Chapter 21 chapter eight

During the remainder of the winter, the Du Roys often visited the Walters' house.Even when Madeleine declared that she was too lazy to move and would rather stay at home, Du Roy still went to have dinner with the family. Friday was his fixed day.On this day, no one is invited by the proprietress's wife except Du Roy, so this good time belongs to our beautiful friend alone.After dinner, everyone often played cards, fed the goldfish, and spent happy time like a family.Several times, Mrs. Walter grabbed Du Roy's arms in a more secluded place, such as behind the door, behind the bushes in the conservatory, or in a dark corner, and held him tightly in her arms. He whispered in his ear: "I love you!...I love you!...I love you so much that I don't know what to do!" Every time, Du Roy would push her away coldly and say to her seriously : "It's coming again, if you always do this, I will never come again."

At the end of March, the marriage of the two sisters was suddenly rumored.It was said that Rosa's future husband was the Comte de Latour-Yvelines, and Susan's future husband was the Marquis de Cazelle.These two have become frequent visitors of Walter's house, enjoying extraordinary status and treatment. However, Du Roy and Susan got along very well, as unrestrained as brothers and sisters.The two often chat for hours, ignoring anyone, and seem to be very similar to each other. The question of whom Susan would marry was never brought up again, not even about the frequent suitors.

One morning, Du Roy was brought home by his boss for lunch.After dinner, Mrs. Walter was asked by a servant to receive a visiting supplier, and he suggested to Susan by the way: "How about we feed the goldfish?" The two each took a large piece of bread from the dining table and went to the greenhouse. Some soft cushions are placed around the marble pool in case people can kneel on it when they watch the fish up close.The two young men each took a piece, knelt down along the water's edge side by side, and began to throw the small bread balls they kneaded into the water.When the fish saw it, it swam over immediately shaking its head and tail.They turn their big, protruding eyes, or circle back and forth, or dive under the water, devouring the sinking bread.Then it came up again, hoping to get another piece.

These little creatures keep opening and closing their mouths, their bodies can turn freely, and they move swiftly. They look very strange.Against the backdrop of the yellow sand at the bottom of the pool, its bright red body is distinct, like clusters of flaming flames, haunting the blue waves from time to time.And once it stops swimming, the blue edges of its scales stand out. Du Roy and Susan couldn't help smiling when they saw their figures reflected in the water. "Susan," said Du Roy suddenly, softly, "it's not good if you don't tell me what's on your mind."

"What do you mean, pretty friend?" asked Susan. "On the day of the party, right here, you promised me, have you forgotten?" "No." "You promised me that as long as someone proposes to you, they will come and listen to my opinion first." "how?" "What! Someone has proposed to you." "Who?" "You know it yourself." "I swear to you, I have no idea." "No, you know. It's the dandy Marquis de Cazelle." "How do you say that? First of all, he is not a playboy." "Even if not, but he has no brains. He gambled, ate, drank and had fun all day long, and ruined his family property. You are young, beautiful, and smart. Of course, it would be great to be married to such a family."

"You seem to hate him very much," Susan asked, laughing. "I hate him? Nothing." "No, you hate him. But he's not what you say he is." "Where, he is a fool who has tried his best." Susan turned slightly and turned her gaze away from the water: "Look at you, what's the matter with you?" Du Roy showed embarrassment, as if he could not be questioned and had to shake out his inner secrets: "I'm...I'm...I'm a little jealous of him." "You?" Susan couldn't help being surprised. "yes."

"Strange, how could this happen?" "Because I'm in love with you. You're a bad guy, and you know it all in your heart." "Are you crazy, pretty friend?" Susan suddenly asked seriously. "I know that I am crazy. You are an unmarried girl, and I am a married man. Isn't it obvious? I am not only crazy, but also criminal, and even shameless." Therefore, it is impossible for me to have any hope. When I think of this, I can't help but hate. No, I was so angry when I heard that you were going to get married. It’s been a long time, I told you today, I hope you can forgive me.”

Having said this, he stopped.Seeing that there was no more bread thrown down, the goldfish in the water lined up like British soldiers and stayed there motionless, their eyes focused on the faces of the two people on the shore.And these two people don't care about them anymore. "It's a pity you're married," said Susan, with a mixture of sadness and joy in her tone. "What can be done? No one can do anything, it's all over." Du Roy turned around abruptly, put his face to his face, and asked her: "If I get divorced, will you marry me?" "Of course, pretty friend," replied Susan without thinking, "I'll marry you, because I like you more than anyone else."

