to sleep with Miss Odette Rénier, and that he was going to throw himself into the Seine after spending a night of love.
She didn't flinch. She put the wallet and the letter back into the jacket pocket. And when young Julien returned to the room, she handed him the five bills, kissed him, and said:
— Take them back, silly. Don't you understand that I love you? And come back the day after tomorrow. I'll be alone. We'll spend the night together.
III
Marie-Louise declares to her friends at the bar and on the set that she is "broke as a shoelace" and she is trying to borrow money from them for dinner.
I may be mistaken, but this picturesque expression probably means that she has no money left. "Broke as a shoelace" likely conveys the same meaning as "broke as a joke" or "penniless." Marie-Louise must have frequented sewing workshops before joining the theater stage. Lately, I've been learning various expressions through the conversation of these ladies, who use their own particular dialect, not all of which I can reproduce due to their crudeness!
Yesterday, Marie-Louise made the grave mistake of using her last resources to pay an entrance fee at an elegant dance hall, which is named with an English word that I don't want to write because I systematically pretend to ignore the language of our invaders. We have our own language, rich and beautiful enough to express our thoughts.
Marie-Louise explains to her friends how she squandered her money yesterday on various expenses in a disastrous venture.
She was walking, she was walking, through the streets, quærens quem devoret,
