Malvina of Brittany

Malvina of Brittany is a short story written by Jerome K. Jerome, an English writer and humorist, best known for the comic travelogue Three Men in a Boat.

Preface from the book:

The Doctor never did believe this story, but claims for it that, to a great extent, it has altered his whole outlook on life. "Of course, what actually happened—what took place under my own nose," continued the Doctor, "I do not dispute. And then there is the case of Mrs. Marigold. That was unfortunate, I admit, and still is, especially for Marigold. But, standing by itself, it proves nothing. These fluffy, giggling women—as often as not it is a mere shell that they shed with their first youth—one never knows what is underneath.