But, my dear, it isnt what ones glad to do; its
what one is ableto do! Now, Odette, I must be off; youre not to keep Mme. And the
letter which Iwas going to send Gilberte would be framed on those
lines.
Once youve found your tongue, as the Mistress
says,the ice will soon be broken. It was not only the furniture of Odettes
drawing-room, it was Odetteherself that Mme.
Even the bedrooms, he says, are to have electric
lampswith shades which will filter the light.
Cottard had incessantly assured me, made a
completeconquest, first shot, of Mme. Cottard had incessantly assured me, made a
completeconquest, first shot, of Mme. All the same, wasnt it just the least little
bitexaggerated?
Meanwhile, since on almost every occasion of my
going to see her Mme. You owe me somecompensation for not turning up last Thursday.
Bontempsany longer, shes looking after me. Swann did not look as though she expected
anything more.
Its adreadful thing to have a temperament like
mine. No, you know, I always swear by Rauthnitz.
Life would be dreadfullymonotonous without it. Its
very tempting, but more in a friends house than at home.
Verdurin, whom, she added, she hadnever seen make
so much of anyone.
She canorder things from her tradesmen without
having to go out of doors! Cottard, do you know whowill be there on
Wednesday?
But this assertion can hardly have beenquite
truthful, for Mme. Three timesthat at least, I should have said.
Swann on the new pieces, the recentacquisitions
which caught the eye in her drawing-room.
And at last she did say to me: Really,must you go?
Upon the days that followed I gazed through a mist oftears. What do you say, sir;
she turned to me, was Inot right? Cottard, as she departed, had been filled with
thoughts of a whollydifferent order.
Besides, what good would it have done if I had
spoken to Gilberte; shewould not have understood me.
No, no, Ive no regular florist
exceptDebac.
Besides, what good would it have done if I had
spoken to Gilberte; shewould not have understood me.
Just fancy, the sister-in-law of afriend of mine
has had the telephone installed in her house!
Swann, when her tea-party ended, Iwas thinking of
what I was going to write to her daughter, Mme. Bontémps had made of driving her
home behind her cockaded coachman. We shall just look in for a minute on the last
Wednesday ofall. And at last she did say to me: Really,must you go? Besides, its
only an oldthing Ive had done up.