What was she doing in the midst of this rottenness? She, the woman of business? Could she hope to regenerate these poor wretches by her example? No! She could not teach them to be good, and they excelled in teaching others harm. She must leave this gilded vice, taking with her those she loved, and leave the idle and incompetent to consume and destroy themselves.
She felt disgusted, and resolved to do all to tear Micheline away from the contagion. In the meantime she must question Jeanne. A shadow appeared on the threshold: it was hers. In the darkness of the gallery Serge crept behind her without being seen. He had been watching Jeanne, and seeing her go away alone, had followed her. In the angle of the large bay-window, opening into the garden, he waited with palpitating heart. Madame Desvarennes’s voice was heard in the silence of the drawing-room; he listened.
“Sit down, Jeanne; our interview will be short, and it could not be delayed, for to-morrow I shall not be here.”
“You are leaving so soon?”
“Yes; I only left Paris on my daughter’s account, and on yours. My daughter knows what I had to tell her; now it is your turn! Why did you come to Nice?”
“I could not do otherwise.”
“Because?”
“Because my husband wished it.”
“You ought to have made him wish something else. Your power over him is absolute.”
There was a moment’s pause. Then Jeanne answered: