People say,
'That great Baron Trigault is never without cards in his hands!'
But you know very well that I really hold gambling in horror--that
I loathe it. But when I play, I sometimes forget--for I must
forget. I tried drink, but it wouldn't drown thought, so I had
recourse to cards; and when the stakes are large, and my fortune
is imperilled, I sometimes lose consciousness of my misery!"
The baroness gave vent to a cold, sneering laugh, and, in a tone
of mocking commiseration, she said: "Poor baron! It is no doubt in
the hope of forgetting your sorrows that you spend all your time--
when you are not gambling--with a woman named Lia d'Argeles.
She's rather pretty. I have seen her several times in the Bois----"
"Be silent!" exclaimed the baron, "be silent! Don't insult an
unfortunate woman who is a thousand times better than yourself."
And, feeling that he could endure no more--that he could no longer
restrain his passion, he cried: "Out of my sight! Go! or I sha'n't
be responsible for my acts!"
Pascal heard a chair move, the floor creak, and a moment afterward
a lady passed quickly through the smoking-room. How was it that
she did not perceive him? No doubt, because she was greatly
agitated, in spite of her bravado. And, besides, he was standing
a little back in the shade. But he saw her, and his brain reeled.
"Good Lord! what a likeness!" he murmured.
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