Very early on Christmas morning, Lord Fordyce went down to the _presbytere_ and walked with the Pere Anselme on his way to Mass.

He had come to a conclusion during the night.

The worthy priest would be the more fitting person to see Michael than he, himself; he felt he could well leave all explanations in those able hands--and then, when his old friend knew everything, he, Henry, would meet him and bring him to the Chateau of Heronac, and so to Sabine.
The Pere Anselme was quite willing to undertake this mission; he would have returned to his breakfast by then and would await Michael's arrival, he told Henry.

Michael would come from the station, twenty kilometers away, in Henry's motor.
The wind had got up, and a gloriously rough sea beat itself against the rocks.

The thundering surf seemed some comfort to Henry.