"Why don't you try your luck at the Chabanais or the Colbert?" "Both have made me serious offers." "They've changed hands since back then." "And didn't the General want to take over from the Baron?" "In accordance with his means, of course." "You discussed it with him." "As for Blondin, he can be very generous." "He likes his girls young, though." "Edgar brought a youngster here yesterday." "I get the feeling he's quite attached to her." "He mentioned her again earlier, believe it or not." "And I'm here." "You and I have a history together." "You're not afraid of difficult situations." "I'll need to discuss it with Marguerite." "But... if you work hard, we need only fine you... 30 francs for today's absence." "You can go now." "Oh, yes, I forgot." "I've promised your room to Valentine." "I'm sorry." "Come on." "We'll go round the back." " Angèle..." " It doesn't matter." " These things happen." " Please, Angèle." " Think about us." " All right, now." "Go on." "We'll be seeing each other soon." "Go on." "We can talk about it next time." "It doesn't matter." "Honestly, it doesn't matter." "These things happen." " Calm down." " Louise, Louise, Louise!" "Calm down!" " That's it, that's it." " Damn it!" "That's it, that's it." "Shh, my sweet." "It's over." "It's over." "There." "Half her face." "Her neck." "Her shoulder." "Part of her scalp." "And the hand she put up to protect herself." "Have the police found the sadist?" "Why aren't the coppers here?" "Aren't whores worth bothering about?" "We'll handle the police." "Don't worry, Bertha." "I remember his face and no one will open the door to him." " No one will open the door to him!" " An accomplice, then." "It's our competitors getting their revenge for us staying open during the siege." "And they won't stop at that." "That madman didn't have it in for the brothel or for any of you." "Just for Louise." " What do you know?" " What do I know?" "Before sprinkling her, he called out her name." "Well, until the police collar him, I'm sticking to regulars." "Yes." " Give me that." " Me, too." "They're panicking." "You need to calm them down." "Who let this man in?" "So you deal with it." "And don't mention Lupin." "Have you told the police about our virgin?" "They've got the address of the hotel her fiancé's staying at." "You might have told me she had a fiancé." "If Edgar's got anything to do with it, he'll be flogging her to the Chabanais." "Leave Lupin to me." "Unless you'd rather he came back here to burn us all?" "Blondin had it delivered." "2000 francs?" "What for?" "To deflower the girl." "I just wanted to talk to her, but they wanted to keep me there." " No one touched me, I promise." " Don't make promises." "But it's the truth." "I was scared you'd reject me if I told you." " You were scared of me?" " I've never told anyone." "If you'd told me, we'd never have come." "Never!" "But you only have one mother." "That's what you said." "So she's still your mother?" "Do you want to go back to her?" " Feel free." "Go on." " No." "I just want to be with you." "I want to go home." "Sir..." "We're going to have to take the girl." " Unless you want to settle her debt?" " What debt?" "Mademoiselle incurred a 124-franc debt at the Paradis where she worked." "She has absconded from her commitment to repay it." "You're going to have to come with us, mademoiselle." "And you wanted me to forget all about it." "You could have been dead by now." "Flung into a common grave along with 100 other corpses." "Do you hear me?" "Let me go!" "Let me go!" "Let me go!" "You might not understand now." "No woman dreams of entering this profession, but it is a real profession." "And it's possible to do well at it and retain your self-respect." "And if you have any trouble with clients or the other girls, you can always come and knock on my door." "Inspector Angélus." "These gentlemen will see you out." "That story about the coffee mill." "Did you really have the power to have my man shot?" " I must give you your things back, Véra." " Presents aren't for taking back." "Let's just say they're for lending, then." "Don't you want to know how Louise is?" "I bumped into Dr Perrier." "He gave me permission to see her." "He's put her on morphine." "Where's the boss?" "She's been shut in her cage since last night." "She should be there, too, to see for herself how she protects her girls." " Hello, Louise." " Véra." "Hi, girls." "It's good of you to come." " Can I kiss you, Louise?" " Of course." "Is it true, then?" "Were the doors locked last night?" "What on earth did the rich do with their spunk?" "Don't tell me they were forced to fuck their wives!" "I'd love to have seen the boss's face." "Oh, she's keeping her wits about her." "She's sold our entire stock of knickers so the men can console themselves of our absence." "Aristide!" "No one will believe it." "No one will dare question Louise's version of events." "Maybe." "So do you promise you'll go and see Louise?" "At any rate, as things stand..." " Will you go and see Louise?" " Leave me now, please." "Hortense!" "Forget Véra for two