or us to stay here. Would you
like to go in?" said I with a smile.

"Do you find it so?--That is singular. The air is quite warm."

She had taken my arm again, and we continued to walk, although I did not
know the direction which we took. All that she had hinted at concerning
the lover of the countess, concerning my mistress, together with this
journey, the incident which took place in the carriage, our conversation
on the grassy bank, the time of night, the moonlight--all made me feel
anxious. I was at the same time carried along by vanity, by desire, and
so distracted by thought, that I was too excited perhaps to take notice
of all that I was experiencing. And, while I was overwhelmed with these
mingled feelings, she continued talking to me of the countess, and my
silence confirmed the truth of all that she chose to say about her.
Nevertheless, certain passages in her talk recalled me to myself.

"What an exquisite creature she is!" she was saying. "How graceful! On
her lips the utterances of treachery sound like witticism; an act of
infidelity seems the prompting of reason, a sacrifice to propriety;
while she is never reckless, she is always lovable; she is seldom tender
and never sincere; amorous by nature, prudish on principle; sprightly,
prudent, dexterous though utterly thoughtless, varied as Proteus in her
moods, but charming as the Graces in her manner; she attracts but she
eludes. What a number of parts I have seen her play! _Entre nous_, what
a number of dupes hang round her! What fun she has made of the baron,
what a life she has led the marquis! When she took you, it was merely
for the purpose of throwing the two rivals off the scent; they were on
the point of a rupture; for she had played with them too long, and they
had had time to see through her. But she brought you on the scene. Their
attention was called to you, she led them to redouble their pursuit, she
was in despair over you, she pitied you, she consoled you--Ah! how happy
is a clever woman when in such a game as this she professes to stake
nothing of her own! But yet, is this true happiness?"

This last phrase, accompanied by a significant sigh, was a
master-stroke. I felt as if a bandage had fallen from my eyes, without
seeing who had put it there. My mistress appeared to me the falsest of
women, and I believed that I held now the only sensible creature in the
world. Then I sighed without knowing why. She seemed grieved at having
given me pai