“That doesn’t speak well for the prettiest women in Paris.”
“He was telling me just now of a new intrigue he is on the point of consummating. Ha! ha! it’s most amusing! She’s a ravishing young beauty, and he is going to steal her from a young man.”
“Some kept woman.”
“It seems that the little one is worth her price, and that she hangs back; and then, too, the young man, who is jealous no doubt, keeps her very close. For all that, they’ve seen each other—at the window, in the first place; then, letters and propositions. Grandmaison, who knows how to manage such affairs, talked about cashmere shawls and diamonds! The little one’s a coquette, and it seems that her young lover keeps her on a bourgeois footing. The poor fellow will soon be plundered.”
I had a feeling of uneasiness, which as yet I dared not analyze; Raymond’s story, to which I had listened mechanically, interested me deeply at last; the words window, cashmere shawls, and diamonds aroused vague suspicions in my mind, which I blushed to harbor when I recalled Monsieur de Grandmaison’s age and appearance. My self-esteem refused to admit that such a rival could be preferred to me; but a secret voice told me that self-esteem often deceives us. I determined to ascertain the truth, and I proceeded to ask Raymond certain questions, which, I was sure, would prove to me that I was wrong to torment myself.
“Where does this Monsieur de Grandmaison live?”
“Rue Caumartin, in a magnificent house that he owns; it’s just at the end of the street, near the boulevard.”
I felt a shudder run through my whole body, my gorge rose, a weight descended on my breast—all in a second, and as the result of a mere word. I continued my questions, however, affecting the utmost tranquillity.
“And this young beauty?”
“Lives just opposite him, in a small house where there’s no concierge, on the second floor front. Grandmaison saw her first at her window; it’s a broad street, but he has an excellent glass that he had made to watch the ballets at the Opéra. It’s a little telescope; it brings everything right under your eyes, and you can imagine how pleasant it is, while a dancer is making a pirouette, to fasten it on——”