I could not do it." Her face paled, grew more luminous.
He listened to her.

A smile of patience and resignation, which soon was like a pained expression of weariness, crept across his handsome face.

Yes, he was really handsome, though a little disconcerting, with his large eyes, which women must have adored, his drooping moustache, his tender, distant air.

He seemed to be one of those gentle people who think too much and do evil.

You would have said that he was above everything and capable of everything.