I caught, to my satisfaction, an
angry gleam in his eye.
"Do you mean to say, Monsieur, that I play for more than recreation?"
"How dare I say anything, Monsieur. But Madame is prejudiced against
the Cercle Africain. For a bachelor there is little to be said against
it--but for a married man--you seize the point?" said I.
"_Bien_, Monsieur," he said, swallowing his wrath. "And Article 3?"
"Since you have left the army--would it not be better to engage in
some profession--unless your private fortune dispenses you from the
necessity."
He said nothing but: "Article 4?"
"It would give Madame comfort to live out of Algiers."
"_Moi aussi_," he replied rather unexpectedly. "We have the whole of
France to choose from."
"Would not Madame be happier if she lived out of France, also? She has
always longed for a social position."
"_Eh, bien_? I can give her one in France."
"Are you quite sure?" I asked, looking him in the eyes.
"Monsieur," said he, rising and giving his moustache a swashbuckler
twist upward, "what are you daring to insinuate?"
I leaned back in my chair and fingered the waxed ends of mine.
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