angry she grew in the matter of Vandeuvres and the
young Hugons! Oh, if that had been true he would have been justified in
throttling her! But what was the good of lying to him about a matter of
no consequence? And with that she repeated her previous expression:

"Come now, how can it hurt you?"

Then as the scene still continued, she closed it with a rough speech:

"Besides, dear boy, if the thing doesn't suit you it's very simple: the
house door's open! There now, you must take me as you find me!"

He hung his head, for the young woman's vows of fidelity made him happy
at bottom. She, however, now knew her power over him and ceased to
consider his feelings. And from that time forth Satin was openly
installed in the house on the same footing as the gentlemen. Vandeuvres
had not needed anonymous letters in order to understand how matters
stood, and accordingly he joked and tried to pick jealous quarrels with
Satin. Philippe and Georges, on their parts, treated her like a jolly
good fellow, shaking hands with her and cracking the riskiest jokes
imaginable.

Nana had an adventure one evening when this slut of a girl had given her
the go-by and she had gone to dine in the Rue des Martyrs without being
able to catch her. While she was dining by herself Daguenet had appeared
on the scene, for although he had reformed, he still occasionally
dropped in under the influence of his old vicious inclinations. He hoped
of course that no one would meet him in these black recesses, dedicated
to the town's lowest depravity. Accordingly even Nana's presence seemed
to embarrass him at the outset. But he was not the man to run away and,
coming forward with a smile, he asked if Madame would be so kind as to
allow him to dine at her table. Noticing his jocular tone, Nana assumed
her magnificently frigid demeanor and icily replied:

"Sit down where you please, sir. We are in a public place."

Thus begun, the conversation proved amusing. But at dessert Nana, bored
and burning for a triumph, put her elbows on the table and began in the
old familiar way:

"Well, what about your marriage, my lad? Is it getting on all right?"

"Not much," Daguenet averred.

As a matter of fact, just when he was about to venture on his request at
the Muffats', he had met with such a cold reception from the count that
he had prudently refrained. The business struck him as a failure. Nana
fixed her clear eyes on him; she was sitting, leaning her chin on he