The Diamond Necklace Part Two

He stopped, stunned, distressed to see his wife crying. Two large tears ran slowly from the corners of her eyes towards the corners of her mouth. He stuttered:

What's the matter? What's the matter?"

     With great effort she overcame her grief and replied in a calm voice, as she wiped her wet cheeks:

     "Nothing. Only I have no dress and so I can't go to this party. Give your invitation to a friend whose wife has better clothes than I do."

     He was distraught, but tried again:

     "Let's see, Mathilde. How much would a suitable dress cost, one which you could use again on other occasions, something very simple?"

     She thought for a moment, computing the cost, and also wondering what amount she could ask for without an immediate refusal and an alarmed exclamation from the thrifty clerk.

     At last she answered hesitantly:

     "I don't know exactly, but I think I could do it with four hundred francs."

     He turned a little pale, because he had been saving that exact amount to buy a gun and treat himself to a hunting trip the following summer, in the country near Nanterre, with a few friends who went lark-shooting there on Sundays.

However, he said:

     "Very well, I can give you four hundred francs. But try and get a really beautiful dress."

The day of the party drew near, and Madame Loisel seemed sad, restless, anxious. Her dress was ready, however. One evening her husband said to her:

     "What's the matter? You've been acting strange these last three days."

     She replied: "I'm upset that I have no jewels, not a single stone to wear. I will look cheap. I would almost rather not go to the party."

     "You could wear flowers, " he said, "They are very fashionable at this time of year. For ten francs you could get two or three magnificent roses."

     She was not convinced.

    "No; there is nothing more humiliating than looking poor in the middle of a lot of rich women."

     "How stupid you are!" her husband cried. "Go and see your friend Madame Forestier and ask her to lend you some jewels. You know her well enough for that."

     She uttered a cry of joy.

     "Of course. I had not thought of that."

     The next day she went to her friend's house and told her of her distress.

     Madame Forestier went to her mirrored wardrobe, took out a large box, brought it back, opened it, and said to Madame Loisel:

     "Choose, my dear."

     First she saw some bracelets, then a pearl necklace, then a gold Venetian cross set with precious stones, of exquisite craftsmanship. She tried on the jewelry in the mirror, hesitated, could not bear to part with them, to give them back. She kept asking:

     "You have nothing else?"

     "Why, yes. But I don't know what you like."

     Suddenly she discovered, in a black satin box, a superb diamond necklace, and her heart began to beat with uncontrolled desire. Her hands trembled as she took it. She fastened it around her neck, over her high-necked dress, and stood lost in ecstasy as she looked at herself.

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