Old Amable
I
The grey
to see what happens. What can happen to me? Nothing! We shall exchange a smile, and that’s all, and I shall never see him again, and if I see him I shan’t recognise him, and if he recognises me I shall disclaim any acquaintance, and there you are.’
“So I began choosing. I wanted a really good one, a very good one. All at once I saw a tall fair man coming, a very beautiful young man. I love fair men, don’t you know.”
“I looked at him. He looked at me. I smiled, he smiled; I made the right gesture, oh, ever so little, the least little movement; he nodded ‘Yes’ and—what do you think?—in he came, my dear! He came in by the front door of the house.
“You can imagine what my thoughts were at that moment! I thought I should go off my head. Oh, I was terrified! Think of it, he must be speaking to the servant. To Joseph, who is devoted to my husband. Joseph would certainly have believed that I had known this gentleman for a long time.
“What could I do? What could I say? What could I do? He would be ringing in a minute, this very minute. What could I do or say? I thought that the best thing would be to run and meet him, to tell him that he was making a mistake and beg him to go away. He would take pity on a woman, a helpless woman. I flung myself at the door and I opened it just as he put his hand on the bell.
“Utterly distracted, I stammered: ‘Go away, sir, go away, you are making a mistake. I am a good woman, a married woman. It’s a mistake, a frightful mistake; I took you for a friend of mine who is very like you. Let me alone, sir.’
“And—what do you think, my dear?—he burst out laughing and answered: ‘Good afternoon, dearie. I know all about your little tale, you know. You’re married, and it will be two louis instead of one. You shall have them. Now show me the way.’
“And he pushed me aside, he shut the door and as I stood in front of him, absolutely terrified, he kissed me, put his arm round me and led me back into the drawing room, the door of which was standing open.
“And then he began to look round him as if he had come to value the place, and he went on: ‘Damn it, you’ve a charming place here, it’s very smart. You must be in a bad way just now to play the window game.’
“And then I began to implore him again: ‘Oh, sir, go away! Go away! My husband will be coming in! He’ll be in any moment, it’s his time. I assure you you’re making a mistake.’
“He answered calmly: ‘Now, my dear girl, that’s enough of that. If your husband comes in, I’ll give him five francs to go and stand himself a drink across the road.’
“He saw a photograph of Raoul on the mantelpiece and asked:
“ ‘Is that your … your husband?’
“ ‘Yes, that’s he.’
“ ‘He’s got a face on him, hasn’t he! And who’s this? One of your friends?’
“It was your photograph, my dear, you know, the one in evening dress. I didn’t know what I was saying by this time, and I stammered:
“ ‘Yes, it’s a friend of mine.’
“ ‘She’s very charming. You must introduce me to her.’
“And the clock was just going to strike five; and Raoul was in every day at half past five. If he came back before the other man had gone, think of it! Then … then … I lost my head … altogether. … I thought … I thought … that … that the best thing to do was to … to … to … get rid of this man as … as quickly as possible. … The sooner it was finished … you understand … and … and so … so … since it had to be done … and it did have to be done, my dear … he wouldn’t go away without … so I … I … I locked the drawing room door. … There.”
The little Marquise of Rennedon had begun to laugh; she laughed uncontrollably, her head buried in the pillow, shaking the whole bed.
When she was a little quieter, she demanded:
“And … and … he was a handsome young man?”
“He was.”
“And you’re dissatisfied?”
“But … but … don’t you see, my dear? … he … he said … he would come back tomorrow at the same time … and I’m … I’m dreadfully afraid. … You’ve no idea how insistent he is … and headstrong. … What shall I do … or say? … What shall I do?”
The little Marquise sat up in bed to consider the problem; then she said decisively:
“Have him arrested.”
The little Baroness was thunderstruck. She stammered:
“What? What do you say? What are you thinking about? Have him arrested? On what pretext?”
“Oh, it’s quite simple. You go to the police; you’ll tell them that a gentleman has been following you for three months; that he had the insolence to force his way into your home yesterday; that he has threatened to make another visit tomorrow, and that you demand the protection of the law. They’ll give you two officers who’ll arrest him.”
“But, my dear, suppose he tells. …”
“But no one will believe him, idiot, when once you’ve told your tale to the police. They’ll believe you, because you’re a woman of the world and above suspicion.”
“Oh, I’ll never dare do it.”
“You must, my dear, or you’re ruined.”
“Remember that he will … that he will insult me … when they arrest him.”
“Well, you’ll have witnesses and you can get him sentenced.”
“Sentenced to what?”
“To pay damages. You’ve got to be quite ruthless in an affair like this.”
“Oh, talking of damages … there’s one dreadfully annoying thing … dreadfully annoying. … He left me … two louis … on the mantelpiece.
“Two louis?”
“Yes.”
“No more than that?”
“No.”
“It isn’t much. I’d have felt humiliated. Well?”
“Well! What ought I to do with the money?”
The little Marquise hesitated a moment, then answered gravely:
“My dear … you must … you must make your husband a little present … it’s only fair.”
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