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La Mere Bauche by Anthony Trollope
page 42 of 45 (93%)
any rate it is too late now. Marie had better come down among us and
show herself satisfied with her husband."

But Madame Bauche took Marie's part. "You must not be too hard on
Marie," she said. "She has gone through a good deal this week past,
and is very young; whereas, capitaine, you are not very young."

The capitaine merely shrugged his shoulders. In the mean time Mere
Bauche went up to visit her protegee in her own room, and came down
with a report that she was suffering from a headache. She could not
appear at dinner, Madame Bauche said; but would make one at the
little party which was to be given in the evening. With this the
capitaine was forced to be content.

The dinner therefore went on quietly without her, much as it did on
other ordinary days. And then there was a little time for vacancy,
during which the gentlemen drank their coffee and smoked their cigars
at the cafe, talking over the event that had taken place that
morning, and the ladies brushed their hair and added some ribbon or
some brooch to their usual apparel. Twice during this time did
Madame Bauche go up to Marie's room with offers to assist her. "Not
yet, maman; not quite yet," said Marie piteously through her tears,
and then twice did the green spectacles leave the room, covering eyes
which also were not dry. Ah! what had she done? What had she dared
to take upon herself to do? She could not undo it now.

And then it became quite dark in the passages and out of doors, and
the guests assembled in the salon. La Mere came in and out three or
four times, uneasy in her gait and unpleasant in her aspect, and
everybody began to see that things were wrong. "She is ill, I am
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