er for them all if when Lord Fordyce
came with Moravia and Girolamo and Mr. Cloudwater at Christmas, she told
him the whole truth. The dread of this augmented day by day, until it
became a nightmare and she had to use the whole force of her will to
keep even an outward semblance of calm.

Thoughts of Michael she dismissed as well as she could, but she had
passionate longings to go and take out the blue enamel locket from her
despatch-box and look at it once more; she would not permit herself to
indulge in this weakness, though. Her whole days were ruled with
sternest discipline until she became quite thin, and the Pere Anselme
grew worried about her.

A fortnight went by; it was growing near to Christmastime--but the
atmosphere of Heronac contained no peace, and one bleak afternoon the
old priest paced the long walk in the garden with knitted brows. He did
not feel altogether sure as to what was his duty. He was always on the
side of leaving things in the hand of the good God, but it might be that
he would be selected to be an instrument of fate, since he seemed the
only detached person with any authority in the affair.

His Dame d'Heronac had tried hard to be natural and her old self, he
could see that, but her taste in their reading had been over much
directed to Heine, she having brought French translations of this poet's
works back with her from Paris.

Twice also had she asked him to recite to her De Musset's "_La Nuit de
Decembre_." He did not consider these as satisfactory symptoms. There
was no question in his astute mind as to what was the general cause of
his beloved lady's unrest. The change in her had begun to take place
ever since the fatal visit of the two Englishmen. Herein lay matter for
thought. For the very morning before their arrival she had been
particularly bright and gay, telling him of her intended action in
making arrangements to free herself from her empty marriage bonds, and
apparently contemplating a new life with Lord Fordyce with satisfaction.
Pere Anselme was a great student of Voltaire and looked upon his tale of
"Zadig" as one from which much benefit could be derived. And now he
began to put the method of this citizen of Babylon into practice, never
having heard of the immortal Sherlock Holmes.

The end of his cogitations directed upon this principle brought him two
concrete facts.

Number one: That Sabine had been deeply affected by the presence of the
second Englishman--the hand