"Now, then, my poor girl, I am all attention to you."
"It is three months nearly since M. Rodolph placed me at a farm, which is situated four or five leagues from Paris—"
"Did M. Rodolph take you there himself?"
"Yes, madame, and confided me to the charge of a worthy lady, as good as she was venerable; and I loved her like my mother. She and the curé of the village, at the request of M. Rodolph, took charge of my education."
"And M.—Rodolph,—did he often come to the farm?"
"No, madame, he only came three times during the whole time I was there."
Clémence's heart throbbed with joy.
"And when he came to see you that made you very happy, did it not?"
"Oh, yes, madame! It was more than happiness to me; it was a feeling mingled with gratitude, respect, adoration, and even a degree of fear."
"Of fear?"