The idea of giving up her body to the coarse caresses of such bearded
creatures, made her laugh with pity, and shudder a little with ignorance.

She asked herself how women could consent to those degrading contacts
with strangers, as they were already obliged to endure them with their
legitimate husbands. She would have loved her husband much more if they
had lived together like two friends, and had restricted themselves to
chaste kisses, which are the caresses of the soul.

But she was much amused by their compliments, by the desire which showed
itself in their eyes, and which she did not share, by their declarations
of love, which they whispered into her ear as they were returning to the
drawing-room after some grand dinner, by their words, which were murmured
so low that she almost had to guess them, and which left her blood quite
cool, and her heart untouched, while they gratified her unconscious
coquetry, while they kindled a flame of pleasure within her, and while
they made her lips open, her eyes glow bright, and her woman's heart,
to which homage was due, quiver with delight.

She was fond of those _tête-à-têtes_ when it was getting dusk, when a man
grows pressing, stammers, trembles and falls on his knees. It was a
delicious and new pleasure to her to know that they felt that passion
which left her quite unmoved, to say _no_, by a shake of the head, and
with her lips, to withdraw her hands, to get up and calmly ring for
lights, and to see the man who had been trembling at her feet, get up,
confused and furious when he heard the footman coming.

She often had a hard laugh, which froze the most burning words, and said
harsh things, which fell like a jet of icy water on the most ardent
protestations, while the intonations of her voice were enough to make any