24/98 The men had been very careful, for propriety's sake, to use only suitable language, but Madame Lerat refused to follow their example. She flattered herself on her command of language, as she had often been complimented on the way she could say anything before children, without any offence to decency. "They're just like other women and they show good taste when they choose to commit a sin." "_Mon Dieu!_" interrupted Gervaise, "I've no dislike for artificial flower-making. Only it must please Nana, that's all I care about; one should never thwart children on the question of a vocation. Come Nana, don't be stupid; tell me now, would you like to make flowers ?" The child was leaning over her plate gathering up the cake crumbs with her wet finger, which she afterwards sucked. |