On the fourth day after my coming, however, something happened to
break the spell. It chanced that I came late to dinner, and
entered the room hastily and without ceremony, expecting to find
Madame and her sister already seated. Instead, I found them
talking in a low tone by the open door, with every mark of
disorder in their appearance; while Clon and Louis stood at a
little distance with downcast faces and perplexed looks.
I had time to see all this, and then my entrance wrought a sudden
change. Clon and Louis sprang to attention; Madame and her
sister came to the table and sat down, and all made a shallow
pretence of being at their ease. But Mademoiselle's face was
pale, her hand trembled; and though Madame's greater self-command
enabled her to carry off the matter better, I saw that she was
not herself. Once or twice she spoke harshly to Louis; she fell
at other times into a brown study; and when she thought that I
was not watching her, her face wore a look of deep anxiety.
I wondered what all this meant; and I wondered more when, after
the meal, the two walked in the garden for an hour with Clon.
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