"
So, before evening, all the legal requirements were complied with, and
Marie-Anne was formally installed at the Borderie.
She was alone in Chanlouineau's house--alone! Night came on and a great
terror seized her heart. It seemed to her that the doors were about to
open, that this man who had loved her so much would appear before her,
and that she would hear his voice as she heard it for the last time in
his grim prison-cell.
She fought against these foolish fears, lit a lamp, and went through
this house--now hers--in which everything spoke so forcibly of its
former owner.
Slowly she examined the different rooms on the lower floor, noting the
recent repairs which had been made and the conveniences which had been
added, and at last she ascended to that room above which Chanlouineau
had made the tabernacle of his passion.
Here, everything was magnificent, far more so than his words had led her
to suppose. The poor peasant who made his breakfast off a crust and a
bit of onion had lavished a small fortune on the decorations of this
apartment, designed as a sanctuary for his idol.
Pages:
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572