Take me. I have an income, and
choose to spend it in gambling. I might prefer to have a big house, or
perhaps I should say a small house, for I am not a very rich woman. But
no, I like play, and I am free to spend my money as I like. The Comte de
Virieu is very differently situated! He is, so I've been told, a clever,
cultivated man. He ought to be working--doing something for his country's
good. And then he is so disagreeable! He makes no friends, no
acquaintances. He always looks as if he was doing something of which
he was ashamed. He never appears gay or satisfied, not even when he
is winning--"
"He does not look as cross as Monsieur Wachner," said Sylvia, smiling.
"Monsieur Wachner is like me," said Anna calmly. "He probably made a
fortune in business, and now he and his wife enjoy risking a little money
at play. Why should they not?"
"Madame Wachner told me to-day all about their poor friend who was
drowned," said Sylvia irrelevantly.
"Ah, yes, that was a sad affair! They were very foolish to become so
intimate with him. Why, they actually had him staying with them at the
time! You see, they had a villa close to the lake-side.
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