Thérèse did not reply. She had abandoned her attitude of protest. Hortense, who was watching her with anguish, thought that she could perceive in her the despondency of those who know themselves to be lost. Her cheeks had fallen in and she wore such an expression of despair that Hortense, moved to compassion, implored her to defend herself:
"Please, please, explain things. When the murder was committed, you were here, on the balcony…. But then the dagger … how did you come to have it … ? How do you explain it?…"
"Explanations!" sneered Germaine Astaing. "How could she possibly explain? What do outward appearances matter? What does it matter what any one saw or did not see? The proof is the thing that tells…. The dagger is there, in your bag, Thérèse: that's a fact…. Yes, yes, it was you
