第28章

They talked together for a few moments；the young man rejoined his friends，the horses set off again，and as I approached the group，I now recognized the man who had spoken to Marguerite as the same Count de G whose portrait I had seen and whom Prudence had pointed out as the person to whom Marguerite owed her notoriety.

It was he who had been forbidden her door the previous night.I assumed that she had ordered her carriage to stop to explain the reasons for his exclusion and，at the same time，I hoped that she had found some new excuse for not receiving him the next night either.

How the rest of the day passed，I do not know.I walked，I smoked，I talked，but by ten in the evening，I had no recollection of what I had said or the people I had met.

All I remember is that I returned to my rooms，spent three hours getting ready，and looked a hundred times at my clock and my watch which，unfortunately，both continued to tell the same time.

When ten thirty struck，I said to myself that it was time to leave.

In those days，I lived in the rue de Provence；I walked down the rue du Mont Blanc，crossed the Boulevard，went along the rue Louis-le-Grand，the rue de Port-Mahon and the rue d'Antin.I looked up at Marguerite's windows.

There was light in them.

I rang.

I asked the porter if Mademoiselle Gautier was at home.

He replied that she never came home before eleven or a quarter past.

I looked at my watch.

I thought that I had come at leisurely stroll，but I had taken just five minutes to come from the rue de Provence to Marguerite's.

So I walked up and down her shopless street which was deserted at that time of night.

At the end of half an hour，Marguerite arrived.She stepped down from her brougham and looked around as though she were watching out for someone.

The carriage set off at a trot，for the stables and coachhouse were not located on the premises.Marguerite was about to ring when I went up to her and said：

'Good evening.'

'Oh！it's you，is it？'she said，in a tone which did little to reassure me that she was pleased to see me.

'Didn't you say I could come and call on you today？'

'So I did.I'd forgotten.'These words overturned everything I had thought that morning，everything I had been hoping for all day.However，I was beginning to get used to her ways and did not storm off-which I should of course have done at once.

We went in together.

Nanine had opened the door ahead of us.

'Is Prudence back？'asked Marguerite.

'No，Madame.'

'Go and say that she is to come the minute she gets in.But first，turn out the lamp in the drawing-room，and if anyone comes，say I'm not back and won't be coming back.'

She was quite clearly a woman with something on her mind，and was perhaps irritated by the presence of an unwanted guest.I did not know how to react nor what to say.Marguerite walked towards her bedroom；I remained where I was.

'Come，'she said.

She took off her hat and her velvet cloak，and tossed them on to her bed，then sank into a large arm-chair in front of the fire，which she always kept lit until the beginning of each summer and，playing with her watch-chain，said：

'Well then，and what news have you got to tell me？'

'No news-except that I was wrong to come here this evening.'

'Why？'

'Because you seem cross，and because I expect I'm boring you.'

'You're not boring me.Only I'm ill，I've not been well all day，I haven't slept and I have a terrible headache.'

'Do you want me to leave so that you can go to bed？'

'Oh！you can stay.If I want to go to bed，I can go to bed with you here.'

At that moment，there was a ring at the door.

'Who can that be now？'she said，with a gesture of impatience.

A few instants later，the bell rang again.

'There can't be anybody to answer it；I'll have to go myself.'

And so saying，she got up.

'Wait here，'she said.

She walked through the apartment and I heard the front door open.I listened.

The person she had admitted halted in the dining-room.By his first words，I recognized the voice of young Count de N.

'How are you this evening？'he was saying.

'Ill，'replied Marguerite curtly.

'Am I disturbing you？'

'Perhaps.'

'You're not very welcoming！What have I done to upset you，my dear Marguerite？'

'My dear friend，you haven't done anything.I am ill，I must go to bed，so you will be so kind as to go away.I am sick and tired of not being able to come home each evening without seeing you show your face five minutes later.What do you want？You want me to be your mistress？Haven't I said no a hundred times？And haven't I told you that I find you dreadfully irritating and that you can go and look elsewhere？Let me say it again today for the last time：I don't want anything to do with you，that's final.Goodbye.There，that's Nanine just coming back.She'll show you a light.Goodnight.'

And without another word，without heeding the young man's stammered replies，Marguerite came back into her bedroom，violently slamming the door through which Nanine duly appeared almost immediately.