After I dismissed e, it ill barely time for my "five oclock". tfully f my musioation e luncold    , s me obliquely, along ood at o one of my principal funs as celaine o provide aff. But, all ted myself and said I    until diime, alto tary meal. to tell    I o ion, still t of a sc. A foe Cmas urkey? No; I s of it, folloree at all. But surprise me for dessert ed all do sniffed; Id sastes! C I , now. . . w shall I do, now?

        I could    a runks t tained my trousseau but t already, tailor-mades s on    as if all te objects ating to mock me. I did not like to linger in my overcroed bedroom. ime?

        I sake a bataps tle dolpurquoise for eyes. And tank of goldfis of moving fronds of , as I    me.    o er . . . but I kneures of friendso taff.

        I o defer t I so look foro in te of time I foresaer my dinner , at a quarter before seven, ain myself no longer. I teleponising into tears when I heard her voice.

        No, notter. Motaps.

        I said, gold bataps!

        No; I suppose ts noto cry about, Mother.

        t ulations, ions,    I tle forted, he receiver down.

        Yet till remained one    of t of the evening.

        t tal so t t cold to touc , as my o a trap for o terior doors of te and tress and , I felt tion of the explorer.

        Ligs!

        At    touccly illuminated. I ran crazily about tle, sc I could find -- I ordered ts to ligers, too, so tle s life, and everybody on s it.    as brigimidated me, for I ermined, noo searcrue nature.

        , evidently.

        A mater and a bank of telep taily among to find out o a jinns treasure -- parures, bracelets, rings. . . ered before I spoke; a subtle discourtesy. I o my    it. S superciliously; did madame plan to dress for dinner?

        So , s imagine -- to dress up in one of my Poiret extravaganzas, urban and aigrette on my o to sit do t massive board at o s. . . I greed tions of an officers daug dress for dinner. Furt self. S tell to cel tory feast Id ordered. Could t?

        Mais oui, madame.

        I kion I    t I did not care; I    t I    find    amongst ttering stones; as soon as sematic searche drawers of his desk.

        All    a random doodle on an old envelope, nrapailors, t-doux from iional financiers. Noto impress me strangely; t, I t, be a great deal to ceal if akes suco .

        o tyard, as ted to turn o keep a clear ed a small businessman in Amsterdam or -- I noticed aste -- engage in some business in Laos t must, from certain cryptic refereo eur botanists ento do    rico do    crime? Or self ? A I sae his zeal for secrecy.

        Noing every last letter back ray visit, by some ctle dra uck fast, I must ouc dra draself; and t draained -- at last! -- a file marked: Personal.

        I    for my refle in tained window.

        I ion t , pressed flat as a floisue paper, lay in t hin one.

        I could    found t touote, on a paper napkin marked La Coupole, t began: "My darling, I ot    for t ; t ristan, tod, itil. . ." scra. But tra of all tters card ains,    a grave; ttle se, executed ioned: "typical transylvanian Se -- Midnig; And, on t;On to t of Dracula -- alainty t one is doing evil. toutes amities, C."

        A joke. A joke in t possible taste; for    been married to a Romanian tess? And tty, ty face, and    ret predecessor in tle     sopicated.

        I put a to    s least,    reveal any good reason for it. But I ed to knoill more; and as I closed t, to discover more fell in my way.

        Fell, indeed; and ter of a dropped teen of cutlery, for, as I turrived, someo open up tself, so t all tumbled loose on t key I picked out of t pile uo t o feel himself once more a bachelor.

        I made my decision to explore it before I felt a faint resurgeny ill-defined fear of illness. Per I miging to see if indeed I     a moving figure of o Neic, self-sustaining carapace of orm asm, occupied e business in tudy at t of t to, if t    ive t I soo deluded by    taste for me to t truly offend him.

        I took t there.

        It e and tle , as far as it could go from t o    floated, like a garland of lig, all still, but for the waves.

        I felt no fear, no intimation of dread. Now I walked as firmly as I hers house.

        Not a narroy little passage at all;    an ill-lit one, certainly; tricity, for some reason did eed to till-room and found a bundle of apers in a cupboard, stored tco lig grand dinners. I put a maty little taper and advanced    in my ent along tian, tapestries. t    of a    in ed ed some grisly myt. t imperceptible ramp to ted floor. tsteps, even my breat gre sprang out in beads on my brow. I could no longer he sea.

        A long, a le; and to a door of en oak, loopped, barred h black iron.

        And still I felt no fear, no raising of thumbs.

        to t ko butter.

        No fear; but ation, a ual breath.

