In his joy at getting possession of the celebrated villa Mignon, the latter forgot to demand the cancelling of the lease.

Dumay, anxious not to hinder the sale, would have signed anything Vilquin required, but the sale once made, he held to his lease like a vengeance.

And there he remained, in Vilquin's pocket as it were; at the heart of Vilquin's family life, observing Vilquin, irritating Vilquin,--in short, the gadfly of all the Vilquins.
Every morning, when he looked out of his window, Vilquin felt a violent shock of annoyance as his eye lighted on the little gem of a building, the Chalet, which had cost sixty thousand francs and sparkled like a ruby in the sun.

That comparison is very nearly exact.

The architect has constructed the cottage of brilliant red brick pointed with white.
The window-frames are painted of a lively green, the woodwork is brown verging on yellow.