The Belly of Paris - Emile Zola [125]
Finally Abbé Roustan emerged from the confessional. He was a handsome, fortyish man with a smiling demeanor. When he saw Madame Quenu he took her hand, calling her “dear lady,” and led her to the sacristy, where he took off his surplice and told her that he was at her disposal. They went back into the church, the abbé bareheaded in his cassock. Lisa was stiffly wrapped in her shawl. Walking by the chapels along the rue du Jour side, they spoke in low voices. Through the windows the sun was dying, the church growing darker, the footsteps of the last worshippers barely making a noise on the stones as they left.
Lisa explained her problem to him. They never discussed religion with each other. She didn't say confession but simply asked his advice when she was troubled, turning to him as a man of wisdom and discretion whom she much preferred, she liked to say, to shady businessmen who have the scent of prison about them. He had shown an inexhaustible patience. He would check regulations for her, suggest good investments, tactfully address moral issues, recommend tradesmen, always ready with a solution no matter how diverse and complicated the proposition—and, of course, without letting God enter into it or trying to gain anything for himself or the church. All he asked for was a smile and a thank-you. He seemed pleased to help this lovely Madame Quenu, about whom his maid often spoke with great respect, saying she was much admired in the neighborhood.
This time the topic was particularly sensitive. It was a question of what would be the decent way to deal with her brother-in-law and whether she had the right to spy on him to protect her husband, her daughter, and herself, and also how far she should go in case of imminent danger. She did not state this directly, but posed the questions artfully so that the abbé could respond without speaking of specific people. And sure enough, it was his conclusion that a person had the right, even the obligation, to prevent wrongdoing by whatever means necessary and to make sure that goodness triumphed.
“That's my opinion, dear lady,” he said in conclusion. “The discussion of methods is serious. The method is the great trap that ensnares common virtue. But I know what sound moral judgment you have. Weigh carefully your every act, and if there is no protest from within you, go forth boldly. Good souls have that wonderful gift of marking everything they touch with their virtue.”
He continued with a change of tone, “Please send Monsieur Quenu my best regards. Next time I pass by I will drop in to give my sweet little Pauline a kiss. Good-bye, dear lady, I am here whenever you need me.”
He returned to the sacristy. Lisa was curious to see on her way out if Claire was still praying. But Claire had returned to her carp and eels, and only the litter of overturned chairs left by kneeling women in their holy zeal remained in the Chapel of the Virgin, where night was now falling. When Beautiful Lisa crossed the square again, the Norman, who had been waiting for her, spotted her by the curve of her skirts.
“Oh, my God!” she exclaimed. “She was there more than an hour! When the priests clear out all of her sins, the choirboys have to form lines to toss it all out in buckets.”
The next morning Lisa went straight to Florent's room. She settled in with complete peace of mind, certain that she would not be disturbed, and besides, if Florent were to return, she could lie and say that she was checking on the linen. She had seen him down at the fish market, and he was very busy. Sitting at the small table, she pulled out the drawer, placed it on her lap, and started emptying it very carefully so that she could put all the bundles of papers back exactly the same way she had found them. First of all she found the opening chapters of a book on Cayenne, then plans for all kinds of projects—his idea for the conversion of municipal taxes into a tax on business transactions and his reform of the Les Halles administration, among other ideas.
These pages of writing in tiny letters, which she carefully