Ball of Suet: Selected Short Stories by Maupassant

Chapter 10 Necklace (2)
It was four o'clock the next morning when she left.Her husband had been asleep with three other gentlemen in a very quiet little living room since twelve o'clock last night.The wives of the three gentlemen also danced and had fun in the ballroom.

The husband felt that it was cold outside, and worried that she would catch a cold, so he put a piece of clothing on her shoulders.That dress was brought by him, and she often wears it at home.She felt that the dress was too shabby, and the beautiful dress she was wearing was so noble that they did not match at all, so she avoided her husband's offer.Of course, she did this because she didn't want those ladies in luxurious leather clothes to see.

Roisseul held her back and said, "Don't go out, it's too cold outside, and you'll catch a cold. You wait here for a while, and I'll call for a carriage."

But she didn't seem to hear her husband's words at all, and quickly ran to the bottom of the steps.They came out into the street without seeing a single carriage.They can only look around.A carriage passed by in the distance.Every time they saw a carriage, they chased after it, shouting loudly, but it was of no avail, they did not get a carriage.

Moaning and trembling, they walked along the Seine.After walking for a long time, I finally found a carriage by the river.The carriage was very old, and it seemed that he didn't want others to see its pitiful appearance, so it never appeared on the streets of Paris during the day, and only came out to do business at night.

The carriage took them to the Rue des Martyrs and dropped them off at the door of the house.The mood of the couple was very low, and there was no smile on their faces.They climbed the steps and went back to their homes.They were both thinking about their own affairs: the husband was thinking about going to work at 10 a.m.;

She took off the clothes draped over her shoulders, walked to the mirror, and admired her beautiful appearance.Suddenly, screams sounded in the room.The diamond necklace she wore around her neck was gone.

Her husband was undressing, halfway through.He asked, "What's the matter? What happened?"

She turned to face him, and said absentmindedly, "The necklace . . . Mrs. Forester's necklace is missing. I lost it!"

With a whoosh, the husband stood up.He was pale with fright. "How could this be... this... this is impossible!"

They immediately looked around.He searched through the pockets of the clothes, the folds of the cloak, and the lining of the robe, but the necklace was not there.

The husband asked, "You said the necklace was still around your neck when you left the ball, are you sure?"

"Of course. I remember very well touching it in the Ministry vestibule after the ball."

"However, if it had been left in the street, it would have made a noise, and we ought to have heard it. So it must have been left in a carriage. It must have been."

"That's right. Do you remember the number of that carriage?"

"Nope, what about you?"

"I didn't pay attention either."

They looked at each other in horror.At last Roissaire put his clothes back on and said: "I'll go and look around the part of the road we just walked." Having said that, he went out.

Her mind went blank and she sank into a chair dejectedly, not having the energy to go to bed.The dress she wore to the party was still on her body.

Just before seven o'clock, the husband came back empty-handed.

After that, he immediately went to the police station to report the case, went to the newspaper office to ask someone to announce the news of the reward for the find, and went to various car dealerships where the pony car was rented out, and searched carefully.All in all, he was lost in all the places where the necklace could be found.

The wife has been staying at home, waiting for news.Such a sudden incident hit her hard.She was anxious all day long, not knowing what to do.

It was not until evening that Roissel returned home.His face was ashen, looking very helpless.He was busy again. "The most important thing for us now is time. We can only write to your friend and say that you have broken the chain of that necklace and that you are deeply disturbed and have sent it for repair. In that case, We can take a long-term view.”

She wrote the letter according to her husband's dictation.

A week passed quickly.They got no news.There was no hope.

Suddenly, Roissel was five years older.He has made his decision.He said: "It seems that we can only pay compensation to others. Although it is quite difficult for us, we have to do it."

The next day, they found the jewelry store that sold the necklace in the necklace box, and they took the box to go.The jewelry store owner found the ledger, looked it up, and replied, "Ma'am, we didn't sell that necklace in our shop, we only had this box for that necklace."

So, they started looking for a similar necklace to the lost one in jewelry stores.The necklace has been lost, so they can only find it from memory.They searched for one family after another, because they were very anxious, and coupled with the sorrow caused by losing the necklace, their bodies were already a little bit overwhelmed.

Finally, a jewelry store on Wanggong Street gave them hope.A necklace in the store was very similar to the lost one.The necklace was priced at [-] francs, and the owner wanted them only [-] francs.

They told the jeweler not to sell that necklace to anyone else for three days.They also negotiated with the jeweler that if the lost necklace can be found before the end of February, the owner of this necklace must take it back at a price of 2 francs.

Roissel received from his father an inheritance of eighteen thousand francs, which was their entire estate.The rest of the money can only be collected by borrowing.

