At first, people had admired the intimacy between Sara and me but as it became slightly exaggerated, not to say suspicious, they soon criticised it. Assuredly they were a hundred miles from the truth.
Because of their ignorance, people made all kinds of comments. Finally some charitable gossips, of the kind to be found everywhere, thought they had to warn Madame P… in the name of a common decency which we’d ignored with our daily behaviour in front of our pupils.
Above all I came fire. My crime was kissing mademoiselle Sara too often.
We remarked that we were the object of serious scrutiny by the children, some of whom were quite old. Seeing me lean over my friend and take her in my arms, they turned away with embarrassment, as if they feared seeing us blush. The boarders, above all, who were present when we woke and went to bed, showed more than once their surprise at certain small details by which they’d been struck. They obviously spoke about it amongst themselves. Things were being said in public and Madame P…, who feared for her house above everything else, was seriously affected.
Not daring to speak to me, she called her daughter. Sara, she said to her, I must beg you to be more reserved in your relations with mademoiselle Camille. You love each other too much, it makes me happy; but even young girls must be careful for the sake of propriety. This commencement of hostilities made us tremble for the future. What would it be like when the truth came out!!!
We continued to share the same bed!!! This had not come into the recommendations of Madame P… who didn’t know about it. She wasn’t about to suspect us either. The excellent woman was too sincerely virtuous and her confidence in us was too blind for her thoughts to rest on such an idea. Her two eldest daughters, more perceptive than she was, and both married, were not so indulgent towards us. However, neither ever directed an accusative word towards me; their relations with me were always of an affectionate politeness. Nonetheless, I thought I saw that their curiosity was roused.
From time to time family reunions were held at Madame P…’s and I was invariably . Madame P… said to us: My children, the boarders will dine a bit earlier tonight, as for you, you’ll eat upstairs.
If I’d refused, Sara would’ve refused too: that was well known. These meetings were exclusively composed of my friend’s sisters and their husbands. They loved Sara but, in contrast, they seemed uneasy around me. How to explain that?… This unease was hardly perceptible; you had to be me to notice it! For their part it was nothing but endless courtesy and perpetual allusions to their young sister-in-law’s marriage. She accepted this with apparent cheerfulness of which I had the secret!…