        If I found some traces of    in a file marked: Personal, pererranean privacy, I migtle of    y of sucs possible strangeness, t kept me for a moment motionless, before in tly tainted innoce I turhe door creaked slowly back.

        "triking resembla of love and trations of a torturer," opined my e poet; I ure of t similarity on my marriage bed. And noaper slines of a rack. t yrdoms of ts, in my old nurses little store of    one glimpse of it before my little flame caved in and I    in absolute darkness -- a metal figure,    to be spiked at to he Iron Maiden.

        Absolute darkness. And, about me, truments of mutilation.

        Until t moment, t knolao tasy to kno. I fumbled for tc; ion and some dark nigion.

        tark torture g . At t antiquity, Etrus, perands, t burning atuary and I    soled, t persuaded myself t I migumbled only upon a little museum of y, t alled trous items emplation.

        Yet at tre of tafalque, a doomed, ominous bier of Renaissas foot, an armful of to-afalque and its oct more closely; yet I kne.

        Eacime I struck a matco lig seemed a garment of t innoine for wed fell away from me.

        te naked, under a t of very rare and precious linen, sucaly used to soucly, on te breast; s I could see t lers fingers. te, closed eyelids. t the dead lips smiled.

        Beyond tafalque, in te nacreous glimmer; as my eyes aced to t last -- o a skull; yes, a skull, so utterly denuded, no scarcely seemed possible tark bone ered rung up by a system of unseen cords, so t it appeared to ill,    e roses, and a veil of lace, the final image of his bride.

        Yet till so beautiful, s s ed above it, t I reised    I sa. One false step, o in ted sisterep and into tumbled. And    dead, tess o on a spool of inexorability. But, at first, I could see no sign of mosp by my presence -- tal sted a gly t rying to clamber out, t of my rising eria, I kneo find a here.

        itrembling fingers, I prised open t of t coffin, s sculpted face caugus of pain. till    dropped into t by o by a ly     been all time ed me, in t of Paris?

        I closed tly and burst into a tumult of sobbing t tained boty for ims and also a dreadful anguiso knooo, hem.

        t from a door to else flas, as if to tell me t t, e, .

        I retained suffit presenind to snuff out to gataper, to look around, alto ensure I    beray visit.

        I retrieved t in my o keep my he door behind me.

        It craso ion, like the door of hell.

        I could not take refuge in my bedroom, for t retairapped in t place, alt ture of Saint Cecilia    dread; umult; sc jostled ide receded from t, running, stumbling; I did not trust t take any of tly maids into my fidence, eitures, all. O tly on the gendarmerie.

        But -- could I trust t furies, from tle lantic. Mig tes, even turning a on blio    be obeyed? ant coast, e-faced girl from Paris ale of blood, of fear, of tely kno to be true. But    me carry it no further.

        Assistance. My moto telephe line, of course, was dead.

        Dead as his wives.

        A t by any star, still glazed to keep tside, yet it seemed still to encroaco be present beside me but as if masked by my lig like a permeable substa could seep into my skin. I looked at ttle ade from ically i flo desded to te slaugime oo; it rap me,    t    until o me, like a black sun on a hopeless m.

        Aime migill be my friend; at t    very    sail for New York.

        to kno, in a fes, my    France calmed my agitation a little. My reason told me I o fear; tide t ake o t me out of t of tle. Surely I could easily evade ts. Anybody    buy a ticket at tatio I ill filled    my oicular magic mig I could create a pentacle out of music t    not also give me to free myself from him?

        Meco play but my fingers iff and s first, I could mater t simply t of playing sootionality of its sublime matics, I searcil I found tempered Clavier.     I set myself tic task of playing all Bas, every one, and, I told myself, if I played t a single mistake -- the m would find me once more a virgin.

        Crasick.

        else! Sly, ing, urned; ing for me outside the door!

        I rose to my feet; fear gave me strengtly.

        "e in!" My voice astoniss firmness, its clarity.

        t t t, stooping figure of tuner, and errified of me ter ure c seemed to me t I s ation, tened and tle almost in s.

        "Five me," said Jean-Yves. "I kno I sside your door at midnig I , up and do t of t touition told me you could not sleep and mig your piano. And I could not resist t. Besides, I stumbled over t;

        And side my ook to stoool as if to ect me. Still ood smiling at me.    o make everyday versation.

        "Its perfect," I said. "tly in tune." But y of embarrassment, as t thhly.

        "ernoon, I t Id never oucecreat for me, to uoso! So I crept up to your door nole dog mig my ear to tened, and listened -- until my stick fell to tary clumsiness of mine, and I ;

        toug ingenuous smile.

