prevent it. She was sure that her lover never had entered the closet
through the parlor, as he never had been in this part of the house
farther than the little drawing-room. Suddenly a thought of the little
corridor door struck her; she remembered that this door was not usually
locked because the one from the library was always closed; she knew that
Octave had a key to the latter, and she readily understood how he had
reached her apartment. Mustering up all her courage through excessive
fear, she returned to the closet, hurried down the stairs, and pushed the
bolt. She then returned to the parlor and fell upon the divan,
completely exhausted by her expedition.

Little by little her emotion passed away. Her fright appeared childish
to her, as soon as she believed herself sheltered from danger; she
promised herself to give Octave a good scolding the next morning; then
she renounced this little pleasure, when she remembered that it would
force her to admit the discovery of the pin, and of course to return it
to him, for she had resolved to keep it. She had always had a particular
fancy for this pin, but she would never have dared to ask him for it,
and besides, it was the fact that Octave usually wore it that made it
of infinite value to her. The desire to appropriate it was irresistible,
since chance had thrown it into her hands. She tied a black satin ribbon
about her white neck, and pinned it with the precious ruby. After
kissing it as devotedly as if it were a relic, she ran to her mirror to
judge of the effect of the theft.

"How pretty, and how I love it!" said she; "but how can I wear it so
that he will not see it?"

Before she could solve this problem, she heard a slight noise, which
petrified her as she stood before her glass.