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IV
AN EVENING AT MME. DE LA VAUDRAYE'S
It would be wearisome to describe the long series of moves and machinations, the whole comedy of affectation and pretended solicitude which Mme. de la Vaudraye employed to induce Gilberte to come and see her. One day, at last, Gilberte promised, on the understanding that there would be no one there but the regular visitors to the house.
And, in the evening, Adèle, carrying a lantern and muttering between her teeth, accompanied her through the deserted streets.
It was a very modest house that was occupied by her who remained the first lady of Domfront despite her shattered fortunes. No show, no comfort, hardly room for the
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