Let the woman whose pulse has never quickened its beating under the
influence of this counterfeit of love, cast the first stone.
That she could be vanquished in this struggle for supremacy; that there
could be any doubt of the result, were thoughts which never once entered
the mind of Mlle. Blanche.
She had been told so often, it had been repeated again and again, that
the man whom she would choose must esteem himself fortunate above all
others.
She had seen her father besieged by so many suitors for her hand.
"Besides," she thought, smiling proudly, as she surveyed her reflection
in the large mirrors; "am I not as pretty as Marie-Anne?"
"Far prettier!" murmured the voice of vanity; "and you possess what your
rival does not: birth, wit, the genius of coquetry!"
She did, indeed, possess sufficient cleverness and patience to assume
and to sustain the character which seemed most likely to dazzle and to
fascinate Martial.
As to maintaining this character _after_ marriage, if it did not please
her to do so, that was another matter!
The result of all this was that during dinner Mlle.
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