She had a pride, to maintain which--and a poverty, to conceal which--she felt to be necessary to her self-respect; and this made her of necessity a trifle unsocial in her own castle.

Do you suppose she was going to put on the face of having been born or married to this degraded condition of things?
Who knows ?--the knock might have been from 'Sieur Frowenfel'-- ha, ha! He might be just silly enough to call so early; or it might have been from that _polisson_ of a Grandissime,--which one didn't matter, they were all detestable,--coming to collect the rent.

That was her original fear; or, worse still, it might have been, had it been softer, the knock of some possible lady visitor.

She had no intention of admitting any feminine eyes to detect this carefully covered up indigence.

Besides, it was Monday.