He flung down his cards and left his seat, because he couldn't stand being treated like a little boy who didn't know things.
The three others went on talking about Marianne and Van der Welcke . . . because they saw. But they saw nothing of Brauws and Constance . . . and did not talk about them . . .
"Oh, dear!" whined Cateau. "What a frump Aunt Adolph-ine looks to-night!"
She was sitting at the bridge-table with Aunt Ruyvenaer, Toetie and Eduard van Raven and looked over her ample bust at each card as she played it, very carefully, putting it down with her fat, stumpy fingers, the incarnation of unctuous caution.
"To-night?" asked Eduard.
"Oh, so oft-en: such a frump!" declared Cateau, emphatically. "So dowd-y!"
"She's your husband's sister, after all," said Aunt Ruyvenaer, quietly.
"Yes, Aunt-ie, I know . . . But Ka-rel is al-ways a gen-tleman!"
"And Aunt Adolphine never," replied Van Raven, to provoke her.
There was no love lost between aunt and nephew; and Cateau said, meekly:
"Well, I'm not say-ing it to say any-thing un-kind about Adolph-ine . . . But, Van Ra-ven, how ill Emilie-tje's looking: so tired! Are you two all right to-gether?"
