It was barely half-past nine when they all returned to the shop in the arcade.

The dealer in imitation jewelry was still there in her cupboard, before the box lined with blue velvet.

She raised her head inquisitively, gazing at the young husband and wife with a smile.

The latter caught her eyes, and was terrified.

It struck her that perhaps this old woman was aware of their former meetings, by having noticed Laurent slipping into the little corridor.
When they all arrived on the upper floor, Therese withdrew almost immediately, with Madame Raquin and Suzanne, the men remaining in the dining-room, while the bride performed her toilet for the night.
Laurent, nerveless and depressed, did not experience the least impatience, but listened complacently to the coarse jokes of old Michaud and Grivet, who indulged themselves to their hearts' content, now that the ladies were no longer present.