general,—all this was such a trifle, while for her it was so painful. To-day this thought, for various reasons, had been particularly tormenting her.
She asked him about the races. He answered her, and, seeing that she was in a very excited state, in order to divert her mind, told her, in the tone most natural, about the preparation that had been made.
"Shall I, or shall I not, tell him?" she thought, as she looked at his calm, affectionate eyes. "He seems so happy, he is so interested in these races, that he will not comprehend, probably, the importance of what I must tell him."
"But you have not told me of what you were thinking when I came," said he, suddenly, interrupting the course of his narration. "Tell me, I beg of you!"
She did not reply; but she lifted her head a little, and looked at him questioningly from her beautiful eyes, shaded by her long lashes; her fingers, playing with a fallen leaf, trembled.
He saw this, and his face immediately showed the expression of humble adoration, of absolute devotion, which had so won her,
"I see that something has happened. Can I be easy for an instant when I know that you feel a grief that I do not share? In the name of Heaven, speak!" he insisted, in a caressing tone.
"I shall never forgive him if he does not appreciate the importance of what I have to tell him; better be silent than put him to the proof," she thought, continuing to look at him in the same way, and conscious that her hand, holding the leaf, trembled more and more violently.
"In the name of Heaven!" said he, taking her hand again.
"Shall I tell you?"
"Yes, yes, yes ...."
"Je suis enceinte!" she said, in a low and deliberate voice.
The leaf that she held in her fingers trembled still more, but she did not take her eyes from his face, for
