"My God, Sophie, how pale you are! What is the matter?"
Madame Dutertre stifled a sigh, lifted her head sadly, and replied:
"Nothing is the matter, Madeleine; the excitement, the joy of seeing you again after such a long separation,—that is all."
"Excitement, joy?" answered the marquise, with an air of painful doubt. "No, no! A few moments ago it was excitement and joy, but now you seem to be heart-broken, Sophie."
Madame Dutertre said nothing, hid her tears, embraced her children, and then whispered to them:
"Go find your nurse, my darlings."
Madeleine and Augustus obeyed and left the parlour, not, however, without turning many times to look at the great lady whom they thought so charming.
CHAPTER XI.
Scarcely were the two children out of the parlour, when Madeleine said to her friend, quickly:
"Now we are alone, Sophie, I pray you, answer me; what is the matter with you? What is the cause of this sudden oppression? Have absence and distance destroyed your confidence in me?"