minutes and think about the shop!" " I can't pay Lupin." " I told you to call the coppers." "No." "It's too dangerous and too costly." "Brise-Caboche won't be enough to get rid of Lupin for us." "I'm listening..." "I've saved up quite a bit, you know." "What with that plus a small inheritance from my aunt." "I have enough to get rid of Lupin and to invest." "You want to invest in my brothel?" "In our brothel." "The girls play us off against one another and so do some of the clients." "Together, we can keep them in check." "So you want half?" "I've got the means." "Thank you, Marguerite." "Here's what we're going to do." "As a security measure, we'll monitor clients more closely and ban the girls from going out." "The girls will never agree to that." "That way, we can extend our opening hours and recuperate the money we need." "Meanwhile," "I promise to give some thought to your generous proposal." "Can I count on you to talk to the girls before this evening?" "Can I count on you to go and see Louise?" "Take her a Suze." "For Louise." "She'd like that." "Will the pain go away?" "I'm going leave you in peace to rest." "But first we need to talk." "That bastard." "Are you sure you've never seen him before?" "Shouldn't I be having this conversation with the police?" " Do you know who it was?" " Of course I don't." "What's all this talk about Lupin?" "You know the boss." "She drives a hard bargain." "Lupin thinks he's smart but she's got him eating out of her hand." "Tell me, how is it going with your man at the moment?" "It's hopeless." " You have told him, haven't you?" " Of course I have." "Perhaps what's happened to you suits him." "Aristide has never hit me, I swear." "Perhaps it was a friend of his, then, who wanted to help, seeing how unhappy he was about not having you to himself." "No." "Yes." "After what's happened, you can forget about your boyfriend." "It's over and you know it." "On the other hand, work and the girls, that's still possible." "You could stay on here as a maid." "You'd earn less money, but still, you wouldn't be alone." "If it was Aristide, that would make life simple." "There'd be nothing to be afraid of any more." "The girls would gradually get over it." "You'd even get a bonus." " What does Hortense say?" " She was the one who suggested it." "Then I'd rather hear it from her." "Fine." "I've just been given this." ""Summons from the Home Office." ""Madame Gaillac is requested by Inspector Torcy" ""in the context of his investigation into the murder of Baron du Plessis" ""to appear on November 15th 1871" ""at 36 Quai des Orfèvres in Inspector Torcy's office" ""for an interview." ""Yours sincerely..."" "Tell Véra to meet me in the hall." "We can do one another a great deal of harm." "We are strong women." "I'm not leading the inquiry, you know." "I'm just here as a witness." "Véra, I had nothing to do with the Baron's murder." "Think of your daughter." "If she finds out what you're doing, who you are, can you imagine the harm that would do her?" "Madame Gaillac, this way." "The truth is, this murder has put me on the verge of financial ruin." "The Baron had made me a most generous offer to settle Mademoiselle Derville's debt." "According to the Baron's lawyer, you turned down the offer at the last moment before relenting." "Why the sudden change of heart?" "It was a business tactic." "So you were trying to obtain the best possible price?" "Precisely." "I don't suppose you sell your girls by weight." "It's was Mademoiselle Derville's decision to leave." "But you stood to pocket the proceeds." "Tell me what sort of man the Baron was." "Most endearing." "Gentle." "Very cultivated, too." "I have here a note claiming he had sodomite fantasies." "I can assure you, Monsieur du Plessis liked women." "The information comes from a colleague at the Colbert." "Did you know he frequented the Colbert?" "Do you know Jules Steiner?" "Yes, of course." "He's a client of mine." "How did Monsieur Steiner get on with the Baron?" "Chief Inspector." "I know nothing about politics but all the same... it's part of my job to be diplomatic." "I made sure two such deadly rivals met as rarely as possible." "Everyone knows they both aspire to a government position." "Did you ever take Monsieur Steiner to your room?" "The Baron didn't want me to see Monsieur Steiner." "But you did so anyway." "What do you want to know?" "Whether he was well hung?" "I think he was in paper-making." "He's an Israelite but he keeps quiet about it." "I want you to remain attentive to anything said in your establishment about this affair." "It is an honour for me to be of service to the law, monsieur." "The murder happened barely 50 metres from the mansion house he wanted to give you." "The murderer must have found out what the Baron was doing that evening." "Who else knew about that mansion?" "I don't know." "You." "Véra!" "We were only summoned to the ministry because it was a political crime." "What do you know about politics?" "Enough to know that if your Baron had entered parliament." "The Republicans would have been obliged to