With this thought, and the hope of his return some day, she turned for relief to the discharge of her household duties, and to the companionship of the children, who knew nothing except that their father was gone away on a journey, and might come back any day.
Neither Madame nor the children knew that whenever they left the house they were followed by a detective, and every movement was closely watched.

But Felicita was conscious of it by some delicate sensitiveness of her imaginative temperament.

She refused to quit the house except in the evening, when she rambled about the garden, and felt the fresh air from the river breathing against her often aching temples.

Even then she fancied an eye upon her--an unsleeping, unblinking eye; the unwearying vigilance of justice on the watch for a criminal.

Night and day she felt herself living under its stony gaze.
It was a positive pain to her when reviews of her book appeared in various papers, and were forwarded to her with congratulatory letters from her publishers.