Her voice was still harsh, as if she were distressed.
"The departure of—of that friend—has, then, caused you much suffering?"
"Suffering? No. Vexation, yes—You have built many castles of cards in your life—Come! how stupid I am!" she said bitterly. "You still build many of them. Well! there it is, you see!"
She had withdrawn her hands from Sulpice, and walked away slowly from the border of the lake, going toward the end of the path where her coachman awaited her, his eyes closed and his mouth open.
"Where are you going on leaving the Bois?" asked Vaudrey.
"I? I don't know."
He had made a movement.
"Oh! once more I tell you, don't be afraid," she said. "I want to live. Fear nothing, I will go home, parbleu."
"Home?"
"Or to my uncle's."