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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from At the Sign of the Cat & Racket by Honore de Balzac: a threatening look that the officer deserved perhaps for the
admiration he showed in gazing at the modest flower, which contrasted
so well with the haughty Duchess. The young fop bowed in silence,
turned on the heels of his boots, and gracefully quitted the boudoir.
At this instant, Augustine, watching her rival, whose eyes seemed to
follow the brilliant officer, detected in that glance a sentiment of
which the transient expression is known to every woman. She perceived
with the deepest anguish that her visit would be useless; this lady,
full of artifice, was too greedy of homage not to have a ruthless
heart.
"Madame," said Augustine in a broken voice, "the step I am about to
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