She wrung her hands and continued:
“Oh! I do not fear the scandal. If you like, when I get back, I will tell Camille you are my sweetheart, and return here. I am trembling for you. I do not wish to disturb your life. I want to make you happy.”
The prudent instincts of the young man were awakened.
“You are right,” said he. “We must not behave like children. Ah! if your husband were to die!”
“If my husband were to die,” slowly repeated Thérèse.
“We would marry,” he continued, “and have nothing more to fear. What a nice, gentle life it would be!”
The young woman stood up erect. Her cheeks were pale, and she looked at her sweetheart with a clouded brow, while her lips were twitching.
“Sometimes people die,” she murmured at last. “Only it is dangerous for those who survive.”
Laurent did not reply.
“You see,” she continued, “all the methods that are known are bad.”