"Thank you...thank you..." Du Rova stood up and stammered, "I just ask you, don't accept anyone's marriage proposal right now, just wait a little longer. I beg you, can you agree to this? " "Okay, I promise you," said Susan, confused as to what he wanted to do. Du Roy threw the large loaf of bread he was still holding into the water, and hurried away from Susan, forgetting to say goodbye. Loaves of bread, uncrushed by the fingers, floating on the water.The goldfish in the pool rushed straight to them, gnawed greedily around the surroundings, and then pushed the bread to the other side of the pool, fighting over and over under the bread, and churned into a ball, like a flower head turned to the other side of the pool. The flowers falling in the water trembled and rotated constantly.

Surprised and a little uneasy, Susan stood up and walked slowly back to the living room: the beautiful friend had left. Du Roy returned home calmly, and Madeleine was writing a letter at her desk. "Will you go to the Walters' Friday supper?" he asked. "I'm going as usual." "I'm not going," Madeleine said after a moment of hesitation, "I'm a little uncomfortable, so I'd better stay at home." "It's up to you," said Du Roy, "no one forces you." Having said that, he took up his hat again and went out of the house.

For a long time, he has been watching Madeleine's every move, spare no effort to monitor and follow her, so he knows everything about her.Now, the moment he had been waiting for had finally arrived.When Madeleine said just now that she "stayed at home," he understood her ulterior motives at once. In the next few days, he was very kind to her and was cheerful all day long.This is something he has rarely seen for many days, and Madeleine said that he seemed to be a different person. On Friday, he got dressed early, said he was going to do some errands, and then went to the boss's house for dinner. At about six o'clock he kissed his wife good-bye, went out, walked all the way to the Place Notre-Dame de Lloret, and hailed a cab. He said to the coachman: "Please drive the car to Spring Street, park it opposite No. 17, and stay there until I let you go. Then please send me to the Pheasant Restaurant on Lafayette Street. " After the car started and walked forward quickly, Du Roy lowered the curtains.Soon, the carriage stopped on the road opposite his house, and he began to watch the movement in front of the door.After waiting for about ten minutes, he saw Madeleine come out from the inside and walked towards the ring road. After she was gone, Du Roy stuck his head out of the car window and called out to the driver: "You can go." The carriage then continued on and soon took him to the "Pheasant Restaurant" that everyone in the neighborhood knew.He walked into the restaurant, ordered a few dishes, and ate slowly while looking at the watch on his wrist from time to time.After dinner, he drank another cup of coffee and two glasses of clear champagne, and lit a high-quality cigar, smoking calmly.At half past seven he left the hotel, hailed an empty car that was passing by, and went straight to the Rue La Rochefoucauld. After the car stopped in front of a building, he went straight to the fourth floor without asking the concierge.He knocked open a door and asked the maid who opened it: "Is Mr. Guibert de Lorme at home?" "At home, sir." After entering the living room, he waited for a moment.Soon, a man with a military appearance and a medal on his chest walked in.He was a tall man with grizzled hair although he was still young. Du Roy greeted him and said: "Mr. Sheriff, as I expected, my wife and her adulterer are having dinner at this moment in a furnished house they have rented. The place is in the Rue de Martyrs." "I'm at your command, sir," said the sheriff, bowing. "Do you have to take action before nine o'clock?" Du Roy continued. "After this time, you will not be able to go to a private house to catch a rape." "Yes, sir. Seven o'clock in winter, and nine o'clock after March 31st. Today is April 5th, so it will be nine o'clock." "Well, Mr. Sheriff. I have a carriage downstairs. We can use this carriage to pick up your men from the police station and go together. Since it is still early, we can wait outside the gate when we arrive. The later you go about this kind of thing, the more likely you are to catch it on the spot." "Yes, sir." The sheriff went and put on an overcoat, which covered the tricolor belt.After returning to the living room, he stepped aside and let Du Roy go first.Du Royne was thinking about something in his heart and didn't want to leave first, so he said repeatedly: "I'd better invite you first...you invite first." "Come on, sir, this is my house," said the sheriff. Du Roy then bowed to him and went out. They went to the police station first to pick up three plainclothes police officers waiting inside.Because Du Roy had already gone to the police station during the day, saying that the pair of thieves and men would be caught on the