He was livid; his eyes were red and his whole man still shaken by a great internal struggle.

But Zoe, being scared herself, did not notice his troubled state.

She had run to meet him and now began crying: "Oh, monsieur, do come in! Madame nearly died yesterday evening!" And when he asked for particulars: "Something it's impossible to believe has happened--a miscarriage, monsieur." Nana had been in the family way for the past three months.

For long she had simply thought herself out of sorts, and Dr Boutarel had himself been in doubt.

But when afterward he made her a decisive announcement, she felt so bored thereby that she did all she possibly could to disguise her condition.