Out of the Past — page 73: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

70 Out of the Past. so-called good people must be deadly tiresome. possess his loyalty seemed a happiness beyond all others to the woman who had never been loyal, never having been loyally treated. The mode of Saline’s life was not likely to bring her in Robert’s vicinity. But there must be ways, and Saline set herself to find them. The only one she could discover was through M. Vignaud, who knew Jean d’Escarte, Rob- ert’s former companion when they had rented rooms to- gether early in the winter. She learned that his friend was to give a féte at his mother’s house on the 14th of July. Robert would undoubtedly be there. M. Vignaud would be invited and must take her. M. Vignaud refused flatly. But he was so mercilessly treated that he yielded. On the night of the 14th M. Vignaud escorted Saline to the féte in an unenviable state of mind. He was com- mitting an unpardonable breach of etiquette and, even worse than that, he found Saline changed to so irreproach- able a being on the surface that he knew there was deviltry within. She could be amazingly beautiful, and to-night she looked a veritable grande dame. It relieved his anxiety somewhat, though he was not sure that she was not meditating a coup de foudre. M. and Mme. Vignaud were announced. None of the ladies had ever seen her and received her with a flutter of But to (C(O) mm 100) (@ <SriG