“Your peace of mind should not be disturbed by my visits to Ernest. I say again, I will not give way to absurd suspicions, and I will do as I please.”
“Very good, monsieur; I appreciate your love at its real value now.”
And madame returned to her room; I sat down at the table and ate my dinner. Eugénie did not return; I dined alone. It was the first time since our marriage; alas, I would never have believed that it could happen.
My dinner was soon at an end; nothing takes away the appetite like a dispute. And to dispute with a person whom one loves makes one angry and grieved at the same time.
I went out immediately after dinner. I walked aimlessly, but I walked on and on; nothing is so good as the fresh air to calm ill humor. But it was cold; and I finally went into the Variétés. That is a theatre where there is usually something to laugh at, and it is so pleasant to laugh!
I took a seat in the orchestra. I spied Bélan there, no longer becurled and in a tight-fitting coat, as he always used to be before his marriage, but clad in a full-skirted frock coat, buttoned to the chin, and with a solemn face which in no wise resembled that of a man who was in search of conquests.
Was that the effect of marriage? Could it be that I myself had undergone the same metamorphosis?
I was glad to meet Bélan; I hoped that the meeting would divert my thoughts from my own troubles. I took a seat beside him. The ex-lady-killer was so absorbed in his own reflections that he did not recognize me.
“Well, Bélan, are you enjoying the play?”
“Hallo! it’s my old friend Blémont! What a lucky meeting! Since we have been married, we hardly see each other at all. Ah! we had lots of fun together in the old days, when we were bachelors! those were the good old times!”