Chapter 6. Questionings
Good day, M. Mariolle.”
Mariolle noticed that it was no longer the “dear friend” of Auteuil, and the clasp of the hand was a hurried one, the hasty pressure of a busy woman wholly engrossed in her social functions. As he entered the salon Mme. de Burne was advancing to speak to the beautiful Mme. le Prieur, whose sculpturesque form, and the audacious way that she had of dressing to display it, had caused her to be nicknamed, somewhat ironically, “The Goddess.” She was the wife of a member of the Institute, of the section of Inscriptions and Belles–Lettres.
“Ah, Mariolle!” exclaimed Lamarthe, “where do you come from? We thought that you were dead.”
“I have been making a trip through Finistère.”
He was going on to relate his impressions when the novelist interrup
