her being the
chord which had rendered her so weak to him during twenty-five months, so
indulgent to his slightest caprices. It left her as cold as the marble of
the bas-relief by Mino da Fiesole fitted into the wall just above the
high chair upon which he leaned.

Boleslas, notwithstanding the paroxysm of lucid fury which he suffered at
that moment, and which rendered him capable of the worst violence, had on
his part a knowledge of the complete insensibility in which his presence
left her. He had seen her so often, in the course of their long liaison,
arrive at their morning rendezvous at that hour, in similar toilettes, so
fresh, so supple, so youthful in her maturity, so eager for kisses,
tender and ardent. She had now in her blue eyes, in her smile, in her
entire person, some thing at once so gracious and so inaccessible, which
gives to an abandoned lover the mad longing to strike, to murder, a woman
who smiles at him with such a smile. At the same time she was so
beautiful in the morning light, subdued by the lowered blinds, that she
inspired him with an equal desire to clasp her in his arms whether she
would or no. He had recognized, when she entered the room, the aroma of a
preparation which she had used in her bath, and that trifle alone had
aroused his passion far more than when the servant told him Madame Steno
was engaged, and he wondered whether she was not alone with Maitland.
Those impassioned, but suppressed, feelings trembled in the accent of the
very simple phrase with which he greeted her. At certain moments, words
are nothing; it is the tone in which they are uttered. And to the
Countess that of the young man was terrible.

"I am disturbing you?" he asked, bowing and barely touching with the tips
of his fingers the hand she had extended to him on entering. "Excuse me,
I thought you alone. Will you be pleased to name another time for the
conversation which I take the liberty of demanding?"

"No, no," she replied, not permitting him to finish his sentence. "I was
with Peppino Ardea, who will await me," said she, gently. "Moreover, you
know I am in all things for the immediate. When one has something to say,
it should be said, one, two, three?.... First, there is not much to say,
and then it is better said.... There is nothing that will sooner render
difficult easy explanations and embroil the best of friends than delay
and maintaining silence."

"I am very happy to find you in such a mind," replied