"I don't think so, monsieur," the man replied. "Madame made up her mind suddenly about 2 o'clock.... I ran out to Mme. Panhias and she came at once to help madame pack.... They left with Anna, the maid, as I told you, not an hour ago. Should monsieur wish to write a note I could give the letter to madame to-morrow morning...." M. Raindal reflected. Such offhandedness left him dumfounded; and there came to his soul an ill-defined impression of anguish, of strange sorrow. At last he replied: "No, thank you!... I shall write from home.... Where did you say madame went?" "To the Frettes, the château des Frettes, at Villedouillet, Seine-et-Oise.... Will monsieur remember it?" "Certainly.... Thank you." When the door was closed the master glanced at his brother and said, with an attempt at banter: "Well, my poor friend.... For your first visit you are not in luck!" Cyprien nodded and spread his arms in a gesture of assent; then he straightened suddenly and remarked: "How does it seem to you? Your Madame Chambannes doesn't appear to be any more polite than she should!" The master was on the point of answering when two carriages which came from opposite directions stopped at the same time in front of the house. The abbé Touronde came out of the first and the Marquis de Meuze out of the other. The two men were informed of the circumstances by M. Raindal and manifested great surprise. Neither of them had been warned; they all ventured many conjectures as to the possible reason for this strange lack of courtesy. M. de Meuze especially showed himself very shocked. He had difficulty in not cursing Gerald. What! a fellow whom he had seen that very morning, who surely knew all about it and had not said a word to his father! Really, this was going beyond all bounds of secretiveness! "What's to be done?" he declared. "There is only one thing left for us to do and that is for each one of us to return home.... Are you going down to Paris, M. Raindal?" "Yes, certainly," the master replied. "Pardon me, I was forgetting.... I must introduce my brother, whom I had brought particularly to meet Mme. Chambannes." All the men took off their hats, Uncle Cyprien purposely accentuating his salute to the abbé Touronde. Together they began to walk towards the centre, the master and the abbé walking first and M. de Meuze behind with Uncle Cyprien.