They felt they were no longer at home as in the time of Camille; it seemed, so to say, that they were stealing every evening they passed seated at the dining-room table.

It was in these desperate circumstances that the egotism of Michaud urged him to strike a masterly stroke by finding a husband for the widow of the drowned man.
On the Thursday following the marriage, Grivet and Michaud made a triumphant entry into the dining-room.

They had conquered.

The dining-room belonged to them again.

They no longer feared dismissal.
They came there as happy people, stretching out their legs, and cracking their former jokes, one after the other.