* * *

On the following day, Ligny applied to be sent as Third Secretary to The
Hague. He was appointed a week later, and left at once, without having
seen Felicie again.

CHAPTER XVII

Madam Nanteuil thought of nothing but her daughter's welfare. Her
liaison with Tony Meyers the picture-dealer in the Rue de Clichy, left
her with plenty of leisure and an unoccupied heart. She met at the
theatre a Monsieur Bondois, a manufacturer of electrical apparatus; he
was still young, superior to his trade, and extremely well-mannered. He
was blessed with an amorous temperament and a bashful nature, and, as
young and beautiful women frightened him, he had accustomed himself to
desiring only women who were not young and beautiful. Madame Nanteuil
was still a very pleasing woman. But one night when she was badly
dressed, and did not look her best; he made her the offer of his
affections. She accepted him as something of a help toward housekeeping,
and so that her daughter should want for nothing. Her devotion brought
her happiness. Monsieur Bondois loved her, and courted her most
ardently. At the outset this surprised her; then it brought her
happiness and peace of mind; it seemed to her natural and good to be
loved, and she could not believe that her time for love was past when
she was in receipt of proof to the contrary.

She had always displayed a kindly disposition, an easy-going character,
and an even temper. But never yet had she revealed in her home so happy
a spirit and such gracious thoughtfulness. Kind to others, and to
herself, always preserving, in the lapse of changeful hours, the smile
that disclosed her beautiful teeth and brought the dimples into her
plump cheeks, grateful to life for what it was giving her, blooming,
expanding, overflowing, she was the joy and the youth of the house.

While Madame Nanteuil conceived and gave expression to bright and
cheerful ideas, Felicie was fast becoming gloomy, fretful, and sullen.
Lines began to show in her pretty face; her voice assumed a grating
quality. She had at once realized the position which Monsieur Bondois
occupied in the household, and, whether she would have preferred her
mother to live and breathe for her alone, whether her filial piety
suffered because she was forced to respect her less, whether she envied
her happiness, or whether she merely felt the distress which love
affairs cause us when we are brought into too close contact with the