He did not reply. The child's sudden enmity grieved and annoyed him.
Suzanne met them at a door and cried: "Oh, here you are! Now, Bel-Ami, you are going to be left alone, for I shall take Clotilde to see my room." And the two women glided through the throng. At that moment a voice at his side murmured: "Georges!"
It was Mme. Walter. She continued in a low voice: "How cruel you are! How needlessly you inflict suffering upon me. I bade Suzanne take that woman away that I might have a word with you. Listen: I must speak to you this evening—or—or—you do not know what I shall do. Go into the conservatory. You will find a door to the left through which you can reach the garden. Follow the walk directly in front of you. At the end of it you will see an arbor. Expect me in ten minutes. If you do not meet me, I swear I will cause a scandal here at once!"
He replied haughtily: "Very well, I shall be at the place you named in ten minutes."
But Jacques Rival detained him. When he reached the alley, he saw Mme. Walter in front of him; she cried: "Ah, here you are! Do you wish to kill me?"
He replied calmly: "I beseech you, none of that, or I shall leave you at once."
Throwing her arms around his neck, she exclaimed: "What have I done to you that you should treat me so?"
He tried to push her away: "You twisted your hair around my coat buttons the last time we met, and it caused trouble between my wife and myself."
She shook her head: "Ah, your wife would not care. It was one of your mistresses who made a scene."
"I have none."