He repeated: “Be quiet—have a care—be quiet,” and shook her as we shake a branch to make the fruit fall.
She yelled, with her hair coming down, her mouth wide open, her eyes aglow: “You slept with her!”
He let her go, and gave her such a smack on the face that she fell down beside the wall. But she turned towards him, and raising herself on her hands, once more shouted: “You slept with her!”
He rushed at her, and, holding her down, struck her as though striking a man. She left off shouting, and began to moan beneath his blows. She no longer stirred, but hid her face against the bottom of the wall and uttered plaintive cries. He left off beating her and rose up. Then he walked about the room a little to recover his coolness, and, an idea occurring to him, went into the bedroom, filled the basin with cold water, and dipped his head into it. Then he washed his hands and came back to see what she was doing, carefully wiping his fingers. She had not budged. She was still lying on the ground quietly weeping.
“Shall you have done grizzling soon?”
She did not answer. He stood in the middle of the room, feeling somewhat awkward and ashamed in the presence of the form stretched out before him. All at once he formed a resolution, and took his hat from the mantelshelf, saying: “Good night. Give the key to the doorkeeper when you leave. I shan’t wait for your convenience.”
He went out, closed the door, went to the doorkeeper’s, and said: “Madame is still there. She will be leaving in a few minutes. Tell the landlord that I give notice to leave at the end of September. It is the 15th of August, so I am within the limits.”
And he walked hastily away, for he had some pressing calls to make touching the purchase of the last wedding gifts.