第58章

Atnineo’clockinthemorningshewasawakenedbythesoundofvoicesinthePlace。Therewasacrowdroundthemarketreadingalargebillfixedtooneoftheposts，andshesawJustin，whowasclimbingontoastoneandtearingdownthebill。Butatthismomenttheruralguardseizedhimbythecollar。MonsieurHomaiscameoutofhisshop，andMereLefrangois，inthemidstofthecrowd，seemedtobeperorating。

“Madame!madame!“criedFelicite，runningin，“it’sabominable!“

Andthepoorgirl，deeplymoved，handedherayellowpaperthatshehadjusttornoffthedoor。Emmareadwithaglancethatallherfurniturewasforsale。

Thentheylookedatoneanothersilently。Theservantandmistresshadnosecretonefromtheother。AtlastFelicitesighed——

“IfIwereyou，madame，IshouldgotoMonsieurGuillaumin。“

“Doyouthink——“

Andthisquestionmeanttosay——

“Youwhoknowthehousethroughtheservant，hasthemasterspokensometimesofme？“

“Yes，you’ddowelltogothere。“

Shedressed，putonherblackgown，andherhoodwithjetbeads，andthatshemightnotbeseen(therewasstillacrowdonthePlace)，shetookthepathbytheriver，outsidethevillage。

Shereachedthenotary’sgatequitebreathless。Theskywassombre，andalittlesnowwasfalling。Atthesoundofthebell，Theodoreinaredwaistcoatappearedonthesteps；hecametoopenthedooralmostfamiliarly，astoanacquaintance，andshowedherintothedining-room。

Alargeporcelainstovecrackledbeneathacactusthatfilledupthenicheinthewall，andinblackwoodframesagainsttheoak-stainedpaperhungSteuben’s“Esmeralda“andSchopin’s“Potiphar。“Theready-laidtable，thetwosilverchafing-dishes，thecrystaldoor-knobs，theparquetandthefurniture，allshonewithascrupulous，Englishcleanliness；thewindowswereornamentedateachcornerwithstainedglass。

“Nowthis，“thoughtEmma，“isthedining-roomIoughttohave。“

Thenotarycameinpressinghispalm-leafdressing-gowntohisbreastwithhisleftarm，whilewiththeotherhandheraisedandquicklyputonagainhisbrownvelvetcap，pretentiouslycockedontherightside，whencelookedouttheendsofthreefaircurlsdrawnfromthebackofthehead，followingthelineofhisbaldskull。

Afterhehadofferedheraseathesatdowntobreakfast，apologisingprofuselyforhisrudeness。

“Ihavecome，“shesaid，“tobegyou，sir——“

“What，madame？Iamlistening。“

Andshebeganexplainingherpositiontohim。MonsieurGuillauminknewit，beingsecretlyassociatedwiththelinendraper，fromwhomhealwaysgotcapitalfortheloansonmortgagesthathewasaskedtomake。

Soheknew(andbetterthansheherself)thelongstoryofthebills，smallatfirst，bearingdifferentnamesasendorsers，madeoutatlongdates，andc