"What were you thinking about darling?"
"A trooper in the Garde Republicaine"
"You see?" G.C. said. "I always said he had a delicate side. It comes out completely unexpectedly. It's his Proustian side. Tell me, was he very attractive? I try to be broad-minded."
"Papa and Proust used to live in the same hotel," Mary said. "But Papa always claimed it was at different times."
...
"What was the trooper's name," G.C. asked. "Albertine?"
"No. Monsieur."
"He's baffling us, Miss Mary," G.C. said.
"A trooper in the Garde Republicaine"
"You see?" G.C. said. "I always said he had a delicate side. It comes out completely unexpectedly. It's his Proustian side. Tell me, was he very attractive? I try to be broad-minded."
"Papa and Proust used to live in the same hotel," Mary said. "But Papa always claimed it was at different times."
...
"What was the trooper's name," G.C. asked. "Albertine?"
"No. Monsieur."
"He's baffling us, Miss Mary," G.C. said.
