"
Olivier thought this a capital opportunity for introducing his little
joke.
"You see," said he, displaying his yellow teeth, "this apartment savours
of honest people: that is why we are so comfortable here."
Grivet, annoyed at being forestalled, began to declaim with an emphatic
gesture:
"This room is the Temple of Peace!"
In the meanwhile, Suzanne, who was putting on her hat, remarked to
Therese:
"I will come to-morrow morning at nine o'clock."
"No," hastened to answer the young woman in a strange, troubled tone,
"don't come until the afternoon I have an engagement in the morning."
She accompanied the guests into the arcade, and Laurent also went down
with a lamp in his hand. As soon as the married couple were alone,
both heaved a sigh of relief. They must have been devoured by secret
impatience all the evening. Since the previous day they had become more
sombre, more anxious in presence of one another. They avoided looking at
each other, and returned in silence to the dining-room. Their hands gave
slight convulsive twitches, and Laurent was obliged to place the lamp on
the table, to avoid letting it fall.
Before putting Madame Raquin to bed they were in the habit of setting
the dining-room in order, of preparing a glass of sugar and water
for the night, of moving hither and thither about the invalid, until
everything was ready.
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