And as
for the painter, if he is rather unpleasantly affected when he tries to be
paradoxical, still he has one of the finest brains that I have ever come
across. Besides, what is most important, one feels quite free there, one
does what one likes without constraint or fuss. What a flow of humour
there is every day in that drawing-room! Certainly, with a few rare
exceptions, I never want to go anywhere else again. It will become more
and more of a habit, and I shall spend the rest of my life among them."
And as the qualities which he supposed to be an intrinsic part of the
Verdurin character were no more, really, than their superficial reflection
of the pleasure which had been enjoyed in their society by his love for
Odette, those qualities became more serious, more profound, more vital, as
that pleasure increased. Since Mme. Verdurin gave Swann, now and then,
what alone could constitute his happiness; since, on an evening when he
felt anxious because Odette had talked rather more to one of the party
than to another, and, in a spasm of irritation, would not take the
initiative by asking her whether she was coming home, Mme.
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