“You had permission to go to the theatre, then?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And have you enjoyed yourself? What theatre did you go to?”
“I have been in the country, sir.”
That made him laugh. Then he asked, laying a certain stress on his question: “All alone?”
“No, sir; with a lady friend,” replied she, her cheeks burning, shocked at the idea which he no doubt entertained.
He said no more; but he was still looking at her in her simple black dress and hat trimmed with a single blue ribbon. Was this little savage going to turn out a pretty girl? She looked all the better for her day in the open air, charming with her splendid hair falling over her forehead. And he, who during the last six months had treated her like a child, some times giving her advice, yielding to a desire to gain experience, to a wicked wish to know how a woman sprung up and lost herself in Paris, no longer laughed, experiencing a feeling of surprise and fear mingled with tenderness. No doubt it was a lover who embellished her like this. At this thought he felt as if stung to the quick by a favourite bird, with which he was playing.
“Good night, sir,” murmured Denise, continuing her way without waiting.
He did not answer, but stood watching her till she dis appeared. Then he entered his own apartments.