to choose. That was dreadful! Thirty
of them are near starvation. I took the worst cases: the old maids, the
girls with babies, the ones whose husbands have gone off and left them,
the widows. Every one of those, but for me, would have been starved or
gone on the streets. I used to want to write books and realize my dreams
that way. Now I can realize them by work. I wish Caroline Legrand could
know what I'm doing. It was she who helped me to get over my silly
pride, and come and ask for work here.

LUCIENNE. Dear Caroline Legrand! Without her! Without you! [_With a
change of tone_] What d'you suppose happened to me this morning? I had a
visit from Monsieur Gambard.

THERESE [_laughing_] Another visit! I shall be jealous!

LUCIENNE. You've reason. For the last week that excellent old man has
come every single morning with a book for me to bind. I begged him not
to take so much trouble, and I told him that if he had more work for us
to do, we could send for the books to his house. What d'you think he did
to-day?

THERESE. I've no idea.

LUCIENNE. He asked me to marry him.

THERESE. My dear! What then?

LUCIENNE. Why, then I told him that I was married and separated from my
husband.

THERESE. There's such a thing as divorce.

LUCIENNE. Naughty girl! That's exactly what he said. I told him that my
first experience of marriage was not calculated to make me run the
chances of a second. And then he asked me to be his mistress.

THERESE. Indignation of Lucienne!

LUCIENNE. No! I really couldn't be angry. He offered so naively to
settle part of his fortune upon me that I was disarmed. I simply told
him I was able to earn my own living, so I was not obliged to sell
myself.

THERESE. And he went off?

LUCIENNE. And he went off.

THERESE [_starting suddenly_] Was that three o'clock that struck.

LUCIENNE. Yes, but there's nothing very extraordinary in that.

THERESE. Not for you, perhaps. But I made up my mind not to think about
a certain thing until it was three o'clock. I stuck to it--almost--not
very easily. Well, my dear, three o'clock to-day is a most solemn hour
in my life.

LUCIENNE. You don't say so!

THERESE. _I do._ Lucienne, I am so happy. I don't know how I can have
deserved to be as happy as I am.

LUCIENNE. Good gracious, what's happened in the last five minutes?

THERESE. I'll tell you. One hour ago Rene arrived at Evreux. He's come
back from Tunis. Come back a success and a somebody. And n