        "Perfectly in tune," I repeated. to my surprise, no say anyt: "In tune. . . perfect. . . in tune," over and ain. I sao    me very piergly, someer tion of t bloody c    made me faint.

        uners arms and ug tin cusool under my head.

        "You are in some great distress," ;No bride s;

        ryside, tides.

        "Any bride brougo tle s and a coffin ; I said.

        "s t;

        It oo late to keep silent; and if oo,    least o me. So I told erdiy disobediehe blood.

        "I    scarcely believe it," ;t man. . . so ric;

        "; I said and tumbled tal key out of my o the silken rug.

        "O; ;I    smell t;

        ook my    me. Alt a great strengto me from ouch.

        "e ales up and do," ;to    young girls o from    of    to tte, e ;

        But, in tic times, my    travel as far as Paris to do ing in t I shuddered.

        "O all tales, ctering of fools, spooks to scare bad co good be ra tle of Murder?"

        t, in my , Id als lord h of me.

        "; said my friend suddenly. "t must be near m. tide is going do;

        oones gleamed ly in t of t and,    unimaginable ensity of ransmit to you, I saaill far a dra by moment inexorably uing mist.

        My urime, it was no fancy.

        "t; said Jean-Yves. "It must go ba t;

        But till caked    blood and I ran to my bat u tap. Crimson er s, as if tself oken stuck. turquoise eyes of taps    me derisively; too clever for me! I scrubbed tain    still it    budge. I t ly tate; tain.

        teers dro over     into s. . . sloer as slowly as you . . .

        And still tain mocked ter t spilled from the leering dolphin.

        "You ime," said Jean-Yves. ". I must stay ;

        "You s!" I said. "Go back to your room, no;

        ated. I put teel in my voice, for I k my lord alone.

        "Leave me!"

        As soon as     to my bedroom. ty; Jean-Yves , my ered tle. I pulled tains close, stripped off my clotains around me as a pu aroma of Russiaher assured me my husband was once again beside me.

        "Dearest!"

        it treaderness, ion.

        "Da Silva of Rio outted me," ;My elegraped journey. So errupted pleasures, my love."

        I did not believe one . I kneo    boug I sricked into my orayal to t illimitable darkness    sy of    came to life only in ts orocities, I must pay t of Pandoras box; but    learn t. I iny as oppressive and omnipotent as    destiny    at t as tim loses to tioner.

        , be. I strained my nerves yet could not    flinc timate touc made me t lovers in t. ae did not diminisongue ran over red lips already . Silent, mysterious, o draccoat and laid it on table, like a good beois; scooped out tling loose c play of patting s officiously, puzzled lips pursed, sears to me ly, a triump smile.

        "But of course! I gave to you!"

        "Your keys?    a moment --    you at t;

        Brusquely ique la the bed.

        "Go a;

        "No? t it    until m, my darling?"

        I forced myself to be seductive, I sa as a plant t begs to be trampled underfoot, a dozen vulnerable appealing girls reflected in as many mirrors, and I sao resist me. If o me in bed, I would rangled hen.

        But ;No. It    . No;

        t of da vile place? And t but to go acool and pray    examioo closely, pray to God     be struck blind.

        o t ja every step like a usical instrument, ting on te ssleeves,    seemed to me he was in despair.

        Strange. In spite of my fear of    made me    te from    t moment, a stence despair, rank and gly, as if t surrounded    once begun to fester, or t ing to ts of flayed    of y of ed a tremendous pressure on t tated to ttom of t pounded against the shore.

        I    t,    bet,    me tered eyes as t reise me, I felt a terrified pity fe, secret places t, if I loved o follow o die.

        trocious loneliness of t monster!

        t in ra. I saement. tretc for ters i turoained a sombre delirium t seemed to me pounded of a gly, yes, s also of a terrible, guilty joy as aiell-tale stain self into a mark t on a playing card.    it for a wary, brooding.

        "It is t leads to t;    timbre of certai cat seem,    restrain a sob.

        "Otle love    of music,"    as if grieving. "My little love, youll never know e daylig;

        t;Kneel!"

        I k before ly to my fore t. I felt a faint tingling of tarily gla myself in t-sain ransferred itself to my foreo te mark of a Bra    been cut.    ba tting t same, heavy sigh as he had done when I said I would marry him.

        "My virgin of tyrdom."

        " form s take?" I said.

        "Decapitation,"    voluptuously. "Go and bat on t o ristan and t prefigures your end. And I sake myself off to to s-grandfat;

        "ts?"

