her daughter and her son, who looked as if he had been changed into a
statue.

There are a great many mothers of that kind in the world, and very often
they are women who have led a virtuous life; they do not suppose that
deceit can exist, because their own nature understands only what is
upright and true; but they are almost always the victims of their good
faith, and of their trust in those who seem to them to be patterns of
honesty. What I had told the mother surprised the daughter, but her
astonishment was much greater when she heard of what I had said to her
brother. After one moment of consideration, she told him that, with any
other man but me, she would have been ruined; and that, if she had been
in the place of Madame C----, she would never have forgiven him, because
the way he had treated her was as debasing for her as for himself.
P---- C---- was weeping, but the traitor could command tears whenever he
pleased.

It was Whit Sunday, and as the theatres were closed he told me that, if I
would be at the same place of Appointment as before, the next day, he
would leave his sister with me, and go by himself with Madame C----, whom
he could not honourably leave alone.

"I will give you my key," he added, "and you can bring back my sister
here as soon as you have supper together wherever you like."

And he handed me his key, which I had not the courage to refuse. After
that he left us. I went away myself a few minutes afterwards, having
previously agreed with C---- C---- that we would go to the Zuecca Garden on
the following day.