leave it." "As if he was killed over a ministerial seat!" "Steiner is a refugee." "I like him." "And even once he's been guillotined, I will think it was you who had him killed." "And why would I have done that?" "Do you want me to remind you of the evening of my party?" "Do you want me to repeat every word I said?" "I didn't kill him." "There's no accounting for what unhappiness can make you do." "I didn't kill him." "Do you want to get torn to shreds by the rabble?" "You're in Paris now, pet." "It's a city which thirsts for blood the way Normandy thirsts for cow's milk." " We explained that to her." " I'm glad to hear it." "Valentine?" " Yes?" " Look after her, will you?" "Of course." "Stay with her and make sure she's ready for tonight." "Pretty place you've got here." "Can we have a look round?" "Sorry, this is a luxury establishment." " We brought back one of your girls." " Sorry." " Just a quick look." "We won't touch." " Here." "Hortense Gaillac, the mistress of the house." "These gentlemen wish to be rewarded for bringing back the girl." "Right?" "I'll mention you to Chief Inspector Torcy next time I see him." "We have just this instant returned from the Home Office." "Don't stay there." "I'll go up and see." "I hear the coppers have been here." " Yes, they brought Rose back." " What about my complaint?" "Marguerite told me you'd recognise the guy." "Look at me." "Look at me!" "Before I end up a tramp in the streets, frightening the dogs." "Do you know what I'm going to do?" "Go to the police and tell them everything." "Like what?" "About Lupin." "I know he made it possible for us to open during the siege." "And since you don't have the means to thank him properly, he's sending his boys round to remind you of your debt." "I'm scared of him too, you know." "That's just as well." "If you inform on him..." "What, backfire on me?" "Then it's just as well my face is already burnt to a frazzle." "Corentin Javier." "I'm a friend of Lupin's." "If it's about the money, it's the Madam you want." " But you're a bit early." " It's nothing to do with the money." "Gaston mentioned a Sapphic extravaganza." "Two women tickling one another's fancy." "I'll need to talk to the mistress of the house." "Get me the Negress and a nice pale one." "I see you entertain high society here." " But all cocks are the same, eh?" " Not really, no." "Commander of the Legion of Honour." "And it looks new." "Minister?" "Captain of industry?" "Diplomat?" "You have to have bumped off a few Communards to get one of these." "To think they took Paris just so they could take the Parisian girls!" "I'll be right back." "Is it true what the girls are saying?" "Are we grounded?" "It's a security measure." "Our friend gets her face burnt off and we're to be imprisoned?" "Couldn't you just show some solidarity for once?" "There you go again." " Taking me for a fool." " Can't you act responsibly?" "Close that door!" " A friend of Lupin's is here pestering." " What does he want?" "To watch Linda and another girl turning each other on." "I don't know." "Send Angèle." "If you don't stop entertaining Communards." "We're going to lose everything." "I'd like to see you cut Lupin off." "You should have accepted the Baron's money." "Véra's right." "You should take whatever money's going." " Tell them to keep it short." " Wait." "I fancy doing it with Linda." "Why not come and spy on us?" "Skin and bones" "Dressed In rags" "Feverish and at an impasse" "Jean Misère fell to the ground" "Pain, he said" "Aren't you tired of it?" "Oh, but" "Oh, but" "Will It never end?" "No stars and no friends" "The square was deserted and laid to waste" "Had It been dry, I would have slept" "But It was sleeting" "Oh, but" "Oh, but" "You filthy anarchist!" "Gentlemen!" " Sorry." " Sorry." "Ladies." "I beg your permission to eject a Communard from your establishment." "Read it out loud." "I understand better when I can hear it." "Well." "Go on." "Then." ""I. Hortense Gaillac." ""Undertake to employ Louise Diaz as a chambermaid for two years..."" "Put five years." "If I cross it out." "It will no longer be invalid." "Add a one." "Then." "What?" "Before the two." "That will make it 12." " But it's written in words." "Louise." " Add a word then." "There." "For a duration of 12 years." "FOR A DURATION OF ONE TO TWO YEARS" "Will that do you?" "I'm counting on you to pull the wool over the coppers' eyes." " I won't have Lupin's name mentioned." " Just add it." " Well?" " Wait." "The document." " It's there." "Read it through carefully." " There's nothing to be done." "They're under Véra's spell." "They won't come downstairs." " What about Rose?" " Valentine is with her." " She'll save us." " How?" "I'll pay Lupin back tomorrow morning." "Want some?" "Is Edgar your boyfriend?" "You could do worse." "You know." " Will what I say get back to the matron?" " Yes." "Is it true." "Then." "You're still a virgin?" "But you have made love before?" "Are you asking if I've ever handled a cock?" "I had no choice." "Either." "The first time." "You're not sanctimonious." "Are you?" "I grew up in