"I will see to that," said my mistress, with relentless generosity. "I intend to give you a dress, and as you have next to nothing to do to-morrow, you can alter it in time. If you had any gratitude in you, Elise, you 'd be out of yourself with joy at the idea."
"Oh, I am out of myself, miladi," I moaned.
"Well, you might say 'Thank your ladyship,' then."
I said it.
"When you have unpacked the big luggage in the morning, I will give you the dress. I have decided on it already. Sir Samuel does n't like it on me, so I don't mind parting with it; but it 's very handsome, and cost me a great deal of money when I was getting my trousseau. It is scarlet satin trimmed with green beetle-wing passementerie, and gold fringe."
My one comfort, as I gasped out spasmodic thanks, was this: I would look such a vulgar horror in the scarlet satin trimmed with green beetle-wings and gold fringe, that the Duchesse de Melun might fail to recognize Lys d'Angely.
