“It appears,” said Liane, regarding her slowly from head to foot, “that you are to go. It will be a lesson for you, perhaps; a girl like you, with her way to make, should at least study to appear respectable.”
“From Madame such a warning has special significance,” said Margot quietly. She had been sick with fright through the loud scene which had followed her unfortunate message, but when she saw she was herself to bear the brunt of Liane’s fury, all fear left her.
Liane drew her lips back from her shining white teeth; they looked long and savage like a wolf’s.
“It is not you alone who will find the significance, ma fille,” she hissed. “Run and tell your silly little Baron that he shall not forget he has lost a friend and found an enemy.”
Margot put out her hands suddenly, as if something precious which she held near her heart had been assailed. Had she then brought trouble upon Jean? Liane laughed. It was a horrible laugh; it made several people who had not particularly kind hearts feel quite uncomfortable.
As for the Manager, he was so uncomfortable, that when he dismissed Margot he gave her a hundred francs more than was due to her. Jean scolded her seriously for taking it. He said she should have had more pride; he had such an heroic way of looking at things. He did not know that when Margot had taken the money she had been thinking that she could feed him up very nicely on that without depriving her mother of anything. If he had known, he would have been more angry still.
Margot was very unhappy, because she was afraid that Jean despised her, but she did not return the hundred francs as he suggested. She preferred that Jean should despise her, than that he should go without extras for his meals. There was nothing at all heroic about Margot!
CHAPTER XII
JEAN felt no delight at having given up Liane, nor more than a passing flicker of gratified self-esteem at giving up the Bank. He waited with hostile eagerness for the expostulation which he expected would follow; but when no expostulations took place, he deeply resented his immunity from interference. When you have burned your ships it is only natural that you should wish to see someone watching the flames; unfortunately for Jean, no one seemed to notice that there were any. The Director made no reply to Jean’s announcement, and the Comte D’Ucelles went on preserving the sanctity of the home and disregarding the obligations of relationship, with his usual nonchalance.
Jean found himself left to conquer Paris entirely in his own way. His freedom, was limitless and he could satisfy his craving for music all day long. The only trouble was that he hated his freedom now that he had it, and he seemed to have entirely lost his craving for music.