four o’clock
The wife of Olivier , with her putty face and slow movements , now pleased Therese , who experienced strange relief in observing this poor , broken-up creature , and had made a friend of her . She loved to see her at her side , smiling with her faint smile , more dead than alive , and bringing into the shop the stuffy odour of the cemetery . When the blue eyes of Suzanne , transparent as glass , rested fixedly on those of Therese , the latter experienced a beneficent chill in the marrow of her bones . Therese remained thus until four o'clock , when she returned to the kitchen , and there again sought fatigue , preparing dinner for Laurent with febrile haste . But when her husband appeared on the threshold she felt a tightening in the throat , and all her being once more became a prey to anguish . Each day , the sensations of the couple were practically the same . During the daytime , when they were not face to face , they enjoyed delightful hours of repose ; at night , as soon as they came together , both experienced poignant discomfort .