Abbe Pisoni, whom you know, was very badly inspired when he helped on that marriage; and though I certainly don't want to soil the memory of my good mistress, Countess Ernesta, who was a real saint, it's none the less true that she wrecked her daughter's life when she gave her to Count Prada." The housekeeper paused.

Then, impelled by an instinctive sense of justice, she resumed.

"It's only natural that Count Prada should be annoyed, for he's really being made a fool of.

And, for my part, as there is no end to all the fuss, and this divorce is so hard to obtain, I really don't see why the Contessina shouldn't live with her Dario without troubling any further.

Haven't they loved one another ever since they were children?
Aren't they both young and handsome, and wouldn't they be happy together, whatever the world might say?
Happiness, _mon Dieu_! one finds it so seldom that one can't afford to let it pass." Then, seeing how greatly surprised Pierre was at hearing such language, she began to laugh with the quiet composure of one belonging to the humble classes of France, whose only desire is a quiet and happy life, irrespective of matrimonial ties.