Nana (Barnes & Noble Classics) - Emile Zola [29]
“I know!” exclaimed Nana, “and I did tell him everything; but he replied that he had some very heavy bills to meet. He won’t part with more than his thousand francs a month. As for the blackamoor, he’s quite stumped just now; I think he’s been losing at cards. And poor Mimi is really in want of money himself; a fall in stocks has cleared him out completely. He can’t even bring me any flowers now.”
She was speaking of Daguenet. On awaking in the morning she always felt in a confidential mood, and told Zoé everything. The maid, accustomed to such outpourings, listened with respectful sympathy. As madame deigned to talk to her of her affairs, she would take the liberty of giving her opinion. First of all, though, she could not help saying that she loved madame very much; it was for that reason that she had left Madame Blanche, and God knew that Madame Blanche was doing all she could to get her to return to her! She was well known, and would never have any difficulty in obtaining a situation; but she would remain with madame, even though things were not very brilliant, because she believed madame had a great future before her. And she ended by giving her advice. When one was young, one did very foolish things. Now it was necessary to be very careful, for men only thought of amusing themselves. And there would be no end of them! If madame liked she would only have a word to say to quiet her creditors and procure the money she was in want of.
“All that does not give me three hundred francs,” Nana kept repeating, as she passed her fingers through her hair. “I want three hundred francs to-day, at once. How stupid it is not knowing someone who would give three hundred francs.”
And she tried to think of some means of obtaining the money. She was expecting Madame Lerat that very morning, and she would have liked so much to have sent her off at once to Rambouillet. Her inability to gratify her whim quite spoilt her triumph of the preceding night. To think that among all those men who had greeted her with such applause there was not one who would bring her fifteen louis!r Besides, she could not accept money in that way. Oh, how miserable she was! And then she thought of her baby: his blue eyes were like an angel’s; he could just lisp “Mamma” in such a funny tone of voice that it almost made her die with laughing!
Just then the electric bell of the outer door sounded, with its rapid and trembling vibration. After going to see who was there, Zoé returned, and whispered confidentially:
“It is a woman.”
She had already seen this woman at least twenty times, only she pretended never to recognise her, and to ignore the nature of her dealings with ladies down in their luck.
“She told me her name—Madame Tricon.”
“Old Tricon! exclaimed Nana. ”Why, I forgot all about her! I will see her.”
Zoé ushered in a tall old lady, wearing long curls, and looking like a countess frequently visiting her solicitor. Then she retired, disappeared without noise, with the snake-like movement with which she left a room when a gentleman called. She might just as well, however, have remained where she was. Old Madame Tricon did not even sit down. She only uttered a few short words.
“I have somebody for you to-day. Are you willing?”
“Yes. How much?”
“Twenty louis.”
“And at what time?”
“At three o’clock. Then, that’s settled?”
“Yes, that’s settled.”
Madame Tricon immediately began to talk of the weather; it was very dry, and good for walking. She had still