He felt as if somehow Madame de Vionnet WAS.

The great question meanwhile was what Chad thought of his sister; which was naturally ushered in by that of Sarah's apprehension of Chad.
THAT they could talk of, and with a freedom purchased by their discretion in other senses.

The difficulty however was that they were reduced as yet to conjecture.

He had given them in the day or two as little of a lead as Sarah, and Madame de Vionnet mentioned that she hadn't seen him since his sister's arrival.
"And does that strike you as such an age ?" She met it in all honesty.

"Oh I won't pretend I don't miss him.
Sometimes I see him every day.