Then he hurried off to report progress, after sneering knowingly
at the baker. They didn't care a damn for Madame; the walls were echoing
to their laughter, and she felt that she was deserted on all hands and
despised by the servants' hall, the inmates of which were watching her
every movement and liberally bespattering her with the filthiest of
chaff. Thereupon she abandoned the intention of borrowing the hundred
and thirty-three francs from Zoe; she already owed the maid money, and
she was too proud to risk a refusal now. Such a burst of feeling stirred
her that she went back into her room, loudly remarking:
"Come, come, my girl, don't count on anyone but yourself. Your body's
your own property, and it's better to make use of it than to let
yourself be insulted."
And without even summoning Zoe she dressed herself with feverish haste
in order to run round to the Tricon's. In hours of great embarrassment
this was her last resource. Much sought after and constantly solicited
by the old lady, she would refuse or resign herself according to her
needs, and on these increasingly frequent occasions when both ends would
not meet in her royally conducted establishment, she was sure to find
twenty-five louis awaiting her at the other's house.
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