"There is your money," she said; "now what are you going to do with it?" "I am going away," answered Madelon. "Yes?" said Jeanne-Marie, without any apparent emotion, "and where are you going?" "I am going to Spa. Ah! Jeanne-Marie, do not ask me what I am going to do; it is my secret, I cannot tell any one, but you shall know some day." Jeanne-Marie was silent for a moment, then, "Look here, _ma petite_," she said; "I don't want to know what you are going to do; it is no concern of mine, and I cannot keep you if you want to go away; but who are you going to in Spa? I cannot let you go off without knowing where you are, and whether you are safe. You might have the fever again, or some one might try to take you back to the convent, and I should know nothing about it. Where are you going? Have you any friends at Spa?" "There is only Madame Bertrand at the Hotel de Madrid," replied Madelon, rather disconsolately; "I would not mind going to her again, she is so kind; she wanted me to stay with her the last time I was there--but then there is Mademoiselle Henriette--it was she who wished to send me back to the convent; if she were not there, I should not be afraid." "And is there no other hotel you could go to?" "I should not like to go to another," said Madelon, "they would be all strange; I would rather go to Madame Bertrand, and I should not have to stay there long." "And then what are you going to do?" "I don't know--I am not sure," answered Madelon, rather embarrassed. "I shall write to a friend I have--Monsieur Horace, you know--and he will tell me what to do." "And why do you not write to him at once, _mon enfant?_" "I cannot," was all Madelon's answer, nor could Jeanne-Marie ever extract any further explanation on that point. The next day Jeanne-Marie was missing from the restaurant for some hours; but she reappeared in the afternoon, and presently came out into the garden, where Madelon, seated in her favourite corner, was nursing a big cat, and sorting out herbs for drying. "What a long time you have been away!" she said, as Jeanne- Marie came up to her. "See, I have done all these; I think there are enough to last you all the winter." "Not quite," answered the woman; "bur never mind them now. Do you want to know where I have been? I have been to Spa, and seen Madame Bertrand." "Have you?" cried Madelon; "did you tell her about me? Was Mademoiselle Henriette there?" "Mademoiselle Henriette is gone; she and her aunt had a grand quarrel, and she left, and so Madame Bertrand is alone again. I told her all about you: she said she was glad you had not gone back to the convent, and that you could go to her whenever you wished, for she would take care of you. So as your work is done," Jeanne-Marie added with a sigh, "there is nothing to keep you, and you may go as soon as you like."