第45章

itisimpossible。Ifyoushould——listentome。Thenyouhavenotunderstoodme；youhavenotguessed——“

“Yetyouspeakplainly，“saidEmma。

“Ah!youcanjest。Enough!enough!Oh，forpity’ssake，letmeseeyouonce——onlyonce!“

“Well——“Shestopped；then，asifthinkingbetterofit，“Oh，nothere!“

“Whereyouwill。“

“Willyou——“Sheseemedtoreflect；thenabruptly，“To-morrowateleveno’clockinthecathedral。“

“Ishallbethere，“hecried，seizingherhands，whichshedisengaged。

Andastheywerebothstandingup，hebehindher，andEmmawithherheadbent，hestoopedoverherandpressedlongkissesonherneck。

“Youaremad!Ah!youaremad!“shesaid，withsoundinglittlelaughs，whilethekissesmultiplied。

Thenbendinghisheadoverhershoulder，heseemedtobegtheconsentofhereyes。Theyfelluponhimfullofanicydignity。

Leonsteppedbacktogoout。Hestoppedonthethreshold；thenhewhisperedwithatremblingvoice，“Tomorrow!“

Sheansweredwithanod，anddisappearedlikeabirdintothenextroom。

IntheeveningEmmawrotetheclerkaninterminableletter，inwhichshecancelledtherendezvous；allwasover；theymustnot，forthesakeoftheirhappiness，meetagain。Butwhentheletterwasfinished，asshedidnotknowLeon’saddress，shewaspuzzled。

“I’llgiveittohimmyself，“shesaid；“hewillcome。“

Thenextmorning，attheopenwindow，andhummingonhisbalcony，Leonhimselfvarnishedhispumpswithseveralcoatings。Heputonwhitetrousers，finesocks，agreencoat，emptiedallthescenthehadintohishandkerchief，thenhavinghadhishaircurled，heuncurleditagain，inordertogiveitamorenaturalelegance。

“Itisstilltooearly，“hethought，lookingatthehairdresser’scuckoo-clock，thatpointedtothehourofnine。Hereadanoldfashionjournal，wentout，smokedacigar，walkedupthreestreets，thoughtitwastime，andwentslowlytowardstheporchofNotreDame。

Itwasabeautifulsummermorning。Silverplatesparkledinthejeweller’swindows，andthelightfallingobliquelyonthecathedralmademirrorsofthecornersofthegreystones；aflockofbirdsflutteredinthegreyskyroundthetrefoilbell-turrets；thesquare，resoundingwithcries，wasfragrantwiththeflowersthatbordereditspavement，roses，jasmines，pinks，narcissi，andtube-roses，unevenlyspacedoutbetweenmoistgrasses，catmint，andchickweedforthebirds；thefountainsgurgledinthecentre，andunderlargeumbrellas，amidstmelons，piledupinheaps，flower-women，bare-headed，weretwistingpaperroundbunchesofviolets。

Theyoungmantookone。Itwasthefirsttimethathehadboughtflowersforawoman，andhisbreast，ashesmeltthem，swelledwithpride，asifthishomagethathemeantforanotherhadrecoileduponhimself。

Buthewasafraidofbeingseen；heresolutelyenteredthechurch。Thebeadle，whowasjustthenstandingonthethresholdinthemiddleoftheleftdoorway，underthe“DancingMarianne