Thus at the moment I was hoping to cleanse myself from the sin I had
committed, perhaps to inflict the penalty, at the very instant when a
great horror had taken possession of me, I learned that I had to sustain
a dangerous intervention.
Desgenais was in good humor; stretching out on my sofa he began to chaff
me about the appearance of my face which looked, he said, as though I had
not slept well. As I was little disposed to indulge in pleasantry I
begged him to spare me.
He appeared to pay no attention to me, but warned by my tone he soon
broached the subject that had brought him to me. He informed me that my
mistress had not only two lovers at a time, but three, that is to say she
had treated my rival as badly as she had treated me; the poor boy having
discovered her inconstancy made a great ado and all Paris knew it. At
first I did not catch the meaning of Desgenais' words as I was not
listening attentively; but when he had repeated his story three times in
detail I was so stupefied that I could not reply. My first impulse was to
laugh, for I saw that I had loved the most unworthy of women; but it was
no less true that I loved her still. "Is it possible?" was all I could
say.
Desgenais' friends confirmed all he had said. My mistress had been
surprised in her own house between two lovers, and a scene that all Paris
knew by heart ensued. She was disgraced, obliged to leave Paris or remain
exposed to the most bitter taunts.
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