"I hope so and expect so."
"You lead a temperate and regular life, so I am told?"
"I am forced to do so, uncle."
"You don't go into society, I imagine?"
"I have no time for that."
"But you know some people of quality?"
"Those who were friends of my father have not forgotten me."
"Do you sometimes pay visits?"
"Rarely, and only when it is necessary."
"Do you know the Baronne d'Ancourt?"
"I know her name, nothing more."
"Isn't she a friend of Madame d'Estrelle?"
"I have no idea."
"But you know Madame d'Estrelle?"
"No, uncle."
"You have never seen her?"
"Never."
Julien told this lie with resolution. It seemed to him that everybody was trying to pry into his secret, and he had determined to conceal it more securely with a cloak of savage distrust.
"That's funny," continued Un
