She had, indeed, escaped the justice of man. There remained the justice of God.
A few weeks before, this thought of “the justice of God” might, perhaps, have brought a smile to the lips of Mme. Blanche.
She then regarded it as an imaginary evil, designed to hold timorous spirits in check.
On the morning that followed her crime, she almost shrugged her shoulders at the thought of Marie-Anne’s dying threats.
She remembered her promise, but she did not intend to fulfil it.
She had considered the matter, and she saw the terrible risk to which she exposed herself if she endeavored to find the missing child.
“The father will be sure to discover it,” she thought.
But she was to realize the power of her victim’s threats that same evening.
Overcome with fatigue, she retired to her room at an early hour, and instead of reading, as she was accustomed to do before retiring, she extinguished her candle as soon as she had undressed, saying:
“I must sleep.”