‘Who could doubt it, Madame? A reprehensible action in itself is often meritorious by virtue of the idea which inspires it.’

And so they went on, interpreting the will of God, predicting his decisions and making him allegedly interested in things that were hardly any of his concern. All this was couched in allusive, veiled and discreet language. Yet every word emanating from under the holy wimple took its toll on the indignant resistance of the prostitute. Then the conversation took a different turn as our lady of the rosary talked about the different houses of her order, about her Mother Superior, about herself and her sweet companion, dear Sister Nicéphore. They were being sent to Le Havre to nurse the hundreds of soldiers there suffering from smallpox. She described these poor wretches and their disease in detail. To think that while they were being held up on the whim of this Prussian, so many French lives which could otherwise be saved were going to be lost! Military nursing was her field; she had been out in the Crimea, in Italy and in Austria, and as she recounted all the campaigns she had experienced, she was revealed as a real banner-carrying Sister Hannah bearing the wounded off the field and quelling with a single glance the toughest of undisciplined other ranks. She was a seasoned old warhorse whose ravaged, pockmarked face symbolized perfectly the devastation of war.

After her excellent contribution, there was no need for anyone to add a single word. As soon as the meal was over, everyone went straight up to their rooms and did not appear till late the following morning. There followed a quiet lunch during which the seed planted the previous day was given time to germinate and bear fruit.

In the afternoon, the Comtesse suggested a walk. As planned, the Comte offered his arm to Boule de Suif and lingered with her a little way behind the others. He spoke to her in the familiar, paternal, slightly patronizing way certain mature men of the world use with women of her sort, calling her ‘my child’ and talking down to her from the heights of his well-established respectability and infinitely superior social rank.

‘So … you would prefer to make us languish here, exposed like yourself to all the outrages which would ensue if the Prussians were to suffer a reversal, rather than perform another one of the many services necessary to your way of life?’