At his first
words, she grew pale. Her emotion was so great that, seeing she
would betray herself, she hastily retired to her boudoir. Sauvresy,
quietly seated in one of the bedroom arm-chairs, continued to
expatiate on the advantages of such a marriage--raising his voice,
so that Bertha might hear him in the neighboring room.
"Do you know," said he, "that our friend has an income of sixty
thousand crowns? We'll find an estate for him near by, and then we
shall see him and his wife every day. They will be very pleasant
society for us in the autumn months. Hector is a fine fellow, and
you've often told me how charming Laurence is."
Bertha did not reply. This unexpected blow was so terrible that
she could not think clearly, and her brain whirled.
"You don't say anything," pursued Sauvresy. "Don't you approve of
my project? I thought you'd be enchanted with it."
She saw that if she were silent any longer, her husband would go
in and find her sunk upon a chair, and would guess all. She made
an effort and said, in a strangled voice, without attaching any
sense to her words:
"Yes, yes; it is a capital idea."
"How you say that! Do you see any objections?"
She was trying to find some objection, but could not.
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