beautiful friend

Chapter 11

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Duroy hurried over, grabbed her hands, and stammered while kissing her:

"I'm sorry, dear, I'm sorry. Tonight, I'm not in a good mood, and I get angry easily. You know, as a reporter, you will inevitably encounter some troubles at work."

At this moment, Mrs. de Marais finally softened a little, but she has not completely calmed down:
"What does your work have to do with me? You can't take your anger out on me if you're not doing well at work, right?" Duroy took her into his arms and walked towards the sofa with her in his arms:
"Listen to me, baby, I don't want to hurt you, what I just said was unintentional."

He pressed her to sit on the sofa, then knelt in front of her and said, "Can you forgive me? Tell me, you have forgiven me."

Madame de Marais said icily: "Well, just this once, not the next time."

After speaking, she stood up and said:

"Now, let's go for a walk."

Duroy was still kneeling there, with his arms around her waist, begging: "Please, just stay here. Just promise me. Tonight, I want to sit quietly by the fire with you. Say 'yes', I beg you." Madame de Marais rebuffed:
"No, I have to go out, I can't let you go."

Duroy is still insisting:
"I beg you. I don't want to go out for a reason, a very important reason..."

Madame de Marais interrupted him:
"I don't care! If you don't want to go out with me, I'll go alone. Goodbye!"

After finishing speaking, she broke free from Duroy's hands and walked towards the door.Duroy rushed up and hugged her:

"Listen to me, Clo, my dear Clo, just listen to me..." Madame de Marais shook her head without saying a word, while trying her best to avoid Duroy's kiss, trying to Break free from his embrace.

Duroy begged pitifully:
"Crow, my dear Clo, there is a reason why I don't go out."

Madame de Marais stopped and looked at Duroy:
"Lie...for what reason?"

Duroy looked embarrassed and didn't know how to speak.Madame de Marais was furious:
"Look, you're lying... beast..." With tears in her eyes, she angrily broke away from Duroy's embrace.Duroy grabbed her shoulders again.Seeing that the relationship with Madame de Marais was about to break down, he had to confide the truth:
"I'm broke right now...that's why."

Madame de Maraire couldn't help but stared fixedly at Duroy's eyes, trying to tell whether what he said was true: "What did you say?"

Duroy blushed immediately:

"I say, I'm broke now. Do you understand? Not even a franc, not even half a franc. If we go into a café, I can't even pay for a glass of black tea. If I'm afraid You are angry, I will never say such a shameful thing. How can I go out with you? I can't just tell you that I have no money to pay the bill after ordering two drinks?"

Madame de Marais stared at him intently: "So... what you said is true?"

Duroy immediately turned over the pockets of his trousers, vest, and coat, and said:
"Look...now...you should be satisfied?"

Madame de Marais suddenly opened her arms, hooked Duroy's neck with great enthusiasm, and murmured:
"Ah! My poor George... my poor George... you should have let me know! How did it happen?"

Madame de Marais made Duroy sit down on the sofa, sat on his knees, put her hand on his chin, kissed his beard, mouth and eyes, and then forced Duroy told her why it happened.

Duroy made up a touching story: his father had been struggling recently and he had to help.To this end, he not only exhausted his savings, but also piled up in debt.

Finally, he added:
"Now, I have nothing. At least for half a year, I have to save money. Never mind, life is not always smooth! Anyway, there is no need to worry about money all the time."

Madame de Marais whispered in his ear:

"How about I lend you some?"

Duroy replied solemnly:
"You're so good to me, baby. But please stop talking about it, or I'll be uncomfortable"

Madame de Marais fell silent.After a while, she hugged Durova tightly and said softly, "You don't know how much I love you."

It was the most loving and sweetest night they had ever met.

Before leaving, Madame de Marais said with a smile:

“When people are in your situation, it’s a pleasure to find a previously forgotten piece of money in your pocket, or a penny in the middle of your clothes.”

Duroy echoed, "Yes, that's right."

