may not be in
until late."

"Very well," she replied; "go, I shall not stir from here. Limousin will
keep me company. We will wait for you." And then, turning to the maid,
she said: "You had better put George to bed, and then you can clear away
and go up to your own room."

Parent had got up; he was unsteady on his legs, dazed and giddy, and
saying: "I shall see you again later on," he went out, holding onto the
wall, for the floor seemed to roll, like a ship. George had been carried
out by his nurse, whilst Henriette and Limousin went into the
drawing-room, and as soon as the door was shut, he said: "You must be
mad, surely, to torment your husband as you do?" She immediately turned
on him: "Ah! Do you know that I think the habit you have got into
lately, of looking upon Parent as a martyr, is very unpleasant?"

Limousin threw himself into an easy-chair, and crossed his legs: "I am
not setting him up as a martyr in the least, but I think that, situated
as we are, it is ridiculous to defy this man as you do, from morning
till night." She took a cigarette from the mantel-piece, lighted it, and
replied: "But I do not defy him, quite the contrary; only, he irritates
me by his stupidity ... and I treat him as he deserves." Limousin
continued impatiently: "What you are doing is very foolish! However, all
women are alike. Look here: he is an excellent, kind fellow, stupidly
confiding and good, who never interferes with us, who does not suspect
us for a moment, who leaves us quite free and undisturbed, whenever we
like, and you do all you can to put him into a rage and to spoil our
life."

She turned to him: "I say, you worry me. You are a coward, like all
other men are! You are frightened of that poor creature!" He immediately
jumped up and said, furiously: "I should like to know what he does, and
why you are so set against him? Does he make you unhappy? Does he beat
you? Does he deceive you and go with another woman? No, it is really too
bad to make him suffer, merely because he is too kind, and to hate him
merely because you are unfaithful to him." She went up to Limousin, and
looking him full in the face, she said: "And you reproach me with
deceiving him? You? You? What a filthy heart you must have?"

He felt rather ashamed, and tried to defend himself: "I am not
reproaching you, my dear; I am only asking you to treat your husband
gently, because we both of us require him to trust us. I think that you
ought to see t