But I cast a glance first at him, then at her.

'Don't flatter yourself that I can be jealous of you,' I thought, addressing myself to her mentally, and I invited the other to bring his violin that very evening, and to play with my wife.

She raised her eyes toward me with astonishment, and her face turned purple, as if she were seized with a sudden fear.

She began to excuse herself, saying that she did not play well enough.

This refusal only excited me the more.