“When we meet, we must not kiss each other as we used to. You may kiss me like a brother; I, in return will, like a sister, kiss you. That will be all, but even that will be nice. Do you think you will ever be able to come to Salonika to be my brother? No?
“It is strange that, though I have been married so short a time, I should still be thinking of the boulevards, the Avenue Louise and the Bois de la Cambre—that I should still be thinking of you, and you, and still you. This is naughty of me, I know, but sometimes I wish that in those days I had not been quite so ... what is the word?... timid?—proud?—cruel?
“Never mind: do not be angry that I was married six weeks ago. You will soon recover from your disappointment, your love-hunger.
“As for me, I am happy. My husband is rich: he adores me. I have many friends. I play the piano better than any one in the whole city of Salonika. And, dear Pierre, I have you to dream of in my idle hours.... Take my advice and marry a nice simple girl and settle down; but she must not be so clever as I am, nor so beautiful, nor so mysterious. And you must not love her as much as you once loved (and perhaps now love?) me.
“Do not forget: when we meet we must kiss as sister and brother.
“From your Katya.”
She read her letter over and liked it.
“If he can leave, he will surely come!” she told herself.
And, rising from her chair, she walked to a large oval mirror and gazed at herself smilingly. Then a thought struck her: she was tired: she would go to bed and rest.
Her bedroom was very long and rather narrow; at each end was a large window. In this room also were many full-length mirrors. Several of them were on movable stands furnished with castors. Three of these she so arranged that they formed a kind of triangle, the mirrors facing inwards. Stripping herself nude, she stepped within the triangle, and placed herself in such a position that she could see the reflection of every part of her body. For a little while she gazed at herself critically, anxiously, a small frown crinkling her forehead; but the frown gradually disappeared, and in a minute or two criticism had changed to whole-hearted admiration.