Page 342 - swanns-way

said to Swann, pointing to an orchid, with a shade of respect
in her voice for so ‘smart’ a flower, for this distinguished,
unexpected sister whom nature had suddenly bestowed
upon her, so far removed from her in the scale of existence,
and yet so delicate, so refined, so much more worthy than
many real women of admission to her drawing-room. As
she drew his attention, now to the fiery-tongued dragons
painted upon a bowl or stitched upon a fire-screen, now
to a fleshy cluster of orchids, now to a dromedary of inlaid
silver-work with ruby eyes, which kept company, upon her
mantelpiece, with a toad carved in jade, she would pretend
now to be shrinking from the ferocity of the monsters or
laughing at their absurdity, now blushing at the indecency
of the flowers, now carried away by an irresistible desire to
run across and kiss the toad and dromedary, calling them
‘darlings.’ And these affectations were in sharp contrast to
the sincerity of some of her attitudes, notably her devotion
to Our Lady of the Laghetto who had once, when Odette
was living at Nice, cured her of a mortal illness, and whose
medal, in gold, she always carried on her person, attrib-
uting to it unlimited powers. She poured out Swann’s tea,
inquired ‘Lemon or cream?’ and, on his answering ‘Cream,
please,’ went on, smiling, ‘A cloud!’ And as he pronounced it
excellent, ‘You see, I know just how you like it.’ This tea had
indeed seemed to Swann, just as it seemed to her, something
precious, and love is so far obliged to find some justifica-
tion for itself, some guarantee of its duration in pleasures
which, on the contrary, would have no existence apart from
love and must cease with its passing, that when he left her,

342 Swann’s Way