Sophia, with
the stock in her cellar, could have held out for several weeks
more, and it annoyed her that she had not sold more of her good
things while good things were worth gold. The signing of a treaty
at Versailles reduced the value of Sophia's two remaining hams
from about five pounds apiece to the usual price of hams. However,
at the end of January she found herself in possession of a capital
of about eight thousand francs, all the furniture of the flat, and
a reputation. She had earned it all. Nothing could destroy the
structure of her beauty, but she looked worn and appreciably
older. She wondered often when Chirac would return. She might have
written to Carlier or to the paper; but she did not. It was Niepce
who discovered in a newspaper that Chirac's balloon had
miscarried. At the moment the news did not affect her at all; but
after several days she began to feel her loss in a dull sort of
way; and she felt it more and more, though never acutely. She was
perfectly convinced that Chirac could never have attracted her
powerfully. She continued to dream, at rare intervals, of the kind
of passion that would have satisfied her, glowing but banked down
like a fire in some fine chamber of a rich but careful household.
Pages:
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733