Produced by Tiffany Vergon, Sandra Brown and Distributed Proofreaders A COMEDY OF MARRIAGE MUSOTTE THE LANCER'S WIFE AND OTHER TALES By Guy De Maupassant TABLE OF CONTENTS LA PAIX DU MÉNAGE MUSOTTE ADDENDA THE LANCER'S WIFE HAUTOT SENIOR AND HAUTOT JUNIOR NO QUARTER THE ORPHAN A LIVELY FRIEND THE BLIND MAN THE IMPOLITE SEX THE CAKE CORSICAN BANDIT THE DUEL LA PAIX DU MÉNAGE DRAMATIS PERSONAE MONSIEUR DE SALLUS JACQUES DE RANDOL MADAME DE SALLUS Time: Paris, 1890 ACT I. SCENE I. Mme. de Sallus _in her drawing-room, seated in a corner by the fireplace. Enter_ Jacques de RANDOL _noiselessly; glances to see that no one is looking, and kisses_ Mme. de Sallus _quickly upon her hair. She starts; utters a faint cry, and turns upon him._ MME. DE SALLUS Oh! How imprudent you are! JACQUES DE RANDOL Don't be afraid; no one saw me. MME. DE SALLUS But the servants! JACQUES DE RANDOL Oh, they are in the outer hall. MME. DE SALLUS How is that? No one announced you JACQUES DE RANDOL No, they simply opened the door for me. MME. DE SALLUS But what will _they_ think? JACQUES DE RANDOL Well, they will doubtless think that _I_ don't count. MME. DE SALLUS But I will not permit it. I must have you announced in future. It does not look well. JACQUES DE RANDOL [_laughs_] Perhaps they will even go so far as to announce your husband-- MME. DE SALLUS Jacques, this jesting is out of place. JACQUES DE RANDOL Forgive me. [_Sits_.] Are you waiting for anybody? MME. DE SALLUS Yes--probably. You know that I always receive when I am at home. JACQUES DE RANDOL I know that I always have the pleasure of seeing you for about five minutes--just enough time to ask you how you feel, and then some one else comes in--some one in love with you, of course,--who impatiently awaits my departure. MME. DE SALLUS [_smiles_] Well, what can I do? I am not your wife, so how can it be otherwise? JACQUES DE RANDOL Ah! If you only were my wife! MME. DE SALLUS If I were your wife? JACQUES DE RANDOL I would snatch you away for five or six months, far from this horrible town, and keep you all to myself. MME. DE SALLUS You would soon have enough of me. JACQUES DE RANDOL No, no! MME. DE SALLUS Yes, yes! JACQUES DE RANDOL Do you know that it is absolute torture to love a woman like you? MME. DE SALLUS [_bridles_] And why? JACQUES DE RANDOL Because I covet you as the starving covet the food they see behind the glassy barriers of a restaurant. MME. DE SALLUS Oh, Jacques! JACQUES DE RANDOL