"The Baron's absence is really extraordinary, don't you think so? This confidence on his part is insulting!"
"What d'you mean?"
"It's not right of him to leave his wife alone with a young man and shut himself up with a girl....
"You're right, it's an insult to me.... But your manners!..."
"Never mind my manners! It's hateful! I shall despise you if you won't be more jealous of your dignity.... What are those two doing?"
"He's interested in Matilda's ball dress!" she answered, with an innocent face and a fleeting smile. "What do you want me to do?"
"A man doesn't assist a woman at her toilet unless there are certain relations between them."
"She is a child, he says, and looks upon him as a father."
"I should never allow any children to play 'papa and mamma,' much less grown-up people."
The Baroness rose, went out of the room and returned with her husband.