“Is it true,” cried Nanon, rushing in alarmed, “that mademoiselle is to be kept on bread and water for the rest of her life?”
“What does that signify, Nanon?” said Eugenie tranquilly.
“Goodness! do you suppose I’ll eat frippe when the daughter of the house is eating dry bread? No, no!”
“Don’t say a word about all this, Nanon,” said Eugenie.
“I’ll be as mute as a fish; but you’ll see!”
Grandet dined alone for the first time in twenty-four years.
“So you’re a widower, monsieur,” said Nanon; “it must be disagreeable to be a widower with two women in the house.”
“I did not speak to you. Hold your jaw, or I’ll turn you off! What is that I hear boiling in your saucepan on the stove?”
“It is grease I’m trying out.”