"Come, off with you!" he said angrily; "take my letter." "I will go at once," said Julien. He took up his hat. "Where shall I bring you the reply?" "In the street, in front of the house, where I will wait for you. Let us both go." They went out together. Julien went straight to the porter, closely watched by his uncle, who did not lose sight of him; but, instead of entrusting the letter to that functionary, as he had determined at first, he said to him that he wished to speak to the _valet de chambre_, and walked rapidly across the courtyard without turning. When he reached the antechamber Julien delivered the letter and sat down on the waiting bench, with the manner of one who does not expect to be received; but he said to the valet: "Please inform madame la comtesse that, if there is any reply, Monsieur Antoine Thierry's nephew is waiting here to carry it to him." Julien waited three minutes. The servant returned and said: "Madame la comtesse desires to ask you some questions. Take the trouble to walk this way." He opened a door at one side of the room and walked ahead. Julien followed him through a dark corridor; then the servant opened another door, placed a chair for him and withdrew. Julien was alone in a handsome dining-room, the main door of which was opposite him. A moment later that door opened and Madame d'Estrelle appeared. She was very pale and excited. "I receive you here," she said, "because I have visitors in my salon, and I cannot express myself before anyone on the subject which brings you here. Did Monsieur Antoine himself hand you this letter?" "Yes, madame." "And you know nothing of its contents, of course?" "I do, madame." "And yet you undertook to deliver it?" "Yes, madame." "Why so?" "In order to find out whether my uncle is mad enough to be locked up, or fiendishly cruel." "In other words--you were not sure--you wished to know if I had given him any right to write such a letter?" "I did not believe it, and I expected that you would order me to be turned away without a reply." "Then--as I receive you, you conclude----?" "Nothing, madame, except that you can do nothing more cruel than leave me in uncertainty." "Why should you take such a great interest in my affairs? Am I responsible to anyone?" "Oh! madame, do not speak to me in that tone," cried Julien, fairly beside himself. "Either my uncle's wealth has imposed silence on your repugnance, and in that case I have absolutely nothing to say to you, or else you submitted to his impertinent offers with a patience which misled him; and if you were so patient, so kind as that to him, I can easily guess the reason. You were afraid that Monsieur Antoine's resentment would fall on us!"