Nana (Barnes & Noble Classics) - Emile Zola [92]
“Is this the place?”
For all answer the coachman whipped up his horse, which painfully commenced ascending a hill. Nana was enchanted with the large expanse of country beneath the grey overcast sky.
“Oh! Look, Zoé, what a lot of grass! Is that corn, do you think? Heavens! how lovely!”
“It is very plain that madame has never been in the country,” the maid ended by saying in a surly tone of voice. “I had only too much of the country when I was at the dentist’s, who had a house at Bougival. It’s very chilly, too, this evening. Besides, the air is damp about here.”
They were passing beneath some trees. Nana sniffed at the scent of the leaves like a young dog. Suddenly, on the road taking a turn, she caught sight of the corner of a house amidst the trees. Perhaps that was it; so she recommenced questioning the driver, who again said “No” with a shake of the head. Then, as they descended the hill on the other side, he contented himself with pointing his whip, murmuring:
“There it is over there.”
She jumped up and looked ahead. “Where? where?” cried she, very pale and not distinguishing anything. At length she noticed a bit of a wall. Then she sang and jumped for joy, like a woman quite overcome by a powerful emotion.
“Zoé, I see it, I see it! Look, on the other side. Oh! on the roof there’s a sort of little terrace with some bricks. Over there there’s a conservatory! Oh! but it’s an enormous place. Oh! I am so pleased! Look, Zoé, look!”
The carriage had stopped in front of the iron gates. A little side door was opened, and the gardener, a tall thin fellow, appeared holding his cap in his hand. Nana tried to look dignified, for the driver already seemed to be laughing inwardly, though his lips were tightly compressed together. She restrained herself from running, and listened to the gardener, a very talkative one by the way, who begged madame to excuse the place being a little untidy, as he had only received her letter that very morning; but, in spite of her efforts, she seemed to be lifted from the earth, and walked so fast that Zoé could not keep up with her. At the end of the path she stopped for an instant to take a look at the house. It was a large building in the Italian style, flanked by a smaller structure, and had been erected by a rich Englishman who had resided for two years at Naples; he had, however, soon taken a dislike to it.
“I will show madame over the premises,” said the gardener.
But Nana, who was some distance ahead, called to him not to trouble himself, she would look at everything by herself, she preferred that; and, without taking off her bonnet, she ran about the rooms, calling to Zoé, giving her opinion about everything, and filling with her shouts and her laughter the vacuum of that house which had remained uninhabited for so many long months. First, there was the hall; it was rather damp, but that did not matter, no one would have to sleep there. Then the drawing-room, which was splendid with its large windows opening on to the lawn; only, the red-covered furniture was frightful, she would have it altered. As for the dining-room, it was simply magnificent. And what parties one could give at Paris if one only had a dining-room of that size! As she was going up to the first floor she recollected that she had not seen the kitchen; she went down again, uttering all kinds of exclamations, and Zoé had to admire