"What had she been
in my life? A cause of sorrow and remorse. But God's justice, in advance
of man's was about to take a terrible revenge. One day, I was warned
that Valerie was deceiving me, and had done so for a long time. I could
not believe it at first; it seemed to me impossible, absurd. I would
have sooner doubted myself than her. I had taken her from a garret,
where she was working sixteen hours a day to earn a few pence; she owed
all to me. I had made her so much a part of myself that I could not
credit her being false. I could not induce myself to feel jealous.
However, I inquired into the matter; I had her watched; I even acted the
spy upon her myself. I had been told the truth. This unhappy woman had
another lover, and had had him for more than ten years. He was a cavalry
officer. In coming to her house he took every precaution. He usually
left about midnight; but sometimes he came to pass the night, and in
that case went away in the early morning. Being stationed near Paris, he
frequently obtained leave of absence and came to visit her; and he would
remain shut up in her apartments until his time expired. One evening,
my spies brought me word that he was there.
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