a convent." "When it first went in." "I thought I was going to burst." "I even thought I'd have to sew myself back up." "But no." "Nature is well designed." "You know." "Put a lot of saliva down there and it will slide in without you noticing." "Now we'd better get you ready." "The matron wants me to help you." "She trusts me to make you beautiful." "Once we've found you what you need." "They'll all come grovelling." "Come on." "If we stick together." "Hortense will have to give in." "Is there such a thing as welfare for whores?" "We'll just have to down tools." " Are we setting up our own commune?" " We are indeed." "The Paris Commune is over." "Long live the Paradis Commune!" "But be careful." "Either we're all in or none of us are." "Let's vote." " What?" "Can't I vote how I like?" " Indeed you can." "Now." "Come on." "Well?" "See how pretty you look?" "Wait." "Just one more thing." "Ten francs." " Rather expensive." "Isn't it?" " Véra." "Do these earrings go with this necklace?" "Marguerite told me to keep it simple." "You're right." "They don't match." "What about the ones the tall." "Slim girl was wearing yesterday?" "Aglaé?" "Yes." "Her silver sleepers would suit you." "I'll go and see." "You can at least try them on." "I'll be right back." "Here we go." "But where are the girls?" " Good evening." " Good evening." "Thank you for responding to my invitation." "Baron du Plessis would have been touched to see you gathered here today in his honour." "What the hell's going on?" "We've closed the cunt factory." "Are you out of your minds?" "We're in so much debt." "We'll be giving blow jobs until 1900." "Choose your side." "Valentine." "No one's forcing you to regain your dignity." "You're using us to settle your differences." " It's too easy." " On the contrary." "I know what the boss is up to." "That's why we have to fight." " Is young Rose in the union?" " She certainly is." "A virgin on the market would put an end to the strike before it's even started." "I'll go and tell her the good news." "Then." "His death was so brutal." "So cruel." "So..." "The man did so much to save France from chaos and barbarism." "And yet he owed his death to the cruel act of a petty thief." "The reason you are all gathered here is not to celebrate his life as a high-ranking civil servant." "But to honour him as a friend and lover." "That is why I have decided tonight to give you a very special evening." "While your usual partners are confined to their rooms for an obligatory period of mourning." "I have decided to pay tribute to the Baron du Plessis' love of women by presenting you with the most perfect expression of femininity." "A young virgin." "Leave me alone." "Liar!" "Do you want to get me killed?" "Take her downstairs." "Relax so I don't have to force it in." "Rose." "I don't want to hurt you." "There." "Your hymen is perfect." "Let us begin." "Gentlemen." "Fire away." " I'll start with 100." " Very good." "Any advance on 200?" " 300." " 400." " 500?" " Yes. 500." " 600." " 700." "700 on my right." "Come on." "Gentlemen." " 800." " 1.000." "I'm saying 1.000." "A generous bid." "My friend." " 1.100." " Yes. 1.100 at the back." " 1.200." " 1.200 over here." " 1.400." " 1.400." "Going once... 1.500." " 1.600." " 1.600 at the back." " 1.800." " 1.800." "Monsieur van der Meer." " 1.900." " 1.900." "Monsieur Blondin." "2.000 over here." " 2.100." " 2.100." "Marvellous." " 2.500." " 2.500." " 3.000." " 3.000." "Monsieur Blondin. 3.000." " 3.000 going once." "Twice..." " 3.200." "3.200!" "Wonderful." " 3.200 going once..." " 3.500." "3.500." "Monsieur Blondin." "3.500. going once." "Twice..." "Look at this treasure." "This silky hair." "These subtle curves." "Heralding a pleasure that only one of you will be lucky enough to experience." " 3.800!" " 3.800." "Monsieur van der Meer." " 3.800. going once..." " 4.500." "4.500." "Monsieur Blondin." "4.500. going once." "Twice... 5.000." "Good evening." "Sister." "Pray continue." "Gentlemen." "Where were we?" "5.000 from your brother." "Of course." "5.000 for Monsieur Gaillac." " 5.200." " 5.200." "Monsieur Blondin." " 5.200. going once..." " 6.000." "6.000." "Monsieur Gaillac." "6.500!" "6.500. going once." "Twice..." "Sold to Monsieur Blondin for 6.500." "Gaston!" "Gaston." "Good timing." "I've rounded it up to cover the interest." "I'm sorry about your friend." "He was too drunk." "Aren't you sick of getting other people to pay for you?" "Left-hand drawer." " Tonight it's your turn to get burnt." " Left-hand drawer!" "Here we are." "How is the girl?" "Don't make me have to do this again." "All right?" "There." "There." "Gently." "Sweetheart." "We've got all night." "I'm going to make a real woman of you." "The virgin is making a run for it!" "Can you hear me." "Monsieur Blondin?" "Give me my money back." " Lay a finger on me and I'll kill you." " Give me a moment with the girl." "Bitch!" "Rest assured." "Monsieur Blondin." "The Paradis knows how to teach its girls to respect their clients." "No!" "Pierre." "Pierre!" "Open this door." "Open it!" "Pierre!" "Pierre!" "Open it!"