Why was the woman staring at her so fixedly? She half expected her to break the silence with some reference to Mademoiselle de Scudéry, so certain was she that to these clear eyes her inmost thoughts lay naked to view.
At last, the beautiful voice began again: ‘It would seem you have now taken up your abode in Paris. Do you like the city?’
‘Exceeding well,’ Madeleine murmured.
‘Exceeding well—yes—exceeding well,’ Mère Agnès repeated after her, with a vague smile.
Suddenly Madeleine realised that the intensity of her gaze was due to absent-mindedness, and that she stared at things without seeing them. All the same, she felt that if this pregnant silence were to continue much longer she would scream; she gave a nervous little giggle and began to fiddle with her hands.
‘And what is your manner of passing the time? Have you visited any of the new buildings?’
The woman was evidently at a loss for something to say, why, in the name of madness, didn’t she play her part and make inquiries about the state of her disciple’s soul? Madeleine began to feel quite offended.
‘Yes,’ she answered, ‘I have seen the Palais Mazarin and I have visited the Hôtel de Rambouillet.’
‘Ah, yes, the Hôtel de Rambouillet. My cousins report it to be a very noble fabric. Some day when the family is in the country you may be able to see the apartments, which are adorned, I am told, in a most rare and costly manner.’
So she took it for granted that Madeleine had only seen the outside! It was annoying, but it was no use enlightening her, because, even if she listened, she would not be in the least impressed.