But the little uncle could not jump to the ceiling, as we were under the trees; so he contented himself with falling backward with his chair; which made me afraid that he proposed to play Sosie again. Caroline and I could not help smiling. That diverted our thoughts for a moment. Suddenly Mademoiselle Derbin, who was watching the dancing again, said to her uncle:
“Ah! there is my lace-mender; how finely she is arrayed! She hasn’t a bad style; really one would think that she was a lady of fashion. Look, Monsieur Dalbreuse—that woman in a lilac hat is she.”
I looked at the person she pointed out to me, and I felt a shock of terror, as if I had seen a serpent.
It was Lucile—Lucile, whom I had not seen since the fatal day. Her presence seemed to revive all the agony that I had felt then. I cannot describe the pain that the sight of her caused me.
My features must have expressed very clearly what I felt, for Caroline instantly said to me:
“Mon Dieu! what is the matter? You must know that woman.”
“Yes, I—that is to say, long ago, but not now.”
“What did she ever do to you that the sight of her should upset you to this extent?”
“Nothing; but for some unknown reason, when I looked at her, I remembered—Sometimes one cannot account for one’s sensations.”
At that moment the quadrille came to an end. Lucile and her partner came in our direction. Great heaven! she sat down a few feet away; she saw me and gazed fixedly at me. I could not endure that woman’s presence, her eyes; I rose abruptly, forced my way through the throng, left the ball, and did not stop until I reached a place where I was alone.