Then the vision vanished, and there was nothing left but the lonely hearth.

A sharp pain tore her swollen heart; a sob rose to her lips, and, slowly, two tears rolled down her cheeks.

Michel, quite pale, looked at her in silence; he held out his hand to her, and said, in a trembling voice: "You were thinking about it, eh ?" Madame Desvarennes bowed her head, twice, silently, and without adding another word, the pair fell into each other's arms and wept.
From that day they hid nothing from each other, and shared their troubles and regrets in common.

The mistress unburdened her heart by making a full confession, and Michel, for the first time in his life, learned the depth of soul of his companion to its inmost recesses.

This woman, so energetic, so obstinate, was, as it were, broken down.
The springs of her will seemed worn out.