spot that night.A policeman immediately took the seat of the driver and sat beside the coachman, while the other two got into the car.The car soon reached Martyrs Street. After getting off the car, Du Roy said: "They are on the third floor, and I know the layout of the room clearly. After entering the door, there is a small living room, followed by a dining room, and the bedroom is at the innermost. The three rooms are connected to each other. The whole building , there is no other exit to escape except the outer gate. A locksmith lives not far away, and you can send it at any time." Several people walked to the building he mentioned, and the time was only a quarter past eight.Everyone had to wait silently outside the door for more than twenty minutes.At 8:30, seeing Du Roy say "you can go up now", everyone immediately went to the stairs, ignoring the porter at all, and the porter didn't see them either.To be on the safe side, they left one person on the street to guard the gate. After the four of them reached the third floor, Du Roy put his ear to the door and listened, and then looked through the keyhole.There was no sound in the room, and there was no movement at all.So he reached out and rang the doorbell. The sheriff then said to his two deputies: "You needn't go in, stay here and wait." Everyone waited.Two or three minutes later, Du Roy rang the doorbell several times.At last there was a sound in the room, followed by light footsteps.Apparently someone came over to spy on the movement.Du Roy bent his fingers and knocked hard on the door. "Who is it?" asked a voice, trying to be unrecognizable, as if it were a woman. "Open the door, we're from the police department," the sheriff replied. "Who are you?" the voice inside asked again. "I'm the Sheriff. Open the door, or we're going to break in." "What are you going to do?" It was still the voice from inside. "It's me," said du Roy. "Let's open the door, you can no longer escape from our grasp." The faint, apparently barefoot footsteps receded, but returned within a few seconds. "If you don't open the door, we're going to hit you hard," Du Roy said.Holding the copper doorknob in his hand, he slowly pushed his shoulder against the door.Seeing that the other party was still silent, and it was too late to speak, he slammed into it with all his strength, and the old lock on the door fell apart in an instant.The screws of the lock flew out of the slots one by one, causing Du Roy to almost fall on Madeleine.Because it was she who had just spoken through the door.Her hair was disheveled, her legs were exposed, she was wearing only a corset and skirt, and she was standing there holding a candle. "It's her that we're looking for today! They can't escape," cried Du Roy, rushing into the house.The sheriff took off his hat and followed.The devastated Madeleine, holding a candle, walked behind. As they walked through the dining room, they saw that the table was in disarray: in addition to a few leftovers of bread and a few drained champagne bottles, there was an empty chicken skeleton and an open bottle of foie gras.On the sideboard were two plates full of oyster shells. The bedroom was littered with laundry, as if it had just been in a fight.A dress was draped over the back of a chair, and a pair of man's shorts hung from the arm of an armchair.Four booties—two large and two small—were lying at the foot of the bed. This is an apartment rented out with furniture, not only the furnishings are ordinary, but also filled with a stuffy and unpleasant smell, similar to what is often seen in hotels.This smell is not only from the walls, curtains, mattresses and seats, but also from the guests who have lived in the apartment for a day or half a year.As the guests changed batch after batch, the lingering human body odor became more and more concentrated, turning into an indescribable and unbearable strange smell that intrudes from time to time.This is commonplace in various public places. There were clutter on the fireplace: a pastry plate, a bottle of Chartreuse, and two half-empty glasses.A top hat worn by a man is buckled on the humanoid decoration above the copper clock. The inspector turned suddenly and fixed his eyes on Madeleine: "This is M. Prosper-Georges du Roy, the journalist. Are you his legal wife, Mrs. Claire-Madelaine du Roy?" Madeleine replied in a very low voice: "Yes, sir." "What are you doing here?" She didn't answer. The inspector asked again: "What are you doing here? What are you doing here at this moment, when you're not in your own house, almost naked, in this furnished room?" He waited for a while, and seeing that Madeleine remained silent, he said again: "Madame, since you don't want to talk, I have to find out the situation myself." At a glance, there was clearly a person lying on the bed, covered tightly by the quilt. The sheriff walked over and called out, "Sir!" The person on the bed didn't move at all.It looked like his back was facing outwards, with his head buried