CHAPTER FOURTEEN

A Pair of English Scissors

Fouqué's offer had taken all Julien's pleasure away. He could not decide how to begin. He wrote a very detailed plan. First, he must give her a kiss.

He was foolish, though. Mr de Rênal almost caught him, and Mrs de Rênal was shocked. "This man is very smart, but he does not know anything about women," she thought, "Could it be that he has never made love?"

After lunch Mrs de Rênal had a visit from Mr de Maugiron. She was working on her sewing when Julien touched her foot with his. She dropped her sewing and scissors to hide his action.

"You have to be careful," Mrs de Rênal said.

Julien felt foolish, so he decided to go to Verrières to visit the priest. Father Chélan had been dismissed from his office and a priest named Maslon had replaced him. Julien helped the old priest move. Later he wrote a letter to Fouqué saying that this injustice showed him that the church might not be a good place. This would give him a way out of his plans if he decided on the easy life.

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