She no longer spoke, she no longer
quarrelled with him, she seemed to consign everything to the depths of
her being. He would rather have heard her exhausting her endurance than
see her keep in this manner to herself. He feared that one day she
would be choking with anguish, and to obtain relief, would go and relate
everything to a priest or an examining magistrate.
Then these numerous absences of Therese had frightful significance in
his eyes. He thought she went to find a confidant outside, that she was
preparing her treason. On two occasions he tried to follow her, and lost
her in the streets. He then prepared to watch her again. A fixed idea
got into his head: Therese, driven to extremities by suffering, was
about to make disclosures, and he must gag her, he must arrest her
confession in her throat.
CHAPTER XXXI
One morning, Laurent, instead of going to his studio, took up a position
at a wine-shop situated at one of the corners of the Rue Guenegaud,
opposite the studio. From there, he began to examine the persons who
issued from the passage on to the pavement of the Rue Mazarine. He
was watching for Therese. The previous evening, the young woman had
mentioned that she intended going out next day and probably would not be
home until evening.
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