The only thing that
disturbed Wilhelm's peace of mind was the presence of Anne. Her
manner was just as impassive, her face as solemn as before, and she
never showed that she noticed any change in her mistress way of
life. But it was just this cold-blooded acceptance of facts which
must at the very least excite her remark that upset him so much, and
every time Anne came into the room and found him with Pilar, he was
as much ashamed as if she had surprised him in some cowardly and
wicked deed. Did he happen to be sitting beside her on the sofa, he
started as if to jump up; if he had hold of her hand, he dropped it
on the spot. Pilar noticed it, of course, and thought it an
excellent joke. She was herself perfectly unconcerned before Anne,
and put no constraint on herself whatever in her presence. On the
contrary, she thought it great fun to throw her arms round Wilhelm
when the maid came and he attempted to move away, or she would
tutoyer him and kiss him to her face, and was intensely amused at
his embarrassed and miserable air as he suffered her caresses,
though not without a stolen gesture of objection. His shyness was
not unobserved by Anne's quick though furtive eyes, and she owed him
a grudge for wishing to exclude her from his secret.
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