"Did madame try to have an interview with her husband?"
"No, I did not want to. But I don't know what the matter was with me; my emotion took away all my strength, and I could not move; I was afraid."
"What folly! and monsieur your husband took advantage of that moment to fall at your knees, to ask your pardon for his base conduct——"
"Oh! yes, of course! He glanced at me askance; he was leaning against a tree, and I assure you that I didn't feel safe at all. Luckily the company, disturbed at my non-appearance in the salon, sent three or four young men to look for me; they found me in the woods, and I assure you that I was very glad to go back with them."
"And after that—your husband?"
"Oh! he didn't come into the salon, and I was delighted. I didn't see him again.—Well, Lizida, what do you say to all this?"
"Faith, madame, I say that monsieur le comte certainly is not agreeable; when he found himself alone with a charming little woman like madame, after a long separation, then or never was the time to throw himself at her feet, to be reconciled, and to come together again!"
"Yes, it is certain that many husbands would have done that."
"And madame is so kind, I am sure that she would have forgiven him."
"That is very possible; but, however, that didn't happen. All the same, I am delighted that that man saw me with the dress I wore yesterday; he could not have suspected that I am short of money."