page23 (1/2)

Strangely enough, these thoughts did not look toward the future He did not think of the scent that he would glean in a few hours, nor of the perfume made of the auras of twenty-five maidens, nor of future plans, happiness, and success No, he thought of his past He remembered the stations of his life, from Madame Gaillard’s house and the moist, oodpile in front of it to his journey today to the little village of La Napoule, which sht of Grimal the tanner, of Giuseppe Baldini, of the ht of the city of Paris, of its great effluviuht of the redheaded girl in the rue des Marais, of open country, of the spare wind, of forests He thought, too, of the ne—he did not avoid such memories in the least—of his cave, of the air void of huht of all these things with great satisfaction Yes, it seemed to him as he looked back over it that he was a man to whom fortune had been especially kind, and that fate had led him down some tortuous paths, but that ultiht ones—how else would it have been possible for hioal of his desires? He was, now that he really considered it, a truly blessed individual!

Feelings of huratitude welled up within him “I thank you,” he said softly, “I thank you, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, for being what you are!” So touched was he by himself

Then his eyelids closed—not for sleep, but so that he could surrender hiht The peace filled his heart But it seened all about hi room, the deep contentment of Antoine Richis’s sleep on the other side of the corridor; he smelled the peaceful slus, of the anie, and of the sea The wind had died away Everything was still Nothing disturbed the peace

Once he turned his foot to one side and ever so softly touched Laure’s foot Not actually her foot, but simply the cloth that enveloped it and beneath that the thin layer of oil drinking up her scent, her glorious scent, his scent

46

As the birds began to squawk—that is, a good while before the break of dawn—he got up and finished his task He threw open the cloth and pulled it froe The fat peeled off nicely fro only in the smallest crannies, and these he had to scrape off with his spatula The re streaks of po it to rub down her body frohly that even the oil in her own pores pearled from her skin, and with it the last flake and filament of her scent Only noas she really dead for him, withered away, pale and limp as a fallen petal

He tossed the undershirt into the large scent-inated cloth—the only place where she had life how—placed her nightgown and her hair in it as well, and rolled it all up into a se that he clamped under his arm He did not even take the trouble to cover the body on the bed And although the black of night had already becoun to regain their contours, he did not cast a single glance at the bed to rest his eyes on her at least once in his life Her forer existed for him as a body, but only as a dise it with him

Softly he swung out over the sill and cliain outside, and the sky was clearing, pouring a cold, dark blue light over the land

A half hour later, the scullery maid started the fire in the kitchen As she ca there, but was still too sleepy to make any rhyantic and golden red, it lifted up out of the sea between the Iles de Lérins Not a cloud was in the sky A radiant spring day had begun

With his roo west, Richis did not awaken until seven He had slept truly splendidly for the first time in months, and contrary to his custohing with enjoy up froet up and open the ide, taking in the beautiful weather outside and breathing in the fresh ood mood knew no bounds, and he puckered his lips and whistled a bright melody

While he dressed, he went on whistling, and histling still as he left his roohter’s rooain, very softly, so as not to frighten her There was no answer He s

Carefully he inserted the key in the lock and turned the bolt, softly, very softly, considerately, not wanting to wake her, eager al to kiss her awake once again—one last tiive her to another man

The door sprang open, he entered, and the sunlight fell full into his eyes Everything in the roo silver, and for a ainst the pain of it

When he opened the on her bed, naked and dead and shorn clean and sparkling white It was like his nightht before last and had forgotten again Every detail ca flash In that instant everything was exactly as it had been in the dreahter

47

The news of Laure Richis’s ion of Grasse as fast as if theis dead!” or “War’s been declared!” or “Pirates have landed on the coast!”—and the awful sense of terror it triggered was similar as well All at once the fear that they had so carefully forgotten was back again, as virulent as it had been last autue, anger, hysterical suspicions, desperation People stayed in their houses at night, locked up their daughters, barricaded themselves in, mistrusted one another, and slept no more Everyone assumed it would continue this time as it had before, a murder a week The calendar seemed to have been set back six months

The dread was , however, than six months earlier, for people felt helpless at the sudden return of a danger that they had thought well behind them If even the bishop’s anathereat Richis, the richest man in town, the second consul, a powerful, prudent man who had every kind of assistance available, if even he could not protect his child! If the murderer’s hand was not be deterred even by the hallowed beauty of Laure—for indeed she seemed a saint to everyone who had known her, especially now, afterwards, now that she was dead—what hope was there of escaping this ue, for you could flee before the plague, but not before this murderer, as the case of Richis had proved Apparently he possessed supernatural powers He was ue with the devil, if he was not the devil himself And so many people, especially the sio to church and pray, every tradesman to his patron: the locksardeners to St Anthony, the perfuhters with the in the church; they did not leave during the day thee froe was to be had—was under the protection of the despairing parish and the gaze of the Madonna

Seeing that the church had failed once already, other, quicker wits banded together in occult groups Hiring at great expense a certified witch frorottoes of subterranean Grasse and celebrated black masses to curry the Old Gentleman’s favor Still others, in particular members of