        "e se privacy for our last rites; I    of to t;

        It    of m; termier look, a gloomy day on rouping every maid and scullion, every potboy and pan-scourer, valet, laundress and vassal , a ferudged along    basket in or for t    last of all, at a stately pace, as tège and to the mainland for burial.

        But I kneo, faite.

        "I o celebrate our ; he said. And smiled.

        ared at test servant    the preg m.

        "Go, noratory ritual a, t in til I telep; And arted, recalling t;One may call ile just as muc outside -- never."

        I scrubbed my fore t go ater    until I died, t    be long. t to my dressing room and put on te muslin s, e of a victim of an auto-da-fe,    me to listen to tod in. t tless s surrounded me exrumpets of th.

        On table, coiled like a snake about to strike, lay the ruby choker.

        Already almost lifeless, cold at , I desded taircase to t t been abandoned.

        "I    be of some fort to you," t;t of muc;

        e pusool in front of t, for as long as I could, I o smell t, reg smell of t, in time, e,    little crotted along tide, fated as I, came tumbling in, ts splasones.

        "You do not deserve t; he said.

        " I deserve or no?" I said. "Ive do t may be suffit reason for ning me."

        "You disobeyed ; ;t is suffit reason for o punis;

        "I only did w ;

        "Like Eve," he said.

        telepive. Let it ring. But my lover lifted me up a me on my feet; I must ans. t h.

        "tyard. Immediately."

        My lover kissed me, ook my    of ce, I t of my mothen I saw a muscle in my lovers face quiver.

        "s!" he said.

        I cast one last, desperate glance from t a vertiginous speed along tlocks. A rider, s tucked up around    so s, a crazy, magnifit horsewoman in eeds.

        As teleph again.

        "Am I to    all m?"

        Every moment, my mother drew nearer.

        "Soo late,"Jean-Yves said a    restrain a note of , t must be so, yet it mig be so.

        tra call.

        "So o fetc Cecilia? You ing t;

        So I must go to tyard rousers and t from turnbull and Asser, beside ting block, -grandfated to ttle corporal, in token of surreo t    November m, sal.

        ;Let t does even a youtted as you truly blind to ook my ring? Give it me back, w;

        t from my finger and, even in t dolorous place, my     lovingly and lodged it on tip of    her.

        "It ; ;to ter, utilising a less exalted instrument tion, for do not fear t i;

        Slo before tion, time it gave to desd. . .

        "Dont lirl! Do you tite for t serving it? No; I s, more cruel. . . Run to me, run! I e corpse in my display of fles;

        brigs from t, but still I lingered altly raised, noo flag. If s    umbled on to t my lover    see me die.

        My one and, as ed my o a rope and dre away from my neck.

        "Sueck,"    seemd to be a genuine, retrospective tenderness. "A neck like tem of a young plant."

        I felt tle of    touc retain only my gems; t fell from me. A little green moss, groing block,    the world.

        t heavy sword.

        And -- a great battering and pounding at te, ttered in an instant. t desd, t sever, my    roll. For, for an instant, t    split sed of astoniso let me spring uprig to tany lover as ruggled sig bolts t kept .

        tood transfixed, utterly dazed, at a loss. It must cristan for teentime and tristan stirred, t from    act, announced in a jaunty aria interposed from Verdi t bygones    milk did nobody any good and, as for o live er. t master, open-moutent at t, sauals ime began and start to live for t,    of his pawns.

        You never sa to sea so t e mane, o ts tucked round , one    sea, like tnesses of a furious justice. And my ood stock-still, as if sill raised over ableaux of Bluebeard t you see in glass cases at fairs.

        And t ime into t a all in motion. t aloud, braying    ter of deathree.

        Oing tiger t    a moments ation, sook aim and put a single, irreproac through my husbands head.

        e lead a quiet life, ted, of course, enormous     ao various cies. tle is no ed by any sad gs looking for, g for, turn to tents of whe door sealed.

        I felt I    to retain suffit funds to start a little music scskirts of Paris, and o go to to sit in a box, of course e kno trut and mere cter ever    s? -- ternal telepat sent my motelepo tation after I    nigion. Not s?

        t train, taken; s find a taxi at t, sernal urgency told    s reacide sealed me a ? interrupt milord on er. Saken so muc pleasure in t t tle girl    seventeen in t dubious circumstances and busily engaged iing up uner. Poor tate of disillusion! But I do believe my mother loves him as much as I do.

        No paint nor poter e,    mask t red mark on my fore see it -- not for fear of    -- but, because it spares my shame.
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