Madame Jupillon's face always wore a pleased expression when Germinie
appeared; when she kissed her she was very effusive, when she spoke to
her her voice was caressing, when she looked at her her glance was most
amiable. The huge creature's kind heart seemed, when with her, to
abandon itself to the emotion, the affection, the trustfulness of a sort
of maternal tenderness. She took Germinie into her confidence as to her
business, as to her woman's secrets, as to the most private affairs of
her life. She seemed to open her heart to her as to a person of her own
blood, whom she desired to make familiar with matters of interest to the
family. When she spoke of the future, she always referred to Germinie as
one from whom she was never to be separated, and who formed a part of
the household. Often she allowed certain discreet, mysterious smiles to
escape her, smiles which made it appear that she saw all that was going
on and was not angry. Sometimes, too, when her son was sitting by
Germinie's side, she would let her eyes, moist with a mother's tears,
rest upon them, and would embrace them with a glance that seemed to
unite her two children and call down a blessing on their heads.
Without speaking, without ever uttering a word that could be construed
as an engagement, without divulging her thoughts or binding herself in
any way, and all the time repeating that her son was still very young to
think of being married, she encouraged Germinie's hopes and illusions by
her whole bearing, her airs of secret indulgence and of complicity, so
far as her heart was concerned; by those meaning silences when she
seemed to open to her a mother-in-law's arms. And displaying all her
talents in the way of hypocrisy, drawing upon her hidden mines of
sentiment, her good-natured shrewdness, and the consummate, intricate
cunning that fat people possess, the corpulent matron succeeded in
vanquishing Germinie's last resistance by dint of this tacit assurance
and promise of marriage; and she finally allowed the young man's ardor
to extort from her what she believed that she was giving in advance to
the husband.