ce must have been almost
completely used, but Virginie was ecstatic. The Lorilleuxs and the
Boches made sure that Gervaise did not miss a single improvement and
chuckled to themselves while watching her expression.

There was also a question of a man beneath all this. It was reported
that Lantier had broken off with Gervaise. The neighborhood declared
that it was quite right. In short, it gave a moral tone to the street.
And all the honor of the separation was accorded to the crafty hatter
on whom all the ladies continued to dote. Some said that she was still
crazy about him and he had to slap her to make her leave him alone.
Of course, no one told the actual truth. It was too simple and not
interesting enough.

Actually Lantier climbed to the sixth floor to see her whenever he felt
the impulse. Mademoiselle Remanjou had often seen him coming out of the
Coupeaus' at odd hours.

The situation was even more complicated by neighborhood gossip linking
Lantier and Virginie. The neighbors were a bit too hasty in this also;
he had not even reached the stage of buttock-pinching with her. Still,
the Lorilleuxs delighted in talking sympathetically to Gervaise about
the affair between Lantier and Virginie. The Boches maintained they had
never seen a more handsome couple. The odd thing in all this was that
the Rue de la Goutte-d'Or seemed to have no objection to this new
arrangement which everyone thought was progressing nicely. Those who had
been so harsh to Gervaise were now quite lenient toward Virginie.

Gervaise had previously heard numerous reports about Lantier's affairs
with all sorts of girls on the street and they had bothered her so
little that she hadn't even felt enough resentment to break off the
affair. However, this new intrigue with Virginie wasn't quite so easy to
accept because she was sure that the two of them were just out to spite
her. She hid her resentment though to avoid giving any satisfaction to
her enemies. Mademoiselle Remanjou thought that Gervaise had words with
Lantier over this because one afternoon she heard the sound of a slap.
There was certainly a quarrel because Lantier stopped speaking to
Gervaise for a couple of weeks, but then he was the first one to make up
and things seemed to go along the same as before.

Coupeau found all this most amusing. The complacent husband who had been
blind to his own situation laughed heartily at Poisson's predicament.
Then Coupeau even teased Gervaise. Her