Madame de Maraire insisted on walking back on the pretext that the moonlight was beautiful.Looking at the charming moon, she couldn't help feeling refreshed. It was a cold night in early winter, the moon was bright and the wind was clear.A thin layer of ice formed on the sidewalk, passers-by hurried, horse-drawn carriages sped by, and the sound of footsteps and horseshoes was crisp and sweet.

At the time of parting, Mrs. de Marais asked: "See you the day after tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, it's a deal."

"Is this still the time?"

"It's still about this time."

"Goodbye, dear."

The two kissed each other tenderly.

After breaking up, Duroy walked back in big strides, thinking about where to get money for dinner tomorrow.After opening the door, when he reached for a match in his vest pocket, he was surprised to find a coin on his fingertip.

He hastily lit the lamp, took out a coin and saw that it was a gold louis equivalent to twenty francs.

Duroy thought he was delusional.

He flipped the coin over and over, still wondering why it appeared in his vest pocket, it couldn't have fallen from the sky, right?
Suddenly, he seemed to think of something, and a nameless anger rose in his heart.Hadn't his lover said just now that a man in poverty may find some windfall somewhere in his clothes?This coin must be her charity, how could he endure such humiliation!
Duroy swore secretly in his heart: "It's okay, we will meet again the day after tomorrow anyway. Then, I will definitely give her some color."

Then he began to undress and go to bed, still feeling resentful.

The next day Duroy woke up very late.As soon as he got up, he felt very hungry; however, he still wanted to sleep again and insisted on it until two o'clock in the afternoon.But he changed his mind: "This is not the way, I must get some money." So he got up and walked out of the house, hoping to come up with an idea while wandering in the street.

In fact, not only did he fail to think of any solution, but every time he passed a restaurant, his mouth was watered by the smell of food.At noon, helpless, he could only say to himself:

"Forget it! I'll use the money left by Clotilde to have lunch first. Anyway, I will definitely pay her back tomorrow."

Duroy had lunch at a brasserie for two francs and forty centimes.After returning to the newspaper office, he returned the three francs to the handyman: "Here, Faucard, this is the three francs you lent me yesterday."

Duroy worked until seven in the evening.He took three francs out of the remaining money, ate a supper, and then drank two glasses of beer.This day, he spent a total of nine francs and thirty centimes.

As Duroy had neither borrowed nor unexpected income, the next day he had to lend six francs and fifty centimes out of the twenty francs he intended to return that evening.Thus, when he left for his appointment in the evening, he had only four francs and twenty centimes left in his pocket.

Duroy, in a bad mood, resolved to speak to Madame de Marais about the matter.He was going to say to his mistress: "I found out the twenty francs you put in my pocket that day. But I cannot give you back the money today, because my situation has not changed, and I have I don't have time to think about money. However, when we meet next time, I will definitely return it to you."

Not long after, Madame de Marais arrived.Today, she appeared to be extra gentle and considerate, with a bit of trepidation, because she didn't know how Duroy would treat her.Once inside, she began kissing Duroy repeatedly so as not to bring up the sensitive subject.

Duroy thought: "Let's talk about this issue later, I must find a suitable time."

However, he never found the right moment, so he said nothing.Every time the words came to my lips, I swallowed them back.

Madame de Marais did not ask to go out this time, and she was very tender to Duroy.

They didn't break up until midnight.They agreed to meet next Wednesday, as Madame de Marais would be in town for several parties in the next few days.

The next day, when Duroy finished his lunch and was about to pay the bill, he actually took out five coins from his pocket, one of which was gold.

At first, he thought it was someone who accidentally made a mistake yesterday, but soon, he understood what was going on.This kind of charity one after another made him feel that he had been greatly insulted, and he was so angry that he felt a dull pain in his heart.

Duroy regretted not making things clear last night.If he had spoken more strongly at the time, such a thing would not have happened again.

For the next four days, Duroy ran around, hoping to get five louis, but still nothing.

In the end he had to live off a second charity from Madame de Marais.

