"You will only be content when you have
driven me from the house!" he finished in a fury. "You won't come? Well
then, I'll go by myself!"
And thereupon he rushed off like a whirlwind, without a word to Santerre,
who had remained silent, and without even remembering that Mathieu still
stood there awaiting an answer. The latter, in consternation at hearing
all these things, had not dared to withdraw lest by doing so he should
seem to be passing judgment on the scene. Standing there motionless, he
turned his head aside, looked at little Andree who was still crying, and
at Gaston and Lucie, who, silent with fright, pressed one against the
other behind the armchair in which their sister was wailing.
Valentine had sunk upon a chair, stifling with sobs, her limbs trembling.
"The wretch! Ah, how he treats me! To accuse me thus, when he knows how
false it is! Ah! never more; no, never more! I would rather kill myself;
yes, kill myself!"
Then Santerre, who had hitherto stood on one side, gently drew near to
her and ventured to take her hand with a gesture of affectionate
compassion, while saying in an undertone: "Come, calm yourself.
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