Page:The Plutocrat (1927).pdf/219

 If this was true, he hadn't much chance of seeing Aurélie de St. D. Momoro at "Colline des Roses," he feared; and ruefully he began to wonder if she would dare to let him see her anywhere.

Another thought troubled him a little. On the "Duumvir" she had no air of indolent luxury; she suggested great energy under easy self-command; yet undeniably she suggested luxury without the indolence; everything she wore had been as rich as it was exquisitely made; and he had seen beautiful furs upon her, and once or twice, in the evening, some fine jewels. Moreover, Hyacinthe Momoro, in a quiet way, was a finished portrait of the youthful exquisite; Ogle had noticed his flat watch of platinum, his white gold cigarette case with a coat of arms in enamel; everything belonging to either mother or son was of the elegance that is most inordinately expensive; and yet they could not be rich. If they were, why should Mme. Momoro be so anxious for her son's adoption? Ogle remembered the fond compassion with which she spoke of the boy's small position in a bureau of the government and of the hard work he did upon the report he had been writing in his cabin. Thinking of that, the playwright felt