Alpha Book

But she wished to hear as little more as she could.
"When a married man becomes what you call estimable," said Donna
Tullia's companion, "he either adores his wife or hates her."
"What a charming idea!" laughed the countess. It Was tolerably evident
that the remark was beyond her.
"She is stupid," thought Maria Consuelo. "I fancied so from the first. I
will ask Don Orsino about her. He will say something amusing. It will be
a subject of conversation at all events, in place of that endless tiger
I invented the other day. I wonder whether this woman expects me to
tell her who I am? That will amount to an acquaintance. She is certainly
somebody, or she would not be here. On the other hand, she seems to
dislike the only man I know besides Gouache. That may lead to
complications. Let us talk of Gouache first, and be guided by
circumstances."
"Do you know Monsieur Gouache?" she inquired, abruptly.
"The painter? Yes--I have known him a long time. Is he perhaps painting
your portrait?"
"Exactly.


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