CHAPTER xxxv

TT was not many months before Eusebe obtained his
J[desire in regard to £liana. One evening during
the following May she arrived, having left her
situation:
Tou will now have to keep me for awhile/ she
announced; 1 am going to look for work in Toulon, I
think I shall try to find work at some shop; I have had
quite enough of domestic service.5 And she plumped
her small valise down on a stool eAh, mais oui, I
have had quite enough/ she repeated.
Eusebe was certainly taken aback by this sudden
visit, and yet he was flattered: 'You can stay just as
long as you please/ he declared; €to-morrow I will see
about cleaning your bedroom — it is not very grand
but that you must forgive.3 And he peered rather
anxiously at the girl, subjugated by her unusual
beauty.
Tall and deep-bosomed she stood before him,
making the shop seem even more squalid, making her
own humble clothes look strange in conjunction with
so superb a body. The curves of her breasts were
generous and firm as though fashioned to soothe and
sustain creation, the long lines of her limbs were
supple yet strong, her head small and well poised, her
lips full and ardent, her dark eyes flecked with elusive
lights that at times made the eyes themselves appear
golden. For the rest her glossy black hair waved low
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