“It lies between the two.”
The priest was deep in thought, rubbing his stubbly chin with two fingers.
“I see so much now,” he said at length, “which I never understood before.”
He turned towards the window, and looked down at the rocky slope with a new interest.
“There must be a great quantity of it,” he said reflectively. “He has walked over so many obstacles to get to it, with his pleasant laugh.”
“He has walked over his own heart,” said mademoiselle, persistently contemplating the question from the woman's point of view.
The priest moved impatiently.
“I was thinking of men's lives,” he said. Then he turned and faced her with a sudden gleam in his eye. “There is one thing yet unexplained—the burning of the Château de Vasselot. An empty house does not ignite itself. Explain me that.”
Mademoiselle shrugged her shoulders.
“That still remains to be explained,” she said. “In the mean time we must act.”