She turned towards him with a sob.

"Oh, you are good!" she said.

"No, I love you, that is all! You do not doubt that! Tell me--one

word--only one word!"

And Rodolphe imperceptibly glided from the footstool to the ground; but

a sound of wooden shoes was heard in the kitchen, and he noticed the

door of the room was not closed.

"How kind it would be of you," he went on, rising, "if you would humour

a whim of mine." It was to go over her house; he wanted to know it; and

Madame Bovary seeing no objection to this, they both rose, when Charles

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came in.

"Good morning, doctor," Rodolphe said to him.

The doctor, flattered at this unexpected title, launched out into

obsequious phrases. Of this the other took advantage to pull himself

together a little.

"Madame was speaking to me," he then said, "about her health."

Charles interrupted him; he had indeed a thousand anxieties; his wife's

palpitations of the heart were beginning again. Then Rodolphe asked if

riding would not be good.

"Certainly! excellent! just the thing! There's an idea! You ought to

follow it up."

And as she objected that she had no horse, Monsieur Rodolphe offered

one. She refused his offer; he did not insist. Then to explain his visit

he said that his ploughman, the man of the blood-letting, still suffered

from giddiness.

"I'll call around," said Bovary.

"No, no! I'll send him to you; we'll come; that will be more convenient

for you."

"Ah! very good! I thank you."

And as soon as they were alone, "Why don't you accept Monsieur

Boulanger's kind offer?"

She assumed a sulky air, invented a thousand excuses, and finally

declared that perhaps it would look odd.

"Well, what the deuce do I care for that?" said Charles, making a

pirouette. "Health before everything! You are wrong."

"And how do you think I can ride when I haven't got a habit?"

"You must order one," he answered.

The riding-habit decided her.

When the habit was ready, Charles wrote to Monsieur Boulanger that his

wife was at his command, and that they counted on his good-nature.

The next day at noon Rodolphe appeared at Charles's door with two

saddle-horses. One had pink rosettes at his ears and a deerskin

side-saddle.

Rodolphe had put on high soft boots, saying to himself that no doubt she

had never seen anything like them. In fact, Emma was charmed with his

appearance as he stood on the landing in his great velvet coat and white

corduroy breeches. She was ready; she was waiting for him.




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