When seeing Madame de Marais again, Duroy said with a displeased face: "Stop making such jokes, or I will be angry." But she pretended to be confused, and in his trouser pocket Twenty francs were released.

When Duroy found the money, he cursed secretly: "Damn it!" However, he carefully put the twenty francs in his waistcoat pocket.For he had nothing but this gold coin.

He comforted himself and said, "Consider the money I borrowed from her, and I will return it together."

After repeated entreaties from Duroy, the newspaper teller finally agreed to lend him a hundred sous a day.However, this money is only enough for board expenses, and it is impossible to use it to pay back the sixty francs.

Later, Clotilde reverted to her old ways and asked Duroy to take her to hang out in Paris every night.Every time he came back, Duroy could always find a gold coin from his pocket, leather shoes and even the watch box.He has become accustomed to this.

Since he is now incapable of satisfying Madame de Marelle's wishes, why not let her be satisfied at her own expense?
And every time he took money, he recorded it so that he could return it together one day.

Madame de Marais said to Duroy one evening:

"Can you believe it? I haven't been to the 'Shepherdess Playground' yet. Can you take me to see it?" Duroy hesitated, worried that he might meet Rachel there.But he changed his mind:
"What are you afraid of? I'm not married. Even if she is bumped into, she will know it well and won't come over to strike up a conversation with me. What's more, we are sitting in a box."

There was another reason why Duroy decided to go: that he could invite Madame de Marais to watch the theater in the box at no cost.In this way, it can be regarded as returning her favor.

At the gate of the casino, Duroy asked Madame de Marais to wait in the carriage, and went to get the tickets first, so as not to let her know that the tickets were free.After getting the ticket, he ran to help her out of the car, and the two walked past the ticket inspector who bowed to them.

The narrow corridors were crowded with people, both distracted men and prostitutes looking for opportunities to solicit customers.Duroy and Madame de Marais made their way through the dense crowd to find their boxes and sit down.Their box was between the band and the busy corridor.

Madame de Maraire paid no attention to the performance at all, her attention was entirely on the prostitutes walking around behind her.She kept looking back at them, wanting to touch their skin, their bodice, their cheeks and their hair, to see how they were different.

Suddenly, Madame de Marais said to Duroy: "There is a fat brunette who has been staring at us. She was trying to talk to us just now. Did you see that?"

Duroy replied: "No, you must have made a mistake." In fact, he had seen her a long time ago.At this time, Rachel was turning around them with angry eyes, cursing.

When Duroy passed through the crowd just now, he passed her by.The other party said "Hello" in a low voice, and blinked at him, meaning: "I understand".But, fearing to be seen by Madame de Marais, Duroy ignored her, but walked past her with haughty head held high and expressionless face.Rachel, who was already burning with jealousy, was even more furious, and then followed him, touched him again, and said loudly on purpose:

"Hello, George."

Duroy still didn't answer her.Seeing this situation, Rachel decided to let him recognize her no matter what, and greeted her.She kept coming to the back of their box, waiting for an opportunity.

When she saw Madame de Maraire noticed her, she immediately poked Duroy's shoulder with her fingertips and said, "Hello, how are you doing?"

Duroy didn't look back.

She added:

"What's the matter? Are you deaf after Thursday?"

Duroy remained silent, showing a look of contempt, as if talking to such a woman would damage his reputation.

Rachel laughed wildly: "Are you dumb? Did this lady bite off your tongue?"

Duroy was so angry that he roared loudly:

"Who told you to talk nonsense here? Go away! Otherwise, I'll have you arrested!"

Rachel's eyes were wide open, her chest heaved, and she cursed:
"Ah! Fuck you! You heartless guy! When you see a woman who has slept with you, you should at least say hello? You can't pretend you don't know each other just because you are with other women? Just now When passing by you, as long as you nod your head, I will leave with interest. But you are so good, you actually put on airs with me! You just wait and see how I deal with you. It’s too much! See you Didn't even say hello..."

