"What are you doing here?" She did not answer.
The commissary went on: "What are you doing here? I find you away from
home, almost undressed, in furnished apartments. What did you come here
for?" He waited for a few moments. Then, as she still remained silent,
he continued: "Since you will not confess, madame, I shall be obliged to
verify the state of things."
In the bed could be seen the outline of a form hidden beneath the
clothes. The commissary approached and said: "Sir."
The man in bed did not stir. He seemed to have his back turned, and his
head buried under a pillow. The commissary touched what seemed to be his
shoulder, and said: "Sir, do not, I beg of you, force me to take
action."
But the form still remained as motionless as a corpse. Du Roy, who had
advanced quickly, seized the bed-clothes, pulled them down, and tearing
away the pillow, revealed the pale face of Monsieur Laroche-Mathieu. He
bent over him, and, quivering with the desire to seize him by the throat
and strangle him, said, between his clenched teeth: "Have at least the
courage of your infamy."