In the presence of that unfamiliar commonplace scene her heart died, as it were, a second time.

Now all was completely, finally ended.
She was robbed even of her dreams of the past.

Then she began to regret that she had yielded to the attraction of that white opening, of that doorway gaping upon the days which were now for ever lost.
She was about to retire and close the accursed door, without even seeking to discover who had opened it, when she suddenly perceived Miette and Silvere.

And the sight of the two young lovers, who, with hanging heads, nervously awaited her glance, kept her on the threshold, quivering with yet keener pain.

She now understood all.