under the pillow. "Sir," said the Inspector, touching the shoulder, "please understand, and don't make me do it." The person under the quilt was still unresponsive, as if dead. Du Roy rushed forward, lifted the head of the quilt, and then pulled the pillow away vigorously, revealing La Roche-Mathieu's bloodless face.Du Roy leaned over, wishing to strangle him to death, but in the end he just cursed through gritted teeth: "Since you have the face to do such a shameful thing, you should have the courage to stand up and admit it." "Who are you?" asked the sheriff.After a while, seeing the adulterer flustered and unable to answer a word, he said again, "I'm the police chief. Tell me quickly, what's your name?" "Say it quickly, you coward." An angry Du Roy shouted from the side, "If you don't speak anymore, I will speak for you." "Mr. Sheriff," said the man on the bed at last, "this fellow insults me so much that you cannot sit idly by. Which of the two of you counts? Shall I answer you or him?" These two sentences, he spoke weakly. "Answer me, of course, sir," said the Inspector. "Tell me, who are you?" The other party fell silent again, and kept using the quilt to protect the body below the neck, with incomparable fear in his eyes.The short black mustaches at the corners of his mouth are in stark contrast to his pale complexion. "You still don't tell?" the police chief said again. "In that case, I will have to arrest you first. Anyway, you'd better get up first, and we'll interrogate you after you get dressed." "But you're standing here, and I can't get up," said the other party, twisting his body and only showing his head. "Why?" asked the sheriff. "Because I... I... have no clothes on." Du Roy sneered, picked up the shirt he threw on the floor, threw it on the bed, and shouted at him: "Forget it...get up...since you can take off your clothes in front of my wife, you should have the face to put them on in front of me." With that, he turned and returned to the fireplace. Madeleine had regained her composure by this time.At this point, she has nothing to fear, and the light of courage shines in her eyes.She rolled up a scroll, and lit the ten candles on the crooked candelabrum by the fireplace one by one as if a distinguished guest had come.Then, leaning her back against the center of the fireplace, she stretched out her two bare feet from behind towards the dying fire.The petticoat only reaches the crotch, so the hem part is lifted up high.There was a pack of cigarettes wrapped in pink paper on the fireplace, she took out one casually, lit it and smoked. In order to make it easier for her lover to get dressed and get up, the sheriff also came to her side. "Monsieur, do you often do such errands?" Madeleine asked him rudely. "Very little, ma'am," replied the Inspector solemnly. Madeleine sneered: "That's good, because it's not something glorious after all." She deliberately did not look at her husband, as if he was not there at all. At this moment, the gentleman on the bed was busy getting dressed.After putting on his trousers and shoes, he walked over while putting on a vest. The sheriff turned to him and said: "Sir, please tell me your name now." I don't want this person to still say nothing. "In this case, I have no choice but to arrest you first." The sheriff said. "Don't touch me, you are not qualified at all!" The other party suddenly said loudly. As if he was about to use force against him, Du Roy rushed up and shouted at him aggressively: "Don't forget...you were caught on the spot. As long as I want...just based on this, I can completely let them arrest you." "This fellow is the present Minister of Foreign Affairs, and his name is La Roche-Mathieu," he went on, in a particularly loud voice. The sheriff was taken aback when he heard this, and couldn't help taking a step back, saying: "Seriously, sir, are you going to say it or not about what I just asked?" The other party had no choice but to shake his heart, and replied loudly: "You bastard, this time I'm not talking nonsense. I'm La Roche-Mathieu, Minister of Foreign Affairs." Then, he pointed to the gleaming red gadget on Du Roy's chest, and said, "I got him the Cross of the Legion of Honor on his body." Du Roy's face turned pale immediately, and he tore off the red ribbon tied to the button with a snap, and threw it into the fireplace: "What's so strange about the things you wretch get? I don't care." The two men clenched their teeth and glared at each other, their faces were very close to each other. Although one was thin and the other was short and fat, they both clenched their fists, and they were about to use force. The sheriff hurriedly intervened between them and separated the two with his hands: "Gentlemen, why do you do this? It's too disrespectful." The two sides finally said nothing more, turned around and walked away.Madeleine was still smoking there motionless, with a sneer on her face. "Mr. Minister," said the Inspector at this moment, "you were alone with this