Death had
stolen him from her, and the establishment now seemed to be less her own,
particularly since that fellow Blaise and his wife and his child,
representing those fruitful and all-invading Froments, were installed
there. She could no longer console herself for having welcomed and lodged
them, and her one passionate, all-absorbing desire was to have another
son, and thereby reconquer her empire.
This it was which led to her reconciliation with her husband, and for six
months they lived together on the best of terms. Then, however, came
another six months, and it was evident that they no longer agreed so well
together, for Beauchene took himself off at times under the pretext of
seeking fresh air, and Constance remained at home, feverish, her eyes red
with weeping.
One day Mathieu, who had come to Grenelle to see his daughter-in-law,
Charlotte, was lingering in the garden playing with little Berthe, who
had climbed upon his knees, when he was surprised by the sudden approach
of Constance, who must have seen him from her windows. She invented a
pretext to draw him into the house, and kept him there nearly a quarter
of an hour before she could make up her mind to speak her thoughts.
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