This announcement excited the anger of the governor to the highest pitch.

He wrote to the baron to keep his coming to Herouville a close secret, giving him certain orders to avert what he considered to be an evil.
It was under these circumstances that Etienne and Gabrielle unrolled their thread through the labyrinth of love, where both, not seeking to leave it, thought to dwell.

One day they had remained from morn to evening near the window where so many events had taken place.

The hours, filled at first with gentle talk, had ended in meditative silence.
They began to feel within them the wish for complete possession; and presently they reached the point of confiding to each other their confused ideas, the reflections of two beautiful, pure souls.

During these still, serene hours, Etienne's eyes would sometimes fill with tears as he held the hand of Gabrielle to his lips.