Madame du Roy when I came in. You were lying in bed, and she was barely dressed, while your clothes It was thrown all over the house. It constituted adultery, and I caught it on the spot. The above facts are beyond doubt, and you cannot deny it. What do you have to say?" "I have nothing to say," muttered La Roche-Mathieu, "you can do what you want." "Madame," the inspector turned to Madeleine, "do you admit that this gentleman is your lover?" Madeleine was very straightforward: "I don't deny that he is my lover." "Very well. That's the end of my business." The sheriff went on to note a few facts about the scene.La Roche-Mathieu, who was already dressed, with his coat in one hand and hat in the other, asked him when he had finished writing: "Sir, do you still need me here? If there is nothing else, I will leave." "Why are you leaving, sir?" Du Roy turned to him, sneering without scruples. "Our business is over, you can go to bed again. We will go now." With that said, he lightly touched the sheriff: "Mr. Sheriff, let's go, we have nothing to do here." The sheriff was obviously a little surprised by his words, and then followed him out.Unexpectedly, at the door, Du Roy suddenly stopped and motioned the sheriff to go first.The sheriff humbly relented. "No, please, sir," insisted Du Roy. "No, you go first," said the inspector. "Mr. Sheriff, please don't be polite," Du Roy bowed politely and said in a mocking tone. "We are here today, so to speak, in my own home." After leaving the door, I saw him carefully closing the door again. An hour later, Georges du Roy arrived at Le Vie Française. Herr Walter had already arrived one step ahead of him.The boss is still very concerned about his newspaper, and has to personally ask about every detail.The greatly increased circulation of newspapers provided great convenience for the bank to expand its business. When Du Roy entered his office, the boss looked up at him and asked, "Ah, you're here. What's the matter today? Why didn't you come to my house for dinner? Where did this come from?" Du Roy was fully aware of how much his words would surprise the other party, so he said word by word: "Did I just unseat our Foreign Minister?" Walter thought he was joking: "What? Pulled off the horse..." "Yes, the cabinet is about to be reshuffled, and that's how it is. This zombie-like guy should have pulled him down long ago." The boss looked at him blankly, thinking he was drunk: "Oh, what nonsense are you talking about!" "I'm telling the truth. I just caught La Roche-Mathieu committing adultery with my wife. The police have witnessed the whole thing. The Minister is finished now." Walter was dumbfounded, and pushed his glasses up to his forehead: "Are you kidding me?" "Of course not. I'm going to write a story about it right away." "what do you want?" "Let this rogue, thug, and liar who infiltrated the government department never stand up!" Du Roy put his hat on the armchair, and continued: "Whoever stands in my way, be careful, I will never forgive you lightly." The boss still seemed baffled, and asked in a whisper: "But... where's your wife?" "Tomorrow morning, I will formally file for divorce and return her to the dead Forestier." "divorce?" "Of course, she disgraced me. I had to turn a blind eye to them in order to catch them red-handed. Well now, the initiative is in my hands." Walter was still a little confused, just looked at him in horror, and thought to himself: "My God, this guy is not waiting for nothing!" "I'm free now..." Du Roy added, "and I have a little money. When the parliamentary reelection is held in October this year, I will go to my hometown to run for election. I have a certain reputation there. In the eyes of everyone, I am My wife is a terrible woman. With her, no matter what I do, I can never be dignified and respected by people. She treats me like a fool, pours me ecstasy soup, and makes me submissive. I don't want her to hide quickly If I see through it, her every move will be under my strict surveillance, this stinky bitch." He laughed, and went on to say: "Poor Forestier wearing a cuckold... I didn't realize it, I was still so confident, and I didn't have anything in my heart. I finally got rid of the slut he left me. I'm light now, You can try him for anything." He spread his legs, sat on the chair, and proudly repeated his inner thoughts: "I can try him with everything." The old man Walter, whose glasses were still on his forehead, kept staring at him with big eyes, and muttered in his heart: "Yes, you bastard, you can do anything now." "I'm off to write that story," Du Roy said, standing up. "This matter must not be taken lightly. You must have seen that the Minister will suffer when the article is published. He is a dog in the water, and no one can save him. Le Leaf Noisy has no need to care about his face." .” Walter pondered for a moment, and finally made up his mind: "Go and write your report. There's nothing we can do to help him now that he's gotten to this point."