Now I would follow the course prescribed by my reason. I could lose nothing by so doing, and I might gain my husband's love.
I congratulated myself that I had refused to accompany him on that walk. I was really dying to go, but I would deny myself the pleasure for the sake of possible results. He had not insisted—it would have been no use if he had—I told myself. Perhaps he was annoyed at my refusal. I sincerely hoped that he was. I trusted that he was even seriously angry and would resent my non-compliance with his request.
I must confess that the afternoon passed away most tediously for me. I called in Marie, and made her talk herself tired. I tried to be amused at her chatter, but I found it insufferably uninteresting. She would tell me all about Paris, and her own dull life in that city. The poor girl was the daughter of an honest little Rue du Temple fabricant, and her history was not exciting. If she had only been the daughter of a dishonest little fabricant, she would have been far more entertaining, I thought. I felt that she was supplying me with conversational gruel, and I was in a
