And then the thought of her, left behind at Condillac at the mercy of Marius and that she-devil the Marquise, and the fears that of a sudden leapt up in his mind, brought him to a standstill, as though he were contemplating the incomparable folly of a return.

He beat his hands together for a moment in a frenzy of anguish; he threw back his head and raised his eyes to the sky above with a burst of imprecations on his lips.

And then reflection brought him peace.

No, no; they dare offer her no hurt.

To do so must irrevocably lose them La Vauvraye; and it was their covetousness had made them villains.