about two in the morning
You are the handsomest person here ; my brother keeps stealing glances at you ; he is dancing in spite of his illness , and you pretend not to see him . Make him happy , '' he added , as he led her back to her old uncle . `` I shall not be jealous , but I shall always shiver a little at calling you my sister -- '' The lovers , however , were to prove as inexorable to each other as they were to themselves . At about two in the morning , refreshments were served in an immense corridor , where , to leave persons of the same coterie free to meet each other , the tables were arranged as in a restaurant . By one of those accidents which always happen to lovers , Mademoiselle de Fontaine found herself at a table next to that at which the more important guests were seated . Maximilien was of the group . Emilie , who lent an attentive ear to her neighbors ' conversation , overheard one of those dialogues into which a young woman so easily falls with a young man who has the grace and style of Maximilien Longueville .