vaguely painful.

At every movement Laurent made with his neck, he felt a sharp burn
devouring his flesh; his collar cut and pinched the bite of Camille.
While the mayor read out to him the law bearing on marriage, while the
priest spoke to him of the Almighty, at every minute of this long day,
he had felt the teeth of the drowned man entering his skin. At times,
he imagined a streak of blood was running down his chest, and would
bespatter his white waistcoat with crimson.

Madame Raquin was inwardly grateful to the newly married couple for
their gravity. Noisy joy would have wounded the poor mother. In her
mind, her son was there, invisible, handing Therese over to Laurent.

Grivet had other ideas. He considered the wedding party sad, and wanted
to enliven it, notwithstanding the looks of Michaud and Olivier which
riveted him to his chair each time he wished to get up and say something
silly. Nevertheless, he managed to rise once and propose a toast.

"I drink to the offspring of monsieur and madame," quoth he in a
sprightly tone.

It was necessary to touch glasses. Therese and Laurent had turned
extremely pale on hearing this sentence. They had never dreamed that
they might have children. The thought flashed through them like an icy
shiver. They nervously joined glasses with the others, examining one
another, surprised and alarmed to find themselves there, face to face.

The party rose from table early. The guests wished to accompany the
newly married pair to the nuptial chamber. It was barely half-past
nine when they all returned to the shop in the arcade. The dealer in
imitation jewelry was still there in her cupboard, before the box lined
with blue velvet. She raised her head inquisitively, gazing at the
young husband and wife with a smile. The latter caught her eyes, and was
terrified. It struck her that perhaps this old woman was aware of their
former meetings, by having noticed Laurent slipping into the little
corridor.

When they all arrived on the upper floor, Therese withdrew almost
immediately, with Madame Raquin and Suzanne, the men remaining in
the dining-room, while the bride performed her toilet for the night.
Laurent, nerveless and depressed, did not experience the least
impatience, but listened complacently to the coarse jokes of old Michaud
and Grivet, who indulged themselves to their hearts' content, now
that the ladies were no longer present. When Suzanne and Madame Raquin
quitted the nupti