"Élisabeth . . . is it you? . . . Is it really you? . . ."
And at the same time he intuitively knew the answer which he was about to hear:
"No," said the woman, "Mme. Delroze started a little before us, in another motor. Karl and I were to join her."
Paul remembered that car, of which he and Bernard had thought that he heard the sound when going round the villa. As the two starts had taken place with an interval of a few minutes at most between them, he cried:
"Let us be quick then and lose no time. . . . By putting on speed, we shall be sure to catch them. . . ."
But the woman at once objected:
"It's impossible, because the two cars have taken different roads."
"What does that matter, if they lead to the same point. Where are they taking Mme. Delroze?"
"To a castle belonging to the Comtesse Hermine."
"And where is that castle?"