Yet he found himself, in a sense, embarrassed.

Gerald was looking down upon his plate and his face was hidden.

Esther's features had suddenly become stony and expressionless.

Hamel felt instinctively that something was wrong.
"There are compensations," Mr.Fentolin continued, with the air of one enjoying speech, "which find their way into even the gloomiest of lives.
As I lie on my back, hour after hour, I feel all the more conscious of this.

The world is a school of compensations, Mr.Hamel.