— 32 —
As I came to myself, I coolly thought out a plan for taking the Countess unawares: I felt I must do that at all costs.
I made up my mind to watch her that night, to conceal myself somewhere in her bedroom. The glass door of her dressing room faced the bed. I knew that. I realised at once the advantage of that spot; and hiding between dresses hung up, so that I could see unseen, I resolved to patiently await the orgy.
I was scarcely safely hidden there, when I saw the Countess enter her bedroom.
She called her maid, a dark-complexioned young girl with a striking figure, and said: "Julia, I shan't want you this evening, go to bed… Ah, if you hear any noise in my room, don't take any notice, I want to be alone."
These words seemed to promise me something dramatic. I congratulated myself on my boldness in hiding there.
Gradually the guests' voices from the drawing room faded away: the Countess was alone with one of her friends, Mademoiselle Fanny B… They were soon both together in the bedroom before my eyes.
