She had become a necessity to his heart, his only pretext, his only excuse, for living.

He made no reproaches, he had indeed no right to do so, but he asked her if she felt herself capable of changing her mode of life, offering her in return for the sacrifice every compensation that she could desire.

She consented.
It must be said that Marguerite was just then very ill.

The past seemed to her sensitive nature as if it were one of the main causes of her illness, and a sort of superstition led her to hope that God would restore to her both health and beauty in return for her repentance and conversion.

By the end of the summer, the waters, sleep, the natural fatigue of long walks, had indeed more or less restored her health.