Madame de Maraire would have continued to curse if it had not been for the sudden opening of the box door at this moment, and the rushing out of the room through the crowd.

Duroy then rushed out of the box, desperately chasing after his mistress.

Seeing this, Rachel shouted triumphantly:
"Catch her! Catch her! She's got my sweetheart!"

A burst of laughter erupted from the crowd.Just for fun, the two men grabbed Madame de Marais by the shoulders, and while they were pulling her, approached to kiss her.Duroy, who had caught up, snatched Madame de Marais from them with all his might, and dragged her into the street.

Madame de Marais saw a carriage parked by the side of the road, and rushed up, and Duroy also got into the carriage.At this time, the coachman asked: "Sir, where are you going?" Duroy replied angrily: "Anything."

The carriage swayed and moved forward slowly.Clotilde, who was severely stimulated, covered her face with her hands and was short of breath.Duroy was at a loss for a moment, not knowing what to do.

Finally, Madame de Marais burst into tears.So Duroy stammered: "Listen to me, Chloe, my dear Chloe, please let me explain! It's not my fault... I did know this woman...but it was a long time ago ..."

At this moment, Clotilde, like a woman in love who discovers her lover's infidelity, burst into extreme anger; she suddenly put down her hands covering her face, and said out of breath:

"Ah...shame...shame...you're shameless...I can't believe it...what a shame! God! what a shame!"

Slowly, Madame de Marais gradually regained her sobriety and talked more and more:
"You took my money to find her, didn't you? I let you take my money...but gave it to this bitch...it's too much!"

Madame de Maraire paused for a few seconds, as if wanting to find something more vicious.However, I couldn't find it anywhere.So, she suddenly spat on Duroy's face and cursed: "Ah! Dirty things... Dirty things... Dirty things... You use my money to play with women... Dirty things..."

Then, unable to swear any more, she repeated:
"Dirty things... dirty things..."

After a while, she suddenly leaned out of the car, grabbed the driver by the sleeve and shouted, "Stop!" Then, she opened the car door and jumped down.

George also wanted to get out of the car, but she yelled: "Don't get out of the car!" The voice was so loud that passers-by came to watch.Duroy was afraid of making a big fuss, so he stayed in the car and didn't move.

Madame de Marais took out her purse, found two and a half francs in it by the dim light of the street lamp, handed it directly to the driver, and said tremblingly:

"Here... here is the fare... I'll pay for it... Please send this bastard to Rue de Boursault in the Badioll district."

A burst of laughter erupted from the onlookers, and a man shouted, "Great girl!" A young hooligan standing by the car door stuck his head through the open window and screamed:

"Good night, baby!"

The carriage restarted, and there was a burst of laughter from behind.

Waking up the next day, Georges Duroy was very preoccupied.

He put on his clothes slowly, sat by the window sill, lost in thought.He felt sore all over, as if he had been beaten like rain last night.

After thinking about it, he felt that the most urgent task was to get some money back to Madame de Marais as soon as possible.So he came to Forestier's house.

Forestier, who was sitting by the fireplace in the study, seeing Duroy, asked:

"Why did you get up so early today?"

"There is a matter of urgency. I owe a sum of money, and my reputation is at stake."

"Gambling debt?"

Duroy hesitated for a moment, then said:

"Yes."

"Is the number large?"

"Five hundred francs!"

In fact, he only owed Madame de Marais 280 francs.

Forestier did not believe his words, and asked:

"Who do you owe?"

Duroy was at a loss for words, thought for a while, and replied:
"It is ... it is ... a Mister Calvini."

"Oh, where does he live?"

"Live in... Live in..."

Forestier couldn't help but laugh:
"Lives in the Rue Ask for Trouble, don't you? My dear, I know the gentleman you're talking about. I'll lend you twenty francs for your hard work, but nothing more. gone."

Duroy had no choice but to accept the gold coin that Forestier handed over.

Leaving the Forestiers, Duroy began to call on all his acquaintances; until five o'clock in the afternoon, he managed to collect eighty francs.

(End of this chapter)