(Calmette, the editor of "Le Figaro" newspaper,
is ending his chat with his friend, Burget, as he
returns to his office. The "other Lipps" refers to
the Brasserie Lipps, a fashionable Paris restaurant.
He's pleased to see a glamorous woman awaiting
him, but does not realise she is about to murder him.)
2. Gaston Calmette
Just think? How? Yesterday? He was? (Alive
to women's charms, dear Bourget, I must take
my leave of you. A lady has arrived,
and I must sacrifice all, for her sake.)
You'll dine with me tonight? I want to know
just how the story ends. Forgive the quip,
but duty calls: I see her waiting, so
I'll try these lips, and then the other Lipps.
Just after five. Chapelle Expiatoire.
I'll soon be finished here: shall we say eight?
Let's dress for dinner -- what of rouge-et-noir?
I'm sure that one of us will show up late!
I wonder who she is, and what she wants.
A woman, on her own -- it makes no sense.
So beautifully-dressed. Not one who haunts
hacks' offices. Une dame d'influence.
What could her reason be for calling here,
I wonder? Why she'd do it - it's unclear.