Her eyelids, too, were reddening, and blotches were appearing on her skin.

She had begun to fade after giving birth to two daughters, one of whom was now nine and the other seven years of age.
Very proud and egotistical, she herself had begun to regret her marriage, for she had formerly considered herself a real beauty, worthy of the palaces and equipages of some Prince Charming.

And at this moment she was plunged in such despair, that her sister's sudden appearance on the scene did not even astonish her: "Ah! it's you," she gasped.

"Ah! if you only knew what a blow's fallen on me in the middle of all our worries!" Madame Theodore at once thought of the children, Lucienne and Marcelle.
"Are your daughters ill ?" she asked.
"No, no, our neighbour has taken them for a walk on the Boulevard.

But the fact is, my dear, I'm _enceinte_, and when I told Chretiennot of it after _dejeuner_, he flew into a most fearful passion, saying the most dreadful, the most cruel things!" Then she again sobbed.