The lecturer looked at her with a return to his enigmatic smile of the earlier afternoon. “I never saw a person who looked more unmarried than yourself, Mademoiselle,” he persisted.
“Oh, we American women know the secret of not looking married,” said Madeleine proudly.
“You do indeed,” said the Frenchman with the manner of gallantry. “All of you look unmarried.”
Lydia rose to go. The lecturer looked at her, his eyes softening, and made a silent gesture of farewell.
He turned back to Madeleine. “But I am,” she assured him, pleased and flattered with the centering of their persiflage on herself. She made a gesture toward Lydia, disappearing down the stairs. “I’m as much married as she is!”
M. Buisine continued smiling. “That is quite, quite incredible,” he told her.
CHAPTER XXIX
| “... in tragic life, God wot, No villain need be. Passions spin the plot.” |