They acted immediately and borrowed money from people.They borrow three louis from one, five from another; five hundred francs from one, and one thousand from another.He typed a lot of IOUs. Although some IOUs were very demanding and might bankrupt them, they had no choice.He dealt with usurers and other people who made money by lending money, took great risks, and signed some IOUs regardless of the happiness of the rest of his life.Whether it will be repaid in the future, and whether it will ruin their reputation because of this, they can no longer take care of these issues.At the same time, fear took hold of him.He was worried about the future of himself and his wife, and also feared that he would be short of food and clothing in the future, and suffered mentally.

Thirty-six thousand francs were finally collected.He traded the money for the new necklace.

When Mrs. Forresger received the necklace returned by Mrs. Roissel, she was quite angry: "Why did you send it back to me now? Don't you know that I want to use it too?"

She did not open the necklace case.Madame Roissel was no longer worried.If the other party finds out that this is not the original necklace, but another one, how will she feel?What will she say?If not, she will regard herself as a thief.

The dreadful life of the poor fell upon Madame Roissier, for whom, fortunately, she was well prepared.There was a huge debt before them, and they had to pay it, so it was only natural that she pay the price.They sold the house, fired the maid, rented an attic under the roof, and moved in.

Whether it is greasy work in the kitchen or rough work at home, she does it by herself.She had to do the dishes, letting greasy pots and pans wear down her smooth, delicate fingers.She has to do the laundry, and she needs to scrub the soiled shirts, underwear, and rags and napkins with soap.After washing, she has to hang them on a string.Every morning, she has to take the garbage downstairs and bring the water upstairs.She was so tired that she was out of breath, and she had to take a rest every time she went upstairs.She wears the same clothes as women from ordinary working families, and she carries a basket to the butcher shop, grocery store, and water store to buy things.She wants to save every penny she can, so she counts carefully and bargains with others.Although she is sometimes abused by others, she still has to do it.

There are several debts waiting for them to repay every month.In addition, they have to renew some loan contracts in order to extend the deadline.

The husband works several jobs at the same time.Every evening after get off work, he went to a businessman to settle accounts for that person.Every night, he was often busy copying documents, even though he only got five cents in return for every page he copied.

For ten years, they have been living like this.

Ten years later, they had paid off all their debts.They paid off all the interest on compound interest and usury.

Madame Roissel was visibly older.She has completely changed, and the characteristics of poor women, such as brutality, aggressiveness, and domineering, can all be found in her.Her hair was disheveled, her hands were particularly red, her skirt was tied crookedly, she spoke quite loudly, and she poured large basins of water when washing the floor.But a few times, when her husband went to work in the Ministry and she was alone in the house, she would automatically think of the ball.How charming and charming she had been then!
What would have happened to her if the necklace hadn't been lost by her?no one knows!Life is full of variables!Your life is likely to be ruined because of a small thing, of course, that thing sometimes gives you hope in desperate situations.

After a tiring week, she went for a walk on the Champs-Elysées on Sunday.She caught sight of Mrs Forester by accident.Mrs Forester was walking with a child, still so young and so pretty.

Madame Roissel was overwhelmed with excitement.Do you want to walk up to her and have a few words with her?Of course.Now that all the debts have been paid off, it doesn't matter if you tell her everything.Why continue to hide it?
She went up to Mrs. Forester, and said, "Good day, Jeanne!"

Mrs. Forester did not recognize the man in front of her at all.She never expected that an ordinary woman would greet her so kindly, so she was quite shocked.She replied hesitantly, "Wait... Ma'am... Did you recognize the wrong person?"

"I am Mathilde Roissel! Don't you know me?"

Mrs. Forester exclaimed: "My God... Poor Mathilde, is it really you? You have become too much..."

"That's right, I've been living a life of poverty and hardship. I've suffered a lot since I last saw you... and it's all because of you..."

"Me?... What the hell is going on here?"

"You remember the time I borrowed the necklace from you for the ministry party?"

"Yes, but so what?"

"What's wrong? I lost that necklace."

"No way? You gave it back to me."

"Yes, I returned it to you. But the necklace I returned to you was not the one I borrowed, but another similar in appearance. We borrowed a lot to buy that necklace. money, and then it took ten years to repay the money. You know, how difficult it is for people like us who have no family at all... Now that we have finally paid off all our debts, I am so happy .”

Hearing Mrs. Roisseul say this, Mrs. Forestier stopped and asked, "Did you spend money on a diamond necklace to pay for my necklace?"

"That's right! Those two necklaces are so similar, you haven't noticed that the one I returned to you is not the original one, have you?"

As she spoke, a pure and proud sense of joy came to her heart, and a smile appeared on her face.

Mrs. Forestier took Mrs. Roissier's hand excitedly, and shook it.She said: "My God, Mathilde, you are so pitiful. My necklace is not real, it is not worth much, it is worth five hundred francs at most..."

(End of this chapter)