like
one," says Graham.
"That is true; but he is a man of good birth and education, I believe,
though he has turned out such a mauvais sujet, and it is part of his
_métier_ to get himself up in that style. Yes, I know him a little, from
meeting him here and elsewhere; he is always going about, sometimes
en prince, sometimes in a more humble way--but excuse me, dear
Monsieur, Mademoiselle Cécile has begun to play, and I am engaged to
Mademoiselle Sophie for this dance; she will never forgive me if I
make her wait."
The dancers whirled on; the room grew hotter and hotter. M. Linders
had disappeared, and Graham began to think that he too had had almost
enough of it all, and that it would be pleasant to seek peace and
coolness in the deserted moonlit courtyard. He was watching for a
pause in the waltz that would admit of his crossing the room, when his
attention was attracted by the same little girl he had seen that morning
in the garden. She was still dressed in the shabby old frock and pinafore,
and as she came creeping in, threading her way deftly amongst the
young ladies in starched muslins and gay ribbons who were fluttering
about, she made the effect of a little brown moth who had strayed into
the midst of a swarm of brilliant butterflies. No one took any notice of
her, and she made her way up to the large round table which had been
pushed into the far corner of the room, and near which Graham was
standing.
"Do you want anything?" he asked, as he saw her raise herself on tiptoe,
and stretch forward over the table.
"I want that," she said, pointing to a miniature roulette board, which
stood in the middle, beyond the reach of her small arm.
He gave it to her, and then stood watching to see what she would do
with it. She set to work with great deliberation; first pulling a handful
of sugar-plums out of her pocket, and arranging them in a little heap at
her side on the table, and then proceeding with much gravity to stake
them on the numbers. She would put down a bonbon and give the board

a twirl; "_ving-cinq_," she would say; the ball flew round and fell into
a number; it might be ten, or twenty, or twenty- five, it did not much
matter; she looked to see what it was, but right or wrong, never failed
to eat the bonbon--an illogical result, which contrasted quaintly with
the intense seriousness with which she made her stakes. Sometimes she
would place two or three sugar-plums on one number, always naming it
aloud--"_trente-et-un_," "_douze-premier_," "_douze- après_." It was
the oddest game for a small thing not six years old; and there was
something odd, too, in her matter-of-fact, business-like air, which
amused Graham. He had seen gambling- tables during his three weeks'
visit to Germany, and he felt sure that this child must have seen them
too.
"Eh! What an insupportable heat!" cried a harsh high-pitched voice
behind him. "Monsieur Jules, I will repose myself for a few minutes, if
you will have the goodness to fetch me a glass of _eau sucrée. Je n'en
peux plus!_"
Graham, recognizing the voice, turned round, and saw the Countess
G---- leaning on the arm of a young man with whom she had been
dancing.
"But it is really stifling!" she exclaimed, dropping into an arm-chair by
the table as her partner retired. "Monsieur does not dance, apparently,"
she continued, addressing Horace. "Well, you are perhaps right; it is a
delightful amusement, but on a night like this---- Ah! here is little
Madelon. I have not seen you before to-day. How is it you are not
dancing?"
"I don't want to," answered the child, giving the roulette- board a twirl.
"But that is not at all a pretty game that you have there," said the
Countess, shaking her head; "it was not for little girls that
Mademoiselle Cécile placed the roulette-board there. Where is your
doll? why are you not playing with her?"
"My doll is in bed; and I like this best," answered the child indifferently.
"_Encore ce malheureux trente-six! Je n'ai pas de chance ce soir!_"

"But little girls should not like what is naughty: and I think it would be
much better if you were in bed too. Come, give me that ugly toy; there
is Monsieur quite shocked to see you playing with it."
Madelon looked up into Horace's face with her wide-open gaze, as if to
verify this wonderful assertion; and apparently satisfied that it had been
made for the sake of effect, continued her game without making any