Then the house soon sank, as if in the quiet of a deep sleep.
When the great church clock struck twelve, Angelique left her seat.
"Now I must go, for he is waiting for me." She unlocked the door, and, passing out, neglected closing it after her.

Going down the first flight of stairs, she stopped as she approached the room of the Huberts, but heard nothing--nothing but the indefinable quivering of silence.
Moreover, she was neither in a hurry, nor had she any fear, for being totally unconscious of any wrong intentions, she felt at perfect ease.
It would have been quite impossible for her not to have gone down.
An inward power directed and led her, and it all seemed so simple and right; she would have smiled at the idea of a hidden danger.

Once in the lower rooms, she passed through the kitchen to go out into the garden, and again forgot to fasten the shutters.

Then she walked rapidly towards the little gate of the Clos-Marie, which she also left wide open after her.

Notwithstanding the obscurity and the dense shadows in the field, she did not hesitate an instant, but went direct to the little plank which served as a bridge to the Chevrotte, crossed it, guiding herself by feeling the way, as if in a familiar place, where every tree and bush were well known to her.