
A golden sunset drapes the lake’s edge in a pale, rose‑tinged glow as a long line of carriages grinds to a halt. The air hums with the restless snorts of a brown‑haired horse team, while the polished brass of lanterns catches the fading light. Inside the cramped coupés, passengers—fashioned in silk, velvet and the crisp uniforms of their servants—exchange glances and whispered comments, their faces a mix of curiosity and impatience.
Renée watches Laure d’Aurigny, noting the fresh hue of her hair and the subtle shift in her demeanor. Maxime jokes about a new lover’s aversion to red, hinting at hidden romances and shifting alliances among the glittering Parisian elite. The tableau of duchesses, baronesses, and foreign dignitaries creates a vivid tapestry of wealth, ambition, and the quiet undercurrents of rivalry that ripple beneath the formal politeness.
As the traffic slowly stirs, the carriage convoy becomes a moving stage where fortunes may be won or lost. Listeners are invited to follow the intertwined lives of these aristocrats, each driven by desire, secrecy, and the promise of a brighter, perhaps more perilous, future.
Language
nl
Duration
~11 hours (676K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ for Project Gutenberg.
Release date
2017-01-09
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1840–1902
Best known for his vivid, unsparing novels of French life, this major 19th-century writer helped shape literary naturalism. He is also remembered for his fearless public defense of justice during the Dreyfus affair.
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