Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - Part II - II
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THE CONFESSION OF A FOOL 161
jnistress, since she had never taken money from her lover,
and to break a promise—wliat is that to a woman ! Per-
haps she already regretted his loss ;
perhaps she had come
to the conclusion that he understood her needs better
than I ;
perhaps, now that her curiosity was satisfied, she
yearned again for the stronger man ; for in the struggle
for the love of a woman the sensitive and delicate lover,
may he be never so ardent, is always beaten by the
athlete.
It was more than probable that she gave herself to
him, more especially as she was free from responsibility
and her woman’s heart pitied the lonely man. Had I
been in the place of the ofi:ended husband should I have
acted otherwise? I hardly think so.
But since the beloved lips never tired of using the
sublime words "honour," "decency," "morality," I
refused to harbour any suspicions.
For these reasons a woman will always get the better
of her lover, if he be a man of honour. He flatters hun-
self that he is the only one, because he wants to be the
only one, and the wish is father to the thought.
To-day Marie’s loyalty seems to me in the highest
degree improbable, incredible, impossible.
It was also a significant fact that the Baron, when we
were alone together, always manifested a lively interest
in other women ; and one evening, after dining with him
at a restaurant, he went so far as to ask me for certain
addresses. Doubtless this was done in order to deceive me.
Another thing which struck me was his attitude towards
Marie ; he treated her with a somewhat contemptuous
courtesy ; she behaved like a cocotte, and her passion for
me seemed to be more and more on the wane.
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