Read "The Conquest of Plassans" by Émile Zola online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
At the return of summer Abbé Faujas and his mother again came downstairs to enjoy the fresh air on the terrace. Mouret had become very cross-grained. He declined the old lady's invitations to play piquet and sat swaying himself about on a chair. Seeing him yawn, without making any attempt to conceal how bored he was feeling, Marthe said to him:
'Why don't you go to your club, my dear?'